#yes those are ping pong balls

[polarisjisung]

cherry flavoured

02— OH PARTY PARTY YEAH

SYNOPSIS: y/n, the campuses notorious heartbreaker, had never been one to settle down, running from the word commitment since the concept had first been introduced to her, but one smile and a little cherry coke seems to do just the trick when she runs into captain of the dance team, park jisung

PAIRING : dancer!jisung x fem!reader

WARNINGS: swearing, mentions of alcohol

You and the girls had been to your fair share of shitty college frat parties— the ones with cheap alcohol and blaring music where you could barely hear yourself think, but the NCIT frat was new, in fact most of the frat parties you had been to were courtesy of your basketball vice-captain heeseung, safe to say they were a lot different

You walk in, worn out sneakers sliding against the ground as you find yourself in search for jeno, with yeonhee following behind you, warmth flooding her cheeks at the sight of the figure stood by the door, the only one of jeno's friends you were actually familiar with, aside from jaemin

haechans eyes linger on the girl beside you, a quick smile offered your way before he links arms with your best friend and drags her away— yuqi and yeri already lost somewhere in the crowd after they'd headed over to grab drinks

the music is loud, and now despite only having gotten here a couple of minutes ago, the only company you find yourself in is that of jeno— the lee has a pep in his step, enough to tell you he's had at least a few drinks tonight, and his squeaky tone and tooth rotting grin is enough to tell you he's already had one too many drinks tonight

you decide on getting a drink, jeno already stood by the beer pong table with jaemin

weaving your way through the sweaty bodies had easily turned into a painful thud against the 6 foot tall figure you somehow didn't manage to see coming your way, cherry coke splashing up into your eye, and all over the floor, some dripping from the large hand gripping the cup

"shit sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going, let me grab you another drink" you practically yell, begging the blue haired male across from you would be able to hear your words, he only chuckles, a deep intoxicated laugh that you could've sworn rung in your ears a few times over

"don't worry about it beautiful" his raspy, care free tone is enough to tell you there's a decent amount of alcohol in him, but his composure suggests otherwise

"are you sure, I'm heading that way anyways" you offer again and he seems to think for a moment, gaze zeroing in in you, and something about the way he looks down into your eyes with those interested brown ones has you hoping he'll say yes

"why don't I just come with you" he smiles before he's already turned on his feet and headed back toward the kitchen

"let me make you a drink" your guilt begins to speak, you'd always felt the need to fix any mistakes you'd made "I owe you that much at least" and you're already reaching for a cup when his hand reaches out to stop you

he doesn't seem to budge, downing a shot before he turns your way again, arm against the countertop, supporting his weight so he was now level with you

"how about you team with me instead" his eyes flash over, only momentarily back to where jeno is stood, throwing a ping pong ball across the table, and you pause for a moment, noticing that the lee is simply too far gone to still be dedicated to his no beer pong agenda

"can't say no to that pretty face now can I?" you smirk and before you know it, the ball between your fingers is splashing in the red cups lined up across the table

"pretty good team we make huh?" he chuckles, a habit of his that you can't help but blush at

you and jisung, after winning the round smile at one another, going in for a quick hug at the victory, a moment you otherwise wouldve fawned over for hours but perhaps you're too far into red solo cups and plastic shot glasses to care

"How's another drink sound?"

"anything thats not the shitty vodka cranberry jeno handed me earlier" you sigh, following him toward the kitchen again, taking your places either side of the counter

"i haven't seen you around before, considering you know jeno, I'd have thought you'd be around the frat more" he asks, mixing together equal amount of peach and pomegranate juice with some sort of alcohol, you're not too bothered what it he when he hands you the concoction

"yeah, same goes, I'm sure I'd have remembered such a pretty face" you sigh, "as for jeno, he's protective I guess, doesn't want us to end up with one of his off limits friends" and you get it, the problems it would cause, so you don't dare to overstep the boundary he's drawn

jisung on the other hand, despite his friends voice ringing in his ears, reminding him that all his girls were off limits, the same warning he'd offered you, doesn't seem to bother, and he hates knowing that you haven't a clue what you're getting into

"I'm jisung by the way" his deep voice rings in your ear, hot whispers of his breath hitting your neck

"y/n"

jisung notices the way your left eye squints as you attempt to hold conversation

"do you want me to have a look at it?" he offers, he doesn't know exactly what he'd do if he did notice anything, or how he would notice anything in the constantly changing flashing lights but you smile and shake your head

"but you might have to kiss it better" your hands are quick to find his neck, as his attached loosely on your waist

"is that so?" His voice is a hot whispers against your neck, his cold hand reaching up to grab your chin as he flutters his eyes prettily in front of you

"it's the only way, actually" you find yourself leaning into his touch, now seated on the countertop next to the drinks

"oh well then it would only be right for me to help"

you smile at his words, leaning forwards as his lips land on yours, eventually reaching a steady rythym— you'd have sworn you barely took time to breathe, the taste of his cherry coke sat at the tip of your tongue

"jisung—shit, am I interrupting something?"

you turn to see an orange haired boy, asumably one of jisung's friends, a panicked expression on his face, as his gaze switches between you and jisung

you shake your head calmly, placing your hands up and slide back, waving your fingers toward the blue haired boy before finding your way out, shadow of his lips still lingering over you own

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NOTES: I didn't actually want the written chapter to be so close to the beginning but I also didn't want the 1st few chapters to just be filler chaps bc that stresses me out, also I don't really like written chapters in smaus (makes no sense that I included one I know 😭) but hopefully the next few chapters will be up more quickly !!

TAGLIST (open): @jenobubbles @justalildumpling @jising-jisang-jisung @nanawrlds @222brainrot @chichiuu @dinonuguaegi @ishireads @yyy90210

#jisung #nct dream #nct #park jisung #nct x female reader #nct x y/n #nct x reader #nct x you #nct imagines #nct imagine #nct jisung #nct dream au #nct dream smau #nct smau #jisung smau #jisung x y/n #jisung x you #jisung x reader #jisung imagines #nct dream imagines #nct au #nct dream x reader #nct dream x you #nct dream x y/n #nct dream x oc #cherry flavoured 🍒

[meowjings-arsb]

Possibly even more on crack Stardew headcanons and whatnot because yes 👍

First post

Void chickens are burnt

With enough void mayonnaise, you could possibly obtain the goblin Henchman’s loyalty if only that the Witch doesn’t curse you first

All rabbits are honed in the fine art of keychain making. Hence the lucky rabbit feet they give off

We still don’t know where they’re getting the extra feet though…

Junimo have short, soft, fluffy fur 🍏

They’re also squeezable like a stress ball or a balloon filled with slime

Don’t take (much) fall damage or injury from being tossed at stacks of cans 🥫, but that’s very mean so why would you do that-

From what the witch remembers, humans typically hate void chickens because their eggs are gross but aPARENTLY she guessed wrong with the farmer when she cursed their hen house. She wanted them to eat the egg out of curiosity and suffer for a day or two but noooooo they INCUBATED it out of curiosity instead of consuming it ahhhhhhhhhhhh

She guessed right on cursing the slime hutch with black slimes though because we all know naughty children hate coal.

Gil at some point did a joke slime making video using an actual cave slime, and people just thought it was cool effects and CGI stuff. So now he’s a hit with the slime making fantasy types

Marlon also walked in on him giving a slime a glitter bath. Gil also had glitter all over his face from the slime hitting him head on.

Most of the decorations for the festivals are stored in Pierre’s, the Saloon’s, and the Community Center’s attics

Pierre, Caroline, and Abigail are a family with Spirits Eve colored hair and are therefore— Spooky~

Sometimes… when he’s tired of fish but still wants meat… Willy may eat… a bug steak 🥩

No one thought or knew that the farmer was going to ask someone to dance at the Flower Dance, and so they didn’t even think to get them a proper outfit for the occasion

Or no one had a spare outfit that fit the farmer and just didn’t care to get them one at that point

OR the farmer just outright didn’t want to wear the dance outfit because ew

We have no idea why they didn’t dress up for their own wedding though

The large candy canes placed around the town and sold as decorations at the Feast of the Winter Star and the Night Market are indeed edible 👍

I think that was already canon, but Gus why are you putting them in the dirt-

Shane was persuaded into getting Animal Crossing New Horizons. His island is full of chicken villagers plus Punchy.

Went feral and then sad for a hot minute upon learning of Hector’s existence and him not being in New Horizons

Grandpa’s bed, was in fact, a ping pong table 🏓

The farmer passing out at 2:00am at the latest and waking up at 6:00am at the earliest is a weird internal clock thing. Probably developed from working at Joja Co™️ all those years

Mr Qi personally sent that strange figure who sells the farmer a Farm Warp Totem to be there at the Night Market because he knows the farmer is gonna forget to check the time and then pass out on a mad dash back to the farm

Mr Qi also cannot possibly be human. What is he really? An elf? Vampire? Sorcerer? Snake hybrid? 7 Junimos in a trench coat? Just a man who spray paints himself blue for the aesthetic?

If you have ever seen Caroline’s tea cutscene, then you should know that the tea she drinks probably has a non-zero amount of cannabis in it.

Or maybe not… but like… why was there a lil squid person in there? Drinking tea aswell?? And disappeared with a puff of steam/smoke????

Actually- the tea she had was green, very sparkly and ripple-y. I bet Rasmodius had something to do with it. Because you know what happened with Rasmodius’s tree cutscene and uh… *cough* *cough* that other thing about the wizard-

Professor Snail has a snail under his hat named Mikey 🐌 that he picked up from the month he spent trapped in a cave

The kids of pelican town (Jas, Vincent, + Leo maybe) and the ASS trio (Abigail, Sam, Sebastian), are knowledgable of Krobus’s existence at least somewhat. Also Willy and Gunther 👌

Mr Qi eats Junimos🍏 ..sometimes-

Why? Because they’re like apples, he’s a mysterious son of a gun, and because these are crack headcanons that’s why-

Rasmodius is actively trying to get him magically banned from entering the community center and any other place currently occupied by them…

(spoiler?) …including Jojamart™️

Mr Qi’s outfit actually glows in the dark with a buncha tiny lights and glittery bits. Also shiny like a disco ball maybe ✨

Just hit him with a high powered flashlight and he becomes this ✨

Willy has seen the horrors 🐟

The Iridium bar required in the slime hutch, contrary to popular belief, is not just used as an extra brick for fun. Robin’s gotta smelt it down and add a lil bit of its essence to every stone making up the walls and foundation. (Hard work, y’know?). One bar is just enough to bless the hutch and requiring more seemed to be asking for too much.

Haley follow’s the Queen of Sauce’s Stardew equivalent of Instagram

Junimo Kart should not exist

The whole 100 floors down Skull Caverns was a ruse in an attempt to kill you, the farmer, but it failed because you didn’t die on the whole trip down and are also somehow immune to snake milk (venom). Whatever doesn’t kill you makes you stronger I guess 🤷‍♂️🥛🐍

The farmer is indeed a cryptid. They don’t even breath

Instead of actual armor they instead rely on boots and rings for their protection??? They HAVE a hat, shirt, and pants slot, they CAN wear more armor than just boots if they had any but noooooooo. They like dancing with death so it seems

Actively just challenging Yoba to smite them: Being able to just consume food you really shouldn’t (ex. Void mayonnaise, mushrooms) and do it again once out of the hospital, Just carrying metal tools in thunderstorms, Being able to get hit by the valley’s train and brush it off, Repetitively going into the mines and Skull Caverns despite Harvey’s warnings, Drinking a weird unnatural drink offered by a mysterious stranger twice, also if they get their hands on it, carrying around freaking RADIOACTIVE ore without protection like it’s nothing????

Like I’m still not over the radioactive ore, even if I’ve never encountered it yet-

Also whatever the heck is happening on the Ginger Island dungeon? I’m pretty sure that’s lava everywhere in there??? And you just use your dinky watering can to cross it like no big deal??????

Stardew Valley so just so wild man

At least one person’s gonna be pissed at the farmer if they caught the legendary fish, put them in their fridge, and accidentally made sashimi with them. Maybe Gordy and Tex…

Also proof that the farmer is a cryptid is that they can catch all 5 legendary fish and their relatives without a sweat. Like Willy’s been at this for years. Also where do the relatives come from-

The fact that Pierre hates being given legendary fish is weird to me. I feel like that’s a boasting opportunity to have one in his funky lil shop.

I feel like Willy should also be happier than neutral upon being given the honor of owning one of these legendary fish. Or maybe he’s equally surprised as he is pissed that he wasn’t the one to do it and it cancels out.

Actually- maybe he catch and released? I’m too tired for this man

Gordy in The Fisherman Act ll is a wuss

The Crystalarium just can’t handle the Gay Shard’s power. Haley also can’t handle the Gay Shard apparently.

If you give a Junimo hut a Fairy Stone, are you just giving them the fossil of a long dead relative of theirs? Would that be weird?

If Abigail ate a fairy stone, would she be cursed by the fae for like… eating their crystallized bones

Forget what I said earlier about Emily wielding a parrot perch, she uses the unobtainable Holy Blade now- 🗡✨

If the farmer ever sees the green creature at the pelican town docks, just know that they probably hate you

Your dad probably has a rock collection. Why else is he sending you quality stones

#just your usual Wednesday afternoon crack headcanons #I had most of this done earlier but it didn’t feel long enough so eh. here you are #I haven’t reached Ginger island yet. or played Stardew in a while tbh. oof #my stoof #signatured #a portion of this is just me rambling about how weird sdv is tbh #my writing #sdv #stardew valley #did you know. that I have not died once in my whole stardew play through so far. I did the 100 floors challenge too! #I’m not counting passing out at 2am. because that’s happened at least twice #once on my own farm and another trapped in a spiral level of the mines after loosing track of time #Robin was legit building a coop next to me when I passed out too and Joja STILL charged me for it!

[astroboots]

Okay so I just saw this on Twitter and immediately thought of Homecoming Frankie and Santi… the three of them tucked away in a cabin somewhere remote with nothing to entertain themselves with except this crappy old ping ping table. And it’s two against one and they are getting VERY competitive and they’re ganging up on you but it’s hot down there in that cabin basement and so you start to remove layers and notice it’s distracting them so you start stripping, watching them fumble and stutter, their mouths hanging open…

HOMECOMING: TWO AGAINST ONE

OH MY LORD! THIS IMAGE! You are sending me! So firstly I do actually have a wip that is very similar to this one, but because you sent me this depravity I wrote a little something, just for you. I LOVE YOU, I don't deserve this gorgeous, amazing, sexy thought you've sent me.

Homecoming Drabbles | Homecoming Masterlist | Astroboot’s Masterlist

Brat.

Obnoxious brat.

Short, obnoxious brat!

"What's wrong Cariño?" Santiago says, with a grin across the table from you, as you have to tuck your metaphorical tail between your legs as you walk across the room to pick up the little plastic ping pong table that ricocheted from Santiago's latest move and is now bouncing mockingly against the wooden floor in the corner.

Next to him, Frankie is shaking his head, with a sheepish expression on his face, clearly regretting being pulled into your competition with Santiago (as always).

"Thought you said you could take us both," Santiago adds.

From the way his voice is almost cracking with amusement at the edges, you know that double entendre is on purpose.

God, he's such a fucking brat.

You're better than Santiago at this game. You know it and he knows it. It's why you had bragged, perhaps a bit too confidently and a bit too loudly about how there is no handicap in the world that could have Santiago winning a game of ping pong over you.

It's why when Santiago had suggested two against one, you had readily taken him on. You just hadn't expected the two of them to be so coordinated and in sync with their movements.

In retrospect, that was a novice move. Because of course those two would be. You don't spend half a lifetime in the army together, watching each other's six only to end up on the other side of it, not being in tune with each other.

The bastard's still grinning at you.

Fuck your life.

Rolling up the sleeves of your sweatshirt, (Fuck it's warm in this cramped and stuffy basement--whose fucking idea was it to voluntarily do physical exercise), you bend over, picking up the tiny little ball.

You drag your eyes back to the table, where Santiago is practically lit up like the Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center, bouncing on his feet, as he takes a step back, in preparation, widening his stance, in some ridiculous half-wrestling move. He takes this game way too seriously (which, yes you know, you know: this is very pot calling the kettle black, considering the way you're already craning your neck from left to right in preparation for the next round).

He has no fucking right to look this good. Silver-black curls, bouncing on his forehead, as the sweat glistens off his thick neck. Bare-armed, as white fabric of his tanktop clings onto his chest. His fingers thread through his heat-furled curls, matted with sweat.

At the sight of it, something sharp and electric zaps through you, from the tip of your toes right into the center of your belly. For an infinitesimal second, you're not entirely sure if the sensation comes from the all-too familiar competitive streak between you or just how fucking attractive Santiago looks in this moment as he's grinning back at you. Gleefully happy and excited in a way you might not have seen him since you were both kids.

It makes your mouth dry out, heart pumping even faster (which isn't really ideal considering how high your heartbeat already is from the strenuous exercise you've already been victimised under from this stupid bet) and if the heat in this room hadn't already beat you to it, you'd be pretty sure your face would be burning too.

Frankie must see your plight, because his brows scrunch in concern as he looks at you.

"Baby, we don't have to keep doing this. We can call it a draw and just put on a movie upstairs instead," Frankie offers sympathetically.

"No Frank, game doesn't end until she calls uncle and admit she's lost, them's the rule," Santiago counters, as he taps his paddle tauntingly on the table. "Buckle up sweetheart, next round."

You make a sound in your throat that sounds much like a growl.

Brat. You weren't going to take Frankie's offer anyhow. Would much rather die from a heat-stroke than have to listen to Santiago's taunting all night about how everyone knows he's "technically the winner" if you hadn't begged for mercy.

A lone drop of sweat trickles down the back of your neck and fuck, that is it. You can't take the heat. Putting down your paddle and the ping pong ball on the table, your hands come to the hem of the grey army-sweatshirt, dragging the constraining cotton up your torso and off your neck, before you fling it onto a chair nearby. As soon as the itchy grey fabric leaves your skin, leaving you in your strapped cami blouse, you feel like you can breathe again. Thank god for linen.

Your skin is almost dewy from the sweat and perspiration, you feel disgusting. Stupid Santiago and his stupid competitive games, and his stupid army sweatshirt.

"Fish, don't get distracted. She's doing this on purpose."

You look back up, confused by Santiago's reprimanding tone until your eyes meet Frankie, and the way he's staring at your newly revealed skin. It's not until you look down, you realize, that your bra is showing under the near transparent material of your top.

Frankie's eyes round, almost comically, the black eating into the rest of his gorgeous eyes, until it's nearly pitched black.

"Uhm--yeah," Frankie responds, but you can tell from the thick drawl in his tone, the way his words goes slow and clumsy, the way it sounds like melted sugar burning under low heat, that he's not really hearing Santiago.

Santiago can tell too.

"FRANK!"

That snaps the man right out of it, he blinks repeatedly, as if waking up from a daze. The dark, near-blackness of his eyes, softening, until it's all warm and light hazel gentleness.

"Right, right," Frankie murmurs, as he drags his eyes away from you, eyes lowering to his feet, even as the flushed pink continues to climb.

And oh, bless this sweet summer child, you do love him so much.

So easy, your Frankie.

Bending over the table, you stay there, lingering languidly in your movements, until you're sure, from the way that Frankie swallows hard in his throat, that he's seen the lace of your bra peek out from the top, before you pick up the ball and lean back up.

Then you wink at your husband, and even though the loose sweats he's wearing provides him with some legroom, you know that the obvious bulge there is not from Frankie hiding a goddamn tree log in those pants.

If your next serve is a little bit more exaggerated in your movements for Frankie's benefit, well... there are no rules against that.

It's a comical sight. Santiago goes left, and Frankie clumsily fails to track the ball's movements, and missteps, until Santiago crashes into him with a loud curse.

The ball pings off the table and onto the floor, and you can practically see the fumes rising from the top of Santiago's head as he walks off to the corner, with pendejo and horny idiot scalding hot on his tongue.

With his back turned, you seize your chance, tilting your head coquettishly at your husband, as you drag your index finger along the flimsy collar of your top, dragging it down along the swell of your breasts until you can hear the groan wrenched from his throat.

"Foul!" Santiago's voice shouts from across the room. "That's fucking cheating and you know it!"

"How exactly am I cheating?"

"You're confusing Fish, flirting and stripping!"

"You're nuts, he's my husband! I'm allowed to flirt with my husband!"

"Not when we're playing, you're not!"

You stare at him in silence, a stand-off, neither of you willing to blink or back down from your irrational stance. The seconds ticking over from one to five to thirty until you must stand there for a full minute.

Until finally Santiago blinks. "Fine!" he growls, as he throws the paddle down on the table and his hand comes to the hem of his tanktop and pulls it off.

You blink in confusion. "What are you doing?"

"Different game," he announces as if the logic makes perfect sense and he pulls off and kicks off the sweatpants to a far off corner in the room, standing in his half-naked glory, with only his boxers clinging onto his thick thighs and round ass.

Santiago must have lost his mind. The heat must have finally gotten to him. Because if he thinks that him stripping is going to make Frankie more concentrated in this game, then clearly Santiago's brain must have fried.

In front of you, Santiago is advancing on you, practically marching, until he's close enough that he can grab your arm and pull you to him, warm, rough palm against the back of your neck, as he presses his mouth against yours. It's hungry, it's frustrated, it's everything. Tongue licking into your mouth as he opens you up to him. The oppressive heat of the room strikes you again, the room spinning around you until your head is buzzing and you nearly lose your footing in his arms as you melt against him.

He pulls away from you. "Different game," Santiago repeats against your lips, "same rules though."

You're still confused, completely uncomprehending of what his words mean until he turns his face in Frankie's direction, with that mischievous grin still plastered on his spit-slick lips, "you comin' Frank?"

Santiago is grinning, eyes glittering with competitiveness. Heat licks against the bottom of your spine, as it finally click for you. Different game, but same rules: two against one.

FUCK

a/n: to be notified of new writing updates follow @astroboots-writes and turn on notifs 🤡💖🤡

#oscar isaac #pedro pascal #santiago garcia #santiago garcia x reader #santiago garcia x you #triple frontier #frankie morales #frankie morales x you #frankie morales x reader #triple frontier fanfiction #triple frontier fanfic #triple frontier fic #homecoming drabbles #cici writes #💌 asks

[mama-qwerty]

Alone Together

Okay, so I'm in a Knuckles-focused discord server and we toss ideas back and forth like ping-pong balls, sometimes resulting in me vomiting out a little scene from it.

So for this one, we got talking about an event where the Master Emerald pulls ALL the versions of Knux into one place, ala Spiderverse style. Dread, naturally, would be seen as that one weird cousin no one really likes but has to invite anyway, and it got me thinking about maybe how Boom would deal with him. Here's the result.

Check out the Knucklesverse guide for more deets.

Enjoy!

~~~~~

The tall echidna stood in the room, looking around himself nervously. It was a large space, with strange architecture bordering the perimeter. He wasn’t exactly clear how he got here, but was certain it had something to do with the giant green gem hovering above their heads.

The Master Emerald.

He didn’t know how he knew what it was, but nonetheless, there the information was. There . . . a lot of information was, all of a sudden. It was as if his mind were a pool of water, with dozens of puzzle pieces floating haphazardly within it, and now those pieces had snapped into place properly.

For the first time in his life, Knuckles could think clearly.

It was . . . strange. Suddenly having new information in your head. Just . . . knowing things. Not as strange as being in a room with what appeared to be a lot of different versions of, well, yourself, but strange anyway.

He fidgeted with the wrappings around his hands—hands that had individually wrapped fingers instead of large mitts like all the other echidna in the room. They were like him, but . . . different. Each echidna had the same red fur, the same white crescent moon on his chest, and the same kinked tail. But they were all smaller than him, and some wore clothing. They were all technically “Knuckles”, but his mind conjured different names as his eyes floated over them.

OVA. Archie. Sinbad. StC. Sir Gawain. Classic. Prime. Modern. IDW. Renegade. Wachowski. Gnarly. Forces.

His brows furrowed. Those names didn’t make any sense, but he supposed they had to have some way of telling each other apart. They couldn’t exactly just call each other “Knuckles”, now could they? That would get confusing.

He thought about himself, and the word ‘Boom’ came to mind.

Huh. That’s . . . that’s weird.

Giving his head a shake, Boom watched as the smaller hims chatted and interacted. He’d been invited to join a few conversations, but had nothing to add when the other echidna spoke of their ‘guardian duties’. He wasn’t exactly sure what that meant, so he had simply wandered off.

And now he felt alone in this crowd. This collection of other versions of himself.

Boom sighed, wondering when he could go home. Not that he was eager to lose this newfound clarity in his mind, but being here made him feel odd. Like he was supposed to be part of this group, but just . . . wasn’t, for some reason.

The tall echidna rubbed the back of his neck, glancing around himself again, taking in the carvings on the walls. He’d never seen any of this before, but it seemed strangely familiar to him. He turned to look at the wall behind him, and found another Knuckles sitting against it, his knees drawn up to his chin.

A name came to his mind.

Dread.

The echidna was dressed like a pirate, and snarled at any of the other Knuckles’ who happened to glance his way. He was doing a pretty decent job of keeping himself isolated, but didn’t really look all that happy about it.

Boom was nothing if not friendly. He approached the little pirate, a little smile on his lips.

“Hey there, little guy,” he said, crossing his arms as he looked down at the other him. “Feeling kinda left out?”

Dread scoffed, keeping his eyes averted. “As though ye cared. All the others feel some sort of weird bonding with each other. I don't. I be nothin' like them.”

Boom tilted his head slightly, glancing back at the group of echidna behind him. Gnarly and Renegade chatted, while Modern and Classic listened in, nodding. Yeah, he supposed they were very similar in a lot of ways, so of course they'd get along. They were all the same person, technically speaking. They were him, and he was them.

It was really, really weird when he thought about it too much.

The taller echidna turned back to Dread, shrugging. “I'm not like them, either.”

Dread rolled his eyes, but still wouldn’t face Boom. “That’s a load o’ barnacles. Ye're more like them than ye realize. Don't patronize me, ya scallywag.”

Boom shrugged again as he lowered himself to sit cross-legged before Dread. “Most of them have something called the Master Emerald. I don't have anything like that. And I don't talk like them. I don't look like them. I mean, I kinda do, but I'm pretty different. But that doesn't mean it's bad, I don’t think.”

“All they see when they see me is a smelly, rotten pirate,” Dread sneered, baring his fangs at the others. “I don't belong here. They know it, and I know it.”

“Well,” Boom said, his brow furrowing as he thought. “Maybe they don't think you belong here, because you don't think you belong here.”

Dread turned to face Boom fully, his muzzle pulled into a snarl. “Are ye tryin' t' get into me head?” he growled. “Don't turn this around on me. I know I've done wrong. I know I can't be trusted. They know it, too. Why do ye want me t’ think otherwise?”

Silence settled over them, and Boom twisted his mouth as he thought. Why did he? There were plenty of other Knuckles' to be friends with, ones who were much more inviting and accepting of his friendship. So why was he focused on Dread? What did he care if this version of himself was left out and lonely?

“Maybe,” the taller echidna said, speaking slowly as he chose his words carefully. "Maybe it's because you're different, like me. Maybe I don't feel like I belong with the others either, because they're so much more serious and smarter and know what they're meant to do with their life. Maybe I see you, and I see a Knuckles who maybe doesn't have that sure path. Someone who's just trying to figure it out, like me."

Dread seemed to contemplate what his larger counterpart said. The ever-present furrow in his brow smoothed, and he flicked his violet eyes up to meet Boom's identical ones.

“Ye feel it, too?” he asked, his voice softer than Boom had ever heard it. “That feeling. Like there be somethin' missin' in yer life. But ye can't put ye're finger on what. And it be like a gnat, buzzin' in ye're ear. Always there, but slightly outta phase.”

Boom tilted his head, thinking about how Dread had phrased it. Finally he nodded.

“Yeah. That's kinda what it's like. Like . . . I know I should be doing something important. Something that matters. But . . .” He shrugged. “I don't know what.”

Dread lowered his head, resting his chin on his knees.

“I've always wanted to be someone important,” he said, his gaze dropping to float across the floor in front of him. “Be seen. Be recognized as the fiercest pirate in all the seven seas. The idea of being unknown is almost painful to me. And I thought the Prism Shard would do that. Suppose it did. But . . .” He shook his head, his brow furrowing. “It did something to me. And I wasn't happy. I didn't feel like me. Or the me I was supposed to be.”

Boom nodded slightly, glancing over his shoulder at the other echidnas. The other Knuckles'. The other hims. But they weren't him. It was weird. He turned back to the pirate with a sigh.

“They seem to have it all figured out, don't they? Even Gnarly and Renegade. They don't have one of those Master Emerald things, but they feel the pull from it and just know who they're supposed to be. But me? I feel it, but I don't FEEL it. Like, I know it's there, and it helps me feel . . . I dunno, more in step with the world around me. But it just doesn't feel like . . . like it's me.”

Dread nodded, uttering his own sigh. “Aye, it be like a hand on the back of ye're neck, guiding. But it feels wrong somehow. Like it was never meant for me.” He flicked his eyes up to Boom. “Us.”

Boom leaned forward, his brow furrowed slightly. “Does . . . does that mean there's something wrong with us?”

Dread didn't answer right away. He looked over at the other Knuckles'. They were so much more accepting of this new connection. This new duty of guarding the Master Emerald, and helping to balance chaos energy. It was all so strange to him. He still didn't fully understand it, or wrap his head around it all. Life was so much easier when all he had to worry about was his next treasure hunt, and keeping himself alive.

“I dunno, lad,” he said finally. “They all seemed to have fallen into step without question or doubt. Maybe that be the way it should be. Or maybe having some healthy fear and doubt about something different than you've always known be wiser.”

Boom gave a little snort of laughter. “I've never been accused of being smart,” he said, shaking his head. “Always been kind of an airhead my whole life.” He paused, a thoughtful look on his face. “But . . . I feel like I can think better now. Like my mind isn't all jumbled and noisy like it was before.”

Dread nodded, a nearly identical expression on his face. “Aye, I know what ye mean. My mind also be . . . quieter. It always felt like I had so much noise in my head, like some sort of buzzing or itchy feeling. But now . . . it be gone.”

The two sat quietly for a while, thinking their thoughts and shooting little glances over at the rest of their new tribe. A tribe of one, split into many. It was strange--being in a crowd but seeing your own eyes staring back at you, hearing variations of your own voice. The personalities were different, but there was that similarity, deep down at their core.

“Thank ye,” Dread said, startling Boom from his thoughts. “For sittin' with me. They all mistrust me because of what I did on my world. And to be fair, I can't blame them. I was . . . pretty bad. I wasn't thinkin' straight.”

Boom smiled, giving him a shrug. “Hey, don't worry about it. When you have a noisy, itchy brain, you do things you probably wouldn't now. I'm usually ignored on my world, because, like I said, airhead.”

Dread smirked, his gold tooth glinting in the light. “I don't think ye're an airhead. Ye seem pretty wise, to me.”

Boom chuckled. “And you don't seem like some smelly ol' pirate to me. Just a guy who maybe needed a friend.”

The pirate chuckled back, and held his hand out. “Aye. We are well met, Boom.”

Boom reached out to complete the handshake. “Right back atcha, Dread.”

~~~

Like this? Check out my other snippets. Reblogs are appreciated!

#dread my beloved #boom my darling #boom knuckles #sonic boom #knuckles the dread #dread knuckles #sonic prime #sonic fanfiction #knuckles the echidna #knucklesverse #sonic the hedgehog fanfiction

[mystellenia]

chapter 1: chit chat

summary: in the bustling atmosphere of the field, amidst sports activities and the warm october weather, you bond with phoebe, sharing gossip about school cliques and observing the dynamics of your fellow classmates. later, during spanish class, a chance encounter with Abby leads to an unexpected exchange, marking the beginning of a potential friendship

content warnings: none

now playing: chit chat by beach weather

(wc 3.8k) (read time 12-15 mins); bet on it masterlist

The field was bustling with noise, with yells and claps coming from cheer practice on one side of it, track runners stretching on the other, and the girls' soccer team doing drills in the middle. The sun had started its slow descent into the mountains, painting the clouds and everything below them a pink-orange color. Even though it was mid-October, it was still more than warm enough for shorts and tanks, overpowering the ocean chill of the Pacific. Thanks, global warming. 

You sat at the very top row of the bleachers with your books out, Phoebe by your side. She was new to Oak Ridge, and you took it upon yourself to make her comfortable after your meeting in Physics class. You were glad, to be honest, that you two became friends so quickly after a freshman and sophomore year of only surface-level friends. It was refreshing. 

The two of you waited at the field every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for Phoebe's twin brother, Theo, to finish basketball practice. After finding out you and Phoebe lived in neighborhoods connected by a park, you guys started carpooling to and from school, with Theo driving you all in his car. It's not that you couldn't drive, or that you didn't have a car—you could, and you did, but gas was expensive, damnit, so why not save money and mooch off of her brother? The righteous and honorable thing to do, obviously. 

"Okay, so you've already told me about track," Phoebe said. "How about the soccer girls?" 

Ever since you two started talking, you made it your mission to fill Phoebe in on everyone and their personalities and lives, telling her who was cool and who was an ass. 

"You see the brunette with the black and pink cleats? She has a red shirt on." She nods, so you continue. "That's Alyssa. Myers. She's super nice. She was my lab partner in Chem last year, but she got shit-faced drunk at a party in summer and made out with, like, three guys in the hour. All of whom had girlfriends. So overall, she's pretty liked, but the girlfriends of those guys she tongued hate her guts." 

"Oh, that's cute," she laughed, her voice laced with sarcasm. 

Your eyes trail to the girl next to her, a soccer ball ping-ponging between her legs as she shoots down the field. "Then, next to her, dribbling the ball, is Dylan Hernandez. Brown, curly hair in a bun. Bright blue shorts. You see her?" 

She scoffs as if she can't believe what she's seeing. "What do you mean, do I see her? Yeah, I see her, and she's hot." Phoebe drools over Dylan a little while longer before you start again. 

"She is the fuckboy of the soccer team. I've never seen someone pull so much. But everyone knows that right now she's messing around with Adri." 

"I don't know that," she argues, her brows furrowing in curiosity. "Who's Adri?" 

"Well, now we move on over to the cheerleaders. Adrienne Newport is a flyer—yes, the flyer who just went thirty feet up into the air. She's really sweet, actually. The nicest out of Lizzy's bitch pack, for sure." 

Phoebe just purses her lips into a tight line before you realize that she doesn't know any of these names. "Oh, sorry, sorry. Lizzy, Liz, Elizabeth—whatever you wanna call her—is the captain of the cheer team. She's the red head lying on the grass with that ice pack next to her. I bet you it was for her 'sprained ankle' that she so conveniently forgot about once she got the okay to sit out." 

"I have her in my geometry class," she hums. "God, that girl is dumb as a doornail when it comes to proofs. 

"Yep," you sigh, "that's Liz. Adri and Liz are friends, but they got into a huge fight last year when Adri got to be a flyer, but Liz was just a tumbler. I mean, Adri's probably flyer because she's 115 pounds soaking wet, but Liz just wasn't having it. She can be nice, but she prefers to be a brat. She threw a tantrum in front of Principal Grey, who is her dad's golf buddy. Well, another spot magically opened up, because they were both able to be flyers that year. Since her dad knows Woods, she's virtually untouchable here." 

"Ugh," Phoebe groans. "I hate mean girls." 

"No," you counter, "she's nice, she's just... catty." 

Phoebe squints and tilts her head. "So... just mean, then?" 

You chuckle. "Yeah, you're right. Just mean." 

"Wait..." Phoebe starts before trailing off. You follow her eyes to see what she was staring at. "Who's the blonde walking up to her, to Lizzy?" 

You finally spot who she was talking about. Toned, buff arms, short soccer shorts on her chiseled thighs, and one neat, blonde braid falling down the middle of her back. Abby Anderson.  

You admit, she was attractive. Anyone with eyes could see that. She just wasn't your type, and you were almost positive you weren't hers. She was popular and always surrounded by a big group of friends, while you kept to yourself most of the time, save for when you were with Phoebe.  

"Oh, that's Abby Anderson, captain of the soccer team. Abigail, but no one calls her that. Just Abby." 

You see Liz throw her arms around Abby's neck, pulling her down into a hug. Abby loops her arms loosely around Liz's waist before Dylan playfully slams into Abby's back, breaking them up. 

"Are Liz and Abby dating?" Phoebe questions. 

"Nope," you say, popping the p and grinning at her. You turn back to the field, your shoulders dropping in an inexplicable slouch. "Doesn't make sense with how tight they are. And Liz is supposedly straight, too, but then she goes and drapes herself over Abby and no one bats an eye. Like, it's so painfully obvious that you even noticed after seeing them for literally ten seconds." 

"Oh, you feel quite strongly about this," she pokes. "You jealous?" 

"Oh, please. I only have Abby in three classes, and I would rather kiss a toad than date Liz." 

Phoebe throws her head back in laughter, clapping her thighs and trying to calm down. The two of you settle into a comfortable silence for a moment until Phoebe turns to you to say something. 

"How do you know all of this about everyone, anyway?" she prods. 

You shrug. "Adri and I were friends for about three minutes in freshman year before I realized she was just using me for answers. Like I said, she's a brat."  

You squint down at Adri and the ponytail sitting tightly on the crown of her head, secured by a blue and black bow with a ram on it. "Two years later, and I don't even think she remembers it. Sure doesn't act like it." 

Phoebe hums and checks her phone. "It's almost five. Theo should be getting out soon." 

You start to pack your things and zip your Physics textbook into your bag, quietly laughing at how you two came to study but ended up gossiping the whole time. Playful shouting suddenly comes from the gym, and you look up to see who was there.  

A rowdy group of boys file out of the gym, whooping and still dribbling basketballs. Theo walks out talking to a teammate, his duffel bag slung over his shoulder and a towel draped over his head. You and Phoebe stand up with your bags and begin walking down the bleachers to meet him. 

Theo finishes up with his teammate, clapping him on the back before addressing you. "Hey, y'all ready?" 

"Hey," you respond. You think back to Phoebe checking her phone and realize there's still time to stop for food. Your lips curl up in a smirk, getting ready to nag Theo. "Wanna get us food?" you ask with a mischievous grin. 

"I was just about to ask—you're lucky I already wanted some. Practice was long today. How do you guys feel about In-N-Out?" 

Phoebe claps her hands together and shakes them, mirroring a prayer pose. "God, you're the best, Theo. Can I drive?" 

Theo immediately starts walking, responding with a "No" without looking back at Phoebe. 

Phoebe puffs her lip out in a pout, feigning disappointment and grumpily mumbling, "I take it back." 

The two of you follow Theo, walking past the end of the field where Abby, Dylan, Adri, and Liz stood and chatted. You felt someone's eyes boring into you, so you turn to their group to find Liz burning two holes into the side of your head. 

Liz has always been loud—be it from cheer or just her need to be the center of attention—so you overhear her statement as you walk by her. 

"Do you guys know those two girls walking with Theo? They've been staring at us all practice." Her voice fades out as you walk towards the parking lot. She pops her hip and crosses her arms tightly over her chest, listening to Dylan's indistinct response. 

"Dude, come on, where you at?" Phoebe asks, noticing your far-out stare. 

You shake your head and tell her it was nothing, and you all reach Theo's car and begin loading in. 

Soon enough, the three of you pull into the drive-thru, and you order what you always do—a plain double-double, fries, and a strawberry shake. After receiving your food, you, Theo, and Phoebe now sat in the parking lot, talking and eating your burgers with music blasting in the car. Phoebe and Theo were bickering about something in the front row—what it was, you didn't know. In these few months, you'd learned to tolerate their sibling catfights, zoning out or ignoring their jabs at each other. 

"Theo," you cut in. "Do you know Liz? Woods?" you ask, thinking back to her stare on the field and wondering the cause. 

"Yeah," he nods, "I have her in Physics. We sit next to each other." 

"Really?" you say surprised, looking at him through the rear-view window. 

"Yeah." He turns back to look at you, speaking around his bite. "Why do you ask?" 

"It's nothing," you brush off. Phoebe then turns to look at you, too, squinting her eyes in suspicion. "Okay, she just looked at me weird when we were leaving school. Like I said, nothing. I was just curious." 

Theo turns back to face the front, grabbing his Coke and taking a sip. "Liz has a staring problem," he dismisses. "She's always looking at me in Physics." 

"Yeah," Phoebe adds. "We have Student Aid together for first period, and every time I use the printer, she stares at me, no doubt." 

You stare out the windshield, thinking about what Phoebe and Theo said. You glance down and see 6:18 on the clock, the numbers blinking before the time changes. 

"Guys, it's getting late," you say, remembering the pile of Spanish homework you have waiting on your desk. "Let's go home." 

"You're right," Theo says, wiping his hands on his sweats to clean them and starting the car. 

He pulls out of the parking lot and starts towards the highway to your guys' neighborhoods. Putting your earbuds in, you shuffle your playlists, landing on an old Bruno Mars song and humming as you look out the window. 

San Diego was always busy, no matter the time or weather. If it was cold, club goers threw on jackets and danced through the night. In the early hours of the morning, teens skated through the streets, laughing and talking until the sun rose. 

You lift your head at the sound of the numbers of your gate code being punched in, the gate beeping as it swung open. Gathering your stuff, you unbuckle your seatbelt as Theo pulls up to your house, saying goodbye and telling you to let your mom know that he said hi. 

"I will," you promise, waving at Phoebe through the window while you pull your key out. 

Turning the key, you push the door open and are met by the TV still on, evening news discussing the week's weather. Your dad lay on the couch, passed out and softly snoring. Your mom was a banker and worked fairly late, so you figured she was still at work. 

Heading upstairs to your room, you open the door and drop your backpack next to it. Slipping off your school clothes, you change into an oversized shirt and shorts and plop into your desk chair with a heavy sigh. 

Your desk was messy with papers, worksheets from Spanish and English splayed across it. You cleared an open space to begin working on your Spanish work that was due tomorrow. 

Mrs. Ortiz, your Spanish teacher, was pretty chill, but she hated nothing more than late work. If your work is late, then my grading is late, too, she'd say.  

Luckily, late work wasn't an issue for you. Spanish had come easily to you, and it was always one of the easier classes you took.  

Your phone buzzes on your bed and you lean over to grab it. A notification from Instagram showed up on your screen, and you unlock your phone to see it: newp.adri03, who you may know, is on Instagram. 

Clicking on the notification, you open up Instagram and see that it was Adri's account, her feed filled with pictures of family vacations, beach trips with friends, and selfies. What a coincidence, you think, her account being recommended to you after what happened on the field today. 

A highlight called life!! catches your eye, and you tap on it to look at the pictures. You skip through them, tapping past a blur of colors, and you slow down to tap back and find a picture of girls in dresses.  

Adri, Dylan, Abby, and Liz all were dressed formally, and you recognize the date as this year's homecoming.  

Adri wore a corseted light green dress, her straight hair partially pulled up into a half-up half-down ponytail as she posed in a shrug. Dylan looked charming as ever, donning a black button down with the sleeves rolled up, her hand draped over Adri's shoulders with her hair pulled back into a braided bun. 

Abby stood next to the pair grinning with a thumbs-up, her hair cascading over her shoulder in a loose braid, wearing a white button up with a navy-blue suit vest overtop it. Liz leaned her head on Abby's shoulder, her eyes closed, and her lips lifted in a soft smile. She posed with a peace sign out in front of her for the camera, a pretty golden slip dress accentuating her hips. 

Your lips curled up in a smile at how cute the picture was, at how everyone seemed so happy.  

You noticed small tags over all the girls, quickly clicking on Abby's username. She only had two posts and one highlight up, all of them either about soccer, friends, or her volunteer work at the childrens' hospital.  

You knew she had parents in the medical field, and she always talked about her dream of getting into med school in Spanish class. 

The thought reminded you of the packet you have yet to complete. You flip it open, starting to fill in the past tense conjugation tables. Your eyelids quickly grow heavy, though, so you eventually set your head down on your arm and fall asleep. 

Your alarm goes off right in your ear, making you jump up and scramble to turn it off. Your phone reads 5:30 am, so you get up to start getting ready for school. 

Heading to the bathroom, you put your hair up to wash your face and brush your teeth, patting your face dry with a towel. Returning to your room, you sit down at your desk to put on makeup. You don't wear much—just some concealer under your eyes, blush on your cheeks and nose, and some mascara.  

As you start, you notice your Spanish packet open and about to fall off of your desk. You close it and place it on your backpack to make sure you won't forget it. 

Ten minutes later, you finish your makeup and quickly throw on a college crewneck and some jeans, packing your homework and throwing your bag over your shoulder. 

Theo texts you at six-oh-nine. 

theooo: We're outside 

theooo: You ready? 

You don't respond, instead just grabbing a bottle of water from the kitchen and walking out to his car. "Hey, Theo," you say, opening the passenger door to sit down, putting your bag between your legs and buckling your seatbelt. 

"Hey," he responds. "How'd you sleep?" 

"I slept—" a loud and groggy groan from the backseat interrupts, "—well."  

You look over your shoulder at Phoebe laying down across the seats, a fluffy sleep mask covering her eyes. "It'stooearlypleasebequiet," she slurs, her voice still thick with sleep. If you looked up "not-a-morning-person" in the dictionary, you'd find a picture of a snoring Phoebe with drool dribbling down her chin.  

You listen to her and stop talking, turning the already inaudible music down. Instead, you take out your phone and see a notification from Clara. 

claire bear: it's snowing again. i hate new jersey weather :( 

You and Clara have been friends since elementary school when she stood up for you while a group of boys spat spitballs at you. Clara responded by saturating a ball of paper the size of her hand in gutter water and chucking it at a boy's head. Safe to say, they stopped immediately.  

The two of you were inseparable. Well, that was, until she moved to New Jersey in freshman year for her stepdad's job, and while she settled in well and made friends, she absolutely hates cold weather and is quite vocal about it. Two years later, you were still best friends and texted almost every day. 

you: haha sucker 

you: it's still 70 degrees here 

claire bear: enjoy your melting icecaps and deteriorating ozone layer 

you: whatever 

You scrolled through your feed until you got to school, Theo heading to his basketball buddies while you and Phoebe got breakfast and sat in the quad. Phoebe still didn't speak—she usually defrosted by the end of her first period, Student Aid, after running errands and texting you while she wasn't busy.  

You spot Abby and Dylan together laughing with the rest of the soccer team. Although school wasn't overly cliquey, all the sports teams usually stayed together. 

Liz and Adri lingered close by with the other cheerleaders, the other girls forming a semi-circle around Liz and Adri, intently listening to Liz talk about boys or another topic in her catalog of trivial issues and gossip. 

The bell rings, and everyone stands up to hurry to their class. You walk Phoebe to the library as you always do, then head to AP US History for first period. 

You go through the motions of the pledge, executing them almost robotically after ten years of practice. The morning announcements catch your attention, though, and you focus on trying to hear Mikey on the crappy intercom over the morning ruckus of the class. 

"...get into the Halloween spirit with Ram's boo grams! They will be sold on the stage during both lunches for just three dollars. Attached to the candy is a card—you can either leave your boo gram anonymous or write a spooky note for a special guy or ghoul. That's gonna be all for today's announcements. This is Mikey, your basketball team captain, signing out. Go Rams, Hoo-Rah!" 

The scrambled clicks of the office announcement phone trying to hang up rattle through the intercom before it cuts out with a click. 

Mr. Greyson stands up with a sigh to move to the front of the room. He fixes the cufflink of his perfectly pressed button up, then pushes his chestnut hair out of his face. He's one of Oak Ridge's younger teachers, and he's well-loved by students for his chill approach to teaching. 

After his short lecture, you open your laptop to complete today's even shorter assignment and set a reminder to do the reading he assigned. 

Once you finish the assignment, you open Netflix and watch your show, occasionally stopping to text Phoebe. APUSH always goes by fast, so you're not surprised when the bell rings. You quickly pack up and head down the hall to Mrs. Ortiz's room for Spanish.  

You notice Abby slouched in her chair, tapping away on her phone and bobbing her head to a song playing through her over-ear headphones. You walk past her desk to sit at your own, one desk forward and to the right of hers. 

Your feet stop as you pass her desk, looking back at it to confirm. Her completed conjugation packet sat on top of her folder, her neat script filling the page. 

Rushing to your seat, you rummage through your bag and pull your folder out with the packet. You must've fallen asleep before you finished it. Great. 

You glance over at Mrs. Ortiz at her desk. She was still putting attendance in, so you had a little time before she came and collected the packets. 

You flip to the second page and start scribbling down answers, another page behind it that you still had to do. 

A silvery voice fills your ears, asking, "Do you need the packet?" 

You look over your shoulder and see Abby Anderson staring back at you, her eyebrows raised in expectance. Her eyes flick between your own, clocking your panicked stare as you look back at her. Her gaze falters a bit, jumping from your eyes to your cheeks and nose, then back up to your eyes. 

You stumble over your words, finally ekeing out, "Yes. Yes, thank you." 

She hands the packet to you, and you thank her again and start copying her work down. You finish just in time, turning back to return her packet just as Mrs. Ortiz claps her hands and stands up. 

"Hola, chicos. ¿Cómo están?" she addresses, nodding at everyone's half-assed biens. "Have your packets out, I'm collecting them now." 

She collects all the packets from the first row, then passes you and Abby to grab both of yours. 

You turn back to Abby and notice her fidgeting with a piece of hair above her ear that must've fallen from her braid. "Thanks again for the packet." 

"No worries," she replies, shaking her head and curling her lips into an upside-down smile.  

You introduce yourself, and she extends her hand for you to shake, making you snort at the gesture as you accept it. 

Your eyes lock onto her forearm, noticing her muscles rippling as her hand clasps around yours.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Abby." 

yayyyy chapter one done!! i hope u guys like it :))

@picklesarenice69 @naoblack87

click before scrolling! takes 10 seconds :)

#bet on it by mystellenia #ellie #ellie tlou #tlou ellie #ellie the last of us #ellie x reader #ellie x you #ellie x y/n #ellie williams #ellie williams tlou #ellie williams the last of us #ellie williams x reader #ellie williams x female reader #ellie williams x y/n #ellie williams x you #ellie williams fic #ellie williams fluff #abby #abby tlou #tlou abby #abby the last of us #abby x reader #abby x you #abby x y/n #abby anderson #abby anderson tlou #abby anderson the last of us #abby anderson x reader #abby anderson x female reader #mystellenia 𐑂°‧₊

[sleeplesssmoll]

So I've been reading the traces recently and came across a line that seems like it should be important to well at least something but I haven't seen anyone talk about it? Here's the line btw:

It's specifically the "you're imitating the Messiah" Part that's like making me think. So uhh yeah I just wanted to share it.

Sorry if it's a strange thing to send I wanted to see someone else's opinion on it.

Reverse1999 loves to put Vertin in the position of Jesus. We saw this at the end of Chapter 2 where she was sitting in Judas's position and Schneider was in Judas's spot. Arcana calls her "the savior" and describes Vertin in an almost biblical manner whenever she's interacting with her. Even her little Suitcase is called an "ark". However, this instance is a bit different.

Disclaimer, Idk much about religion but I did try to look this bit up because it reminded me of something too. If anyone has more experience in the matter pls feel free to correct me or add on. I will do my best but I might get stuff wrong.

Note: Vertin was placed in a coma because the Foundation wanted her out of the way. This is relevant to the theory.

Here is what I found:

Source

The Jewish high priests were apparently looking for a reason to get rid of Jesus. As the revolutionary leader of a new movement that challenged the religious status quo, he posed a threat to their power. But they couldn’t just take action themselves. Ultimately, sentencing was up to Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor at the time. And they needed to provide him with a legal justification for Jesus to be crucified. The trial of Jesus A number of witnesses testified against Jesus before the Sanhedrin, a Jewish court. Although the Gospel of Mark says many of them gave false testimony, Jesus didn’t confirm or deny their accusations. In fact, Jesus remained quiet through most of his trial, refusing to respond to the charges leveled against him. But he did respond to one question. Asked, “Are you the Messiah?” he seemed to admit that he was. Caiaphas, the chief priest, called this blasphemy. And then the others agreed that Jesus should be put to death. 

This trial parallels Vertin's story.

Moving on, this trail is in the chapter where Madam Z is playing ping-pong while trying to convince her friend to vote for her decision. The whole thing is an analogy to referring to how Vertin started off as the simple Timekeeper who kept records of the end of eras and now she plays this pivotal role that is rocking Foundation's core. She is the real ping-ping ball being batted between two factions of the Foundation. She has no say in the matter because she is now an object in a bigger game. Her fate relies on the people around her. Poor little Vertin is always a pawn in someone else's game. I highlighted some bits in red from the trail posted below that helped me put it together in my head. You can see it if you click "Keep reading." I hope this helps!

Also, thanks for giving me a chance to really look at this. I glossed over it the first time but the scene is even more intense now and I have a deeper appreciation for it. Any corrections or additions are welcome cause I'm out of my depth here.

Source: Chapter 4-16 Ball Game

Ping, pong. Ping, pong. Ping pong ping pong ping, pong. Ping. Pong.

An imitation show?

Yes, an imitation show. A ball imitation show, little thing.

You're imitating the Messiah, while I'm imitating an orange ball made of plastic.

Being pushed back and forth by two rackets, I have nowhere else to go. Once they apply a force on me, I can't help bouncing to the sky. 

You can see how the air flows across my dry, wrinkled skin ...

Oh, what a coincidence! Aren't you in the same situation as mine now!

Ha! Look at your frowning face-

Your face wrinkles from the eyebrows to the nose tip, but people can barely see those light furrows. We know what that means. You have a poker face, and it's never your fault.

But for now, your face is not the thing that matters. Well, maybe for someone it is, but still, it's not. You know what really matters?

The game! Yes, it's the game, of course the game matters!

Everyone loves the game. They gather at the stadium, yelling or roaring vehemently. They choose one team to become its fan and spend good money on a team uniform or an autographed ball.

Yet, it's just a ball. You see where I'm coming from?

Just a ball. Its outline, a circle, could be found in any geometry textbook and anywhere in this world. When the first hominid picked up a coconut and threw it to the sky-and caught it—and threw it—and caught it-and threw it again, when she felt joy and yelped, had she ever thought of the future?

The future where a simple ball has become so complicated and enchanting, now we call it the present.

Complicated and enchanting?

Hahahahahaha! Yes, sure! Complicated and enchanting!

Use your silly and smart head to think about this ball game carefully.

The complex scoring rules, the harsh requirements for reactive agility, the countless possible foul points ... Your fingers, your wrists, and arms, a correct way of using them will lead to victory!

What matters more is, like every ball game, it focuses on how you serve the ball and hitting it back.

It's not an easy job as it sounds. When you are in the game, you need to concentrate. Where will the ball come from, and how will you return it to your opponent-you need to figure that out within half a second.

Use your power in a proper way, move your feet in a stable pace, inhale and exhale at the right timings.

Ping. Pong. Ping. Pong. Ping. Pong. Ping. Pong...

The sound will last forever and ever until that bouncing little thing falls to either side of the court.

#reverse 1999 #reverse 1999 lore #ask #religion is everywhere #everywhere

[reminiscingtonight]

Competitive Fire

Lindsey Horan x Reader

Word Count: 3.6k

A/N: inspired by the laughter permitted episode where our fav chaotic twins discussed Lindsey’s ping pong competitiveness in great detail

[WOSO Masterlist]

It’s not her fault she was born with a competitive streak. If you really think about it, it’s her competitiveness that’s gotten Lindsey to where she is today.

And by today, she doesn’t just mean the USWNT camp. Nope, she also means stuck in a high stakes ping pong match.

After demolishing anyone and everyone who dared challenge her in the game, Lindsey hasn’t had one singular game with an opponent who actually posed a challenge to her. With the excuses of “I don’t know how to play” to “I’m not insane enough to play you,” none of her teammates have wanted to play against her for months.

She was still trying to get Tobin to crack, but the chill forward apparently just didn’t care enough to actually break out those fiery ping pong skills she’s heard so highly of. 

This is why when it was announced that a new forward was being called up for camp that Lindsey was beyond excited. New blood to fight and all that.

“Oh cool, ping pong? Sure, I’d be down.”

The audible gasps that can be heard around the room after your words ring out has you slightly confused, but you think nothing of it. 

Lindsey only smiles gleefully to herself. Before she can take her spot, Sam grabs ahold of her elbow. Lindsey gives Sam a look that has the other blonde rolling her eyes at her. 

“Please take it easy on her? We actually want her to come back to camp next time.”

Lindsey only smirks, giving her shoulder a good roll. “No promises.”

She turns back to you, ball and paddle in hand. “You want to start?”

You give her a polite smile, getting into your stance as well. “Nah, you have the ball already, so you can--”

You’re not even done speaking when the ball comes flying towards you. 

Yes, Lindsey knows it’s a bit of a cheap move, but there’s just no taming the competitiveness inside of her. After all, you don’t win games by playing strictly by the rules. 

Lindsey can almost feel the burn of disapproval from Sam’s gaze on her, but in the end it doesn’t even matter. Because in the end she’s not expecting it when you flick your wrist just right, sending the ball hurtling right back towards her. It flies right over Lindsey’s unsuspecting frame, hitting the wall behind her with a light bounce. 

At first only silence can be heard in the room. Then comes a low whistle. “Damn. Whup her ass, Y/N!”

Lindsey glares at a gleeful Emily, who just pumps her fists in the air behind the new forward. 

“One-oh, still yours.”

Stormy blue eyes meet yours. 

Lindsey clenches her jaw. 

It was so on.

---

The word ‘fuming’ would be an understatement for how Lindsey feels right now. After a hard fought 19-17 loss, followed by a quick rematch with the result of a 13-10 loss, and then an even more humiliating 11-5 loss, Lindsey is ready to throw something. Or hit something. Or all of the above. 

Her losing in ping pong at camp has never been heard of before. At least until now. 

“One more!”

By now, most of the girls have moved on to other activities. Mal had dragged Rose, Sam, and Sonnett away to go swim a while ago. A couple of the older girls went out for coffee. 

To be honest, you feel a little intimidated to be left alone with the fiery midfielder. It takes mustering up all of your nerves to timidly voice your dissent. 

“Um, no offense, but do you think we can bond over something else? My hand’s cramping.”

Before Lindsey could tell you the two of you are nowhere near done, a familiar orange beanie pops into the room.

“Oh, there you are. When Sonnett said you had roped an innocent soul into playing ping pong…” Tobin’s words trail off when she finally takes in who Lindsey’s conned into a deathtrap. “Y/N? Dude, when did you get in? Chris has been bugging me about introducing you to the team.”

Your face breaks out into a smile as you rush into the forward’s arms.

Lindsey suddenly feels like she’s intruding on something, but she can't help but ask, “you guys know each other?”

You break out of the hug with an awkward scratch of your head. “Oh yea, Tobes used to babysit me.”

Tobin rolls her eyes at that. “Stop saying that. A) it wasn’t babysitting, and B) stop making it seem like I’m that much older than you.”

“Whatever, grandma.”

Lindsey grins when you dodge Tobin's murderous hands.

You turn back to the blonde, a matching grin on your face. “The two of us, we’re… how do you usually say it?” You throw a wink at Lindsey as Tobin watches you with wary eyes. “Tight.”

Lindsey wants to snort at the shaka sign you throw out as you imitate the older forward. Tobin looks like she’s embarrassed by you.

She sighs heavily before hooking a hand around your arm.

“Whatever pipsqueak. Let’s go. Can’t let you hide away with Lindsey all of camp.”

You throw one last wave over your shoulder before Tobin pulls you out of the room. The blonde can’t help but wonder why she feels like something’s missing now that you’ve gone away.

---

It becomes a new thing. 

After arriving at the hotel for every new camp, Lindsey somehow tracks you down before depositing you in front of a freshly found ping pong table. 

She’s gotten a couple wins notched onto her belt by now, but in the overall scheme of things, you still outplay her on the regular. 

In the beginning, the losses only urges her to challenge you to more matches. 

And then Tobin sheepishly admitted to being your training partner. Lindsey almost throttles the brunette. In the end she calls it quits. 

You seem a little saddened by the ending of your tradition, but Lindsey makes it up to you by taking you out to coffee. 

And then she does it again. 

And again. 

And again. 

Somewhere along the line, everything changes. 

Her palms feel sweaty whenever you round a corner. Her heart takes off every time you shoot her one of your smiles. Her thoughts are clouded by you and only you.

She can’t help but wonder if you feel it too. 

Still, Lindsey can’t help but want to spend all of her time with you. 

Emily makes a comment once about being replaced as Lindsey’s best friend. 

Lindsey automatically flips her off, but you shoot the blonde a devilish grin before crushing her in a tight hug. The older woman lets out a groan of complaint, but you hold on tight.

“No need to be jealous, Sonny. There’s plenty of love to be spread around.”

You almost fall off the bench when she digs her elbow into your gut, but your teasing is enough to get the other girls cackling around you. 

You meet Lindsey’s eyes over the heads of everyone and she gives you a knowing smile. 

---

The two of you dance around what you are. 

She knows you love her. 

You know she loves you. 

The two of you take too much time not talking about the things that matter. 

---

You’re in Denver when inklings of a pandemic start hitting the news.

It didn’t take much convincing from Lindsey for you to go visit her during the offseason. A simple bat of her eyelashes and pout is all it takes for you to book a flight out from New Jersey to the Rockies.

But the day soon comes when you’re due to leave. You had made plans to go visit Tobin from eons ago, and as much as you wanted to break them, you would never do that to your old friend. 

Lindsey tries to convince you to stay in Denver with her. “You’ve already been here for a couple months now, what’s a couple more?”

You try to convince her to go with you to LA. “You can always come with me, you know. Tobin and Christen are your friends too.”

Lindsey’s left with a warm kiss press to her temple when you finally part ways at the gate. 

---

You’ve only been in LA for a week when the world shuts down. 

The selfish part of Lindsey wishes you had stayed in Denver for a little longer. The thought of just missing out being able to spend quarantine with you weighs heavily on her. 

The two of you facetime nearly every day. 

Tobin constantly complains about the two of you being too grossly sweet. Lindsey laughs every time you bring up your want to leave LA. 

“If I walk in on you and Christen one more time--” 

You’re on a phone call with each other when the news drops about the canceled season and the tournament that will replace it. 

“Well at least there’s some hope, right?”

Lindsey nods. “I can’t wait to play competitively again.”

“Do you ever not take everything as a competition?”

She squints playfully at you. “You’re just afraid the Thorns will demolish you guys.”

“Hey, we got world class Emily Sonnett on our backline now. The Thorns should be trembling in their boots.”

There’s no hiding how pissed Lindsey was that the Thorns traded away her best friend. It took her a long time to come to terms with it, but the way you instantly jumped to help the defender feel more welcome in Orlando only made Lindsey’s heart beat harder for you. 

“First one out of the cup has to go support the other one.”

“Hope you’re ready to cheer on the Thorns, babe. I’ll get a plane ticket to Portland ready for you.”

Your squawk of indignation only has Lindsey laughing harder, but her heart skips a beat when later that night you reassure her that Portland will be your destination after the tournament ends.

“I can’t wait to see you. I’ll stomach being in thorns regalia if it means getting to be with you again.”

---

Orlando pulls out of the Challenge cup.

---

Lindsey’s already got the okay from Sonnett when she checked in on her best friend earlier, but she can’t help but nervously pace back and forth as she waits for your response.

She’s almost embarrassed by how quickly she lunges for her phone when it goes off. 

The first thing you tell her is that you tested negative. Your assurances that you’re okay has her breathing out heavy sighs of relief, but it’s the mumbled words that come out after a period of silence that has her losing her breath again. 

“I’m going to Man-U.”

Lindsey blinks, not sure if she hears you right. You’re looking nervous on the screen in front of her, but she really hopes that her airpods are just playing a trick on her. 

“What?”

You look away from the screen, nervously chewing on your lip. “With Orlando pulling out of the challenge cup, I just… I need playing time, Linds.”

She lets the information sink in for a moment before she whispers out her next question. She has a feeling she already knows the answer, but she really hopes she’s wrong. “When do you leave?”

You hesitate for a minute before responding. “Mid-July. They want me tr--”

“What about your plans to come out to Portland?” Lindsey can’t help but interrupt you mid-sentence. “I thought we said we would go out to see the other one in our off-time. You said--”

“Lindsey.” Just the sound of her name makes her heart break even more. “Believe me when I say that I want to be there. But this is my career. I need playing time to be considered for the Olympics.”

She can tell you’re trying hard to keep it together, but your words only set her off more. “Fuck the Olympics! This is us we’re talking about right now.”

“Linds, that’s not fair and you know it. You know how I feel about you. I would go to Portland in a heartbeat if I could, but--” 

“But I’m not your girlfriend, right?” The words are spit out with venom, and Lindsey’s almost taken aback by how angry she sounds.

It’s silent for a minute while you try to not let her words get to you. Lindsey knows she’s being unfairly cruel, but all she’s wanted since this whole pandemic started is to be held in your arms. Now that it’s all being ripped away, she doesn’t know what to do. 

“I’m not doing this with you right now. I know you’re hurt and you’re just lashing out because I can’t be there for you like I promised I would be, but I’ll still be cheering you on from where I am. I’ll just happen to be in another city, not Portland. It’s not any different from what we’ve been doing.”

It’s the way you’re so calm that has Lindsey exploding again. “Except you’ll be on the other side of the world! It’s not the same thing!”

“Lindsey--”

Shutting her eyes, Lindsey shakes her head at you. It’s all too much. If this conversation continues, she’ll just say something else that she doesn’t mean. “I don’t think I can do this right now.”

Somehow the silence left behind after she hangs up hurts more than the knowledge you aren’t coming to be with her.  

---

You call every day. 

Even though there’s an eight hour time difference, you still call every day.

Lindsey never answers. She’s ashamed of the way she left things, but she’s more scared of the things she might say if she has a chance to say anything.

You always leave behind a voicemail after every call. Lindsey pretends her heart doesn’t race every time she hears your mumbled recounts of your day. The exhaustion is always clear in your voice, but she still can’t make herself answer any of your calls. 

There’s a part of her that’s relieved when Tobin tells her both she and Christen are going to Manchester United early September. There’s only going to be a brief overlap during the time the three of you will be there together, but at least you won’t be alone over there anymore. 

She texts Tobin once during those two and a half months. After seeing a nasty collision between you and another player, because yes, she still followed all of your games even if you didn’t play in the same league as her anymore, Lindsey had to make sure you were okay. Lindsey gets a stern [Just call her yourself] text from the usually relaxed forward. It’s followed by a softer [She’s a little shaken,but doing okay] and a guilt-tripping [She just misses you dude] that has Lindsey almost dialing your number. 

Almost is the key word. 

She still can’t get herself to call you back. 

As the camp date looms closer and closer, Lindsey can’t help but feel a sliver of fear run through her. She doesn’t know how your reunion will play out, if it’ll end in tears or joy. She can only hope you’re not as pissed at her as you should be. 

When Lindsey boards the plane to the Netherlands, she doesn’t realize there’s a new voicemail sitting on her phone. 

---

After nearly missing her connection, Lindsey and the rest of the Thorns are the last ones to arrive at the hotel. Tired and jetlagged, she makes a beeline for her room, ignoring everyone in her way. 

She’s only been in her room for two minutes when there’s a knock on her door. 

Letting out a frustrated groan, Lindsey stalks towards the door. She’s ready to tell off whoever dares to add onto her already tiresome day, but then she falters the second the door swings open. 

Even though you’re wearing a mask, she can tell you have your signature lopsided grin on your face. 

Lindsey pretends her heart’s not fluttering at the sight of you. 

“I found a ping pong table on the fourth floor if you want to play.”

It’s the nonchalant but still sort of shy way you ask your question that takes Lindsey off guard. Even though she’s all but ignored you since you broke the news of your transfer you still seem as soft to her as the day you met.

It’s the way your hand is clenched around one of the paddles in your hands that gives away how nervous you are.

Lindsey has the sudden urge to make it all go away. 

Despite the clear rules about socializing hammered into her skull by the staff, Lindsey still takes the leap of faith.

The paddle feels warm in her hands when she snags it from you. “Don’t blame your time in tea city for making you lose your touch when I beat you.”

You take her jab with ease, giving her shoulder a playful nudge back. “Keep talking, Horan. I’ll just keep putting balls past you while you keep talking smack.”

---

The two of you fall into rhythm easily. 

There’s no real fire in the way you trade shots back and forth. If Lindsey from a couple years ago could see the two of you now, she would be horrified by the lack of competitive fire. 

“You didn’t listen to my voicemails, did you?”

The mumbled words after a long period of silence has Lindsey whiffing on the ball. It falls to the floor with a thud, but all she can focus on is the slump to your shoulders, the way you suddenly can’t meet her eyes. 

It’s the fear that her despondency has really hurt you that has Lindsey blurting out the truth. “They were the only thing that kept me sane these past months.”

You look up at her in shock, a confused furrow making its way between your brows.

Lindsey continues before she completely loses her nerves. “I just… I missed you so much, and they really helped make me feel less alone in Portland, you know?”

“You could’ve just picked up the phone. Or called me back.” Your words can be taken harshly, but Lindsey can only hear confusion in your voice.

“I was scared that if I actually talked to you, I’d do something stupid.”

You frown. “Like what?”

“Like try to see if United would sign me for as long as it’d take for you to forgive me.”

“Forgive you? Linds, forgive you for what? I’m not mad at you.”

It’s Lindsey’s turn to frown, the blonde gesturing to you with her hands. “The things I said the last time we talked--”

“I took you off guard. Literally flipped the plans we made months ago upside down. Your reaction was completely reasonable.”

“No it wasn’t.” Lindsey’s not sure why she’s trying to convince you to be mad at her now that she knows you don’t hate her. But she doesn’t really have much time to marinate in that thought before you’re backtracking the conversation. 

“Wait, hold up. Linds, if you listened to my voicemails, why do you think I’m still mad at you?”

She raises an eyebrow at you. “You recounting your days abroad doesn’t exactly scream forgiveness.”

“Lindse--”

“You gotta, like, explicitly say you’re not mad for me to actually believe you, you know.”

“Lin--”

“But even if you said that I still probably wouldn’t believe you--”

“I’m going to Portland, Lindsey. Orlando’s announcing it next month, but I’m headed to Portland.”

Lindsey drops the paddle. She’s not sure why she was still holding it, but it crashes to the floor when your words cut through her rambling. 

“I’m sorry, what?”

You look panicked for a moment, not sure what you had said wrong. “You just said you listened to my voicemails!”

“I think I would know if you told me you were going to come play in Portland!” She shoots back.

“I did!”

“No you didn’t!”

“Lindsey,” you seem exasperated at this point, and Lindsey’s not even sure why she’s even trying to fight you on this anymore. Her heart’s not sure she can believe you, but she really wants it to be true. “I literally called you last night.”

Those words are all that’s needed. 

Lindsey really wants to slap you. 

Or kiss you. 

“I’ve been flying for almost twelve hours now.”

The bashful look that settles on your face has Lindsey leaning more towards option two. 

“Oh.”

“Yeah, ‘oh’.”

You cover your face with a hand, trying to hide your blush. Lindsey suddenly hates your hand and the mask from obscuring your entire face from her. “Hey! There’s no need to make fun of me! I just told you I’m moving to be closer to you!”

It only takes her a couple steps to get in front of you. You’re peeking out from between your fingers when you register her movements, but it’s Lindsey who still pulls your hands out of the way of your face. 

“Are you really coming to Portland?”

“Well someone’s gotta keep beating you at ping pong. Can’t let your head get too big.”

Lindsey snorts, slapping your arm. “Yeah, well you love this head of mine just the way it is.”

There’s a soft look in your eyes as you catch her hand before it falls away, intertwining your fingers. “I do. I really do.”

When her heart flutters again, Lindsey doesn’t think it’s such a bad thing.

She spends the rest of camp hoping December would come quicker. She couldn’t wait until you could be in her arms for good. 

#lindsey horan x reader #uswnt x reader #uswnt imagine #woso x reader #woso imagine #Ace writes

[b4mpyre-k1zz3s]

Hcs of dating chris raab and being a part of cky? Or if you don't do headcannons maybe something short about Halloween with the cky guys!

Be Afraid!

Y/N is (un)lucky enough to spend their Halloween with the Cky guys.

Gn!Reader

1.6k Words

(Fluff)

Warnings: Suggestive content, crude language, urine, fear

An: Aaaa I had so much fun with this ask!! I always loved Halloween, especially haunted houses, and I think you can definitely tell from this! XD

“Wow…” Bam leaned up against the snack table, eyes on the tv, the orange plastic tablecloth wrinkling under his hand, “That is just re-goddamn-diculous.” He smirked and furrowed his brow unbelievingly, turning to you, the vampire fangs he stuck in glinting in the light from the chandelier. “I mean, who even comes up with this shit?” Popping one of those Pillsbury pumpkin cookies into your mouth, you shrugged, “I dunno. Final Destination’s just like that! They’re makin’ a new one this year too...” The sugar cookie was still warm and gooey in your mouth, the fake vanilla scent filling your nostrils, ”Mmmm. God, tell April she did a great job with these- they’re spectacular.”

“Aaaahh!!” Your head whipped around as you heard a shriek from the kitchen. “Bam!” April called out- you could tell she really was upset at him with how she split his name up into two syllables. He snickered, not assuaging your nerves in the slightest as you created into the kitchen to go see whatever trouble he caused.

There, on the clear plastic middle shelf of the fridge, was the fakest looking severed head you had ever seen. It had to have been stolen from some cosmetology school dumpster and dunked in ketchup, but you could bet April fell for it- you did too for a second before you caught the blank look in its eyes. You couldn't help from snickering as you heard Bam in the other room, cracking up as his mom gave him a few smacks on the arm. What a start to the night.

You made your way over to the kitchen table, laden with solo cups of beer, standing near Ryan and Novak’s team. Novak bounced one of the ping pong balls that Dico Sharpied to look like eyeballs on the dark table, turning to glance at you, “Hey, Y/N! Wanna join? It’s me and Dunn against the mad scientist and the ballerina over there.” He gestured over to Rake and Raab on the other side of the table. Raab sighed, "C'mon, man! Ballerinas are cool!”

“Yeah, and what isn’t is that dick print you’re sportin under that tutu.” Ryan scoffed, receiving an eye roll from across the table. Novak sneakily handed you a ball and you palmed it. Rake came back at him while you were taking aim, glancing over his goofy costume glasses and firing back, “Yeah? And what’re you two, Crest Boy and Pube Face?” Squinting with determination, you gauged the trajectory as you listened to their comical bickering with a smile. “Well, Generic Mad Scientist, I am Evel Kinevil- and a damn sexy one, I may add-” Ryan put his hand on Novak’s shoulder while he bent down close to you, watching your ball bounce off the table, “And he is the Wolf Man.”

You sunk your ball into a plastic cup, beer splashing onto the mahogany. “Yes!!” You leapt up in celebration, giving Novak a hairy palmed high-five straight out of an ‘80s movie. “Don’t worry, Y/N- none of these pubic hairs are mine.” All the guys roared in laughter as you gaged, shaking your hand out in disgust.

Breaking the comotion, you heard a noise from the front door. The door being flung open, hurried steps, followed by the most blood curdling scream you had ever heard. Nobody moved. A moment later, the source of the scream flew into where you were all standing, throwing himself on the floor with a thud- it took a good few moments of his writhing for any of you to recognize it as Dico, clutching a bloody stump.

He almost had you for a second there, as his hysterical screaming morphing into giggles as he pulled his actual hand out of his gold embroidered pirate jacket sleeve. You sighed, leaning with your hands on your knees as the anxiety still remained in your stomach. “Dico!! You asshole!” He still was giggling as you delivered a few smacks to his shoulder as he stumbled up, adjusting his costume. “Hey, that was a good one- you believed it!” The guys giggled at your reaction, “Yeah! Y’damn near gave me a heart attack!”

“Alright, alright! Enough’a the chit chat…” Bam strutted over to the door with bravado, “We have somewhere to be!” Your head turned, looking around at the other guys, who seemed to be as confused as you were. You sighed at his usual dramatic TV star bullshit, “What are you talking about?” Instead of answering your question, he flamboyantly tossed his velvet cape with a flourish, strutting out the door.

“Are you serious?” Dunn pressed the phone to his ear with his shoulder as Bam gave him directions over the line- through it would’ve been just as easy to get them from Mapquest. After about half an hour of driving, night had fallen in the dense Scranton woods you had driven into. The heat in Ryan’s beater car didn’t work too well, so you were both chilled by the cool Pennsylvanian night air as you traversed deeper into the thickets on dusty filled dirt roads that shone in the one working headlight.

Eventually, after you thought you got lost a couple times, you arrived at your destination. Peering past a crowd of people out front, you got a look at your destination, which was some kind of haunted house. The building really looked the part- a decrepit Victorian mansion that’d definitely seen better days. The white portico porch was draped in cheap fake spiderwebs and large sheets of ripped, gauzy erosion cloth, and each one of the cathedral windows were entirely blacked out with what you could only assume were trash bags.

“Dude. I am not going in there.” Rake peered into the door as it periodically opened to let people in, the screams from inside flowing out before being quickly silenced with a slam. “Cmon, Rake. Don’t be such a sissy.” Novak hit him on the back playfully as Bam and Ryan snickered. Shaking his head, Rake retorted, “No! You know what? I’m-“ His panicked eyes flicked around, landing on one side of the house, trying to sound calm, “I’m just gonna hang with that hot Elvira by the cider stand, okay?” Dico laughed as he shuffled past you in line, earning a few jeers and chicken squawks. “Yeah, like you’re ever gonna get with her!”

Of course, everyone’s all brave until it’s their turn to go into the scary house. The whole lot of you got real quiet as you stood next in line at the door, every trace of bravery draining from your faces. You went cold, and you could feel yourself sweating bullets as the door creaked open and you were shuffled inside.

It was Bam, Ryan, and you to go in first. The strobe lights made it difficult to see what was bumping against you as you shuffled through, but you soon came to realize that it was a maze of bodies hanging from meat hooks. You could barely make out anything over the loud noises around you- chainsaws, screaming, and various squishy noises that drowned out any thoughts you might have besides fear.

“Aaaah!!!” However, you could pick up one sound- Bam’s high pitched scream as he practically tackled you. He sounded like a little girl, his eyes wide and terrified at whatever must’ve startled him, clinging to your side. After a second, his fight or flight instincts kicked in as he booked it down the hallway like a scared animal. Also having heard his shriek was Ryan, who seemed to switch on a dime from his cool demeanor, pushing past you, “Fuuuuuck this.” He disappeared down the dark hallway. So before you could say anything, you were left alone. Obviously, you reacted the way any normal person would.

“You chickenshits!!” Giving chase, your mind was entirely off of whatever was happening around you and now on getting those two idiots. Whatever the getting may entail, you hadn’t decided. “You ‘fuckin babies- get back here!!”

After what felt like an eternity, you caught up with them at the exit, the two playing it totally cool like they weren't just running for their lives a few seconds before. Exhausted, you unsteadily put your hands on your knees, panting, “You assholes…fuck…” Bam turned to Ryan, giving him a shrug and pretending not to know what you were talking about. Assholes.

Shortly after you came Raab, Novak, and Dico, passing around high fives and whooping about the experience. “Oh dude!! That was crazy- what about you?” Dico grinned, giddy like a little kid on Christmas- he really seemed to thrive in these kinds of insane, batshit environments. Raab, not so much, “Yeah! It was, uh- it was pretty cool!” He seemed a little shy at first, but he still seemed to have enjoyed the house. Novak craned his neck, snickering, “Dude…did you piss yourself?” He got a little defensive, explaining, “No, these’re ombré.” He gestured to his baby pink tights. “Yeah, then why’s the ombré dripping down your leg?” Bam piped up with a grin, still leaning against the siding with Ryan. Raab blushed, embarrassed, “It’s- it's just the light!!”

“Hey, Rake. How’d that date with Elvira go?” You cheekily grinned from your place in line for Cider, speaking up over the heavy metal music that they always blast outside of these kinds of haunted houses. He rolled his eyes, “Oh, fuck off.” Taking the foam takeaway coffee cup into your cold palm, the warm liquid made your skin tingle. Pulling it to your lips, the warm steam cut the chill that froze your nose. You grinned against the rim as you took a sip, the hot liquid and spice burning your tongue deliciously.

Another breeze blew through the trees as you all stood around and sipped your warm drinks, laughing and joking around with each other under the inky night.

#jackass #bam margera #ryan dunn #brandon dicamillo #rake yohn #brandon novak #raab himself #jackass fanfiction #jackass fanfic #fluff #I’m sorry Final Destination

[earth-ambassador-jim]

Kids will be Kids

AO3 - Fanfiction

Barbara couldn’t help but stare. The six teenagers in the kitchen stared back, wide eyed. They looked very caught out, especially Jim. His pointed blue ears were low and a faint whine escaped from his throat into the silence as his cheeks turned an interesting shade of purple. After a moment he attempted to say something, but nothing could really make it past the… where those ping pong balls? His mouth was absolutely full of the tiny white balls and his cheeks were sticking out like a chipmunks.

Very slowly Barbara set the groceries down on the counter.

At her movement they all seemed to break out of their trance.

“I can explain!” Eli and Steve said at the same time.

Mary silently shifted her phone from filming Jim to Barbara and back again.

“Busted,” She heard her mutter.

That seemed to snap Jim out of it. With a great effort he bit down on his mouthful of ping pong balls with a loud crunch, chewed a few times, then swallowed.

“So?” She prompted, crossing her arms and giving them a no-nonsense “mom” look.

The four boys shifted around awkwardly. Darcy nudged Mary with her elbow and gave her a look. Mary snorted and swatted at her in return.

“It was my idea,” Eli finally squeaked. “Jim can open his jaw wider now that he’s a troll so I was curious about how much he could fit in…”

The front door slammed open.

“I got more…” Claire’s excited voice trailed off behind Barbara. “Oh hi Dr. Lake.”

“Hi,” Barbara said in a mild tone, keeping her gaze trained on the culprits before her.

She could practically feel the teen girl debating going back out the door. Eventually Claire set the ping pong balls down on the counter beside the groceries and joined the others.

“So,” Barbara repeated. She settled her gaze on her son first. He gave her a sheepish toothy smile. It was utterly adorable but she maintained her unimpressed look. “Jim I believe I’ve told you enough choking stories from work that you should know better than to cram that much into your mouth?”

“Yes Mom,” He said, lowering his head and ears.

She nodded and swept her gaze over the other culprits.

“And I believe the rest of you should know better too, correct? Do I need to give you a presentation on the hazards of choking?”

“No, Dr. Lake,” They chorused.

“Good,” She said in a brisk tone. “I’m heading upstairs to change. I expect that when I come down you’ll have found something better to do.”

Everyone nodded vigorously.

Barbara made her way up the stairs but paused just out of sight at the sounds of the kids laughing. Her lips curved into a smile. She covered her mouth to muffle a chuckle of her own.

Honestly… Teenagers.

She took a few steps down and saw that Steve had looked an arm over Jim’s shoulder and was prodding him in the ribs. The teen half troll have him a gentle shove in retaliation.

Toby and Eli were looking at Mary’s phone over her shoulder, while Darci demonstrated some juggling for Claire with the ping pong balls.

Barbara’s eyes crinkled and her smile softened. After everything that they’d been through she was glad they had a chance to just relax and be kids. She watched for a minute longer before continuing upstairs.

~~~~

~~~~

Trying to get back into writing again. Let’s see if I can’t clean out my WIPs a little.

#Tales of Arcadia #Trollhunters #Jim Lake Jr #James Lake Jr #Barbara Lake #claire nuñez #toby domzalski #Mary Wang #Darci Scott #Steve Palchuk #eli pepperjack #My writing #My Posts

[alchemistdetective]

@divinityunleashed replied to your post “I have my own list on what to do when it comes to...”:

Preeeeeeeech!

​@hxkerwxlf replied to your post “I have my own list on what to do when it comes to...”:

ramble more nerd

((WELL, ALRIGHT, IF YOU GUYS ARE SURE, I'll try to summarize it in a few key points.))

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

Amber's Tumblr RP Activity guide

P.S: This is all based on personal experience based on the time I've been here for years. Results may differ, but this is pretty much what works best for me.

I think everyone knows the usual 'Have Fun' advice, which is pretty much the most important thing, but I have a few things to add on my own:

1) Remember that this is Tumblr, and not Wattpad.

I know, this is very obvious. You are looking at this post in Tumblr.com, after all. But... what exactly do I mean by this?

Tumblr is a social blogging website. And unlike Wattpad, we're not writing a book by ourselves. We're writing said book with others.

RPing is different from traditional writing. And the biggest difference when it comes to these two is:

2) Always, ALWAYS try to throw SOMETHING to get people to be involved easier. Make it as easy as possible!

This... is something I actually kind of want to touch on for a while, because I notice this even among people who have been RPing for years, and that's... not giving bait for people to work with

Here's an example, let's say I make a post:

Chloe is working on alchemy. Oops! She realizes she doesn't have enough ingredients in the shelf! Off she goes to the Human Village to find for ingredients!

It's okay, but... there's not much to work with.

What ingredients is she looking for? Where in the Human Village is she going?

People tend not to figure out these things for you, so they kind of just leave it be there, and people go 'Oh it's just her doing her daily things'

So... let's try to add a bit more stuff in it:

Chloe is working on alchemy. Oops! She realizes she doesn't have enough ingredients in the shelf! She realizes that the things which are missing are as follows: - One Tengu Feather - One Medical Herb from Eientei - One Divine Water from Korin's Tower The human village is a good place to start for the ingredients!

And just like that, it became much better, because it's easier for people to throw themselves with the item in need. Heck, if you want to go the extra mile, throw an ask to those people who like the post, it always worked for me lajsGHLJSHDASD

This goes the same for replies. ALWAYS throw something for the person to reply to.

Think of it like a ping-pong game where the ball keeps bouncing between you and your partner. You want to throw the ball back to them, so they can hit it and throw it back to you.

Have your character ask a question, wonder something about them, something easier for them to lead on to or reply to.

Also, it's preferable you keep things simple, especially when it comes to...:

3) Silly things! Don't be afraid of throwing whatever for dash activity!

You remember the whole universal rule of 'Have fun'? Well, there we go! Anything in your head, just throw it out.

Here, I'll give an example. I'll just post something like:

Crescent makes a fucking cake and it's just nothing but guns

And someone could easily post something like

"lol that's a stupid cake, anyways here's mine"

CONGRATULATIONS, PEOPLE ARE HAPPY, YAAY

Remember, we're all here to have fun! Just let loose, and stuff :DDD

Honestly, casual shenanigans fun is pretty much the best way of doing whatever, and that's mostly when you clear your head of all sense and reason, then post the stupidest thing you can

Don't overthink it, just do! And if nothing happens, then it's fine, you pretty much threw your shot!

Remember, the worst thing that could happen is no one replies to it. It's discouraging, yes, but it's okay, it happens! So just throw your shot, and have fun!

4) Approach people and throw your character AT them. Don't worry, we're all awkward potatoes.

This is doubly-even more so important for OCs, especially new ones. OCs are unfamiliar territory and the Pandora's Box, and most people prefer things they're familiar with, and stick with that.

Don't worry, I understand. It's really intimidating to go up to someone, wave at them, and throw yourself at them.

But seriously, we're all nerds in Tumblr. I'm equally as shy, especially around people I don't know. So... just throw yourself if you see the opportunity to! You see a meme they reblog? Why not throw something?

Really, the worst thing they can do is say 'No'. And if they do, then it's okay, there's next time, or other places who might be interested in them. Just remember, try to take the initiative and get in there.

Double points if you throw your character at something you think their character might need help with, some event they're doing, or the RPer is trying to explore more. (Example for my case, Chloe's hometown or Rirune's world, or for other RPer's cases, their OC's backstories, fears, etc.)

Remember, people are more likely to approach if there's a pre-existing relationship with one character of yours, and vise versa! So try to get in there if you see something you can throw your character at!

5) Don't force activity. The time will come!

If you're struggling on writing anything... it's fine! Just get out of Tumblr, go play a game or something. The last thing we want to do is force ourselves to push activity, even when we're not feeling like it.

If you do force it, that would make Tumblr RPing more of a chore than a hobby, and it will show. And... we don't want to treat our hobby like a side job.

Think of it like fishing. Your inspiration WILL come, just wait for it. Don't force interacting with other people if you can't think of anything, or try pushing things out if you don't have the mood to do so.

Remember, RPing is a hobby where it takes two to tango. Remember, we're here to have fun together!

6) Try to show interest, we're not mind readers

Small little thing, but if someone shows interest to you by trying to start threads with you, throw you an ask... Try to return the favor when the opportunity comes.

We've all been at the side of 'I threw things at the person but they don't seem to want to RP with me, so I'll leave them alone because they're hard to approach', and I don't think anyone wants that ljhgjlad

This isn't 'reblog karma' or anything, when it comes to memes, but rather, showing interest in someone's stuff, whether it's throwing your character back at them, liking their posts, etc. can go a long way to give your partner the OK, which means more activity for you two!

Basically: tl;dr:

1) Remember that this is Tumblr, a social blogging website! You're playing with other people, and the both of you are writing stories together, and having fun in a playground! You can write things yourself via drabbles, but ultimately, we're pretty much in this together!

2) If you do want to do something, make it easy for people to come in! Try to get people involved in the most simplest way possible in your head, and remember, throw a ball to your partner to lead on!

3) Shenanigans are usually the best way for activity because of how simple and fun it is, not to mention easy to get into! Don't be afraid of emptying your mind and throwing the most stupid thing in your head, because we're all here to have fun!

4) Approach other people! Be their cheerleader! Put them in the spotlight! We're all awkward potatoes, so why not approach them first? You can even throw memes at them which prompts a character relationship! The worst thing they could do is say no!

5) Don't force activity. Wait. If you wait, the time will come. Kind of like fishing! It'll be really obvious if you rush it. There's no hidden art about it, but just have fun!

6) We obviously respect each other, but try to show it, ESPECIALLY if it goes both ways. If it only goes one way, it'll be much harder to approach, even if you're interested in them.

Remember, it takes two people to tango! RPing is not a solo hobby, and we're all here to have fun with each other :DDD

#divinityunleashed #hxkerwxlf #THERE'S MY RAMBLING #I HOPE THIS IS OKAY jlASHALSJGASG #ANYWAYS GOING TO BED NIGHTTT

[blackwirtz]

✨🌸IF JJK Characters were Yanderes 🌸✨

Charcters:

° inumeki Tego

> • Gojo Saturo

° megumi

° Itodori yuji

° Getou

Parts: 1 / 2 / 3 /?

About: Gojo saturo cursing his whole morning to the yoga class, falls in love within first sight with the Yoga teacher.

Warning: mentions for obsession, stalking, abusing power and emotional manipulation later on.

🌺 🌺 🌺 🌺

Have you ever been so bored while listening to dark music and shit that you start imagining some Yandere angst shit??

yeah, me too

🌺 🌺 🌺 🌺

SO, FOR STARTERS

when he first notices his DaRLInG🌺 it will be on a summer HOT day, as an annoyed Gojo would be making his way to the Yoga class, his first lesson he was forced to attend , to be precise.

these months had been a pain to his back and head, with alot of stress and non-stop chasing behind cursed spirits, his usual Slacking-for-fun-and-leaving-it-to-students altitude turned into skipping-missions to atleast take a 10 minutes nap. his students were starting to get worried about his serious-moody attitude, even Megumi. Although he mostly appreciated his presence on time, he disliked seeing how his best teacher mentally suffering

so, now Saturo is passing the road, almost carelessly, while scrolling through his social media, for some reason, he is met with couple's photos, love posts and in most poetries. Saturo failed to understand what's so special about posting a shot of your girlfriend sipping iced mocha in a sunny day without her 'knowledge'? What's so special about sharing your personal feelings of you both publicly and letting everyone know what's your birth sign is for?

how careless could these 'couples' be, Aren't those private information better off be unknown to people? Saturo never fell in love and didn't believe in love at first sight nor that you wouldn't get bored of your partner after 19 years of marriage. for him, "love" meant eager for something. Either desire for a treasure; as money, fame, power. . .etc Or desire to not be LEFT alone. That's how he saw it. a long table of 'relationship' having both partners hitting the ping-pong of 'love' back and forth, at first, each of them are excited. They pass their personal information between eachother, genuine compliments, discovering new styles in clothes, food. Perhaps going on anything and everything togther.

till slowly, as months stretches by, their energy drains. the time and focus on eachothers tightens, their once flaming curiosity of one another starts to flicker weakly against the simple wind till it dies in their eyes, Their taste of interest. this which pushes them to do awful things to eachother, in the sake of something 'new'

The ball speeds gets more slower and bouncy unbalanced. the round isn't done, yet not filled with pervious excitement the 'players' once had. doesn't end till one of them misses it and they're officially out

or one of them having enough of living in a lying fantasy as they throw their racket and walks out, leaving their other 'half' behind

and let's say it lasted. Still, what would be interesting after, for example 19 years? He could never guess

despite his believable theory, Saturo would be lying if he denied, imaging his love-life once or twice in a while. one of the reasons to add more mud on his mood for these months, yes, it did bother him, fantasizing over no-one and living his nothing to reality life though it did injected his curiosity even more. what would he find so interesting about this person so he won't get bored in this 'long-life' journey of 'love, even if it lasted a month

could this "new" thing, fuels back his positive mood and magically returns his energtic persona again?

The door swung open, with the Yoga mat and snacks ~lots of sweets also~ in his huge cross bag, hanging over his shoulder. Saturo wore a simple white t‐shirt with a cute drawn sleeping panda snoring 'don't disturb' with bamboos around it, and black shorts. Some people glanced at him standing in his spot. gladly his sunglasses hides his exhausted frown

he dramatically sighs sending a confirming message to the annoying brats who were await whether he _really_ reached the gym, knowing how stubborn their teacher could get. Saturo feels abit of guilt naming them all "Brat 1#, 2#. .3#. . " cause of this. but couldn't they atleast left him this heavenly free day with no requests??

he couldn't say No to Megumi though. .since his best students barley asks for anything and yhe visible worry on his face

another sigh, secretly screenshoting the place, he presses send to the group and walks in

he then notices her, what draws his eyes on her among the others, was her ring-tone laugh, it wasn't loud but clear to his ears, maming him turn. it reminded him of the musical keys, smoothly going from up to down (i can't breathe) her smile was to the other girl whom she paid attention to, before he catches himself staring and blinks, _what's that?_. She wasn't even that attractive. . .

she suddenly turns to him, as if she notices his existince in her world. Her exciting pools pouring in his,this smile was now to him, it spread like butter( i know what am doing™️) it was only for seconds yet it made Saturo's breath caught in his throat and stare like an idiot. she freely waved at him, since he is the most recognized in the room, was that for him?

She excuses herself and approaches his frozen spot. Her hand hanged infront of him, as her mouth moved

" welcome! You're Saturo Gojo, right?" his name in her tone made his eyelids flutter, his cheeks warmed up as he blinked down, noticing her hand that hanged there awkwardly

he took it in his and shook it, her smile spread more follwing with him

" with flesh and bones! . .that are screaming in the moment" he cleared his throat as his natural humor spoke causing her to politely chuckle, that chuckle that made his chest flutter, it sadly finished quickly (Bruh). She introduced her name

" and i promise you, we will mend them fresh and new in no time!"

she spoke with a natural optimism, it was a simple friendly gesture, Saturo couldn't understand why his eyes lingerd longer at her form

as they wrinkled (slightly squeezing from the down lid). Five seconds in and he could tell, he no longer would regret this decision from his students

"can't wait to see"

#jjk #jjk satoru #jujustsu kaisen #reader #x reader #yandere #yandere satoru gojo #gojo satoru #fanfic #it's totally fun twisting good characters to something messed up lmao #kwirtz #kwirtzwriting #writing #Spotify #may and may not update soon it depends XD #saturo gojo x reader #yandere gojo #yandere saturo

[prof-peach]

Hello Prof. Peach!

I've been following your blog for a while and something has finally happened that has made me scratch my head and think "I better as a professional...".

Things are starting to heat up where I'm from and since I have a small back yard all sorts of grass and bug Pokémon are popping up. They usually keep to themselves and I just make sure the soil's nice and ready for anyone who wants to root themselves. That is until I almost stepped on the oddish in the picture I've attached.

She's been following me around ever since I almost made jam out of her and I just wanted to ask if you could give me any pointer on what variant she actually is and if she'll need any special care.

I've had the usual garden variety oddish around and they usually know how to take care of themselves but this little one seems to be more interested in following me around the house than anything else and she's much smaller than the ones I've seen over the years, just a tad bigger than a ping pong ball.

Looking forward for any tips! P.S.: Yes we have named her Peach which she seems happy with =D

Looks like a common 'Oddium Graptoveria Debbie' subtype, cute little things that produce flowers given the right conditions. Rule of thumb, it's drought tolerant, you're better off under watering than overwatering. They store moisture in those chunky leaves of theirs, and draw on it when need be. If you notice them becoming shrivelled up, they need a long drink. If you see black spots appear, they're getting into too much damp, and those leaves will have to be removed. Lots of sunshine, not too damp, they're tolerant to a lot of...I don't want to use the word 'neglect' but they are very tough, and don't need the fussing some other species do.

Watch out for Slugma or Gulpin, they will snack on them happily, decimate the poor baby.

If you provide them soil to root into, they're happiest in some free draining, relatively low nutrient dense soil, lots of grit. Don't fertilise or feed them any additional plant foods, and don't give them too many snacks either, they get sick if they have too much.

You could grow more of them from leaves that may fall off, so if you're unable to handle many of the species, dispose of the leaves properly before they germinate.

#oddish #prof.peach #pokemon #peach talks

[kiljoius-writes]

Found You Alive

AO3 | FFN

Full YOTP Series Found Here

Paring: Hinata Hyūga x Kiba Inuzuka

Summary: “What…what am I supposed to do with this?”

“It’s a goldfish, Hinata. Dump it in a bowl and feed it!”

Hinata's got no clue how to handle a brand new goldfish. She barely knows how to work a dishwasher. There is one person who can help her.

May Prompt: Pet Acquisition

Word Count: 4k

Rating: Teen

tw: pet death (not Akamaru)

“What…what am I supposed to do with this?”

“It’s a goldfish, Hinata. Dump it in a bowl and feed it!”

Hinata holds the clear plastic bag up to her eyes with a wide frown on her lips.

Ino had jokingly given her, her last ping pong ball to bounce into the cups of water that circled around in a tub. To Hinata’s dismay, she had successfully sunk one in a cup that contained a goldfish, and now she was the (not so) proud owner of a carnival goldfish.

“Don’t you want it?” Hinata asks weakly, holding it out towards Ino, who immediately throws up her hands in protest.

“Hell no!” Ino turns her nose up, gently pushing the plastic bag away. “I don’t do fish.”

“Then why did you…” Hinata trails off, recognizing the futility of the question before she finishes it, then brings the bag back to her chest. “I have to take it home now, then.”

“Wait, what? Whyyy?” Ino whines, shoulders slumping as Hinata begins walking past her. “Hinataaa~”

“It’s cruel to keep it like this!” Hinata declares as Ino follows after her.

Ino huffs, pouty, crossing her arms as she stops behind her. “Boo! Boo you!”

When Hinata gets home, she immediately follows Ino’s brief instruction to put it in a bowl with some extra water, then sighs out through her nose at the realization she doesn’t have fish food. She doesn’t even know what fish eat, much less how to take care of one. So, she grabs a lid for the bowl, punches a few holes in it (does it need holes? She has no idea), covers the bowl and sets out for the one person who she trusts to help her figure out how to take care of another life form.

“Why me?” Shino asks when Hinata presents the fish to him. “I am not particularly…fond of fish.”

“I just thought, since you take care of so many bugs—”

“Kikaichū.”

“—kikaichū, yes—that you know best how to care for it?”

“My beetles are chakra-eating insects,” Shino deadpans, not moving a muscle. “A completely different regiment of care is required for them versus…goldfish.”

Hinata deflates, feeling foolish now. Shino’s demeanor softens. “I’m sorry…I shouldn’t have assumed.”

“I recommend going to Kiba,” Shino responds, nudging his head sideways. “Why? Because he actually has experience caring for a fish.”

“Really?”

Hinata’s genuinely surprised. How did she not know Kiba had kept fish? With that, she gives him a slight bow and he waves her off.

The way Kiba busts into laughter upon her silly plight frustrates Hinata. Why is no one taking the life of this fish seriously?

“Kiba, please,” Hinata sighs out, turning slightly as if to shield the fish from him, or maybe her hurt feelings.

“You know those things die in like, 24 hours, right?” Kiba gestures towards the bag as a sign he wants to take it from her, but it only makes her shield it more.

“It’s been 18 hours!” Hinata declares, frowning deeper now at his dismissal. How can so many people be so callous towards a living thing? She’ll admit that maybe the little fishes life is small, but she could never forgive herself for not at least making a solid attempt to keep it alive.

“Listen, Hinata.” Kiba places a heavy hand on her shoulder and she looks down at it, tries not to think that he’s just patronizing her. “Carnival fish are plucked, packaged, shipped, and dumped in standing water. Sick before you even get ‘em.” Hinata’s shoulders slump and she feels him squeeze one a little tighter. “A lil sad but that’s how it is.”

“Does it have to be?” Hinata asks weakly, turning her body back to him while holding the bag a bit further up now. She see’s Kiba’s face visibly soften, his hand sliding from her shoulder to his side, as if to concede. She bites her lip, widening her eyes a little bit because she knows he has a hard time talking back to her when she moons them at him. He clicks his tongue, one side of his lips tugging upwards in his trademark smirk and she knows she’s got him.

“Gimme a sec.”

Hinata smiles as he turns to grab his sandals, then snatches up his keys and wallet. He pulls the door shut behind him and locks it up like a good son and brother, then nudges his head.

“C’mon. There still some time before the pet store closes.”

“Thank you, Kiba,” she says it with genuine gratitude. She’s relieved because honestly, she needs someone to help her with this. Ino was never going to, Shino would if pressed but wouldn’t be much help, and her last resort would have been Hanabi, who would have found it funny to try out some weird experiments with the fish, like if it could survive in the lobster tank at the local seafood restaurant.

“Mhm,” he hums, guiding her down the pathways.

They get to the store and he already seems to know exactly what he wants her to have. He checks with her multiple times to ensure she’s got enough money to pay for it all, because, in his words, “gods know I don’t.”

In the end, they’re lugging around a far larger glass tank than she ever imagines having, loaded with fish food, cleaning supplies, an electric lamp, gravel and rocks, and multiple decorations Hinata thought would be cute to put inside. And somehow, another fish. Kiba said he thinks the little guy would like a buddy if he’s gonna survive this, and Hinata couldn’t say no.

“What’re you gonna name ‘em?” Kiba asks when they get inside and finally relieve their tired arms of the supplies.

“Names?” she asks, dumbly, stepping back. He looks at her with a smirk and nods.

“C’mon, give ‘em a better chance at life. Give it a name like you care about ‘em.”

“Names…” she repeats, quietly, tapping her lip as he gets to work unloading their supplies and setting it up. “You said this one’s a betta?” Kiba nods confirmation and she twists her lips. “I like Momo.”

“Momo,” he snickers, bobs his head slightly while he untangles the wires that will plug into the tank. Hinata starts cutting open the plastic of the decorations, what she thinks will be the most exciting part. “What about the man himself?”

“The goldfish?” she asks and he nods again. “Hmm…what do you think?”

“How ‘bout…Kotobuki?” Hinata tilts her head attentively at his suggestion. “Give ‘em all the good juju for a long life, right? ‘Cause you bought all this stuff.”

“Oh!” She makes a happy noise, her smile overtaking her face at his consideration. He’s so hardheaded and rough around the edges that Hinata sometimes forgets how thoughtful he can be.

Even if he’s destined to die, at least Hinata tried to make his last days a little brighter. That’s what she thinks when she carefully sets up a little castle inside of the tank, right next to a little plastic scuba diver. She looks at Kiba and smiles big. He double takes at her and returns it, pausing his task to reach over and ruffle her hair. She’s happy so she doesn’t even bat his hand away, instead leans into the touch. She doesn’t even notice the way his cheeks turn red when he pulls his hand back, but does see him wipe a hand over his mouth. He turns to the fish.

“Momo and Kotobuki,” Kiba says as he pushes the two little fishbowls together. They both swim to the edges of their bowls to come face to face and Hinata feels her heart grow inside of her chest.

One year passes and Kotobuki is huge.

Momo is still just a little guy, swimming along the tank while Kotobuki dominates the scene of the tank.

Kiba regularly visits, says he’s grown attached to them.

About one month in, Hinata got to do her “I told you so” sing song and dance. He thought it was cute and decided to let her have this win, knowing she was in for a lot more than she prepared for if the little fish survived this long.

Years.

He watches her happily tap only the best of fish food into the tank for the (not so little) fish. He leans on the doorway and watches her with a goofy look on his face that she doesn’t notice immediately. His arms are crossed and he just basks in her happiness. Makes him happy, too.

When she turns to look at him, she stops and her eyes crinkle. In a way that makes Kiba all mushy, because he thinks she’s too good for this world.

“I told you~” she sings in her soft voice and, even if that was the only thing she ever said to him ever again, he’d die happy.

Sure, when she first turned up on his doorstep with this stupid fish, Kiba thought it would be as simple as telling her to give it mercy and flush it.

But things are never simple with Hinata and Kiba likes it that way. So, he put on his little show of begrudging compliance with her whims and took her to the pet store to help the dumb little fish out.

Akamaru nudges his calf when he’s been staring too long and he lets out a little chuckle.

“Yep, sure did. Happy with yourself?”

“Honestly?” Hinata turns back to the tank and bends over, face to face with the goldfish. “Yes. I am happy.”

“Good,” he says, in all honesty. If a dumb fish makes Hinata happy, he’s happy. He pushes himself off the wall and comes to her side, bends over, too. Lines his face next to hers to look at Kotobuki. “Glad you gave him a shot at life.”

“You did, too.”

He blinks at the fish, who abruptly turns to look right at him. He tilts his head. “I just bullied you into getting a big tank and another fish.”

In his peripheral, he sees her face turns towards him and now both Hinata and Kotobuki are looking at him. He scrunches his eyebrows together before she speaks again. “It’s like you’re his papa.”

Kiba can’t help but laugh. Papa to a fish. Akamaru whines and—

Hinata’s hand wraps around his cheek and pull him sideways so that her lips can plant a kiss on the other cheek. Kiba freezes, eyes going wide as he stares right into Kotobuki’s eyes – nay, his soul.

“Thank you, Kiba.”

Her hand leaves him just as quickly and he can practically hear the panic in how she runs away.

Still, he stares at Kotobuki.

Akamaru growls quietly, a playful one.

“That just happened, huh?” he asks Akamaru without tearing his eyes from the damn fish.

Don’t be stupid. He feels it in the way Akamaru lets out a huffy breath and walks away.

Four years and Momo has passed.

Hinata feels it right in her guts. Kotobuki’s buddy is dead. The fish she adopted with her now-long term partner is dead. It feels so wrong.

“He lived longer than most of his species of fish,” Kiba tries to comfort her as she holds the plastic bag their dead fish is now in. She’s staring at the lake they’re about to put him in, where other fish can feed on his body, because that’s how nature is and they both agreed it would be best not to waste their efforts by flushing him in the damn toilet. It’s just not right.

“I know…” Hinata whispers as she feels him press a kiss to her forehead.

Kiba moved in about two years ago. Neither of them can really explain how their domesticity happened, they never officially established titles but they both know they’re monogamous to each other. Kiba jokes that the fish made them closer, but Hinata believes it. She got to see Kiba’s most tender self when he noticed an injury in Momo’s side, a cut. He frantically told Hinata to call the vet while he grabbed the net to get fish out, almost grabbing him out without somewhere to go.

He was so panicked about it, he did everything wrong, but Hinata saw the genuine concern in him.

He’s being strong for her right now.

They’re fish. It’s ridiculous to be so down about it and they both know it. But, Hinata really thinks this is why she’s fallen so deeply in love with Kiba. His tender, loving nature.

Akamaru, now an old dog, huffs next to her and presses his side into her leg. He’s never been fond of the fish, seemed to think it took too much attention from him. Kiba tells him that he should really be blaming Hinata, and he always bites at Kiba’s hand when he says it. Her hands shake as she kicks off her sandals and begins walking into the water. Kiba stands back.

It just feels so wrong to dump him out like this. Kiba can tell how hard it is on her because she’s not moving and several minutes have passed. He steps behind her and gently takes the bag from her hands.

“Let me do it.”

“People say fish can’t feel pain,” Hinata blurts out randomly, looking up at Kiba with glassy eyes. He raises his eyebrows at her but leans in to listen. “But I don’t believe that. Do you?”

“Nah,” Kiba responds, shaking his head. “I don’t.”

“Do you think he was in pain?”

She searches his face for answers because he’s gotten so good at schooling an expressionless face. He opens his mouth, closes it, then opens it again. “I really dunno, Hina.”

He’s being honest, she can tell. He doesn’t want to lie to her and say no, but also would never say yes. So she lets him take the bag from her hands, carefully from the opening, even if the fish is dead. He steps into the water and lowers it in, letting the plastic open up. Hinata feels tears in her eyes as she watches Momo’s lifeless body slowly pour out into the lake and she covers her heart with her hands. It feels so much worse than she imagined.

A moment passes before Kiba straightens out, twists the plastic into a rope and tucks it into his jacket pocket. He steps backward until he’s next to her again and rests his arm around her shoulders, pulling her in. Her head rests in the crook of his neck and it almost feels like he’s absorbing all of her bad feelings.

Kotobuki is suspicious of his new friend days later, hides behind the castle that is not nearly large enough to actually conceal his giant body. Hinata had been discouraged, thought Kotobuki would never learn to love another fish again. But a few weeks go by with the baby fish prodding at the big goldfish and Kiba tells her she was worrying for nothing.

Another year passes and Kiba can’t believe he’s a part of a family that just owns fish like it’s nothing. Close to the one year anniversary of Momo’s passing, Hinata tells him she’s pregnant and now Kiba has to come to terms with his future children growing up as both dog, cat, and fish lovers (Hinata had adopted a stray cat between when Momo passed and now). Kiba always thought wherever he ended up, he’d just have a yard full of dogs, both ninja and regular, that they’d surround him while he sleeps and it would always be loud with a house full of them and kids.

But now, he lays with a pregnant Hinata draped over his body, an old Akamaru on top of his feet, the stray orange cat tucked in a ball into the back of his knee, and Kotobuki looking at him from the tank. He thinks it’ll just be a matter of months before they end up with another cat or fish, even if he thinks it’s a bad idea to get another pet before the baby comes.

Because of the pregnancy, Hinata gets extra emotional when she thinks about Momo. It’s inevitable, every time she looks into the tank, she gets this little far-away look in her eye, and she probably doesn’t realize her smile fades. She still feeds the fish every morning and night and speaks sweetly to them, but Kiba’s taken over the task of tank cleaning. He didn’t realize how terrifying pregnancy could be for the man. Hinata hobbles around as if everything is perfectly normal and he nearly had a heart attack when he saw her trying to lift the 100-pound tank herself. Berated the shit out of her and forced her to sit back on the couch, deciding it was high time he learn how to clean the damn thing himself.

But otherwise, Kiba’s pretty damn happy. Outwardly, he seems like a grump.

Kiba feels Hinata’s nose nuzzle into his neck and he sighs, not because he’s tired, but because he’s content.

The day the babies come home for the first time, Akamaru insists on showing them to Kotobuki. Akamaru’s like the big brother at this point, overly excited to have little humans to push around and play with. It’s been a while since Akamaru’s interacted with human babies so Kiba has to give him a stern reminder that they’re not like puppies.

He hears Hinata giggle behind him when he stops in front of the aquarium and leans over with a baby in each arm. Kotobuki wiggles his way over and Kiba can never really tell what’s going on the dumb fishes brain, but he does seem at least curious.

“Akamaru thought the fish should see ‘em first,” Kiba tells her over his shoulder, smirking as she comes up behind him. She kisses his cheek and he turns his head quickly to catch her lips with his before she can pull away. Her giggle vibrates through the kiss and he wonders how this damn fish landed him in his position.

“I’m going to go shower,” Hinata says, quietly, leaning up to put another kiss on his nose. “Do not hesitate to grab me if something—”

“Yeah, yeah, I got ‘em!” Kiba nudges his head before standing up straight. She smiles her big smile at him and he feels the warmth in his chest.

He’s holding two little humans that he and Hinata created in his arms, how could he be anything except completely and utterly elated?

About 7 months later and the babies are speed crawlers. It kind of terrifies Kiba how fast they can go, not to mention their kneecaps banging away at wood and tile. Them getting into stuff has caused more than one fight between him and Hinata to the point that eventually, he had his mom and Hana come over to help him find every single possible baby harming thing in the house and secure it. Plugs in all the sockets, locks on all the cabinets and drawers, absolutely nothing left in baby-reaching level.

It was the same day Kimi had smacked Hima right in the face with a wooden spatula. Hinata had been at her wits end that day and seeing the red mark across Hima’s face had sent her into a panic and tearful tirade about babyproofing. Kiba couldn’t argue it with her. Running on 2 hours of sleep, he, his mom and sister babyproofed the whole thing while Hinata took the babies to Hanabi’s, telling him she was not coming back until the she could safely release them without worrying about a stray kunai or bottle of bleach ending up in their hands.

The next day, she returned, and after her own thorough investigation, she let the babies free and fell to her knees, knocking out on the carpet immediately. Kiba didn’t have the heart to wake her up and move her, figuring if her body is this exhausted, it’s better to leave it be. He watches Akamaru crawl over her legs and make himself comfortable there, then the cat, and inevitably Kimi (or maybe Hima, Kiba’s eyes are bleary with sleep) sits next to her and leans backward, eyes fluttering closed with her pacifier dangling from her lips.

Despite the lack of sleep and overall bad feelings for the last week, the scene is way too sweet for Kiba to just smile and look away from. He grabs the camera and snaps a few differently angled photos to capture the sweet memory. He looks through them for a moment before frowning, deciding even if the house was babyproofed, he should know where the other kid is. Puts the camera down and doesn’t have to look far. He panics slightly when he sees her standing up, leaning against the tank, but remembers they put a really good lock on the top and secured it to the wall to ensure it would go no where, even in the worst of a quake.

Walks over to the barely able to balance baby and puts his hands on her little waist to keep her upright as she searches the tank. He spots the birthmark on her neck that lets him know it’s Kimi and he whispers to her affectionately, “lookin’ at mama’s lil fish?”

She wheezes slightly through her pacifier, making those little goo-goo ga-ga noises babies make, nothing coherent, just a happy noise and Kiba’s cheeks hurt from smiling. He reaches up to undo the lock on the top, then rolls up his sleeve to dip his hand inside. He wiggles his fingers before Kotobuki wiggles his way over, pressing his little fish body against his fingers. Kiba chuckles because it always feels weird to pet a fish. Kimi makes a little “aaah” sound and Kiba decides what Hinata doesn’t know can’t hurt her.

He takes his hand out, wipes it on his sleeve, then pulls Kimi up. While holding her above the tank around the stomach, he helps guide her hand into the water. Kiba gasps and laughs when her squealed giggles result in her pacifier falling out of her mouth right into the water. He snatches it and tosses it behind him without thinking, then goes back to guiding her hand. Her laughter bubbles out as he gets the hand closer to Kotobuki, who quickly approaches it and tries to press into it like he always does. When Kimi squeezes her hand as if to grab, Kotobuki whizzes away and Kiba wheezes.

“Can’t pick up fish, Kimi,” he tells her gently, helping her pull her hand out slowly to not splash water everywhere. Kimi smiles big as she’s set back down on the ground, and it reminds him of Hinata. He pulls the wet hand into his shirt to dry it, then locks up the tank while Kimi climbs back to her feet, holding onto the table the tank is on for support. He watches her and feels his heart nearly explode when she presses a kiss to the glass where Kotobuki is staring at her from. It’s open mouthed and spit filled, leaves a messy print on the glass, and it just makes Kiba’s sentimentality skyrocket.

He pulls her into a bearhug because it’s all he can do with all the love he’s got stored inside of him. Wishes Hinata had been awake to see it, but also thinks this was kind of just a perfect moment. He pulls Kimi up into his arms and lets her chin rest on his shoulder, then stands so he can sway with her. Once he feels her body go limp, he sits down next to Hinata and lays Kimi against her opposite side, then drapes his arm around essentially his entire family.

He feels Hinata stir next to him, grumbling slightly as she adjusts herself. He sees one of her eyes open slightly, and a small smile form. He leans in, places a clumsy kiss on her lips and listens to her soft giggle that he feels so incredibly lucky to be able to hear every day of his life.

Whispers against her lips, really soft, “I’m glad the damn fish didn’t die.”

As her hand reaches up to slide over the stubble on his cheek, she whispers back just as softly.

“Me too.”

#yotp #year of the otp #fluff #kibahina #kiba inuzuka #inuzuka kiba #hyuga hinata #hinata hyuga #hyuuga hinata #hinata hyuuga #kiba #hinata #hinakiba #naruto fanfic #kibahina fanfic #my fic #hurt/comfort #tw: pet death

[ceruleancattail]

For OC interactions- May I throw Cloche at Cinder?

If you want a prompt/interaction idea- how would Cinder react to Cloche’ curse of turning into a cat when her bowtie bell is taken off/out of her reach?

“Eh?”

A cat, seated before Cinder, glaring at him. He blinks slowly, trying to process whatever just happened before his eyes.

That fuzzball, was Cloche. They were having an amiable chat, before a stray ball grazed the back of her neck. In hindsight, the students shouldn’t have been trying to play freestyle ping pong with their magical pens.

The clatter of metal, striking the ground. The bell rattles, ringing out in protest. Cinder could barely take a breath before Cloche disappeared right before his eyes.

In her place, a little cat sat. Visibly annoyed, tail flicking from the left to the right. Cinder drops to his knees, trying to meet Cloche’s eyes. His hands reached out towards her, before he thought better of it.

“Right. Cloche? Can you still understand me?”

She blinked slowly, before dipping her head forward.

Yes.

“Alright then… should I call Rook? Or Epel? Do you need to go to the nurse’s office…”

His voice trails off as Cloche’s paw slowly extends. She bats at the collar, looking up at Cinder pointedly. Those piercing eyes of her were… disorientating, at the best.

“Right. The collar. Ok.”

Gingerly closing his fingers around the cloth, he picks it up. Deftly wrapping it around her throat, a finger’s width loose. Enough room to breathe.

Soon, Cloche’s fur sunk back into her skin. Her form grew larger, returning to her human state. Her ears twitch slightly, before she nods her thanks to Cinder.

“Hey, it’s alright…. Are you sure you’re ok?”

Cloche shrugs.

“I’m fine, Master Cinder.”

A faint smile slips onto his lips.

“Well, we could just say that you had a little dizzy spell. It’ll get Mr Hunt running, at the very least.”

#the mage’s hat 🎩 #twisted wonderland #twst #twst oc #disney twisted wonderland #twisted wonderland oc #Cinder Fernway #Cinder #oc interactions

[radiosaturday]

6, 12, 18, 24, 36, 48 for the asks (:

Belatedly, I respond to questions from this ask meme!

What do you use to keep your place when you’re reading a book? I have been given many book marks, so now I mostly use those, but I also love a receipt or transit ticket. My main one, though, has pictures of ink bottles and a red ribbon attached to it.

What’s something about your best friend that you love? One thing that characterizes everyone I'd describe as a best friend is an unusual but strangely consistent way of looking at the world, if that makes sense.

What’s one historical event that you would have liked to have witnessed? Good question! I'd love to have been present for Tibullus presenting his poetry. I'd love to have seen Erik Satie perform his own work. I think it would have been amazing to read Little Dorrit in monthly installments. I'm not sure how reasonable any of those are as answers.

Are you a good driver? I've never actually had a driver's license, and in the brief period when I was trying to learn to drive I wasn't especially good at it.

What’s an arcade or table game (air hockey, ping pong, etc) that you’re really good at? Does skee ball count? I'm not good at it, but I do enjoy it. I'd like to be good at pool, but I am unfortunately unpracticed in the art.

Do you have a favorite plate or bowl? Yes! It's blue and relatively deep, with a chip out of one side.

Thanks for asking, and sorry again for answering so late!

#thanks for the ask! #these were really fun!

[tofueggnoodles]

They’re Back! Araiso Private High School Student Council Executive Committee Vol. 1 Scene 7 (Cast Talk)

Click here to listen to the track on youtube.

This is the best photo I could find, containing only about half of the cast. I don't recognize two of the VAs, but the rest are: Kisaichi Atsushi (the one with the cap), Toriumi Kousuke (beanie guy), Ishikawa Hideo (left, seated) and Morikawa Toshiyuki.

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Summary: The voice actors talk about things (hobbies, sports, pets, etc) they will never tire of.

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Morikawa: Everyone, thank you for your hard work during the recording. It’s now time for the bonus track of the Drama CD “They’re Back! Araiso Private High School Student Council Executive Committee.”

Ishikawa: Yeah! Really – what is it?

(Morikawa and Kawami laugh.)

Ishikawa: Er – thank you for the hard work, everyone!

Morikawa: Indeed. It’s been quite a while.

Ishikawa: Yes, it’s been a long time since the last recording.

Morikawa: Someone reminded me that the very first [Araiso] Drama CD was recorded in 2000.

Ishikawa: That was eight years ago.

Morikawa: Yes.

Ishikawa: Time flies, doesn’t it? This studio’s now filled with thirty-somethings.

(The others laugh.)

Morikawa: I’m already a forty-something. [Along with Shimura, Narita, Tobita, Kobayashi and Shibuya.]

Tobita: Same here.

Ishikawa: During the previous recording, all of us were in our twenties or thirties. [Tobita, the oldest among the cast, turned forty in 1999.]

Ishikawa: And we’re all playing high school students.

Morikawa: Yes.

Ishikawa: This is a wonderful piece of work.

(Toriumi laughs.)

Ishikawa: So I hope that we’ll be able to continue voicing these characters.

Morikawa: That’s what I’m aiming for.

Ishikawa: Really, let’s continue playing these high schoolers even when we’re senior citizens.

Morikawa: Sure.

Ishikawa: For this track, based on the last line of the story–

Morikawa: Yes, the line spoken by Katsuragi, right?

(Kawakami laughs.)

Ishikawa: Sorry, yes, it’s Katsuragi’s line. It went like this: “Good grief. It’s just impossible to find the time to get tired of life while hanging out with you guys.” So, here’s the topic of our talk –

Morikawa: Yes, the topic: As long as you can have or do this thing, you’ll never tire of it! Please provide the reason why as well.

Kawakami: Okay.

Ishikawa: We’ll give our comments one by one.

Morikawa: Alright.

Ishikawa: Well then, let’s begin!

Kisaichi: I’ll go first. This is Kisaichi Atsushi, who plays Fujiwara Yuusuke. Thank you for your hard work, everyone. I don’t really have anything I’m particularly obsessed with. There’s work, baseball, ping pong, billiard, bowling, darts, golf, basketball – I never tire of stuff like these. Ah, but strength training is out of the question. Swimming too. I don’t like bland and repetitive activities like those. I love games involving balls, since I won’t get bored playing them. Though I’m not much of a sportsman, I enjoy getting better at these games. That’s about it.

Ishikawa: Aren’t you in a baseball club?

Kisaichi: Yes. I’m a coach there, after a fashion.

Ishikawa: A coach?

Kisaichi: Yes. It was a request I couldn’t refuse. In this particular case, it’s not one of those things I never tire of, but simply a duty I have to fulfill. Still, I definitely love baseball and other ball games. Yes, that’s about it.

Ishikawa: Go Atsushi!

Kisaichi: Thank you for listening! Then, on to the next person.

Toriumi: Hello, I’m Ainoura Kousuke.

(A few of the voice actors laugh. Kawakami exclaims in surprise.) [Instead of properly stating his actual name, Toriumi provided a combination of his character’s surname and his own personal name.]

Toriumi: Speaking of what I’ll never tire of, it’s curry. Curry is a magnificent dish. I can eat it anytime. Also, I never get bored grilling meat. It’s my lot in life to continuously grill meat for others.

(A few of the others start to chat among themselves in the background.)

Toriumi: Won't you please listen to me?

Morikawa: What’s the method you use to grill meat?

Toriumi: Method? I specialize in offal **. [The phrase I manage to catch is horume/horune but the only term for grilled offal I can find online is horumonyaki.]

Ishikawa: Morikawa-san’s the only one who’s seen you do it, isn’t he?

Toriumi: The first praise I received from Morikawa-san was for my meat-grilling method, you know. (laughs) I hope to get more praises from him in the future too.

Shimura: Offal!

Ishikawa: You’re noisy!

Toriumi: I’d like to continue grilling meat in the future. In addition, I recently started to play golf as well. Golf is fun too. I think it’s also something I won’t tire of. I hope I can improve on my technique there.... Goodbye.

Sasanuma: This is Sasanuma Akira, who plays Matsubara Jun.

Ishikawa: MatsuJun! [also the nickname of J-pop idol Matsumoto Jun.]

Sasanuma: MatsuJun? Yeah, I guess. (laughs) Playing with my beloved pet dog is something I’ll never tire of!

Kawakami: Eh?

Sasanuma: Yes, it’s my dog. Patting it on the thighs–

Kawakami: Thighs?

Sasanuma: –while feeding it beef jerky – I can do this for an hour or two. Even after the beef jerky’s all gone, I find myself still patting my dog.

Toriumi: Your pet dog’s a beef jerky junkie.

(Everyone laughs.)

Sasanuma: I feed it various other stuff too, such as milk. Yeah, I guess it’s going to get fat thanks to that. Alright, that’s it from me.

Shimura: Good evening. I’m Shimura Tomoyuki, who plays Murota.

Someone: It’s your head.

Shimura: Yes, it’s my head **. As long as I have it, I’ll never tire of it. Right on. Fishing is something I could do forever – if dragons existed. I want to catch one, that’s why. Also, drinking is something I can do all the time. But, I’ll always regret it the day after. And will drink again later in the evening. Only to regret it all over again the next morning! Goodbye.

Kobayashi: Good evening. This is Kobayashi Youko, who plays the transgender musclewoman and school doctor, Igarashi. Well, someone might have already mentioned the same thing before, but for me too, it’s cats [that I’ll never tire of].

Ishikawa: Ah, cats! I love cats!

Kobayashi: A group of volunteers were looking for homes for strays in front of the train station in my neighborhood. I got a pet cat from them three months ago. It’s a black cat. I find myself liking the cat so much that I got another one yesterday. (laughs) I will bring it home next week – a tricolor one this time. Yes, soon I’ll be the owner of two cats. They seem to be increasing rapidly. My home might soon turn into a cat mansion. As long as I have my cats, I’ll never tire of life. That’s it from me. Thank you very much.

Narita: Er... good evening. I’m Narita Ken, who plays Matsumoto Takahisa, the Student Council Chairman. As for me, I basically like baths. The other day, I went to a hot spring resort. The sort with a private open-air bath just outside the room.

The others: That’s nice.

Narita: Isn’t it? I really love that sort of hot spring resorts.

One of the voice actors: Did you go alone?

Narita: No no, I went with other people, of course. Going on my own would be too lonesome. Well, going alone might not be a bad thing. I like baths, so I probably won’t mind going alone. After getting out of the bath, I typically have fish dishes to accompany the sake. To me, these are life’s pleasures. Thank you for listening.

Tobita: Good morning. This is Tobita Nobuo, who plays Tachibana Haruka, the Student Council Vice-Chairman. Like some of my fellow voice actors, I love cats.

Ishikawa: Cats!

Tobita: Yes. I have an American Shorthair and a Somali.

Ishikawa: You have a Somali as well?

Tobita: The two didn’t get along well at first, never mind playing together. It took three years before they finally slept together. But now they live together happily. I hope that they’ll live long and well. Also, I like my job and working together with the Chairman. As long as Narita-san’s there, things will never get boring!

(The others laugh.) [T/N: After all, it’s that, to quote Morikawa, ‘that Narita Ken.’]

Tobita: Alright, hope to see you all again. Thank you very much.

Kondou: Thank you for your hard work, everyone. I’m Kondou Takashi, who plays Kiba Osamu. Originally, I wanted to be the first to say that I find joy in my work but Kisaichi-san already beat me to it right in the beginning. So I had to discard the lines I prepared and was thinking of something else to say while waiting for my turn. (laughs) I didn’t really intend for things to end up like this.

Kondou: The more I thought about it, the more negative it gets. When I start playing a video game, rather than not growing tired of it, I just can’t seem to stop. I tell myself, “I mustn’t go on like this, I need to get out of the house, I have to work.” So, persevering with utmost effort, I make sure to go out every morning. (laughs) If I don’t do that, I’ll turn into a shut-in. Everyone, please take care when playing video games. That’s about it.

Itou: This is Itou Kentarou, who plays Ryuunosuke. Well, at this point, we’ve run out of unique responses. Really, I’m blessed to be working with senior voice actors who never tire of their jobs. There’s drinking too, as Shimura said. And golf, as Kousuke mentioned. I’m absorbed in those recently. I actually get bored of things pretty easily. When I think about the reason why, it could be because once I decide that I like something, I’ll just do it while ignoring everything else. So from now on, I’ll do things in moderation. Hopefully, I’ll find something I never tire of, something I can continue doing for the rest of my life. I just realized this today. So, I’ll be taking my leave of you all, because I’m going off now to join some clubs. (laughs)

Katsu: I’m Katsu Anri, who plays Shuuji. Thank you for your hard work, everyone. As for something I’ll never get bored of, it’s the same as one of things Shimura-san mentioned: fishing. Also, I’ve been playing a few musical instruments for quite a while. That’s right – I never get tired of playing musical instruments [guitar, bass guitar and drums according to his Japanese Wikipedia page: https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%8B%9D%E6%9D%8F%E9%87%8C]. I perform mostly indoors these days. I don’t do it to that extent anymore, but in the past, I once played the bass for up to twelve hours without taking any break or eating. There was this song I just wanted to play over and over again. Once I was done, I collapsed onto the ground. My hands and legs had gone numb. I nearly got sent to the hospital. That was the level of my enthusiasm when it came to music. Everyone who plays musical instruments, please take care not to overdo it the way I did. Well, that was fun. That’s it from me.

Kawakami: This is Kawakami Tomoko, who plays Katsuragi-chan. While trying to think of things one never tires of, various stuff came to mind, such as pets and hobbies. But, for me it’s tidying up my room.

Morikawa: Ah, I know, I know!

Ishikawa: You’ve said enough. [not sure whether this was directed to Morikawa or Kawakami.]

Kawakami: Eh?

Kawakami: To be honest, my room’s far from neat. There are plenty of clutters in it. Whenever I try to put stuff away, I end up looking at them against my better judgment. Things like years-old magazine articles featuring interviews I granted. Reading some of those, I think: wow, did I really wear this attire? I never get bored of looking at old stuff like those. Though I expressly tell myself, “I must definitely tidy up my room today,” I end up not completing the task. Stuff will pile up again until I decide to have the next tidying up session, in which the same thing will happen. It’s a vicious circle. In short, I guess I’ll never have my fill of tidying up my room. Thank you for listening.

Ishikawa: I’m Ishikawa Hideo, who plays Tokito Minoru. I love cats too, so I’m a cat owner as well. Recently, I bought some black cotton swabs at the convenience store. Those are really good for picking up dirt. With just a little daub on the skin, a lot of dirt will come off. I used them on a recording location once and gave everyone there a piece. That’s how enthusiastic I’m about them. Everyone, if you like–

Morikawa: You gave everyone a cotton swab?

Ishikawa: Yes. Please give them a try.

(Morikawa laughs.)

Ishikawa: Aren’t you being silly? [He used the term from Kansai dialect for ‘idiot’, aho. FWIW, Ishikawa hails from the Kansai region. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kansai_dialect#Vocabulary]

Ishikawa: I– I– (tries unsuccessfully to speak over the clamor)

Someone: They’re convenient for cleaning up right?

Ishikawa: Right, for stuff such as getting rid of earwax. So, everyone, if you like, please give them a try. They’re called Wholly Absorbent Cotton Swabs and are black. They’re luxuriantly thick and great to use. As long as I have them, I’m good.... Er, did I say something weird?

(The others laugh.)

[More info on the cotton swabs: https://www.amazon.co.jp/%E9%98%BF%E8%98%87%E8%A3%BD%E8%96%AC-%E3%83%87%E3%83%AB%E3%82%AC%E3%83%BC%E3%83%89%E3%82%84%E3%81%BF%E3%81%A4%E3%81%8D%E7%B6%B%E6%A3%92-70%E6%9C%AC/dp/B000FQS0IS]

Ishikawa: Well, that’s about it. This gentleman will bring up the rear.

Morikawa: Yes. Dirty ears are gross... Sorry.

(Toriumi laughs along with some of the others.)

Morikawa: This is Morikawa Toshiyuki, who plays Kubota Makoto. As long I have or do this thing, I’ll never get bored. What is it? It’s meat! As long as I can eat meat, I’ll never... be thin.

(Toriumi laughs again.)

Morikawa: Being a dog person, I keep a Labrador Retriever as pet. Thanks to it.... I’ve had my fill of dogs.

(The others laugh.)

Morikawa: Really, my dog plays a trick on me at every turn. He’d carry off my house slippers and run around my residence trying to escape me. The minute I arrive home [and am about to wear the slippers], he’d grab the slippers without fail. I’m sick of that trick already, but he does not seem to be. Even now, I’m at loss as to how to deal with this behavior.

Someone: You’re fed up with it.

Morikawa: Sorry for bothering you all with my dog trouble. After this, I probably can’t count on your support anymore. (laughs) I’m done, yes.

Ishikawa: All right. Everyone, thank you very much. Then, let’s say it together. One, two–

Everyone: Good-bye!

--------

(Round brackets): actions and sound effects. [Square brackets]: translator’s notes or clarifications. Double asterisks **: Stuff I am not sure of. Suggestions for improvements and corrections are more than welcome.

Extra notes

Saiyuki fans: If you find some of the voices familiar, that might be because you’ve heard them in the Saiyuki anime.

Narita Ken, Matsumoto’s voice actor, played Koumyou Sanzo in Gensoumaden series and the Saiyuki Drama CD.

Toriumi Kousuke, Ainoura’s voice actor, played young Ukoku (Ken'yuu) in Burial OVA.

The late Kawakami Tomoko (Katsuragi’s voice actor) played Lirin.

Morikawa Toshiyuki (Kubota’s voice actor) played Homura.

Fans of old BLCD (late 1990s to early 2010s) probably would know most of the Araiso cast. I just couldn’t help smiling whenever I recalled who paired with whom in which Boys’ Love Drama CD as I translated this track.

There’s a good ending for Fujiwara, or his voice, at least. He got to be with his Kubota-senpai for once, in Toraware no Koibito.

Kondou Takashi (Osamu’s voice actor) played the seme to Morikawa in Adult Education and the uke to Ishikawa in Castle Mango.

If you’re interested in BL Drama CDs, there is wonderful list pointing to the downloads, indexed by voice actors on aarinfantasy.

#私立荒磯高等学校生徒会執行部 #Araiso Private High School Student Council Executive Committee #wild adapter #Ishikawa Hideo #Morikawa Toshiyuki #Kawakami Tomoko #Katsu Anri #Itou Kentarou #Kondou Takashi #Tobita Nobuo #Narita Ken #Kobayashi Youko #Shimura Tomoyuki #Sasanuma Akira #Toriumi Kousuke #Kisaichi Atsushi #drama cd