When ppl will create a "curvy" girl character and get pretty much the whole body's proportions right, obviously they're putting emphasis on bust/hips but it seems like it's being executed well--- except that they completely, fully, and deliberately, skip the stomach entirely. Just nothin there. Not even a whisper. I'm like. Just sack up, make it make sense and be honest with yourself by making it official and say it's canon that they got a tummy tuck. You cowardly ass, yellow bellied, wet brained, upside-down dog mouthed dirty bitch.

Quicko thing I've seen about Yashahime

So, as a recent commenter and the general fanbase of InuYasha have said, the mother of Towa and Setsuna is theorized to be Rin. She's an obviously popular choice to be Sesshomaru's lover/baby mama. Honestly, I would be ELATED if she's confirmed canon as the mother but there are a few complications that need to be checked in order to reasonably explain the theory of her being the mother. Keep in mind, I'm not a guru of InuYasha and I'm going to be referencing mainly the anime canon for this. So, in the case that I get something wrong or miss something, don't mob my house and crucify me amongst my mint garden. With that being said, let's get into it!

So, right outta the gate is the obvious one: Rin's age as she's 11 years old at the end of InuYasha. The seasons never seem to change in the Feudal Era but we know it was spring when Kagome graduated high school and transported back to the Feudal Era. So, as we know that time in the Feudal Era moves at the same rate as the Modern Era due to the 3 year time skip, we can safely say it's fall during the Since Then chapter/episode. I'm not an expert in the Japanese school system but a quick Google search says Japanese high school begins in April and ends in March, so I'm just gonna assume I'm close enough. Anyway, we don't know Rin's birthday but, just for a best case scenario for the theory, we'll say Rin turned 12 during this time. The synopsis of Yashahime is that it begins "a few years after" Since Then and then time is skipped ahead by 10 years. The girls are 14 years old - 10 years + 9 months of pregnancy = they were 3-4 years old during "a few years after". If they were 3, then we'll just say they recently turned 14 as we're only counting the years and not the months or days. Now, in ye olde days girls were generally married off when they got their first period, and that usually happened when the young ladies turned 13-14 years old (due to changes in nutrients in the modern world's food, puberty and, thus, periods actually start earlier so that's why 13-14 years old might seem a bit old for it to start). With that in mind, I'm going to add a year to this Rin is the mother theory so that she can be 13 and become eligible for childbirth. Kinda weird to show a 13 year old as a mother but Miroku did have a 14 y/o girl beg to be his wife (Kagome commented on this as well) so it's obviously a line that Rumiko isn't afraid of crossing. Also, given that Miroku and Sango's twin daughters are 2-3 years old and Sango was a 16 y/o during InuYasha, Sango and Miroku were clearly married and got busy while she was still 16. This is Rumiko telling us that modern expectations don't mean shit in the Feudal Era; what we consider underage is overage in the Feudal Era.

Whew! I think that's the biggest one out of the way, so let's move on to genetics - phenotypes in particular (remember, genotypes have to do with genetic appearance and phenotypes have to do with physical appearance). Typically, children in the InuYasha universe look very similar to their parents. Sesshomaru is the spitting image of his parents: white hair, face markings (Sess takes after his mother in that category along with her pale skin) and golden eyes. InuYasha also takes after both his parents: Toga's tanned skin, golden eyes, white hair and (in his human form) Izayoi's black hair and eyes. We don't know what Kagome's father looked like but she does share many similarities to her mother in pretty much all phenotype categories. The only real difference between the two is that her mother's hair seems to be on the curly side while Kagome's (and Sota's) hair is more straightened, presumably a trait from their father. For an example from Yashahime itself, look no further than Moroha: brown eyes from Kagome, InuYasha's tanned skin, Kagome's (and technically InuYasha's) black hair - hell, she even got InuYasha's doglike behaviors (even if it was meant for comedy relief at most times). Setsuna and Towa though? They don't look a lot like Sesshomaru to begin with, let alone Rin. Assuming Rin is the mother, Setsuna has Rin's hair, Towa has Sesshomaru's hair, and both have Sesshomaru's pale skin; however, both girls have red segments in their hair and both have differently colored eyes, neither of which match their parents. Now, Setsuna and Towa are half-demons and, although we don't see a lot of half-demons in InuYasha, we DO know they don't always look like their parents. Case in point: Jeninji. Jeninji is...well, physically-wise, the general definition of a monster despite his father being godly in appearance along with a very pretty mother. The only other (canon) half-demon we've seen is Shiori, and the only things she got from her mother was her gender. So Towa and Setsuna, two confirmed half-demons, having physical features that match only one or neither of their parents? Fairly plausible.

Lastly is Rin and Sesshomaru's relationship and Sesshomaru's general relationship to the general human race. Sesshomaru fuckin hates humans, no ifs, ands or buts about that one; HOWEVER, there are a few humans that meet his exceptions. I'm fairly positive he only puts up with Kagome (she called him big brother at the end of InuYasha and no shit it looked like he wanted to kill her) because InuYasha loves her and I'm a firm believer that Sesshomaru cares for InuYasha more than he lets on. As I said in a previous post, Kohaku is on Sesshomaru's good list due to his efforts to protect Rin; I think the only reason Sesshomaru seemed to be harsher to Kohaku was because he was a boy and was expected to take care of himself (for example, Sesshomaru expressed annoyance at having to defend Kohaku and threatened to leave him to die but didn't follow through with it). Last human on Sesshomaru's 'this person is ok, I guess' list is, obviously, Rin. He loves her, no ifs, ands or buts about that either but we don't know what kind of love it is and we don't know where it could extend to as she grows older. When Rin died the second time, Sesshomaru cradled her body and probably would've cried if he was normal in literally any kind of way. When his mother (y'all ever realized that Sess's mother doesn't have a canon name?) revived Rin, Sesshomaru crowded her and caressed her cheek. As one of my dad's favorite songs goes, if that ain't love then I don't know what love is. The way Sesshomaru views Rin is never stated, whether explicitly or implicitly, and, in my opinion, Rin is too young to understand whatever type of admiration she has for him. Rin has stated that she wants to be with Sesshomaru for forever and Sesshomaru, who seemed to feel the same way, had obvious plans to retrieve her once she spent more time with other humans - but only if Rin wanted to come along. Also, lets keep in mind that Sesshomaru was reluctant to separate from her to begin with and he still visits her very often plus brings her gifts on each visit.

With half-demon daughters and his general hate for anything human, Rin is by far the strongest candidate to be the mother but we don't know what Sesshomaru is up to during his travels. For all we know, he could've bonded with some other human woman in the time between InuYasha and Yashahime. On a sidenote, and I know this is pretty stereotypical, but clothes (the type of gift he seems to leave her more often than not) is among the top 3 things you give to your boo to woo them (I especially say this 'cause even I enjoy clothes shopping) but that kinda depends on the person.

JUSTICE FOR JESUS — Misconceptions & Prejudices about the Faith in the Biblical Jesus Christ.

PART ONE: Christianity is not a Religion, it is God‘s plan to redeem mankind and have a relationship with us forever

I‘ve used to think that Jesus is about Religion, Church, Pastors, Dogma. When you look around in the world it makes sense: Everyone believes something different, all faiths are entirely valid for the people who practice them. Of course you throw Christianity in the same pot as Islam and Judaism, they‘re called „the Abrahamic Religions“ (because Abraham was the father of Isaac, who was the father of Jacob, and Jacob is „Israel“, but also Abraham was the father of Ishmael who was only born because Abraham and Sara didn‘t put their faith in God to have a child like God promised, they were impatient and didn‘t have faith, because Sara was already old and could actually not get pregnant anymore, so Sara suggested that Abraham should have a child with Hagar, the handmaiden of Sara; and from Ishmael‘s lineage basically the Arabs and Islam came along, since God had promised to make a great nation out of Abraham, this blessing went worth to both sons of Abraham) - so basically YES, Jews and Christians worship the same God. The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, as it is written all over the Old and New Testament. The only difference is that Christianity has been infiltrated by Satan a loooong time ago, and Judaism (for the most part) rejects Jesus as their Messiah, even though Jesus was prophesied from the FIRST LETTER of the FIRST WORD of the FIRST BOOK of the Bible/Torah FOR the Jews! When he finally arrived FOR the Jews, the Gospel (the message of Salvation) was preached to ONLY Jews for 7 years (3 and a half years of Jesus‘ ministry, 3 and a half years after His death preached by His Apostles) and only THEN (after the Jews for the most part rejected the Gospel and persecuted everyone who believed in Jesus; our best example for this is the Apostle Paul who was actually Sha‘ul; he was formerly an extremely Jewish Pharisee who relentlessly persecuted Christians but then Jesus Himself appeared in a vision to Him and asked Him „Why are you persecuting me?“ and by seeing Jesus‘ glory and majesty, He was born-again and wrote ~70% of the New Testament) God decided to spread the message of Salvation to Greeks/Gentiles as well, because He wants to save all humans, and His chosen people would not do the work that He hoped they would. God‘s priority was always Israel until they have entirely rejected the Salvation that is ONLY found in God‘s Son, the Messiah, the Anointed One: Jesus Christ. Gladly there are a lot of messianic Jews nowadays who do their best to bring Israel‘s saviour to the Jewish people, just like it was supposed to be.

Every single Religion or Faith that there is that does not teach that you can find Salvation in Jesus Christ, the literal Son of God, will not give you peace, love and the Truth, will not give you Eternal Life (and if „Heaven“ and „Eternal Life“ sounds too ethereal for you try „different non-linear dimension“ and „consciousness transferred into a spiritual body“ - because THAT‘S how it was supposed to be before our Earth fell into a linear timeline, away from God‘s presence) and that‘s just how it is. There are tons of Religions, Faiths, even pretty much ALL Christian denominations and all the Christian cults, each one of them has a different way of denying the only thing that leads to Salvation: Jesus is the LITERAL only-begotten Son of the one true God & He died for our sins & was raised to life again by God the Father. Satan literally tries in ANY way possible to deny the LITERAL Sonship of Christ whose Father is God Almighty, YHWH. [...by the way, if you believe in that Zecharia Sitchin nonsense, please visit http://sitchiniswrong.com/ - by an ACTUAL scholar of Biblical Hebrew and of Ancient Semitic Languages]. And for the people who don‘t even bother with Jesus at all, he developed a plethora of options, to believe in something else, his first and only goal is to keep people away from Jesus, and he literally does not care how he accomplishes it. Every single Faith that does not lead to Jesus and into the Kingdom of God, has its roots in Ancient Babylon and leads into the Kingdom of Darkness. There are literally only two options, and that’s the absolute Truth, no matter if “truth” today is a “subjective matter for everyone”; that’s exactly what Satan wanted to achieve, and he sure did it. People are always extremely offended when Christians claim to have the only true God, the One who brought all things into existence despite the circumstance that they don‘t even believe in the FACT that we were brought into existence by this one God through Jesus Christ (who is the „Word of God“, and as you all know „God said: Let there be light, and there was Light“ - basically God spoke things into existence BY his Word, and his word IS Jesus Christ, the Son of God).

People rather believe in an extremely ridiculous and propagated concept of a „Big Bang“ that caused things to just „happen over time“, that our Earth is millions or billions of years old, that it is sheer „luck“ that we can survive because if we were just a tiny bit closer or less close to the Sun we would either burn up or freeze, that we evolved from ape-like men who were not very intelligible, that our extreme complex languages also probably evolved from ape-like sounds (you have no idea how ridiculous all of this sounds, when you are awake, I can‘t even type it without putting it in „quotation marks“, and you literally can NOT UNSEE the Devil’s work once your eyes have been opened) when there is literally an abundance of undeniable evidence that the Creation by an intelligent and brilliant God is a LOT more plausible; or let‘s say: there is a LOT of evidence that the public narrative is simply a deception (for example, tons of GIANT human bones have been found since at least the 1800s but of course not a single person informs us about stuff like this, and of course we don‘t make an effort to research it, because we‘re all brainwashed until we realize the Truth; people who study their Bible know EXACTLY who these giants were and they also know exactly who all those other spiritual entities are which we see in Mythology from ancient cultures) - and when the public narrative is a deception, the only logical conclusion is that something different must be true. And which book contains the entire story from the very Beginning to the very End of humankind, which fulfilled a massive amount of prophecy throughout human history 100% accurate, and is by „sheer conincidence“ the most translated and printed book of ALL time? Exactly! The Bible!

„In the beginning (TIME) God created the heavens (SPACE) and the earth (MATTER)“ — Genesis 1:1 

(parantheses added)

Isn‘t it AMAZING how the inspired Word of God through the Prophets conveys complex scientific concepts in only a little sentence? THAT‘S how incredible God is! He is a Mastermind and good beyond ANYTHING. Sadly Satan has accomplished that the world sees our Creator like a hateful, narrow-minded, strict and arrogant Ruler who just wants to dominate us and put His Religion on us, but that could not be further away from the Truth. God, in fact, HATES Religion, all He ever wanted is to be loved by His people, acknowledged by His people and praised by His people (and honestly, He DESERVES praise for Everything He has done for us and for Everything that He is!) .. And then of course, you can look all around in nature! I swear, being born-again is like being a child again, before this world and our „education“ brainwashes you. When I walk outside, I just MARVEL at God‘s handiwork, it‘s literally AMAZING. When I look at flowers, veggies, fruits, animals, insects of all kinds (I even lost my fear of spiders and wasps and even hornets, it‘s just amazing to look at them), when I taste different kind of nuts, herbs and spices (by the way, isn‘t it amazing how there‘s a herb or plant for every health issue a human can have, just like the Bible says? if we really evolved from a Big Bang to THIS, how do we explain the miraculous powers of all of these things? Have they just „happened“...?) look at the funny shapes of everything; everything just blows my mind, it‘s incredible. Someday I really want to ask God what He thought when He created Romanesco Broccoli because each time I see that thing, I just marvel at its weirdness and beauty. The world is just so ridiculously beautiful and NO ONE can see it except born-again Christians (I‘m really excited for eternal Life because this Creation is in a fallen state and the Bible says that the actual glory of the actual Creation is even more magnificent, WHOA...!!!) and I sometimes literally cry because it‘s SO SAD what Satan has made us believe about our planet, about ourselves, about literally everything. And why? Just because he hates Jesus, he hates God and he most certainly hates EVERYONE else, you, me, everyone. He loves only himself and he doesn‘t care if he‘s robbing us from the most astonishing experience ever: Life! He enslaves us through spiritual warfare to desires that we would naturally not have (social status, money, power, career, material objects of all sorts, fame, success, other people no matter how toxic they are for our health, drugs, likings and addictions of all kinds, literally ANYTHING can be the work of spiritual warfare) and makes us believe on top of that that we‘re just a bunch of random Apes in a random world, that our purpose is to make money and survive in a society that grows more and more into cold robots each year, only so that at the end, we die, never knew Jesus, and perish in Hell with him. It‘s literally the saddest thing EVER.

So yes, „Religious Freedom“ is a thing; everyone CAN believe whatever they want and feel drawn to, but ONLY born-again believers in Jesus Christ will live with God forever and ever in a different dimension that is not bound to time. Just like God wanted to live with us from the very beginning! We are His masterpiece of creation! Did you know that we are more cherished than angels? He sent his LITERAL SON to die for us, ALL of us, just so that we can live with God! Isn‘t that incredible??? I’m just absolutely in Love with God and Jesus and I’ve never thought that I’d EVER say this, growing up as an Atheist and then, over 2 years deceived in a spiritual bubble that is not even real.

My prayer is that the people who are written in the book of Life and belong to God’s kingdom find Jesus Christ, and experience His Love, because once you have, there is not a single day that is sad or empty, not a single day that seems pointless, you will have peace and a blessed hope for eternity to come. Amen.

TESTIMONIES

From Buddha to Christ. Powerful Testimony.

Chinese Triad Gangster Finds Jesus In Death Encounters

SATANISM, WITCHCRAFT, DRUGZ, DEPRESSION this is my testimony

"New Age" Occult Practices Nearly Ruined My Life | Warning & Testimony

Raves, drugs, vanity, new age to Jesus Christ | My Testimony

Four Kisses from Yotsuba.

Those who claim Yotsuba didn’t have much development must have missed the fact that she kissed Fuutarou 3 times before he chose her! But before we get into the 4 kisses, let’s revisit Yotsuba’s confession, because I believe this is when all the trouble began! And by “trouble” I mean Fuutarou’s feelings for Yotsuba.

In chapter 17, Fuutarou revealed the three things he likes most in a girl. but two of them can be dismissed as irrelevant. The third was “always thinking about her brother,” but obviously that can’t apply to anyone other than Raiha, so we can eliminate that one. The second was “good at cooking.” But Fuutarou liked Miku’s infamously horrible cooking, so that one can be eliminated as irrelevant. That leaves the first qualifier as the only relevant one: the thing he likes most in a girl is that she’s “always happy.” Remember, that’s a quality that we also see in the Lolikano from 5 years earlier: she was effervescing with joy. When Yotsuba said the reason she’s helping Fuutarou was “because I like you,” it was the first time anyone had ever confessed to him and she’s exactly his type. Yotsuba stirred something inside him and and made his heart skip a beat. We know this because that moment was a part of Fuutarou’s “Yotsuba montage” at the beginning of chapter 114. But then she torpedoed what might have been the beginning of something beautiful by saying “Just kidding! Ha! You fell for it! Even I can lie when I want to.” Yotsuba didn’t realize it, but she hurt his feelings when she did that. That’s why we read: “Fuutarou’s heart closed a little that day.” Fuutarou hints at how much her lie stung in his inner monologue in the next chapter when he says “If you tell bad lies you’re bound to get hurt...no, I guess last time I was burnt instead.”

Having laid the groundwork, we now proceed to the first time Yotsuba kissed Fuutarou, in chapter 51 right after the quints were debating how to thank him for being their tutor. At first, we get this amusing little scene where Yotsuba imagines giving Fuutarou a medal while her sisters all imagine kissing him!

But it turns out that was just a red herring. Yotsuba was trying to think of a way to thank Fuutarou that did not involve her acting on her feelings, hence the medal. The others weren’t operating under the constraints of internalized guilt and inadequacy. But Yotsuba’s been holding back her feelings for a long time, and every once in awhile they breach the surface.

Just look at that massive blush on her face as she covers her mouth in the last panel. She says it’s just a thank you but her body language says otherwise. So how did Fuutarou not know Yotsuba’s feelings? The only way for Yotsuba to act on her feelings was under the cover of plausible deniability. Here, she passed the kiss off as just a thank you for being their tutor. We can see how wide eyed Fuutarou was with surprise and confusion after he wiped his cheek. I can almost see what he must have been thinking:

“Yotsuba?!? But I thought she was lying when she said she’s on my side because she likes me, and now she kissed me? Wait, what?! That was just a thank you? I’m so confused!”

Who wouldn’t be confused? He likes her, but he’s dismissing his own feelings due to his initially dismissive attitude towards anything besides academic achievement. More on that later.

The second time was the bell kiss incident. Until the final chapter, we haven’t had canon confirmation that this was Yotsuba. But now that we know, I’ll leave the evidence for another post and let the scene speak for itself.

Here, again, we see Yotsuba using her disguise as Itsuki as a cover of plausible deniability. It’s also worth pointing out that at the beginning of this scene, we are told that the bell kisser is Fuutarou’s bride, fulfilling the legend of the bell of vows. Hmmm...bell of vows, kiss of vows. Coincidence? So how did Fuutarou not know it was Yotsuba? He was able to tell her apart from her sisters even when disguised, but only when she spoke. I’ve elaborated on this point in another post, so I’ll simply say that in the entire bell kissing scene, it is crucial that Yotsuba doesn’t say a word to Fuutarou. In fact, in the interval between the scene in chapter 64 when Fuutarou identifies “Fourth Itsuki” as Yotsuba and the Bell Kissing scene, we see Yotsuba practicing her Itsuki impression. Why? She said she was worried about whether or not she could pull off her disguise, but her grandfather could tell all 5 quints apart because of love. So if it wasn’t her grandfather that Yotsuba was worried about, who else could it have been but Fuutarou? And if she knew Fuutarou could see through her act very easily, it stands to reason that he was the reason she first tried to improve her act, then abandoned that effort and chose instead to kiss Fuutarou without saying a word.

The third time was on day 3 of the Sunrise Festival, just a few hours before Fuutarou made his choice known. Unlike the first two times, she does not have the benefit of plausible deniability. Or does she?

This time, Fuutarou thought it was all just a dream, and that the dream was about Rena, not Yotsuba. Meanwhile, Yotsuba attempts to convince herself that having made one final memory, she’s ready to move on, but just the thought of letting Fuutarou go causes her to become so heartbroken that she breaks down and cries. Then she does what she’s always done up until now, she buries her true feelings, puts on her cheerful facade, and greets Fuutarou as though nothing was the matter.

This is how, despite kissing him 3 times, Fuutarou still had no idea how she felt about him. The first time, she claimed it was just a thank you. The second time, he didn’t know which quintuplet it was. The third time, he thought it was all a dream. But it’s obvious to a discerning reader that she’s just barely containing intense feelings of love for him.

Just for good measure, and in keeping with Yotsuba’s number 4 theme, she kissed him 4 times in the manga, the fourth time being this one, the kiss of vows.

As a final thought, I don’t think the bell kiss incident was when Fuutarou fell in love with Yotsuba, I think that was when he stopped denying it. How did I come to that conclusion, and what is my evidence? Here’s the short version: I believe Yotsuba’s first confession stirred something in Fuutarou’s heart, something that only grew on their camping trip, becoming love at the end of their date in the playground with the swings. “And ever since that day I came here with you, this place has become special to me too.” He dismissed those feelings as foolish to pursue because of his singleminded pursuit of academic excellence at the expense of everything else, and because high school relationships usually end in breakups, so why waste his time on foolish, ephemeral feelings that will probably end badly anyway? But once the bell kiss incident happened, he could no longer dismiss those feelings. He didn’t know who the bell kisser was, but her sincere feelings for him made his sincere feelings for Yotsuba impossible to ignore any longer. Hence, why he said “It was from that moment on that I started thinking she was special.”

Princess, part 7

     [This story is a prequel, set several years before The Fall of Doc Future, when Flicker is 16.  Links to some of my other work are here.  Updates are theoretically biweekly–next update is scheduled for February 16th.]

Previous: Part 6

     Full intragroup and intergroup relative advantage simulation run started.  Estimated time for results: 6 hours at current background priority.       Flicker finished her third high speed assessment of Practical Power Dynamics and supporting information on people and organizations that had used it.  It had sparked insights--it was full of interesting social science--but it was also full of traps.  Many of them seemed to be associated with naive scaling--the book's advice seemed unusually hostile to the incentive structures of large organizations, such as major corporations, government agencies, and international organized crime.  She didn't yet have the context to follow the social changes the book had inspired, other than the notable de-fetishization of gratuitous killing.  A long model run would help, but it would also take a while.       Flicker's focus was more on the personal.  Some of the advice on managing anger was intriguing, but it was unclear how applicable it would be for someone whose emotional processing was not entirely human.  What she had found most useful was the window into the thinking of a smart, astute human who had done serious work on the problem of long-term functioning with a large personal reservoir of anger.       She slowed down, moving herself back into squishy brain again, with active senses other than sight and touch.  Human senses, hearing and smell, for the sound from the high speed workstation fans and the cooling pumps for the server room, and the faint smell of the oil she'd used on a stuck robot earlier in the day.  She flexed her hands, which tingled as the normal flow of blood returned after a long bout of speed typing.       Her emotions shifted back to as normal as they ever got as well.       Journeyman was still watching.  It had been about a minute for him--and almost a day subjective for her, some of it spent thinking on her own while she waited on resource intensive bits of Database analysis.  She stood up from the high speed workstation and moved to the other end of the couch.       "The book's perspective on anger is useful," she said, "and there are some techniques that may end up helping with management--but that will probably take a while.  DASI is analyzing it and running simulations.  There is lots of subtext, and quirks because it wasn't really intended for someone with my level of power.  And we still have to sort through some of the traps, so I'll take my time, and it's securely recorded and backed up."       She handed the book back to him.  "Thank you for the loan."       "No problem."       Flicker exhaled slowly, releasing a bit of the tension she had built up.  "My level of background anger seems to be pretty high compared to most humans.  But not compared to the author of the book, apparently.  The way she talks about normal humans getting angry and calming down sounds like an anthropologist documenting weird alien behavior.  It's kind of funny because I find some of the same things weird.  So I can see why someone with normal human anger might find mine scary.  Like you do."       Flicker waved a hand.  "It's hard to explain because a lot of it isn't conscious.  It's just what I do, I don't know any other way.  But I can tell you something I know I do differently.  A lot of the things I see at high speed make me angry.  How could they not, if I care at all?  And my speed mind is wider than my squishy brain--it has way more short-term memory.  That's why I need to forget so much when I sleep--to keep the human part of me sane.  But some of the anger from the memories stays.  Only a little for each one, but it adds up.  More than anything I can do to calm down does.       "I have ways to dump that kind of anger, but only down to a certain point.  So I tend to be at or above my background anger level most of the time, unless I'm completely concentrating on something.  And new things can interact with the background and make it seem like I'm reacting disproportionately when I'm really not.  Does this help you understand better?"       Journeyman glanced down at the book, still in his hands, then put it back into his vest pocket.  "A bit.  I hope you're ready for some things that will make you angry, because I can't put them off any longer."       Flicker studied him.  "Speaking of traps and subtext, there was a bit in the book about not setting traps for yourself with unresolved conflicts.  We have one.  Have you been avoiding it to sustain your load-bearing social fiction?  Or because you were worried I'd be angry?"       "Both.  The spying you did the next time I was gone after scrambled memory day had some serious consequences."       "It was research on your background I needed to do because you didn't leave me any other options, and you never elaborated."       "You'd already stopped by the time I found out about it, and I didn't want to have that fight while you were my backup for the dicey mess I got myself into."  Journeyman spread his hands.  "You uncovered information about a fair number of my contacts.  One of them was a Diviner.  Doesn't matter how careful you are if you hit a canary secret from a prepared Diviner.  If the number of people who know it is small, and goes up, they can tell.  After I got back, I found a message from her telling me it had been fun, but she didn't want to die finding out the hard way that my new girlfriend was the jealous type.  She'd already disappeared.  I can't blame her--she knew you were my partner and correctly guessed you were the one digging.  Diviners that aren't paranoid about being hunted don't generally live to get old."       "But I wasn't--never mind."  She planned ahead based on plausible assumptions.       "Yeah.  My contacts don't know everything, and neither do you.  And that's the way it has to stay."       Flicker frowned.  "Okay, but I still don't understand the rules for how your magical communities function.  The information quality about them in the Database was really low:  A lot of implausible junk, some weird and disturbing stuff--most of it probably untrue--and occasional records of conflicts that left a body or bodies.  I wanted to find a good enough set of connections and opinions of you so I could see where you fit.  I was not trying to endanger anyone. That was why I put so much effort into preserving anonymity for everyone but you when I was digging.  And stopped when I realized it would fail.  I learned a lot of things I didn't expect.  Including how justified so many of the people you know are in fearing databases.  But only the Database knows who they are, I don't."       "They don't know that.  Limiting access to personally identifiable information can be a matter of life or death for them."  Journeyman smiled humorlessly.  "The torches and pitchforks crowds and burn-the-witch-itis have always interacted with privacy loss in ugly ways.  One consequence is that internal safety is an issue, and yes, that's something I have to balance.  I try not to make things worse.  But I did, when I became your partner.  I needed backup for too long, and you stopped waiting and started spying."       "I wanted to know about you, and if you'd been willing to sit down and talk to me--"  Not productive.  Redirect.  "I use the Database as a social prosthetic to keep from screwing up even worse than I do already.  You were being evasive.  I didn't know enough to tell if you were trying to get me to take a hint, so I used it to try to find out if I was taking the right hint.  There were Database privacy blocks keeping me from finding out what I wanted, and that stupid superhero social taboo against asking directly.  How else was I supposed to find out?  Telepathy?  Osmosis?  It was OSINT, active hacking and monitoring, or ghosting around to spy in person, and I picked the least intrusive option."       Journeyman nodded.  "That's what the Database told me, when I learned about the urgent trust hazard you'd created.  I understand.  But even open source intelligence is qualitatively different with your level of Database access.  Perceptions count for what I do, and it doesn't matter what you or I think, if my contacts start avoiding me because they're worried about a frighteningly powerful 16-year-old with high level Database access who is perceived as immature."       "How did this become common knowledge?  Did the Diviner tell people?"       "I did.  I knew there would be others, so I asked the Database for a list, got in touch with those I still could, and apologized."       Calm.  "Without telling me."       "I told you I'd handle the fallout--that it was a social problem, not a speed or power problem.  Remember?"       "Yes, but this was something I needed to know to correctly evaluate consequences.  And isn't it still a problem, just from us being partners?"       "At the moment, yes.  It's going to take time for me to rebuild trust."       Flicker shook her head.  Staying angry at him for concealing an apology would be both unhelpful and unfair.       "I see," she said.  "Any other unpleasant surprises you want to get out of the way?"       Journeyman clasped his hands and looked down at them.  "Several.  I've had time to think a little more about Doc not telling you things.  And you make assumptions based on what you think he must know.  But there is something I've picked up as a magician that you probably haven't.  Diviners tend to be paranoid and secretive, for good reasons.  A lot of Seers have serious trouble staying mentally healthy.  And true Oracles have to take extreme measures to stay sane and alive, and be really careful how they talk."       "What definitions are you using?  The Database says 'Seer' is used so broadly and vaguely it's almost meaningless."       "Ah, sorry.  Magicians can be sloppy with terminology, but what can you do?  A Diviner is a magician who specializes in information magic.  Seer is a catch-all label for anyone who sees or perceives things not accessible to normal senses that are at least sometimes accurate--they don't have to be trained and Seeing often isn't voluntary.  Breakpoint is an example of a Seer who isn't a magician.  An Oracle is a Seer who can see the future, know it's the future, and possibly affect it.  They are frickin' dangerous.  And rare.  And Doc comes across to me as an Oracle doing a very good job of hiding it."       "He isn't an Oracle, he's just good at long term extrapolation.  He does do some pretty weird analysis and debiasing tricks with Database projections, though."       "I think there's more to it, but it might not matter.  There are quirks he has, ways he talks about certain things, that make me wonder if he has a future-vision-o-mat down in the vaults.  And a way to stay functional as an Oracle is extreme compartmentalization--literally putting some things completely out of your mind.  That's risky if you get attacked, and I think Doc has been.  But he does have the Database, and the support for the kind of compartmentalization he would need was already there when I needed some of it, for the data I just put in escrow."       Journeyman looked back at her.  "So don't assume he has to know something because he knows other things.  And be careful about dismissing warnings if he can't share direct evidence.  Oracles can know without being able to show."       "That sounds pretty speculative," said Flicker, "but I'll keep it in mind."       "That's all I can ask."  Journeyman nodded slowly.  "And now for something else you'll probably consider speculative, but sure doesn't look that way to me.  Did Doc ever tell you how an Oracle duel works?"       Flicker sped up briefly to check the Database, then slowed again.  "No, but it sounds like something theoretical called a dual loop virtual time travel instability.  Does it involve nothing you can really see except strange apparent coincidences?"       "Yeah, that's what Doc called them.  I'm pretty sure now that the entire mess I got dragged into over a year ago--the deciding factor for my agreement to become your partner in the first place--was tangled up with a long running Oracle duel involving at least two sides.  And that's not even counting whatever indirect effect Doc's projections might have.  When I started to realize something was weird, I didn't think it had anything to do with you.  Aaand... I was wrong.  Figured that out last night, but it doesn't help much.  Even if you know you're caught in the gears, it's way too easy to tie yourself up in self-delusion, seeing things that aren't there..."       "Confirmation bias?"       "And a bunch of other kinds.  Multiply the problems in Doc's rant about using Bayesian analysis to catch a probability manipulator by a hundred.  And I'm fairly certain I was targeted to get at you."       Flicker frowned.  "Why?  Why am I not targeted directly?"       "You are--that would be Hermes.  There are multiple things going on, which is what makes this such a pain to try to unravel.  But you have a lot of protection from direct probability manipulation.  A bunch of older magicians that lived through the Cold War still cast regular little blessings against nuclear annihilation.  You get part of them because you can--and would--rip apart a nuclear war with thrown rocks.  And Doc and I still argue about the origin of some less obvious buffers for you that definitely exist.  But there's lot of hostile probability manipulation, too.  Like, everyone who can do it who wants to destroy the world or part of it, because you're pretty good at stopping that, and the easiest way to get it to happen is to trick you into doing it for them.  Now I'm not defenseless.  But it's like..."       Journeyman paused to think, then looked up at her.  "Suppose I'm somewhere with bullets and shrapnel flying around.  I'm better off than the average bystander because I have an anti-bullet ward.  But if I'm standing next to Armadillo and a bunch of machine guns are shooting at her, I'm in danger, because bullets miss and bounce, and my ward can only handle so much.  And if some of the gunners get the bright idea to shoot at me instead, I'm in real trouble, because what might only annoy her can kill me.  I'm the weak point."       He pressed a hand to his forehead.  "I think I'm your weak point.  In more than one way.  And yeah, there are things we could theoretically do to try to handle it all, but you know what those machine gun equivalents are very effective at preventing?  Calm, uninterrupted consideration of anything personal or contentious."       "I think we're managing okay," said Flicker.  "I mean, it's not exactly fun, but..."       "We haven't gotten to the contentious part.  And, uh... I'd kind of like to move somewhere neutral for that.  This is your home, and you may suddenly prefer I be elsewhere."       "I may even more suddenly need to talk to the Database, and the latency is lower here.  If I want you to leave I'll tell you.  And you can port out any time, if you stop feeling safe."       "I'm not feeling particularly safe now.  But I promised I'd stop evading, so...  Do you still want to go ahead?"       Flicker briefly consulted her reminder list, much of which now seemed outdated or inappropriate.  "I had a plan, but you derailed it by bringing up other stuff--important stuff--like you're afraid we won't ever get another chance to talk."       A steadying breath.  "So I'm wondering if I even should, with everything you say is getting in the way.  And you aren't acting or sounding okay.  When you came back to Earth yesterday, you'd been through something horrifically bad.  Forgot you'd been stabbed in the back bad.  Paranoia turned up, reliving things under cover, not all the way back yet bad.  I changed the subject to Hermes, then later botched my sleep-fuzzy attempt to help.  Partner, can you tell me what's wrong?  And how we might go about fixing the Oracle thing if you think it's interfering with you too much?  Because I can wait a little longer if I have to."       Journeyman laced his hands together behind his neck and shook his head.  "You're right that I'm not okay, but waiting isn't going to make it better.  I think bad shit would just keep happening.  And I know you hate incomplete answers, but I've told you as much as I can about what's wrong.  As for fixing things... I don't think there is any quick fix.  I put details in Database escrow just in case, but I sure don't want you going off on a rampage in another dimension because I suspect some of the inhabitants might be responsible for some of our problems."       "Then why bring it up?"       Journeyman smiled wearily.  "Doc's old rule:  Tell you what not to do clearly and first, because there may not be a chance for a 'wait, stop'.  And with the way things have been going..."       "Fair.  So you think we're just going to have to live for a while with incomplete information, bad luck, unfortunate misunderstandings, inconvenient interruptions, and so forth for everything we do together?"       "No."  He took a deep breath.  "We aren't going to live with it because we aren't going to be together."       "...Until?"       Journeyman spread his hands.  "Don't wait around."       Flicker stared at him with a hollow feeling in her stomach.  "What does that mean?"       He looked down, then back up at her.  "First:  You're 16.  I would not be okay with starting anything before you're 18.  Next:  Even if all the interference went away, I still couldn't be Make-Everything-Better Man for you," he said.  "I'm glad I was able to help you as your partner.  But it's not a healthy basis for a relationship.  And those aren't the only problems, but going through a list with the implication that the goal is to find a way around them all would be a bad idea.  Some of the issues are mine.  Getting together with you would not work, and I don't know when, if ever, that might change."  He shook his head.  "You have your own life.  You should feel free to grow, and learn, and become... whoever you're going to be.  And right now there's too much I can't tell you, you have too many good reasons to be angry with me, and I don't want to be used as a weapon against you."       Flicker stood, and looked over at the entrance to the server room.  "So you'll just blow everything up yourself.  It sounds like you want to drop our joint duty shifts, too?"       A pause.  "I wasn't kidding about the load-bearing thing.  At least for a while, I think they would just make things worse for both of us."       "Now that makes me angry.  I put a lot into our partnership, and trusted you to maintain it.  But okay.  It's not like you need your partner's backup anymore."       The hollow feeling had given way to the grim disgust of seeing a tangled mess she couldn't possibly have helped, because it was wrecked before she even started.  But it was best to be sure.  She sped up.       DASI?  Does Journeyman appear to be suffering from mental sabotage, mind control, or anything else relevant?       I do not have sufficient data to judge the soundness of his decision process, but his actions are consistent with his prior behavior.  He is showing signs of prolonged stress.  As are you.       Thanks.  I knew that last part already.       Amelioration measures are still in progress.  Please do not do anything precipitous.       Yeah, yeah.       She slowed back down and shook her head.  "I just don't understand your thinking.  Why even agree to our partnership, if you were going to do this?  And if your model of an attack on me is right, and not just a paranoid overreaction, why pull away... everything I thought we had, without even trying to help?"       "I do intend to try to help, after I spend a while recovering," he said.  "I'll stay in touch through the Database.  But first I need to see if I can track down some Diviners, because half the ones I know are indisposed or missing, and the other half are getting 'future not found' errors or disturbingly ambiguous signs of some sort of global catastrophe that may or may not be happening the day after tomorrow."       A sudden frown.  "You weren't planning on doing anything drastic to the planet that day, were you?"       "Not particularly.  I'm not even going to be on Earth for some of it."       "What."       "I'm going to the Moon to run Speedtest, finally.  Scheduled it with Doc this morning."       "Ah," said Journeyman, his face noticeably paler.  "I don't suppose you'd be willing to reschedule?"       "No.  As you said, I have my own life, and things to learn.  If you are seriously convinced some entity is actively trying to sabotage something specific that I've put off for too long already, tell me where they live, and I'll visit them with some physics.  Before catastrophe day.  Then you can find those other Diviners and see if the problem has cleared up or there is someone else who needs a visit.  An Oracle should be able to tell if their personal future is about to become very short, right?"       Journeyman looked down.  "I... don't think that's a good plan."       "Then maybe you should have raised your concerns before dumping your partner?"       "Priority interrupt," announced DASI from the wall speaker.  "A candidate psychological expert has been located."       Flicker sped up to read a summary on her visor.  It was good news that DASI had managed to identify and contact someone.  But she had conditions for her help and an unusual background...       Flicker puzzled over some of the details, then slowed down to frown at Journeyman.  "All right, if you really still want to help, the Database profile of this person is weird.  There seem to be rumors that she has some kind of magic resistance.   Have you ever heard of a Dr. Stella Reinhart?"

Next: Part 8

Chapters: 3/? Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Gil/Jay (Disney: Descendants) Additional Tags: Volunteering at an animal shelter, Fluff, Light Angst, Implied abuse, Implied animal abuse, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Audrey and Jay are exes but good friends Summary: Anon's request of Jay getting Gil a pet. After a year of traveling around the world and settling down in Auradon, Jay and Gil decide to volunteer at an animal shelter. A particular cat catches Gil’s eyes. Chaos ensues.

Jay, Carlos, Audrey, and a worker watched from the window as Gil played with Wolf by using a stick with a feather tied to it in front of it. It was obvious Wolf wasn't used to playing since he was uncoordinated and kept tripping, but with every attempt, he was slowly getting it. It was hard to believe that the cat that was aloof and distant a few months ago had completely turned around. As was instructed, Gil was told to interact with Wolf as he normally does. They couldn't hear the conversations, but Wolf's body language indicated interest and the fact he was playing with him showed complete trust in him.

"I can't say any of us actually expected for him to change so drastically so quickly. This definitely raises his chance of being fostered now before he can be adopted." The worker said, typing something on her tablet as she looked at the two once again.

"It seems like Wolf already picked out his owner, though," Carlos said with a smile only to be matched by a frown from the worker.

"He simply needs to get used to more people besides just one person. This gives him a chance though, but I wonder how much more time he needs."

"He's slowly getting used to the rest of us. Well, only when Gil's around." Jay interjected. He found himself kind of disliking this particular worker; she reminded him of how people initially treated him and his friends when they first arrived in Auradon. Milestones and accomplishments were kept under a checklist and within a specific time frame to look good to the public. Wolf was only lucky he was a cat and that cats can't talk to humans otherwise it would've been just as much of hell for him.

The vibe the worker gave was almost intoxicating and Jay was sure everyone else felt the same. Her response was more so, "He needs to get used to other people. We don't need more bad influences on him, after all."

It felt like whatever background noise there was suddenly stopped. Even the volunteers and coworkers who were doing their own things had stopped the moment those words were said. All eyes were glued to the group as they waited for what will happen next.

"And what do you mean by that? Because clearly, Gil is a terrible influence." He gestured a hand towards where Gil and Wolf were, who were still playing and completely unaware of what was going on outside the room.

“My mom’s Cruella De Vil, remember? Am I a bad influence as well?” Carlos had a look of sheer disappointment etched across his face. He was the one that volunteered at the shelter the longest after all and worked to gain the trust of every person and animal there. Except for one, apparently.

She turned as pale as a ghost and quickly stammered for a plausible sentence, but quickly found there were no words to form an excuse. She looked at her tablet again, muttered something about a meeting that obviously didn’t exist until that very moment, and left. The background noise once again resumed, however, the tone of it carried a different feeling.

“I-I am so sorry...” Audrey said quietly.

“There’s nothing for you to be sorry about,” Carlos answered, “This stuff kinda happens all the time.”

“But neither of you deserve it!” Her voice was much louder than she had intended, “You guys saved Auradon and are volunteering at an animal shelter, not joining a gang! How is some middle-aged worker going to continue judging you like this?”

“We can’t expect people to change their opinions of us overnight. We just gotta be decent people and hope for the best.” Jay spoke up. He was upset obviously and was trying hard not to show it. He didn't make eye contact with either of them; he was looking at the ground and just simply hoping that the conversation and situation would fade away enough for him to leave.

He didn't hear Audrey say anything else after that. Most likely she hoped for the same too, as she also stared at the ground, seeming to feel guiltier for words that hadn't even come out of her mouth.

Luckily, it was Gil that finally let the conversation die out when he stepped out of the room. His usual playful grin had subsided the moment he looked at the three who didn't seem happy for whatever reason. He was luckily spared from the comment, thanks to the fact the door was closed, "What's going on? Are you guys okay?"

"Yeah," Jay looked up at Gil once he heard his voice. He gave a smile at him, but it was one of those tight fake ones he wasn't able to try and hide, "We should probably just go. I think we're not really needed for today."

━━━━━━༻❁༺━━━━━━

"Jay, are you mad at me?"

It was either the hesitation in Gil's voice or the fact he said it that made him stop walking. He had been silent since they left the shelter and while he should have suspected the question to be asked, it still surprised him. "No, why would you think that?"

"You've been acting different since we left... so I thought maybe I said or did something to make you angry."

Jay felt guilty for behaving in a way that made Gil think that. His facial expression softened as he sighed, "I'm not mad at you; you haven't done anything to make me angry at all. I'm just...mad at other people."

"Who?"

"Everyone, I guess."

"Do you wanna talk about it?"

He shook his head. The anger he felt towards that worker had long since gone away. The anger, in general, was still there. He didn't know who to pinpoint the anger on now and maybe that was why he was angry. Angry at the circumstances, angry at how little Auradon citizens changed after a year, angry that he still had to be angry about it... just angry. Gil's calmness only added fuel to the already growing fire. Not because of him, but because he felt that it wasn't fair someone like Gil was still hated and judged despite everything.

"We can just sit down somewhere if you want. Not like we have anywhere else to go for the rest of the night." Gil suggested gently.

Jay nodded and let Gil take him by the hand to a spot near the pond. It was a nice park, but it certainly was much nicer when the sun was setting. The lights slowly illuminated the park and the fact, there was nobody besides them made the park feel special in some way. It reminded them of the days back when they explored the world and witnessed countless sunsets alone in different places. Back when they were practically off the grid and didn't have to worry about how people treated them. Now that they were back in Auradon, it was different now.

They sat on the grass side by side, watching the sunset in silence. The noise of the fountain still trickling and the leaves shifting from the slight wind easily filled in between the silence. The occasional dog barking in the distance or a car passing by was mixed in as well, but it didn't take away whatever mood the park had been giving off. It was a calming and scenic park when it was quiet and it was more than worth it to sit around and watch a sunset that they had seen countless times before but never get tired of.

Eventually, Jay calmed down enough to finally speak, "We don't have to stay here."

Gil hadn't expected for him to speak for a while so what he said had completely caught him off guard, "What do you mean?"

"We could run from this place, steal a boat and never have to deal with anyone again. Could just travel and explore more of the world while we still have a chance."

"Uma could easily find us if we tried. And wouldn't your friends would be upset if you just disappeared?"

"True..."

"Come on, what's really going on?" Gil questioned. Just as he asked, he realized something so he threw another question before Jay could really answer the first one, “Something happened at the shelter, didn’t it?”

Jay couldn’t bring himself to tell him otherwise, so he nodded, “Just some stupid worker not trusting us still.”

He could already see Gil being upset even when he was trying to hide it. And he had every right to be; he was the one who put as much effort in volunteering as Carlos does. If changing a cat wasn’t enough, what would be? "...I guess it was stupid to believe people would change opinions in a year, right? "

"These things take time; people just don’t wanna admit they’re wrong so quickly."

"But how much more time? Another year? Another decade? Another century?" Gil laid his head on his shoulder. Like they had done so many times whenever they got a chance to just sit down and watch whatever was in front of them.

All Jay could see in front of him was a bleak future, “I don’t know, and I don’t even think Mal knows either. But whatever we must go through here will be much easier than what we went through at the Isle. It’s not like this whole transitioning thing will be easy, but it’s easier if we have our friends more than anything else.”

“You’re right.” He answered softly.

It wasn’t exactly the best answer to give but it was really the only answer to give. They couldn’t change the opinions of people that were born with it; they could only hope to do enough things to prove them and even then, it wasn’t a guaranteed success. The change wouldn’t happen quickly, but they had to hope that things would start turning over for the better.

They said nothing after that, each trapped in their own thoughts. They said what they wanted to say and were content enough in simply being beside each other. Eventually, they chose to lay down in the grass with Jay resting his head on Gil’s chest as they looked up at the twilight sky. They wouldn’t see stars because they weren’t in an area away from city lights and car pollution. It gave a slight longing to go to a place where they could go see the stars, but for now, they could only hope to be lucky enough to witness a star that somehow managed to be seen despite it being impossible.

The fountain had shut off for the night, but the lights were still on as their only source of light. If there was ever anyone at the park, they would have left by then. All except two men who didn’t seem to care if it was slowly getting late. The slight chill in the air didn’t bother either of them enough to leave, but it was enough for them to move closer together as they have done before. It wasn’t any different compared to those nights they spent in Agrabah,  but the feelings that slowly emerged was something different yet familiar.

They had felt it but had no idea how to express it to the other. It only felt like a situation that once asked would mean that something would change. Maybe they had that feeling back in their travels but were too warped up in planning for the next day they never got a chance to actually confront it. Now that they settled in Auradon, the next day and day after that was already planned because of routine; there was no excuse now.

"Your birthday's this week, isn't it?" Jay eventually asked.

"Yeah." Gil was staring at the sky trying to look for stars.

"Do you know what you want for your birthday?"

If Gil had said that he wanted to travel for another year, decade, or century, he’d drop everything in an instant and travel with him that night. Hell, he’d try and find Atlantis again if that’s what he wanted. There was a feeling that he wouldn’t ask for any of that stuff, however. The feeling had clouded the atmosphere between them, creating a type of tension that was slowly cracking and would soon break completely if he said the magic words.

Gil was silent as if he was actually contemplating it. Eventually, his eyes shifted to meet Jay’s. There didn’t need to be any words to realize what was going on through another’s mind, “I think I do.” He admitted quietly. He was almost afraid to press further. If the silence was any longer, he was sure he would have died of a heart attack.

“… Then does that mean you like me?” It was Jay who broke the tension in the end.

It didn’t mean it was all over for Gil, though. It was up to a point where he was sure his own heart beating could be heard, “Yeah… but do you?” He was afraid of the assumption, afraid he would end up screwing things over and it felt like he already had.

Jay sat up and Gil felt like he definitely jumped the gun. He expected him to up and leave, but he didn’t at all. He sat up as well to meet his eyes, trying to figure out if what he said and what he assumed was right in the end. His hand would end up reaching for Gil’s, squeezing it lightly as if it was a silent confirmation his feelings were confirmed.

“I've liked you for a long time, actually.” Jay spoke with a soft smile, "I was just afraid you wouldn't like me back."

"I was afraid of the same thing too." He couldn't help it but laugh over something that seemed so small to worry about now. They had truly liked each other in the end and were just too afraid to admit it.

God, they were truly the hopeless idiots his friends said they were. If only they could see them now.

They continued watching the night sky with their bodies huddled close together and Jay putting an arm around Gil’s shoulder. They didn’t say a word for the rest of the night until they had to stand up and walk back to their homes for the night. While they wished for the night to simply last forever, there was also the morning to look forward to and it was the one thing that allowed them to part ways.

Jack gets amnesia post-s2, maybe an AU version of Song Remains The Same, but take it however you want. Peggy/Daniel + Jack as friendship or full OT3. I just rewatched s1 and imagining s1 Jack waking up to find Peggy and Daniel all emotional over him would be... somewhere between weird and a recipe for lots of ansgty defensive lashing out.

Jack felt like he was struggling through gray molasses, fighting his way toward the light. When he finally managed to open his eyes, everything hurt, including breathing.

For a single panicked instant he thought he was back in the war, he’d taken a hit – but no, the memories came down on him in a cold wave that helped clear some of the cobwebs from his brain. The Navy Cross. The lies. The job at the SSR.

Had he been hurt in the line of duty, then? Everything was strangely hazy. He couldn’t even remember exactly what day it was. Or what month. Just his luck to get shot – or something – after working under Dooley for … a month? Two months?

He blinked blearily at a block of sunshine on the white wall. Definitely in a hospital. Slowly the sound of a rhythmic clicking, that he couldn’t quite place, penetrated his haze. It was coming from beside him – mechanical equipment, he thought at first, but it started and stopped unevenly, and then there was a quiet murmur of, “Oh, bollocks.”

It took him two tries to turn his head to the side; his own weakness astounded and annoyed him. And what he saw then was … the SSR’s glorified secretary?

What the heck.

He just stared at her for a minute, halfway convinced that this was a dream, especially since Marge Carter had her head bent over a snarl of pastel-colored yarn and her face screwed up in a look of frustration.

“How does Rose make it look so easy?” she muttered, trying to untangle the yarn and only snarling it further. 

Well, this was flattering, Jack thought. Maybe Dooley sent her over to keep him company during his convalescence from whatever the hell happened to him.

He cleared his throat.

Carter jerked and looked up, and then an astonishing look came over the face that he’d only ever seen in a handful of expressions, mostly various shades of annoyance and frosty ice queen. Now, out of nowhere, she looked soft, and she looked warm, and she was looking at him like that.

“Jack,” she said, and her voice was warm too. “You’re back with us. How are you feeling?”

Jack stared at her. Definitely a dream, he thought. Or … was this that thing he’d heard about, where nurses during the war fell for their patients? Women were charmed by injured men, he’d heard (though if Carter was that type, you’d think she would’ve fallen hook, line, and sinker for department sad-sack Sousa, and that was never gonna happen).

“Can I bring you anything?” Carter asked. As she spoke, she was busy stuffing things back into the handbag in her lap. Was that a pistol? It got a ball of yarn stuffed on top of it before Jack could get a good look. “A drink of water, perhaps?”

So that was what was going on. Carter went doe-eyed for wounded birds. He was almost disappointed; it should have been flattering to have her getting all dewy at him, but instead he thought that he’d liked her better frosty.

But Jack was nothing if not a smooth operator, and anyway, having a cute dame waiting on him wasn’t the worst thing that could happen to him. He managed to put on the best approximation he could of his usual flirty grin, despite the steel bands around his chest – never let them see you falter. “Water’d be grand, if you don’t mind, sweetheart.”

Carter stopped in the act of trying to cram yarn and needles into her bulging handbag, and gave him a quick, sharp look. “What did you just call me?”

… and as soon as the wounded bird picked itself up and managed to get itself back into the air, the kitten-claws came out. Women were so predictable, really. “Did I forget to say please?” he tried, with a half-hearted bat of his eyes, but he had a feeling it came out more pathetic than intended. Every word he managed to get out seemed to take a too-big bite out of what little energy he had. He felt like absolute shit, his chest hurt like something was clawing it from the inside, and he didn’t have the strength to play the flirting game just to get a damn drink of water. He got so goddamn tired of the games sometimes, tired of himself when he played them, just … tired.

Maybe he really had been on death’s door, if he was having thoughts like this. If there was one thing he hated, it was being honest with himself.

“Oh, Jack,” Carter said, and she let out a laugh that was more of a weird little huff, half laugh and half sigh. He genuinely couldn’t tell if he’d upset her or not, but she abandoned her bulging handbag with yarn trailing out of it, and vanished beyond his field of vision, returning a moment later with a tin cup.

Well, if he’d put her in a snit, at least it wasn’t enough of a snit not to get some nursing out of it. Surprisingly decent nursing. She cupped her hand under his head and held the cup to his lips. True, she spilled a little water down his neck as he sipped, but honestly he hadn’t thought Marge had a nurturing bone in her body. Apparently he’d managed to look miserable enough to bring out a little of the woman in her after all.

When she took the cup away, he managed a grin. “You’re a pretty decent little nurse, you know that, Carter?”

“And you’re worrying me exceedingly,” she said, absently moving the knitting out of her chair so she could sit down. “What do you remember?”

“Hoping you’d tell me that.” He raised an arm, painfully weak, to touch his aching chest, and found thick layers of bandages.

Carter took in a quick breath; it sounded almost pained. “Do you remember any of what happened to you, Jack?”

“Not … exactly,” he admitted, but there was only one plausible conclusion to jump to, from those bandages. “I was shot?” Yes. Yes, that felt right.

“Yes,” Carter said, breaking into a grin. “They said …” She took another breath. “They said there could be some memory loss, some possibility of –” There was the briefest hesitation. “– brain damage. Your heart stopped, Jack.”

“Hell,” he muttered, poking at the bandages. No wonder Dooley thought he warranted a pretty dame fetching and carrying at his bedside. Carter wasn’t even looking at him, staring at the wall and blinking rapidly; just the thought of blood had undone her, apparently. For his part, Jack thought he must be the unluckiest sap in the whole SSR, survived the war without a scratch just to come home and get perforated. “Tell me they caught the guy,” he said.

“They … that is to say, we,” Carter said, looking back at him with a little more steel, and there were those kitten-claws coming out again. “We were hoping you could give us more to go on. We’ve no leads, Jack, and the trail’s growing cold. You don’t remember anything at all?”

Oddly, there was something, or at least there seemed to be, coming out of the gray haze of his thoughts – the flash of a muzzle of a gun. But now that she’d been talking to him and muddling him up, he couldn’t tell if it was real or not. “Wish I could help a pretty lady out,” he said, flashing a smile he didn’t really feel. “But it’s all kind of a blank.”

“Jack,” she said, and there the smile again, almost teasing, though with something uncertain underneath it that seemed to surprise him; it didn’t fit. “You’ve been acting quite odd since you woke up. I do hope being shot hasn’t caused you to fall hopelessly in love with me. Daniel would have to have words with you.”

“Daniel?” For a minute all he could think of was a CO he’d had during the war by that name. Major Daniel Franks. Hell of a bastard too.

Her smile, already tentative around the edges, dropped away completely. “Jack, please tell me you remember Daniel.” She sounded really anxious.

Who the hell was she talking about? Oh, wait a minute. Daniel was Sousa’s first name. Jack tried to think if there were any other Daniels at the SSR, but he couldn’t think of any, and his chest hurt and he was exhausted and he just wanted to not be having this confusing conversation with a woman who couldn’t seem to keep a thought in her head for more than a minute at a time.

“Yeah, sure,” he said. “‘Course I remember.” Smiling as he said it, but he’d almost gone on automatic at this point. He just wanted this conversation to be over; he could feel his hands shaking and sweat breaking out on his forehead just from the effort of keeping himself focused on the conversation. Screw waking up to a pretty dame at his bedside; she wasn’t fulfilling her brow-mopping duties at all. Instead she was being weird and prickly, running hot and cold for no apparent reason. Typical dame.

Carter put a hand on his shoulder, but just then, the door opened and – speak of the devil, and also, what the hell – in crutched Sousa. He was moving carefully, carrying a tray with two cups on it, one trailing a teabag.

“Okay, Peg, for starters, records at the hotel are an absolute mess,” he began. “I swear they haven’t got a – What, hey, hello there!”

And he broke out in a beaming grin, while Jack eyed him suspiciously. Why the hell was Sousa playing office coffee boy in his hospital room?

“Daniel,” Carter said gratefully, and oh good, he’d guessed right about the Daniel part. She rose quickly and took the tray. “Thank you. Jack’s awake.”

“Yeah, I got that. How long?” Daniel crutched over, still beaming while Jack continued to give him a nervous look and wonder why the hell Sousa of all people should care if he lived or died.

“Just now,” Peggy said. She set the tray on a table in the corner. “We’ve been having a most interesting conversation, with little enlightenment, however. He doesn’t remember much.”

“Seriously, Peggy, you’re grilling the poor guy the minute he wakes up?” Sousa settled a hand on Jack’s shoulder, and Jack just kept staring while Sousa beamed at him. Dealing with Carter’s wounded-bird womanliness had been a little weird, but he’d had no fucking clue that the same thing happened to guys and frankly he did not like it one bit.

“I was not ‘grilling,’ I was –”

“Interrogating?”

“– having a friendly conversation.”

And now he felt like he’d fallen into an Abbott and Costello routine. Where had all of this patter, this easy banter between the two of them come from? Carter’s eyes sparkled; Sousa was grinning, and he still had his hand on Jack’s shoulder, well beyond the casual pat that should have gone along with visiting an injured coworker in the hospital. This was more like brothers-in-arms, like someone in his unit might have done – and that was a thought that made him try to shove Sousa off.

A ripping pain tore through his chest and his vision whited out for a moment.

He came back to himself with Sousa still gripping his shoulder and Carter crouched on the other side, both of them looking scared to death. Now he just felt like he’d fallen through some kind of a – of a –

– black hole in reality –

… where the hell had that thought come from?

“Jack,” Sousa said with a nervous laugh, “please don’t do that.”

He was too scared and in too much pain to cover anymore, and that was a sign, beyond anything else, of how desperate things were. “Why in the hell are you doing this?” he snapped at them both.

“What?” Sousa said, looking baffled.

Carter’s grip tightened on his other arm. “Jack,” she said, her voice steady and somehow magnetic. “Slow breaths. Stay calm. What’s the year, Jack?”

“1945,” Jack said, staring at her, mesmerized. Distantly he heard Sousa curse softly.

“Very well,” Peggy said, speaking as if to herself, and then her smile firmed and she assumed a more businesslike demeanor. “Very well. Welcome back, Jack. As you no doubt inferred, you’ve been shot, and you’re in Los Angeles.”

“Okay,” Jack said very faintly, staring at her.

“And also,” Peggy added, “it’s 1947.”

Morning Train

Prompted by promptdumpster.

“If you like her just tell her, kid. ”

“You make it sound so simple.”

“It is! Worst thing that can happen is that she says no.”

“Right… because being rejected by the one you love is not terrifying in the slightest.”

I yawned and checked my watch like there was no tomorrow. The last five times I’ve looked at the time, it has been 7:17. I was being pushed by the huge wave of a train to beat this morning, so life was a rush, that is, until now. I definitely went a little too hard last night, in a Great Gatsby sort of fashion. I ended up going to sleep a good four hours after I had planned. Not like I got much sleep anyways. It is now Sunday, and I’m on my way back home. Thankfully, the other passengers haven’t disturbed the painfully generic-looking hungover teenager. You know, me. In my boredom, I turned heavily to the window behind my seat. I fixated on the swirling trees running below the track. Or, were my eyes running along the trees? My brain hurts too much for a question like that. The trees eventually slowed to a dizzying stop, whereas it felt like I was still moving. The train halted in order to let on passengers at its second stop out of...six, I think? Oy, this is going to be a long trip, I thought to myself. I stared at the floor as “Gay Bar” by Electric Six pumped whining guitars and thumping drums directly into my ears. My body was vibrating at a different frequency than the rest of the universe, I felt like an anomaly disobeying the rules of space and time. Since I was in a wide seat, I was able to sit facing sideways. While staring at my shoes, another pair appeared in my vision. 

“Excuse me miss, is it okay if I take a seat here?”

Once I ascertained that the shoes were, in fact, not talking to me, I looked up. A well presented young man’s eyes met with mine. I say that he’s young, but he’s definitely a considerable chunk of years my senior. His legs were tightly adorned with black and white checkered pants. His brown shoes matched his belt, which complimented his well-fitting navy blue blazer and white shirt. I yanked the wires out of my ears. This kid’s crazy or something. At the moment, I was still recovering from an eternal chain of reckless abandon, so I didn’t feel particularly unsafe with this man. I gestured that the seat was open, while swiftly swinging my legs down to sit in a more presentable position. His appearance pressured me into acting more proper. I don’t know why, but there was an air about him. It was an air of safety and authority. The train started moving again.

“What’s a girl like you doing on a Sunday morning like this?”

Great, I thought he was an e-boy but he might just be a Nice Guy™. 

“Probably just the same thing as you,” I took out one of my earbuds, and gripped my bag a little bit harder; I’m a little more awake at this point. Everyone has their hustle, though some are more dangerous for the general public than others. You never know in the city. Well, I am riding from suburb to suburb, but that doesn’t matter too much.

“Riding on a train home alone and hungover? Pretty much the opposite of what I’m doing.”

“How could you tell?” I inquired.

“Oh give me a break, I was a teenager once! I hope you don’t get the wrong impression of me, here, I do know it’s kind of weird for me to just start talking to a teenager on the train,” he paused for a moment for me to silently grant him permission to continue, “I deal with kids your age a lot, I’m actually on my way to work on a day off right now. I’m a high school teacher.” 

Oh. So that’s why. A distant curiosity washed over me, but there was a wall in my brain that the thoughts couldn’t get over. The train stopped again, at the third stop. The second and third stops are only a block away from each other, due to the amount of pedestrian traffic this area receives. Thankfully, I was able to come up with something meaningful quickly.

“Thank you for your work. I know it’s not easy, and there’s a lot more behind it than meets the eye.”

“Aw, you don’t have to thank me! You don’t even know me, for God’s sake. I could be the shittiest teacher in the universe and you have no way of knowing that.”

“No, something tells me that you couldn’t be anything like that. That, and look at the way you’re dressed. A teacher who wouldn’t care about their job wouldn’t look like you. You probably don’t even go to church, judging by your word choice.” He seemed a bit surprised, then smiled.

“You’re bold. I like that. I do appreciate the chance to get inside the mind of a teen. I have to admit, I don’t really connect with any of my students, so I’m quite grateful for this as a learning experience. If I was a teenage girl and a strange man started talking to me, I would probably kick him until his lights went out.”

“You’re not strange.”

“Have you seen yourself? You look like exactly the type who would say that to anybody.” Ouch. I guess he’s right, though. 

“Wow, you really hurt my feelings there. I guess I’m gonna crawl under this seat and die now.”

“Note taken. You’re all whiny, overgrown babies.”

We shared a warm laugh together. I surprised myself at being able to converse with a stranger like this. Maybe I just have an acquired affinity for teachers. It’s a bit weird to think about it, but it seems plausible. After laughing, he sighed, gathering the elements of a sentence.

“Have you ever...connected with one of your teachers? Uh- sorry, that was a weird question…”

“Well actually, I kind of...have. Yeah, I have!”

“Really? What’s that like?”

I stared out the window at the changing scenery, debating for a while whether or not I should continue the conversation.

“Well, I think her and I are quite close actually,” I waited for a response from him, only to be met with a calm face that held eager eyes, full of hunger for more knowledge and skill, “and she’s pretty nice to me. We can just sit in her office and talk for a while.”

“Hm, that seems like too much effort to put into being the cool guy, ” he talked over the fourth stop.

“I would agree. She’s not the cool guy.”

“So why are you close to her, then?”

I shifted, as if changing my posture was going to pick me up and put me on the other side of the Earth, so that I could not have to be in this conversation.

“Well, it’s...kind of something different. She’s...different to me.”

“How is she different? What do you like about her?”

“Um, I think I like everything about her, and what she does.”

“Oh,” he turned away as he flushed. I think he gets it now, “That’s cute. I haven’t encountered this situation in my career yet, though.”

“Yeah, that’s kind of...something. Would you happen to have any advice for me?”

Oh no. I think I just set myself up for more heartbreak.

“Well, let’s see,” he rubbed his smooth chin before continuing, “if I were a teacher in this situation…I think it would be better if- ah.”

“If what?”

“Well, there’s a rather simple solution to this.”

“Which is?” Move schools? Drop classes? Get over your sorry ass?

“If you like her, just tell her kid.”

It took me more than a moment to realize he was being serious. I chortled a little bit, incredulously, “You make it sound so simple.”

“It is! Worst thing that can happen is that she says no.”

“Right… because being rejected by the one you love is not terrifying in the slightest.”

“I mean, seriously. If I was her, that’s what I’d want you to do.”

“What for?”

“I would decline by saying something like, ‘Aw, that’s really sweet of you.’ Then I would know that student’s opinion of me. I mean, it’s better than being in the dark in terms of how someone else thinks of you.”

I considered his viewpoint for a moment. He had a point, but there was a block that the idea just wouldn’t get over. I couldn’t say anything more, and the universe left the conversation silent at that moment.

Eventually, I felt the train’s brakes take hold. I think my stomach continued in forward motion.

“Oh, this is me. Well, it was nice meeting you...uh-”

“Tommie.” 

Not like you’ll see me again anyways. He nodded to me as he stepped off at the small intercepting station, and I mirrored the motion. Now, I have one more station to dwell, until I can finally sleep in my own bed, and dream about...

What do you think the X-boys Venus signs ( like in astrology) would be if you do that? Also, I love your blog and your writing!

A/N: awwwtysm kind anon Cafe Astrology as a reference!

Jubilee - Aries

I thought the description for this totally nailed Jubilee:up-front flirting, a little child-like, fun-loving, turned on by energy andactivity, and turned off by the relationship being too mature, stuffy, orvague. They hate vagueness and beating around the bush when they’re in arelationship with someone and need a lot of energy and stimulation to“keep it fresh”. “Their styleof expressing love can be maddeningly “me”-centered, but the right person forthem will find this approach charming” which I can totally see aspossibility and plausible misunderstanding with little Jubes. A particular linesold me on this headcanon:“ Arieslikes to take the lead in love (even if their Sun Sign is gentle Pisces) — letthem, at least most of the time"— and Jubilee is definitely a SunPisces!

Hank - Taurus

We all know Hank has is more Beast side when it comes to thebedroom and when Taurus in Venus, the person tends to be centered on tangiblecomforts and are said to be satisfying lovers. Dependable and loyal pins Hankprecisely, and he is definitely the type to love physical comfort in arelationship like touches and cuddling. This being said, Venus Tauruses requirea certain dependability and predictability and can be threatened by high-pacedsituations which sure as hell sounds like Hank to me. The only worry his s/omay have is if he gets too settled and it seems that the relationship is too"comfortable and settled”. Loyalty is a must in a relationship withHank and expressing that and how much he means to you will go a long way!

Warren - Gemini orAquarius

*A/N: I feel like he could be either!

“Venus in Geminipeople will try to win over the object of their affection with wittyconversation, displaying just how much they “know”, and demonstrating theirdiverse interests” which sure sounds like Warren because he’s are sucha fucking show-off. Always needing stimulating conversation, Venus Geminis areplayful and love to tease just like Warren is (he’s SUCH a fucking tease) andterrified of super committed relationships cus he doesn’t like being tied down.Appreciates lightheartedness and willing to talk for hours on end, althoughsome fo the deeper issues in the relationship might be less comfortable for himto address. He tends to be spontaneous and unpredictable which keeps things funand exciting, and on his end needs someone who will keep him on his toes whilealso being thoughtful.

On the Aquarius side, which is in a way very similar toGemini, Warren attracted to uniqueness and intellect in a relationship and isattractive with his open-minded, rebellious, and interesting qualities. Helikes being unconventional when it comes to matters of the heart and takesgreat pride on being unique. He might come off as detached, and at times needsspace. Venus in Aquarius people need someone who is also a good friend and whowill dream with them. He will thrive off of his partner telling them howinteresting he is and giving him freedom.

Jean - Cancer

She’s sensitive, caring, and gives so much love, comfort,and security when it comes to any relationship. “Venus in Cancer men and women show their love by caring for you. Theypay more attention to your feelings than your words, and observe you rather carefully”which is exactly what she would do. The girl has telekinesis, but even whenyour thoughts aren’t sorted out she’ll always pick up on signs and focus on howyou feel. A safe, solid relationship is the Venus in Cancer style, but there’snothing boring about building a solid foundation to a healthy relationship. Shehas a hard time forgetting if she’s been hurt, fears rejection, and can bemoody at times, so her partner has to be someone who is kind, patient, and willgive her reassurance to help build her confidence.

Alex - Leo

Love is THE most important thing to a Leo. Even if it maynot seem like it, Alex feels a lot and would have a hard time separating sexfrom love. He’s repressed his feelings too much throughout his life and may notbe the best about talking about feelings at first, but love and having someonewho will love him as much as he loves them is so important to him. Loves theflirting game, is really loyal, experience and a total show off, and thrivesoff romantic attention from their partner. He has one of the biggest hearts andwill literally talk about and show off his partner whenever he can. Venus inLeo will feel threatened when they’re in a relationship that’s gone stale andwill get very insecure when they feel their partner behaves with indifferencetowards them. Alex takes so much pride in his relationship and is veryexpressive with his love.

Kurt - Virgo

Our little blueberry is not big on flirting, but “their appeal lies in their dedication, theirwillingness to work on the relationship, and to make the relationship work inreal terms”. With Kurt it would be about all the little things andgestures that show how much attention they pay to every detail about you. Venusin Virgo will make their way into your heart slowly and quietly and next thingyou know, it’ll hit you all at once that you’ve already fallen for them. Kurtcan be shy, reserved, and insecure due to his lack of experience, so he needsreassurance, and in turn his partner will receive the most sensitive and caringlover. He’s very honest and will point out flaws and what he doesn’t know to beinsecurities but it’s all out of love!

Ororo - Libra

This one was hands down our lovely Storm. Turned off by badmanners and aggressiveness, she puts emphasis on fairness and being in arelationship with her really makes you into a team. A gentle lover who is 100%into the relationship and hates imbalance. She may sometimes come off asinsincere or superficial at times, but that’s only because she has a more“polished” in regards to love— don’t be fooled, she is kind, just,and will do whatever it takes to make the relationship work so long as she ismet with equal effort from her partner.

Erik - Scorpio

“Venus in Scorpiopeople attract others with their intensity and willingness to commit, [andthey] give you their complete attention” Erik is definitely intenseand is very sexually expressive. His actions, though may be a little toointense at times, are always done in love and his feelings run deep even thoughhe may not express them directly. He’s fearless and committed in those intimatemoments in spite of wondering how someone as amazing as you could love themonster he sometimes perceives himself as. He can be possessive, jealous,  and a little overbearing, and although youknow it’s because he loves you, it’s hard to communicate with him because,again, he’s not very direct when it come to feelings. However, when it comes toyou he knows how to cut right through the bullshit and see right throughwhatever mask you put up. The most passionate and pleasing lover, in otherwords, the sex is mind-blowing. He knows how to make you feel loved andappreciated (he basically worships you) and he’ll explore all of you, mind,body, and soul.

Peter - Sagittarius

Growth through a relationship seems to describe Peterromantically better than anything. “Theseare idealistic lovers who want you to appreciate their beliefs, visions, andideals” but more than anything they want to experience and grow withtheir partner. Although he tries his best, sometimes Peter doesn’t quite seemto fully grasp the balance between lighthearted and serious, acting like onewhen it is time for the other you can find comfort in knowing that he’s tryinghis best. Venus Sagittariuses don’t typically commit in their relationships aseasily as others and are turned off by the extremes of dullness or romanticoverkill. Much like with commitment, you can’t stay stuck on just one thingwith Peter, he needs space and time to come around. “When the going gets tough in their relationship, they have anoverwhelming need to run away” which is one of the major things heworks on once in a relationship and needs his partner to be his anchor attimes. He’s definitely not one to judge based off social class and instead isattracted by people who, like him, are trying to live life.

Scott - Capricorn

“Venus inCapricorn people will try to win your heart by displaying self-control,presence of mind, and responsible behaviour” which is pretty much whatScott does. He puts pressure on himself to always have it together meaning thathis partner needs to be someone who will appreciate his ambition andself-control, while also reassuring him that he’s doing a good job and needs togive himself a break. He’s not very expressive when it comes to love and cansometimes be too practical, despite wanting romantic intimacy real bad. He canoverwork himself due to an immense fear fo rejection and not being enough. He’ssteady, reliable, and will show you off constantly but in a more toned downway. He is the last person to run away from responsibility or relationshiptrouble and will always be true in his love.

Charles - Pisces

“They areunimpressed by your status, and love and accept you for all that you are inside” That being said, this man will love all of you unconditionally— all quirksand flaws included. With him, you’ll always have a soft-hearted and sensitivepartner who is completely weak for all those little tender moments. “They love the underdog and are attracted towayward folks, or those in need of a little help.” One of thedownfalls of that mindset is that sometimes it can be a little much when he’sconstantly trying to save everyone and it can be hard to have to share the oneyou love with the rest of the world. Unfortunately, this also means that he maynot always be fully honest with his partner out of fear of hurting them. Venusin Pisces people really like to feel out the relationship; seeing where it goesand not wanting to worry too much about the future which can become troublingwhen they have a hard time committing. He is, however, very understanding,forgiving, and willing to make sacrifices. He is giving and completely selflessin love.

Masterlist

Tasked: Ask Meme for BDRP

Sentence Starter Style

“Sadly I’m 15″ “Ah! Phoneee” “oh my god you’re a fucking princess!” “I don’t blame you, but I really think you’re blowing the paperwork out of proportion.” “Would you be open to an alternate route of learning?” “I’ll have to call you back” “You’re no use to anyone sleep deprived” “We have reasonable grounds to enter without a warrant” “Would you be willing to answer a few questions?” “Uhm….s-..sorry.”  “Is that...okay?” “I think there would be cause for concern if you had been” “I think your check book will be thankful that neither of them make onesies. Even if it is a real travesty.” “It’s never too early!” “You ‘ave this natural tone that can come off as…cross.” “You - You gave up on us.” “You look lost” “Well, I can’t exactly say hello to something I can neither see nor hear” “A ghost, of course how silly of me” “We can reschedule this murder for tomorrow maybe” “When you cast a spell your magic lingers” “If you are afraid to hurt her, should that not tell you enough?” “Good. See you on the other side then.” “If you ever send me a text that vague again, I don’t care if it says ‘Help, oh help, I’m dying’, I’m leaving you on read and dyeing your eyebrows pink while you sleep.” “It’s not fucking there!” “We call on the ghost that haunts Phoebus de Martin” “How do you know that?” “You seem young, like, the same age as my TA I dated when I was in uni.” “Your sister is a bad bitch” “When are you leaving anyway?” “Oi, we ready?” “Nah, it wasn’t that bad” “How old is this place anyway?” “I’ve cried like every day for the past three months” “Feel like I have to at least make one a lion” “Joke’s on you, because I don’t know how to play that one” “I’m really bad at cleaning.” “I feel so disconnected.” “That’s not funny.” “I apologize on behalf of the table in the corner.” “I’ve been holding down the fort.” “I can give you – well, anything but my sight, really.” “Unless my sense of smell is going as well” “The traditional ‘Eat a Dick, Shuriki’ Day treat” “I let her dress me as a tree!” “I’m still tragically sober.” “Almost busted your head there...you alright?” “Still doubting me love?” “I’ll be your best bartender in a matter of moments.” “Oh hi, yeah no harm no foul.” “I can only cite temporary insanity.” “Could use a break” “What’d I miss while I was gone?” “I have had quite enough of listening to those men” “You must be mistaken.” “What’re ya doin’ gettin’ dressed and all. Maybe I wasn’ done with you.” “Look…I really didn’ mean t’…” “I’m not the sort to run my mouth.” “Sure it’s real, and I’m rich.” “The hair does match.” “I am more of a home body” “I actually do have a safe room in my basement” “I only 60 percent fake-laughed at this one.” “Wasn’t it halloween yesterday?” “You look like you sleep less than I do.” “Voila. How to survive as a landlocked mer 101!” “Shit’s fucked right now, to say the absolute least.” “I’m sick of secrets.” “Me? Pfft, I’m fine. Pfft. Me? Totally. Why wouldn’t I be fine? I’m definitely fine.” “So sorta yes, sorta no.” “Went for the reeses, came home with a sedimentary rock and a piece of concrete.” “Nothing like two shots of tequila and a few beers to make you feel 100% better about the zombie apocalypse!” “This town keeps you well on your toes.” “oh trust me, none of you want me working here.” “You know you have such a unique aura” “They may not appreciate our boldness” “Is it news that isn’t going to be in the paper?” “Shit, I didn’t grab plates.” “I’m not a fan of that.” “What toppings did you get?” “What ever are you looking for, by the way?” “You remember the um, last unfortunate event?” “Maybe we’ll run into a french bulldog here and I can point them out.” “I want a bag of the gingersnaps, aye?” “Here I thought you were just coming onto me at the gym” “Sometimes cookies can be...more than just cookies” “So which is it: did you want to sell him drugs or did you want to flirt with him?” “It didn’t hurt at all! Just a sting!” “How… sturdy, by chance, do you think they are?” “Which one are you?! What are your favorite colors?! Movies, food, drinks, hobbies, books, BLOOD TYPES?!” “Food rained from the sky?” “You keep telling yourself that, yeah?” “I’m gay, we’re all cynics” “I don’t know what I’ll do with all the space” “Then go…? Back to class…?” “I know I’m pretty amazing. It would be awfully sad to be me-less.” “Are you a protagonist? You look like one.” “Irrelevant.” “I know how to keep ghosts out of the bedroom, thanks” “Just because YOU can't go to rhinebeck doesn't mean rhinebeck cant come to you” “But lovely witches were ten a penny.” “It’s...it’s all for me” “On that note, how do you feel about pumpkin spice cookies?” “They tend to be narrow-minded in their rose-colored perception of our world.” “It’s all kind of shitty, ain’t it?” “I think an army of walking snowmen would be easier to deal with than an army of zombies.” “Don’t tell me about it. I like plausible deniability.” “That is, I never had a reason to cuddle. Until now.” “It’s not- it’s not just guilt” “Fucking hell mate, talk about an entrance.” “Do you think you could talk me up?” “Ye didnae have tae do that” “Maybe not any book” “I’ll take a fun fact instead if you’re so inclined” “Do people still read comics now that there are movies?” “I don’t have to th’ay anything” “Wanna take some deep breaths?” “I think meeting your parents once was enough. I’ve no interest in continuing the charade.” “So, how do you think I should proceed?” “Well I hope I don’t disappoint you then” “I’ve never really figured out how to do it though.” “What’s your favorite superhero movie?” “___ found out didn’t they?” “Well you don’t have to insult your way to the washroom, just so you know” “I have ways of dealing with my mistakes” “Stretch your legs out, stay a while, I get a long day.” "I just straight up have no idea what I wanna study” “I thought the same darn thing!” “So we’re agreein’ to disagree.” “We’ve got that ‘people pleasers’ look, yeah?” “Does it hurt too much?” “Honestly? I don’t know why people put that much effort into decorating so early.” “it’s working great. Thank you.” “Fuck–sorry, sorry. Not focusing.” “The worst people never look scary” “No bruise no foul?” “Sounds like bullshit t’ me” “Better…better to b-be early th-then late“ “But life’s shitty enough as it is.” “Do you do those things for you?” “Hopefully you’re free. If not - then cancel your plans.” “And we can’t let all these special snowflakes dictate what we do, hm?” “I love a rich, full-bodied taste.” “And would you be willing to teach me?” “Yup, just fine. Thank you. Nothing to see here.”  “He’s not around, so it doesn’t matter.” “So is there a theme to this whole shindig?”  “So I guess I’m not basic.” “I see how it is.” “Curious is a word for it, yeah.” “So you’ll speak lies? Or avoid the truth? Sounds like a cop out to me.” [text] Well I’m glad my text went to someone with such good taste! “The aftermath has been...awkward.”

Mel and Todd part 2 (OC fic)

Hi!

Tonight’s bonus episode is brought to you by... insomnia in its finest form.

This is part 2 of the introduction to my first set of OCs (see part 1 here, but know that it’s a gen fic with no illness).  This installment is emeto-heavy.

I have one more story planned for these guys to finish sort of building them up and cementing a backstory, then they’ll be open for reqs.  I’ll also have a description/personality rundown for Mel and Todd up soon.  Please ask questions about them; it will help me keep developing them into deeper characters (plus it seems like fun).  I also have 2 more sets of OCs in the works.

If you happen to read and like this, please talk to me!  I’d love to get some feedback and make some friends. :)

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Todd knows the room is spinning before he opens his eyes.  He also knows he’s going to be sick, and he prays for at least a moment to get his bearings before it becomes necessary to dash across the pitching floor and barricade himself in the bathroom.  The prayer goes unanswered, and the second Todd shifts so he’s more on his side than his stomach, something he doesn’t remember tasting the first time starts crawling up his throat.

What’s the saying again?  Beer and wine and you’re fine, but beer and liquor never sicker?  Beer before liquor?  After liquor?  Was he even drinking liquor?

The liquid splashing into the toilet has notes of battery acid and the fumes from Mel’s hairspray. Todd shudders and wraps his arms around his head so his long hair doesn’t dip into the porcelain bowl.

Ok.  This is punishment.  For…?  He can’t remember.  For being a grown-ass man who went and got blackout drunk?  That seems…plausible.

Everything smells bad.  Under the overpowering stench of vomit, there’s something like stale cigarettes and marijuana.  Smoke on its own doesn’t bother Todd, but once it’s settled into clothing and layered onto skin both from the top and out through the pores to mix with old sweat and body odor, it’s disgusting.  Part frat boy and part tramp.

Todd spits into the toilet.  He pulls a square of toilet paper from the roll and wipes his mouth, then scrubs at his sparse mustache and beard.  The flimsy material shreds against the coarse hair.  The resulting roughness against Todd’s fingertips burns.  He wonders if he’s feverish.

He reaches up to flush the toilet, but ends up retching into it again.  “Fuck,” Todd whispers. Something like a combination of snot and bile is clinging to his lip, threatening to attach to his chin.

He should get up, wash his face.  Take something.  Like maybe a shower.  But he’s not sure he can so much as stand up because he’s so fucking lightheaded.

A final dry heave forces its way out, and there’s definitely a rope of mucous embedded in his beard.  Todd swears again and succeeds in flushing away the mess.  He uses the back of the toilet to haul himself to his feet, and he sends the box of Kleenex sliding off the tank and into the small garbage can beside it.  He doesn’t make an effort to right the error because bending over seems like a very bad idea.

The two steps to the sink feel like a vast distance, and the faucet won’t stay put as Todd’s vision doubles and singles and doubles again.  It takes a couple tries to flick it on.  Damn sink, he thinks belligerently.

However, as soon as he sloppily cups a handful of chilly tap water onto his face, Todd’s feelings change.  Wonderful, glorious sink.  Freshness and clarity start to break through the surface of the misery.  Just the fact that it’s possible to stand upright and breathe without puking seems glorious.

Todd rinses out his mouth and squints at his slightly blurry reflection.  His tan looks a little washed out.  His green eyes are rimmed in red, and his light brown hair is greasy and tangled in a mess around his shoulders.  He definitely needs to clean up before…

What is he supposed to do today?  What day of the week is it?  He assumes Saturday or Sunday, but…god, he’s confused.  Where the fuck is Mel?  She’s the better one at keeping him on track.

Todd’s wife definitely hadn’t been in bed with him earlier.  They both prefer to sleep in any day of the week, and on hungover mornings…it’d be normal to cuddle till noon.  Or until someone had the sudden urge to vomit or make a sandwich on a glazed donut.

The thought of food is both mouth-watering and nausea-inducing, and Todd leans his shoulder into the wall (and the light switch) while he waits for his body to decide.  The pitching feeling of seasickness eventually evens out into a headachy throb that reverberates through his whole body.

He needs coffee.  Or a Gatorade.  Todd ascertains that he’s wearing clothes, or at least what’s probably yesterday’s t-shirt paired with boxers, and pads clumsily into the kitchen.

Mel’s standing at the kitchen island, typing away on her iPad.

“Hey,” Todd mumbles, his voice rough.  The coffeemaker’s whirring, dripping rich dark liquid into the glass carafe.

He grabs his unwashed mug from beside the sink and makes to intercept the flow of coffee, but Mel stops him.  “That’s mine,” she says.

“Ok, geez.”  Todd doesn’t like how much he’s slurring.  “I’m sorry.”  He abandons the mug and opens the fridge.  He finds pulls out a Gatorade, beyond caring that it’s his least favorite flavor.

“Those are mine too,” Mel grumps.  She looks her husband up and down.  “But I’ll take pity on you and let you have one.  Because you’re sick.”  She continues under her breath.  “Serves you right.”

Todd uncaps the sports drink.  Serves him right for what?  He honestly can’t remember anything specific from the last however-many-odd hours.  He glances at the clock, and is surprised to see it’s only 7:30.  Early for both of them.

“Mel, I…”  Todd’s about to admit his confusion, ask for a little clarification.  But he loses his unformed train of thought when he finally gives Mel’s attractive back a look that’s not fogged with leftover drunkenness.  “Why are you wet?”  She smells weird too, but so does he, so Todd decides not to mention it.

“You’re one to ask,” Mel snaps.  “Why’d you come home high last night?”

Todd blinks at the back of her head.  Well, that would make sense if he’d come home high.  Plus drunk.  But why…he can’t come up with anything.  “I, um.  I…Mel, I don’t really remember anything.  From last night.”

“Well, that’s convenient.”  She turns around, and Todd gets a glimpse of the marine rescue website up on her iPad before Mel steps in front of it to fully face him.

“Really, babe,” Todd says.  “I mean, my first thought when I was getting sick was about if you were ok.”  It’s a boldfaced lie, but he keeps going.  “When I’m that trashed, you’re usually worse off…”

“Yeah, well, I’m fine because I didn’t get invited to go smoke and drink and sleep around last night.”  Mel’s voice is getting louder.

“What…huh?”  Todd’s lost the thread of the conversation.  

“That jacket you threw in the laundry as soon as you came in the door,” Mel points out angrily. “Smelled a lot more like Victoria’s Secret than you usually do.  And you forgot to throw out your condom wrappers.”

“What?  I don’t…I don’t carry condoms.  Maybe I was picking up trash?  I sometimes do that…” Tod guesses.  He takes another sip of Gatorade and rubs his aching temple.  Mel’s too upset to be messing with him.  But he doesn’t recognize himself in her accusation.

“Nobody picks up condom wrappers,” Mel says.

“Babe, what day of the week is it?”  Todd searches for a piece of information to ground himself in the present before poking again into the void of the recent past.  “And why were you snooping in my laundry?”

“Because my fucking husband comes home and doesn’t know what day of the week it is!  And while you’ve been all fucked up and sleeping it off, I’ve been trying to keep a turtle from dying on our beach!”  Tears light up behind her glasses, and Mel takes a step toward Todd.

Whether it’s a movement of aggression or a request for comfort, Todd isn’t sure.  As she moves closer, he gets a strong whiff of the odd dead fish smell clinging to his wife, and he’s suddenly too busy heaving into the kitchen sink to find out.

Unbound [Ch. 2]

Pairing: Fushimi Saruhiko/Yata Misaki

Rating: T

Summary: Summer is Yata’s favorite time of the year in his town, a place where it normally rains nonstop nine months out of the year. It doesn’t help that the town is marred by old legends and tales which do nothing to make it less creepy and drab. Essentially, summer is Yata’s chance to forget superstitions and finally hit the beach. Apart from deciding what he wants to do with his life, all he wants is to enjoy it with his friends and maybe get to know Fushimi Saruhiko, a stranger who Yata can’t help but feel drawn to. However, the summer has more in store for him than usual, and he’s never been one to back down.

Note: I was really surprised by the support I got on this fic, so thanks to everyone who commented and showed interest in this story! Also it’s Yata-chan’s birthday! My sunshine child ; ; I hope this is enough of a celebration for him lol. Enjoy! 

AO3

The waterfront near the mall was barren, a huge contrast to the large crowds not even a mile away from it. The sun reflected off the water, shedding light on the old and rusted oil drums and pipes littered about the glistening body. There weren’t any animals, not large ones anyways. Yata could hear crickets though, and various other bugs along with the rustling in the low brush. The sand was tarnished with unidentifiable black gunk and cigarettes, a picturesque scene which was left to rot by civilization as industry took its toll on the land.

Or at least, that was what he’d heard a teacher say once in elementary school.

Saruhiko led him away from the water and around an imperceptible bend by the large rocks, placing them in front of a large tunnel Yata had never seen before in all his years of skulking around the place.

“Whoa…where does it go?” Yata’s voice was laced with childlike wonder as he peered into the seemingly never ending tunnel. Normally he may have felt frightened despite his bravery, after all, people were rumored to have died here, eaten up by monsters and legends from old ghost tales. Other rumors told of real villains, murderers and killers that let their victims decompose or sink into the waters nearby. But having Saruhiko there, who seemed rather knowledgeable about the place, made Yata feel strangely calm and relaxed.  

The taller smiled. It was a small kind of grin, one that was both amused and…something else that sent Yata’s heart racing despite his best efforts to keep it under control.

“I’ll show you,” Saruhiko said, gesturing for Yata to begin strolling down the path. The redhead nodded, an excited grin forming on his face as he trailed his fingers along the frigid walls of the tunnel. Saruhiko followed, almost right by his side, but lagging a step behind.

Ever since leaving the mall, they hadn’t talked much, but it had been far from awkward. Yata had barely noticed the lack of small talk, and was actually sort of grateful for it. The short walk from the mall had seemed to pass in the blink of an eye, and it was a strange sense of comfort he’d never had with anyone before.

Despite the relaxed silence from before, now Yata was buzzing with questions, and he was sure his excitement showed.

“How did you even know this was here? It’s awesome!” Yata looked at the other, and Saruhiko fixed his glasses in thought. It was a cute habit, in Yata’s opinion. As he waited, he swung his hands at his side, only stopping when he happened to brush against Saruhiko’s hand several times. He was suddenly thankful for the dim lighting. The only source were the streams of the day’s last sunlight which managed to drift in through the cracks of the tunnel, giving the space an otherworldly feel.

“The streets in the city are pretty bad, there’s accidents all the time,” Saruhiko began with a shrug. “It’s just less dangerous this way…”

The other seemed to hesitate after that, and Yata could tell the sentence wasn’t meant to end there, but the other had purposefully halted before providing an ‘and’. Like some weird type of insurance…

He wondered for a second if it was alright to ask. After all, sometimes people had super personal reasons for why they did the things they did. However, Saruhiko was someone Yata couldn’t help but wonder about, and so he figured it’d be worth it.

“What?” Yata raised an eyebrow, his question echoing throughout the tunnel along with their footsteps.

The other didn’t respond, only making a nervous, humming noise, as if that would appease Yata. Wrong.

Yata spun around, blocking the other’s path. The echoing on the walls stopped as they ceased walking, and Yata eyed Saruhiko warily. Come to think of it, maybe walking down a dark tunnel with a reserved and total stranger hadn’t been the best idea. But the boy was so frail and laid back Yata doubted he was a threat. No, he was eyeing him for other reasons. Saruhiko wasn’t acting suspicious…he was acting embarrassed.

Yata spotted the subtle fidgeting of Saruhiko’s hands, the repeated fixing of his glasses. And then the real sign, the light shade of red dancing on his cheekbones.

Yata smirked then, peering at Saruhiko with eyes that seemed to say, ‘spit it out.’

Saruhiko clicked his tongue, rubbing his eyes under his glasses. “I was thinking I could show it to you. In case you and your hoodlum ways got you into trouble again.”

The last statement almost felt tacked on, spoken a tad faster than the previous. It was so slight, but Yata noticed. Saruhiko’s eyes were averted to the strange markings on the tunnel wall, and that was when it clicked.

A curse began and quickly died on the tip of Yata’s tongue as he processed the response, and he stood still, blinking stupidly for several moments. Saruhiko clicked his tongue, taking the opportunity to maneuver around Yata and continue walking down the path.

That seemed to bring him back, and Yata turned with a stumble, catching up to the other boy in a few quick strides. “E-eh? You’ve…I mean…hm…”

Yata flushed at his loss for words, since when did he hide what he was thinking? But he didn’t feel confident in voicing his assumptions, no matter how obviously correct they probably were.

You’ve wanted to show me? Since the other week?

Yata couldn’t help the pleased feeling which ran through him, even despite the embarrassment.

“B-but you just met me and—”

And we’re technically not friends, not yet.

His friends’ teasing from before flashed through his mind, but now it seemed suddenly more plausible. Was Saruhiko actually interested in him for real?

That pleased feeling involuntarily intensified.

The other groaned, and his shoulders tensed, like he’d been caught doing something he shouldn’t have. “I frequent the Eastside Park.”

Yata’s internal crisis was put on hold as those words sunk in, and he squinted in confusion as he watched Saruhiko absentmindedly trace over some weird symbols on the wall.

Okay, what the hell? The park?

“And…?”

Saruhiko rolled his eyes, like Yata had completely missed some obvious conclusion from the poor excuse for an explanation.

“And, you and your thug friends hang out in that park a lot,” Saruhiko grumbled, still stiffly walking in front of Yata.  His feet, clad in ratty, faded converse, dragged, and the mild scrapping bounced off the curved walls.

“Hey my friends aren’t thugs! We just—”

“Graffiti public property?”

“Spray painting isn’t what I would call a dangerous crime, who c—”

Yata stopped suddenly, connecting the dots.

“I frequent the Eastside Park.”

The park. The park where he hung out with his friends at least once every week.

What?

The lightbulb went off, and Yata felt his stomach explode with a garden’s worth of butterflies.

Wait, no! That’s weird!

“Y-you’ve been watching me?” Yata sputtered, slowing his pace.

“I never said that, I just happen to see you…often,” Saruhiko muttered the last of his sentence, shoulders tensing another degree, having Yata vaguely wondering if his back was in pain. Stand up straight idiot.

“The fuck? You’re my stalker now then?”

Saruhiko actually scoffed at that, turning to face Yata as he walked backwards. His face was flushed, Yata saw as Saruhiko passed through a beam of light, but there was still an unbearably smug smile on the taller’s face. “Yeah right. My…friend, I suppose, owns a house on the edge of the park, therefore I’m there a lot. And, it’s just hard to ignore someone so loud.”

Yata scowled, quickening his steps once more until he was close to the other boy again. Who knew how long or fast they’d actually been walking. Yata had stopped paying attention. “Oh, but you were thinking ‘bout showing me this place huh? I still say you’re a stalker!”

Another scoff, and Saruhiko was pouting, giving Yata all kinds of weird rushes of feeling which he did not want to think about.

“I’m not a stalker moron, I only noticed you about two weeks ago. It’s not like I’ve been staring at you for months or anything,” Saruhiko mumbled.

“Doesn’t explain why you’d be staring at me for two weeks either,” Yata supplied, eyeing the other with caution.

Well, no, Yata wasn’t that stupid. He somewhat knew why the taller would’ve been looking at him, but entertaining the idea had Yata flushing something fierce. It was obvious that Saruhiko wasn’t the type to come out and own up to it either, so Yata was forced to stew in his own awkwardness.

He hated to admit it, but this strange form of flirting was surprisingly easy…if it was flirting. It felt like it, but maybe it was only from his end. What did Yata know though? He didn’t have experience with this shit.

In all honesty, Yata had never thought about…girls before, or even guys. He figured no one had sparked his interest yet, and that was why crushes weren’t on his mind. But now, having the tall, slim form of Saruhiko swaying in front of him was making him feel a whole new realm of emotions. Not that he had a problem with…with…being like that with someone, but he’d rather think about it alone than with the possible object of his…affections…only a few feet in front of him. Plus, admitting that his stupid friends were actually right was a serious hit to his dignity.

“I happened to be people watching, and you were more entertaining than my associate’s old stories,” Saruhiko explained as he faced forward, though not very convincingly.

“Uh huh…” Yata squinted at the other’s back. “And you wanted to show me this because? The real reason I mean.”

Well shit, that was bold, even for him. Yata couldn’t help it, and anyways, he didn’t like people giving him bullshit.

Saruhiko huffed, his demeanor suddenly annoyed at the turn of the conversation. Gotcha. Yata smiled smugly, a light feeling of triumph coursing through him.

Saruhiko fixed his glasses again, his pace slowing until they were walking side by side. “Don’t ask questions you apparently know the answers to,” he muttered, and Yata’s heart skipped. What the hell? He’d just met this guy, it shouldn’t feel like such an achievement to get that kind of admission.

“Plus,” Saruhiko went on, his face becoming clearer as more sunlight began to shine down on him. “I don’t really like nature, but this shortcut ends at the park, and it’s not too bad.”

“What do ya—”

It was then Yata realized they’d reached the end of the tunnel, and he was shocked at how he hadn’t even noticed, too focused on the other’s voice. It had almost felt too fast, how had they made it this far only on foot? The tunnel really was a shortcut…

The sun, now harsh and blinding, made him squint as he walked out onto the grass. He was taken aback by the chilling breeze that greeted him, for it had been absent in the shelter of the tunnel. He gasped, staring at the beautiful, open field which was part of Eastside Park. It was a more desolate section of the area, the kind where children rarely frolicked due to the lack of playgrounds and benches. It was untouched, flooded with flowers and vibrant foliage.

Whoa.

Yata had been feeling pretty ‘whoa’ all day it seemed. He withdrew from the tunnel completely, taking in the landscape. The faint sounds of traffic reached his ears, and he turned to his right, noticing the main road just in the distance. The main road that would take him right to his home if he followed it. Awesome.

Even with the lush land, Yata still noted the complete lack of animals. No birds, no squirrels or rodents. Lucky for Yata though, since he could totally see himself lounging around the area for a nap. Dusk would soon be settling on the park, and the vivid blues and pinks of the common flowers would lose their brightness. A shame, but Yata had no doubt that he’d be spending a lot of daylight hours there now anyways.

Yata looked to Saruhiko then, who was now leaning against a tree in the field, staring at Yata with that same, serene smile from before. Yata grinned, approaching him.

“You’re gonna have to show me more shortcuts, I’m going to hold you to it!” Yata couldn’t believe how much faster the walk home would be now that he knew about the secret path, and he was extremely grateful for meeting Saruhiko in that moment.

“Even though I’m a stalker?” Saruhiko smirked, pushing away from the tree and inching closer to Yata. Despite the cold, Yata could feel the warmth just a few inches in front of him, it had Yata leaning forward slightly with its enticement.

“You just gotta make it up to me dumbass!”

Yata didn’t know what compelled him to make such an invite to see the other again, but Saruhiko seemed cool, and he caused Yata’s curiosity to spike. Teasing from his friends and internal panic be damned, he didn’t see the harm in hanging out again.

Saruhiko gave a pleased hum, sidestepping Yata and beginning his trek in the opposite direction of the road, and Yata figured he or his friend must live more towards the inner part of the neighborhood.

As Saruhiko walked off into the distance he turned, calling out to Yata one last time. “When exactly will I be making it up to you?”

Really, Yata wished Saruhiko could stay longer, but he’d settle for any other time if it meant more exploring.

However, Yata suddenly remembered he had a few errands to run on Sunday, as he traditionally did for his mother. The shops where she got her ingredients were nearer to the center of town, at the border right before the richer suburban neighborhoods started.

“How about tomorrow? We can go to central?”

Saruhiko bit his lip, and Yata thought he saw an uncharacteristic flash of worry in those usually neutral eyes, but it was there and gone before he could make much sense of it.

Saruhiko nodded, gesturing to the surrounding area, silently suggesting they meet back at the same spot. Yata nodded, and then they were both off in their separate directions, leaving Yata feeling giddy in a way he never had before.

--

“How did it—”

“Shut it,” Saruhiko interrupted, slamming the door to Douhan’s house with no regard for the old structure’s protests. He’d been expecting this. “You shouldn’t know about any ‘it’ in the first place.”

But she always did. He also didn’t know why she bothered to ask how it went. She tended to have a way of reading him, and right now he couldn’t hide the aura of stupid bliss which was no doubt radiating off him.

All because of a stupid meetup, because of a promised next one. Whatever.

Douhan smiled at him knowingly, proving his suspicions. However, there was a limit to the things she should’ve known. He hadn’t told her about going anywhere today.

Saruhiko wouldn’t give her so much credit as to say the skill was born from natural intuition or social prowess either. Slowly, he let his eyes drift over to her living room, catching sight of the coffee rings staining her table and the old photo albums she insisted on keeping. He never understood why.

Among all the mess though, there were two chipped mugs, half full. Fresh.

He thought it was strange for the door to be unlocked. It meant she hadn’t had time after the home’s previous visitor had left. Judging from the partial spill on the table and the tripped over side stand, they’d left rather hastily too.

That’s mature.

Douhan followed his gaze, not at all bothered about the obvious discovery. She was a private person, but when it came to sharing things between them, she preferred to not have any blind spots.

“Gossiping again?” Saruhiko asked as he walked towards the guest room. He was tired, more so than usual, but he wouldn’t think about why that was. Absentmindedly, he drifted his hand over one of the blonde’s bookcases as he walked, noting how it was in desperate need of reorganizing.

Douhan shrugged. “Not so much gossiping as listening. Fuse came over here to vent about how childish you’re being, but I’m sure you already suspected that…”

The silent question didn’t escape him, but he wasn’t exactly in the mood to deal with his social problems. It was hardly his fault that before he’d gone to the mall, Fuse had approached him, infuriated about things which didn’t matter.

It had erupted to nothing less than a full out fight, and he didn’t know how to go about resolving it. He was hardly used to having any disagreements with the other, at least not anymore. Regardless of the issue, he wasn’t exactly ready to share any of that with Douhan yet.

Well, she probably already knew. Still, hopefully simple answers would suffice.

“We had a disagreement, nothing more. He should mind his own business,” Saruhiko grumbled, moving to open the bedroom door, his only chance of relief from all this. “You all should actually.”

Douhan actually snorted at that, and he sent her a flat look. Why did these discussions have to be uselessly prolonged every time?

She shook her head, finally moving to begin picking up her living room in a rare show of care for the decaying property. It was a normal thing to do after the end of a conversation, but Saruhiko was compelled to stay. After all this time, he knew when the blonde had said her piece, and he also knew when he could afford to not hear it.

This was apparently not one of those times.

“You know that’s not possible when it comes to you,” she said, but her voice was softer, fonder, and he neither had the will nor the energy to scorn it. So instead he clicked his tongue, and finally moved inside the room, refusing to acknowledge how deep down, he probably appreciated it. Maybe.

As he took a step, a sharp pain shot through his side, and he wasn’t fast enough to hide his instantaneous wince. Great…

He clutched his hip, closing his eyes tightly as the pain took its course through his bones and muscles. Saruhiko tried not to groan when he was relieved from the agony after a few moments. Cautiously, he stood up straight again, testing for any aftershocks. When there were none, he gave a relaxed sigh which was completely short lived.

Now he had another issue to deal with.

Saruhiko’s hand was frozen on the door handle, and he could feel Douhan’s eyes boring into his back, searing. He scolded himself for not hiding the reaction faster, for letting her keep him out in the open, but maybe that had been her plan all along.

He was ready for the lecture, for the advice which normally came with stuff like this. It was his own fault sure, but he didn’t need people meddling in his affairs. He was ready with his counter arguments, ready to ease her of any worry, to tell her he was fine.

But he didn’t have to.

After another beat of the strained silence, Douhan just sighed deeply behind him, continuing to pick up her littered coffee table. She only paused one more time afterwards, and he was grateful. “This is why we worry. Don’t overdo it.”

And that was all that had to be said apparently, and the tension between them dissolved as if by magic. Funny, how she could do that.

Saruhiko sighed, not seeing any cause in fighting the demand for now. Right then, he preferred to be alone with his own thoughts of Misaki, and the butterflies swirling obnoxiously in his stomach. He turned back to walk into his room, when one last teasing, sugary statement hit his ears.

“Have fun on your next date.”

--

“Home early again?” Yata’s mother’s voice drifted to his ears as he walked through the door, and he took a seat at the kitchen table idly, triumphant. It had been a good week.

“Yeah, I took a quicker way home someone showed me,” Yata replied with a smile.

“Someone?” His mother paused in her task of looking through the mail, her gaze questioning. Right, his mother always had to be nosy.

Yata rubbed the back of his head, trying his best not to look embarrassed. The last thing he needed was his mom meddling in his personal life.

“Yeah, just this friend I ran into at the mall an—”

“Misaki! You didn’t tell me you were going to the mall!”

Yata flinched at the higher tone of voice, and he held up his hands defensively. “W-what? Did you need something from the mall?”

As he spoke, he was aware of his younger brother skulking into the kitchen, his face pouty and annoyed.

“Well, there was that construction accid—Minoru! I told you, you aren’t allowed to have any sweets tonight!”

Yata laughed from his position at the table as his brother sighed, having been effectively caught. He felt sort of sympathetic, but better his brother get scolded than Yata himself. “What did you do now Minoru?”

“Nothing,” Minoru mumbled, kicking at the floor. “Just broke a few cups…”

“A few? You broke a whole case of them!” His mom had her hands on her hips now, continuing to reprimand her younger son. Again, at least it saved Yata. “If you don’t watch out, the shadow beast will get you!”

Minoru seemed to pout more at that, and Yata was sure the younger would’ve rolled his eyes if he wasn’t afraid of getting in more trouble. “Mom, c’mon! I’m way too old for that story. Plus, the shadow beast only comes when you’re about to die remember?”

His mother hummed, nodding slowly, her expression marred with struggle to remember details of the story she’d told them throughout their childhoods. “Oh, you’re right. I used to have that story down too…to think one day you’d know it better than me.”

“Kind of a brutal story to tell kids don’t ya think?” Yata jumped into the conversation with a laugh. “Even I remembered being terrified when you told it to me as a kid.”

“Past tense? You know the old legend would still scare you if I told it,” his mom said with a smirk. “In fact Misaki, you’ve always been against any kind of scary st—”

“Mom! Stop okay? It’s embarrassing,” Yata protested, yet it was for nothing as his mother’s loud laugh carried throughout the house.

--

Central always made Yata a bit uncomfortable. It was closer to the rich neighborhoods, meaning more snobby and better dressed kids roamed about, sometimes giving him the once over and laughing. It caused Yata to want to sink into the ground. Not that he really cared what they thought, he couldn’t give two shits. Those people didn’t know him anyways, it was more the unwanted attention which got to him.

Central was fun however, given that it had nicer shops, large parks, and tourist spots. It also got the best produce brought to the grocery stores, so Yata’s mother often sent him there to pick up prime ingredients. When he was younger, Yata and his friends would hang out around the supposedly haunted spots in the area, mostly against Yata’s will, as he was usually forced there. Though he wouldn’t admit it, Yata despised going near anything considered paranormal. It was hard to avoid though, since central was the historic hotspot of the area.

Yata had been worried initially about going there with Saruhiko. Maybe the other would be into that kind of thing, and Yata would have to pretend to not be freaked out about going on graveyard tours and shit. He felt lame about it to this day. What kind of grown man actually believed that stuff anymore?

Luckily, Saruhiko had been pretty against the idea, staring at the fancy, historic homes with disdain as they passed them on the way into town.

"You don't think they're cool?" Yata quirked a brow, trying for the hundredth time to not automatically lean in Saruhiko's direction. The walk hadn't been uncomfortable, in fact, they weren't even in town and Yata was having fun. Saruhiko listened to him talk about his favorite games and movies, even his friends' stupid adventures. In between, they took to bickering playfully in a way which made Yata laugh and flush occasionally. It was hard to resist his weird urge to grab Saruhiko's hand when their fingers brushed, or nudge the other with his shoulder when he strayed too close...

Stop it, you just met him! This isn't even a date...

Regardless, Yata couldn't ignore the magnetic pull between them, and he'd been mindfully making sure he was at least a feet or two away as they walked side by side. Yata had originally asked Saruhiko to take them through another shortcut, since the usual way to central was pretty congested, and it was the first time he'd seen Saruhiko look unenthusiastic about the prospect. The taller had clicked his tongue, but had relented in the end upon seeing Yata's perplexed and mildly disappointed face. Yata didn't understand the dislike for the neighborhood they were in, but then again, he couldn't say he loved the place.

It was the historic district, the street lined with old mansions with plaques in front of them, telling when it was constructed and who had lived there. It wasn't deserted, summer was the tourist season after all, but it was far more peaceful than the typical way.

The mansions, white and beige and grand, towered over the small tour groups as he and Saruhiko walked by. Yata shivered when he caught the words "haunted" coming from one of the guides. Yeah, no way did he love these homes. They were pretty though, he was sure his mom would love them. The intricate designs and restored pillars almost made it seem like they had been transported to another time.

"They're just houses," Saruhiko mumbled, scowling at the obnoxious neon signs which directed people to pay good money for a house tour. "I don't see what the big deal is." It was almost cute how pouty Saruhiko sounded, and Yata grinned as the other busied himself with staring at the sidewalk.

Yata thought about that as they passed though, admiring the flowerbeds and wide lawns in front of each house, barred off by black iron and 'no trespassing' signs. "Maybe it's the haunted thing, or people are just history nerds," Yata snorted, and he was delighted when Saruhiko did too. His skin felt hot when Saruhiko grinned in amusement, and damn, damn your face Saruhiko. Yata loved being able to pull new reactions out of him. They'd only been hanging out for a while, but every grin or smirk was a personal triumph and each had Yata's heart racing.

"Only idiots believe those houses are actually haunted," Saruhiko went on, not bothering to look both ways when he crossed the street. Yata had half a mind to scold him, but didn’t want to interrupt. Be more careful...

"They act like serial killers lived there, when it was just old fat aristocrats,” Saruhiko finished, his eyes sharp.

Yata tried not to be too offended, given he did believe in the paranormal, mostly because he'd never shook off the childhood fear, but whatever. He could work with this to his advantage anyways. For whatever reason, he wanted to see if Saruhiko liked being challenged.

"How do you know? Have you ever been inside?"

"I read the plaques," Saruhiko shrugged, and Yata smirked openly.

"So you don't know if it’s not haunted..." Yata hummed, his gut twisting a little at how badly this could go. His goal was to simply play around, maybe embarrass Saruhiko, but if Saruhiko actually wanted to prove him wrong by going inside..."Maybe you're just saying that because you're scared and don't want to go inside."

Yata was surely screwing himself over. Oh god what have you done. You'll never survive.

Old stories started to flood his brain, the one about the ghost bride in the adjacent house, or the missing girl from house 210, and oh god the rumors about the abusive father in house 204...

They were stupid myths, meant to scare grade schoolers and make money, but Yata felt goosebumps even thinking about them. I'm gonna die.

Saruhiko's response surprised him though.

"No way," he said quickly, glaring one last time at the large, tinted windows of one of the bigger homes. "And it's not because I'm scared. I don't need to hear a tour guide talk for hours about the restoration of wallpaper."

Yata blinked, letting the relief wash over him as Saruhiko eyed him critically, as if there was more he wished to say. He does that a lot, Yata realized, and all feelings of stress were replaced with amusement. Saruhiko really was a loner...

"If you say so," Yata said smugly, walking ahead of Saruhiko with confidence. It felt nice to win, even if it was a complete sham. "Sometimes listening to people talk is nice though."

There was a beat of silence as Yata's sneakers dragged on the sidewalk, and he halted, looking back to see Saruhiko with that same torn expression on his face, light flush gracing his features, and Yata choked up. Damnit, stop doing that.

Just when Yata thought he was starting to familiarize himself with Saruhiko’s personality, he did this shit. "Um..."

Saruhiko scoffed, catching up in a few brisk strides as he recovered, refusing to meet Yata's eyes even when their hands brushed together. When Saruhiko finally spoke, Yata felt like he was on another planet.

Or well, maybe cloud nine was more accurate. Fuck.

"Why listen to them? You’re here."

--

And Saruhiko did listen to him, in his own weird, grumpy way. When a group of wealthy college students threw Yata dirty looks because of how he'd been dressed, Saruhiko sneered at them something fierce, and proceeded to indulge Yata's whole rant as they piled groceries into their cart. Then before Yata knew it, he was babbling about everything.

How he didn't want to finish school, how much he loved his mom, how mischievous his siblings could be, all aspects of his life slowly laid bare as if Saruhiko was a lifetime friend, and not the mysterious boy Yata had spent roughly two days knowing.

"Yeah but, that's why I want to move out soon," Yata said, checking a few things off his list and praying Saruhiko wasn't terribly bored with him. "Not super far away but just...getting my own place would be nice."

"Mm," Saruhiko hummed, glaring menacingly at the bag of vegetables Yata loaded into the cart. Yata laughed a bit, pushing the bag towards Saruhiko's face teasingly as the other swatted it away. Cute.

Sparing Saruhiko, Yata looked over his cart again, nodding to himself. That should be everything.

"So, you don't like the guy your mom married then? Is that the issue?" Saruhiko asked, and Yata was quick to clear things up.

"No, not at all! He's great..." Yata said, letting his features fall into a fond expression. His mom...she was so happy now, having a complete family, even if his stepfather was out of town a lot. But... "He's really good to her, to all of us. But, I don't know, I feel like I kinda don't fit in there? My siblings belong with their mom and dad, but the picture looks off when you toss me in there. I don't mind it exactly but--"

Yata thought about his life, his goals for the future, making it on his own and proving he could be something. It was important to him, and the pride began swelling in his chest.

But I want to make a home for myself too.

He wondered how Saruhiko felt about that kind of stuff. The taller did come off as apathetic at times, but Yata could tell there was more drive in him than he let on. Saruhiko was smart too, observant. What did he want to do in the future? What was his family like? Yata didn't realize how badly he wanted to know.

I want to know more about Saruhiko.

Yata looked up after it took the other a while to respond, worried he'd somehow overshared, but Saruhiko's eyes were full of nothing but...well, Yata didn't know how to define that emotion, but he knew the hints of fondness and hesitance in those eyes made comfort crash over him in waves. "Mm, I see."

Yeah...

He coughed, not really sure how to deal with the giddiness swirling in his stomach, and chose instead to act on his urges. "Uh...what's your family like?"

Saruhiko frowned at that, looking away as if to think about his response. It was strange to Yata, he never had to think about how to describe his family. His family was great, but he knew it wasn't the case for everyone. Maybe he shouldn't have asked, but then again, Saruhiko had asked about his, so he thought it was okay.

"I'm not close to them." Saruhiko's shoulders were tense, and Yata decided to drop it after that for sure, but Saruhiko surprised him by continuing. "My...father w--he just wasn’t around a lot, so I got to do as I pleased. I’m used to having a lot of free time."

Yata noted the past tense but didn't press, no matter how much he itched to. He knew better. For whatever reason, even the little tidbit of information about Saruhiko made him happy anyway. It made him want to make Saruhiko happy too. 

Well, you can be close to other people then!

"Lucky me then heh..." Yata coughed, pushing his cart towards the registers in a way that hopefully looked normal. He practically felt Saruhiko's gaze boring into his back.

"Why do you say that?" Saruhiko's voice was edged with playfulness, and the smirk Yata had come to find rather attractive was no doubt plastered on his face. But, well, Yata never backed down from a challenge.

"I get to be around you more then, is all, right?"

He turned around, and the blush he saw was worth his own.

Their hands brushed not so accidentally as they took the groceries out of the cart and loaded them onto the conveyor belt. Sometime after, Yata squawked stupidly when the cashier had to get his attention after he zoned out staring at Saruhiko, and he thought then that he was definitely in trouble. He paid quickly, trying to even out his breathing as Saruhiko stepped forward, brushing against his side to grab some of the bags with irritation.

It was really warm outside, summer had begun after all, but Saruhiko was still wearing a jacket, and Yata glared at the offending material. He wondered what Saruhiko's bare skin felt like as they left the store, not bothering to mind the space between them.

--

They took the long way this time, through the city, an unspoken excuse to talk to each other more, though Yata noticed Saruhiko always made an effort to be a few steps ahead of him.

"Ugh, I can't believe the first time you saw me was when I fell out of that tree," Yata groaned as he cursed Bandou, who had a habit of getting his frisbee lodged in the trees at the park. Yata had a habit of plummeting to the ground in an effort to retrieve them.

"I told you, I knew you would need my help," Saruhiko sighed, eyes darting around the corner as they crossed the street to make sure cars weren't coming. Vigilant now huh?

Saruhiko shook his head in mock disappointment. "Someone who can't even climb a tree..."

"Hey those things are tall!"

"Oh? Are you admitting you're short then Misaki?"

Yata choked, beaten once again. Damn, why did Saruhiko have to be so fast with his comebacks? Not fair. Nevertheless, as annoyed as Yata tried to seem, the grin wouldn't leave his face. "Whatever, you still admit to wanting to help me even after seeing me fall."

Yata's palms felt clammy, because really, what he should've said was 'but you still like me,' but it was too out there, even for him. Plus, he wasn’t fully certain if Saruhiko had been joking before, in the tunnel, or under the freeway. Either way, Yata was content like this, for now.

Well, his arms kind of hurt from carrying the bags for so long, but whatever.

“So—”

Suddenly, Yata was yanked back violently, nearly slipping and dropping the groceries as his feet scuffed against the concrete. Yata's breath was knocked out of him, and he heard a light screech as he was forced back.

"Watch it!" Saruhiko's arms came around his waist, pulling him further onto the sidewalk as a car sped by, honking loudly at them even though the walk sign was clearly on. Yata's heart raced, partly from the shock of the car running the light, but also Saruhiko's body pressed against his, the smell of something vaguely floral flooding his senses as he started to relax.

Saruhiko clicked his tongue, not moving away as he watched the car speed off. "Honestly..."

"Um...Saru..."

The other tensed behind him, which caused his hold to tighten as a result, and Yata tried so hard, so hard not to fall into it. "Ah, right," Saruhiko whispered, clearing his throat as he pulled back, a little too slow to be considered normal, as if...

As if he didn't want to.

No. No, not going down that road. Yata scolded himself, shaking the thoughts away to be dealt with at another time. Preferably when he was at home, in his room, not with Saruhiko.

"Uh haha that was a close one! Yeah." Yata coughed, clutching his bag a little tighter than necessary and hoping he hadn't ruined any of the contents. He glanced down the street as Saruhiko picked up his own bags, glaring at the direction the car had gone. "What an asshole."

"Yeah, I'm surprised how many idiots don't know how to drive." Saruhiko walked past him, continuing their journey home, and Yata followed after a moment of confusion.

Man, come on, it wasn't a big deal.

Well, no. Saruhiko had majorly saved him there, and he'd felt so nice--stop. Later. Home. Bed.

Surprisingly, even after the tense incident, the atmosphere between them returned pretty easily, the comfortable silence and easy mood making Yata forget his near death experience. But, he felt like he needed to say something.

"It was lucky you were there ha," Yata said, rubbing the back of his neck. "Thanks."

Saruhiko shrugged, his usual response, but Yata didn't miss the small grin threatening to grow on his face. "It's whatever."

--

Douhan held the phone between her cheek and her shoulder as she reorganized her book case, the faded covers and tattered pages threatening to fall off as she moved them.

“Are you going to apologize?” She said, and she meant the question as less of a suggestion and more of a command. She was too old for this.

She glanced outside as the sun hit her back through the blinds, strong enough to make it through even the densest of foliage. She glanced to her coffee table in boredom, eyeing the official letters from the city which advised her to clean up her yard. She never paid them any mind.

On the other end of the line, she could hear Fuse sigh loudly, his fingers pausing as he typed on his computer. “Why would I do that?”

Douhan smiled at the childish tone. Fuse was unashamedly blunt, but rational, and hearing him pout was always a treat. It was almost as amusing as when Saruhiko did it.

“You’re the one who started the fight,” Douhan reminded, then continued with a smug smile. “Does Enomoto know about this? Maybe I should tell him to scold you.”

It was an overused trick of hers, bringing up the other’s boyfriend, but it had a high success rate.

Fuse groaned into the receiver, the sound choppy due to a poor connection, and Douhan’s lips quirked in triumph. “Don’t pull that, what I did wasn’t wrong and you know it.”

“Do I?” Douhan grimaced as a book fell apart in her hands, the binding worn and damaged after one too many uses. “Who are you to decide that?”

Douhan’s voice was a touch more grim now, both from her book dilemma and the conversation, and she heard Fuse sigh in defeat after a few tense moments.

“I was just worried about him…that’s all,” he finally whispered, the silence shattered even from the gentleness of the statement.

Douhan’s eyes softened as she stared at the scattered pages on her floor, a light hum leaving her lips as she admired the reasoning. Well, she couldn’t exactly fault him for it.

They all worried about Saruhiko, and each other.

But…

“Yes, I understand,” she said, bending down to collect a page littered with symbols and sketches. “But you know…despite that…”

Despite everything…

“Saruhiko deserves to be happy sometimes.”

The silence was stifling, broken only by Fuse making a choked sound through the phone. She gripped the phone in her hand, tapping her nail on the hard surface as she waited. While Douhan doubted he’d agree right away, she hoped the words would sit with him. Again, they were far too old for this.

The response she got was the dial tone, the harshness of it ringing in her ears as she crumpled up the page in her palm.