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silverisbestboy · 4 years

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Sonic Boom x Reader

Requested by @blackace1993: Conversation was accidentally deleted but from what I remeber of it, they wanted hc for the Sonic Boom characters who has a partner who frequently gets into trouble and/or captured by Eggman. They didn't specify which character they wanted so I just did all of them minus Tails. Hope you enjoy!

Sonic:

There's no denying it

Sonic was smitten

The moment you set foot on the island Sonic was taken aback by you

To him, you were drop dead gorgeous with a great personality so I guess you could say it was love at first sight for him

This boy is a fool for you

It's actually quite funny watching him zip across the island at the slightest remark that you need something

"Man, you what? I'm feeling kind of hungry"

"Say no more!" He'll say as he zooms away and reappears seconds later with a chili dog in hand

"Uhhhh"

But, unfortunately for you, being in any sort of relationship with Sonic is not wothout complication

Eggman sees you as a new oppurtunity to best Sonic and ends up taking you hostage on a regular basis

The first time it happens, Sonic all but destroys Eggman's fortress looking for you

But after it continuously happening, it starts getting kinda old

"Greeting Sonic! I see you've come to rescue your little girlfriend"

"Yeah, yeah. Can we just we just get to the part where I clobber you?"

It gets to the point where Sonic starts teaching you how to defend yourself so you can hold your own against Eggman

Not that he doesn't mind rescuing, it's just he can't always be there to protect

With the amount of times they've had to save you, the team are already very familiar with you and consider you apart of their friend group

But as you get better is self-defence, Sonic officially announces you as part of the team and you start joining them on missions

While Sonic does tend to stick to your side more than his other teammates during battle, he's glad to have you fighting alongside them

After all, he's happy to spend as much time with you as possible, even if that means having to bash Eggman's robots to do so

Knuckles:

You're not a bad person

So what if you have anger issues

So what if you get into fights from time to time

So what if you've been in trouble with the cops before

Doesn't mean you're a bad person, it just means you've.... got some issues

One day you're not in the best mood and have already had a pretty shitty day, and you're just a ticking time bomb waiting to explode

So it's no wonder that when a big guy bumps into you and causes you to drop the tray of food you're holding, you go off on him

Unfortunately for you, this guy is huge, a tall red echidna with bulking arms that looks like he could punch you into next week

But you're not one to back down from a fight, you've beaten up guys twice your size before and you're not afraid to do it again

"Woah, hey, sorry about that, didn't see you there."

What, is he dense?! Who does this guy think he is barrelling into anyone he pleases just because he's big? You bet he was just gonna walk off without even helping you. Well, you'd show him!

Without warning, you lunged at the echidna with the intent of knocking him over the same way he almost did to you

But you underestimated his initial strength and reflexes and he caught you midair with your legs kicking and your hands clawing for his face

"Woah, dude chill! I said I was sorry!"

He just kinda holds you up in air at arms length with you kicking and screaming until you eventually tire yourself out

The echidna stares at you cautiously

"Are you good now?"

After a moment, you reluctantly nod, and he gently sets you back on your feet

He then carefully leans down without takong his eyes off you and grabs your burger which is still wrapped in foil and reaches it out to you

"How about we start over? I'm Knuckles."

You thought after that encounter, that was the last you'd see of him

But one day, you've gotten yourself into another fight, and to say you're losing would be an understatement

It's once again, a guy twice your size and he's absolutely beating the crap out of you

But by some miracle, Knuckles happens to be walking by and immediately notices you

He steps in to save you, and the guy you're fighting knows about Knuckles being part of Sonic's team and doesn't even bother attempting to fight him

Knuckles takes your half conscious body to Tails's work shop where they fix you up

After that, Knuckles refuses to leave you alone

Even if you try to leave, he always ends finding you to make sure you don't get into more trouble

He helps you find outlets for your anger by sparring and working out with him

You grow a soft spot for Knuckles that you'd never thought you'd have for anyone

He's your big goofball that somehow always manages to calm you down and get you out of whatever trouble your in

Though it's beyond you why anyone would want to put up with you, eespecially a lovable ray of sunshine like Knuckles, you're so grateful that you have someone like himin your life to keep you in check

A/N: Might make more hcs for that because I absolutely love the idea of big, strong goofball Knuckles having a little ball of pure rage as a partner.

Amy Rose:

Some would say you're a pacifist

Some would say you care too much

Some would say you're too nice

But you like to think that you're just trying to do good in the world

You're definitely the type of person that hates conflict and wants everyone to get along, and you're more often than not a bit of a pushover

You like to give people benefit of the doubt and prefer to see the good in people, although sometimes, this affects you negatively

A kindly looking (or at least in your opinion) wolf with a showman's top hat and a certain glint his eyes one day stops you in your tracks and asks you ever so politely if you would kindly lend him some money to help feed his family

Of course, you're quick to help, but little do you know that this is none other than T.W. Barker himself, and he's been watching you carefully for some time

He notices the way you jump at the oppurtunity to help someone in need, and he being a con man at heart, decides to take advantage of that

But before you can lend the man all the money you have in your pocket, a certain pink hedgehog decides to interfere

"Hey, you leave her alone Barker! Go find your own ATM machine!"

Amy Rose herself stands not far behind you, hammer in hand and ready for trouble

"N-now, now, let's not be too hasty. I was simply accepting a generous donation from this unsuspecting-- I mean self-less young lady."

"Yeah right. Beat it before I hammer you into next Tuesday, punk!"

You're in utter shock as the seeming wolf in sheep's clothing (pun intended) makes his escape

"Gotta look out for scumbags. Seems this village is getting more and more of them everyday. Anyways, I'm Amy, what's your name?"

Since then, Amy keeps a close eye on you to make sure you don't become prey to anymore scam artists

Now Amy will never admit she has anger issues, but she does get... irritated from time to time

On more than one occasion, you're there to help her calm down and have a sleepover planned or a spa day for when things get particularly rough for her

Whenever she needs help choosing which paint to redo her wall with, or which dress she should wear to a party, she calls you up, because no matter what you're interests are or how inconvenient the timing might seem, you're ready to help a friend, even with mundane things

Amy has you become a part of the Sonic family, and while you never do join them in battles, you help keep the peace between the team whenever there's an argument

And Amy always makes sure your overly caring attitude isn't being taken advantage of

No matter the time or the place, Amy knows she can always count on you, and you know she's always got your back

Sticks:

Well this is quite the predicament you've gotten yourself into

A lot of people would descibe you as clumsy, but you knew you just bad luck

And to prove just that, here you were dangling upside from a rope trap after deciding to take a liesure stroll through the forest

What are we, nomads? Who sets out traps in the middle of the woods anymore?!

After about 20 minutes, the blood is rushing to your head and you're starting to feel faint

But just as you think that your bad luck will finally be the end of you, figure bursts from the bushes with a fierce battle cry

It's a badger girl with a boomerang clutched in her paw, ready for a fight

But after a moment she realizes just who's gotten caught up in her trap

"Hey, what's the big idea?! Why're you in my snare?"

"Why am I in your snare? Why did you put out a snare you loon?!"

After about 5 minutes of arguing, Sticks reluctantly cuts you down, begrudgingly explaining that she set out a trap for any woodland monsters

You run into her again on another walk, crossing a small stream before tripping on one of the stepping stones and almost falling in before a furry arm wraps around your waist

"You outta be more careful out here. The wilderness is no place to be a klutz."

"Hey, I'm not a klutz. I just have bad luck is all."

And what more to gain the attention of a superstitious badger than the possibility of supernatural forces at play

"You could've been hexed by a witch. Or worse, there could be a vengeful spirit after you! We gotta get you an exorcist!"

"I'm fine, I'm just unlucky. Always have been always will be."

"We should still burn some sage in your home just to be sure."

You let Sticks do what she wants with you, after all, her superstitious perspective is a nice change from everyone just thinking your clumsy

You think her attempts to "cleanse" you are endearing, she tries something new everyday, and you end up learning a thing or two about survival and the corruptedness of politics from her

Weeks later, her attempts slowly dwindle down, and she just comes to accept she's just gonna have to keep an extra close eye on you, especially when she sets out booby traps

The time y'all have spent together, although it was somewhat motivated by Sticks not wanting to get whatever curse you exposed her to, lead to y'all having a close bond

Everyone has their quirks, she's paranoid and you're clumsy, but you two always manage to work things out

And that's the beauty of a relationship

A/N: Sorry I haven't been that active lately, so take this as an apology. Four hcs for the price of one!

#sonic headcanons #sonic the hedgehog x reader #sonic x reader #sonic boom #amy rose x reader #sticks the badger x reader #knuckles the echidna x reader

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nooneandeveryone · 3 years

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Can i request fic of arkin,asa and abby where asa gets curious on how arkin will react to abby making advancements and well he watches arkin and abby start fucking but eventually asa decides to join in on the fun?

So I thought... hey that sounds fun. It'll be a nice quick write up. Well. 1,995 words later it's larger than expected. I HOPE YOU'RE PROUD OF YOURSELF

I switch POVs through out because I wanted to.

warnings for breathplay, throat stepping

--Arkin--

It must’ve been hours, Arkin could barely feel his fingertips. He’d been left tied and gagged in a bare room. He’d managed to loosen the ropes somewhat, given enough time he could probably work his way out of them. He’d rather find something sharp to cut them with. He had wiggled to the edge of the room in hopes of finding something. An old nail or screw, anything.

He heard the dead bolts open on the door. He was ready to brace himself, expecting to be dragged off somewhere.

But instead, a young woman was shoved into the room. The door locked loudly behind her.

She was obviously another victim. She had old wounds on one of her hands. While she had intact clothes, they were still grubby. And she had the same haunted expression of someone who’d seen a lot of death.

She also seemed very unsure about why she was there. She had noticed Arkin then looked back at the door.

Carefully, she edged her way over to him, obviously checking for traps as she went.

Arkin made a pleading sound through the gag. Even if this was some kind of weird trick by the killer, she might at least get him out of the ropes.

She did crouch down and pull his gag free.

“...get me out of this!” Arkin said, managing to not sound as desperate as he felt.

She hesitated and looked back at the door again. “I don’t--I think he’s testing us…” her voice was shaky and uncertain.

Arkin strained against the ropes keeping his arms behind his back. The freak had used a weird overly complicated series of knots that kept his arms together. “I don’t give a fuck what he’s doing!” he said in frustration. “Help me outta this!”

--Abby--

Abby had seen the tied up man before, on the monitors in His room. She had asked about him. Predictably, she got no verbal response. He had simply gestured to her then the screen. He wanted to know why she was interested. “He’s… he’s kind of cute,” she said nervously, she hoped showing interest in someone that wasn’t Him wasn’t against the rules. She shrank back just in case it was.

Instead He made a hand motion that meant he agreed with her.

Just a few hours later she found herself shoved into a room with the same man. Only now he was tied up and helpless on the floor.

She usually could guess what He wanted from her, but this time she was at a loss. Was this a weird gift? A test? A trick?

The least she could do was take out his gag.

He did look better in person than the monitors. Did He tie him up <i>for</i> her? Or was he dangerous? She edged back, he certainly wasn’t happy, that could be bad.

Perhaps sensing this, the tied man’s voice went softer. “Hey. It’s okay… I’m Arkin, what’s your name?”

“Abby…”

“Okay, Abby. Listen, my hands are going numb. Can you at least try to loosen the ropes? He wouldn’t have put you in here if he didn’t want you to do something.”

Did Arkin understand Him too?

“O-Okay…”

--Asa--

It was going well, he thought. He’ll leave them in there together for a few hours, or maybe a day, and see if anything changes. While there were a few outcomes he would like to see, he was more interested in seeing what they chose to do on their own. He could have easily told Abby precisely what he wanted but chose not to.

He’ll stay the night at the hotel to keep an eye on them. He had no pressing unmasked matters to attend to tomorrow. It would be a shame to miss anything interesting.

--Arkin--

It took a lot of coaxing for Arkin to convince Abby to at least untie his legs. She was very concerned with making the masked man angry. The masked man remained silent for her too, leaving her to guess what he wanted and hope she was right. She’d definitely been here longer than Arkin.

Then they were just left alone in that room.

They sat on the floor in an uneasy silence. She eventually moved to sit next to Arkin and leaned into him. He didn’t question it, they were in a fairly cool room and she had on a sleeveless dress.

“I think it’s safe to untie me,” he told her gently.

She curled up against his side, she still looked apprehensive but not as fearful as she was. She clearly wasn’t ready to untie him, however. They stayed like that and eventually, they both fell asleep.

It wasn’t the most comfortable sleep but it was… comforting. Not just for the shared body heat.

In between bouts of fitful sleep, Abby finally decided to untie him. Again, he didn’t question it, he just groaned as blood flow slowly restored itself. His arms felt heavy and hurt. The ropes had left clear indentations down his arms.

She curled herself against him again, this time taking one of his arms in hers. She rubbed her hands up and down his forearm, where most of the rope marks were left. It felt amazingly good. His arms and shoulders had almost completely cramped up. She mumbled a barely audible apology, as her hands worked further up his arm.

Arkin could barely string together words in reply, because of the pure relief of pain being rubbed away. “...it’s fine,” he managed to slur out. He really did understand why she didn’t untie him sooner.

She moved her hands to his other arm, which turned into him spooning her on the floor. It wasn’t a conscious effort on his part, it just seemed like the natural thing to do.

Things began to shift as she rubbed his forearm. It took him a moment to realize his hand had settled against her inner thigh. She was still rubbing the knots in his arm and didn’t seem to care where his hand was.

Then her hand moved to his wrist and very gently guided his hand between her legs.

Should they really be doing this?

“The rules are different here,” Abby said, turning her head back to look at him.

She was right. They were prisoners to a murderer who enjoyed inflicting pain. There was rarely a moment where he felt anything else. Arkin shifted to bring her back flush to his chest. He slid his hand fully between her legs. There wasn’t much in the way of clothing to get past. His fingers slid down and found she was already quite wet.

God, what did that freak do to them to make them like this?

He slid his fingers back up, working a circular motion until he found her clit. She let out a small gasp. It was encouraging, despite not knowing her, just to get a positive reaction from someone. Someone who isn’t actively trying to hurt him.

She tried to stay quiet, with only little squeaks escaping. Generally, Arkin would prefer a more vocal partner but like she said, the rules are different here. The masked freak could be watching or listening. For some twisted reason, the thought actually excited him. He’ll just try to push that as far out of his mind as he can.

--Abby--

She still wasn’t sure if what they were doing was allowed. She hoped it was. It seemed likely. He left her in here with Arkin far longer than she’s been around any of the others. Maybe, He wanted her to have this?

This felt very good. Arkin kept varying the speed he moved his fingers. He’d slow down if she made louder sounds. Was he a tease or was he worried they’d get caught?

The first time she came, she closed a hand over her mouth. It was safer to be quiet. Her other hand desperately gripped his forearm. He did not stop, with her mouth covered he seemed to take that as an invitation to speed up. Two fingers slid down to press inside her for a moment then he went right back to her clit.

When she came the second time, she ground her hips back into him. He’d had an erection for a while, she’d felt it, but he wasn’t doing anything about it. She ground back again, getting a little grunt out of him. It was surprisingly gratifying.

Finally, she decided to do something about it. She turned around to face him and gently pushed him onto his back. She opened his pants, her fingers brushing over his dick. He drew in a hissing breath.

“Okay?” she asked cautiously. He just nodded in response.

She straddled his hips and let out a long breath. She took a moment to just slide her wet and swollen labia against his dick. He made a cute little choking sound; he was trying very hard not to make noise.

She shifted her hips and let his dick slide into her. She had gotten very tight after repeated orgasms.

Now it was even harder for him to keep quiet.

The door opened.

--Asa--

Asa was very pleased to see Abby reacted just as he expected. She immediately covered Arkin’s mouth with her hands and told him to not move. He heard her repeat “Just wait.” over and over to Arkin. She kept her gaze averted and pulled her shoulders together in her usual show of submission. Arkin, however, looked like he was ready to jump up at any second. But he was following Abby’s instructions.

He stood in the doorway long enough to convey he was not angry. If he had been angry he would’ve rushed in. No, this was working out better than expected.

He took slow measured steps toward them. His head tilted as he looked them over. He moved his hand in a signal for them to continue.

Abby understood, of course, but looked apprehensive. Arkin, predictably, looked angry, he also understood.

Arkin growled and tore Abby’s hands off his mouth. “You fuc--” is all he got out before Asa moved forward and stepped on his neck. Just enough pressure to keep him quiet and struggled to breathe.

He gestured to Abby to continue.

And she did. Her hips rocked against Arkin.

Arkin struggled and clawed at his boot and leg.

Asa let out a low pleased hum.

Abby relaxed, as she always did when she understood what he wanted. He ran his hand through her hair to reinforce it.

She performed beautifully. She started to move with more force. Actively fucking herself on Arkin’s dick.

---Arkin---

It’s completely insane!

He’s gasping for air, trying to get the freak’s boot off his throat. Yet, somehow, he’s still fucking hard. And the monster is encouraging her!

Logically, he understands that she has no choice. In the moment, he can’t help but feel betrayed. She’s doing what the monster wants!

The worst of it is, it feels good.

He glanced up to see a hungry look in the man’s eyes. A little jolt of pleasure hit him and he almost felt sick.

Abby suddenly ground into him, which brought a new wave of pleasure. He choked against the man’s boot.

When he glanced up again, the man’s dick was out and Abby was running his tongue up and down it.

Arkin tried to scream but the boot came down harder, his air completely cut off. He felt Abby’s muscles spasm on his dick. He could hear her actually moaning now.

His vision started to darken but he could see the man bury his dick deep into her throat. An orgasm hit her so hard it felt like she was trying to crush his dick.

Just barely hanging on to consciousness, he saw the man pull out. A string of cum fell directly on Arkin's face.

A sick pleasure ripped through him seconds before he blacked out

#jo does fanfic #slasher fic #the collector #asa x arkin x abby

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stillunpainted · 3 years

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Postmortem

cw for implied suicide. 1.8k fic under the cut baby. Pretty much Neku dealing with the aftermath of the game and then having a conversation with Joshua.

Neku couldn’t take sudden noises anymore. It’d always been somewhat of a bother, and his music had helped him block out the little surprises that’d make him jump, the startle like a lightning bolt, but now it was agonizing. It was as if at any time, he could be seized by the hand of death, freezing his blood like a blizzard. Though he’d made a promise to himself to wear his headphones less, especially in public, it wasn’t easy.

Shibuya was vibrant and busy, but it was also overwhelming. There were times where after simply going to Mr. H’s cafe with Shiki or Beat and Rhyme would result in him having to go lay in bed for hours afterward, staring at the ceiling until he was able to think again. His parents were worried. They’d noticed that he was going out more, and generally seemed to be happier than before, but the exhaustion, the anxiety, those weren’t things he could hide. He enjoyed spending time with his friends, but he wasn’t used to them. He felt out of place, worried that he’d somehow mess up and they wouldn’t want to be with him anymore.

He’d picked up an old acoustic guitar, and spent about thirty minutes trying to figure out how to tune it. That was all he could bring himself to do for the day. He checked his messages, and it was much of the same. Shiki had sent an update on her most recent project with Eri, and was still trying to convince him to try it on. He wasn’t adamantly against the idea, he just wasn’t sure if it was his thing. He’d had to expand his fashion sense during the Game, and he wasn’t sure where to go with that now. Was it something he wanted to pursue on his own, or did he want to be influenced by the people around him?

Though Neku had avoided Udagawa like the plague, he still could see CAT’s art when he closed his eyes, peering over him as he stared up at the painted walls. He wanted to see it again, as his mind could only replicate everything with a certain degree of accuracy, but the thought of going back made him feel sick, sick enough to rush to the bathroom and wait for it all to come up, but nothing was there.

The Composer often lingered in his mind, interrupting his normal thought processes. In this moment Neku was staring at the ceiling again, tapping his fingers to the beat of a song, when he suddenly remembered Joshua off-handedly mentioning that he liked it. Neku took his headphones off. He still hadn’t forgiven Joshua yet. There was so much pain, so intense that even though those bullets left no scars now, he could still feel them. He sat up, deciding that today he would face it. He wasn’t sure why, but felt if he didn’t go to Udagawa now, these thoughts would never stop, haunting him like old ghosts over and over.

On his way through Shibuya, he kept his headphones on around his neck, ready to put them on if necessary. He walked past stores he’d come to know well, absentmindedly trying to spot the faces of the shopkeepers he’d spoken with over and over. There were so many people. Even though he couldn’t hear their thoughts anymore, it floored him how they all were living their own lives, their own narratives that he would never be privy to. Their secret gardens.

It was a conversation he thought back to at times. He’d wondered if not being able to cross into someone’s garden was even a bad thing. Was trying to understand someone enough, even if it wasn’t actually possible? He felt he knew Shiki and Beat pretty well, and Rhyme and Eri to an extent. His memories of Joshua though… Joshua at times felt completely alien yet familiar, almost like a trick mirror.

Neku arrived at Udagawa, and saw that the art had changed significantly in his absence. CAT’s work was still there, some of it new itself, but there were other artists who had added to the wall. Nothing unusual, but the change made Neku’s chest feel heavy. He was used to seeing everything shift gradually, not only see the end result.

It was still beautiful, he decided, just different. Still the same wall, marked by the same kinds of people. He wondered if one day he would get some spray paint himself, though he had no idea what he could create. It wasn’t a part of himself that he’d explored in a long time, not since…

Even now, he felt the empty space within his heart. He still had the last message his friend had sent him on his phone. “See you there,” it’d read. An interaction that had never been complete, a day that never happened.

“Well, you’ve brought yourself back here, haven’t you?” A recognizably smug voice rose above the background noise of everyone else passing through.

“Look at what the cat dragged outta the sewers,” Neku retorted dryly. Joshua crossed his arms, but there was the tiniest hint of a smile on his face. Neku was tense, but this relaxed him somewhat. He figured Joshua hadn’t merely returned after what, months, simply to antagonize him. Though he didn’t rule it out of the realm of possibility, “what brings you out here, anyway?” Joshua put a hand on his chin.

“I was intrigued as to why you returned here. It seems like a morbid place to go by yourself. I thought that maybe you’d need supervision,” Joshua said. Neku pulled at his hair, trying not to visibly give Joshua the satisfaction of annoying him. Though he supposed that Joshua could read his mind, which agitated him further.

“I don’t need- whatever, it’s just that I kept thinking about everything that happened. I dunno if closure is exactly what I’m looking for, but it’s something like that, I think,” Neku shuffled his feet. He was never especially good at reading people, but Joshua was always a special kind of enigma.

“There’s nothing I can add to that. You already know why I did what I did,” Joshua said, “neither of us can take that back.”

“You can’t take that back. All I did was survive,” Neku said. He didn’t expect an apology, nor was he surprised by Joshua’s nonchalant attitude towards it all, but it still stung a little.

“Oh come on Neku, we��ve both made mistakes,” Joshua said, wrapping a hand around his neck. A flash of guilt washed over Neku, but he let it pass. He’d talked about it a lot with Shiki after the game, though it was still something he’d never fully forgive himself over. He’d found that he had a pattern of hurting people. He’d finally stopped at his duel with Joshua, but still. He wondered if that old self was buried within, ready to rise at any time. I killed him- “Neku? Locked up in that head of yours again?”

“What would’ve happened if I’d shot you?” Joshua didn’t even flinch at the question. But he wavered a little.

“I would’ve been erased. I would’ve lost that game, yknow. That’s how the rules are,” he says.

“I know, but-”

“The UG would’ve been destroyed, but I can’t say I’d know what would happen after that,” Joshua says, “I can’t give you a real answer, even if I wanted to please you that way.”

“So even you don’t know,” Neku said.

“Yes Neku, you’re a fantastic listener,” Joshua replied. His normal grin is back, though something about it seems off.

“So why would you do that? If you’d actually gone through with destroying Shibuya or whatever, it wouldn’t have mattered at all if I’d pulled the trigger or not. Not much of a crossroad, really,” Neku put his hands on his headphones, contemplating putting them on.

“It was all a game. My bet with Megumi. You were my proxy,” Joshua said, crossing his arms again.

“What were you even trying to prove with me? That I’m terrible and representative of Shibuya’s evils, or something? I was just trying to live and help Beat get Rhyme back at that point.”

“That’s spot on.”

“Then did your proof involve me shooting you at the end?”

“Yes.”

“Then your plan would’ve killed you no matter what,” Neku said.

“What do you mean?”

“No UG means no Composer, right?”

“Correct indeed.”

“So you were planning on dying.” A silence settled over the two of them.

“Well, I didn’t,” Joshua says. Neku thought of how he initially saw the game as a dream that he dreaded the end of. There was nothing he had to worry about other than missions, nobody to talk to but Shiki, nobody to nag him. It was the closest he’d ever been to whatever his own ‘world view’ had been.

“I can’t believe I’m saying this but,” Neku paused, wondering if it was even worth saying. Joshua had killed him twice over, but still, “I’m glad you didn’t die.” Joshua narrowed his eyes. The Composer wasn’t alive per se, but even he knew that wasn’t exactly what Neku had meant.

“And that’s that,” Joshua said, turning away.

“Don’t think I’m going to take that as an excuse. You didn’t have to turn it into some big game with my life,” Neku said.

“Well aren’t I alive because I did, based on your logic?” At this point, Neku wanted to tear out his hair. Joshua was the same as always, so he didn’t know why he was expecting anything different. But surely something had changed within the Composer, as he had preserved Shibuya and brought everyone back to life.

“Dammit, do you even realize what all of that was like? You killed me twice, and- and…” Neku trails off, shuddering. Joshua’s hands ball up into fists and he stares at the ground for a moment, frowning. He almost seems small, completely losing the aura of being something beyond the fifteen year old standing in the streets of Udagawa, the mural hanging over his head. He straightens his posture and he’s the Composer again.

“I do realize. I’m not incapable of understanding pain,” Joshua says, “hmmm. Maybe that worsens my case.” He turns to face Neku once again, who wants to back away, but doesn’t.

“I guess it’s hard to keep going. I’m not on my own anymore, at least. Shibuya’s felt bigger than it ever has for me, and that’s exciting on one hand, but overwhelming. There’s so many places I could go, but I also feel like something terrible is always on the horizon again,” Neku says. He doesn’t know why he’s telling this to Joshua of all people.

“Could I be the cause of that terrible something? Is that what you fear?”

“No. I still don’t… I don’t know if I’ll ever fully forgive you really, but I trust that you won’t use me again. I’d be lying if I said being around you doesn’t make me nervous, but I still trust you. We were partners, right?” Neku says. Joshua tilts his head.

“Right, we were.”

#twewy #the world ends with you #neku sakuraba #joshua kiryu #writing #my writing #if i should add more cw let me know. it has literally been years since ive written fanfiction so im not super familiar with what should be #tagged

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shadow-assassin-blix · 3 years

Text

Stitches

Benny Miller x reader/you

Continuing the Shawn Mendes Song Fic. Santiago is next and then I’ll be moving onto another band/theme. Uh. Some fights. Nothing really too extreme here. Enjoy.

Everything Tag: @mikeisthricedeceased

I thought that I've been hurt before

But no one's ever left me quite this sore

Benny was watching an MMA tournament, checking out his competition for his tournament next month. Will was there with him, watching the matches with his keen eyes. Benny was… easily distracted to say the least. He smiled flirtatiously at many women who passed by him. At one point he noticed a group of women, standing off to the side. Most of them had a guy with them, all except one.

As he looked at her, he could tell she looked extremely bored. She had her arms crossed; her foot was tapping. She kept checking her phone for either the time or something to give her an escape.

After a moment, a guy joined her, handing her a clear solo cup of beer. She smiled tensely at him and would duck under his arm anytime he tried to wrap it around her. She eventually, handed the drink to one of her girlfriends, and said something to excuse herself. He watched as she walked over to the concession stand. That was when he decided to make his move.

Your words cut deeper than a knife

Now I need someone to breathe me back to life

You were idly standing by the concession stand, pretending to look over the menu. You were not thrilled to be there, and just wanted to leave as soon as possible.

While you were standing there, a guy stood nearby you. You glanced at him from the corner of your eye. You noticed he was pretty handsome. Brown hair, blue eyes, a light amount of scruff, and well built.

“Having a hard time deciding what to get?” You hear him ask, as he stepped a little closer, so you could hear him.

“Oh yeah. So hard to chose between popcorn, a corndog, or a hotdog. What would you recommend?” You asked, chuckling at the situation.

“Uhh. Nothing from here. I would recommend only eating this food, if you had a lot of liquor and no taste buds left,” He joked scratching the back of his head.

You crinkled your nose in slight disgust.

“I’m Benny. What’s your name?” He asked.

You tell him yours and he smiled brightly.

“So. Don’t take this the wrong way, but this doesn’t seem to be your scene? Or rather… you don’t look thrilled to be here,” He gently probed, wanting to know.

Just like a moth drawn to a flame

Oh, you lured me in I couldn't sense the pain

“Oh. Um. Blind date. I hate it. Him. He’s rather touchy, and he’s just boring. My friends thought this was a good idea. After my ex broke up with me because I “wasn’t there enough.” I’m a med student. Sorry my life doesn’t revolve around you,” She informed him with an eyeroll.

“Oh? Med student? Nice. Good to know,” He teased.

“How is that good to know?” She questioned, staring at him confused.

“I’m a fighter. Uh. I have a tournament next month. So, I’m here with my brother to check out my competition. It’s nice to know a pretty doctor is all,” Benny tells her, feeling slightly awkward, thinking he overstepped.

She shook her head with a small smile, thinking he was cute.

“A fighter eh? You any good?” She asked him, biting her lip.

“Come to my tournament next month. You’ll see. Maybe I can…take you to dinner after?” Benny asked charmingly.

She smiled, looking down. She looked over at her group of friends who were apparently waiting on her. She pulled out her phone, quickly unlocking it.

“Put your number in, and text me the details,” She requested.

Benny gave her a 1000-watt smile, as he input his number, sending a text to himself, and saving himself as a contact.

He felt his phone buzz as he received the messaged.

“I’ll see ya then,” Benny stated, pressing a kiss to her cheek quickly.

He ran back over to his brother and looked back to see her still standing where he left her. Her hand was gently touching where he kissed her, and he could see her smiling softly.

Will simply rolled his eyes and shook his head at him.

Your bitter heart cold to the touch

Now I'm gonna reap what I sow

It had been a week since that day, and you were nervous as you stared at your phone. You wanted to talk to Benny again. You didn’t want to wait a month. You opened up the chat he created, laughing at the name he gave himself.

“Hot Stuff”

You sent him a message simply saying ‘hi.’

Seconds later you got a response. ‘hey! How are you?’

‘I’m well. I... hope I didn’t catch you at a bad time? I just wanted to talk to you again’

‘Oh really? How did the rest of your date go with Mr. Boring?’

‘It didn’t. I ran when he went to the bathroom. He apparently thinks it was a magical date. I told him I wasn’t ready for anything more.’

‘lol. Poor guy. Shame he couldn’t see that you hated it. His loss is my gain tho’

‘Oh. Is that so? What did you gain, besides someone to tend to your wounds?’

‘A beautiful girlfriend? If you’re interested?’

She paused at that. She could feel her face warm up a bit. She bit her lip as she typed out her response.

‘Wouldn’t that imply you have to take me on a few dates before receiving that title?’

‘What are you doing for the next 3 weekends up till my fight?’

She laughed at that before typing out a response.

I'm left seeing red on my own

Got a feeling that I'm going under

The month passed by quickly. Benny had taken you out every weekend: movies, lunch/dinner, walks around the park. He made every date feel relaxed and easy. You didn’t feel like you had to be on guard or put on a façade. He made you forget about all about your dumb ex and was very supportive of your learning.

One date, he actually helped you create flashcards and study for an upcoming exam. Something Brian would never do. He always felt that the attention should be 100% on him, and to hell with your education.

Benny even made copies of your study notes, so he could quiz you randomly throughout the day. Something you appreciated greatly, because it kept the info fresh in her mind. When the exam day came around, Benny sent you flowers and candy wishing you luck. About 2 hours later, you were turning the test in online, which automatically gave you a score. 100%.

You immediately called Benny, excited, “Benny! I aced it! Thank you so much for your help!”

“Congrats baby! I knew you would ace it! Shall we… celebrate? I’ll bring over food, and we can watch movies?” He offered somewhat shyly.

“Yes! I would love that! But wait… Weren’t you supposed to hang out with your brother and friends tonight?” You asked thinking back to a previous conversation.

“I could cancel with them, it’s not a big deal,” Benny said nonchalantly.

“No. Don’t do that. They are your family. How about we celebrate after your fight on Saturday?” You countered, not wanting him to change his plans just for you.

“Alright. If you’re sure?” He asked wanting to confirm.

“I’m sure. Bye babe,” You tell him as you hang up.

“Bye!” He chirped.

But I know that I'll make it out alive

If I quit calling you my lover

Saturday rolled around fast, and after a rush of getting your badge that gave you VIP access, you were searching for someone familiar. As you were searching, a blonde man appeared before you.

“Hey Doc. I’m Will. C’mon. Benny wants to see you, seems to think you’ll bring him good luck,” Will’s voice was slightly deeper and raspier than Benny’s.

As you looked at him, you could see the resemblance between the two of them. You followed him toward the back, where the locker rooms were located. He led you down a hallway and to a room about midway. Benny was in the middle of bandaging his hands, rather poorly.

“Stop. I have no idea what you’re doing but stop,” You command moving forward.

You grabbed the bandages, undoing his work.

“No wonder you keep busting your hands. Who taught you how to wrap?” You asked him as you wrapped them properly.

You heard several chuckles.

“We keep telling him, but he refuses to listen,” Came a deep voice to your right.

You glance at the man, one of two Latino men who stood nearby. The one who talked was the kind who looked painfully handsome and knew it. The other, who wore a cap, looked sweet and was shaking his head at the scene he was seeing.

“You’re legit the only person he’s ever let touch those wraps. Us? The men he spent years in the army with? Oh no. We know nothing,” He teased, lightly shoving Benny.

“You should listen to them more often. They were correct,” You lightly admonished as you finished wrapping both of his hands.

“Hey, you’re supposed to be on my side!” Benny exclaimed, as he tested his hands, making fists.

“Says who?” You asked him teasingly. “So, who is on the lineup?”

Will handed you the list of fighters that were supposed to be there. As you looked at the list, you noticed the first fight Benny had was against Brian Holden… Your ex.

You snorted. Loudly.

Move on

Needle and the thread

“What? What’s so funny?” Benny asked watching her reaction.

“Just... do me a favor. Your first fight? Make sure you not only win, but make sure it hurts,” She requested handing the list back to Will.

He glanced at the list and chuckled when he recognized the name. The match was in a few minutes and he had a feeling he was going to enjoy it.

Gotta get you outta my head

Gonna wind up dead

They walked out and as Benny was announced, you and the guys made your way to your seats upfront. Benny got in the cage with your ex and you were snickering.

Will leaned over as the fight began, and stated, “He really likes you, you know?”

You turned to face with a smile, “I like him a lot too. He makes me very happy.”

“He… he falls pretty hard, pretty fast. Do me a favor? Don’t break his heart, yeah?” Will requested.

“I don’t plan too,” You assured him, turning your attention back to the match, to cheer Benny on.

“WHOOOO! GO BENNY!” You cheered as Benny landed several hits onto Brian.

“They don’t allow chairs, or anything do they?” You asked all of three of them.

The three of them laughed, before Frankie, as you found out, “No. It’s not wrestling. It’s MMA, there is a bit more class here.”

“Damn. Oh well,” You said, in mock disappointment.

The fight took about 15 minutes and Benny came out on top. As Benny stepped out, he walked over to them and you hugged him in congrats.

“You did great!” You tell him.

You looked him over really quickly and noticed he had a busted lip.

“Ooh. Ouch. Does that hurt?” You ask him, digging into your bag.

He goes to answer but stopped when he watches you pull out a small med-bag.

“You.. came prepared I see?” Benny noted with a smile.

“Just… some small things. Is that weird?” You asked concerned.

“No. No it’s not weird. Let’s get to the locker room and you can tend to me,” Benny tells her appreciating the gesture.

You watch me bleed until I can't breathe

I'm shaking, falling onto my knees (falling on my knees)

A couple hours later, and few more scrapes, the tournament was over. Benny came in first and was super happy. The five of you made your way to a local bar, and order food and drinks.

“So. What do ya think of my fighting skills now?” Benny asked taking a drink of beer, basking in his win.

“Mh. You’re good. Could be better,” You teased, hiding your smile in your drink.

“OhHo! What?” Benny exclaimed pulling you to him, his hands running up your sides, tickling you.

You laughed loudly, as you squirmed away.

“Brian used to make me watch all sorts of MMA tournaments. Said it helped him get in the zone or something. I always thought it was kind of boring to be honest,” You admitted once he finally stopped.

“And now?” Benny prompted.

“I… could find a reason or two to find it enjoyable… So long as I’m not patching you up every time you forget to dodge or block a very obvious punch,” You stated with a raised eyebrow.

The guys laughed at that and as Benny dramatically clutched at his heart.

As they talked, someone strolled up next to you.

“Thought you hated fighting?” Came the somewhat nasally voice of your ex, Brian.

“No. I thought it was boring because you never bothered to explain anything. Plus. You always felt the need to interrupt my study time with a match that I just ‘had to watch.’ There’s a difference,” You replied annoyed, not even bothering to look at him.

“Don’t be a bitch. So, what you are with this asshole now?” Brian questioned, grabbing you and making you turn.

You moved to shove his hand off of you, but Will got in between you two, shoving him away. Benny also, moved to place you behind him.

“Get out. You put your hands on her again, and a busted nose will be the least of your concerns,” Will threatened.

Brian turned, acting like he was going to leave before, he swiftly turned back throwing a punch. Will dodged easily. All four of them were gearing up for a throw down but you were sick of it already.

You reached into your medical bag and pulled out your scalpel.

“BRIAN!” You shouted his name to get his attention.

He turned to you and paused when he saw the knife in your hand.

“As you very well know, I am very good with this small sharp object. Get away from me now. Stay away from me. Or I will CUT you,” You warned him brandishing it to him.

He stared at you for a moment before quickly moving away, tripping over a chair as he did so.

You put the knife back into your bag, and all four of the guys stared at you.

“What?” You asked innocently.

Benny reacted first, with loud laughter. “That… that was hot. Terrifying. But hot.”

The others shook their heads and retook their seats.

“Appears, your girl doesn’t need a knight Benny. She can handle herself quite well,” Santi remarked.

“Yeah. She’s more of a knight than you are,” Frankie teased.

“Oh yeah. What does that make me then?” Benny demanded as he pressed a kiss to your face, wrapping his arms around you.

You looked at the guys, and they you, all four of you stating at the same time, “Jester.”

You all laughed at Benny’s pout, and you pressed a kiss to his lips.

“But a very cute Jester,” You try to placate.

“That sounds too similar to “very cute moose,”” He said suspiciously.

“You… remember that line from Princess Diaries 2? Really?” You asked with a giggle.

“It was the funniest part of the movie,” He mumbled looking away.

“Wait… You got him to watch what now?” Santi asked.

The rest of the evening was spent talking about some of your previous dates, while the guys told you funny stories.

You enjoyed the evening and looked forward to more dates and nights out with all of them. Benny came into your life unexpectantly but you wouldn’t trade him for the world.

And now that I'm without your kisses (without you)

I'll be needing stitches (and I'll be needing stitches)

Tripping over myself

Aching, begging you to come help (begging baby please)

#benny miller #benny miller x reader #Triple Frontier #song fic

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nitewrighter · 4 years

Text

Ripping Off Bandaids

I started writing this back when I got that ask about heart-to-hearts between Mercy and Hanzo. Here’s some venty, angry angsty Mercy and Hanzo who’s honestly kind of relieved to hear his horrible internal monologue coming from outside his head for once.

----

McCree shivered and pulled the infirmary sheets up around himself in a half-asleep haze. “Fish tacos...” he said deliriously, a clammy, feverish sweat on his forehead, “I can’t believe I was betrayed by fish tacos...”

Mercy was nonchalantly looking over his vitals on her tablet, the lower half of her face covered by a surgical mask, “Well, with all the traveling Overwatch does, I figured something like this would happen sooner or later,” she glanced up from her tablet at his IV’s, “But you seem to have... uh... purged the worst of it from your system. At this point it’s mostly a matter of resting and staying hydrated.”

“Mmh,” McCree curled up a little bit more.

“How would you say it? ‘Rest easy, buckaroo,’” said Mercy, with a weary smile, as she closed the blinds of the infirmary.

“Merce, if I hear the word ‘buckaroo’ outta you I may just start spewing chunks all over again,” said McCree, his voice half-muffled into a pillow.

Mercy snorted slightly, glad McCree had the strength to call her out on it, “I’m just a button press away,” she said, stepping out the door. It closed behind her with a whoosh and she rolled her shoulders slightly, looking forward to getting out of her sterilized gear--when she nearly bumped into Hanzo. Hanzo was carrying several bottles of sports drinks and cans of ginger ale and nearly dropped one.

“...Doctor Ziegler,” Hanzo said, awkwardly readjusting the bottles and cans in his arms.

“...the intent is appreciated, Hanzo,” said Mercy, “But he already has a saline IV. He should be fine.”

“Yes--well... I thought.. the option might be appreciated,” said Hanzo.

“It’s probably best you keep your distance in case there’s still risk of contamination,” said Mercy, stepping around him.

“…would it be too risky to leave a bottle or two on his table?” asked Hanzo.

“Well… probably not, but he needs his rest,” said Mercy.

Hanzo gave a single nod and stepped into McCree’s room. Mercy was pulling her mask and gloves off and washing her hands and wiping down her tablet at a disinfecting station when he emerged again. He waited patiently to use the sink after her.

“He, um…he looks well,” said Hanzo, washing his hands as Mercy looked back at her tablet, “Well… better. He looks better.”

“He’s over the worst of it. I’m sure he’ll appreciate your concern,” said Mercy, not looking up from her tablet.

A long silence passed between them. Hanzo dried his hands.

“...was there anything else I could help you with?” said Mercy, glancing up from her tablet.

“I thought... perhaps... we should talk,” said Hanzo.

A pall seemed to pass over Mercy’s face as she lowered her tablet to her side. She took a steadying inhale. Hanzo wondered if she had picked up the habit from Genji from the meditations their father put them through when they were small. “What did you want to talk about?” she said, looking at him.

“I know you hate me—“ Hanzo started.

Mercy’s mouth twisted down at the corners.

“Okay--I... probably could have started better than that,” Hanzo admitted..

“I don’t hate you, Hanzo, I don’t have the energy to hate you,” said Mercy, flatly.

Is that worse? thought Hanzo, That feels worse.

“I’ll look after your physical wellbeing,” Mercy went on, “Both here on the watchpoint and during missions, as part of my commitment to medicine and the health of this watchpoint as a whole. That’s the only relationship we need to have.”

“I... understand your feelings,” said Hanzo. Mercy gave him a calm ‘you can drop it right now and get out while you still can’ look, but Hanzo continued, “But... I believe, at least for Genji’s sake, we should at least try to have more, um... rapport.”

“For Genji’s sake,” Mercy repeated flatly, “Did you come here for Genji’s sake or for your own?”

“I--” Hanzo’s voice faltered.

“Because according to your exchange with Jack, you came here because you had nowhere else to go, because Genji was all you had left,” Mercy’s words were clear and sharp and tight, something she had bundled up tightly inside for a decent amount of time, “And who am I to deny you that? Who am I to deny you your family? Who am I to deny Genji his family that he has wanted so badly for years, even though there are still nights where he wakes up, hyperventilating in a cold sweat from what you did to him? He loves you. He still loves you. McCree even loves--” she caught herself, closed her eyes and tightened her lips, tensing her shoulders before taking another calming inhale through her nose and exhaling through her mouth. Her eyes opened, a half-squint half-glare at him, expecting him to cut in, but he said nothing, looking at her placidly. “This was a bad idea. I appreciate the intention, but this isn’t helping. You should--”

“You’ve sent me off before,” said Hanzo, folding his arms, “I’d... rather you complete the thought than let it fester.”

“Fester? Fester?!” Mercy repeated incredulously, “You want to talk about festering?! Against all my better thinking, I let this place, these people, become a family to me, because my family was torn away from me by forces well beyond my fucking 5-year-old self could control! And then I felt this place, and this family crumble through my fingers. And I was soft. I was kind. I was patient. Even when they let me down. Even when they betrayed my few conditions I brought with me when I started working here. I kept hoping that maybe these people I trusted, these people who brought me in and gave me purpose would do the right thing--but no. I had to watch them all fucking implode!” A shuddering breath escaped her. “So then I spend five fucking years trying to heal by helping everyone I could. And how did you try to heal after dragon-blasting the closest family you had left? 10 years wandering, drowning your problems in blood and sake,” she squeezed her eyes shut and pressed her fingertips to her temples for a few seconds before her eyes flicked open at him, “So I could be soft now. I could be kind. I could be patient. I could say ‘Oh Genji, I’m so glad you’re bringing back your brother who murdered and traumatized you into this fragile life we’ve built together.’ But I’ve felt this family crumble before, and I won’t let it crumble again. Can you understand those feelings, Hanzo? Can you respect those feelings?” She was breathless now, fingers shaking slightly in front of her.

Hanzo looked at her with that same level gaze Genji would give her sometimes. Not pity, but trying to puzzle out how to pull her from her pain. “...I can,” he said after a long time, “I do.”

Mercy made a wincing face and Hanzo brought his hands up in a calming motion.

“During one of my first nights on the Watchpoint,” he went on, “McCree asked me if... everyone here other than Genji was just background noise to me. He... said something similar to what you said--that I was just here so I could, quote, ‘stop kicking my own ass over Genji.’ That the people Genji cared about, the people who cared about Genji, didn’t matter to me.”

Mercy let out a scoffing chuckle, glancing off, “That sounds like McCree.”

“When I responded ‘I don’t know’ he said, ‘Figure it out before you hurt him again.’ That... that is what I’m trying to figure out now,” Hanzo glanced down, “Admittedly I was operating under the assumption that Genji has spent this past decade as isolated as me. If not dead, then surely alone.” He sighed, “And from my own solitude came the assumption that Genji’s pain was Genji’s own... that there weren’t other people it was affecting. That there weren’t people who loved him. That there weren’t people like you.”

Mercy’s expression softened slightly, but she folded her arms across herself to try and get the shake in her fingers under control.

“...You don’t have to like me,” said Hanzo, at last, “As you said--being a doctor to this Watchpoint is the only relationship we absolutely need to have. But I want you to know that you have my deepest respect and thanks for saving my brother from my own rage and pride. And while I know there’s nothing I can do that can ever repay you for that act, if there’s any way I could help you in the future... I am at your service.”

Mercy’s eyes widened. “Did... did McCree--”

“McCree did not ‘put me up to this,’” said Hanzo, with a slight wry smile, “But... he holds you in very high regard. So that did help push me towards the decision to discuss this with you. I know he means a lot to you as well.”

“...You mean a lot to him,” said Mercy, glancing towards McCree’s door.

“He believes in redemption,” said Hanzo, following her line of sight.

“...I don’t think any of us would be here if we didn’t believe in redemption,” she bit the inside of her lip, “What I said to you earlier--the ‘blood and sake’ and--and you threatening this family--”

“I understand completely,” said Hanzo.

“It was horrible of me,” Mercy tried to go on.

“Those words came from your need to protect Genji. I can assure you, I’ve done a lot worse,” said Hanzo.

Mercy huffed a little. “Terribly competitive, you Shimadas.”

“Oh I’m even worse than Genji,” said Hanzo with a slight smirk, folding his arms.

“You’re even competitive about who’s worse about being competitive!” said Mercy with a scoffing chuckle.

Hanzo chuckled a bit too. “Yes... I suppose so.”

A long, somewhat awkward pause passed between them.

“I--I should probably let you...” Hanzo trailed off, stepping backwards.

“Yes, I should be closing up here,” said Mercy, picking her tablet back up.

“Right,” said Hanzo, turning around, “Have a good evening, Doctor Ziegler.”

“You as well,” said Mercy.

Hanzo made it down the infirmary hall a ways before Mercy’s voice piped up. “Oh--and Hanzo?”

He stopped and turned to look at her.

“I’ll let you know when McCree’s ready to see you,” she said, tucking her tablet against herself.

Hanzo gave a quiet “Hm,” and a small nod before walking off again.

#overwatch #hanzo shimada #angela ziegler #gency #mchanzo

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cat-in-a-fedora · 4 years

Text

Reunion Falls

I think I found something for the reunion falls au of Gravity Falls on the original creator’s blog. The reblog and like functionalities weren’t working for some reason, and I couldn’t find it in the creator’s archive. I really like this, though, so I’m gonna put it here and give credit.

This was originally on @sailorleo, and I couldn’t reblog it for some reason.

`-i dunno, he’s like, really weirdly clingy, but when we’re together all he wants to do is talk about his band…

-dump him.

-dipper that’s the same advice you’ve given me for every boyfriend i’ve ever had

-then why don’t you ask mabel?

-fine, maybe i will. mabel, what do you-

-no actually i think dipper’s right you should dump him

-teen soos playing with baby dipper and getting all excited when he says his name

-it would work better if stan actually knew mabel was coming beforehand, but just couldn’t work up the nerve to tell dipper until the last minute. by some fluke, mabel arrives a day early, and makes contact with dipper while stan is out.

-stan tells dipper that at the time of his birth his parents weren’t expecting twins, and couldn’t afford to take care of two children at once. he only told the kid they were dead because he thought it might be easier to handle than the idea that his parents didn’t want him.

–

-what are you still doing up?

-’m makin’ a sweater for grenda. she’s bigger than me, so it’s taking longer. you had a nightmare?

-no big deal, it was just an anxiety dream.

-a what?

-it’s like a nightmare, but instead of being scary it just makes all your deepest insecurities a reality. grunkle stan says they’re the brain’s way of reminding you that life could always be worse.

-…that sounds dumb.

-yeah, well, life isn’t fair, mabel.

–

-that corduroy girl out sick today or somethin’?

-what? um, no! i was just, uh… i tripped. on a rock. a lot of rocks.

-oh c'mon, kid, you think i never got the snot kicked outta me in elementary school? i know a fist to the face when i see it. c'mere, let’s fix you up.

–

-what can i do, though? they’re all bigger than me, and if i tell the teacher i’ll just look like even more of a wimp.

-ha! if you don’t wanna look like a wimp, you should stop letting other people fight your battles for ya.

-but i can’t-

-now hold on. i know you can’t, you’ve got about as many muscles as a soggy piece of toast. but one thing i know about the world is that guys who were born bigger, stronger, and smarter are always gonna punch down. and guys like you an’ me are stuck right at the bottom like old gum. so if your wits can’t save ya, all there is to do is punch back up.

-….do you mean that metaphorically, or….

-i was wondering when i’d have to dig these old things up again! …see, kid, all I’m trying to say is, when the world fights, you gotta learn to fight back.

–

-oh, shit. we’re not getting anywhere like this.

-*gasp* dipper!!

-what??

-you just said the ’s’ word!

-so? we’re practically teenagers, mabel. we can swear.

-i have friends back home who won’t even say ‘crap’! you must be getting it from somewhere

-i don’t know what you-

-[wendy enters] AYYYYYY DICKWEEDS WHAT’S FUCKIN HAPPENING

–

-ugh, sorry about all that, man. i don’t know why robbie’s always such an asshole to you.

-you don’t think he’s like…..jealous of me, do you?

-HA! ohhhhh my god. oh my god you’re probably right.

-what, does he think I’m gonna like, steal you away? like he’s INTIMIDATED by me? …that feels kinda good, actually.

-oh man, can you imagine? dipper pines, casanova extraordinaire! refined older women such as myself just….COLLAPSING at your feet!

–

-grunkle stan, um…. where are my parents?

-uhh……….. they died.

-oh…. how did they die?

-they………………died.

–

-you know when you’re wearing just the vest without a sweater you kinda look like……. someone. it’ll come to me

–

-mabel, what did you do to the journal????

-what? you told me to pretend it was my diary!

-i said to PRETEND it was your diary, not actually use it as a diary!! you didn’t mess with the stuff inside, did you?

[cut to: a shot of the interior of the journal, filled with stickers and cute little drawings and tiny diary entries about boys and the like]

-…….nnnnnnnope.

–

-if you’re going to be a monster hunter, you’ve got to have a look.

-hey, i’ve already got THAT covered

-no, i mean a look that tells people you mean business. like what i’ve got!

-what’s more businesslike than a leopard wearing sunglasses?

-i can think of a few things. what about like, a jacket? or…. a jacket? something besides a big fluffy sweater.

-listen dip, we’ve only known each other for a few days so i’ll let you off the hook this time. but first rule of mabel? the sweater STAYS.

-ugh, fine, but you’re gonna overheat. hey, what about this? it’s big enough to wear over a sweater. and it’s got pockets!

-but does it have PERSONALITY?

-you can decorate it or whatever i don’t care.

–

-mabel, have you seen my gel?

-nope. why do you gel your hair, anyway?

-i don’t want my bangs to cover my birthmark.

-can’t you just cut them off?

-it’s part of the look.

-ohhh, the 'look’.

–

-soooooo dipper had a crush on you, huh?

-haha, yuuuuuup. he thought he was being super smooth about it too. 100% convinced i had no idea. oh shit, dude, you wanna see this valentines card he made me when he was like, seven?

-you KNOW i do!

-boom! check it. all the blackmail you’ll ever need on one piece of construction paper.

-oh my gosshhhhhhhhh…..wait, "love, ty"?

-oh yeah, ol’ dipstick used to go by 'tyrone’ before he was dipper. just between you and me, dipper suits him better. tyrone is too cool for him.

-why’d he switch?

-dunno, really. he used to hate his birthmark, people would make fun of him for it, yknow? and then one day he just started being super cool with it. he like, reinvented his entire image around the thing. you should’ve seen him before that though, always brushing his bangs down over his forehead… well, at least he puts some effort into his appearance now.

–

-FUCK!

-KID!

-oh no.

-where’d you learn language like that?

-i… uh….

–…..wasn’t from me, was it?

-n-no! it was from…. nobody! i mean, you hear stuff around, and-

-WAHAHA! this is great! now i don’t have to keep my mouth shut around ya! and it isn’t even my fault!

–

-mabel, take out the trash

-booooooo!

-…aren’t you going to do what he said?

-sure, just as soon as i finish kicking dipper’s butt!

-i will dance on your grave, mabel.

-but…he’s your uncle. you should listen to him before he gets mad, right?

-pff, what’s ol’ stan gonna do, throw his dentures at me? (don’t tempt me, kid) half the fun of being a kid is not doing what adults tell you to do! consequences be darned.

-…paz, really, stan loves us. he’s not gonna like, hit me or anything. yikes.

–

-dipper, seriously, what the heck happened between you and gideon!

-i told you, nothing! he’s just a creep.

-oh, is THAT why he won’t stop talking about you? even on our dates! it’s WEIRD. ….you two aren’t like, exes or-

-ew, no!

-haHA! you dated gideon! gideon and dip-per sittin’ in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-

-we were FRIENDS, okay?? …sort of. i dunno. it was a long time ago.

-heyoooo my drama senses are tingling! now you HAVE to tell me! deets deets deets!

-uuugggghhhhhh fine

-dipper and gideon have been rivals since childhood, but back then it was on somewhat friendlier terms. they would get each other in trouble, start fights over nothing, ruin each other’s stuff, but they would always walk away with smiles on their faces, like an unspoken pact to annoy the shit out of each other forever. but things started to change after gideon found journal 2. dipper didn’t see him around with the other kids as often. his tactics got nastier. he started “winning” more often. things came to a head after stan started teaching dipper to box. one day when dipper and wendy were hanging out together, they ran into gideon, who took the opportunity to tease them mercilessly. when he started going after wendy, dipper socked him, hard, in the nose. “i dunno. i was really mad, but i think i also just wanted to prove i was strong. wendy was always protecting me, so i wanted to protect her back.” after that point, gideon declared them mortal enemies.

-stan and wendy were definitely elated at the fact that dipper punched gideon. stan probably tried to bake him a cake.

–

DOUBLE DIPPER

“BAM! look out party, this girl’s on a mission! and that mission is to find a summer getaway friend group. woah, huddling crowd of teenagers! that’s perfect!”

-paz is talking with everyone listening when mabel interrupts her. “heyo! guess who’s here, it’s mabel, and that’s me.” “…..that’s great, sweetheart.”

-mabel is really excited to make new friends at the party, but most everyone starts hanging around pacifica. mabel tries to make friends with pacifica but paz rejects her, saying “listen, youre new so i’ll fill you in. it might seem like people like you and are interested in you because youre 'quirky’ or whatever, but you’re just a cheap novelty. around here? i’m the one who matters. nobody ignores pacifica northwest. adoring fans?” paz snaps her fingers and the crowd begins to shove mabel out of the circle until she finally falls on the empty dance floor. defeated, mabel shuffles off to the only people not part of the crowd (candy and grenda) “you too, huh?” “don’t worry. when we burn, we burn together.” paz then steps up to the mic and points at them, shouting “hey everyone, check out this adorable new attraction! it’s the reject corner!”

“aww, we don’t need this. the true merit of a partymaster is knowing how to take the party with you. this calls for an impromptu sleepover!”

-mabel offers to cheer up her new friends by ditching the party and having a sleepover instead, candy remarks that they were planning a post-party sleepover together anyway, grenda says how she stole a raunchy romance novel from her mom- wolfman bare-chest. grenda shows off that the book has a full-color illustration of gerard, candy remarks how she wants one of her own, mabel remembers that they have an old copy machine downstairs.

-“i don’t understand. i’m having fun, but i still feel this burning desire to go back downstairs and make her suffer for her crimes. crimes against friendship and partying.” “hey, i know what’ll curb that thirst for vengeance! theft! look what i stole from my mom’s bedside table!” “grenda, you wild girl! this is perfect!” “and it comes with a full-color illustration! his pecs are holographic!” *all three girls scream* “aah!! he is so rugged and brooding, i want to take him home with me and make him my trophy husband!” “ooh, i think we have an old copy machine downstairs! that way we can all keep the poster! come on girls, let’s go make our dreams a reality!”

-the girls end up bringing gerard to life because fuck the laws of reality, he emerges and says “which of you fair maidens brought me into this realm?” candy points to mabel. “girls, i think the party is back on!”

-“hey, fursuit, i don’t know if anyone told you, but this isn’t a costume party. although that would explain YOUR outfit, mabel”, gerard gets angry and tries to defend her by attacking pacifica. pacifica gets a small scratch on her arm and shrieks “are those REAL claws?!” mabel and candy struggle with gerard and finally subdue him (after he loses an arm to the punch bowl) by stuffing him into a closet. “you can come out after you learn to stop being such a butt!!” candy makes some remark about “at least we didn’t make any more!” cut to grenda either using the copy machine or already surrounded by wolf men.

-after the gerard squad starts running wild at the party, mabel gets an idea. “grenda, they’ve already like, werewolf-bonded to you, right? so if you’re in danger, they’ll come and save you!” “..i know what i have to do. hey northwest, be mean to me!” “ok, ok, just… give me a minute. ….hey circus freak, you’ve got arms like a gorilla and a voice like a wrestler, so it’s no wonder that the only boys interested in you are a bunch of wolves!” “…..pacifica, that was really mean.” “YOU TOLD ME TO!!!”

-maybe have pacifica get on the mic again so all the wolves hear her insult

-“grenda I’m sorry you have the body of an amazonian goddess and a voice like ten angels singing one direction!!” “yeah, maybe if one direction were all chain smokers.”

-the girls use this plan to lure the wolfpack into the kitchen, where there’s a sprinkler system connected to the fire alarm. the plan is that once all of the wolves are present, mabel will signal for candy to pull the alarm. however, once mabel gives the signal, it’s revealed that candy has been captured. “i’m sorry, mabel…. their pecs were just so shiny!” “i’m sorry i dragged you into this, pacifica.” “yeah, i’m sorry you dragged me into this, too.” maybe have them cowering on top of the fridge. but just when it looks like all hope is lost, the sprinklers come on anyway. it’s revealed that the first gerard was the one who pulled it, sacrificing himself to save mabel’s life.

-“you will always be in my heart, mabel pines. and i hope…..that i will be in yours…..”

-“well, pacifica, maybe now that we’ve worked together as a team, we can come away from this knowing that our fighting was petty and pointless, having gained a mutual respect.” “are you SERIOUS? all this proves is that you’re a freak, and your friends are freaks, and even though I’m gonna make sure to stay as far away from your little circle of lost causes as possible, the next time we meet? you’re going DOWN, and I’m gonna make sure EVERYONE is watching.” “……welp! i didn’t gain anything from that! maybe next time.”

-“i’m sorry that all this happened, girls. if you don’t wanna hang out with me after this, i get it.” “are you kidding? that was incredible!” “i feel like my heart is on fire! but in a good way!”

-in the aftermath, the girls (sans pacifica) burn the book. as they watch the illustration of gerard smolder, mabel solemnly says “this ends once and for all.” “….my mom’s gonna want that book back.” “once. and. for all.”

IRRATIONAL TREASURE

-pacifica overhears what the twins are trying to do and tails them, then ends up getting captured along with them

-LET ME OUT OF HERE! I AM A NORTHWEST!

-i thought we just established that doesn’t count for anything anymore.

-pacifica yells at mabel for doing something as stupid as leaving a trail of candy wrappers, dipper interrupts to ask her why she always feels the need to shut people down like that. pacifica tells him that its her duty as a woman of status to let everyone know what their place is. “orrrrrr you just feel so threatened by the idea that you’re not as well-liked as you think you are that you need to make everyone else feel bad about themselves.” “WHAT was that?” “threatened?”

-mabel gets her nerve back and yells at pacifica that why would she ever want to be liked by a stuck-up shallow primadonna like her, and throws a hunk of peanut brittle at her, freeing trembly.

-after returning to town, the twins see pacifica being berated by her parents for disappearing and getting her clothes dirty. mabel feels sorry for her and goes over to explain that oh, it was actually my fault, i was trying to uncover dirt on the northwest family and pacifica stepped up to intervene, and we got into a fight. also we totally didnt find anything to shame the northwests so you can thank pacifica for that too. the northwests then threaten to sue the pines family for hurting their daughter, but paz holds them back, saying something about how it isnt worth it to waste time on poor people like mabel.

-this is the start of mabel and pacifica’s budding friendship, and pacifica’s redemption arc

SUMMERWEEN

-hey, little man!

-oh, hey wendy! ….and robbie.

-so….. chilling in the bushes without a costume on? what’s that about?

-nah, i’d say he’s got a pretty solid 'loser’ costume lined up already.

-i’m just hanging out with mabel and her friends, i guess. this big legendary monster thing says its gonna eat us unless we collect 500 pieces of candy but y'know. no worries.

-sick, dude. and you didn’t even have to go out and find this thing yourself? your sis must be like, a monster magnet.

-yeah, she…really is.

-well, i’d help you with the mission if i could, but i’ve got this whole 'aloof teenager’ thing to keep up, yknow? no trick-or-treating for these old bones. but I’ve got a few extra sweets in my purse if you need some more handouts! we can go find mabel, and-

-NO! i-i mean… no, don’t find her, its ok, i got it, give it to me.

-woah, chill out, you little freak! you’re not HIDING from her, are you? …is everything ok? and don’t say it is, because nobody sweats that much when everything’s ok. not even you.

-……i dunno, it’s like, i don’t mind having her around, but we’re always together and she wants us to do all these “twin” things now and I’m just not sure I’m ready for it yet.

-yeah, i getcha. its gotta be a lot to take in. hey, if you need somewhere to decompress after this whole candy deathmatch thing is over, tambry’s throwing a party at her house in a few. text me when you’re free?

-just try not to dork up the place if you show.

-robbie, if you don’t lay off I’m gonna punch you in the dick.

-i just….. twins are supposed to have this special bond, y'know? like a mind meld or something. and i just feel like i’ve missed so much. things could've….should’ve been different. and i came here because i wanted to make things the way they were supposed to be. i thought like, maybe if we were together we could pretend that its the way things always were and everything was ok. but i cant. its not.

-yeah, i… i’m sorry, mabel. everything just happened so fast, and i couldn’t handle it, and i avoided thinking about it, and….i ended up avoiding you, too. i’ve been kind of a crummy brother so far, huh?

-no, no, i get it…. i’m weird, and this is weird, and you’re one of those weird people who likes to be by yourself. and i understand if you don’t want to be siblings. but… can we at least be friends?

-i don’t see why we can’t be both.

TOURIST TRAPPED

-hey, mabel, i was wondering, uh…… how did our parents die?

-woah, what? they’re not dead! are they?? you’re freaking me out, dipper!

-'sup, hambone?

-oh, hey….. soos, right?

-you got it, lil’ dude! so, what’s eating you? besides the mosquitos anyway. nice, good one soos.

-soos, have you ever tried to do something that you thought would make everyone really happy, but instead it just blows up in your face and everything is awful and it’s all your fault?

-story of my life, dude. probably not on this scale though. just a minor everyday occurrence.

-they probably hate me, don’t they?

-what? no way! i just met you a few hours ago and i can already tell you’re like the least hateable dude I’ve ever met. you’re like if they found a way to combine a smiling puppy with an anime fairy princess.

-but i ruined everything!! that’s what they’ll call me in the history books. mabel, queen of ruining everything. everyone was fine until i got here.

-it’s not your fault, dude. mr. pines had to tell dipper at some point. and dude, if it makes you feel any better, i am PSYCHED to have you here. i was telling customers about it all day!

-thanks, soos, but…. i should probably just go home. maybe if I’m gone dipper and stan can just forget this ever happened and go back to normal.

-you kidding, dog? nothing’s ever normal around here. i know this is like, a huge bombshell, but dipper and stan love each other. they’ll work it out. …hey, my brain just came up with a totally neato idea! why don’t we pitch a tent and have a sleepover out here under the stars? we could swap stories, eat raw marshmallows, and if you still want to go home tomorrow morning you can.

-….only if you’ll try to throw the marshmallows into my mouth with your eyes closed.

-deal.

-hey, mom. yeah i got here ok! it’s great, the woods around here are so cool and mysterious! oh, and i met this really cute guy but he turned out to be a bunch of gnomes under a hoodie. i know!! wild, right!

-h-hey mabel….can i….talk to them?

-…oh, mom, dipper wants to talk to you. is that ok?

-….hi, mo- ..mrs pines. it’s dipper.

-“oh, you must be the friend mabel was talking about! she was so excited to meet you! i hope you two are having fun!”

-yeah, it's…. it’s good to have her here.

-“are you all right, dear? you’re sniffling.”

-yeah, i’ve just got a cold. it’s ok.

THE HAND THAT ROCKS THE MABEL

-mabel sees a commercial for the tent of telepathy on tv and gets excited, pulling dipper over to see the famous “psychic”. dipper is annoyed at best and just groans, expositing that he and gideon have been rivals since they were little. he says he’s been trying to catch gideon in the act of something, ANYTHING, for as long as he can remember, and now with the help of mabel’s journal he’s devised a new theory: that gideon might actually be a vampire! he’s always coated in lotion, has stark white hair, speaks like an old southern man, and it might also explain his psychic powers. but dipper isn’t allowed in the tent of telepathy anymore, and he hasn’t been able to get close to gideon in his personal life. mabel offers to go investigate in dipper’s place, but he warns her that it’s not worth it and gideon is a “creep”, offhandedly mentioning that mabel probably doesn’t have the investigative skills necessary to crack the case on her own. determined to prove herself, mabel goes anyway, in “disguise” as a journalist so she can ask gideon questions when the show is over. during the questioning gideon becomes enamored with her, and when mabel asks if he’s a vampire he flirts around the issue, suggesting that he is simply to win mabel over. it works, and she agrees to go on a date with him.

-mabel takes notes on gideon’s mannerisms in the journal while on dates

-over time, gideon begins to reveal his true colors, and mabel realizes that dating a supposed vampire doesn’t really make up for gideon’s behavior.

-actually i changed my mind about the vampire plot, probably dipper just tries to keep mabel away from gideon because of their checkered past together

BOYZ CRAZY

“….can i confess something?”

“yeah, of course.”

“I’ve never like….. LIKED anyone. I’ve dated plenty of guys, and even a couple girls, but i don’t think i felt what i was supposed to be feeling for any of them. i thought that eventually if i went out with enough people, i would start to like at least one of them, but…. i dunno. I’m starting to think that i’ll never fall in love. maybe i CANT fall in love.”

“well… that’s not the end of the world! love kinda. sucks. especially when someone doesn’t like you back.”

“ugh, that’s what I’ve been doing to all these people! for years! i suck. i keep trying to be like everyone else, but i just end up pushing people away. I’ve lost so many friends…”

“hey, it’s not your fault. robbie’s a turd, you know that.”

“yeah, i guess you’re right… i dunno, you ever feel like there’s something, like, fundamentally wrong with you? like something fucked up in the womb and now you can’t ever be a normal person?”

[dipper pulls up his shirt slightly, looking at his binder]

“yeah. i do”

DREAMSCAPERERS

bill: I WAS WONDERING WHEN I’D RUN INTO YOU! QUESTION MARK, SHOOTING STAR…. AND DIPPER OF COURSE!

mabel: whoa, hey, how come soos and i get special names, but not dipper? that’s not fair!

dipper: uh, mabel, that’s not really-

bill: THAT IS HIS SPECIAL NAME, KID! ALWAYS HAS BEEN. HE JUST ADOPTED IT A LITTLE EARLY IS ALL.

dipper: wait, what?. you…you were the one in my dreams? all this time, it was YOU?

-new scene-

dipper: it’s just… the name was a big part of my like, identity, yknow? i thought it was so cool and special and for the first time in my life i was starting to feel NOT like a freak. i thought i was being cool but i was just doing exactly what bill wanted! [pulls his jacket over his head] aaaargh, what have i been doing all this time?!

mabel: di- …..bro, listen to me. your whole like, supreme tough guy monster hunter thing? it’s PRETTY silly. but that’s what i like about it! it’s all you, and you own it! and nobody chose to make you like that but you! and you didnt choose the name dipper because bill told you to, right? that was still all you. so, i don’t know. even if the guy who made it up turned out to be kiiiiiiind of a major jerk i dont think that means all of that is ruined forever. and if you stop going by dipper i’m going to have to start going by shooting star as revenge. star for short!

dipper: ….i think i like you as mabel better.

mabel: aww no, i was already getting used to it! star sounds like the name of a princess, doesnt it? or a galactic warrior!

-BUT DON’T YOU WORRY YOUR GEL-COVERED LITTLE HEAD, KID! I WON’T BE BOTHERING YOU LIKE THAT AGAIN. YOU’VE PROVEN YOURSELF TO BE EXTREMELY DISAPPOINTING AND USELESS. CONGRATS.

SCARY-OKE

-in this case obviously dipper wouldn’t want the agents around, since stan has taught him better than that.

-dipper decides that he’s finally ready to talk to his birth parents over the phone, but when he does they insist that they never had twins and mabel has always been an only child, and he realizes they don’t know who he is. everything he knows is once again called into question.

-mabel tries to get the agents’ help in figuring out the mystery behind dipper’s birth and proving that the two of them are siblings

-maybe dipper raises the dead as a way to threaten stan? like, oh you’re so afraid of the supernatural, what if i do this

-or mabel tries to lure the agents back to the shack by creating a supernatural disaster, like oh, say, zombies

-stan finally admits, with zombies breaking down the door, that he got mixed up with the supernatural and made some very bad decisions, although he isn’t specific about what happened. he relinquishes that he kept the truth from dipper all these years not for his sake, but because he couldn’t bear to admit that he was responsible for separating dipper from the family he should’ve grown up with.

THE GOLF WAR

-mabel and pacifica run into each other at the mini golf course, and after watching mabel sink the winning shot pacifica realizes she has feelings for her. furious with herself for developing a crush on somebody like mabel, pacifica challenges her to a rematch and vows to destroy her.

-dipper and stan are worried about pacifica’s behavior, but mabel assures them that she probably just wants a little one-on-one game and had to disguise it as a fight to the death since her parents were with her.

-pacifica gets to the golf course early to get some extra practice in, discovers the lilliputtians, and decides to use them to win against mabel, convinced that if she proves to herself that she’s better then her crush will go away.

-mabel becomes concerned with pacifica’s attitude and worried that she’s gone back to her old ways, bribing somebody to help her cheat. eventually she’s captured and tied up, and pacifica has to save her.

-in the aftermath, pacifica can’t stomach apologizing, so mabel does it for her. “hold on, dip. i think i know what’s going on here.” “what? no. you definitely don’t. whatever you’re about to say about me is completely and totally wrong.” “so i just want to let you know, pacifica…. it’s ok. i understand.” “understand what there’s nothing to understand” “yes there is! and i’ve felt that way before, too. even about you sometimes.” “wh…..huh? you have?” “yeah! all that pressure to compete really gets to you sometimes. but just because i beat you at something it doesn’t mean that you’re any less cool than you were before., ok? so i don’t want you to feel like you have to prove that!” “oh. yeah. yeah, that. yeah.” [awkward pause] “soooo…. you don’t hate me?” “of course not!” “ok good. that’s like, good to know. i don’t hate you either.”

-theyre playing truth or dare and mabel dares dipper to hold candy’s hand for the rest of the night

-mabifica bullshit: 'let me see those beautiful eyes’, holding hands post-confession in nmm, arguing about whether or not to run off into the woods together at night

THE LOVE GOD

-during a conversation with wendy, dipper casually mentions that he’d like a girlfriend. mabel overhears and decides to try and pair him up with someone. she enlists the help of candy and grenda for this secret mission, but notices that candy seems uncomfortable with it. eventually she admits that she’s had a crush on dipper for a while, and mabel is ecstatic. she conspires to set them up on a date at the woodstick festival. candy makes mabel promise not to tell dipper, but of course she can’t keep her mouth shut and blurts it out while the two are having breakfast at the diner. mabel expects dipper to leap at the chance, but instead he just feels awkward. he tells mabel that although he likes candy and thinks she’s great, he’s never thought of her like that. mabel urges him to give her a chance, but dipper argues that it will end badly. he spots candy nearby, freaks out, and runs for cover. it’s at this point that mabel meets the love god.

NORTHWEST MANSION MYSTERY

-“….and grenda can take a hit pretty well so she’d be the best choice for a distraction while i spray 'em with the anointed water from behind, but we might need pacifica to-”

“actually, dip, i was gonna ask if i could handle this one on my own.”

“what? why? we don’t know how powerful this ghost is!”

“because i, the wonderful mabel pines, am going to confess my love for pacifica tonight!”

“you only realized you liked her two days ago!”

“exactly! no time to waste when romance is afoot!”

“you don’t even know if pacifica LIKES girls!”

“well i don’t know if she likes BOYS either. she always seemed kinda indifferent to-

"even if she does, what if she doesn’t like you back? and you know what her parents are like, they probably wouldn’t want her dating another girl anyway…”

“why do you always have to shoot me down like this”

“…..i’m sorry, mabel… i just don’t want you to get hurt again.”

-“we did it!” “haha, yes!!”

-(internally) “this is the perfect moment, mabel, just go for it!”

-“umm, pacifica? now that we just beat this big scary ghostman together, there’s something i wanted to-”

-“YOU’LL PAY FOR THIS, FOOLISH CHILD”

-“….on second thought, I’m gonna go exorcise screamsville here first.”

-“that’s probably a good idea”

-{“WITCH! SERVANT OF EVIL!”}

-“i’m sorry. i didn’t want you to know this about me.”

-“ok, so, your family’s gotten mixed up in some bad stuff, that doesn’t mean-”

-“no, it does. you’ve always been so nice to me, and i never did anything to deserve it… hanging out with you, and dipper, and everyone, hanging around the shack….i started to realize that this isn’t normal. my parents aren't……normal. and now I’m just so scared that no matter what i do, i’ll end up just like them.”

-“….pacifica. i know you. your outsides may be crusted over with gold coins and expensive body lotion and hairspray, but your insides are made of bubbles and kitten kisses and rainbow dolphins high-fiving each other. your parents are a couple of stinky poo-heads inside and out and you’re not anything like them.”

[pacifica, crying, kisses her]

-“oh no. this was a mistake. I’m leaving.”

-“pacifICA WAIT”

-“what would you say if i said i was in love with you?”

-“i’d say you only wanted me for my money”

-“oh pacifica, your heart is gold enough to last me a lifetime!”

-“shhhhhpsshh stop!!”

-[mabel kisses her on the cheek]

-“no but really stop i don’t want my parents to see”

-“ohhh yeah sorry”

THE LAST MABELCORN

-things start out much like they do in canon, but when mabel meets the unicorn and it tells her that she’s not pure of heart she jumps to the conclusion that bill has “tainted” her in some way by taking over her body. the abuse metaphors here are obvious. she sadly returns home and begs ford to help her in some way, and he takes her down to his study. meanwhile, dipper sets back out with the girls in mabel’s place.

-“…..but it wasn’t me….” “what?” “i…..i have to go.” “mabel, wait!”

have it so like, she’s not necessarily visibly distraught when she talks to ford, or even to her friends, but more determined to “fix” herself, hiding the worry that she’s a bad person beneath her insistence that it must be bill’s fault.

“GRUNKLE FORD! bill gunked up my soul and i need you to fix it so i can be pure of heart again!” “…mabel…” “please please please PLEEEAASE!”

-“no offense, but you break the law daily, you two have kind of a…. mutual violent streak, and you……” “don’t say anything.” “and if being involved with bill really did disqualify mabel, then I’ve been doomed for years.” “you’re also not a 'maiden.’” “good point.”

-“man, this is bullshit.” “i know. how are we gonna find someone more pure than mabel?” “no, i mean. the game’s rigged. nobody’s completely 'pure of heart’ or whatever, and how do you even measure that? that glitter-snorting poser doesn’t ever have to give up the goods because she’s asking for something that doesn’t exist.” “…so how do we get the hair?” “well, i say if princess unattainabelle back there doesn’t wanna play fair, we shouldn’t have to either. alright, kids, who’s ready to add a few more bad deeds to the naughty list?” “YEAH!”

-meanwhile, mabel’s mind begins to be encoded. “i can’t undo what’s already been done, mabel. but i can make it a lot harder for bill to hurt you again.”

-mabel’s thoughts: “do you a favor” “have craz and xyler ever kissed?” “adopt every kitten in the world” “PACIFICA PACIFICA PACIFICA”

-mabel ends up putting the helmet on ford because she starts to have intrusive thoughts worrying that he could be possessed by bill, and she decides that proving herself wrong would put them to rest. “ugh, shut UP, brain! this is why we don’t talk anymore.”

-when mabel reads his thoughts, she freaks out and, unlike dipper, actually succeeds in hitting ford with the memory gun. he’s knocked to the ground and she approaches him cautiously as he rises back to his feet. when he explains that he’s not bill and the gun didn’t work anyway, mabel starts crying and hugs him. “its ok, mabel. you did the right thing. when dealing with an enemy like bill, you can’t fully trust anyone, not even the people closest to you. …maybe if i’d known that when i was younger, we wouldn’t be in this mess now.”

-“….i’m a bad person.” “oh come on, you don’t still believe that unicorn, do you? i thought dipper told you she was full of it.” “no, i… did something really bad today. i thought bill did something to gunk up my heart but it was really just me all along.” “wow, what did you do?” “nn. you’d hate me if i told you.” “mabel, you could kill a dog in front of me and i wouldn’t hate you. and if you don’t tell me i’ll just assume the worst.” “i AM the worst.” “ohhhh my god. …..ok, let’s say that bill did break your soul for all eternity or whatever. so what? you’re still my girlfriend. and in case you haven’t noticed, i’m pretty messed up too.”

ROADSIDE ATTRACTION

-“aww, come on! think about it…. just us girls, alone under the stars…” “eww, fine! i’ll come if you stop being gross”

-“i can’t believe my own sister got a girlfriend before me!”

-“romance ain’t a contest, kid.”

-“…yeah, you’re probably r-”

-“just kidding its definitely a contest. one you’re losing.”

-“he was… flirting with me! i think he actually likes me back!”

-“AAAAAAAAA!!” “get it, girl!” “candy wins!” “i wouldn’t get your hopes up, chiu. he’s probably just being a tool.”

-“pacifica, how could you?” “why must you deny true love?” “hey, dipper’s my friend and i think he’s great, but he sucks. I’m just being realistic.”

-“oh, no. i think i just agreed to take candy out on a date.”

-“….aaaaand do you LIKE her?”

-“well, yeah…………….as a fr-”

-“UGGGGGHHHHHH I KNEW IT. listen, 'dopper’, you got yourself into this mess, and its not up to me to help get you out. you deserve it for toying with a woman’s feelings, anyway.”

“candy…. saved my life. even after i broke her heart. she’s so cool…………………………………oh, SHIT.”

-“it’s ok, dipper. if dating pacifica has taught me anything, its that the way to a woman’s heart is through emotional angst and near-death experiences. and we get those every day!”

-“you deserve this and i have no sympathy for you.”

–

DIPPER AND MABEL VS THE FUTURE

same basic setup, with mabel hitting up all her friends for party plans, but the focus is on having to return home without all the friends she’s made rather than anxiety about growing up (although that’s still a factor). in addition to discovering candy and grenda won’t be around, she also finds that pacifica’s parents are becoming suspicious of her frequent outings so she’s trying to lay low for a little while, so she won’t be able to hang out for the last week of summer.

ford invites dip along for the alien hunt, and doesn’t exactly offer dipper the chance to be his apprentice, but is impressed with his adventuring skills and the fact that dipper has been training in the art of mystery solving for years. au dipper is quite a bit braver than canon dipper after all, and quicker to spring into action right after ford. theres still a bit of hesitation involved, and when ford praises him for his courage, he laughs and remarks that mabel would’ve jumped right away without any thought. ford then confides in dipper that although mabel uses her heart before her head, he can still see how scared she is inside and thinks it would be best for mabel to return home and cease connection with gravity falls, because he’s seen first-hand how much bill has hurt her already and he doesn’t want it to get any worse. he also tells dipper that he can tell mabel’s heart isn’t in any kind of study or quest for knowledge like he is, she’s just a kid having fun, and he can tell that its mostly because she wants to impress dipper and it might be better for her to focus her energy on her own interests, which can’t happen if she stays in gravity falls. dipper reluctantly agrees, saying that he’s always sort of worried about the same thing. of course, this is the part that mabel hears over the walkie-talkie.

for all that mabel and ford’s relationship is better, he still sees her as a child while he sees dipper as more of an equal. he warns dipper that letting mabel become dependent on him, or he on her, is a bad idea, because one day they’re going to have to go their separate ways, and mabel might not be able to handle it (implying that she’ll do something drastic to keep him around, like stan did to him).

theres a scene midway through the episode of pacifica sulking on her bed, hugging a pillow to her face. her mother’s voice calls her for dinner from downstairs, and she groans and gets up. looking in the mirror, she realizes her mascara has run and she scoffs and rubs at her eyes. when she opens them up again, the mirror is full of eyes. “something wrong, blondie?” it cuts off there

after mabel runs away into the woods at the end of the episode, pacifica emerges from the bushes in her full incognito gear, saying she came to warn her about bill. that bill tried to make a deal with her but she refused everything he offered, and that he’s getting desperate and is going to try again with someone else, probably before the summer ends. she tells mabel that if neither of their families want them, they’ll run away, out of gravity falls, together. when mabel realizes she has the rift, she groans, annoyed that she has to go back home and return it. but pacifica insists that this actually makes the plan better, that if they leave gravity falls with the rift it can be kept safer… and that, maybe it would be better if pacifica held onto it, since bill is targeting mabel. mabel agrees and hands it over…. at which point pacifica takes a moment to admire it, and then smashes it to the ground. she laughs, takes off her sunglasses, and is revealed to have been possessed by bill. then the world ends.

WEIRDMAGEDDON 1

-after ford is captured, dipper runs into grenda, as in literally runs into her, while she’s attempting to chase a monster in process of carrying off candy. the two travel together for the next three days, finally deciding to explore the mall in search of mabel and the others. on the way there, though, the two are ambushed by bill’s lackeys. before the fight can begin, grenda tosses dipper out of harm’s way and shouts for him to go on without her while she holds off the monsters. dipper reluctantly escapes, leaving grenda to an ambiguous fate.

-during that time, candy finds pacifica huddled in a pile of rubble, and urges her to come help find the others, but she’s reluctant. “look, mabel’s not here anymore, alright?! she’s gone. bill got her. so you can stop pretending to like me.” “candy does not pretend. not when it comes to friendship.” “….if you just left me here, nobody would have to know.” “on your feet, northwest.”

“augh, my poor hair… it’s got like, twigs and shit in it.” “do you want me to cut it off?” “what? no. why would i do that.” “it’s a symbol! in stories, girls cut off their long hair when they are going on journeys and breaking free, leaving the past behind… it is cool and majestic and– pacifica, YOU should cut off MY hair!” “wait, seriously? …ok, whatever, fine, do your weird impulsive nerd thing. you got any like, scissors?” “let me see….. six, seven, eight pairs! i also have a knife.” “candy, what the fuck.”

-dipper finds wendy, pacifica, and candy all hiding together in the mall. dipper is surprised and relieved to find that candy is safe and she talks about how she bit the monster’s hand to get it to free her, proudly revealing that one of her teeth has turned completely red as a result. dipper admits what happened to grenda, and while pacifica and wendy look worried, candy remains adamant that she’s strong and will be all right. hesitantly, dipper asks if any of them have seen mabel. the room goes quiet, and pacifica confesses what happened, that bill came to her and threatened to possess and torture mabel again if she didn’t let him use her body. she thought that if she agreed, she’d become a ghost like mabel did and be able to use a puppet as a vessel in time to warn somebody. instead she simply blacked out, and when she came to she was just in time to see mabel being sealed in a bubble and taken away.

-at some point pacifica confesses to dipper that bill never threatened to hurt mabel. she made the deal willingly because he promised her that mabel would be able to stay in gravity falls if she let him borrow her body, and she was just so scared of losing her, and everyone.

-candy’s arm is broken in the car chase and ensuing wreck against gideon’s crew. in the aftermath, pacifica uses the remains of her jacket to make a sling.

ESCAPE FROM REALITY

mabeland is nearly the same as in canon, though maybe with some minor alterations to reflect the events of the summer. dippy fresh is replaced by a series of “dream dippers”, versions of dipper that mabel had imagined he might be like before actually meeting him. most are unrealistically cool, but one in particular is just someone who would be the ideal brother, always looking out for her and wanting to be with her. in the end of course, mabel has to look at all of this and decide that real dipper is the one she wants. (theres also a fake pacifica who shares all of mabel’s interests and is hopelessly in love with her, always flirting and offering romantic gestures, but without any of the sass and personality that make her who she is. pacifica ends up snapping her neck.)

mabel introduces the dream dippers one by one like they’re contestants on a game show, but one spot is left empty. dipper asks who it’s for, to which mabel nervously replies that it’s more convenient to have something extra just in case. later on, in the wilderness of mabeland, dipper overhears mabel talking to someone. “i don’t understand. everyone can finally be happy here. wendy can break all the rules she wants and never get in trouble, candy can be herself without people making fun of her, pacifica can get away from her parents, and dipper…. well maybe i can understand why HE wants to leave, since he apparently doesn’t want to deal with me….” suddenly, dipper hears his own voice reassuring her that everything will be alright, and he’ll stay by her side forever, that the summer never has to end. she says “do you really mean that?” to which he replies “of course. you know i’m the best brother ever.” the voice is revealed to be perfect, ideal brother dipper.

crushed by this, dipper retreats to the pond, where instead of being approached by wendy he’s approached by candy. she sits down and asks him what’s wrong, and he tells her how awful he feels that he couldn’t have done better for mabel. she assures him that he’s a wonderful person, and mabel’s being silly for not wanting someone like him as a brother. she then tells him that she was being silly for being mad at him, too, that she’s realized he was right all along, and she should’ve forgiven him earlier. “really? …'cause i was totally with you on the whole 'i was a jerk’ thing.” then candy ups the ante, going on to talk about how oh, he’s so much smarter and braver than her, and she was just upset because she thought she stood a chance with him, but she’s such a loser, she could never- dipper stops her there, worried. he continues to insist that it was his fault, he WAS being an asshole, and he should’ve apologized to her a long time ago, but he was nervous “because…. i DO like you, candy. like, like-like you.” he tells her to stop berating herself, that he likes her because she doesn’t let anybody change how weird she is and that she’s not acting like…. herself. it’s at that moment that he realizes what’s going on. as “candy” begins dissolving into bugs, a fist collides with her head and she explodes. its revealed to be grenda, who managed to find her way in because “the door was unlocked.”

when it comes to the trial, mabel’s memories are similarly flipped through, but instead of having a twin to be there in her time of need, she had nobody. she’s never had anybody like that until she met dipper.

TAKE BACK THE FALLS

-candy and grenda’s symbol is a disco ball. “…and this one could mean a person who can see the fun in any situation! or just a party animal.” “hey, that’s me!” “that’s me too!” “it’s both of us!! SYMBOL SISTERS!!!” [grenda lifts candy up onto her shoulders and they each take a hand, candy on her right side since her left arm is broken and grenda on the left]

-“we’re proud of you, daughter. saving the world will be perfect for salvaging our reputation! i still think those pines kids are a bit of a bad influence on you, though.”

-“oh YEAH? how’s THIS for a bad influence?!” [she pulls mabel into a passionate kiss] “news flash, dad! your perfect daughter’s a big fat gross lesbian! and when i grow up I’m gonna marry this riffraff right here, and change my name to pines too!! so DEAL WITH IT!!!”

stan still loses his memory as he did in canon, but dipper is the most visibly distraught and won’t stop begging him to remember. he tells him how even though they fought a lot over that summer, he loves him so much and he’d never ask for a better grunkle. he desperately tries to jog his memory with baby pictures, but they need to trigger more immediate memories first.

the solution for mabel to stay in gravity falls would be to fabricate a lie that dipper is ford’s grandson, ford being the twin that faked his own death to escape a life on the run, but they’ve just come back to reconnect with the family (since dipper lost his parents apparently), and mabel didn’t want to tell her parents at first because she was afraid they wouldn’t want her staying with an estranged family member/ex-con. but she’s made so many great friends and she loves this town and wants to stay with her “cousin”.

while the northwests go house hunting, mabel invites pacifica to stay at the shack until they can find a new home.

rather than leaving for a new adventure, ford and stan decide to stay at the shack and rest for a while, just settle into their new family dynamic. soos, melody, and abuelita all still move in, and so the house is renovated to make room for the huge family.

with the journals destroyed, the mystery squad now has to start from square one…. but dipper tells mabel that she doesn’t have to do anything to impress him anymore. that he’s ready to try just being a kid again.

#gravity falls #reunion falls #gravity falls au #interesting #i think tumblr might have actually glitched on me

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willddheartt · 4 years

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Run Away With Me | JJ Maybank | Part Two: Circles

Summary: Memories of the past come back as Jessie considers Lydia’s trip more and more.

Series Warnings: Substances (Weed, drinking), a little angst, smut, mentions of abuse/toxic family.

Word Count: 1.6K

A/N: Flashbacks in italics

Masterlist

Series Masterlist

Falling asleep next to JJ but waking up and not having him there was something I had gotten used to, even though I hoped I’d get lucky one morning and he would be next to me. Sighing, I pulled myself out of bed. My father had already left for work and my mother was off god knows where doing who knows what, she was never the most reliable person in my life. The house was quiet as I moved about getting ready for the day, over the years silence in the mornings have been something I’ve come to love, there was nothing worse than someone talking to you right after your first wake up. Personally, I liked to at least shower in peace.

Working every day in the summer was definitely not how I planned to spend my days, but it gave me something to do other than sitting home in an empty house. I worked at the local grocery store, stocking shelves and ringing items through. Most of the time I worked by myself in the small store, with one other person in the back room who would rotate out with me on breaks and such. In reality, it wasn’t a bad job, the manager trusted myself and the other worker enough that she didn’t have to be there 24/7 and so the stress of messing up in front of my boss was gone. Once cleaning the store once for the day and making sure things were stocked and pulled up to look presentable, I sat behind the counter on my phone until someone came in. It was an incredibly boring and slow day, I lost track of time after 1:00 PM hit, counting the time down until I got off always made the wait seem longer.

The bell hanging above the glass door jingled as someone walked in the shop, being startled by the bell I jumped and dropped my phone on the counter, standing up straight only to relax when I recognized the back of JJ’s head as he walked around one of the shelves.

“Workin hard or hardly workin?” The boy chuckled “Bit of both,” I laughed, “What can I do for ya today?” I asked, leaning on the counter as he walked up looking at the fireworks behind my head. “Just a pack of rolling papers,” He sighed, pulling his wallet out of his pocket. “What's the magic word?” I asked, teasingly “Please,” JJ smiled, “It was actually bats, but I’ll take your please,” I giggled, ringing the pack of papers through and taking his money. “What time do you get off?” The blonde asked, leaning his side against the counter. “3:00, why?” He shrugged, “Just having some drinks over to John B’s this evening if you’re interested,” “I think I could swing by,” I smirked “I guess I’ll see you later, Baker,” JJ smirked back with a tip of his hat as he walked out the door.

After work I found myself walking over to the Chateau. JJ, John B, and Pope were gathered around a small fire, using an old tire rim as their fire pit. JJ stood back from the two boys slightly with his back turned to the direction I was coming from, as I walked up I held my finger to my lips so the other two boys wouldn't say anything, not making noise until I was close enough.

“Hey! JJ!” I yelled as I hugged him from behind. JJ jumped and turned around, clutching his chest as John B and Pope doubled over in laughter. “Jesus Christ, Jessie. You scared the shit outta me,” JJ sighed, putting his arm around me once he had recovered from the jump scare I just gave him.

I had been around John B’s in the past, most of the times JJ invited me, they made it clear that I was always welcome even if JJ didn’t say anything to me but I only ever showed up if the blonde boy asked me to stop by, not wanting to intrude on their solid quartet.

“Jessie, it's been a while,” John B smiled handing me a beer, “How’ve you been?” He asked “Good, Good, just the usual vibing with every punch life throws,” I chuckled “What have you guys been up to so far this summer?” “Pope’s been stressing about his merit scholarship,” JJ answered I gasped, remembering when he first mentioned it, “How far have you made it?” “One of the finalists,” “You’ve got it in the bag,” I said, encouragingly. “I hope,” Pope replied I nodded, “You really do,”

I looked around the yard, “No Kiara tonight?” I asked Pope shook his head, “She's got something with her parents,” “Oh shit, You weren't having like a guys night, were you?” I worried “No, just the usual drinks and stuff,” John B said, “JJ told us he asked you to come by,” “Okay, I didn’t want to intrude or fuck your plans up,” I chuckled nervously, taking a seat next to JJ on the log.

For the next few minutes, I could only think about how I had probably intruded on their plans and John was just too nice to say anything about it, my leg shook as I listened to Pope going on about how dead bodies in the movies are never realistic.

JJ put his hand over my knee, “Sorry,” I mumbled out quickly. “You good?” JJ asked quietly as to not disturb John B and Pope's conversation. I nodded, “You sure?” The blonde asked once again, I could never lie to him, he knew me better than I knew myself. “Here,” He mumbled handing me one of his many Juul’s “Thanks,” I mumbled.

After a few drinks my anxiety faded away, it seemed to be a distant memory as I laughed with John B, at JJ who had just tried to smoke through his nose and ended up coughing uncontrollably. Pope left not too long after dark, saying he had to help his dad with something in the morning. Once I realized how late it was, it was already too late for me to go home. John B told me I could take the couch for the night before waving JJ and I a quick goodnight and stumbling off to bed.

“You can take the bed, I’ll sleep on the couch,” JJ said as I moved the coffee table out of the way. “I’m fine on the couch, Jay, you can take the bed,” I said JJ shook his head, picking me up by the waist. “I know you, you won't sleep on the couch.” “I won't sleep anyway,” I tried to argue as JJ pulled me into Big John’s old room, only to have him shake his head at me once again, “Yes you will because I’ll be there,” “You’re impossible,” I replied sitting on the edge of the bed “You’re just stubborn,” He chuckled.

The days leading up to Lydia and I’s trip seemed to be going faster than I imagined, and I hadn’t come up with a good enough excuse yet I knew I was going to end up with her back on the island I escaped at 16. Never had I thought that I would be going back to the place I wanted nothing more than to run from when I was younger.

With everything catching up on me it felt fitting to break into the box I kept hidden at the back of my closet that was full of little mementos from the years I spent growing up on the outer banks islands. It was a memory box of sorts but I only saved items from the nights I didn’t want to end. A beer cap from my first drink, a movie ticket stub from my first date, multiple polaroids of my friends from around the fire, but my favourite of them all, and the one that brought back the most- a simple beaded bracelet. Seeing the simple bracelet that has always been too big for my small wrist brought a small smile to my face, the bracelet’s former owner had been one blonde surfer who would always hold a special place in my heart. I slipped it onto my wrist, remembering the night he gave it to me.

JJ spent all day trying to teach me how to surf, which had been somewhat successful as by the end of the day I was able to stand up on the board. But on my first decent-sized wave I wiped out and ended up skinning my knee on a rock that was hidden in the water. JJ helped me to shore and cleaned the nasty cut, before slipping his bracelet off and putting it on my wrist telling me how he found it in the sand after his first great day on the waves, he said it brought him good luck when on the waves and that it was now my good luck charm. JJ smiled when he told me that with the bracelet nothing bad would happen. I was just about as gullible as a child, believing his words. Still to this day, I thought about them, and that day and the bracelet had anything ever not been going in my favour. In a way, it brought me good luck by letting me get out, but in a lot of other ways it also brought me bad luck, however, that didn’t stop me from keeping it on as I looked through the box of random items and keeping it on even after putting the box away.

I forced myself to sleep that night even though I only wanted to think about if I would ever see him again, the events of our last night together kept replaying behind my eyelids as I drifted off.

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minijenn · 4 years

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Random Keys/UF Crossover Ideas

Because I’m torn between both of my projects right now and I hate myself, here’s something that’ll only really appeal to the very niche audience of people who read both Universe Falls and Keys to the Kingdom. Basically its a list of somewhat spoilery (for Keys more than UF) headcanons of what it might be like if the Gravity Falls world scheduled to be in Keys was a Universe Falls world instead (in the sense that it still takes place in Gravity Falls physically but like... its set in the universe of Universe Falls (oy I’m explaining too much lemme just start rambling off the random ideas that have been popping into my head over the last several days of this hypothetical crossover of my two stupid fanfics):

For reference’s sake, on the UF end of things, this would take place somewhere around the middle of arc10ish, pretty close to Weirdmageddon as the GF world in Keys is gonna take place pretty close to Weirdmageddon too.

For Keys, the trip to this world would still take place in the same spot the GF world does, so semi close to the end of the story, as one of the last Disney worlds of the fic (guess it wouldn’t really be a “Disney” world here but ehhhhhh)

Guess I better give some context about what’s going on in each fic around that time; UF’s is easier to do so we’ll start with that; basically without spoiling a certain upcoming arc ender too much, during arc 10, everyone’s sorta frazzled what between all of the interdimensional travel, worries about Bill coming back and causing chaos, worries about the Diamonds possibly getting involved in stuff, shaken by the recent revelation that Rose allegedly shattered Pink Diamond and so on (basically there’s a lot going on in the leadup to UF’s ending hahaha)

Context for Keys (again without getting too spoilery (gotta tread even more careful here) is that by this point in the story Sora is basically in nonstop Panic Mode about the whole norting thing thanks to a certain encounter with one Bald Old Fuckhead during the Aladdin world immediately before this; so Sora’s on the run from basically his entire support system cause he’s all worried about unintentionally hurting his friends (and he also just doesn’t want Riku or Kairi in particular to see what’s happening to him cause Disaster Bi).

Cont. Context for Keys cause that last bullet point was Long: Despite all this fuckin Angst, Sora’s still out searching for the Keys on his own in the hopes of securing the final few for the guardians of light before he can be fully norted and forced into handing them over to the Organization instead

Not to mention those freak relatively dark/light powers of his are alll outta whack cause he A. Doesn’t know how to control them At All and B. Is Emotionally Distraught so that’s only making things worse

And the entire gang is more or less out searching the worlds tryin’ to find Sora (he yeeted his Gummi Phone off a fuckin cliff or something just so nobody could get in touch with him smh what a waste of a perfectly good cell phone); among the teams that are out doing so include the one we’re gonna focus on here, Ven and Roxas

Back to the UF end of things, I wanna talk about where each of the Mystery Kids are at this point; Steven is sorta all over the place with, again, the revelation that his mom could have been a murderer; Dipper is hella nervous about the idea of Bill getting his hands on the Rift (even moreso after RMD cause PTSD is Somethin Else kids), Mabel is in that mindset of not wanting the summer to end so they can all stay together, and Connie is basically (as usual) the only one with any brain cells as she’s trying to hold the gang together

(lowkey spoilers for the Keys GF chapters start here) So Sora arrives in Gravity Falls, suffering from all the angsts and anxieties and whatnot and just Not Having a Very Good Time Emotionally/Mentally as he starts lookin around for the Key in the woods or whatever

But lo and behold everyone’s favorite Evil Corn Chip just so happens to be spyin’ on him, and before too long Bill makes his appearance and acts all friendly to Sora, claiming that he can basically undo the whole norting thing (which he knows all about because of course he would, this is Bill Fucking Cipher we’re talking about here)

Sora’s skeptical but at the same time he’s sort of willing to do whatever he can at this point to keep his heart from being taken over by Mr. Bald Old Fuckhead and all Bill is asking for in return is for him to nab some sparkly snow globe that he claims already belongs to him but was stolen by some local family who Bill makes out to be pretty bad so hey, why not at least give it a shot? (dumb, the kid is dumb this is something we’ve established many times over by this point)

So Sora sets out to look for both the rift and the Key (while also being harangued by Xemnas who’s the Org. baddie of the GF world but errrrr i don’t have a ton of ideas about what he’s gonna do yet so we’ll just skip over that for now and focus on somethin else)

Something else being the fact that Sora happens upon a bunch of kids being attacked by a group of Nobodies, so he swoops in to save them even though the kids already look like they’re holding their own pretty well against them (two of them are out here swinging swords around, one’s really handy with that grappling hook while another one has some sort of magical shield? Its weird??? But cool imo)

So they all team up to take the Nobodies out and following that, Sora meets and mostly hits it off with the Mystery Kids

Mabel is super hype (she kinda instantly crushes on Sora as soon as she sees him even though he’s too fuckin old for her); Steven and Sora radiate the same sort of Sweet But Sad energy so of course they’re best friends immediately

Connie’s a lil bewildered by Sora (who the hell goes around swinging a giant key like its a sword, that’s just not practical???) but Dipper’s distrustful radar is instantly raised for a a number of reasons, but the biggest red flag he notices about Sora by far is that his eyes are yellow (btw by this point his eyes will more or less be completely yellow and his hair almost entirely white; he usually wears his hood up to try and hide that, but it got blown off during the forementioned fight)

So the kids were out and about in the woods for mystery hunting reasons, mostly cause they were trying to cool their heads from all of the stress they’re under mentioned earlier (and cause hey, the summer’s ending soon and they gotta spend all the time they can together at this point)

However, they quickly change gears when they learn about Sora’s quest to find some magical Key and they all eagerly decide they wanna help with that cause it sounds hella rad; Dipper would likely be the only dissenter to this plan, but he’d be lowkey about it, kinda deciding to keep a suspicious eye on Sora all the while (he doesn’t really act like he’s being possessed by Bill, but ya can never be too sure nowadays...)

So they all set out in search of the Key (Sora decides not to tell them about Bill or the rift just yet, but even so right off the bat he’s basically decided “yes I’m adopting all four of these kids as my new little brothers and sisters and no one can stop me”)

So cut to the other end of things and we have Ven and Roxas who have basically only just met each other face to face for the first time (they’re both basically constantly doin that spiderman look alike meme); they’ve been more or less teamed up to look for Sora together tho, and they both got a massive guilt complex about the whole thing cause they used to be able to directly protect him inside his heart but now they can’t since they’re out of it so they’re determined to find him and make sure he’s OK

They also show up in Gravity Falls, arriving much closer to the Mystery Shack and the Gem Temple than Sora did; since its the closest thing nearby, the boys decide to venture over to the Mystery Shack to look first

After some brief, confused yet fun conversation with Soos and Wendy, they bump into Stan and that initial meeting goes something like:

Stan: Who the hell are you two supposed to be? You twins or something?

Roxas: No??? What the fuck is a twin??

Ventus, realizing that Roxas has like 0 real world experience or regard for world order at that moment right fucking there: (oh fuck oh fuck oh fuck) Ummmm YES WE ARE WE’RE TOTALLY TWINS AHAHA AREN’T WE BROTHER?

Roxas, immensely confused: What the hell is a brother??

And then Ford shows up and Roxas looks between him and Stan is just like “ooooh ok now I get what a twin is” and Ven is just like “oh my god I think Roxas managed to catch some of Sora’s stupidity after all asdkjalsdkalsd”

Anyway after all this awkward confusion is over, Roxas and Ven bring up that they’re there looking for someone, and while neither Stan nor Ford are that invested, they do offhandedly mention maybe the Crystal Gems can help

Ironically enough, the Gems happen to burst into the shack right then and there, taking refuge from the surge of strange creatures swarming outside (Nobodies & Heartless); the Gems are rather overwhelmed by them since their weapons don’t work that great on them so they’ve come to seek Ford’s help (since he’s got all those weapons and lasers and shit he keeps stockpiled)

In this Ven and Roxas end up meeting the Gems and both of them are just like :O (Ven’s lowkey like, “Aqua would get along great with these ladies, they’re total badasses just like her!”) and the Gems just kinda pass the boyos off like “yeah whatever there’s a fuckton of monsters outside meanwhile where are our kids?”

Stan and Ford are like *shrug* cause neither of them are very good at being Responsible when it comes to keeping an eye on these danger-prone kids and the Gems are just like *facepalm* “Morons” so they set out to find the kids and Ven and Roxas are like “well they know their way around here so why not go with them to see if we can find Sora too!” and so they all head out on a lil adventure

Then a whole bunch of stuff happens on both sides of the plot that I haven’t bothered to figure out; bunch of cute character interactions and whatever; insert possible second encounter with Xemnas in here somewhere where he basically shows up just to intimidate Sora but Sora’s like “no way jose, you touch any of these precious kiddos and you’ll Die”

Somewhere in here, under... some circumstances, Sora and the MK make it back to the shack but like... everyone’s gone? (cause they all went out to look for them, didn’t even leave a note, fuckin rude)

They search the house for anybody and then, on complete fuckin accident, Sora finds his way down into the basement (the portal room to be exact) and what else does he find down there but that thing Bill asked him to get (the rift)!

Though he’s a little confused about why its there (Bill did say some awful family “stole” the rift from him, but none of the MK are awful, they a bunch of Good Kids); Sora still pockets it like a desperate dummy dumb anyway and doesn’t say a word about it to the kids because he thinks they might be too innocent and young to know anything about it anyway (he’s wrong of course because much like him these kids are Traumatized with a capital T but we’ll just ignore that for now)

Still on the search for that Key, Sora and the kids head out only to run right into Stan, Ford, and the Gems on the way out; course, Ven and Roxas are still with them and they see Sora and they’re like :D while Sora’s just like “aw fuck” and runs away from his problems like always

So he rushes off into the woods and who else would show up but that Motherfuckin Evil Corn Chip again who’s like “yo kid ya got the stuff” and Sora’s just like “brb having a panic attack rn” but then he ends up obliviously handing the rift over anyway cause again he’s incredibly desperate for any way out of his current horrible situation

Of course because I’m a sap for Drama, he happens to do so just as all four of the MK show up, having followed him into the woods and ohohohoh boy oh boy let’s just say them seeing Sora just up and giving the rift over to Bill would be a Moment (well, at least for Steven and Dipper cause they actually know what the fuckin rift is unlike Mabel and Connie who still wouldn’t at that point)

So basically Bill is a little shit and takes the rift, but he can’t actually fuckin do anything with it cause he’s a physical object and he’s still intangible (or somethin like that idk I just don’t want Weirdmageddon to happen cause it would make things too complicated) so he’s like “fuck gotta find some stupid sap to possess so I can smash this dumb thing” and he nearly targets Sora (cause the kid was already stupid enough to help him in the first place so why not?) until Steven ends up being the one to fend him off using his shield

Bill shrugs it off and makes off with the rift anyway (its like... hovering or something? idk I’m running out of steam) and everyone panics of course, especially Sora cause he’s just like “well shit I certainly Fucked Up didn’t i?” and the MK are both a mix of “YOU THINK?” (from Dipper and Connie mostly) and “imo not your fault Bill’s tricked just about all of us he’s an asshole” (from Steven and Mabel)

Amidst this a bunch of lil things also happen; the Stans and the Gems show up (along with Ven and Roxas), basically everyone is immensely confused (aka those who have no idea what the fucking rift is) and alarmed (those who do know what the rift is) that Bill has what he needs to more or less fuck the entire world over

So everyone just decides to put everything aside and team up all together to track Bill down and get the rift back before he can break it (there’s a lot of heartwarming trust moments in here, mostly cause trust is like... the cornerstone theme of the GF chapters in Keys for obvious reasons)

They eventually do find him and *insert big epic battle scene here* where everyone teams up to basically beat Bill to death or whatever (don’t ask me how they be doin that if he’s intangible, again I.... I’m tired and this post is long enough as it is)

Yadda yadda yadda they beat him, get the rift back and effectively prevent Weirdmageddon from happening to begin with (which just does SO much wonderful fuckery for UF’s timeline moving forward but whatever, this ain’t about that)

Oh and during that Climactic Battle Scene somewhere there’s some bit about Sora learning to better trust others/himself that leads to him getting the world’s Key? I-I I dunno its a work in progress...

Anyway after this there’s a lot of good character interactions all around, reconciliations between the UF characters and the Keys characters, particularly between Sora and the MK (again he’s adopted these kiddos and don’t you forget it)

So with the Key in hand, Sora starts to leave and Roxas and Ven almost convince him to go back with them until *insert Big Keys Spoiler here that results in the Organization getting their hands on that Key Sora just got and also results in Sora running away again cause... reasons*

And that’s the end of the chapters or whatever idk

There’s probably more ideas I had in mind for this but I literally can’t do anymore my brain is dying

I might possibly write this for reals someday i dunno I’m stuck in two personal hells here so I might as well combine ‘em

Yes I’m aware this post leans more heavily on Keys than UF but its set in the world of UF so fuck off

Feel free to add on with any thoughts you might have about the idea

I’m tired

Amen

#jen writes #universe falls #keys to the kingdom #long post is loooooong #headcanons #ideas #who am i kidding i will literally never do anything with this idea ofther than this very fucking post #then again... i like Angst :)#and UF and Keys both got plenty of it

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mrnibblesleviathan · 4 years

Text

Entry 6: Now that stings!

“Welcome Aboard Captain” rang through the base as Ryley entered. They wandered towards Bart’s workbench, hiding something behind their back, and tapped on the wall to grab the man’s attention. Bart turned to find them smiling widely.

"Wow, looks like you're in a good mood." Bart commented. "What did you find?"

"Bart! I found something!" Ryley signed, excitedly, using only one hand. The other one was still behind their back.

"...Yes. I just asked you that." Bart pointed. "What you got there? Is it the rouge cradle seeds I was looking for?"

"No. A new thing." They answered. "A new plant! New plant for you!"

Bart smiled, increasingly more interested. "So? Let me see it!"

Ryley exposed their hand. A long and beautiful glowing algae was dangling from it, with thick leafy blue curls growing around a purple stem. It was dripping and heavy from being out of the water.

Bart instantly took a step back.

"Ryley, that's... that's a dropping stinger." He muttered. "Why are you holding a dropping stinger?"

"You like it? Pretty, right?" Asked Ryley, joyful. This time they used both hands, one of which was still holding the algae, causing it to splash in all directions. Bart dodged, fearful.

"Ryley, let go of this thing, it's poisonous!" He said. Ryley furrowed their brow. They looked at the plant in their hands, and then back at him.

"Why hands numb?" They asked, puzzled.

"Let go of this thing!" Bart slapped the dropping stinger from their hands. Ryley looked at it, sad.

"You didn't like."

"No, Ryley, it's not like that." He assured. "I actually really like this plant, I promise I do, but the thing is that it needs to be handled carefully. With special gloves, not bare skin. Honestly, it makes me happy that you thought of..." He stopped talking. Ryley was looking out of the window, distracted. "Are you even listening?"

Ryley looked back at him. And then at the ground. "Bart! You dropped the pretty plant!"

Bart rested a hand over his eyes for a moment and took a slow breath. “Ryley, I want you to look at me.” Ryley met Bart’s eyes with a glazed, unfocused look. Their pupils were way bigger than normal. The man let out a deep sigh. “Fucking hell. You’re high, aren’t you.” Another shrug from Ryley. “What exactly am i supposed to do with you now? I can’t even lecture you about safe plant care because you’re obviously too out of it to understand.” He started pacing around in circles. “No, no, don’t worry. I remember how it was, with Maida that one time. The effects will pass in a few hours, I just need to…”

Without warning, Ryley stepped over the plant on the floor to grab onto Bart, who scooted his chair just out of reach.

“I missed you so fucking much... Can’t believe finally here…” They were teary-eyed.

“Woah there big guy! I am not having you sit on my lap, you’re enormous! And I have space cancer, I’m a bit fragile at the moment.” Bart blurted. Rayley, naturally, didn’t register a word of that, just turned to him again and gave him a spine breaking hug. Damn, he was the cuddly kind of drunk back in the day, Bart thought.

“Lets go over to the bench, alright? That way you won’t crush me?” Bart took in the look of concentration on Ryley’s face with a growing sense of dread. And was promptly removed from his chair and carried to the bench, where he gained a lap full of his high as a kite best friend. “Is this better? See, pal, I’m back, I’m not going anywhere. Not that you’d let me.” Ryley nodded into his torso, and Bart laughed. He carded his hands through his friend’s hair for about 10 minutes until they started getting squirmy. Yeah, it definitely wasn’t like that with Maida that one time.

He remembered how she had spent her stoned hours trying to battle a reefback. Of course, all she had was a hardened blade at the time, which did nothing but scrape some mossy patches off the mighty animal. A gentle snap of a tentacle sent her flying 10 meters away and she was convinced she had won.

He missed those simpler days.

"I'm hungry" Ryley signed once their hands were free and facing upwards. Bart let out a weary sigh.

"Of course you are." Ryley started walking towards the kitchen. "Wait for me. I need to watch what you eat. I don't think cured fish is a good idea right now." Ryley gave a sloppy salute and sat up on the bench. “Stay here, okay? Don't go wandering off.” Bart watched them as they backed out of the room into the kitchen. They grabbed some lantern fruits and a chunk of marblemelon, hoping that it was light enough not to upset their stomach but still able to satisfy their munchies.

He walked back to see Ryley on the other side of the room, in front of the window. Naturally.

“Whatcha doin’ there bud?”

Ryley accepted the lantern fruit, biting into it as if they hadn’t eaten in days. Then they tried to speak, forgetting their current condition, and course the headache attacked. Not only that, but they hadn’t even finished chewing, which caused yellow juice to grossly drip through their chin.

“By gods Ryley, you’re starting to act like me. Please take your time” Bart attempted to clean their face with one of his tissues, while his friend confusedly tried to shake the pain away from their head. Finally, after these few struggling minutes, Ryley managed to sign… and Bart took a step back once he read it.

“Wanna go out and fight a Reaper?”

He had to admit, he was impressed. As far as he taught them, Ryley knew all these words separately. Still hadn’t gotten the hang of signing sentences from scratch. But with the fluidity of their gestures, it was like they had known the language their whole life. Bart began to think what was holding their friend back when his inhibitions were in place. Perhaps they were shy, afraid to get it wrong, so they didn’t really try?

That was a question for another time, as Ryley was still staring at him, excitement gleaming in their hazy eyes, after having just asked if he’d be up to wrestling a leviathan.

“Uh… Wait, are you serious? You’re not serious, are you? Are… Holy shit you are.” Quick, think of something. “Ahn - I’d love to, pal, but I think that one might be a little out of our league, don’t you agree? Also, your sane self would murder me if I even got out of the house. So that’s a no from me and you.” Bart tried to coax them back to the bench, but they kept pushing back to go to the hatch. “No, no, no, don’t make me drag you, you know I won’t be able to. Eat some more first and we’ll talk about going out on adventures, okay?” He was suddenly worried that this was going to turn into the Drunk Maida Incident 2.0, and he’d have to go along for the ride. He sneaked over to the locker nearby while Ryley was distracted by a marblemelon and, just in case, snagged the stasis rifle. Not doing that all over again.

Turns out he was right to, as Ryley refused by all means to get away from the hatch.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Bart blurted, distressed, feeling somewhat like the parent of a toddler. A very large toddler.

“Wanna find more plant” Ryley signed, slow and deliberate. “More stuff. Wanna go out. Pretty colours out there!”

Fuck, they really were tripping bad, if they were already seeing more colours than the myriad of bioluminescence outside. No way in hell would Ryley be able to keep themself from being mangled by some stupid shark if they left now, but in his condition, Bart couldn’t possibly stop his giant and strong trained-in-the-military friend from doing whatever they wanted. He cursed himself for not thinking of giving Ryley a prep talk on the poisonous organisms in that planet. That would have been the sane thing to do, right? And shit, they were already reaching for the damned hatch again.

“Ryley wait!” He exclaimed, and they looked at him, waiting.

Bart knew he couldn’t hold them back. Not with that condition. But what else could he do? Go along for the ride? Ryley had been very insistent on him not leaving the house - and he couldn’t even pretend he didn’t agree. He could get hurt, he could die, they both could die despite his best efforts.

And yet, there he was, faced with the opportunity to, after months, finally live a little. Not trapped in a cage, not feeling so weak that he might as well be dead. He couldn’t even remember the last time he hadn’t been drowning in habitat malfunctions, medical emergencies and resource depletions… until now.

He knew Ryley wasn’t thinking straight. Deep down, Bart knew it was unfair for him to take advantage of that moment. But if for once in his life he could prove he was good enough to be trusted with his own life, that could be it...

“I’m coming with you. I could help you find more plants, and… colours. Can you help me get my diving equipment?”

Ryley waved their head, excited, and let go of the damned hatch. No backing out now. Bart headed to the moonpool to gather his gear.

Bart breathed in, savouring the moment and the bottled up oxygen. As surprised as he initially were, being out was really doing him some good. In the water, his weak body felt a lot lighter, and his lesions didn’t ache so much. Could do without the cold of the ocean, though. He started to imagine a way he could make his dive suit generate its heat. Such mechanism would likely require power, which he knew could become a limited resource from day to night if one isn’t watching it. Still, he could…

He jumped to the side, startled, as a giant mouth emerged from a white dune and a huge shark started barking at him.

“Geez, I’m really out of practice, aren’t I?” He whispered to himself, as he rose the stasis rifle and paralyzed the creature. “Get outta here. Bad dog. Bad dog!! Where’s Ryley when I need ‘em?”

He searched around and found his companion, digging for abandoned treasure around the giant wreck stationed in that section of the Grassy Plateaus. High or not, apparently the kid still had their survival instincts impaired. They cut a very wobbly hole into a sealed door and got in.

“Can you at least wait for the metal to cool down?” Bart yelled more at himself than at Ryley, as he knew his friend wasn’t going to pay mind to anything he said. “Hey, Rye, do you have any water on you? My throat is parched.”

Ryley dug into their Compressed Inventory and threw him a bottle. Missed him by a few meters, of course, but nothing Bart couldn’t swim and catch by himself. Swiftly, he pressed a button on his helmet, deploying a plastic tube into his mouth. He attached the other end, stuck in the suit, into the bottle, and drank. What a ritual just to get some water, when you’re already surrounded by the stuff. The ocean sure was a deceiving place.

Bart was actually surprised at how well he was doing. He wasn’t even feeling dizzy. Perhaps it was the breathing, helped by the oxygen mask, finally pumping the right amount of much needed air in his lungs. Such realization came with a darker thought, however. He had never been in need of an oxygen mask, until the last time he had enough resources to thrive. And he needed it now. The bacterium had spread further into his lungs.

Ryley bonked a fist on his helmet, to call his attention. Proudly, they exposed their salvage: several cheap plastic hair clips, one broken wind chime, and a jukebox file. The last one actually caught Bart’s attention.

“Hey, Ryley, good job! This is going to be great for us! Imagine having a jukebox back home? With music?” He ignored as Ryley stuck the hair clips into his helmet antenna. “Do you think the blueprint would be around here as well?”

“This was cafeteria wreck.” Ryley told him. “I think jukebox is here, or close, in pieces.”

“Where’s all that eloquence when we’re studying, huh?” Bart crossed his arms. “You’re a sign language natural!”

“I gonna try to find more music.” They said, turning their head away, flustered.

And they sure did. The wreck was littered with all kinds of files and other treasures. The cafeteria menus, cards for the snacks, the snacks themselves (all rotten and moldy) as well as music. Ryley followed them across the room, and then the corridor, and then another room, until they ended up at the back of the section, in front of a cave entrance.

Ryley spied it, with curiosity. They didn’t know that particular opening, but it seemed to lead on the same giant system that contained the bright pink jellyshrooms. The one they had previously found one of Bart’s old habitats inside. Something in their mind was trying to bypass the intoxication, and tell them they should step away. But, peeking further into the hole, there was some kind of equipment abandoned on a rocky platform, and once they realized what it was, their eyes gleamed with excitement and they forgot any bad feelings he might have had about it.

“Bart. Bart. Bart.” Repeated the PDA, in maximum volume, as they tried to get their friend’s attention with the monotone robot voice. At least it worked. Bart came swimming, a little slower than they’d like.

“Yeah? What did you find there?”

“Bart, I fnod hrj jsaubox!” Said the PDA.

“Wha…?” The question was abandoned when Bart realized where Ryley was swimming. “My stars. Ryley, get out of there.”

Sighing, Ryley dropped the PDA on the floor, where it was still blurting nonsense, and decided to sign at him. Too high on their own excitement, and too focused on figuring out the signals to see a giant slender form creeping up behind him.

“No, no, no, no, no, get out of there! Ryley it DOESN’T MATTER, GET OUT OF THERE!”

Ryley was about to tell him they had found the jukebox, but was cut short when the crabsnake rising it’s enormous body from the hole snatched them by the waist with it’s mandibles.

#atwr #atwr fic #and they were roommates #fanfic #subnautica #sfw #bart torgal #ryley robinson

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portalford · 5 years

Text

Nothing to Stop Us Now

AO3

“If I see one more purple mosquito thing, I’m gonna fling myself out of this tree,” says Stan, scratching furiously at a souvenir from one of the aforementioned pests. He’s pretty sure he killed that one, and that helps a little.

Just a little. It still itches like the blazes.

“That would be regrettable,” says Ford, not looking up from his sketchbook.

“You sound real regrettable,” Stan mutters. He gives up on the bug bite in favor of better entertainment: baiting Ford. “This is your fault.”

Ford, unlike the bugs, doesn’t bite. “If I remember correctly,” he says, in a tone heavily implying that he’s never forgotten a thing in his life (which is absolutely untrue) and still without looking up from his damn drawing, “I was perfectly happy to stay in my study and had no comments about ‘stretching my legs’.”

“Don’t quote me at me,” Stan snaps. “You needed to get outta that dusty closet anyway.”

Ford finally takes his eyes off his page, but it’s only to lean out for a better look over the branch he’s sitting on, far enough that Stan is tempted to yank him back before the idiot falls. “It’s fortunate that it isn’t able to climb trees, at least,” he says, going right back to his drawing.

‘Fortunate’ is not a word Stan would apply to any part of this situation. It’s hot, he’s thirsty, he scraped his arm climbing this tree, the branch he’s on is too skinny for his butt, and there’s two rows of sharp, slobbery teeth about ten feet below his ankles.

Ford, predictably, has ignored these and every other grievance Stan has tried to air over the past five minutes, so Stan just snorts.

Ford ignores that, too. He just says, “Watch out for the seedpods—my research indicated that these pods release a smell similar to hydrogen sulfide if they’re crushed. Probably to deter predators,” he adds, mostly to himself.

“Hydrogen what?”

“Rotten eggs, Stanley,” Ford says solemnly, before getting sucked back into his drawing.

And yeah, Stan’s feeling pretty petulant right now, but he’s not gonna make this experience worse. He scoots over a little, just to be safe. Now he’s sitting on a really knobby, more wobbly, part of the branch. Fantastic.

Stan’s pretty much over his fear of heights these days, but he’s definitely got a normal, healthy, self-preservational fear of falling. Especially when it’s a long drop and a short stop to being a devil dog’s lunch.

Said devil dog is still staring at him with all three of its ugly yellow eyes, tongue lolling hungrily over ugly yellow teeth.

Ford, who wouldn’t know things like ‘normal’ or ‘healthy’ or ‘self-preservational’ if they bit him with all the teeth in the world, teeters out over thin air again. He’s higher up and to the left, on a branch that looks even thinner and more uncomfortable than Stan’s, but he hasn’t said anything about it. Stan doubts he’s even noticed. “I wonder if there are more of them. Surely they would have heard the racket and come looking?”

“Ford, I will literally give you a dollar to shut up,” Stan says.

That, of all things, gets Ford’s attention. “Really?”

“…Would you go for fifty cents?”

“No, I was just shocked that you were offering to part with money for any reason.”

“Yeah? Well I was shocked that you were offering to shut up for any reason.”

Ford flashes a smile, sharp and challenging. Stan’s about to meet him with another insult when the devil dog, apparently unable to handle not being the center of attention for ten seconds, rears up on the tree trunk and makes a noise like a stuck pig.

Stan makes good and sure he’s got a solid grip on the branch before screaming back.

The thing squeals louder and lunges, jaws snapping shut just below Stan’s boots. Stan promptly pulls his feet up on the branch. These are new boots, and if they get chewed to pieces before he’s even broken them in—

His perch shivers and bounces as Ford scrambles to his feet above him. “Stanford for the love of God and money sit down.”

Ford does not sit down, choosing instead to hang halfway off the branch, talking all the while about “cross-species” and “evolutionary advantages” and other stuff Stan doesn’t bother to follow.

Instead, he finds himself a long twig and swats Ford’s leg with it, hard.

Ford cuts off, glaring. “What was that for?”

Stan pokes him again. “I know you’re super excited about this dog thing, but I am tired and sweaty and almost lost a chunk of my leg climbing this tree that I’d really like to keep and please sit down.”

Ford sits, and he even has the grace to look somewhat contrite. He promptly ruins this by saying, “iI’s not a dog, Stanley, it’s—”

“Sixer, I literally could not care less.” There’s a moment of silence while Stan nurses his physical bug-related injuries and Ford nurses his mental Stan-related injuries. Stan sighs. “Sorry. Rough day.” It’s more explanation than excuse, but it’s the best he’s got right now.

The devil dog yips. Stan almost wishes he was a bit lower, just so he could try to kick it in the face.

“It’s fine, Stanley.” Ford leans over to put a hand on his shoulder. Stan doesn’t waste his breath telling him to stay put, because the last six warnings have made no impact whatsoever, and it’s kinda nice anyway. “This creature is fascinating, but there are plenty of of other anomalies that can be studied without resorting to hiding in a tree. Besides,” he adds, sitting back and waggling his sketchbook, “I finished my drawing.”

Stan rolls his eyes, but he can feel a smile coming on in spite of himself. Ford has always been the most uniquely frustrating person Stan’s ever known—and Stan has known a lot of frustrating people, himself included—but there’s a kind of oblivious honesty to his frustrating-ness that Stan hasn’t found anywhere else, did without for thirty years, and would really like to never be without again, regardless of how much Ford pisses him off at times.

“Well, as long as you got your drawing.” Stan looks at the devil dog. The devil dog looks back. It feels really unfair that it’s got three eyes to stare with, but that’s life for you. “What do you wanna do about this?”

“I would suggest running for it, but that didn’t prove especially effective the first time we tried.” Ford considers the monster below. It hisses at him. “Also, it’s ready for us now.”

“It’s gonna take us time to get down this tree, too,” Stan says. He really doesn’t want to lose these boots. Or that chunk of his leg. Or anything else, really.

“Hm.” Ford stands up. “If I can jump on it, I think it would stay stunned long enough for us to get a head start back to the Stan O’ War."

“Okay, hold up,” Stan interrupts, loud enough to make the dog squeal. He ignores it. “I’m heavier’n you—if anyone’s gonna jump, shouldn’t it be me?”

“An additional nine feet should give me enough velocity to match your weight on impact,” Ford says, like this is a reasonable thing to be talking about. The way he’s eyeing the branch over his head is worrying Stan; he decides to nip this whole thing in the bud before Ford gets really into it.

“Yeah, no. Way too many ‘should-be’s’ in that plan, bro. I want to get out of this with all my bits attached.” Redirect, redirect, redirect— “How about we throw sticks at it?” Fantastic plan, Stan. That’s gonna win awards for sure.

Somehow, it does. Ford brightens like Stan said something genuinely smart and impressive. “Stanley, that’s brilliant!”

“Throwin’ sticks?”

“What? No, not sticks.” Ford reaches up for one of the fist-sized green pods from the foliage around them. “These.”

The last fifteen awful minutes are suddenly worth it, and better. Stan knows he’s grinning like a moron and he doesn’t care. “We’re gonna stink bomb this dog?”

“We are.” Ford’s got that crazy glint in his eye that Stan recognizes from their wilder childhood escapades, and he doesn’t even correct Stan about the dog thing. He hefts the pod in his hand. “How’s your throwing arm?”

Stan puffs out his chest, brandishing a stinkpod of his own. “You’re lookin’ at the reigning dart champion of Joe Shmoe’s Bar and Grill.”

“That was forty-odd years ago, and you cheated.”

“Still won!”

Ford rolls his eyes.

The best way to shut the critics up is with a practical demonstration, so—

Stan lets it fly.

It hits the dog square in its ugly face and bursts.

“Moses that’s bad.” Between the dog’s shrieking, the awful smell, and the shakiness of his seat, Stan’s not sure if he’s riled up or terrified.

Probably both.

“Impressive throw, though,” Ford says, lining up a headshot of his own.

Thirty seconds and about half that many stinkpods later, the devil dog is but a distant memory. Or would be, if not for the lingering stench and fading squealing of its flight.

“That’s right!” Stan shouts, high enough on adrenaline and the choking smell that he doesn’t feel any kind of worry when he leans out over nothing. “Tell your friends!”

“Here’s to hoping he has no friends,” Ford replies, flinging his last stinkpod into the woods. His mostly-level voice does nothing to hide the fact that he’s practically vibrating where he stands.

“Hell yeah,” Stan says, fervent.

It takes him a minute to get down, what with his legs being almost numb from sitting on that useless skinny branch for so long. Ford has an easier time, probably on account of his near-constant jittering and jumping around.

“So I’m all for coming back here with my knuckledusters,” Stan says, after a moment where they both just sort of stand there staring at each other across burst and battered stinkpod shells, “but can we do it tomorrow?”

“That might be for the best,” Ford says, lifting his arm over his face and wrinkling his nose. “I’m going to try that new odor remover I’ve been working on,” and Stan didn’t know about that but he’s not even a little surprised, “because I like this coat.”

“You might wanna use that stink cleaner on yourself too, Sixer,” Stan says as they’re walking back down the beach. “You smell like a skunk’s nightmares.”

“You could use a bath yourself, Stanley,” Ford replies, and trips him into a tide pool.

Stan yanks him in after, and he’s laughing all the way down.

#gravity falls #gravity falls fanfiction #stanford pines #stanley pines #my writing #IT'S BEEN FIFTY YEARS #i've missed these characters so much but i wasn't feelin anything i tried to write #not sure i'm feelin this either but i'm on vacation so if i don't write now i never will

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kawa-boru · 4 years

Text

KanaTyy collaboration

KawaBoru Week: Day Seven

Prompt: Free Day

Rating: M

Word count: 2,800

Mine

I wasn’t a jealous person. Possessive, yes. Easily pissed off, hell yeah. Jealous? No. It was a stupid emotion that I didn’t have time for and I was always confident enough to know that if I was with somebody, they didn’t want anyone else. That especially went for Boruto.

He was crazy about me. Nobody could get him off like me. I didn’t know why, but the guy loved me and some fucking how, he made me soft. Only him. A lot of shit annoyed me, but I always knew he wasn’t going anywhere. He wanted me too much, nobody else would ever measure up to what I could give him, he wasn’t about to be flirting with anybody else and nobody else would dare try to flirt with him because they already knew. Everybody knew. His cinnamon roll ass was mine.

It had been a year since he had been mine and I’d be damned if anybody even thought about trying to change that. I wasn’t jealous. No, just possessive as fuck. What was mine, was just that. Mine. Nobody had ever tried to take that from me, nobody but myself. I never felt threatened, most of the time amused if somebody made a pass at Boruto, because I knew he couldn’t stand it. At least until today.

I’d cut my last class, smoking the entire time with Iwabe in his truck. We were laughing our asses off over nothing, having a good time by ourselves as we waited for Boruto to finish his class so I could ride home with him. It was a rainy day, so we’d came to school in his car instead of walking. It was a normal day, a good day. Miraculously Boruto and I hadn’t had a single argument about anything and I was looking forward to getting home with him, but my good mood descentigrated from the instant I saw some guy pull up and park beside his car.

It was suspicious as fuck because he got out of his car and walked around Boruto’s for a moment until he leaned against the drivers side as if he belonged there. I hit the joint between my fingers as I watched him, wondering who the fuck he thought he was.

“Oh shit,” Iwabe snorted as he watched along with me. “I really feel like I need to drive you home right now.”

“Move this fucking truck and I’ll kill you.” I promised, not sparing him a glance.

“If you get your ass locked up, I’m not bailing you out.” He huffed and I rolled my eyes as I hit the joint again before passing it to him, leaning forward a bit when the guy turned his head towards the school.

My eyes followed, finding Boruto walking his way over there with a confused look on his face. My leg started bouncing as I waited to see what was going to transpire between them and I took the joint back from Iwabe when Boruto stopped a few feet away from the guy.

“Hey! I wasn’t passing it.” Iwabe complained.

“Shut the hell up, I’m trying to see!” I growled, eyes narrowing on this stranger who was now taking a step away from the car, towards Boruto.

The guy was the first to speak and Boruto looked like he didn’t know what to say, crossing his arms over his chest and looking away from the bastard—whoever he was. I could tell Boruto was uncomfortable and I didn’t like it. I hit the joint several more times when he took another step closer. He was too fucking close.

“Damn it, Kawaki, chill. You’re working yourself up for nothing.” Iwabe groaned and I had half a mind to knock him the hell out, but I was too focused on watching the interaction a few parking spots away to do anything.

Boruto finally said something back and he didn’t look happy, his face showing a mixture of annoyance and unease. He even looked somewhat depressed. Who the hell was this guy and what the fuck was he doing with my cinnamon roll?

It looked like Boruto was telling him off, his temper finally flaring. This relaxed me and I sighed in relief as he stormed by the guy, but then suddenly, the bastard grabbed Boruto by the shoulders, spun him around and pinned him down against his car. I was out of the truck before Iwabe could do anything, ignoring his cursing as I moved around the truck and headed over.

Nobody was going to be touching him, much less slinging him around like that, unless it was me. I hadn’t been so livid in a long, long time. The smug look on the son of a bitch’s face only made it worse. Before I could make it over there, Boruto kneed the guy in the groin, knocking him back off of him right at the same time Iwabe caught up to me, hooking his arms around me.

“You might as well let me the fuck go.” I spat, his hold on me slowing me down but not stopping me.

Boruto noticed me approaching, his eyes widening before he hissed something at the guy.

“Boruto, shit, help me.” Iwabe huffed, struggling to hold me back.

“Me?” He questioned, voice higher pitched than normal. “Damn it. Ki, um, well . . . you see . . . let’s not get drastic.”

“Too fucking late.” I growled, shoving Iwabe off of me as I stared at the bastard. He wasn’t moving, because he obviously didn’t know the world of hurt he was about to experience.

“Wait!” Boruto pleaded and blocked my path.

I stopped in my tracks, nostrils flaring as I looked down at him. “Don’t tell me to fucking wait, asshole. I’m about to fuck this guy up.” Said guy was just watching silently, completely oblivious.

“Right. And he deserves it, but this isn’t a good place to be opening cans of whip ass.” He told me and then added, “Though I wouldn’t object to a good right hook.”

“Outta my way,” I scoffed, moving him aside and walking closer to the guy. I snatched him closer to me by the scruff of his shirt and scowled down at him. “Who the fuck are you anyway?”

Finally the man snapped out of his bystander gaze, narrowing his eyes as he looked up at me. “I’m Boruto’s boyfriend, who the fuck are you?” He asked, yanking his shirt out of my grasp.

“Ex boyfriend you fucking bastard!” Boruto quickly corrected.

I had to just stand where I was, totally taken aback. Boyfriend? “The fuck?”

The guy looked smug for a second before he turned his attention back to Boruto. “Anyway, back to what I was saying. I want you to come back to me.”

“Dude, I just told you no!” Boruto growled. “I can’t believe you came all the way out here for this. Are you seriously coming at me with this shit? We’re over. We’ve been over and that’s how it’s gonna stay. End of story.”

“You’re goddamn right it is.” I snapped. “He’s mine you piece of shit, so leave now before I really do kill your ass.”

Boruto smiled at that, but hid it almost instantly. “He’s not messing around. Just go. We’re done here.”

“Oh, I get it.” The man chuckled. “You think you’re too good for me now? Selling yourself out to this giant. Well it’s not over until I say it's over.” He looked at me. “Go ahead with your death threats, I’ll be glad to give Boruto a warm bed to come home to while you’re in jail. Bitch.”

“Oh hell . . . you’re an idiot.” Boruto breathed in shock. “Iwabe . . . we should leave.”

“I’m with you, dude. Come with me.”

I paid no attention to Iwabe pulling Boruto away, too busy staring down the dead meat in front of me. I was going to let him go, mainly because Boruto wanted me to, but there wasn’t a chance in hell I wasn’t going to kick his ass now. He was one brave soul, that much I would give him, because he wasn’t running from me. It was honestly amusing, enough that I laughed darkly.

“You must be on some good shit if you think for even a second that you could have him. You think jail scares me, that I think you have a chance with him even then? You’re a goddamn fool. You can have me arrested, like the pussy you are, it won’t matter. I’ll get out and Boruto will be waiting on me. You ain’t shit, one hit and you’ll be down for the fucking count, like the zero you are.”

The guy pulled his shoulders back, trying to look bigger than he really was. “I’m no pushover. You think I’m scared just because you’re bigger than me? Ha. Just fucking try it.”

How Boruto could have ever had anything to do with a bastard like him was beyond me, but I wasn’t about to listen to another word out of his big fucking mouth. It had been over a year since I’d sent anyone to the hospital and I did rather enjoy living my peaceful life with my cinnamon roll, but nobody was going to touch him, or try to have his ass because he was mine. Only mine.

I was surprised yet again when the little prick swung at me, but it was a sad attempt and my reflexes were quick. I grabbed his wrist and snatched him down, kneed him right in the stomach and knocked the breath out of him. He fell onto his hands and knees, wheezing and I grabbed him by his hair, throwing him back onto his back.

“Well, well. You look even more like a pussy now. I believe the only bitch here is you. Bitch.” I smirked down at him, the amused anger inside of me unlike anything I’d felt before. It was usually one or the other, so the mixture was strange.

I knelt down beside him, slapping him so hard his face swole instantly.

“Definitely a bitch.” I grinned at the blood seeping from his mouth and nose. “You gonna do something or just lay there and bleed?”

“Fuck . . you . . .”

“Fuck like me and you’ll be second best.” I told him before grabbing him by his throat and pulling him back to his feet. I settled him on his feet, releasing him to pat his face roughly. “You good man? You alright? I’ll give you a chance to breathe.”

He wobbled a bit, but breathed a sigh of relief at thinking it was over. I just waited for him to steady himself and then I punched him right across his jaw, knocking him back down and unconscious.

“Well shit.” I rolled my eyes and spit on his face before turning on my heel to look for Boruto. Oh I have a few bones to pick with his cinnamon roll ass.

He was with Iwabe in his truck and I walked over slowly before opening the passenger door.

“So . . . that happened. Feel better?” He asked, slightly wincing at his own words.

“Get the fuck out.”

Boruto removed himself from the truck and tossed Iwabe a look before he took out his keys, heading to his car. I followed him, keeping quiet as I got in the car and waited for him to get behind the wheel. Knowing it was in our best interest to keep our mouths shut until we made it home, that’s what we did. I brooded silently all the way and as soon as we walked inside, I went for my box.

“I don’t think so.” I muttered when Boruto went to walk out of the living room. “Park that ass right here.” I told him, pointing to the couch next to me.

He hesitated for a moment, but wisely came over and sat down. “Alright, let me have it.” He sighed and turned his body towards me, crossing his legs underneath him.

Not having time to roll anything, I packed a bowl in record time and hit it as if my life depended on it, savoring the way the smoke filled my lungs. I exhaled slowly and stared at my bowl before grumbling, “What the fuck? What the fuck, asshole?!”

Boruto yelped, not expecting me to raise my voice so soon. “Hey, it’s not like I invited him or anything. I never wanted to see that bastard again.”

“Who the fuck do you think you are seeing his ass to begin with?” I snapped.

“Well it was before I met you!” He huffed and crossed his arms. “We dated in high school. I thought he was cool, but as more time passed, I realized how much of a jerk he was. I’m surprised he wanted to get back together after I dumped his ass and his oh so important image went to shit.”

“You’re really pissing me off. Shit.” I hit my bowl again, hoping it would help.

Boruto stared at the bowl, continuing to pout. “Didn’t you let out all your anger on him? What are you mad at me for?” He asked and then mumbled quietly, “You even grabbed his throat.”

“I can’t fucking stand you right now. Mention him one more fucking time, I dare you.” I said, so mad I couldn’t even pack my bowl fast enough. “You’re over here having boyfriends and shit and then worry about me grabbing his throat.”

“Cause you’re only supposed to do that to me!” He exclaimed with a blush.

Damn idiot. “Yeah, well you’re not supposed to be having boyfriends either so shit, guess we're even.”

Boruto shook his head, but let it go. “Fine. I guess so.”

“Were there others? Or was he the only one?” I asked even though I wasn’t sure I wanted to know the answer.

He bit his lip and shifted his gaze as far from me as possible.

“Excuse me, I asked you a fucking question.” I hissed, hand itching to grab his ass, but I wouldn’t. He doesn’t deserve it.

“You’ll get even more worked up if I answer.” He said and then winced.

“That many?” I was astounded. I was wounded. I was fucking mortified. I couldn’t even finish packing the bowl. I had to set it down, feeling faint.

Boruto tried to smooth it over, knowing he couldn’t take it back. “It wasn’t that many . . . just . . . maybe . . . alright, there were four others.” He admitted and got to his feet. “But like I said, it was before I met you! It’s in the past and . . . uh, good talk. I’ll get dinner going.”

“That many.” I repeated, laying my hand over my chest as I feared a heart attack coming. “Shit.” I had to lay down and breathe or else I was going to die.

“Oh my god, you make it sound like I slept with the whole football team or something.” He grumbled and was quick to make his exit towards the kitchen.

That didn’t settle well with me. The whole football team? Oh hell no. I forced myself up, storming after him. I caught him before he got far, pinning him against the wall with a tight hold on his throat. “You’re mine.”

He stood still, swallowing hard. “Yeah . . . I am.”

“It pisses me off so bad, just thinking about you being with anyone else. I should have fucking killed him.”

“This is a first . . . seeing you like this.” He said, hand coming up to grab my wrist. “I have to say, seeing you jealous for a change . . . I like it.” He smiled cheekily.

“I’m not fucking jealous, asshole. I’m livid. Nobody else can have you or should have. There should be no before you met me. What the fuck is that?”

Boruto kept smiling, seeming to be enjoying himself. “Yes, go on.”

“I should kick your ass, right here and now.” I growled and held his throat tighter.

His fingers twitched around my wrist, his pulse picking up. “You didn’t do it when I first moved in, so I doubt you’ll do it now.”

If only I wasn’t so damn crazy about his cinnamon roll ass. “I hate you.”

“I love you too.”

I rolled my eyes, forcing my hand away from him before I got any more heated. “Cook your stupid food and hurry up so I can make you forget about this before shit.”

Boruto’s eyes lit up. “I mean . . . I could always cook after.”

“No. You won’t be getting out of bed. Promise.” I muttered, walking back into the living room to finally smoke for real.

I sat down and started rolling a joint, still pissed about the whole situation, but I knew the best way to take my frustrations out would be in bed, with my infuriating cinnamon roll. This shit wouldn’t be happening again, I would make sure of it.

#kawaboruweek #kawaboruweek2020 #kawaboruweek2020d7 #kawaboru #kawaki #boruto #kawaki and boruto #boruto naruto next generations #kawaboru fanfiction #kawaboruweek20

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dwaynepride · 5 years

Text

Already A World Away; pt 3

Summary: Dwayne is determined to show reader that he’s the one who can make them happy. And to do that, he’ll need to be completely honest.

Words: 2,209

Warnings: None

Tags: @pageofultron @stanathanxoox @starryrevelations @6adb0y @thegoodlonelydalek @consultingdoctorwholock @thebeckyjolene @diaryofafan17 @specialagentlokitty

Notes: a continuation of Stay With Me by @specialagentmonkey

Part 1 | Part 2

For the first morning, Pride had done a great job in making sure nothing felt awkward or out-of-place between you and him. It was easy, in fact; you both were still friends, despite the kissing. And it was practically second nature for him to gauge the emotions of others. To make the people around him comfortable. Yesterday, it worked.

He can’t say the same for this morning.

You both were woken up at the same time by Gregorio, who had knocked on the door to inform of a lead. There wasn’t a chance for Dwayne to wake up first and sneak out and give you space. No, this morning was spent moving past each other and attempting not to bump elbows while trying to look somewhat presentable for the work day.

And it’s left a heavy weight in Dwayne’s stomach for hours. Work did provide something of a distraction; he was able to push his feelings aside and just do the job. He and Chris drove all around the city from dawn to lunch, and really, it was nice to pretend things were how they were before the night at the bar.

But then the four of them are gathered in the kitchen for lunch - Chris says how nice it is that Sonja’s not here, so they didn’t have to have a vegan meal. Tammy chimes in to argue, saying he might not like it, but it is healthier. And then the two just argue like siblings.

Had it been a normal day, you would’ve butted into the fight and Dwayne would watch on with affection for his family. But when his eyes avert away from the food, he only sees you silent at the table, lost in thought. And Dwayne can’t do anything to change that. At least, not with Chris and Tammy here.

And it’s as if God himself hears Dwayne’s silent prayers, because a text has him checking his phone. A message from Sonja, needing some back-up on a lead. Nothing serious, but it’s enough.

“Christopher, Gregorio,” their names have both agents ceasing their argument, and Pride waves his phone, “Sonja has a lead. You two gotta drive out to her.”

Dwayne sees your head perk up in the background, but he keeps his attention on the two agents. “You’ll keep lunch warm?” Chris asks, a smile tugging on his lips as he backs away.

With a smirk and a nod of his head, they’re gone. And just like that, Dwayne’s alone with you once again.

A moment ago, time alone with you seemed like the thing Pride wanted the most. A chance to talk. But now, he finds it hard to will the words to come out. Dwayne focuses on the food because it’s easier than speaking up. Especially since you’re still silent at the table. Did you even want to discuss things?

It doesn’t matter. Dwayne already promised himself last night that he would at least try. “So, uh...” What a smooth start, that was. Pride clears his throat awkwardly, but despite a rocky beginning, you were finally looking at him. Just barely, though. It was enough. “Have you, uh, been thinkin’ things over?” He asks, and lets a couple heartbeats go by. “About Jason?”

You don’t answer right away, and Dwayne finds himself holding his breath until you shrug a single shoulder. “A little. I haven’t really decided on anything yet,” you answer lowly.

Well, at least there’s that. At least he wasn’t too late.

Your sandwich is finished, and when Dwayne motions it, you stand up and make for the bar. When you slip into the stool, he hands it over and starts one for himself. All is done in an awkward silence; Dwayne stopping and wondering if it’s really a good move to convince you to stay. That he can make you a hell of a lot happier than Jason ever did.

And you’re wondering why Pride keeps poking at this. He says because he’s worried, because you’re his friend and he doesn’t want you hurt. But for the first time, it dawns on you that your boss might have a hidden agenda. Such a possibility was hard to grasp; Dwayne Pride wore his heart on his sleeve, and hated keeping things from the people he loved.

But what else could be driving him, except for the hope that you two could maybe have more nights at the bar.

“Dwayne-”

“Y/N-”

Instantly, the both of you look up, meeting eyes but not saying much more. At least until Pride takes initiative, and he takes a deep breath. “I think it would be a mistake, going back to him,” he says, sounding more confident than he felt. You blink at his words, considering them, but Dwayne continues before you can say anything. “I know about guys like him, and he’ll just hurt you all over again. You’re my friend, and I don’t want that to happen.”

You’re my friend.

Well, looks like you have your answer.

“He wouldn’t,” you finally reply after a long few seconds of silence.

Dwayne frowns a little, leaning against the counter like he wanted to get closer, but his shoes are stuck to the ground. “And how can you be so sure?” He asks bluntly. What the hell could your reasoning be for defending him?

“Because he loves me. And he said he didn’t want to lose me.”

It was as simple as that. An answer even somebody as stubborn as Dwayne Pride could understand. Though, you could tell he’s having trouble processing it; his eyes just watch you, mouth open but saying nothing. His brows knitted in a confused frown, as if you weren’t even speaking English.

He’ll understand it eventually. “I’m gonna go. To see if Sebastian has anything,” you tell him. You stand and walk away from the half-eaten sandwich; funny, you’d been starving before. And now the thought of eating makes you feel sick.

Dwayne watches you leave, his heartbeat suddenly turning painful. And whatever he feels toward Jason, whatever animosity he has towards the other man for putting you through all this, Dwayne concedes that the two of them do have one thing in common:

They don’t want to lose you.

Even on the worst days, there’s something about the Tru Tone that can always make up for the hardships. The familiar music puts Dwayne at ease, and when he watches his team mingle and drink, a smile of ease comes over his face. They deserved a break, and they seemed to be getting it. Even you looked like you were having fun, laughing with Patton and Gregorio. The sight lifts the weight from Pride’s shoulders in a way he doesn’t expect.

As the night winds down, the members of his team slowly trickle out the door until it’s only you and Loretta hanging by the bar. Dwayne’s half-tempted to go over there and make idle conversation; it’s been a while since he’s been able to. But you seemed relaxed, and Dwayne doesn’t want to ruin that with any awkwardness. He’ll let Loretta keep your company.

Though, after a while, even the lively coroner needs to turn in for the night. Dwayne watches her hug you goodnight before you turn back to your drink. And it might’ve been his imagination, but Dwayne could’ve sworn his old friend looked back at him. Gave him this look, as if she somehow knew what was going on, and was scolding him for holding back. Were you talking to her about him?

Loretta disappears out the door, and Dwayne takes a breath before he saunters over nonchalantly while wiping a glass clean. “I’m surprised you’re here this late,” he comments lightly, offering a smile when you glanced up. And Pride’s words weren’t a simple ice breaker; you looked as tired as the rest of the team.

You pause before shrugging and finishing the drink in the glass. Its sharp taste causes a light wrinkle of your nose, and the sight keeps an easy smile on Dwayne’s face. “I dunno, I might turn in soon.”

He gives a curt nod, head motioning toward his coat. “Alright, well, I locked up the office before I left. So when you leave, just grab the key outta my right-”

“Actually, I was gonna stay at my place tonight,” you cut him off, voice softer than before with averted eyes. But even with the music and ambience, Dwayne hears it loud and clear. It makes him freeze, smile slowly fading. “Just to test things out, you know? See if Jason and I still work.”

The glass lowers to the counter with a sharp clink, and Dwayne catches your slight flinch at the noise. He wants to argue your decision. Ask if you’ve lost your damn mind, going back to him so easily. But would causing a fight fix anything? It may even have the opposite effect and drive you even further away.

Instead, Dwayne bites his tongue and leaves the glass on the counter to circle around the bar until he’s standing by the stool you’re in. And now, from this angle, he realizes it’s the very same stool you sat in those few nights ago. Dampened from the rain but warmed by his clothes and a glass of liquor. Dwayne remembers vividly how chilled your hand was when he touched it, and he wonders how warm it would be now.

You turn and look up at him with wide eyes, and judging by the faint blush, you realize the same thing. The familiarity of having Pride so close, towering over you but not in an intimidating way. Not with the softness of his green gaze, and how pained he looks.

“I didn’t want to say anything, because you’d just been through a bad break-up and you needed support. But honey, ever since you walked in here the other night, I can’t stop thinking about you. About what happened.” The words tumbled past his lips before Dwayne can stop them; the pure, honest truth that his heart’s been screaming at him to say but he never had the courage.

Until now. Until he was faced with losing you in the worst way possible. Dwayne sucks in a deep breath, determined to finish his thought before you can speak. “And if you really wanna to go back to him, I’ll support you, because I want you to be happy. But I don’t think he can do that, and I think you know it.”

A bold thing to say, but Dwayne believed it with every bone in his body.

There’s silence, now. The sounds of bar activity almost fade out of existence, leaving only Dwayne, his earnest green gaze, and the warm feeling of his fingers curling around your hand. Whatever happened right now, he wanted to know if the chill of your skin was really because of the rain from that night. Turns out, it was. Because your hand is as soft and warm as he expected.

You still haven’t said anything, and that worries him a little. The thought of ruining this friendship hurts almost as much as losing you to someone like Jason. But really, as soon as Dwayne pressed that little kiss to the corner of your mouth that night, the friendship was never going to be the same. He can accept that.

It was hard, accepting the fact that Dwayne was right. He’s been right all along, and you just didn’t want to hear it. Maybe it was the fear of crossing such a big line with your boss, or maybe being unwilling to leave a boyfriend you’d moved in with - wasted so much time on.

But those fears started to melt away the instant his hand curled around yours in the most natural way possible. And you realized it would be impossible to turn away from him again.

The apprehension in his eyes turns to barely-concealed happiness when your hand turns, pressing palms and fully enjoying the warmth Dwayne’s touch provides. Loving how right it feels. “I still need a place to stay,” you tell him softly.

You physically see Dwayne suck in a breath of relief, and a wide grin appearing on his face at those words. The words that started this whole thing, and they were music to his ears. He takes a step closer, once again standing between your knees, eyes so soft and warm, you wonder why you could ever have been so afraid to be more with him. “Stay with me,” Dwayne replies. And when his fingers tighten the grip around your hand, you nod a little.

There was nothing left to do but kiss him. To try and stifle the shivers that travel up your spine at the taste of him. Your free hand lands on his hip, curving around to his lower back, while Dwayne’s comes up to curve against your jawline. Tilting your head up gently so he can kiss a little deeper.

And there it was; the delicious little noise in the back of your throat that Dwayne was starting to forget. It sounds so good, he makes a promise to himself to never let anybody try to take it away from him ever again.

#ncis new orleans imagine #ncis nola imagine #ncis new orleans reader insert #dwayne pride x reader #dwayne pride imagine

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commentaryvorg · 5 years

Text

Danganronpa V3 Commentary: Part 5.1

Be aware that this is not a blind playthrough! This will contain spoilers for the entire game, regardless of the part of the game I’m commenting on. A major focus of this commentary is to talk about all of the hints and foreshadowing of events that are going to happen and facts that are going to be revealed in the future of the story. It is emphatically not intended for someone experiencing the game for their first time.

Last time at the end of trial 4 after losing our precious gentleman friend, Kokichi switched from the huge lie with a grain of truth to it he’d been telling before the execution to a different huge lie with a grain of truth to it while still dodging all responsibility for murdering anyone, Kaito’s worst fear came true, almost, but he desperately tried to paper over it and insist it wasn’t really true at all, Shuichi tried to reach out and help him even more obviously and literally and Kaito could not let that happen, and Kokichi was still thoroughly lying to himself about everything (as opposed to Kaito, whose lies are mostly just to everyone else).

Now it’s time to move from my favourite chapter to my other favourite chapter!

Voyage Without Passion or Purpose

This chapter title is about SPACE. Mostly the in-universe story in which they left the ruined Earth while none of them really wanted to, a voyage which then ended up with even less passion or purpose once they were brought back to Earth and started killing each other anyway. But it’s also relevant to the one person who actually does end up going to space in this chapter, who, in contrast to the intended point of his “voyage”, will still manage to have passion and purpose while doing so.

And on that note, let’s skip this chapter’s terrible excuse for an opening stinger (some meaningless Monokuma nonsense about his dead cubs) and get to the real opening stinger of the chapter, which is, of course, Kaito being totally fine, what else?

Shuichi: (Even in such a dark time, one of us was still bright, trying to cheer us all up…)

That’s exactly why Kaito’s going to be acting this way! It’s not for his own sake – it’s to keep everyone else’s spirits up, because right now they need that more than ever, and Kaito is better at doing that than anyone. If even Kaito was acting down and gloomy right now, things really would seem hopeless, and he can’t let that happen.

(Also I love how Shuichi’s metaphor describes Kaito as “bright”. He’s a luminary!)

Kaito: “Geez, don’t be stupid, guys. There’s no way I’d die, y’know? Cuz I’m Kaito Momota! Luminary of the Stars!”

Obviously. Because he’s the Luminary of the Stars. He’s an invincible hero, right? The notion that he could be weak and dying is just stupid.

Tsumugi: “Are you really okay…?”

People Not Convinced: 1/5.

Kaito: “I’m telling you! I’m just fine! I wasn’t feeling great yesterday, but after a good night’s sleep I’m all better. I’m 100% better now!”

Yes, because what everyone saw last night is definitely something that can be completely fixed with one night of sleep. If he tried to claim he’s still not at 100% but was at least feeling better enough that they don’t need to worry about him, it might be more believable, but this?

Himiko: “But… there’s no way you’d get better so quickly after coughing up that much bloo—”

People Not Convinced: 2/5.

Kaito: “I told you, didn’t I? I just coughed too much and cut my throat a little, that’s all.”

Nobody believed you then, Kaito; they shouldn’t believe you now. But maybe now that a night has passed, he’s hoping people might have slightly forgotten just how much blood there was, or might be able to be convinced that their memories are exaggerating it due to the shock of seeing any blood at all.

Or maybe he’s just hoping that if he stubbornly insists this enough times, people will start to think it might somehow be true anyway because surely he wouldn’t keep telling such an obvious lie.

Keebo: “Are you sure you’re not pushing yourself too hard? Or suffering from a chronic illness—”

People Not Convinced: 3/5.

(Kaito is absolutely pushing himself too hard right now and is never going to stop.)

Kaito: “Don’t be stupid! If I had a chronic illness, I wouldn’t stand a chance in astronaut training!”

This… works somewhat well as an excuse. Kaito himself has no idea why the hell he’s so sick, because it doesn’t make any sense for him to have had this beforehand considering he’s supposed to be completely healthy to be an astronaut. So at least he can use his own confusion about this to help convince everyone else that it therefore can’t be happening at all!

Kind of a tangential point: on my first time through I thought Kaito’s illness was a terminal illness that he’d had and known about his whole life. It would have made a lot of sense! Of course he’d be so determined to live life to the fullest, if he’d always known he was dying! It would have explained why he risked everything to get into astronaut training early, if he knew he wouldn’t live long enough to make it into space if he waited to do it the normal way!

…But what didn’t occur to me was Kaito’s point here that he would never have actually got into astronaut training if he’d been sick at the time. They obviously do medical exams as part of the screening, and they’d pick up on an illness like this.

It also wouldn’t have made complete sense for Kaito to have been terminally ill his whole life, since the way he deals with realising he’s dying during the story is… pretty terrible, suggesting that he was not at all mentally prepared for suddenly facing his imminent mortality. And in the end, it’s even more fun that way.

Kaito: “Seriously, you guys are worrying too much. Just cuz you all love me and can’t help yours—”

Of course they care about you and are therefore worried about you, you moron! You’re the one who made yourself so important to everyone! Stop acting like the fact that everyone cares about you is something to be brushed off as a joke!

Kaito’s determination to be an inspirational figure to others is delightfully incompatible with his insistence on not having anybody worry about him. Or at least it would be if there was something wrong with him, so good thing that’s not the case and he’s totally fine, right?

Maki: “…Of course we’d be worried.”

People Not Convinced: 4/5.

Kaito: “… My bad… But I’m serious. You don’t need to worry about me anymore…”

And of course, of all things, it would be Maki saying she’s worried – which isn’t just anyone being worried about him, it’s his sidekick – that’d be the thing to make Kaito drop the forced cheeriness and be slightly more real about things. Only in terms of how he feels bad about making people worry, though, of course. Not in terms of him feeling bad for himself.

Kaito: “I shoulda told you guys I wasn’t feeling well. I made you worry for nothing.”

Looks like he’s somewhat regretting pretending to be so Completely Fine last chapter. If he’d been just more honest that he was at least sick, then they wouldn’t have been so shocked at suddenly seeing the full extent of his illness out of nowhere and it might have been easier for him to brush over exactly how bad it was.

…Buuuut despite that, he is still insisting that he’s completely 100% better now and making that mistake all over again. Gotta be the most invincible hero he can possibly be!

(Either way, that wouldn’t remotely fix the problem of how they’re going to deal with you dying when it happens, Kaito.)

Maki: “…”

Kaito: “O-Okay… don’t glare at me like that.”

Maki is Not Amused at him being an idiot in a way that hurts himself and makes everyone worry about him more. She’s so caring, in her very distinctly Maki-like way.

Kaito: “If I do start to feel bad again, I’ll have you guys help me, okay?”

Kaito, you gigantic fucking liar. You’re feeling bad and need their help right now and you’re not asking for it.

This right here is honestly one of the worst lies Kaito ever tells, because he’s doing more than just stating something untrue. He’s actively asking them to trust him that if he does feel bad he wouldn’t hide it, while utterly breaking that trust even as he’s saying it. It’s bad enough that I think Kaito has to be less okay with this than the kind of lie he usually tells. It probably hurts him on some level to be saying this, and this just goes to show how desperate he is to convince them that he’s fine and stop them worrying about him no matter what it takes.

Kaito: “Now that that’s outta the way, let’s eat! Yeah, c’mon guys! Let’s all eat!”

(Kaito spoke cheerily, then left to go get his meal.)

And here’s a conspicuous subject change immediately after that, like he’s hoping people won’t think too hard about how awful he would have just been if he really is still sick and lying to them. All of this awful lying and desperately trying to convince them of something horrendously untrue – all that’s definitely “out of the way” now, because he says so. They’re convinced and it’s over and he doesn’t have to worry or think about it any more, right? Right.

Also, there’s no way Kaito is able to keep any reasonable amount of food down at this point. He’s going to have to force himself to eat at a normal pace in order to not worry anyone further, which is only going to cause him even more suffering later when he’s on his own.

Shuichi: (…Is there really nothing wrong? With what I saw yesterday… how can I act like nothing’s wrong…?)

People Not Convinced: 5/5.

Literally nobody is buying that Kaito’s okay. His display this morning has quite clearly been over-the-top forced cheeriness and pointed insistence cutting people off the moment they question him, and everybody can see through it.

…Partly.

Keebo: “Despite Kaito’s remarks, he should probably receive medical attention just in case…”

Tsumugi: “Now we’ve got another reason why we need to get out of here.”

Maki: “And on top of that, we need to do it fast.”

Because while they are suggesting this, nobody seems to be acknowledging just how completely necessary it is to get Kaito medical attention as soon as possible. So while, evidently, everyone still believes that he’s sick, he has managed to successfully convince them that at least he’s probably not dying. I imagine they’re thinking that if he really did know he was dying, that’s something big enough and serious enough that surely, surely he wouldn’t be so stupid as to not let them know that.

…But, no, he… really is entirely that stupid. Guys, you are massively underestimating how incredibly idiotically selfless Kaito is.

(Well, Tsumugi does know he’s dying, but of course she’s not going to do anything that might save his life and is just going to continue to act vague and oblivious while he continues to die because of her.)

When Kaito comes back, everyone’s moved on to speculating about the outside world that Gonta saw and despaired over.

Kaito: “We can’t figure that out just thinking about it, so there’s no point wasting your brainpower.”

Keebo: “But we can’t simply not think about—”

Kaito: “Sure, there’s a chance the outside world is messed up because of Monokuma. But making us worry about it is what Monokuma wants. He’s using it to put pressure on us.”

Kaito is still really good? He’s been lying through his teeth, but that’s all for the sake of keeping everyone’s spirits high and stopping them worrying, and now he’s continuing to do that in a way that doesn’t require any lying, too. Wondering what could be out there without having any way to know for sure is just going to make everyone anxious for no real reason, which is exactly the kind of thing Kaito’s always working to try and prevent.

(I wonder if it’s occurred to him that his own illness might also be something Monokuma did to put pressure on everyone by making them worry. Because that isn’t actually too far from the truth.)

Kaito: “Kokichi and Gonta just snapped under that pressure.”

It’s really interesting and notable that Kaito includes Kokichi as having snapped under the pressure of what he saw! Given that Kaito obviously has no way of knowing that Kokichi realised the outside world was a lie, this is a reasonable thing to think. (And he did kind of snap when he saw it anyway, just for a different reason.) Evidently Kaito never quite bought Kokichi’s claim that he did everything purely for sadistic glee. I would hope that Kaito is also sensible enough to realise that Kokichi didn’t truly want the mercy kill either, since he actively pointed out that he sabotaged it himself. So I’m not sure exactly what Kaito’s mental idea of Kokichi is right now, but it does seem to involve him having snapped and lashed out as a result of seeing the outside world, making him messed up and pitiable rather than just inhumanly evil. If anyone was going to see through Kokichi and realise something fairly close to the truth about him, of course it would be Kaito.

Kaito: “The outside world is probably fine.”

Himiko: “You’re such an optometrist… Can you prescribe some rose-colored glasses for me too?”

Himiko’s line here is so freaking clever. It sounds like she’s just mispronouncing “optimist”… and then she goes and makes the sentence actually make sense for the word “optometrist” while still being about optimism. I love it. …It’s honestly a little too clever to be really befitting of Himiko, but still, good one, localisers.

Keebo: “…As a detective, what are your thoughts on this, Shuichi?”

Gotta ask Shuichi about this, of course. If anyone’s figured this out, it would definitely be him, right?

Shuichi: “I-I’ve considered a few theories, but I can’t say for sure…”

Himiko: “Well, that’s understandable. There are barely any clues.”

…But, yes, funnily enough, Shuichi has not magically figured it out when he has basically nothing to go on. I wouldn’t be surprised if the possibility of an apocalypse has crossed his mind given what they know about the meteorites, but there’s no way he’s going to claim that and make everybody freak out unless he has concrete proof of it.

Kaito: “…”

Shuichi: (Since the incident yesterday, Kaito won’t look me in the eyes.)

It’s appropriate that the first moment Shuichi is brought into the conversation, which draws our attention to what’s going on with Kaito here, is when people asked for Shuichi’s help because they assume he can figure out everything. Even though they’re assuming that wrongly in this case, the simple fact that everyone clearly looks up to and relies on Shuichi so much still really bothers Kaito, and after last night’s trial, his jealousy is worse than ever.

And the thing is, Kaito still shouldn’t even be jealous of Shuichi! Everyone is relying on Shuichi’s detective skills, but everyone has also been relying on Kaito’s luminary skills to keep their spirits up and stop them worrying throughout this very conversation. He’s just as important to the group as Shuichi is, just in a different way. But… Kaito can’t see that, because his façade doesn’t change how weak and helpless he feels beneath it. Recall that he’s in constant pain by this point – he can literally feel the extent to which his words aren’t true. He’s convinced that all of the effect he’s having on everyone right now is built entirely on lies and would completely fall apart if they realised that. (In reality, that is very definitely not the case; after all, everyone already knows it’s at least partly a façade.)

Shuichi: (He must still be angry.)

No, Shuichi. He’s not.

It never made any rational sense for Kaito to be angry at Shuichi even during the trial; any moments of him acting that way were him deflecting his pain and not the real point of how he felt. It makes even less sense for him to be angry now that he’s had a whole night to sleep it off and calm down from the irrational lashing out he did and realise what was really bothering him. It also makes no sense when you think about the fact that Kaito’s way of expressing anger at someone would never be to passive-aggressively ignore them like this – he would just come out and tell them how he feels. He’s not doing this because he’s angry.

I mentioned Kaito’s jealousy of Shuichi a moment ago, and while that’s contributing, that’s also not the main point. If he was simply jealous, that wouldn’t stop him from engaging with Shuichi like he normally does – Kaito was also jealous of Shuichi throughout case 4, but even as it was starting to get to him more and more, it didn’t change that he was still trying to to help and support his sidekick like always.

The problem is that Kaito doesn’t feel like he can help and support Shuichi any more, not after having shown himself to be so obviously and undeniably weaker than Shuichi in running away from the truth. He did everything he could to cover that up during the trial not out of jealousy so much as out of his irrational conviction that he needs to be strong and invincible in order for Shuichi to look up to him and be inspired by him. Throughout the last chapter, Kaito stressed again and again how much he wanted to help Shuichi, how he would always be there for him to support him and carry his burdens. By proving himself to be so much weaker than Shuichi in the trial, and by making things even harder for Shuichi by lashing out the way he did, Kaito is convinced that he’s failed every word of those promises he was so desperate to make.

The guilt and shame of his perceived failure hurts Kaito so much that he can’t deal with it, so he’s… not. He’s just pathetically trying to pretend Shuichi isn’t there and that the problem doesn’t exist.

And it’s not just about his own perception of having failed, either. If Kaito thought that Shuichi even possibly hasn’t noticed his weakness yet and there was even the slightest chance that Kaito could still support him even a little by continuing to act heroic and inspiring at him, by god would he keep trying, even though he’d feel it was a desperately fragile façade. (Just like he’s still trying to do that for everyone else despite them having seen his illness.) But since he’s not even attempting to engage with Shuichi right now, he has to believe not only that he’s utterly failed Shuichi far more than he has anyone else, but also that Shuichi knows it and there’s no point in trying to pretend otherwise. That “aren’t you my sidekick? Was that just a lie?” from yesterday’s trial that suggested the idea that Shuichi knew he didn’t need Kaito? Kaito still believes that.

Shuichi: (But… I had no choice… I had no other options… My deduction… wasn’t wrong. If I hadn’t identified Gonta as the culprit, we would all be dead. For the rest of us to survive, Gonta had to be sacrificed… There was nothing I could do…)

Shuichi is only assuming that Kaito is angry at him because of his own anxiety and tendency to blame himself. On the surface of his thoughts here, Shuichi is being somewhat sensible and rational about it – he’s able to assert that what he did wasn’t wrong and was necessary for everyone to survive. But still, the way he’s wording these thoughts here give the sense that, even if he’s not quite consciously blaming himself, he still feels like he failed Gonta for not having been able to do anything to stop him being executed. Despite knowing he wasn’t in the wrong, Shuichi still feels like the bad guy – and because of that, it makes sense to him that Kaito could be blaming him too, so he gets stuck on that rather than thinking about other reasons Kaito might be acting this way.

But no, Shuichi. There really was nothing else you could have done, and so it’s not your fault. Kokichi and Monokuma (and the mastermind) are the ones who killed Gonta, not you. Kaito knows this just as much as everyone in this room except you.

(For the duration of this bit of Shuichi’s inner monologue, we’re forced to look at a flashback image of Gonta being impaled during his execution, which I do not appreciate at all. But I understand why it’s there, because Shuichi would have that horrifying image burned into his mind to the point that he’d recall it every time he thinks about Gonta’s death, so this serves to show us how Shuichi is still haunted by that.)

Kaito: “I’m glad we’re talking about how to escape, but…”

Kaito, do you know why everyone got onto the topic of trying to escape? It’s because they were thinking about how to help you. If you told them the truth, they’d be even more desperate to escape in order to save you, so much so that they might actually manage it!

If Kaito realised this, it might actually be enough for him to be willing to bite the bullet and tell them he’s dying. Unlike a certain few people last chapter, Kaito would do anything if he believed it could help everyone to escape. So I genuinely don’t think this has or ever will occur to him – apparently his mind just won’t even entertain trains of thought involving everyone worrying about him, or everyone risking themselves for him and not the other way around, long enough for him to realise that this’d be what would happen. The notion of having himself be prioritised above everybody else really is just that unthinkable to Kaito.

Kaito: “…where’d *he* go? Kokichi…”

Shuichi: (The instant Kaito spoke his name, a nervous energy shot through us.)

Apparently Kokichi’s name is having something of a Voldemort effect on everyone right now. Except of course for Kaito, who freely said his name – because Kaito doesn’t quite buy that he’s the evil sadist he claimed to be.

Tsumugi: “We can’t just let… that person… be. He’s… a little too dangerous. No… not just a little… Because he… He enjoys watching us suffer. His face just screams that he’s having fun whenever he sees us suffer.”

Tsumugi, of course, also knows that’s not true, but she’s the one most stressing that and talking about it like it’s definitely true. I guess she’s figured that if Kokichi is going to paint himself as a massive villain, she might as well play along with that, since it’s a good story.

Maki: “If we weren’t in this killing game, I would’ve assassinated him already.”

Maki’s still stuck in that mindset that killing people is the best method of solving problems that don’t seem to have an easy solution. Her directing this mindset towards Kokichi is specifically because he’s apparently a dangerous monster who’s made himself seem like he needs to be stopped before he hurts anyone else. She always kind of hated him on a personal level, but she wouldn’t have said this about him last chapter.

Maki: “Ironic… The rules of this killing game actually make it harder to kill.”

Kaito: “Maki Roll… that’s not good. Playing this killing game is just what Monokuma wants us to do.”

Maki: “…I know.”

And this is why Maki does try and kill Kokichi later this chapter – because she’s going to believe he’s the mastermind and therefore that killing him won’t be “playing the game”. Given that, in her eyes, there’s no reason for her not to. Kaito’s argument here is valid, but he’s also forgetting to make the wider argument that, killing game or not, murder isn’t the right way to solve problems, even really big ones like this, and she should try and find something better.

Himiko: “Nyeh? Is Maki Roll a nickname for Maki? That’s a good nickname.”

I appreciate this build-up to the fact that Himiko is indeed going to start calling her Maki Roll eventually, but… how did you not notice this until now, Himiko? Kaito’s been calling her that for a chapter and a half.

Shuichi: “Kokichi told us his objective was to win the killing game. He wouldn’t risk a murder that would so obviously implicate him.”

You’re thinking too narrowly, Shuichi. Kokichi has redefined “winning” to mean something other than getting away with being the blackened. His new win condition definitely could (and will) involve a murder which obviously implicates him.

Monokuma shows up to hand out the “prizes”.

Monokuma: “I can’t refuse you all, not when I’m all alone and outnumbered.”

Kaito: “…Outnumbered?”

And here’s Kaito realising that there’s no Exisals anymore, meaning that fighting back is finally a viable option. Monokuma mentioned that suspiciously readily, so I wonder if he prompted that train of thought out of Kaito on purpose so that this chapter’s story would hopefully take some interesting turns.

Monokuma: “But I’m used to being alone. Back in the day, I was alone from start to finish…”

Yes, and all of us preferred it that way, thanks.

Maki: “…What do you want to do, Kaito?”

Kaito: “I’m worried about Kokichi, but… There’s no point worrying about him all the time. Alright! Our first priority is to solve the mystery of this academy!”

Look at Maki turning to Kaito for leadership! And Kaito is genuinely being a pretty good leader – everyone else was leaning towards just worrying about Kokichi, but if they do that all day they’re never going to get anywhere and discover anything new. Kaito’s always about spurring everyone to take action.

Kaito: “Let’s investigate!”

Shuichi: “Alright… Ah, I’ll hold onto that…”

Kaito: “Oh… that’s right…”

Shuichi: (Without meeting my eyes, Kaito placed the key into my palm.)

Apparently Monokuma specifically gave the keys to Kaito, leading to this delightfully awkward exchange, made even more so by the fact that giving the job to Shuichi has everything to do with why Kaito’s so upset. I love the irony that it was Kaito who first decided that Shuichi should be the one to take the stuff and solve the puzzles back in chapter 2. What started out as a gesture from Kaito to help boost Shuichi’s confidence when he needed it by making him feel useful has turned into a reminder of the fact that Shuichi is by far the most useful and reliable person here and doesn’t appear to need Kaito’s help at all.

And the thing is, this job still doesn’t need Shuichi! Less than ever before, this time, since the items are literally keys and therefore there’s no puzzle involved. Kaito could respond to Shuichi here by going, “Nah, it’s fine. They’re just keys, right? Let me handle it this time.” – but he doesn’t. Even though Kaito is jealous of Shuichi and hates how Shuichi is supposedly so much more of a hero than him (which isn’t entirely the case – Maki just turned to Kaito to lead them, after all), he doesn’t try and act like Shuichi’s superiority is anything but the truth or try and take the spotlight away from him. Kaito believes that he genuinely is inferior to Shuichi and doesn’t deserve to be taking any of the credit that rightfully belongs to someone as awesome as him.

(And that’s painfully self-deprecating but also actually pretty admirable of him. Kaito is jealous of Shuichi, but it’s not a malicious kind of jealousy that makes him want to take away what Shuichi has that he doesn’t. Kaito is never that kind of person, even at his lowest.)

Keebo: “Kaito? Shuichi? What’s the matter? You both seem different today.”

Maki: “…Read the mood, Keebo. It’s fine, so let’s go already.”

Since Keebo is the worst at reading the room out of everyone here, we can assume from this that everybody else has very much noticed the awkwardness between Kaito and Shuichi and has decided to just completely ignore that elephant in the room. If only they weren’t doing that. They’re all probably assuming Kaito is just angry at Shuichi and therefore that asking what the problem is and trying to get them to talk about it would only ever make things worse… but oh boy are they wrong.

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