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sm-entertain-me · 4 years

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You Asked for It (M)

Contains: Kim Gunhak (Leedo) x (f) reader, adult language, smut, explicit depictions of unprotected sex, dom!Gunhak, sub!reader, brat!reader, brat tamer!Gunhak, teasing, tiny bit of exhibitionism, marking, rough sex, daddy kink, nipple play, light choking, hair pulling, overstimulation, creampie.

Synopsis: Oh how you loved to get on Gunhak’s nerves, especially when it came to you purposely making Gunhak hot and bothered when he couldn’t do anything about it. Today would be no different as you would come to watch practice as you always do, the perfect idea in mind. However, it might not be so perfect once Gunhak finally gets his hands on you.

Sitting in the corner of one of RBW’s practice rooms, you watched your boyfriend intensely as he practiced the killing part of To be or Not to Be with Dongju, the two of them mirroring each other perfectly as they moved their bodies fluidly to the music. You weren’t the only one watching them as Hwanwoong and Keonhee decided to sit on either side of you, drinking their waters quickly as they tried to catch their breath since they were practicing the part just two minutes earlier.

“Gunhak hyung is looking better and better each day,” Hwanwoong commented as he watched Gunhak’s facial expressions through the mirror, earning high praise considering Hwanwoong is the king of facial expressions. Both you and Keonhee nodded in agreement as the two men placed their finger guns against their temples to continue the choreo. While the members were too busy admiring his facial expressions, you couldn’t help but gulp as Gunhak turned as part of the choreography, staring at you and winking as he finally turned his head to the side to continue making your heart skip beats. Little does he know that he’s not the only one capable of getting hearts racing.

After about a minute more of practicing the choreography, Dongju and Gunhak fell to the floor to feign exhaustion, garnering laughs from the members as Seoho took this upon himself to run and jump on the men laying on the ground, adding to the chaos even more. You couldn’t help but laugh at the members, admiring the close relationship they have with each other. It was at this time that you almost forgot your plan, almost.

As Seoho was dragged away by his arms by Youngjo, Dongju and Gunhak got up and made their way over to you since you were eagerly waiting to give them much needed water bottles. Dongju gave you a warm smile as he thanked you and immediately began slugging down the water, barely giving himself time to breathe until you heard a huge gasp at the end of him drinking. When it was Gunhak’s turn to get water, you simply looked up at him and shook your head with a small smirk, “No, this one’s for me. You can get your own.”

Gunhak looked at you confusedly as you opened the water and began to drink slowly, making sure to keep eye contact with him as a dribble of water can be seen flowing down your chin and dripping on your conveniently white shirt. Well, in reality, it was one of Gunhak’s but that wasn’t going to stop you from wearing it. Gunhak’s eyes widened as he watched you continue drinking the water, picking up on what you were doing. He knew how you were when it came to playing games with him, but he never thought you were going to pull something like this in front of his members. Albeit, this is one of your tame strategies, but who's to say you were going to stop here? No, no, no. You want to have fun with Gunhak, even if he’s not having any.

You continued to drink the water slowly, purposely letting more water drip onto your shirt to reveal the color of your lace bra underneath, earning even wider eyes from Gunhak as he lurched forward, grabbing the water from you and causing the rest of the contents to soak your shirt. Realizing what he had done, Gunhak lurched forward to cover you and preserve your decency as the members were starting to take note of your affinity for lace undergarments. Unfortunately for Gunhak, it seems that by the way that Youngjo and Keonhee gulped, they could definitely see what Gunhak has the pleasure of coming home to every night. Man did they envy Gunhak.

Gunhak pressed his hot torso against your cold, wet body, wrapping his arms around you and giving you one of his smoldering stares, “What the hell? Are you trying to show everyone your bra?” You took a minute to think about your response since this is your chance to dial up the heat and get Gunhak even more hot and bothered than what he already was from this morning. Let’s just say you had to use your good foundation on a couple of areas visible to the public.

“Well no,” You responded, finally thinking of a way to prolong Gunhak’s torture. You then decided to wrap your arms around Gunhak’s neck, pulling him close to you and leaning to capture his ear lobe between your teeth for a small nip before responding in a sultry whisper, “I wanted to show much more baby.”

You could feel Gunhak’s grip tighten around your waist and noticed the way his shoulders stiffened at your response, giving you the reaction you needed. The room around you fell silent as everyone stared at the two of you, waiting to see what was going to happen. Honestly they didn’t know if Gunhak was going to take you right then and there or not, but they wouldn’t necessarily be mad at the idea. Instead, Gunhak simply leaned in to ghost his lips over your ear and whisper in his captivating voice, “You can show me later when you make it up to me, brat.” Goosebumps began to form all over your body at the thought as Gunhak pulled away from you, sending a wink your way before turning back to his members, “Okay, where were we?”

Practice dragged on for a lot longer than you anticipated, mostly because of the pooling sensation going on in between your legs courtesy of your loving boyfriend who had been eye fucking you the remainder of practice. A couple of the members had caught on but didn’t dare speak about it because they didn’t want to get Gunhak even hotter than he already was. Bastards. They never let you have any fun.

After ten more grueling minutes of watching your boyfriend sweat and breathe heavily, practice finally came to a close as the members did their chant and came in for a group hug. Of course, one member was a little eager to get out of the group hug and take care of a certain little lady in the corner who has been driving him crazy the whole time he’s been trying to concentrate. The second Youngjo dropped his arm from around Gunhak’s shoulder, Gunhak was making a B-line straight for you, towering over you as he smirked and outstretched his hand to help you up, “Come on princess. We need to take care of something at home, don’t we?” Gulp.

The car ride home was eerily quiet as Gunhak had his hand on your thigh the whole ride, but never once spared you a passing glance. His eyes remained only on the road and occasionally to the radio to change the station if he wasn’t vibing with a particular song. You couldn’t help but notice that all the songs Gunhak deemed good enough had to do with sex. For example, Gunhak left Animal by Nine Inch Nails on and even squeezed your thigh a little harder when the lyrics “I want to fuck you like an Animal” played through the speakers.

Your torturous silent treatment from Gunhak finally came to an end as he pulled into the driveway of his house, removing his hand from your thigh for the first time since he had begun the drive home, noticing the red lines from his fingers gripping your otherwise pristine skin. Gunhak then took his hand to place it under your jaw, gripping your chin and forcing you to look into his hungry eyes, “I want you upstairs with nothing on, laying prettily on your back for daddy, do you understand me? If not, I will have to punish you.” A glint of mischief flashed in your eyes at the word punish, something that Gunhak chose to ignore for your sake.

Ever the rebel, you followed only one order that Gunhak gave you: go upstairs. All you did was go upstairs and plop down Gunhak’s bed, sitting cross legged and scrolling through your phone to watch various music videos in defiance. Gunhak should know better than to “threaten” you with punishment since you had been trying to get him to do that to you all day, hence the whole water incident. Although you didn’t really mean for Youngjo or Keonhee to see your intimates. In the midst of you watching a random video, you heard a deep growl from the entrance of the room, “What do you think you’re doing?”

Smirking to yourself, you simply raised your eyes from your cell phone but never moved your position to look at a very pissed off looking Gunhak. His eyes were narrowed at you as he had his arms crossed over his chest, the deep V of his shirt showing off his collar bones beautifully. It seemed like he was waiting for you to respond, but you chose to give him a shrug instead of using your words, another thing that causes Gunhak to get riled up because of his intensely dominant persona. That simply won’t do it for Gunhak, you know that.

Gunhak’s eyes narrowed even more as he stepped through the doorway, closing the door with his foot as his eyes never faltered from you. You watched as he slipped his hands under his shirt, lifting it high above his head as he threw the piece of clothing to the side to reveal his toned torso. You licked your lips as you admired every single peak and valley of his body, but Gunhak was not rewarding you for your defiant behavior in the slightest. Just as you were loving Gunhak for his intensity, you were soon hating it as Gunhak was at the edge of the bed, leaning forward and grabbing onto both your ankles. One second you were at the head of the bed, the next second you’re at the foot of the bed with your legs dangling over the edge, straddling your boyfriend’s waist and biting back a moan as his bulge pressed against your dripping core.

“I thought I told you to have no clothes on and be on your back?” Gunhak asked in a tone that could only be described as pure sex, glowering down at you as he did it. He could feel your thighs tremble slightly around his waist, knowing he had struck a nerve with you. Gunhak smirked as he leaned down to eye level with you, his lips mere centimeters from yours, “Do you want daddy to punish you, huh brat? Well, you asked for it...”

“At least you’re on your back now, but I still need you naked. And since you can’t follow instructions, I guess I’ll do it for you.”

Gunhak quickly placed his hand on your chest and pushed you back forcefully, but not too hard that he would hurt you. As your torso bounced back up from the force, Gunhak crawled up your body to pin you beneath him, leaning down to stare at you intensely. It was as if he was stalking his prey as he smirked down at you, placing his lips directly on the juncture of your neck and shoulder, forcing a moan from your lips. Your hands immediately flew to Gunhak’s golden locks in a fit of passion, but they were soon placed above your head to keep you in check. Gunhak was reminding you that this was a punishment.

As Gunhak kept your hands above your head, his other hand went to work on your shirt and since you decided to be a brat and not listen to him the first time, he had no problem forcibly ripping the shirt from your body. Normally you would be mad, but this is Gunhak’s shirt and it was just so hot that you couldn’t help but moan out from both the sight and the feeling of Gunhak’s teeth sinking into your neck lightly to leave a beautiful shade of purple. You just hoped that Gunhak would be a little more delicate when it came to removing your bra since this set was kind of expensive.

When Gunhak was happy with his handiwork of removing your shirt, he pulled his lips away from your neck to admire his masterpiece and to stare hungrily at your breasts that were barely being contained by the thin lace of your bra. “For me?” Gunhak asked rhetorically as he pulled his hand off of your wrists and made quick work of your bra, removing it and flinging it on the floor to focus on the new area of his obsession. Remembering to keep your hands at bay, he wrapped his fingers around your wrists again and pinned them to the pillow above you as he leaned down to suck on your pebbled nipple, swirling his tongue around the bud expertly to hear as many moans as he could from you.

“Fuck Gunha-ahh,” You began but quickly received a slap to your inner thigh, hearing a slight pop as Gunhak removed his lips from your nipple, glaring into your eyes but not saying a word as you should know what you had done wrong. Quickly realizing your mistake, you corrected yourself after wincing from the slight burn that was now on your thigh, “I-I mean daddy.” Gunhak smirked at your compliance, rewarding you slightly by paying attention to the neglected mound while his free hand began to slide down your body until you felt his slender fingers slip past your shorts and hook into your panties. At first you thought Gunhak was going to dip his fingers into your aching hole, but you soon felt cold air in between your legs as Gunhak peeled the garments from your body to leave you completely bare for him.

Gunhak admired your body for quite some time, studying every part of it while mostly focusing on the slick seeping out of you and dripping onto the sheets below. He had to think of what to do to you and how to make it a punishment, quickly figuring out a plan as he smirked devilishly at you. You were quickly flipped over onto your stomach, Gunhak leaning over you to grab your hands and place them exactly where he wanted. Instead of placing them directly below you and hoisting you up in his favorite position, he placed one hand on the top of the headboard, instructing you to hold on, and then pinned the other one flat against the wood itself with his hand on top, “Stay.”

The position Gunhak had you in was you pressed against the headboard with your back arched to have your soaked core on display for Gunhak’s pleasure. It’s as if Gunhak wanted to combine two of his favorite ways of fucking you into one: fucking you against the wall and fucking you from behind. He didn’t really care if it was hurting your back since he knew you liked positions like this anyway, and it wasn’t a reward for you. Again, it’s a punishment, and it’s just about to start.

When Gunhak was sure you would stay in this position and stop acting like such a brat for the moment, he went to work discarding clothes of his own. You could hear him pull off his sweatpants and you could only imagine how big he was since you had felt how hard he was when he dragged you down the bed earlier. Licking your lips at the thought of Gunhak’s cock being swollen and angry from your teasing, you tried to turn and take a peek but were quickly stopped by Gunhak’s hand coming down on the side of your head and pinning it back to the headboard. A tsk sound came from Gunhak’s lips as he expressed his disappointment in you, “I told you to stay. Normally I’d put you in yoru place for that, but I’m so fucking hard that I don’t care anymore. Now be a good girl and take what I give you.”

A few languid strokes of Gunhak’s cock followed by some labored grunts and he was finally ready, placing one hand on your hip to steady you as he pressed his torso to your back to lean in and whisper, “What’s the safeword babygirl?” “Red,” You responded breathlessly as you could feel Gunhak teasing your dripping hole with the tip of his cock, barely entering and coming back out to spread the precum that was sliding down the shaft slowly. Gunhak smirked to himself as his grip tightened on your hip to steady you one last time, “Good girl.”

Gunhak gave you no warning as he pushed his hips forward, burying himself all the way to hilt as his hips pressed snugly against your backside, earning a ragged groan from Gunhak. Your mouth was hanging open as you tried your best to take all of Gunhak as he instructed, not giving you much time to recover as he immediately began his assault on your pussy. Gunhak’s nails dug into your hip as he pulled your hips back while he thrust into you to create an even deeper stretch, making you arch your back unconsciously to feel the addictive sensation going in between your legs.

“Fuck you’re so tight baby,” Gunhak praised as he placed his other hand on the other hip, quickening his pace and throwing his head back whenever he heard you moan out. He absolutely loved hearing you moan and since you were facing the headboard, he couldn’t get the full experience. After a few more deep strokes, Gunhak took one of his hands and threaded his fingers through your locks, making sure he had at least three good strands before pulling back and leaving a burning sensation all over your scalp.

“Louder baby,” Gunhak demanded as he thrusted deep inside of you, the sound of his hips slamming against your backside causing you to arch even further. At this point, you looked like a folding chair by how much Gunhak had arched you, but you didn’t care because at this angle, he was hitting everything and more. You decided to indulge his request of being louder by letting out a scream as he threw himself deep inside of you, dragging his cock along your most sensitive spot.

With the pace Gunhak set on you, it would only be a matter of time before you came crashing down from your high, but now was not the time to think of that as Gunhak let go of your hip and opted for grabbing the headboard with both hands with a grip so strong that you thought he would’ve broken it by now. As Gunhak found a new grip, the depth his cock reached increased to something you had never felt before, groaning out from the sensation. His lips were so close to your ear that it sent chills up and down your spine, another moan speeding past your lips. You could feel your resolve disintegrating by the second.

You never thought it was possible but Gunhak managed to fuck you even harder, his biceps flexing as he held onto the headboard for leverage to continue burying himself the deepest he could inside of you. You didn’t know how much more you could take as you felt yourself getting starry eyed and then your orgasm came crashing over you in an instant, forcing you to scream out for Gunhak as you struggled to find purchase on the head board, “Daddy!”

Gunhak could feel every spasm of your walls, biting his lip to suppress his groans from the intoxicating effects of your pussy pulling him in deeper. While you continued to scream out for him, Gunhak continued to fuck you senseless since he hadn’t cum yet and now was not the time to stop him. You on the other hand felt your legs give out, slumping down into the pillows below you while Gunhak kept his grip on the headboard, glancing down at you to make sure you were okay. Since he didn’t hear the safeword, he continued.

Creaking could be heard above you as the headboard was practically coming apart with every bruising thrust Gunhak gave you, determined to get you to another high a lot quicker than you would’ve wanted. “Please daddy,” You hiccupped beneath him, most of it being muffled by the pillows you were being pinned into. “I can’t t-take anymore.”

“Come on princess, just one more. Do it for daddy,” Gunhak pleaded, the strain in his voice becoming apparent from just how desperate he was to cum. He was feeling so good, almost euphoric from this new angle that he was wondering why he hadn’t fucked you like this sooner. There was no time to think about it though as Gunhak’s hand came around and gripped your throat, pulling you up so that your back was flush against Gunhak’s torso for the very last time tonight.

Only two more pleasingly deep thrusts was all it took to have you cumming hard around Gunhak for the second time, this time you were sure that your vision was going black from the intense high you were feeling. Luckily you didn’t have to worry long as Gunhak couldn’t hold off anymore himself, his hips stirring against your backside as you felt him release inside of you, the warmth of his cum starting to be felt on the outside of you just from the sheer amount he gave you. It was probably because of how long you had been teasing him, but you weren’t complaining.

After about a minute or so of recovering in the position of Gunhak laying on top of you and hyperventilating to get his breathing back to normal, he slid himself out of you slowly to make sure not to cause you unwanted overstimulation. The overstimulation before was on purpose, but since your punishment is all done with, Gunhak wanted to take care of you as best as he could considering you took the hardest fucking Gunhak had ever given you like a champ. It’s a shame you had to act like a total brat to get to this point, but desperate times call for desperate measures.

After Gunhak got the both of you cleaned up, he thought it would be a good idea to run a bath for the both of you since he was proud of how well you were able to keep up with him and you deserved to relax. As Gunhak was drawing the bath, you couldn’t help but smile as he sniffed the bottle of lavender oil before placing a couple drops in the water. Gunhak could feel you staring at him so he decided to put the bottle down and walk over to you, wrapping his arms around you and pressing a kiss to your forehead, “Let’s get you in that bath, huh princess?”

You nodded softly as you allowed Gunhak to scoop you up in his arms, walking you carefully over to the porcelain tub and setting you down gently, making sure the water was to your liking and fixing your hair to make sure it wouldn’t touch the water since he knew you hated that. Gunhak gave you one of his eye smiles and kissed your cheek before turning to leave, but you didn’t want him to. Instead, you refused to let his hand go, causing Gunhak to look at you with a cocked eyebrow. “Don’t leave.”

Despite the moment being very cute and innocent, Gunhak smirked a little as he nodded, “Alright but just know that if anything happens in here, you asked for it.”

It was a risk you were willing to take.

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random-mha-thoughts · 4 years

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Fake (Tamaki x Reader)

Pairing: Tamaki x Fem!Reader

Someone messaged me with the request: “I was thinking about if one of the boys had a fem friend and they are hanging out one day and some guy won't leave them alone so they act as if the boy is their boyfriend to make the guy go away and after the boy actually really liked being called her bf and they realize the feelings they had for them were not as platonic as they first thought? Always thought this was cute!!" They also gave me the option to do Bakugou or Tamaki, so I went with Tamaki

Genre: Fluff

Word count: 2,220

Tags: @yuki-osaki @liviitehe @iamsoftsodonttoucheume-blog @bunnythepipsqueak

a/n: Thank you for the request and the kind messages dear! SO sorry this one took a while, I wanted to take the time and do Tamaki properly and I was also generally just burnt out so I really hope I did it justice and you like it!

I meant to finish this last night because I thought I would keep it short, but instead it ended up being 2.2k words?? And I fell asleep writing it (no joke, when I woke up there was a huge line of 3s on my screen) and I finished it during the day today.

"I've always thought cotton candy was a magical type of snack," I comment, happily chomping away at the sugary treat melting in my mouth. "It's the type of thing that makes you feel like a kid again!"

"Mm, I guess so," Tamaki responds, taking another bite of his takoyaki.

"Do you want a bite?"

The boy's indigo eyes barely gaze down and it before he immediately takes the bite for himself. His munching really makes him look childish as the treat is supposed to do. "I was never fond of cotton candy. I guess I just naturally prefer animal treats because of my quirk."

"Yeah, that's understandable." I stare off into the distance, eyeing the giant roller coaster looming in front of us. My heart quickens at the sight, the anticipation building inside me. "Tama, we gotta get on that coaster!"

At the word, his face goes completely blank. "C-Coaster?"

"Come on Tama, please?" I whine. "We've only been to all the carnival games and the mild rides, just one?" I know my poor friend has terrible fear of...everything, but I gotta have my fun too! And I wouldn't want to leave him out from my experiences, nor would I want to leave him alone in this crowded place.

His quivering figure attempts to breath in a sigh. "O-Okay, but you have to hold onto me when we get on, okay? You know how much I hate that h-high up."

I loop an arm around his shoulder, pulling him all-too eagerly towards the coaster. "I'll be right next to you! It won't be that scary, I promise!" I don't know if he believes me, but he keeps in pace with me as I speed-walk over.

Once we get there, we find the line is a good twenty minute wait to get in. My feet tap impatiently in the concrete floor. Tamaki and I are polar opposite friends; I'm the loudmouth while he's more reserved, I take risks while he keeps to the safe route, I chase more thrilling adventures while he'd rather keep to the more tame ones. I don't mind putting his comfort first most of the time, but the one thing I can't give up is being at an amusement park and not going on the coasters. They practically call to me, dangling themselves in front of me while screams entice me with promises of thrill. It's like the architects know how to attract crazies like me.

When I open my mouth to comfort Tamaki - who's staring up at the coaster like he's about to die - the person behind him catches my attention. My lips form into a solid line and I grab my friend's forearm just a hint rougher than I usually do.

The boy snaps out of his reverie quickly. He understands the gesture and leans in. "What's wrong?"

"I think the guy standing behind us has been following us for a while," I whisper low enough so only he can hear. Tamaki's eyes widen and he's about to turn around when I make a face for him to freeze and not look back. "Just act natural, I'll take care of it if he tries something."

Not long after we keep carrying on our conversation, Tamaki takes a call on his phone and the guy finally speaks up. "This ride must be pretty swell if the line's so long for it."

"Yeah, I'm pretty excited for it," I respond. As long as his intentions are still up in the air, I'll be polite to him. No reason to be hostile right off the bat.

Rocking back and forth on his feet, he asks, "Do you come here often?"

I shrug. "Not really, only every once in a while. My work and school keep me busy."

"I see." He pauses for a moment. "So are you too busy for a relationship?"

Oh for fuck's sake. "I'm not in the market for a boyfriend right now, thank you."

The guy scoots just a tiny bit closer to me. "Come on, I'm sure you'd change your mind if you got to know me better. We could just talk for now."

He's persistent. I suppress the urge to roll my eyes into the back of my head. "I don't think that's a good idea." I don't even want to look this guy in the face. Maybe if I show how uninterested I am, he'll get the message and back off. I move up in the line when the people in front of us step forward.

"You won't know until you try." He touches my arm, "Just give me-"

I back my arm away and I glare holes through his skull. "Why are you touching me?"

"You just weren't looking, I thought it was pretty rude," he shrugs.

I'm almost appalled by how innocent he thinks he is. How is that okay? "We just met two seconds ago, you have no right to touch me at all."

The guy lets out a dry laugh. "I don't know why you're being so uptight and closed off."

Bitch, did you just call me 'uptight'??!! I'm about to punch this guy right up to the front of the line.

"H-Honey? What's wrong?"

My head whips around a full 180 degrees to Tamaki, who's finished his call and his eyes are shifting between me and the stranger. "I-Is he bothering you?"

My stomach does a flip recalling the term of endearment he used earlier. Thankfully, I know what he's trying to do. "Yeah, babe. This guy won't leave me alone." I shift over towards my friend and grasp his arm. If we're gonna play this, we're gonna play it right.

The strange guy analyzes the two of us, shifting his eyes back and forth. "This guy is your boyfriend?" He's clearly unconvinced.

"Yeah, you got a problem?" I cock an eyebrow, slightly stepping up to assert my dominance.

After a few more awkward seconds, the guy snickers. "You're dating this guy? You're barely touching him and he's shaking like a little bitch."

The fury shoots right through me. No one calls my Tamaki a little bitch and gets away with it. I'm aboutta end this man's whole life-

Tamaki places a calming hand on my own before I can fully explode on him. "I-It's okay, sweetie, it doesn't hurt me."

The term immediately washes me over with warmth that cools down my hot anger. Not to mention my heart's beating a little faster at this affectionate contact.

The moment breaks when the idiot in front of us laughs again. "You guys can't be dating. You don't even look like a couple."

"We don't have to be all over each other making out to look like a couple," I roll my eyes. I've had just about enough of this guy. "Some of us can keep it in our pants, you know."

"Yeah, but you guys haven't done anything couple-y."

I snort. What an idiot. "First of all, thanks for admitting you're a stalker who's been watching us. Second of all, we shared snacks earlier, I'm sure you must have caught us."

"Big whoop, that's nothing!" An evil smirk spreads across his face. "Why don't you two kiss, right here and now? Prove me wrong."

The rogue thought of kissing Tamaki enters my mind like a bullet and my heart skips a beat. I shake myself out of that. "We don't need to take orders from someone like you. You probably get off to that because you're so lonely, don't you?"

"No need to take it that far, sweetie-"

That's the last straw. Before I can do anything, Tamaki's wraps a tentacle around the guy's body, lifting him up and constricting his movement temporarily. His gaze is blank and he nods for me to go ahead with my confrontation. We make a pretty good team. I turn back to the guy, pinning him with my deadliest glare. "You've crossed so many lines today, Mr. Harasser. We've both had just about enough of your stupidity. If you don't want us to report you to police for sexual harassment, you'd better run along and stop following us. Or else my boyfriend here will dangle you off the side of this roller coaster, got it?"

One look into mine and Tamaki's eyes removes the color from the guy's face. Knowing Tamaki, he's got his hero face on, and I know first hand how intimidating he can look when he does that. As soon as Tamaki lets him wriggle free, he runs off to the back of the line alone.

"What an ass," I huff, the image of the guy running with his tail between his legs amusing to me. "Some guys just don't know when to quit." I cling onto Tamaki's arm and rest my head on his shoulder. "Good thing you were here to help me get rid of him, hm?"

"Y-Yeah, I guess." His face turns five shades redder.

It feels weird to be close to him like this now, even if we've shared our personal space like this many times before. I'm reminded of Tamaki calling me "honey" earlier, sending a fresh set o f shivers through me. I never knew I needed to hear that from him before. Tamaki's always been a great friend and we've become so close. I never realized just how close we've gotten.

"Y-You know," he scratches his ear with his free hand, "I'm kind of...glad I came with you today. I don't think I'd like it if someone else was with you to act as your fake boyfriend..."

Oh. That's a pretty bold and straightforward statement, and it's coming from Tamaki of all people. The implication finally hits me at once and my own face heats up. "You mean-"

Tamaki grabs my arm suddenly and starts shaking even more violently than normal. We'd made it to almost the front of the line, almost about to get into the car. "I-I-If I s-survive this," he gulps, "I'll finish. B-But you have to h-hold onto me like you promised!"

I knit our fingers together, the rush of both getting on the coaster and hearing what he has to say mixing together, even I can't help shaking slightly in anticipation. I don't let go of his hand as we get on and secure ourselves in. His eyes are screwed shut as we're slowly pulled to the top of the hill. I squeeze tighter on his hand. "You can do this Tamaki, I'm right here."

He lets out a cute little whine when the car was pulled just enough to the front for us to look down at the impending fall.

"Just scream and let it all out!"

The coaster finally pushes forward and my stomach lurches. Tamaki lets out the loudest scream out of everyone on the ride with us. The rush is intense, our bodies flinging and the wind gusting against us. I start screaming myself out of pure pleasure, still grasped on his hand that's squeezing the blood out of mine. Even as we pull into the start again and we're unlocked, Tamaki's eyes are sealed shut.

"Tama, it's over, open your eyes now," I giggle.

"I-I'm too dizzy."

I help steady him to get up and out, even wrapping his arm around my shoulder to steady him as we descend the steps away from the ride. I can feel his entire body shaking down to his knees. "How do you feel?"

It takes a few moments of scrambled mumbles before he can say something coherent. "That was scarier than raiding the Shie Hassaikai."

I chuckle again at his nerves. "At least you're a little more guaranteed to live from this. And you survived."

As we finally cross through the exit gate, he sweeps me aside, albeit shakily, pushing our foreheads together. "I did," he breathes before pressing his lips to mine. I hold onto his back and pull him closer, melting into his quivering kiss. My heart beats faster after just calming down from the ride.

Tamaki pulls away from me and pushes his forehead on my shoulder. "Give me a second, my head hurts."

His little whining softens me, threading my hands in his hair to calm him down. "It's okay, baby boy, take a second."

He stiffens at my pet name for him. He lifts his head up and finally gazes at me. "Y-You're pretty great, as a friend and a person. You're the only person I'd want to be a pretend boyfriend for, and I hope I'm the only one you'd do that for me too."

"Why would I want to be fake girlfriend for someone I want to actually date?"

His face turns even more crimson in response to that. "O-Oh. Okay."

"But if we're gonna date, you're gonna have to get used to going on roller coasters with me," I tease him.

And just like that, all that blush drains from his face and he shivers again.

I can't help kissing his cute little nose and wrapping my arms around him. "I'm just playing with you, Tama. But at least every once in a while, just so you can get over your fear. And you'll get a kiss and ice cream afterwards."

The adorable smile on his face threatens to melt my knees into mush. "Okay!"

#tamaki x reader #tamaki fluff #my hero academia #boku no hero academia #amajiki tamaki #female reader #request #tamaki imagine #tamaki scenario #mha tamaki #bnha tamaki #mha x reader #bnha x reader #mha fanfiction #bnha fanfiction

285 notes · View notes

runtedfiction · 4 years

Text

A New Normal

A/N: quarantine fic *airhorns* this was originally tended for zutara day 4: celestial. is that a bit troll? i don’t know

AO3

* * *

A hundred days into quarantine, Katara caves. It’s a quiet Sunday morning, light streaming in through the windows. But an alarm goes off on her phone, harsh metallic rings breaking the morning silence, and she bolts out of bed.

“Zuko,” she says. He grunts in response, and she frantically taps at her phone to unlock it. “Zuko! ”

“What.”

“I’m going to do it. I’m actually going to do it. Oh god, I hope this works.”

“Urgh.”

“Zuko, wake up. I’m going to do it.”

He turns towards her and slides one eye open. Katara is pulling out her credit card and breathing hard and punching in numbers, and this is an awful lot of noise for what feels like 8AM. “What.”

“I’m going to buy a Switch.”

“Oh god,” he says, closing his eyes. “Not this again.”

“Look, it’s actually going to work this time, I’m actually at the checkout page, it’s taking me to order confirmation--holy shit, it worked!”

“Congratulations,” Zuko yawns, syllables thick with sleep. He pats the empty pillow next to him. “Come back to bed.”

* * *

At dinner the next day, Katara shows him the shipping notification.

“It shipped!” She’s so excited, and he can’t help but smile. “It’ll be here next Friday!”

“What games are you going to get?” Zuko asks, poking at the pickled cucumbers. “And let me know if I made these too spicy again.”

“Oh, they’re really good, don’t worry. And Animal Crossing,” she says in between bites. “The one that everyone’s been playing.”

He snorts. “You’re going to play it for two weeks max.”

“How could you say that?”

“It’s true.” He shrugs. “Remember that sourdough phase? At least when you’re done with it I can get Breath of the Wild or something.”

“Shut up,” she says, stealing a cucumber slice from his chopsticks. “I’ll play it for a thousand hours. And the sourdough would’ve been better if you didn’t nearly kill the starter!”

“Ok, sure, sure” he says, skeptical. “I’ll order Breath of the Wild tonight.”

She pouts with a “hmph,” and he reaches across the table to grab her cheek.

* * *

Next Friday rolls around, and Katara works from the living room so she can keep her face glued to the window.

“Slow day, huh,” Zuko asks in between meetings. She makes a face, and he kisses her quickly. “I hope your package gets stolen, and you have to see it.”

He darts away, laughing, before she can jokingly get her hands around his neck. When her package actually does come, he can hear her bolting out of the apartment. And just as quickly, he can hear her run back in again, probably for a meeting or something.

Her voice comes in through the door of their home office. “Yeah, these designs look great! Let me share my screen. People can see this, right? I spun up an Express app for a proof of concept, and I think that…”

She sounds slightly out of breath, and Zuko laughs before realizing he forgot to mute himself in his own meeting. Shit.

* * *

Later that night, Katara practically buzzes with energy.

“Holy smokes,” she keeps saying. The game only has a few minutes left to download. (She bought a digital copy, much to his chagrin, but Zuko’s learned that there are some battles he’ll always lose.) “Holy smokes, it’s actually going to happen!”

“Are you excited?” He asks, his elbow digging into her shoulder. “Man, you really shouldn’t sit on the couch all day hunched over like that. It’s bad for you.”

“I know, I know,” she says. “Oooh, right there, that’s good.”

Then the game is done downloading, and Katara grabs the controller eagerly. “Isla Yue, here I come!”

Zuko raises an eyebrow. “Isla Yue? What happened to Ember Island?”

“I realized it wouldn’t fit in the character limit,” she says. “But it was a strong second choice--oh my god, look, it’s those little tanuki boys!”

* * *

For the next few weeks, Zuko wakes to find Katara gently tapping at the buttons on her Switch. He learns all about Tom Nook and picking weeds and how Katara wanted peaches as a starting fruit but settled for apples. Her store upgrades, she starts making waterfalls, and she even dresses one of her villagers in outfits that Zuko wears. This is how he learns about Sherb, and about how badly Katara wants Cherry as a villager (“we’d just vibe, you know?”).

She plays in between meetings, during lunch, and before bed. She resists the urge to play at the dining table or during their evening time, and for that, Zuko is grateful.

“I’m losing you to Tom Nook,” he laments one night while chopping vegetables. Katara is manning the marinated meat on the stove--it’s Korean night tonight, and Zuko’s stomach growls with anticipation--and she laughs.

“I promise you that you aren’t.”

“I really am though,” he says. He moves to the sink to clean the knife and she turns around to kiss him on the cheek.

“You aren’t. Plus,” she adds, “there’s going to be a surprise tonight. I’ll show you, I think you’ll like it!”

Zuko kisses the top of her head and wraps his arms around her waist. “Let me guess--you’re leaving me for Sherb.”

"Very funny, and I wish."

* * *

After dinner, they sometimes watch TV, sometimes workout, sometimes read, sometimes try a random quarantine hobby. Zuko misses the gym, but it’s fun to use Katara for weight training, and it’s nice to save the membership money. It also helps that she turns up the ogling by a thousand percent when he pulls out the free weights.

“You have no shame,” he says, breathless, after she jokingly pats his butt for the millionth time.

“Keep up the work, champ.”

“Do I get any rewards?”

“Yup, you get to play Animal Crossing with me tonight—there’s a meteor shower in Isla Yue.”

Zuko jokingly groans, and she smacks him once more for good measure.

* * *

Katara’s island is gorgeous at night, lit with paper lanterns and star fragments. She lets him walk around and catch a few fish; it’s the one part of the game that he’ll willingly play.

“Goddammit,” he mutters. “So many sea bass tonight, haven’t seen those before.”

She laughs, and continues to watch him make the worst catches he’s made in a while, before she grabs at his arm. “Wait, wait, Zuko, look up, it’s a shooting star! Press A, press A!”

He looks up and presses A. Her character does an adorable little bow. “Did I wish on it?”

“Yup,” she says. “Look how cute, oh my god.” She places her head on his shoulder. “You can stay like this for a few minutes; they’ll come in groups.”

“Ok.”

And they pass a few minutes like this, her head on his shoulder, both of them admiring Isla Yue’s sky. They’re in the middle of Katara’s flower field, and the lilies sway in the wind. It’s a full moon tonight.

“When,” Katara begins, hesitantly. “When do you think we’ll be able to see things like this again?”

“You mean when life will be normal again?”

She nods. It was all they talked about in the beginning of quarantine, this prediction of when “normal life” would return, but now that daily life has settled into this rhythm--working from home together, cooking together, all the small things that go into sharing your life with someone else--he hadn’t really thought about it as of late.

“I don’t know,” he says. “Post vaccine, which could be next spring, next summer, next winter--it’s hard to say.”

“I know,” she says, voice small. He grabs her hand with his free one, the other intermittently pressing A to wish on stars. “And I know that we’re more than lucky to have work and be happy and healthy, but sometimes I can’t help but think that it’s unfair and it’d be great if life were like Animal Crossing.”

“I know,” he says. He squeezes her hand and kisses the top of her head. “Life’s unfair, but I’m lucky to have you.”

“I love you.”

“Love you.”

They play together for a bit more before Katara falls asleep in his lap, and he tucks her into bed. Days like this bleed together, but most of the time he doesn’t mind. Life is boring and the world is on fire, but she’s the best partner he could have in these times.

Zuko doesn’t tell her this, but he ends up fishing and wishing on stars for the rest of the night. And he even begins thinking of personal wishes to accompany the stars. He remembers that Katara once told him that the game feels like therapy. She’s definitely right.

I want everything to be ok by next summer.

I want people to be recognized for their full humanity.

I want to be happy with Katara forever.

#zutara #zutara fanfiction

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heli0s-writes · 5 years

Text

VII. Blessed Be the Mystery of Love

Pairing: Steve Rogers x Reader x Bucky Barnes Summary: An epilogue. Six months later. A/N: The last chapter! And with that, Mystery of Love has concluded :)

A large hand paws lazily at your back as you fix the blouse you’d just slipped on. It had taken you almost an hour to get out of bed and even longer to get ready today, so you’re in a bit of a mood when the same hand starts walking itself up your shirt. You slap it with a sharp thwack and it retreats with a sniveling whine.

There’s a rumbling of laughter that follows as you slip your blazer over your shoulders.

Rolling your eyes, you land them on the bed where your two lovers lie. Steve is nursing his offending hand under his cheek as he peers up with his signature ocean gaze. Bucky is lying on his back, inoffensive limbs tucked neatly behind his head, telling you: look at me, I’m a good boy.

They’re both shirtless, taut chest and abs radiant in the chiaroscuro light your vanity table provides. The striped comforter comes up to reach just beneath their waists and you know for a fact Bucky’s completely nude this morning, but avert your gaze.

“Brat...” You shoot at Steve instead, who pouts even more. In the mirror, you swipe on a quick layer of mascara before slinging your purse over your shoulder.

Crossing your arms at the foot of the bed, you regard the men lying in it, eagerly awaiting your attention. It’s such a comical sight, you think, as you step from one heeled foot to the other, blazer fixed neatly and buttoned. You, nearly 70 years younger than them, look like some kind of sugar-momma or dominatrix, in complete command of two compliant subordinates.

As naughty as they were, keeping you up last night after they returned from a three-day-long mission, you couldn’t help but melt under their coquettish-bitten lips and puppy-dog sulking eyes. You’d been woken up past midnight and weren’t able to sleep until nearly three in the morning, and they both knew you had to be up at six.

It wasn’t entirely their fault, of course, since it only took half a mischievous bite to your neck from Bucky before your clothes were completely shed.

“Boys, this is ridiculous.” You want to be stern, but their absolutely endearing expressions melts your mood right off. A tiny quirk of your lips appear and they quickly match your countenance.

“Does that mean you forgive us?”

Your smile says more than enough. Yes, of course. Always.

“Good. I’ll drive.” Steve rises from the bed and Bucky follows. They head into the restroom to brush their teeth before pulling casual clothes on in a rush, eager to spend as much time with you as possible. You’d been taking the car by yourself for the past week, but you do love it when Steve drives. They’re much better company than what your radio can give you.

At the car, Bucky pinches your bottom and climbs in before he shuts the door.

“You know,” Steve grumbles, squinting at the rearview mirror image of Bucky nipping at your ear, “I thought you’d sit up here with me.”

“Nah, pal. I’m much better company. ‘Sides, you don’t need any distractions while you’re driving. But me? I’m a free agent back here.” He starts peeling your skirt upward, “How bout you, hon?”

You only laugh, catching Steve’s eye before intertwining your fingers in Bucky’s and kissing him, leaning your head against his shoulder. Steve puts on a song and starts singing along.

The drive is a lengthy one, and it gets even more tiresome when you get into the city. Steve is in bumper-to-bumper traffic as you gaze off in contemplation.

The last six months of your life have been the absolute nuttiest, you think, watching the streetlights go past against a gradient of orange, pink, and blue hues. Sunrise has started coming up a little bit later, now that it’s well into fall, and the chilly morning air lets Steve roll the windows down a bit.

He’s taking you to work, and it’s a procedure that you’re still trying to get used to.

You started two months ago at Cooper Union- just a visiting artist position, but still one that you take very, very seriously. Byrne kept good on his promise after the show and had given you a list of opportunities to interview for. It’s all by choice, anyway, since the profit from the show totaled more than enough to set you up comfortably for at least five years. And that’s saying quite a lot considering that you live in Manhattan of all places.

You wanted to start your job with baby steps to avoid overwhelming yourself in an academic setting. Being a visiting artist gave you a lot of freedom and just the right amount of responsibility.

The position entailed no more than three public speaking events, your own studio to develop a show at the end of the semester, and the opportunity to work closely with a mixed group of graduate and undergraduate students as their mentor. You were required to be on-campus at least once a week, but you usually went in twice just to keep your office open.

So far, it had been smooth sailing.

You look from Steve up front to Bucky at your shoulder, sighing happily and nuzzling deeper into his chest, flicking his nose with your finger. He growls playfully in response.

This had been smooth sailing too, save for a couple of rainy days and one very turbulent storm. All natural and expected aspects of being in a relationship. The biggest fight you’d had so far was a furious row after a mission where you were so cross afterward that you didn’t speak to either of them for an entire night.

You had sat in on the debriefing out of curiosity and learned that they’d taken an impulsive risk that had put their lives in more danger than the mission anticipated. Even worse, this was a regular occurrence. Tony called them the “Super-Annoying Soldiers”.

That night, you slept in Bucky’s room and ordered them into Steve’s.

The next morning, they both came in, stammering, apologetic, promising that they would never, ever be that careless again. The make-up session lasted four hours and you emerged around noon thoroughly convinced and dog-tired.

The three of you learned new things about each other every day.

For example, Bucky religiously ate bad Chinese take-out and Steve danced in the shower. Steve loved it when you pulled his hair and Bucky loved pulling your hair. The three of you spent nights fumbling all over each other when they had time at the compound, and if one of them happened to be away, the other two would Facetime when possible. It wasn’t a necessity, by any means, it was more of consideration; they were also content to let each other be with you privately.

Jealousy never arrived to bother any of you.

In fact, you often let the boys have time to themselves. Especially on your days at work. There had been many evenings when you’d come back to the compound after dinner and they were cuddled up on the couch, enjoying a movie or a nap. It was the sweetest thing. Sam and Clint took many pictures and both turned red after you casually mentioned that they should see pictures of what else the Steve and Bucky get up to when you’re not around.

“Because... they get up to a lot. I’m not always a necessary part of the puzzle, you know.” A single wink was all it took for your friends to high tail it out of the room.

It was a running joke with the team that the three of you had a very adventurous sex life together- as predicted by Tony. Admittedly, yes, it was exciting, but beyond the sex (and there was quite a lot of it- so many positions and scheduled water breaks), you were more than happy to just sit with a cup of tea and a board game, or going for walks, or watching them spar. You had even started to go on short jogs and spent time working out with them as well. It was painful at first (leg day was fine, chest day was the devil’s invention), but the showers together afterward really made up for it.

Every day brought something new to the table.

Last night, after Bucky fell asleep on the edge of the bed a little past three, Steve settled in the middle and you laid your head on his chest, kissing the sweat-slick skin beneath your lips.

“Hey...” You began slowly, pressing your mouth to his neck.

“Mhm... Hey back,” he parroted, slurring through the sleepy fog. “What’s on your mind?”

“Honestly, kind of a lot...?” You felt yourself come down from the high peak of love and marching up a peak of anxiety. You had started to babble about the mechanics of domesticity because the television prompter in your brain began to marquee way too fast. This ritual of sleeping together and waking up together had been blossoming into some future fantasies that you’re not sure how to bring up. You supposed this was as good of a time as any.

Steve was a bit stunned from your sudden outburst, “Hold on honey... Let me wake up for this.”

“Sorry... But Steve,” You rambled onward, “What about being Captain America? And how does that I don’t know- what does that mean when it comes to a family? Marriage? Children?” Your face burned at the thought of a little blue-eyed toddler running around by your feet, perhaps fair-haired, or rowdy and cleft-chinned.

You’d been dreaming about it at night, blanket forts and stuffed animals, a nursery, and a crib, and a mobile full of stars. The rational side of your brain chastised it- you were too young, you wanted to keep exploring the world, getting used to your position, and your relationship. The rational side also continuously brought up the fact that the father of your children would be one of two Super Soldiers- Jesus, maybe both, whose lives were always precariously balancing on … God, you didn’t know what.

Underneath you, Steve buzzed awake—as much as he could.

“Well… I’d love that.” He exhaled a deep breath, arm coming up to rub your shoulders. “Always wanted to be a dad, but let’s start with uh, maybe sleep for now. What do you say?”

You mumbled against him, “I didn’t mean to sound like I’m rushing you into those things, by the way. I suppose it was just a natural discussion to bring up.”

“I know, sweetheart,” Steve had rubbed his nose against your ear, breath warm and inviting. You distinctly felt a smile grow on his face. “I also know Bucky would appreciate being in the loop. Let’s save it for the morning.” He placed a hand on Bucky’s bare back, drawing circles along his spine as he groaned in his sleep.

You kissed your man sweetly, and before you knew it, you’d fallen dreamlessly asleep in his arms.

“Ready, honey?” Bucky squeezes your thigh, snapping you from your daze. He’s a little concerned that you’ve been so quiet for the whole trip, and grumpy that he’d been subject to Steve’s awful bellowing. The car’s parked on the street, about a block away. “You okay?”

“Yes, sorry... just thinking about our conversation last night.”

Bucky’s eyes light up delightedly, “Kitten, I don’t know if dirty talk counts as a conversation... but I’m all ears.”

“Buck, you fell asleep early. We talked about havin’ kids, pal.”

“Mhmmm—what?” After a pause, with you and Steve exchanging concerned looks, Bucky grips your hand so tightly it almost hurts, “Babe, I... I... wh-” The expression on his face changes from shock to concern, then finally, it knocks the air from your lungs when he looks at you.

“I can’t... I can’t.”

You see the storm over the horizon in Bucky’s eyes. His blue fades into grey, and billowing clouds have cast a shadow over the sloping mountain of his nose and the sharp plains of his cheeks. You can only console him with a sad smile and kisses along his jaw. He’s lost, now, in the past of his actions, in the raging tempest of thunderous roars and lightning strikes in his mind. It’s all scorched earth and barren wasteland to him. It’s filling your chest up with embers—not for yourself, but for him, and you are struggling to speak calmly.

“It was just a thought, Buck. For the future. Don’t think about it too much.”

You exit the car, kissing both your Soulmates softly. Steve gives you a final lingering look before you disappear down the campus street, starting to fill up with student bodies. Bucky is motionless in the back as Steve shifts gears and takes him back home.

They spend the next hour arguing in the bedroom, taking their squabble from the car to the garage, to the common area where Natasha raises an eyebrow too sharply for Steve’s comfort. Bucky’s pulling his hair and stomping, Steve’s sitting with both fists clenched on his knees, head leaned back in frustration. It’s moved beyond just the possibility of children, and deeper into the territory of Bucky’s repentance.

It’s a conversation Steve is sick of having because he doesn’t think Bucky needs to repent for anything. Steve has physically fought for this; he’s bled for this. But every time it seems like he might have pushed his boulder to the peak of the hill, it rolls back down on top of him.

“Buddy, you gotta stop.” Steve admonishes, feeling the aggravation building, deflecting a glare from his friend, “We’re not talking about if you deserve kids, Buck. We’re just … talking about kids. That’s it.”

“Look at me, Stevie, what th’ fuck am I gonna do with a kid?” Bucky sputters and waves his arms around, and then he takes his flesh one and points it to his cybernetic one. “Look at me!” There’s a panic in his eyes- the same one that’s lasted for over an hour with no sign of quelling. “She... sh-she can have your baby. I’m not... I can’t be a part of that.”

As soon as the words leave his mouth, he feels himself clench up with a devastating truth that hurts too much to imagine.

Steve crosses his arms and stands, using his full height to stare down at Bucky. He’s not that much taller, but it’s enough for Steve to say with his body I’m bigger than you and you need to listen to me. Bucky flinches at the hard stare and puts both hands over his face with a groan.

“There is no that without you.” Steve says firmly, arms tucked under each other so tightly his biceps bulge like boulders against his chest. He’s trying not to get angry because he knows it would be like squirting kerosene into a burning building. He needs to smother the fire, not encourage it.

“There is no this without you. We are Bound, all three of us. Buck, this isn’t happening tomorrow, or even next year, or even the year after that. We just talked about the possibility of it in the future.” His voice grows softer the longer he talks, and Bucky’s fear begins to slow to his pace, fizzling out like a candlelight.

“Pal, can you blame her? She’s twenty-three. She’s in love... with you of all people. Gee, Buck. Someone’s in love with you so much they think about havin’ a baby with you... And ya run for the hills.” Bucky mulls it over as Steve approaches, and there’s regret sinking into his stomach as he thinks about your sad eyes in the backseat of the car. He thinks about how you still kissed him before you left.

“Shit. I screwed it up, didn’t I? God. We got the sweetest girl and..” He grimaces, eyes flickering with anxiety.

Steve pats him on both shoulders before pulling him into his arms. Bucky is hard, tense muscle and warm breaths as he leans into Steve and they embrace until he calms down again.

They’ve always been happy to give and receive hugs as friends, often patting each other on the back fondly or comfortingly. It’s been moreso as of late- a result of spending more time together intimately. The hugs are more tender, more loving.

When Steve wakes up in the middle of the night in-between two bodies, he often looks over at Bucky, too, admiring the way he looks when he’s at peace. It’s something Steve’s wanted to see since he found Bucky; it’s something he sees more of every day. He wants to keep it that way.

“Think she’ll forgive me?”

Steve can only laugh as he brushes the hair out of Bucky’s face, rubbing his knuckles over the bristles along his jaw. “Yeah, Buck. Of course.” The sigh against his shoulder once more is a response all on its own.

Steve thinks back to the night he woke up and you were sitting on the sofa crying. It was your first time without Bucky since the three of you had started sharing a bed together. It was the first time you hadn’t slept with both in almost a month; it was long enough to pine for and ache about. You were used to being in the middle, he had thought, so maybe piling pillows on the empty side to simulate a presence might help. You stirred anyway.

He quietly sat down next to you, kissing your bare shoulder that peeked out from under the throw blanket. There were tears in your eyes as he cradled you in his arms.

“I miss him too. He’ll be back soon.”

“It’s not that…” You sniffled, “I was just thinking about... something Pietro told me.” You turned to him, crossing your legs and opening up the blanket to invite him in. Steve wrapped the edge as much as he could around his large frame and pulled you into his lap.

“What’s that?”

“Remember that day I came back, and you saw me by the pool?”

He nodded. Of course he remembered. He had spent three days in agony, feverish at night, freezing in the morning, waking up dripping in sweat. His chest hurt every waking moment and only ached even more in Bucky’s presence as if it was the Binding’s reminder to them that there was a missing piece that wouldn’t be forgotten. Seeing you by the pool that day extracted all of Steve’s pain in a single scoop. He had almost slipped running out of the room to catch you.

“Pietro said... There are two meant to love you. You never have to wonder, it is wonderful.”

He didn’t understand why you looked so sad until you glanced over to the bed where the pile of pillows had been kicked off, exposing the vacancy. “Do you think… Bucky knows that? I don’t wonder about the future and think that either of you will leave me, and I don’t think about me leaving either of you.”

You paused to wipe your cheeks, “But does Bucky know? Does he still think that he’s unlovable? He never tells me the truth, but I see it when he’s just looking at me. It hurts, Steve. I’m so worried all the time. I don’t want him to wonder about us.”

Steve Rogers kissed you that night with the intensity of a lover leaving for war. He held onto you so tightly you thought you might sink inside of him. He made love to you on that sofa in the darkness and caressed the tears on your cheeks so sweetly you cried. He had seen more and more of your heart every day, and it filled him with so much love it sometimes hurt. You loved them, together, equally, and separately, with their individual flaws and quirks.

And God, Steve thinks, there are a fucking lot of flaws.

“Buck,” Steve says, taking his friend’s face in his hands, fingers running through the dark mane. “She loves you. She loves you more than she knows what to do with. You can’t treat yourself like this. It hurts all of us.”

Another silence envelopes them as Steve holds onto him, massaging the back of his head tenderly. They break apart after another long moment before sending each other half-smiles and understanding nods, affirmations exchanged through smiles and blinks. Bucky speaks first.

“I love you too, Steve.”

The boys arrive around two to pick you up and wave from the car, parked outside of the Art Building. The students surrounding you eventually let you go but stare open-mouthed at the shiny classic Mustang and Bucky’s vibranium-black hand holding your favorite drink. It’s his own personal white flag. The conversation is casual throughout the whole ride as they sit up front and you in the back. You tell them about your day and the work you’ve been up to, mentioning a few favorite teaching moments with students. They listen intently and coil their intended conversation slowly around your own, reading your mood with prudence.

At the compound, it’s turned up many notches when Bucky falls to his knees and lays his head against your tummy.

“I’m s’rry, babe.” He mumbles “S’rry I jumped t’ conclusions and... I’m such an idiot. Please don’t be mad with me, even if I deserve it.” His twang comes back when he’s emotional. The slurring of his ‘r’s and dropping his vowels brings a slight pinch to your chest when you think about all of the things he’s been through and how he could have so easily have just been another soldier returned from war, living out the rest of his days as a Brooklyn boy. But the path he’s been on has led him to this moment, to this darkness inside of him.

You pat his head gingerly, watching the smile grow on Steve’s face as he stands beside you. You know this is his doing, pulling Bucky from his own trap and bringing him back out. You’ve spent enough time with him to know that without help, Bucky will torture himself for days, biting off his own tail in a box of his own design.

“Bucky, the problem isn’t that you jumped to conclusions; the problem is that you think you’re an idiot. And that you think you deserve it.” You’re stern with him but continue to pet his hair.

He nods, over and over frantically, but you’re not sure if he really hears you. He wants this moment to be finished, you think, and so for now you’ll let it be. Sometimes you had to pick the right battles to fight, and for now you were content with this battle ending how it will. You don’t mind repeating it later, you know Bucky needs more assurance than most, and you’re happy to a part of that constant thing for him.

For now, he wants to be touched. It’s how he knows you still love him.

So you do. You kiss him all over. Steve latches on to his wrist and takes him to the bed. You both undress him and then yourselves. Bucky lies on his back, still sorrowful and regretful, but as the two of you hang over him, fingers intertwined, he feels his sadness vanish into the sheets.

Between your soft hands and Steve’s firm grasps, Bucky falls apart completely.

When Bucky goes to starts the bath, you spend a few minutes lying in bed with Steve just to caress him. You want to let him know too that he’s just as important, that you care just as deeply and passionately for him.

“You’re amazing.” He says, eyes dancing under your gaze, “He’s just stubborn. Always has been.”

“Mmm,” you smile back, “Reminds me of someone I know.”

“Who’s that?”

You pretend to contemplate it before planting countless kisses on his lips. “Come on, he’ll get fussy if we’re late.”

He gives you a piggy-back ride to the tub.

They take turns lathering you up and each other in the water, in-between playful splashing and affectionate touches. The three of you are a sight to behold, all covered up in soap suds with mops of wet hair. Steve dutifully washes the shampoo from Bucky’s locks as you lean your head on his shoulder, patiently waiting your turn. They start getting into a powwow about whose turn it is to do the laundry next and you space out, smiling into the mass of bubbles when you feel Steve’s fingers spitefully leave Bucky’s hair and go to yours.

You know he’s stubborn. Steve is too. And so are you.

It doesn’t really bother you when Bucky gets into one of his moods, because you know he’ll always come back. It doesn’t bother you either when Steve’s impulsive on missions because he always comes back too. They both know that they must… simply because you’re home expecting them. Unless they’re acting dangerously- which, they’ve promised that they’d stop- you give them all your trust, just like you’ve given them your heart.

You have the rest of your life with them to figure the remainder of it out.

It sinks in, like the soap and bubbles, like the perfume of the shower gel and the gentle motions of Steve’s hands on your body. It sinks in that for the rest of your life, you’ll have them, both of them. No matter where your paths take you, you’ll be walking hand-in-hand with two perfect Soulmates by your side.

In the background, Bucky and Steve nag and jab each other with their sarcastic taunts and jibes of past embarrassments. There’s name calling and noogies, pinching, and snapping of teeth against fingers. Bucky blows bubbles in Steve’s face. Steve flicks droplets in Bucky’s eyes.

You lean forward against the edge of the porcelain tub, draping yourself over it and grin at them.

“What’s on your mind, sweetheart?” Steve asks, quieting the chatter and rubs his hand against your spine.

The look you give him melts him on the spot. There’s an unfathomable light in your eyes, swimming in something unspeakably loud but necessarily silent. He wants to pull apart the puzzle of it, finding the pieces that you’re keeping to yourself, but something keeps him immobile. Bucky splashes as he leans forward too, intrigued by the look on your face.

Saying nothing, you turn back around, humming a tune and motioning for Steve to continue. You’ll let them contemplate, you think, because eventually they’ll arrive at the same ending that you have. Bucky might take a while longer than Steve, but that’s okay too.

It’s kind of funny that you’d gone through so much of your life fearing love to the point of near madness and physical ailment. It’s so strange to think of how in the span of six months, you’ve transformed into a person so far removed from who you were then.

At 23, you had once rejected love.

But also, at 23, you’ve solved the mystery of love. Its disarray of angst and apprehension that’s long gripped your mind has been untangled by your dutiful hands. It’s Gordian Knot has been completely dissembled, slipping away into the depths along with your fear and anxiety.

You now tread over its strands, blissfully following the trail leading to your lovers’ embrace.

#mcu #marvel #steve rogers x reader x bucky barnes #Mystery of Love heli0s #reader insert #fanfiction

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selfships-in-spanish · 4 years

Note

I’m about to be horny on main for a sec and say for magic world au the boys doing some magicky stuff during sex to make it that much better is so hot to me

OKAY, YOU AND FILTH ANON HAD THE SAME HORNY BRAINCELL AND SENT ME ASKS ABOUT MAGIC AU. LOOK.

FILTH ANON 🍆 WAS BROWSING TODAY. I noticed there’s no filth for the Magic au. Allow me to fix this mistake. Our favorite wizards going at it with Ona and they decide to throw some magic in the mix. As in, using magic for bondage, making her more sensitive to touch, etc. all up to you B)

jsdfalskfskl THANK YOU HAHAHAH

But true! It’s true we didn’t have any smut for the Magic World!AU 👀 So I really had to remedy this situation…

I may confess that between the whole confinement in Spain and the uncertainty of employment (I was changing jobs and then we were all hit by this :_D) I’m a bit in a rut, and well, Animal Crossing came out, sooo… (If you wanna play, send me a DM!!)

But have some mischievous wizard boys having fun with our darling girl B)

As always, a million thanks to @tinmiss1939 for being an amazing friend and fixing the mistakes!! :DDDDDD Go follow her, she deserves all the love

Connor and Richard concluded the conservatory had a special magic in it. It couldn’t be another way, some ancestral magic or unknown spell, but they always found themselves drawn inside, lured by the calmness, the beauty of it. The fact that they enchanted it themselves to appear bigger on the inside than on the outside had nothing to do with it.

Well, maybe because of who was taking good care of it.

Since being under her care, the conservatory regained its lost majesticness: the plants grew under her touch, flowers bloomed, life found itself in what once was a gloomy and decadent place… They couldn’t thank Merlin enough for the day they bumped into each other.

But the conservatory certainly had its magic.

It was a sunny day, and Richard enjoyed reading a book inside the conservatory with the sun rays warming his skin. The cushions were Ona’s making, rummaging through old closets and discarded pieces of fabric that were repurposed to be beautiful and plush pillows and cushions. It made the bench comfortable, so much that it made him fall asleep more than once, gaining himself a snicker and a nickname from Ona, something along the lines of ‘sleeping beauty’. But Richard didn’t know if it was because of the sun, warming him and his veins, or the sweet and fresh scent of the wisterias and sweet peas in full bloom, or the soft and gentle humming of her voice as she worked, that made him stand up and walk over the talented gardener.

Ona didn’t notice his presence, too absorbed into her work (and Richard was too silent, which scared her more than once), so Richard took that opportunity to admire the most beautiful flower in the entire conservatory. Her snow-white curls were everywhere, and Richard noticed she used her adorable hairpins to take some strands out of her face. Ona had her gloves full of rich and healthy soil, and judging by the smudges in her arms and face, she didn’t remember to take the gloves off anytime she had to scratch and itch. She finished tying a little rope to a stick to help a plant heal and grow after being accidentally stepped on by Connor. Once done, Ona stood up, wiping off the sweat of her forehead with the reverse of her gloved hand. She shouted all kind of colourful curses when she saw Richard next to the massive grown rose bushes, book in hand. As usual, Richard startled her by his silent presence.

Richard apologised, walking over her with a small smile on his lips.

“Aren’t you in a good mood today, you sneaky ninja-wizard?” ah, that was another nickname.

“Maybe I am.”

“Huh.” Ona rested her hands on her hips, brow raised and curious as to why. He could be moody sometimes, so this happier mood was hard to see.

Richard’s eyes rested on a smudge over her nose, following down her cheek. He smiled fondly this time, walking over where she stood with his book secured in his hand. Ona narrowed her eyes, but curiosity made her stand her ground.

“You got something here.” Richard lifted his hand, thumb gently cleaning the soil on her face. Ona held her breath, completely taken aback by his actions. Did he smell the enchanted roses? “I should enchant your gloves so you don’t smear dirt all over yourself.” Ona heard the teasing note in his voice.

He did not take his hand away.

“Where would the fun be at, then?” Ona’s own voice felt a tad breathless.

“True.”

His thumb was caressing her cheek.

Ona never knew what compelled her to stand still, to get lost in his blue eyes as his fingers moved over her jaw, gently brushing them against her skin until he lifted her chin. Ona could not deny the magnetic pull she felt towards the two wizards, how she would notice the longing looks, the excuses to touch her hands, to be close to her as the time that Connor said she had a bug in her hair and–

And Richard was inching closer.

His thumb brushed her bottom lip, marvelling at how soft it was. His eyes were a calm and peaceful sea. Ona closed hers.

It was a chaste kiss at first, his lips pressing into hers as he enjoyed the feeling and sweetness of the act, but after months of pining after her, nights where he wanted her by his side, their side, to see her curls on their pillows and sheets tangled around them… The need for more clawed its way up, making Richard drop his book to the floor with a thud, not giving a single damn about it, because it was more important to wrap his arm around her waist, the other hand freeing her chin to curl it on her nape, pulling her in and deepening the kiss.

Her sweet moans and whimpers spurred him on. Her arms wrapping around his neck to have something to hold onto fed the flames inside of him.

It wasn’t until they both needed to breathe that they pulled away, but not with Ona chasing Richard’s lips which made the wizard chuckle softly. He rested his forehead on hers.

“You have bewitched us, body and soul.”

Ona let out a small and soft laugh, teasing him for being such a hopeless romantic. She didn’t complain, though. It was… nice. Richard’s gentle smile made her heart jump. Such a beautiful smile had been seen by a very select few.

That kiss opened the gates towards a new relationship between the wizards and the non-gifted. Everything changed. Ona didn’t feel alone at night anymore.

But she never suspected what an appetite both wizards would have. They had endured months of finding relief only with their dreams (and their own hands) while the object of their desire was unaware of their feelings. Now that their love was returned, they never wanted to leave the house or even their rooms; the wizards would summon up food and water, waving their hands for clean bedsheets and instantly ready baths.

Ona also didn’t know how absolutely creative they could be in bed.

And how devious they could be outside of bed.

That’s how she found herself one day inside the conservatory, re-soiling on her workbench a little plant that withered on the past few days. A tickling sensation started over her nape, sending a full-body shiver down her body. It went away. Ona turned around, frowning. It must have been the wind from an open window.

But the tickling returned, now brushing slowly down her spine. Her back arched, breath catching in her throat. It went away again. Ona let out a shaky breath, having an idea of who may be behind this. But she let herself play into their game. The phantom touch returned once again, this time joined by another one. The invisible hands brushed up her thighs, going up her sides and slowly wrapping around her body like serpents. They squeezed her lightly, making her drop her tools on the table as she gasped loudly. It was a pleasant feeling, a secure sensation, so she let herself be engulfed by it.

A pair of hands joined the ones already playing with her body. It made Ona’s breath stutter, feeling how it teased her on her inner thighs, brushing her hip bones and going up her torso, pointedly avoiding her breasts. The other pair continued to sneak around, to further wrap themselves around her body, now going after her thighs and squeezing. Ona gasped again, having an idea of who might be behind those particular phantom hands. The first touch was a teasing, playful touch, liking to drive her up the wall to then abruptly stop, leaving her on the edge. Much like Connor. She felt her lips tug into a smile; the game was probably his idea too.

The second pair of hands brushed her neck, going up in soft caresses until they reached her jaw, feeling how they gently cupped her face. It was sweet, tender, verging on intimate, and she knew Richard was behind those. The hands moved again, feeling a thumb on her bottom lip, caressing her slowly until it shyly made its way inside. Ona groaned, feeling a slight pressure on her tongue, and she eagerly opened up more to wrap her lips around the invisible fingers.

Connor’s invisible hands, because now it was obvious who was who, trailed up her inner thighs again, squeezing her flesh until they reached between her legs. Ona felt herself clench in anticipation, but she didn’t know Connor was in an even more mischievous mood than usual. The fingertips almost brushed her lips, but chose to stay out of them. Ona tried to rock her hips, to get those fingers in her folds, but the invisible hold on her kept her from doing that. She growled in frustration, lightly biting the fingers in her mouth. Her rebelliousness was met with a light but sharp slap on her ass, making her jerk forward and moan around the fingers in her mouth. The invisible hands let her fall forward on the workbench, feeling them relax in her torso but tighten around her hips and legs, making her arch her back and brace herself for what was to come.

A cold and slippery sensation found itself trailing up her inner thigh. Ona gasped, unconsciously trying to turn around to see, even though she knew nobody was there, but the hands on her mouth and jaw kept her where she was. It felt as if it was a tongue, the tip drawing random patterns on her skin, leaving a cold and wet sensation on its path, and Ona also had an idea of whose tongue it was. It went from leg to leg, going up, almost touching her soaked folds… only to disappear.

Ona was going to strangle Connor.

Now there was a hot and slippery sensation, going from her neck to her collarbones. It gently swept over her skin, raising goosebumps all over her body. The cold tongue returned, working in tandem with the hot one, making its way up her body, passing over her navel, working up until it reached her breasts. The tip wrapped itself around the right nipple, the coldness making it harden instantly, and eliciting a moan from her. The hands on her hips finally, finally, moved between her folds. Fingers ran up and down, teasing her slippery nub, and Ona felt herself clench once again. The cold tongue left her nipple, going to torment the left one. This time, though, the hot tongue decided to latch onto the right nipple, occupying the now vacant space. Ona thrashed in her bonds, arousal striking her like lightning. It was a maddening sensation, to be teased like this, and being unable to take matters into her own hands. Ona knew the wizards liked the power, liked to be the commanding ones, and as much as she liked to be in their hands and at mercy in situations as this, one day she was going to turn the tables and make them beg.

But that was for another day. Today was absolutely not going to be that day.

For now, she was going to be teased into incoherency by wandering hands and devilish tongues.

The hand in her mouth disappeared, moving to join its sister on spreading her buttocks. The tongues disappeared too, and she felt the thrill of their unknown location go straight into her core. The fingers in her folds became bolder, teasing her hole before they delved in. In and out, in a scissoring motion, until they curled into a spot that made Ona moan unabashedly. The hands spreading her buttocks made her feel exposed, even though she was still fully clothed, and it send a wave of arousal through her. And then she felt it.

The hot and cold sensation came back, the hot swiping up, teasing her holes, and the cold swiping to her clit. Ona moaned with wild abandon, and she didn’t know which direction should she rock her hips. It was either into the motion of the hand or of the tongues. They decided for her, the invisible bonds holding her into place as they increased the intensity of their onslaught. Ona held onto the workbench edges for dear life, unconsciously arching her back further to make those fingers brush that particular spot again and again.

Ona knew her mewls echoed around the conservatory but she honestly didn’t give a single damn about it. It was only her and the wizards at home, and they were the horny little shits behind this, so they better heard her. She got her answer when the cold tongue stuttered into its ministrations, knowing Connor was losing his precious concentration. It seemed they were pretty close. Good.

Pure, unadulterated filth came out of her mouth. Begging, moaning, panting… everything she knew that made them both mount her like wild beasts on a rut. Ona grinned, knowing she accomplished her mission when Connor became more determined with his fingers and tongue. He pulled up his own tricks, and it was Ona’s turn to curse his clever tongue.

She was close. So close. Ona felt her orgasm creep up to her, the molten lava in her loins threatening to spill all over her body.

It was Richard who propelled her into it, getting his hot tongue inside her soaked hole alongside Connor’s fingers. Her body became completely still as she let the waves after waves of pleasure engulf her entire body, a choked gasp coming out of her mouth.

If it wasn’t for their invisible bonds holding her in place, her knees might have given out.

A hand came up to her face, caressing her cheek and lowering to her chin, gently persuading her to turn her head in the direction it wanted. She saw the semi-materialised magic, as if it was an ethereal and swifty arrow pointing her to the direction she should go, to a path covered in beautifully grown monsteras, fiddle-leaf figs and hanging potuses. After taking a couple of breaths and discarding her gloves, she followed it, more caresses encouraging her. Her panties were sticky, she was sweaty and needed to take a nice and refreshing shower.

Ona recognised that path, knowing it led to a beautiful indoor pool next to the absolutely breathtaking bay windows with the sun coming through them.

Connor and Richard were inside, both having a drink in their hands. They were the perfect picture of power, of dominance and self-assuredness. Ona saw a magnificent wooden tray floating in the water with another untouched glass and an opened bottle of expensive wine. Connor took a sip, winking at her while doing so. Richard smiled softly at her, setting his own glass on the wooden tray.

“I’m sure we can tempt you to a nice and relaxing bath?” Richard’s purr made her sigh contentedly, nodding.

As she stepped closer to the pool’s edge, Ona could feel their magic unbutton her trousers and untie her boots, gently taking off her clothes, until she stood nude in front of them. She could feel the wizard’s hungry stares on her, beckoning to step into the warm pool’s water and join them.

Ona could already feel the warmth of the water soothe her aches away. As she approached them, the wizards sat up, Connor waving his hand so the untouched glass was filled for the newcomer. He took her hand, kissing it before pulling her to him. Ona fell into his arms, giggling.

“I take it you liked it, didn’t you?” Connor muttered the words into her skin, his lips brushing against her neck. Ona’s pleased sigh made him smile.

“I don’t think I need to say it, considering how loud I was, but I may be inclined to stroke your ego a little bit.” Ona took her own glass of wine, letting the rich and deep flavour of it coat her tongue. It had been Connor’s time to pick, it seemed.

Connor chuckled, lightly biting her collarbone. Ona felt Richard move behind her, his fingers brushing away her curls to place a sweet kiss on her nape, slowly making his way to her right shoulder.

“There are more things we can try, if you’re amenable to it. For example, an invisibility spell in the park at a sunset picnic.” Richard’s hands slowly descended her sides, resting them on her hips. Ona’s eyes widened at the proposal.

“Are you suggesting public sex?!”

“I wasn’t, I was thinking something more along the idea of us being invisible and enjoying you, but now that you mention it…”

“Oh my God, you absolute menace.”

Richard chuckled into her skin, his hands descending until his fingertips reached her mound, deliberately teasing her.

“Let me persuade you into thinking about it, my dear, if you let me”.

Ona set the glass back on the wooden tray, knowing she would need her hands free to brace herself for what was about to happen. Completely in sync with each other, Richard let his fingers find her clit, while Connor busied himself into sucking her left nipple into his mouth.

If they persuaded her like that, she might say yes.

#ask #dbh #detroit become human #rk800 #rk900 #rk800 x oc #rk900 x oc #rk800 x oc x rk900 #smut #mius writes #magical world au #atittueball #anon #filth anon

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necrowriter · 4 years

Text

monday thing: may eighteenth (on hidden obstacles)

lately I've been thinking about video games.

I've played quite a bit of Animal Crossing since New Horizons came out. so, as you just might have noticed, have a lot of other people. by pure coincidence it happened to come out at a time when a great many people needed exactly the kind of escapism Animal Crossing offers. it's peaceful and soothing and soft, an imaginary getaway to a distant island where the neighbors are all friendly, the waves lap gently against clean bright sand, and there is never anything much to worry about it.

but New Horizons was eagerly anticipated long before anyone had any inkling what the circumstances around its release were going to be. it's the fifth game in a very successful series. Animal Crossing has had something appealing to offer for a long time. in the wake of the success of New Horizons I've seen a number of people wondering--many jokingly, some not--about why, exactly, the series is so appealing. is it really that much fun to pay off a home loan? to pull weeds and water flowers? are people really so invested in the thought of buying furniture or catching bugs to sell?

the usual sort of answer--again, often a joking one, sometimes not--is that the appeal is that you can pay off your home loan, without stress or fear, without interest accumulating, without any consequences if you don't. you can earn all the money you need by doing simple, easy tasks, and in the meantime your tanuki landlord will happily wait on you for years if he has to. well ain't that an impossible dream, amirite? we might as well enjoy doing it in a video game because we have no hope of doing it in real life.

and that answer is true, I think, but it only scratches the surface of something that extends well beyond Animal Crossing.

Animal Crossing is perhaps the most extreme example, but many--maybe even most--video games offer the chance to pursue relatively normal, everyday sort of tasks even when the main focus of the game is something very grand and exciting. massive, open-world adventures and RPGs with epic, sweeping stories very often also allow you the opportunity to customize the living space or wardrobe of your main character, play minigames to earn money and prizes, or pursue smaller sidequests to build relationships with friends or lovers or just to help someone out. start a business! care for pets! grow flowers! hell, just take a nice walk if you want.

and if you listen to people talk about playing these games, you will often hear that they spent a great deal of time and energy on such tasks, sometimes much more than they ever spent on the main story or the bigger quests. given the choice, it seems, people are just as often drawn to the smaller things, even in games that also offer the sort of thing that seems like much more conventional wish-fulfillment. certainly I can attest to this. in Minecraft, a game where you can build enormous castles or terraform entire continents, I have spent many enjoyable hours instead building a small farm or a lakeside cottage. Breath of the Wild is a game where you play as a legendary hero reawoken to battle an ancient and terrible foe that has devastated your entire kingdom and sure, I took on that quest, but I did it in-between spending a lot more time gathering ingredients for cooking, feeding apples to my beloved horse, or taking pictures of birds. as soon as Pokemon offered the chance to take a break from becoming a master trainer of cool, powerful creatures to give those creatures head scritches and feed them cupcakes, you can bet I grabbed that opportunity with both hands.

why do we so often choose to do smaller, even ordinary, things, in these situations where it is just as easy, if not easier, to do great, big, awe-inspiring, impressive ones? when given the chance to be a hero of great renown wielding a sword of legends to save the entire world, why do I so often put doing that off to instead enjoy riding my horse through a sunny meadow? would you not expect the thing that I could never do in real life to hold more appeal and draw than something entirely possible, even ordinary?

well, that's obviously a hell of a deep psychological rabbit hole to go down, but I think part of it is this: games have a way of removing hidden obstacles. alright, and not-so-hidden obstacles, sure. if we look back at the Animal Crossing example, some of the obstacles the game removes are very. obvious. your loans have no interest or deadline, no consequence for failure. making money requires no resume, no qualifications, no applications, no stress, no fuss, nothing more than a butterfly net or fishing rod and some time to spare, at most. there are no taxes, no global warming, no troubling political news.

but there are smaller obstacles shaved off here and there as well. in the world of Animal Crossing it is not just big things that become more accessible, but also day to day things which in real life are often rendered accessible to achieve, but not to enjoy, because of the difficulties attached to them.

let's take gardening. a few posts back I talked about my own personal troubles with gardening: that it was something I did find enjoyment in, but also struggled with a great deal because ADHD presented so many challenges to doing it that I came to believe it was something I was simply inherently and permanently bad at. in Animal Crossing, on the other hand, most of those challenges don't exist. when you go to buy a plant, you always know exactly what it is. its needs are simple and straight-forward, and if the game doesn't tell you them then you can surely find them laid out clearly and easily with a quick visit to any of dozens of wikis and game info sites. there are clear signals included to help you carry out what you need to do. you can tell if you've watered a flower because it will sparkle. you can tell if a tree won't grow where you're trying to plant it, because the game will tell you so.

the gardening in Animal Crossing specifically is very simplistic. but it offers to you, and keeps, a promise which even games with more complicated requirements keep: here are the steps, here is the list of what you need to do, and if you do it right, something will grow, and grow well.

of course this also takes away some of the things that make the whole pastime worthwhile in real life. there is no sensation of digging your fingers into rich dirt, no fresh crop to pick and eat right off the stem. and seeing a pixel plant sprout and grow in stages will never quite compare to watching something very real and alive grow from a seed that you planted yourself. yet still I find distinct enjoyment in walking between the plots of my virtual garden in Animal Crossing, in raising virtual flowers and watching them bloom.

with some video games, I find the wish fulfillment to be as straight-forward as that: the emulation of an activity I want to do in real life, but find to be more difficult than enjoyable because of the obstacles associated with it. sometimes it's less direct. I have always enjoyed simulation and management games, games about building, cultivating, growing, raising, developing. but I've found myself particularly drawn to them over the past few years. building cities or kingdoms, running a large farm, managing a theme park or a zoo--there's great appeal there for me, even though I've never longed to pursue city planning or business management in the real world. but when things have felt at their most stagnant and hopeless, when I have felt unable to find any sign of progression or improvement in my own life, I have found comfort in being able to watch something grow, to put work in and see the results clear and apparent before me, however ephemeral those results are.

for me, I find that most often, the obstacles removed by doing something in a game mostly relate to the same thing: the struggle of planning, organizing and carrying out tasks, which is so often made so much easier when laid out for me as it is in a video game. it's a common criticism about some video games--sometimes, about the entire concept of video gaming--that playing them is essentially a matter of watching numbers go up. and, well, you've got me. it's true. I do like seeing numbers go up. I like seeing progress bars fill and skills unlock and quest objectives with check marks next to them. I like it because it's not something I get to experience much in real life: that sense of concrete progression, of knowing what I need to do and in what order I need to do it, of some acknowledgment and achievement for completing a task--yes, even if it is only a number going up! even if it is only a small cosmetic change, a new coat for my character, a section of map filling out, a pixel flower blooming on a pixel stem. better that than no sense of progress. better that than never really feeling sure if I've accomplished anything at all.

this is not something I always knew about myself. I've always liked video games, certainly, but thinking about the enjoyment I get out of them has gone hand in hand with learning more about how my own brain works. it's not only that video games can remove obstacles; by doing so, they can reveal to you that there were obstacles in places you never before realized. and there's value in that, I think. because sometimes it can show you that a problem you thought was in one place was actually in another place altogether. if something you think of as being boring, mundane, dull and exhausting becomes something you are willing and able to spend a lot of time and energy on, and get enjoyment out of, when it is framed in a different way--it may follow that the problem was not, as you thought, with the thing itself. the problem was in the obstacles around it.

of course, that's not always the case. the act of doing something in a game is often so thoroughly divorced from any semblance of doing it in real life that enjoying one has no bearing on enjoying the other. we play lots of games centered around doing things that most of us would never have any desire to do in real life. but sometimes it can lead you to discover that you enjoy things you didn't think you enjoyed, or are capable of doing things you didn't think you could do.

if nothing else, I think every single Animal Crossing island currently being developed, being visited, being joyfully and proudly shared online is evidence in the case against the idea that people fundamentally don't want to work and won't work if they don't have to. as is every painstakingly constructed Minecraft world, every Stardew Valley farm, every virtual city intricately planned, every virtual business budget carefully managed, every kingdom saved and map fully explored and character fully leveled and kitted out. because you don't do those things without putting time and concentration and effort into it. you just can't. it's not possible.

I think video games have a lot to tell us: about obstacles, and about effort, and about ourselves. some obstacles are incontrovertible, certainly. there are things built into the world which we can circumvent in video games but cannot, with all the best will in the world, change in our real lives. some things are always going to be more appealing virtually. my difficulties with gardening, for example, are always going to exist in some fashion because I cannot change the nature of how plants work. but knowing that something is an obstacle for you, and identifying why it is, can go a long way toward helping you figure out how to navigate around that obstacle, even if you can't remove it.

and sometimes when you realize that something is an obstacle, you realize that it doesn't need to be. that doesn't always translate to being able to do anything about it, of course. I doubt anyone needed Animal Crossing to tell them that home loans would be easier to repay without interest, and yet here we are. but I think there are a lot of things which we just sort of assume have to be difficult and boring and tiring and just thoroughly unenjoyable, because it is simply the nature of that thing, or the nature of us as people. nothing to do about it, just the way the world works.

sometimes that may be true. but surely not always.

I don't know.

but I will tell you this: by god, be proud of your virtual gardens.

they have worth.

#nonfiction #monday thing #monday thing may eighteenth

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crying-gay-tears · 4 years

Text

Brighter Than the Sun

A freshman in college AU!

Chapter 1: New Places, New Faces

August 25th. Today was the day. Gon had been waiting for this day for years, and the anticipation only intensified when he received his acceptance letter in the mail a few months ago. After a teary goodbye with Aunt Mito, he was finally off on his own and starting college. Whale Island wasn’t that far from York New City, though Mito fervently disagreed--”Not that far?! It’s a boat, train, and bus ride away!”-- Either way, Gon had arrived safely, and as promised, he texted her to let her know. The entrance to the campus was a large iron gate, and a statue of a catbear stared down at him.as he crossed the threshold of his father’s alma mater.

Ging had walked these same grounds decades before and went on to become a world renowned Archaeologist. His career was demanding and exciting, so much so that it kept him abroad most of the time. It became Gon’s dream from a very early age to follow in his father’s impossibly large footsteps, traveling the world exploring and discovering artifacts and lost civilizations. It had to be amazing if it was worth missing out on so much of his son’s life.

Suitcase in tow, he climbed the stairs leading to the administration building two at a time, and eagerly tugged on the large oak doors. Once inside, he noticed a small line forming across the lobby. A banner reading ‘Freshman Check In’ was hung above a long table on the back wall. He joined the line and waited, shifting from foot to foot as excitement coursed through him. When it was his turn to step up to the table, a petite woman with blonde pigtails came into view. She smiled warmly at him as he approached.

“Hello! Welcome to York New University! What’s your first and last name?”

“Hello, thank you! My name is Gon Freecss.”

She sifted through some folders lined up neatly in front of her before pulling one out of a stack and handing it to him.

“This packet has your room number and key in it, as well as a brochure of course options. You’ll want to select your classes and build your schedule online as soon as possible. You’re in Hunter dorm located just North of the library. Follow the brick walkway through the courtyard and you can’t miss it. Best of luck and welcome to YNU!”

Before he could say anything more, the next student in line was being motioned forward, so he turned and headed out the door and to his dorm. Grass and trees decorated the space between buildings, and the walkways were buzzing with students. The biggest and oldest looking building he passed had a cool tower on the side of it. He wondered what it was, and couldn’t wait to find out!

After a while he arrived at a large, multi story brick building. Gold lettering over the entrance read ‘Hunter Dormitory’. With a deep breath, he headed inside. His room number was 405A, so he boarded the elevator, and pressed the button for the 4th floor. It let him out on the top level of the building and into a long hallway. He passed room 400, then 401, 402, 403, 404, and finally, at the very end of the hallway, 405.

The front door opened to a common room with a couch, mini fridge, a tv, and a coffee table. On the far wall there was a door to the right labeled ‘A’ and one to the left labeled ‘B’ His room was pretty standard, just four white walls with a bed, desk, and dresser. It looked so plain and boring, he couldn't wait to make the space his own. He had to remember to thank Mito for reminding him to pack some decorations. There was a window by the bed overlooking a courtyard, and on the left wall was the door to the bathroom. When he stepped into the shared bathroom, he saw another door on the wall opposite his. Curious, he turned the knob and peeked inside. It opened to a room that was identical to his own. His roommate must not have arrived yet, as the room was still empty. Disappointed, he closed the door with a click.

He returned to his room and flopped onto the bed. His mind was racing, imagining what his roommate would be like, what his classes and professors would be like, what friends he would make and what clubs he would join. This had all been just a dream for so long, and now he was, finally living it. His phone buzzed in his pocket, letting him know that it was 12:45. Oh! He almost forgot! He stood in a flash, slung his backpack over his shoulder, and skipped out the door for freshman orientation.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Killua was not very excited about being forced to attend a freshman orientation. Wasn’t the whole point of college to get away from people telling him what to do? Nevertheless, here he was, making his way to the small group forming under a large oak tree in the center of the campus’s main courtyard. As he approached them he noticed a tall man standing in the center of everyone and motioning for people to move as he called out.

“Please gather around me so everyone can hear!” The man was wearing white slacks, and his dark hair was shaped into a large pompadour. When the group was settled, he spoke again. “Hello everyone, and welcome to York New University! My name’s Knuckle Bine, I’m a junior here and the RA of Hunter dorm! I’ll be your guide around campus today. It’s my job to help you guys get acclimated to your new environment, and to teach you the in’s and out’s of life here at YNU!”

His eyes scanned the group from one end to the other, a smile on his lips. “To start, I’d like to break the ice here with an introduction game! We’ll go around the circle and introduce ourselves. When it’s your turn, tell us your name, your major if you’ve chosen one, something about yourself, and a reason you’re here at the University! I’ll go first. I’m Knuckle and my major is Pre-Veterinary Medicine. Something about myself is that I love animals! I came to college to make a career for myself that helps them!” His smile was warm as he turned to the person to his left with expectant eyes. “Now, your turn!”

Killua did his best to focus on the petite girl who was now speaking--shit, what did she say her name was? Ponzu?--but his mind was busy rushing to think of the right thing to say for when it was his turn to speak.They were a group of complete strangers, standing together in the grass, and they were really expected to just… introduce themselves? With such weird and arbitrary questions? What was he supposed to say? This was not how he wanted to start meeting new people once he finally got away to college.

Alright, name was easy, major was undecided so also pretty easy, if a little embarrassing. What was next? Something about himself? What? That was such a broad thing to ask! And he only had a few more people before his turn. And shit! He had not been paying attention. He glanced up to see where the next person speaking was. Okay, he had about 6 more people before it was his turn. His eyes fell on the next person, a boy about his height with black spiky hair and bright, round colored eyes the color of honey.

“Hello!” he waved cheerily around the semi circle, a bright smile on his face. “My name is Gon Freecss. I’m not exactly sure of my major just yet, but I’m thinking about Environmental Biology or maybe Anthropology. I’m from Whale Island and I love hiking and exploring. I’m here because this is my life’s next adventure and I’m excited to learn and make some new friends!”

Killua thought this guy was a little overzealous, but he seemed nice enough. He was wearing green shorts and a cream tank top that revealed tan, muscular limbs. His gaze roamed up the boy’s body, noticing broad shoulders, a strong jaw, full lips, and then, those eyes…eyes that were now staring right back at him. Crap. He quickly turned his head away, a blush creeping across his cheeks. Welp. That was awkward. Oh shit, now there were only 2 more people before him. When it was finally his turn, he spoke quickly and avoided eye contact.

“I’m Killua. I’m undecided and I’m here because I graduated high school and this was the next step. I guess something about me is that I like to skateboard.” He felt a rush of relief as the next person started speaking, and focused intensely on the rest of the people as they spoke so his eyes wouldn’t wander back to that boy--Gon--again.

A few people later, and Knuckle was the one speaking. “Alright! That’s everyone. Now that we’re all acquainted, we can begin the campus tour! Follow behind me closely, and feel free to ask any questions you may have along the way!” With a bright smile, he turned on his heel and walked across the lawn.

The tour was relatively uneventful, Killua was pretty bored most of the time. Hadn’t these people done a campus tour? His mother barely let him attend a college so far away, let alone without touring it first. The only thing keeping him occupied was occasional glimpses at Gon’s facial expressions. He was very easily amused and his face lit up with each new place they entered. Killua had never seen someone so happy and energetic before. It was almost tiring to watch, but he found himself looking up at the boy frequently. They walked through some of the classrooms, followed by the main campus administration building, a few of the degree program offices, the campus gym, and finally the cafeteria.

“Okay guys, we’ve got one stop left, but first, we’re going to break for lunch! I like to eat my lunch on the green,” he motioned to the expansive lawn they were standing on, “but you’re welcome to eat inside as well. Just make sure you meet back here in 45 minutes!”

With that, the group dispersed. Killua, deciding he wasn’t hungry enough to venture into the cafeteria, sat down under a shady tree. He was scrolling mindlessly on his phone when he heard soft footsteps in the grass next to him. He glanced up to see who it was and his breath caught in his throat. Golden eyes were staring down at him, accompanied by an ear to ear smile.

“This seat taken?”

“Uh, no?” Killua watched as Gon crossed his legs and plopped down in the grass next to him.

“You don’t have any food, aren’t you hungry?” Gon asked, voice tinged with concern.

“Oh, I guess I just didn’t feel like dealing with the cafeteria line.”

Gon immediately began rifling through his backpack. He pulled out a sandwich, an apple, and a bottle of water. “Here, have some of my lunch!” He passed the apple to Killua, and offered him half of the sandwich as well.

“No thank you, I couldn’t take your lunch from you.”

“You’re not taking it from me, I’m sharing it with you! C’mon, at least have the apple.”

He wanted to argue, but Gon’s smile was almost a pout and his eyes were burning into him, so he quickly grabbed the apple and took a bite. Gon grinned in response and took a bite of his sandwich.

“So, your name is Killua? I’m Gon! It’s nice to meet you!”

Killua swallowed hard and ignored how his stomach flipped when Gon said his name.

“Yeah, it’s nice to meet you too.” The two sat in comfortable silence for a bit, eating and watching the activity on the lawn around them. Gon was the first to speak.

“So, are you from York New City?”

Killua shook his head. “My family lives on a compound in the Kukuru Mountains, a few hours North of here.”

“Oh yeah? That’s so cool! My Aunt Mito and I went on a hiking trip there a few years ago. The forest at the base of the mountains is beautiful!”

Killua raised an eyebrow. “The forest is also pretty dangerous, y’know.”

Gon chuckled. “Don’t worry, I basically grew up in nature, my survival skills are pretty good. Not that Mito would’ve let me hike off trail or as far as I wanted to anyway.”

“You said you’re from Whale Island, what’s it like there?”

“Whale Island is beautiful. The forest there is lush and the wildlife is diverse. I spent all of my free time outside exploring alone, learning every inch of the island.”

“Alone?”

“Yeah, there weren’t many kids my age. It’s a small port town; so a great deal of the population there is people in town for business for a few weeks or months at a time. The locals are mostly older folks. There were only a few families around when I was growing up, but they all had girls. I made friends with them just fine, and with the kids that would move in and out of town. But I never really had solid friends, and never a best friend.”

Killua nodded solemnly. “Yeah, I know what you mean. I never had any real friends either. No one I could trust or that I actually enjoyed spending time with. I got to know the kids that my parents’ business partners would regularly bring to parties, and I knew some kids at boarding school too; but most of them were boring or snobby or both. So I was alone a lot.” Killua’s gaze shifted down, his fingers nervously raked through the grass. He wasn’t sure why he was suddenly spilling his guts to a stranger, but something about Gon being so open made him want to open up as well. He could feel Gon staring at him, and when he looked up he was met with a pair of warm golden eyes, and an understanding smile. That smile made his stomach flip...again.

“Killua?”

“Yes?”

“Would you like to be friends?”

”I--w-what?” he stammered, eyes wide with surprise.

Gon didn’t waiver, his smile only grew wider. “I think you’re really cool, and I’d like to be your friend! Would you like to be mine too?”

“Uh, s-sure. Yeah, we can be friends.” he rubbed at the back of his neck, trying to calm his embarrassment along with the excitement bubbling up inside of him.

Gon was positively beaming. “I’m so glad! This is gonna be great!”

Gon’s excitement was contagious, and Killua couldn’t help but smile.

~~~~~~~~~~~

For the rest of their lunch break, the two talked and laughed. They were really hitting it off, and Gon was so happy to have made such a cool new friend. Killua even promised to teach him how to skateboard if he taught him how to fish! Before they knew it, Knuckle was clapping his hands and waving for everyone’s attention.

“Okay folks, it looks like everyone’s finished eating, so it’s time to finish our tour!” He pointed to the large building behind them and motioned for them to follow. They all stood and headed across the lawn towards a large brick building with a marble staircase on either side of the double door entrance. It was the building with the tower Gon noticed earlier.

Knuckle led the group up the stairs and inside. When he spoke next, it was in a hushed tone. “Everyone, welcome to the library! This is the biggest building on campus, and where you will probably spend most of your time.The best way to learn this place is to explore it yourself, and since this is the last stop, feel free to stay as long as you like.You’re also free to go whenever you’d like. I’ll be around for a bit if you have any questions or want to chat. I hope you enjoyed the tour today and again, welcome to NYU!!” He ended with a bright smile, and the group began to disperse.

After a chat with Knuckle, Gon headed straight for the elevator to explore each floor. He asked Killua to join him, but he declined saying he had some stuff to do, so they exchanged numbers and went their separate ways. By the time he finished in the library, it was well after 5. He stopped at the cafeteria for a quick bite to eat and then headed back to his room.

He was unpacking when he heard shuffling in the other bedroom. His roommate must be home! He headed out to the common room and knocked on the other door. Gon heard some more shuffling before the door swung open to reveal a familiar face. He stared in surprise and ocean blue eyes stared right back through a frame of silver hair.

#killugon #gonkillu #gon #killua #gon freecss #killua zoldyck #hunter x hunter #hxh #hunterxhunter #killugon week 2020 #killugon week #killuhonweek2020 #killugonweek

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recentanimenews · 3 years

Text

Manga the Week of 12/`16/20

SEAN: As we get closer to the holidays, we get more and more books being published.

ASH: This turn of events pleases me.

MELINDA: And me.

SEAN: Cross Infinite World has a new title, I Reincarnated As Evil Alice, So the Only Thing I’m Courting Is Death!. Our heroine dies and is reincarnated in an otome game, and she *is* the heroine this time… but the game is notorious for having almost all bad ends. Expect a lot of Alice in Wonderland vibes here as well.

No debuts for J-Novel Club, but a heaping helping of ongoing digital light novels. We get An Archdemon’s Dilemma 11, Arifureta 11, I Refuse to Be Your Enemy! 4, The Intrigue of Marielle Clarac (Book 5 in that series), Slayers 4, and The Sorcerer’s Receptionist 2. Phew!

Kodansha has some print. We get Drifting Dragons 7, Fairy Tail: 100 Years Quest 6, Gleipnir 8, the 2nd Magic Knight Rayearth manga box set, which will finish the series, and also has a bonus artbook. That Time I Got Reincarnated As a Slime 15 and UQ Holder 21 are also out.

ASH: I’ve really been enjoying Drifting Dragons. I’ve also somehow never actually read Magic Knight Rayearth yet.

SEAN: Digitally the debut is I Guess I Became the Mother of the Great Demon King’s 10 Children in Another World (Isekai de Saikyou Maou no Kodomo-tachi Juunin no Mama ni Nacchaimashita), which sounds like your standard isekai but is also by Ema Toyama, author of Missions of Love and other shoujo classics. This is not shoujo: it runs in Shonen Sirius. A girl whose mother has died plays the game the mother never finished… and finds herself in another world.

ASH: Ema Toyama, you say? That piques my interest a bit more than just the title alone.

MELINDA: I don’t read much digitally, but this intrigues me as well, almost entirely because of the author.

SEAN: There is also Dolly Kill Kill 9, Dr. Ramune -Mysterious Disease Specialist- 2, GE: Good Ending 12, Heroine for Hire 4 (the final volume), Kakushigoto 10, Orient 9, Shaman King: The Super Star 2, Shojo FIGHT! 14, and The Writer and His Housekeeper 3.

MICHELLE: I really, really need to get caught up on Shojo FIGHT!.

SEAN: One Peace has a 3rd manga volume for The Reprise of the Spear Hero.

Debuting from Seven Seas is Didn’t I Say to Make My Abilities Average in the Next Life?! Everyday Misadventures! (Watashi, Nichijou wa Heikinchi de tte Itta yo ne!), the 4-koma spinoff of Mile’s antics that everyone wanted. It runs in Comic Earth Star.

Also out from Seven Seas: Goodbye My Rose Garden 3 (the final volume) and Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear’s 4th novel (digital-first).

MICHELLE: I wouldn’t say Goodbye, My Rose Garden was an amazing series, but it was certainly good enough to read the third and final volume.

ASH: I still need to read the second volume (and now soon the third), but I found the first volume to be enjoyable.

SEAN: Sol Press, after what seems like 80,000 years, has the second Saving 80,000 Gold in Another World light novel.

Tokyopop has the 2nd and final volume of No Vampire, No Happy Ending.

Vertical gives us the 4th Katanagatari omnibus digitally (I will keep repeating this till it’s correct), Kino’s Journey 7, and With a Dog AND a Cat, Every Day is Fun 2.

MICHELLE: I really liked the first volume of With a Dog AND a Cat, Every Day is Fun and am eagerly anticipating the second.

MELINDA: Always here for Kino’s Journey, too.

SEAN: They also have Zoku-Owarimonogatari, the final, absolutely the last, no take backs, Monogatari Series novel. Unless they license the others that came after this.

Viz’s debut is Remina, another helping of Junji Ito just in time for winter. This is sci-fi, but still just as terrifying. It ran in Big Comic Spirits.

MICHELLE: I am down for this sci-fi/horror blend!

ASH: Yup! I’m here for this one, too.

MELINDA: Yes!

SEAN: Also from Viz: Blue Flag 5, Golden Kamuy 19, Levius/est 7, Maison Ikkoku Collector’s Edition 2, and No Guns Life 8.

ANNA: Glad that Maison Ikkoku is being rereleased and looking forward to Blue Flag.

MICHELLE: What Anna said.

ASH: I should actually read Maison Ikkoku now that it is readily available again.

MELINDA: I should be buying them, since I never managed to acquire a full collection of the original release!

SEAN: Yen On has a truly terrifying number of light novels coming out. The first debut is The Angel Next Door Spoils Me Rotten (Otonari no Tenshi-sama ni Itsu no Ma ni ka Dame Ningen ni Sareteita Ken). We’ve seen a mini-rebirth of the non-fantasy romcom in recent licenses, and this falls into that category. A guy lends his neighbor his umbrella one day, she offers to help around his house in return, and a relationship blossoms.

The second debut is a spinoff, Goblin Slayer Side Story 2: Dai Katana. This apparently goes into the past of Sword Maiden.

There is also (deep breath): Accel World 23, The Alchemist Who Survived Now Dreams of a Quiet City Life 5, Baccano! 15, The Demon Sword Master of Excalibur Academy 2, The Devil Is a Part-Timer 18, The Genius Prince’s Guide to Raising a Nation Out of Debt (Hey, How About Treason?) 5, Suppose a Kid From the Dungeon Boonies Moved to a Starter Town 4, and Torture Princess 6.

ASH: That is a fair number of light novels!

SEAN: On the Yen Press side, there’s even more. Debut #1: 86, the manga adaptation of the grim military fantasy light novel series. It runs in Young Gangan.

Carole and Tuesday runs in Young Ace, and I believe is the rare case where the anime comes first and the manga follows. Girls who want to be musicians… on Mars!

ANNA: I watched half of the anime….

ASH: I do like musicians… and Mars…

MELINDA: I… kind of want it. Though I’m not sure how to interpret the fact that Anna only watched half of the anime.

SEAN: Not quite a debut, but we do see Overlord: The Complete Anime Artbook.

Strawberry Fields Once Again (Strawberry Fields wo Mou Ichido) is a yuri romance that seems to have a twist to it. It ran in Mediaworks’ @ vitamin.

And Wolf & Parchment is the manga adaptation of the sequel to Spice & Wolf.

Also from Yen: ACCA 13-Territory Inspection Department P.S. 2, The Devil Is a Part-Timer! 16, Goblin Slayer 9, King of Eden 2, KonoSuba 11, Lust Geass 2, No Matter How I Look at It, It’s You Guys’ Fault I’m Not Popular! 17, Plunderer 6, Rascal Does Not Dream of Petit Devil Kouhai (another omnibus), Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World-, Chapter 3: Truth of Zero 11 (the final volume of this arc), Reborn As a Polar Bear 4, The Saga of Tanya the Evil 12, A Witch’s Printing Office 4, and Yowamushi Pedal’s 16th omnibus.

MICHELLE: I am fixin’ to have a YowaPeda catch-up spree and am very happy about that.

ASH: Same! And I always look forward to reading Natsume Ono’s manga, so I plan on picking up the ACCA continuation as well.

SEAN: Any presents from this list you’re giving out?

By: Sean Gaffney

#Anime #News #Manga Bookshelf

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ohahahahaha · 6 years

Text

Game Over (Part One)

“Keith, this is one of your dumbest ideas yet. And that’s saying something.” Pidge grunted, finally climbing over the iron gate of the cemetery and landing on the ground. “Not that coming to a cemetery isn’t cool or anything, but I feel like breaking into one at 3:00 is bad luck. We’re being the white people in horror movies right now.”

Keith rolled his eyes, nimbly climbing and jumping over the gate, dusting off his black shirt while Pidge mumbled under their breath about “fucking long legs.”

“Don’t worry! We’re not going to get caught. Besides, I found this tombstone that’s really fucking nerdy, so obviously I had to bring you.” Keith chuckled as Pidge punched in the arm for that remark.

“Hardy har har. Instead of being a delinquent emo criminal, you should become a comedian.” Pidge deadpanned.

“Just shut up and follow me.”

The cemetery that they were at was the largest in their city. It was very easy to get lost if you were not paying attention to where you were going. It really was like a cemetery straight out of a horror movie. There was an eerie muted noise and small rolls of fog rolling and tumbling across the graveyard. Maybe this actually wasn't the smartest idea.

Shaking his head to ward those thoughts away, Keith waltzed through the maze of tombstones and graves, looking for the one he accidentally stumbled upon when he was here with Shiro, who was paying his respect to his grandparents. He wanted to give Shiro some privacy and respect, so he wandered around the cemetery until he accidentally stumbled upon the unique tombstone.

The night held a chilled breeze and the small noises that only appeared when the sun settles in the horizon. Keith could hear the crunch of the frosted grass beneath his and Pidge’s boots as they continued on their late night mission, finding a slight satisfaction of breaking the rules, the thrill of rebellion humming under his skin. He enjoyed the slight dewiness that layer on his skin as it contradicted the heat and sweat from weaving through the graves. The two had been walking for about twenty minutes when Pidge finally snapped.

“Keith, I swear to fucking Stephen Hawking, if we don’t find this stupid tombstone in the next five minutes, I’m leaving your ass to freeze here.” Pidge announced, teeth chattering loudly. “I don’t even know how you’re not freezing in that crop-top anime jacket.”

“Don’t bring the jacket into this! It's not my fault your tiny body can’t retain heat.” Keith countered.

“You motherfu-”

“Here it is!” Keith interrupted, finally stopping in front of the highly anticipated tombstone.

Pidge walked forward, leaning forward to clearly read the following text on the tombstone.

GAME OVER

CONTINUE?

Pidge eyes widened, filling with recognition. “Is that-?”

“A coin slot? Hell yeah, it is.”

Pidge grinned madly, a gleam in their eye. “Oh my god, it works? You can actually put quarters in it?!”

Keith smirked, crossing his arms. “I told you you would like it. It’s nerdy just like you!” Pidge ignored the jab, rolling their eyes and let Keith continue. “And guess who brought a whole pocket full of quarters.”

“Holy shit, what are you waiting for? Put them in!”

Keith didn't hesitate, eagerly reaching into his pocket and pulling out a quarter, quickly inserting it into the coin slot. The duo waited with wide eyes, watching as the tombstone, surprisingly, took the quarter and did...nothing.

“...well that was worth the fucking cold and law-breaking. Thanks for the adventure, Keith!” Pidge snarked, getting up to walk back to the main gate of the cemetery.

“Wait!” Keith quickly grabbed their arm and gently tugged them back. “Don't you want to know what this thing does or where the quarters go? What if it gives us something?”

Pidge snorted, shaking their head. “Ah yes. I would love some dead guy’s old bubblegum, or even better, a curse! Besides, you don't even know how many quarters that thing will take before you get something, which you probably won't. The quarters probably just go straight into the casket.”

“Yeah, you're probably right.” Keith sighed, slightly dejected. “Let me just put one quarter in, just for the heck of it.”

“Whatever. It's your money.” Pidge shrugged.

Keith put the last quarter into the slot, waiting for something, anything to happen. Waiting for a few moments, he let out another sigh, accepting his defeat. “Alright Pidge, you were right. Let’s head back.”

“Of course I’m right; when am I not right?” Pidge turned around to walk back, Keith following behind. He opened his mouth to make a sarcastic remark when a voice interrupted him.

“Um, h-hello?”

Keith and Pidge froze at the voice behind them, breath catching in their throats. The two slowly turned back toward the infamous tombstone and sudden voice, only to be frozen once again at the sight before them.

There, where the now completely blank tombstone was, stood a teenage boy, close to Keith’s age.

“My name is Lance McClain. Thank you for freeing me!” Lance gave them a warm smile, dimples forming.

“......”

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!”

#game over #voltron #voltron legendary defender #vld #keith #lance #pidge #langst #klance #klangst #new fic!!#this is based on a reading prompt that a read a while ago #if i find it i will link it!#its good to be back

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superoddgaming · 5 years

Link

My Top 10 Games For E3 2019

E3 2019 is on the horizon and you know what that means; endless predictions and guesses and what the hell is gunna be going down from the 8th to the 13th apparently.

A bunch of companies are having their own showcases and conferences except for Sonyand I believe EA this year but I’m not really gunna run through all of the different conferences I’m more so just gunna run through the games that I am most excited about.

10// Session

It’s been almost a decade since we have seen a good skateboarding game on console or PC. Skate 3 released in 2010 and since then nothing has been able to dethrone it as the last well executed skateboarding game.

Tony Hawks Pro Skater sure as hell didn’t even come close. If anything that game made us have even less hope for the genre. But then along came Session, announced at 2018’s E3 slated for a late 2019 release on PC and Xbox.

I hope that we get to see more of Session during Xbox’s conference along with a look into a campaign for the game as well as a final release date.

9// Animal Crossing

I am the most excited about this one mostly because of the Switch’s portability and this will be the perfect drop in drop out game to have on the go with you.

I’m really hoping for an Island or vacation themed one this time around, I think that would be so cool.

8// Control

Control looks all kinds of bizarre, creepy, fun and holy shit the physics they have in this game is just absolutely crazy.

Destructible environments, almost everything is interact-able and they really showcased it at the end of their trailer and where she picks up the projector and shoots it at the wall and each of the boxes and papers all act independently.

I am amazed with this game both technically and from a story standpoint, it looks like a descent into madness mixed with a little government conspiracy.

I’m really excited to see where this one goes and it does look like it will be another PS4 exclusive. Sony is KILLIN IT with the single player experiences.

7// Biomutant

I have had my sights on Biomutant for what it feels like years now. I have eagerly been watching and awaiting more news and insider looks for it. It looks like so much fun, it’s got style, zany humor, really funny narration and the game play looks really promising.

Not only that but the world that your creature exists in is really fascinating with all of these spliced creatures all over the place and interacting with each of them to find out how the world went to a over-polluted corrosive wasteland is sparkin’ some interest in me.

I have a feeling we will get another gameplay demonstration as well as a release date but I’m honestly not expecting this one to come out until 2020 or 21.

This is one of those games that I’m fine with if it takes forever to come out just because I really want it to succeed.

6// Outer Worlds

Space is yours to explore, for a price. Impossibly cool looking monster combinations, beautiful unearthly landscapes and a crazy cast of characters on top of that and you got yourself a new favourite to sink only what I can assume will be over a hundred hours.

They showcased some game play for it and the writing is just awesome. The fact that they has the crowd and myself laughing without and voice acting done in the game yet is a testament to their comedic writing.

What I love most about this game is there’s no real good and evil. You play the game how you want to play it. If that means going along with the story and being a boring upstanding citizen you can do that.

If that means literally murdering actors because of a terrible performance and then disintegrating the director you can do that. Either way you are still rewarded in some fashion for your quests and I just think that is so cool paired with all the other face swapping goodness.

5// Pokemon: Sword & Shield

This will be my first Pokemon game in probably a decade. The last one I played was I think was Ruby and Sapphire.

I’m hoping that Pokemon gets some love during the E3 Direct and we get to see a little bit more of the Region and possibly a look at the starter evolutions.

Y’all know I’m #grookeygang for life. Doesn’t matter what it’s final evolution is look at that little bastard.

They look like they are introducing more RPG elements and the Pokemon franchise could use a refreshing new implication of their pattented Pokemon formula. Hence the reason I haven’t gotten a Pokemon up until this release.

Here is to hoping that they showcase more of the technical improvements beyond just content. I do have a feeling some of the millions of Pokemon IP’ currently being released might get talked about instead though.

4// Cyberpunk 2077

This will come as no surprise it’s in my top 5.

It’s in everybody’s top 5.

It’d be doing this game a dis-service to not have it in your top 5.

CD Project Red, the people who made the Witcher 3, have been working on this game for a millennia now and last year it was showcased and said to be playable from start to finish at that point.

I think we will get a final showcase of all the polishing and finishing touches they’ve put on the game and set it up for a release window.

And I mean what’s not to love about this game?

The concept of cyberpunk the style alone is already badass but a whole dystopian world set around that and knowing that Project Red can do with world building, questing, dynamic abilities and interactions.

If you ask me I don’t think it’s going to be coming until late 2020. This is a game that NEEDS to be perfected. It needs to have a good release. People have been anticipating this game for years, including myself.

My wallet is going to be so empty...

3// Astral Chain

This is what I want to see from Nintendo!

No more Sequelitis, finally an interesting fully developed IP and it looks absolutely badass.

The world, the intricate fighting system, badass robo-cop persona’s on leashes, being a cool ass detective.

This game just looks amazing. We need to see more of it. We know almost nothing about the story so far or even how expansive this game is shaping up to be.

YOU GET TO RIDE ROBO-DOG MECHS! whats not to love?

But hey it’s directed by the dude who did Nier Autmoata and that game was a hidden gem for a while. I’m really hoping this game get to bask in the spotlight a little bit more.

I want this game to be successful so bad. As fun as the Mario and Zelda games can be I know that the Switch can have some serious independent releases like this one.

Astral Chain my just be the trendsetter the Switch needs to prove that it’s not just the Mario console, it’s something that can hold it’s own up against the Xbox and Playstation.

2// The Evil Within 3

This is my wildcard.

I know next to no one is anticipating this game but I LOVE THIS FRANCHISE.

I love the world they have created, the resident evil vibes, the terrifying distorted monsters, the twisted visuals that send a chill down your spine.

The ever looming threat of always being hunted, watched or taunted. The Evil Within masters the atmosphere of never feeling truly safe. You are always on guard and that makes for very interesting game play in a horror narrative.

There was worlds of improvements made between the first and second game and I loved each of them dearly. We were left with a couple unanswered questions at the end of the second game and I really want to see the story come to a close and finish off the trilogy.

I’m not expecting and game play or even a release window but at some point during Bethesda’s conference I really really want to see this pop up. We know they’re not announcing the new Elder Scrolls so there is definitely room there for a surprise release.

This is just me being really really desperate for a third game, the second game had such an incredible world and we saw the characters grow so much it would be a shame to see all of that get stuck in just the second game.

Not to mention that this is the most fun I’ve had playing an actually scary game in a long time. Let’s make it happen Bethesda

1// Square Enix: Avenger’s Project

The long awaited and incredibly mysterious Avenger’s project form Square Enix is the cherry on the cake of this E3.

Square Enix is hosting their own panel and while I know majority of it is going towards the 7 remake and possibly a new final fantasy announcement they would be just plain dumb to not have this ready to announce.

With the MCU concluding it’s current phase with Endgame now is the perfect time to showcase this project. It has been two years since we had the teaser and people were going bat-shit then, imagine what would happen now.

The crazy thing is that this will be the first part of a multi-game deal between marvel and Square Enix which means that this game will just serve as the starting block.

We have seen Marvel make an incredible comeback into the gaming universe and they may be doing exactly that. Creating a gaming universe to pair along side their cinematic universe. This one just might surpass PS4 spidey though. It’s got some serious hype going behind it and we might just finally get to see it at E3 this year.

The Wrap-Up

Anyways that is my top 10 list for this years E3. Are they the biggest announcements or releases? Not by a long shot!

But they are the ones that as of right now I am the most excited about!

Are there anything that you think I’ve missed or forgot about? Are you one of the only other Evil Within fans that want a third instalment?

There’s gotta be someone else out there wanting this as bad as I do!!

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rk800downloading · 6 years

Text

“Save me” Chapter 13 - Connor x Reader

Disclaimer: WOW, long wait! I am so sorry, school has been kicking my butt - but hopefully this will tie you over until the next one! ❤ As always, thank you so much for all of your likes / reblogs / comments / messages!!

Again, thank you so much to @autumn-become-human for all of your awesome help (and for dealing with all my shenanigans) you can thank her for convincing me to write the end of the chapter the way it is *cough, cough* ENJOY!

Previous Chapters: 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10 / 11 / 12

“Stupid… It’s so unfair.”

You kicked a bucket of clothes over, spilling it’s folded contents into disarray. You wanted to step on the cotton, to take your angst out on it - why wouldn’t George let you take the car to Detroit? You couldn’t understand.

You sighed, picking up the fabric - the clothes hadn’t done anything to incur your wrath.

“Is something wrong?”

Tim hovered over you, his hazel eyes peering into yours.

“George wouldn’t let me drive to Detroit.” You sighed again, refolding a shirt with a snap of your wrist “I’m so bored here. There’s no one my age - this place just sucks.”

“Detroit can be a dangerous place for a young lady like you.” Tim’s voice was as silky as always, honey dripping from his Illinois accent “George isn’t doing it to be mean.”

“You only say that ‘cause you can do whatever you want.”

Tim’s face scrunched into a lopsided grin “Since when did androids get to do whatever they wanted? Did I miss a memo somewhere?”

“No,” You glanced down to the floor, embarrassed. “I’m sorry.”

Tim gave you a gentle pat on the head, ruffling your hair “It’s okay, I know it’s easy to forget I’m not human - but nevermind that, I’ve got a plan.”

Your curiosity was piqued.

“How about I tell George I need to go do some shopping in Detroit - you sneak along, we take five dollars from the swear jar, and get you some ice cream- you in?”

“I’m pretty sure that those are all of my quarters though.”

Tim rolled his eyes “You in? Or are you in?”

You smiled.

“I’m in.”

---

“A nightmare?” Hank’s voice roused you from sleep.

“A memory,” You groaned, removing your cheek from the car window.

The drive to Rosewater was a long five hours. The orphanage was located on the outskirts of Geneva in Illinois - a place you hadn’t been to since you had left it.

A morbid gut instinct told you that Tim would be there. The Detroit police had sealed off the warehouse and apartments, yet you had overheard Hank talking about about how cases of the contaminated red ice continued to pour in.

The orphanage was the best lead - the only lead.

Hank glanced over his shoulder, noticing your grim expression.

“Reach into the seat pocket behind Connor.”

You nodded, stealing a quick look at the brown haired man in the passenger seat. His eyes were closed.

“Is Connor okay?” you questioned “Can androids sleep?”

Hank grumbled, gaze now focused on the road ahead “Said something about sending a report to Cyberlife.”

“Um?” your voice was skeptical “Won’t they be able to tell he’s… you know?”

“I asked the same thing, but he said that he had the situation” Hank mimicked Connor’s voice “‘under control’. Now reach into that damn pocket will ya?”

You nodded again, this time obliging. Your hand fought through napkins and wrappers finding a rectangular object.

It was a Nintendo 3DS.

You quickly looked up at Hank and back down to the gaming system. You clicked the power button, eagerly anticipating what game would load.

“Animal crossing?” you gasped aloud, but Hank didn’t indulge.

On the screen, a small dog welcomed you back to Sumoville. Your character was named-

You smiled.

Mayor Cole.

“Was this your son's?” You asked, exploring the well furnished virtual home.

“It’s mine.” Hank responded this time, voice strict “This information does not leave the car, you understand? I just thought that if you had that scowl on any longer, it’d be permanently engraved into your face.”

“I promise to keep your secret.” you beamed, suddenly surprised by Hank’s arm extending back.

“Cole used to make me do this,” his little finger reached towards you “a pinky promise he called it.”

You paused, looking in awe at his hand. Warmth spread throughout your chest, filling a deep hole that had been empty since birth.

“Ah, shit, I’m treating you like a kid- forget it-” Hank tried to take back his gesture, red subtly creeping up the tips of his ears.

You grabbed his hand, tightly wrapping your pinky around his.

“No!” you spoke bashfully “It’s not! I just- I never had the chance to do stuff like this before - it’s nice. I pinky promise to keep your secret!”

“Okay already!” Hank stammered, pulling free of your grip “Don’t get us into a damn car crash.”

“You started it!”

“Yeah, yeah.” He casually drummed his fingers against the wheel, seemingly embarrassed “So, how are you feeling about the whole Tim thing?”

Your hands hovered over the buttons of the 3DS.

How did you feel?

“I don’t know how I feel about a lot of things these days,” you started “I still feel that I should be more shocked, more upset. Truthfully, I guess I just feel really alone.”

Hank was silent and you were grateful for it. You stared out the window, processing your feelings. It felt selfish to dwell on your own misfortune, but the black hole in your heart refused to subside - it was sucking you in, making you feel numb.

“Kid,”

Hank’s soft voice pulled you from your thoughts.

“Whether you like it or not, you’re stuck with us now.”

You gulped hard “What do you mean?”

Hank turned the car, headlights faintly illuminating ‘Welcome to Geneva’ through the darkness of the night.

“I mean that after all of this GOR business is over with, you’re free to stay with me and Connor.”

Hank glanced at you through the rearview mirror.

“For three years I hadn’t opened Cole’s room. I trapped him and my feelings inside there- and it’s just that, uh,” He nodded to himself, a small smile spreading across his face “I think Cole would be happy if you got some use outta his old room. Connor would be happy too, and me, I guess-”

“Hank, I-” you struggled to find the words matching your feelings. You wanted more than anything to accept his offer, to jump up and down screaming yes - but were you allowed to feel this way? Was it okay for an orphan like you to find a ‘home’ in Hank and Connor?

“Nobody is forcing you.” he interrupted “I’m not asking you to replace Cole - but you’re part of the family now in your own way. Think about it-”

You arms wrapped around Hank from the backseat.

“Thank you…” you spoke, although the two words could just barely convey the multitude of what you felt. Hank seemed to understand, giving your hand a few light pats.

“It feels as if you’ve hugged Hank more than me lately,”

You looked to the passenger’s side where Connor’s eyes were open and on you. He playfully pouted, crossing his arms over his chest “is this what jealousy feels like?”

“I am the better looking one.” Hank smirked “Welcome back. How’d the Cyberlife thing go?”

Connor’s gaze narrowed “It went well. I don’t think that they suspect anything.”

“Good.” Hank didn’t ask anymore as he pulled the car into a motel “We’ll be staying here for the night.”

---

The motel wasn’t something you recognized from your childhood; it was simple, modern - vastly different from the preserved 1900’s architecture known of Geneva. Blue glowed from strips of light that ran alongside the cubistic building, matching the incandescent room numbers on the doors.

You walked with Hank to the motel lobby; an android stood dressed in fashion resembling the building’s aesthetic, a bright smile across her face “Welcome. What may I help you with today?”

“Two adjacent rooms, please.” Hank asked, leaning against the counter.

“Of course. I will need two pieces of ID, one from each human over 18 years of age.”

You slid your ID beside Hanks. The attendant’s fingers dangled over them, pausing atop yours. Yellow spun from her temple.

“Welcome back Miss, have you come to collect your belongings from your last visit?”

“I don’t- I haven’t been here before.” you tilted your head in confusion “Are you mixing me up with someone else?”

Connor stepped in front of you, LED blinking in rhythm with the attendant’s. He grabbed her arm, skin fading into white where they touched.

His brows furrowed at the results.

“You were here, 12 days ago. You rented room 23, but never returned after leaving in the afternoon.” he released the android “Did you visit the orphanage by yourself?”

You closed your eyes in frustration. You were such a mess - one problem after another, one missing memory after another.

“I don’t know.” you replied - now an overused saying of yours “Maybe if I see it, I’ll be able to remember something.”

The attendant left, reappearing with your backpack.

You were tired of forgetting - you would force yourself to remember.

You thanked her, stepping outside - barely waiting a second before tearing into the bag, taking your annoyance out on its zipper.

“My love,” Connor whispered, his warm hands stopping you “I think it would be best if we took a small break from the investigation tonight.”

“What?” You looked up, hair wild across your face.

“He’s right.” Hank appeared from behind, two key cards in hand “Rest tonight, watch TV, order some food if you want - but that’s an order from a cop. Okay?”

You sighed “I’m just so tired of not being able to remember - just constant roadblocks. I could have been Tim’s accomplice for all I know!”

“My love,” Connor repeated, softer this time - his fingers tightening around yours. “you know that isn’t true.”

You felt your shoulders drop, anger disappearing.

“Room 10 kid.” Hank grabbed the bag, handing you one of the cards “Go take a long shower. We’ll be next door if you need us.”

---

A shower did refresh you, even if only a little.

You hadn’t moved from the bed ever since, mindlessly watching TV, still warm despite only wearing a towel.

“Red ice; named after its appearance. It is known to induce rage and mental instability in its users - and now is creating instability in the United States of America. This is CTN TV, with all the current news on street crime, and your scoop on the latest drug terrorizing America.”

“Thank you for that opening, Dave. The introduction of androids into the workplace has created a significant impact on the economy. Unemployment is at an all time low, leaving humans unsatisfied and turning to red ice for an escape from reality - but can it really be called that? It has been reported that over 97% of people that smoke red ice experience extreme symptoms of anger, often leading to cases of violence and assault-”

A small beep rang from your door, the sound of a turning handle in its wake.

“I noticed you weren’t sleeping yet, I hope that Hank’s drunken snore isn’t keeping-” Connor walked in, freezing as he saw you.

“TV off.” You commanded, tucking the towel tighter around yourself. “It’s okay, come in. I was just watching some news.”

“I can return at a later time…”

“Hurry! you’re letting the cold air in!”

Connor cleared his throat, hastily shutting the door behind him “We have a robe in our room if you would like to use it.”

“Is the towel bothering you?”

“Well it is certainly distracting me.”

You patted the spot next to you, gesturing him to join. He reluctantly approached.

“I wanted to make sure you were okay.” he spoke dryly, knuckles tight, fingers grasping at his jeans as he sat. His whole body was rigid, eyes forward, jaw locked into place.

“Is the towel that uncomfortable? I just thought since you’ve seen me before- I’m sorry, I’ll go change…” you mumbled self-consciously, rising from the bed.

“No-” Connor reached for your arm “I believe you’re misinterpreting my actions. I am restraining myself.”

“Restraining?”

“What I spoke about before.” his voice was laboured “The ache.”

“Ache? You can kiss me whenever you want. I thought you were going to start being selfish?”

“I want to be, but if I kiss you right now-”

Connor’s hands cautiously reached towards the towel’s hem. He brought his gaze to your figure, mouth parting in thirst.

“I’ll want even more.”

Fingers traced up your leg - brushing against the inside of your thigh.

You throbbed, swelled - your body pleaded for his touch.

“Then kiss me,” you begged, his eyes wavering in response.

“Do you understand what you’re asking me?”

You leaned forward, softly pressing your mouth against his.

“I know exactly what I’m asking you.”

Connor inhaled sharply, breathing you in, hands grasping at your skin. His shoulders squared - posture straightened.

And then he kissed you again.

He kissed you deep and hungry. You groaned as his tongue found yours, shuddered as he bit your lip. You felt him grin as a gasp escaped you.

Lust pounded throughout your chest, pulsated between your legs. You wanted him on you, against you - in you.

“Tell me if you want me to stop.” He whispered between kisses, his grip dipping under the towel. He pressed into the skin of your bare hips, lifting you, straddling you across his lap. You greedily pressed your body against his, back arching into the feeling of his lips against your collarbone.

All you could think about was the maddening pressure building inside you - how it threatened to drive you insane if Connor didn’t relieve it, if he didn’t save you.

You craved him, needed him.

You let the towel drop to the floor.

Next Chapter: CHAPTER 14

#detroit become human #detroit: become human #Detroit: BH #detroit connor #detroit: connor #rk800 #rk800 connor #dbh #dbh connor #connor x reader #fanfic #hank anderson #dbh hank

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tyconstable-blog · 5 years

Text

Top 5 Most Anticipated Games of 2019

With an avid amount of new exciting entries and some eagerly awaited sequels to boot - 2019 is shaping up a be a mammoth year for games. Here’s a personal list of my most anticipated releases that are all (hopefully) scheduled for release in the next twelve months.

Kingdom Hearts 3

January 29th 2019 // PS4 & Xbox One

Kingdom Hearts third instalment and stories conclusion has been thirteen long years in the making and now we’re less than a month away from it’s release. You’ll rejoin Sora, Donald, and, Goofy in their quest to finally defeat the darkness. There’s a lot of new worlds to explore, a fresh revamped combat system, and a staggering eighty hours of gameplay to enjoy. Safe to say this lands easily at the number one spot on my list.

Resident Evil 2 - Remake

January 25th 2019 // PS4 & Xbox One

Capcom dropped a bomb at this years E3 when they revealed a remake of one of Resi’s most beloved titles. Claire Redfield and Leon S. Kennedy’s story is one of the most memorable survival horrors of all time. You’ll step into each of their shoes while traversing around the infected raccoon city, saving civilians and battling tyrant zombies along the way. It’s an emotional, terrifying ride that’s guaranteed to satisfy both old and new fans alike.

Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled

June 21st 2019 // PS4, Xbox One & Nintendo Switch

Everyone’s favourite bandicoot is sliding back onto consoles next summer in the remastered Crash Team Racing. Originally released in 1999, CTR quickly became a cult classic for fans, and, it seemed like a major disappointment when the game wasn’t included on the PlayStation Classic. However, Naughty Dog quickly answered everyone’s prayers when Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled was announced at this years Game Awards. Whether you’ll be driving solo or racking up endless hours with friends, this is sure to be the game of the summer.

Untitled Animal Crossing

Release date TBC // Nintendo Switch

If it wasn’t enough that Nintendo stole the show at this years E3 with Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, they gave fans another incredibly surprise a few weeks later with the reveal of a brand new core Animal Crossing title for the Nintendo Switch. With no gameplay footage, release date or release window it’s all a bit mysterious at the moment but it’s certain that the series fifth instalment will be as delightful and fun as ever.

AWAY: Journey to the Unexpected

February 5th // PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch & PC

AWAY: Journey to the Unexpected is a game that hasn’t had a lot of attention since it’s initial reveal at PAX West back in August 2017. From what we’ve seen so far, AWAY is an indie first person adventure with gorgeous anime inspired graphics. You’ll be battling giant robots, aliens and monsters on your journey, while recruiting as many allies as you can. With a charming unique art style and an interesting premise it could just be a hidden gem of 2018.

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what-even-is-thiss · 6 years

Text

I see... people (ghost au)

Quick thingy before we start. I don’t write ghosts in the way they’re normally written. So, don’t go in with any normal expectations. Also, I tried my very best to write an autistic character here and I do not have autism so if I have made a major mistake I apologize.

Tip Jar

Warnings: Death and injury mention. Swearing. 9,675 words.

Abstract: Patton can see things that other people can’t.

Patton jumped into the car and threw his little mickey mouse backpack onto the floor.

“Woah, buddy. What have we talked about?”

“Sorry Virgil.” Patton said, picking up his bag and gently placing it on the seat.

“That’s better.” Virgil said.

The head in the passengers seat turned around and its owner reached onto the seat next to him and picked up a juice bag that he handed back to the five year old sitting in the back seat.

“You need help?” Virgil asked.

Patton punched the straw in, even remembering to put his thumb over it this time.

“Guess not.” Virgil said, turning himself back around and starting the car.

They started driving. Patton sucked on the juice bag.

“You’re being kinda quiet. What happened at school today?” Virgil said.

As he adjusted the mirror Patton caught a glimpse of his uncle’s eye makeup.

“My teacher thought your face was weird.” Patton said.

“Ah.” Virgil said. “What was it? The snake bites? Purple hair? Eyeliner? My big nose?”

“Your nose is not big!” Patton insisted.

Virgil chuckled. “I know, I just like to throw something else in there.”

“He said you’re too old to be dressing like that.” Patton said.

“Kid, punk isn’t dead and neither is emo. If your teacher can’t keep up I dunno what to tell him.” Virgil said.

“Dad says he likes your tattoo but he wishes you’d lighten up a bit.” Patton said.

Virgil had to restrain himself from slamming on the breaks. He took a deep breath instead.

“Buddy, you know that...”

“He’s not dead!” Patton screamed.

Virgil pulled over to the side of the road and put on the parking break. He leaned on the steering wheel.

“Verge?” Patton asked uncertainly.

“You’re not in trouble, buddy. Uncle Virgil just has to take a second. Just play the quiet game for a minute, okay?”

Patton started counting quietly. “One, two, three, four, five...”

Virgil smirked. Patton was probably trying to count to sixty.

“Forty nine, sixty!”

“Fifty comes after forty, buddy.” Virgil said. “No problem. I’m better now.”

They started driving again and Patton started talking about his new friend he’d met on the playground that day.

When they reached the little apartment complex where the two of them lived Virgil carried Patton’s bag up the concrete and metal steps and he handed his key with the batman ring on it to the little boy, who tried for two full minutes to use the key before handing it grumpily back to his uncle.

Just like every other day Virgil smirked and took the key from him before opening the door to their two bedroom apartment and handing the kid his backpack.

“Homework.” Virgil said.

Patton waved to the corner of the room.

“Hi, dad!” he said, before walking over to the little dining table in the kitchen and opening his homework.

Virgil sighed. Maybe he should just let the kid have his fun. He went into his bedroom to start working on a new comic.

Patton finished his homework and then carefully and neatly put all of his stuff into the little Power Rangers folder that Virgil had bought him for his last birthday. He pondered in his little mind what to do next. He looked in the corner and then beamed and ran over.

“You’re still here!” he said, running over.

A tall man with broad shoulders in a white t-shirt and torn red jacket sat in the corner on the arm of the couch beaming. His jeans were torn as well, but not in a tasteful way. The bottom of them had been scraped and burned half away and the once polished shoes he was wearing had burn marks all over them.

“Hello!” he exclaimed in a big voice. “All done?”

“Yeah! Oh, Oh, can I show you something?” Patton said, bouncing up and down.

“You know you always can, but be quiet. Your uncle must be in there working on his grown up comics.”

“They’re nice comics!” Patton said in defense of Virgil.

“How would you know? You’re not old enough to read them yet. Too much death, methinks.”

The man playfully made as if to poke Patton in the nose but his finger went right through the young boy’s face. Patton wrinkled his nose as if he suddenly had to hold back a sneeze.

“Hey!” he said. “That feels funny!”

“Come on, what did you want to show me?”

Patton ran into his bedroom and the man followed him, phasing through the door as he walked from the dark decorations and Tim Burton type aesthetic of Virgil’s living room and kitchen into the little five year old’s room painted light blue and full to the gills with stuffed animals and toy cars and discarded papers.

Patton picked up one of these discarded papers and went to hand it to him.

“Daddy can’t hold things, remember? Can you show it to me?”

Patton held up the paper. There was a little childish drawing of stick figures. Two big ones and one small one. One of the big ones had snake bites drawn by the mouth and the other had a crown on it. The little one was drawn in blue.

“That’s me, and that’s uncle Virgil, and that’s you, dad!”

“Patton, are you done with your homework?” Virgil called from the other room.

“Yes, Virgil!” Patton called.

Virgil stepped into the room, his usual jacket off and his makeup removed. His Evanescence t-shirt now quite visible and his combat boots probably discarded somewhere in the hallway or in his room.

“Who are you talking to?” Virgil asked.

“I’m talking to dad. I wanted him to see this.”

Patton jumped one, two, three times forward and then showed Virgil the drawing. He explained it to Virgil the same way he had to his dad. Virgil took the drawing and studied it. Patton eagerly flapped his hands in anticipation of his uncle’s response.

Virgil knelt down. He sighed and sat cross-legged on his nephew’s bedroom floor.

“Patton, I know you want your dad to be here, but he’s gone. There was a car crash. And a fire. It was so bad they couldn’t find even a piece of him afterwards.”

Virgil gently adjusted Patton’s little glasses and started playing with his hair.

“Roman was my big brother. It’s really hard for me too. I wish he was here, even if he did annoy me a bit.”

“A bit?” Roman scoffed. “You threw a chair at me one time for stealing your pencil eraser.”

“What?” Patton said. “Virgil, you threw a chair at dad for stealing your pencil? That’s mean!”

“Who told you that?” Virgil said.

“Dad.” Patton said, pointing to the bed.

Virgil looked amazed as Patton seemed to be paying very close attention to the bed and what it had to say.

“Uh. dad says, uh, to prove it to you, I should say that you uh, that um, what? Oh, that you peed your pants during the what? Mon-o-logue? Monologue unit in high school theater.”

Virgil was in such shock that he barely registered the little pokes and the little voice saying “Hey, hey, Uncle Verge, what’s a monologue?”

“So you see dead people?” Logan asked, making another mark on the graph paper.

Patton stared blankly at the 8th grade state testing standards sheet.

“Hey do you wanna get pizza later?” Patton said.

“You’re avoiding the question.” Logan said.

“I forgot the question.” Patton admitted.

“Do you see dead people?” Logan asked pointedly.

“I see ghosts, not dead people, Logan.” Patton laughed.

“Wait wait wait wait” Logan said, momentarily stopping his drawing of a curve, “Aren’t ghosts dead people? Are you telling me ghosts are alive? I don’t believe you.”

“No, they’re not alive, silly.” Patton said.

Logan looked over at the bookshelves in the school library and at the motivational educational posters on the walls. He could read. This wasn’t a dream.

“Okay then, what?” Logan said. “If they’re not alive or dead, then what are they?”

“They’re ghosts!” Patton said.

“Explain.” Logan said.

“See sometimes people should die, but instead they fall into another level of reality.” Patton said.

“So like another dimension?” Logan asked.

“No, like the world is like cake. Or like pancakes. OR like a double layer pizza, or...”

Logan snapped his finger in his friend’s face. “You’re off topic again. Did you remember to take your meds today?”

“I dunno. Virgil says I’m old enough to remember to take them myself now but sometimes I forget. I don’t like to think about it.”

“Okay, what were you saying? About the reality thing?”

Patton took out a piece of scrap paper and drew three lines on it all parallel to each other. He put a little dot on the top one and rocked back and forth a bit in his chair as he explained.

“This is where we are.”

He put a little circle on the bottom one.

“If you fall in here you’re a ghost.”

He put a little squiggle along the middle one.

“And this is what you fall through. I think that one has something to do with physics. I can see through it.”

“This is all very difficult to believe.” Logan said.

Patton seemed to think for a minute, studying Logan unusually carefully.

“Do you wanna see?” He asked finally.

“You mean you can prove it to me?” Logan said.

“Only if you’ll come for a sleepover at my apartment.”

“Is this a scheme to get me to finally come over to your house?” Logan sighed.

Patton smiled mischievously. “Mayybe. But it has to be this Friday.”

“The night of the blue moon?” Logan said. “But my mom...”

“This Friday.” Patton said. “Pleeease?”

“Oh, all right. I’ll talk her into it.”

Patton went back to his homework but didn’t stop happily bouncing for at least ten minutes.

That Friday after school Logan stepped into his friend’s small apartment for the first time.

“Why does it look like Halloween in here?” he asked.

“Because that’s how I like it.” came a deep voice.

Logan jumped slightly. There was a man who must’ve been in his early to mid thirties wearing all black and purple. His hair was purple, his piercings were black, his eye makeup was really black. His jacket was partially purple. His nails were somehow the darkest shade of black Logan had ever seen. The intricate lightning shaped tattoo visible where he’d rolled up his sleeves seemed really ominous.

Patton, wearing the school’s uniform polo shirt in the lightest shade of blue it came in ran forward and gave the ominous looking man a hug.

“This is Virgil!” Patton said.

“That’s Virgil? The paranoid one you’re always talking about?” Logan sputtered.

“Hey.” Virgil said, giving a two-fingered salute.

Patton suddenly looked angrily at the couch.

“Dad! Why?” Patton said, seeming distressed. “That wasn’t very nice... No, I don’t wanna talk about it... Aren’t you the grown-up here?”

“I think if anyone’s the adult here it’s you, unfortunately.” Virgil said. “I dunno what he said but I’m sure it was rude. You morons get settled. I’m cooking dinner.”

“Virgil!” Paton exclaimed.

“I’m kidding, jeez.” Virgil laughed before heading to the kitchen part of the main room.”

“You didn’t know he was kidding?” Logan asked.

“Nope. That’s why he tells me when he’s kitten.” Patton said.

“You mean kidding.” Logan said.

“Nope!” Patton said, before running off towards a little mew noise.

A tiny black cat came running into the room, ready for dinner. Logan tensed up a bit when he saw it.

“Oh, of course. A black cat to finish the aesthetic.” Logan said.

“Put your bag down, kid. The decor doesn’t bite and neither does Sally the cat usually. Roman can’t bite because he can’t touch anything.” Virgil said from the kitchen.

“Dad says he’s... what? Offended by your... audacity?” Patton said, giggling. “That’s a fun word.”

Patton scratched the kitten as she ate and told her “And you have the awwwwwdacity of being so cute! Hey Logan, wanna meet her?”

Logan did want to meet the cat, actually, so he finally put down his backpack, overstuffed with schoolwork and clothes and medication and a toothbrush, and went over to humor Patton and the cat.

Patton seemed to keep saying things to someone that wasn’t there. In short, fun sentences like Patton always tended to use.

“I take it your father is here?” Logan whispered as Sally the kitten climbed around on Patton’s polo shirt.

Patton nodded and didn’t seem to notice much of what Logan was saying. He was too focused on the cat.

Dinner started at 7:30 exactly. Virgil had made macaroni and cheese and cauliflower.

Roman sat at the empty chair Patton had pulled out for him. He took his red jacket off and tied it around his waist. Didn’t want to lose that. Not like he’d lost everything else. He could smell the food, that’s what hurt. He kept smiling, knowing that if he did Patton would assume he was alright.

Virgil was better at reading faces though, and he didn’t know about the kid. No, just stay a little longer. Put up with it.

“That cheese smells divine. Is it?” Roman asked.

Patton nodded excidedly.

“Gone a bit quiet, have you?” Roman chuckled.

Patton nodded again.

“Too stressed and happy with all the unusual happenings, my prince?”

Patton nodded again.

“Well, that’s alright.” Roman chuckled comfortingly.

“So when does something happen?” Logan asked once the dishes were clear.

“Patton said something would happen around when the moon rises.” Virgil said, looking at Patton, who was humming and rocking on the balls of his feet, clearly daydreaming.

“Mr. Sanders, is he always like this?” Logan asked.

“Well that’s a question to ask while he’s still in the room.” Virgil said, giving the kid a look.

“He doesn’t mind. He lets me talk about him. I specifically asked for his consent on that before we came here.” Logan said.

“You’re a weird kid. I can see why he likes you so much.” Virgil said. “And yes, these piercings are real. You don’t have to keep wondering about that.”

Logan started. “But how did you...”

Virgil popped a towel and Logan jumped. The sudden action also scared Patton out of his daydream and then Virgil let out a deep chuckle.

“Gotta keep you boys on your toes. Be vigilant! Anything could happen at any time. Like popping a towel!”

He popped the towel again and the boys jumped again.

“For the love of Sondheim, what does he do when I’m gone, Patton? What a pernicious petty punk my precious preemie brother turned out to be. I am amazed every time I stop by.” Roman said.

“Did you hear an echo?” Logan said.

Virgil suddenly wrapped the kitchen towel tightly around his right hand, leaving his dominant one free. He held the wrapped hand to his chest like it would protect him as he slowly turned around.

“Oh. You heard that.” The see-through version of his brother said sheepishly.

“Nine years now.” Virgil said, keeping his distance.

“Happy anniversary to me.” Roman said in an empty tone.

“Nine years.” Virgil said.

“Yes, pop angst. Stop reminding me. I’ve been legally dead. You don’t have to remind me!” Roman said, knowing he would cry if he could.

“Nine years I raise your kid, I pay for your funeral and half of your friend’s, I fight tooth and nail to keep my publisher and feed your kid, I lie to our parents and work through disease after disease, comfort a child while I’m the one having a panic attack and the first thing I hear out of your goddamn mouth about me after nine fucking years of raising your kid like he was mine and dealing with you and a butt ton of other ghosts Patton attracts on top of every other damn thing is another insult? Are we twelve? Do you have an issue with how I’m raising Patton? I’m here, asshole. You knew I’d be able to see you tonight. You knew. Does mommy’s little prince have anything to say to me?”

Logan and Patton stood staring, mouths agape. Logan for the obvious reasons of a real ghost and being in a friend’s family drama, and Patton because he had just heard several sounds come out of his uncle’s mouth that he thought he was incapable of making.

A moment of silence passed with Roman under Virgil’s death glare. Then another. Then a third. Then Roman let out a slight chuckle.

“Oh, I always was way out of line wasn’t I?” he said. “You went and grew up, and I stayed a twenty eight year old fool.”

“Thirty seven year old fool now.” Virgil said, stepping closer but not unwrapping the towel.

“Nothing changes in here.” Roman said looking around. “It is more frustrating then your ageing apple can comprehend.”

He was close enough to Virgil now that he could poke his head and so he did. The finger went right through and Virgil stepped back.

“Ew.” he said. “Why does it feel like that?”

“I don’t know, but I’ve found it’s an easy way to annoy you when I’m here.”

“How long are you visible to us?” Virgil asked.

“Sunrise, probably. But everything is strange.” Roman said.

“Well, Patton?” Virgil said.

“Y-” Patton swallowed. “Yes, Virgil?”

“Do you think you can handle staying up late?”

“I don’t want to Virgil. Thank you so much for saying I can though. It’s bedtime soon. Can Logan stay up late?”

“I... I don’t think I want to stay up late either.” Logan said. “ I want to... work on homework before breakfast.”

It’s almost bedtime! Night nights!” Patton said. “Come on, Logan.”

“Wait just a minute, my little minion.” Roman said.

“What?” said Patton.

Roman walked up to his son and smiled. “You’re really special, Patton. You understand this, don’t you?”

“I’m no more special than anyone else, dad.” Patton said.

Roman looked at his hand and then smiled in that way that only an actor could.

“No, you’re a special person and tonight is a special night.” Roman said. “A night I’ve been dreaming about for nine years and I dreamed about before you were born.”

The ghost grabbed Patton by the shoulder and then pulled him into a hug. Patton knew this was huge but he didn’t stop to think about that. He leaned in and started crying softly. It was cold, by God was it cold, but it was undoubtedly real too. He leaned into Roman’s shoulder, knowing he’d probably never feel this again.

“I love you so much, dad.” Patton said through tears.

“And I feel a deep affection for you as well.” Roman said.

“Hey!” Patton said.

“That is such a me move. How dare you.” Virgil said, a reluctant smile poking at the corners of his mouth.

Roman gripped his son’s shoulder. “I love you too. Now off to bed.”

Patton dragged Logan, who had been feeling more and more awkward by the second, into his room, and scooped up Sally the kitten along the way.

“He’s turning out to be a strange person, our Patton.” Roman said.

“Well, duh. He’s yours, and that actress friend you chose to carry him was pretty weird too.” Virgil said. “You know she ended up robbing a costume store like a month after your ‘death’?”

“No, I didn’t know. It’s difficult to stay in one place for long so I get most of my news from my visits with Patton and any other person with the sight I can find. They’re usually scared types that are used to being called crazy though so, like a worse, less emo version of you. Except for when they are emo.” Roman said.

“How did you just touch him, by the way?” Verge asked. “I can’t touch you. Isn’ there some strange psychic weirdness keeping you from interacting with anything?”

“I got a blue moon on the anniversary of my ‘death’ so the barier weakened just a little. That’s why you, who has never seen a ghost before, saw me. And like I said, Patton is special. He could already see me, so the next natural step was something more real. And of course he choose to go to bed still.”

“Well, that’s Patton for you. Something big happens and then he’s right onto the next thing. Memory worse than a goldfish. Sit down if ghosts can do that. We have nine years of catching up to do before sunrise.” Virgil said.

“I’d suggest wine, but I can’t exactly eat or drink.” Roman said.

“How about I drink Gatorade or iced coffee out of a wine glass and you look on with envy while we chat?” Virgil said.

“Sounds like a plan.”

Logan admitted the sound of a cat purring was quite soothing, and so was the shade of light blue that Patton’s walls were painted.

“See? I told ya.” Patton said, scratching behind Sally’s ears.

“How are you so casual about ghosts? And... why did you wait so long to tell me?” Logan asked, not taking his eyes off of the cat in his lap.

Patton smiled. “Because we’re best friends now.”

“How does that make such a big difference?” Logan asked.

Patton sat for a moment, seemingly looking for the right words. Sometimes the right words just came to him, sometimes it took the words a minute, some times when he was overwhelmed like when his day got messed with or a firetruck went past or a spider appeared the words went away altogether and all he was left with were feelings. Patton thought with his feelings and had to translate that into English. How did it make a big difference? How to explain that?

“I think honesty is great.” said Patton finally. “But too much truth too soon isn’t good. That’s what Virgil told me. No lies, but don’t tell everybody you can see ghosts. I know why now. They don’t believe me even though I do and ghosts like me and they’re all usually really nice people. I love them a lot, but not everybody does. Does that make sense? Was it too much?”

“No, I think you got it just right, Patton. Thank you for explaining. I know it’s hard for you sometimes.” Logan said.

“You talk like a teacher. That’s why I like you, Logan.” Patton said, smiling and resting his chin on two fists.

“Well I’m glad someone likes it.” Logan said.

“Sally likes it.” Patton said, giving the kitten on Logan’s lap a little nudge.

The young cat purred harder. Logan almost let a smile crack.

“Faster! This way! Faster, he’s in trouble!” called out the ghost.

Patton felt like his lungs were gong to burst. He held his cardigan in his hand as he ran. He now had a scrape on one arm from when he removed the cardigan and scraped his arm on a passing branch. The ghost running in front of him looked like he used to be important in the Victorian era or something. He was stuck being in his late twenties just like Patton’s father, He had a large burn mark covering the left side of his face. Patton wondered where exactly this man had fallen into the third layer. Somewhere fun, he hoped, but it was impossible to tell if he was from Britain or North America. Completely impossible.

“The little girl is just this way!” the ghost called.

He had said there was a little girl stuck under a log. Patton, with his tendency for extreme empathy and sixteen year old recklessness had followed the strange man but now that he’s been running for several minutes he wasn’t so sure anymore. Who was this man?

“This way! We’re almost there, young seer!” the ghost called.

Before Patton could register what was happening he tripped and fell.

And fell.

And kept falling

And tumbling downward.

He rolled down a hill, down a little ravine and landed in a tiny creek. The shimmering figure of the ghost could be heard laughing deeply almost like a cartoon villain from above. He was tall and brown haired and had a bowler hat. That’s all Patton took note of before he left.

Too many feelings, no.

“You’re too old to throw a tantrum. You’re too old to throw a tantrum.” Patton repeated over and over again.

He felt the scrapes on his body and the dirt on his legs and the tag of his shirt and his favorite cardigan lying beside him and his glasses crooked and broken sitting on his face. He heard the frogs in the distance and the cars in the distance and he swore he could hear his own fast beating heart but most of all he felt. Betrayal by a stranger. Loss for his glasses and not knowing where he was.

“You’re too old to throw a tantrum. You’re too old to throw a tantrum.” Patton repeated as the movement of the wind became too much.

He started crying and pulling on his hair.

“Too old to throw a tantrum! Too old to throw a tantrum!” He screamed.

That devolved into just normal screaming and crying.

Virgil paced the floor as he listened to the dial tone on the other end. When the inevitable “Hello” came he jumped.

“UH, hi Mrs. Thomas. This is Virgil Sanders, Patton’s guardian. You know Patton?... Yes, he is friends with your Logan. Mrs... Yes I... Was he at your house any time this afternoon?... He wasn’t at the park and he hates breaking routine unless your Logan talks him into it so I thought... Well no, he didn’t want to have that looked at and I respected his wishes. This is off topic... Look, do you have information about my child or not?... Yes, thank you. Tell Logan to text me if any of their friends knows something. He has my number for emergencies still... Thank you, Mrs. Thomas.”

Verge fell to his knees as soon as he pressed the button to end the call and then fell onto his back. The nervous energy was becoming overwhelming. It hadn’t gotten this bad in years.

He eventually got himself together enough to call the police. That was an adventure in itself. Police don’t seem to like thirty somethings with multiple piercings or want to take them seriously.

The little girl hummed as she walked along the stream. Her little torn Easter dress bounced as she walked. She must have been ten or eleven years old both physically and mentally.

It was just starting to get a teeny bit warmer. She couldn’t feel it, but tiny flowers were starting to show up sometimes. She wished she could pick them, but her hand went right through them.

She hummed a little tune about ducks. Were there ducks in this stream? No, there were crying sounds in this stream.

The little girl ran towards the noise. Her long dark hair flew behind her in a swirly, otherworldly pattern as she sought it out. It was a boy. Or a grown up? A teenager. He was normal. Wearing a very dirty blue polo shirt. He probably couldn’t see her.

“I wonder why he’s sad.” She wondered allowed.

The teen jumped at the human voice and the girl jumped too.

“Oh! You can see me!” she said in surprise. “I’ve heard of that. My name is Valerie.”

Valerie was just met with terrified silence.

“Español?” She asked.

The teenager shook his head.

“English?” she said.

He nodded and shakily placed a bent and cracked pair of glasses on his head.

“P-Patton. Hi.” he said, clearly struggling to talk.

“Are you trying to look happy?” Valerie asked.

Patton smiled, trying to imitate his dad. It didn’t work.

“You have spinach in your teeth.” Valerie noted.

Patton laughed a little. He wasn’t exactly sure why. Maybe such a normal ghost encounter after such a catastrophic one was funny. He looked up. How long had he been upset? How long had he been wandering before that ghost had tricked him? The sky was dark now. The girl was glowing like a willow-the-wisp.

“I have a bright idea.” Patton said suddenly.

“Does that have to do with how I’m glowing?” Valerie asked.

“Yup! Do you know the way back to town, Valerie? I need to get home.”

“Oh, yeah I know the way back to town.” Valerie said. “I’ll help you.”

Patton got up, ignoring the torturous stiffness in his joints and the pain on his scrapes as best he could and followed the little girl back down the stream.

“My phone is probably waterlogged now. Virgil will never let me hear the end of it.” Patton said.

“Who’s Virgil?” Valerie asked as she stopped to let Patton catch up.

“The best uncle ever, and kind of like my dad, but he’s my uncle.” Patton said. “He let me get a cat. Her name is Sally like from Nightmare Before Christmas. She really likes people, just like me.”

“You like people?” Valerie asked.

“You betcha, kiddo.” Patton said happily. “Especially ghost people.”

Patton looked like he very much would’ve liked to touch her nose or rough up her hair and for once Valerie was happy she phased through everything, because she was getting too old for that. Or... was. Who was this guy?

“You seem pretty happy for somebody who was just crying and hurt.” Valerie said, pausing again to let him limp up to her. “Aren’t you a teenager? My mom always said teenagers are grumpy.”

“Not me.” Patton said. “I get tired easy I think, but thankfully I really like naps.”

They reached a point where the large ditch the stream had cut through the earth over time got a little shorter.

“Are you okay?” Valerie asked, indicating the climb.

Patton considered it. He didn’t have a very good reaction time. His years of being hit in the head with dodgeballs and every other number of things informed him this was true. So if he slipped he’d probably just fall. The ghost girl could just walk into the ground and then float back up out of it. He considered all of these facts for a moment.

“Well, I really need to get home.” Patton said. “Wait for me at the top please, miss?”

Valerie nodded and then walked into the wall of rocks and dirt.

Patton adjusted his broken glasses and shook his hands. He took a small painful jump forward one, two, three times. Good enough. He climbed the six feet of the wall, humming as he did so.

“Oh, that was a climb.” Patton said.

“You did a good job.” Valerie said encouragingly. “I would’ve fallen over.”

“Well I’m a bit older and taller than you, kiddo.” Patton said. “Now which way?”

The police were not being helpful at all. Virgil was absolutely spent from making phone calls but he couldn’t sleep. He was standing in his friend Terrence’s living room, pacing so fast he was in danger of putting a rut in the carpet. He rambled on over and over.

“And what if he’s scared? He doesn’t talk much when he’s scared. I mean, I taught him how to ask for help when he was very little but what if he can’t explain where we live? What if he forgot our address again? His memory is terrible. And what about the ghosts? It’s winter and those damn things are everywhere around this time of year. They fucking migrate like birds or something.”

Terrence, who was too short to comfortably reach Virgil’s shoulders without it feeling awkward stepped in front of his friend and put a hand on his chest.

“You need. To calm down. Patton stopped forgetting your address years ago.”

“But...”

“You’re getting worked up again.”

Virgil took a second. He was getting all worked up again. He took a deep breath.

“It’s gonna be fine.” Terrence said.

“But what if it isn’t?” Virgil said. “Remember the last time someone went missing?”

“You have a point.” Terrence admitted.

“I’m gonna look for him myself.” Virgil said, grabbing his jacket off the chair and rushing out.

“Not by yourself.” Terrence said. “Wait up, I’ll ride shotgun.”

Valerie pointed at some lights in the distance. “There’s town. I think I need to go now.”

“Can’t stop moving?” Patton asked sympathetically.

“No.” Valerie said sadly.

Patton nodded. “My dad’s the same way. I miss him a lot when he’s wandering around.”

“He still hasn’t found his way out?” Valerie asked.

“No, but I think someday he will. And hopefully you will too, Valerie. I think you can. I’m rooting for you.”

“You’re really nice, Patton. Most of the seers I hear about are sad old people.” Valerie said.

“Thank you, Valerie. You’re really nice too. Do you have to go now?” Patton asked.

“Yeah.” she said. lowering her head.

“Do you need an air hug?”

“Yeah.” Valerie said, starting to sniff.

Patton held out his arms and the girl did the same and they pretended to hug.

“Good luck, Valerie! Thank you!” Patton said.

Valerie smiled and then vanished back into the trees. Patton took a breath and mentally prepared himself to walk on his own and then started walking towards town. The weeds on the side of the road poked through the rips in his pants. He hugged his now muddy cardigan. He couldn’t put it on, but it was a little bit cold. He hadn’t noticed that when he had someone to talk to.

Twice he had to take a break to do nothing for a while on the side of the road before moving on, humming to break the late winter silence. When he finally reached town he figured out he was in the industrial part and mentally went through all the street names before deciding which way to go.

Thankfully, he didn’t have to walk very far.

“Patton!” he heard.

Was... that was Terrence! Virgil’s friend Terrence!

“Patton!” he heard a different voice say.

Virgil! That was Virgil! That was exciting. He should call back. He should... oh no.

He couldn’t bring himself to yell back. This was all a lot to process. He’d been stressed all day and now this was important. Too much. He started running, almost falling over cracks in the road more than once. He started to hear a car stalling.

“I don’t think he’s here either. Maybe you’re right.” Virgil sighed.

“Do you need me to stay over tonight?”

“No, I...”

Thump.

“What in the hell was that?” said Terrence.

Virgil got out of the car and walked to the trunk. There was someone doubled over next to it clutching their stomach. Virgil turrned on the phone on his flashlight.

“Hey! What are you... Patton! Terrence, it’s him!” Virgil called.

Terrence rushed out of the car and looked. There was the teenager, doubled over in pain and quietly laughing while Virgil tried to encourage him to speak up.

“I don’t think he’s talking. He won’t move, but he’s laughing.” Virgil said.

“Here, I’ll pick him up. Help me out.” Terrence said.

Virgil helped place his nephew in Terrence’s arms. It looked almost comical, a 5′10″ teenager in the arms of a 5′4″ thirty-something, but Terrence could handle it. Virgil spent his days drawing. He opened the door for Terrence to gently place Patton inside the car. Then Virgil gently picked a couple of leaves out of Patton’s hair and coaxed him into putting the seat belt on.

Once the two men had gotten into the front, they looked back to see that Patton was already asleep. Virgil sighed and pressed his head against the steering wheel hard before starting the engine.

“What do you think happened?” Terrence asked.

“He’ll tell me later.” Virgil sighed. “If he can find the words for it. You want me to drop you off? I think I can take it from here.”

“If you’re sure.” Terrence said.

“I’m never sure about anything.” Virgil said. “But yeah, I can probably handle it. Remember when he ran away from home?”

“Oh, yeah.” Terrence giggled. “Right after Roman vanished and you still had no idea how kids work.”

“Especially Patton.” Virgil said, a small smirk appearing on his face. “Patton is special.”

Virgil started to visibly relax a bit more. He started taking turns a little slower and driving more casually. Terrence smiled and looked out the window. How he had ever gotten caught up with the Sanders family he didn’t know.

“It was when you and Roman were in Anything Goes.” Virgil reminded him.

“How’d you know I was thinking about that?” Terrence asked.

Virgil shrugged and gently brought the car to a stop in front of Terrence’s house.

“Once in a while I just know things.” Virgil said.

He looked back at Patton sleeping in the backseat and smiled ever so slightly. “Maybe our whole family is just weird. Promise I would’ve already told you if it happened more often.”

“Well, life with you just continues to be weird. I’ll see you next Friday.” Terrence said, unbuckling.

“Hey, did you ever hear if Jo is gonna make it?” Virgil asked.

“Nah, I think he’s still out of town.”

“Alright. See you then if I don’t chicken out.”

Virgil waited for Terrence to close the door and get into the warm looking house and then started the car. He heard a small tired hum from the back.

“Waking up?” He asked, turning around.

Patton nodded and whispered “I messed up today, but I learned from it, so it’s okay.”

Virgil sighed. “That’s good. That’s good.”

When they got to the apartment Patton needed a little support getting up the familiar steps. When they got to the top Virgil handed Patton his key even though Patton had his own and Patton opened the door before handing the ring back. Virgil turned on the lights.

“So can you explain yourself?” Virgil asked, folding his arms and leaning against the door.

Patton looked terrible in the light. There were scratches all over him, a large amount of dried blood on his leg, mud and leaves stuck to his clothes and hair. His favorite cardigan was covered in sand and mud and balled up in his fist. His light blue polo shirt was torn in several spots. His cargo pants were torn beyond repair. For the first time in a long while Virgil saw that there wasn’t even the ghost of a smile on his nephew’s face. Normally there was at least a small amount of playfulness there, but tonight there was nothing. Small tears had started at the sides of his eyes.

“I... I thought... this ghost said somebody needed help but he tricked me and I fell down.” Patton said.

“Where?” Virgil asked.

“I don’t know.” Patton whispered. “I got lost and I know I’m too old to now but I threw a tantrum. I’m really sorry. A little ghost named Valerie helped me find town again.”

Virgil sighed. “Go take a shower. I’ll wash that sweater for you. I promise it’ll be okay. You’re not grounded.”

A small smile appeared where it belonged on Patton’s face. He handed his cardigan over with a “Thanks, Verge!” and ran to the one bathroom in the apartment.

Virgil didn’t feel like going down to the laundry room so he took his oversized hoodie off and threw it onto the sofa before reaching into the kitchen cabinet and pulling out a plastic washboard. He filled the sink with water and started scrubbing the sweater, the movement and smell of soap helping to clear his mind.

“Go ahead and ask. I don’t mind.” Virgil said.

“How’d you know I was here?” Patton asked, walking in wearing grey pajama pants and a white t-shirt. “Aren’t you gonna ask if I cleaned my scratches?”

“You already did, right?” Virgil said, carefully wringing out the cardigan before hanging it over a dining chair to dry.

“Yeah...” Patton said, seeming suddenly a little put off.

“You were gonna ask about the tattoo?” Virgil said, drying his arms off. “I was always surprised you never asked, really. Go ahead.”

Patton studied Virgil’s left arm. He was usually wearing hoodies or leather jackets so it was often covered up, but on the occasion he did have bare arms the tattoo was visible. It was black and cracked and spread out like lightning over the night sky in summer and it looked a little ominous against Virgil’s white skin.

“What does it mean?” Patton asked, sitting down and putting his chin on his fist.

Patton smiled wider as he witnessed his uncle crack a small grin. That didn’t usually happen unless they were teasing each other.

“I got it after you showed up.” Virgil said. “There was a thunderstorm on the night you were born. I never wanted any kids of my own so Roman having one was the biggest deal. I wanted my first tattoo to have something to do with you.”

“So was it because of the rainstorm?” Patton asked. “That’s weird.”

“No, it’s because I hate thunderstorms. They make me so anxious you can’t even imagine. But... when you were a baby you always laughed during thunder storms.”

“I think I still do that.” Patton said with a giggle.

“You laugh at everything that’s not firetrucks or Sprite.” Virgil said, throwing the towel at Patton.

Patton threw the towel back “Sprite is the wrong kind of bubbly. I can’t stand it!” he said, a laugh in his voice.

“You always did recover fast, didn’t you?”

“I didn’t forget you knew what I was gonna ask.” Patton said. “I’m not that dumb.”

“Nobody thinks you’re dumb.” Virgil said. “Especially not me. And because you didn’t forget I’ll just tell ya. Sometimes I just know what people are thinking about.”

“Like how often? Is it anything like me with ghosts?” Patton asked

“No. And it happens every couple days maybe. But with random people. It’s not too often it happens with someone I know. Maybe once every few months. I never told you before because I didn’t want you to think I was getting in your private business and I can’t control when it happens. Part of the reason I’m such a shut-in you know. Tonight it’s been happening a lot though. Maybe ‘cause I’m anxious, I dunno.”

“But you’re always anxious.” Patton said.

“More anxious than on beverage.” Virgil said.

“You’re not gonna let me forget about that, are you?” Patton said.

“Nope. Now text your friend and tell him you’re not dead. Do you wanna take the day off of school tomorrow?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay, text your friend. Goodnight.”

“I love you, Verge.” Patton said, heading to his room.

Virgil looked out the kitchen window to see a rosy color over the horizon.

“Love you too, buddy.”

“...and that’s why existentialism isn’t a practical philosophy for the modern world.” Patton finished.

Logan stared and blinked. He looked at his watch.

“That was thirty minutes of talking.” he marveled.

“What?” Patton asked.

“I asked you what your homework for your 19th century philosophy class was.” Logan said.

“Oops.” Patton said sheepishly, starting to tap nervously on the table.

Logan held out his hand and looked around the bookshelves of the library.

“No, don’t freak out. It was fascinating. I just didn’t think you knew that much about existentialism.” Logan reassured his friend.

“I am a philosophy major.” Patton mumbled.

“You’re right, you’re correct.” Logan assured him. “I’m just, you know, caught up in organic chemistry all the time so I hardly take the time to remember that...”

A book fell off of a shelf near them. They both stared at it.

“Was that one a ghost?” Logan asked, adjusting his glasses nervously.

“Yup. Nancy. Hi, Nancy!” Patton said, waving.

He recoiled at whatever the ghost had said.

“Rude?” Logan asked.

“Yeah, a little bit too much.” Patton said, starting to tap on the desk.

Logan tried to return to the formula he was memorizing but kept getting distracted by Patton’s tapping and apparent tracking of the ghost’s movements.

Logan sat up straight and took a deep breath. “I’ve been meaning to ask you something for some time.” He said.

“Are you okay? You’re sweating. Maybe they should Lo-wer the temperature in the library for Logan.” Patton said.

Logan sighed. “Have you ever been tested for autism?”

Patton squinted but kept smiling. “Was that an offensive question?”

“No. I’m looking for information. Remember my friend Emile?”

“I think so. He was being haunted, right?” Patton asked.

“Yes, he was being haunted.” Logan said. “He’s working on his doctorate in child psychology and says you show a lot of signs of an undiagnosed adult with autism.”

“Oh, I thought you were going to say I threw a tantrum and forgot about it again or something.” Patton said in relief.

“What?” said Logan.

“Oh, I didn’t need to see a doctor about it. I’ve just known. I need to get to class and maybe talk to Nancy about knocking books over. Bye!” Patton said, gathering up his stuff and leaving.

“Wait! How can she knock books over?” Logan called back.

“Nobody knows! Ghosts are weird!” Patton called back as he left. “No, not like that, Nancy. No, I don’t care who hears me. You’re making more work for the staff.”

Patton disappeared and then an entire shelf of books fell off of a shelving unit all at once. Logan decided to move to a floor of the library that wasn’t haunted.

Patton concentrated on getting to class as best as he could. He was a super senior now and twenty four so you’d think that he would know his way around campus by now, but his memory kept failing him. On the bright side, he had managed to make friends with a lot of people he regularly asked directions from. However, today something was destined to happen that was even more surprising than getting lost on campus.

“Patton!” he heard. “Patton, is that you? Patton!”

Patton finally registered that his name was being called and he turned around. A girl who couldn’t have been more than fifteen was running towards him, her raven black hair flying out behind her.

“Valerie?” Patton asked, his eyes widening in wonder.

“Yeah, I’ve been trying to find you for four years now!” Valerie said.

Patton started bouncing. “Oh my gosh, you’re not a ghost anymore!” he exclaimed.

It was apparent that Patton was having a difficult time restraining himself.

“How did you get out? How did it happen?” he asked. “Why are you at college? You got taller!”

Valerie smiled. “I fell back in my mom’s garden and... here I am. I don’t know how really. I lost six years of ageing though and was still eleven when I found my way out but, I’m here, yeah. And, I was getting a tour through my high school. The theater department has programs for high school students here. It’s a long story.”

Patton’s mind was racing. He smiled wide and held up one finger and then reached into his pocket and opened the notes on his phone where he typed furiously and then handed it to her. Valerie read the note.

“That is so great. I’m so happy! I was wondering why you stopped coming to the woods in the winter. I was worried about you. But you’re back and that is so nice!”

Valerie smiled at the note and handed the phone back.

“Can I hug you? Is that okay?” Valerie asked.

Patton nodded and embraced the girl who still wasn’t quite used to the realness of hugs again after all this time.

“I’ll find you later, Patton. Thank you so much.” Valerie said before running off.

Patton realized that he never even asked her for a phone number. A ghost back in the world of the living. Patton remembered going out into the woods in winter to find her after Valerie had helped him get home when he was sixteen and had been tricked by that ghost (who apparently had tried that stunt with some other people with the sight before but only Patton had fallen for it). She had always been in her torn white Easter dress and straw hat. Always eleven years old with bruises on her face from falling down the steps from her mother’s house where she had fallen into the layer of slightly less reality. She had stopped showing up after a few years.

Patton continued walking to class. Hopefully nobody called on him to discuss anything today because he was far too excited to talk.

Later that week Virgil handed Patton the key and Patton opened the door of the apartment before handing Virgil his key back. Virgil stuffed the keys in his pocket.

“You know, I originally started doing that to teach you how to use keys.” Virgil said. “Isn’t it weird that we still do that whenever you come here?”

“I like it.” said Patton. “It’s something we do together.”

“You always were a sap weren’t you, Patton?” Virgil said fondly. “Hey, that reminds me. I’ve got something to show ya. Have a seat.”

Patton had a seat. An old woman walked through the wall, in an old 50s nightgown.

“Where’s Jenise?” The old woman asked angrily.

“Jenise has been dead for over thirty years now Mrs. Anderson.” Patton said politely.

“Hmph. Never telling me where to find her. I’ll find her, you young idiot. And don’t think I don’t know what you did with your boyfriend that night. You’re lucky your uncle can’t see me.”

“I broke up with that boyfriend six years ago, Mrs. Anderson.” Patton reminded her.

“You’re just saying that to cover up!” Mrs. Anderson said angrily.

She left, hobbling through Patton on her way to phase through the door. Patton got shivers all through his entire body and began shaking violently.

“Okay! Here’s the box. I’ve got to sign a few... Oh, Patton was it one of the regulars again?” Virgil asked, coming in with a huge cardboard box.

“Just Mrs. Anderson.” Patton said, putting a happy face on. “It’s okay.”

Virgil suddenly winced and then put the box down.

“Valerie?” he asked. “And no, it is not okay.”

He rushed over and Patton let him take off his jacket and put it around him.

“What’s with Valerie? She’s out?” Virgil asked.

“I guess you heard a lot.” Patton said, pulling the hoodie close around himself.

“Yeah, sorry. I can’t stop it. Do you want to talk?”

“I want to see what’s in the box.” Patton said.

“Okay, you sure you’re okay? I know how you get when a ghost full on walks through you.”

“Come on, what’s in the box? You got excited. You’re never excited.”

“Oh, alright.” Virgil said.

Virgil pulled a knife out of his pocket and opened the cardboard box, revealing stacks and stacks of the same comic style new book.

“Your graphic novel?” Patton asked. “The one with the vampire cats?”

“Yeah. check this out.”

Virgil picked up one of the fresh new books and pointed to a little banner on the top. Patton read it quietly and then his eyes widened.

“You made the bestseller list!?” he exclaimed.

“Now don’t act so surprised.” Virgil said in his fake cocky way.

Patton shook the book around in his hands so excitedly Virgil thought he might start vibrating. He squealed and then pulled his uncle into a hug, abandoning the hoodie on the floor.

“Well what do you know? I guess dad was wrong.”

Patton looked up. “Dad!” he exclaimed.

“Tell Virgil I’m very happy for him.”

Patton repeated what Roman had said. Virgil smiled at that.

“Well I’m gonna go rub these in the noses of some people.” Virgil said. “I’ll leave you two to... whatever it is you talk about. You’re both far more feelingsy than I am.”

“Don’t crash the car.” Patton said after him as he left with the box

“Don’t give me a panic attack.” Virgil shot back before closing the door.

“So, hi.” Roman said.

“What’s wrong?” Patton asked.

“I overheard some things and from what Virgil was talking about, it sounds like they’re true. Someone got out, and you knew her.”

“Yup.” Patton said.

Roman sighed and looked at Patton. He sat down on the couch leaving no dent in the cushions.

“You’re almost as old as I am now.” Roman said sadly moving his hand in a way that wasn’t quite touching his son’s face but was close enough to seem affectionate.

“I don’t care. You’re still my dad.” Patton reassured him.

“I missed everything.” Roman said. “I missed my own life. I missed your life.”

“Is that why you came here?” Patton asked.

Roman shook his head. “I can’t remember why I came here anymore.” he admitted. “And... I may have to leave soon again. Staying in one place feels more and more like a losing battle than before.”

“I’ll still be here, in this city if you want to talk.” Patton said.

“I think I’m past the point of talking, my prince. My imprisonment here is old enough to drink. If I’m not careful I’m going to end up like old Mrs. Anderson that haunts this dump. Or that strange burnt Victorian fellow that keeps trying to convince me he’s British for some reason.” Roman lamented.

“He also has a weird obsession with snakes.” Patton said.

A tired old meow sounded from the next room.

“Oh, it’s that cat!” Roman said.

Sally the cat looked sternly at Roman before jumping into Patton’s lap and quickly getting comfortable. A few grey hairs were mixed in with the black ones now.

“Sally will keep away the snakes.” Patton said happily. “And that weird Victorian ghost doesn’t like cats for some reason.

“I call him Deceit.” Roman said. “And yes. Some suspect he used to be allergic to cats but of course you’ll never get a real answer out of him.”

“How much longer do you have here?” Patton asked, rubbing Sally’s head.

“An hour, maybe. If I really try.” Roman said. “And I will try.”

“Why do you still live in this apartment?” Logan huffed as Virgil handed Patton the key to open the door.

“Because it’s where I’m comfortable, so shut up. I’m getting too old for this.” Virgil said, taking his keys back.

“You’re only forty six, Uncle Verge.” Patton said, inspecting a box.

“So do you want to donate this one?” Virgil asked.

“Yeah, I think so.” Patton said.

“Good, I’ll put it in the car.” Logan said, picking it up.

“Oh, this place is gonna feel so empty.” Virgil sighed. “You’re sure you’ll be okay?”

Patton giggled a little. “I’m twenty eight, Verge. I haven’t lived here for a lot of years. I’ll be okay. You taught me better than to be stupid, remember?”

“Yeah, but you kept your stuff here.” Virgil noted. “And, you know. You’re leaving the state. With your friend. And like... working at a big university. It’s a big change and, you and I both don’t do great with that.”

Patton looked at the snake bites still on his uncle’s bottom lip.

“I know.” He said.

Virgil’s pocket started buzzing. He pulled his phone out and checked the number.

“The hospital?” Virgil said. “Why’s a hospital calling me?”

“Are you gonna answer it?” Patton asked. “You can do it.”

“You and your encouragement, I swear.” Virgil mumbled, unlocking his phone. “Hello? Yes, this is he? Brother? But my... How tall? The leg? No, they didn’t. Okay, I have his son here. Is it okay if... Okay, great. No, I understand. Yeah. Thank you.”

He hung up the phone, took a deep breath, and then exhaled.

“What was it?” Patton asked, nervously putting his hands in front of his face. Virgil held the phone against his face and sighed.

“They found your father.”

After twenty five years of feeling nothing, this was certainly a lot. Roman tried to move but found he couldn’t. Why was his leg so warm. Was he moving. Well now there’s something on his face and...

“Roman? Roman, can you hear me? Your family is here to see you. Roman Sanders?”

“Uh, yes?” he asked.

“Roman, can you tell me what year it is?”

“I...” Roman started and then stopped.

“Roman? Can you hear me?”

“Yes, but who are you?”

He stopped remembering again.

They say that hearing is the last thing to go, and they are right. Whoever they are. Hearing yourself flat lining would be terrifying if you weren’t too dead to care.

“Dad?”

Roman felt his chest and stomach expanding with air. A small beeping noise came from somewhere on his right. He lazily opened his eyes and smiled at what he saw.

“You dyed your hair blue.” he noted.

“You haven’t changed.” Patton said, smiling.

“Well, that ends right now.” Roman mumbled. “Is Virgil here?”

“He’s asleep.” Patton said, gesturing to a chair in the corner.

And he was. Asleep in a chair with a tacky print by the hospital window.

“He got old.” Roman noted.

“You died.” Patton said.

“I heard.” Roman said.

“I’m just a little younger than you.” Patton said.

“Indeed.” Roman replied. “Look, I think for once in my life I am too tired to speak any more.”

“Can I talk to you about my new job?” Patton asked.

“Don’t you want to hear about the lightning storm that brought me back to you?” Roman replied.

“No, but I think Virgil will.” Patton said.

Roman looked again at the figure of his sleeping brother. The left sleeve of his hoodie was rolled up slightly and the tattoo of lightning was visible. Yes, Virgil would like this story. But until then...

“Okay, ramble on about your job.” Roman said.

Patton lit up. “Okay, so there was an opening for a professor of organic chemistry and 19th century philosophy at this university at the same time, right?”

#sanders sides #sanders sides au #ghost au #thomas sanders #patton sanders #morality sanders #roman sanders #prince sanders #virgil sanders #anxiety sanders #fanfiction #fan fiction #fanfic #fan fic #roman wrote a thing

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