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#''normal' people write for the joy of it anyway so why do you need pay? you are just greedy and 'weird'!'
tippenfunkaport · 3 months
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That viral post that's going around about how people who write "book quality" mlm fic are too "normal" to publish and have real jobs so only "weird" people publish their "shitty" fanfic is so completely out of touch with reality and I am giving a massive side eye to everyone reblogging it.
Not only is it completely, easily verifiably untrue (you cannot enter any professional writing space without tripping over a dozen grizzled scifi writers who got their start by filing off the serial numbers and publishing their Star Trek fanfic even going back decades ago??? it's a whole thing?? plus how can you look at the mlm category on Amazon right now and say with a straight face that people aren't publishing shitty Spirk and Stucky fanfic??? Oh, honey...) it's also the perfect example of this kind of sneering elitism that true artists would never sully themselves by seeking profit, they do it only for the purity of the thing that always somehow leads back to, "no one should be paid to make art, actually."
The only reason you're seeing more published fanfic right now has nothing to do with the idealistic purity of your hypothetical government employee written smut of the past vs the debased scribbles of those awful straights of today and everything to do with the fact that a) self-publishing has created a voracious readership that wants a ton of content so it's become a viable, flexible income stream for many, especially disabled people b) anyone can publish now with self-publishing tools so there are less gatekeepers and c) lockdown got a lot of people into fandom and therefore writing who never tried it before.
And if you really think there's no "shitty" published mlm and no "book-quality" m/f writing out there that started as fanfic, then you are clearly not a reader so why are you even talking about this?
#love how they manipulated people into spreading that post by making it seem like a cishet vs gay thing#when the real message is OP thinks trying to sell your writing is cringe and 'weird' and 'normal people' with jobs would never#which would of course never have flown on the fandom website#so they played into the queer shipping is purer than cishet shipping puriteen thing#and it worked!#because my god people are gullible#this is the direct pipeline that leads to AI thievery#''normal' people write for the joy of it anyway so why do you need pay? you are just greedy and 'weird'!'#'oh no this isn't about who we get to call cringe and who gets to profit from art it's about um...#(quick what's a hated m/f ship?).. oh uh 'shitty' REYLO#and not our super pure uh... (spirk is still popular right? lets throw in that avengers one too to make it seem timely) stucky!'#I'm sorry if I have no sense of humor about this but the year is 2024 and people are still way too ready to sneer#about writers trying to earn a fucking living in the shittiest timeline#and i need you to look deep into yourself and ask you why it's so important to you to tell yourself that only people writing what you like#are 'normal' with real jobs and to vilify everyone else as 'weird' and 'shitty'#for trying to make an income during a financial fucking crisis#i would say sorry for ranting about this but I'm not sorry because wtf#write whatever you want#publish whatever you want#there is no moral fucking purity in what the content is#and one thing certainly doesn't make you more 'weird' or 'normal' than the other#like there is soooo much shitty mlm that started as fanfic???#that post is 100% OP made up some guys to get mad about and called them relyos for the clicks#writing#publishing#writblr#writeblr#i wasn't going to tag this anything but you know what fuck it I'm mad#i had like 5 more tags but tumblr cut me off which is fair 😅#fan fiction
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maochira · 9 months
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Hii Mao, I really loved the love language writing you did before and wonder if I could request the same prompt with Sendou and/or Reo
Anyway have a good day/night😭
Thank you!!
Requests open! - masterlist
Tags: gn!reader, established relationship, fluff, not proofread
Shuto Sendou
Words of affirmation: This is Sendou's main love language. But not because he says "I love you" a lot. It's because there's something so special in the way he talks only to you. A special softness in his voice always with an undertone of pure love. He wouldn't even need to say "I love you" or give you any compliments, because the way he talks in day-to-day conversations to you shows enough of his love.
Acts of service: He's pretty average in this love language. There's not much that stands out neither in a positive nor negative way, at least regarding how he helps you out. But if you help him even with tiny tasks, he's super appreciative of that! He will try to make up for it in some way, even though you insist it's a natural thing for you to do.
Gift-giving and -receiving: Sendou loves to spoil you. A lot. And he loves being spoiled by you just as much! Most of the time you're taking turns when it comes to spoiling each other. Sometimes you have little joking-teasing arguments on who's going to pay when you're shopping or eating out together, and Sendou usually ends up being the one who wins.
Quality time: At first, Sendou didn't expect quality time to be this important to him. But then he started to crave having you even while doing regular daily tasks and he ended up missing you so so much all the time, he kind of rushed a part of the relationship and you moved in with him only two months after you started dating. And this ended up being a great idea! Both you and Sendou enjoy being together so much and you never get tired of each other.
Physical touch: Sendou is extremely touchy. No matter what you're doing, he always has to interrupt you at least once by hugging you from behind so he can get a kiss. When you're sleeping next to each other, he clings onto you as if you were a big plushie and he doesn't let go the entire night.
Reo Mikage
Words of affirmation: Reo showers you with compliments whenever he can. He also repeats how much he loves you over and over! He does that especially in front of other people so they can also know how much he loves you and that you belong to him.
Acts of service: Reo would do any task you ask him for. If you need help, he's right there. Most of the time he does the entire thing on his own even though you only needed him to help a little bit.
Gift-giving and -receiving: You'd probably expect gift-giving to be his main love language, but no. It's still a big one, though! Reo grew up getting everything he wanted which made him lose joy in the presents he received from his parents. This is why he doesn't want to spoil you too much. He doesn't want to overdo it so his gifts won't lose their meaning to you. When it comes to receiving gifts from you, Reo adores every single one! Especially handmade ones make his heart go crazy. He always gets obsessed with whatever you give him because he knows how much thought you put into everything.
Quality time: This is actually his main love language! No matter what you're doing together, everything counts as quality time to Reo. You could silently sit next to each other doing nothing at all and it'd still be the highlight of his day. Simply being with you and enjoying each other's presence is more than enough for him.
Physical touch: Reo doesn't notice how touchy he gets all the time. To him, it's just the normal amount. With others around, he always reaches for your hand to hold it or has one of his hands resting on your waist or thigh. But when you're alone he's constantly showering you with kisses and has his hands on your body. He also loves to carry you around a lot! Either on his back or in bridal style.
Taglist (sign-up link): @astruosie @kaineedstherapy12 @zyuuuu @yerinsshi @luvcalico @remy-roll @truegoist @rienniey @acacIa @kermitslefteyeball11 @futuristicxie @bluelock4life @blueberrryui @takorirei @https-archangel @ririgards @kaiserkisser @userwithlotsoftime @nikokii @chaosinanutshell @peachesncat @0rah-s @isagikisser @vanitasbrainrot @rrueyuo
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garfeildfanpage · 4 months
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Ok so on the topic of headcanons, I know I haven’t mentioned it yet but Terukane has been a gruesome infection in my brain for over 3 years now, and it’s about time I let the brain worms breathe
Terukane infested their way into my brain mostly because they both just so happen to be my favorite type of character design and character archetype (middle part and glasses / absolute wet cat of a man) so them also having a dynamic that makes me both very ill and also jump for joy is (to me) a combo made in heaven.
But I’m picky, especially picky with characterization in fan fiction. And I’m glad that most fics of them are written by people who understand how they behave in-series. Though my biggest fault may be that I love to write but hate the act of writing, so every idea I have is forever locked away in my noggin, I can attempt to get out something here.
Quick note I’m not a weirdo so don’t think I mean anything in any weird way at all, if you do I’ll eat your family. Okay? Okay.
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Smitten Teru is probably my favorite out of any characterization of the two, just because I love how it can either be mindrottingly sweet or just ,sad, personally I love going the “kicking feet and giggling” route but both are great in their own regard.
It also might just be that I can’t really see Akane behaving the way he does for Aoi to Teru, a lot of people just kind of move Akane’s unhealthy attachment issues to him without understanding why Akane behaves like that around Aoi in the first place. (I have a whole thing about that) So it’s refreshing to have him, like, not do that.
To add onto that: aloof/repress feelings as hard as possible Akane totally rocks, and I love seeing it. Especially with the “why in the FUCK would I have LIKE someone like that??” kinda shit, rocks me, love it, can’t get enough. God it’s like the only time where cheesy relationship junk doesn’t give me second hand embarrassment, cause like they’re both so unbelievably stupid at relationships, and watching them be awkward and terrible at it really alleviates the whole existential life-or-death stuff happening in the actual manga. Losers in love kills me, and they are just that. GOD I WANT TO THROW THEM OFF A RAVINE
Also, I know a lot of fan fiction does this, but it’s never to the degree that I wish it was. Flustered/embarrassed teru kills me. It always kills me in anything when he just acts like a normal person, just like, expressing normal people emotions but because he’s so repressed it just like kills him. GOD I went through like a six month period of not crying and the moment I did again it felt like I got hit by a bus, could not IMAGINE barely ever crying my whole damn life. A good hard cry, that’s what he needs.
Anyway, I think that’s enough, if I let the brain worms out anymore they’ll form a union and force me to pay them more. Ninja out
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bugbyte · 6 months
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Can’t sleep, time to write. Health stuff, but in the good way, mostly! I got fitted for my wheelchair! My genetic test is sequencing! It’s exciting and I’m trying to distract myself from the rest of everything in my life!!
So, wheelchair appointment. More complex than I thought; several guys from the company that orders and services them, a physical therapist, and me.
They had me try out two chairs - one that’s more of a scooter thing which I did not love and a lightweight manual one with this really cool thing called a SmartDrive that optionally makes it powered, which I absolutely loved. Main guy from the equipment co. was insistent I would do better in the scooter type chair, and got a little ‘splainy with me in ways I didn’t really like, but in the end I tested both and I’m going with the lightweight one.
The scooter thing did break down into a couple pieces so it can fit in the car, but the problem is I could never lift any of them on my own. The motor portion is like 30 pounds by itself. I just want the option to be able to manage alone if I end up in that kind of situation - which could happen if I’m visiting my parents or something, because they’re old and couldn’t do it either. Or if I just want to go out somewhere, heck, I don’t have to justify why I want to go places. That was sort of a strange argument to have to make.
There definitely was a learning curve to the smartdrive, but it felt delightful to use. Basically the motor is only ever on or off, with a dial for speed, and then you have to use hand grip on the manual wheels to turn. More complicated than the joystick on the other one but I weirdly felt like I had better control. It felt like going for a walk, normally. Delade and I took a lap of the building and it was just this swell of joy because we haven’t been able to do that in a really long time. I could have cried. I cannot wait to go places again and be able to do things for more than 10 minutes before my legs are on fire and all my blood is in my feet.
Anyway I got to pick a color and it’s gonna be Ferrari Red™️ (did they license that? Prob not) and I’m gonna get flame stickers to put on it. Needs a name, haven’t thought of one, yet.
So! Genetic test! My health insurance has been jerking us around so long that the university hospital I’ve been going to just got disgusted and said they would pay for it themselves. I still have to try and fight them to get the uni paid back, but if I fail I still won’t get billed for it. They should get paid though, they’re amazing people doing incredible work.
So I swabbed out my cheeks and put it in tubes and mailed it out as a Biohazard (I’m a biohazard!!) all of which was not terribly exciting but also very exciting. The collection bits looked like cotton swabs but weren’t. Left my cheeks feeling scuffed, but not like bleeding or anything. Just a strange feeling and it’s basically already gone.
The test is out, and I got access to a tracking portal with info on its status and it’s sequencing right now. The portal had a list of all the genes they’re testing for and I just had this wild moment of humbling. So the first human genome was fully sequenced in 2000. I took biology in college around 2005, and so much of it still was kind of new-ish, but we learned a bunch about it. I figured out now I can grab the individual gene names and plug them into a search on GeneCards and it really is just…humbling. I’m far from very knowledgeable about this stuff but I know enough to sort of piece it together and see what does what, what they’re looking for. I just have this sense of awe that this is even possible, like if I had been born just handful of years sooner we wouldn’t have this yet. Anyway I’m probably going down a genetics rabbit hole for a while. It’s human legos. I’m fascinated. Or maybe I’m just having an emotional week.
Anyway we decided to play a friendly game of Gene Roulette and I know where I’m putting my money, however unlikely it might actually be. I just have a gut feeling about one of them, but I’m going to sit on it and see.
Anyway that’s the exciting good news, amid all the sadness around here. Grief continues. I have no idea when I’ll be able to afford something like this, but I decided I’m getting my cat’s paw prints tattooed on my leg in the spot where he would always put them when he came to just sit with me while I was in pain. Always just a little above my right knee, slightly to the outer part of my thigh. Then he’ll still be sitting there with me, always.
We keep talking about getting another cat, but someday. Not yet. We’re not in a situation that could handle an emergency, should something bad happen, and honestly I think I’m just going to have to grit it out for a while while the hole in my heart tries to fill in. Do I ever want a little snuggle creature to pet and hold, though.
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💡- What’s a idea you’ve enjoyed but never/couldn’t write?
🍤 - Who do you mostly write for (going “[someone] would enjoy this!” when writing)
💿 - Which character is most likely to have a terrible sleep schedule?
🔔 - What compliment meant the most to you regarding your writing? (offline or online)
🏳️ - Favorite way you have described something in your works
🔗 - What has been your favorite dynamic to write for? (romantic or platonic)
🥫 - What’s a scene you’ve really enjoyed working on?
💡 What's an idea you've enjoyed but never wrote//couldn't write?
Sea Three going on the Isle of the Doomed!
I mean. I did write it. Kinda. But there were more people and AU background and I'd like to write it again, thank you.
They'd go looking for CJ when she vanished, still, because it's a good motivation. However, I can't figure out a good trap for Gil, so I'm stuck.
Also Anthony doing Harriet's hair. I think it'd be neat.
💿 - Which character is most likely to have a terrible sleep schedule?
All three Hooks, Uma, probably Mal.
There is a bet going on about whether the Facilier sisters are sleeping at all.
Carlos while living in Hell Hall for reasons called "Cruella is crazy and time is fake."
Ben if someone didn't force him to stop working and/or studying at eleven in the evening at most.
Audrey sticks to her sleep schedule religiously to pretend she has everything under control and Fairy Godmother gives Jane lights out at ten o'clock sharp.
🔔 - What compliment meant the most to you regarding your writing? (offline or online)
Let me just:
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And about every single comment @dragoneyes618 ever wrote me ✨
Unrelated to Descendants, someone once told me „I wouldn't be afraid to offer this to a publishing house.“ (We then met once and they said they loved my stories and it was the sweetest thing ever) (it was an original story, just to be clear.)
🏳️ - Favorite way you have described something in your works
...I don't think I'm describing stuff all that much?
I think this scene is neat, though, and I apologize for the length:
It only takes one visit to her room for her to get all she needs, her hands doing their tasks completely on autopilot. Unsteered.
Take the dagger, CJ, tuck it to your belt. Then the other one. And another. Don’t forget your sabres. The boxers, for when you feel like you want to punch something – you do want punch something, don’t you? Someone? Their bones cracking under your knuckles, their hot blood splattering all over you?
You do know that a few cracked faces won’t miraculously heal broken reality, don‘t you?
…Yes, that goes for skulls and spines too.
CJ’s own skull throbs violently, she wants to go to Harriet and make her tell her that everything will be okay, even if it’s a lie.
Somehow, explosives find a way to her bag.
Oh, who is she kidding? She knows full well how they got there, and she knows how she wants to use them, too. Her fingers just itch to zap the lighter and throw the gotten-on-black grenades with all her might.
Watch the world burn.
But not yet.
She knows who has to pay first. Who else should it be than the king that condemned her siblings to death for the mere crime of being born?
The atrocities afterwards do not count.
Old king or new king, CJ doesn‘t care anyway.
The old king and his family, the woman who set up the shimmering Barrier of CJ’s childhood prison and her siblings’s mausoleum, all the people who turned a blind eye to the Isle for the last two decades.
The entire royal council, yeah, sure, why not.
Go big or go home.
CJ laughs hysterically as she walks through the front gate of Auradon Prep, straight to the Castle Beast.
I'm also obsessed with this fic (claudine/huma) a normal amount.
Plus, for some reason, the mental image from this fic brings me so much joy: Ginny and Maddy sitting together on the floor, Ginny playing with her own hair while Maddy plays with her doll, raking her nails through its hair. They're so cute, your honour.
🔗 - What has been your favorite dynamic to write for? (romantic or platonic)
Harry Hook/Uma
Harriet & Harry & CJ
Harriet Hook/Anthony Tremaine/Ginny Gothel
Claudine Frollo & the pirate crews. Particularly Harry and Uma. No I will not shut up about them. It can be your problem.
✨ What's a scene you've really enjoyed working on?
Probably every single Hook siblings reunion scene. Which I wrote a normal amount of.
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coliviataylor · 6 months
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Dear Miss Americana
I am ripping the bandaid off and just going to do it. Sounds stupid to start that way but it is just the way I see it. You see, it has been quite sometime that I have been wanting to commit to a journal. I need to do it for myself. And honestly the only way I envisioned it was writing to someone. Or something that had meaning whether that be meaning to me or to others. To me, you mean so much. You are what helps me be who I am. And the few people that I actually cherish in my life are the ones that allow me to feel my love for you. And I don’t feel I need to hide. Because for some odd reason it is something I feel I need to do. Just because if I express it, I get disappointed in others for not allowing me to express it. That is why it saddens me I will never experience you from the comfort of my own home. I will never have more than what your make public to the world. Where deep down I just feel it could be so much more. 
Anyways I am starting to ramble and I don’t want to do that. This journal is meant to be effortless and just allow myself to have a best friend outlet for my chaos life. Because that is exactly what my life has become. It has been exhausting to say the least. I will most likely get into a lot of that later on, but for now I just want to introduce myself and let your know what I am doing here. 
So you can call me COlivia. This is actually a pseudonym and not my real name. I somehow came up with an alter ego, Olivia one drunken night bowling with my sister. I forget how it came about but I said if I could have another name it would be Olivia. And then I also said that Olivia is my alter ego that is more fearless and wild. The same way I would be if I were born a different person and had a different path in life. In my head I somehow feel I was meant to do something else in life, I was meant to be somewhere else. And Olivia became my “alter ego” that I channelled to became or feel the slight happiness I craved in life. So yeah my way of saying if I could hit the reset button on life and be someone else, I would be Olivia. The C was added randomly when I needed two names and I put the initial of my actual first name. Something about it just had a nice ring to it. COlivia. Well I liked it anyways. So that is the story of my name. 
Now to get to what I am doing here. Here I am finally committing to letting go of my insecurities, hiding in plain sight and just being who I really am! Embracing the things I actually love in life. And speaking of that alter ego and having a different life. Well as crazy as it sounds we would be friends. Friends in a way its mellow. Its something that is just normal and something I can have. I know that will never happen in real life. But in my dreams it would be just how I always thought it would be. Okay I think I am starting to put my foot in my mouth. I am just here writing to you. Like it is my personal journal. Like it as if I would pick up my phone and text you mid day about things. Things we would discuss over wine on my couch. These are things that I just wish I could have in my life but I know that will never exist. To be honest I don’t even think I will ever get to experience you live in concert. With the hype you get, I one can’t afford to pay for overpriced tickets. Two, I am sure if I attempted to get tickets, it would be sold out before I could get any. And thirdly I don’t have someone that I could go with. I feel I don’t have anyone one in my life to talk and enjoy your word. That brings me here. In my own little corner where I can be what I want and that is simply to be your friend. But enough about that. I am choosing to put myself out there not for the attention, but who know, maybe it could get your attention. And if it doesn’t I just like to have it for myself to look back on. A piece of my life I created to give me more joy in life. 
Anyways, that is a little introduction to what I am doing here. In summary I am here, hiding in plain sight while I document the little things in life that I hope to never forget.
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All my knowledge is of hermitcraft and the stuff people have written for the Hermit!Tommy Au but I kept having this idea and needed to write it. I also think i got a bit out of character halfway through because it was supposed to be short, but i vibed with it too much so now it’s long and maybe not 100% accurate but it’s still angst followed by fluff.
also @petrichormeraki wanted me to tag them when i posted this.
Tommy had been with the Hermits for a while now. He hadn’t really kept track of when he first arrived, but it had at least been a few months. Otherwise, time was a mess. The Hermits has all but legally adopted him and all the joy that came from them caring for him made time seem to fly by.
Doc was fun to be around because while Tommy was perfectly fine never going back to the SMP, the way the man acted gave Tommy a small bit of familiarity in a good way to his past life.
He likes hanging out with False, mainly for sparring. Never anything deadly, but even if there wasn’t a need for Tommy to constantly look over his shoulder, it was good to keep from getting too rusty.
He doesn’t really hang out with Zedaph as much as Zedaph hangs out with him. Normally the Hermit would come out of the blue with something new for Tommy to try. Flicking levers over and over for something that would normally be as simple as using a furnace just became fun for Tommy, especially if he had energy pent up.
Xisuma is someone Tommy doesn’t run into much, but the fact that he doesn’t is something Tommy finds comfort in. Even as the server admin, the man is very down to Earth. Nothing like Dream ever was.
And then there’s Grian. Tommy got along with all the Hermits fine and of course there were some he preferred over others, but Grian took the cake for him. When he first showed up, Grian was the one to give him a place to stay at his old hobbit hole. Professor Beaks had been left there and still used to the SMP and scared for his life, Tommy hid the pet bird as leverage for his own safety. When Grian found out, he mostly shrugged it off, but the tens of chickens in the hobbit hole the next day was proof of retaliation.
Tommy didn’t understand the underwhelming response at first, but responded in kind, using the eggs from the chickens Grian had left to egg the Hermit’s base. When the builder nearly broke the door to the hobbit hole, Tommy grabbed his axe, ready to fight for his life, but was taken aback by the cheerful look on Grian’s face.
After that, Grian had practically taken Tommy under his wing. He showed Tommy how to build more effectively with cobble, eventually managing to get the teen to have some variety. Grian also brought Tommy along on his various chaotic endeavors, leaving behind chickens, mycelium, and possibly some missing doors.
The two chaotic red wearing Brits got along so well that they sometimes spent entire weeks together. Because of that, Tommy was all too aware that the Hermits participated in MCC as well.
It made sense. A few of the Hermits vaguely recognised him when he showed up in Hermitcraft and a few of them looked familiar to Tommy. That had made him feel a little safer since now these people weren’t complete strangers, but it did complicate things. Every so often, the portal to MCC would open and the Hermits participating would go through. The closest Tommy would get to the portal was just before the Hermits left, occasionally giving a ‘Good luck Grine!’ or something similar to Grian as he went through. But after that Tommy stayed as far away as he could manage.
The portal there led to MCC. And from there, there was a portal that led to the SMP. If Tommy could get to Hermitcraft, others could too. And that idea was terrifying, no matter who it was. Dream was a worst case scenario, but even if it was Tubbo. Tubbo had exiled him, and even if they were still on good terms after that, Tommy could have visited at some other MCC, but he didn’t, and that idea likely wouldn’t go over well, especially since otherwise, people probably thought he was dead and Tommy didn’t care to correct them.
But compared to all those other times, today was very different. Today Tommy wasn’t at the sidelines to help send off the other Hermits, he was one of the ones being sent off. They had taken every precaution. Mumbo had rebuilt his Spookification chamber for Tommy with some alterations, specifically removing the firework method of alteration. The teen was also dressed for being on a team with Grian as the Cyan Creepers, so his familiar red and white shirt was missing. But under Tommy’s costume, he still kept the chain necklace holding his compass. He refused to part with it, though made sure he would be hard to access to keep from glancing, knowing at the championships, it wouldn’t be spinning wildly anymore.
With a comforting pat on the back from Grian, he and the other Hermits walked through the portal. The crowd of people that were on the side almost immediately overwhelmed Tommy, making him think that it was a bad idea all over again, but the sight of the two other team members for the Cyan Creepers reassured them, especially as they lined up for the cameras for some fun and silly times. Then once the games began, he was too focused on winning to think of much else.
Before long, the championships were over. They had come in fifth, which was a bit disappointing at first, but on the other hand, it was still pretty good and kept the spotlight off of him. When dodgebolt began, Tommy stood next to Grian, but with a crowd of people, a good game, and no perfect place to sit, the both of them wandered for a better vantage point.
At one point, Tommy managed to push his way right up to the edge of the viewing ledge. It was the perfect place for a while until the action moved, causing everyone to decide it was the perfect place. Enough people moved nearby that Tommy was worried about falling into the pit below, and he almost did before someone pulled him back.
Tommy was ready to thank whichever Hermit or even other player helped him but the words died in his throat when he faced the person who grabbed him. He knew that mask and neon green color. And there was no reason for him to help Tommy unless-
“I finally found you!” Dream spoke. He raised his voice to be heard over the crowd, but not too much to draw the attention of others. Tommy froze as he definitely heard the words. But there was no way for Dream to know, he didn’t look at all like normal.
“I-I’m sorry.” Tommy tried not to stutter, hoping just the situation of being grabbed would excuse it. “But I don’t think I’m who you’re looking for. I’m new here. Unless you’re greeting me for being new.” It was something he prepared before in his mind after Grian brought up the possibility, but it felt sloppy putting it to use.
“Oh don’t lie Tommy. I know it’s you. I guess you got lost, but it’s okay, you can come back now. I got rid of the exile for you. Aren’t you glad?”
Tommy was glad for the mask that covered Dream’s face. He wasn’t sure he wanted to see Dream’s actual expression. “How did you-” He started to speak, but Dream cut him off, poking Tommy’s chest, right where the compass was.
“Weren’t you paying attention to the teams? Tubbo got put with me. And between games he just happened to glance at his own compass. And wouldn’t you know it, it led me right here.” Dream held up the compass that belonged to Tubbo. It looked damaged, and it was recent. Tubbo likely didn’t want to give the tyrant admin the compass, but lost it to Dream anyway.
“Give that back to Tubbo!” Tommy shouted at Dream, trying to snatch it from him.
“Feisty now, aren’t you? We can take care of that when you come back. I’ll also give it back to him if you come with me.”
Tommy froze. There was no way he was going back, but what could he do? Everyone was focused on dodgebolt, and he didn’t want his appearance to have caused more trouble for Tubbo.
Tommy glanced at the crowd one last time before reluctantly nodding. Dream grabbed his hand in a painful clench and dragged him out of the crowd towards the SMP’s portal to leave. However, just before reaching it, Dream stopped. Tommy, who had been looking back at the crowd, hoping someone would see what was going on, turned towards the portal to see Grian standing in front of it.
“Heya, where do you think you’re going. MCC isn’t over yet. Dodgebolt it still going on.”
Tommy expected Dream to just push past Grian or even give some sort of retort, but the actual reply was shocking. “Uh, n-no, just… have to head back early. Th-the game delays made things run over. A-and we’ve got to get b-back for… something else. Don’t w-want to be late for that.”
Dream’s words made Tommy so shocked he forgot to breathe. Dream was scared, no he was terrified. And he was terrified… of Grian. Tommy looked back at the Hermit who stood unflinching in front of them.
“Really? I could have sworn that you were here when I arrived, and that kid wasn’t. And he definitely came from a different portal. I know since I was keeping my eye out for my teammates. So why’s he going with you?”
“I uh…” Dream struggled, struggled, to give an answer, letting Grian continue. “That’s what I thought. C’mon kid, let’s go back to the crowd. You can stay with me until it’s over then I’ll help you find your portal back.”
And Grian took Tommy away without any retaliation from Dream. Tommy was left in awe. Grian wasn’t even an admin in Hermitcraft but Dream was terrified of him. It was amazing! But at the same time, it made Tommy spiral a bit.
When everyone returned, Grian had made sure Dream left before the Hermits and Tommy did so Dream couldn’t watch Tommy leave. Tommy stuck to False’s side as they walked through the portal, Grian being the last to come through as he continued to act as a guard. When he tried to comfort Tommy after his run-in with Dream, he understood when the teen responded he just wanted to go home. The championships were exhausting enough without a scare like that.
The next day, Tommy hung out with False. And then Zedaph, and then Doc. Grian noticed immediately, but didn’t pay much mind to it. He noticed since Tommy had spent a full week only hanging out with him, so the sudden absence of the boy was noticeable, but it made sense that he would want to hang out with the others.
After that, Grian didn’t pay too much attention to the lack of Tommy until he ran into him while stocking the barge. Tommy had been buying something at the store when Grian flew in. He nearly dropped his diamonds in trying to leave in such a hurry that it finally concerned Grian. The builder started visiting other Hermits Tommy tended to visit and ask about him. No one really noticed much other than Tommy dodging any questions about him possibly going to hang out with Grian.
Grian decided to leave it alone, and he was definitely going to, but after another run in with Tommy, he threw that decision out the window. Grian normally wouldn’t have done this, but after trying multiple times to just talk to Tommy and being unsuccessful, the builder had to essentially corner the teen.
Immediately, Grian regretted it. Tommy was trembling, obviously scared, holding a sword in his hand. He carefully tried to point out that Tommy didn’t need to have his sword out, but instead of just putting it away, Tommy just threw it on the ground, also throwing down his other gear. Grian had heard of Tommy doing this before with the other Hermits, so he immediately recognised what was going on and dived to grab the gear. It scared Tommy more, but Grian wanted to make sure nothing ended up destroyed.
“Tommy, calm down, I just want to talk. Did I do something wrong? I mean, obviously I must have, you look scared out of your mind every time I’m around you. But I can’t think or anything I did and I don’t want this to keep happening. So can I know what’s going on?”
Tommy didn’t speak for a while. He just looked defeated and terrified. Grian called in some of the other Hermits to come help Tommy calm down, though at first it didn’t help. But over time, Tommy finally did stop looking so terrified and they moved to somewhere he would feel less cornered. It took more coaxing after that, but finally, Tommy explained himself.
“He’s scared of you. Dream is… actually scared of you.”
“Yeah, I’ve killed him once or twice. Plus my full name is Lord Grian Dreamslayer, so it’s kind of in the name.” The builder tried to say it as a joke, but it didn’t seem to lighten the mood.”
“He’s the admin and he’s scared of you. And you… I’ve been hanging out with you.”
Grian nodded. “Well yeah, we do fit together well. ...Did he say something at MCC to make you think I didn’t like you?”
Tommy shook his head. “N-No. You’re right, you’re fun to be around. But dream likes… liked messing with me. And tried to train me. And I hang out with you more than I had with him, and I’m more like you. I-If you’re somehow more powerful than him-!” The rest of the words stopped in Tommy’s throat, choking him up. Stress was nearby and gave Tommy a careful hug for comfort, which helped him a little.
Grian waited a little bit for the tension to calm slightly before he spoke. “I don’t know exactly what Dream has done to you. You’ve told us a lot, but you obviously haven’t told us everything, and telling us isn’t the same as experiencing it. But let me tell you that I’m not going to do what he’s done to you. I remember how you were the first day we found you. And I see how you are now- well, how you were a few weeks ago- and I’m happy. Happy because you’ve been happy. You’ve been safe and cared for here and it shows. I don’t want to force you to be anything, I want you to be you. Sure, I’m powerful enough to kill Dream, but I’m not going to use that power on you. I’m only going to use it around you if it’s to keep him away from you.
“And! And! It’s just because of how your server is. Here we can go to the end. We don’t have a set amount of lives. We build massive structures and sell totems for a single diamond each. We fight Withers for fun and make farms with them. We farm just about anything you can think of. And Tommy.” Grian paused, making sure Tommy was paying attention. “You may be from somewhere far off that none of us old Hermits have seen, but now you’re here. And new home or not, that makes you a Hermit too. Sure you can be like me. Or you can be like False or Doc or Scar or Mumbo. But so far, you’ve been pretty you. And that you is a Hermit.”
Tommy took a few moments to process it, but the message seemed to get through to him. With that, Grian stood up with a smile. “Now I get that you probably don’t want to hang around me much right now. It makes sense. Maybe hang out with some other Hermits and learn some new stuff to get your mind off of things. Plus, I also did some talking around looking for you, and got you this.”
Tommy’s eyes practically sparkled as Grian placed down some music discs. He greedily grabbed the treasures and stuffed them in his inventory, looking up just to see Grian flying off. Taking on Grian’s idea, Tommy decided to go with Cleo and try to wrap his head around those armor stands again. While he wasn’t a pro, he did manage to make one scene of the hermits all holding weapons and surrounding an armor stand in lime leather armor. Grian was right. He was a Hermit. And he wasn’t going back. At least, not permanently, he thought, clutching his compass. Maybe, there would even be another Hermit like him.
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devildomimagines · 3 years
Text
Part 2 Remix
Ok, listen. First, I’m going to need you to go read this *chef’s kiss* of a post if you haven’t already. The Brothers and Undateables at one of Diavolo’s balls when a Noble starts talking down on MC by @arcadejohn127-9. There is now a part 2 for the ending (and it has been up for a while haha)!
Somewhere after the first post was published but before we had the ending, I started writing my own twist on the ending because I was so inspired and because I needed the comfort from the hurt/comfort lol. I’ve finally gotten around to finishing it and I wanted to share. You will see why it took me so long as some of these parts really ran away from me. The younger brothers and the Undateables are under the cut to save everyone’s dash. 😂
Lucifer
For a second he was torn, making that Noble pay or chase after you.
The choice was obvious, you came first.
As he made his way through the crowd, Diavolo caught his eye. 
With a few quick gestures, Lucifer had communicated he was going after you. Diavolo nodded, making his way to the Noble to take care of that side of it.
The crowd opened up enough for Lucifer to see the door to the butler’s pantry close.
He had to catch up to you before you met up with Barbatos. 
His worst fear right now is that you would take advantage of Barbatos’ power and have the timeline altered to where you never came to Devildom and never met him.
Once he was close enough he used a blast of magic to open the door and rushed into the room.
You had been wiping your tears but with the door bursting open, you jumped and scowled at who was entering. Realizing it was Lucifer, your face softened but looked away.
“You’re still here,” Lucifer held a hand on his chest, allowing himself a moment of relief.
“Well it’s not like I can teleport or fly. I’m just a human.”
The way you talked down about yourself made Lucifer’s own heart drop, your pact physically affecting him, your pride was at the lowest he had ever felt. 
As the Avatar of Pride, he wouldn’t stand for it. “You’re not just a human, MC. You’re unbelievably important.”
You rolled your eyes, “Yeah, because I’m Lilith’s descendant and a part of the exchange program.”
“No, you’re important because you bring kindness and joy into everything you do. You’re important because you’ve become the anchor I’ve been trying to be for my family for centuries. You’re important because you truly try to make a meaningful difference even when it’s difficult.” Lucifer moved in front of you, gently tilting your chin up to meet his gaze, “You’re important because I love you.”
Mammon
When he recovered from the shock, he looked around.
The first brother he saw was Levi. He marched over and ordered him to deal with the Noble.
Next he moved in the direction you had stormed off in. He finally caught up to you at the coat check.
You noticed him and looked away pretending you didn’t.
“MC! You going home? I’ll go with,” he dug out his own coat ticket and handed it over to the coat checker.
“You really don’t have to.”
“Don’t be stupid, I’m going where you go,” He moved to sling an arm around your shoulder like he normally does but you shrugged out of his reach. That hurt.
“Well maybe I am stupid! Just a big dumb human who doesn’t realize they’re being used.” You hugged yourself to try to self-soothe.
It took a few moments for Mammon to register all of your words, “What? Who’s using you? Was it that Noble??” He scowled back at the ballroom.
“No, forget it.” You started walking to the exit.
He growled as he grabbed his coat and jogged to catch up to you.
You heard the rushed footsteps and paused more out of habit than anything else. “Mammon, stop.”
He had made it right behind you before he was forced to stop, the pact binding him in place. That didn’t stop his mouth though, “MC, whatever that Noble said to you, it’s a lie!”
“You don’t know what he said,” you replied coldly, “He said that I’m being used, by you and your brothers, by Diavolo, he said that none of you ever really cared about me, I was just a replacement for Lilith.” Repeating the words made them worse, it had you shaking as the sobs started to rattle your body.
“MC,” Mammon whined your name, clearly trying to force his body to move, “drop the spell,” you shook your head no so he begged, “Please MC.”
His desperation softened your resolve for a moment long enough to release the hold you had on him.
Mammon immediately turned you to face him, your tears broke him and he started tearing up. He pulled you into his chest and started, “We never thought of it that way. I was so relieved that Lilith got to lead a fulfilling life where she didn’t have to suffer turning into a demon. You were the result of her happy life that it made me so happy, unbelievably happy. But I liked you before we knew all of that, I was the first of my brothers to see how great you are.” He placed a soft kiss on your forehead, “MC, I love you so much. Please don’t doubt that.”
Leviathan
“Ouch,” he thought as he looked around. The first of his brother’s he found was Beel, his height and orange hair made him stick out. He was also in the most likely place to find him, in front of a table of food.
Levi maneuvered around party guests and tapped at Beel’s shoulder. Very quickly he explained the situation, Beel nodded with a piece of meat hanging out of his mouth and started muscling his way through the dance floor.
Next was to face you. He was nervous, had he done something he wasn’t aware of? Did the Noble point out his inferiority and MC was disgusted to have a pact with him?
He got to the bathroom and hesitated. He could hear your soft cries muffled behind the door. All nervousness left him as he knocked and called out to you, “MC?”
The cries stopped and you answered, “Go away.”
“No,” Where was this confidence coming from, he wondered as he added, “I’m here for you, please let me help you.”
“You can’t help me, you’re part of the problem.”
All of the confidence he just had was shattered. “MC… I’m sorry. If it was something I did, or didn’t do, please tell me. You know I don’t know how to handle these situations but I would never try to hurt you.”
The door swung open and Levi jumped. 
“And why is that Levi?” Your tear stained face stared him down.
“Because I c-care about you?” He was confused why you were angry at him now.
“Because I’m a replacement for Lilith?”
“No way!” Now it was his turn to be angry.
A bit of the venom was removed as you asked, “Because I’m a dumb normie human?”
“Well…” He started to joke but when you pouted he took it back, “of course not.”
“Then why?” You sniffled.
Levi looked around, you two were in a pretty secluded area. He took a deep breath and braced himself so he wouldn’t lose his nerve. “I wouldn’t hurt you because we’re a team! My player 2, my Henry, my friend! When I agreed to form a pact with you, it was because you opened my eyes to how valuable it would be to let people into my world. At that time, I had no idea about Lilith, Lucifer kept us in the dark and I chose not to seek out the light. Then you came into my life and you were so bright it hurt my eyes.” He was rambling, “Anyway, you might be a normie human but you’re my normie human! Whatever that Noble said to make you question that, it isn’t true.”
After a beat, you jumped into his arms. His heart was absolutely pounding as he wrapped you in his arms, he knew you’d hear it but he was relieved he somehow said the right thing.
Satan
He knew it was the Noble that caused your mood shift.
You retreated through a door, Satan didn’t have time to make the Noble suffer in the ways he was already imagining. 
As he headed for the door himself, he bumped into Lucifer.
It was grinding on his nerves but for your sake he asked Lucifer to take care of the Noble.
Without question, Lucifer whisked off to take care of it. He probably knew it was important since Satan would never ask anything of Lucifer if it wasn’t necessary.
Satan picked up the pace to get to the door and catch you.
He looked down both sides of the connecting hall and found you leaning against the wall facing away from where you had come from.
As he approached he realized your shoulders were shaking. It broke his heart.
When he placed a hand on your arm, you jumped out of your skin and stepped away. 
You relaxed seeing it was Satan and not someone else but making eye contact with him hurt, “Leave me alone, I just need a moment.”
You had turned to leave but he wasn’t letting you go again. He regripped your arm.
“Don’t go.”
“Satan…” You sighed trying to bring back some of your usual strength.
“Whatever that Noble said…” A thought dawned on him mid-sentence, “Did he do something to you?” The wrath in him bristled anew.
“He didn’t do anything besides point out some things.” You laughed weakly, “Actually he made some good points I should have seen for myself a long time ago.”
“What points did he make?” Satan asked.
You looked down the hall, debating an escape, “That I was just a pawn to Diavolo’s plans and a replacement for Lilith.”
“That’s not true,” Satan defended.
His tone of finality made you look back at him. He took the opportunity to explain.
“You’re no one’s pawn. You always had and will always have your free will to do as you want. Just as you’ve shown me that I’m my own being,” he held a hand to his chest, “You are your own person.”
You scoffed, “and being related to Lilith-”
“Doesn’t matter to me,” Satan interrupted and finished the sentence. “I’ve heard all the stories from my brothers but I never met her. I met you though,” His hand moved down your arm to your hand.
Automatically you gave his hand a squeeze just falling into habit and he smiled.
“It doesn’t matter how you got here,” Satan started, hoping you would complete the quote from a book you both read.
Quietly you added, “All that matters is you’re here now.”
He pulled you into his arms and you let him engulf you in a warm embrace. It was so different from the sharp, cold feeling you got from the Noble that it felt like home to be here with him.
“I’ll always be here for you MC,” he whispered and you believed him.
Asmodeus
Well clearly something was wrong, you never pulled back from him like that.
He first looked around for some assistance. Things had been fine before your dance with the Noble so something happened in relation to that dance.
The first person he spotted was Satan. Asmo waved him over to the table. Satan nodded and departed from the company he had been talking to. Asmo quickly described the situation in a pretty grim light knowing exactly what would flip the wrath switch in Satan.
The blond demon stalked off after his newly provided prey.
Asmo checked his appearance in a pocket mirror before setting after you. It wasn’t like he had something on his face or a hair out of place that drove you off but he had to be sure.
He found you looking out over the Devildom with the most somber look on your face.
“MC~ You look absolutely stunning under the Devildom moon.”
You sighed. 
That wasn’t the reaction Asmo was aiming for. “Won’t you tell me what’s wrong, love?”
“It’s nothing,” you tried to smile but it didn’t light up your face like he knew it could.
“Ok,” Asmo put up his hands. He could take a hint, you didn’t want to talk about it and he wasn’t going to push and make it worse. “Let’s go home then?”
“I know you don’t want to leave. You’ve been looking forward to this all month,” You looked back out at the cityscape.
“Well I don’t want to be here if you’re not having fun,” Asmo snaked an arm around your waist and looked out across the city himself.
He felt you stiffen under his touch and he tried very hard not to pout outwardly but you rejecting him really hurt.
He said he wasn’t going to push but he had to know, “Did the Noble say something unacceptable to you?”
“No, if anything it was too acceptable, factual even.” You leaned away from him and against the railing as your face soured further.
“What did he say?”
“That I’m being used,” you looked at him to see how he reacted to the second part, “by Diavolo and your family.”
His brow furrowed and you knew it was genuine emotion since he would never risk the wrinkles otherwise.
“No, no, no, no, no!” Asmo shook his head, “That’s absolutely not what’s happening.”
“It’s fine,” you shrugged, “we all have our part to play.”
“MC,” Asmo took your shoulders and stared you down, “You are not just some pawn, you’re a very important human to me and my family!”
You looked to the side, “Only because I’m related to Lilith.”
“No? We love you for you!”
You blushed at his blunt honesty, “Oh.”
“Did you think that we didn’t care about you before we learned that you were distantly related?”
“No!” You defended, “But when he was laying out all the info, it did kind of seem like that.”
“Who are you going to trust? Some random or me?” Asmo batted his eyes at you.
After a moment you conceded, “You, of course.”
You both giggled and he whisked you to the dance floor to show you the best night of your life.
Beelzebub
“Wait MC-” Beel jumped up from table, his knees knocked it and it wobbled as he pushed his chair back.
“You couldn’t just leave like that,” he thought, “I can’t lose another…”
He found you on the front balcony. From what he could guess, you paused to take in the fresh air but then watched as you steeled yourself and briskly started your way down the stairs.
“MC,” he caught up easily even in his formalwear, “Let me at least walk you back to the dorm.”
You hesitated, not making eye contact with him, you shrugged, “fine.”
The two of you walked in silence. Beel had no idea what to say to make you stay. He cursed himself that words didn’t come as easily to him like Asmo or Mammon, he couldn’t relate it to something he read or watched like Satan or Levi usually did and he couldn’t think of the perfect solution like he knew Lucifer would.
He was the only thing standing between you and the metaphorical exit and he had to do something. 
So he did the only thing he could think of and apologized. “I’m sorry.”
It made you stop, “What?”
“I’m sorry. If it was something I said or did or ate, I’m sorry. If it was one of my brothers then I’m also sorry. Whatever it was, I’m sorry.” Tears pricked in the corners of his eyes. He wasn’t usually one to cry but he was so frustrated and felt so helpless. If this wasn’t what you wanted then you’d be gone.
“No,” you sighed, “I’m sorry, I took out my frustration on you. I’m not mad at you or your brothers. If anything, I’m mad at myself,” you laughed dryly.
“Yourself?” Beel repeated, trying to figure out how he could help you with that.
“Yeah, I should have seen it for myself but that Noble was right,” you continued onwards to HOL.
“Right about what?”
You finally looked at him and it crushed him to see the saddest smile on your face as you answered, “That I’m just some kind of replacement for Lilith. I thought you all really cared about me but your behavior did change after everyone learned I was related to her.”
Beel was frozen in shock. He watched you pick up walking home again.
“That’s not-” he started but you raised a hand to stop him.
“I get it, you guys were so happy that she lived that you wanted to show it in some way,” this time when you turned toward him you couldn’t keep the tears from falling, “and in a way I’m grateful because if I wasn’t her descendant then I wouldn’t be here, I wouldn’t have met you all, and I wouldn’t have been a part of a family like yours. But I’m selfish and I wanted you to love me for who I am.”
He was finally unfrozen and wrapped you in a near-bone-crushing hug. “We do!” Beel confirmed, “We love you, MC!” He began crying, “I love you, please don’t leave.”
Enclosed in his arms, you felt his earnest emotions flood into you, “I believe you,” you wiped his tears, “Thank you for loving me.”
Belphegor
He knew it, that Noble was bad news.
Belphie looked around and easily found Asmo in the middle. He pushed past his fans and told Asmo what happened. Asmo left to take care of the Noble.
Belphie caught up with you in your room back at the HOL.
He had followed the noise and found you were angrily packing a bag, in between wiping your face.
“What’re you doing?” Belphie asked from the door.
The sudden voice made you jump, “Leaving.”
“Why?”
You paused, wringing the shirt in your hand, “We’d all be better off.”
“Because you’re a replacement?” Belphie threw your words back at you but realized his mistake too late.
When you shuddered and fell to your knees crying he wanted to disappear. How could he be so tactless?
“Yes! I’m not Lilith!” You cry-yelled at him. “I wanted so badly to be a part of your family. I did everything for you and your brothers to make amends, to prove myself and my intentions and it didn’t matter! The second you all learned about my lineage, it all changed.” 
You sniffled and added, “You hated me for being a human, I’d almost prefer that if that is honestly how you feel about me.”
Ouch. But he deserved that, “I don’t hate you,” he knelt in front of you.
“I’m just a stupid human,” he grabbed your arms and pulled you into him as you sobbed, “I don’t want to be used as a pawn, and I’m not a replacement for your sister.”
“I know, MC,” Belphie soothed, “You’re not a pawn and we know you aren’t a replacement for Lilith.”
“B-but,” you blubbered.
“No buts,” there was an edge to his voice, that he wasn’t going to take any rebuttals. “Without you, we wouldn’t have been able to move forward as a family. We’d be worse off without you in our lives.”
You shifted back a bit to look at him, “Really?”
“Really,” Belphie verified. “Don’t go,” his voice caught in his throat, his own emotions finally hitting him. What would he do without you?
You grabbed his face, assessing for yourself. “Ok…ok.” You relaxed in his hold and finally felt secure in how he felt about you.
Diavolo
You ducked into the kitchen.
He tried to follow but got stopped by a high ranking demon that he could not brush off. He was trapped, that is until Barbatos caught his gaze.
The butler swooped in, distracted the demon with appetizers and began leading them away.
Ever grateful, Diavolo smiled and then another thought hit him. He stopped Barbatos and whispered in his ear what happened between you and the Noble. Barbatos nodded and made his way to find and complete his new task.
Diavolo jumped into the kitchen before anyone else could stop him.
“MC?” he looked around and found you sitting on the counter with your head in your hands. His heart dropped.
You sniffled, “Go back to your party.”
“I don’t feel like it.” he mused.
“What a spoiled prince,” you replied.
He felt hopeful, if you were joking then surely you would recover. “Won’t you tell me what happened?”
When you tensed, he stopped inching closer.
“It doesn’t matter. I don’t matter.” 
“That’s not true,” Diavolo tried to take your hands but you fought him slightly, still trying to cover your face. When you finally relented and looked at him with tear stains on your face, he swore he never felt a greater rush of love and the need to protect like he did in that moment, “You’re so important to me.” 
“Because I’m an exchange student?” You searched his face for any reaction.
“What?” He was actually dumbfounded. “You think that’s the only reason I care for you?”
“What other reason could there be? Isn’t that the whole point of why I was here in the first place?”
He paused to gather his thoughts. There were so many reasons to love you and the fact that you could be undone like this from one conversation proves that Diavolo was failing you. Still holding your hands, he raised one to kiss your knuckles. “I’ll admit that at first, my goal to build bridges between the realms was my focus, but as the program went on, I found myself looking forward to our meetings. Much to Barbatos’ chagrin, I would sneak out to steal a few moments with you and they meant everything to me.”
You had begun rubbing his hand with your thumb, tears were gone but you still looked sad.
He rested his forehead against yours, “I can’t imagine what my life would have been like if I didn’t meet you. You’ve brought a joy and sense of adventure into my life that I wouldn’t trade for anything.”
“Thanks Dia,” When you smiled softly, he could swear his heart was melting into a puddle. “I’m sorry if I ruined your night.”
“Nonsense!” Diavolo laughed and backed up to help you off the counter, “The night’s still young and I think I owe you a dance.”
You squeezed his hand, “Wait, I probably look terrible from crying!”
The kitchen door swung open to Barbatos trying to hold back Asmo. Asmo chirped, “We can help with that!”
Diavolo laughed at the sight. Barbatos sighed and released Asmo as he whipped out his travel make-up kit and busied himself with you.
Barbatos stood next to Diavolo and in a hushed tone affirmed, “The target has been captured.”
A dark look passed over Diavolo’s face as he responded, “Good. We’ll deal with him in the morning.”
Barbatos
He wanted to chase after you but his duty was of course to Diavolo and the ball at hand.
Within a few moments, he reasoned that the ball was in danger of being compromised if you weren’t there and the Noble was allowed to roam free of consequence.
Barbatos wasn’t one to ask for help but he knew that if he mentioned the Noble’s actions to Lucifer, the demon would take matters into his own hands to deal with it and Lucifer did so.
That left him to track you down. He had a feeling of where he’d find you.
Out in the garden, seated on the bench, you were fidgeting with his handkerchief.
Careful to make noise as he approached you so as to not spook you with his usually silent steps, Barbatos sat on the other end of the bench.
He caught you peeking at him so he tried not to look directly at you, knowing it would make you feel uncomfortable.
“Thank you for this,” you held out his handkerchief.
“Any time,” he accepted it and even through his gloves, he could feel the dampness. Had he left you alone for too long to have cried this much? Very slowly he folded the cloth and put it in his pocket.
“Also I’m sorry for my behavior before.” You shifted and began to explain, “I was confused and hurt, that Noble… actually nevermind.”
“There’s no need to apologize to me, though I am sorry for the distress you’ve gone through.”
Still bothered, you had to ask, “Why do you tolerate me?”
“What do you mean?”
“Are you only nice to me because you’re under orders to be?”
He couldn’t lie, “Lord Diavolo has directed me to be of use to the exchange students, but I’ve come to genuinely appreciate your company, if that isn’t too presumptuous.”
You peeked over again and could see a light blush on the butler’s cheeks, he wasn’t looking at you now out of embarrassment.
That earned a small smile, “It’s not, I’m grateful to hear your true feelings.” You paused thinking on what the Noble said, “Do you think the others feel the same? That they actually like me, not as some replacement for Lilith or as a tool to be used?”
Ah so that’s the idea that the Noble had planted, he rubbed his chin in thought. “While I can’t speak for the brothers, I can conclude that you mean much more to Lord Diavolo than he’d like to admit. He has never spoken ill of you in my presence. Even Lucifer, who has often verbalized his distaste for his brothers’ shenanigans, has never voiced the same of you even if you were involved in said shenanigans.”
“Well that’s something.”
“It certainly is,” He confirmed.
You giggled and it was like Barbatos was hearing his favorite song for the first time. 
After a beat, he stood, brushed himself off more out of habit than any actual dirt accumulation and faced you. You looked slightly surprised. He bowed and offered his arm, “Shall we head back in?”
Hesitantly, you took his hand, “Can I stay with you?”
“If that is what you desire,” Barbatos smiled and led your hand to hold his arm, “How could I deny a direct request like that?”
Solomon
He was stunned for a minute. Had you meant him and you weren’t on the same page or the humans and the demons weren’t on the same page?
Solomon was pretty sure that the pacts were a clear indicator of a human and a demon being on the same page.
This was the perfect opportunity to take advantage of one of his new pacts, he sent the demon to gather as much information, good and bad, that they could dig up about the Noble that had danced with you.
If knowledge was power then he wanted as much knowledge on his side as he could get before making a move.
That left him free to follow you. He caught the sight of you as you left into an adjoining hallway.
Shuffling through the crowd he broke free and got himself through the door. He looked both ways and found you at the end, turning the corner.
Although not one for running, he jogged down the hall to catch up with you.
You had turned to watch for the approaching noise and at the sight of your watery eyes he skidded to a stop.
Solomon couldn’t remember a time when he had seen you cry, not like this, where your whole being seemed depleted.
“MC…”
“I’m fine,” you wiped the tears away quickly, “I was dumb for thinking that any of this meant something to them, that’s on me.”
“What are you talking about?”
“The exchange program, the demons, everything here was just all part of Diavolo’s plan and I played right into it.” Bitterly you added, “I was a pawn and I couldn’t even see it.”
“That’s not true,” Solomon rebuked. “I’m sure they did not count on you making pacts with the 7 demon brothers. They are extremely high ranking, that wasn’t an easy feat.”
“They’re not any better, they probably only did so because I was some sort of replacement for Lilith.”
“Lilith… oh yes the fallen angel that almost did not survive.” He nodded as he remembered, “Is that what they said when they made the pact with you?”
“Well not exactly…” you admitted.
“I see,” he took your hand and pulled you to a nearby bench, “I happen to know a bit about pacts.”
You rolled your eyes but he took it as a good sign, “And when entering the pact, usually one or both parties admit their reason behind entering the contract. Usually it’s the human asking for something only that demon can offer like money, power or influence, but that wasn’t the case for you was it?”
“No.”
“What was it that they were looking for from you?”
You didn’t answer for a while, thinking back on each of the pacts being forged. “If I had to sum it up for all of them, love or acceptance.”
Huh, that was pretty straightforward, Solomon wondered why he hadn’t thought of that. “That seems like something only you could have given them, I doubt they would want the same from me.”
You laughed, “I wouldn’t say that, Asmo really loves you, he always talks about you.”
Solomon groaned for effect but you both knew he cherished the bond with the demon.
“You were never their pawn, they chose to offer the pact and you chose to accept, that was not something orchestrated by someone else.”
Finally, you nodded, seeing his perspective. “You’re right.”
“Of course I’m right,” he joked.
With a light punch of his arm, you both made your way back to the party. Solomon planned on showing you a magical night.
Simeon
The walk back to Purgatory Hall was quick, too quick for Simeon to figure out what happened.
He’d seen you dancing but not who with, also why had you been in such a hurry to get away from the brothers? He thought things were going well with them.
“I’ll put on some tea, ok?” Simeon offered as you two entered the front door.
You nodded and sat at the table.
“Simeon~” Luke called, “You’re back early!” The cherub entered the room and saw you from behind, “And MC!? What a treat!”
Luke came up to your side and caught your sad expression before you could turn away. “What happened?” He shot an accusatory glare at Simeon.
Simeon looked shocked, Luke thought you were upset because of him?
“It’s nothing Luke,” you replied softly, “you were right, I shouldn’t have trusted demons.”
The two angels looked at each other shocked, neither had expected that. “Well of course!” Luke defended, “What did they do?”
You sighed, you didn’t see a way to brush them both off so you recanted the dance with the noble, the things he knew about you and the ideas he had brought to your attention.
Luke chomped down on a cookie, “Well he’s not wrong about Diavolo’s plan.”
“Luke,” Simeon admonished, “I’ve known Diavolo for a long time, he’s not one to use others for personal gain, even if he is a demon. He’s always preferred to do things his own way.”
“And those brothers?” Luke asked. You looked at Simeon expectantly, your face repeating the question, ‘And those brothers?’
“I’ve known them for a long time too. Of course they adored their sister Lilith, we all did. But no one could serve as her replacement because she was irreplaceable.” Simeon allowed that thought a moment to sink in. “I think that you've made your own bonds with them, different and separate from your ancestral lineage.”
“I suppose…” You conceded.
“Why do you even put up with them MC?” Luke offered.
Now you had to laugh, “For a while I thought they were the ones putting up with me.”
“No way!” 
“Yes way,” you smiled at him as you sipped your tea. “I think you forget sometimes that you’re all powerful beings and I am not.”
Luke blushed, “You’re powerful, in your own way!”
“Thank you,” you put your hand on his cheek and he smiled. 
You looked over at Simeon, “Can I spend the night here?” 
Although he still sensed some sadness from you, it certainly was not the same level as he had felt when he bumped into you before.
“Yes!” Luke answered first, “Please Simeon!”
With the two of you giving him pouty looks, “How can I say no?”
“Yay!” Luke cheered and ran from the room, “Sleep over!”
“It’s alright if you’d rather not entertain Luke all night,” You offered, “I can go back to the HOL, I don’t want to impose.”
“You’re not getting out of this that easy,” Simeon teased, “He probably has six movies lined up already and he has been practicing making pillow forts in his room.”
You both laughed, “I appreciate you listening Simeon, I’m glad I have a guardian angel like you,” you winked as you joined Luke on the floor. He did already have a stack of movies to watch.
Simeon blushed and then shook his head to clear his thoughts as he joined the blanket pile.
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kiribaku-queen · 3 years
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Could we please have an insecure!reader x Bokuto! (Also Todoroki x reader but separately if that’s okay?) where she starts to slowly starts to compare herself to all the fangirls and the girls that confess to them? So she slowly starts to distance herself, then meets up with then to break up. But when she says she wants to break up the boys are like “do you not love me anymore, what happened” then she basically goes on a spiel about how much better he would be with one the fangirls and just straight up says she looks like the trash but of course she still loves him. So then the boys reassure her that she’s the only one he wants and that she is perfect and blah blah blah and it’s just a nice happy ending basically :)
It’s Always Been You
Pairing: Bokuto x reader
Angst, Fluff
Word count: 3.1K
A/N: I’M BACK! I’m starting to get back into the groove of things while juggling my work but hopefully, I’ll be able to start that new series soon! Let me tell yall, when I finished plotting out and detailing everything I want to happen in this series, it was 11 pages long.... like what?
Anyway, I love love loved this prompt. It actually made me feel sad inside. I hope it wasn’t too rushed. Also, I just wanted to do Bokuto since I have a lot on my plate, writing wise so i hope that is okay! Thank you to whoever sent this in and I hope you are satisfied with this! Happy reading! (if you want to know more about my next series, DM me! I really want to talk about it LOL)
“Kotarou-kun!” you bellowed your boyfriend’s name from the stands. You would always go to Bokuto’s volleyball practice whenever you could. You had your own club activities so you couldn’t always be there to cheer him on. But when you would, Bokuto would be jumping with joy, trying new moves just to impress you. You were already impressed with the achievements he made this past year, one being the top 5 spikers in all of Japan. But he somehow still thinks that there’s more wow factor in him for you. When Bokuto hears his name fall from your lips, he automatically whips his head and gives you the widest smile.
“(y/n)!” he sings your name, waving both hands in the air. Bokuto was so distracted by you that he didn’t see that ball coming straight for him. Luckily, it missed him but just a hair. But now his team was upset that they just lost a point thanks to him. Thank god this was just practice and not an actual game. You’d never live that one down. You could see Bokuto rubbing the back of his head, embarrassed, as his team continued to scold him to pay attention.
Spike after spike after spike after spike, you were amazing at how many times Bokuto could spike the ball down without getting tired. If that was you, you would surely break both your ankles. You leaned on the railing, admiring how hardworking and how much effort he put in his sport. You’ve never met anyone more dedicated than the man who was dominating the court by just standing there.
“This one’s for…” Bokuto starts as he jumps in the air with exceptional form. You smile fondly because you know what’s about to happen. “(Y/N)!!!” he dedicates his spike to you, yelling with his whole chest and smacks the ball on the other side of the court. With the widest smile and a big thumbs up, Bokuto faces you after his great feat. His teammates clearly embarrassed with his antics. It’s practice, for crying out loud. But Bokuto didn’t care what anyone else thought. He was going to shower you with love and affection to show everyone just who captured his heart.
You giggle to yourself. You loved this side of Bokuto. In the beginning of your relationship, you admit that it was embarrassing. He was just so extra with his affection that you didn’t know how to take it. But day by day, you learned to accept and love all the things he does for you. His smile, his laugh, his iconic ‘hey, hey, hey’ line, and even when he dedicates certain moves to you. But you weren’t the only one to admired him. No, his fangirls were also in love with that. Speaking of fangirls…
When practice was over, you made your way down the bleachers and over to your boyfriend, but when the team came into sight, Bokuto was already surrounded by a herd of fangirls.
“Bokuto-san, you were super cool today!”
“Can you show me how to play?”
“Are you thirsty? Here, I bought you some water!”
“Do you need a towel?”
“Can we feel your muscles?”
Bokuto looked uncomfortable, to say the least. You stayed behind the crowd of girls, giving him some space with his fans. He sees you immediately and gives you an apologetic look. You shake your head, insinuating that it was okay. Because it honestly was. You can’t be mad at him for having adoring fans. It was natural if he was going to play professionally. And this is nothing if he was to really play on a pro volleyball team. So you could take it. Bokuto continues to interact with the girls while to watch them, waiting until he’s ready to leave.
You could see him trying to make his way through the crowd to get to you, but surprisingly, his fans were pretty strong. They refused to let him leave, no matter how many times he said he had to go. But again, you were willing to be patient.
“Look, ladies. I’d love to stay and talk, but I have someone waiting on me,” Bokuto tried one more time and pointed in your direction. All their heads whipped around to you, not looking too happy. Their stares burned at you, scaring you a bit at how vicious they could look. With them distracted, Bokuto was able to slip out of their circle and by your side.
“Shall we go?” he looked down at you, love back in his eyes. You nod and Bokuto automatically wraps his hand around your shoulders, leading you out of the court.
As you pass by the group of girls who were still staring daggers at you, you heard their whispers. You weren’t sure if they were saying it on purpose or if it was because it was the truth, but they were speaking loud enough for you to overhear.
“What does he see in her?”
“Do you see her bare face? Does she not care that she looks homeless?”
“It’s because her face is bumpy, so if she wore makeup it would look cakey.”
“No, even if she did wear makeup, it would look so bad because she doesn’t know how to put it on.”
“God, she’s so boring!”
“Her hair isn’t even done.”
“It’s like she purposely trying be a loser.”
“And do you see how her rolls are spilling out of her shirt? Embarrassing!”
You tightened your grip on your skirt. Were they really talking about you? The entire time Bokuto was walking you home, you were looking down and thought about all those comments that they made. Mean as they were, maybe they were right? You didn’t wear any jewelry. It would only get in the way. You don’t do your hair, but you didn’t think it was that messy. You liked it the way it was. No, you don’t wear makeup. Not only do you not have time in the morning, but you only use it for special occasions. Fat? Maybe you were putting on a few pounds, but you and Bokuto like to eat. It’s his fault that you look bigger than normal. Is this what people think about you? Is this was people say behind your back? You looked down at your stomach and held it shyly. Thinking about those comments just made you upset. But did Bokuto think that way? You look up at him and he’s all happy like normal. He hasn’t said that you should change anything, but maybe that’s just him being polite. But that was going to change.
After dropping you off, you went straight to your room and dug up everything you could find: makeup, clothes, jewelry, accessories, curling iron, straightener. You put everything on your counter and got to work. You were going to look pretty for once.
First, you applied your makeup. Dramatic or subtle? What do most of the girls wear at school? After a quick search, subtle it is. You admit, you weren’t the best at makeup, but it’s not like you’ve never put it on before. You just needed a little practice and this was a good opportunity. After maybe 30 minutes of applying what you thought looked like good makeup skills, you moved onto the hair. You tried something that you normally never do. Up or down? Curly or straight? Extensions or nah? God, so many options. So again, you looked at what the other girls were doing. Looking back in the mirror, you smiled at yourself. Not too bad, if you do say so yourself! You were going to wake up early tomorrow and do exactly this. Bokuto was in for a big surprise.
A big surprise, he was. Bokuto waited outside your house like he did every day. You were running a little late but he didn’t mind waiting.
“Sorry I’m late. I was doing something real quick!” you announced and presented yourself in front of your boyfriend. As soon as Bokuto laid eyes on you, he felt his heart fly out of his chest and then back again because he had to be alive to see how stunning you looked. His mouth flew open but he couldn’t form any words. His eyes grew as wide as saucers and looked up and down. He didn’t want this picture of you out of his mind.
As shocked as Bokuto was, you didn’t take his reaction the right way. Did he not like it? Why wasn’t he saying anything? You know that your look might be different than normal, but he acts like you’re a totally different person. The longer that he stared at you, the more ridiculous you looked. But what were you going to do now? It was too late to change and you were going to be late to school.
“Let’s go!” you urged, hooking your arms together and pulled him along to walk with you. You acted like his reaction didn’t affect you, but inside you were disappointed.
As the day went on, you couldn’t help but feel subconscious about your new look. Your friends said that they loved the new you, but Bokuto’s opinion mattered the most to you. Because you knew that he would tell you the truth no matter what.
In between classes, you look either go to the bathroom or look at your phone, wherever there was a mirror so that you could look at yourself. Your make up started melting and fading away, your hair wasn’t as kept like this morning. Slowly, your new look made you look like a clown. And the more you looked, the more you started to see your flaws. Now you could understand what those girls were saying. Fuck.
Tears welled in your eyes that you rubbed away the tears. But in the process of doing that, you wiped off the makeup that you forgot you had on, the makeup that took you so long to do. It all smeared across your eyes and that made you cry even more. Now you were forced to take your makeup off. You turned on the tap and rubbed all the foundation, the eye shadow, the blush, and the lipstick away. There, your ugly bare face was back.
Since you were doing that, might as well fix your hair. Pulling your hair all the way back, you put it into a bun. You stared at yourself in the mirror again. Homeless. Ugly. Bare faced. Fat. You could see it all. The realization hit you like a ton of bricks and you began to cry uncontrollably. God, you felt so embarrassed with yourself.
Bokuto immediately saw the difference in appearance when he saw you at the end of the day. Your shoulders were slouched over, your head was hung low, not to mention that your new look disappeared.
“Hey, hey, hey,” Bokuto said softly. “What happened to your new look?”
“Oh,” you jolted up. His concerned gaze made you feel uncomfortable and even more insecure about your looks. “It was bothering me, so I took it off.” You lied. And it was a good lie because he believed it without a second thought.
“If it bothers you, maybe you shouldn’t wear it to school,” Bokuto suggested. Oh, so he’s basically saying that you shouldn’t dress like that because he’s embarrassed by you. Your confidence levels just reached a new low.
“Yeah, I probably won’t,” you say discouraged and quickly walk away from him. Bokuto didn’t know what to say. Why did you look so sad?
The next day, you transitioned back into your normal outfit. You felt more comfortable but your body and the way you looked to other people was always in the back of your mind. You became so distracted by the idea that you began to distance yourself from the volleyball player.
You went to his practices but didn’t make yourself known anymore. Little by little each day, you let the fangirls take over. So he’ll spend most of his time with them instead of you. It was probably better like that anyway. The more you looked at them from afar, the more you could see the difference between you guys. You were just an ordinary student with an ordinary life with ordinary looks. There really wasn’t anything special about you. There wasn’t anything about you that stood out. Compared to these girls that were flocking all around your boyfriend? Beautiful girls. Their looks were out of this world. You could never compare to them. So why was Bokuto with you when he could have anyone he wanted? He was popular, athletic, goofy, strong. Every girl’s dream guy. It doesn’t make sense that you, a plain girl, was his girlfriend. A match that probably wasn’t meant to be.
Bokuto noticed that you were being distant. Eventually, you stopped going to his practices. Every day, he would look for you in the stands but you were never there. Whenever he has free time and wanted to spend it with you, you were also too busy or had some place to be. He never saw you anymore. You didn’t even want to walk to and from school together. He couldn’t fathom what he did wrong. He thought he treated you well. He thought that he did his best to show you that you mean so much to him. So what was going on?
Bokuto stopped by your house one day after practice because does not like how you were avoiding him. He was going to figure out what was wrong whether you continue to avoid him or not.
“Oh, is (y/n) home?” Bokuto asked your mother who opened the door instead of you. Strange, were you not home yet?
“Oh, Kotarou. No, she isn’t home yet. Would you like to wait inside? She should be home any minute now,” your mother informed, opening the door a little wider to let him in. He gladly accepted and stepped into your welcoming home. Your mother let Bokuto make himself at home and that is just what he did. He went to your room and waited for you there.
When you arrived home, you greeted your mother with a kiss on her cheek and headed for your room when your mom stopped you in your tracks.
“Oh, your boyfriend is waiting for you upstairs, dear,” your mother said. You completely froze. Your heart started to race and cold sweat ran down your back. Shit. What was he doing here? After all this time, you thought you were doing well by keeping your distance but now he shows up out of nowhere, catching you off guard. Reluctantly, you opened the door to your bedroom and sure enough, Bokuto was standing there not looking too happy.
“Kotarou,” you say but didn’t have a clue what to say after. What could you say?
“(y/n),” Bokuto sighs and walks to you. But you backup, making Bokuto frustrated. “What is going on with you? First, you don’t come to my practices. Then, you stop talking to me. You don’t even want to walk with me to school anymore. Did I do something wrong? Because if I did, just tell me so I can fix it.”
“No, you didn’t do anything wrong,” you admit, but now Bokuto was confused.
“If I didn’t do anything, then why are you acting like towards me? Are you mad at me?”
“No.”
“Did I say something that hurt your feelings?”
“No.” Question after question, you kept saying no. Everything that he thought he did, you answered no. You weren’t giving him any information to help him understand what was going on. All you did was stand by the door, head down and you fiddled with your fingers. Bokuto was beyond frustrated. He put his hands on his waist and let out a deep sigh.
You couldn’t see him but you could definitely hear him and feel the ambiance in the room. He was upset at you. He had every right to. But now his reaction made you feel even worse about yourself that you just wanted to cuddle up in bed and literally just forget about everything. Maybe today was the today.
“If you’re so frustrated, why don’t you just break up with me?” you opened your mouth to say. Silence.
All of Bokuto’s anger and frustration dissipated and was replaced with hurt and betrayal. The moment those words left your mouth, his stomach dropped and the pain in his heart hit him so deep that he had to take a step back.
“Baby, why are you saying that?” his voice softens in the most pained toned you’ve ever heard. Guilt starts to eat at you for saying that, but cat’s out of the bag now. You don’t answer him and continue to stare down at your feet. He gets closer and you allow him to take your hands in his.
“I’m just trying to understand. Why are avoiding me? Why are you saying that we should break up?” he asks, trying to look you in the eyes. You shrug your shoulders but don’t say anything. But that’s okay because Bokuto was going to give you all the time in the world that you need to answer back. And it took you a long while before you should say anything.
“It’s because… I think you can find someone better,” you mumble in a whisper.
“Why do you think that?” Bokuto matches your tone. You shrug again.
“I don’t know. I see all those girls around you. And they’re all so pretty and thin. I’m nothing compared to them. And then I started thinking, and… you’re way out of my league. You could do so much better if you were with someone like-”
“Do you love me?” Bokuto cuts you off.
“Yeah,” you answer anyway. “But I don’t think we look good as a couple.”
“I don’t care what other people think. I love you and only you. I picked you. Every practice, every game, I’m looking for you. Whenever I see you, my day brightens up. When I see you, I feel like I can play my best. You are my strength and my motivation. You are the only one that sticks out in a crowd full of people. You’re perfect and don’t let those other people tell you otherwise.” Bokuto lifts your chin up so that you could tell that he meant every word. Your lower lip forms a pout and silent tears streaked your cheeks. His face softens at you. Gosh, even when you’re crying and snot is coming out of your nose, you’re still so cute to him.
“You really mean it?” you cry.
“Yes, you cry baby. Now come here,” he scoops you up and lays you on the bed to cuddle. “So don’t you ever say that to me again, or I’ll quit volleyball.” He threatens. Upon hearing that, you freak out and convince that he shouldn’t. He’s laughing out loud and kisses you all over.
“Ah, I love you too much,” he says content and you cuddle for the rest of the evening.
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matan4il · 2 years
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I would love it if you allowed me a scream into the void moment. No worries if you dont post. But I'm bothered today by antis.
Heres the thing I ship for leisure, I have shipped queer, straight canon ext. I have had ships sail, sink or die. When I'm on the 🤡 end of the ship it doesn't bother me. I get it. Eddie and Buck are canon "straight" on the show. I get why you think I'm a clown 🤡.
But heres the thing I dont get, why are antis not getting this writing isnt normal. I fully am prepared for Buddie not to happen, shit with my luck the will thing was because they plan to kill Eddie off because Ryan wants to leave and they want to keep Christopher with Buck and Taylor. However my point remains nothing about the writing of Eddie and Buck is typical and just admit it.
The constant queer baiting on the small scale mixed with your my kids legal gaurdian on the huge scale. Eddies panic attacks. The angst of Eddie leaving combined with all the Buck adondenemt issues and also Eddie stopping him from leaving. It just doesnt add up. And maybe I'm wrong, but also antis need to acknowledge this isnt normal and they could be wrong and not hate as much.
Hi Nonnie! You are ALWAYS welcome to scream whatever you need to in my inbox! *hugs*
I get what you're saying. I'm not sure I can say that I ship for leisure with the amount of meta'ing I have done, but I do generally believe in "live and let live" in fandom. Everyone's free to disagree with any of my meta's, to interpret things differently, to like whichever characters or ships they like, etc. I firmly believe that at the end of the day, fandom is what we do to help make real life (rl) better, so whatever brings people joy is fine in my book (as long as we're not talking downright offensive opinions).
But even so, I agree with you fully and think that there is something quite unusual about the writing for Buddie. 'Coz here's the thing, yeah, maybe if we search hard enough, we could find a good rl het explanation for everything Buddie have done/been through, but shows aren't rl. To make my point, in rl we go to the bathroom every day not long after we wake up. But we don't see it on screen. If we suddenly do see a character go to the bathroom in the morning, then something IS UP. Maybe we'll discover that they have some sort of a serious medical condition, or that she's pregnant. We don't know yet, but we know that there is some reason for why the show made this unusual choice, and that it's asking us to pay extra attention to this. The same thing can be said about the way Buddie has been written, there are a lot of unusual choices that beg us to pay attention to these two together, as partners and as a family unit with Chris. If you look at the sum of my meta, those are the choices that I'm trying to highlight, the ones that are out of the ordinary and that call attention to Buddie as possibly something other than friends... If a straight couple would have gotten this treatment, then even if they didn't eventually get together, I would fully expect at least one of them to have a feelings realization at some point (an example for that are Dean and Vic on Station 19, who got a lot of similar elements to Buddie, and where eventually Dean was forced to admit he's in love with Vic, even though the actor decided to leave the show before the two of them ever got the chance to get together).
Anyway, my point is you're right and I'm with you, and please feel free to use my meta as proof whenever you wanna point out that the writing for Buddie is NOT the standard writing for friends, even really good, close friends.
Thank you for sending this and big hugs to you! xoxox
To anyone else who sent me an ask, I am going through all of them, thank you so much for your patience! If you wanna check whether I've replied to yours yet, you can have a look at my ask tag. xoxox
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Text
Delicate. — Part 1.
word count: 2.6k
a/n: Here we are fam, i gotta be honest with y’all, this is heavily inspired in the fact that i watched Miss Americana twice this month, what resulted in me going through my taylor swfit phase again. Pls bare with me, i haven’t written anything like this before.
catch up here!
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They said artists become what they are because deep down they are as insecure if not more than normal people. Because they craved constant validation in what they do. 
At least it was the case for Y/n. 
A girl who has built an entire system around being accepted by the public, someone who their major source of happiness is provided by strangers all around the world. When you are living from the approval of strangers and that is where you drive all your joy and fulfillment, one bad thing can cause everything to go down. Y/n has spent her whole life trying to please the world so they would like her, so what she has achieved over the years would last. 
When the world turned their back on her, Y/n had no choice but to disappear, because she thought that was what everyone wanted. Even then, she made her choices around what she thought would make them happy.
Y/n knew she could not hide forever, but for now, it was a necessary evil she had to take. Deciding to take a break from everything was the healthiest decision she has ever made, shutting down her social media, getting out of the city and going back home with her family was exactly what she needed. 
"Mom was sad she couldn't pick you up from the airport."
Seventeen-year-old Jensen, whose driving license was still new and fresh, was the one who picked Y/n up when her flight landed. In complete honesty, she did not like using a private plane, but she could not risk someone seeing where she was going. Jensen was good at driving, well, he has not crashed into a tree yet, so they were safe. 
"She would've brought Chase and scare Pandora and Lizzie." 
Jensen chuckled. "She's obsessed with him. I haven't started college yet and she's already thinking about turning my room into Chase's." 
Her parents’ house was a gated property away from others since it was safer that way. Y/n would not stay there the whole time since she had her own apartment a little closer to town. Her luggage, as well as her cats, were picked up separately and taken to her home, she would go there after lunch with her family. Jensen parked next to a black range rover that belonged to their dad, meaning both of their parents were home. 
Y/n threw her backpack over her shoulder as she stepped out of the car, eager to finally reunite with her family, especially her mother. She is in desperate need of a tight hug, a mug of hot chocolate and a shoulder to cry on. Y/n did not realize how mentally drained she was until she saw her mother open the front door. 
"My baby!" Louise exclaimed, embracing her daughter in a tight hug. "How was the flight?" 
"It was fine. I'm starving though." 
They walked into the living room and Louise closed the door behind them. Y/n dropped her backpack on one of the couches and sighed in relief. “Where’s dad?” Jensen went straight to the kitchen and opened the fridge.
“Get the white wine.” Y/n told him.
“It’s too early to drink that.” Louise took the bottle from Jensen’s hands and put it back in the fridge. “Dad’s outside. We bought some roses that will look beautiful by the pool.”
“You’re buying a lot of plants lately.” Y/n pointed a big vase full of daisies, her mom’s favorites, on the kitchen’s island. 
“I like supporting local business.” She shrugged.
“That and she’s obsessed with the owner of the flower shop.” Jensen chuckled, cracking open a water bottle. 
“Hey! That’s not true.” 
“Mom, you there like… every day. Who needs new flowers every day?”
“Shush.” The elder woman faked offense then gigged. “Handsome young man, he is. I’ll take you tomorrow.” She turned to Y/n. 
“Oh, no, mom. I’m going to lock myself in my apartment and try to write.” She said, making Louise scoff. “I’m serious!”
“I know you are. But living like a hermit is not going to do you any good.”
“I agree, sis.” 
Y/n rolled her eyes, knowing they were right as always but did not want to admit it. The truth was, she wanted to write some songs, so badly, but could not find the right words. She was hoping to get some peace and quiet to get her ideas and emotions in order again. Before any of them could say anything else, David entered the kitchen while taking off his gardening gloves and smiled widely when he spotted Y/n.
“And who do we have here?”
“Hi, dad.” Y/n smiled at him brightly before wrapping her arms around her dad, who hugged her back just as tight. 
“Good to have you home, darling.” 
The family of four sat on the kitchen island and started to catch up. Jensen talked about his different college options and how he was considering getting a summer job this year. Louise kept talking about how nice the owner of this flower shop was, making emphasis on how he was also single. Y/n didn’t know what she was trying to do, but she didn’t pay much attention either. 
Overall it was nice for Y/n to get out of her head for a little bit, and her family was always a great help for that. She knew she still had a lot to deal with, and she would probably get a call from her publicist and a lot of other people soon, but for now, she just wanted to think about anything else that wasn't the whole world hating on her. 
"How are you doing, Y/n? Be honest." Her mom asked after they stayed alone in the kitchen.
"Been better." She sighed. "I don't want to think about it, mom."
"You have to talk to someone, sweetie. I know your team cares for you and is trying to handle the situation, but you can still talk to me."
"I know, thank you. I'm just trying to figure it what I'm going to do."
Louise sighed. "You sure you don't want to stay here? You have your room and everything."
"Thanks for the offer, mom. But I sort of want to be on my own." She said. "But I'll come for lunch every day, I promise."
Although Louise wasn't convinced by her daughter's words, she chose to not push it. She knew Y/n had her own ways to express her feelings, and she'd talk whenever she felt like it. So she let her go, making her promise she'd come to visit soon.
"Do you need a ride? I'm going to town anyway." Jensen offered, taking the keys of his car from the little plate they kept on the table beside the front door. 
"Yes, please."
The drive to her apartment wasn't a long one, and in less than ten minutes she was opening her front door and being greeted by her two beautiful cats rubbing themselves on her legs. Y/n sighed, thinking about how much she needed to unpack now that she was here. The truth was, she didn't know for how long she'd be staying here, but she figured it'd be a long time so she packed a lot. Now she kind of regretted it because she would probably be in her pajamas all day anyway. 
After cleaning Pandora and Lizzie's sandbox, Y/n decided to grab an acoustic guitar and try to come up with some melodies. She wasn't quite sure about any lyrics yet, but it was always good to have a little something to start a song. 
She went from playing the guitar to play the piano, hoping she'd get more inspirations somewhere. But she had nothing. Not even one decent note. She was empty. 
"Don't pretend is... mhmm. Think about the... No." She groaned and slammed the palm of her hands on the keyboard, growing frustrated. Why all of a sudden she couldn't even rhyme? Maybe she needed a break, or perhaps she was tired from her flight and tomorrow she'd be able to write something.
//
Turns out her writer's block was here to stay. A week has passed since her arrival and Y/n hasn't been able to finish one single song. Everything she started ended up being erased or in the middle of her living room after the ripped the page off her journal. 
"I told you, you shouldn't hurry. Inspiration will come eventually, it always does."
"I guess. I just have nothing else to do other than play scrabble with you and write songs, or at least try to."
"Let me take out then." Louise started and Y/n shakes her head. "C'mon, let's eat somewhere or buy groceries and I'll cock at your place." Y/n looked at her mom and realized she wouldn't stop until she accepted, so Y/n offered Louise a nod. "Marvelous. There's this little café that I absolutely love. You'll love the owner."
"What is it with you and the owners of local shops?"
"They're my friends. Oh! We could drop by Blossom House. You could use some flowers around your house so it would look like somebody actually lives there."
"Stop dragging me, woman."
Louise drove them to this café called Furry Cakes, which turned out to be a cat café. Y/n obviously lost it as soon as they walked in, and nearly cried when she saw all the kittens, and absolutely shed a tear when the girl behind the register said every kitty except for one named Chaster was up for adoption. She felt like a little girl all over again when her mom told her she couldn't take every single kitty home. 
Y/n was wearing a hoodie that was twice her size, plus some big sunglasses she refused to take off, even inside of the café. She was praying she wouldn't get recognized as she knew people were dying for a picture of her, see how she was after the entire world canceled her. 
"We'll leave the car parked here, the flower shop is just around the corner." Louise pulled from Y/n's hand to make her walk faster. There weren't a lot of people on the streets and she was grateful for that, she hasn't gotten a proper walk in what felt like ages. 
They stopped outside a modern-looking building with a big, bright sign that read 'The Blossom House'. It was simple yet cute. The pair stepped in and a little bell ringed. Y/n looked around, admiring how everything looked like it was straight out of a fairytale. There were little pots hanging from the ceiling and she looked up, she saw the ceiling was pure glass, which made the whole place brighter. Flowers weren't really her thing as she could barely keep them alive, but seeing this amount of flowers all in the same place... made her somewhat happy and warm inside. 
She was so deep in thought she didn't even realize her mom left her and was nowhere to be found. It doesn't look like it from outside, but the shop was actually big and very spacious. It was also empty right now, not even an employee was around, so she decided to have a look on her own. It looked like they had all kinds of flowers in here, which made her even more excited because that meant they had-
"Azaleas? They're also my favorites." A deep voice interrupted her thoughts. She jumped on her place as she wasn't expecting it, which made the person behind her chuckle. "I didn't mean to scare you, sorry."
"It's okay..." She turned around and it was fair to say that was she saw stunned her right away.
In front of her, a gorgeous looking man was standing there with a bright smile on his face. She noticed the two dimples poking at each side of his face, making his smile even more beautiful. His emerald green eyes were the greenest eyes she has ever seen in her life, she believed. He had crinkles by his eyes due to his smile being wide. But to her, the icing of the cake was the beautiful mop of chocolate curls he had on the top of his head. She suddenly felt the insane urge to run her hands through it just to see if they were as soft as they looked. 
"Harry, darling!" Louise appeared out of nowhere and wrapped her arms around the man, who only chuckled while reciprocating the greeting.
"Hello, Louise. What's it gonna be today? Tulips? More daisies?" Oh God, he's British. Y/n thought to herself. 
"Gosh, you know me so well. I'm actually here just to look around, I see you found my daughter though." She smirked.
"I surely did. I'm Harry, nice to meet you, love." He offered her a hand for her to shake.
Y/n was a little surprised by the pet name but took his hand nonetheless. "I'm Y/n, nice to meet you too."
"I want her to get some plants for her house." Louise spoke again.
"Well, you're in the right place then." He said. "Do you want them for your garden?"
"No, uhm... I don't have one. I live in an apartment."
"Personally, my favorite to keep indoors are Begonias." Harry guided the two women to a different section of the flower shop and pointed to some pretty ones in pink color. "But I also enjoy Daylilies, although they're a little harder to maintain."
"Yeah, maybe not those then. I'm not very good at keeping plants alive."
"She killed a cactus once." Louise mentioned. 
"No way." 
"I didn't know they'd drown if I watered them more than once a week!" Y/n defended herself. 
"Amateur mistake." He joked. 
The truth was Y/n was too busy to have a garden, she was always traveling and didn't stay too long in one place so even if she tries to have one, it'd be dead by the end of the month. 
"What plants are cat friendly? I have two at home."
"Bromeliads are cat friendly, they're easy to maintain too."
They looked around for a little bit. Harry said a fun fact about every type of flower Y/n pointed out, never failing to make her laugh. The funny thing was, it didn't look like Harry knew who she was. Either he hasn't recognized her, or he didn't know about her. Which by the way, not to be a narcissist, would be highly unlikely.
She ended up taking a couple of new plants home, starting to grow excited about them. It was true, her apartment could use a little more life to it, and now she was sure her new plants would do that for her. Harry was wrapping everything for them while he stood behind the counter.
"Oh, here. This one's on the house." Harry handed her a pot with some beautiful blue Azaleas. She took them with a growing blush on her face, a blush that went deeper when their hands brushed with each other. "Try to not kill them though." He teased.
Y/n rolled her eyes as her mom chuckled behind her. "I'll report their aliveness back to you, you'll see."
"You better. Have a nice day, ladies. I'm guessing I'll see you around, Y/n?"
"Sure, I'm uh... I'm living here right now."
Harry smiled at them one last time before they exited the shop. After the door closed behind them, Louise turned to Y/n. "He likes you."
"Don't be ridiculous."
"What do you say if we invite him for dinner sometime?"
"Like, at your house?" She asked surprised.
"Yeah, why not?"
"I have to keep a low profile, mother. For all I know he could be tweeting about I just exited his shop."
"Don't let the paranoia ruin the possibility of forming new friendships... or more." Louise sent her a wink.
"Okay, that's enough."
Y/n brushed her off, trying not to think much about it. A new friendship sounded impossible at this point of her life, let alone pursuing a new relationship with someone. She had made up her mind, she was better off being alone.
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levitatingbiscuits · 4 years
Note
hi! I love your writing it brings me so much joy! anyway have you considered an AU where jango and obi-wan are captured together/break out of prison together?
(thank you so much darling that’s so sweet <3)
Obi-Wan woke up in a very familiar cell with a pounding in his head and groaned, long and low and heartfelt.
The pounding subsided somewhat. Ah, someone had been banging on the walls of the brig. How considerate of them to stop.
“Who’s Hondo got on guard duty this time?” Obi-Wan called, sitting up and rubbing at his temples, pleased to note that he hadn’t been restrained. It just wasn’t sporting, after all. “Evus? Yoro?”
“It’s me,” Carsi said smugly, strutting into view in front of the energy field at the front of his cell and striking a pose. “You’re not getting out this time, you slippery bastard, I’ve got money riding on this.”
Obi-Wan rubbed his inner canthi and vowed, as he often when he visited Hondo, to never drink again. “My dear, I might have the week off but I do need to be getting back eventually. The Temple usually gives me 5-8 business days before they shell out a ransom.”
Carsi opened her smirking mouth to respond when someone in the cell next to them growled, “The Haat Mando’ade don’t pay ransom and you’ll be paying yours in blood if you don’t give me my karking armor back right now.”
Carsi’s mouth snapped shut with a click, eyes wide, and Obi-Wan took pity on her. She was young and headstrong and reckless, which meant Obi-Wan was predisposed to like her. He still owed her for trouncing her at dejarik in front of her girlfriend, which was undoubtedly why she had volunteered to guard him in the first place.
“Now, none of that, my friend. Is this your first time enjoying Captain Ohnaka’s dubious hospitality?”
"This is the last time because once I’m through with him he’s not going to have a kriffing ship anymore,” the apparent Mandalorian growled, “Or legs.”  
Carsi edged closer to Obi-Wan’s cell.
“That will be unnecessary, I’m sure. Hondo might be a pirate but he’s a decent sort. No serious harm will come to you, at least not if you don’t deserve it. Hondo might even let you go without a ransom if he wants something else from you, though if your armor is made of beskar it might be a lost cause.”
Something that sounded like a fist slammed against the wall. Carsi jumped a foot in the air.
“Like. What,” the Mandalorian ground out eventually.
“Well, the last time I was here he wanted me to win a sabacc tournament for him, and he once kidnapped my padawan because he’s a former pod racing champion. Do you have any unexpected talents, by chance?”
“Killing people.”
Obi-Wan sighed. “Well, that’s not quite unexpected, but I’m sure Hondo will have a use for that.”
Carsi visibly gulped. 
Eventually their host decided to show his face, though not before the Mandalorian detailed how he planned to break each bone in his body. Poor Carsi looked like she regretted ever taking this guard duty, no matter how much money she’d win from the pool if she managed to keep Obi-Wan there. (The current record was 3 days. A Jedi’s ransom had become something of a white space whale for Hondo.)
“Kenobi, my good friend!” Hondo crowed, throwing a companionable arm around Carsi’s shoulders, who promptly dislodged it. “And Fett, my valued associate!”
“Hondo,” Obi-Wan greeted, smiling despite himself.
“I hope you enjoyed the party last night, boys! I broke out my best liquor for it!”
“That was your best liquor?” Fett asked, almost despite himself. Hondo tended to have that effect on people. 
“Obviously not, I wouldn’t waste it on guests! Especially not Kenobi, otherwise he’d drink it all.”
Obi-Wan rolled his eyes but didn’t refute it. “Whatever I drank last night was quite impressive, in any case. I couldn’t even taste the drugs.”
Hondo laughed. “There weren’t any drugs, my friend! You just drank two bottles of tihaar and passed out on the table.”
“That was tihaar?” Obi-Wan asked, surprised. The New Mandalorians never made it that strong.
“You gave all my tihaar to a jetii?” Fett said at the same time, then paused. “How are you not dead, Kenobi?”
“I... have extensive experience,” Obi-Wan admitted sheepishly. “Did you brew it yourself? It really was quite good. Stronger than I’m used to.”
“The true Mandalorians make true tihaar,” Fett said, pride creeping into his voice. “None of that weak Sundari banthakark. ‘S real draluram.”
“I must admit that I agree with you, even if the taste might leave something to be desired,” Obi-Wan agreed. “Is your papuur’gal stronger, as well?”
“Of course it is, jetii. You wouldn’t believe what those aruetiise try to pass off as real alcohol...”
-
Hondo slipped out once the conversation got lively, congratulating himself on a job well done. It wasn’t easy--Hondo liked being the center of attention, as was his due, and normally he would be offended that his unwilling guests would be rude enough to ignore their gracious host.
But Hondo liked them both. Kenobi was his friend, and Fett was an honorable man. They would make an interesting pair, especially considering that Hondo had trapped them in the one environment that wouldn’t immediately lead to a fight (Fett’s doing) or a raunchy one-off entanglement (Kenobi had worked his way through half of Hondo’s crew, not to mention Hondo himself, at this point).
Hondo was as skilled at matchmaking as he was at piracy! Perhaps he could start a side business. Advertise it in his best man speech. Mandalorian weddings were always fun. And this way Fett might not take his anger out on Hondo’s kneecaps once Hondo traded him for beskar. 
And if he was very lucky, Kenobi would like Fett enough to stay and let Hondo finally get his hands on that Temple ransom...
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dweetwise · 3 years
Text
i can’t stop writing them, send help. this was based on an idea from @gooobert, hope i could do it justice! ship: ace x felix word count: 1330
More than a thousand words
Meg was sitting by the campfire and busying herself with changing the shoelaces of her sneakers. The new ones were a different color and only marginally cleaner, and the whole thing was mostly a pointless attempt at any sort of change. It was kind of pathetic that the eyesore of the once-blue laces clashing with Meg’s red running shoes was the most interesting thing she'd seen in weeks.
The Entity's world was a lot of things. It was Meg's worst nightmare, a living hell, a home of unspeakable horrors that drained every last bit of hope from her piece by piece—
But in between those moments, it was indescribably boring.
Had anyone told Meg five years ago that she'd get used to being brutally murdered on a regular basis, she wouldn't have hesitated to give them a piece of her mind and maybe even her fist. But disturbing as it may be, after all this time it had become the new normal. The trials weren’t pleasant but at least they were something to keep her mind occupied and her reflexes sharp.
Between trials she was stuck at the campfire, which offered nothing in the way of entertainment save for Kate's guitar, Ace's playing cards and Bill's perpetually half-empty pack of cigarettes. Meg’s companions were both a blessing and a curse; some of them she was happy to call her friends and others she'd rather avoid. She had never been much of a people person and while it was nice to have the option to talk to someone if she wanted to, more often than not she just wanted to shove a sock in people's mouths when they just wouldn't shut up.
Hearing a familiar laugh, Meg's nose scrunched on instinct as she looked up to see one of those very people walk up to the fire. Ace sauntered up to a small group tending to the flames, earning a few words from Jeff and a smile from Kate, all the while running his mouth at a way louder volume than necessary.
Then, Ace proceeded to walk up to Felix.
Meg hadn't even noticed Felix return from his latest trial. She didn't know the man very well but he was one of the few who rarely got on her nerves, pulling his weight in trials and staying blissfully quiet at camp. She'd even go as far as to say she kind of liked the guy.
Of course, that respect flew out the window every time Felix spent time with Ace.
"Hiya, Pumpkin!" Ace chirped obnoxiously to the architect, effectively proving Meg's point. "Whatcha doing?"
Ace sat down next to Felix and Meg glared daggers at the gambler's smug face. So much for the blissful silence of the campfire.
"Ah, neat," Ace suddenly continued. "That looks like fun!"
Meg frowned; she hadn't even heard Felix say anything. Why was Ace talking to himself?
"How are you holding up after what happened back there?" Ace asked.
Felix still didn't reply, but this time Meg saw him give a pointed stare to Ace.
"I was going to heal myself so I could go for the rescue!” Ace protested. “That’s why I was in the basement, looking for a medkit—”
Felix huffed out a pointed breath.
"Or a map!" Ace continued. "I know you like to bring one into trials, and I thought it'd make a nice gift!"
Felix only raised an eyebrow.
"Alright, alright!" Ace relented, holding his hands up in surrender. "I was looking for a key so we could bail through the hatch once Yui and David died."
"Hmm," Felix replied.
It was a quiet sound that—combined with Felix's resting bitch face—gave absolutely nothing away.
"You're not mad, right babe?" Ace asked, casting a sickly-sweet pleading look at the German.
Again, Felix neither did or said anything, but soon Ace was breaking into a relieved laugh anyway.
"I knew you had a soft spot for me," Ace grinned.
“M-hm,” Felix commented.
“I know, I know—don’t make a habit of it,” Ace said.
The more Meg listened to the one-sided conversation, the more confused she got. There was no way Ace was able to decipher any of Felix’s weird sounds or barely-there facial expressions. It had to be some kind of joke.
She glanced around the campsite, but nobody else seemed to be paying the duo any attention. Jane was sitting on the log next to Meg’s, so she scooted over to the woman and leaned closer.
“Are you seeing this shit?” Meg whispered, getting Jane’s attention.
“What?”
“Those two!” Meg said, pointing to the offending pair.
“You think the Entity will throw another party for us before Halloween?” Ace asked Felix, still running his mouth and oblivious to Meg’s staring.
Felix hummed again; in agreement or in thought was anybody’s guess.
“Yeah, you’re right,” Ace concluded despite this. “She’s gotten lazy. Wouldn’t surprise me if she even forgot Christmas this year.”
“I’m not sure what you mean,” Jane said.
“Really?” Meg asked. “You don’t see anything wrong with…”
Felix huffed, and Ace gasped in mock offense.
“Excuse you, my Christmas sweater is fabulous,” Ace said.
Felix’s mouth quirked up in a smirk.
“That was one time, and I only borrowed yours because it looked comfy!” Ace protested.
“...That?” Meg asked Jane, gesturing in the couple’s general direction.
“Not really,” Jane said, infuriatingly unbothered by the display. “I know Felix’s family situation isn’t ideal, but as long as they’re happy, I don’t think it’s our place to judge.”
Wait… what?
“Huh?” Meg asked.
“I can’t really fault someone for finding joy in a place like this,” Jane said. “I know Ace sometimes gets on all our nerves, but Felix seems happy with him.”
What the hell was she—oh. Oh.
“Oh god no,” Meg said with a grimace. “I don’t care that they’re together or—whatever.”
Jane looked at her, frowning in confusion.
“I’m just weirded out that Ace is always just, like, talking to himself,” Meg explained. “Felix barely gets a word in.”
“Ah, I see! My bad,” Jane apologized. “Still, I don’t really see anything weird in it; Felix is a quiet person and Ace is good at reading people. I think it’s natural they communicate in their own ways.”
“You’re shitting me,” Meg deadpanned. “You really think Ace understands all those weird ‘aah’s and ‘hmm’s?”
“Body language is easier to read than you’d think,” Jane said. “Take Jake for example; he doesn’t talk a lot, but you always know what he means, right?”
“Yeah, because Jake only has two moods; ‘I’m listening’ and ‘fuck off’!” Meg protested. “It’s not like he’s telling his goddamn life story in that death glare.”
“Maybe you’re not listening,” Jane said, giving her a cryptic smile. “Either way, I think it’s sweet when people know each other well enough to not need words.”
“—I’m serious! You should have seen the look on his face!” Ace exclaimed to his companion way louder than necessary.
“...Though maybe I’d like it more if the roles were reversed,” Jane sighed, rubbing her ear.
“I hear you,” Meg snorted.
She looked back at Ace and Felix, who were still engrossed in their weird conversation. Felix had leaned closer to his boyfriend, listening raptly and offering acknowledging sounds every now and then as Ace recounted one of his trials. For some reason, the German seemed to enjoy Ace’s incessant babbling, and who was Meg to stop him?
She watched as Felix reached over and grabbed Ace’s hand, making the gambler pause mid-sentence. Slowly, Ace’s shit-eating grin changed into a soft smile.
He clasped Felix’s hand and lifted it to his mouth, giving the knuckles a quick kiss and in response, Felix lowered his head and returned the smile.
"I love you too," Ace murmured.
Meg rolled her eyes and grabbed another pair of sneakers to continue her project. She’d never understand those two, but maybe that was for the better.
And maybe she should give Jake’s death glare another shot.
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reluctant-mandalore · 3 years
Text
Clarity (Din Djarin x gn!Reader)
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Chapter One: The Herbalist
Living on a desert planet as a herbalist had its downsides, and it definitely was not the easiest life to live. It was the only one you had ever known though, and even if you had wished for a better one, you knew that it would never come.
 This all changes of course when a Mandalorian comes to your town looking for a quarry with a high price on their head. 
---
Warnings: slow burn, kidnapping/hostage, herbalist!reader, I’m not sure what to tag for this chap tbh. 
Word Count: 4829
Pairing: Din Djarin x gn!Reader
a/n: This chapter gives a lot of background to the reader’s life on their home planet. You’re a herbalist, trying to survive on your desert like planet, when Din comes and pretty much kidnaps you though at this moment you don’t know why. Other than the introduction to reader’s background and life as a herbalist, there is no other descriptions of the reader themselves. The rest is up to you. This is mostly a set up chapter. Also, I tried to give Tarth an accent(?), but I’m not very good with writing things like that yet. :/
The days on your home planet were long and overbearing. Its sun had hung high and large within the vast sky. Allowing for its viscous rays to warm everything they had touched. Even during the night—when the sun had laid to rest and the stars had begun to peek awake—the blistering heat was still unfazed. Nothing could escape the sun’s wraith it seemed.
Not even you.
Walking through its vast dunes after your morning herb scavenging, had only made it apparent to you of how dry and practically lifeless the land had appeared. The sea of sand being one of the only things you could lay your sights on for many miles on end.
Oftentimes you felt as if you were traveling through a smoldering graveyard. This thought only being amplified when you had come across some bones peeking out from the loose grains below your feet. A find which had always made you shudder. You knew one day that could be you lying among the dunes—left only as a reminder of how deadly the desert could be.
This was why you had usually tried to leave in the early morning for your daily gathering. Today you had regrettable slept in though, and had ended up leaving later than usual. It had still been morning when you had left of course, but with how much you needed to gather, it had also meant that you were returning closer to the afternoon time. Now you were simply suffering the consequences of your morning self’s actions.
Rather than wallow in your own self-pity though, you had decided to focus on that task at hand. Besides—the image of the large gate belonging to your city was beginning to come closer and closer the more you had walked. So with this in mind—combined with your refusal to succumb to the cruelty of your homeworld and your own stupidity—you had pressed on.
Finally entering into the city walls had brought some much needed relief to your mind, and you had found your steps beginning to slow the further you went into its streets. While making your way to the market, you had shifted through the content of your basket. Soon finding yourself quite pleased with the plentiful of goods you had managed to find this morning. Hopefully, you would be able to get a good handful of credits from selling—especially with how busy the city seemed to be today.
Despite your home planet’s reputation, the town you resided in was small and quite overpopulated. People from all kinds of backgrounds—the good and the bad—seemed to find themselves attracted to your town regardless of its surroundings. This had made it so that the streets were nearly always lined and flooded with a sea of people wandering around. Thus making it great for selling anything and everything you could get your hands on.
Most of these folks were just visitors looking to refuel their ships, or buy any needed supplies they required. They were the pleasant ones usually. Leaving as quickly and quietly as they had arrived. Others though had of course come for some more unsavory and sinister reasons.
There was no lying about how dangerous a town like this one could be, especially when those with a tainted past had come looking for a hideaway. From simple smugglers to terrifying war criminals—all sort of vile folk had found themselves trying to turn your little town into their new sanctuary. It was these types of visitors who had made you happy to see the bounty hunters roaming about the streets.
The bounty hunters would usually appear out of the blue. Their arrival always quieter than anything you had ever seen. As they had found themselves searching for whichever criminal who had decided to hide out here within the city walls.
Many of your neighbours had seemed to take fright at the sight of a fierce bounty hunter lurking around the city, but you usually took joy at the prospect of them. The knowledge of—whether they meant to do it or not—them making your home just a little bit safer for the locals who dwelled here being usually a happy one for you personally.
Any improvement—no matter how small—was still improvement in your eyes and your town definitely needed that improvement.
While others had busied themselves with hunting down the scum of the Galaxy. Most of your own days had been spent in the market square at the center of town. There you would start off with selling any scrap metal or parts you had found in your morning gathering. Only then would you make your way to your usual table next to the local fruit and veggie stall. The owner of the stall—Tarth—would let you use one of his tables to set up whatever herbs or medicines you had managed to collect and produce.
Throughout the town, you were mostly known for selling herbs and medicine. You had picked up the practice from your late parents when young, and had continued it long after they had passed. All sorts of people would seek you out when a loved one was ill. As they had hoped you had something in your limited supply that could cure whichever sickness had overcome them.
Though at times it was hard, you did your best to help everyone you could. You knew how painful the death of someone you cared for could be. However, there were always those cases where you had nothing to give. Sometimes your supply was just too low, or the needed herb was just not in stock. That was just how life was you supposed—especially out here of all places.  
Medical herbs were hard to come by in the wasteland, as plant life was hard to find within its hills of rolling sand. They were there though, and you considered yourself quite the herb finding expert at this point. You had to be after all. Otherwise you probably wouldn’t have survived as long as you had.
Every morning—with the sun just barely rising over the horizon—you would leave the comfort of your home and search the desolate landscape. Trying to scourge up whatever little plant life you could. There were some days where you returned with nothing but sand filled shoes and empty pockets, while others contained plentiful finds.
Today of course had been one of the latter, which was most likely due to the blissful rain your area had experienced the few previous nights. So when approaching the market you couldn’t help but grin at the prospect of having a good day of sales. Though you had quickly found that smile dropping at the worried chatter which filled the streets around you.
Gossip and rumours were quite normal in a town such as yours. There always seemed to be something new going on with its wall. Although usually you had found yourself trying to ignore the chatter. As you most of the time you didn’t see the need to listen to such things. Today’s information had piqued your interest though, as the people around you had discussed the arrival of a stranger in your hometown.
This stranger being that of a Mandalorian.
According to them, he had been spotted lurking through the streets late last night. He was most likely looking for someone too. A bounty to be more specific. Something which hadn’t surprised you in the slightest with the reputation of the town, and with what little knowledge you had of the famed warriors.
When finally reaching the market, you had smiled at the sight of Tarth at his stall, and had given him a little wave when your eyes met his own. Tarth had been a business friend of your parents from when they were both alive and selling their own products. After their passing, him and his wife had taken to keeping an eye on you as best as they could, all while also having five children of their own to raise no less. They were kind to you, and though not able to exactly raise you themselves, they helped you as much as they were able.
So when you had wanted to start selling your own herbs and medicine—but couldn’t afford your own stall—Tarth had offered you to use one of the tables set up at his. You had accepted graciously and swore to pay him back one day. Although he had always insisted there was no need for such a thing. You’d pay him back anyway of course—it was the least you could do for everything he and his wife had done to help you after all.
After having walked around a bit—selling off what you could and buying some much needed supplies—you had made your way back to Tarth’s stand. When you had arrived, he smiled at you, and his eyes had crinkled at their corners with the wide stretch of his grin. His free hand soon had soon patted the empty table where you would set up products, before he had returned to talking with his current customer.
Shortly after you had set up for the rest of the day, the market had become overcrowded with people. You had very quickly found yourself selling just as you did any other day. Helping people with whatever you could offer them. Only letting out a small breath of relief when the rush had begun to die down a little. It would probably pick up soon, but you relaxed into the brief break you could take anyway.
“You were late, ya know?” Tarth’s sudden voice next to you had made you jump from surprise, though the chuckle you had heard from him had made you relax again.
“I know… I’m sorry Tarth.” You had replied to him with a shy smile. “I got a late start to the day, so my gathering was later than usual.”
“Figured as much.” He had let out a small grumble. His small frown not hiding the worry he felt from you as he spoke. “Next time come to our place, myself or one of the kids will go with ya, so yer not alone.”
“Oh no that’s not necessary.”
“Are ya kiddin’ me?” He had scuffed cutting you off with a shake of his head. His hands motioning to you in a dramatic manner as he continued. “Look at ya! It's like you crawled out of a sandpit.”
You had looked down at yourself then. True to his words you were quite a mess. Patches of sand and dirt had littered your clothes. It was a poor sight to be sure, but it was one you and the other folks had come far to used to.
“Tarth I’m fine! Nothing I’m not used to by now.”
He had let out a displeased hum at your words. His gaze shifting from yours to look out across the market square again, as a heavy sigh had left him. “I know but… Ah nevermind. There’s extra water and some food in my pack if ya need any. Alema made sure to pack some for ya.”
“Thanks Tarth.” You had said, as you had decided to take him up on his offer and had gone to drink some of the blissful liquid he had brought for you. “I appreciate it a lot.”
“Heh, don’t mention it kid.”
The afternoon had been busy, as the market square had become overcrowded with people again all too quickly. You weren’t complaining of course. The business and the large amount of visitors had only meant good sales for you after all. Other than your earlier morning mishap, the day had been going fine anyway. Though your good mood had dwindled far too fast for your liking at the appearance of a new guest within the market.
When helping a woman with her purchase of some medicine, the bright glinting of metal in the sunlight had caught your eye. The glimmer had caused for you to glance throughout the market square for its source, and by doing so you had found your gazed suddenly locked with that of a helmet’s vizor. The vizor of a Mandalorian to be more exact.
For a long moment you had stood there frozen in place. Your eyes had been effectively locked with his own steady gaze, and an unexpected shudder of fear had blossomed in your gut at the sight of him. The breath you had held in your throat had burned, as you had almost forgotten to breathe with how loud your heart thundered within its cavity. While before you had welcomed the idea of a Mandalorian into your town, actually setting your sights on him was another story all together. He was awe-striking, but at the same time, he was also terrifying.
So the rumors had turned out to be true. There was in fact a Mandalorian stalking through your little town, and he was staring right at you. Unrelentingly no less.
The two of you had stared at each other for what felt like an entirety—though really it was more likely just a few minutes—as neither of you gazes had faltered away. His own stare had been intense and almost deathly. There was no emotion to be felt from him. Although, that helmet he wore did a fine job at hiding any expression he could ever process anyway. As it had left him only as an emotionless slate to strike fear into all those who dared a peek. If anything, the helmet only added to his dangerous allure. The atmosphere surrounding him becoming more suffocating than that of the sun’s heat.
“Do you all just see him too?” One nearby merchant had said—a middle aged woman who you recognized as the one who you had sold some scrap metal too earlier—a look of fear and worry in her murky eyes.
“Yes! He must have a bounty on someone here.” Another had replied—the man from the jewelry stall—his mouth in a thin line as he looked from his purchased fruits to the man in armor across the square. “I feel bad for whoever that person is.”
The lady who had just bought some medicine from you had looked over in shock too at the sight of the bounty hunter. Her eyes instantly becoming wide, as she clutched her child closer into her chest. “Oh that’s terrifying! I wonder who he could be after?”
“I don’t know or care. I just want him and that bounty of his gone. His presence is scaring everyone and chasing away customers.” Tarth had finally chimed in, ending his words with a huff, as he was clearly annoyed with the whole ordeal. He was right of course. The new appearance of the Mandalorian was in fact causing the crowd to dwindle away quite steadily. “You’d think he’d hurry it up. Bet ya he’s sweating up a storm in all that armor.”
Tarth’s last comment had made you let out a small laugh, and you had finally broken the eye contact you had held with the bounty hunter in question. Though the new found freedom of that action didn’t stop you from keeping a watch of him through the corner of your eyes for the rest of the day.
Even by the end of the day, he had hardly moved from the spot where you had first laid your sights on him. Instead he had remained firmly in place. His back still against the wall he leaned on and his arms crossed over his chestplate, as his gaze had never shifted away from your direction. A small drop of worry had told that he was in fact staring at you in particular, but you had tried to reassure yourself that couldn’t be true. After all—why would a Mandalorian be interested in you? You were just a simple herbalist.
Regardless of who, he was definitely watching someone, and you had pitied whoever it may be.
Eventually, you did breathe a sigh of relief when you had finally seen him move from his spot. Your gaze following his form and refusing to leave it, as he made his way out of the market square. Most of the other people were beginning to leave now as well, and many other vendors were also starting to pack for the night.
The sun had begun to set over the horizon by this point after all. Its sinking rays casting an orange glow across the wide sky. The stars had even started to peek out from beneath their blanket of daylight. Gleaming brighter and stronger as the sky had darkened. Night was quickly approaching clearly. Which meant that it was time for you and the other people of your town to be on your way home.
The city wasn’t safe at night—it wasn’t even considered safe during the day—and no one wanted to be caught out during the late hours. Those times were when the more those vile of folk liked to come out and play. Then of course, when adding the new arrival of the Mandalorian on top of that, everyone just knew they didn’t want to be caught outdoors tonight.  
“Welp, it’s that time of the day dear. Time to start heading back. Ya don’t wanna be out past dark.” Tarth had said to you as he slid the doors to his cart shut. The old wooden doors rattling as the lock had clicked into place. “Lots of bad folks have been out and about lately.”
You had hummed in agreement, and soon you had stood to stretch out your back, as it had begun to feel sore from the position you had sat in all day. Only then did you begin to pack up your leftover supplies—smiling over at the food seller as you did. “As if that Mandalorian didn’t make that evident enough.”
“Ugh. Don’t get me started on that!” He had grumbled with another irritated huff. His arms crossing as he looked out across the market square. His gaze quickly landing on the spot where the said bounty hunter had spent most of the day. His face had held a scowl. The wrinkles along it deepening and the frown he wore growing the longer he stared at it. “He was there nearly all afternoon! Probably scared off at least half of the customers today.”
Another little hum of agreement had left you in reply, though you found yourself more focused on organizing your stuff in the basket rather than the man's anger. “Let’s hope he gets whoever he’s after soon then.”
“Yup, yup.” He had said while scratching at the fine grey hairs on his chin, seemingly to ponder in thought for a moment. “The faster it happens, the better.
After you finished gathering up your things—placing your unsold items into the handwoven basket—you had slung your satchel over your shoulder. Turning to look at Tarth once more, you had intended on saying farewell, but had instead paused in confusion at the expression he wore.
“What?”
“I was thinking I should walk you home.” He had said. “I’d want someone to do the same for one of my own kids. It’s dangerous after all. 'specially with that Mandalorian and his bounty running about.”
“Don’t worry about me Tarth.” A small smile had appeared on your lips, replacing your confused expression with one of fondness. “I’ll be fine on my own—always have and always well.”
His frown had only deepened at your reply. His eyes filled with undeniably concern, as he crossed his arms again while staring you down. Tarth really did treat you as his own child at times. “Now listen here-”
“-Tarth I’ll be fine! Don’t worry about me.”
“Alema and I will always worry about ya.” He had sighed, though he had smiled wryly at you as his gaze had softened. “We worry about you just as if you were our own kid.”
“I know and you know how much I’ve appreciated all these years where you’ve both watched out for me.” Saying this, fond memories had begun to flood your mind of the two. Though soon and almost proudly, you had grinned at him. “I’m an adult now though, so don’t worry about me too much. I can handle myself now!”
He had only sighed bitterly at knowing he wasn’t going to win this fight. “If ya say you’ll be fine... then I guess I’ll just have to accept that. You’re more stubborn than my wife at times, ya know?”
“No arguments there!” A giggle left you at his reply and you gave one more smile to your friend, “See you tomorrow Tarth!”
“Yeah, yeah. Just get home safely, ya hear?”
A nod and a wave was your final reply to the older man before you had turned to start heading in the direction of your home. Now finding yourself happy to finally get back to get some well deserved rest—especially after the day you had suffered through.
The walk home that evening had started the same way it always had—with you humming a sweet tune to yourself and saying good night in passing to those of which you had known. Though the more you had traveled, the more you had found yourself with a feeling of unease suddenly growing inside of your mind.
It almost felt as if you were being watched or even followed while on your way home. This new feeling of nervousness refusing to leave no matter how hard you had tried to convince yourself of it otherwise. Soon finding yourself becoming more frightened at the sight of the slowly emptying streets with each step you took.
This had been where you had begun to ponder your different options for the moment. Taking the main streets—though more safer generally—usually took longer to travel. By the time you would return home, it would have already become way past dark. On the other hand, you could take the back alleys. Which admittedly had seemed appealing to you at the moment. They were like a shortcut of sorts, and if you took them, you’d end up returning home before either of the moons had even a chance to rest themselves within the night sky. Though of course, there was always that risk factor with them, as you could never be too sure of who would be lurking within their walls.
Maybe you should have let Tarth take you home.
The feeling of being followed had made you want to return quicker in the end though. So you had found yourself leaning towards the alleyways rather than the main streets. You figured they would be your best bet. What was the worst that could happen anyway? You may not be the strongest person in the Galaxy, but you could handle yourself most of the time. Everything would be fine at the end of the day anyway.
That was what you had tried to tell yourself at least.
The alleys were dark and eerie, but had still felt oddly safe in a way. Even though with every corner the feeling that you were being followed had increased—you still felt fine and had even felt your mood pick up the closer you got to home. It wouldn’t be long now till you returned. Only one more abandoned street to travel along and you would be home. Nice and safe.  
Your fear had spiked again though at the glimpse of a large figure out of the corner of your eye. Dread had instantly consumed you at the sight of it, and you had felt your stomach become a flutter at the realization of it all being very real. Someone was in fact following you home. Who? You didn’t know— and honestly—you didn’t want to know.  
Thanks to your newfound fright, you had picked up your pace, now practically running as you went. The basket in yours had been pulled closer into your chest as you ran, and your breathing had increased dramatically with the panic you had felt. The end of the last alley was quickly approaching though—with every sinking step you took into the sand bringing you closer and closer to safety.
Home was only a few steps away, and a sigh of relief had left you at the sight of the light at the end of the alley. The main street was coming into view and you swore that you could even see your little house from here. Even the sound of what was left of the earlier crowd could still be heard as you approached. Their shadows passing by the entrance to the alleyway in which you had travelled. The sight of which making you feel so hopeful and reassured.
The safety of home was just within your grasp—so close and yet still so far—but you would be safe soon regardless of this fact.
Though unfortunately you would never reach your home.
Before you could even step out into the evening light—and just as your foot had made to exit into the main street—a hand had reached out from the darkness towards your form. It had grabbed you quickly. So fast in fact, that you hadn’t even realized what was happening until it was too late.
One arm had placed itself firmly around your midsection. While its twin had clamped over your mouth before a scream could even pass your lips. The basket of goods that were once held tightly in your hands had tumbled to the ground. Its contents spilling all over the sandy street below you and your attacker.
The person had instantly pulled you close into their hard chest. Their arms holding you tightly in their grasp like a cage that refused to budge. The grip around you had been unrelenting and overpowering. The strength behind it only making you panic more in your attempts to free yourself from them. Although such freedom would never come, as instead, you had only found yourself being dragged further into the alleyway.
They had captured you so easily, and it had honestly made you feel so unbelievably helpless.
It also didn’t seem to matter what you had tried to do to escape in the moment. The clawing at their arms had only made their unwanted embrace tighten around you, and digging your heels into the ground had been useless thanks to the loose sand beneath your feet. Then of course squirming around and kicking at the attackers own legs had done nothing but encourage the person to pull you into the darkened alley even quicker.
At one point you had even bit down into the hand over your mouth. The taste of leather and blaster residue flooding over your taste buds as you did. Though the only thing you had received in response to your retaliation was a grunt of disapproval. Their gloved fingers in return only digging more harshly into your skin, and refusing to allow you any more wiggle room in the slightest.
Whoever this was was much stronger than you could ever hope to be, and they clearly out skilled you in every aspect. It seemed like you weren’t going to be escaping from them so easily.  
The light at the end of the alleyway had dimmed with every step further into the darkness, and you had felt yourself cry at the sight of your safety fading away. The tears which had formed at the corner of your eyes rolling down them in thick trails. All while the fear and panic you had felt consumed you to your very core. Not even a scream could leave you thanks to the hand still clamped over your mouth. Its placement muffling any sound you had tried to make. No one had seemed to pick up on your predicament. Which meant no one would be coming to rescue you from this person taking you away.
When your attacker had felt like they had pulled you deep enough into the alley. Where the likelihood of anyone hearing or seeing you was at its smallest. They had shoved you roughly into the nearest wall. They had turned you to face them as they did. The sharp gesture making your back slam into the filthy stone behind you.
On instinct, your eyes had closed and your body had hunched into itself as if it was trying to protect you from any incoming blows. None had come though, and instead all you had felt was their body moving to pin you more firmly into place.
The wall had dug sharply into your back now, and you had winced as its sharp edges poked and pierced your delicate skin. A blaster had been roughly shoved into your chest by this point. The end pointed in the dead center of it and openly taunting you with taking your life. Allowing your eyes to finally open, you had felt your stomach drop at the sight of the now familiar visor staring deeply into your soul.
“I can bring you warm, or I can bring you in cold.”
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mymelodyheart · 3 years
Text
Miles Between Us Chapter 1 ~Stories She Wrote~
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PICTURE SOURCE
PART 2 OF  WONDERWALL SERIES
Hey guys, I'm back and thrilled to give you part 2 of WONDERWALL series, Miles Between Us. It is a continuation from my holiday ficlet, All I Want For Christmas Is You. If you haven't read the first part, I suggest you do if you wish to get an insight into Jamie and Claire’s history (Here is the link) Otherwise, this ficlet can also be read as a stand-alone.
I know All I Want For Christmas Is You ending was bittersweet, but it had to be done. Otherwise, there wouldn't have been a Part 2 in this series. I had to leave the story open to possibilities if it is to have a chance of growing. And besides, making this into a series allows me to take breaks from writing and refresh my brain in-between ficlets. So I hope this next part of the story will make up for leaving you hanging all these weeks.
Anyway, before you continue, I'd like to thank you for reading, commenting and giving feedback to my stories. They're all very appreciated even if I sometimes don't comment back. As a hobby writer, I always look forward to your response, and they spur me to continue writing. Without the readers, I wouldn't be here. So thank you for being part of my writing journey.
If you wish to read this on AO3, here is the link.
So now everything is said, without further ado, I wish you all happy reading. ❤️
 Previously ...
Claire Elizabeth Beauchamp and James Fraser met and fell in love during the Holiday Seasons. Unfortunately for their budding relationship, after two weeks of a whirlwind romance, Claire has to return to London to finish some work commitment that could take a year to fulfil. It doesn't help matters that Jamie's PTSD condition prevents him from visiting her as loud city noises can trigger panic attacks. They are both in love with each other and are willing to find out where their relationship will head to. But can they find a compromise to bridge the gap of hundreds of miles to give their love a chance?
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    After sitting on her bed most of Saturday working on her laptop, Claire Beauchamp rolled her neck and stretched her back, her arms extending above her head. She flinched when her joints cracked. 
Over the past few days, her boss, John Grey, forwarded manuscripts and drafts from the author she was working with. She hadn't eaten anything all day, and her stomach was beginning to grumble, and her eyes blurry from reading.
She'd read so much in the past hours, she was practically cross-eyed, and the bridge of her nose hurt where her specs rested. Words upon words had sifted through her brain, but now the lines were beginning to blur together.
She glanced back down on her laptop and opened a file in her document folder, her eyes scanning through lines she knew by heart. She'd been going through her own work lately wondering if she had what it takes to be a writer. Someone who would give her an honest opinion ought to read it before contemplating getting herself a literary agent if she was to start a new chapter of her life and take that leap of faith in her dream career.
A sudden urgency took over, and she needed Annalise to read her work, like right now. Which reminded Claire, her friend was away with Willie, shopping and sight-seeing. He was staying over their place for the weekend for the first time since she and Annalise left Lallybroch. After declining their invitation to join them earlier, the loved-up couple left her to her work with the promise of dinner when they returned.
She was about to reach out for her cold coffee from the bedside table when Raiders of the Lost Ark's theme song blared from her phone. At the same time, a picture of her uncle Lamb appeared on the screen. He was wearing a high-crowned, wide-brimmed, weather-beaten fedora hat and had a lopsided grin plastered to his thickly stubbled face. Rugged, she thought, just like her favourite pair of distressed leather boots, and very Indiana Jones.
Smiling, she tapped the answer button and put the phone on speaker. "Uncle Lamb! Long time no speak!" 
"Sweetheart," he started in a deep familiar voice, "how are you?"
She frowned and pushed her laptop aside. Something was off. "Oh you know, same old ...just finishing work and ..." 
"On a Saturday?" he asked, cutting her off.
"Look who's talking."
He chuckled. "You're young. You should be out. There are so many things to do in London ...especially on a Saturday. "
Claire rolled her eyes but opted to change the subject instead. She wasn't ready to give her reason for working overtime nor share her future plans nor talk about the handsome Scot she met during her holidays. Not just yet, anyway. "So ...to what do I owe the pleasure of hearing your voice, dear uncle?"
"What?" he said gruffly, pretending to sound offended. "Can't I call my favourite girl in the world and check up on her?" 
She mentally sighed. Something must be up since her uncle never called. It was always she who usually phoned, and when he did call on a rare occasion, it was either because something had happened or he was in London. She dismissed the latter since she knew he was in Papua New Guinea. The next conclusion she landed on was his health but thought it absurd. Her uncle was strong as an ox, ate healthily, only smoked the occasional cigar and regularly went for doctor's check-up, a requirement in his job as an archaeologist travelling to remote places.
Unless. "You sound suspiciously chipper. Let me guess ...you met someone. There's a woman in your life." 
He coughed like he was choking on a drink. "No! Why would you say that?" 
Alright, he sounded repulsed by the idea enough. Or was that denial? "I don't know. You seem so ...how shall I say it ...unlike yourself. You normally skip the niceties and get to the point." 
He lets out an impatient breath. "Claire, darling, am I really that awful?"
"No," she replied, ignoring the ache in her throat. She missed their time together but tried not to make it apparent in her tone. He was a busy man, and the last thing she wanted was her uncle worrying. "You don't seem like you're rushing off to anywhere. It's rare you sound this relax."
"It's way past my bedtime already," he sighed. "And besides, work is on stand-by at the moment until we get the license to start digging on site. People here are so damn laid back, and nobody seems to be in a hurry to process the paperwork. I'm not about to hand out cash to speed things along even if bribery is rampant here."
"I see. So you're in Port Moresby then?"
"Yes. As soon as we have the license sorted out, we'll be flying to Lae first thing tomorrow. Hopefully, anyway." He cleared his throat. "Speaking of paperwork, I received an email from my lawyer. Your trust fund has matured, dear. I'll send you the details where to go to and who to contact, and maybe you can start planning your life. Perhaps take a sabbatical and travel with me if you wish."
Ah yes, the trust fund. 
After her parents died, everything they had owned was put into her trust fund by her uncle to secure her future. She'd already received a small lump sum when she turned eighteen, and the money had afforded her, though small and cramped, a decent rental two-bedroom apartment in London with high windows, which was premium in this expensive city. And Annalise, her best friend and roommate made enough money to help pay the ridiculous expensive utility bills. Her own wage just about covered the other expenses with almost nought left for savings, but she hadn't worried knowing there was money in place in her name. She was counting on it to support herself when she pursued her dreams of writing.
"About that, I think I'll let that sit in the bank for a while. It's not like I need the money right now, nor do I have the time to spend it."
"As you wish," her uncle replied. "And another thing I need to discuss with you ...South Lodge ..."
"What about South Lodge?" South Lodge should have been her family home if her parents hadn't died, and she knew it was a highly coveted property because of its historical significance. It was never put into the market for sale since her uncle thought it wasn't his place to decide. It was put on a twenty-year lease to a high profile politician, its payments going towards her trust fund.
"The lease is up, and the occupants will be moving out soon. Unfortunately for you, that information made it to the local news and you were mentioned as the legatee. So don't be surprised if you're bombarded with offers now that your name is out. I'm willing to bet, property investors and developers will be itching to get their hands on it."
Claire took off her specs and pinched the bridge of her nose. God, she hated adulting, paperwork and dealings with lawyers. Maybe she should just sell South Lodge and be done with it, so she could concentrate on her future plans. What do I need a five-bedroom house with one acre of garden in Oxford for? "I'll think about it, uncle. I just have a lot of things going on at the moment. I'm quite sure those things can wait."
"Of course dear."
"Thank you for letting me know." She thought of Jamie, and the Highlands and how much life was a lot simpler there. She really needed to double her effort to tie up loose ends in London and have a heart to heart talk with Annalise. Is her relationship with Willie serious? If not, her friend would have to eventually find a new roommate. After quickly glancing at her bedside clock, she realised they would be here soon and hopefully with a takeaway. Annalise did mention something about sorting dinner out tonight.
"And Claire?"
"Yes?"
"Your upbringing hasn't been the most ideal. Enjoy the money and treat yourself. Don't spend your life doing things that don't bring you joy."
She smiled. Her uncle must have had a rude awakening of some sort to sound so philosophical. Or probably, he did meet someone special. Either way, she wasn't going to push for any answers for now. She really needed to get out of bed, do a few stretches and have a shower before Annalise, and Willie arrived. "I'll try," she finally said.
"Good. I'll let you get back to whatever you're doing."
"Sadly, yes." She shut her laptop and got out of bed. "Take care of yourself, alright? And I'll phone you sometime next week after I've figured out our time differences." 
"Absolutely, sweetheart. Talk soon." 
"Love you, uncle Lamb." 
"Love you, too." 
She terminated the call with a swipe on her screen and rubbed her eyes. She'd been working for seven hours straight, and her eyeballs felt like they're made of sandpaper. Glancing at the corner table, she smiled when she saw Jamie's gifts. Willie had brought them with him when he arrived last night from Inverness. She knew Jamie was making up for his absence, but it couldn't be helped when there's the danger of his PTSD condition worsening in the city. To her delight and surprise, he'd sent her a leather-bound journal, a framed selfie photo of them together, driftwood bookends he made and a box of her favourite Lindt chocolate.
With a contented sigh, she made a mental note to call Jamie after dinner. And to ask her boss first thing Monday morning if she could take her work to Scotland the following weekend to surprise her boyfriend. After all, she was just taking her uncle's advice, and after the work, she'd put in the last couple of weeks, and the extra hours she planned to do the next few days, she deserved a little joy in her life.
..........
Claire leaned forward, and nervously examined her best friend's face. Annalise was hunched down, scrolling her laptop, tongue darting out as she read the paragraphs on the screen. 
What's that look for? Doesn't she like it? She couldn't tell. It was the first time she's showing her work to anyone, one of the stories she had written during her spare time before embarking a career as an editorial assistant for Dreamcatcher Publishing Company. She needed to hear her friend's opinion to know if she even had a small chance of becoming a writer.
Annalise took her sweet time, and Claire wasn't sure if her inscrutable expression was a deliberate act to prolong the suspense, or if she genuinely had no reaction to what she's reading. If it was the latter, Claire would definitely kiss her dream of being a writer goodbye. If it's the former, she's going to strangle her friend for making her suffer. 
She heard the door to the apartment open and close, followed by the sound of keys jangling and heavy footfalls, announcing the arrival of Willie. He'd stopped by to order some food at a local Indian takeaway while Annalise headed straight home to prepare the table for dinner. Instead of calling out to him, she held her breath for Annalise's response. 
Just when Claire was starting to accept her hope of being a writer would never amount to anything other than a pipe dream, she saw the reaction she impatiently waited for. Annalise's mouth formed a comical O, followed by her eyes' widening and random shallow sighs. 
Yessssssss! 
This was massive. Despite Annalise having seen works from established authors Claire had edited for, she'd never witnessed her friend looked this excited. Annalise simply couldn't hide her gobsmacked expression, even if she tried.
"Oh, dear Lord," she whispered, her gaze flicking to Claire and then back to the screen. "Why didn't you tell me you had this? I knew you wanted to be a writer, but this ..."
"So?" 
Annalise took a massive deep breath, her fingers almost shaking. "Oh my God, Claire." 
"Oh my God, wot? Oh my God good or oh my God, bad?" Claire asked, even though she already knew deep in her bones, what the answer was. But she desperately needed to hear the words.
"This is bloody good," she said, as she went back to a previous page, and reread it all over again. After a couple of minutes more, a slow smile started to spread across her face, as she stole a few cheeky glances over at Claire.
Claire knew she could rely on her friend to tell her the truth. If her work had been bad, friend or not, Annalise would have been forthright and told her the hard facts. Nevertheless, she tamped down her own growing excitement. "The question is though ...is it good enough for the mass?" 
Without hesitation, Annalise nodded vigorously, her blue eyes big as saucers. "Oh, Claire, are you kidding me? You really have no idea, have you? Of course, it is! I need to read the rest. Please tell me it's finished." 
Claire relaxed for the first time and slumped back against the headboard of her bed, relief soothing her wild heartbeat. "It's finished."
Annalise let out a whoop as she gripped the laptop tightly. "Oh my God! Give me everything ...I won't be able to sleep tonight if I don't read at least one more chapter of this story." 
"I've got ten more finished materials."
"Oh my God, oh my God! You're killing me. I want it all."
Willie poked his head by the frame of the doorway to her bedroom and eyed them suspiciously. She wasn't sure what he expected to find, but his eyes narrowed when he saw Annalise's flushed face. 
"What are ye both up to?" he asked, frowning. "Ye sound like ye're looking at porn on the internet." 
Annalise grinned and motioned him over. "Sort of." 
Willie hesitantly entered the room. "Sorry?"
"In actual fact, much better than porn ..." Annalise announced, smirking at Claire.
"Annalise!" Claire wheezed when it dawned on her, her friend must have been reading the sex scene part.
Annalise reached out and reassuringly squeezed Claire's hand whilst looking at Willie. "Take a look at this. Claire wrote it."
Annalise handed the laptop to Willie, and both of them earnestly watched his face to gauge his reaction. As he sat down on the edge of the bed and read, Claire knew he would be the real test. Willie being a bloke, she didn't expect him to have the same reaction as Annalise, but she hoped he would appreciate the storyline and plot. Claire already understood, if her story was going to be good enough to be published, its success would be based on women's purchasing power. If he liked her style of writing even a smidgen, then she would be laughing. 
Claire held her breath in anxious anticipation, and approximately a minute and a half later, she got her response. 
His eyes bulged out, and then the tips of his ears glowed with red. In all sort of ways, he was so similar to Jamie but yet so different. But there's no mistaking how vibrantly their ears always lit up when they're embarrassed. Or moved. 
"Kind of explicit," he commented hoarsely, before tucking a tongue into his cheek as if trying to find the right words to say. "But it is an intriguing story with great flow and interesting characters. It's no' the genre I would typically read, but the first few paragraphs of what I've seen so far are riveting. It makes me want to read more."
Annalise, enthusiastically nodded in agreement and waved a hand in the air. "There it is." 
"Ye have a gift, Claire," Willie added, eyes still fixed on the screen and working overtime as his focus became more intense. "The dose of mystery ye've woven into the lines is remarkable and intelligent."
She felt herself beaming in vindication. "Thank you." 
He briefly glanced up at her. "Now that I remember, Jamie did vaguely mention ye wanted to be a writer."
"That's the plan," she beamed.
"Good. Because if ye can produce something like this, then yer talent is wasted on editing other people's work."
"She's got ten more finished stories," Annalise piped in.
Willie arched an eyebrow at Claire and continued reading, and when he finished, he shook his head and let out a low whistle. "Is Jamie the inspiration for this story?"
Her face heated. "I ...ah ...wrote that years ago. And ...um, I've revised and edited it a million times in the past. I wanted Annalise to read it first and find out if it's good enough to be published."
Annalise grinned at Willie, still looking a little flush like she was having a physical reaction to the few lines she'd read earlier. "So what do you think?"
Willie didn't miss Annalise's excited reaction to the story. "It's verra good but I didnae realised graphic scenes affected ye so much. Ye're beet red!" 
"Only when it's very well written," Annalise smirked, taking the laptop from his hands and moving towards him to sit on his lap. 
Willie pulled Annalise closer and kissed her, and Claire sighed. It's both beautiful and terrible being in the presence of people, so in love. While she's ecstatic to see her best friend smitten and happy, it made her sad that Jamie couldn't be here with her. She missed him terribly, and it's only been a fortnight since she had last seen him.
After a few seconds of watching them unashamedly snogged in front of her, Claire clapped her hands, and they both immediately pulled away. "Right, that's enough you two. So, where's the dinner I was promised?"
Suddenly looking self-conscious, Willie promptly lifted Annalise from his lap, plonked her down onto the bed and jumped up, and Claire couldn't help but grin at him.
"Right on it," he muttered, before disappearing from her bedroom.
Annalise laughed and playfully shoved her shoulder. "Passion killer."
Claire ignored the jest. "So you really think I should publish my story?"
Her friend nodded excitedly. "Absolutely! You should have let me read it sooner. From what I've seen so far, you have good, solid material, and I'm convinced, when I read the rest, it will not disappoint." She stood up and smiled. "Come on, in as much as I'm all fired up after reading your story, I'm famished." She got up and left the room.
Instead of moving from her position, Claire stared at her work for a few seconds and just breathed. Although Willie and Annalise were sincere with their praises, she couldn't help but still feel nervous. This next step in her life could either turn out to be huge, or it could get her mocked out of a dream career she loved. 
Pushing aside her doubts and thinking of Jamie, she quickly compressed a copy of her story's file and sent it to him via email to read, hoping he would like her written work too. Who knew, maybe, after reading it, he would be as fired up as Willie and Annalise. 
After hearing the whoosh of the email sent, Claire launched herself off the bed to join her friends, looking forward to Jamie's reaction later and daydreaming of a future in Scotland with her love.
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leefi · 3 years
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Starira MBTI II - Siegfeld
These were the most fun to write up.
Seisho
Siegfeld
Frontier
Rinmeikan
Michiru Otori: ENFJ
Oh my woof woof...My evil little girlboss. i love you sooooo soooooo so much. Michiru is fake as fuck and soooooo evil and funny. She's the final entry I'm writing because I wanted to save the best for last.
She is the perfect example of how manipulative and conniving Fe doms can be (we even see a teeny tiny bit of this in Nana - see how she tricks Kaoruko into doing work in their My Theatre conversations). Michiru is also a visionary - she has a very distinct plan for the future that she’s always working towards (aux Ni), but you’d never guess that about her at first glance. She works very hard to maintain an affable, easygoing, approachable persona to contrast with Te dom Akira’s more intimidating and domineering one (dom Fe). I can’t say that I’ve seen her use too much of that tertiary Se, but her Ni and Fe are so strong that I have absolutely no doubt that she’s an ENFJ. We definitely see that inferior Ti struggle to catch up with Akira’s dominant Te reasoning for prioritizing Elysion over the Performance Festival, though, because Michiru’s Ni is thinking so far--too far, she comes to realize--ahead.
I could talk more about how smart and pragmatic and intuitive Michiru is, but we’d be stuck here all day. She’s my evil little girlboss, yes, but she also cares for her friends so much. At the end of the day, she’s an Fe dom, and that mastermind auxiliary Ni comes second - everything she does is to uplift and benefit the people around her. That dominant extroverted Feeling is what allows her to pick up on Akira’s potential from that day in their childhood - and auxiliary Ni instantly begins setting a plan into motion for how to get there. Why doesn’t Michiru try for the throne herself, then? Well, maybe there’s some deep-seated insecurity towards Akira and their relationship that we’re not seeing. It has always intrigued me so much as to why she prefers to work in the background. It would be fine if she truly preferred to stay in the shadows - that’s a normal thing for a lot of people to want, and they thrive there. But I’ve always had the feeling that isn’t quite the case for her…Sometimes she says things that make me think she desires more.
But again, she’s an Fe dom - her mind is geared towards thinking about other people, about what’s best for the group. And we see that once more when she’s perfectly poised to win the Arcana revue against Shiori, when she flippantly remarks at the start that there’s no way in hell that she’s losing to her - but then she sees how hard Shiori is trying, the potential she has to succeed her the role of Frau Saphir one day, how much she’s grown and come into her own and found a cause to fight for, while Michiru is is too far stuck in the future...and dominant Fe stamps that conniving auxiliary Ni down, and she rips off her own jacket for her kouhai.
Akira Yukishiro: ESTJ
Funnily enough, the “extroverted” ESTJ actually tends to be a bit more socially reserved than their “introverted” ISTJ siblings - this is because ESTJs have Feeling in their inferior slot, while ISTJs have it in their Tertiary (compare her to ISTJ Junna, who as a class leader actively goes out of her way to interact with the other girls and make sure everyone’s included, while Akira bothers herself only with the Edels). ESTJ’s extroversion instead manifests in their desire to control, order, and yes, be on top, just like Akira’s ENTJ cousin Claudine. Akira is a Te dom and Si aux, so she’s all about leading by example and doing it by the tried-and-true. This is why she fits so well into the role of the quintessential emperor/king, but as I mentioned with her inferior Fi, doesn’t actually have any charisma beyond what Fe-dom Michiru has manufactured for her (it's explicitly stated that Akira is even more revered than Edels of old - yes, due to her phenomenal and unparalleled talent, but also because Michiru actively works to cultivate an image that makes her untouchable). This is exactly why her relationship with Michiru works so well. It’s only natural that two extroverted judgers aimed for Siegfeld - and absolutely thrive there.
Her tertiary Ne, meanwhile, is why a lot of people (myself included) love her interactions with Yachiyo and Aruru (Ne doms). Akira’s Ne and Fi are weak, but she’s very smart and - contrary to first impressions - isn’t a stubborn person when she trusts the competency of the people around her (Te). And that’s thanks to her Ne. She lives for the stage, it’s her pride and joy, and when she sees people who are doing something that pay ode to it well - whether that’s ENFP Aruru’s excitable and childlike Ne-Fi or ENTP Yachiyo’s more pragmatic and intellectually curious Ne-Ti, she is quick to place her trust in them. Akira surprises the other two school leaders in the event story when she tells them they’d be wise to learn from Karen and Aruru’s senses of wonder, and Yachiyo’s passion for the stage - though wildly different from Akira’s own - is what makes her confident in her decision to pass the throne off to her.
Shiori Yumeoji: ISFJ
A PERFECT example of using dominant Si is when Shiori inhabits the role of the Chariot to draw out the strength and energy she needs during her revue with Michiru - introverted Sensing is all about deriving from past experiences and using them to inform the present!
And she and Tamao are!! The same!! Type!! Which is so interesting to me! ISFJs are so sweet and kind and caring (they and INFPs are actually often mistaken for each other - compare her to Mahiru!) - but there’s an inner fire to them that can be so easy to miss! I can’t think of a single fictional ISFJ I’ve met that didn’t, at some point, become incredibly insane and unhinged! I’m not sure what it is, but if I had to guess I think it’s that inferior Ne showing up, kicking down the door, and going “I’M HEEEEEEEEEEEEREEEEEEE BITCHESSSSSSSSSS”
Anyway - textbook ISFJ. So, so sweet and demure (Si dominant, Fe auxiliary - both are so concerned with standards, group sentiment, how things were done before, how everyone is feeling - so so so accommodating but can end up becoming doormats). We see that Si a lot in her woes towards her sister - “we were supposed to do this, we were supposed to be this,” etc. etc...hell the only reason in the first place that she joins the Edels is because of her original promise with Fumi. Tend to keep their inner thoughts and machinations to themselves (Ti tertiary). Prone to snapping and going insane if they get pushed/bothered too much (Ne inferior) - I legitimately think that Ne is the scariest function to have in your inferior slot. Godspeed, ladies.
Another fun note: she and Yachiyo are polar opposites, something I never noticed until just now. Interesting lmao
Liu Mei Fan: ENFJ
I had to check her PDB page to get her type because I honestly had no clue! She was the most difficult for me! But after seeing her listed as ENFJ I went “...hm?” and then went “oh yeah.”. Because she reminds me of Sonia Nevermind from Dangan Ronpa LMAOOOOO. FORGIVE ME FOR THIS COMPARISON. IT’S NOT BECAUSE OF THE EXCHANGE STUDENT THING!! They just have the same personality type, and it kind of manifests itself in the same way - despite the stereotype being that Fe doms are always very socially conscious and suave, these two are both a quirkier/more awkward type of ENFJ, and at first glance both could pass off as their happy-go-luckier ENFP or ESFP cousins instead...if you’re just looking at the letters. But when you look at their actual functions, they’re both ENFJ as they come! See how different two people of the same type can be?! She and Michiru share a type! Mei Fan is a well-meaning, driven Fe-dom in a strict Si-heavy environment like Siegfeld’s, and it’s SO funny to watch her dominant Fe desperately try to adjust her personality as she goes to fit in properly (while Michiru watches like 🙂 , Shiori is right there with her desperately adjusting (Fe aux), and Yachiyo doesn’t give a shit and does her own thing anyway). Our beloved shimbo has Ti in her last slot which isn’t surprising given her penchant to speak before she thinks, and Se in her tertiary slot which shows up in, again, her physicality (MUSCLEMAN MEI FAN HIGH-INTENSITY JOCK TRAINING IN THE MOUNTAINS). Aux Ni showed itself in that ceaseless determination to become an Edel, and her constant work towards shaping herself into an ideal one to impress Akira (and achieve her own goals in surpassing Akira herself!). Just compare her to dom Ne Yachi, who could care less about any of that stuff and goes her own way.
Yachiyo Tsuruhime: ENTP
“What do I wish for? World peace and happiness for everyone, I guess.” The moment I saw this homescreen quote I knew she was an ENTP - somebody else on her PDB page actually pointed it out too lmao. ENTPs are the “devil’s advocate” type which can lead to ruffling a lot of other peoples’ feathers, but Yachiyo is a bit suaver than that (developed tertiary Fe). Granted, she doesn’t escape the stereotype completely - she has a lot of fun in teasing the Fe-aux and Fe-dom Shiori and Mei Fan respectively, though she would never dare to do the same to Michiru. As we learn through the main story, there’s something that appears insidious about her at first glance - but that’s genuinely all it is, a first impression. She keeps to herself, yes, but Yachiyo’s an actress to the core, and her greatest love is the stage, just like (if not more than) all of the other girls around her. Yachiyo’s unique in that she breaks some of the typical Starira model of seeing her partner as her greatest inspiration - she’s not invested in a person like Shiori is with her sister or Michiru and Mei Fan are in Akira - Yachiyo pursues the stage solely for her own fulfillment and desires. Everything is a curiosity to her (Ne feeding Ti - how can I make sense of this world, and what can I do for myself to gain access to more information and experiences, because I’m always, always hungry for more). Her inferior Si shows up in how much she contrasts Akira, who is an Si-aux - just look at the unconventional way she found to practice her acting (pretending to be a spy snooping on the Edels), compared to Akira’s more conventional methods of stringent, scheduled practice.
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