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jeonjungkookenthusiast1997 · 8 months

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First Loves and Second Glances

Han Jisung is madly in love with his childhood best friend/roommate and has absolutely no way of telling her so he does what he thinks is best and pulls away from her. The pair end up having a movie night where all is revealed, changing the dynamics of their relationship forever.

This is my own work not a reblog, please do not repost or translate! This work of fiction is 18+ so minors DNI.

Content Warnings - childhood friends au, college au, roommates au, friends to lovers au, nipple play, vaginal fingering, pet names, cursing, oral sex (male receiving), body worship, very very light angst, porn with feelings

Word Count: 5,360 (I am seriously incapable of writing short fics, I'm so sorry 😂🙈)

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Y/L/N Y/N and Han Jisung have been roommates for what seems like forever and friends for even longer, first meeting when they were both wide eyed and chubby 5 years olds looking for a friend on the playground. They had stayed at each other's sides through every up and down life thrown their way, for every big life event and now they were living together while attending the same college. Y/N was studying War and World History while Han was of course studying Audio Production and Engineering, it had seemed like the obvious choice for them to live together while venturing out into the unknown.

The atmosphere is calm and quiet as they sit across from each other, Y/N reading an interesting book about Dokkaebi while Han stares blankly at the ceiling. Y/N looks up from her book to see Han with his arms outstretched and his body slumped over almost fully on the floor as he screeches loudly before locking eyes with the girl across from him "I'm bored!" He whines impatiently as his arms flop around making Y/N giggle under her breath "do something productive then Ji" she explains like it's the most obvious thing in the world which makes the boy pout and whine "but do what Y/NNN" she rolls her eyes at his antics before suggesting "why don't we watch that marvel movie you like? the Spiderman one? we could make popcorn and get some fluffy blankets to snuggle up with? chilled night in" she finishes smiling at him.

Han's chocolate coloured eyes light up at the mention of the movie as he nods eagerly "yeah, that sounds like a plan!" He grabs her hand and starts to pull her along "let's go!" she shakes her head slightly while smiling and allows her friend to pull her from where she had been sat on the plush sofa "I'm coming Ji, you can set up Disney Plus and I'll grab the popcorn" Han finally let go of her hand and skips over to the TV stand, his excitement evident in his movements. He grabs the remote and begins to search for the movie on the streaming service, meanwhile Y/N makes her way to the kitchen to prepare the popcorn.

Y/N smiles as she thinks about how cute Jisung is when he's in moods like this but shakes her head of the thoughts and grabs the bag putting it into the microwave then dumping the contents into a large bowl and sitting back down on the sofa, Han finally finds the movie pausing it as the movie starts to play to let them get comfortable. He hums along to the familiar theme song, his excitement growing. Once everything was set up, he turns to Y/N with a bright smile "alright, it's ready I'll grab the blankets" she smiles back and nods patiently waiting for him to return.

Once he's back he throws the blankets onto her head with a laugh before plopping himself down next to her "you're such a child Ji" she laughs as she shoves the blankets back at him before draping them over the pair and smoothing them down, Han giggles like a schoolgirl and rolled his eyes playfully. He acknowledges in his own mind that she was just teasing him; he snuggles closer to her under the blanket, his warmth enveloping them both "you love it when I act like this" he laughs as she pushes his side playfully "do I?" she giggles pressing the popcorn bowl into his arms before she presses play on the device and settles herself into his side.

Han takes the popcorn bowl gratefully starting to munch on the popcorn, he rests his chin on her head with his eyes fixed on the screen. As the movie starts he let out a content sigh and snuggled deeper into the plush blankets, as he gets comfy Jisung's left hand moves down to rest on her hip effectively pulling her closer to his frame as his gaze is focused on the movie. Y/N feels him pulling her into him and her face heats up a little, they usually cuddle all the time but things have felt different lately Jisung's been acting a little standoffish and having him do close was causing an unknown feeling to inch across her chest.

She snuggles closer to her friend's chest and without looking at him breaks the silence "I've missed this, getting to chill out with my best friend watching movies y'know you haven't been around much lately" she can't help the pout that adorns her glossy lips, his heart skips a beat when he feels her hand on his chest.

He didn't want to admit it, but he had been pulling away from her a bit lately and the guilt he's been feeling is squeezing his chest as he sighs "I know and I'm sorry" he tears his gaze from the screen to look down at her "we'll do this more often, I've missed it too" she hums at his words and pushes his chest slightly giggling "we had better! You've been with Changbin and Chan a lot lately, I've been feeling kinda... left out" she admits as she pouts again and rests her head on his chest as she mumbles "been missing my best friend" Han's heart clenches tightly when she mentions Changbin and Chan.

He knew he'd been spending more time with them but he had to pull away from her for his own sanity. Being around the girl he harboured such a big crush on was hurting him, everytime she smiled at him or giggled at his antics it sent a harpoon straight to his heart and he couldn't be the friend she deserved unless he took a break from being planted firmly at her side. Even now with her small hand curled into his shirt and her head against his chest it was making his heart fill with love and affection "I know I'm sorry, I'll make it up to you I promise" she sighs softly at his words "I know you will Ji" she mumbled into his chest, her fingers tightening their hold on his shirt "I've missed just being with you like this" she admitted quietly, her cheek still resting against him and a small pink blush dusting her cheeks.

She clears her throat slightly before she asks "how are the guys? they've been keeping you so busy but you never talk about what you get up to?" She tries to smile as she pushes down the slight sting of jealousy setting root in her chest, Han feels her fingers tighten their grip and can't help but smile softly. She never was very good at hiding her feelings from him, he knew she was probably feeling a little jealous and of course left out as she had said and it stung at his chest that he had caused those feelings "they're fine" he shrugs "there's not a lot to tell honestly, we usually just hang out at the gym" she frowns at his words but decides to leave it if he doesn't want to talk about it "are you staying here tonight? it's been a while since my roommate stayed in his own bed" she squints her eyes in a mildly accusatory manner as she waggles her finger at him.

Han chuckled softly at her playful manner and grabs her finger tugging her fully into his body as they both laugh "yeah I am, after the movie I'll be heading to bed I think" as his words trail off he yawns and lifts his arms over his head making his shirt lift revealing some of his toned skin, her eyes flick down as she sees the material lift and gulps as his toned abs are flashed momentarily. She quickly averts her eyes so as to not be caught ogling her friend's bare skin as she tries to move the inappropriate thoughts out of her mind "aww poor baby had a long day huh Ji" she stifles a laugh as she teases him.

Han couldn't help but laugh at her reaction throwing his head back and whining "I'm fine, just a little tired" he shrugs his shoulders and looks down at her face which is now not attached to his body, making him want to pout and pull her back to him but he refrains "so how have you been lately since as you so eloquently put it I've been a little MIA?" she nods and shrugs "been okay, just gone to lectures and came home" she laughs softly as she shakes her head "it gets boring here with you not around so you need to come home more often okay?" She intertwines her fingers and gives him her best puppy dog eyes.

Han couldn't help how his heart beat a little faster looking at her cute face smiling at her puppy dog eyes as he covered his eyes dramatically "oh god no! not the eyes" he cries as she laughs at him "I'll try my best to come home more often" he pulls her back to him and nuzzles her cheek with his nose, the pair had always been physically affectionate with each other so having him not be around had left her feeling down and mopey.

Y/N playfully attempts to push his face away though she secretly enjoys and has missed his touches "good because otherwise I'd have to put my foot up your ass and drag you back here" she turns her attention back to the movie trying to concentrate a little.

Han couldn't help but chuckle at her playfulness, glad she had seemingly forgiven him, his heart still racing a little from her body being near his own "oh you wound me! You'd really kick my ass?" he teases with his body still pressed against hers "I most definitely would if you deserved it" she smirks at his shocked face "it would make me a little sad though to hurt your adorable face" she uses her hands to gently grip his jaw as she pushes his cheeks together, squeezing the soft skin under his fingers.

He looks down at her a little dazed as a blush creeps up his neck from her teasing, his heart skipping a beat as he looks into her eyes "you're so mean to me sometimes" he whines trying to hide racing heartbeat, his arms move to grip her wrists and his eyes can't help but watch her pretty face. Her thumbs smooth over his face as she stops playing his cute cheeks "I know and somehow you still love me" she giggles as she moves her hands away.

He bites his lip as he looks at her and nods replying before he can think about what he's saying "yeah, I really do love you" his eyes slowly sink down to her lips. Her eyes widen slightly at his words and she feels like can barely breathe as she realises her best friend is looking at her lips like he's about to kiss her "you what?" she whispers barely audible.

Han's eyes widen once he realises what he had said out loud but it was too late the truth was there, he loved her, and all he could do now to fix the situation was to try to brush it off "I mean, I love you, as a friend you know... yeah that what I meant..." he stutters as he looks away completely embarrassed and feeling a sting enter his heart as he took her reaction as a rejection. Y/N frowns as she looks at his dejected face, he's starting to move away from her as she realises so she needs to act quickly "wait Ji" she grabs his arms and pulls him back towards her but he just looks down and fiddles with the blankets "please look at me Jisung" but Han couldn't look at her, his lip was starting to wobble as tears started to brim against his eyelashes and he simply shakes his head not trusting his words.

She feels desperation claw at her chest as she scrambles to fix the situation "Jisung please just look at me, we need to talk about this" she pleads with him "do you really..." she can't finish her sentence as anxiety runs along her arms to her heart, the words she wants to speak stick to her throat and tongue. He closes his eyes tightly before he nods still not looking at her and sighs "yeah I really do" he takes a deep breath before he opens his eyes and looks at her "I really do love you, with all of my heart" he barely gives her a moment to digest the information before he's stuttering over his words "I always have but I don't expect... it doesn't have to change... I know you probably don't feel the sa-" his words are cut off as Y/N grips the back of his neck and plants a small chaste kiss against his lips "stop rambling Ji" she smiles as she kisses him again as gently as a feather brushing against his skin while she waits for him to calm down enough for them to talk.

Han couldn't believe it. He was stunned for a moment before he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close, his lips finding hers in a much more passionate kiss this time around. He groans into the kiss, his heart racing as he feels her body pressed against his. She giggles at his forwardness when just a moment ago he was so shy, she pulls away from his tight hold on her body just slightly so she can look at his face "I love you too Ji" she smiles before giving him a soft kiss on his lips then plants a kiss on the tip of his nose.

Han's heart skips a beat at her words, his eyes widening in surprise before he pulls her back into a hug, his face buried in her neck. He takes a deep breath, trying to calm himself down before he speaks again "you do? fuck... please don't play with me Y/N" he whimpers as he holds her tight "please be really real with me right now" she frowns as she places her hands on his cheeks to holds him steady so he can look into her eyes as she speaks "I love you Ji, I'm so in love with you" she breathes out as she smiles "I love you so much and I have since the day you fell over that hot dog cart trying to get food for us…"she pauses as he smiles at the memory "you make me smile on my darkest days and you've had my back for so long now I... I can't imagine my life without you" Han's eyes widen in disbelief as he stares into her eyes.

Taking in every word she says. He feels like he's floating on air, his heart soaring with happiness. He's so lost for words all he can do is pull her onto his lap into his arms as a tears of happiness runs down his cheeks "oh Ji" she whispers as she uses her thumb to swipe away the stray tears "why are you crying" she frowns slightly, her brow creasing "I'm just so happy Y/N" he says, his voice cracking slightly as he wipes away more tears as they drop to his cheeks "I love you so much" he whispers, his lips brushing against hers softly before pressing into a more passionate kiss "always have, always will" he mumbles against her lips.

She nods and smiles at his words before she returns his kisses, greedily enjoying the feeling of his lips finally on her own wanting to take her time to live in this moment she has waited so long for. She wraps her arms around his neck as she pulls herself impossibly closer to his body, the movie long forgotten and the popcorn set to the side of the sofa. Han's heart races as he feels her pull him closer, his hands finding their way to her waist before sliding up to her back, pulling her body flush against his. He deepens the kiss, his tongue tracing her lips gently before slipping inside her mouth in a passionate embrace.

Y/N whimpers slightly, feeling his hands move over her body before she pulls away breathlessly, she rests her forehead against his own "how come you never told me" Han's breathing is heavy as he looks into her eyes, his heart racing. "I... I didn't want to ruin our friendship," he admits his voice barely above a whisper. "I wasn't sure you would even like me back" he mumbles as he sighs "you're so important to me sweetheart, I couldn't bear the thought that you'd reject me and it'd all be so awkward that we couldn't be friends anymore" she blushes a soft pink at the sudden term of endearment "I'd never be able to just walk away from you Ji no matter what happened between us, it'll always be us two against the world" she smiles as she rubs her nose against his own.

His heart swells at her words, feeling a sense of relief wash over him as he nods "us against the world sweetheart," he whispers before giggling sweetly, his fingers tracing her jawline gently "god I love you so much" he bites his lip as he moves to place soft kisses against her cheek and jaw, her eyes flutter shut as she enjoys his soft touches "I love you too Han Jisung" she whispers as to not disturb the atmosphere that has settled over them she threads her fingers through his hair as she holds him close, still sat in his lap.

Han's heart skips a beat at her words, his fingers tightening around her waist as he leans into her touch "you have no idea how long I've waited for you to say that," he whispers, his lips brushing against her earlobe "and now that you have, I'm never letting you go again" his teeth graze over her earlobe as he nibbles on the skin gently.

A whine catches in her throat as he teases her "you'd better not, I know where you live" she smiles gently as she subconsciously shifts in his lap causing his grip on her body to tighten. Han chuckles softly, his hands moving to cup her face gently "you're stuck with me now," he murmurs before leaning in to capture her lips in a soft, lingering kiss. He lets out a groan as she continues to wiggle in his lip "I'm trying real hard to be good here sweetheart" he moves his hand down to grip her hips tightly "but if you keep moving I'll have no choice but to stop holding back" he looks into her eyes with a mischievous glint shining in his own irises.

Her eyes widen slightly as she realises what she's been doing and is now able to feel the start of his excitement poke against her inner thigh from where she's sat on his lap. She gives another experimental and this time purposeful roll of her clothed crotch against his own causing him to groan again "maybe I don't want you to be hold back anymore Ji" she breathes out as she bites her lip, Han's head tips back against the plush material of their sofa as he rocks his hips up against her body at her teasing movements "fuck" he groans unashamed, his heart races as he feels her moving against him his hands gripping her hips tighter "then I guess I'll have to show you what happens when I'm not holding back" he smirks as he attaches his lips to her neck.

Y/N bites back a moan at the feeling of his clothed member rocking against her core "I've always wondered what you'd feel like" she gasps as he sucks and nibbles against her neck "when your fucking me" she rolls her hips harder grinding down against his body making wetness start to form against her panties making the material stick to her lower lips. Han's breath hitches as he feels her moving against him, his heart racing with anticipation "you're so fucking sexy," he murmurs against her skin, his hands gripping her hips tighter, he pulls back slightly to admire the marks he's left along the column of her neck "never realised my sweet girl was so dirty" he smirks as he moves a hand from her hip under her shirt feeling the skin of her tummy as his hand travels up and stops at her lacey bra.

Y/N's body shudders under his touch "only for you Ji'' she whimpers as she lifts her shirt up and over her head to expose her half naked upper body she reaches down to tug at the hem of Jisung's shirt "off please" he hums a little as he pretends to think "only because you asked so nicely" he smirks as he pulls his shirt over his head watching as she explores his chest with her hands "like what you see baby? 'cause I do '' he admires her black lace bra for a moment before he reaches behind her back to unclip it, letting it fall to the floor exposing her nipples to the cold air of the room.

She nods her head quickly "didn't realise you'd gotten to big" she murmurs as she lets her fingers wander down his chest "all that time with Changbin and Chan worked out for the best I guess" she smirks before she gasps, her back arching slightly as Han suddenly takes one of her nipples into his mouth. Han smirks as he hears her gasp "sorry couldn't wait any longer" his tongue licks over the hardening bud and he can't help the groan that escapes his mouth as he feels her arching into his touch.

He releases her nipple with a pop and smirks "you'll have to thank them when I finally let you out of my bed" he smirks before moving to the other nipple giving it the same attention. She lets out soft moans as he teases her nipples into small peaks, sparks of pleasure slipping down her body straight to her core as it starts to become unbearably wet "Ji... baby I need you" she moans again as she grinds her crotch against his now fully hard covered length.

Han groans low in his throat as he feels her wetness start to seep through her pants "oh yeah? where do you need me sweetheart" Y/N whimpers and grinds down on him against but Han tuts at her "use your words baby or we'll stay like this" she groans frustrated and grabs his wrist putting his hand down her pants "look what you've done to me Ji" she sighs as she feels his fingers start to explore her body.

He chuckles as he feels her warmth and readiness for him. He slowly starts to tease her entrance with his fingers, moaning softly as he feels her wetness coat his fingers "you're so fucking wet and tight baby, this all for me?" she nods her head and closes her eyes as she feels his fingers teasing at her walls as he pushes two fingers straight into her waiting entrance, a moan floods past her throat as he pleases her "all for you baby, only you" Han growls as he feels her walls start to clench around his fingers.

He starts to thrust his fingers in and out of her tight heat, moaning her name as he takes her "that's it baby, take my fingers. Show me how much you want me" she nods her head quickly "want you so bad Ji, please I need it" she whines as she rocks against his thick fingers "need your cock now" the brunette underneath her groans as he feels her tight heat squeezing his fingers. He pulls his fingers out of her slowly, leaving her aching for more "not yet sweetheart, trying to prep you" he brings his fingers up to his mouth and sucks her essence off with a moan at her taste.

Y/N shakes her head "I'm good, I can take it I'm so fucking wet please baby. Please Ji" she begs as she moves away to stand tugging her pants and panties down and throwing them off to the side before she climbs back onto his lap, Han shakes his head while laughing "fuck... you have no idea what hearing you beg for my cock is doing to me" he groans as he taps her thighs "up" she lifts up off his lap enough for him to shimmy his pants and boxers down letting his hot thick length spring up as a bead of precum beads down the head.

Once his pants are down Y/N finds purchase back on his thighs as her eyes watch the pre cum leaking from his slit, without much thought she bends down and swirls her tongue over the head of his cock before moving down to follow the streams of his pre, she licks it all up dutifully as he gasps feeling her warm tongue over his sensitive length. She lets out a soft moan as she finally tastes him, his eyes roll back into his head as he feels her warm tongue swirling around his head.

He grips the sides of the sofa as he chokes out a moan "F-fuck sweetheart, wasn't expecting you to suddenly start licking my dick like that" she smiles as innocently as she can, batting her eyelashes at him "sorry Ji I couldn't help myself, had to taste you" she gives him one last look and a wink before she gets back to work swirling her tongue over his slit continuously, licking up all the fluid releasing from his body "fuck you taste good and so pretty too" she switches from gently licking to suckling on his dick using her tongue to lick at the veins that run on the underside of his cock.

Han's hands grip the sofa tightly as he feels her warm mouth engulfing his cock head. He groans deeply, his hips bucking up involuntarily "fuck... Y/N" he pants out her name between moans "you're killing me, if you keep sucking me in like that I won't last" his thighs start to shake against her dainty hands. She gives him one last hard suck before she releases him with a 'pop' and a satisfied smile on her face, she crawls back up to him and hovers just above his spit covered cock "wanna ride you now, 'kay Ji? need to ride you" his breathing is ragged as he watches her crawl back up to him, the sight alone making his dick throb with need.

He nods eagerly, his eyes locked on hers "y-yes sweetheart, I want you to ride me" he stutters out his hands reaching down to grab her hips "shit please, ride me" she nods eagerly giving him one last look to make sure it's what they both want before she sinks down onto him, slowly taking him to the hilt as he stretches her walls so deliciously that she has to close her eyes at the stinging pleasure, she takes a moment to enjoying having his cock spearing her wet pussy.

Han's eyes roll back in his head as he feels her tightness engulfing him so beautifully he chokes out a groan "fuck wait - shit sweetheart you feel SO fucking good... I need a moment or I'll cum right now- shit" he breathes heavily as she giggles watching his struggle. After a few moments he nods and moves his hands to grip her hips tightly. Taking his nod as her sign to move she slowly starts to rock her hips in shallow thrusts, the movement causing both of them to moan in unison "ohh Ji~ you feel soo good inside me, fill me up so perfectly" she babbles as she starts rocking up and down faster.

Han's grips on her hips turns bruising as he holds her tight enjoying the feeling of her bouncing on his cock "always wondered what you'd look like... fuck- taking my cock" he groans as he moves a hand from her hip to her breast teasing the nipple in his fingers "god it's so much better than I imagined" he huffs out a short laugh at the thought before it twists into a moan as she moves faster.

She whimpers at his words as her thighs start to shake and feel the burn of the position she's been in for a while now but she can't slow her rhythm not when Jisung's cock is hitting her g-spot so perfectly that it's making her thoughts turn to white noise "used to think of your thick fingers working me open to take your cock when I would touch myself" she moans as her hips stutter slightly after a particularly deep downwards thrust "f-fuck~" she bites her lip hard. Her confession shocks him slightly before the lewdness of it spikes across his chest and makes his dick throb "y-you'll have to show me one day... how you play with your pretty little pussy" he grunts as he feels her pace falter, seeing she's getting tired he takes matters into his own hands.

Jisung moves his hands down to her thighs spreading them open as he thrusts up into her setting a rough pace that has her mewling against him, all she can do is nod furiously as her moans grow in volume "there Ji~ right there don't fucking stop!~" she whines loudly as her head lolls back and her thighs tremble. Her grip on his shoulders falters as he thrusts faster to meet her request.

Han's groans as she tightens around his length "play with your clit baby while I fuck you" his thrusts get faster as sweat beads across his forehead and chest, Y/N bites her lip as she sucks on her fingers before reaching down and rubbing fast circles against her swollen nub, every thrust and swipe of her finger gets her closer to her peak "J-Ji I- shit! fuck!" she gasps her chest heaving as her orgasm starts to hit.

Han bites his lip as her pussy clamps down tight on his cock as one last deep thrust sends her over the edge, her body shaking wildly as she moans his name cumming hard "shit! shit! Baby I'm C-Cumming! gonna fill you up with my cum" Jisung bites his lip as he gives a few last deep thrusts before he cums. Hot ropes of thick white cum paint her walls as their highs crest together, Y/N chest heaves as she starts to come down from the intense high.

Han's grip on her body loosens as she falls onto his chest, his throbbing cock still buried deep in her walls ``that was... intense" she smiles as she rests her head on his bare chest, Han chuckles as he kisses her forehead "glad you enjoyed it sweetheart" once his cock finally softens he lifts her body slightly and pulls himself out of her before returning her body back to his own. Y/N gives him a bright smile before resting her head back on his chest "we should probably talk about this" she grips his side tightly "us" Han nods in agreement "in the morning, for now let's just enjoy the moment and go to bed" he kisses her forehead then her cheek before lifting her into his arms and carrying her to his room.

She sighs contentedly as he slips her into his bed before climbing in behind her and pulling her close, he kisses her neck one last time before whispering "I love you Y/N" her heart skips a beat as she feels his warm breath against her neck "I love you too Ji" she smiles before letting sleep take her tired body.

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mcntsee · 11 months

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THAWING SHADOWS

Summary: Y/n grapples with their feelings for Kaz. With the support of Nina, she confronts her insecurities and doubts about being worthy of Kaz's affection. Based off of this request.

Warnings: Contains themes of self-doubt, insecurity, and emotional vulnerability. Maybe OOC Kaz, I don’t know, I tried to make his dialogues fitting. Shitty writing and short.

Prompt: 17. "H-how long have you been standing there?" (list of prompts here)

I stared out at the vast expanse of the Slat, my heart heavy with emotions I couldn't quite contain. Nina, my dear friend and confidante, sat beside me, lending a sympathetic ear as I poured out my inner turmoil about Kaz Brekker. The mere thought of him sending a flurry of conflicting emotions coursing through my veins.

"I don’t know Nina, I can't help but feel like Kaz could never reciprocate my feelings," I confessed, my voice filled with a hint of melancholy. "He's so enigmatic, so closed off. I'm just me… Just an ordinary person." Nina's eyes shimmered with empathy as she took a moment to choose her words carefully. "Y/n, I understand your doubts, but you're selling yourself short. Kaz may be guarded, but he's not incapable of feeling. There's more to him than people realize, and you've managed to capture his attention in a way that surprises even me."

A flicker of hope ignited within me, but it was quickly extinguished by the weight of my insecurities. “Don’t do that Nina.” I said, voice barley above a whisper, “Don’t give me false hope. How could someone like him ever see something in me?"

Nina's voice carried a gentle reassurance. "Kaz may be drawn to strength, intelligence, and the unexpected but trust me, your genuine heart and unwavering loyalty make you extraordinary in his eyes."

I listened intently, the gears of my mind turning as I absorbed Nina's perspective. Still, doubts lingered. "But what if he finds out about my flaws, about my own darkness? What if he sees the parts of me I'm not proud of?"

Nina's expression softened, and her hand found mine in a comforting gesture. "Y/n, we all have our flaws. It's a part of being human. But Kaz, he sees beyond the surface. He knows firsthand the depths of the human soul, the duality within. He's not one to judge but rather to understand. And in that understanding, he might just find a connection with you."

Her words sparked a glimmer of courage within me, prompting me to take a deep breath. "You really think there's a chance for us, Nina? That he could see something in me worth pursuing?"

Nina's smile widened, brimming with confidence. "Absolutely, y/n. I've seen the way he looks at you, the way he pays attention when you speak. There's a magnetic pull between you two, an unspoken connection. Just be yourself, and let fate unfold."

Curiosity flickered within me as I noticed Nina's eyes drifting behind me, repeatedly shifting focus to something—or someone. The urge to turn around and see what had caught her attention became irresistible. My heart raced in my chest as I pivoted, only to find Kaz standing there, his enigmatic presence enveloping me.

"H-how long have you been standing there?" I stammered, my cheeks burning with embarrassment.

Nina, ever perceptive, departed with a knowing smile, leaving me alone with Kaz. Panic and regret mingled in my voice as I hurriedly apologized for all the doubts and insecurities I had expressed earlier.

Kaz's eyes, as cold and calculating as ever, studied me for a moment before he spoke, his voice laced with a touch of frost. "Words spoken in truth cannot be unsaid, y/n. But perhaps there is more to me than you assume." His words sent a shiver down my spine, both thrilling and unsettling me.

I faltered, sensing an iciness in his demeanor that made my heart ache. It seemed my fears of pushing him away were becoming a reality. I prepared myself for the inevitable rejection, expecting his walls to rise higher.

But Kaz, ever the master of secrets, surprised me with a small flicker of vulnerability. "You think me incapable of feeling, but you underestimate the depths of my emotions. It is true, someone like me should not deserve your affection." His tone remained cool, even distant, leaving me with a bittersweet mix of hope and uncertainty.

A wave of conflicting emotions crashed over me, mingling with the burgeoning happiness in my heart. Despite his cold demeanor, Kaz's words held a certain raw honesty that both pained and intrigued me. In that moment, I realized that beneath his icy exterior, he too harbored a fragile longing.

And so, the chill that had settled in the air began to thaw, ever so slightly, revealing a glimpse of the tenderness beneath. As we stood there, facing each other, the world seemed to fade away, leaving only the two of us, connected by a fragile thread of understanding and the promise of something beautiful, even amidst the coldness that defined Kaz Brekker.

I took a deep breath, gathering my courage. "Kaz, I understand that you see yourself as someone undeserving of affection, but it's not about who you think you are. It's about who I see when I look at you—the strength, the intelligence, and the capacity for greatness that resides within you. I know you've built walls to protect yourself, but I want to break through them and show you that you deserve happiness, just like anyone else."

For a moment, a flicker of surprise crossed Kaz's eyes, betraying the depths of his emotions that he so skillfully concealed. It was as if my words had penetrated his icy exterior, chipping away at the walls he had built around himself.

"You have a way with words, y/n," he said, his voice softer, the coldness thawing slightly. "But it's not just about what you see. It's about what you're willing to accept—my flaws, my darkness, the shadows that follow me.”

I looked into Kaz's eyes, unwavering in my resolve. "I can't promise that it will always be easy, or that we won't face challenges. But I'm willing to face them together, to support you in every way I can. I see beyond the shadows, Kaz, and I choose to see the person you truly are."

A moment of silence passed between us, filled with unspoken tension and uncharted possibilities. And then, the corners of Kaz's lips lifted ever so slightly, hinting at a rare smile that warmed my heart.

"You are a formidable person, y/n," he admitted, his voice carrying a newfound tenderness.

#angst #fanfiction #kaz brekker x reader #six of crows #six of crows x reader #kaz dirtyhands brekker #kaz brekker #fluff

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amhrosina · 1 year

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August (Namor x fem!Reader)

Songfic - August by Taylor Swift

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A/N: hi friends! I hit 500 followers today and have over 1,000 notes on one of my fics. I can’t express how much I appreciate your support and love for my writing :’). You are all so kind! This fic took me a few days longer than usual because I was experiencing some pretty intense writer’s block. Hopefully, that’s in the past! Anyways, a nonnie requested this! Thank you for requesting and I hope you enjoy it!

Request: hi i have read the artist and the sea and it was so well-written and wonderful 🥹🫶🏼 this is why i'm requesting a namor x fem reader that is kind of inspired with august by taylor swift? like it's a summer love typa beat but the reader will realize that they don't have a future together since he's a god and she's just a mortal so it's like the lyric "so much for summer love and saying 'us' cause you weren't mine to lose" ??? you can put a happy ending or not honestly it's fine either way! and sorry if this is too specific and if you don't want to write this, it's okay <333

Summary: You and Namor must face the music when the real world begins to catch up with your summer love affair.

(Warnings: smutty language, allusions of smut, no hardcore smut (nonnie didn’t specify and I didn’t want to include it just in case), watch me make shit up about being able to visit Talokan as a human (without the suit lol), fluffy Namor, Namor would hang the moon for reader, a little bit of angst, happy ending bc im incapable of writing sad endings)

Translations:

in yakunaj – my love

princesa – princess

Salt air, and the rust on your door I never needed anything more

The summer heat was stifling, but you were determined to meet Namor on the beach when he finally made it back from Talokan, and the sun had almost set, so the heat wouldn’t be an issue for much longer. He’d been gone for three long days, and you were beginning to grow a little anxious. Since you’d met him, the time between seeing him was never longer than a day or two. When he hadn’t returned last night, you’d opened your bedroom window and listened to the sound of the sea for hours until finally drifting off into a restless sleep. When you awoke, and he still hadn’t come back, the worry began gnawing at your gut.

You weren’t entirely sure why Namor continued to come back to you, time and time again. It was a thought that was easily forgotten when Namor was around, but during the short stretches of his absence, you couldn’t stop yourself from mulling it over. Namor was a god, a warrior that was centuries older than you, and yet, he seemed completely enamored with you.

His “little love”, he called you, a nickname that never failed to make you blush. When you really thought about it, the pace at which you’d fallen for each other was incredibly fast. It was a lightning storm out at sea, a muscle car going 90 down the pacific coast highway, the tumble of the waves meeting the sand on a stormy night. It was a warmth that many people didn’t know existed. You’d never cared about anyone as deeply as you care for Namor, and you tried not to think about that, because it was a terrifying thought.

You never let yourself consider what would happen when you continued to age while Namor didn’t. Namor never brought it up either, and for that you were grateful. The thought left a melancholy note in your body, and you wanted to enjoy the time you were getting to spend with Namor now, even if later wasn’t guaranteed.

The sun hung low in the sky, on the cusp of fading into the night, and you were worried you might be gnawing a hole in your cheek when you finally spotted Namor in the water. You breathed a sigh of relief, but the nervous ache in your chest didn’t disappear. What if he was only coming to say goodbye to you?

“I am sorry it took me so long, in yakunaj. I got here as fast as I could.” He buried you in a hug, pressing a kiss on the crown of your head. “I missed you, little love.”

“I missed you too.” You nuzzled into his chest. “Do you want to come inside?”

You tilted your head up at him, blinking in awe at his beauty. You would never get tired of seeing him like this. You were almost completely sure no one in the world got to experience the warm, cuddly side of Namor besides you. The way he described his people gave you the sense that “warm and cuddly” wasn’t really what they were going for as warriors, but you didn’t care. Namor never brought violence home to you, and in turn, you always appreciated his kindness a little extra.

“Lead the way, in yakunaj.”

Whispers of "Are you sure?" "Never have I ever before"

As soon as Namor shut the door, he was on you. His lips captured yours in a heated kiss, pulling your body against his in one swift movement. One hand traveled along the curve of your waist while the other had a firm grip on your jaw, and the sparks traveling through your veins reminded you of the first time Namor had ever kissed you like this.

Crisp memories flashed through your mind. Namor’s gentle caress along your spine. His fingers lightly treading the waistband of your shorts. The way he’d carefully laid you down, kissing every inch of you with soft lips. In the centuries since he’d been born, the act of sex had become a detatched act of primal urge. He never cared about the people he was burying himself inside of, not really. But then he met you, and suddenly the world had shifted.

“You make me feel alive, for the first time in 500 years.”

He had whispered this into your skin, resting his head on your chest as the weight of his words sank in. You had gently cradled his head in your hands, pressing a soft kiss to his lips before slowly pulling your shirt over your head.

Your first time with Namor was nothing short of magical. You should’ve probably expected it, considering how much more time he’d had to perfect his craft than other men, but you suspected that the love exchanged between you also had an impact. The morning after, Namor had revealed to you that he’d never experienced love, but that he was pretty sure it’s what he felt for you. You’d melted into his hold, and he made love to you again, whispering confessions of love into your skin.

Namor lifted you in the air and wrapped your legs around his waist, pulling you back into the present. His desire was achingly hard against your clothed core, and you couldn’t help the moan that escaped your lips as you shifted against him. He walked the two of you into your bedroom, and softly closed the door behind him. This was the usual routine after he returned from Talokan, and the love between the two of you seemed to grow every time you reunited.

Your back beneath the sun Wishin' I could write my name on it Will you call when you're back at school? I remember thinkin' I had you

Later, after you had spent hours kissing gentle reminders of how much you missed one another into each other’s skin, you were cuddled into Namor’s side, resting your head on his chest in a sleepy haze.

“Why did it take you so long to come back?” You prodded, out of curiosity, but also out of nervousness.

Namor sighed, pulling you tighter against his side. “My people have noticed that I spend more time here than at home. Namora is concerned.”

You stiffened against him. You knew Namor hadn’t revealed to anyone in Talokan exactly what he’d been doing on the surface, but he had never spoken so openly about the toll it was taking on him.

“Do not worry, in yakunaj. It is a peaceful time for my people.”

“What if it wasn’t peaceful?” You asked, tilting your head up to look at him.

“Then I would be with my people, fighting alongside them. I have a duty to protect them, in yakunaj. But I would think of you every second, until we met again.”

You sighed, but you understood. He was theirs long before he was yours, and you couldn’t expect him to give up 500 years of history for you.

“I wish I could see it. Talokan sounds lovely.” You mumbled into his chest, kissing one of the faint scars that hid along the line of his collarbone. He tightened his hold on you – a small token of appreciation in response to your love for his home.

“I know, princesa. There is nothing I want more than that.”

You wanted to ask him how long he was planning on keeping this hidden love affair going, how long he planned on lying to his closest friends and family about his feelings for a surface dweller, but you stayed quiet. That was not something you wanted to know the answer to. At least not now. The thought of your late nights together on the beach and the hours spent wrapped in bed sheets by each other’s side coming to an end was too painful to think about.

For now, you were fine with living in blissful ignorance. Eventually, you knew it would have to come to an end, but what you couldn’t bear to think about was how agonizingly lonely you would be without Namor in your life.

Instead of saying any of this, you lightly kissed his cheek, and drifted off to sleep against his chest, blissfully unaware of the war waging inside of Namor’s head at the exact same moment.

But I can see us lost in the memory August slipped away into a moment in time 'Cause it was never mine So much for summer love and saying "us" 'Cause you weren't mine to lose You weren't mine to lose, no

The summer months passed by in an idyllic haze. It was easy to lose yourself in Namor when he was around. Hours would pass like minutes, shaded in the warm glow of summer.

Namor’s visits were less frequent, excused with the wave of his hand, as if to say, “I had to take care of something, but don’t worry about it.” You tried not to mind the absences, though. When Namor was with you, his attention was always fully on you. The nights he spent with you were always as passionate as the first night, and he’d hold you until he absolutely had to return to Talokan.

You didn’t question him, though you were curious about what he was so busy doing when he was at home. He was a King, you supposed. He probably had a lot of things going on. All of this justification didn’t help soothe the sting when his absences began to stretch into 3-4 days at a time. Perhaps he was finally realizing what you’d known all along. He was a God, and you were a human, and it wouldn’t work for much longer.

You mulled this over as you tried to read on the beach one evening. The sun was going to set soon, and it had officially been five days since Namor had visited you. You read the same paragraph three times before finally throwing the book down beside you. Distracting yourself with a book wasn’t working. Your thoughts always trailed back to Namor, and they probably always would.

You watched the sun set, waiting and waiting for the familiar tremor in the water that indicated Namor’s arrival. The tremor never came, and after two hours of sitting in miserable silence, you trudged back towards your house. He wasn’t coming, and even though you should probably have expected this eventually, you couldn’t stop the tears from welling up.

Two more days passed before you saw Namor again, and the weary look on his face when you met him in knee-deep water sent a wave of turmoil into your gut. This was it, the moment you’d been dreading since you realized how incredibly hard you’d fallen for him, and you weren’t prepared in the slightest for the wave of emotion that followed this realization.

Familiar tears stained your cheeks, and the overwhelming sense that you couldn’t breathe overtook your ability to look at him. Namor cupped your cheeks, forcing you to look into his eyes.

“In yakunaj, what is it? Why are you crying?”

You latched onto his wrists, failing to stop the tears from flowing down your face. “Please just say it, Namor. I can’t take the distance you’re forcing between us anymore. I can handle it.”

“Princesa, what are you talking about? Say what?” Namor’s face morphed into concern as he looked over your features. Your eyes were puffy, stained red from crying, and you looked exhausted.

“That you can’t love me anymore. That you have to go back to Talokan, and that I can’t come, and that I have to move on from you.”

Namor studied your face for a moment. Understanding dawned on his face as he realized how affected you were by his unexplained absences. He wiped the tears from under your eyes and shook his head.

“Is that what you think? That I don’t love you anymore?”

You tried to look away from him, but his firm grip wouldn’t allow it. You closed your eyes instead, trying to calm the heartbreak crashing through you.

“Why else have you been pulling away from me?”

“My sweet little love,” Namor cooed, kissing the tip of your nose, “I will always love you. I am sorry for being so distant lately, but I was trying to surprise you.”

You opened your eyes, confusion evident on your face.

“Surprise me with what?” You asked.

Namor smiled, glancing over his shoulder towards the water.

“We have found a way to bring you to Talokan.”

You inhaled sharply, following his gaze towards what you could only assume was the route to Talokan.

“What do you mean?” Your voice was a breathy whisper.

“I mean, there is a way for me to bring you home with me.”

Excitement bubbled in your chest, but it was quickly extinguished when you remembered that even if you could get to Talokan, time would remain an enemy. Namor was still a God, and you were still a mortal, after all.

“Namor,” you shook your head, “It won’t work. I will still die of old age, and then you will be alone again.”

Namor began shaking his head in response before you could finish your sentence.

“You misunderstand me, princesa. We have found a way for you to stay in Talokan. You would be one of us. That’s what I’ve been working on while I’ve been gone. We could be together forever, if that’s what you want.” He paused, looking over your shoulder at your house. “You will have to say goodbye to the surface, though. It will be visitable, of course, but your home would be in Talokan, with our people.”

“Our people?” You felt like a mimicking parrot, but his proposal had overwhelmed you, and that was the only thing you could muster in response.

Namor chuckled, kissing both of your cheeks, one after the other. “They are very excited to meet their soon-to-be Queen, in yakunaj.”

“You told them about me?” You murmured, in awe of his ability to render you almost speechless again.

“I did. They are glad to see me happy.”

You glanced between your home and the water, mulling over everything he’d told you.

“I know I am asking a lot of you. You do not have to give me an answer now, in yakunaj. You can think abo-”

You cut him off with a searing kiss, wrapping your arms around his neck and pushing your body against his.

“Take me home, Namor.” You murmured against his lips.

The smile on his face shined so bright that you couldn’t imagine ever saying no to him, if that’s what his response was when he was happy.

For the hope of it all (For the hope of it all)

You looked back towards your house for the final time. Leaving it behind was something you’d never thought you’d do, but you didn’t think you’d miss it – not when an entire city awaited your arrival.

Namor had explained the transition process to you as best he could. A lot of it sounded like scientific gibberish, but the parts that you picked up included drinking a blue nectar that had been mixed with his blood, which would ensure that you could breathe both under water and above it. It would also extend your lifetime by centuries, if not longer. According to Namor, people all over Talokan were celebrating your arrival already.

Namor wrapped his arms around you from behind, resting his chin on your shoulder.

“Are you sure you want to say goodbye to this life, little love?”

You smiled and leaned backwards against his chest.

“Let’s start our life together, in yakunaj.” His language felt foreign on your tongue, but you had heard him call you by that name so many times that you were sure you had pronounced it correctly.

Namor let out a loud laugh, kissing your shoulder and squeezing you tighter against him in response.

“I think I could get used to hearing you speak my language, princesa.”

“We’ll have a hundred lifetimes together. Will you teach me more?”

“I will do anything you ask of me, princesa.”

“Forever?” You asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

He grinned, nodding. “Forever.”

Tag List:

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nagannach · 11 months

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Why So Many People Are Wrong About Book (And Taco Too)

(an in-depth analysis of/appreciation post for one of the most overlooked, underutilized, and misunderstood characters in BFB)

This is an essay about my favorite BFB character, how she was horribly mistreated by the writers, how and why the community is wrong about her, and how she could've been improved.

Book's writing in BFB is often seen as one of the lowest points of the show, and for good reason. She is consistently presented as an irrational, aggressive jerk who hates Taco for absolutely no reason and doesn't care about her teammates. Emphasis on the word "presented", because this simply isn't who Book is – she is a far more interesting character than what a first glance would suggest.

The main problems stem from the way the storyline is structured. Bleh's story arc is often called the Taco-Book arc, but this is a misnomer because it implies that the two characters shared equal roles. In reality, Taco dominated the storyline, and Book's side of the story was never even considered, let alone taken seriously. This style of writing was detrimental to the quality of the show, and it prevented jacknjellify from fully realizing Book's potential as a character.

Book was treated incredibly unfairly, both by her teammates in-universe and by the writers out-of-universe. Throughout the course of the show, jacknjellify consistently failed to consider Book's perspective in her feud with Taco, and her thoughts and feelings are routinely ignored, resulting in her appearing to be a far different character than she actually is.

(Quick heads up: I'm going to be talking about Taco a lot in this essay. I wanted to mention her as infrequently as possible, but given the way Book's character is written, it's impossible to talk about her without talking about Taco as well.)

A common complaints about the way Book was written is that her personality in BFB is not representative of how she acted in previous seasons. However, a close analysis of her early appearances reveals that this isn't quite the case.

Book was never a particularly stable person, and this behavior can be seen even in her competitive debut. She can be very quick to anger, as Lollipop and Fries found out in BFDIA 1, as well as Firey, Tennis Ball, and Gelatin in BFDIA 4. Book often has trouble expressing her emotions in a healthy way, which is one of the two traits that would be her downfall in BFB. Additionally, she showed signs of abandonment issues very early on – she jumped at the opportunity to join Pencil's alliance in BFDIA 3, and she was quick to accept her position as an alternate, despite being less than pleased with not being a full member.

Despite her occasional outbursts, Book was not a mean character by any stretch of the imagination. When Coiny and Pin attempted to steal Teardrop from Team No-Name, Book was the only person to try and stop them. However, this scene also reveals another core part of her personality – one that is essential to understanding Book as a character, as it is her other main flaw. When Coiny stood his ground after Book told him to stop, she backed down without a fight.

Although she is more than willing to stand up for other people when they need help, Book is entirely incapable of standing up for herself when she needs help. Making people mad is her worst nightmare. When faced with conflict, her first instinct is to placate the opposing party, even if she knows that what they're doing is wrong. This is a trait she carries throughout the show – it can be seen in BFDIA 5c and 5e, as well as IDFB 1 and BFB 1. While she seems to be far less of a pushover when leaving the alliance at the start of BFB, this is negated by the fact that she immediately asks Ice Cube to back her up. Keep this in mind - this will come back later.

To summarize, Book has a very short temper and can be tipped off at the slightest provocation, but she also has a heart of gold and a genuine concern for the people around her. She has a strong sense of justice, but her inability to defend herself often prevents her from making meaningful change in the world around her. It's important to note this because despite the way her character is presented in BFB, and despite the fact that she may seem like an entirely different person, her personality never actually changes.

To understand Book's attitude toward Bleh, it's important to first understand her attitude toward Freesmart.

The alliance was never a particularly healthy environment for Book, not even in BFDIA. Pencil was visibly stressed out by the team at multiple points and often took her anger out on her teammates, while Match was simply cruel and careless. Neither of them showed any regard for the lives of their teammates or competitors – both refused to rescue the remaining No-Namers in BFDIA 5c, Match killed Ice Cube without a hint of remorse at the end of the same episode, Pencil directly caused her teammates to die tens of thousands of times in BFDIA 5d, and she drop-kicked Rocky to his death in BFDIA 5e. Book was rarely given time to react to their actions, and when she was, she was usually shut down.

Book may have been a member of Freesmart, but she never felt like a part of the alliance. Not helping her situation was the fact that she was never a "full" member of the team – she was an alternate, a back-up friend. She was excluded from Match's dance party in BFDIA 5a, and she was kicked out of the Clubhouse again in BFDIA 6's deleted scenes (while the incident may not be canon, the sentiment certainly is). She seemed like an outsider for much of the time Freesmart spent together – Bubble and Ice Cube had more time to bond with Pencil, Match, and each other, and while Ruby was always one of Book's close friends, the fact that she was a full member and Book wasn't also gave her more time with the rest of the alliance, not to mention that she had far more in common with Bubble.

IDFB only had one episode, and Book only had a few lines of dialogue, but those lines shed a lot of light on her position in Freesmart. It's implied that Book had a part in Firey's punishment (i.e. locking him in a cage hanging off the Yoyle Needy), but it's also implied that it was against her will. The way she brings up Match afterwards suggests that rescuing Match from the LOL was her top priority and that the main reason she agreed to punish Firey was because she didn't wanted to anger Pencil. (I'm probably reading between the lines a lot here, and there may be many different interpretations of this, but this is a really interesting exchange that doesn't get brought up a lot and deserves at least some recognition. Same for the rest of IDFB – Pencil's comment about Match, for instance, is also ignored, which is a shame because it suggested some kind of schism between the two that never came to fruition. Or maybe Pencil knew something about the LOL that Book didn't.)

In short, Book's tenure at Freesmart saw her being consistently ignored and shut down by Pencil and Match, and she was never particularly close to her other teammates. As a result, Book joined Bleh in search of a healthier environment, but the team would turn out to be even worse for her.

Book's very first interaction with Taco was watching her lead Ice Cube to her death and showing zero sympathy for her pain. Taco's hubris led to her killing six of her team members – including Book and herself – and would've resulted in her team being put up for elimination if Lightning remembered that he could fly. This is the only time Taco would interact with Book for two and a half years.

This incident goes completely unmentioned for the rest of the series, and it sets the tone for what's to come. Taco is the embodiment of all of the worst traits of Freesmart with none of the redeeming qualities. She doesn't care about how her teammates feel, she is brutal to her fellow competitors, she ditches challenges whenever possible, she backstabs her friends for personal gain, she is bossy, she is arrogant, and she has a complete lack of self-awareness. She is a horrible person who's going to do a lot of horrible things, most of them aren't going to come back to bite her in any meaningful way, and she's never going to learn from (or even acknowledge) her mistakes. Everything she does is going to be brushed aside to deny Book validation for her feelings.

Something that's often forgotten about BFB 3 – and that isn't mentioned until TPOT 2 – is that Book wasn't aware that Taco died in BFB 1; Book herself died before Taco did. From her perspective, it made far more sense for the jawbreaker to be on the swing as dead weight put on the swing by Four and nothing more. (Dora and Saw were aware that Taco was dead, but given that Dora can't communicate with the rest of her team and Saw has a habit of concealing vital information from Book as shown in BFB 13, it's safe to assume that Book never got the memo.)

When Book came to the conclusion that Taco abandoned her, she was visibly hurt by the realization. She felt like she failed Taco in some way – the first thing she does is blame herself for Taco abandoning the team. Unfortunately, in a pattern that will repeat itself many times over the course of the show, her reaction was dwarfed by Taco, who dominated the episode. (Also, isn't it funny how Taco showed zero remorse when she led Book to her death in BFB 1, but now that she wants her help, she's suddenly pleading for her?)

And then Taco gets out of the jawbreaker. The same reckless, headstrong Taco who led almost all her teammates to their deaths despite their protests was supposedly trapped for three weeks, yet she got out under her own power with minimal effort. She didn't even make an attempt to escape the jawbreaker during that period – she didn't try licking, she didn't try rolling around to get someone's attention, and she didn't try using brute force. If iance was able to lick their way into a jawbreaker fast enough to earn second place, Taco was more than capable of licking her way out of one over the course of three weeks. She could've done anything to get out of the jawbreaker faster, but she just... didn't. Her absence left her team lacking manpower (not to mention a pretty big weight to negotiate), which could've also led to her team being put up for elimination if it wasn't for Team Ice Cube! screwing up. The only possible explanation I have for her behavior is that Taco never actually cared about giving her teammates company – she only cared about whether her teammates were on her side or not.

Another fact that's important to bring up is that Taco being in the jawbreaker in the first place is a direct consequence of her actions in BFB 1. At the end of that episode, nine contestants were dead, and in order for the jawbreaker challenge to be done, seven contestants would have to be dead. Taco was responsible for six of those deaths, including her own. Had she spared just one of her teammates, after one of the eight dead contestants was revived, there would've been seven contestants in jawbreakers, enough for each of the seven safe teams, which means that nobody would've been left behind. This wasn't a stroke of bad luck – this, along with everything bad that ever happened to her, was her own fault, and she could've avoided it if she'd tried to be better.

All things considered, Book's reaction is relatively subdued. Taco killed her and four of her teammates, neglected her for a good three weeks, and showed zero signs of remorse, and all she got for it was a declaration of her anger. However, the show acts as if Taco being in the jawbreaker somehow exonerates her from her misdeeds in and of itself.

Come BFB 4, Book is still visibly hurt by Taco's actions, and Taco, after two whole weeks, has not apologized for either killing her or being gone for weeks. Instead, she completely dismisses Book's feelings and acts like she did nothing wrong. If she really cared about how her teammates felt, she would've tried to comfort them or make it up to them or at the very least explain what happened to her, but she never said a word to any of her teammates until her personality was completely rewritten in BFB 15. Since her team is upset with her because of something she did, the onus is on her to resolve it, but she never even tries.

A common theme throughout the show is that Taco is treated as if she never has to explain herself. She doesn't have to apologize for killing her teammates and bossing them around in BFB 1 (despite that fact that Pencil and Leafy were eliminated for doing far less and despite BEEP being allowed to hold a grudge against Leafy for the same amount of time that everyone on Bleh but Book held a grudge against Taco), she doesn't have to explain where she was in BFB 3, she doesn't have to tell her team her plans in BFB 6, and she's allowed to not interact with them at all until BFB 15. Her teammates' feelings aren't even considered – Taco's perspective is the only one that's shown, and it's the only one that matters. According to the writers, if someone feels hurt by what Taco does, they're simply wrong. No explanation given, no explanation needed. I can't bring myself to call Taco a Mary Sue, but a lot of the defining characteristics are present.

There might be other ways to explain Taco's absence from her team in BFB 2 that don't involve her not caring about them (although all the explanations that come to mind are very contrived), but the point is that Book isn't allowed to have an argument. The way the scene is supposed to be interpreted is “wow I can't believe it Book is such a drama queen Taco was stuck in the jawbreaker ong ong” without even considering what Book actually thinks about the situation beyond what Taco sees.

This is the biggest problem with Bleh's story arc: Book is never taken seriously. Her feelings don't matter. She isn't allowed to have her side of the story heard as anything other than “Taco abandoned us”. She isn't allowed to defend herself, and nobody is allowed to defend her. She isn't allowed to feel hurt when Taco kills Ice Cube in front of her (and then kills her moments later). She isn't allowed to feel betrayed when Taco reappears after three weeks of unnecessary and unexplained absence. She isn't allowed to feel bitter after months of radio silence from Taco, and she isn't allowed to not forgive her even as she continues to show how little she cares about her. When her feelings aren't ignored, they're always turned against her. Book isn't just being portrayed as if she's in the wrong because of her feelings – her feelings themselves are wrong. She is routinely ignored and mocked by the people around her, and they're allowed to do that because the writers are doing the exact same thing. This is true of everyone Taco hurt over the course of the competition, but it's especially true of Book, whom Taco hurt the most.

BFB 6 is a perfect example of just how biased the narrative is toward Taco. Her team is still bitter about her abandoning and neglecting them, but instead of doing anything to set things right, Taco chooses to abandon them again. Even if Taco was actually in the jawbreaker against her will, the actions she takes after her team accused her of abandonment show what an awful person she is. Whether her plan ends up working or not is irrelevant. Her teammates (especially Book) were hurt by what she did, but Taco doesn't care. She doesn't understand that she hurt them, and she isn't sorry for anything.

Despite that, the episode doesn't even mention how Book might feel and instead focuses entirely on Taco and her antics on Earth. This is going to be a pretty long diatribe, and you can skip this if you want, but this needs to be said. So many factors had to fall into place here that it's ridiculous that Taco's plan didn't end up backfiring. 43 contestants were present on Earth, 34 of which had an unobstructed view of the Moon. In order for Taco's plan to have worked, none of those 34 contestants could've looked at the Moon (and a full moon, at that!) over the course of an hour. Even if they did all know where the Twinkle was, all it would've taken was a momentary lapse in attention – a lapse that could've just as easily came from Taco herself on her hour-long journey. If the Twinkle was being passed between the Earth and Moon, it wouldn't help much – judging from BFB 7, the Lunarians would be more coordinated than the Earthlings, so the Twinkle probably wouldn't spend much time on the Moon. The possibility that Taco could've gotten the Twinkle from someone on Earth also isn't considered. Assuming a direct line of sight to the competition grounds and that Taco would be looking dead ahead (why wouldn't she?), the Twinkle would've transferred to her the moment the Earthlings came over her horizon – which, assuming that the objects are human sized and the Earth is Earth-sized, would've happened as far out as 6.2 miles, or 10 kilometers (even further if a flyer got the Twinkle). Even if she did make it to the competition grounds without contracting the Twinkle, she'd have to open her eyes to seek out a target, risking infection from both the Earth and Moon. Then there's the possibility of Taco mistakenly infecting herself by accidentally looking at Bell. Furthermore, there's no guarantee that Taco would've even made it back to the competition grounds – she didn't even know where she was when she landed on Earth, let alone where the grounds were relative to her. Not only that, but in order for Taco's plan to even have a chance of working, Golf Ball would've had to land on the near side of the Moon, which, because the Earth (and therefore the Twinkle) would've been easily visible, would be a monumental blunder for someone of her acumen. How often do you get to see the Earth from outer space? From just about every possible standpoint, this plan might be the worst call she could've made, but because this is Taco, it went off without a hitch. In the eyes of the writers, Taco is incapable of making bad decisions.

I'm skipping most of the episodes from BFB 5 to BFB 9, but it's important to discuss them because people tend to forget about how Book was characterized here.

When Taco isn't on screen with her, Book is actually presented as her true character. She is the same kind, thoughtful, caring person she was in BFDIA. She was visibly worried about X in BFB 5 and 9, and she can be seen comforting Saw about her fume issues in BFB 8. Again, she isn't a “mean” character by any stretch of the imagination, and she never was.

Another thing that deserves mention is Book's relationship with Dora. The first episode seemed to promise a relationship between the two given Book's desire to learn about how Dora communicates. She genuinely saw something in Dora that nobody else did. However, that would be the last time they'd interact – their relationship would only be brought up twice, and one of those times was after Dora was eliminated. Book was snubbed of yet another opportunity to actually show off her true character, and Dora was snubbed of her only opportunity for character development.

BFB 10 is arguably the biggest missed opportunity in the story arc.

After neglecting her team yet again, Taco approaches Bell and tries to strike a conversation with her. Bell, just like Book, is clearly upset by what Taco did in BFB 6 (and she has every right to be – it's pretty clear that the only reason Taco is apologizing to her is because she wants to talk to her, not because she actually cares about her), and she refuses to trust Taco and accept her "apology". Meanwhile, Lollipop sees all of this – not caring about how Bell feels, she immediately takes Taco's side, since all she sees is someone who won a challenge for her.

Ignoring everything that happens after it, this is probably one of the best scenes in the show. After months of running away from the consequences of her actions and hurting people without an iota of concern for them, Taco is finally forced to confront her mistakes. Unlike the situation with her teammates, she can't pretend she isn't hurting anyone and act like nothing's wrong – unlike Book, Bell isn't pulling any punches. Just like Match in the next episode, she has to deal with not being forgiven immediately so she can actually learn from her mistakes. She broke their trust, and now she has to put in the work to regain it. Taco's expression after the exchange even suggests that she's aware that she did something wrong (even if it would later be disproven).

However, notably absent from this scene is Book.

Many of Book's teammates (namely Lollipop, Teardrop, possibly Gaty and Dora, and, of course, Taco) care deeply about victory regardless of whether they have to hurt people to achieve it. Pencil and Match also acted like that very often (and, at this point, still are), which is something Book hated about Freesmart. She has, in the past, been willing to protect her opponents from harm even if it means giving up ground in a challenge. Bell was visibly hurt by Taco's actions, everyone else on Book's team flipped to Taco's side because of this incident, and Book has always stood up for those who have nobody to defend themselves, which is why Teardrop is on the team.

Why couldn't Book have defended Bell? Nobody else was there for her, and Book was presumably standing within earshot of her and Taco, so why couldn't she help her? There could've been some genuine conflict in the team. Taco could've been held accountable for her actions. She could've actually learned from her mistakes and grown into a somewhat decent person. Instead, nothing comes of this, and Bell, much like Book, is portrayed as being in the wrong for not wanting to forgive Taco (despite the fact that Taco has done nothing to deserve being forgiven by either of them – as Bell said, “sorry” isn't enough, let alone an insincere one, and she hasn't even given that to Book).

By BFB 11, jacknjellify has completely given up on Book.

At this point, they're no longer treating her like a character; they're treating her like a punching bag. She exists solely so other characters (read: Lollipop) can make fun of her and get away with it. Her feelings and perspective somehow matter less than they did in the previous episodes. The fact that Taco never shows up in the episode and never even volunteered to do the challenge is ignored. She learned absolutely nothing from her exchange with Bell, and she's back to doing what she's always done.

BFB 12 somehow gets worse for Book. The only reason she's given a speaking role here is so Lollipop can mock and degrade her. Lollipop doesn't even say anything useful – she doesn't provide a shred of evidence to back up her claim that Taco saved them in BFB 6. (Also, isn't it funny how Taco single-handedly almost losing the challenge in BFB 1 and being the first to be found out in BFB 12 both go unmentioned, but her actions in BFB 6 are front and center? Taco's one saving grace is supposed to be that she's good at challenges, but not even that is true.)

If Book's teammates think she's wrong, what they should be doing is understanding her perspective, acknowledging her feelings, and explaining their arguments, but they never do any of that. Understanding how someone else feels is hard, and it's much easier to silence them and pretend they have nothing to say. They are so confident that Book is wrong that they don't feel the need to hear her side of the story. Book's arguments aren't given a modicum of attention because her purpose is to be wrong. Her feelings and perspective being dismissed here is not an accident – it's the point of her character. (The fact that Taco – and the rest of the team – completely ignored Book's outburst also show just how little they care about her.)

And yet, despite how much the writers rail on Book, despite the fact that the sole point of her character is to be laughed at, her claim that Taco abandoned them in the challenge isn't as outlandish as it's presented. After all, it's awfully convenient that the person who has never spoken to her teammates since BFB 1 and has avoided them every chance she got just so happened to be the impostor, isn't it? Four never explained how they chose whose bodies would be swapped. It's entirely possible that Taco volunteered to be swapped when nobody was looking, and given how she'd acted up to that point, it's hard to argue that she wouldn't have jumped at the opportunity. It may be a bit of a farfetched argument, but it's an argument nonetheless, and it would've provided an insight into Book's thought process – two things that she has been denied for the entirety of the season.

There's also the fact that Taco killed Bottle for no reason and didn't show any signs of remorse. Once again, this is quickly brushed aside – if Book found out about it, she would've had every reason to go ballistic. She has several very legitimate reasons to be mad at Taco – the show just pretends she doesn't. Taco's style of gameplay hurts people every single time, and it always ends up with her team being worse off than if she did nothing at all, sometimes on the brink of elimination (and the one time her plans helped her team was so unbelievably contrived that it's not even funny). I swear I've seen this situation before, just... elsewhere. Can't think of where, though.

BFB 13 is where the Book-bashing gets turned up to 11.

First, Book, with Lollipop in tow, finds out that not only has Taco been actively avoiding the team, but she isn't even trying to patch things up with them, instead opting to pester Barf Bag while she's hanging out with Spongy. (Remember: Since Taco is the aggressor in this situation, she should be the one apologizing to Book, not the other way around.) This is pretty convincing evidence in Book's favor, but Lollipop completely ignores her. She outright refuses to acknowledge her perspective. At this point, Book is clearly desperate to get people to start taking her seriously, so Lollipop dismissing her is only exacerbating the problem.

And then Saw comes back. This is the first time anyone has seen Saw in over a year. She didn't even consider telling Book where she was, and Lollipop and Taco didn't either. Book was left completely in the dark, and to further compound her issues, Saw has an unbelievably flimsy excuse. She really couldn't have gotten off her scent cleanse any sooner than she did? Why did she have to leave the competition grounds to go on her scent cleanse in the first place? Her scent cleanse did almost nothing at all!

And yet, when Book rightfully vents her frustration toward Saw, everyone on her team completely ignores her. They don't even make an attempt to take her argument seriously. The only way they could've been more direct about not caring about her is if they said it directly to her face.

It's honestly impressive how the writers were able to take a situation that objectively shows Book in the right and her team in the wrong and somehow turn it against Book. Even if she was wrong about Taco, her teammates still treated her like garbage – far worse than they ever treated Taco (granted, that's not saying much; all things considered, Taco was treated exceptionally well) – and she's still letting it happen.

However, she isn't letting it happen for any longer.

Book has been kicked to the curb for the entire season. Taco has killed her, killed her best friend, abandoned her, and avoided her for over a year – and she is yet to show a shred of remorse. She was neglected and mocked by her old team, but her new team turned out to be even worse. Whenever she shows any kind of frustration, she's immediately labeled the villain. Nobody, not one person, has ever shown any sympathy for her. Nobody has even entertained the idea that her side of the story is worth listening to. Heck, nobody has even acknowledged her feelings. If she wants the basic respect and dignity she's been denied since 2012, her team desperately needs changes – changes that clearly won't come from within.

She's been given the short end of the stick since her debut, and she's had enough. Enough of being silenced. Enough of sacrificing herself so other people can be happy. Enough of waiting for her situation to improve. Enough of waiting for her team to start listening to her. Enough of waiting for someone to stand up for her. For the first time in her life, Book stood up for herself.

Well, she tried to. Book still hadn't gotten around the whole “depends on external validation” thing. When she finally started speaking her mind, she never vented about how she felt; she talked about how she and Ice Cube felt. Everything Book had done up to that point was with the implicit assumption that at least one person felt her pain or would at least listen to her. She's projecting her pain onto Ice Cube so she can convince herself that she has a modicum of support. In reality, Ice Cube understands how Book feels as poorly as the rest of the team, but if Book learned about this, it would break her. She still needs Ice Cube to be on her side. This also explains why she's focused her efforts on convincing her teammates that she's right instead of actually standing up to Taco.

Book needs Ice Cube's support in order to make any lasting change in her team, but despite the fact that she's had a front row seat to Book's neglect and mockery, and despite how close they've been and everything Book's done for her, Ice Cube betrays Book when she needs her the most.

All of Book's teammates are absolutely atrocious friends, but Ice Cube goes above and beyond here. Book has always been there to support Ice Cube. She has consistently protected her and given her a shoulder to cry on, and up to this point, she has asked for almost nothing in return. And yet, the second that Book needs her help, in a situation where it's crystal clear that Book is in the right, Ice Cube immediately backstabs her. She doesn't get a chance to explain herself. She doesn't get a chance to talk about how she feels. Ice Cube just takes off, and it's all presented as Book's fault.

And if that wasn't bad enough, what happens the next time Book appears is – and this isn't a hyperbole – the worst scene in the entire series.

One of my favorite scenes in BFB is when Bubble confronted Match in BFB 11.

iance's story arc had admittedly been rather mediocre up to that point, and for many of the same reasons that I don't like the Bleh arc (namely, Match's motivations are never shown until the last moment). However, the way Bubble confronted Match was the perfect way the writers could've capped it off.

Despite how much Match hurt her, Bubble still respects her. She (somewhat) calmly explains exactly why Match was misguided. She makes it abundantly clear that she still sees her as a friend. She understands how she feels and why she did what she did. She doesn't needlessly berate her; she merely vents her frustrations in a stern but understanding manner. Most importantly, she allows Match to explain her perspective and how she felt.

Gaty does none of that with Book. What she does instead can only be described as emotional abuse.

She has zero respect for Book. She doesn't care about how she feels. Book never gets the chance to explain herself, and she barely gets the chance to explain how she feels – and when she does, Gaty rolls right over her. She, just like Lollipop in BFB 12, doesn't actually provide any evidence for her claims, instead opting for an argumetum ad populum (which is odd, because if everyone but Book – whom nobody cares about – believes that Taco didn't abandon them, how can they still be shunning Taco? Pick one, Gaty). She intentionally provokes a reaction from Book to “prove” how “irrational” she is (which is actual gaslighting). This isn't about trying to help Book or the team or even trying to defend Taco – this is about power. The only thing Gaty wants is to silence Book and put her back in her place.

All of that is happening while Taco is sitting hundreds of feet from the rest of her team, not even trying to interact with them. Gaty is trying to convince Book that Taco didn't abandon them after Taco just abandoned them. Gaty even pulled Book over while she was trying to convince her, so she would've known that had she listened to her for five seconds! Which of these two is supposed to be the irrational one, again?

Even if Book was wrong here, this would still be the worst scene in the entire series by a wide margin. It wouldn't have changed the fact that Gaty still abused her. Even though Bleh is in a crisis, the proper response is not to vilify their allies. Ironically, it wasn't Taco who was vilified by Book – it was Book who was vilified by Bleh.

This episode should've been the turning point in the arc. This should've been the part of the story where Book finally had her voice heard. This should've been the point where her fortunes finally started to improve as her team started to realize how awfully they'd been treating her. Instead, Book was bullied and manipulated into submission, she was blamed for everything that happened to the team, she was completely drained of what precious little willpower wasn't beaten out of her before this point, and her teammates remained blissfully ignorant of her plight.

Soon after the worst scene in the series comes BFB's second-worst scene. If BFB 13 showed how little the writers care about Book, BFB 14 showed how little they understand her. Just about everything regarding the way she is depicted is wrong.

Despite the fact that Book is (for once) the focal point in this scene, her perspective on Taco is still never heard. The only thing she says about how she felt is her bitterness toward Freesmart, but that's it. Nothing about how her teammates treated her like garbage, nothing about how Taco was never there for her ever, nothing about how hurt she felt, nothing about her alienation from her team, nothing about her struggle to be seen and heard. Even when she finally becomes the focus of the story, her voice and her feelings still doesn't matter.

Book blaming herself for everything wrong with the team is entirely within character (see BFB 3 and TPOT 4), but it's also entirely wrong. Her team was the way it was because her teammates shunned her and refused to take her seriously, and she had too little self-confidence to press on in the face of adversity. She absolutely did not “make the team worse for everyone in it” – they made the team worse for her.

But the worst part of the scene is the final exchange between Book and Pin, because not only is it all wrong, but it's the polar opposite of the truth. First off, Book never hurt anyone, especially not Taco. Her teammates hurt her – they were the ones who wouldn't listen to a word she said, and they were the ones who drove her to further and further desperation just to be taken seriously. Book never forced anyone to do what she wanted – whenever anyone objected to something she wanted, she almost always gave in to their demands no matter how absurd they were, which is one of her primary character flaws. She always sacrificed her happiness and her desires to not anger the people around her (making her teammates mad at her is what she “did wrong”), so the line about Book only caring about making her teammates happy with her is completely unfounded.

Above all else, Book's teammates had more freedom than anyone on any other team. She let Taco lead her team to their deaths and did absolutely nothing to stop her. She let Taco abandon her team multiple times and took no action against her. She let Saw abandon her for over a year and stopped trying to take against her when Ice Cube said no. She let Ice Cube backstab and abandon her and did absolutely nothing. When she finally stood up for herself, she had to ask for Ice Cube's approval before she could make any changes. Bleh's biggest problem was that nobody was there to stop its members from hurting each other or their opponents. Book tried her best to fill that role, but her passiveness, spinelessness, and tendency to avoid conflict rendered it impossible for her to do anything meaningful. She is a paper tiger – although she may appear menacing, she had zero actual power, and her teammates were free to do what they wanted under her “leadership”. What little power she did have came directly from Ice Cube. If freedom is the ability to do as one wishes, then by holding herself to an impossible task, the only person on Bleh who lacked it was Book.

What makes this even more infuriating is the fact that not only does none of Pin's advice apply to Book, all of it applies to Taco. She never made a genuine attempt to reconnect with the people she hurt, she only did what she wanted instead of what her teammates wanted, she only wanted to make people happy with her instead of trying to make them happy, and in the only challenge she participated in with her teammates, she demanded that they follow her orders. She wasn't the sole cause of the turmoil within the team (that was down to everyone shunning Book), but she started it and did nothing but fan the flames. She had the power and the willpower to stop it before it even started, but she never wanted to.

Again, even if Book was wrong about Taco abandoning them in BFB 3, most of what was said in this episode is still incorrect. It wouldn't change the fact that Taco still hurt Book and didn't care about how she felt (and, in fact, kept hurting her). It wouldn't change the fact that Bleh silenced her at every opportunity. It wouldn't change the fact that no one bothered to listen to her side of the story. It wouldn't change the fact that nobody ever made a single valid argument in Taco's favor to her. Book may have been at the center of Bleh's collapse, but none of it was her fault. She was trying her best, and her teammates were doing their worst. Recognizing that the whole group is at fault is hard. It was easier for Bleh to blame everything on one person, it was even easier to blame the one everyone refused to listen to because she was “irrational” and “hysterical”, and it was easier still to blame the one who would sooner blow her brains out than make someone feel bad. What was she going to do about it, anyways? She has no power, she has no willpower, and she has no support.

Overall, the sheer amount of information that was ignored and flat-out made up suggests that this scene was written out of obligation and not because the writers cared about Book.

I don't know where else to put this, but one of the main reasons why I'm writing this is that the way Book is treated seems to have a lot of ableist undertones. I know (think) this is completely unintentional, but there are still some very unfortunate implications here.

I'm not the first person to suggest this, but throughout the course of the show, Book has shown several signs of borderline personality disorder. She has difficulty controlling her emotions (understatement of the year), she has a favorite person (Ice Cube), she has serious abandonment issues, she may or may not engage in impulsive and self-destructive behavior (BFB 7 shows that she might have an eating disorder), and her relationships are turbulent at best.

However, Book's character is never treated with the same carefulness that characters like her should be. She is never portrayed in a sympathetic light, and she's never allowed to have reasons for how she feels. The mere idea that Taco (or anyone, for that matter) may have hurt her just a little bit is laughed off. Whenever she expresses any kind of “extreme” emotion, it's immediately brushed off as hysteria, even when her reaction is completely appropriate for the situation (see BFB 3 and BFB 6 with Taco, BFB 11 with Lollipop, and BFB 13 with Saw, Lollipop, Gaty, and Ice Cube). In fact, given the fact that she hasn't shown any signs of trauma or mental illness since BFB 13, it honestly feels like the writers are denying that Book ever had emotions.

There's also the fact that she's portrayed as an inherently hurtful person because of her outbursts. The show seems to act as if they're the sole reason her way the team is, which is absolutely untrue. She's not acting out because she doesn't care about how her teammates feel or because she wants to hurt them – she's acting out because nobody is taking her seriously. She isn't yelling – she's projecting. Her complaints are falling on deaf ears, so her only option is to scream louder and louder in the vain hope that someone will finally start listening to her. Nobody did, and nobody will.

In the end, Book never truly got any closure.

Her team never apologized to her for treating her like garbage (and they probably never will), Taco never apologized to her for everything she did to her (and she probably never will), everyone on her team still hates her for something she never actually did, and her new team is paying little attention to her. She's gotten almost zero focus in TPOT, and given the new direction the series has taken (and how many votes she got in TPOT 5), it's incredibly unlikely that Book will get any real development in the future. At this point, the only way her character can be salvaged is in the incredibly unlikely scenario that she realizes that she did nothing wrong to Bleh.

The only person who's gotten any form of retribution for the way they treated Book was Ice Cube. As a direct consequence of her betrayal, Ice Cube landed on The s!, a team which has consistently treated her horribly and likely killed her thousands of times. This never would've happened to her had she stood up for her friend in need and stayed with Book.

In BFB 15 and 16, jacknjellify found a way to slap Book in the face one last time before she and Taco parted ways. After more than two and a half years of ignoring Book and pretending she doesn't exist, Taco, without any formal character development, suddenly acts like she cares about leaving her behind. Taco had never come close to caring about abandoning anyone for over two years, yet when they finally talk (conveniently right after something happens that makes Taco think she might be able to get Book back on her side), she acts like she's always cared. The writers acted like she never hurt anyone, and as such, she never had to redeem herself. Despite never apologizing to them, despite showing no signs of remorse throughout the entire season, Taco was immediately forgiven by Bleh for what she did (not only that, but they apologized to her!). She didn't earn back the trust of her peers – it was handed back to her on a silver platter.

Despite everything Book went through, so many people brush her off as “the person who did a bad thing” without really understanding or even acknowledging how she actually felt. She was never a bully or a jerk, she was never irrational, she was never stupid, and she never imposed her will onto any of her teammates. She was just depicted that way so the writers could pretend that she was the villain and Taco was the hero.

Book in BFB has always been the character that nobody is willing to defend, which is a shame because she's not at all the character the community thinks she is. BFB never showed her point of view, only Taco's. Book was degraded, ignored, and mocked for years, and nobody cared because nobody paid any attention to her. She never had a character arc - she was haphazardly stapled onto Taco's arc as Taco hogged all of the attention. The show likes to act as if she ignored her teammates and denied them freedom, but in reality, she was the one who needed to be freed – from herself and from her teammates. The only thing she ever wanted from her team was a voice, and she never got it.

The community seems to view the Bleh arc as Taco's uphill battle to receive the respect she deserves from a team who tried to put her down at every step of the way and laughed at every misfortune. This is mostly true. The only thing wrong with it is that it isn't a description of Taco. It's a description of Book.

Book deserves better. Book deserves so much better.

tl;dr Taco did abandon Book. So did the writers.

book is the best BFB character, she has done nothing wrong ever in her life, and if you disagree you're wrong (this is only mostly a joke)

#bfdi #battle for dream island #bfb #battle for bfdi #tpot #the power of two #book #bfdi book #bfb book #book bfb #tpot book #bfdi analysis #bfb analysis #character analysis

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cleolinda · 1 year

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Varney the Vampire: Chapter 4

Chapter 3: Blood everywhere; a lightswitch rave.

Chapter 4: Originally posted on Livejournal, December 8, 2010. Revised and expanded from the original recap to talk more about literary vampiring.

CHAPTER IV.

THE MORNING. -- THE CONSULTATION. -- THE FEARFUL SUGGESTION.

No, I didn't skip it—there wasn't any "offer of assistance from Sir Francis Varney" in the previous chapter. Not even so much as an apologetic plate of cookies left on the garden wall. Was there any revision involved in writing this, or did James Malcolm Rymer just... put the pen to the paper and wait for the check? Not that I don't feel you, my guy, but "I'm just gonna seat-of-my-pants 667,000 words" is a terrifying prospect (I had thought he'd at least write each chapter once and then revise it to be worse). I'm pretty sure I've put more revision into this blog post, for free. Side note, my man James Malcolm:

What wonderfully different impressions and feelings, with regard to the same circumstances, come across the mind in the broad, clear, and beautiful light of day to what haunt the imagination, and often render the judgment almost incapable of action, when the heavy shadow of night is upon all things. There must be a downright physical reason for this effect -- it is so remarkable and so universal. It seems that the sun's rays so completely alter and modify the constitution of the atmosphere, that it produces, as we inhale it, a wonderfully different effect upon the nerves of the human subject. We can account for this phenomenon in no other way. Perhaps never in his life had he, Henry Bannerworth, felt so strongly this transition of feeling as he now felt it, when the beautiful daylight gradually dawned upon him, as he kept his lonely watch by the bedside of his slumbering sister.

Bram Stoker:

No man knows till he has suffered from the night how sweet and dear to his heart and eye the morning can be. When the sun grew so high this morning that it struck the top of the great gateway opposite my window, the high spot which it touched seemed to me as if the dove from the ark had lighted there. My fear fell from me as if it had been a vaporous garment which dissolved in the warmth.

I'm not pointing this out to say that Stoker did or did not Steal Like An Artist from, perhaps, a collected serial he read in his boyhood, and then wrote it better. Honestly, if he did? Good for him. I'm pointing this out to say, I only have one short life to live, and for some reason, I decided to spend it reading this.

So. In the light of day, Henry finally looks over at the spooky portrait and thinks to himself, you know, that right there is a Spooky Portrait and it gives me a scare:

He tried to keep himself from looking at it, but he found it vain, so he adopted what, perhaps, was certainly the wisest, best plan, namely, to look at it continually.

I don't know why this makes me laugh so much. Sure, that's a plan. And, Henry notes, it's even one of those paintings where the eyes follow you around the room. Maybe we should, you know, take it down. And then he goes, eh. It's a rare work of art, it's painted onto the panel and we'd have to call a contractor out here, we were out all night watching that vampyre fall on his ass, I'm kind of tired, whatevs.

Meanwhile, Flora is still (quite reasonably) traumatized: "My brain is on fire! A million of strange eyes seem to be gazing on me." Like, I'm not actually trying to compare this sentence by sentence (god forbid) to Dracula, but I know it well enough that I remember Jonathan using the same "brain on fire" wording—how common an expression was this? I even went back to check Polidori's "The Vampyre"—"his thoughts were bursting from his brain," an oddly specific throughline of brain-centric disturbance. Just Vampyre Things, I guess.

Despite having chased the vampyre to his own garden wall, Henry is utterly baffled as to why Flora would be so upset—physically weakened, even! She was fine yesterday! What, oh what, could have happened??, he inquires of Mr. Marchdale. Henry is probably saying this while a housekeeper bustles past with a huge bundle of blood-soaked sheets. What do we think was in Flora's room, even though we all saw it gnawing on her throat and we're pretty sure what it was? I mean, we just saw someone making a hideous repast of her, I am completely baffled. But wait! says Marchdale. I've thought of an answer! Now—hold on for this— (I'm holding on—) Because this is gonna blow your mind— (Okay, keep going—) Are you ready for this? (I'm totally ready for this—) I think it was—I can hardly bring myself to say the word aloud and will continue not to say it for another 100 words— (SAY IT GODDAMMIT—) A VAMPYRE!

Well, why do you think this?

"... my pistol bullets hurt him not; and he has left the tokens of his presence on the neck of Flora." "Peace, oh! peace. Do not, I pray you, accumulate reasons why I should receive such a dismal, awful superstition. Oh, do not, Marchdale, as you love me!" "You know my attachment to you," said Marchdale, "is sincere; and yet, Heaven help us!" His voice was broken by grief as he spoke, and he turned aside his head to hide the bursting tears that would, despite all his efforts, show themselves in his eyes.

For shame, Henry, you made your mom's... someone... cry! (Don't get me wrong, I love Weepy Masculinity, and we'll talk about it more another time.) But Henry is shocked, I tell you, shocked! that Marchdale should come to such a conclusion! To believe would drive him mad, I tell you! MAAAAAAAAD!

And then George comes in all like, "Guys, I know this is gonna sound crazy, but—hold on for this—I think it was a—" "VAMPYRE, WE KNOW." And now George the "frail reed" is crying, Henry, see what you've done?

Unfortunately, Henry is pretty much the only person in a hundred-mile radius who is having trouble with this concept; the servants, we are told, immediately ran out and told everyone about the vampyre flumping over the garden wall. Henry rides into town to fetch a doctor and immediately runs into Some Gentleguy on Horseback. "Bro, what's this about your sister getting bit by a vampyre?" "Uh... no. That was... a thief. That was totally a thief." "No? Seriously, the whole town's talking about it. You sure? Like fang marks and everything—" "MAAAAAD, I TELL YOUUUUU!!"

At last Henry gets to the doctor—who starts out as "Mr. Chillingworth" and mysteriously becomes "Dr. Chillingworth" some five hundred pages from now. (In fairness, many doctors, particularly surgeons, were merely "Mister" long into the nineteenth century. Side note: The Scarlet Letter would not be published until 1850, and on a different continent at that. I checked, because I immediately thought the name was an allusion.) So Mr. Dr. Chillingworth listens to Henry's story, and I'm getting all clappy because this has got to be our Van Helsing figure, and I have always loved the Kindly Old Doctor Who Knows All the Legends type, and so Henry finishes and Chillingworth declares—

"I don't care if [the facts] were ten times more glaring, I won't believe it. I would rather believe you were all mad, the whole family of you -- that at the full of the moon you all were a little cracked."

(*record needle scratch*)

Well, Stoker certainly didn't run off with that.

So Henry gets back to Bannerworth Hall and he starts telling Flora that it was totally a thief who was chewing on her throat. Totally. But he'll just keep sitting by her bedside. You know. Just in case more thieving is a-fang.

"Then I shall rest in peace, for I know that the dreadful vampyre cannot come to me when you are by." "The what, Flora?" "The vampyre, Henry. It was a vampyre." "Good God, who told you so?"

She was… there? The holes in her neck? Keep up? Maybe Henry has that Memento thing where he can't remember anything for longer than five minutes, which—well, that would explain a lot about the writing style, actually. Flora replies,

"No one. I have read of them in the book of travels in Norway, which Mr. Marchdale lent us all."

So--a møøse bit his sister?

"They do say, too, that those who in life have been bled by a vampyre, become themselves vampyres, and have the same horrible taste for blood as those before them. Is it not horrible?"

For those of you keeping score, in-story popular belief at this point is that it takes only one bite to turn you into a vampire. This is contradicted later, because of course it is, but it's worth noting; it fits with the idea that the less sexually permissive a society/era is, the more easily you get punished by the contagion. You'd think, then, that this bodes ill for Flora, but as far as I know, either Flora has a Purity Override, or fuck continuity, that's what.

Enter Mr. Dr. Chillingworth, who wants to know about Flora's "dream." "It wasn't a dream, it was a vampyre!" "Is that what you call a dream?" NO, IT'S WHAT I CALL A VAMPYRE. She shows him the bites on her neck, and he's all, pshhhh, those, those are totally insect bites. You know, giant seven-foot insects with scratchy fingernails and hypnotic tin eyes. Bit of Raid's all you need, take care of that in a jiff.

Chillingworth and Henry say nothing in particular for 300 words, at the end of which Chillingworth finally declares that vampyres are "a degrading superstition," and that Flora seems to be "labouring under the effect of some narcotic." You know, those narcotics you staple into people's necks, leaving two (2) holes. Or: blood loss, but that's far less likely, in his medical opinion, so he's just confused now.

"You have, of course, heard something," said Henry to the doctor, as he was pulling on his gloves, "about vampyres."

"I certainly have, and I understand that in some countries, particularly Norway and Sweden, the superstition is a very common one."

And he thinks Let the Right One In was much better than the remake.

WHAT ARE YOU EVEN TALKING ABOUT?

I don't know why I didn't mention this in 2010, but I'm guessing Henry is referring to the Old Norse draugr—like, I know there are Scandinavian vampires, it's just that... I've never seen English-language vampire literature of the 1800s mention them? LeFanu mentions "Upper and Lower Styria, in Moravia, Silesia, in Turkish Serbia, in Poland, even in Russia" in "Carmilla" (1872), and Andrew Lang wasn't talking about draugr until late 1897, "with the idea further pursued by more modern commentators." Polidori's "Ruthven" is a Scottish name, and its bearer goes vampiring in Greece, for that matter. In fact, when Henry chimes in, "And in the Levant," Rymer may be alluding to Polidori. But he just throws "Norwegian vampires" in like, well, obviously. What, haven't you read Grettis saga Ásmundarsonar, published in English, uh, twenty years from now?

However Rymer came by this, whatever travelogue he did read, the draugr doesn't seem to have caught on quite the way Dracula, or even Ruthven, did. Who knows, maybe "Transylvanian vampires" sounded equally random in 1897, but that's the lore that won pop culture.

Mr. Dr. Chillingworth also mentions "the ghouls of the Mahometans." The word "ghoul" comes directly from the Arabic word ghūl, which is "associated with graveyards and the consumption of human flesh," although the concept seems to be pre-Islamic Arabian, not specifically "Mahometan" (i.e., Mohammedan, an archaic or even offensive term; TIL). Rymer would have known the word from the influential 1786 Gothic-Orientalist novel Vathek, and may have even used it here as a specific callback, because it would be a shame to just go on and have a vampyre without blaming it on Those Foreigners. Chillingworth continues,

"All that I have heard of the European vampyre has made it a being which can be killed, but is restored to life again by the rays of a full moon falling on the body."

Here we go. It's worth noting here (no, I swear it is) that the idea of sunlight instantly killing vampires is a complete invention of the German film Nosferatu (1922), an "unauthorized adaptation" of Dracula. I love bringing this up as often as possible, because Dracula being slain by a convenient blast of light (Horror of Dracula, 1958, reporting for duty) is such a deeply ingrained pop-culture thing, and it is 10,000% not in the original novel. Which all you Dracula Daily regulars know, I'm sure. Stoker plays as loose with his Vampire Rules as Rymer does, but Dracula does appear in daylight at least twice that I can remember off the top of my head, although it's said to weaken him. I feel like the functional point of this is to have Any Time At All When The Heroes Have A Shot In Hell At Not Getting Eaten, and so this is why the literary vampire of the 1800s sometimes has to scamper off to its coffin at the stroke of dawn. Carmilla has to do this, but she also strolls back to Laura's house at... one in the afternoon; clearly, sunlight is not terribly crucial to the lore. Rather, it's moonlight that's associated with vampires earlier in the century—as a means of reviving them. It's actually a key plot point in Polidori's "The Vampyre" (back in 1819), and one of the stand-out elements in the popular awareness of vampires at the time.

Oh! By the way, tonight happens to be the night of the full moon. Even Chillingworth says, "If now you had succeeded in killing —. Pshaw, what am I saying."

"To-night," [Henry] repeated, "is the full of the moon. How strange that this dreadful adventure should have taken place just the night before."

Indeed. And the serial really wants us to notice this. You'd think a vampyre might avoid a bright night when they'd be more likely to be seen, but, on the other hand, maybe that's Moon Insurance in case they get capped on someone's garden wall. To confirm, Henry gets Travels in Norway off the bookshelf, and—after a thorough, paid-by-the-word description of how books sometimes open at certain pages, right down to the way the binding gets stretched—

"With regard to these vampyres, it is believed by those who are inclined to give credence to so dreadful a superstition, that they always endeavour to make their feast of blood, for the revival of their bodily powers, on some evening immediately preceding a full moon, because if any accident befall them, such as being shot, or otherwise killed or wounded, they can recover by lying down somewhere where the full moon's rays will fall on them."

There it is. Since we're going chapter by chapter, it's easy to lose sight of the big picture, but what I think the serial is getting at is, Varney probably is "dead" somewhere on the heathy landscape after getting his hapless ass shot. Except—EXCEPT! for the moonlight that just so happens to be in place to revive him. Because, while the FULL MOON. IT'S A FULL MOON might seem kind of randomly gothic to us, everyone reading this in 1847 would have been chortling in anticipation.

(Chapter 5 will go up on Friday, March 24.)

#vampires #varney the vampire #long post #just vampyre things #vampire studies

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effervescentdragon · 2 years

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i agree that you seem great for fic recs so I wondered if you have any nico r fic recs? i’d really like to see him as more than just a background character as Lewis’ toxic ex <3

hi anon! thank you so much for this ask, i was gonna do it yday but i was way too drained, so thank you for waiting! i do have some nico fic recs, coming under the cut! as usual, mind the ratings and warnings yourself, bcs i'm mostly providing my own feedback and feelings about these fics! :) i'm picking the ones that stayed in my mind pretty much rent free. <3

again, first, ultimate, absolute winner about characterisation in my eyes is @kritischetheologie and Everybody Wants To Rule The World. it's the fic that made me completely unhinged, one of the best, morally grey, insanely well written fics out there, which i adore with my whole heart. it's a Seb/Nico, which i was very sceptical about, but damn was i proven wrong! some of the best, most in-depth characterisation and understanding of subject matter i've ever seen in my life. C's blog is also generally a well of Nico content, with musings and writings, and i have been getting my Nico fix there for quite some time now. it helps that C is very much Nico-like and i love her for it <3

kelogg's frosties & video games by @georgerussells - brocedes my beloved, alt '22 season, absolutely insanely well written (all of their fics are, ive read ALL of them, i should do it again). i love how nico is here, it's all told from lewis' pov but its raw, and just so in character, and wonderful. its the first brocedes fic i found and one of the reasons i fell down the rabbit hole. i adore it and rec it with my whole heart <3 (check out their crown series and the yt au series, i love those!)

high speed weekend survivor by @denialricciardo - nico/danny ric. may be one of my all time favorites, EVER. its an university au, and it's perfect. like, absolutely perfectly written, the author manages to literally effortlessly paint nico's character and all the little nuances, the technical talk is fascinating, everything about this fic just makes me so, so happy. i love it. <3

the torture of small talk with someone you used to love by finedae is a nico-focused fic ive read like 3 days ago and can't stop thinking about. i promised to leave them a comment soon when i get my brain right, but what i can say is that its. effortlessly funny and tragic in the same breath, lovely writing style, absolutely adore everything about it, how much they show despite it seeming to be just tell, it really isnt. peak characterisation. wholehearted rec. i love it. <3

the weight of the world we are holding by fadeoutslow is a 5+1 kisses fic with jenson/nico endgame that i think very much manages to perfectly encapsulate the characters of every single one person mentioned despite being so short (this is me wishing for more not a criticism) which is so fucking admirable. i love it. also, the world is changed because you are made is peak perfection (as is nico's ass, that's all im gonna say). :)

hot as hell by vandoorne is one of the hottest things i've ever read, and it's so effortlessly funny and just manages to get both nicos and jensons characters through. i love it very, very much. it's a witch/succubi&incubi au btw, so mind that :)

Roseberg's vs Haminkton by dearest @jean----ralphio is a florist/coffee shop au that made me laugh out loud when i thought i was never going to laugh (dramatic, i know), and something i re-read whenever i just want to feel warm around my heart and be happy. (thank you for that again friend!) <333

and finally, I'm going to put my own fic here - Vielleicht, Vielleicht. a jenson/nico angst fest (which is getting a sequel from nico's pov due to popular demand and me being incapable of shutting up sometime soon i think) about their relationship throughout the years, non-linearly. because i can :)

thank you for asking, i hope these help and that you like them!

#idk how to tag this #akira answers asks #akiras rpf fic rec masterlist #its about nico r this time #princess cake #jenson x nico #sico #brocedes #daniel x nico r #fic ref #f1 rpf #anon asks #nico r

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sagesilentfire · 1 year

Text

First Chapter of Four Stories I'd Like to Tell

A/N: Writing for my college's literary journal! Just some stories I'd like to tell someday.

Author's Note: As a chronic overwriter, I am incapable of writing stories short enough to fit in a journal. So here's the beginnings of four stories I'd like to tell someday. Enjoy.

It was morning. Very early morning. Too early morning. It was very early morning, and the sky was screaming.

Evelyn, as one would suppose, woke up because of the screaming. They groaned, trying to pull moss over their ears as heavenly shouts of "TETHALAOS! I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!" rattled their house to its foundations.

Nope, it was not going away. This seemed like a bad one, they might as well go downstairs to see what had happened while they had been asleep.

They rubbed their nose spike. Ew, this moss made their nose itchy. They'd have to ask the almighty Sílthéy to create some new bedding that didn't make them want to die. They'd have to be careful, though, considering where she pulled all her other magic tricks from, bedding that literally made you want to die was entirely within the realm of possibility.

They made their way downstairs and found their parent in the kitchen. "What happened this time?" they groaned.

"Oh, Tethalaos drenched the entire west side of the city in slime that makes your thoughts rearrange themselves into fractals. Do not know how that works, but apparently it was painful."

"Good thing it's not us this time, right?" Evelyn said, rubbing the scales under their eye as they looked in the time-freeze box. They didn't have enough energy to lift their wings, so they just let them drag across the floor. Oh, one thing you should know: these guys are dragons. Just thought I should tell you that.

"After Lilithéy turned all our souls into time crystals, I think we deserve a break."

"No kidding."

"Though some of the northern side of the west city also were hit with that, and Sílthéy was still getting them sorted, so..."

"Jeez. Would not want to be them right now." Evelyn sighed. "Why don't we have juice?"

"Juice? Oh, the fruit trees formed a union and are striking for better pay. Sílthéy still hasn't agreed to turn them back to regular, non-sapient trees, says they're 'better to talk to this way'. She is trying to do something about the capitalism, though."

"Ugh, I am so mad at Délines for inventing that," Evelyn said, shaking her head. "Fruit trees should just have to worry about growing more fruit and existing, not paying the bills." She sighed. "But all of this happened while I was asleep?"

"Time vortex."

"Oh," Evelyn said. "Figures."

The city of Eden was not actually called Eden, and the dragons there did not operate three-dimensionally and did not have foods or bodies or names that you would be familiar with. This is an old story, even in my time, and much of the things you humans take for granted just hadn't shown up yet, like gravity, or less than five dimensions, or consistently linear time. There was time, and space, and the general sense of things moving down, but they had little to do with the laws and rules and theorems you are familiar with. It's hard to translate into a language you will understand, and it is a very old story.

But it is one I have to tell somehow. It's the beginning of everything that was like you.

If the magic was truly fading, Princess Iako was proof of it. Born with nine tails – a true sign of an impressive spellcaster-to-be – but no magic to show for them. Born to the greatest and most magical kitsune royal family in the isles (according to the greatest and most magical royal family in the isles), she should have had magic. Magic was hereditary, or at least transferable by blood sacrifice. But no matter how many innocent peasants bled their last on the castle steps, Iako remained stubbornly magic-less. Magic was taking more sacrifices to work as of late, and it was getting fainter and fainter each year, so Iako's nine tails should have meant deliverance.

But they did not.

Everyone wondered why. Maybe it was because she was born missing an eye, and that was stopping her magic somehow. Maybe it was because she was deathly afraid of the blood and death that came with a transfer of power, screaming at every little cut and injury she encountered. Maybe, whispered some when they thought Iako could not hear them, she was a deliverance from the curses that plagued all who could do magic, which could only be forestalled by yet more blood sacrifice.

But Iako's family weren't about to let the fact that their daughter couldn't do magic stop them from proclaiming their nine-tailed princess to be the savior who was going to bring magic back. They paraded her out in front of the peasants they ruled and other kingdoms regularly, having one of her brothers hide in whatever carriage she was in and cast spells for her. The princess born with nine tails; the product of hundreds of years of power.

It was always a huge spectacle whenever Iako left the castle. But when those spectacles were over and Iako went back to the castle, things were different. She had two options: train to fight to 'overcome' her lack of magic, or sit alone in her room, scorned by her family for her uncontrollable failure.

Iako trained, at first. But her training ended up looking more like abuse after a few sessions, so she sat alone. Which became boring fast, so she snuck to the old, disused library at the edge of the castle and, conveniently, near her room. Not that anyone would look for her if it was on the other side of the castle; no one who knew the truth liked the magicless princess. Which was why, at the ripe old age of eight, Iako found a secret treasury.

She was in the dustiest corner, hoping that the thick film of disuse would keep everyone else away. The castle hadn't even hired a new librarian since the old one died long before Iako was born, and all the really interesting books were locked in her parents' private study. So it was reasonable to assume she was alone. A reasonable assumption that was correct. But the assumption that all the interesting books were locked away was a faulty one. Or, I tell a lie. The interesting book in the library is locked away, but with a far easier lock to break, that didn't involve potentially incurring her parent's wrath. One that could be broken with an eye for detail and arcane knowledge... or an eight year old's blind luck.

Iako had been reading a random volume – Theories on the Origin of Magic by some stuffy, hundred-year-old academic – when a glitter in her periphery immediately caused her to jump back, trying to hide. But it wasn't... it wasn't someone else. It wasn't the shining armor of knights coming to drag her back to training, or, even worse, the glimmer of the thin circlets her parents wore around the castle. It was the glitter of a small metal key, illuminated by the small, weak light filtering through a dirty window.

Well, she wasn't about to leave this key lying here, was she? Someone (her) could surely look at it, and perhaps someone (her) would want to find out what it unlocked! And it wasn't like anyone was looking for it; no one had been in this dusty old library for a long time. She walked over, picking it up, and looked at it.

It was not, as quickly seen, a normal key. Instead of a simple circle, the bow contained a compass. Looking further, the compass did not have normal directions. Iako was very well-read for an eight-year-old; she hung out in a library all the time, after all. While she’d never actually used the knowledge of the cardinal directions before, she was pretty sure S, D, L, and T were not what was typically carved on a compass. And, as she looked at it, it got stranger. The points on the compass rose rotated constantly and independently of each other, but they... they were still at right angles to each other at all times. That was weird.

But, as eight-year-olds are wont to do, Iako put it out of her mind, and started looking for something the key would open. She did her best, as she always did, to make it seem like she'd never been in the library, but in her search she was disturbing a lot of dust. She sneezed, and was about to give up, when she noticed one of the needles on the compass was moving as she walked in a straight line. She walked around it, and saw that it pointed to a section of the wall, no matter where she was. She grinned and jumped up and down as soundlessly as possible, then she rubbed dust off the wall. A tiny, imperceptible crack, just big enough for a key. She stuck it in the lock, and turned.

The wall opened. Inside was a tiny room with three items. A staff with pretty crystals on it, a weird glittery orb, and a dusty old book with a leather cover and gold detail. "Wow!" she gasped. She quickly grabbed every item, stopping only to make sure she also grabbed the key from the door, and ran for her room.

A loud shout, from one of the knights in the courtyard. He was pointing at her. She ran faster.

She reached her room, and stuffed her loot under the fancy four-poster bed. As she kicked the book out of sight, the door slammed open.

"Iako!" her mother shouted. "What are you doing out?"

"...bathroom?" Iako said. There was the tip of a crystal staff poking out from under her bed. "I – uh, I was using the toilet."

Her mother, a stately red fox with a slender snout, just sighed. "Iako you have a toilet here. And, my dearest, you know you cannot go out unless you're training. We cannot let anyone catch you vulnerable. If word got out that our nine-tailed daughter is in fact powerless, we would be ruined, and you would be seen as an abomination. I wouldn't be able to protect you, and unless you train hard, you would never stand a chance against anyone who would seek to hurt you."

"I know, Mom," Iako said. "I get it." She used a few of her nine tails to nudge the staff farther under her bed.

But her mother, ever watchful, frowned. "What are you doing with your tails? It's unladylike to fidget the way you do. Hasn't your etiquette teacher taught you anything?"

"Nothing! I'm not doing anything!"

Her mother looked under the bed, growling something about how unladylike it was for Iako to make her do something like this.

Iako sighed, and resigned herself to her new treasures being taken away. Maybe her older brother Mawo would get them. He was nice to her, maybe he'd let her look at them.

But her mother just stood up, and sighed, and looked at Iako with that disappointed look. "Stop fidgeting, and no more running around doing nothing. Come to training a little more often, yes?"

Iako nodded. As soon as her mother closed the door, and she heard the click of her fancy shoes fade, she bolted down under the bed. Her treasures were still there. Her mother had somehow not seen them. They were hers, and hers alone.

She opened the book. Maybe it would explain to her what the staff and orb were. Unfortunately, it was in a strange alphabet she couldn't read. But then – there was a bookmark that fell out of the book, attached by thread. Written on it was a small note:

"Hello, you who would seek to end the curse. Here is your first clue: the star staff here is magic, blessed with the ability to move its wielder anywhere they point to with it. Now, keep your key and keep your other treasures. They will never be taken from you by anyone you can trust, and may you use them well.

Iako looked at her new star staff. She grabbed a sheet off her bed, placed the book and the orb inside, and tied it up. She grabbed another sheet and wrapped it around her waist, hoping to hide her tails. Then she hefted up the staff. It was much too big for her, but that didn't matter. She would grow up big and strong enough to use it, far, far away from here.

And then she aimed it out the window, and she was gone.

It was the twenty-first century, and magic was here.

Well, it was twenty-one years after the beginning of the twenty-first century. And the veil between the worlds of the magic and the not-magic had disappeared nine years ago, so not at the beginning of the twenty-first century either. Magic hadn't been here for even the majority of the twenty-first century. But it was here now, and had been for nine years, and now the world was slowly beginning to adjust. It would be a long, painful process, one that I'm sure most people would focus on.

But I am not most people, because the story I want to tell is not about that. It’s about a mundane love story, a small coffee shop, and the kindness of strangers. I want to tell you a story about me, and a wonderful, endlessly fascinating woman who appeared in my life.

It starts with a foggy afternoon in my preferred coffee shop, and I was doing quite well for myself. I lived with a family of werewolves, who, despite me not being a werewolf, accepted me as one of their own. Werewolves will do that. Wolves are very much wild creatures, but there's a reason that if you mix wolves and humans together long enough you get dogs. Perhaps that could be my major, studying parapsychology; my awesome thesis would be on shapeshifters and how their common forms shape their personality. Speaking of which, I was attending a local college, and I needed to decide on my major. My... unique condition allowed me to do as much work as I could convince my counselors to give me, so I could do anything I really wanted to. I could multi-major in all the subjects that caught my interest if I so chose. But I wanted to find out what to do after college, and I felt that seeming all over the place like that would put potential careers out of reach. Or maybe they'd like it more; it was impossible to predict the strange whims of the job market, even for me.

I sighed, staring at the list of options and justifications I had written on my computer. It was several miles long, if printed on standard office paper. Of course, that might be because of the long thoughts, reasoning, and weight I'd given to each possibility, but a lot of it was also because in the wake of everything changing, a lot of new fields in science and technology had opened wide and began collecting students. With entire schools of thought that few knew about and fewer knew how to study, I had many different possibilities. And it was nice to go to a school where they acknowledged those possibilities, not just lumping them all together under "Magic Studies" and calling it a day. And these new fields would help disguise the fact that I knew it all already. I could just say it was just a hypothesis to be tested, and everyone would assume I had absorbed some knowledge somewhere that indicated the hypothesis was true. So what would I do?

Sigils. I've always liked to draw things, but I'd have to draw very specific things with no room for error or something would blow up in my face. Demonology. It would be objectively hilarious, but coasting by on a joke would be dumb. Creative Writing. Definitely minoring in that, but I wanted to experience the world with my degree, and I couldn't imagine Creative Writing taking me very far, physically. Better to be stuck in this world than stuck in my head, dreaming of other worlds. Alchemy. I'd probably thoughtlessly ingest something that should've killed me, and I'd have a host of questions to answer. Blowing stuff up with magic ingredients would be fun, though, and I'd always loved chemistry. Magidynamics. As fun as exploring magical energy would be, I would need to be very careful to squash myself small enough to avoid their doubtlessly very sensitive detectors. Astronomy? No, everything interesting was right here on this planet and other planets I already knew about. Why look to the sky when you can look at all the weird and wonderful beings right here on Earth?

Really, there were two categories. Either I dismissed them for personal reasons, or I dismissed them because there was too large a chance that I'd mess up and accidentally expose my more... cosmic side. Either way, they all seemed at least somewhat interesting, and they all seemed at least somewhat dangerous.

I sighed, and stopped trying. It had been a while since I'd bought something from the coffee shop, and perhaps they'd want to kick me out if I didn't buy anything. So I left my computer at its seat, and walked over to the counter.

The barista, a tall (but not taller than me!) man with a pained expression on, sighed. "Hello, Stella. How can I take your order?"

"Oh, you remembered my name!" I gasped. "Okay. I'd like a vanilla latte with three extra shots of coffee, five ice cubes, a pump of marshmallow, pomegranate, and butterscotch, and lemon juice. Then stir it in your fancy stirring machine, please. Also those little hard scones in the bakery display look delicious, please put them in the drink too. ...I'll pay whatever it costs."

"I swear you come up with a different uniquely horrible combination every time you're here," the barista, whose name was Kennedy, said.

"I just like new things," I said, shrugging.

"That's one way to put it," Kennedy said, thinking about how at least I wasn't rude, even if he did have to smell whatever he made for me.

It was at that moment, when I was decoding Kennedy's thoughts, that the door opened and the grumpiest woman I have encountered in quite a while shoved past me. "Barista! Black coffee with a shot of espresso, now!"

Kennedy sighed as he pumped marshmallow syrup into my coffee. "I'm dealing with another customer's order now, I'll see you in a minute! Thank you for coming!"

"Well you'd better hurry up on that customer's long-ass order, or I'll –"

I snorted. "That's rude."

I took a glance at her. Tall, but again not taller than me. Asian, in sports gear, likely Chinese but she didn't even know that, adopted. Her name was Phoenix Clarke, she was a football player at my college, she was another undecided major. Parents were wealthy, vampires, and expecting her to become one too, and soon.

Well, another undecided major. She wouldn't help me in my quest; how was she supposed to help me find my major if she couldn't find her own? Also, she was being rude to poor Kennedy, who was doing his best to finish my order before hers, like a polite barista. I had a dilemma: would I speak up, and risk having to speak to her, or would I let her keep pushing poor Kennedy around? Kennedy was contractually obligated to say nice things to customers no matter their rudeness, but I was a customer, so I could be as rude as I wanted.

"You'd better hurry your ass up, I need this caffeine right fucking now and –"

"Hey," I said, deciding to intervene. "You're being rude. I ordered something long and complex, and Kennedy is making sure it is perfect. You should be quiet and wait your turn."

Phoenix turned to look at me, and oh no. I was the prettiest person she had met. Tall – taller than her, how rare was that? – the darkest skin she'd ever seen, darker hair that swirled in a halo around my head like a cloud at night. Wearing a vivid indigo sundress with a sparkly rhinestone cat on it. Phoenix loved cats. Even though she couldn't see my eyes – I was wearing a blindfold – she could see the curves of my face and my high cheekbones. And I was looking at her with an increasingly disgruntled face that was really hot. Boy, if she could meet people this pretty every bad day, that would make life way more bearable –

Okay, I'm done. I shoved my sibling's influence away. No more reading people's thoughts for me today. At least I knew she liked me, even if her fluffy thoughts had been annoying. She would listen better if she thought I was pretty. Humans were stupid like that. "On second thought, don't be quiet. Go apologize to Kennedy."

"Uh – I – I... I'm sorry... I – I don't know what came over me, I'm not normally this rude, I swear, I'm just running really late on no sleep and –"

"Then sleep," I said, shrugging. I didn't see what the problem was.

"I can't, I'm running late I –"

"Uh, Stella, your... your order is ready. I, uh, I hope it's to your liking."

I nodded and grabbed it. I narrowed my eyes in suspicion at Phoenix and took a sip. The wonderfully clashing flavors overwhelmed my human body's senses, and I smiled. "Oh, that's terrible! I love it, it makes so much more sense than it should." I tossed Kennedy a twenty dollar bill. As I understand it, that's a good way to make humans know you appreciate them, give them money.

"Glad you like it," Kennedy said, and went to make Phoenix's order.

Phoenix looked at my drink. "...what is in that? It smells... interesting."

"Oh, coffee and some other stuff," I said. "Uh... marshmallow, butterscotch, and pomegranate. And lemon juice. And a scone. And other stuff."

Phoenix frowned. "...okay. Uh, what..."

I raised my eyebrows, expectantly. Phoenix's face went alarmingly red. "Nothing. I, uh, I'd better get my drink."

Phoenix got her drink and left. I went back to the table. And that was the end of it, or so I thought at the time.

I'd see her again, though.

When Jengu's family would try to broach the subject of leaving to her, she always refused. Sure, the Merfalania were important and special and all that, and it was customary for the oldest and strongest Merkit in any family group to leave and join them in the deep, open sea, but she couldn't just leave them in the reef alone. They were important and special too.

"Really, Jengu, you should go to the cities. We'll be fine," her siblings would say. "We're old enough to fend for ourselves, and we live in a nice place in this reef. We're Merkit, not helpless."

"We both know that's not why I want to stay," Jengu would always say, no matter who she was talking to. "I don't want to leave you behind. I would miss you little goobers!" And then, usually, she would grab the sibling by their dorsal fin and bap them right on their melon. "I don't care how cool the Merfalania cities are," Jengu would finish. "I want to stay right here with you."

It was a routine they carried out, Jengu and her six siblings. Well, eight, but two had died before they could grow up. Every time they got home after foraging, Altie would ask, "When are you leaving?" and the routine would happen again.

"When are you leaving?" Lusca would ask while they broke down the food they'd hunted or gathered.

"When are you leaving?" Marag would ask when they settled down to sleep.

"Never. I'm never leaving. I'm best here with you."

Well. That would last for a while. But soon they learned that if Jengu wouldn't come to the Merfalania, the Merfalania would come to her.

#weird mermaids start a revolution #coffee shop au 150k words donut steal #wacky sibling shenanigans! thousands dead millions injured #i steal the premise of lightlark and add cosmic horror and blood sacrifice #those are the tags :)#kitsune #fox #dragon #mermaid #space dragon #ops #other people's stories #sílthéy vibes #(because she is in it)#if you want to see the hero forge models of some of these guys just ask #original writing #original fiction #writeblr #queue queue

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kittyprincessofcats · 4 years

Text

Scorptra kiss in the Crimson Waste?

I have some thoughts on this - mainly, I’m going to rant about *some* fans again.

(Short version of what happened: Apparently, during a livestream Noelle was asked if Catra and Adora were each other’s first kiss and said that they were originally thinking of including a kiss between Catra and Scorpia in season 3, but ended up scrapping it. (Side-note: I haven’t seen the actual livestream, so I don’t know what they said word for word. If someone has a link to it or something, do let me know. This is just the gist of it from what I’ve heard from others.) And then some fans freaked out about this idea/headcanon in both the positive and negative sense.)

First of all, to get my personal thoughts out of the way: I freaking LOVE this idea! I’m a multishipper, and shipping Catradora has never stopped me from also enjoying some tragic Scorptra. And the angst potential of this is just so good: Catra thinking she’s going to die in the Crimson Waste anyway, and that Adora will never love her back anyway, so she kisses Scorpia and tries to force herself to have feelings for her - and meanwhile, it just makes Scorpia fall even more in love with her, which makes the s3 finale and all of s4 ten times more heartbreaking. I’m 100% here for the angst potential of this! (And I genuinely kind of wish it had been included in the show.) And imagine the potential of Adora being jealous when she finds out?

Now, I absolutely get why some people don’t like the idea. Maybe because they’re just not into Scorptra as a ship, or they really like the idea of Catradora being each other’s first kiss, or any other reason. That’s totally fine. But there are a few... sentiments... I’ve seen from other fans in this discussion that seriously bothered me and I want to address those:

1. “Scorptra kissed in the Crimson Waste; it’s canon; Noelle said so!”

NO. Stop doing that. First of all, Noelle didn’t say this was canon. I haven’t seen the video, but if I understood it right they only said it was an idea they had. And even if they had said it was their headcanon - you’re not obligated to agree with that. Noelle has asked us fans mulitple times not to see their word as law. They’ve tried to make it clear several times that they don’t want to be a JK Rowling who only reveals stuff after the fact, or a George Lucas who edits and changes their work aftewards. Noelle’s word =/= canon. If you want to believe that nothing ever happened between Scorpia and Catra, then that is your right.

2. Anything along the lines of: “Ew, do people really ship Scorptra?” / “Scorptra is gross.” / “Why would you ship Scorptra when you could ship [insert other ship here]?” / “But Scorptra’s unhealthy!”

I am so done with this - and with ship wars in general. Anyone who says anything along those lines about literally any ship gets an instant unfollow from me. Yes, people actually ship whatever ship *you* personally don’t like - get over it. Ships don’t need to be “healthy” for people to enjoy them. And maybe people aren’t shipping that other ship you prefer because it just doesn’t interest them? Seriously, get over yourselves and let people enjoy things.

3. Anything along the lines of “Catra kissing someone else before Adora is toxic”, “Catra should have saved herself / stayed pure for Adora”

Where’s that barf emoji? 🤢🤢🤮🤮

Are you guys for real? I really hope the people saying that kind of stuff are super young, because otherwise wtf??? Please tell me you’re not serious about this one. Do the people saying this kind of stuff realize they sound exactly like the person who wrote that essay about how “She-Ra is actually a Christian show because Catra and Adora saved themselves for each other”? Remember when we all made fun of that? And now people are spreading the exact same nonsense?

This mentality of everyone’s (especially a woman’s) first kiss / first time being something super special that she has to “save” for the right person is just incredibly misogynistic. Why do people feel like it would make Catradora’s kiss any less special if it wasn’t Catra’s first one? Why can’t a second or third kiss be a magical experience, too?

4. Anything implying that kissing Scorpia would make Catra a bad person for “playing with Scorpia’s feelings”.

Or maybe it’d just make her a person who’s confused about her own feelings and who thinks she’s going to die because she’s just been sent on a suicide mission? Seriously, I feel like some people are just determined to hate Catra for everything she does. You have to keep in mind that Hordak sent her to the Crimson Waste to die, and she thought she would. She was at a point where she felt like she’d already lost everything. Does the idea that she’d want to at least kiss someone before dying really make her that unsympathetic to some people? Or the idea that she’s so hung up over Adora (in her mind) not loving her back, that she’d try to force herself to have feelings for Scorpia?

5. “Noelle had to fight so hard to have the Catradora kiss in the end, so Dreamworks would have never allowed this anyway.”

Probably true, but can we please not act like that’s a good thing? Can we please not turn this into “Actually, censorship of queer relationships is good when it’s a ship I personally dislike”? That’s... uhm... really not cool.

#Scorptra #Catradora #spop #Noelle Stevenson #Catra #Scorpia #Adora #long post #(I'm incapable of writing my thoughts down in short ways it seems)#(It's why I can't stand twitter)

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hiraya-rawr · 2 years

Text

I Love You So 3

Diluc Dialogue Drabble

about: the neglected, sickly wife trope in a contract marriage with a man that doesn't quite know how to show his love

inspired by: When It's Lonely @lunargrapejuice // I Love You So - The Walters 🎵 (listen to it!!)

notes: I'm sorry for the week-long wait, I'm writing in the middle of my finals so it's been exhausting! this was such a hard chapter to write for, I scrapped and built it a lot so I hope the final product lives up to your expectations! we'll be ending soon so happy reading!!

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"Pardon? You're saying I'm at fault?" Kaeya laughs dryly, placing down his wine glass with a clink on the bar top. It's silent in the tavern, drunk patrons steadily starting to wobble out into the night.

"You very well know her condition. She shouldn't have gone out that day." Diluc turns his back from the cryo user, opting to wipe the empty tables. "Just when she was starting to feel better."

"Her getting sick again isn't something new, you know? It seems to me like you're keeping Y/N caged."

"It's for her health. You know that."

"Well someone has to keep her company."

Diluc turns around to face the cryo user who stayed seated on the bar. The Cavalry Captain smiles at him over his wine glass, finally having caught his attention.

"After all, you and I both know how lonely that old manor can be." Kaeya really shouldn't be meddling in your relationship just when you scolded him last time for it, but forgive him for caring too much for the two of you.

When the redhead doesn't reply, seemingly done with the conversation, Kaeya sighs and takes another sip of wine before talking.

"Just to be clear, she invited me and I simply went along."

Diluc grumbles under his breath, "I suppose it was too much of me to expect any sense of caution from you. You're putting my wife at risk for some what— Death After Noon that she can't even drink." The harshness in his voice would have intimidated anyone, but Kaeya simply leans back with a chuckle.

"Oh? Your wife?" A sly smirk crosses his face, "Ah yes, I suppose she is. Forgive me, dear brother, I've almost forgotten with how little I see her with you — And we met over coffee, if that makes things any better." The redhead looks up from the table he's wiping, clearly irritated with how the conversation was going.

Why can't Kaeya understand how fragile your constitution is? Diluc already lost his father, does Kaeya want him to lose his wife as well– no, clear thoughts. Kaeya is a lot of things, but he's not that. Diluc takes a deep breath, rubbing the skin between his eyes just to calm down.

It was Diluc's decision to have a wedding rather than just signing a contract. While he was elated over the upcoming event, handling all preparations when you allowed him to, he noticed the indifference in your eyes – frowning at every encrusted noctilucous jade and diamond of your gown and bundle of glaze lilies and qingxin decorating the venue. It seems to him that for you, a grand wedding was useless if the groom wasn't who you wanted in the first place.

"This is too much," Were one of the first words you told him since the reception started.

Perhaps it was too much, but the image of you under a white veil enchanted him so that he believed it was worth it – a selfish pleasure so short-lived at the cost of your health.

He remembers the day of your marriage; what was supposed to be the happiest day of a couple's life was ended by your bedside, holding a bucket and towels; maids rushing in and out as you emptied your stomach the sixth time that evening. The exhaustion of having spent the day celebrating – a rather mundane and formal gathering, in anyone's opinion – had finally took its toll on you.

When the doctors couldn't help, he brought in healers to ease the pain, eventually resorting to buying a powerful sleep medication from a green haired pharmacist all the way from Liyue.

Even in your sleep, you shivered violently in cold sweat. Dulled hair and pale skin, weak and incapable, you blended in with the gloom of the manor. He slipped himself in your bed that night, arms wrapped around you to pull you close, pyro vision lightly blazing, warming you; Diluc was never very religious, but his lips sobbed quiet prayers to any archon that would spare a glance and save you.

He learned his lesson. His selfishness had caused this.

That was the first and only night you had shared a bed together.

Diluc sighs.

"The Fatui were spotted south of Springvale, out of their diplomatic jurisdiction. Shouldn't the knights deal with that?"

Kaeya groans, exasperated, "Is business the only thing occupying your mind, dear brother? Just when I thought our conversation was bearing good fruit." He sighs, "Besides, I'm sure the darknight hero has dealt with it already."

"Contrary to your belief, it was miss Lumine. You ought to be glad she's making up for the incompetence of the knights even in the dead of the night."

"Ah yes, the famous miss Lumine," Kaeya swirls the wine in his glass, chilling the little that's left with a cold tips of his fingers, "A little surprising she caught wind of the situation before you did."

"It was more of a coincidence she got caught in on her way to the winery."

Kaeya freezes, eyes boring into his brother's back who was casually arranging the chairs. He puts down his wine glass.

"Miss Lumine... went to the winery last night?"

"Yes."

"And did Y/N say anything?" Diluc stares back at him, the lack of teasing in Kaeya's tone making it difficult to understand his intentions.

"She didn't say anything. They didn't even meet."

•

"Shouldn't I greet lady Y/n? I wouldn't want to suddenly intrude-"

"It's alright. You must be tired; It's late and Y/n should be asleep by now."

'Archons,' You choke, hand held over your lips to keep yourself from making a sound. As Diluc said; it was late and you really should have been in bed, not at a little corner of the salon, preparing a hot cup of tea for two.

He told you not to wait for him anymore. You should have listened.

You peeked from your corner, unable to resist the curiosity of your husband bringing home his- his... whatever she is to him — at the dead of the night. Diluc stood facing away from you, whereas the other... Golden eyes meet E/C ones as Lumine offered a knowing smile. Your heart stops; was she taunting you? Was this a greeting?

She looks away from you, long lashes blinking at the redhead. You hold your breath as you see the way her nimble fingers wrap around his wrist, soft blonde hair cascading over her shoulders as she pulls him away. She is bright and beautiful, capable and strong, even in the dead of the night she contrasted everything from the dark wood of the manor to Diluc's dark coat on her shoulders.

Even after they left for the guest room, you still held your breath.

•

"Unbelievable." Kaeya laughs, finally standing up to march towards the redhead. Diluc raises an eyebrow at him. "You are unbelievable."

"Excuse me?"

"You! Diluc Ragnvindr. I'm sure you're no stranger to rumors, do you know what the whole of Mond has been whispering about?"

"I'm not concerned about my reputation-"

"It's not about reputation!" Kaeya seethes, an emotion unfamiliar to Diluc since their separation.

"... If this is about miss Lumine then I'm sure you of all people would know that our relationship is strictly-"

"Oh but does Y/N know that?" He laughs, hands waving around, trying to suppress the cold air emitting dangerously from his vision.

Diluc stays quiet. Cold, red hues staring into a steely grey one.

"You are aware that... our marriage is simply a contract."

The tension thickens, cold fog seeps from the floor surrounding the cryo user before quickly dispersing away. Kaeya takes a step back, shoulders easing and face contorting to a look of disappointment. How stupid, he thinks, She loves you.

Kaeya could have said that out loud; he could force Diluc to understand how foolish and insecure you both were. He wanted to help. He really did – but as he thinks of your lonesome figure in the large manor he once called home, how you come to him of all people for company... How dare he refers to something he's always wanted as a "simple contract".

He could treat you so much better. After all, the age-old agreement asked for a Ragnvindr son. It was in his hands first before a lovesick fool wanted it.

"... Fine. You know what, that doesn't sound too bad at all," Kaeya muses.

"What?"

"Keep acting like that and it won't be long before I have her all to myself."

"... what did you just say?" There's a dangerous look in his red eyes, hands slowly curling to a fist.

"I said I'll have her-"

"You did not just say that." He grits his teeth, eyes wide in a mixture of shock and vexation.

"Oh? Are you worried?" A sly smirk spreads on the cryo user's face, "You said so yourself. It's just a contract marriage. Why would you care if she's in the arms of some other-"

Something behind him shatters. The sound cuts between them like a knife. Kaeya quickly looks at the wine glass he was previously holding, dark flames blazing from the bits and pieces of glass, scarring the wood of the bar top permanently.

"I think we're done here." Diluc states, looking down on the table with knuckles turning white as he clenches a dirt rag.

Where did things go wrong?

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one | two | three | four | masterlist

a big thanks to @abvolat for inspiring reader getting worse, @pansexualkeoni for inspiring lumine's impromptu visit, and ANON for suggesting Diluc getting angry at Kaeya, which brings him back to our narrative! (ANON REVEAL PLEASE?)

taglist: please message me if you don't want to be tagged, a few of the asks were lost so I've been basing off the previous comment sections. also, i know i posted saying ill upload this in an hour but to think there were so many to tag- im shook hahahah i hope i didnt miss anyone

@d-1-ce @milkypompon @instantmillktea @kfcspicychickensandwich @lonelygranpa @dori-mon @reveltica @soapsoftheworld @danny-yagami @nocturnalcreature998 @loveperfectionchaos @like-wathever @imanayatosimp @ryobf69 @qingxinteaa @krenko @mich-cola @momo89657 @cinnare-blogs @fanfictwarrior @coleluuviida @nhinxsworld @spookyrule @abvolat @d1nne @patchi-chi @feartheuwu @lunabunny-12 @mrcompresssimp @chloeloe @thesleeplessindolent @boundedbyfate @x-zho @kakiwrites @daisukesimp34 @aruaruaru @local-mr-frog @kyomihann @thedivinepriestress @heyimkay @nishayuro @feartheuwu @megsthings @leoriominaj @tanspostsblog @kiyoomiwo @dazaisfavgf @ai-visuals @iamfriedpotato @akebcshi @hikari3601

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saltymongoose · 2 years

Note

Sighs sorry if I'm sending you to many asks these days bUT—

The boys reacting to Player singing songs to them?

Love songs specifically, lyrics like :

"Put your hand in mine~ you know that I won't stop until I make you mine~"

"- The music, we make is unnatural, but it sounds just like falling in love"

"Home is whenever I'm with you~"

"Everyday, I imagine a future where, I can be with you~"

Like.. imagine the boys going "wow, my heart.. beats so fast, wow" to that

Nah, don't worry about it, you have great ideas and I like hearing 'em. :) I was gonna formulate another "short" answer, but I also distinctly remember you sending in a request for something similar a while back and figured 'hey, why not write some hcs for that right now?' So here you go! :D 💕

Their Reaction to the Player Singing Love Songs ft. Hank, Deimos, Sanford, & 2BDamned

(TW: Yandere)

Hank perked up as he usually did when he heard your voice again, sensing your return from your "break" as your strings took control of him once more. You were humming something, what he didn't know, but it sounded nice. (Then again, everything you did was pleasant, so it wasn't much of a surprise.)

But just as he felt you start to lead him through the building, you actually started singing. Which wouldn't be so shocking if it wasn't for what you decided to serenade him with.

"Hello, how are you, my darling, today?"

He froze for a moment, face beginning to heat up under his mask. No matter how often it happened, he still couldn't fight off the flustered excitement he felt whenever you called him anything remotely endearing. It was special, coming from you. His hands were already beginning to tremble, his condition only worsening as you smoothly sang out the next lyrics:

"Puppy love is hard to ignore, when every little thing you do, I do adore~"

He inhaled sharply, almost choking. What? You can't be serious, right? You adore him??

Now Hank wasn't exactly the type to be fazed by anything (he'd fought a zombified clown, nothing could really surprise him anymore). But you always managed to break down that side of him; turn him into a lovesick puppy wholly incapable of thinking of anything else but you, his beloved Player.

You continued to sing throughout the mission, cooing the words as if reaffirming that you really thought of him that way. And he only reduced further, clenched fists trembling violently as he followed your orders with unmatched efficiency. His thoughts clouded with repeated mantras of how much he loved and adored you in turn.

Deimos and Sanford were doing another mission with you, immersed in discussing whatever was happening with Hank when you switched from him (he seemed quite tense, more so than usual. But he wasn't the type to talk about his personal issues, so they could only theorize). You seemed rather upbeat, laughing cutely at Deimos' clever jokes and cheering them on in that way that always made them swell with love for you.

You'd been humming a bright, catchy tune for a few minutes before bursting out into song, catching the two of them off guard.

"Every day, I imagine a future where, I can be with you~"

They froze.

Deimos' cigarette slipped from his mouth as it fell open in shock, and he blinked. "I-you just-" He stammered, trying desperately to save face in front of you, but to no avail. He wanted to look cool to impress you, but it didn't seem to be working (especially not when his face went crimson and he started shaking excitedly). It's just so difficult when you fluster him like this!

Sanford was dusted a bright red, and he held a hand up to cover his face. He could feel himself getting clammy, and a wave of self-consciousness washed over him. He looked himself over for a moment, suddenly very concerned about if he looked his best. (He just didn't want to seem like an idiot, undeserving of your love and affection.)

You kept singing, of course, which only made them more flustered.

"In my hand is a pen that will write a poem of me and you...but in this world of infinite choices, what will it take just to find that special day?"

They tried not to read too far into it, but it was impossible not to glean something from it. Especially when the lyrics you sang were so...specific. All this talk about wanting to go into a reality where you can be with them. You must've chosen this knowing that they'd think this, right? If so, then perhaps they should start planning their own confessions soon (after all, this made it clear that you must love them back).

2BDamned had grown used to your humming and occasional singing. It was never more than a couple of words murmured under your breath, so he never got the full picture of whatever was stuck in your head anyway. This time, however, it went a lot differently.

Stealth missions were Doc's forte, given his preference for ranged weapons. This meant that waiting took up a large percentage of them. But that was fine, it meant more time with you, after all (and really, there's nothing he wouldn't trade for that).

He was prepared for another night of enjoying your company when your comforting humming changed to words, and he stiffened:

"Oh, home, let me come home..home is wherever I'm with you.."

They were sung incredibly softly, almost as if you didn't intend for anyone except for him to hear. It was achingly sweet, and he could feel his heart quicken in his chest. His pulse echoed through his ears, and for a moment he even feared that you'd be able to hear it and call him out for being so...nervous? No, thrilled.

The moment felt private, intimate, and his mind raced as wondered what this meant to you.

There must've been a reason for you to sing this around him (you were always deliberate in anything you did when controlling them, it only made sense). Was this your way of confessing to him? It must've been, you could've sung anything, but you chose a love song, of all things.

Doc knew for sure that he loved you, he has for a long time now. He wanted to say something, anything, to let you know he felt the same way. But as your quiet singing continued, he found that he didn't want to interrupt. Getting a moment to have you to himself was rare enough, and he didn't want to interrupt this comforting haze you managed to create.

He tried to carry on his job like normal, but it was difficult. His hands shook as he assembled his rifle, and he dropped his supplies more than a few times. Perhaps he was still in shock at what happened.

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xiaosmoon · 3 years

Note

hi!! I'm OBSESSED with the way you write, so if you could indulge me a little? :D diluc + kaeya + zhongli with an s/o who has to seduce an enemy to get important info—though they try their best to stay put, worry/jealousy gets the best of them, and they arrive at the scene just in the nick of time...

hopefully this doesn't overstep any of your blog rules :< tysm!!

seducing an enemy

parings: diluc, kaeya, & zhongli x gn!reader (afab for zhongli)

summary: you get sent on an important mission to try to get information out of an enemy by seducing them, but worry/jealousy gets the best of them and they arrive just in time

warnings/content: seduction, angsty but with comfort, suggestive if you squint

a/n: ahhh thank you so much!!! i hope this did your request justice :)

-> diluc

you really shouldn't be running this late. diluc was pacing back and fourth in main room of the winery. the maids tried to get him to calm down, but he just couldn't sit still. not when you were out on a mission at the risk of being hurt.

and on top of that, seducing someone. just the mere thought of it was enough to send diluc into a frenzy. of course he trusts you. he really does, but you were doing this to a dangerous enemy. the risk of it all was just too much not to stress over.

"i'm going out for a walk. please, do not wait up for me." was all diluc announced to his maids before grabbing his coat and running off.

it was a very cold night, and diluc suddenly remembers that pretty little lace you were wearing.

"it's all apart of the technique, diluc. i can't seduce a person if i'm covering every inch of my body."

obviously you were right, but diluc still wishes you weren't cozying up to a scumbag wearing little to nothing.

diluc hadn't realized how fast he had been walking because he was already at the destination. with claymore in hand, he wasted no time busting open the door. he found you with a knife to your neck, trying to pry the man off of you. your vision was tossed to the side, so you were utterly helpless.

all diluc could see was burning red. he didn't even get a good look at the guy holding you; he let his body do the talking and swung his claymore, not actually hitting the guy but causing him to lose balance and drop the knife.

while diluc was keeping him away, you drop down grabbing the fallen knife and stab the enemy's leg. before diluc could chop the guy in half with his fired up claymore, you quickly push him back with the rest of the strength you could muster.

"diluc, he's down! it's alright now!" diluc was breathing heavily, his eyes fixated on the person screaming in pain. once he feels your body hugging his, his demeanor quickly changes.

diluc drops his claymore and returns your embrace back, kissing the top of your head. "are you alright? are you hurt?" he pulls you off of him, holding your shoulders to examine your body for any injuries.

you put your hand on top of one of his and give him a soft smile. "i'm okay, i promise." you turn around to look at the man behind you on the floor. "he, however, isn't. i'll have to bring him to the knights for further interrogation."

you go and grab your vision before cuffing the man's hands. "y-you're crazy! i'm going to die because of you!" he nearly spat in your face.

diluc was quick to act, grabbing him by the collar and yanking the guy dangerously close to him. "call them crazy again and that claymore you saw earlier will definitely kill you." if diluc's claymore won't kill him, the fight he felt definitely would.

after diluc accompanied you to take him to the knights, (he wouldn't stop talking about how incapable they were on the walk there. "this never would've happened to you if they knew how to do their job." some things will never change.) he sat you down on a nearby bench and once again examined you thoroughly, even though you told him you were fine for the nth time.

he carefully draped his coat over your shoulders. "i'm just so glad you're alright. good thing i came when i did." he would say. for the rest of the night, he held you tight and gave you many, many kisses while telling you that you're never doing something like that again. not because he was jealous or anything, of course not

-> kaeya

kaeya knows you're an amazing and capable knight. you have amazing combat skills and are perfect at undercover missions. perfect person for the job.

so why was he so stressed?

imagining you throwing yourself all over that enemy in the short and tight dress you were wearing was eating at his mind. you had looked absolutely tempting in that getup that kaeya couldn't keep his hands to himself.

"oh? all this for me darling?" kaeya had walked up behind you and allowed his hands to run down your sides as you added earrings to your final look.

he kissed your neck, and before he could continue, you turned around placing a kiss on his lips. "this isn't for you, love. i have a mission..."

the wine glass that was resting in kaeya's hand had now been shattered to little pieces, littered all over the floor of angels share. he had came here to help keep his mind off of you, but it wasn't helping. at all.

kaeya quickly slammed mora down at the bar, scaring charles before heading off to you. he knew he could be potentially ruining your mission, and jean would have his head for it, but at this point in time he really could care less. you were more important to him than his job.

if only the grand master hadn't taken all of the horses with him, maybe kaeya would've gotten there faster. damn him.

as fast as his feet could carry him, he arrived at the goth grand hotel (did you really need a horse kaeya?) he pushed the fatui agent at the doorway trying to stop him and barged straight to the front desk.

"if you don't tell me what room y/n is staying in right now, i swear i will freeze hell over this place." the poor frightened desk lady handed kaeya the hotel key without protest. he swiped it from her and marched off.

"a42... a42... come on where are you?" kaeya walked down 2 hallways until he finally found it.

not even bothering to use the key, kaeya froze the knob before kicking the door open. much to his dismay, you were pinned down to the bed with the enemy right on top, ready to weald his weapon.

kaeya wasted no time to act. he shoved the guy off of you and drew his sword, keeping it pointed nicely at his neck so he couldn't move.

you jumped off the bed to retrieve your own. "i was handling it you know."

"if by handling you mean almost getting yourself killed, i would say you did a fine job." kaeya's voice was still seductive even when he was mad. maybe he should've gone on this mission instead.

you quickly cuff the fatui agent before kicking him out of the room, leaving him for the knights to deal with. "i'll get revenge for this! my superior, he won't like this. he'll deal with you!"

you sigh as the two knights grab him. "yeah, yeah, i've heard it all before. the day your superior comes for me is the day you'll see hellfire." was the last snarky comment you made before closing the door behind you, leaving only you and kaeya in the room.

"there were other knights here?" kaeya asked, approaching you. "only two. master jean planted them just in case."

kaeya pulled you to him for a very tight hug without warning. he buried his face into your neck and wrapped one arm around your shoulders while the other holding your waist. he kissed your neck, and then your jaw, cheek, forehead, your lips, ear, and finally whispered, "you're never doing this again."

you pull his face back so his eyes can meet yours and you cup your palm around his jaw. you tilt your head to the side and raise a brow. "why? because you were scared for me or because you were jealous?"

there are very few things that make kaeya aleberich blush. but him being called out by you is definitely one of them. "jealous? no, of course not. i was worried for you, love." he pulled back from you a bit and you became a laughing fit.

"hey, i was! you cant prove otherwise." he mumbled the last part and crossed his arms like an angry toddler.

you wiped a fake tear from your eyes and composed yourself. how cute, you thought to yourself. "but you did know i had it, right?" you asked.

kaeya looked back over to you, arms still crossed. "yes, i did dear. you're more than capable of holding your own. but what kind of boyfriend would i be if i wasn't to worry, hmm?" he walked back to you and brushed away any hair that was out of place.

"but," his teasing voice was back. "we do have this very nice hotel room to ourselves now. how about we make the most of it and-"

cue you throwing a pillow at him

-> zhongli

he understood your line of work. he understood how dangerous it could be. but what you had told zhongli earlier that night still wandered at the back of his mind.

you were dressed beautifully in black. the outfit hugged your body in just the right places and zhongli thought you looked absolutely ravishing.

"going somewhere dear?" his eyes were drinking you up. you smile and plant a kiss on his cheek. "it's for the mission i told you about."

the mission sounded dangerous indeed. he had no doubt in your strength but this, this just seemed too much, even for you.

the man you were seducing is known to be very dangerous and zhongli's subconscious couldn't rest at that. mortals were quite fragile after all.

"mr.zhongli? did you hear me?" hu tao waved her hand in front of his face. he snapped out of his daydreams about you and redirected his attention to the young funeral director.

"apologizes miss hu tao, could i possibly take the rest of the night off?" zhongli felt terrible for asking this of her but he just had to go to you.

hu tao granted him his wish, believing that he was feeling ill. at first, zhongli was debating if he really should come to you. it really is their mission, i'm sure they can handle themself.

he was afraid his interference would mess with your mission, but ultimately his concern for you overpowered that thought.

he reached the location in no time. it was a small beach house right on yaoguang shoal. and right outside, 2 guards were posted.

such an important and powerful man obviously has security, zhongli thought to himself. zhongli closed his eyes. he tried to listen for the sound your voice; a sound he had learned to memorize. and he found it. your voice was muffled was full of distress. that was enough for zhongli to approach the guards, ready to break open the door.

"hey," one of the guards stuck his arm out blocking the door. "you can't be here. so lea-" before the guard could get out another word, zhongli send geo shards flying towards both of them, knocking them to the ground unconscious.

he sent a geo spear straight through the door, stabbing the enemy's arm on the other side and pinning him to the wall. you were limp on the floor, but the sight of the geo spear put you to ease. your dress was torn leaving you a bit exposed and you had broken your ankle while fighting the man, but the pain seemed to go away as soon as you saw zhongli walk in.

zhongli sent a few more geo shards to secure the guy on the wall before rushing over to you. "dear, are you alright?" he said squatting down beside you. zhongli took of his coat and draped it over your exposed body. he placed his hand gently on your shoulder, afraid to hurt you.

you smile in relief, raising a hand his arm. "i'm alright, just a broken ankle. could you help me get him to the milieth? they should be here in 10 minutes. i've gotten all the information i need."

"you, this- this isn't over! i'll come back for you. i swear it." the man slurred. your eyes widened at his arm. there was a lot blood was oozing from his wound.

"zhongli, he can't die." zhongli looked at you in confusion. "but he broke your ankle. he can perish."

laughing right now would be very inappropriate, so you had to retain yourself. "i know but the milieth still need him. very alive."

zhongli obeyed your wish and yanked the man off of the wall harshly. "i won't heal him, but he can be taken to bubu pharmacy." zhongli took the spear out and tied his arm tightly with a random cloth he found on the floor. he tossed the man outside for the milieth and rushed back to you. he helped you sit up and you rested your body against his chest.

"thank you, for coming. although i could've handled it myself you know." you look up at him and smile. he lets out a sigh and kissed your lips. "i know dear. but um-" his coat was slipping down your body, revealing a good amount of your cleavage. he turned his head away, blushing a bit. "you should wear my coat." you giggle at his words but put on his coat properly.

zhongli rests you against the wall and scoots to where your feet. he tears some of his shirt to wrap your ankle in. "this will hold it until we get you medical attention." without warning, he picks you up in bridal style. you quickly wrap your arms around his neck so you don't fall.

"w-what are you doing?" you ask, it came out more as a squeak. "the milieth are here," zhongli responds walking outside. "they can take care of that man. we need to get you back to liyue."

yes, he really did carry you all the way to liyue.

#kaeya x reader #diluc x reader #zhongli x reader #genshin impact #genshin impact x reader #kaeya x you #diluc x you #zhongli x you #zhongli fanfic #diluc fanfic #kaeya fanfic #kaeya #zhongli #diluc #kaeya x y/n #diluc x y/n #zhongli x y/n

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fangirlings-things · 4 years

Text

Rescheduled Lesson

❦ PART. II

Fandom: Enola Holmes

Pairing: Sherlock Holmes x female reader

Word count: 3K

anon said: Can I request a Sherlock x reader where she visited Enola often when Sherlock left on long cases, so they became good friends? And when Enola runs away to find her mom, she goes to stay with the reader, which Sherlock deduces and tries to get her to let him find Enola and talk to her? -&

A/N: this request was amazing and I loved every bit of it!!! I put all my inspiration in this, tried to make the personality of the character good, so I hope you like this piece, love, I did my best!! (also I’m thinking about a part 2? if you guys like it let me know, I would be delighted to write it) (had to repost guys, I'm sorry!!)

also, the tag list for this fandom is open!!!

gif credit: @henrycavilledits

❧ You knew the Holmes family was nothing like the other families that lived in the countryside. The father had died many years before. The two oldest sons had already left home, to live their lives and follow the careers they desired. On that incredibly big house, where once lived a family, there was only a mother and her youngest child left. Perhaps the fact that you yourself was considered a little off by other people, was the fact that made you become friends with them.

You lived completely alone, surrounded by books in a small house. Your life was made of studying, researching and writing texts about science. You loved it, great authors of the matter being your inspiration. You tried to learn their teachings and with luck, wanted others to learn as well. You almost couldn’t believe when one day in the middle of a sunny afternoon, Eudoria Holmes had showed up at your door and invited you to her house, where she asked you to be Enola’s science teacher. She educated her daughter not for society, but for herself, so that she could find her own path when she came to grow up. That instantly made you respect that woman and accept her offer.

Twice a week you would go to the Holmes’s house and spend hours and more hours teaching the girl. Darwin, Copernicus, Newton, Galilei. She was eager to know and you were eager to teach her. She was the first student you had that actually wanted to learn and that was amazing. Made you proud and happy, more than you could say. At the evening, Eudoria would ask you to stay for dinner. You would put lessons aside and talk and laugh together. They were like your family, the one you didn’t had.

You were always excited for the days of teaching Enola to come soon. They were your absolute favorites of the week. In the beginning of the afternoon of one of those days, you had been incredibly surprised by a knock on your front door while you gathered the books you would make the girl read and study. Frowning, because you never had visitors or received letters, you went to attend the door.

And when you opened it, you saw that your visitor was Enola herself.

“Hi, Miss (Y/L/N)” the girl smiled at you, a little forced smile that instantly made your frown grow deeper. She was wearing boy’s clothes, even a hat, and her long brown hair had been hidden inside of it. “I’m afraid today’s lesson will have to be rescheduled”

“Enola, what…” you began, confused. You had seen her dressed in boy’s clothes before around her house, that wasn’t a big deal. She did find them more comfortable, she had told you before. But the fact that she concealed her hair as if she wanted to hide it and the expression on her face, something that you couldn’t quite identify but resembled urgency, was enough for you to get anxious.

“Please, Miss (Y/L/N), can I come in? I promise I’ll explain everything you want to know” she pleaded, eyes locked on yours as she did so. The tone on her voice made you nod and take a step to the side, locking the door once she was already inside. “I had never been here. Your house is really amazing” the girl seemed overwhelmed by all the books and unfinished texts you had around, laying on tables and shelves.

“Thank you” you said, mind still running fast as you tried to understand what was happening. You walked after the girl, that had advanced until she reached the next room of your house, one who only had two couches and a table. “Enola, what is going on?” her face instantly lost the admiration she was having for your belongings. Her eyes went to the floor, and she went silent. That made you sight. “Enola, you promise you would explain. And you know you can trust me”

That seemed to make her come around, because she sighted as you had just did and sat at one of your couches. Or better, she laid down on it, placing her head over a pillow and focusing her eyes on the roof. Her hands were joined over her chest. “I came here because I wanted to hide, Miss (Y/L/N). I’m running away”

Your eyes went wide at that declaration and you sat on the other couch, realizing that would probably be a long conversation. “Enola! Think about your mother! She loves you. Your disappearance will hurt her deeply”

“No, no, I’m not running away from my mother. I’m running away to find her” the girl sat straight on the couch, eyes meeting yours again like they had before at the door. She could see the confusion in your eyes grow by each word she spoke. “My mother went missing a few days ago, Miss (Y/L/N). She didn’t say goodbye or said where she was going. She only left me clues, here and there that I’ll have to use to find her”

Worry got a hold of you, the same worry you had recognized on Enola’s eyes. Eudoria. Where would she have gone? Was she fine? Not knowing you realized, was terrible. As you thought about what Enola had just said, another question got to your mind. “If your mother is missing, who are you running away from, Enola?”

“My brothers. Sherlock and Mycroft. Well, especially Mycroft, because he wants to send me to a finishing school, that prepares young women for society” the clear disgust in her voice would have made you laugh if you weren’t so worried.

“Where will you go to find your mother, Enola? What plans do you have? Do you want me to go with you?” all questions left your mouth in such a rush, that it seemed like you had just spit out the words one after the other.

The young girl smiled kindly and got up, going to sit right next to you on the couch you were on. She grabbed your hands in hers gently and squeezed them tightly. “Thank you for offering to go with me, to support me, Miss (Y/L/N). Is more than my own brothers have done. But this is something I have to do alone, I have to be the one to find her and know why she left. And I think that the less you know, the better it will be”

Oh, that girl. You smiled while you looked at her. Eudoria had raised her to be a force of nature and had achieved that goal, brilliantly. You squeezed her hands back in affection. “When will you leave?”

“At sundown today” she said, so quickly that you realized she had already thought about everything. At least, on that phase of that 'plan' to find her dear mother. “Will walk to the train station, not the closest one but the next, and get on the first train in the morning tomorrow. In this way, I’m quite sure my brothers won’t be able to understand my intentions soon enough as to catch me”

“Very well” you passed your arms around her and hugged her tight, sighting. “Let’s get you some food for your journey, then. If you find Eudoria and she finds out I let you almost starve I’ll get in trouble”

Enola laughed as she hugged you back.

════ •⊰❂⊱• ═══════ •⊰❂⊱• ════

Enola had left at sundown of the previous day, just like she had said she would. Carrying nothing more than money her mother had left her, a bag of food you had given her and her favorite book of yours, Origin of Species, you had watched her walk away into the night alone, as her name backwards spelled.

You had spent the whole night incapable of sleeping, wondering if she was fine and if she hadn’t encountered any dangers as she travelled on foot. You worried so much but all you could do, was hope that she would stay safe and find her mother. Soon.

On the next day, you had spent the morning and the beginning of the afternoon distracted. Tried to complete some of your works, but couldn’t. Your mind would always go back to the gone girl and her well being.

You had frustratedly been trying to read the same page of one of your books for fifteen minutes, without being capable of keeping any attention on it, when for the second time in a long time, you heard knocks at the front door.

You got up instantly, leaving the book forgotten upon the closest table as you rushed to the door, already smiling at the thought at Enola had came around on her idea of going alone and was back to ask you to go with her.

When you opened the door though, you realized that it wasn’t Enola who had knocked. It had been a man. A man you had never seen before.

He was tall, it was the first thing you noticed. The fact that he had no beard, was the second. And then, details of him came rushing into your mind through your eyes. He had short, curly hair, bright eyes and memorable features. He wore a white shirt, a brown vest with small white details in it and a brown suit as well as trousers of the same color. No tie which was insula for men that well dressed.

“May I help you?” you frowned at him, holding the wooden door firmly with one of your hands. To receive the visit of men, had always made you nervous. You lived alone, after all, and the world was becoming a more violent place day by day.

“I hope so” he said, which such confidence on his voice that it actually made you raise your eyebrows at him. His eyes were fixed in you, analyzing your face with much intensity. Far more than you thought it would be appropriate. “I’m Sherlock Holmes. And I suppose you are Miss (Y/L/N), my sister’s science teacher”

You took a moment to watch him again, trying to put into your mind that the man in front of you was the Sherlock Holmes, the detective who was making a name on England, solving the most incredible and difficult cases on his own. After long seconds of silence where you only stared at each other, you cleaned your throat. “I am in fact Enola’s teacher, Mr. Holmes. How did you know?”

“I found her works, studies on great science authors. They all had writings on the borders where she constantly mentioned a desire to please and make a 'Miss (Y/L/N)' proud. It only took me a visit to one of the closest houses to ask who it was and get pointed in your house’s direction” he explained, in an impersonal tone quite fitting to a detective. He saw the incisive tone look you were giving him, filled with suspicion, and smiled slightly as he looked at his feet, before focusing his eyes back on yours. “I came here because Enola ran away from home, Miss (Y/L/N). And I think she would come here to see you if she needed help”

You sighted, looking into his eyes. You remembered Enola’s words, where she had told you Mycroft was the one who wanted to send her to a finishing school, the one who had made her run away. If that had been Mycroft Holmes at your door, you would have denied being her teacher or even knowing the girl, wanting to cut the conversation short. But that was Sherlock Holmes. Enola hadn’t expressed much anger towards him and honestly, he would for sure find out the truth on his own. He was the best detective there was in the nowadays. You tell him, would just spin faster the process and you would be able to send him away sooner.

“Come in, Mr. Holmes” you took a step aside, motioning for him to come in. He did, in slow calculated steps and once he was inside you closed the door, sighting. You expected him to say something, but he didn’t. Not at first. Instead he walked around just like Enola had done, eyes floating through the uncountable books you had, all in a complete mess over the tables, piles and more piles of them . “She was indeed here, your sister”

He turned his head to look at you, a genuine smile on his lips. “I was already certain of that” then he walked towards one of the tables, fingers running through one of works. The paper was a bit kneaded, but he didn’t seem to care. “The works you did with Enola, the amount of things she learned… they were quite impressive”

You crossed your arms over your chest, trying to contain your surprise to know you had impressed the most impressive man of all, Sherlock Holmes. You waited for him to speak again, but he didn’t, just kept on walking through the room and inspecting your things with his perceptive eyes. “I don’t know where she is, Mr. Holmes. She left many hours ago”

He placed his hands on the pockets of his trousers, turning completely to you the resemblance of his previous smile on his lips. “And I believe she didn’t tell you what were her plans?”

“No and if she had, I wouldn’t tell you” you said and went to sit on a chair, at the table he had been studying with his eyes previously.

“Mind if I take off my suit?” he asked simply. You just nodded for him to go on, not giving it much thought. He took off his brown suit in gracious movements, then placed it in one of the other empty chairs close by. “May I ask why you wouldn’t tell me my sister’s plans, Miss (Y/L/N), if you knew them?”

“Enola said your brother wants to send her to a finishing school” you replied, watching as one after the other, he folded the sleeves of his white shirt until they got close to his elbow. Unconsciously, you noticed how his muscles could be seen from under his shirt. “To try to turn such a brilliant, incredibly smart young girl into a 'lady society' would be a terrible mistake. She shouldn’t be forced to do it” at the end of that sentence, Sherlock Holmes had grabbed two books in his hands and after reading the tiles, he went to the shelves and started placing them there. “Excuse me, what do you think you’re doing?”

“I am organizing your books, Miss (Y/L/N). In alphabetical order, of course. Like I’ve noticed you do after a quick inspection” he smiled at you again, placing those two in place. Then, he went to the table and grabbed a few more. “I personally agree with you. I don’t think Enola should be sent to such a place, but she is my brother’s ward. It is out of my hands” he read the titles, then turned around to return to the shelves. “I suppose you weren’t raised as a lady of society also, for you live by yourself apparently and your academic interests”

“You’re wrong” you said with a little smile taking a hold of your lips, and that made him stop organizing the books and look at you with a frown. She shouldn’t be wrong often. “I was raised to be a lady, until the point where my parents died. After that, I started to live on my own, for I had no more relatives. It gave me a chance to become who I wanted to be, instead of whom I was being carved into”

“You chose your own path” he said with a bigger smile this time and when you nodded in agreement, he returned his look at the shelves. “How did your parents die?”

“They were murdered” you tried to swallow the knot on your throat. Even though they had been controlling parents to the most when regarding your future, they were still your parents, and you loved and missed them. “The police never found out by whom”

“The police can be quite… inefficient” he turned back around with his hands already empty. “I’m really sorry”

“Thank you” you said, squeezing your lips in a thin line as old memories came to surface. Things you hadn’t you thought about in a long, long time. “If there isn’t anything else, may I escort you to the door?”

Your polite way of sending him away made him smile.

He placed the books he had just gathered back on the table, grabbed his suit and accompanied you towards the door, not bothering to dress the piece again. You opened the door and he stepped out, turning to look at you once more. His eyes were curious, interesting. Full of something you couldn’t quite identify, so mysterious as his sister’s.

“If you find Enola, don’t stop her from trying to find your mother” you told him, trying to repress the emotion in your voice. “Not knowing what happened… can be quite disturbing”

“I promise, stop her, is not my intention” he looked down at his feet once again, as if he was thinking for a brief moment, before his eyes went back to yours. “I could try to find out what happened to your parents. Who was their murderer”

“I don’t have much money, Mr. Holmes” you told him, your turn now to look down at your feet.

“I never said you would have to pay” he replied and with that your gaze snapped back up to meet his, and that made him chuckle. You couldn’t deny he looked quite beautiful when doing that. “You were there for my sister through much time and when she needed help, when I wasn’t. That is enough paying for me. Think about it, Miss (Y/L/N). After I find my sister and discover where is my mother, I am willing to take over your case. If you want me to” he nodded his head in your direction in a silent appreciation for your reception in your house and began to turn to walk away, but stopped himself in the middle of such movement. “May I know your first name?”

You smiled softly at that. “It’s (Y/N), Mr. Holmes”

“Please, call me Sherlock”

And after that, he walked away.

#imagine #x reader #fanfic #imagines #enola holmes fanfic #enola holmes imagine #enola holmes #sherlock holmes fanfic #Sherlock x reader #sherlock imagine #sherlock holmes x reader #sherlock holmes imagine #henry cavill imagine #henry cavill #henry cavill sherlock holmes #henry!sherlock

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