#I have another small silly idea related to that as well hopefully I can get to it soon haha
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shameful lust; suna rintarō
synopsis; he’s off limits in every way, but that only makes you want him more. based off of this, this, and this. the smut is inspired by my bunny anon’s birthday idea :) bunny, you know the one :)
pairings; brother’s bsf!suna rintarō x fem!reader
genre; porn with kind of plot lmfao
word count; 5.5k what the fuck??
trigger warning; age gap (not specified, & everyone’s 18+), masturbation, unprotected sex, creampie, squirting, humiliation, praise, mini panic attack, link for the lingerie (slight nsfw warning)
it started off innocent, as most things do. you were sixteen when you first felt the butterflies nestled deep in your stomach, the drop of your heart, the heat of your cheeks, only around him. you’d thought it was a natural reaction; after all, you’d known suna rintarō since, quite literally, forever, and you were a growing girl, hormones imbalanced and thoughts as confusing as ever. it was normal, completely ordinary to feel as nervous as you did whenever his hand so much brushed against yours, or whenever he’d barely glance your way to offer a small, teasing smile.
it meant nothing, of course. you were just a young girl, sixteen, desperate to lose yourself in some sort of fantasy. a silly crush on your brother’s best friend was nothing strange, and definitely inevitable.
it would go away.
you’re eighteen when the feelings don’t go away, and when they begin reshaping into more— impure thoughts. the more you see of him, the more hyperaware you grow of everything that he is. suddenly your eyes easily find the small strip of skin revealed when he stretches his arms up, and suddenly you can’t help but constantly think about the way he sits, legs spread so wide as if to... accommodate something. suddenly your thoughts always find their way back to the way he’d hugged you goodbye, arms squeezing you so tight to him, allowing you to feel every ridge and ripple of his muscles, and the way he had ruffled your hair and his hand, so large, so easily sinking into the strands— and you’re left wondering what else his fingers could do in your hair, to the rest of your body—
it’s bad. it’s really bad. every day you try and convince yourself it’s innocent, and every night you prove yourself wrong when you find yourself on your stomach, face buried in your pillow and teeth biting down on it, mouth dampening the cloth as your fingers rub harshly at your clit and sink into your dripping cunt— all with his name falling off your tongue as you heave and cry. every night you think about how much thicker his fingers are in comparison to yours, how much longer, how they’d feel inside of you, curling within you. you know he’s dexterous, insanely good with his hands. you’ve seen the way his fingers fly across a keyboard or tap urgently at a gaming console. you know it, and it in no way helps in calming your frustration.
it’s bad, of course, but you live with it. after all, he is in every way off limits. a lot older than you, and much more experienced, suna would have to lose his mind before he ever thinks of you the way you think of him. what would a girl like you have to offer a guy like him anyways? your shaky hands and clumsy mouth? your tight cunt that can barely fit two of your fingers? you’d only leave him unsatisfied, and leave yourself utterly humiliated.
worst of all, however, you can’t imagine how devastated, how betrayed, your brother would be if he’d caught you fooling around with his best friend.
so although you’re yearning to say fuck all and fuck him, you don’t, because it doesn’t make sense in the slightest for you to do so. you continue to make due with what shirtless image of him or that time he slept over and went commando, waking up at the same time you had and his — his dick was hard— you could see—
fuck.
you need to grow up.
as you sit with your back to your headboard, your knees bent up and swinging slightly, two simple knock erupt on your bedroom door. it’s late afternoon, the sun’s brightness dimming slightly, casting your room in an orange glow. in all honesty, it’s soothing.
looking up from your phone momentarily, you call out for the person knocking to come in, your eyes returning to your screen once more.
“hey.”
at the sound of the awfully familiar voice, your head snaps back up and you lock your phone, looking up with newfound excitement at the man standing at your doorway. “hi,” you return with a smile, sitting up and crossing your legs.
suna smiles back, walking into your room with one hand tucked behind his back. “your brother said i’d find you here,” he explains, walking towards you.
you quirk a brow, curiously and amusingly smiling as you ask, “whatcha got there?”
he’s quiet for a moment as he walks over to your side of the bed, maneuvering in a way that doesn’t reveal what he has hidden behind him. you twist around on your bed, leaning on your knees to face him properly, and it’s just when you lift up slightly to settle comfortably that he leans down, bends over to get close enough to whisper, “happy birthday, pretty girl.” he gives you not another moment to process how close his face is — how close his lips are to yours — before the hand behind his back comes around between you.
tucked in his hand is a medium sized bag, not related to any sort of brand, so you assume it’s a simple bag he’d gotten from a convenience store. that would really only mean one thing— that he’s gotten you more than just one gift. you can’t see what’s in it since there are colorful papers stacked within it, obstructing your view, but you’re still flustered at the mere thought he’d even considered to buy you a gift. it’s not unusual; suna, every year on your birthday, has gotten you a gift, yet it’s usually more so a gag gift than anything. some inside joke of yours, maybe he’d pay for your dinner, things like that. never a full on, thought out gift.
“you didn’t have to,” you say, settling back down on your knees and hesitantly taking the bag from him.
he waves you off, disagreeing. “course i did; you’re nineteen now.”
you roll your eyes. “wouldn’t eighteen be more special?”
“fine,” he decides, playfully taking the bag from your grasp and pulling it to him. “guess i’ll just give this to someone else then— maybe your mom—“
“suna!”
at your reaction, he laughs boisterously, and against all odds, you find yourself smiling too. quickly, you reach out for the bag again, pulling it back to you.
“open it when you’re alone,” he disclaims, almost as if in warning.
warily, you eye the bag.
“sure.”
you try to be quieter when unboxing suna’s gift, but the paper’s scrunching is just so damn loud. after cursing it out, you finally rid the bag of its first layer of paper, and are met with a scented candle and some lotion. basic, expected. there‘s a card there too, and when you open it, there’s a note in his messy handwriting, reading out a simple happy birthday— and a good couple of yens too. money, a candle, lotion.
so basic.
there’s still more paper beneath, but you don’t expect it to be for anything except decoration, not for—
what the fuck.
what the fuck.
What The Fuck?
your two hands dip into the bag, reaching out for the final gift, grabbing it by its straps and—
holy shit, he got you lingerie.
it’s so— sheer? you don’t think an inch of you will be properly covered, even with the lingerie on. it’s properly transparent, with only the intricate lace designs to modestly cover you. when you dig into the bag, you find the panties to match the bra and— well, it’s pretty, you can’t lie. there are dark, almost flowerlike designs all over, and it’s a deep black, nearly blue or green. there’s also a garter belt, but there aren’t any stockings in the bag to attach to the clips. maybe he’d expected you to take care of that?— ah no, you stand corrected. there are stockings.
fuck, he thought of everything didn’t he?
but more importantly, what the fuck does all of this mean?
burying the lingerie deep inside the bag again, and making sure to cover it up with the paper, thoroughly, you place the other gifts and the card back in and on top, before putting it aside on your bed.
and now, to gather your fucking thoughts.
you had to text him to thank him for the gift, obviously. but there was no way he’d accidentally misplaced the lingerie there. it was deliberately placed, with the way it was folded and tucked neatly, underneath an extra layer of paper above and beneath it? yeah, definitely on purpose. but— why? had he taken notice of your feelings towards him? was this his way of making fun or... reassuring you they were mutual?
god, what the hell are you thinking.
snatching your phone from your bedside table, you check the time.
2:01 a.m.
okay, everyone‘s bound to be asleep by now. hopefully. you eye the bag, so cautiously one would assume there’s some sort of killing machine within it. you contemplate. shake your head. no. the gears twist. yes.
no.
yes. no. yes. no—
fuck it, it’s yours anyways, isn’t it?
you snatch it loudly, rushing off to lock your bedroom door, then rushing to close the blinds, tightly, surely, then rushing to turn the lights off and turning the small lamp by your bedside on instead. what else are you meant to do with lingerie other than, well, put it on? it’s rational, you think, obvious.
it’s fine.
stealing one last, deep breathe, you dump the contents of the bag again, and pick out the lingerie.
it fits.
it fits perfectly.
the bra is snug against your chest, pushing at your breasts but not digging in uncomfortably. your nipples peak through what‘s revealed of the mesh, and when they stand perky and hard, you blame it on the fact that you‘re half naked. the garter belt wraps tightly around your waist, not squeezing to the point of discomfort and pain, but not loose that it’s a nuisance, and the clips that hang from it are attached to a pair of stockings that stop mid thigh, squeezing at the flesh. finally, a pair of panties rest on your cups, cupping your ass perfectly. it too is sheer, and god— you can see so much of you.
is this— what he would‘ve wanted?
you can’t deny that you do look good. it shows your figure off appealingly, and coupled with some dark lipstick, your messy hair, and the slightest smudge to your day’s eyeliner— would— would he have wanted you like this? all dolled up for him?
is this what suna likes?
doubting the fact that you’ll ever have the courage to put this set on again, you grab at your phone, clearing the area before your mirror, then sitting down at the edge of your bed. might as well enjoy it while it lasts, shouldn’t you? posing in the mirror, you appreciate the way you look, the way the dim lighting complements the atmosphere, the way the piece hugs your body and shows you off. you look so good.
so good— for him.
reveling in this surge of confidence, you snap a good amount of pictures, posing differently in each of them, taking them at different angles. your camera roll overflows with them, and as you fall back on the bed, hair splayed out on the mattress, you smile proudly at the pictures.
do you look good enough for him to see?
the thought strikes you suddenly; it tickles at the pit of your stomach, makes your knees bend and your toes curl.
should you?
the messenger app is open at the text messages between you and him before you can think, a picture of you uploaded and ready to send.
should you?
you tuck your lower lip between your teeth, mulling it over anxiously.
no, you most definitely shouldn’t.
quickly, you swipe out of the messenger app, and onto safari. porn it is.
you should‘ve turned the ac on. fuck, it’s hot.
3:10 a.m. 45 minutes since you’d put the lingerie set on and had your mini photoshoot, ten minutes since you’d started masturbating. everything’s still in place except for the garter clips, which have snapped off of your stockings at some point in the past few minutes, but you pay it barely any mind as your legs spread wider, one hand dipped beneath your panties, the other pressing hard against your mouth, trying to keep yourself quiet.
it’s not that you generally had a problem keeping down your noises. your home was constantly filled with people, and you’re almost always sexually frustrated at the most inconvenient times. this time, however, it’s different. it’s different because you’re wearing a lingerie set that suna picked out, that suna bought for you, that suna gave you himself. would he have wanted to watch you touch yourself like this, dressed up so pretty? or— would he have wanted to fuck you while—
shit, you’re gonna cum.
you let out a broken moan, bleeding into a desperate son, muffled barely your hand. your fingers fuck into your cunt faster, squelching lowly as you arch your back, pressing your palm harshly against your clit.
“ugh, hngh,” you whine, squeal, wrist aching. “fuck, rin— please—“
you’re so loud, shit, shit, shit.
beside you, your phone dings! loudly, alerting you of a message received, but you can’t stop, not when you’re so close. it dings again, and again, but you continue to ignore, chasing your own high so desperately, faster, faster, faster. the coil tightens, your body tenses, mind hazing over and eyes rolling back— so close, so fucking close.
“well aren’t you a doll.”
your eyes snap open, and you only manage one second to process who the fuck and what the fuck before your hips are trembling and twisting, and your legs are shaking so awfully as your back arches deep. the moment you hear his voice, so deep and clear, looming just by the edge of your bed where you lay spread, fucking yourself, you cum— and you’re convinced you have a humiliation kink. you didn’t cum because you’d simply been close— you came because you heard him catch you.
in your post orgasmic daze, you pant deeply, chest heaving, rising and falling rapidly as you try to catch your breath. your fingers pull back from your panties, falling to the bed, sticky and wet, while your other hand falls from from your mouth, drool and spit dripping from the corner of your lips.
“aw, you ruined the set.”
you sigh. “rin.” the way you say his name isn’t in a way that’s calling out for him, but neither are you scolding him nor brushing him off for teasing you. you’re just simply trying to process the fact that he’s here.
“i like it when you call me that,” he admits, and in a second he’s falling over you, hands bracing and steadying him beside your head, keeping himself hovering at a small distance. “why do you always insist on calling me suna?” he wonders, head tilting curiously.
blinking slowly, you breathe in, and out, and ask, “what are you doing here?”
above you, he shrugs. “you were the one that sent me those—”
immediately, you’re pushing him off you, sitting up all too quickly as you reach out for your phone. you shakily unlock it, typing in your password and opening the messenger app. he’s right— shit. you could’ve sworn you’d deleted the photo, because you’d explicitly decided just how stupid sending it would’ve been.
well, look at you now.
“that wasn’t— oh my god, i’m so sorry, i didn’t mean to,” you stutter, turning your body towards him once more, but avoiding his gaze, your body, only barely having just cooled down, heating up once more.
“oh?” he tests. “was it not meant for me?”
“no, i—“
he’s smiling all too wide for him to not be getting off on your embarrassment. at the thought of that, your eyes unintentionally snap up to him, to his crotch, where beneath his sweats is a bulge, and god, it’s like all those nights ago where you’d seen his dick through his sweats and he’s big, he’s so big—
“just where do you think you’re looking?” he sneers, hand all of a sudden gripping your chin, tilting your head back up and forcing you to finally, for the first time, meet his eyes. they’re dark, almost sinister, as they narrowly glare at you, begging you for explanation.
your mind’s no longer clouded over, all pleasure dissipating from your veins, pathetic humiliation replacing it. “i’m sorry,” you mewl, eyes tearing up at the look on his face. of course he was disgusted. just as your stupid crush on him was natural, so was his reaction. “i’m sorry, please don’t tell anyone,” you beg, lower lip wobbling.
his grip on your chin tightens as he furrows his brows. “tell anyone?” he questions. “about what?”
had he not— heard you?
he says your name, firmly, deeply, in a way that has you stifling your sobs and biting your bottom lip to stop its quivering. patiently, you wait for him to speak, to say anything, until finally, he asks, “do you want me to fuck you?” and your heart stops. “yeah?” he continues, his other hand reaching for your wrist, your hand, the same one that’s still sticky with the evidence of you. slowly, as he brings his lips closer to yours, fingers slipping so that he’s squishing your cheeks tightly, he leads your hand to his crotch, to where his dick is painfully hard beneath his sweats. your initial touch is featherlight, and he doesn’t fully press your hand to his clothed cock, but still, just the smallest, tiniest feel of him has the lust in your veins thrumming alive. “you think you’d look pretty—” he pauses, lips hovering by yours, eyes searching for any sign of hesitance or resistance, “sitting on my cock?”
“i’m sorry,” you apologize again, but he swallows it by finally, finally, pressing his lips to yours. his lips are so soft, softer than you’d imagined and fantasized a thousand times over, as they press against yours, managing to pull the softest moan of surprise and pleasure from you. you’d forgotten, in your moment of shame, just how much you’d craved suna rintarō. just how often you thought about him, those same fingers gripping your chin to be buried inside of you, those pretty lips sucking on your tits and clit. “want you so bad,” you hiccup, kissing him back. “so bad.”
he hums, amused, pulling back. licking his lips with a grin, as if tasting you, his hands leave you entirely, reaching for the hem of his shirt as he lifts it up, freeing himself of the piece of clothing. “don’t you think i know, sweetheart?” he teases, daringly. at the sight of your eyes widening, he nods with a dramatized serious expression, tutting as he adds, “so dirty, thinkin’ ‘bout me like that.”
you whine again, hands lifting up to obstruct your face from his view as you fall back on the bed, body bouncing slightly. “stop,” you plead, not for him to pull back but for him to stop reminding you of just how wrong it is to feel the way you do. still, you spread your sticky thighs for him when he presses his hands to your knees, and you shiver at the feel of his fingers tickling at your skin. “i’m sorry.”
“that’s okay, pretty girl,” he reassures you, faux sweetness dripping like honey off his tongue. he leans in, carefully slow, hands following the curve of his body and yours. “i want you too.” he smiles mischievously, leaning close once more. “so bad,” he mimics you, lips hovering right above yours before he kisses you once more. you want to pinch his arm for outright mocking you, because really, how infuriating can he be? but it’s impossible to want to do anything but desire him in every possible way at the moment, especially when he presses himself harder against you, hips slotting between your legs and clothed cock brushing against your dripping panties.
“rin,” you plead, hands clawing at his back, grasping at his shoulders. god, his skin is so warm.
“yes?” he drawls, wet lips kissing the corner of your mouth, trailing easily to your jaw, and down to your neck. patiently, he waits for you to speak.
with a trembling voice, you ask, “be quick. please.”
a little stunned, suna pauses his ministrations at your neck, but it’s barely for a second. because moments later, he’s grinning sinisterly into the crook of your neck, sucking hotly as he replies, “sure thing.”
you do want to take your time. you want him to stuff his face between your legs and sink his fingers so deep inside of you. you want him to force your mouth down on him, want to bury your face in your lap till you’re choking and gagging on his cock. you want him to take his time stretching you for his cock before he sinks inside of you, letting you feel every single inch and ridge of his dick until he bottoms out. you wish. you wish.
but you’re desperate, and needy, and frustrated, and most of all, you’re not even sure if this is real. you’re scared to blink and have him disappear all of a sudden. you’re scared to wake up with soaked panties and no gift from suna, no suna above you, hard cock pressing against your cunt, only the same suna from all these past years, the same suna you pine over at a distance, wanting but never having.
so you whimper so quietly, “be quick,” again, because he’s still too slow for your liking.
his fingers grasp the sides of your panties, pulling as quick as he can, sliding them down your thighs, watching as the cloth rolls at the urgency as it slides past your knees, your shins, your ankles, legs lifted high up. at the final loop around your right ankle, as suna flings it off, he kisses at your ankle, gripping it tightly and using it to spread your legs.
as your legs spread, your pussy, soaking from both your past orgasm and this unbelievable build up, spreads too, glistening and dripping for him. his eyes easily fall to it, and, with that same glint in his eyes, he grins, and licks his lips again. “wish i could have a taste,” he admits to you, shuffling closer and bending your legs closer to your chest with one hand. the other hand frantically pushes at the hem of his sweatpants, tugging it low, beneath his balls. “god, i’d have you sit on my face for hours.”
he’s going to kill you.
he’s going to fucking kill you.
at his words, your cunt pulsates and clenches tightly, hole glistening as you moan. you hope he doesn’t notice, but he does, somehow, and he laughs, too fucking loud. “you liked that, hm? bet you’d look so cute,” he spurs you on, and your entire body trembles.
you wish to say something, to find the courage to belittle him, degrade him, remind him that if you’re in the wrong for wanting this then so is he, but it’s so hard to find your voice. it’s like he’s stupefied you completely, reduced you to this dumb, wordless, horny mess. god, fuck, it’s embarrassing. you can only watch with wide, tearful eyes and quivering lips and trembling legs as he spits on his hand and fists his cock, quickly, getting himself all nice and slick for you. his cock is— he’s so big, fuck. if you’d been shocked feeling him beneath his sweats, well, your entire body’s rigid with anticipation now.
just as promised, suna’s quick. with one hand pressing and steadying firmly at your lower stomach, right by your hip, he guides his cock to your cunt with the other, wasting no time by pushing in. no way, no way, no fucking way.
how is he fitting?
“ease up,” he orders sharply, forcing more of himself inside of you.
in response, you bring both hands up to your mouth, clasping them tightly above your lips. you remaining quiet is as impossible as ever, with the way he’s stretching you so wide for him, so you press down harder with your hands and throw your head back as he sinks in deeper, and deeper.
“aren’t a good girl?” he praises sweetly, his other hand mirroring the one on your hip. he watches as you lower your head again, lifting it up slightly to look between the two of you at where he’s fully bottomed out, buried deep inside of you. “feel good?” he wonders, even if he knows the answer. your head falls back again and you nod with your eyes squeezing shut. “feel so full, yeah?” you’re glad he’s speaking for you, because you doubt you could find your voice at the moment, even if you tried.
you nod again instead, urgently, just as he pulls out until only his tip remains inside of you, before pressing back in quickly, thrusting into you suddenly. the sight of him above you is better than anything your mind has ever made up, hands squeezing at your hips tightly, both ensuring you keep your legs spread for him and keeping himself up, steadying himself as he fucks into you. his arms bulge and the muscles in his abdomen tighten and tense with every thrust. his chest, so flushed red; his hair, a little sweaty, a little messy; his brows, furrowed deep in concentration; his lips, wet and red, so fucking red, his tongue jutting out slightly as he picks up the pace, as he thrusts faster, harder.
and best of all: the noises he makes. he’s shameless, fucking into you with abandon, moaning and grunting and whining for you, like he’d been the one yearning, pining, and not you. and, you suppose, with the way he’s fucking into you right now, that there might’ve been some truth in his words, that he’s wanted you just as bad, that this wasn’t some pity fuck— poor little girl, his best friend’s sister, sending him lewd and inappropriate photos because she’s so desperate, she can’t help but lust after him, every single day.
his hands squeeze even tighter and he grunts, gritting his teeth sharply. “fuck, m’already close,” he grunts, and somehow, that makes your heart swell, pride deepening. “cunt’s so fucking tight, shit.” you’re making him say those words, you’re going to make him cum so quick, it’s you. you.
when his hands crawl up to your breasts, squeezing and kneading through the bra, your hands fall to his forearms, gripping so tightly and digging your nails into his skin. “please, please, please, cum inside,” you beg, trying to be as quiet as you can. “please rin, please.”
the bed creaks with the effort and speed of his thrusts, your body bouncing as his cock fucks deep into your cunt. his head bows in, smooth hair swinging forward as he curses. “are you— hm..hngh—sure?” he asks, and you nod so rapidly you feel dizzy, arching your back as much as you can to get him deeper inside of you. he’s a mess of curses and pants as he fucks you even faster, one hand remaining at your breast, grasping tightly, the other lowering to your wet clit, rubbing furiously, messily, clumsily.
no words are exchanged as he desperately circles your clit with the rough pads of his fingers, squeezing and kneading your breast as he angles his hips, trying to get you to cum before he does. and just as as before, just as he’d caught you earlier, your body starts to tense up, shaking in anticipation as your orgasm draws closer and closer.
but there’s something— different.
“rin!” you yell out, still half-whispering in an attempt to keep quiet. your eyes well up as you call out for him again, your orgasm unbearably close. “rin, feels weird— oh m—”
he only just barely manages to shove his hand against your face before you’re screaming, throat aching and scratching as you thrash beneath him. around his cock, your cunt spams and clenches down tightly, cum splashing and spraying all over his lower stomach and past his cock to his balls. you’re still thrashing, still squealing and screaming, and he’s spilling inside of you, filling you up impossibly, his cum splashing and dripping as it mixes with yours.
“holy shit,” he breathlessly marvels, hips still rocking and grinding against yours as he helps the both of you ride out your highs. “you ever—“ he steals in a breath, steadying himself slightly, “—cum this hard?”
you’re sobbing, hiccuping and mewling and whining and crying, your body impossibly sensitive. tears stream freely down your cheeks as you sink into the mattress, feeling quite literally like jelly. slowly, suna pulls his cock out, trying not to get distracted by the way your cunt squeezes out some of his cum, and instead focuses on you, his hands cupping your cheeks softly.
“hey, hey, eyes on me,” he encourages, kneeling above you as his thumbs brush at your tears.
“m’sorry, ri— suna,” you heave, hands grasping his as your eyes water again, fresh tears joining ones that are yet to dry.
“what for, sweet thing?” he asks gently. when you start to lift yourself up, he leans back, sitting on your bed, giving you space to get comfortable. he watches with worried eyes as you furiously rub at your eyes with your palms and the back of your hands, as the tears never stop flowing. shit, did he fuck up somehow? he calls your name again, cautiously reaching out for you. when you don’t reject his touch, his heart settles, just a little. “tell me what’s wrong?” he offers again, and you sniffle.
“are you not disgusted?” you ask, voice wobbly and cracking.
his brows furrow, and he cocks his head. “because you... squirted?”
you slap at his arm with a roll of your eyes. “no, suna.”
“when did i lose my first name privileges?” he asks, dramatically shocked. again, you roll your eyes. well, at least the tears have ceased. softening slightly, suna sighs. he’s shit at this. he’s worse than shit at this. talking in general? awful. talking about his or someone else’s feelings? he’s sure the devil would be better comfort. still, he can’t just— leave you. he’s sure that would make things a thousand times worse.
and honestly, neither does he want to leave you.
“i can’t read your mind, pretty girl,” he reminds you, and momentarily, you look away.
until you inhale sharply, and meet his eyes again. “it’s okay...” you begin, trailing off as you attempt to gather your words, before continuing, “that i feel this way for you?”
at your words, at the much needed clarity, suna sighs in relief. so that was it. “more than okay,” he promises you.
you nod in understanding, before prodding further, “not weird?”
he thinks it over, before answering. if he’s honest with himself, the most he’d felt with you was sexual attraction. he liked the way your tits bounced when you ran to greet him or the press of your ass against his crotch when you passed by him to get somewhere. he liked— he liked thinking about your body, your lips, your hands. it’s why he sent you that lingerie set, the one that sits so pretty on your body right now. not that he’d been expecting you to send him anything, and he’d even anticipated that you might feel disgusted, might throw it in his face and slap him too. but he knew you better. suna was observant. he knew more than he let on, more than anyone could imagine. if he hadn’t realized your eyes on him in the past years, he must be blind.
still, he’s not sure if it was ever more, or if it is more. but, he supposes, it’s not an unimaginable feat. he thinks that maybe, there is a chance. he likes you, sure; you make his belly twist and his heart jump. but is he going to risk leading you on?
he doesn’t know.
he settles for, “good weird.”
your face is the definition of a question mark. “what the hell is good weird?”
“your face is good weird,” he retorts. it’s a bad comeback, terrible actually, but his face is flushing a dark red, and he needs to get away. you’re flustering him and it’s pissing him off.
“that’s so mean!”
yeah, the devil would’ve been better comfort. he wasn’t around though, so he made sure suna had been sleeping over that night instead.
worked in your favor didn’t it?
end note; my godddddfhksfhbskjbsb ,,, sorry if you found mistakes this took me all day and im not assed to proofread <//3 but i hope you liked regardless!!
#suna#suna smut#suna rintarou smut#suna x reader#haikyuu smut#suna rintarou x reader#rintarou smut#suna rintaro smut#suna rintaro x reader#haikyuu x reader#haikyuu x reader smut#hq smut#sal's thirst tag <3
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Headcanons for Laszlo plz,
Doctor!Reader was going a Institute to see Laszlo, prepare tea. Talks about how Laszlo adore these children’s in Institute. But then you felt your heartbeat that Laszlo was the sweetest and he was trying to kiss you on his office. We chuckles and hopefully get to know each other more
A Study on Feelings [Dr Laszlo Kreizler x Doctor!Reader]
Word count: 1.5k
Warnings: mention of murder and abused children
Author’s note: I hope I made a good job for your request 💕 thank you for allowing me to write it.
The case they refer to is made up and not related to the series.
You stepped out of the carriage thanking the driver, he bowed his head to you touching the tip of his hat respectfully.
The day was slowly dying, the sun was disappearing among the grey clouds of New York sky, the city trembling of life was going toward a well earned rest, but the joyful sounds coming from beyond the gates of the Kreizler’s institute were the real blessing of the day.
“Doctor Y/L/N” the familiar voice of Doctor Kreizler welcomed you as he walked outside the heavy gates “I am glad you made it to visit us” he said referring to himself and the whole Institute altogether.
You couldn’t help but smile back admitting how it was unmissable for you to do such a visit.
Words aside he caught your attention as he was without his jacket, a more easy look that, in such a time where people took hours to dress and undress, it was a proper sight.
As you got inside the sound became more clear, the children rushing one after the other while getting in their beds, the smiling faces, the happy chats.
It felt such a blessing to be able to witness such a pure joy.
“Please, pardon my attire, the kids and I were playing, right?” He asked to a child that nodded he looked down shyly, not able to cross eyes with you but clearly trusting the doctor. Laszlo noticed that reaction, but he opened his left arm in front of you to invite you to go further.
Tenderness and attention gravitated around this place, it was a calming space, but also rooted into the process of healing the kids were going through.
Something hard to explain, something that could only be felt in a place like the Kreizler Institute.
You followed Laszlo inside as he gallantly showed you the way around, room after room, hall after hall to his office.
“This place is magnificent” you murmured to him
“It is, indeed, but not just architectonically, the kids make it special” he assured as he thanked the lady at service for bringing hot water to him.
“You like brewing your own tea?” You asked him once alone.
“What does that say about me?” He joked and you shrugged lightly observing him in such a mundane situation, in his little ritual.
“That you’re very fond of control, you probably spend a lot of sleepless nights here, and you take pride of your tea selection”
He chuckled at your words replying quickly
“Sounds like somebody that I know, do you have a favourite tea?”
“I will try your favourite, if you allow me” you said pacing around the study during the whole conversation, your eyes going quietly from the chalkboard to the books open on the big table, the intense scente of wood covering the room joined with the gentle notes of the vanilla coming from the books.
The place felt relaxing and professional, serious but cozy.
“I admire your work, Doctor Kreizler” you confessed honestly as he let the tea brewing “now, I believe you called me for a very specific matter” you added as he pulled out those papers and books you were meant to see together.
You stared at him as he explained the case, word after word, his hand moving along every detail, apologising for every gruesome one, showing proofs, the ideas he had, the intuitions and troubles.
“May you go back to that last victim?” You asked as you proceeded to collect the tea and to pour it yourself as he was now more challenged to go through the topics, you saw something he didn’t and that intrigued him. He wasn’t completely blind to your presence there and, probably, he also tried this hard to impress you. He felt a bit silly, showing off like a peacock all his feathers about solving murder cases.
You smiled as the time flew by, your teas followed one after the other marking the edges of the pages and turning cold as you spoke and shared ideas. At some point you took off your jacket to be more comfortable while writing on the board adding those possible explanations to the motifs of the new killer he was investigating on.
“Doctor! Doctor!” A tiny voice called and you both turned around as a little girl rushed in, blonde hair blowing in the air already wearing her night dress as she handed the big black jacket of the doctor back to him “You forgot it”.
“Oh, thank you so much Margaret, you have been most precious, now go to bed or Mrs Morenko will get worried” he smiled at her lovingly and she nodded valiantly before rushing away.
You kept quiet as you observed her and smiled how she skipped around happily.
“She is the girl you told me about?” You asked him and he nodded closing the door after her and moving back to the table, standing beside it as he gently tapped on the wood with his fingers.
“You can’t prevent polarisation, it is harder with kids” you assured him moving by his side to interject his stare still settled on the wood under him.
“I should have seen it coming, she is getting into a place I never meant her to be. I wanted her to be freed by the need to please her family and now she substituted it with the need to please me”
“You substituted her parents in her mind, an evil man and an evil woman, you’re the sweetest of the mothers and the most protective of the fathers. You can’t blame yourself on this.”
He listened to you and you could almost see the little gears in his brain elaborate your words, his right hand abandoned on his side, hair slightly falling on his temple as he pressed his lips tightly together.
“I did her wrong being so soft on her”
He concluded closing his eyes for a moment before looking up at you realising how close you actually are.
“Do you expect me to punish you now?”
You asked back at him and that surely took him by surprise as he tried to babble what he meant and he wasn’t self pitying himself and how you probably didn’t want to listen to his children’s problems too, you were already helping too much.
“Doctor Kreizler” you interrupted that river of words “as professionals we need to understand how to treat our patients in the best way to bring them further in life and not backward. You know just as I do how if you utilised a strong and threatening attitude you would have just taught her that the way to deal with life is to submit to the more aggressive ones, which is way worse than a young ten year old having a crush on the man that taught her she can be strong, isn’t it?”
He looked at you and smiled moving his head on side with a small tilt letting your words sink in and probably glad you defined him in such a way.
“I just love these kids” he breathed out as his eyes drifted somewhere in the space “they are picked up so soon in life and set for failures and successes they never meant to have, somebody else reading through them seeing fault in desire and poverty in tenderness”
You felt you chest tighten as he spoke, his eyes now shining, his voice narrating slowly those lives and achievements. His passion and hard work showing as he guided some papers closer to play out that moment the embarrassment of having opened up to you like that.
“The truth is, Doctor Y/L/N, that we can do so little, and the best thing we can do is to teach them not to accept little from life”
You smiled at him softly “You’re right”.
He smiled back as his dark gaze dropped down on your lips and he leaned in carefully, his eyes up at you again searching for consent, you imperceptibly wet your lips as you realised he was closing the space between the two of you.
Then a familiar voice coming from outside the window calling his name.
He paused midway and you could see a soft pink take over on his cheeks and behind his ears, he murmured something moving away from you as he opened up the window letting in the cold breeze.
“Laszlo! There’s another victim! Come down! Now! She is still alive you have to speak to her!” John shouted from his carriage “Move your ass!” He added shouting again as Dr Kreizler clearly was upset by the interruption and rolled his eyes to that vulgar talk.
You chuckled slowly picking his jacket and moving behind him. He noticed you and gulped down letting you help him with it.
“I apologise, I have to go, but Dr Y/L/N, I pledge for your forgiveness”
You nodded slowly as you were thinking about it as you picked up your own jacket.
“That could be earned by giving me the permission to call you Laszlo myself”
He smiled with a light nod just admiring the way you didn’t let any embarrassment run through the two of you.
“I couldn’t in any way refuse a requests coming from you, Y/N”
You nodded to him placing your hat back on your head with a smirk
“Good, now don’t stand there, we have to go” you said as he froze halfway through the door.
“Pardon?”
“You don’t expect to introduce me to this case and make me forget about it, or about you” you said and he let out a breathy chuckle holding the door for you open before following you outside.
This was the beginning of something new.
Tags: @cazzyimagines @that-stupid-head-tilt-thing
#dr kreizler x reader#dr laszlo kreizler#dr laszlo kreizler x you#dr laszlo kreizler x reader#laszlo kreizler fanfic#laszlo kreizler fanfiction#laszlo kreizler x y/n#laszlo kreizler x you#laszlo kreizler x reader#the alienist x reader#the alienist fanfic#laszlo kreizler
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I've seen a lot of people do it, so if you are up for it~ Ship your moots!
FINALLY. THE AWAITED LIST OF MOOTS IS COMPLETE. sorry this took forever anon!!
now, this is going to be long & i will try not to overexplain my ship pairings. did i take time to think about each paring? yes. but, will they be serious? no. they are dumb & silly.
let the crack pairings begin <3!!
@dekusneakers x BAKUGOU & TODOROKI now you would think? sneakers in a throuple? how come? mmm simple. i couldn’t choose one for her so she gets both. the more the merrier. besides, she deserves love from both sides, kisses on both cheeks. one begrudgingly smooch & one icy kith. as a deku kin, she’s completely satisfied. you’re welcome
@izusun x AIZAWA & ORCA similarly, i can’t have my bestie here with just ONE babe. so, i thought why don’t we get a fatherly figure & a dad bod to give her all the love she needs. so yes, bestie, you two deserves hugs at both sides of you. a twiggy one & a muscly one. the sun needs some shade, & that shade is these men.
@midnightpirates x SUKUNA he’s a mass murderer !! you can’t— oh, but i can. you see, yanna here hates mahito & guess who was the one to fuck up his shit. ah, that’s right, it was sukuna. two mahito an/tis sitting in a tree <3 it’s the perfect match made in hell.
@goth-himbo-dabi x DOCTOR WHO once again, people might wonder: why not dabi? my answer? it’s because my bby here finds the twiggy men attractive. i know, bummer. & you can’t get any twiggy-er than david tennant & matt smith. but which doctor? all of them.
@minisheku x KAMINARI i see you simp for his dunce face. & honestly, who wouldn’t?? also, i originally put sheepku,, but that’s ,, a bit weird. but, here’s the solution. you OWN a sheepku, with kaminari. ah yes, a modern day family unit. & he can entertain you, as well as be a source of electricity for your drawing tablet !! resources !!
@oyavaski x EN you said he was hot literally in your tags earlier in a reblog. so, i am simply gifting you water to quench your thirst. may you two meet in afo, & fall in love in the subconscious of deku’s mind. will deku feel awks? yeah. but like pfft, he’s so whipped for bkg, he’ll forget you two chilling in the corner of his thoughts.
@okworstie x GOJO & WATARI i never have to look up the gojo tag, like ever. because you’re always plastering his face all over my timeline. & yes, this is a good thing. but, the same applies to watari. i have never even seen bakudiez, or whatever it’s called, but apparently he’s aro, & there’s a moth man, & tape hits post limit thursday’s? yeah just keep both, mimi.
@rrandomtthings x AN/TI as one of fellow loyal, amazing bkdks, i think it’s only fitting that you find true love with a bkdk an/ti. create the banti we seek in our community. the enemies to lovers trope is in your blood, written in your deku genes. so, i dedicate the banti movement with this small offering of a ship. may you find diamonds on the minecraft server & build a diamond cabin.
@believeyourgalaxy x ITADORI you two are such cinnamon rolls !!!! super friendly. super kind. super relatable. & together, you guys can pin over megumi. maybe hopefully, sam can help itadori with his low iq brain to finally get together with megumi. because damn, sam can be like “this is my boyfriend, itadori. & this is itadori’s boyfriend, megumi.”
@wrensknight x SHIRAKUMO i didn’t even know it was oboro birthday, until you not only made a public post about to, but made art for him. cloud boy needs that partner to respect & cherish him entirely. & you just treat him so right?? draw him so good?? i hope you can go cloud watching & then later, ride the clouds with him. till death do you guys uh,, you know,,
@b1m0 x MIDORIYA you can't stand when he gets injured, let alone reckless & trying to save the world, when he should literally be saving his own ass. but, that just means you care about him DEEPLY. plus, you both are wholesome people. obviously two cinnamon rolls make a whole bakery !! & who doesn't want a bakery ?? i sure do! wehjw idk why i brought the point here, but just know you two make sense.
@mysterionrising x RENGOKU & VIGILANTE DEKU it’s that enemies to lovers trope once again !! for someone who wrote him off as annoying the first seconds she met him, kenny sure flipped over to the stan side. ever since then, i can only see kenny when i see rengoku. but, you know who else reminds me of kenny. vigilante deku. it’s super fruity that you have an entire bomb playlist for him. so keep him too !!
@kamishima x KIRISHIMA you are the biggest kiri simp i have ever met. you basically ship kiri with anyone who makes him happy. though, you do have a lot of ships, but with kiri it’s different. & so, i was thinking ‘mmm, if bug ships kiri with so many people?? shouldn’t she ship him with HERSELF?’ boom. suddenly both kiri & bug are happy, with a lovely home. my work here is done.
@ckatsudon x LAW LIET did i dig through your blog. why yes. & you know what i found? reblogs & tags dedicated to L. he’s best boy. he’s precious. he deserves a better end. an end with you. mmhmm !! because if we rewrote death note, where you were light, i think L & light could have been canon. & that also would make you happy. & the rest of the entire world
@drfox-kinnie x UNIKITTY i don’t even know the show, let alone who unikitty is exactly. but, you reblogged a banner, confirming your love for unikitty. & so, i am of course doing you a big favor !! she’s bubbly, friendly, & passionate just like you !! & bestie, while i may not know nothing about her, i know you love her. so, maybe you two platonically have a wonderful time, adventuring with the other wholesome characters !! also,, is she big enough to travel on? if so, look i got you a cat car!!
@midorree x MINACHAKO i ship you with another ship. why? because i can. besides, you are like my moot who is genuinely a head leader of the minachako ship on my timeline, & you have steadily been converting me?? but, i also noticed that mina AND uraraka have stolen your heart, & you have yet to fight them for it back. i hope you three can go into a brawl & see who can grab each other’s hands fastest.
@kiribakuxkacchakolover x HATSUME YOU HAVE IT AS YOUR TITLE HEADER. like you are literally having a billboard that calls mei your cutie patootie. &, you ask, & you shall receive. i hope you two can be the dorkiest nerds together, & ramble for eons & eons. i hope i’m invited to the transformer wedding you two will have <,3
@balaroo x MIRUKO like before, you too have your interest out in the open in your title header. but, you see, miruko is a total babe, with confidence & ego & with this stride that makes even the most alpha male quiver. you would be a total wife to miruko’s girlboss energy & that’s why this ship totally works.
@quix-mix x FREDDY FAZBEAR my precious lil young moot, i dug into your blog & noticed you enjoy the fnaf games. & mmm are you perhaps wanting to cuddle a certain demonic teddy bear? well, i approve. he'll fall in love, head over heels, with your art, he might not possess you right away !! might. but, listen, you always do enjoy the villains (; i gotchu !!
@lonely-rabbit x LANCE you said we’re moots & i agree, we are. however, i have noooo idea what even are your preferences. so, i went digging. & it’s such a coincidence that we bonded over our voltron trauma, & yet you still continue to simp over lance. &, like i don’t blame you !!! he’ll always be dumb baby & so all i ask is that you love him, for our sake. & sanity.
#star responds#THIS TOOK FOREVER STILL#EVEN WITH MY SHORT EXPLANATIONS#but tadaaaa#the moots have now been complied#& ahajsbkssj i HOPE you all like your pairings. even the dumb ones <#I ALREADY KNOW SOME OF YALL WILL LAUGH LMAOO#otherwise if you want to roast me & what my pairing would be. pls feel free to do so#this was so fun omgg thank you anon for this opportunity!!#anon#moots
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Pretense
Here’s a one-shot fanfic from me, still on Legend of Korra.
- Lin/Tenzin, pre-LOK AU
- One-shot, completed
- Length: Approx 8.9k
Overview:
As far as the Earth Kingdom is concerned, Lin Beifong is in a relationship with the son of the Avatar.
No, not that one.
---
Lin could not believe that they managed to pull it off.
It has been a week since she arrived at Ba Sing Se. So far, it has gone well.
She towel-dried her hair as she moved around the room to get ready. The metalbender has just finished her shower right after coming home from training with the Dai Li.
Lin had always wanted to train with them. She felt that, aside from her mother, they would be a good source of learning different earthbending styles.
As expected, her grandmother Poppy was more than unwilling to have her train – for what good man would indeed wish to be with a brutish young lady like her. On the other hand, Toph Beifong was quite supportive but was hesitant on the grounds that it might hinder her progress with the police force.
Ever the people-pleaser as her pestering sister described her, Lin struggled to come to a solution that would hopefully meet all their concerns. By some fortunate coincidence, someone swooped in with a proposal, which she accepted after weighing the pros and cons.
Sliding into a long deep scarlet dress, Lin quickly pinned up her hair and applied lip stick. It would simply not do for one of the ladies of the Noble House of Beifong to be seen unkempt.
This was the concession of her temporary move to Ba Sing Se: train with the Dai Li by day - attend society events at night.
It was enough to satisfy both her mother and grandmother. Toph hated these events expected from the current head of the Beifong family. Having Lin attend to it in her stead works for both of them - Toph gets to stay in Republic City and Lin gets to show her family (and the world) that she is highly capable in navigating these events. This way, no one need worry about the Beifongs not being recognized within the Earth Kingdom.
There was a knock at the door. Lin took one last look in the mirror and went to open it.
To add to her advantage, showing up with a date every time for these events keeps possible entanglements at bay.
“You look wonderful, Lin.”
After all, what better way to repel unwanted admirers than showing up at the arm of the Avatar’s son?
“Thanks, you look good too, Bumi.”
---
Tenzin unfolded the letter.
This was the address, he confirmed, standing in front of a tall nondescript gate, blocking the view and entrance to a residence in the Middle Ring in Ba Sing Se.
He rang the bell and waited.
The airbender shifted his bag from shoulder to shoulder, his robes billowing in the wind but interestingly not drawing attention from any passersby. He figured it was a good call to leave Oogi at the Air Temple and take a train to the Earth Kingdom instead, less commotion and less accommodations needed. He did not want to unnecessarily impose on others after all.
Tenzin was at the last leg of his travels and it happened to be a stop at the Earth Kingdom, specifically at Ba Sing Se University. Initially having thought that only minimal information documenting the Air Nomad culture survived the genocide, after the deposition of Ozai, more and more have contacted the Avatar to share artifacts and knowledge of the Air Nomads that they had hidden away during the war. Aang had eagerly responded to each of these letters and began to acquire these relics beholden to his culture. When Tenzin became of age and was to embark on his travels as a new airbending master, he sought to continue this practice and exploration. This is what brings him to Ba Sing Se University.
He had been writing to his mother to update her; telling of his plans to stop at the Earth Kingdom before going home to Air Temple Island. Katara had suggested to contact his brother who would be there for a diplomatic assignment. Tenzin was skeptical; he did not have a close relationship with his siblings after all. Nonetheless, to appease his mother, he did write to Bumi asking if he could stay for a couple of weeks with him. To his surprise, Bumi had responded in the affirmative.
“Coming!”
A voice answered the bell, a voice which was obviously not Bumi and was distinctly feminine.
The gate swung open, and Tenzin gaped.
“Hi Tenzin, you’re early!” Lin Beifong stood before him, clad in a gold qipao. For a moment Tenzin was not able to respond, focusing his attention on the curl at her neck that must have escaped the bun on top of her head.
“H-hello, Lin.”
She invited him in. “We weren’t expecting you until tomorrow.”
We?
“I was able to catch the first train out and so cut a day from my travel time.” He managed to respond as Lin led him to the house.
“I see, we were going to fetch you.”
“So, is it really Tenzin?” A loud voice came from one of the inner rooms of the house.
The metalbender rolled her eyes. “Of course, has my seismic sense failed us yet?”
“One could hope not.” Bumi came into view, wearing a towel tied at his waist and nothing much else. “Tennyboy! Great to see you!” The military man clapped his hands then moved to embrace his brother tightly and lifting him up. “Welcome to Ba Sing Se.”
“Good to see you too, Bumi.” Tenzin gasped out, dropping his bags, and patting his older brother back.
From his peripheral view, he could see Lin watching them with amusement.
“I want to hear all about what you’re up to here, baby brother.” Bumi set Tenzin back on the ground, crossing his arms, unmindful of his still dripping hair from his shower.
Lin cleared her throat and both men turned to her. She simply raised an eyebrow.
“Ah right,” Bumi shrugged. “Lin and I were on our way out for a charity event, would you want to join us?”
“Um, thanks but no.” Tenzin thought it would be the height of poor manners to show up uninvited by the hosts to a formal dinner. “I’ll settle in first.” He gestured to his things.
“Maybe next time, then.” Suddenly aware of his semi-nakedness, Bumi quickly addressed Lin. “Lin, if you could show him to his room? I’ll finish getting ready.”
Lin inclined her head and beckoned Tenzin to follow her.
Tenzin, although bewildered, followed Lin as she showed him where everything was (pantry, kitchen, living room). He also noted the shiny red embroidery on Lin’s dress that crept from the shoulder (is that a dragon?) to the small of her back which then drew his attention to her –
“And here is your bedroom.” Lin pushed open one of the doors.
“Thanks.” He paused just in time not to crash into the woman in front of him.
“If there’s anything you need, well, just let Bumi know.”
And, with a curt nod, Lin left Tenzin to settle in and wonder what he just got into.
---
Tenzin heard the front door open hours later as he sat at the living room, having a cup of tea while going over his notes.
“That was tough.” Bumi’s deep timbre echoed in the silent house.
Both he and Lin came into Tenzin’s view as they entered. Lin removed her heels and all but collapsed at the couch. “Remind me to decline any event that comes right after physical training sessions.”
“I did remind you,” Bumi slid down beside her, nodding at Tenzin to acknowledge his presence. “And you said, and I quote – ‘it’s just a short event, how bad can it be?’”
Lin covered her face with hands and groaned. “I underestimated the amount of networking that they expected during a charity event.”
Bumi laughed good-naturedly, patting Lin’s back. “Hey, Ten – how was your afternoon?”
“Good, good. I managed to unpack everything. All set for tomorrow.” Tenzin waved a sheaf of papers.
The non-bender looked between the metalbender who was slumped on the couch, eyes closed, and the airbender at his other side, clearly up for a long night of paperwork. An idea came to him. “I know, let’s all go out and have a late dinner and some drinks to welcome to you to Ba Sing Se.” He placed an arm over his brother’s shoulder. “What do you say?”
Tenzin grimaced a bit, having travelled conventionally without his sky bison was tiring. “Thanks for the offer but I’d rather stay in and get some rest.”
Bumi nudged Lin, who gave him a baleful glare. “Okay, no.” He laughed and got up, checking his pockets to make sure he has enough money. “I’ll just get us some take-out and we’ll eat in then.”
“That’s the first time you made sense tonight.” Lin grumbled.
With promises of a well-balanced meal for them of both vegetables, meat, and booze, Bumi loped off.
Lin remained in the couch, sighing as she stretched her legs and then tucked them to herself.
Tenzin adjusted his glasses and surreptitiously observed Lin as he went through his research notes.
He always had a soft spot for this childhood friend. They spent most of their toddler years and early childhood with one another, but Lin (and eventually Su) had been shuttled back and forth from Gaoling and Republic City. This was highly dependent on the Beifong grandparents as well as Toph’s schedule (and how dangerous her cases were). Meanwhile, his education has turned to focusing on Air Nomad culture. Their days intersected less and less as time passed by.
Their friendship dwindled, and they were not as close as they could have been.
Truth be told, as he watched Lin stretch once more then pad over to the kitchen with familiarity, he did not even know what she had been up to recently. He had some inkling to it (mostly relating to the police academy) but he did not expect her to be in Ba Sing Se. And most especially not around in Bumi’s UF provided residence.
He did harbor crush on the earthbender in their adolescence; surely at least Bumi knew about it, if his subsequent teasing during his visits to Air Temple Island were any proof.
Tenzin shook his head.
That was then and this was now; he had grown up and something as silly as a childhood crush was soon forgotten.
At least, that was what he kept telling himself as Lin came back to the living room, placing her own cup of tea on the table then disappearing to Bumi’s bedroom, claiming to retrieve a book she had been reading earlier.
Yes, it was all forgotten, Tenzin convinced himself even as he felt a pit form at his stomach.
---
The next time that Lin was over, Tenzin was lugging with him a large book bag filled with loaned books from the university library. After a couple of visits, he felt that the scrutiny from some of the staff and students made him uncomfortable. There was no denying who he was, with his tattoos brightly announcing to the world his mastery of a long thought to be dead element.
The fawning and the preferential treatment were a little less bad than how the air acolytes had regarded him. That was not conducive to his productivity and so he decided to bring home as much relevant material as he could instead and work from there.
He had only managed to spread out all the books and was in the process of cataloging the references when Lin burst into the house.
“Is Bumi home?” Lin appeared have rushed over, and Tenzin appreciated the flush on her cheeks and neck exposed by the tank top she wore.
Tenzin made a noise and pointed to Bumi’s bedroom and was responded to by a hasty thanks.
---
“You said you had news?” Lin asked without preamble upon entering the bedroom.
“Spirits, Linny!” Bumi shouted, pretending to cover himself up with his blanket when he was obviously doing some mending of his clothes. “What if I had been indecent?”
Lin simply snorted. “I’ve seen you in worse conditions.” She was no doubt pertaining to the time he had gotten drunk, and she had to bail him out. “So, what is this about?” She sat at the edge of the bed, mindful of the sewing basket.
“Eh,” Bumi shrugged unconcerned but grinning. He tossed her an opened letter. “See for yourself.”
Skimming through the letter, a grin formed on Lin’s face as well. “Bumi! This is great!”
Prior to his assignment in Ba Sing Se, Bumi was short-listed for the next round of promotions. While tried and tested in the field, Bumi’s skills in diplomacy were yet to be proven. This latest assignment was a chance to prove just that.
And as in everything in his life, Bumi had to work doubly hard to prove himself. He had been a month in Ba Sing Se, attending meetings in the Royal Court, with the legislature and the kingdom’s security. He felt that he was not making a lot of leeway into reaching the accord that the United Forces needed with the Earth Kingdom. Their queen, Hou-Ting, had recently ascended to the throne and was distrustful of anything linked to the United Republic.
He had taken a couple of days off to visit his mother to take a breather and maybe a change in the scenery would give him more ideas how to approach the dilemma. He was going to sneak into the kitchen for a late breakfast when he overheard a conversation between his mother and Toph Beifong – which ended up with him seeking Lin to discuss a mutually-benefitting proposal…
This brings them to this moment where one of Bumi’s superiors had sent a missive on how one of the Earth Kingdom nobles had revisited his stance on the agreement between the United Republic and the Earth Kingdom. Included in the letter as well as a congratulatory note to continue whatever tactic he has employed as the results were in their favor. It was a simple introduction into the right company, an assistance that came in the form of Lady Lin of the Noble House of Beifong, who knew the Who’s Who in the Upper Ring of Ba Sing Se and the influential nobility in the Earth Kingdom.
“We should celebrate these little wins.” Lin handed the letter back. From her end, she will know if her presence in the upper-class of the Earth Kingdom has made any impact once she hears from her grandmother (who in turn, would have learned from one of her contemporaries living in Ba Sing Se).
“I don’t see why not.” Bumi merely tossed his mending into his sewing basket.
Grasping Lin’s arm and eagerly bringing her to the living room, he called out to his serious brother. “Tenzin! Get up, man – we’re going out to celebrate!”
---
Tenzin looked up to his beaming brother and Lin who was blushing from Bumi’s arm.
He wanted to decline joining them, fearing an outing of being the third wheel to the couple. At the same time, it had been a long time since he had spent time with Lin (and Bumi for that matter). Additionally, for some reason, that he did not want to dwell on right now, he did not want to leave the couple alone to their own devices.
Seeing Lin’s smile and Tenzin knew his decision was made for him.
It was not too bad, not really.
Lin and Bumi had tossed banter, speaking of nobles and politics that flew over Tenzin’s head. He did not bother to clarify, thinking that it must be some sort of inside joke between the two. Or something confidential related to their fields of work.
They selected a small food court still in the Middle Ring, which catered to the varied crowd with different cuisines. Bumi ordered mounds of varied barbecued meats and sauces.
Tenzin noticed that Bumi did not order anything for Lin and Lin was left perusing the menu on her own.
The waiter stood patiently; pen poised over his notepad ready for their order.
“I’ll have the green mango salad please.”
“The green mango salad for me.”
Bumi looked at them with amusement. “Seems like you’ve finally found someone who enjoys shrimp paste as much as you do, Lin.”
Lin simply pursed her lips and went on to order another entrée on top of the salad (squid ink noodles) and a glass of cold tea.
Tenzin added an order of seaweed noodles for himself.
Once their orders arrived and they have dug in, Lin and Tenzin continued to rib Bumi for not having green mango salad, which in this case, included a healthy dollop of shrimp paste.
“I’m telling you, Bumi, this salad is good.” Tenzin insisted, taking in several bites of the salad. “You can’t know until you try it.”
“No, thank you.” Bumi grimaced with slight disgust. “It stinks high heaven.”
“I find it a good deterrent on a first date,” Lin happily mixed the shrimp paste into the leafy vegetables and sliced mangoes. “Makes it easier for me to weed out those with unscrupulous intentions.”
“Seriously, Lin – unscrupulous? You’re the only other person aside from Tennyboy here who uses words with more than three syllables.” Bumi evaded a slice of mango that the earthbender tossed him. “Well, there you have it Tenzin, if you do find that unique lady who would share this horrific salad with you – you could be rest assured that she’s not after your good name, your esteem or a good time that night.”
Lin chortled. “I doubt anyone who was looking to hooking up will even order it in the first place.”
“Imagine the stink during foreplay…” Bumi waggled his eyebrows and was rewarded with a slap upside his head from the earthbender.
Tenzin thought that he would not mind sharing a salad with Lin while on a date.
As Lin reached out her chopsticks to snatch a piece of meat from Bumi’s plate, which Bumi subsequently tapped away lightly, the airbender sneaked two pieces of meat from Bumi to Lin’s plate when his brother was preoccupied.
This was the Lin that he knew, in a plain tank top and loose pants. Not the Gaoling heiress made up with a fancy bun and a tight dress. While she did look beautiful in her formal attire, Tenzin thought that she was especially radiant tonight in her natural state.
The grateful grin that Lin gave him was enough to remind him that maybe his little crush was not all gone.
---
Later that night, after Lin went home, Tenzin made a mistake of hovering in the kitchen as Bumi put away some of their leftovers.
“Something’s bothering you.”
“N-no.” Tenzin stammered out.
“You’re making that face.” Bumi waved a hand in front of Tenzin’s face.
“This is my face, that’s all.” Tenzin knew the non-bender could be stubborn and will not budge unless he gave in. “Fine.” He sighed. “Seriously, Bumi – Lin? She – she’s not even your type.”
“So, I have a type, eh?” Bumi stood up to his full height, sending a critical look at the younger man.
“You know what I mean.” Tenzin crossed his arms. He sought to phrase his thoughts in a way that will not insult either Lin or his brother. “You take her on dates, and she doesn’t seem like the usual girls you go out with.”
A flash of something crossed Bumi’s face and a knowing smile formed. “I don’t see how that’s a problem. Think about it Ten, Lin Beifong has brains, beauty, and brawn – the complete package. Anyone should think that she’s their type.” He flexed his arms, giving his brother mischievous wink. “Now, she’s got Bumi too.”
The sinking feeling that Tenzin felt since the start of the night grew heavier as he watched his brother gleefully say his good night and left him to his thoughts in the kitchen.
What was he thinking? Reviving feelings over his brother’s girlfriend? That just was not gentlemanly to do nor was it right.
---
As much as Tenzin wanted to avoid Lin, he found that it was near impossible with the frequency of Lin dropping by or Bumi coming home with Lin.
The couple would also be very considerate and would often invite him to join them at their formal events. To date, Tenzin had not accepted any of their invites yet.
It was also hard to ignore the earthbender as Lin would usually be the one to initial conversation, usually by poking through his notes and the materials sprawled on the coffee table. If there was anything that Tenzin could talk about all day, it was anything and everything to do with the Air Nation and their nomadic culture.
Lin’s sincere interest in the topics similarly encouraged him to open up to her.
And, hopefully, dare he wished, her to him.
---
Finding more in common with him with their esoteric food tastes compared to Bumi, Lin had taken to bringing some packed food from the food court from time to time.
In one of their conversations, she admitted to Tenzin that while she did enjoy eating out with Bumi, the soirees that they go to tend to serve the usual Earth Kingdom Upper Ring fare and it tends to get a little bit redundant after some time. While she would love to sample more of the dishes in the multi-cultural food court, most of the orders were good for sharing. And, after an ill-advised selection with Bumi (which ended up with the man looking green the entire night, to be fair Bumi was a champ and had not complained all night and had valiantly finished their food), Lin did not have the courage to order more with the non-bender.
To her delight, Tenzin offered to do these taste tests with her. Unfortunately, the schedules that they both adhere to had prevented any outings like the night that they all went out with Bumi.
Lin came up with a solution and would stop by the stalls and the food court to order a dish or two to try. Then, over their paperwork (Lin had taken to bringing over her own paperwork to go through at Bumi’s house), the two of them would share this meal, pretending to review the dishes with posh and snooty language they read in the lifestyle section of the Ba Sing Se gazette.
Lin found herself looking forward more and more to these nights, a reprieve from the arduous Dai Li training and highly decorous hobnobbing with the Upper Ring.
Tenzin’s calming presence and dry wit kept Lin interested to spend more time with the airbender. It was as though they were picking up back from their previously close relationship.
Don’t get her wrong, she also enjoyed the company that Bumi provided when they go out on their dates. He was a good conversationalist and he helped her deftly navigate through the upper echelon of the Earth Kingdom society. Bumi is a good older brother who shared her experience in a similar industry, someone to talk to in terms of career and the practicalities of life.
Tenzin on the other hand…
Lin tilted her head in consideration while the airbender absentmindedly tapped his pen to his chin, a mannerism that she now recognized.
The airbender made her feel heard and seen.
She made a face and turned to face her own papers.
Put it like that makes it sound so sappy and un-Lin-like.
And yet, it felt right.
---
Tenzin had finished his research an hour or so ago.
He was now vacillating between going to bed early and leaving a few books on the table, in the illogical hope that maybe when Lin drops by later with Bumi she will be intrigued enough to stay for a chat. It sounded so stupid.
A beat.
He wants that.
He looked at the clock. Lin and Bumi will not be back for a few more hours.
While he was contemplating this conundrum that he placed himself in, the door opened and in limped Bumi, an arm over Lin’s shoulder.
Tenzin immediately stood up to take Bumi’s other arm to assist. “What happened?” He peered at his brother.
“Genius here decided that he was strong enough to -.” Lin had started to respond but Bumi swiftly twisted to cover her mouth with his hand.
“It’s not important how I got injured- just that I did.” Bumi interrupted as he held Lin’s gaze.
The unspoken communication between the two was too much for Tenzin and was about to leave the couple alone when Lin rolled her eyes and mumbled her agreement.
Bumi placed his arm again on his brother’s shoulder. “Let’s hop to it, Ten-Lin.” He ordered imperiously, nodding towards his bedroom.
“Of course, my liege.” Lin muttered, snark and sarcasm dripping from her words as they assisted the non-bender.
With a bit of maneuvering, Tenzin and Lin were able to place Bumi on his bed. Tenzin then noticed the glint of metal at his brother’s foot.
“Do you need any more help?” He directed his question to Lin rather than his brother who seemed to be smiling loopily at them.
“Ooooh Ten-Lin,” Bumi called out in an odd singsong voice then patted the bed beside him. “Care to have a heart-to-heart with Papa Boomboom here?”
Papa Boomboom?
“I’m good.” Lin shook her head, pulling at Bumi’s shoes and tapping the metal brace that she appeared to have created. “The healer on site was able to give him first aid and painkillers. He’ll be out in no time.” She was resolutely ignoring Bumi’s waggling eyebrows.
Tenzin inched out and quietly closed the door behind him, not wanting to find out what Papa Boomboom was up to, similarly disregarding Bumi calling out “Ten-Lin! Ten-Lin!” as he left.
By the time Lin got out of the bedroom, the airbender was back in his spot in the living room, nursing a warm cup of genmaicha. His things were now in a neat pile on the coffee table. His hope of a conversation with Lin that he had initially looked forward to now a thing of the past. With his brother in semi-lucidity and injured to boot, no doubt Lin would be spending her visit (or even staying over) at Bumi’s bedside.
It was to Tenzin’s astonishment when Lin plopped beside him at her spot on the couch a couple of minutes later.
“Do you still have some of that?”
He blinked before realizing that Lin was pertaining to the genmaicha. “Ah yes, there’s more in the pot in the kitchen – let me get it for you.” He added belatedly, something warm curling within him at Lin’s soft smile as she thanked him.
The airbender got up to get the teapot while the earthbender proceeded to remove her shoes.
Lin was flexing then curling and uncurling her toes when he got back.
“Why do you even wear those shoes if they’re so uncomfortable?” He could not help but ask as he set the tea tray down on the table.
“It goes with the dress.” Lin nonchalantly stated as she shifted in her seat. She tucked both of her legs to her side at the couch and Tenzin had to concentrate on pouring her tea as her green silk skirt hiked a bit.
They sipped their tea in comfortable silence for a few moments.
As always, Lin was the one who broke the quiet. “Aren’t you going to ask about Bumi?”
He wrinkled his nose. “I’m not sure if I want to know what happened but I’ll bite – how is he?”
“He’ll be fine tomorrow,” Lin scoffed. “I’ve removed the brace. Nothing else bruised except for his ego. Not going to give everything away but he injured himself because of a dance move.”
Tenzin was mid-sip and had choked on the tea.
“Easy there,” Lin moved to rub Tenzin’s back in circles, in an attempt to help him.
Unknown to her, it only heightened his embarrassment and the soothing movements only contributed to his discomfort.
“Dance move?” He eventually garbled out, having regained his composure.
Lin’s lips quirked up. “Yes, don’t go teasing him on it yet though. Keep that in your back pocket. You’ll never know when you might need it.” She removed her hand on his back and Tenzin felt its absence acutely. She reached for the pot on the table to refill her own cup. She then caught sight of the title of the topmost book that Tenzin had.
As Tenzin had hoped earlier, the earthbender brought their attention to the book and asked about his progress in his research on the instruments of the Air Nomads.
Eventually the pot has been refilled and emptied, their cups left cold as their conversation suitably engaged them until the late hours of the night.
“Wouldn’t that be grand though,” Tenzin had expressed. “If we were able to have enough artifacts to host in a museum. I mean, Dad was able to transport the ancient airbending gates to Air Temple Island. It would be great if we’ll find something more to add.”
Lin, who, by now, did not care that her skirt was wrinkled and was now hugging a throw pillow to her chest, observed. “You really enjoy what you’re doing, don’t you?”
“Bits and pieces of it,” He picked at the frayed edges of his notes. “The thing I hate the most about being the Avatar’s airbending son is the travelling.”
“Oh?” The tone was non-judgmental but curious.
“I know it sounds terribly ungrateful.” Tenzin fidgeted. “But I really disliked moving from one temple to the other. I’m not made for this nomadic lifestyle. I sometimes think that being an airbender was wasted on me.” He had never spoken of this to anyone, not even his mother. “I would have been utterly contented spending my days at Republic City or at Air Temple Island even.”
He expected a rebuke or a scathing remark on him being an ingrate (Agni knows how some senior acolytes had spoken behind his back whenever he deviated from Air Nomad culture).
“What would you rather do if this wasn’t expected of you?” Lin’s gentle query and earnest expression was a balm to his anxious soul.
“Maybe a teacher or a scribe.” There was something about Lin that was drawing him in, making him want to be honest as possible. “Nothing fancy, nothing worth writing home about.”
“You’d be a good teacher,” She considered. “You’re very patient and very much willing to impart whatever knowledge you have.”
He rubbed the back of his neck, Lin’s intense grey gaze on him. “How about you? What if… you weren’t born a Beifong?”
He could see the hesitation. “Can you keep a secret?” Lin whispered, inching towards him after a few moments.
Tenzin could only nod. At this point, he will probably do anything for her.
She curled her finger at him, beckoning him closer, close enough to whisper in his ear. “I wanted to be a dancer.”
“I could see it.” There had always been something graceful with how Lin used to manipulate her metal cables. Where her mother was firmly stuck to the ground with rough movements, Lin seemed to be lighter on her feet with more fluid motions. He has not seen Lin metalbend recently; he could only imagine the difference a couple of years training would make on improving her bending.
“Really?” The surprise was apparent on her face.
Tenzin idly wondered if she, like him, thought that their dreams were ridiculous considering the heaviness of the mantle that were their parents’ legacies.
“Why not? I think you’d be good at it.” On a whim, maybe it was the lateness of the hour, the cathartic feeling of telling someone of his dream and insecurities, Tenzin let the words escape before he could even filter them. “Dance with me.” He stood up and extended a hand to the earthbender who was still curled up on the couch.
“What?” Lin’s eyes widened slightly (is that a faint blush he sees on her cheeks?).
“Dance with me.” He repeated.
“But there’s no music.” Despite saying that, she held his hand and allowed herself to be pulled up.
“Don’t worry about it,” Tenzin positioned themselves closer, he was sure it was not an airbending dance position but something he saw on a visit to the Fire Nation. “It’s just you and me now.”
After few false starts, both got into a steady rhythm with Tenzin leading.
As Lin grew more relaxed in his arms, Tenzin knew he would take what he could now. He felt like he was just doused with cold water with the epiphany he had. He was just fooling himself. His crush was not over, far from it.
His feelings were stronger than ever.
His eyes landed on Bumi’s bedroom door.
His feelings which should remain hidden as they were towards his brother’s girlfriend. His feelings which he will never act on.
It never did cross his mind to wonder why the woman was still there in the house, spending time with him willingly hours after her supposed boyfriend had turned in for the night.
---
“Nobleman with a distasteful mustache at three o'clock, Lin.” Bumi whispered at her side, clutching her elbow as they weaved through the crowd.
Lin stood ramrod straight. “That’s the nephew of one of Grandma's friends.”
It was at situations like this that she valued Bumi's presence at her side. Nonetheless, they made sure to act in accordance with proprietary.
She overheard several matrons saying that it was a pity that Lady Beifong appeared to be spoken for; their son/grandson/nephew would have been perfect for her.
However, in all the soirees and events that they have been attending, no one had outright asked them the status of their relationship. Lin was not about to disabuse them of their assumptions as no one was brave enough to confirm anything with her.
This at least left her to freely engage in conversation without fear of misconstrued intentions. This also allowed Bumi to be included in these discussions where he would expertly drop opinions or statements that may influence their thinking in relation to the United Forces or the current political climate.
No one thought twice of the presence of the non-bending son of the Avatar – If the Beifongs approved of this military son of a pacifist, then he was good enough to mingle among the Earth Kingdom elite.
As the two of them navigated their way to the buffet table, Bumi casually asked. “When this is over, aren’t you worried about them vultures descending upon you? Or Republic City gossip rags?”
Lin hummed as she perused the selection. “No, not really. We’re far away from Republic City and this is very exclusive society is not about to dish out to anyone outside of their circle. That’s what keeps them in power.” She picked up a piece of bruschetta. “And besides, maybe I’ll ask Mom to send Su here in the next season – find herself a good husband or something.”
“Lin, she’s barely twenty.” Bumi commented, eyes twinkling in amusement.
The earthbender merely shrugged.
“And, what about you?” He prodded her side as they sat back at their table. “Any romantic entanglements you see in the horizon?” It was to Bumi’s credit that he detected the barely noticeable tightening of her jaw and widening of eyes. “So, there is someone!” He announced gleefully, turning a few heads their way.
“No, there isn’t.” Lin grumbled, stabbing a fork into the plateful of food that she had taken.
“Playing dumb with me never worked, Lin Beifong, even when we were children.”
Lin hated how Bumi was able to read her easily; their equally matched observational skills honed by their respective careers.
“Don’t think I didn’t see it coming or that I did not see it happening.”
She resolutely brushed him off and focused on her plate.
“What are you going to do about it?” Where Lin might be stubborn, Bumi was downright obstinate and pushy.
“There’s nothing I should do anything about.”
Bumi glanced at her pensively over the glass he was sipping from. “Maybe you’re right – you shouldn’t have to do anything.”
“Oh Bumi, you’re reading too much into this. It doesn’t mean anything,” She turned away. “Besides, he probably has some sweetheart waiting for him at one of the temples. We’re just friends.”
It doesn’t mean anything.
We’re just friends.
At least, that was what Lin told herself even as she once again found herself sitting at Bumi’s living room that night long after Bumi had gone to bed.
---
“What did that piece of paper do to offend you?”
Tenzin paused the incessant pen tapping that he had been unconsciously doing as the notice he received was pulled from under the pen. He twiddled with his fingers while Lin read the document. “I got an offer from the university to hold a series of lectures in the coming days.”
Lin congratulated him on the offer. “What are you displeased about then? Surely it’s not about the lack of topics that you’ll discuss.” She raised an eyebrow at the stack of folders on the table, each labelled with meticulous care.
“No, it’s not that.” He waved it off. “I just – I don’t know if I can make it interesting enough for them.”
She handed him one of the folders. “Try me.”
“Come again?”
Lin leaned back in the couch, getting comfortable. “Practice with me, pretend I’m one of those bright-eyed students that you’ll be teaching.”
Yes, pretend.
Little did they know, both were pretending for each other’s sake long before they realized it.
---
“In all honesty, I envy Bumi and Kya.”
“You do?”
A nod. “They get to live their life the way they wanted it to be. There’s not a lot riding on their shoulders. Whatever they are doing now – they wanted it, they’re living the life that they want because they can.”
“Is that what you truly think?” The earthbender’s piercing stare held his gaze. He hoped that whatever she found conveyed his honesty. “Maybe you need to check in with them. They might see things differently.”
---
It was one of the rare weekends that Bumi, Lin, and Tenzin found themselves free from any engagement. They took this opportunity to head to dine at their usual food court.
While Bumi and Lin scouted for an empty table, Tenzin browsed the menu of one of the newly opened stalls.
“Master Tenzin?”
Tenzin turned to who called him and came face to face with a vaguely familiar woman.
“I’m Pema – from the lectures?” The student obviously expected that he would remember her.
“Ah yes,” Tenzin awkwardly responded because he did not really recall a lot from the sea of faces. “From yesterday’s morning session?”
The girl, Pema, beamed at him, nodding. “And the afternoon session from the day before, and the one session lecture the day before that.”
“Oh, so you managed to attend all of them?” There was mild interest in his tone now. Maybe he was able to get through the Ba Sing Se students. “Which topic interested you the most?”
Pema began to explain excitedly when Tenzin saw Lin wave at him from a few tables away.
“Say, are you eating alone?” At the very least, politeness made him invite the young woman.
“I-I-That is to say -no- I mean, yes.” Pema shifted her eyes.
“Would you like to join us?” At her nod, Tenzin motioned to have her follow him to their table.
Upon approaching, Tenzin saw that Lin and Bumi had already given their orders to the waiter.
At Lin’s raised eyebrow and Bumi’s curious look, Tenzin introduced Pema and said that she would be joining them today.
The waiter handed both a copy of the menu while Tenzin pulled the chair in front of Bumi for Pema to sit on.
“Ahh, Pema, is it?” Bumi placed an arm around the back of Lin’s chair. “Any idea what you would be getting?”
“I, um, not sure yet.” She hid behind the menu, brows furrowing.
Bumi grinned mischievously while catching his brother’s eye.
That can’t be good, Tenzin thought silently.
“Might I make a recommendation?” The non-bender leaned forward and at Pema’s nod, pointed on an item on the menu she was holding. “Tenzin loves this.” Bumi winced subtly that Tenzin could surmise was because Lin must have kicked him under the table.
“Oh, yes of course!” Was Pema’s immediate reaction and ordered.
Tenzin was surprised and ordered his food as well. When the waiter had taken all their orders and left, the airbender turned to the student. “You like the green mango salad?”
“Yes, I do – I enjoy it a lot.” Pema enthusiastically agreed.
“Even the shrimp paste?” Bumi asked innocently but sending a sly look at Lin, who steadfastly kept silent.
“Especially the shrimp paste. It gives it the texture and distinct salty taste.”
“Indeed.”
Tenzin finally caught Lin’s eye and there was an odd expression on her face that he could not explain.
Bumi proceeded to liven up the table with conversation and even make Pema feel at ease. It was one of the traits of his brother that Tenzin envied.
The rest of their meal went by uneventfully and they all got to know Pema a little bit more and her interest in the lectures from the past days. As Bumi did not draw attention to the unusually taciturn earthbender beside him, Tenzin did not attempt to draw her into conversation as well despite his confusion. Lin would commonly be a little bit more talkative during their small outings like this.
Maybe she had a bad day?
As the meal winded down, Tenzin thought he rather wanted to see more of Pema. At least, to not remain as a third wheel to the couple in front of him.
“So, we might have, uh, tea after dinner. Would you like to join us?”
Pema’s effusive acceptance became garbled to his ears as he detected the sudden screeching of the metal chair in front of him being pushed back.
“I’m sorry, I need to go.”
Both Bumi and Tenzin turned to Lin, who was only maintaining eye contact with her boyfriend.
“Oh right, your… report.” Bumi motioned to stand up as well. “Do you want me to bring you home?”
His brother’s unexpectedly gentle tone made Tenzin think if there is something else that he missed. A subtext that passed known only to the couple.
Lin tilted her head and smiled weakly. “No need, I can manage.”
Nonetheless, Bumi stood up, made their excuses to Tenzin and Pema.
Tenzin looked on as Lin allowed herself to be escorted by Bumi. The lie of having a report waiting for her tasting bitter in the airbender’s mouth.
But why?
“I suppose tea is out of question now.” Pema said shrewdly, moving to stand up as well when Bumi and Lin was out of their line of sight.
Maybe she was more perceptive than Tenzin gave her credit for.
If Pema thought that he was about to invite her elsewhere, she was mistaken, and Tenzin extended his hand to shake hers. “Pleased to meet you, Pema, thank you.” He paused and somewhat awkwardly added. “And good luck on your studies.”
Tenzin closed his eyes for a moment, a headache already forming.
He froze.
There on the table, beside Pema’s empty plate of what used to contain her order of skewers, was a full bowl of green mango salad, mixed but not a single bite taken out of it.
---
“You’re an idiot.”
“Excuse me?”
“She’s too young.”
He knew his older brother was right, but it stung to be called an idiot.
Ever since Lin urged him to talk to his siblings, Tenzin had consciously made time to connect to Bumi.
Along the way, he learned about how different their views of their childhood were. Bumi, on his part, was quite candid and the airbender appreciated that. More than once, Tenzin was tempted to evade some of their talks that were bordering on painful (cut-and-run much?). He felt that he owed it to his brother though to power through.
But tonight, there were emotions that were too raw to filter. If the couple just wanted some time together, they need not fabricate Lin having to work on a report. They need not pity him for being their third wheel.
“Lin is too young for you too and you don’t hear me berating you for it.”
“That’s different.”
“Is it, really?”
“Well, if you get your head out of your behind, maybe you’ll see what’s right in front of you.”
---
Letters swapped hands.
“Training’s almost done and as you can see there, Grandma has already received news from the grapevine about what an asset I am to the Beifong line.”
Bumi refolded the letter after reading. “I suppose your time in Ba Sing Se has come to an end then?”
“Only if you think you don’t need me anymore.” Lin paused and gave a short laugh, finding her phrasing funny. “I mean, if you think you don’t need help anymore with your assignment?” She leaned back, tapping the letter from Bumi’s superior in her hand.
“I should say mission accomplished to us both.” Bumi drew Lin into his arms. “Thank you.”
It was most unfortunate that it was in this good-bye scene that the airbender arrived to.
---
The raindrops continue to fall, leaving staccato beats on the roof top.
The entirety of Ba Sing Se was coated in a haze that enveloped the typically green and brown place in a blueish gray hue.
The peaceful scene should have relaxed the airbender.
Tenzin sighed.
But it did not.
Not when he could hear characteristically feminine giggles from his brother's room.
He checked the clock, too early to have visitors over unless it were visitors who never left the night before.
His knuckles turned white, tightly grasping his mug.
As much as he felt that he should come clean to Bumi about his feelings for Lin (his girlfriend), his head was telling him not to. It would be another thing that Bumi might hold against him (on top of a lot of other childhood insecurities that their father inadvertently caused).
He just wants both Lin and Bumi to be happy. Even if it means hearing what they have been up to in the early hours of the day.
“Ah, Spirits what a turn out – it’s as though Tui and La decided to inundate the entire Earth Kingdom by flooding it.”
Tenzin’s head jerked up.
Lin Beifong was standing in the edge of their kitchen, hair dripping wet.
His mind was sluggish in realizing, shocked as it was to see the earthbender.
“Do you still have some of that?” Lin waggled her fingers towards Tenzin’s mug of genmaicha.
“Oh, yes – where are my manners –.” Tenzin tripped over his words and hastily poured her a cup. Then reaching over to the coat rack and draping his coat over her, he admonished her lightly. “What were you doing out in this deluge anyway? You’ll get sick!”
“Well, Bumi told me that you intend to leave in a few days’ time and as I was preparing for my trip back to Republic City, I thought that -.”
A door creaked open. “Lemme grab us a bite from the pantry; we need sustenance if we want to last all the way to noon.”
Damn.
“Oh.” Bumi stumbled into the room, completing their peculiar tableau of a dripping earthbender cloaked in red and yellow, a pale shock airbender standing at the edge of the room and a military man that, for whatever intent and purposes he may have, was wearing nothing.
Tenzin’s pale skin started to redden, comprehension dawning on him. “Oh – that’s all you have to say?” If Lin was here – then who was with Bumi the entire night/morning back in his bedroom?
The non-bender scratched his bum. “What did you want me to say?”
“Oh, for Spirits’ sake, Bumi cover yourself!” Lin averted her eyes. “I may not act like it the whole time, but I still am a lady!”
“Ah Beifong,” Bumi smiled devilishly, his hand moving from his head to his legs. “Come take a look at what you’re actually missing out on.”
Lin pointedly faced the ice box, her back to the naked man. “No way, I’m not missing on anything.”
“Come on, Linny!”
“No, Bumi.” Lin snorted a laugh then bent her head over her cup of genmaicha.
Tenzin felt like he was going to explode.
How dare Bumi disregard Lin Beifong just like that? Flaunting his floozy---
How dare Lin not call him out – it was beyond disrespectful!
What’s more: being in a relationship with Lin was something he personally wanted for himself - not because of his father, not because he is an airbender, but because he wanted this. To see Bumi taking her for granted was like a knife twisting in his chest.
“Get yourself some clothes before you catch a cold.”
“You dry yourself before you catch a cold.”
Why were they skirting over the obvious issue?
Tenzin let out a strangled sound.
“Something wrong, Tennyboy? Your vein is about to burst on your forehead.”
“Something wrong?” The airbender’s voice went a pitch higher. “Something. Wrong. You –.” He pointed aggressively at his brother. “Just spent the night with some,” He clenched and unclenched his fist as he tried to select the appropriate word. “Woman that is not your girlfriend!”
Lin’s eyes shot to Bumi’s. “You have a girlfriend?”
Bumi raised both hands. “Wait a minute, you know I don’t. This,” His shoulder gestured towards the bedroom. “Is a recent development and it’s just for fun, you know, and she definitely knows.”
“What!” Tenzin’s gasped out.
“Wait a minute,” Bumi snapped his fingers. “Lin, you didn’t tell him?”
“Tell me what?”
“Tell him what?” The earthbender scrunched her face thinking before it cleared as she seemed to have concluded something. “Oh. No. I didn’t – I didn’t think I had to –!”
Tenzin felt he was watching a ball go back and forth between the other two.
“You’re the one talking to him often.” Bumi crossed his arms.
“You’re the one living with him.” Lin pointed at the airbender.
“You’re the one in love with him!”
A stunned silence followed.
Surely… Bumi was mistaken?
---
Bumi ran a hand over his face. “I think you both have a lot to talk about.” Then, he grabbed the nearest food on the table (a loaf of sweet mung bread). “I’ll leave you both to it.” He waved the loaf then exited the kitchen.
Lin considered the tea in her cup, focusing as though it could lend her the fortitude for the upcoming conversation.
Tenzin sat on the chair opposite her, taking a sip from his own genmaicha. “Feel like explaining what that was?”
As an earthbender, Lin went into it head on. “Bumi and I are not – were not – in a relationship – we – I thought that was clear.” Then she proceeded to explain the arrangement that she had with his brother. “I’m sorry if we made you feel uncomfortable with this.” She waved her hand uselessly.
Lin bit her lip anxiously. She blew on her cup, waiting for the airbender to process the information that was dumped on him.
---
Two things ran through his mind.
Firstly, Bumi and Lin are not (never were!) in a relationship.
That key revelation echoed, unlocking several objections that he had repeatedly told himself to tamp down his feelings for the earthbender.
Secondly, it did not escape his notice that Lin did not say anything to refute Bumi’s claim.
His heart beat loudly, feeling like it was up in his throat. Excitement and nervousness made it difficult for him to breath, ironic for an airbender.
“Lin,” Tenzin cleared his throat. “And what Bumi said,” He leaned forward to tilt her head up so he could look at her eyes. He gulped and took a deep breath. “Is it true?” He felt Lin pull back for a second before she slowly nodded.
Without a hint of hesitation, Tenzin stood up to gather Lin in his arms, feeling complete and contented, something alien to him, something he had not felt for the longest time.
“I take it you like me too?” A muffled voice at his chest murmured.
“More than.” Tenzin bent his head, putting his forehead against Lin’s, unmindful of how her wet clothes now clung to them both. “I love you too.” He then closed the gap between their lips.
They would have gone longer if Lin had not shuddered involuntarily. They separated slightly, arms still around each other.
“I’m sorry, I probably need to get dried.”
Tenzin peered down at Lin’s now translucent attire. “Better yet, let’s get you out of those wet clothes. That is – if you don’t have any objections to it?”
“None whatsoever.” Lin tiptoed, pressing her lips to him. “No boyfriend, no rumored beau…Care to help me out?”
“Gladly.”
#linzin#linzin fanfic#lin beifong#tenzin#legend of korra fanfic#bumi is a good bro#toccatina's fanfics#toccatina completed
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A Royal Pajama Party “Analysis” - Part 3 (of 7)
Unlike the previous two posts - which were fairly length - this one is a little less of a formal analysis and more of a “holy shit this man’s so fucking cute” ramble. It’s significantly shorter; I would have actually compiled these together with the previous post if Tumblr wasn’t so awful with its image-per-post limit.
It continues with Diavolo and MC watching a movie together, and once again leads into more Story Key-locked content. So, here is your cursory spoiler warning!
Picking up from the previous post, the movie Diavolo picks to watch with you is a black and white Human World film. A few thoughts come to mind on this.
One: He picked a movie specifically because he wanted to watch it with you. Not just anyone in general, or even just a human in general - specifically you. He spends a lot of time thinking about and noting down things he wants to do with you.
This, to begin with, is just... impossibly sweet. He’s never had a friend before, so he’s never had someone to think about when he’s looking at things he enjoys. Even the closest demons to him don’t generally like humouring him with his more playful whims.
Now, however? He has you. Someone willing to spend time with him. Suddenly, he has someone utterly receptive to the things he loves; someone happy enough to listen, someone who might enjoy them just as much as he does.
We’ve all done it before, after all. As soon as we know someone’s happy to listen to you ramble about something, we take note of things we think they might like so we can share it with them and (potentially) get them into it as well. Make it a bonding experience, because we like the thing and we like them, so why not mix the two? That’s how you deepen a friendship, after all.
It’s such a normal, human thing for Diavolo to do. He’s sincerely just happy to have you there; to finally have someone he can pick out likes to share with. Just a passing thought - “Oh, MC might like that, I’ll have to save it for our sleepover” - that speaks a thousand words to how often (how casually, naturally, easily) he thinks about you.
But it’s also a bit more than that. Because while this is just about the movie, we’ve already seen Diavolo admit he’s quite literally written out a list of activities he wants to do with you.
How long is that list? What sort of things has he got written down? We’ve been given a small glimpse at the list for this Devilgram, but it really is just a small glimpse. How many times has Diavolo seen something that has immediately pinged in his brain as “things I need to do with/show MC”?
(How many things has he never felt comfortable or happy showing anyone else before?
How many times has he tried to share his interests, only for them to be rejected?)
Two: It’s Human World media. Diavolo’s only recently (in the main game) gotten to see the Human World properly, and considering this is black and white, I’d say it’s fairly old. At the latest? Maybe a hundred years old at this point.
That’s (possibly) at least 100 years Diavolo’s been consuming Human World media.
The fact that he’s remembered it this long, too - for you to appear, and him to want to share it with you - either means it’s something he watches frequently, or it’s something that made a big impression on him.
Diavolo’s infatuated with the Human World, that much we already knew; one of his Homescreen interactions is about wanting to see the sunset, and another mentions how he hasn’t been to the Human World (either at all, or often). It’s something he wants to see more - something that excites him in a very boyish, childish way. Like a kid going on holiday to Disney World after seeing it on TV a thousand times.
But this isn’t a recent infatuation. The movie (potentially) proves this. Even before the Exchange Programme - before he met you - he’s held this infatuation with humanity. It’s not just about peace; there’s something about the Human World that draws Diavolo in.
There’s more evidence of this in a later post, so I’ll go over this a bit more then. For now, however...
We can say with certainty that Diavolo wasn’t kidding when he said the Exchange Programme has been a dream of his for some time. It makes me wonder just how far back he wanted to unite the Three Realms, and why; whether he started with interest in the Celestial Realm or the Human World, and whether or not he hoped the Exchange would branch out his social contacts (considering we already know that demons don’t tend to spend time with him, and Diavolo is horrendously lonely).
(As an aside: the fact that he’s seemingly so infatuated with the Human World makes it even more special for him to share this movie with you. This is something he adores, something that’s affected him so much, he’s dedicated his life to improving relations across the Three Realms - and he wants you to experience it, too.)
Three: A bit more of a joking point, admittedly. Boy really said “I’ve been wanting to watch this movie with you that I love that also happens to be related to the Human World” with the same vibe as Ariel seeing the Prince for the first time and realising he could tell her what all the crap she’s been collecting is for.
I just... love the idea that his logic is “well, MC is human. This movie was made in the Human World. Ergo, this is the most appropriate movie to watch with MC for our super special sleepover!”
He’s so determined for everything to be perfect... I wonder if this movie was his immediate choice - something he’s always known from the start he’d do with you first the moment he could - or if he debated over several movies for the longest time, trying to come up with the best possible choice.
Adorable ramble time!
He’s good, in that he won’t make you do anything you don’t want to - you’re always given the choice of how close you want to be to Diavolo, and if you want to nope out of vaguely (or even overtly) romantic situations even at the last minute - but when given the chance? He will get as close to you as possible.
He’ll have you sit right next to him, pressed arm-to-arm, thigh-to-thigh. He’ll thread his fingers through yours, and rest your joined hands on your lap. And he’ll savour every moment, because this isn’t something he gets often, if at all.
That comment - “your hand is so warm...” - has such a sense of awe to it. He’s finally close enough to you to say that you’re warm. He’s finally reached this pinnacle of contact that he’s always wanted - and look at him! He’s so happy! He’s so, genuinely, wonderfully happy to be this close to you.
He’s been wanting to watch the movie with you for at least months, if not a few years (timeline depending), and he finally has the time to show you this thing he’s genuinely excited for you to see - and it is totally blown out of the water by the fact you’re snuggled up to him, holding his hand.
That’s how special you are to him. That’s how special this moment is for him.
There’s something so sweet - and yet so heartbreaking - at seeing the damn Prince of the Devildom get so flustered over asking to hold your hand. I know that the OM demons aren’t always depicted as your typical demons, and a few of them are fairly sex-shy, but there’s just... something about this scene that hits different.
He’s so tentative, so hopeful, to be able to hold your hand. He’s so shy about it, too. And, yes, some of that is absolutely him fretting over ruining the evening by asking - fretting over chasing you off if he’s too touchy, when you’re already doing so much just by staying as long as you have - but some of it has to be him not knowing if that’s an okay thing to ask for. Wanting to get closer, but not knowing if it’s appropriate.
I have a lot of feelings about this scene. It’s just... whether you see it as romantic or not, he’s so happy. He’s so happy just to have you there. He’s so happy you’re humouring him. He’s so happy you’re letting him do these very simple things.
He’s so lonely. And you just make all of that go away.
This is actually more of a silly thing, but I just wanted to note that - the Devildom has fucking Jenga and it’s called The Demonic Tower.
I’m also still not over this for a slightly sadder reason. This is another one of the things that Diavolo wanted to do with you - another activity on his list. And it’s playing fucking Jenga.
He knew/knows so few people and has such little free time, something as simple as Jenga is riveting entertainment for him.
He’s played so few board games in his life, he actually thought it was worthwhile to write down as something he absolutely had to do with you for your special, rare night of shared time spent together.
There are so many normal, plain, boring, everyday life experiences he’s never done, and every new thing he presents just hits harder than the last.
+++
And that concludes our (slightly shorter) part 3! Once again, thank you for making it this far. Hopefully the slightly lighter post was alright-
Next post, we’re going to skip ahead a bit. The game of Jenga itself is mostly just fun, so there’s no need to focus on it specifically. What is important, however, is the next activity - and what Diavolo does based on certain choices.
So, if you’d like, head on over to part 4!
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Son of Frankenstein chapter 17
"I don't know about this Robert, what if he tries to lock me into Bedlam?" Henry asked upon hearing Roberts idea to bring in a third ....erm...fifth...seventh...umm...a new face, into the conversation since none of the lodgers knew much about psychology and the freckle-faced man happened to learn about someone who ran a nearby asylum that was said to be revolutionary with its treatment.
"He has promised to keep quiet, he too believes current mental health practices are barbaric and wants to change them, he knows more about this than either of us, he can help you and Frankenstein" Robert explained, a bit hesitant at the attempt to help things along that front but Doctor Seward said that it would be important to both their mental and emotional health and it was a good idea to try and be friends first, but they needed to learn the proper way HOW.
Knocking drew their attention and Robert called for whoever it was to come in and the door opened showing a tall man with slicked-back black hair and blue eyes in a grey suit who tipped his hat politely to the couple.
"Doctor Lanyon, you are looking well, is this the friend you called about?" Seward smiled gently at the two, putting down a black bag and taking off his hat, he knew about their relationship but knew mentioning it might make both of them uncomfortable, which was the last thing he wanted, plenty of things going forward would do that more than likely.
"Yes, this is Doctor J...erm...Henry" Robert said wincing a bit as Henry looked down at his lap upon almost hearing his last name, or what was his last name in his mind, already feeling down since he was unable to stand up to properly greet the fellow doctor.
John Seward did not even flinch and stepped forward holding out a friendly hand to them both "Well, it is very nice to meet you, I hope I can be of some help to both you and your recently found relations, where is Miss Frankenstein anyway? Is she here?"
"Still sleeping" Robert provided, not about to be the one who went in to wake her up, if he did it would involve the longest broom handle he could find! Waking that woman up from a deep sleep sounded like a good way to get bit.
"Oh, well, I'm sure we can chat a bit without her, I'm sure she needs the rest," Seward said as he sat down in a chair that Robert gestured towards so he was facing the couple, glad to find the two sitting together, already a good start, a support system would make this all the easier to help the other with his issues "How about you talk about a few things that have been bothering you, I'll just listen, for now, feel free to talk about or leave out things you are not comfortable with just yet, this will be a process and we will go at your speed"
Henry nodded grateful he would not be forced to spill the beans on everything all at once, giving the poor man a heart attack right out of the gates was something he wished to avoid at all costs.
"Well, I just-"
A banshee-like screech filled the room nearly making the three men get whiplash to see what was going on.
The creature rolled their eyes as Frankenstein wiggled in their grip trying to avoid being shoved into the room which would be used for the therapy sessions, but was grateful when all they got from the asylum owner was a surprised look before he went back to focus on the old woman in the arms of the green creature, so he was sturdier than he looked, that would hopefully serve him well.
"Good morning Miss Frankenstein, I hope you slept well, we were about to start, so if your ready we can begin," Seward said well motioning towards a chair only to have said woman cross her arms in defiance.
The chemist briefly considered apologizing for ...well, everything Doctor Seward was about to go through with Victoria Frankenstein but stopped himself, not like it would stop too much anyway and might just make him look crazy and after Robert bore witness do several instances of him having fits, another one with an asylum owner of all people, might convince his lover that they needed to go that desperate route...
'yeah keep calm like you always do! I don't want us to get thrown into a loony bin!' Hyde said almost fearfully, well this doc did not seem like the type to dump you into cold water or spin you about till you vomited, appearances could be deceiving, look at him and the once Doctor Jekyll for that.
"I am not going along with this silliness, you are just here to stick your nose where it does not belong, that is what your type do" Victoria sneered, this man who dared call himself a doctor was just a nosy goose who liked sticking his nose into others business.
John Seward just chuckled "Well, you don't have to talk if you don't want to, we can just sit here and relax, chat of regular things, weather, favorite animals-"
"I'm not falling for it! You are just going to pick and prod till someone reveals something else to pick and prod at, like a chicken pecking at another's wound till it finally dies" Frankenstein shouted.
Seward managed to keep his facial expression to a mild nose twitch at the sick mental image and sat down to take a small sip of tea, ignoring the bit of etiquette to wait till the lady in the room sat down first and just filled another teacup and held it out to the seething woman "Would you like some tea madam?"
"You don't have to serve her I'm the host-" Robert tried to say slash warn the other and could only wince when his newest guest found himself with a shirt soaked in tea from where the cup had been slapped from his hands and shattered to the ground "My mother's hundred-year-old china..."
That was it!!!
Before Robert could scold Victoria, a red blur at his side forced him to silence as Henry found the strength to stand on his feet, ignoring how his broken limbs screamed at him to sit back down and stood tall, glaring at Frankenstein "What is your problem!? Oh, wait, I know what your problem is, that massive head! All you do is look down your nose at others and sneer in their face! You only started being nice to me because you found out I was your son and you felt obligated to do so! Not out of love...or ...perhaps you just look at me as another experiment...something to play with till you get bored..."
"T-that is not tr-"
"QUIET!" Henry bellowed giving his mother a run for her lungs and temper.
Frankenstein's mouth snapped shut.
"You have done NOTHING up to this point but act entitled to my cooperation and insulting to the one I love, now you assault someone who is just here to help, breaking Roberts personal property, all for what? To feel better about yourself? Because you see yourself better than them? Feel you know what is better? Robert has not upset me in all the years I have known him as much as you have in the past WEEK! Your behavior is ...is...BULLSHIT!!! I have enough to deal with without you trying to play like you actually care! You don't know me and at this rate, you never will because YOU'RE DRIVING ME INSANE!!!!!" Henry panted at the end of his rant, even Hyde's little tirade had done little to take the edge off of his stress and finally getting his emotions out himself felt...good.
Victoria sat wide-eyed and mouthed, for once at a loss for words.
Doctor Seward cleared his throat "Perhaps now we can have a discussion...after I change my shirt”
The next chapter will be the last one
Hope you have enjoyed the ride and hope I can end this on a high note so I can go into my omegaverse serial!killer AU with ready fingers for typing
#Jekyon#tgs jekyll#jekyll and hyde#the glass scientists#glass scientists#the glass scientists au#Son of Frankenstein AU#Robert Lanyon X Henry Jekyll#tgs lanyon#Robert Lanyon
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The Way to a Man's Heart Goes Through His... Cat? Ch2
Days 6-7: Jaskier gets some unexpected messages and looks after house plants
AO3
Master of Music.
Jaskier loves the sound of it.
What he doesn't love is the half-empty document staring at him from his laptop screen.
'Historical Facts, Recent Myths, Current Connections: The Witchers in Historical and Contemporary Music'
He has all of his research material on hand. He has read through it. Several times. But writing the actual research down isn't happening.
Gods above how much he wishes he could just compose new songs and throw his brain out of the window. He doesn't even believe in any gods but if praying will help writing to happen he's willing to try.
Roach sits on top of the bookshelf, in one of her favourite places to... stare at him. And judge. Or maybe Jaskier feels like the cat is judging him. She hasn't warmed up to him during the first week at all, all she does is stare at him whatever he does but doesn't let him close enough to touch yet alone to brush.
"You know, Roachie if you won't let me touch you soon your owner will have to shave you naked when he returns."
Roach doesn't answer.
Of course, she won't answer. He must be going bonkers. Maybe a walk will help. He doesn't hold high hopes, everything is going shite anyway, what good could one walk do?
He snaps a quick silly selfie of himself and Roach and sends it to Roach's owner, like every day. It doesn't take long for the mark to turn blue to note the message has been seen. No answer, but at this point, Jaskier is not surprised. There has been no answer in the previous days, why break the tradition now? Some people just aren't made for small talk and Jaskier isn't going to force it. Not that he'd want to see the man. No, that would be ridiculous.
He gets lost in his thoughts, trying to figure out how to put together his thesis in some sort of coherent way as he walks to the nearby park. His phone buzzes in his pocket for a new message. He digs it out, not giving it much thought expecting to see a message from Essi or Pricilla. What he sees makes him almost drop his phone in his shock.
Cat dad answered? And with a photo?
A honk makes him realise he's standing in the middle of the road like an idiot and he crosses to the other side to reach the park. Only it feels like he doesn't need to have a walk anymore, this is more excitement than he's had in the entire week.
He opens the message.
A selfie with a blonde girl and a man stare back at him. He feels like his heart will stop.
"Essi?" Jaskier has to talk to someone. He knows he shouldn't, he promised absolute confidentiality. But he will burst if he doesn't talk about this to someone. He will absolutely without a doubt die.
"What is it, Buttercup?" Essi drawls like she has all the time in the world.
"Cat dad it insanely hot!"
"Whaaat? He texted back?"
"Yes! He's off the wall hot? I can't deal with this! How am I supposed to just sit working on his desk knowing what the man looks like? He will haunt my dreams, Essi!"
"Well, spill the tea! What does he look like?"
"You know I can't tell you, just know he's the hottest dude I have ever seen, okay? I can't deal with this. How am I supposed to write academic bullshite when his picture sits on my phone and I could just... look at it whenever I want to?
"Jaskier, for fucks sake. Your thesis is already a year late. You have been promised a place in the doctoral programme. If you keep sitting on your arse with this, instead of being the brightest student at the Uni, you will fail, understand? Get your shite together and stop falling in love with every person you happen to see."
"But, Essiiii... He's really hot!"
"I know, darling. Just keep it in your pants until you've finished with your thesis. Then I give you my permission to go chase the hot cat daddy."
"Melitele forbid, Essi, you're no fun. I wasn't going to chase him! I don't even know where he is. I just can't get over the hotness, okay?"
"Mm hmm, I know you too well. Get back to work or do I need to remind you why you took up pet sitting?"
"No. I'm sorry. I'll take a small walk and then get right back to writing, I promise."
Jaskier does not get back to writing.
He stares at the picture in his phone trying to figure out how a gorgeous man like that could have such an impersonal home. The man has his hair tied back in a messy bun, revealing an undercut which tells the milky white locks are natural. Jaskier didn't know he had a thing for blonds, but he sure as hell does now.
The girl's young, maybe around ten years old, Jaskier isn't sure. Kids aren't exactly his forte, all of his friends are still firmly stuck in their studies instead of having families of their own.
The picture had been taken by the girl, the grin wide on her face suggesting taking it had been her idea. But the soft smile the man has as he looks at the girl is melting Jaskier's heart.
If only someone would look at him like that he could die happy.
A crash from upstairs startles him enough to put down his phone and look at the time. Jaskier tries and fails not to fall into despair. He has wasted another day, not a single word written and how he wishes he could just throw up all of his ideas into coherent text but it is not happening.
He closes his laptop. It's no use. Going like this he'll never graduate.
Roach stares at him from the door, covered in dust and... definitely more dust.
"I'm a mess, aren't I, Roachie?"
Roach doesn't answer. Instead, she screams and runs downstairs, expecting him to follow like a good servant. His phone buzzes for a new message and Jaskier taps it open.
<Water the plants. Remember to brush the cactus.>
Remember to what the what now? He stares at the message, trying (and failing) to ignore the image above it.
"What the fuck?" he mutters to himself as he makes his way downstairs to stare at the house plants he has given no thought at all up to this point. On the windowsill in the kitchen is a lone cactus, right next to where Roach likes to sit and look to the yard. A cactus completely covered in cat hair and Roach is happy to provide how that particular thing happened. She jumps next to the plant and rubs her head against it, leaving even more hair on the spines.
"Brush the cactus. Okay then..."
<How do I brush a cactus?>
<What the fuck Jask?>
Jaskier snaps a picture of the cactus and sends it to the group chat with Essi and Pricilla.
<How do I get rid of the hair???>
He gets no response. ... appears on the screen several times before crying laughing emojis fill the screen.
<Thanks a bunch -.- >
He goes to dig through the cabinet where he found cat things and discovers a comb.
"That'll have to do," he sighs and gets to combing the cactus, careful not to harm it. In the end, the cactus comes unharmed from the endeavour but unfortunately, Jaskier doesn't. His palm is adorned with spines he spends a good five minutes plucking out with tweezers.
<If i die bc of a cactus related infection I'm blaming you>
<omg what did you do>
<Squeezed a ball of hair in my hand but it was filled with spines from the cactus>
<lmao>
<lmao???? I'm suffering and you're laughing??? Essi, Pris is being horrible>
<it is only what you deserve>
<OMG rude!>
<kissy face emoji>
Jaskier looks up from his phone when he hears water splashing. He doesn't even want to know what toy the cat has decided to drown now but if he doesn't hurry the whole kitchen will be filled with water.
Roach is happily playing with a toy mouse dunking it in her water bowl and tossing it around, spreading water everywhere.
"Roach, please? Could you just... not do that?" Jaskier begs as he fishes the mouse out of the water bowl and puts it to dry in a cabinet. "This may come as a surprise to you but I do not enjoy mopping the floors after you." He complains as he dutifully takes kitchen towels and dries the kitchen. At least it's better than the time Roach tucked the entire kitchen rug in the water bowl while he was out.
"You are a menace," Jaskier tells Roach after he has cleaned up everything. Roach meows.
Jaskier feels like he has barely fallen asleep when he wakes up. At first, he doesn't understand what woke him, but another yowl has him wide awake. What has him jumping out of the bed and run is the sound of pumping, like someone was trying to unclog a toilet.
"Roach you bastard, where are you? Please don't throw up on a carpet!!" Jaskier tries to find the cat based on the noise, stumbling in the dark. To his horror, the noise is coming from the second floor, where he was absolutely forbidden to go.
"Roaaaaach...!" he whines and makes his way up the stairs.
The view that awaits him when he flips the light on is totally unexpected. It is so unexpected Jaskier has to pinch himself to believe he's actually standing in a real room.
It is, and really the only way to describe it is every little girl's dream room. The room spans the entire second floor, ceiling low on the sides showing it was renovated from an attic, pinks, purples and blues adorning the furnishing.
And right on the middle of the white rug is the vomit.
"Fuck."
Jaskier collects the rug and carries it in the bathroom and spends an ungodly amount of time washing it, hoping against all the odds, the stain would leave.
It doesn't.
Come morning and Jaskier is sure it's all been a weird dream. Unfortunately for him, the stained rug awaits him in the bathroom when he goes to brush his teeth and he groans in frustration.
Roach meows at the closed door and scratches it until he lets her in so she can stare at him. Jaskier sighs and snaps a quick selfie, hair mussed and toothbrush still in his mouth and sends it. No need to prolong it, now he can hopefully focus on writing.
He's drinking his third cup of tea when his phone buzzes for a new message.
<Roach's hair is as messy as yours>
Jaskier stares at the message, sent from an unknown number.
<Who is this?>
<Youre looking after daddys cat>
<You're the girl! From the picture!>
<I'm Julian but you can call me Jaskier>
<Wait you shouldn't text strange men does your dad know you've texted me?>
<You're not strange you just told me your name>
<I'm bored daddy went out with grandpa and im left with uncle>
<Hes no fun>
<I'm Fiona>
<Hello Fiona, it's nice to meet you>
Jaskier doesn't know what else he's supposed to say. How does one talk with children? Just like normal people? Right?
Wait!
Jaskier comes to a sudden realisation; now he has the perfect opportunity to ask cheat codes for Roach to get the cat to, well maybe not like him but to tolerate him.
<How do I brush Roach? She doesn't let me near her>
The screen fills with laughing emojis earning a sigh from Jaskier. No help then.
<Give her cheese>
<Shes crazy about it but only gets it after shes brushed>
Of course, why hasn't he thought to give the cat cheese? Maybe because it doesn't make any sense. Who gives cat cheese when there are perfectly good cat treats available?
Nothing else about this makes any sense either and since writing isn't happening nor is Fiona texting anything else he makes his way to the fridge and digs out a block of cheese and cuts a piece.
Roach runs at him screaming. She thrills and screams and rubs herself against the drawer where all of her brushes are.
Roach doesn't purr when he combs through her fur, but feeding her bits of cheese every time she gets too annoyed helps and like a miracle Jaskier manages to brush a cat-sized pile of loose fur to show for his efforts. He gives Roach the last piece when he has finished and tries to pet her, but she sprints away from him with an annoyed meow.
Maybe Roach doesn't hate him as much as he thought after all.
#the witcher#the witcher fanfic#geralt of rivia#Jaskier#geraskier#geralt x jaskier#jaskier x geralt#cirilla fiona elen riannon#frywen writes
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alice + jj / summer flashback
you can call me al – july 19th
Alice had never been denied books before and so she didn’t know how enraged she should be at these circumstances. Politeness took over her and she delicately repeated,
“But I’m going to be starting here after the Summer, so -,”
“As I’ve already said, it is only available to current students.”
“I can’t get books out from my school now though.” Alice persisted, speaking in an urgent whisper. “Please? I really don’t want to go to the community library.”
The thought of the lack of the books they had there made her shudder. The librarian sighed, turning to another customer, obviously growing bored of Alice. She stared sadly at the three books that sat on the desk – one on paranormal activity, one on planting and The Invisible Man.
“You can take them out on my card.”
Her head flicked in the direction of the voice and saw an older boy not even looking at her properly. She wasn’t used to speaking to older boys apart from Matt and his friends, so she didn’t even know how to take part in the conversation.
“Oh, no, I can’t do that.” She replied with an awkwardly polite laugh and a shake of a hand.
He finally looked at her and Alice was taken aback by the fact that not only was he an older boy, he was beautiful. She never really had an interest in boys before this, but could always appreciate someone’s beauty and he possessed beauty in abundance.
“No, really, it’s fine.”
He spoke in a low voice, but a little louder than Alice’s whisper.
“No, I mean, that would be against the rules.” She said with slightly raised eyebrows, smiling all the same. “But thank you.”
He smirked at her and the librarian turned away from her computer, speaking in an even tighter whisper than before.
“You are 160 days overdue on this book. The charge is £75.”
There was a silence and Alice looked between this boy and the librarian with great bemusement.
“What?” He said with no attempt at speaking in a low voice now. He laughed. “I just found this in my room and thought I was doing a good thing.”
An uncontrollable giggle left Alice. The librarian gave her a stern look causing Alice to try and get a handle on her laughing, but all she really noted was that the boy was looking at her with equal levels of bemusement. Now she was left with an uncontrollable blush.
Embarrassed at the colour, she pointed at the books, picking them up to return them to their correct places.
As she was placing the last of the books, The Invisible Man, back, she jumped at a face appearing behind the shelf.
“Sorry, sorry, I just wanted to let you know I’ve paid my debt to the library.” Alice smiled, turning her face down and away from him.
“Quite a high price tag for a book. I hope it was worth it.” He let out a small laugh.
“Can I speak to you without the shelf between us?”
They now had less space and shelves between them as Alice walked out the library, not wanting to break any more rules in her little place of worship.
“I’m Jay, by the way. Or JJ, lots of people call me that.” Jay announced when they were outside the library with the sun hitting his face and making it comparable to a statue in an art gallery glistening in the light. She took a breath.
Despite them living in a tiny village, she wasn’t familiar with this older, mysterious boy.
“I’m Alice. You can call me Al, but not many people do.” He laughed at her poor joke and it made her heart beat wildly.
“Like the song?”
Laughter sang between them and she nodded wildly.
“Just like the song.”
let’s hear it for the boy – july 29th
“A boy? A boy!”
All that George received for that was exasperation from Alice.
“Yes, a -,”
“Oh, shut up, George,” Millie hit his arm and turned back to Alice. “Tell us EVERYTHING!”
Normally it was Millie telling them everything about a boy she had met at a party or George privately telling her about his undying love for Millie. There was never anything Alice had to say about other people, it was always about her books or subjects or tea or music. This was so very different and she didn’t even know where to begin.
“Yeah, start with what boy it is.” George continued, rubbing at the spot where Millie had hit him.
“Well, his name is JJ and -,”
“JJ? As in Jay Jhaveri?” George asked, looking more alert.
“You know him?”
“Know him? He is dreamy and so much older than us – Ally, you like an older boy? Where would you have met him? At a party? If you’ve gone to your first ever party without me then I will SCREAM -,”
“Mills -,”
“We met at the library.”
“That day you were supposed to meet us at the library?”
Alice provided George with a sheepish smile, them both knowing now that she had ditched their planned true crime documentary marathon, so she could spend the day with JJ.
“So it’s been two weeks?”
“One week and three days?” Alice responded, carefully trying to sound like she hadn’t keeping track.
“What have you guys done? Are you still a virgin?”
“Millie, heck, of course I am!”
Millie shrugged.
“Being older he’ll want sex sooner than guys our age.” She said matter-of-factly. She turned to George, “How long would you wait?”
“I’ve been waiting 16 years. I’m good at waiting.”
Millie raised her hand as if he had proven her point.
She wondered if Millie was right. ‘Boys’ was not something Alice had any knowledge on. Maybe she should find a book on them.
“Anyway,” She changed the subject, suppressing her fear on how these things worked. “You both know of him? What do you think?”
George filled his air up with cheeks and puffed them out slowly.
“I think this is so cute! You seem like an unlikely couple, but if you like him – we need more details! Spill, spill, spill.” Millie squealed, but Alice kept her eyes focused on George causing Millie to turn and stare at him too. He felt both sets of eyes on him and waved his hands wildly.
“Yeah, well, he is cool, I guess… but he is much older than us? What, like eighteen?”
“Nineteen…” Alice said in a small voice. “Nobody else knows about us right now and I’m only telling you two, because we know about the age gap. When I turn seventeen, which is very soon, then we won’t hide it. He’s just… lovely.”
George eventually nodded.
“Well, if you’re happy.”
i think we’re alone now – august 3rd
They skipped the song by Joy Division and it went to Africa by Toto. They only listened to the happy and silly songs together.
One earphone each.
Her head was resting on his shoulder with his arm wrapped tightly around her. The sun was beating down on them. This was how summer slipped away – in the space between his arm and torso.
“Can I ask you something?” She softly edged her head up so he knew she was listening. “If the rules were different with the library, would I have even stood a chance with you?”
She laughed so much that she shook his chest and then his laughter shook her. That was how they moved, one after the other.
“Maybe in a parallel universe I did get those books and we never even spoke.” She mused softly and he let out a long sigh.
“Oh, I’m glad I live in this universe then.” He shifted slightly, moving to his bag. “I did note though that one of the books was this? Hopefully it was this anyway.”
She pushed herself up to be leaning on her elbow and took The Invisible Man out of his hands.
“I didn’t realise you were paying such close attention…” She stared at the book in amazement.
“Yeah, yeah, you’d think I just wouldn’t remember anything about the day I met you.” She laughed again, feeling suddenly shy and embarrassed.
“I think even in the parallel universe where I get those books, you would still have an overdue book and I would still laugh at you…”
“So I wouldn’t be replaced with a library?”
“Wait, no, nobody replaces a library for me. Libraries are my holy ground, my church, my safe place. All people are second place.” She laughed lightly, leaning back into his chest, feeling something tighten in his body ever so slightly.
“I don’t really have a safe place like that. I guess my flat is now, but it’s not really a home.”
It made Alice feel sad. Very, very sad.
He just wanted a home.
She understood that JJ had a hard life and it was one she would never be able to relate to. She also knew there were rumours about the life he had been leading and company he was keeping, but again she couldn’t relate to that. She did know that the person he was with her was who he was or wanted to be and sometimes people were put in hard positions in life.
She put her hand on his chest and circled the general area of his heart.
“This can always be your safe place. Right in the middle of a field, listening to music and, if you like, being with me.” She looked up at him and watched as his eyes moved to focus on hers. Something told her that the answer touched him.
She could never understand a life as difficult as his, but she wanted him to know an easier life even if it was just when they were together.
drive – august 16th
She had never even touched herself before and now his hand was on her. It felt like pure ecstasy and she didn’t want the feeling to ever end. Eventually her hand was gripping at his shirt and her eyes were closing, the last image of his lovely face in her head, as she moaned out, shaking out the feeling of the joy. Her eyes opened again and she was gasping again.
“What the heck?” She asked all breathy and bewildered. He searched her face, his smile reaching his eyes as he kissed her softly.
“You uh… liked it then?”
She shook her head, still unable to get over the shaking in her toes.
“I… have no words.”
He removed his hand from underneath her summer dress and touched her tingling skin.
“Are you cold?”
“A little.”
He kissed her again and rolled over pulling a sweater out for her. She sat up, pulling it over her head. Another present from him.
He groaned putting his head in his hands as she untucked her hair from it.
“What’s wrong?”
She furrowed her eyebrows in equal parts confusion and amusement.
He peeked out from his hands.
“You have no idea how perfect you look right now. Ugh… I just… I like you in my sweater.”
She laughed.
“I like being in your sweater.”
“I’m sorry, my place does not deserve to have you in it.”
She took his face in her hands and shook her head.
“I’ve told you before, I think it’s charming.”
They stared at each other, their faces so close. It was something they were doing more frequently these days. Staring at each other in intense silences. Whenever they did it Alice was tracing the outline of his features so she could remember them perfectly for when she went to sleep. She liked to think he was doing the same.
“I want to make you feel as good as you made me feel.”
He groaned loudly, breaking all the silence.
“Ah fuck, Al, I’m going to take you home before I get carried away.”
Alice bit down on her smile. She had never spoken like that before and felt suddenly powerful over him. She did really want to make him feel good as well, even though she had no idea how to do that. His reaction made her want to try.
-------------------------------
As they sat in his car, parked around the corner from her house and with the windows all steamed up from them kissing, she was sure nobody would see them.
He pulled away and then moved back in for another kiss and then another and then he finally sat back properly in the driving seat with his hands on the wheel and shook his head.
“You really should go in, because I don’t want to be the guy who keeps you past your curfew.”
“Okay, okay, dad.”
He rested his head on the wheel watching her carefully again and she thought they might fall back into staring at each other, but then he spoke.
“I meant what I said earlier, you know. You’re fucking – I mean, you’re perfect. You’re just an angel and I don’t know what the… heck… what the heck you’re doing with me, but you are.”
“JJ, you’re -,”
“I love you, Alice Banks.”
She stopped and stared right into the face of this beautiful boy and this felt like all the romantic classics she had read and read and now it was happening to her.
“I love you too.”
you can’t hurry love – august 25th
“You want to take it outside?” Matt was in the doorway of her room pretending to punch the air. When she looked up from hurriedly hiding away her lip gloss that she had been applying, she saw he was holding a book in front of him.
“Mmm… I can’t today – I’m going over to Millie’s for this thing.”
Matt let out a low whistle, stepping further into the room.
“You know you’re the world’s worst liar, right?”
Wringing her hands in her lap and then hitting them against her forehead, she nodded.
“I am completely aware of that fact.”
Matt took a seat next to her, almost giddy in his energy.
“Well, I thought I was coming here for a traditional summer afternoon, so you now must pay the price of your secret.”
He spoke in a dramatic voice and ended it with an evil laugh. She rolled her eyes.
Taking a deep breath, she readied herself for telling him the only secret she had ever had to keep.
“Firstly, we just got back from our holiday two days ago, so I am not buying the disappointment,” She took another breath, looking at Matt directly, so it didn’t look like there was any reason to be nervous. “Secondly, I’ve kind of been dating someone this summer and -,”
Matt gasped.
“George?”
Alice’s face contorted into pure confusion.
“What? No?”
“Come on, that’s going to be the natural assumption.”
“Hmm… I don’t see how… Anyway,” She had to ready herself again. “I’m dating this boy called Jay, well, JJ, and he’s -,”
“What?” Matt’s face was now far from being excited about this news. Maybe George was the only acceptable person for Alice in his eyes. “JJ?”
“You know him?”
His face tightened and he took some time to reply.
“I know of him. He’s the guy who hangs around Owen Summers?” He put his head in his hands and sighed.
Alice did know that he was friends with him as she had looked at his Instagram and there was that time when her Dad was driving her back from Millie’s one night and she saw JJ and Owen in a car. She had noticed him immediately and he looked like a completely different person to the one she knew from summer walks and bedroom talks, but then he saw her and softened around the edges. She smiled at him then and he did the same, getting softer still.
“How did you even get caught up in that?”
She looked down into her lap, feeling small all of a sudden.
“And how old is he?”
“I’m going to be turning seventeen in a week; it’s only a two year difference.”
“Yeah, sure, that makes it all fine!”
Alice shook her head at Matt getting up from the bed in anger.
“Matt, he’s a good person, no, a great person. Just because he has a few bad friends doesn’t make him a bad person – he’s not like that. I love him and I thought you would be able to trust my judgment. Have I ever been wrong about someone before?” She stopped, pleading with her eyes, imploring Matt to respect her decision. “Do you know something about him?”
Matt sighed, turning away from her and then immediately coming back, kneeling at her feet.
“No, no, I don’t, I just -,”
“Then listen to me.” She spoke with a firmness that she was sure Matt wasn’t used to hearing from her unless they were in a heated political debate and it was never directed at him.
He nodded his head slowly.
“I will, I trust you.” He softened, pulling her in for a hug. “Come on, you know it’s my job to protect you.”
love will tear us apart – august 30th
She walked up to JJ in the playground that surprisingly didn’t have any children in it despite it being a hot day. There was an unshakable giddiness in her stomach at all of this. It was the first time they were meeting in daylight so close to possible people who could see them. How could she not think of their future together and how this could be them all the time? It was almost her birthday and she was hoping he would come to the celebration with George, Millie and her family.
He was sat in the swings as she practically skipped up to him.
“Hello, beautiful,” She giggled, delicately taking one of his hands. Suddenly she felt very shy being in public with him.
“Uh…” He looked up at her and her face immediately changed to one of concern.
“What’s wrong?”
There was a silence that could have lasted a little while longer for Alice. In the silence, he was still hers.
“I need to talk to you.” She let go of his hand and took a step back. How could she not see this coming? “I just… I don’t want to be with you anymore.”
It didn’t make sense.
There could be so many reasons why he would want to end it or the reasons why he couldn’t possibly want to end it, but she could only think of one.
“You said you loved me -,”
She was already crying.
“I didn’t mean it.”
She exhaled sharply. He wasn’t looking at her. There was nothing else she needed to hear from him.
He didn’t mean it.
With tears she didn’t try to wipe away, she turned and stormed off. He didn’t deserve to hear anything else from her and she didn’t deserve to be lied to by him.
“Alice, I -,”
At the faint sound of his voice calling after her, she walked faster so she couldn’t hear what he was trying to say.
He didn’t mean it.
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March 15: Thoughts on Fandom
Not feeling too well this evening but hopefully a good night's sleep will make me feel better and tomorrow will be low key and chill. And my hot water will be fixed successfully.
I was thinking today about how I've felt for a long time that I'm 'between fandoms' even though technically, literally, I'm not. I continue to write and read for The 100 but I don't entirely feel like I'm in the fandom. Sometimes I think I should just leave officially, but then I think--but to go where? And "Star Trek" seems both an obvious and an incorrect answer. It's like I'm not truly invested anywhere, but in a sort of limbo-like space.
Anyway, so I broke it down like this.
I want 3 three things from "fandom," broadly speaking:
1. To engage with media that I really love.
Examples: waiting for new installments (for ongoing media); rewatching or rereading; obsessing over how great the characters or stories are, dissecting plot lines and themes.
2. To engage with a fan community that also loves the media I love.
Examples: reading fanfiction; reading meta; engaging in online discussions; reading other people's excited posts; following blogs relating to the media in question; reblogging gifsets/graphics/fan art
3. To engage creatively with the source material through transformative works.
Example: writing fanfiction.
Ideally, I'd have one piece of media that fulfills all of these purposes. That was T100 for me for a while. But then I stopped watching the show in late S4, and got farther and farther away from the 'current' fandom. And then the show ended, and on such a sour note, so that the fandom itself, the fan community, started changing. And at the same time, I started getting seriously back into Star Trek again.
So now I'm in this place, where I'm still at least kind of engaged in all three aspects of the fandom experience, but not in a unified way.
Star Trek is fulfilling the first purpose of fandom for me, right now. I'm loving rewatching TOS, and the AOS movies too, and I just have a lot of Emotions about the characters and universe. It's that good kinda excitement that a show (or book or movie or whatever) that you really love always gives. Like--ahh!!! I cannot feel anything else but just happiness because I love this so much!
BUT I'm not engaging with ST in either the second or third sense of fandom. I follow a couple ST blogs but there aren't many truly active TOS/AOS centric blogs out there right now. I don't read any ST fanfic because, well, first of all I never really did, and second, I'm far enough behind on my T100 fic! And I have rl people like my mom and B to talk about it with, but not really anyone on tumblr or wherever who's into it like I am.
And though I've vaguely plotted and poked at some fic ideas, I haven't done any real ST writing in a long time--again because I have ideas for T100 that I need/want to get to first, and I'm not writing so much anyway now in general.
On the other hand, T100 is definitely NOT fulfilling function (1) for me and hasn't in a long time. When I stopped watching the show, I still engaged with the canon a little. I watched other people get excited or debate or discuss. I noticed the patterns of fandom as the show went into and out of hiatus. Plus, I still enjoyed the early seasons and liked early-canon and canon-divergent fics (reading and planning/writing). But even that is largely fading for me. I've been trying to rewatch the show but it's not really doing anything for me... I have a hard time getting into it. The canon-divergent fics I'm writing for the collab are not interesting me in the least, either.
I realized today that most of my fic ideas, or at least most of the fic ideas I really care about in any way, are so far removed from the canon they might as well be original fiction with some familiar names thrown in. The one exception is the Ark AU, but everything else is some form of extreme AU, modern or otherwise. I don't even know that the characters make me feel much of anything anymore. I've been toying with how to explain this for a while but... I feel like both for me personally and the fandom as I perceive it, the characters are more like a shared vocabulary, rather than actual characters from a source material we all love. I think this is partially because the fandom is old enough now to have some very long standing shared headcanons, and either small enough or bifurcated enough for fanwork creators to influence each other more than the canon influences them, and partly because the show ending on a sour note for most viewers has left the people who remain in the fandom with a sense that these characters are OURS and that the value of them is in how we collectively decide to use them now, rather than in how they are tied to the universally derided source material.
I'm not saying any of this is BAD, I'm just saying, that's how it is now, from my perspective.
I'm sort of engaging with the fan community (2) through T100, but... it's a little weird. I have people I legitimately like and enjoy talking to on tumblr who I know through T100 and of course there are events like Troped that I really love. I have a ton of cool fic bookmarked too and I'm getting back into reading it. But my dash has a lot less T100 content than it used to and sometimes I'll find myself j-ing very fast through it because I'm just not in the mood. I know a lot of people are either semi-disengaging, like I am, or wholesale moving on to other things. So it's like... the community straggles on, but it's uncertain at best.
And as far as engaging creatively (3)--to the extent that I write or plan fic it's almost all T100. But I haven't... I haven't been finding it easy to write. In general. This is a little hard to explain but.. when I think "I need to leave T100 fandom and really force myself to go somewhere else" it's usually because I feel like I'm not really getting what I need creatively out of the fandom. I like a lot of my wips and unstarted ideas, in theory at least, but the closer I look at some of them the more... herculean the task of actually writing them starts to seem. And tbh I rarely just... tell myself little stories about these characters or within these potential-fic scenarios. Like in all my idle, free thought time--when I'm washing dishes or taking a walk or a shower or going to sleep, when I want to think about something nice and fictional and not let the worries in... when I'm really engaged with a fandom, I'll imagine little scenes and tell myself little stories during these times. Sometimes they're scenes I want to eventually make into or include in a fic. Other times they're not. But they're still an extension of my creative life.
And I haven't really done that for T100 in a while. Sometimes I imagine Star Trek scenarios. Sometimes I retreat into highly silly comfort scenarios with original characters. But I only think about T100 when I specifically need to brainstorm for a fic. And that makes the fic feel more like work. And that makes me want to do it less.
So... I'm not sure what that will mean for me getting back into my projects when I finally (FINALLY) finish the last of my obligations. Maybe when I feel like I can actually make progress on old wips or ideas I care about, I'll get more invested in them. I was pretty damn invested in Mountain Lion Mean and that wasn't that long ago, so it is still possible. But overall, T100 definitely doesn't have, and probably never will have again, a total monopoly on my brain the way it did c.2016.
Which is fine. Like... it's more than fine. I've been here a while. What I'm trying to articulate to myself with all this is that the dissatisfaction I feel with my fandom life is probably stemming from the lack of one, coherent obsession. I have stuff to read, stuff to write, stuff to think about, stuff to talk about, and even a small fandom community of people I like--so what's the problem, right?? It's because it's not all coming from the same piece of media and that's not as clear and coherent and nice for me.
Plus, it makes writing more difficult when I do want to write these particular ideas, but I'm only motivated by own desire to see the ideas realized, not my genuine love for the characters and the material from which they derive. There's a certain energy that fannish activity has... but T100 fic barely feels like a fannish activity to me rn. Just another type of work. It's a work I'm invested in...but I just so often don't have it in me to WORK at all, is the thing.
So that's the biggest annoyance about it. I haven't really experienced this before so even though this situation has been forming for a while, I still don't really know what to do with it.
#the year 2021#2021: fandom thoughts#honestly i'm really proud of myself for articulating all of this#fandom
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Good Morning! Hello Autumn!
It’s time for cozy sweaters, warm drinks, cold feet but warm hearts! :,D
And it’s time for Denny to do another life update post! Feel free to skip or read ahead!
At least... the renovations in the bedroom are completed! It feels so unnatural to have like the whole apartment feel like a place you can inhabit X’D that sounds so bad saying it lol But now it’s a sunny room with a big soft bed and hopefully many wonderful dreams and moments!
If you expected me to fill these drawers with clothes and such, you’re gravely mistaken and you don’t know me well. They are all full of sketchbooks and art supplies. >.>; and while moving them all I realized I need to do yet another declutter...
And I got to fit a small corner for arting. Far cry from my previous set but I do try to simplify my workspace as in... not let it take over me. ^_^;;;
And if you want to look at how this room used to look, ahem well... x’D
It used to be a storage room and I’m so, so happy I finally got around to get rid of all this junk and give this place a proper make over! Now the only thing left is to get a heater of some kind cause winters can get cold here! And then I’m done with this corner of the apartment :’D
Next year - the kitchen!!
Arting and Inktober
And that’s what I’ve been mostly up to this summer. Now I’m focusing my energies on my comic and I’ll be using the inktober month to actually line art a page per day, or try to anyway! I’ve followed the controversy over Inktober and while I will refrain from commenting, as someone who always enjoyed inktober for the idea of it and following everyone who is participating, it just saddens me to have yet another thing I enjoy stained and it’s fans divided.
More arting!
I’ve been drawing a whole lot more but mostly DnD related things and I know majority of my followers are more interested in FF14 works ... so I’ve neglected posting here... :,D;; which now when I think of it, it’s kind of silly! Art is art! I keep looking at my tumblr blog as more fancy and less of a place to post sketches or quick works but, it’s still art, right? It counts! So... maybe I should post things here.
And as I was typing this, my watercolor kit from mossery arrived, ahhh! So many goodies. +_+ It was a bit pricey but I’m all starry eyed once I opened it all!
Now to proceed being too nervous about using the sketchbook and avoid it for two years cause it’s so pretty X’D
And that’s all! Mostly busy with irl things but hoping I’ll be more active here again. I got a week off work for my birthday and using the time to relax as best as I can given the world’s state and all the crazy going on.
Hugs and cookies to you dear reader who made it this far! :,D
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"Quiet me" from the drabble prompt, if you want!
((Referencing this tag game here. @indecentpause is the main author of The Most Beautiful Puzzle, which is where these characters are from! I'm sort of the co-creator/editor.
Timeline wise, this happens a few years ago! Also, this was finished, I was just waiting until it felt right to post it so now's a good time I guess.))
((cw: emotional meltdown, self harm(hitting self), bruises))
You whirl around the corner and finally find Josselin coming out of the counselor's office.
"I've been looking all over for you!" you exclaim.
"I've decided to drop out," he says, shifting his bag to move the strap more across his chest. His hands come up to hold the strap, almost as if to shield himself from you. "College isn't for me."
"Is that why you've been avoiding me recently?"
A hush falls over the office. Josselin sighs, shifting his weight between his feet. "Can we talk somewhere privately?"
You end in the next building, sitting side by side outside of a random classroom.
The silence gulfs between you.
Josselin reaches into his bag and takes out a yarn square, threading his fingers through the holes. It isn't a stim toy you've ever seen him use before.
"Talk to me?" you finally half ask, half demand.
He sighs. And the silence continues.
You want to reach out and touch him. You want to hold his hand, to rest your head against his too-bony shoulder. You want to hear his voice, to hear him chatter about anything and everything. You want to banter with him, and play chess, and playfully argue about the best video game made.
You want him to stop avoiding you, most of all.
He brings his knees up to his chest, the square interlocked around both hands, his face mostly covered. "I'm no good at this," he mutters to his jean-clad legs.
You scoot and turn closer, barely able to hear him. He smells of sandalwood and skin, maybe a touch of lavender.
It's comforting, in a quiet way.
"Can you try?" you ask.
Josselin sighs.
"I..." he pauses and shakes his head. His fingers move against the cloth, frantically tapping and squeezing.
When he finally restarts, his voice is soft but steady. He faces forward, back against the wall, talking more to the opposite wall than to you.
"So, my mom was a single mom. And it was just us, until... until it wasn't. And then I got bounced between okay foster homes and awful foster homes until I technically ran away. I've never stayed in the same place for long. And... and I'm telling you this because, well, I don't have a lot of friends. Any friends, really. Most people just tolerate me."
You reach out and gently touch his upper arm. Josselin shrugs it off, and you pull away, your chest hurting for both his words and the rebuttal.
"I'm telling you this," he continues, "because I've noticed that I end up crushing on people who even remotely show me any sort of attention. It's not the first time, it won't be the last. And... and... the feelings do fade after a while. If I stay away from the person. So. That's why I've been avoiding you."
You breathe for the first time in what feels like minutes. "Really? You have a crush on me?"
He draws into himself more. "Please don't make fun of me."
"I would never."
He huffs, shaking his head slightly.
"I promise, I would never."
"No!" His raised voice shocks you, echoing through the hallway. "No promises!"
You swallow, then breathe. Obviously a sensitive subject. "Okay," you say softly. "I won't."
Josselin brings his hands up, still tangled in the cloth, to his head. His wrists thump against his head, a little too hard, and before you can stop yourself, you place a hand over where the strikes seem to land. It doesn't stop his hands, but they do slow slightly. You can feel him shaking, rocking side to side slightly.
"S-sorry," he stammers out. "I-I'm... it's too much. Everything."
"What helps?"
He doesn't answer for a while, rocking and thumping, his head shaking, and you're about to ask again, since you're not even sure if he heard you. Should you even be touching him? Are you making it worse? But he hasn't exactly pushed you away again either. Finally though, Josselin says, "Talking."
"Okay. Okay. Well, I'm good at talking. I can talk your ear off, make you look like Vincent Van Gogh." There's a small delay, but you swear you see the smallest of smiles play over his lips. Taking that as a good sign, even as his hands continue to hit against yours, you continue. "I can do the paintings, you can look the part. We can go to Paris, and drink coffee, and pretend to smoke cigarettes, and wear scarves and berets, you know, like the cool artists do. Well, I'm not so good at painting, but I'm sure we can pretend. You know, me dazzling them with my awful jokes, you distracting them with Zelda facts."
That causes him to huff out the tiniest bit of laughter. You continue. "And then when we are done scamming all of Paris, we can take ourselves to the countryside, and we can build little Hobbit homes, and live off the land for a bit. And when it gets boring, or it gets too cold, we can vacation somewhere else, like, I don't know, Mordor, I guess. We can dip our feet in the lava of Mount Doom like hot springs."
Josselin shakes his head, smiling a bit more. "That makes no sense!"
"No, it doesn't!" You laugh. "We would definitely go to Hyrule instead, and we can scam the villagers there with our artwork. I wonder what the conversion rate is between a franc and a rupee. But anyway-"
"Euro."
"What?"
"France uses euros now."
"Conversion rates between a rupee and an euro then. Because if it's good enough, we can totally make bank, and maybe build a castle somewhere. And we can invite anyone we want. Well, except Browser, unless he prom... Uh, says he won't wreck the castle."
And so you continue to weave together a small story, pulling together every video game and pop culture reference you could think of. Josselin's hands continue to thump against yours, but not as hard, not as fast, his breathing slowing down to a more normal pattern, his shaking subsiding to more of a gentle rocking motion. Anything Zelda related is a hit, and most Nintendo games, but not any other console. Forget about any current tv shows or movies, he has no idea about those. And you don't remember anything other than a name or two from the few anime he's shown you from the last few weeks.
But your words, the silly stories of you vacationing and scamming people across the worlds, they seem to help. And he continues to respond to you, occasionally correcting your pronunciation or a wrong detail. You even get him laughing sometimes, and you laugh with him.
Eventually, slowly, Josselin calms down, his fingers still through what you now recognize as a crocheted granny square, and now they're interlocked over yours on the top of his head.
And you could sit there forever, talking with him, but the linoleum floor is unyielding under you, and your leg has fallen asleep over the last twenty minutes or so. So you shift slightly, and the spell breaks.
"Sorry," he says, taking his hands off yours, his arms dropping to his lap, his legs straightening. You curl back into yourself, shifting away so your back is against the cold wall.
And again you're sitting side by side outside of the classroom.
"Thank you." His toes are tapping together, the repetitive sounds echoing down down the hallway, folding over themselves. "You... that helped. Thank you."
"Any time," you say, meaning it with every fiber of your being.
He sighs in response. And then softly, "Frankie?"
"Yeah?"
"I noticed that you... said a lot of 'we' when you were talking."
"I... well, there was a reason why I was looking for you." You turn to watch his face, or what you can see of it with his hair still loose, his head tilted down. "I was going to ask you out on a date."
"What!?"
"Yeah. The art museum has a few free hours on Thursdays and I thought it would be nice to go and walk around. And then we could get something to eat after?" Josselin is quiet next to you, his hands tugging on the square, so you add, "I've noticed you and food are... complicated. So you can pick the restaurant. Or snacks. But yeah. I wanted to ask you out."
Finally, his voice small, "You like me?"
"Yeah?"
"No joke?"
"None at all."
He sits on that information for a few moments. You shift again, crossing your legs as you move to sit in front of him. "I think you're cute! And funny, and smart! So smart." You don't know what's okay to touch, because if it was anyone else you might've brushed his hair back or move in closer. Instead you hover your hand near his. "And I think it'll be fun."
Josselin disentangles one hand from the square and takes yours instead.
"I bruised you," he says, his hand holding yours, turning it over to see the blues and blacks already forming on the back of your hand.
"Better than you bruising you," you say.
He stills, then pulls his hands away from yours. "I'm nothing but a burden."
"Not to the right person," you say. "Not to me."
"You barely know me."
"I know you well enough."
Josselin sighs.
You continue before he has another chance. "Look, if it doesn't work out it doesn't work out. But when... if it does, then we've had ourselves a good time. But we won't know unless we try."
He takes in a deep breath, then lets it back out again, then says, "Okay. Okay." Something sparks in your chest and you smile as he continues with, "So what does that make us?"
"Hopefully free Thursday night," you quip.
Josselin laughs.
#tag game#the most beautiful puzzle#frankie moore#josselin clearwater#cw: melt down#cw: meltdown#cw: self harm
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Regicide is a two-person job - Chapter one
[Has anyone asked for a mashup between an Royalty AU and a Boarding School AU? No? Well I did one anyway.
While I actually know where I’m going with this (which is rare for writers) I am not so sure if I’m gonna go anywhere with this at all (which is decidedly more common for writers). Either way, here’s an intro/sneak-peak into an idea that has been sitting in my folder for way too long.]
~~
Lena Luthor was not having a good day.
It would have been unnecessarily overdramatic to say it had cracked even her Top 10 Worst Days, but then again, the full repercussions of it hadn’t made themselves fully known yet. Although, she supposed being forced to move halfway across the globe fit the “life-changing repercussions” category, and Lena had no possible method to ever measure all of those.
It didn’t matter. She was going to endure the next two years of her life by making everyone else’s a living hell, as she had always done. Besides, she doubted her antics would make her last very long in one of the most well secured campuses in the world, and when she showed up back home in a couple of months after getting (very politely) expelled it would be her turn to laugh in Lilian’s face. And her stepmother wouldn’t even be able to fully act on her rage without tipping off any investors that the Luthors were many orders of magnitude bellow “less than perfect” as a family.
Lena stretched lazily and put her feet on the table, sparing a passing glance at the picturesque snow-covered mountain ranges passing by thousands of feet bellow her. Deciding that she needed a well-rested mind in order to face the many small battles that were sure to occur throughout the day, she picked up her phone to change to a more sleep-friendly playlist. As she muted her music to scroll through her options, she heard Lilian and Lex’s hushed tones coming from the front of the jet.
“…what my contacts say about her”.
Lilian clicked her tongue at that at that. “I hardly think a girl with that much security actually lives up to these rumors. Maybe they’re trying for a more approachable thought-the-grapevines PR strategy,” she answered.
“She does fit the ditzy dumb blonde type, doesn’t she?” Lex said.
Lilian laughed at that. The type of laughter only Lex was ever really allowed to witness. Lena continued through the motions of picking a sleeping playlist and making herself comfortable enough for a nap, feeling slightly bad for whoever was the focus on their conversation. Her brother and Lilian could be quite vicious about their business partners when they were left alone to gossip, and not exactly fully committed to facts. Not that Lena gave a fuck of course. She had stirred up quite a few nasty rumors about her peers herself when bored.
“That will certainly come in handy for the company in a few years’ time, should it be true,” her bother continued. “Although I do personally believe a rebellious youth would have been even better to our interests than an idiotic leader. Either way, Lena dearest appears to be yet one more problem for the Kryptonian Secret Service now”.
Wait, what?
Lena continued to act as if her earbuds hadn’t been muted and curled on herself as if asleep. It had been bad enough to pull her out of her previous boarding school and haul her ass across the globe overnight and without warning. Had Lilian and Lex really concocted even more unpleasant surprises for her day?
What was she thinking, of course they had.
“Oh, I am sure she will be a problem either way, no matter what the other girl really is like” Lilian dismissed. There was a pause, and Lena heard the clink of a teacup against its plate. “Might I enquire what makes you so keen on believing that particular source this time?”
“For the same reasons you picked this particular academy to exile her to, mother dear”.
Another pause, longer this time, then Lilian answered in a tone of subdued irritation.
“So, he has contacted you as well. I can’t say I’m surprised.”
“Oh, I can. What a stupid individual that was. But no matter, it has been dealt with,” Lex chuckled. “Unless you had any other pending business with him?”
Oh great, thought Lena. She was now once privy to the answers to what is without a doubt yet another “mysterious missing person case” that would make its rounds on Youtube conspiracy videos in a few years. If she didn’t know any better, she would think her brother planned his assassinations with the narrative of those videos already in mind.
And her family wondered why she was half-buzzed all the time.
Lilian must have made a dismissive hand gesture because Lex continued, “Good then, so we can stop these charades and discuss what we actually need to. Mother, I must admit, as much as the rest of this ordeal has been perversely well crafted, I believe sending her directly to that room might be a liability.”
“Oh please. Princess Kara might be a pretty face, but even Lena isn’t that stupid.”
Had Lena’s chair been facing them her ruse would have been over at that moment, as her eyes went wide. Just what on Earth were these two planning now? Lex’s black-market deals and criminal business practices were one thing. Every big corporation out in their happy little capitalistic dystopian society was guilty of that, no matter how much they liked to give flak to the Luthors exclusively. “That’s just good business,” as Lionel used to say.
But toying with Kryptonian royalty was way above even Lex’s repertoire, especially after their last… security breach, so to speak. Had her brother really grown as arrogant as to think he could walk in the same circles as a family thousands of years old and come out unscathed? That level of hubris spoke of Lillian’s intelligence, but her brother…
From a logical standpoint, Lena knew she would have to run into Princess Kara at some point during her (hopefully brief) stay in that blasted Royal Academy. The girl would have to be undoubtedly the hottest shit in that school, being the first in line to an empire and all. Lena also expected to be asked for some sort of report on her for Lex, so it’s not like she had exactly been planning on ignoring her existence entirely, as much as the prissy playboy types exhausted her to no end.
Okay, if Lena was being completely honest with herself, even she was curious about what the princess was really like.
She had met all kinds of celebrities and dignitaries in her short 16 years of life, but she had never met anyone from the only true royalty left in the world. And Lena knew even Lex had met the late King Zor-El only once, and as a child.
It was a silly guilty pleasure, but one that she was certain she wasn’t alone in. There was just something about the Kryptonian royalty in particular that made them seem like truly god-chosen and regal, and the whole world followed them like their own private novela. Rationally, Lena knew that “something” was, simply put, the best motherfucking public relations company in the world. One that not even the Luthors had enough money or sway to buy. She knew because they had tried. But there was still some air of magic and old-world nostalgia surrounding the very small family, and as much as it killed Lena to admit, she was as susceptible to that trap as the general public.
Even the super-rich are raised on Disney princess movies, after all.
Lena was pulled out of her reverie by Lex openly laughing and chastised herself for becoming so easily distracted at the mere mention of Princess Kara.
“Why, mother, that must have been the biggest compliment I’ve ever seen you pay her. I wasn’t referring to Lena’s dalliances, however”.
“Oh? Weren’t you?” Lilian countered with fake interest. There were more noises from the expensive porcelain set before he answered.
“Ok maybe I was a little bit,” he said bashfully, in a tone betraying just a sliver of vulnerability, like a little kid being caught with the cookie jar. A tone that Lena as a child used to think it was just for her. “But regardless,” he continued, “putting Lena in her room is simply too close. Even for whatever torture you have planned for her-“
“And here was I thinking I had made pretty obvious that sharing a room was part of her punishment,” Lilian interrupted.
Oh.
Oh, what the flying fuck?
Lena was being forced into a sharing a bedroom? Oh, that shit was low, so low. Even for Lilian.
“It is simply too close, mother” Lex repeated incisively, before Lena could focus into her seething rage any further. “She is to be there simply to observe and report, nothing else. Engaging directly with Kryptonian royalty is a risk we can’t afford to take, not with Lena of all people at the helm of the matter.”
Well, thanks for the vote of confidence, Lex.
“Well I beg to differ, darling. With the level of security and scrutiny that room is subjected to, there will be absolutely nothing Lena will get past us this time.”
“And therein lies the risk, mother. The KSS simply cannot be allowed this close to Lena. It is bad enough to need a background check to just enter the grounds of the damn school.”
“I admit the KSS might be a bit of an… overkill to our problem-”
“To your problem. I could not care less what Lena gets herself into, and especially not in such an easily bribable school.”
Lena heard Lilian open her mouth as to reply, but what followed were a few seconds of silence.
“Oh, Lex. Don’t tell me this is about you trying to protect her?” she finally said.
There was a muted silence, and Lena tried to keep her heart in a normal rhythm. Lex hadn’t really given much of a fuck about her for a few years now, there was no use getting her hopes up that he had ever been the brother he acted like when they were kids.
“Yes,” he answered more curtly than he usually was with his mother. Lilian must have had a similar expression of utter disbelief as Lena, because Lex felt the need to continue. “There are… details of this that you are not aware of, mother, no matter how much you believe to have bribed that man. But a private jet, of all places, is not the right setting for this discussion, yes?”
There were more clinks that sounded way rougher than their expensive 17th century porcelain should be handled like, and Lena was suddenly reminded of her brother’s secret (and completely pathetic, considering the family’s business) fear of planes. She wished she could say her heart didn’t feel a bit tighter with that knowledge resurfacing in her brain, but Lena was quite pathetic herself. Especially when she came to Lex.
Her brother’s expression must have put an end to the discussion, because Lena waited completely still for a long time but there had been no more words from either of them. But that suited her just the same. Deciding to give her fury towards Lillian proper attention on a later time, she decided to focus on the major bits of information she was able to acquire. Whatever it was this family had been planning to put her through this time, at least now she had an inkling of what it was. And a name. And with that name came a lead, and the very rare possibility of actually preparing herself psychologically to one of Lilian’s sadistic decisions over her life. Lena checked the time on her phone and found out she had roughly three hours for that. Four, if she counted the car ride between the private airstrip and the school.
She would need to google the shit out of Kara Zor-El.
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One Piece Chapter 979 - Initial Thoughts
Is anyone else nervous? I feel like we should be nervous...
After another week break we have One Piece, and I feel like these waits are gonna kill me before COVID gets close
But Spoilers for the Chapter, and Support the Official Release when it comes out
Another cover story bombshell, oh my fucking god! Just...How!? Pound you lucky son of a bitch how the fuck are you alive? The Will of P has not yet been snuffed out! Does that mean that Pedro and Pekoms may still have a chance at revival? What happened with Germa too, where is my Baeju!? Also the Tontottas finding him is gonna be hilarious, giant man and little people, hopefully we get a family reunion...and maybe some reverie news
Still very concerned about Law, he wasn’t cut from panel this time but he just looks very, solemn, like he’s about to do something he’s not all happy about
I find it odd that not everyone is clued in on Kanjuro being on Orochi’s side, sure it slows him down but even the people on the ships that were intercepting the scabbards were able to identify him as the traitor
Momo though has got some ideas, he knows how to use a sword but he’s only gonna be able to cut the rope before Kanjuro notices, I doubt he could even use it on Kaido. I dunno, Momo does not seem to be that kinda guy, also if he was able to control his DF he’d be able to escape those ropes much easier
We’ve got the Brachio Tank and Black Rhino back out, I liked the Fishman Island nod but this also means we’ll likely be getting Franky Shogun again, but Franky made note that there were upgrades so maybe it’ll be a new Iron Pirate/Super Armoured Me
Definitely laughed at the ‘He’s for sure gonna be spotted’ and ‘He’s for sure getting lost’ because it’s so painfully true. They have good intentions but they’ll sneak off, don’t be surprised if Zoro walks into the exact wrong room
Alas poor Sanji, you can’t get in the Harem Tank. Usopp does lowkey know how to be a ladykiller (though I doubt he thinks about it, he does have a doctor at home). But Carrot does work the Beast Pirates garb too, as does Robin...but as I said last chapter with Nami, you could put a paper bag on them and they’ll make it work.
Ooof, right in the Frobin there. We know what that was code for Franky, ride the back of your motorcycle you dog!
But Brook has to tickle my funny bone too by thinking it’s for him XD I guess the small victory here is that it reminds me of Grim Fandango; a giant beast that lives to build and upgrade riding a beast of a machine with a snarky skeleton at the back
Sanji still trying to get on the Tank though, he should really be using Stealth Black to find Luffy and Zoro, get a Monster Trio team up ¬u¬
But this does give Robin and Jimbei (whose Beast Pirates garb is cool but does nothing for being covert since it doesn’t cover his Sun Pirates tattoo at all) some time to chat, we’ve got a new formation as the Mature Duo, I would add Brook or Franky to that but the two do tend to do silly things from time to time
Someone is lurking though, which is a little worry, but I don’t think they’re enemies. I think if they were they would’ve jumped at the two at this point. Could be a scout, or it could be someone ready to throw another spanner in the system
Yup, I love Ulti, she tickles me with her dual personality. Also Sasaki’s cape is fire, kinda reminds me of Minato Namikaze from Naruto, I also think it’s a little telling that Who’s Who doesn’t have a cape or any long garment, it makes him stand out a little bit more
So King and Jack can now be accounted for, and the former is the one who summoned the Flying Six. It also seems clear that everyone knows that the Six want the Disasters’ spots
I will continue to add that Kaido keeps looking smaller and smaller, I mean, look at his debut panel
he’s standing in a crater and he still dwarves Kid, Hawkins and Apoo, but in the panel he looks like he’s about 3 times taller than Drake (who is 2.3m tall, about 20cm taller than Kid), his scale just feels reduced
Also on heights, Black Maria is taller than King. That is a Giant Woman
Bao Huang makes me feel like Oda’s been playing some Legend of Zelda in his spare time, though I ain’t mad at it
The schedule seems a bit weird, Orochi has a speech after Kaido? I guess it’s just a welcoming address because Kaido will afterwards be announcing the Big Mom alliance
Kaido is keeping a secret, and that is actually quite intriguing...it also means that the Raid will not succeed for a while, since we are to expect to hear this Chekov Announcement
Kaido’s son is not seen, but we know his name: Yamato. It’s a very interesting name to choose actually; it can refer to simply the dominant ethnic group of Japan, the clan, the period, the province, the Yamato Dynasty prince Yamato Takeru, Yamato-damashiii, could even go Okama with Yamato Nadeshiko or even just the battleship. It could also be a corruption of Yamata, which connects to Yamata no Orochi
For my money, Yamato would be based off of Takeru. With some minor wikipedia research it does have some narrative notes that could fit being Kaido’s son, I doubt he would slay an older brother because Kaido calls him an ‘idiot son’, but Takeru’s father Emperor Keiko kept sending him to other provinces, I could see Kaido sending Yamato across Wano or the world to try and emulate Oden, the last man he respected. Takeru’s legend is also interesting because he gets the Kusanagi sword, which Susanoo fished from the Yamata no Orochi, there’s also a brief note of cross dressing and composing the first sedoka in the Kai province, which can tie in with the other Yamatos listed
Yamato must be strong though if the Flying Six see it as troublesome, Yamato could be the one hiding in the bushes behind Robin and Jimbei. Him being relative to the announcement makes me think that Kaido has an arranged marriage for him, since that’s how Big Mom does alliances, maybe it’s to Pudding, or Smoothie, or that bitch Flampe
Ulti again has no fucking fear, the steel balls of this woman. But Kaido knows when to dangle the carrot, Who’s Who definitely wants that All Star spot, which continues to add focus on him
LUFFY! How is it that you manage to get to the big ass crowd of people, and it’s not like Kid is hard to find, look for someone with a Metal Arm next to a guy who blurts out FAFAFA...and of course he almost gets his cover blown by some drunkard and gets distracted by food (his chest scar is back now though after disappearing last chapter)
Oh god...memories of sweet-baby Tama are found in the reflection of the spilled soup, the Beasts Pirates being clear about how they disregard and waste the food while others starve. I bet Zoro and Sanji would also react similarly in this state for their own other reasons, hell even Big Mom could have a word or two to say about it, she really enjoyed that soup
But when Luffy has that glare, few things are gonna stop him
So obviously, really good chapter. A lot of lines have been drawn in the sand and we’re eager to know what comes next. But as much as I am eager I am waiting for the main thing to go wrong. We’ve already split our Monster Trio, in fact the largest group of the crew are the Weakling Trio in the Brachio tank with Sanji who could disappear anywhere, Shinobu and Carrot, there’s still the uncertainty with Law as well.
I am keen to know more about Yamato (though I am a tad let down that Katakuri isn’t related to Kaido, only because I wanna see Katakuri again) and about the Flying Six, but it’s also gonna be a tough spot if Luffy causes a rumble right now, Apoo and Queen are in that area and BM’s crew, Orochi and the Numbers are all within earshot.
Alas, another week break, though when Oda made the announcement about COVID I kinda did expect it, I guess I’ll just have to toil about it in my own spare time XD But what’s important is that everyone stays safe, and an extra week can help with the fan theories.
#one piece#one piece spoilers#wano country#wano#wano arc#Kaido#animal kingdom pirates#beasts pirates#monkey d. luffy#roronoa zoro#vinsmoke sanji#Nico Robin#jimbei#yamato#tobi roppo#flying six#onigashima#carrot#eustass kid#kid pirates#straw hat pirates#trafalgar law#heart pirates#big mom#franky#brook#the will of p says I'm Back Sucka!
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Ladycat Ch. 4
AO3/FFN
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Marinette bounded through the city, running over rooftops, falling to ground level to duck and weave through the city, then jumping up to roof level again when convenient.
The wind in her fur, the agility and grace in her feline form - she’d experienced it before while chasing after Chat, but couldn’t truly appreciate it with the cat brain she’d had.
Running over rooftops and swinging through the city had always been some of the funnest parts of being Ladybug (not counting getting to spend time with her partner of course). Getting to do it in an even more naturally graceful and acrobatic form was a real treat.
Not that she could do anything too crazy - not yet anyway. She was all too aware of the box clenched between her jaws - and the consequences if she lost it. Best not to repeat the Style Queen incident.
She hadn’t been the only one to lose a Miraculous that day at least, Chat had also lost… his Miraculous…
Wait.
WAIT.
Chat was Adrien. Adrien had been statuefied pretty much immediately.
He hadn’t lost his Miraculous; he just hadn’t had the chance to use it.
That little furball lied!
Oh she was gonna have some word for Plagg later! ...Once she could speak.
But that would have to wait another few days. Right now, she had more important things to attend to.
Nudging open one of the windows of the Cesaire residence, she crept inside.
Luckily the twins weren’t around, they would’ve been hard to avoid.
She padded up to Alya’s room, headbutting the door a few times. She’d mew, but she didn’t particularly feel like letting go of the box with the Fox Miraculous, not until it was safely in Alya’s possession.
“Would you two not-”
Alya opened the door.
Looked down.
And blinked.
“A cat?” she raised one eyebrow. “What’re you doing-”
Marinette could tell the exact moment Alya noticed the box holding her Miraculous. Not that that showed any special understanding of her; her face practically breaking in half with her grin and squealing just within the human hearing range (she assumed at least. Being a cat made things like that harder to judge) were pretty good signs.
Alya knelt down. “Is- is that-?”
Marinette gently set the box down and nodded.
Picking it up, Alya opened the lid.
Immediately a light shot out, darting around.
OOH LIGHT. PRETTY LIGHT. MUST CATCH LIGHT.
YOU WILL BE MINE.
“HEY, woah, stop it!”
NO. NO HUMAN STOP ME. MUST CATCH…
She froze, shaking herself.
“I guess her cat instincts are still pretty strong.”
Marinette looked up at the voice.
Trixx looked back at her, bemused.
“She’s not actually a cat I’m betting, is she?”
“Nope!”
“Then…”
Alya held out her arms. Marinette jumped into them, purring.
She looked more closely at Marinette’s neck. “That green pawprint… Chat Noir?!”
Marinette let out a startled meow. She guessed that made sense, but no. Just no.
Alya’s brow furrowed. “I’d’ve thought he’d be black though, not gray.”
“That’s because that’s Ladybug, not Chat!”
“WHAT?! Wait, that actually makes sense. So THAT’S why no one’s been restored!”
Glancing down, she noticed something on the floor. “Uh… Trixx? Could you maybe retrieve that piece of paper?” she asked, chagrinned. “My arms are kinda full of Ladycat here.”
Trixx chuckled but complied, holding it up so Alya could read it without needing to dislodge Marinette.
“Ladybug got turned into a cat and isn’t gonna be turned back for three more days,” she read out loud. “Which is bad enough, but we’ve got other issues. I know who Hawkmoth is, but he’ll also find out who I am very soon. I can’t go home, and… well, we’re gonna need Rena Rouge’s expertise for what comes next. Follow Ladycat, she knows the way.”
Alya blinked. “The way? The way to what?”
Trixx grinned. “The way to the Guardian of the Miraculous.”
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Marinette darted through the streets, occasionally pausing to allow Rena Rouge to catch up. Technically they both COULD have run across the rooftops to get to Master Fu’s place even faster, but that would’ve attracted a bit too much attention. She was pushing it before doing that as a cat, but with Rena in tow? Best not to risk it unless they had to.
Rena would arguably have attracted even more attention than that on the ground… if she had actually LOOKED like Rena Rouge. Before leaving she’d cast an illusion on herself, making her look like just another resident of Paris and definitely NOT Alya or Rena Rouge.
Unfortunately, that also meant sticking to plausibly human speed. She’d had to detransform twice already to feed Trixx, but hopefully this would be the last time.
She jumped onto Alya’s shoulders while they waited for Trixx to finish eating. With how small she was, she had plenty of room to perch on.
Alya laughed. “You know, you might call Chat a ‘silly kitty’ sometimes, but I don’t think you’re far behind him.”
She chuffed at that. That may be true, but she didn’t need to call her out like that.
She shifted slightly, brushing herself against Alya’s neck.
Alya let out an impulsive laugh.
Marinette’s eyes sparkled. REVENGE.
Quickly she brushed herself all over Alya’s neck, making sure her tail brushed just so, along with nuzzling into her neck.
And then had to quickly move as Alya sank to the floor giggling. “You- you win,” she gasped as she got ahold of herself after Marinette’s impromptu tickling. “You’re not nearly as much of a silly kitty as Chat. You’re sillier.”
Okay she should have expected that.
Brushing herself off, Alya got to her feet. “Hey Trixx, you almost done?”
The fox kwami looked down on them, bemused. “I finished eating half a minute ago, I was just waiting for you two to finish up.”
“Well, what are we waiting for? Trixx, Let’s Pounce!”
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Rena knocked on the door of the small shop. Didn’t exactly look like somewhere a ‘Guardian of the Miraculous’ might live, but that was the idea, wasn’t it? If Hawkmoth got his hands on this ‘Guardian’-
She shuddered. She may not know what this ‘Guardian’ did, but Hawkmoth getting anything or anyone Miraculous-related would be very, VERY bad.
A familiar face greeted her. She blinked.
“Adrien? What’re you doing here?”
“Uuuuuh, I’m not Adrien, no sirree, absolutely not!” he said hastily waving his arms. “I’m-”
Glancing around the room, his gaze landed on a teapot.
“I’m- I’m Earl. Just helping out my great-grandfather, you know how it is. Buuuut we’re busy, and closed, nice to see you please drop by some other time!”
Wow. He was not the best improv liar.
Not to someone who actually knew him, at any rate.
She caught the door before he could close it all the way - just long enough for Ladycat to slip through.
“Ladyb- Lady!” He cried out, obviously catching himself before he could blurt out her full name. “What’re you doing with this person - wait is he Rena Rouge?!”
She chuckled, releasing her illusion as she closed the door behind her. “The one and only. Also, that story’s not likely to work when you look exactly the same as usual. What’re the odds of you having a doppelganger?”
“I’ll have to show you pictures of my cousin some time.”
“Who?”
“Never mind.” His expression darkened. “He’s not the family member we need to worry about.”
“Can I punch your father? I’d really like to punch your father.”
Adrien - or Adrichat she guessed - grimaced. “You might need to, but I’d like to avoid a fight if we can.”
He stared at his hands. “I know he’s done a lot of terrible things, but… he’s still my father. He’s almost certainly going to go to prison, I can’t see him getting off for what he’s done as Hawkmoth, but I don’t want to hurt him if we can avoid it.”
“Plus there’s your mother to consider.”
She’d been pretty shocked when he sat down and explained everything - his secret identity (HA! She was totally right!), how he’d followed Ladycat into his father’s secret lair, and everything that’d happened there.
Emilie being alive, his father being more of an asshole than she’d ever conceived - this had been quite a day for Adrien.
Something that Ladycat sought to help with, purring in Adrien’s lap like a mini lawnmower, nuzzling him every time he started looking especially downcast.
She wished she could help Adrien more, but… well, they hadn’t really talked that much, one-on-one. Most of the time she was helping Marinette to try to win Adrien over or just chatting with him along with Nino - they were part of the same friend group, but they didn’t actually interact that much. When they did, it was usually because they wanted to help Marinette somehow.
No wonder Adrien’d never been able to decipher Marinette’s attempts at telling him how she felt! Knowing how up front Chat was with his affections, how over-the-top? Marinette’s mixed signals wouldn’t be the easiest thing to disentangle, if his normal perception of how-to-flirt was that blatant.
Plus, well… he already had his eyes on someone.
She smiled as Ladycat stood up and brushed herself all around Adrien. Didn’t need to be a cat to see what she was doing; letting him know she was there, she wouldn’t leave him, just giving him the physical affection he needed.
The bond between those two was hard to deny. It might not be romantic on Ladybug’s part (at least that she would admit; she’d noticed Ladybug being a little softer, a little gentler, giving him certain looks) but on Chat’s side? He seemed ready to melt into a puddle.
Though the looks he was giving Ladycat right now, those partly lidded eyes, that gentle smile - on Chat she may not have been able to draw the connection. But on Adrien?
They were just like his expression when he looked at Marinette.
And Marinette had been missing ever since Catwoman’s attack.
If Marinette and Ladybug turned out to be the same person, she wasn’t sure whether to laugh, cry, or scream about the universe’s ironic sense of humor.
The more she thought about it, the more certain she grew.
Strong sense of justice? Check.
Creative and good at thinking on her feet? Check.
Kind and willing to give second chances when need be? Check.
Not to mention her selecting Alya as the first temporary miraculous holder, and securing Alya that first-ever interview with Ladybug.
With herself.
No WONDER she’d been able to do that when no one else could!
Ooookay, calm down Alya. Still don’t know that for sure. It could still all be a coincidence.
...Probably not, but she didn’t actually need to know Ladybug’s identity right now. Chat’s identity coming out couldn’t have been reasonably avoided, not with needing to confront Hawkmoth, to confront his father, and him almost certainly knowing Chat’s identity.
She’d play along for now.
She really, REALLY hoped she was right though. Knowing that on all those missions they’d had together, every time she’d hung out with Ladybug, she’d been hanging out with her best friend? That she’d teased Ladybug about boy troubles, had slumber parties with her, had kicked her butt at Dance Dance Revolution (and gotten her butt kicked in turn at Ultimate Mecha Strike III)?
Just… knowing who she was as Ladybug, who she was as Marinette, and putting it all together?
It cemented Ladybug as human, as being a person and not some far away idol. She may not be perfect - far from it - but she tried her best. Sometimes she made a mistake, sometimes she got flustered and did something foolish, sometimes she made bad decisions, and sometimes she let her emotions get the better of her, like any other teenager.
But ultimately, she was still a hero. Still a Hero of Paris.
She didn’t need to be some godlike figure. She just needed to try her best.
Welp.
There went any hope of convincing herself that Marinette and Ladybug might not be the same person.
Hopefully Adrien figured it out soon too. She could keep a secret if she needed to, but if she had to watch those two moon around each other for much longer she’d be tempted to shove them in a panther cage until they figured out they liked each other already.
Hey it’d worked for her and Nino!
“Alya? Alya!”
She startled at Adrien’s worried tone. Even Ladycat (or maybe she should say Marinette? ...she’d stick with Ladycat for now, no need to remind herself of her revelation more than she already had) padded over to her and meowed, pawing at her face to get her attention.
“I’m fine, I’m fine! Just zoned out a bit. What were you saying?”
He gave her another worried look, but continued. “We’re gonna sneak back into his lair. I’ll distract Father and Mayura if she shows up while you cloak yourself, Fu, and Ladycat in an illusion to make yourselves as inconspicuous as possible - invisible preferably, but you’ll need to be careful not to trip over each other.”
She frowned. “You’ll take Hawkmoth and Mayura on by YOURSELF? You sure that’s a good idea?”
He grimaced. “No, but I’m used to handling myself while Ladybug figures out and implements a plan. I can manage for a little bit. And anyway, it’s only just long enough for Fu to examine my mother and figure out what he can do for her, if anything. Then we can retreat and regroup.”
Glancing down at the kitty in his lap, he smiled. “Besides, I’ll still have my partner there. She may not be able to fight quite like normal, she’s still Ladybug, and she still has superpowers. We don’t need to be able to talk in order to fight together.”
Considering the videos she’d seen of the Frightingale fight, with Chat and Ladybug dance-fighting in synchrony while RHYMING? No doubt about that.
Oh hell, Adrien’d been forced to dress up as Chat and Marinette volunteered as Ladybug.
“HA!”
She quickly got ahold of herself, but not before Adrien looked at her worryingly again. “Uh… you sure you’re alright, Alya?”
She waved him off. “I just thought of something funny, that’s all.”
Seriously, Marinette and Adrien could change their body language so heavily that even though they looked practically identical to how they did as Ladybug and Chat (minus the masks, which she suspected they ‘lost’ on purpose), no one else had a clue they were one and the same, even with seeing Ladybug and Chat Noir minutes later? She’d never make fun of Clark Kenting again.
She softened her voice. “You ready to face your father now?”
He took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. “...Yeah. I think so. Let’s do this.”
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01
When We Were Young
Obi Wan Kenobi x f!OC
Word Count: 2,141
*GIF by @obimauls*
The sun was bright on Coruscant. I always loved how the city would glow and beam. Even on the darkest days, it could lift my spirits. Thankfully, today was not one of those dark days. Today was a day that could easily make history, the day the Jedi called in me for assistance in their war.
I never had a huge opinion in the war. Of course, I wasn't a fan of it, but no strong opinions. I only wished it would end. Hopefully with my help, it will.
"Aaryn Skywalker?" An orange, armor-cladded clone asked. Their helmet resembled those of the Mandalorians. I always thought that was silly. But of course I couldn't put it past the Jedi to steal their ideas.
"That's me." I sighed, holding onto a large bag that I had packed for my time. They told me to pack the necessities and for me, there was a lot.
The clone trooper grabbed my bag and led me onto the small ship. I assumed we would be traveling to a larger Republic station. It was a simple ship, nothing too fancy. It was old, though. Something I'm sure I once flew back when I trained under the Jedi Order.
"There's another Skywalker in your ranks. Any relation?" The trooper sparked up a conversation as we took off into the air. My stomach sunk while I gazed out the windows. I would miss my city, but I hoped this wouldn't take too long.
"Yes. I have a brother, Anakin." I couldn't help the smile on my face as I thought about the once blond haired boy. Our mother was never sure of who either of our dad's were so I always assumed it was the same. It was strange, though, that she never knew our father. In fact, she was never sure about how we even came to be.
"That could get confusing." He chuckled. He had a nice laugh. It was warm and inviting.
"Oh, I'm sure we won't be around each other too often. The council will want us as far away from each other as possible. They probably think I'm a bad influence."
"You certainly have similar taste." He joked. I cocked my head to the side. I didn't quite understand what he was getting at.
"Your clothes, I mean." He gestured towards the black cloak that was wrapped around my shoulders. Despite the warm, rising sun of Coruscant, the mornings were still quite cold. "General Skywalker tends to prefer the darker colors as well."
"Did you say General Skywalker?" He nodded. "He's practically a child. How did he land that position?"
The clone shrugged and relaxed in his seat as another clone in the same color armor flew the ship.
"I'm not sure but he's a hell of a leader. His Padawan, Ahoska-"
"Excuse me, his Padawan? You must be joking!" I smiled as I spoke with the clone. He was easy to talk to.
"No, I am not. Wish I was, sometimes. Those two are quite the pair."
I laughed as a darkness had settled in the ship. We finally reached the stars, the glowing, ever changing stars.
"You know, I never got your name, Commander."
"Cody. Commander Cody of the 212th Attack Battalion."
"Well, Cody," I smiled, "relax. We have quite the ride ahead of us."
And it was quite the ride. Cody told me stories of how he trained with his brothers.
Brothers.
The term was endearing. They were able to form a connection with someone right from the beginning. It was nice to know that our soldiers were real men regardless of whether they were all duplicates, grown at a rapid rate. They had feelings and formed connections. It must have been a slip-up on the Jedi's part. I'm sure they formed attachments to their men all the time.
"General Skywalker, we have arrived." Cody stood, stretching his body from the ride.
I rolled my eyes and rose from my seat. "Please, call me Aaryn. I don't want things to get too confusing."
"Aaryn Skywalker." A deeper voice spoke up as the ramp rolled down to the metal floor. "We've been expecting you."
"Well I'd assume so since you invited me." I looked up to meet the cold stare of Mace Windu. I always wanted to see if I could get him to crack his tough exterior. Today was apparently not that day.
He sighed, his eyes trailing down to the bag in Cody's hand. "I thought we said to bring only what was necessary."
"You did. And I brought everything I deemed absolutely essential." I beamed. "I like what you've done with your hair by the way."
I could see his eye twitch in subtle annoyance, something I deemed a small win. I even earned a chuckle from Cody.
"Well, what are we waiting for? Shall we get going?" I sauntered down the ramp, expecting to find ourselves in some crowded landing dock, but we weren't. Well, there were plenty of ships but no people. "What? No welcome party? After all those years, I would hope that you'd remember I love to make a grand entrance."
"We're in a war, Skywalker. We have greater concerns than your welcoming." Windu hissed through his teeth.
"Aren't you a bundle of sunshine." I rolled my eyes. Windu was never the warmest person, but the war turned him into a complete ass.
He led us down the cold, metal halls. For some reason, I expected the ship to be just a bit more inviting. After all, we're in a war. Everything else is dark and horrifying, why should the mother ship be the same?
My face turned down in a small frown as my eyes shifted around. There were kids growing up in this, their childhood turned into a war zone. I couldn't imagine the toll that took on them. I was already afraid of what it would do to me.
"I'm sure it must be strange for you to be here." Mace Windu spoke calmly beside me. "It is strange for us as well. We did not want to call you in."
"It was weird to receive the notice." I spoke honestly. Being here was weird. Hearing from the Jedi Order, however, was even weirder. I'm still not sure how they managed to find me in the first place.
"You've heard all about the war, I assume."
"Please, it's all anyone talks about." I chuckled. "Besides, it's great to rub it in all of your faces that after all this time, you called me back."
Mace stopped in the hall, turning quickly on his heel to face me. His dark eyes narrowed as they met my brown ones. "Now Aaryn-"
"I know, be civil." I smiled and played with the loose strands of hair that fell down my shoulders. It, too, was a dark brown. Someone once told me that I simply didn't look the part of a Jedi. My aura was tainted, dark.
I glanced around the hall again, avoiding Windu's eyes. No one was there but the Master Jedi and I. The walls were bright but cold and plain. I suppose that was the 'Jedi way.'
"Commander Cody brought your things to your quarters. You can explore that later once it's time to settle down. Since you're so antsy to meet everyone, I'll introduce you to who you'll be working with."
"Of course. Who needs time to relax." I rolled my eyes, receiving another stern glare from Windu.
"You have had eleven years of rest." He snapped and ushered me along the sad hall.
My eyes wandered once we entered a large meeting room. There were clone troopers everywhere. Before Cody, I had never seen one so close. Soon enough, I'd be working with entire squadrons of them. Was I truly fit to lead an entire battalion of men into a war? I wasn't a Jedi, not anymore. I wasn't trained for something like this.
"Captain Rex." Windu addressed one of the troopers that stood around a large hologram of a separatist-occupied planet. His armor was painted a vibrant blue, a stark contrast to the white and gray. What color would represent my men? "I'd like you to meet General Skywalker. You've been notified of her presence, I assume."
"General Skywalker?" He chortled. "I don't think so."
"And why not?" My smile turned into a scowl at his mockery. Or, what I assumed was mockery. Did I not seem capable of being a General? My hand reached for the brown and silver hilt on my hip. Surely that would prove this trooper wrong.
"Excuse me, ma'am, but General Skywalker has been with us for quite a while now."
"Oh." The word barely left my mouth in a whisper as I dropped my hand back to my side. "You mean Anakin."
"Yes." He spoke quietly. It sounded more like a question than a statement.
Mace scoffed and crossed his arms over his chest. "You mean to tell me that Anakin has not told you about Aaryn's arrival?"
"You're Aaryn? Anakin talks about you all the time but never about you being here." Rex laughed lightly. It was so similar to Cody's but that shouldn't have surprised me as much as it did.
"I told him to do one thing." Windu grumbled to himself. "Where is he-"
"Aaryn?" I heard a voice behind us. There was a tall man dressed in all dark robes. I had never seen a Jedi dressed in such a way - well, not since I was one. His hair was a light brown, wavy and soft. He wore a bright smile across his face, matching his beaming blue eyes.
I recognized his eyes, first. They were similar and gave me a subtle sense of déjà vu. Honestly, I was ashamed of how long it took me to recognize him. It had been so long since I'd seen him, but I would never forget the eyes of my baby brother.
"Anakin." I smiled. Before I knew it, he rushed towards me and crushed me in a tight hug. He had grown so much, standing nearly 8 inches taller than me. I returned the embrace with what strength I had left from his suffocating hold. "You're going to crush me."
"Sorry." He let out a nervous laugh and stepped back, his eyes darting from mine to the undoubtedly angry glare of Mace Windu. "It's been a while."
"It has. I mean, just look at you! You're a general now? Who decided it was a smart idea to give you that rank?"
"All Jedi Knights became Generals once the war started. The council thought I was ready to graduate from my training." He smiled proudly. My smile, however, was lost.
Only nineteen and he was already a Jedi Knight. How was he so different than me? I was 20 and they told me I still wasn't ready.
Oh.
Right.
He was the chosen one. A title that once belonged to me.
"I doubt I'll compare to you, though, General Skywalker." He joked, giving me a small nudge in the ribs with his elbow.
"You forget that I've gone eleven years without training. I'll struggle keeping up with you and your Padawan that I am so excited to meet!"
Anakin rolled his eyes at the mention of his Padawan. I still couldn't believe that he was training someone. "If you think you'll struggle with us, just wait till you see Obi Wan on the battlefield."
"Obi Wan?" My eyes lifted at the mention of the name. It felt foreign on my tongue.
"Did someone call for me?" An auburn haired man stepped into the room, dressed from head to toe in earthy robes. His blue eyes were soft and once they landed on me, grew wide in an emotion I couldn't quite detect. Fear? Remembrance?
I'm surprised I recognized him, really. He changed so much in the last eleven years but then again, so did I. His Padawan braid was long gone and his short hair was grown out and swooped to the side neatly. A soft, red beard adorned his handsome face. I must say, he looked good with it.
"Master, look who it is!" Anakin wrapped an arm around my shoulders, looking to me with a subtle wiggle of his eyebrows.
"I see." Obi Wan breathed out. His back was straight, his entire posture was as stiff as a board. I wanted to run into his arms just as Anakin had done but I was sure that wouldn't be well-received by the other Jedi. Instead, I smiled a fake, but confident smile and held my hand out towards the man.
"It's nice to see you again, Obi Wan."
#obi wan kenobi#Obi Wan Kenobi x OC#obi wan needs a hug#daddy wan kenobi#star wars#jedi#OC#clone wars
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Ghosts Series 2: ‘They’re stuck in an existence they didn’t ask for… like all of us’
https://ift.tt/35QzhQ6
The Ghosts creators have worked together for over a decade. To-date, the six-person team (Mat Baynton, Simon Farnaby, Martha Howe-Douglas, Jim Howick, Laurence Rickard and Ben Willbond) have written and performed in long-running children’s sketch comedy Horrible Histories, three series of fantasy sitcom Yonderland, feature film Bill, and two series of the supernatural BBC comedy Ghosts, with a third on the way.
Channelling Mrs Merton asking Debbie McGee what first attracted her to the millionaire Paul Daniels, I ask Baynton and Howick via Zoom what inspired the group to write Ghosts, a sitcom about a group of individuals who frequently drive each other nuts, trapped together for what may well be eternity?
Both laugh. “I’m sure we do drive each other nuts in many ways,” says Howick, “but the truth is, like the ghosts, what we always come back to in these episodes is that they love each other and don’t know what they would do without each other. I think that can be said for the group?” He looks to Baynton for confirmation and gets a happy nod.
Considering the well-documented fallings-out and imploding egos of other comedy gangs – the Pythons not least among them – this level of harmony over such a long period feels remarkable. What’s their secret? “I think we keep each other honest,” says Baynton. “There are certainly heated debates.”
Heated’s too strong a word, says Howick. “We only really fight for our opinion, we never fight each other.” On the rare occasion that there isn’t unanimity about a particular topic, there might be a locking of horns and a democratic vote, but real arguments don’t happen. “There’s no animosity or jealousy with each other’s independent careers,” he explains. “We are our most important project. We have no desire to work each other up. We’re all genuinely fond of each other.”
That much is clear watching them interact. The online BBC press launch for series two was punctuated by the group making each other laugh. Silly voices. Running jokes. At one point, to the absolutely delight of his colleagues, Simon Farnaby’s crotch moved unavoidably front and centre as he stood up in front of his webcam to adjust a window blind. The rapport is real.
Indeed, during UK lockdown, say Baynton and Howick, the group’s regular Zoom calls drafting Ghosts series three were a godsend. Aside from the boon of having regular work when so much of their industry was in uncertainty, being able to see friends for three hours on a Wednesday evening kept them sane.
“It’s been a tonic in an otherwise relatively difficult and quite miserable time to have been able to jump on Zoom and make each other laugh with ideas for these characters that we love,” says Baynton. Entertainingly, when the group splits off into writing pairs, each does impressions of the absent characters while drafting dialogue. “It’s funny,” remarks Howick. ‘When we come together as a six, if we’re trying to pitch a positive idea, it’s usually done in a [segues into the regional accent of his upbeat character] Pat voice. Or if it’s a melodramatic idea or if it’s over-the-top, it might be a [Baynton’s Romantic poet character] Thomas voice.”
Via video chat, it took a little longer for the group’s writing wheels to start turning. Ordinarily a new series would start with two weeks of the gang together in the same room. Stretching that to months of three-hour Zoom calls, fitted in amongst home schooling for the parents among them, was an adjustment. “The energy that you would bring to a room at 10 o’clock in the morning in an office wasn’t there,” says Howick. “You’d have to try and generate this feeling even though everyone was exhausted.”
Howick found himself seeking out frivolity to reach the right frame of mind. He played videogames. “If I sat and thought too hard about what was going on outside my door, it would make me really sad, and so in order to keep a vital part of me going, in order to meet with Mat and the others every Wednesday and keep that bright demeanour, it was good to do that.” The writing momentum started to return with the ease of lockdown, says Baynton. “The simple mental health-saving fact of being able to meet up with family in a garden helped a lot.”
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Trying to write comedy against a such a serious backdrop of world events also felt uncomfortable, says Baynton. “You feel like it’s almost… immoral is too strong a word, but when there are nurses and doctors and teachers and crucially important people doing the work they do… It felt like an elephant in the room to be tap tap tapping away at a story about another day at Button House and what the ghosts are up to.”
It helped to know how warmly Ghosts series one had been received by its many fans. “What’s touching is when we do get messages from fans who say how much the show means to them. I know how important comedy has been to me in my life, so if we can be that to other people, it doesn’t feel completely frivolous.”
Ghosts, with its colourful selection box of characters (there’s a caveman, a headless Elizabethan, a 17th century witch, an excitable Regency woman-child, an Edwardian snob, a WWII captain, a 1980s scout leader and a 1990s Tory politician) may look frivolous, but series one had moments of real pathos. Baynton is proud of the fact that the series doesn’t shy away from the bleaker side of its ‘dead people’ premise. “If you really interrogate the truth of it – these are people who lived, people who died, people who loved or were thwarted or killed or suffered injustices or never got to love the person that they admired…”
The original idea was for a much bigger cast of ghosts, with everybody playing multiple parts, Horrible Histories-style. It quickly became clear that the story needed to home in on a small ensemble, giving the gang what Howick calls “its own silhouette”. Had they stuck with the original plan, “It would have been like The Muppet Show,” he says. “Every week would only have scratched the surface.” Too many ghost characters would have diminished the show’s emerging premise, says Baynton, which is about “being stuck forever in a tedious and endlessly repetitive existence.”
A bit like lockdown, we joke. Exactly, says Baynton.
“We talk about this a lot. The way I see it is that their situation is just the same as a living person’s: they’re stuck, they’re in an existence they didn’t ask for, they don’t know why they’re there or what happens next. They know that there is a next ‘thing’ but whether they go to heaven, or hell, or something else, they don’t know. They’re just the same as people on earth.”
Howick agrees, “Their existence is very mortal in that respect.”
Writing about the afterlife, a sense of existential metaphor is unavoidable, says Baynton. “There is something deeply relatable about it, which is where sitcom will always thrive. You can’t really fail to connect with a story about a person who doesn’t know what to do with their time or who feels stuck. Regardless of class or job or circumstance, that is all of us.”
If the ghost characters are all of us, they’re also peculiar to their time period. The collision and unexpected blending of different social contexts is where much of the series’ comedy comes from. Howick compares the composition of the group to Blackadder Goes Forth, which kept “ranks of characters from different classes stuck together in a hell hole, cheating death every single week.”
The source of much of the comedy is thwarted status, says Baynton, “It’s the stuff of Alan Partridge and Hyacinth Bucket and Basil Fawlty… people who see themselves a certain way but who aren’t that way to the audience. Every single one of the ghosts is that to some extent. Anything that gave you status in life, you’re robbed of the second you die, so that’s already pretty funny in the sense of a captain who can’t lead, a wealthy woman who has no wealth, a politician who is not recognised as an authority, a poet who can’t pick up a pen, a Scoutmaster with no kids…”
“Not Scoutmaster!” interrupts Howick. “Adventure Club leader!” Before series one aired, they were instructed not to use the “Scouts” organisation name in scripts. “That was before they knew who Pat was going to be,” says Howick. Pat, for info, is a sweetie, and the Scouts should be proud to have him. He’s also a vibrant dancer, as series two, episode two shows.
“There’s a lot of dancing this series” says Howick. “Without giving too much away, there’s dancing in the last episode. I think Thomas’ best dance is at the end.”
Fans can expect more playfulness with series two. Now that the characters are established and the tone has been taken to heart, the team could afford to experiment a little more. “With series two, because the audience hopefully are with us at this point, we can throw different curveballs,” says Baynton.
“In that way that The Simpsons or those long-running American things, you can suddenly do one in black and white, as if it’s a Hitchcock thing. We’ve definitely had fun. There’s an episode later in the second series which is a format of its own. We’re thinking about those things for series three, being free to be really playful with it.”
There’s a Christmas special episode to come, “the last one ever to be filmed!” joked Farnaby at the press launch. The timing on series two’s filming was especially jammy, with only one day lost to the UK TV and film industry shutdown in March. They made the decision not to use supporting artists in the last scenes filmed, set in a Medieval plague village. The irony of having to tell actors they couldn’t come and play plague victims because there was an actual plague wasn’t lost on them, says Baynton.
Thomas gets a gun in series two, they tease, and we’ll find out how he met his end. “The burning question for fans of the show is how the characters died, and you will find out some in each series,” says Baynton. “There are some we’re holding onto for as long as we possibly can, but rest assured, they’re coming!”
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Ghosts series 2 starts on BBC One at 8.30pm, with all six episodes available to stream afterwards on BBC iPlayer.
The post Ghosts Series 2: ‘They’re stuck in an existence they didn’t ask for… like all of us’ appeared first on Den of Geek.
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