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zackcrazyvalentine · 3 years

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can I get some more octavinelle with pregnant!mc? how they would react around mc and when the baby is born if they would cry or anything

in case I'm violating any rules or the requests are closed feel free to delete this! I'm just a big jade simp and I love my octatrio a lot too!

Requests are currently closed.... but.... I'm a sucker for domestic stuff and an Octavinelle stan, so I'm gonna do this anyways asddf

This will be the one exception [note post writing everything: YEAH this will definitely be the ONLY exception.... this is looooong]

Tried to keep everything as gender neutral as possible: when referring to pregnant partner and the babies alike

🐙 Azul Ashengrotto 💜

When you're pregnant

Proud papa!! Azul definitely cried from happiness when news of your pregnancy reached him

Was also a nervous wreck, however. He's very insecure about his abilities to be a good father and role model his children would like to follow and look up to

You know him, he's studious and booksmart. Ashengrotto will take to reading many parenting books and blogs entries to prepare himself for the arrival of his baby

Definitely had you both enroll in classes in a local hospital so you know how to act and what to expect when time for labor arrives

Health and being healthy is important to him. For you he will put up with eating all sort of balanced meals, regardless of how much he dislikes them (so you're not alone while keeping up a diet)

Always accompanies you to your gynecology appointments. Cried every time your baby's heartbeat was heard through the echo/ultrasound machine

We know how he is, grown up Azul probably has a business of his own and it takes a good amount of his time to attend. Still, he will take time to call you through the day to make sure you're fine

Probably had either of the twins look after you in days he really couldn't take time off his job. Jade being the more helpful one with chores and emotional rants (you've both probably sniffled at natural documentaries), while Floyd is perfect for food prep and hysterical laughs over fail videos

Every night, before going to bed, he spends time talking to your baby bump, places some kisses on it too

He goes sooooo soft in those moments before sleep takes you away, his love lulls you to refreshing rest

Always makes sure to give you a kiss and a rub goodbye to your bump when heading off to work

Really enjoys watching you cook. the pregnancy glow looks beautiful on you when doing mundane tasks, he thinks

Maternity pictures? He's a little reluctant, but if you really want to... *end up carrying a small copy of his favorite pic in his wallet* *sends a copy of the whole pack to his mother and grandma* *frames his favorite and puts it on his office*

When you're in labor/the baby arrives

SCREEEAAAAMS!!!!

But after a nice yell of surprise, fear and nerves, he's ready to go and put your plan of action learned in those classes ready!

He's collected for the most part, but every time you scream from the contractions, he screams too because "he can feel it"... but it's really just his nerves getting out of hand

However, once you get to the hospital, this man will burst in and yell loud and clear "SOMEONE HELP ME, MY SPOUSE IS IN LABOR!!!" because the ride was so stressful he can't hold it together anymore

Be it through natural labor or C-section, Azul will want to hold your hand and be there for you through it all.... He might get light headed at times, but again, he'll push through anything to make sure you and the baby are fine

If he somehow manages to translate his grip strength to his human form now that he's older, he will be squeezing your hand just as hard as you're squeezing

Is a mess of tears once your child's first cry echoes through the room. It feels so relieving and miraculous.... You're now parents to your first little baby!!

Can't help to smile so tenderly at his chubby little angel. Runs a finger delicately against their cheek and sheds more tears at how warm and soft and alive they are

"My precious little pearl... What a blessing you are, little one, already making us so joyous. Welcome"

Azul holds his child so gently. If you had a glow while pregnant, Azul has a glow as a new father. You swear you can see a golden halo around him whenever he's pampering and carrying your child

Reads them a bedtime story every day. They may not understand him, but Azul wants to acquaint them to his voice quickly

Since he has paperwork to do at home, there have been times the octomer left you to sleep while he attended the baby's necessities. It relaxes him, and the rocking to get them back to sleep refreshes him. How can one not be powered up after seeing a plump little munchkin sound asleep with a smile on their face?

This private moments with the baby get him emotional, has probably cried during all of them. He just feels blessed with a mountain of happiness when he sees his baby sleep so comfortably, knowing they're surrounded by love and care.

Is curious to see if his baby will manifest a merfolk form later in life, or manifest any sort of magical powers.

BONUS: It was during a family vacation to the beach during their 2nd year in primary school where your child manifested their mer-form. They were ecstatic!!

🐬 Jade Leech 💜

When you're pregnant

His expression was as collected as always, but his heart jumped into outer space when he got the news of your pregnancy. Held you close and kissed you with so much passion and love, you saw a new Jade that day.

He thinks you don't notice, but the loving gaze he shoots your way when doing the most random things around the house is so soft, your heart stops every time (think of his lab coat groovy, that smile)

Like Azul, he's very keen on keeping you healthy. Along with a proper diet, he makes sure you take your daily supplements

But he turns a blind eye when you wish to indulge a liiiittle too much on that snack you adore

With his big appetite, it doesn't come as a surprise that he willingly subjects himself to your strange cravings

Jade is another one that accompanies you to each and every doctor's appointment. Is well read of what to expect in every month mark, so he asks the most questions to clear up any doubts you may have.

His eyes filled with tears when hearing your baby's heartbeat for the first time. Held your hand tightly and kiss your forehead so many times while you were in the ultrasound room

While he's patient, sometimes your mood swings also get him in a sour mood. Thankfully, he has a way to destress with his job and terrariums. It's not long into the day when he calls to apologize for any dumb things he said, and to make sure you're doing fine

Floyd sometimes tags along to your home. It's always 50/50 on what it'll be: nice funny harmony, or utter disastrous chaos that leaves you sobbing in your husband's arms.

Perhaps the one thing Jade dislikes of your pregnancy is ho hard it is for you to find a position to sleep in because your constant tossing and turning interrupts his sleep every time

Jade speaks to your bump in whispers. Likes to lay his head on your lap and talk to the baby. He tells stories of his childhood, tells the little one how much they're loved, and sometimes indulges in singing

He also likes to play classical music for your bun

The one thing he adores? Feeling your baby kick, it always lights up his face with a bright pointy smile

If you want maternity photos, Jade is quick to convince! He acts like it embarrasses him, but he does secretly want some nice pictures to commemorate this period in your lives (plus, Mama Leech wants some to display in her home!)

When you're in labor/the baby arrives

His mind is running a mile a minute. Excuse him is he calls you "hospital" instead of your name, everything's flashing before his eyes quicker than he can register.

Would crash the car into the entrance from how fast everything's happening, but he doesn't. He does carry you to the front desk and hurriedly pants "Spouse, baby, NOW! HELP!!"

For x or y reason, Jade ends up waiting to hear the news of you and the baby. He's not in the room with you. The whole time he's left alone, he's bouncing his feet and pacing back and forth. In a short moment of clarity, he dials up Azul and notifies him of the situation, asking the octomer to pass the information to his twin and parents.

With how long births are, it shouldn't be surprising to see Mama and Papa Leech, Floyd and Azul arrive at the hospital. However, with how worried and stressed he is right now, it does catch Jade by surprise.

This moment of uncertainty, of not being by your side, is the one time where the eel lets his emotions and thoughts go unfiltered.... which may provoke his twin a little. But it's exactly these small quarrels that snap sense into him and remind him that he should focus his attention on doctors and nurses for any possible news about you. They also help refresh and keep him awake

His mother and Azul are the most helpful, calming him down and quelling his anxieties about your and the baby's safety

The moment he sees the familiar face of one of the doctors that entered the same room as you, he's up and speedwalking to them.

As soon as the merman gets permission to see you, he's already making his way to you

Finally, he can rest and let it all out. There's visible tears flowing out his eyes and sobs coming out of him while he holds your little bundle of joy. Not even a thousand kisses are enough to show his gratitude to all that you've done for him

He was already in love with your baby the moment he laid eyes on them, but once their tiny hand wrapped around his finger.... HE WAS DONE FOR, THIS BABY WOULD BE SPOILED BY PAPA FOR ALL ETERNITY. In fact, it was this moment the one that made him ugly cry

His instincts got the best of him. Jade literally snapped around to bite his father and Floyd when they got a too close to the sleeping baby. By a miracle he allowed his mother coddle them for a split second. Can you blame the poor man? He's sleep deprived and stressed, cut him some slack

Once he got some rest, Jade was embarrassed by his words and actions, but oh well... The past is in the past

He adores spending time with your baby. Every time he's in charge of bathing them, he does the cutest babytalk. He lives to see them giggle and relax in the water

Feeding time is also one of his favorites, and you also enjoy it too. Jade is just wonderful when taking care of the baby, your heart swells and a smile reaches your lips (partly because he turns so silly to make the little one eat)

He is helpful when attending the child at night, but whenever he had a stressful day at work he pleads you to go and calm them down

Talking about stressful days, feel free to send him some selfies and pictures of your baby through the day. They surely will cheer him up a little while he works.

When your child starts attempting to talk, Jade will go along with it. He nods and answers attentively to anything your baby says

BONUS: At around 5 years of age, your kid turned into their merfolk form in the middle of bath time. They cried from panic while Jade had a proud smile on his face

🦈 Floyd Leech 💜

When you're pregnant

He takes a minute to process the news. Frankly, he's nervous about this big leap, but he's sure he wants to have kids with you. His excitement may be subdued at first, but you will see him throw more smiles and tender gazes your way within the following weeks

If you notice him spacing out during the first weeks, urge him to speak out. It will take many tries to get him to open up, but one night he goes to spoon you, hand carefully caressing your tummy. "I'm unsure... isn't this... too fast?"

Understand that his doubts are more about feeling unprepared (specifically him, he has no clue how to even begin preparing), not about not wanting to have kids. "Accidents happen, Floyd, we can't control every variable in our lives. We have one another, I'm certain that together we can do this."

"Plus, we can always consult your parents." Cue a groan from him, but soon after there was a smile

Slow but steady, Leech begins researching and reading up about parenting and pregnancy. Lemme tell ya, he's not looking forward to the mood swings. Sure enough, when they arrive, he handles them very poorly. At the end of every day, however, he hugs you close while in bed and asks for forgiveness through kisses to your back

He sometimes gets bored by all the technical talk your gynecologist speaks, but follows their orders to a T. They're the professional, he barely knows the surface of what your body's going through.

After being told that was the baby's heartbeat, Floyd's wide mismatched eyes remained glued to the monitor showing the silhouette of his little bun. Chills coursed through him and his eyes watered, heart leaping with joy.... It felt so strange, but he didn't wish this magical emotion to stop

He probably buys you one of those pill organizers with pretty colors so you know and he knows if you've taken your supplements

Whenever he has a very shitty day at work, being greeted by you waddling up to him due to your feet hurting from carrying the baby once he arrives home is the best. It makes him chuckle, but he soon drops down to place a kiss to your tummy to dispel any irritation you may feel his way after his small laugh

About work... Azul kinda lets him do as he pleases, he's aware there's no changing his decision. If he wants to skip half the shift to keep an eye on you, he allows it. But Floyd must heed important calls whenever he's summoned urgently.

Will ask to bath together. Intimate, soothing, and relaxing. Bathing with you while hugging you from behind to feel the bump reassures him you're both doing a good job so far, that there's nothing to fear

It's mainly in the few seconds before bedtime that he drops onto your lap to chat with the little one. Likes to hum melodies to the bump

He has a little game where he'll poke at your belly and wait to see if the baby kicks the spot he prodded

Sometimes, Azul pops up for a visit. Very calming to have the grey haired to talk to about emotional messes. Jade sometimes calls to make sure you're both fine and have everything you need. If he visits, they're short and to the point.

Maternity photoshoot?? Nah, he'll pass.... but if you are stubborn and very insistent, he relents. You better not send them to his parents behind his back (but you totally do, of course).

When you're in labor/the baby arrives

You want chaos? Because you definitely got chaos! Don't get me wrong, Floyd is actually doing a tremendously amazing job carrying your bag and yourself to the car. He's actually driving superb while reminding you to take repeat the breathing exercises you were taught. It's just...... the other people's slow pace and stupidity the ones making him yell profanities

Absolutely throws his signature crazed look at the first nurse he finds when asking, no, demanding help

That crazed look was reason enough to keep him out of the room you'd be in, his consequent aggressiveness after given the news is an even grater reason. If you can muster it, tell him you will be okay and to trust the doctors.

Sits on the closest waiting space to your room. Probably goes up to a bending machine and punches it a couple times to release some of the tension (he got a free snack, too)

Now it's when the nervousness settles in. He's so afraid at having you and his child away from him, he's worried about everything. May shed a couple tears of frustration, fear, and stress. His instincts tell him to protect you even if he knows there's nothing to protect you from, you're in a hospital for goodness sake!

That's when he calls Jade for comfort, and soon after dials his mother. It's her voice the one that helps him break through the confusing fog in his mind to go back and sit as close to your room as he can

Probably ends up stress eating everything in that vending machine he punched as he waits for any news about you and the baby He's munching on the last bit of a candy bar when a new one crosses his field of vision. It's Jade, with a bag full of treats, and some much needed water. Azul's beside his twin

It feels strange, but Floyd feels very vulnerable and needs the familiarity both of them bring. He lets his head fall on Jade's shoulder, which the twin takes as cue to hug him by placing an arm around his shoulders. Azul kneels in front of him and asks "How are you feeling, Floyd?"

"Scared.... and alert. Like I need to protect them, but... I know they're safe." He probably ends up crying a little more right then. After being calmed down by Azul, he probably sleeps for 10 minutes

Wakes up to find his mother replacing Jade by his side, and his dad is also with them now. Definitely feels much better after some shut eye and after seeing he's now surrounded by familiar faces

When he hears his name be called out by the doctor, he's immediately shooting up and throwing questions at the doc. Thankfully, the professional firmly states everything went swimmingly and he can now see you.

Will you look at that? TWO little babies are waiting to meet him!

You're holding one, and the second cutie is placed in his arms and.... There come the waterworks again It was such a natural reaction, he had no time to try and suppress it. Not like he would've wanted to, but the way you "aww"ed at him made him feel a little embarrassed

The twin in his arms reached out and tugged his black strip of hair after it tickled their face, Floyd couldn't help giggle

He can't lie, his arms were shaking the whole time he held the little one. He was scared of hurting them...or dropping them

He wonders how everyone missed the elusive second baby, but he's so happy!! He has two cute kids!! Oh, you're such a wonderful and strong parent! You carried their weight combined and powered through the pregnancy just like that!

He really wants to climb into your bed and hold you so close, but he knows you need rest. Settles for peppered kisses all over your face while uttering "I love you, thank you" in between

While his instincts do tell him to chase away the "dangerous" males away from his newborn kids, Floyd does let his father get close and look at the babies along with his mom. Jade and Azul are a different story, however, he growled at them.

Like Jade, Floyd loves spending time with his twins! His top fav is bathing the twins because he's always eager to see if they will turn into merfolk (spoilers: they do!! And quite early! A few months after their 1st birthday!)

Another thing he loves doing is laying a blanket on the floor and watching his cuties play with their toys and giggle at each other

He tried their baby food once and decided to make homemade baby food from then on. He says he wants his little ones to taste only good things since those prepackaged stuff taste terrible. Just keep an eye on his spice use.

Night necessities are your task though, he does not take kindly to being interrupted in his sleep

He likes reenacting baby photos of him and Jade with his babies

Once his kids get the hang of their mer-form, most of your vacations will be under the sea~

#zask #zack writes #soul cuddle #domestic #twisted wonderland #twisted wonderland x reader #twst x reader #azul ashengrotto #jade leech #floyd leech #leech twins #octavinelle #octavinelle x reader #tw // pregnancy #cw // pregnancy #gn reader #azul ashengrotto x reader #floyd leech x reader #jade leech x reader

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fific7 · 3 years

Text

There May Be Trouble Ahead - Part 3

John Whittaker x Reader

A/N: This does not follow canon, it’s all lemon zest 🍋 because the world deserves more of the over-eager puppy that is the handsome Johnny Whittaker. And puppies need discipline.

The song excerpt is from ‘Let’s Face the Music and Dance’ which surely must be John’s life anthem? (It wasn’t released until 1936 but there’s that fiction writer’s licence again.)

Warnings: 18+ NSFW due to sexual content including oral between consenting adults*. Some drinking.

*Irl, please don’t go wild in the country without protection.

(Not my GIF, credit to owner)

As John followed you out of his bedroom, you asked him if you might use the bathroom and he took your hand once more, guiding you along the corridor and pointing at a door. Once inside, you looked around at the huge roll-top bath and large porcelain sink. You smiled, once again it all seemed very Victorian to your (you liked to think) very modern eye.

Coming back downstairs a little later on, you heard a murmur of voices from below you and paused on the half-landing, tip-toeing to the edge and peeking cautiously over the banister rail.

John and Sarah were standing in the large lobby, and you noticed that John had his arms crossed over his chest in a very defensive stance.

You heard Sarah say in her quiet voice, “I just don’t want you to get hurt again, Johnny.” You grimaced as she said “Johnny” and the familiar way she used it. “I mean I hardly have to remind you what happened the last time you met someone and got carried away, do I? She ran off with your Father!” Your mouth rounded into an ‘O’ as you heard those explosive words. A scowl appeared on John’s face, and he snapped, “Well firstly, you did just remind me! And secondly, at least the old man’s not around this time to run off with my wife!”

“Wife!” exclaimed Sarah, “She’s an acquaintance at best! Hardly appropriate to speak of her as your wife. You met her, what - a week ago?” “Took me less time than that with Larita,” shot back John. Now it was Sarah’s turn to pull a face. “I’m just saying to take it more slowly this time, Johnny, that’s all!” John started striding away from her and you pulled back from the banister in case either of them looked up and spotted you. “Well, thank you for the advice, Sarah. You can rest assured that this time I shall be doing things with less haste and more consideration.”

Through the banister rails you watched Sarah remain standing there for a moment, crestfallen, before following after John.

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

John stalked into the sitting room, heading for a cigarette box on one of the low tables and opening it. Thankfully it wasn’t empty, so he took one out, tapped it a couple of times and lit it with the ornate table lighter next to the box. He drew on it before blowing out a long plume of smoke into the air. He heard heels making their way across the large rug behind him and hoped it was his guest, turning with a smile on his face.

Seeing that it was Sarah, his smile faded and he knew she’d noticed that. But why then did she have to keep on at him like some kind of mother hen? He sighed, “What other pearls of wisdom are you here to cast before me, Sarah?”

She tried a tentative smile, “I don’t mean to nag, Johnny. You know I don’t. It’s as I said, I just don’t want you to get hurt again.” He moved over to the large windows, gazing out over the landscape, “I don’t intend to, believe me. And I don’t intend to hurt my new lady friend either,” he replied, still smoking his cigarette and speaking over his shoulder to her, “I’ve met someone I truly like and I’m not about to mess it up.”

He turned back to the window and therefore missed seeing Sarah’s lips tightening into an almost-snarl as she heard his words.

And unbeknownst to him, the ‘someone’ of whom he spoke was currently listening just outside the sitting room.

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

A quiet voice behind you made you jump. “Are you lost, madam?” You swung round. Oh, it was the butler, Furber was it?

“Oh no, it’s fine thank you, Mr Furber. I’m just looking for John and I think I’ve found him now.” You pointed theatrically - and somewhat ridiculously - into the sitting room, before giving him an embarrassed smile and disappearing through the door.

You saw that Sarah was now the one adopting the defensive body language, and she and John were staring each other down in what looked like some kind of Mexican Standoff.

Okay, you thought, here I go with my ‘Absolutely Innocent of Eavesdropping’ act.

“Oh, John - there you are! I thought I’d lost you for a moment,” and you gave him a big smile. “Hello, Sarah!” you added, now looking at her and still smiling, but it was a very much smaller one than John had received from you.

John reacted as you’d hoped he would and came rushing over to you immediately, hand going to yours. “Do you want to go, darling? We can, you know.” “Perhaps we should,” you said, “we don’t want to take up the whole of everyone’s afternoon, do we?” He grinned at you, “No, we don’t, darling.”

You hid a smile, thinking that he was perhaps slightly overdoing it with the ‘darling’s’ but you’d take them all. Because you’d caught a look of absolute fury on Sarah’s face for a split-second when she’d heard the first ‘darling’ leave his lips.

That’s more like it, girl! you thought gleefully, let out all that broiling jealousy and sexual tension hiding inside that calm little head!

If she wasn’t going to be honest about her true feelings and instead mess around playing silly mind games, then that really wasn’t your problem. You’d just met John, you liked him (much to your amazement, you had to admit) and you wanted to see where things led.

It had annoyed you, quite frankly, when you’d heard her dripping words of doubt into John’s ear as if she was merely a concerned bystander, instead of being an interested party herself.

And if she was going to play dirty, then you just might have to as well.

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

John was feeling immensely relieved as he drove the two of them away from Flintham Hall. His darling (which was how he found himself thinking of her now) didn’t seem to have overheard that silly squabble of his with Sarah and they’d managed to take their leave fairly easily without too many entreaties from his Mother to stay longer.

Although she did seem a little quiet on the drive back to town. He shook off the thought, she was probably just a bit overwhelmed after meeting all of them in one fell swoop. It was quite a task, he acknowledged. He knew his family could be intimidating.

Arriving back and parking outside her flat, he was overjoyed when she asked him if he’d like to come in for either more tea or a small aperitif.

It seemed that he was still in her ‘good books’.

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

You poured a pale sherry for each of you and handed a glass to John. He was lounging - entirely at ease - on your large cherry-red sofa, and you sat opposite him on the matching armchair. He looked slightly disappointed at that but took a sip of his sherry, saying “Mmm, that’s a nice Fino.”

You’d spent the whole journey back pondering whether to confess that you’d eavesdropped. Firstly, you felt guilty for doing so. One of your mother’s favourite sayings was ‘eavesdroppers never hear good of themselves’ if she ever caught you and your little brother listening at doors. And secondly, you didn’t want there to be any lies or omissions between you and John.

“Yes, it’s not bad,” you agreed. “Look John, I need to tell you something.” He sat bolt upright, “Oh no - you’re dumping me! Already!” he wailed. You laughed, “No, I’m not! But I do need to discuss something with you.”

He sat back again, still looking anxious, “Tell me!” he demanded. You drew in a deep breath, “I overheard your conversation with Sarah. I’m sorry!” you said quickly, “I really didn’t mean to, I was just coming downstairs… and then you were in the sitting room.” You grinned, “Furber caught me standing outside!” He also grinned, “Yes, he’s got a habit of appearing without warning! I suppose it’s the whole butler thing.” His expression sobered, “So you did hear us squabbling! And also the final scandalous fact about my ill-fated marriage.” He took another sip of sherry. “Yes, the sad fact is, my Father ran off with her. They’re living in sin and penury down in the south of France.”

“I’m sorry, John,” you said sincerely, “that must’ve been hard to bear.” He smiled at you, “It wasn’t the best. And of course Mother went absolutely mad and said it was all my fault. Which it was, of course. By that time, I’d realised that I didn’t love her but yes, it still stung.” You leaned back and looked steadily at him, “I suppose it was for the best. In an awful way. But tell me, what’s with Sarah?” He gave you a puzzled look, “What do you mean, darling?”

“Your relationship with her. Tell me about it.” He sighed, “Mother always wanted me to marry her. She saw it as the joining of two dynasties, nothing romantic about it. I think I told you we had a brother-sister thing between us? We grew up together so that’s just how it was. Then mater started putting pressure on me to get engaged to her and her parents weren’t opposed to it, so it was kind of understood between the two families that that’s what would eventually happen. But then… Larita. As I said.” Another sip of sherry. “When she left, it was obvious that everyone expected me to just pick up with Sarah again from where we left off. But she didn’t seem all that keen - wounded pride, I suppose and I don’t blame her for that - and to be brutally honest, I really wasn’t keen either.”

His dark eyes gazed over at you, “I never felt that spark with her, you know? She’s just like another sister.” You almost felt sorry for Sarah. “So it was just kind of… left on the side and no-one’s mentioned it again.” You nodded, and decided to take the plunge, “You do realise that she’s in love with you? And probably always has been?”

His face was a picture. “Umm.. what?” You nodded again, “Yes, John, believe me. Her indifferent demeanour is all an act. She wants you for herself.” You met his eyes, watching him intensely, “Does that change anything? How you feel about her? Because if it does, then I’ll just take myself off somewhere else.” He shook his head vigorously, “No! It changes nothing. Absolutely nothing.” He put his sherry glass down on the small table next to the sofa and came over to crouch down beside your chair, grasping your arm, “I’m sorry about it if that’s the case, I truly am. But it’s you I want, not Sarah.” He leant in towards you and the two of you gazed into each other’s eyes, then John’s lips softly met yours and you shared a sedate kiss.

Breaking apart, he laughed nervously, “I hope you don’t mind that I kissed you?” Shaking your head and running a finger along his jaw, you were smiling as you replied, “I don’t mind in the slightest, John.”

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

John was driving perhaps a little too fast along the country roads, on his way back home in the gathering dusk. He was a very happy man indeed, and he was singing at the top of his voice.

There may be trouble ahead

But while there's moonlight

And music and love and romance

Let's face the music and dance

Before the fiddlers have fled

Before they ask us to pay the bill

And while we still have the chance

Let's face the music and dance

He pulled the car to a grinding halt and leapt out of it, bounding up the steps and into the house. Furber, gliding along with a tray holding a decanter of sherry and four glasses, hid a smile and nodded at him, “Good evening, sir. Shall I bring an additional glass for you?” “Uh.. no, thanks Furber, I’m just going to my room. To.. uh.. lie down for a nap before dinner.”

Furber hid an even bigger smile. He knew the signs only too well. The Master was in love again.

John’s foot was on the first step of the staircase when Veronica’s voice cut through his pleasant thoughts. “John! Please join us!” His shoulders dropped… caught like a rat in a trap! Accepting defeat, he turned on his heel and trotted into the sitting room behind his Mother. The other three ladies were ranged around various sofas and armchairs and in the process of accepting glasses of sherry from Furber, who magically produced a fifth glass and now filled it for John. How does he do that? wondered John, does he keep supplies of spare glasses in his pockets? Hmm, maybe he does, I wouldn’t put it past him.

He took the glass and thanked Furber, settling into one of the squashy old armchairs and facing the four women who were all looking at him expectantly. He looked back at them, until eventually his Mother broke the stalemate, “Well, John? Where did you meet her? At the Art Gallery?” Marion sniggered bitchily, “As if! John’s never been inside an art gallery in his life, Mama!” Shooting her a poisonous look, John replied, “As it happens - no, Mother.” Marion snorted in triumph but John ignored her, continuing, “I nearly hit her in the head with a tennis ball.”

“Johhhhnnn!” wailed his mother, “That’s no way to impress a lady!” He sighed, “I do realise that, mater. I promise you I didn’t do it on purpose. But it was certainly very fortuitous.” He knew that he probably had a dreamy, faraway look in his eyes but he didn’t care. He noticed Sarah’s eyes on him, and he felt a sudden pang of guilt. But what can I do? he thought, the heart wants what the heart wants.

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

Monday was dragging by and felt very tedious. You’d begun work on a small canvas by a fairly famous local artist and as you meticulously and gently rubbed at the grime which covered it, your mind drifted to last Saturday evening.

After that first innocent kiss, John had pulled you up off the armchair and slid his arms right around you, holding you close and kissing you in an increasingly passionate fashion. So much so that you eventually had to gently shove him away, smiling and catching your breath.

Most of the (admittedly few) men you had stepped out with had been appalling kissers, all wet lips and slobbering over you in indecent haste.

John might act like an overgrown schoolboy (or puppy, take your pick) but in the kissing stakes, he was well out in front of the rest of the field. His lips had hovered at your ear and you felt little huffs of his breath against it. “Your lips, your mouth, your eyes… you’re driving me insane,” he whispered, and you’d almost fainted at the sensuality of it.

You suddenly heard your supervisor’s sharp voice, and you looked up quickly at the older woman. She was in fact a very good mentor, her bark being worse than her bite as they say. She smirked, “You’re in a world of your own today, dear! I called your name at least twice before now.” Looking more closely at you, she gave a delighted laugh, “Oh my! There’s a man involved, isn’t there?” You blushed furiously and she crowed, “I was right! I knew it. Now, tell me all about him!”

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

After spending ten minutes telling your mentor all about John, you were slightly disappointed when she had a bit of a mixed reaction to the details you shared.

“My dear, he does sound very dashing,” she intoned, and you knew there was a ‘but’ coming, “but he also sounds a little bit… risqué.” You opened your mouth to jump to his defence, but she held up a hand, “I know you don’t want to hear this, but you do need to guard against making any impulsive decisions regarding him. He sounds as if he likes impulsive gestures, judging by the sound of the circumstances surrounding his marriage. And then his father running off with his wife! I mean, my dear, that is positively…” “Scandalous,” you supplied, “yes, I do realise that. But I truly believe he’s learned his lesson.”

She looked sceptical, “So you say, but please do bear in mind that he’s still probably inclined towards the impulsive, despite what he says. I’m sure your parents would never forgive me if I didn’t at least try and sound a warning shot across your bows!” You dipped your head and accepted her thoughts, “I am listening to you, honestly,” you assured her.

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

John had taken to telephoning you every evening since the Saturday you’d spent together. “I just want to hear your voice,” he’d say say quietly into the phone. “It’s nice to hear yours, too,” you’d reply. When he phoned you on Tuesday evening, you could hear some excitement in his voice. “I’ve got us two stand tickets for the races on Saturday,” he said, his words tumbling over each other, “Oh say you’ll come! It’s not one of the big gold cup meetings but it’ll be so much fun!” You laughed, caught up in his excitement, “Yes, John, I’ll come.”

“Wonderful! Mater keeps telling me not to call you too much or pester you at work but I can’t help it!” “It’s fine, I don’t mind,” you said truthfully, thinking about how you now sat in your flat of an evening waiting for him to call. Not that you’d admit that to him, of course. Your feelings for John were definitely a bit like a runaway train at the moment, and you were trying to keep the brakes on but you were struggling to do so.

About half an hour after you’d hung up, your doorbell rang. Opening the door, you were less than charmed to see your neighbour Euphemia standing on your doorstep clutching a teacup. “Oh hullo,” she greeted you, “I wonder if I can borrow some sugar?” Mentally rolling your eyes, you said, “Of course, step in for a moment.” You took the cup from her and she trailed along your hall after you, following you to the kitchen. You knew exactly why she was here and as you poured out some sugar for her, she said, trying to sound casual, “So you have a new young man, then?”

Your back was to her so you smirked to yourself. “Yes, Euphemia, I do,” you said lightly. “Mmm,” she grunted, “What’s his name, then?” “John.” “John what?” Now she was beginning to annoy rather than amuse you, “John No-one-You’ll-Ever-Have-Heard-Of,” you said sarcastically, handing her the cup of sugar. “There you go, Euphemia! Now, so sorry, I’m right in the middle of something.” In other words, sling your hook. She had a very dissatisfied look on her face as she hadn’t been able to get all the information she wanted out of you. Just then, there was another knock at the door so you headed to it, Euphemia on your heels again. God, that woman!

Upon opening the door this time, you were delighted to see a much more welcome face. John was standing there, a very large bouquet of peonies in his hand. He gave you a big smile then immediately leaned in for a kiss, but pulled back suddenly mid-kiss when his eyes met Euphemia’s over your shoulder. “Oh!” he exclaimed, “I’m so sorry, I didn’t realise you had company.” You looked over your shoulder, saying, “Euphemia was just leaving, weren’t you Euphemia?” you said with a hint of menace in your voice. “Um… yes,” she nodded, “nicer to meet you, Mr… ?” You grabbed John’s arm and squeezed hard, “Bye, Euphemia!” She sulkily brushed past you and John and made her way down your steps.

You dragged John inside and quickly closed the door. “That woman!” you hissed, “She’s just been in here to ‘borrow a cup of sugar’ …in other words, trying to sniff out information about you!” John laughed, “Ah, now I understand! Here, darling… these are for you.” He handed you the bouquet, you exclaiming how pretty they were and beginning to look for a vase. “I remembered you said that peonies were your favourites,” he announced proudly. You were impressed! You two had passed a florists on the evening of your first date and you’d remarked how much you loved the big blowsy pink flowers.

“Anyhow, she’s not very pleased,” you said conversationally as you busied yourself arranging the flowers, “she didn’t get any information out of me at all apart from your first name.” You looked up at him, holding one of the blooms in your hand, “And as much as I’m pleased to see you and these beautiful flowers… what on earth are you doing here, John?”

You saw his face pink up, “I hope you won’t be annoyed but I couldn’t wait until Saturday to see you.” Your stomach filled with butterflies and you put down the peony, going over to where he stood and hugging him, before kissing his cheek. “You’re such a sweet boy,” you smiled at him. You felt his his shoulders relax. “Marion told me you’d get really fed up with me.”

You ghosted a kiss over his lips, “Oh, poor Marion… she’s not a happy bunny, is she?” John smiled a little sadly, “Disappointed in love. Her intended had no intention of marrying her and took off travelling.” “Oh, what a shame,” you sympathised. “It’s given her a slightly skewed view of life,” John shrugged, “she unfortunately tends to revel in other people’s embarrassing situations.”

He leant back from you, your arms still round him, “You’re not fed up with me, are you?” You smiled, “Not yet.” He landed a small kiss on your lips, “I’m pleased to hear that.” “Have you eaten?” “No… I had the sudden impulse to come haring over here to see you.” You stroked his cheek, “Then have a seat,” you waved towards your kitchen table, “and I’ll make you something.”

Your mentor’s words echoed in your head as you went to the pantry and took out some food items for John. “…he’s still probably inclined towards the impulsive…”

You felt a little soupçon of worry. It seems like she had possibly hit the nail right on the head.

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

@paracosmenthusiast

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

#ben barnes #john whittaker #john whittaker x reader #john whittaker fanfiction #john whittaker imagine #john whittaker fanfic #easy virtue

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jawritter · 4 years

Text

The Arrangement

Chapter 11

Summery: You are a young girl that was raised in a small church in Dallas, TX. One of the only churches left in the state that still practices arranged marriages. When your betrothed ran off to California you thought you'd escape the fate you were trained for ever since a small child. Now upon the death your parents your fate seemed to be inescapable as he's returned, and is ready to take you as his bride.

Book Warnings: Arranged marriage, loss of virginity, smut, unprotected sex, angst, language, suicide attempt, battles with anxiety, struggles with mental illness, age gap (about 11 years), I think that’s it, chapters will have warnings of their own!

Chapter Warnings: Angst, fighting, accusations of Infidelity, domestic violence (a slap), reading getting caught up in her own headspeace, insecure reader, Danneel being a raging bitch, manipulation, distrust, feelings of abandonment, language, I think that’s it.

Word Count: 2710

A/N: This book is a book about Christian and church based arranged marriages, I would like to take this moment to say that I DO NOT have ANYTHING against the Chirstian faith, and mean absolutely no harm to anyone! Especially Jensen’s family! This is a complete work of fiction, and should be treated as such!

Beta’d by the amazing @deanwanddamons who was awesome enough to do all this for me! It was a lot of work, and she deserves all the praise for it!!

Pairing: Jensen Ackles x Reader

Want More? Check Out My Masterlist!!

***MASTERLIST***

***SERIES MASTERLIST***

Three months.You and Jensen had been married for three months.

It felt like only yesterday that you closed the door on your parents house for the last time. Now here you are, stirring tonight's supper, waiting on your husband to get home from his meeting with his agents.

They had flown in to Austin last night to meet with him today about his 'future.' Jensen said that means that they wanted him to try out for some other acting roles, which he wasn't entirely sure that he wanted to do.

You told him that you would support him in whatever decision he made, though you knew that acting meant relocating if you wanted to be with him while he was filming, because the likelihood that he'd get a role that filmed in Austin where basically non existent.

You'd never lived outside of the state of Texas.

Actually, you'd never been outside of the state of Texas period, which was quite contradictory to your husband, who has literally been almost everywhere.

Sometimes he made you feel like such a child.

You knew that was never Jensen's intention. He never looked down on you or degraded you, at least not to your face. He even stood up to Jared three months ago. The two of them hadn't really spoken since, and you felt horrible about that. Even though Jensen had repeatedly told you that it wasn't your fault, and that Jared was being a child that needed to grow up.

You were lost in your own thoughts when the door opened and closed loudly, alerting you to Jensen's return.

"Y/N? You home?" You heard his voice ring through the house as he made his way toward the kitchen.

"Yeah in here!!" you yell over your shoulder, trying to compose your own thoughts before you had to come face to face with him.

His arms encircled around you, pulling your back tight to his chest. You instinctively leaned your head back against his shoulder.

There was something about his presence that just seemed to calm you. The way he smelt, the way his solid body felt up against your own, the way he wrapped his arms around you, holding you tight; like if he let go of you, you'd disappear, and he just couldn't have that.

"How did your meeting go?"

"Not bad, not great, but not bad. They want me to try out for more roles, which I already knew. They didn't seem too happy when I said I wanted to work on my own album. One just by myself, and then maybe... I don't know." He sighed deeply against your neck, making you shiver.

"I got time to figure it out. I really am not sure I want to go back fully into acting, maybe just an appearance here and there, I really want to do my music. They said I had plenty of time to think about it."

Kissing you on the forehead, he takes his phone and wallet out of his jeans, then sits them on the counter next to you.

"I'm going to go grab a shower real quick, then after we eat we can lay on the couch and binge watch Friends, preferably naked." he said, winking at you and making you blush, before turning back to your task at hand.

Turning on the dishwasher after loading it, you heard the ding of Jensen's phone on the counter next to you.

It was a text.

You weren't trying to snoop , but you saw it anyway. When you heard the phone go off you imminently looked up at the phone.

It was his publicist Brian.

Jensen, call me. Someone took a pic of Danneel kissing you today. They turned it into TLC. Got to do damage control man.

You stood there staring at the phone on the counter, your heart hammering in your chest. You couldn't believe what you had just read. He had said she cheated on him, that they were done.

Your vision starts to blur and burn as tears brimmed their way to the surface of your eyes.

'No it's just a joke, or a mistake, he was meeting with his publicist and his agents today. He was nowhere near Danneel. It's a lie...'

Just as you had almost convinced yourself that it was bullshit another text came across the screen. This time it was the picture.

There they were, standing in front of a building, her mouth locked to his. You closed his phone and stumbled your way to the kitchen table that was just a few feet away.

You felt like your heart was being ripped out of your chest. Every fiber of your being felt like it was crumbling.

You hadn't realized until that moment how much you had really fallen for the man. Right now though, all you could really register was the inexplicable hurt, and feeling of being betrayed.

You wanted to leave, but had nowhere to go. You couldn't get out of a marriage like the one you and Jensen found yourself in easily. You were literally stuck unless Jensen released you. Even then you were back to where would you go?

Your thoughts weren't coherent anymore, just pain, and confusion. She was stunning compared to you, worldly, she could probably do a lot more for him than you could.

With that thought, the shame really hit you. You obviously weren't satisfactory to him, otherwise he wouldn't be going to his ex wife to get what he needed.

Tears were flowing down your face in earnest now, hurt, embarrassment, and your own insecurities eating away at you down to your very core.

How were you going to face him when he got out of the shower? What were you going to tell him? You didn't know how to handle this.

Hearing the bathroom door close you knew you needed to get yourself under control, but you couldn't, the hurt was just too much.

You tried desperately to dry your face so that he wouldn't notice you had been crying. You didn't know how he would react. You weren't intentionally standing there looking at his phone. You were just there when it went off, and crossed the screen. It wasn't like you were looking on purpose, and if you had your way, you'd never have seen it, and continued to live in ignorance. It would have hurt a lot less.

You heard him come into the living room, looking around for you.

"Baby? Where are you?"

You could hear him getting closer to the kitchen. Taking a deep breath you didn't know what to do. You wanted to yell, you wanted to slap him, which surprised you, you wanted to scream, you wanted to curl up in a ball and cry. The overwhelming emotions are too much for you to compute all at once.

You heard him come up to the table and pull a chair back. You must have looked as horrible as you felt on the inside because he immediately reached for your hand, which you jerked away from harshly. He sat there for a moment looking you over, not sure what to say or do, completely unaware of what caused this outburst from you.

"Baby, what's wrong? Talk to me sweetheart?"

He pushed the chair back, and moved to get on his knees in front of you, reaching for you. Your body reacts before you could even process what you were doing, shoving your chair back away from him harshly. You couldn't look him directly in the eye, but you didn't miss the flinch in body language when you pulled away from him so harshly. You’d never done that before.

"Come on baby, please talk to me. We were fine when I went to take a shower, what happened? Tell me so I can fix it, I don't like us like this."

Standing before he could finish his pleas, you cross the room to the counter and take his phone in your hand,walking halfway to him and throwing it at him before exiting the room to lock yourself in the bedroom that you shared with Jensen.

You didn't know where this kind of aggression came from, it wasn't in your nature. You slid down the door after locking, sitting with your back to the door as you fell apart, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of seeing you cry.

You thought for a moment that your heart was going to stop beating. You had never felt so completely broken.

You could hear him calling for you. The sound of him running closer to the door and jiggling the handle. You couldn't make yourself move. You couldn't face him, or the fact that you were not good enough for him, or the fact that he was probably very angry at you for throwing his phone at him, or looking at his text message, or a multitude of reasons your mind was conjuring up.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Jensen's POV:

Jensen's heart was pounding in his ears. He wanted to literally murder Danneel, and if it wouldn't be the fact that orange wasn't actually the new black he probably would have tried, and made it look like an accident.

She had been texting him for a week now. Saying how much she missed him, and how much of a mistake she had made, how she wanted another chance, how she wanted him back and for them to be a family again.

He had nothing left for her, he literally felt nothing. He knew she was full of shit, that she just didn't want to be brought to court over the children, because she knew if she lost, she would lose a pretty good bit of his income with it.

So he just ignored her, not answering her text messages and just deleting them. Seeing as she couldn't get through to him on the phone, she jumped up and followed him to his meeting with his agents this morning, and when he walked out of the office she had ambushed him, grabbing him and kissing him hard before he had time to react.

She must have had a photographer hiding in the street. He was pretty sure he'd figured out that she was jealous and trying to ruin his marriage toY/N. If it would have been a regular photographer, then the photo of him yelling at her and pushing her away would have followed, but nope. Just the one of her kissing him.

Anger boiled under his skin. Her narcissism knew no limits, and once he fixed this shit with his wife, the woman he actually cared about, he was filing for a restraining order tomorrow.

Jiggling the door knob again he spoke through the door. Everything in him wanting to hold her, to tell her it wasn't him, that he'd never do anything like that to her. He'd never hurt her. He wanted to shield her from shit like this, and had failed measurably. Now she thinks that he's cheating on her.

"Come on Y/N, open the door baby. This isn't what it looks like. Come on, let me in."

Nothing.

"Baby,you know I can pick a lock right? I want you to let me in though, I don't want to force my way in... Come on sweetheart, you got to believe me. She followed me to my meeting and kissed me. I didn't even know she was there until she basically jumped on me. Please sweetheart, I would have never, NEVER have done that to you."

Nothing. Jensen could feel the anxiety tightening in his chest like a vise.

He couldn't lose her, not over this. Leaving the door only long enough to get something to pick the lock on the bedroom door. He was starting to feel short of breath. Like he was about to have a full on anxiety attack.

He'd been afraid to admit he had real feelings this early in their marriage for Y/N, more than just basic lust. Funny how you don't really know what you have until you stare at the possibility of losing it.

-----------------------------------------

Your POV:

You could hear Jensen messing with the lock on the door. You had thought he had just given up and walked away from the door. You had moved from your spot on the floor, and literally crawled your way to the bed. You didn't have the strength to get up to your feet to walk. It was like something in you had died.

You knew you really cared about Jensen, you knew you were quickly ‘falling’ for him, and wanted to make a good wife for him, but you didn't realize you had feelings this deeply for him.

You wanted more than anything to believe what he was saying, you wanted to believe it was all Danneel. You wanted to believe that she had jumped him outside the office building, and that he had nothing to do with it. She kissed him.

There was a part of you though that was screaming men lie when they get caught. He broke your trust. You're not good enough for him. You will never be good enough for him. You're a sheltered, overgrown child, that he hasn't even tried to take out in public with him since that fiasco at Jared's house.

You're nothing but something he's ashamed of.

A burden.

With every horrible thought that ripped through your head, it felt like your chest would cave in. Believing your own thoughts, the worst one yet ripped through your subconscious before you could stop it.

'You have no family left, and now you're about to not have a husband. You're too sorry to even hold on to an arranged marriage. Your father would be so disappointed. You are a disgrace, and a shame to your family's memories.'

The door burst open before you had time to even react to your own thoughts. Jensen's heavy footsteps moved quickly around the bed. He kneeled down in front of you.

"Baby please, I didn't kiss her. They didn't show the whole story. That's the media, they do shit like that to make drama for themselves. She jumped me outside the building when I left my agents meeting."

You couldn't look at him. Just continued to give a dead, heartbroken look at the wall.

"Y/N, please look at me. I'm not lying to you.. She's been texting me for days saying she wants me back. I've been ignoring her. That's why she did that."

Nothing. You couldn't make yourself respond to him. You felt like you had the grand canyon in your chest where your heart used to be. Your body refuses to function. Your mind told you to reach out to him. Even though something deep down in you told you that he was telling you the truth, an even louder voice in you told you that he's lying, and you will just get hurt if you believe him. That he's going to leave you. One way or another.

"Sweetheart please.. I love you, I'd never do anything like this, I don't want her.."

Was he really going to sit there and tell you he loved you? After what he'd done?

Something snapped in you then. Anger you hadn't expected flooded through you from the top of your head to your feet. Before you could even register what you were doing you reached out and slapped him hard in the face, knocking him from a kneeling possession to a sitting one.

A look of shock, bewilderment, and another look you couldn't recognize crossed his face as he sat there staring at you with his mouth hanging slightly open, staring at you.

"Don't you dare.. You don't have the right to come in here, and tell me you love me after what you've done..."

You sat there staring at each other for a moment, neither of you saying a word.

Jensen after a moment composed himself. Got to his feet, and walked out the bedroom door. Slamming it behind him.

You laid back down on the bed and cried yourself to sleep.

Why was God doing this to you? Why did he keep taking everything from you?

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Tag List: @deanwanddamons @imabitch4jensen @rvgrsbrns @bi-danvers0 @onethirstyunicorn @i-love-superhero @akshi8278 @lyss-dw79 @magssteenkamp @lemondropirwin @squirrelnotsam @hobby27 @spnbaby-67 @mrsjenniferwinchester @defenderrosetyler @screechingartisancashbailiff @thecreatiivecorner @aflamboyanceofgays @vicmc624 @busy-bee-angel-misska @justanotherwinchester @brilovesdeanwinchester @idksupernatural @lyarr24 @amandamdiehl

#jensen ackles #jensen ackles x reader #jensen ackles x you #jensen x reader #jensen x you #jensen ackles series #jensen ackles fanfiction #jensen ackles fanfic #dean winchester #spn fanfiction #spn fanfic #jawritter #jawritter 1k celebration #the arrangement

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uwua3 · 4 years

Note

hi! first off, congrats on the new blog!! i read that misumi piece and i really enjoyed it hehe,, if it's alright, may i request some domestic fluff with kazunari? mayb looking over old photo albums of each other from when they were kids and laughing and telling stories about what happened in the photos? thank you very much and i hope u have a nice day :D

hi!!! this made me so happy 🥺 thank you so much, i hope to keep this blog running for a long time! also, i saw your reblog of my jealousy hcs and i wanted to say thank you for your sweet comments!!! i go back to it whenever i need motivation, you inspire me to keep writing ♡ thank you! i hope to continue making you proud as a writer :D <3

summary: kazunari had to stop living in the past and make new memories outside of his yearbooks with you

author’s note: this is definitely a much happier piece than my others! this was refreshing to write and i treasure it dearly, it’s definitely much more on the humorous side! no angst today, folks!!! (ok just a little, but it’s barely noticeable!)

this is just a little look into a hoarder named kazunari and his sentimental, nostalgic personality ♡ i, myself, am a marie kondo supporter so i love decluttering! if you are a hoarder like kazunari, honestly go you! you keep those knick knacks that remind you of memories! do whatever makes you the happiest :D

word count: 2,151

music: make you mine – public, tongue tied – grouplove (this song is so Kazunari !!!)

nostalgia.

🌻🎨 miyoshi kazunari

it was that time of year again

kazunari hated spring cleaning with a passion. so what if his art supplies were all over the dorms? he knew where everything was! uh, mostly...

(if you ignore his daily panicked house searches which kept everyone up way too late if he couldn’t locate a very specific paint shade for a big project he definitely procrastinated)

so, it took, so much bribery to get kazunari to even consider cleaning out his entire dorm room

(muku was a very Good Boy and already had his side of the room perfectly dusted and organized)

yes, you had to promise to pose as a model for one of his paintings one day (hopefully, not the type of class you were thinking) (kazunari’s suggestive wink didn’t help)

the thing about kazunari was he was somewhat of a, putting it politely, hoarder

as an extremely sentimental person, it would take the whole mankai company to even force him to throw something away

(“no! it has a special meaning to me! i remember what happened when i got this~” kazunari would whine, holding the useless item between his hands with no intentions to ever look at it again)

so the boys employed you to be kazunari’s rational judgement when cleaning that day

(“please actually make him do something.” sakyo looked like he was on the border of begging; kazunari’s abundance of random knick knacks and shopaholic addiction problem was becoming an issue that affected everyone)

rule #1 of cleaning kazunari’s storage room: don’t open anything because kazunari will become very sentimental and nothing will get gone

so therefore, as a team, you two tackled the rather spotless room. the interior was minimal and modern, just like kazunari liked it with pops of color here and there

(he had one blank white wall and you realized it was the backdrop he used to film all his social media posts [dancing tik toks, fashion #ootds on instagram, daily vlogs on his growing youtube channel])

at first, you were confused where all his stuff went until you opened a closet against his terrible and unconvincing distractions

without time to react, you found yourself buried in tens of books you couldn’t even fathom how it all fit

(“i’ve played way too much tetris.” kazunari would admit later on when asked about his immaculate stacking)

“you’ve got to be kidding me!” you groaned, pushing your head above the surface of book covers that have either never been opened or were way too old to even be functionable

“i’m sorry~ please, forgive me!” kazunari pleaded, immediately pulling you out of his own mess and using all his cuteness to make you roll your eyes fondly at your best friend

you almost started ranting at him about the dangers of taking up too much closet space with useless items before you realized:

wait! stop! he’s trying to get you to forget about throwing these books out! you thought suddenly, crossing your arms as you stared at the pile, trying to figure out how to approach the situation

“you cannot distract me. we are going through this mound and you will be getting rid of something today.” you ordered, seeing his shoulders drop in defeat as he nodded solemnly, but accepting his fate without any arguments. thank god for that

you two bent down and organized all the books into categories. popular photography instruction guides, creative advice columns, and all his past art textbooks kazunari couldn’t sell were put into a seperate group because luckily, they were relevant to his art school

things like old newspapers with funny comics were recycled (you refused to let kazunari read them in fear of invoking some form of nostalgia) (also because he had the whackiest sense of humor ever and would die laughing)

it was going well, until you reached the thickest photo books of them all (you had almost forgotten what you and kazunari’s school mascot was)

but unsurprisingly, kazunari had every single yearbook from each year of his education all the way until his last year in high school piled high to his chest

even he looked somewhat shocked from his mass accumulation from his teen years

“ah! i’m so old now~ look at all this! what else can i do except die?!” kazunari dramatically flopped onto his bed, tired of lifting so much weight. hey! his arms weren’t meant for exercise, he was a painter!

lifting his head to see you were distracted from alphabetically sorting the first section lovingly dubbed, “art shit”, kazunari mischeviously grinned as he leaned down to snatch a random yearbook

flipping to a random page, kazunari smiled as he realized it was the first time he ever met you back in elementary

kazunari sang your name as he sat upwards, having a shit–eating look on his face as he started swinging his legs back and forth

oh no, he was up to something no good, you knew it but humored him anyways

“yes, kazu?” you turned your line of sight to the most horrible picture possible: you with the ugliest haircut in the entire world with kazunari’s black hair taking up the entire photo as you two sheepishly smiled for the camera. it was not a proud moment

okay, maybe it wasn’t that bad, you just couldn’t help but shriek at the sight of your hair

“oh my god! you can’t just jumpscare me like that!” you laughed despite yourself. you knew you had to be serious and focused on decluttering, but one look at your past made you remember all the good times before so–called “adulthood”

“look at your hair!” you cackled, reaching up to playfully yank at his mullet as he yelped and lightly smacked your hand away. rubbing the back of his neck, kazunari huffed childishly and pouted like he was back in his youth

“come on! this was the pinnacle moment i realized, i should not be a hair dresser.” kazunari commented, making you remember how you just let a random 8–year–old boy waddle up to you with safety scissors and advertise his salon business like a professional

(yes, you bought into it right away. your teacher had a heart attack when she saw you with a majority of your hair on the floor and kazunari keeping small talk like an actual hair stylist)

thinking back after the haircut incident, you weren’t allowed to chat with the funny class clown anymore as you were forced to wear a hat every day

(it was either that or go completely bald to fix the job kazunari did to your head)

it wasn’t until you received a very creative and colorful apology letter with tons of sad faces drawn with waxy crayons that you snuck out to play with him on the swings in recess

“i can’t believe we became friends because i wanted free hair cuts for the rest of my life.” you added, staring at the picture with a sense of nostalgia. you kinda got where kazunari was coming from, memories were fun to look at every once and a while

at least, eleven years worth of memories after being inseperable from that moment forward

(maybe, you should’ve held onto it, you thought, not knowing that would be the first of many art pieces you would be gifted by him)

kazunari knew he won. excited, he dropped down to lay on his stomach as you leaned against the bed, watching as he thumbed through the pages with ease, leaning his head on yours comfortably

it was rare to find kazunari quiet, he must’ve been like this all the time when going through his stuff, you thought, at peace for once

lazily smiling, kazunari put his finger against your yearbook pictures as he reminisced on the past. something about everyone ever in your grade, how kazunari knew everyone and had a special memory with each person, no matter how big or small

“—and here, the teacher somehow caught a pic of us swinging wayyy too high for kids our age!” kazunari laughed, breaking your train of thought as you snickered at the absolute joy radiating from both your faces as you two competed to see who could reach the clouds

(kazu won. you fell off right after and had to get picked up from your parents after badly scraping your knee. it took another sorry letter and art of you two holding hands with a heart for your parents to forgive kazunari)

“let’s go back.” you interrupted him, making him sit up confused as you swung your keys out from your back pocket. it didn’t take any convincing for kazunari to nod right away and took the elementary yearbook into his arm

you two only had to exchange a secret look before formulating a plan to sneak out, leaving music on from kazunari’s speakers to act like kazunari was still cleaning

you two giggled amongst yourselves before clambering into your car, speeding off and laughing loudly from your successful getaway. the manager was none the wiser!

during the short car ride, you and kazunari played your favorite mixtape of all time

(“you kept this?!” kazunari yelled, giddily bouncing up and down from excitement when he discovered the mixtape stash)

he slipped the disc in as you two yelled along to childhood favorites with the windows rolled down, letting the entire neighborhood know the best duo were back in town

(seriously, there were so many you stashed away in your glove department. all labeled in sharpie with compelling titles connected to the inside jokes only you two found funny)

arriving at the destination, you two exited the vehicle to see the play pen was abandoned as the teaching staff went home for the day

the sun was setting and it felt like the playground was in another rift of time as you approached it, hearing the weak movement of the swings going back and forth on their own. you sat down, holding onto the chains. you hadn’t been back ever since you graduated. it hadn’t changed at all

kazunari opened the elementary yearbook back to the original page, pulling out his tripod and phone he always had on hand in his backpack as he set it up right across the swing set

“what are you doing?” you inquired, tilting your head as he fumbled around pressing different buttons and filters too complex for you to remember

looking up, kazunari grinned as he set a timer for 10 seconds before sprinting back to the swing next to you

“swing contest right now! i bet i could swing higher than you ever could!” kazunari challenged childishly, quickly kicking his legs for the momentum. you narrowed your eyes, refusing to lose as you two laughed over the sound of his phone taking a burst of photos

you realized what he was doing. he was re–creating your memories together

but you turned to look at him and your heart skipped a beat. you never remembered him looking this, different, in the purple lighting. for a flashing moment, you swore you saw the silhoutte of his black–haired, child self sit next to you before you blinked and saw him. kazunari was the same, just older now

you slowed down your swing by dragging your sneakers against the wood chipped ground. you grabbed both the swings’ chains to hold them together

you didn’t want to live in the past anymore. you wanted to grow up with him, too

“what—” kazunari started, matching your pace before being cut off by your lips against his, the phone going off for one last time

you pulled yourself in close enough just to smile. he smelled the exact same as he did when he discovered cologne for the first time. he never changed

you pulled away first even if he tried leaning forward for more, like he was waiting all these years just for that one moment. like he saw you in the same light, too

“i wanted to do that for years.” you confessed, watching as he took your hand carefully, like he was afraid you were going to leave. for once, he didn’t know what to do, which face to show

“me too...” kazunari agreed, seemingly speechless before straightening his back, like he was about to run away. the hair on your neck stood up, what was he about to do?

“i promise i won’t cut your hair anymore, unless?” kazunari winked dramatically, mimicking the shape of scissors with his fingers as he tried snipping at your hair

he laughed as you shoved him with all your might, hopping off the swing to chase him throughout the school parking lot

now this was a memory kazunari would never throw away, no matter what

(no one thought the two of you escaped until kazunari posted the pics on his instagram, both of you getting a scolding from sakyo this time)

(busted!)

#miyoshi kazunari #kazunari miyoshi #a3! act! addict! actors!#a3!#act! addict! actors!#a3! actor training game #a3! headcanons #act! addict! actors! headcanons #mankai a3!#mankai company #a3! x reader #a3 x reader #kazunari x reader #a3! kazunari #a3 kazunari

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thurilostiel · 4 years

Note

Do you mind talking about your Blind Oracle? She looks very interesting and beautiful!! I really love her design!!! 🥺🙏

Ok so first of all @cringeyvanillamilk @one-leaf-grimoire @shinyshammie cuz you all seemed interested in the OC of mine. Sooo.... *looks over at like 30 pages of written text for BO’s backstory and pet guides* I’ll start with most basic things, in a short list so that you can choose whenever to read all of this or just the summary. Also Thank you for the name suggestions, they’re really fun and I had Lilith in there as well, but for like a slightly different meaning of the name. Name used by her: ‘Oracle’[after getting her grimoire], Thana Nickname given by Nozel, as she said she wasn’t given a name upon birth: Gulisa, and later Libi Full name: Lilith Razili Graddfa'r Ddraig Title: Blind Oracle Status: Of well respected Diamond’s Kingdom noble familly DOB: 20th of April Gender: Female Pronouns: She/Her Sexuality: [???] she might be ace, but that’s due to a trauma, still questioning Height: 164cm / ~5′4 feet Weight: 54kg / ~119 lb Eye colour: Deep forest Green -green that goes into grey’ish colour spectrum the farther from the center Hair lenght and colour: Long -while down they get past her shoulder blades, longest part goes till her waist- Dark brown with highlights [of slight reddish tones] Skin colour: Delicate carmely tan [typical Central EU skin tone] Special marks/scars: has lots of little scars on her arms and upper back, her eyes have a visible markings on the irises [will include pic later] Magic affinity/magic’s name[as the one written in the grimoire]: Light / Fallen Luster Magic type: Supportive summonings Favourites: food- fresh fruits, ice minties, a big meaty meal, mint ice cream drinks- fruit juice[apple and orange juices], water with frozen lemon/grapes and mint dos- hum melodies, take long walks with her companion[s], experiment with her eyes, making things for her pets and/or others dear to her don’ts- arguing, being descriminated, being in big crowds, having others play heroes for her [i.e. pretend there are robbers nearby and shove her inside an alley to ‘protect her’] Magic Knight Squad: She’s blind so she’s not that confident to get herself into this bussines Race: Half dragon (don’t @ me, you gave me this idea guys, you know where this came from) Personality: kind and shy pesimist, who always looks at the worst possible scenario to be prepared for anything she can think of. Known pets of hers : Emrys - an aftereffect of her father’s experiment, was with her from her 3rd birthday till May5th after her 18th birthday. Unidentified under-race of, what everyone assumed was, a wolf and fox mix, with low nobility mana levels, allowing him to use few ‘spells’ of flower magic. His favourite flower was a Pond Lily, and he loved to snack on freshly cought fishes. Died on May 5th. [need to finish his visuals, tho he’s inspired by a pet in a browser game Eldarya write down ‘Eldarya Rowtsya’ into google and this is really close to what Emrys look[ed] like] Mer - foundling Crystal Eagle of Oracle. He dropped out of a nest on top of a tree under which the girl was resting. He was a little hatchling then, not more than 2 weeks old, the smell of chocolate cookie brought him to such a brave act. Mer was too small to fly back up ot the nest, also Oracle hadn’t noticed that he’s an eagle untill about a month after he joined her on the adventure, and moved on right after giving him the rest of her cookie, making the smol birdie confused as he was never that far away form his nest and decided to stick to her. Mostly because she still got more cookies to feed him. He’s a little grumpy, but he helps her getting around on her travels. He loves chocolate cookies, corn, and ice minties. He’s getting mad really easily, while mad will refuse to eat and fly, instead will be stompin’ angrily on the ground so Oracle will hear him being mad. Meanings of names: Lilith - night monster, monster mother; also believed to be the name of first wife of Adam, a succub that brought fear to little children and pregnant ladies Razili - of Hebrew’s origins meaning ‘Lord’s secret’ Graddfa'r Ddraig - that’s just her father attempt to act human. ‘Dragon Scale’ in Welsh. Due to her mother’s pasing she wasn’t allowed to wear the noble familly name. Gulisa - Little[as in Weak] Heart [Georgian’s origins] Libi - My heart [Hebrew’s origins] Thana - Arabic name meaning ‘Death’ So the backstory goes a little like this: Lilith was taken out of her mother’s dead body about 2h after her death and put into the coffin on her mother’s chest as she was a silent one and not one of servants believed she’d still be alive. Her father was the one to react to her cries and open up the coffin to see his daughter trying to feed herself but getting nothing above few droplets of blood from now uncovered breasts. This caused her to be of a weak heart and health in general, would scratch easily, get exhausted from simple tasks... The father[a dragon and an idiot when it comes to human interactions] somewhat took care of her, not knowing what to do with babies he just stuck to giving her bottles with milk whenever she cried and if that didn’t work get a servant to change her daiper. Her real name was never used inside the castle, her father was using her [draconic version of] middle name or ‘shortenings’- he meant sweetheart but was saying weakheart, meant sweetie when saying hatchilng, you get the point- as everyone took her as a sign and incarnation of missfortune and death, thus called her Thana instead. Their explanation was that no child would be still alive while it’s own twin[brother] was born already half eaten by pests and parasites, and mother having her heart rotten due to a sickness. Last time she saw her father was around her 3rd birthday, month after that he was never seen by her, but they did met a few more times after Lilith was made blind. For years she was left to herself, only cared for in ways of giving her some food and preparing baths and clothes to wear. She wasn’t allowed to study things other than law and the ways of beautiful speach, yet she loved music. She missed her father dearly, but Emrys took up his place greatly, cuddling up to her whenever she was scared, hurt or cold. Her magic started showing around her 5th birthday and since then the elders started getting a bit suspicious. All was going normal, everyday lessons of law and how to speak in front of politicians, break for a meal, then the rest spent with Emrys on a walk around the gardens or in a library stealthy listening to the music lessons on the upper floors. Upon the day of her 15th birthday the elders took her to old ruins, where they marked her eyes with a ‘new emblem’ that was supposed to start a rebelius movement to throw the king from his throne, but after seeing Lilith crashing down with tears of blood and a new moon forming upon the sky they flew away in fear, leaving her there, unnecessarily taking away her sight from her. As the moon started forming, crimson fog hugged the dying girl, a single string of shimmering mana started leading the fog into the noble family castle. Before reaching the gates the unidentified experiment rushed into it and the fog moved back, leaving the castle alone for this day. Emrys cuddled up to her and covered her with his own mana, focusing on her bloodshot eyes. The fog began cleansing itself, becoming shimmery, as if stardust created it. It later formed her grimoire, the book that would once be called Last Hope, as it’s light was powerful in means of healing and defending, but never there to harm, yet it’s magic was tricky and therefore never the same, no more was it to pleasantly sit back and observe the battle. There was a small peasant village near those ruins, they saw the great light and weird creatures, small circular beings surrounded by silvery feathers and hoops, and some creatures looked like those of stories of old times, the biggest shimmering creature resembled Pan, the great horror of forests. All the creatures dissapeared within a minute and peasants rushed to the ruins. Seeing the young girl in shambled yet definetly expensive clothing and tears of blood streaming down her face they called to her “Oracle! Oh great Blind Oracle! Send upon us a blessing of rain” and so her grimoire started glowing and send upon them the first spell “Moribound wish” which brought the clouds and flooded the noble castles of Diamond Kingdom for whole month. The people heard about an Oracle in old ruins and began coming to her, offering food and crops for a blessing or a prophecy. Her spell was limited, she oculdn’t use it however she wanted, and it called for rest quite often, so people became impatient, rude, envy of such power and ‘luxurious life’ of Oracle. Oracle was inside the ruins for more than 2 years, yet less than 4, she could never tell the time by herself, she always relayed on the good hearted people to tell her what time of the year it was. Few peasants told the nobles about mysterious Oracle and the blessings she was able to perform- healing some of the elders, bringing rain and storms, and they decided to take her for their own happines. They took her from the ruins on May 5th, after a small battle that she decided to put against them, they killed Emrys as he tried to help her, and put Lilith inside the cage, forced a mask upon her face so they wouldn’t have to see the markings which some of the nobles recognised as the sign of rebelion. After half a year they got bored of her ‘miracles’ and let her go into the wild. She was somehow able to get into Clover Kingdom, her mask easily telling others that something was wrong with her. But the little bird on her arm was an easy distraction, especialy with how many children would pile up just to be able to pet him or give him some food, so she was able to steal some food from the stands and sometimes money to survive living under the sky. One day she unfortunately tried to rob a Magic Knight Captain, of course not knowing who he was or what a Magic Knight was before that. Nozel Silva was his name, she made a note to remeber that name and upon hearing her explain why she tried to steal from him he actualy took great interest in her story. After a small series of questions which she answered truthfuly, greateful he wasn’t going to put her to jail, He made a decision to let her stay for a week in Silver Eagle HQ where she was able to create few little artifacts helpful in dungeons and unknown areas as well as develop a spell that allowed her to regain sight for a brief moment of 4 minutes. During the week he called her Gulisa, as she told she wasn’t given a name upon birth, and if she was it was long forgotten. Gulisa later turned to Libi which confused the girl, upon asking why he changed his mind he said that it may suit her better, but he’d still prefer to know her true name. Thanks to Nozel’s help she was able to gain money and buy herself a small house which the members of SE often visit after missions in which they found new artifacts. Often times while practising her magic she’d find a dungeon and explore it with Mer. Few times while in Raquey she was stopped by some male who always asked her for a tea, and would tell her stories about folk-tale creatures, guardians of forests, oceans, skies and mountains, the devils and angels, the dragons and their homes of treasures. He presented himself by name ‘Lonan’ yet seems unsure each time he brings the name up, as if hesitating. He’d always pay for the tea and dessert and leave a package with crystals and some metal parts she’d been looking for. She still travels, but mostly around the borders of Clover and Heart Kingdoms. Searching for new artefacts that could maybe, just maybe, help her regain her sight. “The fact I’ve gotten used to being blind doesn’t mean I don’t want to see someone that I have but meet” “You have your spells don’t you?” “But they don’t allow me to see how I used to. Back then I saw people smiling, now when i use my spell you’re always frowning...” And that would be a brief summary of my OC. *Looks over at the pile of papers* Have I forgotten about something? EDIT: Forgot to add: She can’t fully see by using her spells, they allow her to see the basic outlines and few colours, they depend on her mood and levels of mana she got left, so she’s going blind 99% of time. Her mask was put onto her forcefuly and she was unable to take it down before going to Clover Kingdom. The nobles put her into the half-face mask and stiched it to her face, and she started wearing the ‘butterfly’ one after meeting with Nozel, it was first artifact she made in SE’s HQ. She knew the meaning of name Thana and that’s why she didn’t use it when she was free of elders’ will. Also I might need your opinion on this @thespiralgrimoire

#black clover #oc #Blind oracle #mentions of Nozel Silva #Diamond Kingdom #answered #DPS AU #dragons

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helihi · 4 years

Text

The Good, The Bad, and the Dirty: RWBY Vol 7 Ep 4

Thank you for renewing your Punch Jacques Club Membership, I cannot confirm or deny that you’ll accomplish your goal this season, but we’re family.

Overall rating of the chapter: 7.5/10

*Spoilers Ahead*

The Good

To start off this chapter, we learn more about the true dynamics of the Ace Ops and, more importantly, about Atlas Academy. At Beacon, teams are chosen by interactions and collaborative efforts during a recorded test. Ozpin chose teams based on trust, leadership skills, and bonds. In Atlas, teams are chosen based on effectiveness. The students are not viewed as people or individuals, they are viewed as numbers.

In the previous episodes, there were a couple of things that didn’t quite sit well with me: Harriet’s original comment to Ruby regarding her Semblance felt more mean than playful, and the fact that Marrow was everyone’s punching bag. At first, you might think that this is just playful banter between friends, like Yang and Ruby referring to Jaune as Vomit Boy from time to time, however, that’s not true. Since Harriet declares that they are not friends, you may realize that they are not “picking on Marrow”, they are actively bullying him. There’s no complements thrown his way, there are no mutual laughter or apologies, it’s just drag after drag after drag.

I have the slight feeling that Marrow might consider them his friends, and that’s why he’s letting the comments slide. We should also consider that he is the only Faunus in the team, and although I believe their comments don’t come from a source of casual racism, but rather at pointing out the fact that he’s the most childish of them all, we should pin that for now.

I get Harriet, there’s a difference between co-workers and friends. Though some times you may befriend your co-workers, playful banter and after office outings don’t translate to friendship. I say this as someone who has worked for a big company. There were coworkers I genuinely befriended, and other who I was friendly after office hours, but never hung out with outside work parties or outings.

That being said, I find it hard that you wouldn’t bond with those whose life you’ve saved before, the same who’ve saved yours. Interestingly, when Yang inquires about this and gets dismissed by Harriet, you can see the way Blake reacts in the background. Have we bonded over trauma? Is that all that this is?

Let me be clear: people can bond over trauma, but at the same time, going through a lot of things with a person can show you sides of them you never noticed before, you see them in a different light. That being said, Team RWBY’s enemies haven’t been random people: Cinder killed Pyrrha, their friend; Emerald was someone they trusted; Mercury framed Yang in front of Remnant; Adam was Blake’s abusive ex and his goal to destroy Blake and Yang was personal. During the arcs these characters have gone through, they have grown as people as they faced death, obviously they are going to bond.

This may have been pure coincidence, but it’s interesting that an anti-bee section of the FNDM posed the idea that Yang and Blake’s relationship is based on mutual trauma. This claim is ridiculous because both of them cared about each other before the Fall of Beacon. The traumatic event made their relationship take a turn, and realize some things that they didn’t notice before or made things clearer for them. (On a side note, Asami realized she had feelings for Korra when she thought the avatar was going to die at the end of book 3). Sometimes certain situations change your perspective about things and people.

I want to note that Nora’s comedic relief landed perfectly, and Jaune’s sass was on point. Once again James is presented as someone trouble seeking the best outcome through the wrong means. That being said, Tyrian and Watts plan seem to be to overthrow him and generate chaos through political manipulation, and as someone who comes from a country with high levels of corruptions and suspicious murders, this is true real. Also, don’t think James is a good poor guy trying to be his best. He’s actively choosing one portion of the kingdom over the other and dooming certain populations.

Next stop is Jacques “Scumbag” Schnee making his first appearance in the volume. TBH it was about time. Given how the opening frames him, he had to show up soon. Just like I expected the moment he started bickering with Ironwood, he turned around and will now help Watts. At first, Jacques might have had power over Ironwood, but now he doesn’t, at least until he get his seat at “The Council”, which I’m expecting him to win.

As someone with an abusive parent, Jacques’s mannerisms make sense. The shift from his violent approach to a more manipulative one are common abusive tactics of an abusive person when in public or when their victim stands up to them. My parent used to be more physically abusive when I was a child, but when I grew taller and stronger, they switched to a psychological one since I could defend myself. In this case, Jacques was super close to striking Weiss again, but stopped the moment one of her true dads stepped in (Ironwood).

Jacques using Willow to guilt trip Weiss was dirty and awful, and once again adds on to my theory that she might be the Winter maiden. Thankfully, like Ruby promised, Team RBY is right beside her.

Blake is ready to kill him, and Yang is processing how awful the man is. Ruby is utterly confused at his attitude. Following this, we find that Winter was siting for him to leave before showing up. She looks around to confirm that he’s no longer there, and Weiss points out “Winter, it’s nice for you to finally show up”. Just like I've talked about before, while Weiss got out of the abusive environment and found a real family (Team RWBY), Winter escaped Jacques by joining the military. James Ironwood is only missing one Schnee child to adopt, and we’ll get to that soon enough.

All our kids are now huntsmen! Congrats! Just like they say, the licenses feel hollow after all they’ve been through, and TBH I agree. It also shows progress for the characters, specially Yang who had the most superficial goal out of the 4 Team RWBY members. Regardless of that, it’s nice to see the goof around, take pics, and eat cake. Something I thought it was adorable is how Winter interacts with Penny: she’s so caring and nice. I love them.

We got a really good moment between Ruby and Qrow, and some background on Summer. The DC comics have helped us understand Summer a little bit ore, but this confirms that she was a brat (hell ye). Apparently, her last mission was a “Summer mission”. I really need those Team STRQ flashbacks. I bet Raven know more than we think.

I also think it’s important that Qrow pointed out how Ruby is not Oz since she doesn’t keep the secret to herself. I think certain conditions should be met to be open about Salems existence, especially considering current circumstances.

Jaune offering to protect little children is the most Jaune thing ever, never change boy.

Lastly, Watts finds an ally: the douchbag who married into the Schnee name. That small interaction with Whitley and Jacques might be a small sign of foreshadowing him having a reception arc. His father doesn’t trust him to invite his heir into the meeting, and he treats his son rudely. Whitley looks genuinely dejected.

Watts faked his death, that might be an indication why Ironwood doesn’t have a clear suspect yet. Now, he’s part of the Asshole Mustache club.

Anyways, next episode it looks like we’re going to meet Robyn. The sheep faunus and the tattooed guy next to her might have been part of her team.

The Bad

Those quick animations for cheap comedic effect have started getting kinda annoying. I wish they didn’t overuse them ass much.

The Dirty

Where’s Klein.

Final Rating: 7.5/10. Good, but not above expectations.

A.N.: Alost 18 mins, keeping up with the consistent episode length, congrats!

#RWBY #the good the bad and the dirty #Me #Review #RWBY7 #Rwby spoilers

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mikkock · 4 years

Note

Uhm??????? Unacceptable?? Please tell me more about your OCs in that last art? I demand it? I want a full report on my desk before morning? Cite your sources please?

Oh no,, you’re asking,,, about my own faves,,, sorry to everyone, but I guess im never going to shut up ever now. (i already don’t shut up ever, what have u done, im now going to speak so much that society will collapse AT LEAST)

But for real. I enjoy pretending I don’t have faves, I love all my kids the same, buT WE ALL KNO THAT’S A LIE, those two my fave bitches (they snatched that title from the last two faves, rip to them, and they also snatched, n I must really make that clear, the title of “the bitches with the most AUs from the previous previous faves. Their power.)

SO. Get ready for a ride, table of content: them, their respective character, their story, and the pLETHORA OF ALTERNATE STORIES I GAVE THEM because i must yell about all the versions of my kids i have (non-exhaustive cause its that serious bro, but ill take extra time for the universe depicted in that art just for u bby). (tbh if clamp is allowed to sprinkle their fave gays in all their universes so am i, except they aint secondary characters there, every story is just theirs. love that concept.)(itll be so long you’re getting a whole novel even if i have to post it in two posts)

So~ Em twos. Dari n Wei-wei as I call em, or Dumbass n Egg if you wanna get friendly.

They’re my proudest instance of “oops i made a squad of characters, and two of them just accidentally were so perfectly compatible and complementary oh no I guess they’re in love now.” And then they became my favourite. Cause I guess their potential was too much (jk its bc they hot)

cuties.

I spent ten minutes wondering which to introduce first cause dang son, I want to talk bout them both so much shefjgfdg

First, as I technically designed him first (like ten minutes before the other), my man weiwei. if u ever saw my art its impossible that you havent seen him at least once. cause i’m legit always drawing him. cause im in love bro.

Demonstration : here are my computer scribbled weiweis of 2020 so far (with a few daris there n there they’re a package deal), that i could find, and they do not include all the paper sketches that i’m too lazy to take pics of. (i just been drawing him with so much hair these days that’s illegal, his brand is baldness)

But anyway, he’s CHEN Chia-Wei, he’s 21, he’s Taiwanese n I love him. Two very important facets of his character when you meet him: he doesn’t talk, and is absolutely, in every single dimension, built to make you fall head over heels for him.

He’s (in the “canon” storyline if i may call it that since it’s def not my most developed one but oh well) an art student, mostly paints but is also great at photography and videography (his vibe is busy hectic pieces with strong bold colours, lots of harsh edges, and very people focused).

Aside from that, he’s also super into fashion, and because he’s part of the rich boy squad (the “im broke so im giving half my characters wealth in compensation) he Can and Does exhibit some quite funky fits when he feels like it. (maybe a reason I draw him a lot, since my fave thing is pretty boys in weird ass clothes)(and then i also draw him in just casual shit cuz tittiful men in plain white tees you know. there’s just something about it.)

Small compilation of outfits. ft me and my band handwriting roasting outfits that id also kill to own but ok u know.

He digs music. (i make playlists for my OCs and i gotta say, his is the best one, i spent so many hours researching it, “arranging” it etc n its still a work in progress but dude. she got many moods my fave part is when it suddenly turns into so many cheesy ballads also she’s enormous cause im as wordy in playlists as I am in writing.) listens to a lot, n also he can play piano n guitar. cause you know. heartthrobs got to win your heart with a song (and if he’s alone he can even mumble some songs, who knows maybe even sing em softly, definitly a sight to stumble on accidentally). Big main artists that have his vibes are Hello Nico, No Party for Cao Dong, n Circa Waves’s “what’s it like over there” album.

He does a lot of sports. He ain’t fit through magic, rip to him. He’s got a serious routine, and it’s a time he likes to use alone, cause nothing like running at the break of dawn, alone with your thoughts, which you can just easily forget through the exhaustion of a workout session afterwards.

he also eats. A lot. Food is just good, bro. (the canon story is def happening some place europe aka his biggest struggle is how expensive food is here. outrageous.)

He secretly loves super cheesy movies. the dramatic romcoms??? the cute shows that are just so cute and worriless?? anything involving soulmates??? yeh dude. he watches it, he reads it, he listens to it, and he may cry about it, but no one will know. That’s the one true guilty pleasure. (and he definitly has a collection of romance dvds, books n manhuas in his old room back at the family home. where no one can see it. perks of studying abroad. no one can see ur hoarding of material that clashes your image. “yes i watch edgy experimental things haha yes i love those smart people movies of course wow the philosophy…” and then immediatly goes to watch the trashiest predictable but oh so sweet dramas all night)

While he doesn’t speak (as in with the mouth) he can communicate in a bunch of language, due to having moved around quite a bit. On top of his native mandarin and hokkien, he’s fluent in English, so he can use those to write, and is also fluent in TSL, and pretty good in HKSL (and from that, other close-in-syntax sign languages). So he doesn’t have trouble getting around, but then he is also overall quiet in public (with close friends and over text though, that’s another story, that’s where he gets chattier, and also where you may get more of his true personality). Also, he can speak with his sister. That’s pretty cool bro.

I was going to say he’s a very “hides his true colours under a shell” type of character but you know, for an egg character, that’s pretty ironic. We love poetic cinema.

He presents himself as a very laid back, chill detached dude, going with the flow and all that great stuff, and masterfully mixes just the right doses of mysterious, flirty and calm to just go around vibing. But ain’t that jUST THE MILLENIAL’S ILLNESS, those dANG KIDS, going around, gettin relationships but never intimacy 👏😢 (there’s more to it dont leave)

First of all, before you see the Drama, the Turmoil, the first thing you notice when you really do befriend him is that he’s c h i l d i s h, he gets sulky when things dont go following the plan, he gets whiny n jealous for not getting attention , he gets competitive over stupid challenges, and way too playful if you start teasing, and when he gets flustered too…you think you get cool stoic dude but actually you get a dude who’s reacting to things with way too much intensity, and boi i thought u were gon be mature what’s that why have you been pouting for three days over losing a bet come on- That’s mostly coming up when he interacts with his sister, but the closest you are to him to more of it you get to see.

He’s also an affectionate dude actually. Like physically. As in you’ll get spontaneous hugs. He’s come nap on your shoulder. That’s a perk of befriending him if you ask me.

Also he tries to look so cool, so tough haha. He’s actually a lil sensitiv boi. he gets fluffy, he gets flustered, he heart eyes. you turn around and he’s gazing at ya as if you were the whole universe. he gets a mini crisis for holding hands with his crush. ya know. he’s secretly a softie.

nerd.

Then in the “what he doesn’t show” (my fave part), where you stock all the anxieties, all the trauma… Obviously there’s a lot of anxiety here (selective muteness being a symptom of it, he hides the other ones very well) mostly fear of inadequacy, of abandonement and of loneliness. mmmmmmmaybe that’s why he was v reticent to continue pursuing that one guy he was into when he realised he was just a tad too into him oh no is that some,, like?? some lovey-love?? cant have that im afraid of gettin heartbroken bro. Aint that sad for a someone who’s one true goal is just findin someone to love and to be with forever, the struggles of yearnin for a soulmate when there’s nothing you fear more than getting attached to a person and letting them see you and your flaws.., delicious.

Now tho (because its so alone speaking about a character on their own and i just wanna get to the part where i can speak bout em together and how they bring out bits of each others ya kno, the good kush….), Dari…

He’s pretty, i must say, and got the funniest hair to draw, and comes from the most opposite background to weiwei’s.

Darian Andriev PARVANOV, also 21, comes from the remote Bulgarian countryside, but i still love him (this makes it sound as if i wouldnt normally love someone from the bulgarian countryside. its not what i meant. by default ud remind me of my son so you’d start being liked if u came from the bulgarian countryside) Now for the first instance of “wow, the complementarity”. The first thing i thought making Dari was that he looked too cool, and that he obviously was a dumbass, and mostly that he was physically unable to shut up. (o fuck he’s me)

best picture i could find of him. He’s got the dilemma of “wow he looked so pretty n cool until he opened his mouth”

He’s ALSO an art student (cause they were initially created for the purpose of filling the gap of “i have ocs in every field except the one i sorta know that’s so stupid”), painting major (def vibes differently than weiwei though, he’s doing those soft pretty landscapes n flowers, everything real pretty and peaceful, we got some impressionism nerd in here folks).

He was/is a real country boy, farm family, he helped tend the fields, he worked in plantations for pocket money, he knows how to take care of cattle and chicken and goats and all the cool babies you can take care of, he can tell whether the soil is good or not, he can drive a tractor, and doesnt fear dirt.

but then also he’s kind of a neat freak, he hates getting paint on himself, so the duality of man, dirt ok but paint? disgostin. his spaces are real neat and spotless, he likes cleaning (its relaxing) and does it nearly too often.

his dumbassery comes from lack of common sense and impulsiveness, aside from that he’s actually what you’d call “mad smart”, dude had em good grades, he can memorise pages upon pages of the most trivial information, he has an accumulation of knowledge beyond limits, and is good at problem solving. so he can recite all the words of the F letter of the dictionnary, but would also put a curling iron in his mouth to see if it would curl his tongue. (side note, he does have a problem with heat n fire, most his “oopsie how i wound up hurting myself on acccident” story involve burning -that stove was just too tempting…)

while he doesnt feel very attached to his home country, he does feel strongly for his family. he’d do anything for his mum (and actually does everything to make her proud already, that’s his one main goal), and he’s ready to sacrifice a lot for her (as in, spend years working non-stop a really uncomfortable job so his mother wouldnt have to pay a cent of his expenses even though she said she could by doing some sacrifices herself,and then being ready to come back as soon as needed if anything happened, and potentially drop his career and dream n go back to the farm life to provide for mama)(also he still does hold onto some parts of his home country’s traditions, and does sometimes feel homesick but more in a ‘i left the most beautiful landscapes n the city feels cramped and claustrophobic and i dont know people and i dont feel in the right place cuz im a forreigner with a thicc accent who doesnt master the language of this place and straight up have different body language communicators due to cultural difference oh lord i wanna be home where a nod means no and a head shake is yes i keep misunderstanding everything”)

if you want background noise he’s the perfect pal to call over, he’s just so chatty, he got hours and hours of non stop speech ready for you. you can shut him up once you’re done listening with the offering of food. works everytime.

he’s definitly not shy. neither in terms of talking to people, nor when it comes to making decisions. he’s quite bold, and rarely hesitates to go towards something he wants. he’s direct in his approach to most everything.

he likes partying. mostly the socialising part, talkin to people is just fun ya feel. and being in the crowd, doing whatever, pressure free? ya can dance n enjoy yourself, and people wont notice? yeah that’s nice. but doesnt do it super often cause broke bitches aint got the party time n budget.

he likes arm. (just an excuse for me to drop this thing here cuz i like it)

While he’s an overall bubbly looking character, with a cheery loud personnality, he does carry some youth trauma that has him more reticent to engage in happiness, he comes from what you could call “not the wokest background” and he may have fallen victim of it : he’s kind of a flashy noticeable character, both physically and in his personnality, and doesnt exactly matches the expectations of dudes in the area he comes from (delicate, emotional and sweet guy? that doesnt exist bro). He went through it, and it has definitly had some impact on his confidence in many aspects. But he’s 100% the type of guy to put on the fake happy front because if feeling bad is sad, making the people you care about sad for you too is Unacceptable Right??? relying on friends?? what???

But then what are we supposed to be doing with such charming characters huh,,,

Make them fall in love obviously.

Their story obviously has to do with falling in love and workin a relationship cause if I dont write romance i literally die, but I make the center pivot of all of it communication, and barriers in communications. Most obvious being them coming from wildly different cultures, having different native languages, and also the ways you adapt to muteness (what i love most bout that part is even then they fucked up given the easiest quickest small body language things to communicate are head nods n then i managed to make one come from the one country that reverses those like iconic how do they even understand each other -through a lot of work and love bro) but also on more “introspective” points, how to say things that you are even afraid to think about, how to open up and share your burdens and trauma with someone, how to say words you’ve been convinced you weren’t allowed to, the inner turmoil of communication in short. And then also communication through art, and through alternative unusual ways. If i were snobbish i could call it something like “a thinkpieces on how humans overcome obstacles in communication, and adapt, all for the sake of pursuing love” but fact is its mostly boys being in love n learning how to speak, figuratively and also quite literally. And also its me having fun with making characters evolve from each other, be able to influence each other for the better, helping each other be more comfortable with themselves and express the true things of their personnality, and discover new aspects. I just wanna write intense and soulful love bro.

So in less concept and more facts, weiwei meets dari, dari being his puppy self just immediatly strikes a conversation and weiwei gets interested cause “oho nice pretty boy? very good. i want some of that”. they get closer because you cant fight off the Power of friendship (and also the power of “what your friend is bestie with my friend?? guess we hanging out”) and then friendship and interest turns into pining, held back by respective dread of what romance with the other would mean (as in “romance?? cant have that we cant feel” and “with him?? cant do that, convince yourself he’s just a friend immediatly what would the family think”) but eventually they do have to just crash into one another cause that’s just the gravitational pull bro, its physics bro. and from then on its all unlearning destructive behaviours, bettering oneself with the help of the other, and getting over trauma to finally live ur best life. and gettin fckin married bro they’re both cheeseballs theyll wanna wed

BUT MAKING EM FALL IN LOVE ONCE ISNT ENOUGH time to make 3894853 alternate universes about em.

Lets speak bout my fave of those for a hot second.

First of all, the one of the art that brought this ask, guess i could call it “Pretty Tribes” AU, bunch of tribes live and do their things, having nature and energy powers. Dari n Weiwei’s tribes are bros, the latter’s powers needing them to move around to get energy from different places, enabling them different abilities. So basically they get to hang at the other’s place while the regenerate energy from there, and in exchange they help them out with various tasks (dari’s tribe is a rly farmer oriented one, with plant magic, while weiwei’s got more poyvalent powers, and have very good healers notably, so it comes in handy). The two boys were born a few months apart in their respective tribes, so naturally, anything the two clans meet, they’re put together to play and all, and from that they became besties, and each time they meet, after the gaps of time separating the two groups, they feel more and more of a little something else~ story is themed round growing up, friendship between clans, their traditions and cultures, and pretty boys in pretty clothes in pretty landscapes interacting with nature.

The superpower AU, i fuckin love it bro. Its an old one, made for other characters, but i just love it so much that i had to inject my faves in it. Its got a grimy ugly setting, bad government, propaganda, and fights between super-people (heavily mediatised for entertainment and reinforcing the idea that “look at these evil villains thank god us the good government protects you from them”), with a side of bad ethics in science. In all that, those two have the role of “those two young enemy warrior and villain, they were so powerful and fought so hard”, public figures, legendary and admired by both sides, everyone followed their fights, til one day they presumably died in one of their showdowns. (haha sike they actually found themselves talking for 5 seconds and realised they lived in a society, n built a plan to run away). The main characters get to find they’re alive because one of em had history with super-warrior-golden-boy and go to seek their help to overthrow the Big Bads. (stealing them from their nice gay cottage hermit life smh so rude)

Mermaids. I like those. Sailor weiwei sees merman dari, they both save each other in different occasions, they grow fascinated with each other, they’re at sea, water romance. Amazing. AU made half cuz i just like water n fish. and shirtless sailors.

(i couldnt find art of it in five minutes so have a link to that lil animatic piece i made of it once)

Indie band AU, where i was listening to songs that vibe so well with those two in general n then my brain was like “what if they’re the ones playing”. They’re (along with the rest of the art squad) a nice little alternative rock band, doing their thing, then one of their songs blows up, and they get quite the attention, to the dismay of dari who wrote that song in a moment of “oh no im so in love with my bandmate but i cant tell him what if i ruin everything we have going on ill just have to love from afar and deal with that” and now has way too many people interested in who he wrote it about and theorising from his every move when performing it (a mix of music, secret crushes and social media) (ft a picture of neither of them but its the least ugly art i found of this AU cuz its old and instruments are the bane of my existence)(also kelana is so pretty i gotta flaunt her around)

in kind of the same vibe, as in we’re in a music world overexposed to social media, i also integrated em to an AU i did for fun, “boyband AU” as its called aka idol based band system cuz you kno, i got a hobby, lets apply it. Band boy Dari and bodyguard Weiwei got a thing going on, but can’t really act on it in any way, because they’d just destroy the whole band if it ever came public. Featuring annoying bandmates, catchy pop songs and people making fanaccounts of that one hot Mr.Bodyguard cause dang he hot.

(all the art of this one so ugly im sorry)

SPY AU, one of my fave brand. They spies, they get assigned on the same mission, they work real nice with each other. spies hot. fights. strategy. i just like the concept. Gays taking down the worst traffics imaginable??? I love that song.(i actually have so much on this cause s p i e s are fuckin great)

Fashion. U kNOW i have an AU for fashion. Supermodel and his private stylist, trying to maintain the line of professionalism. And failing to do so. Lets make out in unpractical designer clothes.

Have an highschool AU for a bunch of characters, injected them as “spinoff”, start chatting online being art buddies, fall in love without meeting (ft. all the iconics of internet friendship like knowing tiny details of their personnalities but not the fact that they have a sister or “waIT ur a GUY i thought u were a girl wow wild good news for my gay ass”)

n those are my faves as far as i remember, i got a fuckton of small other ones that arent fleshed out enough, or some that are more of a guilty pleasure universe, and some that are more like “projects that i can expend on as soon as i run out of daydream material” (like u kno those hospital drama shows with super innacurate medicine n shit like idk scrubs or whatever, yeh i want some of that but im keeping it for later)

#thats way less talk than i thought id do #prolly bc i wrote half of it when it was between midnight and one AM #wait no it was 2 am #but ye #sry if shit messy af #those two are my faves tho n talkin bout em on the spot is hard cuz my brain is screaming about everything bout em at once #if u wanna get more info on em do ask i love them so much n i feel i didnt do em justice here cuz speaking is a fraud words dont exist #im glad they caught ur interest tho #nothin more gratifyin than not being the only bitch who likes his own children

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takerfoxx · 5 years

Text

RD: Walpurgis Nights 8, Epilogue

On top of the hill on which Freehaven nestled a being whose mere existence quite frankly defied mortal comprehension stood, looking down at the town.

To be clear, the word “stood” is an anthropomorphism. As is “looking.” The being did not possess physical legs on which to stand, nor did she have eyes. To be even more specific, she never had, as her original species’ means of locomotion and sensory input differed greatly from most other species. Still, as a descriptor of what that being was doing, those descriptors are close enough. The bulk of her essence was located on top of the hill, and it was surveying what was happening below it with a mixture of approval and slight relief. And as for those last two, those are not anthropomorphisms. The rules that governed Irn’s existence may have changed, but she still had emotions, and at that moment she felt quite satisfied with how everything had wrapped up, especially considering how much of that mess was her fault. Sure, the mess was going to take far long to clean up than it had been to cause, but at least everyone was moving in the right direction.

Then she became aware of another presence approaching, one just as strange and inexplicable as her own, though it shimmered with a different sort of energy. Irn performed the highly evolved equivalent of a wince. Oh shit, she was here, no doubt drawn in by all the effects of Irn’s direct intervention in mortal affairs.

For a time, the two ineffable beings of entirely separate origins but quite comparable existences…existed, for a lack of a better word, side-by-side on the top of the hill, examining the fruits of Irn’s labor. Irn was quite uncomfortable with the whole thing. Much like Astrid was not necessarily friends or even on good terms with the other unwitched girls simply due to having gone through the same rare transformation as them, Irn was likewise not on good terms with all of the other Ideal Witches. A couple of them, yes. Even creatures such as herself needed friends, and there were only so many sentients that could relate to her. But not all of them, and certainly not this one.

But she also knew better not to provoke this one. So instead of demanding an explanation, Irn just stayed put and waited.

Finally the other Ideal Witch “spoke,” her voice as droll and flat as always. “So,” Mephisto the Witch of Dreams said. “I’m guessing your little spy mission went a wee bit sideways.”

“A bit,” Irn admitted.

“You unwitched someone. Again.”

“Yeah,” Irn sighed.

Like Irn, Mephisto did not have a physical body. But if a mortal were to behold her, their mind would translate her existence as a dour-looking teenaged human girl, one with shabby clothes in need of both a laundress and a seamstress, half-lidded eyes framed by heavy bags, multi-colored dreadlocks, and more metal stuck into her body than an acupuncture enthusiast. “That makes, what, four? That’s like, nearly half of the total.”

“I know.”

“You just can’t resist sticking your tentacles into shit that don’t concern you, can’t you?”

Though Irn knew better than to make Mephisto angry, she found herself speaking before her mind had a chance to stop her. “Not everyone thinks of them as food, Mephisto.”

If Mephisto took offense to the jab, she made no sign. “At least I wait for them to come to me instead of going to their villages and mucking around.”

“Then why are you here?”

Mephisto was silent for a time. Then she said, “Well, to tell the truth, I don’t give a shit if you unwitched some dumb bitch. Ain’t no bother of mine. Still, word has reached me about you copping on my territory?”

“What?”

“Dreams, bitch. You’ve been letting the stupid microbes settle their spiritual dissonance through dreams. Dreams are my thing, remember?”

Irn tried not to show fear. Give Mephisto a little, and she took it all. “You work with dreams. You feed through dreams. That doesn’t mean they belong to you.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Look, our titles are just something that they gave us to make things easier. We don’t have any kind of specific domain. I like watching the ones working their way through their problems through sheer force of will, so they call me the Witch of Determination. You feed on people through dreams, so they call you the Witch of Dreams. That doesn’t mean that there’s any kind of trademark or whatever.”

“Except,” Mephisto said coldly. “When you start using my thing to do your business, so all of them start thinking that it was me. That’s a problem. Or have you forgotten that this whole stupid place is literally shaped by their collective dumbness, and we are kinda sorta tied to it? If they all start getting weird ideas about me, those ideas might start having a kernel of truth that weren’t there before, you see what I’m saying.”

Oops. Irn hadn’t thought of that. “There is no history of something like that happening.”

“That we’ve noticed. Doesn’t mean it hasn’t and we haven’t just been brainwashed into thinking it was always that way. So Imma just say this once: don’t fuck with my business, and I won’t start making life miserable for your pets. You get this one pass. Got it?”

“Got it,” Irn said without hesitation. “My apologies for infringing upon your…trademark.”

“That’s what I thought.”

The essence of Mephisto receded. Once it was gone, Irn allowed herself a bit of relief. She had already done enough damage to that small group with her own well-intentioned but poorly thought out meddling. There was no end of the trouble a being like Mephisto could cause, especially considering that Irn still had one last dream to give. She was just going to have to be discrete about it.

Then she turned her attention back to the small family that she had watched for such a short period of time, but one that had still come to mean a great deal to her. She watched as they all set about trying to deal with the changes that Irn had a hand in forcing upon them.

…

Change happens whether we like it or not.

Some changes we see coming. Some changes we make happen. Some changes we welcome. But some happen when we least expect it, and are brought about from circumstances almost totally out of our control.

We may not like it. We may want things to go back to the way they were. But change does not care. It will happen regardless, and when it does, all we can do is choose how we react to it.

In some cases, it means working to pick up the pieces after everything you built up had been knocked down…

…

While she knew it was the right thing to do, Candeloro was wholly unprepared with how hard leaving turned out to be.

She knew it was going to be difficult. She knew it would hurt. And yet, as she walked down the stairs with the last of her bags, she found herself stopping about halfway down, just so she could stare at all the framed pictures on the wall.

They had been taken over the course of the sixteen years of her and her soul-sisters’ existence, with only the changes in fashion to denote the passing of the years. Some were of them when they were still in the integration program, while most were from the years that had happened since. There they were for the first group photo right after they had bought their house. There they were on their graduation day in their gorgeous dresses (well, she and Charlotte were. Ophelia was of course wearing a snazzy white suit while Oktavia had on a blouse that mirrored the coloration of her tail so perfectly that they seemed to be a single piece), there they were at Charlotte’s first book signing, there they were at one of Oktavia’s concerts, there they were at the Honey Hive after Candeloro’s treats had finally won an award. Some of them were of them as individuals, or in duos, such as the one of a very sweaty Ophelia claiming victory at a dance competition or Oktavia playing the guitar at a beach bonfire. Here and there Gretchen and Homulilly popped up, sometimes in the group pics and other times all by themselves.

And of course, there was Candeloro and Charlotte on their wedding day.

The pictures didn’t cause any strange flashbacks or slips of identity like she had been experiencing, but Candeloro still felt like a knife had been driven through her chest. So many happy memories, so many shared triumphs, and all of them with her family.

And now she was having to leave.

She knew it wasn’t going to be forever. In fact, it probably wouldn’t be more than a few months. To those who had been around the longest, that amount of time flitted by in the blink of an eye. But it was still her family, her soul-sisters, her Walpurgisnacht. She had literally shared a single soul with Oktavia and Ophelia, and also had a spiritual connection with Gretchen and Homulilly. That single weekend on her own had been bad enough. Now it was going to stretch on for an indeterminable amount of time. And sure, Charlotte would be there with her, but it still tore out her heart to have to do this.

With a sad shake of her head, Candeloro walked the rest of the way downstairs and out the front door.

There, Ophelia and Charlotte were loading their luggage into the house’s transport tube. They could have just called a zipper, but they had already attracted enough attention as it was. No need to give the neighbors more reason to start talking.

“Okay, this is the last of it,” Candeloro said, handing them her bags.

Ophelia nodded and took her bags without saying anything. She moved to place them in the tube, but then hesitated.

It was only for about a second, and she placed them in and sent them on their way right after. But Candeloro noticed.

“So,” Ophelia said. “I guess this is it. For now.”

“Oh, come on,” Candeloro said. “We’ll be back before you know it.”

“Yeah, but still. It’s going to feel longer, what with you not around.”

“I know,” Candeloro sighed. “I’m sorry, but if there was any other way-”

Ophelia held up a palm. “No, don’t start with the apologizing. You’re doing what you gotta do. Besides, it’s not like you won’t keep in touch.”

“Of course we will,” Candeloro said, making sure to emphasize the “we.” Sure, Charlotte had been a bit of an idiot and hurt everyone deeply, but she didn’t want her feeling ostracized on her way out. “I guess you’ll be in charge while we’re gone?”

“Like I wasn’t already?”

Candeloro shot her a look.

“Yup, it’s definitely still you,” Ophelia snickered. She leaned in and gave Candeloro a tight hug. “Be good, okay?”

Candeloro lowered the taller girl and gave her a kiss on her forehead, making sure it was on the part with actual flesh rather than the very convincing fire-cap. “I’ll make every effort.”

Then, before anyone could say anything else, they heard the patter of running feet. A lot of running feet.

“Wait!” Gretchen called as she rushed from the street toward the house, Homulilly in tow. And literally at that. Rather than try to keep up with her much faster girlfriend, Homulilly was riding on Gretchen’s back like a backpack.

Gretchen bounded over the fence and came to a stop next to the group. She lowered the panting Homulilly to the ground, who immediately crouched down with her hands on her knees as she gasped for breath.

“Um, sorry we’re late,” Gretchen said. “But we made this for you.”

She pulled a small, clear box from her pocket. It looked like a jewelry box, one that contained a necklace with a slender, gold chain and a golden heart-shaped pendant. In the center of the pendant was a pink crystal.

The chain and the heart were of a single piece, with the chain having an oddly flattened appearance, which then connected at the bottom and looped around to form the sides of the heart.

“It’s your ribbons!” Gretchen said excitedly, pointing the chain out. “I mean, it’s supposed to look like your ribbons, and it does, right?”

“It’s beautiful,” Candeloro said.

“And the crystal is a data crystal! We went and made a whole bunch of personal messages from us, from all your friends. Like, from the bakery, from the library, from-”

“Wait, the library?” Charlotte said.

“Of course! I mean, we want you to come back too. This is for the both of you!”

By then Homulilly had recovered enough to straighten up. “Don’t worry, we didn’t tell them what’s going on,” she said. “Just that you’re both sick and need to spend some time away to get better.”

“We even got Corbit Fausk on it!” Gretchen said. “Hers was, uh, really dirty actually. But really funny. Plus we put in a bunch of pictures and holos in there as well. From all those trips we went on, you know?”

Candeloro felt a lump forming in her throat. She didn’t know how many of those memories she could revisit, seeing how she was leaving to specifically avoid having those flashbacks triggered. But just that they went through all that trouble for her told her how much she was loved.

“Thank you,” she said as she embraced the two. “Both of you. I’ll treasure it forever, even after we’re back.”

“Take as long as you need,” Gretchen said.

“Just not too long,” Homulilly added.

“Promise,” Candeloro said, giving them one last squeeze.

Then Gretchen immediately ran over to Charlotte and threw her arms around her too. “Take care of her,” she said. “I’m going to miss you too.”

Charlotte honestly looked stunned at the sudden display of affection. She swallowed and awkwardly patted Gretchen on the back. “Um, of course! No more running. Only helping and healing.”

“Well, I’m glad to hear that,” Oktavia said wryly. She was coming in from the backyard, Cheese riding on the back of her chair.

“Where’ve you been?” Ophelia said.

“Trying to get the words right.”

“Huh?”

Oktavia turned toward Candeloro, her face dour. “Okay, let’s just get this out of the way,” she said. “I don’t want you to leave. I think it sucks that you’re leaving. And I don’t see why you think you need to leave.”

Candeloro couldn’t help but wince. “Oktavia, I-”

“Don’t…Don’t try to explain,” Oktavia huffed. “Look, if you think you need to, then fine, that’s your decision. I’m just not happy about it, is all.”

“None of us are happy about it, Tavi,” Ophelia said.

“Well, I can be the one whose unhappy and raising a big stink about it! I mean, we’ve only been together our whole lives, so I figure someone should make more of a fuss over this!” Then Oktavia sighed. “But…just because I don’t get it doesn’t mean it’s not…a-and I don’t want you to go thinking that I hate you or anything. So…do what you gotta do, but promise me you’ll hurry back.”

“Of course I will!” Candeloro leaned in to give Oktavia’s forehead a kiss of its own.

“Good,” Oktavia said, though the tension had not left her face. “Good. Glad we know where we stand.” Then her face heated up, and she abruptly wretched her chair around. Not to leave though. No, she turned it just enough so that she was pointed directly at Charlotte.

“And as for you!” she snapped, thrusting a finger at the target of her ire.

Charlotte stiffened. “Uh…”

“I am very glad that you came to your senses and didn’t just bail on us like you were all set to do. But you’re still leaving anyway, and you’re taking Candeloro with you!” Oktavia sucked in air through her teeth. “And you still were all set to shut us out of your life and turn your back on everything! And okay, forgive and forget, but that is not okay!”

“I…” Charlotte lifted up her hands as if to make a point, only to let them drop with a defeated sigh. “Okay. I guess you’ve got a whole lot you want to say to me. And I deserve it. So…go ahead. Hit me.”

There was a pause, and then Gretchen hesitantly ventured, “Um, do you mean literally, or…”

“I mean say everything she wants to say. Go for it, Oktavia. I have it coming.”

Despite being granted permission, Oktavia’s face just contorted with frustration. “That’s…just it though. Words are your thing, and I don’t even know where to begin…I don’t know what to say and…” Then she took a deep breath and then said in a much calmer voice. “Fortunately for me, even though I don’t have the words, that’s not a problem.”

Charlotte frowned. “Er, why not?”

“Because he does.” Oktavia tilted her head toward the parrot still hanging out on the back of her seat. “Hey, Cheese. Sinister Star.”

Before anyone could ask who or what a “Sinister Star” was, Cheese immediately perked up. Throughout everything that had been going on, he had been happily ignoring the drama taking place, content to just sit there and preen. But at Oktavia’s command, he started violently bobbing his entire body up and down while screeching, “Fucking bitch-ass traitor, turning your fucking back on her when she always had your back, only to backstab her like the slimeball you are! She was always there for you, and this is how you treat her? No shame, no decency, no honor at all! Well, just try to bring that attitude down here! I’ll stick my big, shiny boot so far up your ass that you’ll be flossing your teeth with my shoelaces! Fuck you, fuck you, fuck you, and you can shove that belt right up your candy ass!”

Then, his rant done, Cheese went back to grooming.

Everyone just stood in stunned silence. Candeloro especially had no idea what to say. Yes, Cheese’s mouth was foul, but he had never spat quite so much venom all in one go before. Hopefully the neighbors hadn’t heard. That would be embarrassing for the other to try to explain.

It was Homulilly who finally dared to speak, though all she could say was, “Uh…what was that?”

Cringing, Ophelia raised her hand. “Er, sorry. That was me.”

“Of course it was,” Gretchen mumbled.

“Uh, this wrestler I really liked straight up betrayed her partner at this one show, and that pissed me off. But Cheese started copying my rant, and that made me laugh, so I kind of trained him to say all that whenever he hears her name.”

Homulilly said, “What, Sinister-”

“No! Don’t say it out loud!”

“Well, it was pretty much everything I wanted to say, minus the stuff about the belt,” Oktavia said. She looked much happier now. “But in all seriousness, hurry up and come home when you can. Both of you, all right.”

“I promise,” Charlotte said, holding up both hands. “Just don’t sent me any more avian death threats.”

“Don’t do anything that’ll make me want to then.” And with that, Oktavia turned her chair around and marched off, Cheese still riding along.

When she was gone, Charlotte turned to Ophelia and muttered, “Seriously. You have got to un-swearify that bird while we’re gone.”

…

In other cases, it means looking back at how you reacted to change and accepting that mistakes had been made.

…

The storyteller reconciled with the griever…

Charlotte finds herself in another lobby, this time not of a hospital, but of a library. Her library, where she worked and spent a great deal of her free time. It was large and circular, with the various stories of the library rising up around the curve of the lobby, displaying the shelves and shelves of books. To her right was the check-out desk, and emblazoned on the floor is the New Life Alliance crest. The columns, the walls, and the ceiling decorations were all designed to resembled ancient crumbling ruins being devoured by coral.

Whenever she had dreamt of being in the library in the past, she had always lost her way. The place would reorganize itself, new floors would appear where none had been, new sections of total nonsense would take the place of areas she was familiar with, and she was never able to find what she was looking for. Not this time though. Though the hazy, dreamlike feel remains, the layout stays how it was supposed to be, and soon she finds the place she was looking for, the place she likes to visit the most.

The Young Romance section.

There is someone standing between the stacks, someone with an open book in her hand that she is thumbing through. Charlotte isn’t close enough to get a good look, but she recognizes the book immediately.

“You know,” Nozomi says as she closes the book and places it back on the shelf. “I never wanted to be a writer. Hell, I never even considered being a writer. I mean, I was always good at it, but never enough to write a whole stinking book.”

“What did you want to be?” Charlotte asks as she nears.

“A cook, believe it or not. Like in a big, fancy restaurant.”

Charlotte shrugs. “Well, I do like cooking. Just for me and my family though. Cooking for hundreds of people every day sounds like not much fun.”

“Instead you speak to thousands of people all the time. Funny how life works.” Nozomi sighs. “Well, credit where it’s due. You owned up and did the right thing. Kudos.”

“It had to be done,” Charlotte said. “Thanks, by the way.”

“For what? Smashing your face in? Because I swear, if that ended up awakening something in you-”

“No, that’s all right,” Charlotte said hastily. “I mean stopping me. Keeping me from making the biggest mistake of my life.”

“I made the biggest mistake of our life. You were about to make the second-biggest.”

“Nah,” Charlotte said. “You had your life, and I have mine. Maybe we are the same person, but we had different lives.”

“Fair enough.”

Charlotte looks around at the books around them. Violence in the library is strictly prohibited, but she is reasonably certain that those rules hadn’t carried over. “So. What happens now? You still gonna beat the shit out of me every night?”

“Nope. No point, is there? You got the message, and you fixed the problem.”

Charlotte frowns. “Well, not entirely. It’s a start anyway.”

“It’s a start,” Nozomi agrees. She walks out of the stacks and sits down on a wooden bench. “Fortunately, you got nothing but time.”

Charlotte sits next to her. “Time. Yeah.”

“I just wish I did,” Nozomi sighs. “I should have thought about things longer, asked more questions.”

“Because of Mom?”

Nozomi looks down at her hands. “Yeah,” she said. “Because of Mom.”

“What happened?”

Nozomi doesn’t answer right away, and after several seconds had gone by Charlotte begins to wonder if she ever will.

Then she sighs. “I screwed up. When the Incubator came to see me and offered me a wish, I didn’t think that a cure was possible. Yeah, I know. Magic space alien thingy was talking to me inside my head, but something like that couldn’t be real. So I didn’t wish for one. And she died.”

“What did you wish for?”

A dark look passes over Nozomi’s face. “A cake.”

Charlotte isn’t sure if she had heard her correctly. “What?”

“A cake. I wished for a cake.”

“Um…”

“Mom was dying,” Nozomi says in a flat tone. “The doctors gave her days at best. And, well, Mom and I used to bake together all the time. Cheesecake was our favorite. And with her dying, I figured we deserved to share a cheesecake one last time. You understand, don’t you?”

“Yeah,” Charlotte says. “But a cake?”

Nozomi raises her hands. “Look, we’ve both made stupid decisions.”

“Yeah, that’s for sure,” Charlotte sighs. “At least you made me stop mine in time.

“Damn right I did. And Speaking of time, mine is almost up,” Nozomi says as she stands up and brushes off her knees. “I did what I was supposed to do, so it’s time to step back and let you take the reins for good.”

“Yeah, about that,” Charlotte says as she stands as well. “What is our deal, anyway? Like, what happens to you when I wake up?”

Nozomi looks her up and down. Then she reaches for Charlotte’s face.

Charlotte instinctively flinches back, but fortunately Nozomi isn’t trying to attack her. Instead, she merely flicks Charlotte between the eyes. “That’s up to you, dummy. Remember, I am-”

“Yeah, you can stop with that whole song and dance,” Charlotte says as she rubs the stinging spot on her forehead. “That’s clearly bullshit.”

“Eh?”

“Look, we may be the same…soul, or however it works. And maybe we’re the same mind. But we’re clearly not the same person. This whole talk kinda proves that. You know stuff that I don’t know, and you had…opinions that I didn’t have.”

“It’s called not listening to your common sense,” Nozomi says with a sigh. “Sometimes that part of you needs to take actual form and beat some sense into you.”

“Give me a break. We witches wouldn’t have such a bad reaction to our old names if what you’re saying is true. And how about Candeloro’s weird identity slips? It’s clearly not as cut and dried as you’re making it out to be.”

“What is?” Nozomi says with a shrug. She sighs again. “Look, if there’s one thing that we’ve both learned about personal identity, it’s that it’s tricky as hell. Some people just know who they are and they live it no matter what. Some people have to make up other versions of themselves just to cope with different situations. Some people spend there whole lives trying to be something that they’re not, or someone else tries to make them into something that they’re not, and they get weird complexes. Some people think that they’re one thing until they find a part about themselves that ends up changing everything. And some people never seem to figure themselves out at all.”

“Okay,” Charlotte says. “And that answers my question…how?”

Nozomi spreads her hands. “I ain’t got any answers for you, New Me. But I am you. I’m just not…all of you.”

“Friggin’ vague-ass metaphors or whatever,” Charlotte grouses.

“Technically, that’s not a metaphor.”

“Shut up, I don’t care.” Then Charlotte sighs. “Well, that’s as good as I’m going to get, aren’t I?”

No answer.

“I said, that’s as good as I’m going to-”

There is no one else standing in the library with her. It’s just her.

But then, technically speaking, that’s how it always has been.

Charlotte opened her eyes.

She was still in her seat on the elysian. All around her, the other passengers were sleeping, reading, watching videos, listening to music, and otherwise just passing the time, so there was probably still a fair amount of flying ahead of them. She checked the time. Sure enough, they still had another three hours to go.

Then she looked over to the seat next to her.

Candeloro was fast asleep, enjoying a rare moment of peace. Lately the stress of everything that had been happening always left her looking tense and hollow-eyed, but now she was fully relaxed, her golden hair cascading down around her round face as she slowly breathed in and out.

She looked so beautiful.

Charlotte felt her throat start to close up. She had been such a fool. How close had she come to losing her? Wait, no, not losing her. “Losing” implied that it was due to circumstances outside her control. And, okay, it partially was, but it had been her choice to reject Candeloro. It had been her choice to run away. And Charlotte had a feeling that no matter how much time passed, no matter how long they were together from here on out, that breach of trust was going to haunt her every day.

Well, never again. No matter what happened from here on out, no matter what sort of changes Candeloro went through, Charlotte was going to be by her side. Even if for whatever reason Candeloro decided to start calling herself Mami Tomoe, Charlotte was just going to get used to that. Because no matter how much some things changed, Candeloro would always be the person that Charlotte had fallen in love with.

Then Charlotte glanced down. Even though she was asleep, Candeloro had left her new hands nestled in her jacket pockets, a habit she was starting to develop. But Candeloro’s left hand had slipped a little out of the protection of her jacket pocket.

Charlotte still preferred the ribbons. True, Candeloro could summon up ribbons whenever she wanted, it just wasn’t the same. Charlotte had loved the way Candeloro would wrap hers around Charlotte’s entire hand and forearm whenever they went on walks, or how they would entwine their bodies together when spooning in bed. She had loved the way they felt, how they smelled, how they could always wrap around her entire self and drawn them closer together. She was going to miss that.

But even so…

Charlotte reached down and took Candeloro’s hand in her own. Though she remained asleep, Candeloro reflexively curled her fingers around Charlotte’s. She mumbled something, the cadence of her breathing changed notes, and she tilted her head a little toward Charlotte.

Her hand still holding onto Candeloro’s, Charlotte settled back into her seat as the golden elysian bore them to whatever their future held.

…

Other times, it means coming to terms with that through no fault of your own, everything you had known is now gone, and the only thing to do is to face the future with your eyes facing forward…

…

“All right girls, we have a new member that’ll be joining us today!” said Dr. Bertha. “Everyone, this is Hitomi Shizuki.”

Hands clasped behind her back instead of the front so nobody could see how badly they were shaking, Hitomi bowed low. “Uh, h-h-hello,” she said. “I hope we can all become good friends!”

“Hi!” said one of the girls off to the side with a very enthusiastic wave. Nobody else reacted, but that was to be expected. Dr. Bertha had warned her of that. After all, everyone was still only a few weeks into the program, and most were still coming to terms with their own deaths, to say nothing of the entirely unexpected place they had found themselves in. All things considered, just getting a warm welcome from one of them was actually very encouraging.

The group was small, only having about eleven other individuals. Apparently that was the norm. After all, classes were dependent on girls having died at roughly around the same time and ending up in Freehaven by happenstance. As someone used to going to a very large school with multiple classes packed with children, being a part of such a small class for the rest of her schooling was going to take some getting used to. But all things considered, something like that ranked extremely low on the list of things she was having to get used to.

“You can sit wherever you like,” Dr. Bertha said. “We’re pretty informal here.”

No kidding. It wasn’t even a classroom, but rather more of a group therapy session, with couches and chairs arranged in a loose circle. Apparently the actual school part of the integration program wouldn’t even begin another couple of months.

Hitomi looked around the room. Most of the others weren’t even looking at her, and those who were didn’t seem all that friendly. That was another thing Dr. Bertha had warned her about. “It usually takes some time before they start to open up,” she had explained. “Right now, they aren’t sure who they can trust or even if it’s safe to trust anyone at all. So don’t take it personally if you get some cold reactions.”

Maybe so, but it did make finding someplace to sit a little awkward. Fortunately, the one that had said hi to her had a space next to her on one of the couches, so Hitomi went for that.

“May I sit here?” she whispered.

“Of course!” the girl said. She patted the seat next to her. “Sit! Sit!” She had very long reddish-orange hair that seemed to be in much need of a comb and, oddly enough, bright blue eyes. Having one’s hair and eyes be of contrasting colors was kind of rare, and Hitomi wondered if that meant that she was a witch.

Hitomi gratefully sat down. However, as soon as she did, her new friend leaned in way too close and started sniffing her.

“Uh,” Hitomi said as she instinctively leaned away. “Excuse me, what are you doing?”

Then the girl sitting on the other side of the sniffer grabbed her and yanked her away from Hitomi. “Papika, stop it!” she hissed, sounding mortified.

“But she smells nice,” Papika complained, as if that explained her odd behavior.

“You can’t do that to complete strangers!” the other girl said. “It’s rude!” She had short, dark violet hair and brown eyes. Maybe that anomaly was more common in the afterlife…for whatever reason.

Then the girl with a seat next to the couch started laughing. She was sitting backwards in a folding chair that faced away from the group, leaning over the chair’s back with her arms folded. “It’s your fault you know,” the girl remarked. “You choose to sit next to her, you get what she gives you.” The girl was shorter and more petite than the other two, with straight blonde hair with red highlights that hung just past her jaw and deep purple eyes. Another anomaly.

“Oh, it’s fine,” Hitomi said with what she hoped was a warm smile, though to be honest it was probably coming off as strained and awkward. “Honestly, it’s nice to meet someone so friendly.”

“Friendly. Tch. That’s one way of putting it.” Then the blonde stuck out her hand. “Yayaka, by the way. You already met the spice-head, and the other one’s Cocona.”

“Um, Hitomi,” Hitomi said, accepting the handshake.

“I know.”

“So…you three are, uh, friends?”

“We partnered together back…before,” Cocona told her. “Until, well…”

“We died!” Papika said cheerfully. “Like this!” She grabbed her own throat with both hands and made a big show of strangling herself, pitching this way and that while gagging loudly.

“Papika, stop it!” Cocona hissed, giving her friend a hard flick in the forehead. Sure enough, some of the other girls were shooting them some pretty unfriendly looks, no doubt due to the insensitive nature of Papika’s performance.

“Um, a witch did that?” Hitomi asked.

Yayaka winced. “Er, no. It was a magical girl fight.”

“And Yayaka was on their side!” Papika declared.

“Only at first! Jeez, I straight up got shot in the back for helping you two.”

It took several seconds for Hitomi to fully comprehend what she was being told, and even after she had figured it out she wasn’t sure how to respond. “You were killed…by other magical girls?”

“Yes,” Cocona sighed. “There was supposedly an infestation of witches in Osaka. Papika and I went to investigate, but Yayaka’s group was already there.”

“And you turned on them?” Hitomi said to Yayaka.

Yayaka grimaced. “Well, yeah. I mean, I actually already knew Cocona before any of us became magical girls, and, well, I couldn’t just let them hurt her!”

“So they killed you?”

“It happens,” another girl sitting nearby broke in. “Competition for grief seeds got pretty fierce sometimes. I’ve never seen it get like that myself, but I have heard stories.”

“Well, I never really liked any of them anyway,” Yayaka said. And then I wound up here with those two. Kind of puts things into perspective, now don’t it?”

“It sure does,” Hitomi said.

“Well, what about you?” Yayaka said. “Were you part of any kind of group, or…?”

“No,” Hitomi said, shaking her head. “Just me. Probably why that witch got me.”

“Well, you can stick with us then!” Papika said.

Hitomi started. She had known that it would probably be a while before any of the other girls warmed up to her, but she hadn’t expected such an enthusiastic invitation so early.

“Are you sure?” she said. “I mean, you just met me, and…”

“Huh?” Papika quizzically tilted her head. “Don’t you want to be our friend?”

“No, I do, I don’t see-”

“Get used to it,” Yayaka said. “You’re pretty much adopted now.”

“Yay, Hitomi!” Papika grabbed Hitomi with both arms and squeezed her tight.

“Papika!” Cocona again pulled her friend away. “You just met. Behave!”

“No, it’s okay,” Hitomi said. “To tell the truth, it’s nice to find someone so…welcoming. Is it really okay if I stick with you though.”

“Eh, I don’t mind,” Yayaka said with a shrug.

“Of course not!” Cocona said. “I mean, we’re all in the same boat, right?”

That was a great way of looking at it, especially since apparently she wasn’t going to be able to talk to Gretchen or the others for a while. Hitomi had been scared of facing her future without having any of them around.

But as she looked around the small room, she realized that even though it may be some time before she saw any of her friends again, there really wasn’t anything stopping her from making new friends. After all, it was like Cocona had just said: they were all in the same boat. Might as well look after each other in the meantime.

Hitomi smiled. Maybe this wasn’t going to be so bad after all.

…

While other times it means taking responsibility for your actions in having made that change come about…

…

The front door to the Freehaven courthouse opened, and the guilty marched out.

All of the conspirators, sans Hitomi of course, had been tried together, and had all been given the same judgment, to varying degrees. Of course, Homulilly and Gretchen had gotten the worst of it, seeing how it had been there idea and they were the ones who had done the actual absconding. But there had been plenty to go around.

“You know, that went a lot better than I thought it would,” Mitty said.

Sasha, whom it should be noted had been stewing in a silent ball of fury the whole time, whirled around to face her. “Better? Better? I got fired! You got me arrested! I have a record now!”

“Sure, but at least we’re not going to jail,” Mitty said.

“At least…” Sasha made a noise not entirely unlike a steaming kettle. “I should have just let you turn me in! Your favor made things so much worse for me!”

“Not my fault they got caught,” Mitty said, giving Homulilly and Gretchen something of a stink-eye.

Homulilly sighed, though to be honest she was feeling kind of relieved. Though it was clear that the FIB was not happy with their actions, cooler heads had prevailed, and she and Gretchen were not destined for time behind bars. They didn’t even have to pay a fine. Which wasn’t to say that there hadn’t been consequences, it’s just that the consequences were a lot less severe than they could have been.

Well, maybe not a whole lot less…

“What’s jail like in Freehaven anyway?” Gretchen said.

“Why ask me?” Mitty said.

“Because out of all of us, you’re the one most likely to have been inside,” Homulilly said.

“Hey, that hurts. I’m not that bad. Besides, I only just graduated a few weeks ago. Kids still in the integration program don’t go to jail. They serve detention and get extra work.”

“Which you would know,” Homulilly said.

“Well, yeah. I mean, I don’t mean to brag, but I happen to have-”

“One of the longest and dirtiest records in recent FIB history!” Alyssa said as she suddenly appeared out of nowhere to grab a handful of Mitty’s hair. “And not one month on the outside and you have a criminal record! Well done, Mitty! Well. Done!”

“Hey, I was just trying to help!” Mitty complained. “And leggo of my hair!”

Alyssa complied, though it was only so she could seize Mitty’s upper arm instead. “Well, consider this a wake-up call!” she said as she marched Mitty away. “You are going to shape up and start taking responsibility for your actions! This is more than just some light-hearted trouble, this is serious! And it’s high time that you…”

Homulilly and Gretchen watched as the pair walked away, Alyssa ranting the whole way while sullenly marched along with her.

“I hope we didn’t ruin things for them,” Gretchen said.

Homulilly just shrugged. It was a little too late to start worrying about that.

“And, um, I’m really, really sorry for getting you in trouble,” Gretchen said to Sasha. “Believe me, we didn’t intend-”

“Save it,” Sasha grumbled. “Just…save it, okay?”

She stomped off as well. Gretchen and Homulilly glanced at one another and winced. Sasha had been given the same sentence as them, albeit for a shorter amount of time. Working with her was going to be…awkward.

Well, it was what it was. And in the meantime, the two of them had their own music to face, specifically in the form of the pair of figures waiting for them at the bottom of the steps.

“So, what’s the verdict?” Ophelia asked as Homulilly and Gretchen approached. “I mean, they’re letting you walk out, so I’m guessing you’re not bound for the territory penitentiary.”

Homulilly sighed. “No, it’s community service.”

“Well, hey! Let’s hear it for mercy! You got off easy!”

“Sort of.”

“Huh? What’s that mean? What they got you guys doing?”

Homulilly handed her the data crystal.

Ophelia activated it and threw the readout into the air. “Ooooh, working in an Old Town homeless shelter. Gnarly.”

“Yup,” Homulilly said glumly.

“For…” Ophelia frowned. “Five hours a day, four days a week, for…seven years?”

“Yup.”

“It was either that or six months in jail,” Gretchen said.

“Huh. The jail might’ve been easier. Still, that seems…kind of excessive?”

“Not really,” Oktavia said. “I’ve read up on it. Since everyone here is immortal and will probably be around for a few hundred years, community service sentences tend to go a lot longer than people expect. I guess after a few decades they have to ramp it up to make it mean anything.”

“Ah. Well, sucks to have it happen this early then.” Ophelia frowned. “Still, Old Town. I’ve been there. You two are in for a rough time.”

“Thanks,” Homulilly said dryly.

“I mean it. You caught a glimpse of it during your heist, sure, but it’s a pretty mean place. And you’re going to see that firsthand.”

“Plus, it’ll delay your schooling,” Oktavia said.

Homulilly hadn’t thought of that. “Oh.”

“It’s okay,” Gretchen said. “I mean, it’s an opportunity to help, right? And we can still take online classes in the meantime. So maybe when this is all over, we’ll have an easier time getting in to someplace good!”

“That’s the spirit!” Ophelia said, giving her a slap on the back. “Keep up that positive nature!”

“Well, let’s head home,” Oktavia said. “Enjoy your last few days of freedom before you start atoning for your crimes.”

As they walked, Homulilly took the time to ask. “So, uh, Ophelia? I’ve been meaning to ask. Since we were found, uh, guilty, did you get our bail back?”

The look on Ophelia’s face wasn’t quite a grin and wasn’t quite a grimace, but fell somewhere in between. “Nope!” she said. “But I was given a receipt. Hope Charlotte doesn’t blow all her money while they’re gone, because she owes me. Big time.”

…

At times you find yourself helping others come to terms with the changes in their lives…

…

The large, submerged gates slid open, connecting the tank to the vast body of water that lay beyond.

At a glance it seemed like they had done so needlessly. Nothing seemed to swim out, and nothing came in. The sort of stale water in the tank mixed with the fresher, cooler water beyond, and that seemed like it was it.

But it someone were exceptionally sharp-eyed, they might detect the tiniest glimmer of motion around the gate after more than a minute had gone by. It wasn’t much, and it didn’t go beyond the gate itself. But in time the hints of motion picked up, and the big creature slowly moved out into the open water.

“And the Big Baby has left the crib,” clacked Niss, the vekoo curator of the Sunside Biological Preserve. “Repeat, the Big Baby has left the crib.”

The observation room broke out into cheers. From where she stood next to where Niss was sitting, Demmi allowed herself a small measure of relief. Patching up the karnuk had been touch and go, and it had left it with a large scar that had ruined the transparency of its hide.

Fortunately, Sunside was much better equipped to handle that sort of damage. Though there still was a little bit of visibility around the wound, it was very slight, and most people wouldn’t even notice if they weren’t looking for it. And now the karnuk had a whole lake to itself, stocked with plenty of prey that was neither sentient nor capable of blasting through its thick, gelatinous hide.

“I wonder what he’s thinking,” Demmi said.

“Eh, who can say?” Niss said. “Karnuks are pretty temperamental creatures. Normally they’re skittish as hell, but they can get pretty bold once they’ve realized that there’s nothing bigger than them about. That’s probably what happened with him. Otherwise, he would have probably split the moment those castaways of yours started fighting back.”

Demmi had, of course, been very sparse about the details concerning the karnuk’s wound. All she had said is that a group of people had ended up caught in the storm, had been attacked by the karnuk, and they had panicked and injured it in the ensuing struggle. Any further details were strictly forbidden, but that was a lot of people to keep one secret, and Demmi was increasingly worried that it would leak any second. Oktavia von Seckendorff was a frequent collaborator of hers as well as being a close friend, and Demmi had a feeling that should it come out that the news of Candeloro’s transformation had been broken by one of her girls, both relationships would end up severely damaged.

Fortunately, the people at Sunside had accepted her explanation. It was the truth, after all, just with certain sensitive details redacted. They hadn’t been thrilled about the karnuk’s injuries, but what was anyone supposed to about that? Of course those people had defended themselves! And the big dumb lug had come out of it alive.

“Anyway, we figure we’ll give him some time to get used to his new home,” Niss went on. “That fight probably gave him a big scare, so he’ll probably be pretty cautious for a while. Don’t want him to get spooked once we introduce the female.”

Demmi’s ears perked up at that. “The what?”

“I didn’t tell you? That’s right, I didn’t tell you! Yeah, we managed to find a female! Yeah, we were really surprised too. Back on their homeworld, the butontikos and the nask would rarely ever encounter karnuks, especially the young girls that we get here, so it’s hard for someone to bring enough memory of them to get us any karnuks over here. But if we can get ourselves a breeding pair, that might actually change! We just need to build up this poor guy’s self-esteem so that he doesn’t bolt in terror the second he senses her.”

“Well, that sounds interesting. How long you think that’ll take?”

Before Niss could answer, the sensors tracking the karnuk’s movement suddenly flared up. For whatever reason, he had suddenly stopped exploring his new home to flee in the opposite direction as fast as his bloated body could swim. Which, it should be noted, was pretty fast.

“What happened?” Demmi asked. “What spooked him?”

“Um…” Niss checked the recordings. “According to this…he bumped into some gostuns.”

Gostuns were a small species of crustacean native to the same planet as the karnuk. They looked a little like tiny swimming dragonflies, and tended to swim together in large groups. The butontikos and nask ate them like shrimp.

“Gostuns,” Demmi repeated. “He was spooked by gostuns.”

“Yup,” Niss said. She let out a wheezing sigh. “You know, I think we’ll hold off on getting him a girlfriend a little while longer.”

…

Sometimes it means coming to terms with realizing that while you have stayed pretty much the same, everyone around you has changed, thereby altering your life as well…

…

The hardest part of being the only ones who didn’t do anything wrong or hadn’t undergone any drastic changes is that when all the others have to go deal with the consequences, you’re kind of left all alone.

Ophelia and Oktavia lay cuddled up in each other’s arms on one of the lawnchairs in the backyard, watching the forest as the day bled into night. Candeloro and Charlotte were off trying to get a grip on their issues and Gretchen and Homulilly were away on their first day of community service and weren’t expected to be back for a couple more hours, so until then it was just the two of them.

For the first time.

In sixteen years.

The forest was paradoxically a very peaceful place at night and yet very lively. On the one hand, there was no one else to be seen, with the only other sign of human life was a far-off conversation of a couple of people walking down the street that could only be discerned if they focused on it specifically, which they most certainly were not. The wind was gentle, doing nothing more than rustle the grass and make any leaves that had survived being blasted off by the storm flutter a little. Even Cheese, who was sitting nearby on one of the grill’s handles, was quiet for one, content to sit and groom himself in peace.

On the other hand, the forest did have a night life, and it was starting to wake up. The chorus of hums and the chirps of the night insects had begun. Over by the stream that ran not too far from their house, the croaking of the local frogs was joining the song. The fireflies were coming out, little fairylike lights that bobbed their way between the trees. Every now and then an owl would start hooting, while the last of the daytime birds sang their going-to-bed song.

Just lying there listening to the forest sounds was something that Ophelia and Oktavia enjoyed doing often when they just needed to wind down. However, this time it was different. In times past Candeloro and Charlotte would always be in calling distance somewhere in the house. Sometimes they would even be out there with them, inhabiting one of the other lawnchairs. Not today though. Now their soul-sisters were off far away. And the two newest additions to their family were well on the other side of town.

For once, the house was truly empty. It was a big house of course, big enough to accomondate so many bodies while still giving everyone some measure of privacy. But walking around one could be expected to run into someone, whether it be a housemate or someone’s friend. And when they had brought in Gretchen and Homulilly, they had expected things to get even more busier.

But instead, the big house had nobody else in it. Now it felt entirely too big, and much, much too quiet. For those notorious for making the most noise,

“You know, I’ve been thinking,” Oktavia said.

“Well, someone has to,” Ophelia said. “Me, I was about to settle into a blissful state of mental oblivion. So thanks for ruining that.”

“How’s that different from any other time? Anyway, I noticed that during this whole mess, you and I are the only ones that didn’t totally screw up or get totally screwed up.”

“Yeah, I had noticed. Seeing how we’re still here and nobody else is. Which is kinda weird, if you ask me. I mean, aren’t we supposed to be the troublemakers?”

“Only the fun kind,” Oktavia said as she shifted around in Ophelia’s arms and draped an arm across her girlfriend’s chest. “But, you know, sooner or later Candeloro and Charlotte are gonna come back.”

“Uh-huh.”

“Sooner or later Gretchen and Homulilly are going to finish up their sentence.”

“And then they’ll probably be off to university,” Ophelia pointed out.

“Yeah, well, that’ll end eventually too. Point is, eventually everyone will come home, and we won’t have to stick around and hold down the fort anymore.”

Ophelia frowned. “Wait, you wanna split as soon as they all come back?”

“Not permanently, of course. But think about it: have we ever had a vacation? Like, just you and me?”

Ophelia’s brow rose. “Go on.”

“I mean, on trips in the past, we’d always have to compromise with what everyone else wanted. But what if, after everything’s settled down, we just took a week or two? You and me? Go and have some fun, our kind of fun.”

“Huh. Well now, music girl. I am liking the sound of that melody. Tell me the lyrics.”

“Well, okay, here’s a catchy tune for you,” Oktavia said. “New Lesbos.”

Ophelia felt a grin forming. “For real?”

New Lesbos was a very exclusive tropical resort island that catered to a very specific clientele. Specifically, those who liked to have fun, and weren’t overly hung up on such archaic concepts like “social decency” and “moral standards.” In short, it was a place where debauchery was the name of the game and the Seven Deadly Sins were more of a weekend checklist instead of behavior to be avoided.

“Why the hell not?” Oktavia said. “I’d say we fit the bill.”

That much was true, but still… “I don’t know. I mean, don’t get me wrong, we are openly perverts of the finest stock, but we’re not exactly…polyamorous.”

“So? Swinging isn’t required. There’s plenty of stuff to do for just us. Like deep-sea diving! They’ve got one of the craziest coral reefs to be found in a human territory!”

Ophelia made a face. “I thought you were trying to sell me on this.”

“Oh, fine. And they got slingshot skydiving.”

That made Ophelia’s brow shoot up, along with her interest. “Oh, do they?”

“Yeah. And mountain base-jumping. And some kind of absolutely insane kind of bungee-jumping. Like, the kind where you start on an airship a couple of kilometers up, then after a couple bounces they release your cord and you fall until the people in the next airship catch you and hook you up to their, and repeat for like four ships.” Oktavia shuddered. “Ugh, psychos.”

“Do they got that thing where you can do parkour on a hovering obstacle course with no ground?”

“Probably, yeah, you lunatic. Plus, there’s the buffets, the shows, the monster safari tours, the rides.”

“Hmmm.”

“And oh yeah, all of it clothes-optional.”

“Hmmm.”

“Naked waitresses, skinny dipping, pole-dancing competitions.”

Ophelia sat up a little. “Wait, hold on. Pole-dancing competitions?”

“Yeah, I thought that would get your attention.”

“Is there a trophy?”

“You already got a space picked out for it, don’t you? Tell you what: I know you’re probably not too keen on water again thanks to recent events, but if you start up on those therapy sessions again, I’ll do the same for my little issue with heights. That way, we can do those activities together.”

Well, Ophelia wasn’t exactly keen on any kind of diving, but the thought of doing it with Oktavia while butt-naked had a definite appeal. As did everything else she had said. “Deal,” she said.

“I thought so.”

“Though you do realize that between the kids’ community service and their schooling, it’ll be years before that happens.”

“Well, hey, we’ve got nothing but time. Though something just occurred to me.”

“What’s that.”

The hand that Oktavia had laid on Ophelia’s shoulder had started to move, caressing her as it went. “Seeing how we’re here alone for a little while longer, things are pretty clothes-optional right now.”

Ophelia’s grin turned lecherous. “You know, you may have a point there.”

Oktavia’s hand wandered across Ophelia’s front until it stopped at the top button of her shirt. Then it started to work its way down, undoing each button as it went.

…

And finally, though it will always hurt, sometimes it means learning how to let go and move on…

…

Many years later...

“And don’t forget, school gets out at one on the dot! We have those new trackers implanted, but even so, I still want you to check up on him!”

“I will,” Tomohisa said as Junko put the last of her papers together and shoved them into her briefcase.

“And make sure to walk him inside instead of just dropping him off! And to pick him up directly from the classroom. Be there waiting for the door to open!”

“Already on the list.”

Junko was heading for the door, but she stopped about halfway there. “Oh, and don’t forget-”

“Junko. Sweetie, it’s okay,” Tomohisa said as he laid a hand on her shoulder. “I’ll take care of him. Nothing’s going to happen, I promise.”

“Are you sure though? You know, statistics say that-”

“Junko.”

Junko smiled sheepishly. “I know. It’s just…if anything happened to him…”

“I know, I feel the same. And trust me, I’m going to make sure he gets home safe. Nothing will happen to him.”

“All right,” Junko said after a pause. “I leave it in your capable hands. Now give me a kiss.”

Tomohisa was more than happy to comply. “Knock them dead, sweetie!” he called as she rushed for the door.

“Bye, Mama!” Tatsuya called, waving.

Junko paused just long enough at the door to shoot them both a confident wink. And then she was off.

Tomohisa couldn’t be prouder of his wife. The last few years had been hard on them all, but Junko had been devastated by the loss of Madoka. The first year had been nothing short of terrible, with Junko nearly driving herself and the rest of the family to ruin in her obsession in finding their daughter. Tomohisa remembered the feelings of helpless as he had watched her deteriorate day after day, from the times he had to pick her up from the police station to getting angry calls from her work about her blowing up at her coworkers for some perceived slight. He would sit with her almost every night trying to console her as she just drank more and more, sinking further into her well of grief and self-pity. With Sayaka Miki having disappeared only a few weeks before Madoka, Junko had been convinced that there was some kind of kidnapper about. She refused to listen to anyone suggesting that her daughter had been a casualty of that terrible storm. It was just weather! And they would have found her body if that had been the case, right? And when Hitomi Shizuki ended up vanishing as well, it only fueled her paranoia. It wasn’t just a kidnapper going after Middle-School girls, it was a kidnapper targeting her family and their friends as well. It had to be a rival from work, or a competitor to the company! It had to be this, it had to be that, and she was going to get to the bottom of it!

In the end, he finally had to confront her. It wasn’t fair, he had told her, to allow herself to fall apart like that. It wasn’t fair to him, and it wasn’t fair to Tatsuya. Of course he knew that she was hurting, and he was doing his best to support her. But he was hurting too, and so was their son! Tatsuya could barely even talk, but even he seemed to understand that his beloved older sister wasn’t coming home, even if he didn’t know why. And between taking care of the two of them, Tomohisa barely even had time to grieve himself.

In the end, it was when he threatened to leave her that she began come to her sense. It was a rough journey, and for a long time things between them were…not good, but slowly but surely she began to piece herself back together, and along with her he began to heal as well. Burned bridges were repaired, fences were mended, and though there was a gaping hole in their hearts that would probably never be filled, they were learning to live with the pain.

And now Junko was back in the game! She was almost like her old driven self again, and Tomohisa was overjoyed to see his beautiful, strong wife once again out there fighting the good fight.

In the meantime though, he had a fight of his own.

“Okay buddy, now hold your hands up,” he said to Tatsuya. “That’s right, like that.” He helped his son into his uniform jacket and handed him his backpack.

It was the first day of kindergarten, and Tatsuya was facing the day with a mixture of pride and, well, sheer terror. Though he knew it wouldn’t be fair deny his son the chance to have a normal schooling experience, Tatsuya was all they had left. Though he was doing his best to maintain his friendly, encouraging smile, his hands were shaking as he buttoned up Tatsuya’s jacket.

It’ll be fine. He’ll be fine. Stay strong, Tomohisa. Stay strong.

Taking Tatsuya’s hand, Tomohisa headed for the door.

Then, though he didn’t want to, he stopped.

On a table by the wall, a small shrine had been set up, one ringed by perpetually burning candles and flowers. On the wall was his daughter’s framed academic achievements and other small memories, from pictures she had drawn of their family when she was a child to letters she had written while away at summer camp. And in the centerpiece were three framed headshots, surrounding a larger picture of the owners of the three headshots all sitting together with their arms around each other as they smiled for the camera.

The pictures were of Tomohisa’s daughter Madoka, and her two best friends Sayaka and Hitomi.

Tomohisa did not like to think of what Madoka’s final moment might have been like. He knew she was gone though. He wasn’t sure how he knew, it was just a truth he felt deep inside his heart. He was always going to miss her, even when she came to visit him in his dreams.

Tomohisa was not necessarily a religious man, but he dearly hoped that wherever she was now, she had reunited with her friends, and that they were happy together.

…

Change happens whether we like it or not, both good and bad. And sometimes we react badly to that change.

But there is nothing that says that we cannot bring a new change of our own, to fix what has been broken and to turn a bad situation around. And even if something good has been lost, there is always a new good that can be found. We just need to be willing to find it.

#Walpurgis Nights #pmmm #puella magi madoka magica #homulilly #kriemhild gretchen #ophelia #oktavia von seckendorff #candeloro #charlotte #mami tomoe #hitomi shizuki #fanfic

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grant-spiraltf · 5 years

Text

The 2nd Annual Gift Exchange

This time I got to write for my buddy @thegreatstoryteller, I hope you enjoy what I did to you Jay :) Enjoy!

(I’m so sorry it’s a month late, both life and tumblr are working against me)

-------------------------------------------------------------

Jay opened the door to his living room on this early Christmas morning. The tree had shed a bunch more needles on the ground, but most of them were caught on top of the presents that were placed the night before. He already knew what was in them since he purchased them himself, but it still brought him a lot of joy to tear the wrapping off and play with his self-bought gifts. This year’s presents were mostly games, books and other ways to relax, which he desperately needed to distract himself from current events.

After dumping all the wrapping paper in the right recycling bin, he gazed out of the windows onto the city. Although his day was filled with fun activities, he just couldn’t shake off the feeling that something weird was going to happen. That’s when he noticed an unfamiliar package in the reflection. It was hidden under a branch, but he didn’t remember buying any other gifts than the one already unpacked. He reached out to it and the wrapping felt weird. It looked like regular paper, but it was soft like silk to the touch, with a big gold bow on top. With curiosity and care, he pulled the box from under the tree to inspect it more closely. Even though it didn’t look that big when he first saw it, the present was huge! It was about 40x40x40cm, which was bigger than anything he had on his wishlist. Jay’s mind started running while his hand went to unwrap the bow. The more he thought about it, there was no way that it actually would have fit under the dense branches. It was almost like...

Magic! Jay quickly retracted his arm while hoping that the realisation didn’t come too late, but in his haste, he accidentally opened the window with his elbow. The wind that was rushing outside quickly found the aperture but Jay quickly turned around and shut the window. When he directed his attention to the gift in front of him again, he was shocked to see that the loose bow on top had been undone by the wind and the cover was on the floor. “How did that even come off?!” At the moment, Jay had no idea what he was supposed to do. The faint light coming out of the box was really alluring, but he knew that a magical gift could also mean a lot of trouble. Even though it was probably a bad idea, Jay couldn’t help himself but sneak a quick peek inside before backing up. “Some sort of boots, a helmet and spandex? What the hell?” Jay leaned in closer again to see if there was a note attached to it, but there was nothing except for the helmet and spandex. Wait, wasn’t there also a pair of boots?

Jay backed up slowly before feeling something soft underneath him. When he looked down he saw that he stepped on the shoes. Before Jay could ask himself how those got there, the fabric started to heat up and he could feel it move under his feet. He instinctively jumped up to get away from it, but the boots clung onto his soles like they were stuck. Within seconds, his feet were completely covered. “What the heck.” He tried to bend down to inspect his new footwear, but his knees just wouldn’t bend, like he’d lost all control over his legs. Suddenly he started moving forward, back to the tree and open present. He tried to resist, but his legs were moving like they had a clear purpose.

When he reached the box, his legs decided to lose all strength and he fell down on his knees, his head above the box. The thump of his knees hitting the hardwood floor was a trigger for the latex suit, which became ‘alive’ and started to slither over the side of the box. Even though he knew it was futile, Jay still tried to back up but again, no such luck. He had lost track of the latex during his escape attempt, but he was quickly reminded of its existence by slithering up his body over his spine, the cold material making Jay shudder. When it reached the base of his skull, Jay could feel the material move over his back, slowly expanding and wrapping itself around his body. It started dripping over his shoulders onto his pecs. Jay was content with his body, but he never wore skintight clothing since it revealed everything. When the suit was done growing, he turned around and looked in the mirror. He was glad he regained control of his legs again, and this time he wasn’t letting go. He checked himself out in the mirror. Something was... off. “Am I bigger? Or is it this thing filled with extra layers?” Jay flexed a little and much to his surprise, he actually looked a bit bigger.

He suddenly got a little dizzy. He stumbled, regained his posture, and looked back at himself. “Wait, why am I wearing this? Oh right, a gift from a fan.” Jay looked at his muscles. God he looked good. He flexed his biceps and gave it a quick kiss. He failed to notice it gaining volume, but he was a little preoccupied with worshipping himself. He did a different pose which brought out his stomach and flexed his abs. Luckily the latex was so tight that his perfect six pack protruded with ease. His powerful arm went towards the back of his neck, and pulled down the zipper. The bones in his back rearranged when the zipper passed them, making Jay broader with every second. He looked down and noticed that his legs looked a little small. “Heh. Must have skipped leg day!” Jay flexed his calves and thighs, framing his stuffed crotch perfectly between the growing legs. He slapped his ass playfully, which grew to about the size of two ripe watermelons. Jay moaned in ecstasy. His hand started playing with his asshole, trying to finger himself through the thin material while the other hand trailed towards his pecs. He glanced at them in the mirror and he was filled with confusion. “They look a little small? What’s even happening, do I need new lights?” He tweaked his nipples and the front of his suit instantly turned dark in the crotch area. Not that he would notice the dark cumstain. Jay has his eyes closed and his head thrown back in pure bliss from the tweaking of his nipples. When he looked back at his pecs, they seemed completely normal again. They were large, firm and very sensitive. He was a little confused, but he brushed it off as needing to drink more water. He checked himself out once more. God he loved posing for himself. It was then that he noticed a strange thing behind him in the corner of his eye. Ripping his eyes from his muscles, he looked over his shoulder through the mirror and saw what looked like a floating, spinning helmet. The helmet stopped spinning and it was ‘looking’ straight at him. “What the...” The helmet started charging at him, and before it hit he remembered everything. The gift, the shoes, the latex and now this. But it was a tad too late.

The back of his head still hurt a little from the impact, but not as much as he’d expected. Steve pulled off his helmet and rubbed the back of his head. “Stupid branches.” Some people noticed him standing there and he could see that they’d beg for a pic. Right when the fans wanted to snap the photo, Steve noticed a piece of paper flying around. He snatched it out of the gust of wind that had been carrying it.

You’re welcome. Grant Spiral.

“Dumb tourist never clean their trash.” He muttered to himself. He crumbled the paper and gave it to a passerby, asking them to throw it away. He then focussed on giving the fans what they wanted to see, so he flexed all the visible muscles. They were lucky he was taking a break when they saw him, but he’d be sledding down the track in minutes. “Jay!” He heard a manly voice shout behind him. He turned around instinctively, seeing the man who had called out and then seeing the kid called Jay he had called out to. “Why did I even react to that?” He pondered. He shrugged it off as not drinking enough water and began his descent.

#grant-spiraltf #muscle tf #tf story #story exchange #thegreatstoryteller #steve langton

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somekeepsakes · 5 years

Text

German interview with Peter (May 20, 2019) on drugs, love and new beginnings

I noticed that another version of the interview with Peter which @koidivisions translated some weeks back has emerged. The newer, longer, and presumably full(?) version can be found here. I’m only adding the translation for the bits that were missing in the earlier version. Since there are quite a few of them, maybe some of you are interested in reading the entire thing.

cut cut cut and off you go

Why did Hamburg change you so much? I felt privileged that Johann Scheerer opened his door for me. He trusted me.

He said: "You may live in the apartment and use the studio." He gave me his house key at a time when not even my own family would have trusted me with a key. Yes, it was a wonderful time in Hamburg! It was a shame that there was such resentment between my management at that time and the people from Clouds Hill as, much to the dismay of my management, there was someone who trusted me; that I stayed in Germany, recorded music, and took more control.

Did you feel something close to freedom? Yes, I believe so, there were no paparazzi lurking around every corner. And doing spontaneous gigs in the Golem, this wickedly expensive place, was great. I loved it there.

For some people, you’re a gifted song poet, whereas others tend to associate you with your drug antics. Yes, they believe me to be a caricature. There are even people who are disappointed when they meet me and I’m not all fucked up. This is really sad. But, then, it used to be like that for a long time. There used to be all these negative stories about me that had a nasty pic of me attached to them all the time.

And on the few days where I was alright, they manipulated the picture, or took one of me sneezing. This really killed me. It inwardly killed me.

And everything went hand in hand… The police were obsessed with getting hold of me. They arrested me repeatedly. That made me feel as if I was a dangerous person or a threat to society. That was sheer insanity.

But you’re out of the woods now? That’d be wonderful. But addiction is an illness – a mental illness. It’s self-destructive…

How safe are you feeling right now? Difficult to say. I’m feeling safe. But if I think about it, I don’t actually know what feeling safe means. At least I don’t want to go back to where I was.

[Regarding Margate] But why did you buy a hotel there? Because it was so cheap, so incredibly cheap!

It was said to be the most rundown hotel in Kent or even in England. That’s not entirely fair. The Nigerian woman who ran it had a bad reputation because she used to kick people out of the hotel whenever they complained. But saying that it was the worst hotel… No, I went to one in Aberdeen once which was worse!

And you invested money in yours? Sure, the whole thing was Carl’s idea. He decided that The Libertines needed headquarters. He then found this old five-storey townhouse. He didn’t pay me for five festival gigs for he knows I’m prone to wasting money. The others saved their share. And now I’m one of six investors.

Our studio has already been finished, and the hotel is supposed to come about bit by bit. The liquor licence is also there already so that Carl is able to open a bar beneath the hotel. The bar is going to be called "Wasteland" like the book by T.S. Eliot who lived four doors away. His father owned a bed and breakfast in Margate 100 years ago.

It’s supposed to become something similar to Andy Warhol’s "Factory". The Margate version of it. Carl wants to gradually set it up in a way so that different artists will be able to live and work under the same roof.

You’re said to have started a company for that business. I’ve read that article, too. What a load of bollocks! It said that I was worth 5.3 million pounds – crazy! Carl was really angry when he read that since he’s the businessman among the two of us. I would be completely unfit for a thing like that.

[Regarding the cat incident] There’ve been worse stories about you. And still, you were angry about it? Sure, because it was this incident that brought paparazzi to my doorstep again. That was the first time in two years, prior to that, everything was peaceful. There were no negative stories about me. And even on this day, I was kind towards the photographers. But they didn’t like that.

They claimed that I stood there in the doorway laughing. It broke my heart cause I love animals. And I love cats.

Does the sea inspire you? Tremendously! Every morning when I step outside. The light is unbelievable and the dark, wild sea – it’s calling for me. Sometimes, that’s dangerous. I’d like to run naked into the sea.

But so far you haven’t answered the call? I will do so in summer. Due to their arctic background, my dogs are used to freezing temperatures. They can step into the water when it’s cold, and they love it. But it’s not as nice as it may sound for humans in Margate.

In what way? We get these weird weather fronts. Every ten years, über-storms are causing serious damage. Just last week, the roof of the huge Tesco market got blown away, just like that. The buildings can take a lot but there are also lots of tunnels beneath the bases of the houses which were constructed in old smuggler times. That’s why the whole thing is unstable and causes buildings to collapse. It really is a weird place, Margate.

[Regarding the Puta Madres album] It probably won’t make you rich. That’s the reason why Drew isn’t part of the band. He preferred to make money while touring with Liam Gallagher. But it’s not always about money even if I’m not less greedy than others.

But I also know what damage money can cause. I need to take care of myself so that I’m not going to suffer from tunnel vision and therefore miss the genuine things that inspired me at a time when I didn’t have any money. If we make any money with that, which would be great for us, we’re going to build our own studio.

You’ve recorded the album overlooking a fishing village in the municipality of Étretat in the Normandy. Why not in Margate? Because Carl insisted that the new studio would be Libertines only. So we went to France where the family of our keyboarder Katia lives. That was great because we were able to record the album within a few days. Just like the Beatles did with their first album: one microphone in the room, press record, play the songs, and go back home.

[Regarding Someone Else To Be] Why do you quote Oasis in this particular song? "Please don’t put your life in the hands of a rock’n’roll band" has always been one of my favourite lines from a song. The warning it includes is probably justified.

[Regarding his stance on relationships] As complicated as Brexit? That is indeed complicated for the Puta Madres as so many nationalities come together in this band! We need to move freely, otherwise the knell will sound for us. But we’ll somehow find our way to France, Spain and Germany.

Where does the funny "Puta Madres" band name which literally translates as "goddamn mothers" come from by the way ? "Ah, it’s the puta madre!" – our drummer Rafa used to say that very often in the beginning when he referred to something positive as well as to something negative or something inbetween.

I didn’t really know what it meant but thought we might use that as our band name. Everyone says that in Spain and South America and it means "fucking hell".

It’s a casual curse word like "motherfuckers". It means everything and nothing. Technically speaking, it refers to the mother of a prostitute.

Do you speak Spanish? Sí. There’s a bit of German, a bit of Spanish, and a bit of French on the album.

How are your German skills? (in German) Not that good.

Do you have a favourite German word? Radiergummi! And I also like Creutzfeldt-Jakob and Methadon.

You presumably were given the latter as a substitute during rehab? Yeah, sure, horrible stuff. Sickly sweet. I call it the bad absinth.

Do you still think about Amy Winehouse? Yes, often. Constantly, actually. I met a girl called Jade Goldsworthy, an incredible singer. She reminds me so much of Amy. She hasn’t recorded anything yet, we’ve only met. But I’m planning to release something with her. We’re working on it. Amy would’ve loved her. I’m sure of that.

And The Libertines will continue as well? Of course, forever! Carl and I are stronger than ever.

Are you working on the new Libertines record at the moment? Yeah, but it was all a bit tragic. Ollie, The Prodigy’s guitarist, came round and wanted to help Carl and me with writing and producing. The next day, the news of Keith’s death – who was also a friend of Carl’s – broke. He committed suicide. The last thing Ollie texted Keith was a picture of my dogs as Keith was a fellow husky lover. And Keith replied saying how beautiful they were. And the next day, he hanged himself. We haven’t seen Ollie since.

How did you react to Flint’s death? I listened to all the old Prodigy records. There’s unbelievably good stuff among them, sometimes scaringly sinister.

Given the many deaths surrounding you, do you ask yourself why you’re still alive? No, I don’t think about that.

There are lots of discussions going on at the moment about whether it’s appropriate for radio stations to still play Michael Jackson songs or not. How do you see it: Should we separate an artist’s work from the artist? Wow – that’s a damn good question! His songs are being played every few seconds somewhere in the world. It’s amazing music, some of the best songs ever written. It’d be a fucked-up situation if he’s guilty… A part of me would die – a major part of my childhood. I loved his music.

Did you see the documentary? No, the film might have a significant impact on me – I can’t bring myself to watch it at the moment. I need to be careful with it, it’s too important. Michael Jackson used to be such an important factor in my life. It’s similar to Woody Allen: He’s a great filmmaker, he’s got a good sense of humour. It would annihilate so much culture if we didn’t separate an artist’s work from the private individual. But it’s tricky.

#Pete Doherty #The Libertines

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pennylanefics · 5 years

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“Why do you hate me?” - Ben Hardy | part 15

a/n: i don’t know how to make fake IG posts, so it’s a little bad during that part :/ and again, i’m not sure if i 100% like this, but it’s something :) aaaand the ending sucks 😪

warnings: mentions of sex (no smut), language

Your POV:

Waking up the next morning, you noticed that Gwilym and Joe were the only ones who stayed. You don’t remember the rest leaving, but you also don’t remember falling asleep on Ben’s chest. Which, you were woken up by a rumble of laughter from Ben.

“Mornin’, darling. Fancy some leftover pizza? Or our breakfast from yesterday?” Ben asked when he saw you were awake.

“Pizza, of course.” He smirked and shook his head.

“That’s my girl.” You stood from your spot and walked to the kitchen to retrieve a cold piece of pizza. Once you had a plate with a couple pieces on it, you made your way back into the living room to talk with the boys before they left.

“I can’t believe you’re cheating on me, Ben. I guess I have to go back to cardboard Ben.” Your boyfriend rolled his eyes and pulled you closer.

“I can. (Y/N) is so much better than you…” Ben’s voice tapered off as he joked around. Joe gasped dramatically and clutched his chest. You and Gwilym shared a look that said ‘I can’t with these two.’

“So (Y/N) can cuddle you better than me?” Ben nodded.

“If I were you, I wouldn’t egg him on, I’d stop talking,” you whispered in Ben’s ear. He chuckled a little and shrugged.

“It’s fun. Fun to mess with him.” You rolled your eyes this time and went back to eating your “breakfast.”

The three of you continued to converse about random things going on in your lives, to talking about yours and Ben’s lives specifically.

“Are you going to announce you two are together? Because fans went crazy after seeing you two at the premiere together,” Joe asked and commented. That got you thinking. Did you want your relationship with Ben to be out there?

“Well, we’re going to the release party for my new movie tonight. So, I figured fans would assume we’re together,” Ben said, looking at you for your reaction.

“Only if you’re okay with it,” he added.

“I mean, I don’t want every aspect of our relationship to be publicized, but I think we should announce it instead of leaving everyone, including fans, speculating. Which can cause drama.”

“Should we post something after the premiere then? Like a rather intimate photo, something like us getting ready together, or having a moment before we walk the carpet?” Ben suggested.

“You could post one now. I don’t want to make this creepy or anything, but I took a photo of you two last night. (Y/N) fell asleep on you and as soon as you noticed, you wrapped your arms around her, and then you soon fell asleep,” Gwil said, handing you his phone, which was opened up to the photo. You and Ben both looked at it, grinning softly at the intimate moment. Sleeping in your home, although it wasn’t a bed, it was good enough. It immediately became your favorite picture of you and Ben.

“This is my favorite picture, Gwil. Thank you,” you said, handing his phone back. He smiled at you as he quickly sent you and Ben the photo.

“Feel free to post it. It’s really cute, and even though you aren’t awake, you can see how much you love each other.” Your eyes teared up a little for some reason. You ignored them and sat up from your spot to hug Gwi.

“We should get going. You two seem to have a big day planned, so we’ll head out. Good luck at the premiere tonight,” Gwilym announced, motioning for Joe to get up as well. He huffed out in annoyance and reluctantly stood. They both said their goodbyes, and were gone.

As soon as the door shut, Ben took your plate into the kitchen, leaving you by yourself in the living room.

“Why is the party in London if most of the actors are American?” You asked Ben as he sat back down on the couch, leaving the plate in the sink.

“It takes place in a European country, and since they couldn’t book it in Italy or Dubai, they chose London, as it’s pretty easy to hold a premiere here.” You nodded, still a little confused, but went along with it.

“You know, we have yet to sleep in our bed,” you stated randomly. Ben chuckled and hummed out as a response.

“That’s true. Hopefully, after tonight, we can. If we don’t crash on the couch as soon as we get home.”

“If I do, please carry me upstairs,” you told him, giggling quietly. He nodded and kissed your forehead.

“Of course, my love. Now, we actually have to go to the hotel near where the party is being held. We have to be there at, I think 3, then the event starts at 5.”

“I don’t even have a dress!” You realized and panicked. Ben shushed you and rubbed your back.

“I picked something out for you. Don’t worry, I think it’ll look beautiful on you. I mean, anything does.” he smirked and winked suggestively.

“Stop being so cheeky.”

“I just love ya.” He kissed your cheek and pulled you close to his body.

“I love you, too. So, what should we do for another,” you checked your phone for the time, “three hours until we have to leave?”

“We could, um, post that photo Gwil took of us and see the fans go crazy.”

“Let’s do it. You should post it, most fans don’t know my Instagram.

“Well, they will now. I’m gonna tag you, of course.”

“I’m fine with that. I know I’m going to get hate, so I really can’t stop anything.” At your words, you were now starting to get scared. How were the fans going to react that Ben isn’t single anymore? What if they don’t like you? Do they know you played Dominique, and that’s how you met Ben? Will they recognize you from the premiere?

“Love, are you alright?” Ben asked when he noticed you were quiet and staring down at your lap for a while. Your eyes met his, which were filled with worry.

“Y-yeah. Just scared about what people are going to think of me,” you shyly admitted.

“They’re going to love you, I guarantee it. If they don’t, then that’s their problem. Our relationship is none of their business, besides what we want to share with them, alright?” You nodded slightly and cuddled into his chest.

“You ready?” He asked as he opened Instagram and clicked on the new post button. You sighed quietly and pressed a quick kiss to his neck as a response.

He clicked on the picture of you two and cropped it, deciding to leave a filter off it, and started to think of a caption. You stayed quiet while he thought, and eventually he started typing away. His finger hovered over the ‘share’ button. He glanced at you, checking to see if you were going to stop him. When he realized you were more than okay with it, he pressed the button and watched as the post popped up on his timeline.

benhardy: this girl ❤️

joe_mazzello: why did you do this to me Ben? Cardboard Ben would never treat me like this

benhardy: @joe_mazzello new house, who’s this?

mrgwilymlee: you two are the cutest. credit to me for the pic though 😉

benhardy: @mrgwilymlee of course mate

benisperfect1291: OH MY GOSH BEN!!!

benhardyorbencardy: AH THIS IS TOO PURE

borhapfan7391: BEN’S RESPONSE TO JOE??? DID HE GET A NEW HOUSE???

benhardy: @borhapfan7391 I did :)

hardymazzellolee: you two are literally perfect 💕

bohemianqueen62: GUYS THIS IS (Y/N)! SHE PLAYED DOMINIQUE IN BORHAP!!!

queenxborhap: THIS IS (Y/N)?!?!?! THEY WERE SO CUTE TOGETHER IN THE FILM OMGGGG 😭😭😭😭

You two looked through the comments together, laughing at the group’s interactions, and liking positive and nice comments that fans are saying.

“See? They all love you, and they love us together,” he said, kissing your temple softly.

“Yeah,” you smiled softly after seeing a comment about how beautiful you looked. Even though you were sleeping.

“They’re all so nice.”

“I told you, darling. Now, let’s leave that and gather our things that we’re going to need for the night.” You both stood and headed up to your room, only for you to stop in the doorway. Ben was already in the bedroom and turned after he noticed your pause.

“I have nothing here, besides what I had in my overnight bag two nights ago.” Ben’s eyes widened with realization and a hint of embarrassment.

“I uh, I forgot about that, to be completely honest.” You laughed lightly and stepped forward to hug him.

“We can go to your apartment tomorrow and get your things. You also need to tell your landlord your leaving.”

“I called him yesterday. He said I have a week or so to get everything out and turn my key in. He already has everything done with the paperwork, so all I really need to do is pack everything up.” Ben nodded at your words and left to rummage through the drawers.

“Since we’re going to be getting into fancy clothes when we get to the hotel, you can wear an old shirt of mine and a pair of sweatpants.” He threw you a ratty-looking shirt and a pair of joggers, which you knew would be way too big on you, but you didn’t care.

You started to get changed as Ben gathered a few things he would need. You looked over at his pile and saw that it consisted of his phone, headphones, his charger, chapstick, and his wallet. No cigarettes or lighter. Your eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Ben’s been smoking for over ten years, why doesn’t he have any cigarettes with him?

“Hey Ben?” His head raised at your voice, eyes wide with curiosity.

“Where are your cigarettes and lighter? You always have them with you?” You asked as you nodded towards the pile. He sighed and sat on the bed, ready to answer.

“I quit.” Your eyes widened and your jaw dropped.

“Why? And how? You’ve been smoking for so long, how can you quit so easily?” He shrugged.

“It’s been hard, but I’ve been getting through it. I stopped that day you came to talk to me. I wanted to better myself for you. I didn’t want you being around smoke all of the time, with the knowledge that I was planning on asking you to move in with me. I didn’t want our new home to be filled with the smell of smoke, especially if we plan on having kids in the future. I wanted to quit early enough. So, after that day, I haven’t picked one up. Like I said, it hasn’t been easy, but you take my mind off of wanting to do it again. I realized how disgusting of a habit it is, and I can’t believe you wanted to kiss me.” You laughed at his joke and stepped forward to sit next to him.

“I’m glad you stopped, but I don’t want to be that girl who changes her boyfriend. I don’t want you changing for me. If you want to smoke, I don’t care. You’ve been smoking long before you met me.”

“I stopped smoking for you and our future kids,” he whispered. Your heart swelled at his words, eyes watering at the fact that Ben would do that for someone that isn’t even conceived yet.

“I don’t want them growing up in a house filled with the smell. That’s why I bought this house, furnished it with new things, and plan on getting rid of most of the things in my apartment.”

“Ben…”

“(Y/N), I made a promise to you that I would treat you like you should be treated. No one should ever had to be around smoke, and I’m sorry I smoked when I was around you. I know second hand smoke can be just as dangerous, and I’m so so sorry that you were around that.”

“Ben, please, stop talking for one second.” He turned to look at you, waiting for you to speak.

“I don’t know how I haven’t noticed that you stopped,” you chuckled, grabbing his hand. He laughed along with you and stared at you lovingly.

“I’ve wanted to stop ever since I met you. But with the stress of our whole relationship and all of our problems, I only felt the need to smoke more. But then, when you finally told me you were willing to work on our relationship, I made a promise to myself and you that I would quit. And so far, I kept it.” Tears were streaming down your cheeks as you listened to him.

“You were willing to quit just for me?” You asked through your tears. He nodded and wrapped his arm around your shoulder.

“I love you, and I don’t want you to have health problems because of me.” You turned to bury your face in his shoulder as he rubbed your back.

“Let’s sit and cuddle for a while, okay?” He suggested, pulling away to move back onto the bed to sit against the headboard. You smiled happily and moved to rest against his body.

“Look at that, our first time in our bed,” Ben said, chuckling a little at the tiny sexual innuendo.

“Shush it.”

“I honestly can’t wait until we do have sex in this bed. It’s so much more comfortable than the one in my apartment.” You blushed profusely at his comment, even though you two have done it a few times, he still managed to make you feel flustered.

“Okay, if you’re gonna hint at that, I’m going to get my stuff ready.” You sat up from his embrace and stood in front of the bed.

“What stuff, love? You just told me you have little to nothing here,” he smirked at you.

“You don’t have to feel embarrassed about it, (Y/N). Please don’t feel like I’m making fun of you, because I’m not. I love you so much, and I love that you trust me to be so vulnerable and loving with me.”

The air in the room became suddenly tense and lustful. Your eyes darkened as Ben spoke softly, you stepped closer to him every second.

“How much time so we have?” You asked, your voice just above a whisper. Ben looked down at his watch.

“Two hours.”

“Fuck me. On our new bed, to break it in.” Ben immediately grabbed you and began kissing you, practically ripping off the clothes you just put on minutes ago.

You both were now on your back, trying to catch your breaths as you came down from your highs.

“Best way to break a bed in, huh?” Ben jokes, bringing your sweaty body closer to his. You let out a quiet chuckle and closed your eyes, your head now resting on his chest.

“I love you, Ben.”

“I love you too, baby.”

A couple hours later, you two were now at the hotel near the party venue. You were dressed in Ben’s clothes as the hair stylist went to work, and the make-up artist started testing different foundations and colors on your skin.

Ben sat on the bed, messing around on his phone as he waited for his suit to be ironed.

“So, have you seen your dress?” Ben’s main stylist came up to ask you.

“Uh, no. Ben told me that I’d look great in it, but you know, he’s my boyfriend so he’s obligated to say that.” She let out a loud laugh as she reached over and grabbed the bag containing your dress.

“He picked it out himself,” she winked, looking over to him, who happened to be blushing a little due to being put on the spot.

She let you get your hair and makeup finished, and when it was finally time to see your dress, she unzipped the bag. Ben stood behind you, his hands on your waist, already dressed and ready. As she unzipped it, your jaw dropped. It was gorgeous.

It was a light powder, baby blue, with a sheer, sparkling tulle covering the skirt. It was simple yet beautiful

“I love it,” you were speechless. She smiled lightly as she took the dress from the bag.

“Ben told me it looked like Cinderella’s dress, and he mentioned that she’s your favorite Disney princess.” You turned around in Ben’s arms and brought him in for a kiss.

“It’s perfect, my prince.” He loved when you called him that, just as much as he loved calling you his princess.

“Let’s get this on you so you two can head down to the premiere!” Ben let go of you and sat on the bed, patiently waiting for you to finish getting dressed.

Once you slipped the silver heels on, Ben stood and grabbed your hand, guiding you to the elevator to head down to the car.

The entire ride to the venue, Ben was complimenting you nonstop. You didn’t even need to be wearing blush in the first place. Ben’s hand never left yours as you two stepped out of the car, and onto the carpet full of photographers from newspapers, magazines, and websites.

His hand moved to the small of your back, conveniently where there was a hole in the dress.

“BEN! BEN! OVER HERE!” The paparazzi continued to shout to get his attention. You now remembered why you hated premieres, especially the one for your first movie.

“How do you do this all the damn time, Ben?” You laughed as he pulled you along.

“I’m still not used to it. But now that I have you, maybe it’ll be better.” He leaned in to press a kiss to your forehead, your eyes closing in happiness.

You were then pulled away to do interviews. Well, Ben was doing them while you stood off to the side with the assistant you two were assigned.

You made small talk with her, but noticed that Ben was waving you over. You immediately walked over to him, his arm subconsciously wrapping around your waist.

“So, how is life with Ben so far? We saw today that he confirmed your relationship, but how long has this been going on?” She was super nice, but she couldn’t have asked Ben this?

“Well, we just got together two days ago, but we’ve known each other for over two years. We met on while shooting Bohemian Rhapsody, but things didn’t start off well,”

“I was a jerk to her, let’s just leave it there,” Ben cut you off, not wanting to explain your whole story. You caught on and gave very vague details.

“Yeah, it wasn’t easy, there was a lot of ups and downs, but I’m so happy that we’re finally together. He’s such a loving and caring person.” Ben stared at you with so much love and adoration, he felt his heart skip so many beats just by looking at you.

The night continued, surprisingly with ease. Ben stayed by your side the entire night, knowing how much you hated premieres, and held your hand as much as he could. If he wasn’t able to, his hand was pressed to your back. He wanted you to feel as comfortable as possible. And he did.

The party was coming to a close about three hours later, and you honestly couldn’t be happier. You couldn’t wait to finally sleep in a real bed. Ben didn’t drink tonight just because he knew he had to drive home; you were thankful for that because it meant that you weren’t going to have to drive him. It’s not that you didn’t want to, you just hate night driving, especially since the drive back to your place is not lit by street lights.

Once Ben said his final goodbyes to everyone, he grabbed your hand and headed to the same car that you two arrived in. It immediately headed for the hotel, and once it arrived in the front, you two quickly ran inside to gather your things so you could head home.

“You ready, love?” Ben asked once you were both settled in the car, both of you back in your comfy clothes, your fancy ones packed away in the backseat.

“Yep.” He pulled out of the parking lot and started in the direction of your home.

An hour and forty five minutes later, you two arrived home, although you had to be woken up by Ben, after falling asleep fifteen minutes in to the drive. You felt bad for leaving Ben in the quiet, although he did have the radio. What you didn’t know is that he didn’t mind; it gave him time to think about your future together.

The second you two were inside, you immediately trudged up the stairs to remove your makeup and undo your hair. Ben followed close behind, quickly changing into a plain white t-shirt and his boxers. You however, stayed in his sweats and t-shirt; it was a little cold in the room anyways.

Ben was already laying in bed under the covers, while you were struggling to stay awake, trying to take your hair down. You groaned out in annoyance, and Ben suddenly appeared, not saying a word. Instead, he silently helped you retrieve all of the bobby pins and clips in your hair and set them on the counter.

Once they were all out and your makeup was off, you switched the bathroom light off and quickly slipped under the covers. A few seconds later, Ben was under them as well, pulling you into his chest and holding you close.

“I love you, baby. So much. Thanks for coming with me to the release party. I know how much you hate these types of things,” he whispered quietly, not wanting to ruin the peaceful setting.

“I love you too. I want to support you through everything. I’ll always be here, right by your side, Ben. Now let’s sleep, I’m exhausted.” He chuckled lightly and pressed his lips to your head.

“Goodnight, love.” You didn’t respond, so he knew you were already passed out. He smiled to himself as he took in his surroundings.

A couple hours outside of the city, in your new home, finally sleeping in your bed together for the first time. He is content, and wouldn’t have it any other way.

tags: @kazzys-queenblog

#ben hardy #ben hardy imagines #ben hardy imagine #ben hardy x reader #bohemian rhapsody #bohemian rhapsody imagines #borhap #gwilym lee #joe mazzello #rami malek #roger taylor #john deacon #freddie mercury #brian may #imagines #imagine #fanfiction #fanfic

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bakugou-jpg · 6 years

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A shoulder to cry on [Bakugou x reader]

So due to the fact that the fight episode launched yesterday, i got really inspired by the amazing job the animators did and also Bakugou’s voice actor so decided to write this.

A pair of (E/c) eyes were fixated on the clock that was hanging on the wall. It was already pretty late, around 11:46 pm. Not that late of course, but (Y/n) was aware of the fact that everyone else was already sleep. They wanted to sleep too, but for some reason their mind strongly disagreed with them and had them lying awake for almost two hours so far.

It was tiring, and which probably bothered them the most was the fact that their throat was starting to get dryer with every second on the clock. It came to the point where they’d swallow their saliva to down the irritating feeling down, which obviously didn’t work.

Groaning, they pushed themselves up from bed and put both of their feet on the groun, resting their elbows on top of it while burying their face into the palm of their hands.

It had been awfully quiet at this hour, the only sounds they heard being loud explosives and sounds of things crashing from the distant which was probably construction nearby the school.

Pushing themselves out of bed, they stumbled around their room with hair that looked like a balloon was rubbed over their scalp and later held above it fluffy and messy not a single strand standing in the same direction.

Their eyes were squinted as they looked down at their screen, immediately turning the brightness to it’s lowest so they wouldn’t be blind by the time they finally opened their snapchat. Which was a bunch of pictures coming from Kaminari who was doing his usual late night thinking, the weirdest questions being asked over a pic of a very confused and tired looking electricity hero.

Silently laughing and smiling, (Y/n) opened the door of their dorm and walked out the door that lead to the rather dark hallway. They had to make sure they were quiet so they wouldn’t get caught by Aizawa. Not that they’d get scolded, but Aizawa had already shown a bit of concern for them staying up so late and last time he caught them sneaking in the kitchen to get something to drink around 3 am he told them he’d contact infirmary girl for treatment and maybe some medicine.

‘Okay, but hear me out, the dollar bills we use to put in vent machines..What if they were ever in a stripper’s thong?’

(Y/n) snorted and looked at the crumbled dollar bill that was being lit with the flashlight mode as Kaminari took a photo of it. They never knew if the boy was trying to act like a complete idiot to make others laugh or if he truly was a huge idiot, but either way it made them laugh every single time.

When they tapped their screen again, they immediately broke into laughter while covering their hand to muffle the sound. A wide grin pulled at the edges of their lips as they watched a blurry selfie of Kaminari with his face covered in dollar bills, three 💦 emojis as caption.

(Y/n) tapped on their phone a few more times before swiping and quickly replying to Kaminari, a grin plastered on their face. Whilst doing so, they hadn’t noticed the person that was walking their way with hands dug into his pockets.

Crimson eyes were focused on the ground, ash blonde hair blocking anyone from seeing the expression on his face. Not that anyone was able to see him in the first place, since the hallways were dark due to the fact Aizawa had turned off the lights because of the late hour.

His (H/c) haired s/o hadn’t seem to notice him yet, since they were looking down at their phone screen with a now blank face. What ticked him off was the fact their were bags underneath their eyes, hinting to the fact they had once again stayed up late.

Not taking his eyes off of the ground, he hooked his fingers underneath the back of their collar which made them softly yelp and stumble backwards.

“K-Katsu- Hey, what do you think you’re doing?!” They hissed softly while stumbling over their feet, having already turned off their phone and pushed into their pocket. (Y/n) kept reaching out for the hand that was latched onto their shirt but simply couldn’t reach it.

Before the could turn around, Bakugou had already stopped in front of the door of his dorm and let them go. He shoved his key into the door, fumbling around with the slot as his s/o inched closer to them.

“Katsuki, look at me” They said while trying to get some sort of reaction out of him or maybe even just eye contact. When the ash blonde didn’t react, their face fell and a worry was written all over their face.

“..Are you okay, Kats-”

Bakugou opened the door and removed the key, shoving it into his pockets while grabbing (Y/n)’s hand and pulling them inside once again without a single word being spoken. Bakugou didn’t even look at them once, his hair preventing them for being able to read his eyes.

The door got shut behind him and his back faced (Y/n). They couldn’t clearly see him because his room was dark, but the light of the moon shining into his room made them able to atleast see more detail compared to the hallway.

A pair of (E/c) slowly traveled over his figure, immediately widening as they saw the injuried covering his muscular body something which wasn’t there when they last saw him before they left to go to their room a few hours ago.

The sounds of explosives and destruction they had heard while laying on bed immediately popped up in their mind and quickly put two and two together.

“Katsuki Bakugou, what did you do?!” (Y/n) hissed, laying their hand on top of his shoulder. Again, Bakugou kept silent while looking down at the ground, not even feeling the need to turn around.

“Katsu-”

Bakugou jerked his shoulder away from them and turned around. His eyes were red and tears reflected into the moon light, making their eyes widen. Before (Y/n) could open their mouth, Bakugou launched forward and wrapped his arms around their form, his face dug into their shoulder.

They were left shocked. In the time they had known Bakugou, he never cried. Of course Bakugou never showed a lot of emotion but anger, but they could easily read him like a book. It was one of the reasons he fell for them, they understood him like no one else did. They had seem him feel down on rare occasions, but not once did they see his eyes filled with tears.

Arms snaked around Bakugou’s body and a hand gently rubbed his back. “Do you wanna talk about it?” They softly whispered, moving one of their hands to his ear and softly trailing the edges of it.

Bakugou stayed silent and tightened his arms around them, his face nuzzling deeper into their shoulders and quickly clearing his nose. He shook his head and inhaled the scent coming off of their clothes. “Just let me hold you..” He muttered, his voice cracking and immediately hinting to the fact he was surpressing a lump in his throat.

(Y/n) smiled softly and nodded, softly kissing the side of his head. “Of course” They said as they felt their shoulder and the cheek that was pressed against the crook of their neck getting wet.

For some reason their throat, something which was the only thing they could think of just a few minutes ago, was completely forgotten as they slowly guided their boyfriend to the bed that was shoved into the corner of his room not letting go of him once.

“Hey, Katsuki, i know i said you could hold me but you gotta let me go for a few seconds if we wanna get on the bed. You should also get rid of the filthy clothes” (Y/n) said while patting his back and backing up a little.

Bakugou removed his arms from their body and returned his gaze to the ground. He quickly reached over to the hem of his shirt and lifted it over his head, tossing it away somewhere in the room and kicking his pants off in the progress.

(Y/n) quickly turned off their phone and gently tossed it onto the nightstand, hoping that they didn’t damage it by doing so. They were already dressed in their pajama, due the fact that they were already supposed to be asleep.

Switching their gaze to from their phone to their boyfriend, they immediately frowned when they saw the small trail of tears upon his cheeks. (Y/n) took a step closer to him and cupped his cheek with their hand, gently wiping the tears away and smiling softly while doing so.

“I’m really proud of you, you know that right?” (Y/n) asked, making Bakugou finally look up with surprise. His gaze softened and he opened his mouth, only to be cut off by a hand being cupped over his lips.

“..No matter what” They added, removing their hand off of his mouth and placing it onto his cheek again. Leaning forward, they gently placed their lips on top of his and kept stroking his wet cheeks with their thumb.

Bakugou closed his eyes and melted into the kiss, placing his hands on their waiste out of habit. He leaned into the kiss and they both pulled back, leaning their foreheads onto one and another.

His crimson eyes softened and Bakugou cupped the hand that was on his cheek thumb while not taking his eyes off of theirs. “Thank you..” He muttered softly while planting a kiss into the palm of their hand.

(Y/n) smiled and wrapped their hand around his wrist, pulling him down onto the bed. They shuffled to the side and pulled up the blankets, waiting for their boyfriend to lay down.

Bakugou only sighed and laid down next to them, snaking his arm around their body and nuzzling his face into the pillow. A hand immediately latched onto his head and (Y/n)’s fingers moved through his hair.

With a smile, they looked down at Bakugou and kissed his forehead, wiping some of the left over stray tears away from his face. His half lidded eyes watched their lips form into a smile as they planted another soft kissed on top of his head.

They moved closer to him and Bakugou moved his face closer to their chest, pressing it against it and closing his eyes.

He felt comfortable. Although Bakugou is someone who struggles with emotions and sometimes with words, especially with his s/o, he doesn’t have to struggle with it because they can see right through him. (Y/n) knows how to calm him down, knows exactly what to say and do.

Bakugou isn’t afraid to sometimes show them his weak side, because they taught him that that was okay. That he could feel as comfortable with them as he wanted, so comfortable to show them a side no one else had ever seen.

He knew he was an asshole most of the time, so having someone so incredibly kind and calm by his side made him feel a ‘bit’ grateful even though he hated to admit it.

(Y/n) slowly closed their eyes and the fingers that were dancing around Bakugou’s scalp slowed down.

“I love you..” Bakugou muttered softly, fighting the urge to fall into a deep sleep. His cheeks were tinted a light shade of pink. He could hear their heartbeat increasing and softly grinned while slowly letting sleep take over him.

(Y/n)’s eyes immediately shot open out of shock and they looked down at him, mouth slightly agape. Their cheeks were a bright shade of red, them being extremely grateful Bakugou was nuzzled into their chest and couldn’t see their face.

Bakugou never said I love you, atleast not directly. They never said it either, maybe it was because neither of them felt the need to.

But for Bakugou to act so soft and sappy, made their heart flutter and cherish the moment, knowing that tomorrow morning it would be all over again.

A smile made it’s way onto their face and they closed their eyes, nuzzling their nose into his hair. They softly kissed his forehead on more time and stroked the back of his head.

“I love you too, Katsuki”

#bnha #mha #boku no hero academia #my hero academia #bakugou katsuki #bakugou x reader #bakugou katsuki x reader #anime #fanfiction

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bangtanficrecs · 5 years

Text

Lost & Found Batch #18

The newest batch was long overdue ^^;; As always, if you happen to know the fic the ask is looking for, reply to this post or send us an ask with the request number and title/author. If you happen to know any fics from Past Batches, those are more than welcome as well. Thank you!! ~ Admin P

1) Hi! I think my ask got lost TT I was wondering if you guys know of a vmin fic on ao3 where they’re roommates and jimin likes tae and decided to seduce him by asking him to take nude pics of him, and tae ended up not reacting and then they admitted that they both liked each other? Or something along those lines. PLEASE HELP IT WAS SO AWESOME AND I LOVED IT :( thank you!!!

you're only brave in the moonlight by ameliabedelias

2) Hi!! so a while back i was reading a yoonseok fic on ao3, it was smut, and i wanted to read it again but i cant find it, i was wondering if you could help??? it was yoonseok and yoongi was a "beta" but soon found out he was an omega he called himself a "late bloomer"?? and hoseok walks in, they have sex, and i specifically remember yoongi feeling hoseoks dick in his stomach and "rubbing" it. i know its wierd but can you please help me find it???

A Test in What, Exactly, Is "Too Much" by Yooniefucks

3) Hello, I'm trying to find a fic that has taekook in it. I don't actually remember what the fic is about, but I remember that jungkook is a guard/knight and somewhere along the story, the Prince (?) finds out that jungkook is a werewolf since he was bitten as a child and he imprinted on taehyung, who's human if I'm not mistaken. The king took him in, and he used to be chained to a cage/cave (?) during full moon. It will be great if you can help me :) thank you! 💜

4) Hi, I'm trying to find this yoonjin fic were yoongi is walking home from an underground gig and it's late at night. He smells fresh baked goods and it leads him to a building he passes by all the time but never noticed before. He goes inside and jin fixes him a drink and gives him a muffin/cupcake. At the end jin reveals that he's magic and he cast a spell to find love. Thank you for your help!!

5) I'm looking for a yoongi/jimin fic where jimin is abused by his boyfriend (I think the author used a random idol) and yoongi catches on and tries to help but jimin is really damaged. The rest of the group lowkey knows jimin abused but don't know how to help. Sorry I can't remember lots of details but it was really angsty and good

6) hello, im looking for some kind of royalty fan fic where jimin was visiting yoongi’s palace/home? I can’t remember why but they weren’t close in the beginning. All I can remember was a scene where a bunch of boys were in a room smoking and playing poker (half naked?) and a young servant/slave who was able to play any piano piece after just listening to it once and in the end he left with a Russian man who made music.... thank youu

7) Ugh I seriously need help! I’ve been looking for this fic I lost for 3 days now, I really want to read it again! I’m going to be upset if it was deleted :( anyway, it was a fic where the boys were on their way to something and they got in a car crash but it was only Jin, Hoseok, Yoongi, Tae and Kook. Then Jin and Hoseok were kidnapped by a guy named Sung I think, and the fic focused on Yoongi and Tae and Kook traveling through the woods they crashed in looking for Jin and Hobi and then (pt.1) Jimin and Joon were at a hotel with their manager and they were convinced something was wrong and they wanted to go look for them. In the end they got rescued and they killed the Sung guy and Yoongi was shot and I just really want to find it again cause there was an unfinished sequel. I’m so upset. I hope this was enough to help you help me lookfor it!

8) YOOO what's poppin sis'. Can yall help me. I've been looking for this fic where the rap line is an underground rap line and like they perform cypher pt 3? Idfr the name but the main pairings were namjin and yoonmin. Thanks 🤪🤪🧡

9) Hi there! I was hoping you guys could help me find this fic - it's on AO3. It was multi-chaptered, completed, and was a collection of namjoon centric oneshots/drabbles. one of the chapters was inspired by the "princess princess" anime and featured joon wearing panties, bent over jin's lap, before yoongi came to rescue him from a bunch of onlookers. please help!!

10) Hi! I’m looking for a Yoongi/Jungkook fic. I’ve been searching nonstop for a few weeks and I think the author may have deleted it. The plot line is basically this: Jungkook is a medical student who falls in love with Yoongi and eventually loses his drive in the field. I know it has sexual content so it’s either M rated or E. One of the tags was ‘slow burn’ and ‘Jungkook cries a lot’. Thanks in advance!

11) Hello! In the lost chuchu batch 16, #13 is "I Can't Even" by handintheshot in Ao3. But I can't find a link of it. Also, I'd like to ask whether you know about the fic where jimin suddenly has a vagenay and then proceeds to have a hot threesome with jk and tae? If possible, can you please recommend me more like those? Thank you so much 💜

12) Hello! Do u guys know of a vmin pwp oneshot where taehyung has ADHD? They sit in a chair for most of it, and the premise has a slight focus on how Jimin makes it easier for Tae to sit still. It was really sweet, and I can't find it :c

13) I am looking for a 6+1 fic where Namjoon is homeless and in each iteration a different member takes him into their home and life. A recurring element is a cake decorating book that Namjoon borrows from the library - a page falls out detailing how to make a flower with icing, and he keeps it in his pocket. I have used my search-fu but I cannot find it. It was on AO3. I hope you can help, even if it's just with a possible name I can run via the Wayback machine! Thanks!

14) Hello! I would like to ask your help into searching for a story that I can't, for the life of me, find. It's a Yoonmin story but what I remember the most is that Jungkook works as a janitor in an office and he quits because his boss is horrible. However, Taehyung, whom his boss is interested in working with, will only sign the proposal if they rehire Jungkook, so the boss sends Jimin to do it, since Jimin is friends with the both of them. In the end, they all end up working at the same place. TY

15) Hello. I'm looking for a fic where the group had six members but Suga time travels/dimension travels and becomes part of the group as a secret member. I remember that Jin is doing a vlive and is squirted with a water gun but everyone thinks it's Jimin. And when it's reveled to be Suga he's in his dorm room and pulls a big super soaker from under his blankets. I hope that's enough. It's super specific but I can't seem to find it. I hope you can help me :)

16) hey i was looking for this soul reaper or angel?? au where jungkook dies and is taken to the shinigami/reaper realm by the reaper (i think it was yoongi) and i cant find it anywhere :(( i think he dies bc of his new friends and the fic opens with a scene where the reaper sends one of his murderers souls to hell? The reader finds out later i guess. Id really appreciate it if u could find that :(( thank you!

An anon believes it’s Naught Readings For Naughty Readers by supermans_crib, however that has been on AO3

17) Hi! I had recently lost one of the greatest ffs ever, it was a jikook au where they were in the military (?) and jimin had went into a stage sort of like heat and jungkook had to fuck him, he got hekka scared afterwords but they ended up liking eachother

as if it's your last by fatal (cumrich)

18) Hi! I'm trying to find a NamJin fic. I searched the fics here and my bookmarks on AO3 (since I swear I bookmarked it) but I can't seem to find it. It starts out where Yoongi is accusing Namjoon of not moving on. We find out that Namjoon and Seokjin are friends and Namjoon confessed to Seokjin and was rejected. Things get complicated when Seokjin keeps coming around and even interfering with someone Namjoon starts dating. Memorable scene, Seokjin chasing Namjoon in the dark screeching his name.

everything moves on by fruitily

19) Hello. I am looking for a namgi fic where yoongi works in an old bookshop and likes wearing feminine clothing , and namjoon works at a cafe but visits the bookshop often. Namjoon likes art and philosophy but is scared of his parent's reactions so yoongi tells him to fuck society and to "wake up from your sad life and figure out who you are", they eventually kiss as well. I read it on AO3. Your help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

20) Hi! I was wondering if y’all could help out with a fic I remember reading? jimin pining for yoongi and for some weird reason I remember a specific scene where jimin (whose brought food for yoongi) waits for yoongi outside of (a studio?) falls asleep waiting and wakes up when yoongi and someone else walk out. Jimin had wanted to eat with him I think but yoongi either says that he’s already ate or is headed to eat with the person. It’s unrequited feelings for a bit of the story.

21) There was a fix where yoongi was a prince and he went out and on the way met all the members who were disney princesses, it was a parody kind of, min yoonji was sleeping beauty and she went back to sleep again and from her castle members got a cat and kittens, can you please find it

22) Hello! I read this fiction a loonnggggg time ago where vminkook were in high school detention I think and kook could read minds and read tae's mind once and hes thinking about potatoes so he calls him potato boy but then the next time tae's thinking about fucking jimin and like yeah LOL I think they all end up in a threesome at the end but yeah I dont remember the title or author ))):

23) what’s that fanfic when it’s an au one of them is overweight and they join their school gym or something? and fall in love with the person who trains them. and there’s this beach scene and a car wash scene near the end. been looking for it for a while, hope you can help!

24) hi! i’m looking for a fic i read a while back, i think it was vmin and one of them had been hurt so the other got them off and they ended up in a relationship i think? pretty sure it was cannon compliant too! thanks!

25) so tae is a student and jk is a professor. jk is engaged to this woman (mina?). basically they are both straight but end up falling for each other so before jk gets married he plans to break up with the girl but she blackmails him with pics of him and his student and turns crazy. i don’t rlly remember what happens after that but later they eventually end up together. i think it’s ab 10 chapters. i’m pretty sure i read it on ao3!

26) Hello! I was reading this taekook fic on ao3 but I forgot what it was called ☹️ basically jungkook travels back in time and kidnaps his last self to tell him how in the future Tae kills himself, so jungkook tries to get his past self to be nicer to Tae and stop him. Past jungkook thinks that Tae cheated on him but he was actually forced to have sex with his “boss” but jungkook doesn’t give him a chance to explain and starts cheating on Tae and is being really nasty to him. Ah help plz if you can

27) I’m searching for a fic and i really can’t find it ... i remember it’s jikook (but not really) and it’s about jungkook (who thinks he’s straight) who downloads a porn (by mistake i think) of minjoon and like he ends up liking it, it’s so vague i’m sorry kfhskcj

care to stay for the ride? by voseok

Want to ask us something? We’d love to help, but please be sure to read the FAQ and check our Tags List before or your question may go unanswered.

#longest one yet #long post #will be tagging that if anyone wants to blacklist!#lost and found #lost and found batch

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pinapple-qween · 6 years

Text

I’m Capable!

Relationship: Jason Todd x Reader (angstyyyyyyyy)

Summary: Hi! Can you do a Jason Todd x reader where the reader goes on her first mission and Jason gets like super overprotective and they fight about it

Author: wazzup nerds, I’m back!

Key: Y/N= your name, L/N= your last name, S/H/N= your superhero name

Warnings!: Language, death

After months of training and researching in the safety of the BatCave, Bruce finally agreed to let you go on patrol. You seemed to excel at helping Batman stop street crime, so much so that Bruce approached you one evening, before leaving for patrol, and took you aside.

“Y/N, you’ve been a real help keeping Gotham’s streets free of crime as S/H/N. I’m proud of how far you’ve come and all the training you’ve put into this,” Bruce gave you a smile, his highest sign of pride, and continued, “Would you want to join us on the next mission? Before you say anything, I want you to know that missions are way more dangerous then patrol. Things can go wrong very easily on a mission.” Bruce looked you up and down. “What do you say?”

You took a deep breath, you knew this was going to be difficult but it wasn’t anything you felt you couldn’t handle. You looked Bruce in the eyes and sternly stated, “Yes. I’m in.”

Weeks before your mission with Batman and the Batboys, you were continually debriefed by Tim and trained harder by Dick and Damian than you’d ever trained with them before. It was to the point were you had to disappear if you wanted any alone time. The only person who seemed to ignore you was Jason, which wasn’t surprising.

You and Jason never really got along, you always felt as if Jason thought you didn’t belong with them. Maybe it was because you were a girl. Maybe it was because he just didn’t really take to newcomers. You don’t think you’ll ever know the reason, but you weren’t planning on going anywhere anytime soon.

One of the times, three days before the mission, you were trying to hide out and get a little peace and quiet, you ran smack dab into Jason. You stumbled backwards from the solid mass and looked at who you ran into. When you saw it was Jason, and Jason had recognized you, you both grimaced.

“Watch where you’re walking,” he grumbled.

“Whatever,” you mumbled back. You went to continue walking but he grabbed your arm. “What?”

Jason’s face distorted in a compassionate kind of way before it returned to his normal scowl. “Don’t go on the mission. You’ll get hurt.”

Surprised by the comment, your eyebrows shot up. “W-what?”

Spinning you around to face him face to face, Jason leaned down to be eye level with you. “Don’t. Go.”

If his tone wasn’t so patronizing, you would’ve thought Jason actually cared about your well-being. But alas, he sounded like he wasn’t happy that you were tagging along. Angrily, you spat, “I can do what I want. I’m capable of anything! You have no say in where I go or what I do. You aren’t the boss of me!” You snatched your arm away from Jason’s grip and stormed off.

The day of the mission, the entire manor seemed to be on edge. Changes were being made to the plans every hour until everything was perfect, or as close to perfect as they could get. You did your best to help out or be out of the way, so everything could get done.

You sat in the living room, trying to focus on reading, glancing at the clock every few minutes. You tapped your foot as your eyes read and reread the same paragraph over and over. Time was moving as slow as it could until you heard feet trot down the hall towards the living room. In walked Tim, his hair raggedy and his eyes zooming over a stack of papers.

“Everything ready,” you asked, setting your book face down on the side table.

“As ready as we’ll ever be,” Tim sighed, “Y/N, this is one of the most important missions I’ve ever had to help plan and I’m nervous.”

You gave a little giggle, “Everyone gets nervous Tim.”

Tim looked at you seriously, “You don’t understand. I’m never nervous because I always have a solid and flexible plan. But this,” he smacked the papers,” this is complete nonsense!”

You lifted your eyebrows at his outburst. “Do you not believe in Bruce?”

Tim sighed even deeper than before, “It’s not that. It’s because this is so dangerous that I want to make sure no one will get hurt or worse.” With those words his eyes had shifted off of you and to the floor.

Your face got red with frustration and a little bit of anger as Tim inadvertently reminded you of your run in with Jason. “I can take care of myself, thank you very much.” You watched Tim’s face develop a blush as you stood from your chair and walked out of the room, going to the Batcave to wait for the debriefing.

Dick, Damian, Jason, Barbara, Stephanie, Tim, Bruce, and yourself as sat around the debriefing table in the Batcave and listened to Bruce go completely over the plan.

“Everyone understand?” Bruce waited for nods. “Good, okay, now for teams. Tim?”

Tim stood up, “Dick and Babs you’ll start here in the cave then Dick will hit the field after Babs works her magic. Damian you’re with Bruce, as per usual. Steph, you and me are strike team 1,” he pauses as Steph lets out a ‘yes!’, “that makes Jason and Y/N as strike team 2.”

Internally, you are groaning for a thousand years. Out of everyone in this cave and on this team, you got stuck with Jason. Jason! The one person out of everyone who didn’t want you on this mission is your teammate. Oh the how the fates like to mess you up.

After hating life for a moment, you look at Jason and see the he doesn’t seem phased. It’s probably because Tim told him that he’d have to deal with you before this and he prepared himself for it. You guessed he got all of his groaning out before hand.

Bruce spoke up again, “Get with your teammate and be prepared to leave in the next few minutes, I need to talk to Alfred then we’ll be off. Remember, you and your teammate are integral to this mission. Protect each other. It’s about to get dangerous.”

You and Jason walk over to your bikes. He stops you before you reach your bike. “You heard Bruce, this is going to be dangerous. Back out now. You aren’t going to be safe.”

Your face starts boiling. “He also said we’re all integral parts of this mission. I’m just as important as you are. We also have to protect each other, remember that?” You got right into his face.

Jason remained calm which infuriated you even more. “I’m trying to protect you before something bad happens,” his scowl makes his words mean nothing.

You watch Bruce walk to the Batmobile. You stare Jason right in his eyes, “Time to go.”

No one knows where it went wrong. No one knows how it went wrong. All anyone knows is that is went off the walls wrong.

The last thing you remember was Jason and you making your way to your ambush positions, but there was no one there. That was when you heard the sirens and the spotlights shown on you and him.

“S/H/N we gotta move! Go, go, go!” You ran ahead of Jason barely as he fired on the oncoming rouges. When he had a second, he yelled into his comm, “S/H/N and I are under heavy fire, requesting back up.”

Through static you heard Bruce’s voice, “We can’t get through to you guys! You need to retreat, get out of there!”

You see a clear ally and grab Jason’s arm, “Through here!” You drag him through and hit a wall. “Shit!” You spin around and watch as you two begin to be surrounded. Bruce’s words echo through your head, Protect each other. You look at Jason, “Red Hood, you climb. I’ll hold them off and when you reach the top, send down a rope. Got it?”

Even with his mask on, you could see the frown as he shook him head. “Red Hood! I’m not asking! Just do it.”

Begrudgingly, you watch as he began to scale the wall, one thing you knew you were bad at. I’ll have to work on that, you thought. It wasn’t until you saw blow back close to Jason’s foot that you remembered your job. You had to protect.

Jason looked down from his climbing and watch as you took on the advancing forces, encouraging him to pic up his pace. He knew you shouldn’t have come. He told Bruce. He told Tim. He told Dick, Damian, Steph, Babs, anyone he thought would listen, but no one did. He couldn’t lose you.

He swung his leg on top of the roof, readying a rope to throw down, when he watched you get hit. He didn’t see where it went, but it didn’t look good from the way you reacted. “Y/N!” He saw you turn and he dropped the rope down to you. He watched you grab it and he pulled you up to him. All he could think was to get you out of there.

Once he did, Jason grabbed your arm and started to run with you. He noticed that you were slowing down and, without a second thought, scooped you up into his arms. “Come on! We got to get out of here,” he looked at you an noticed how pale you were getting. “Y/N, stay with me. I promised to protect you damn it.”

You two were at your bikes when Jason set you back down, but you couldn’t stand. It was at that point that Jason realized you were shot in the stomach. “Shit!” Jason spoke into the comm, “Bruce, Y/N got shot and she isn’t looking good. We’re at our bikes, get here now!” Bruce replied but Jason was laser focused on you.

“Y/N I told you this was gonna be too dangerous. Why wouldn’t you listen to me? I love you and I wanted to keep you safe!” Jason’s head fell and he felt his tears start streaming down his cheeks.

A voice that sounded softer than the wind, whispered, “You love me?”

Jason fell to his knees, helmet discarded, and looked you in the eyes, “Always have.” He listen to you chuckled but it tuned into sour coughing. “Please, you gotta stay with me. I can’t lose you.”

You looked like you were about to say something, but Jason watched as your head lobed to the side. Lifeless.

And Jason sobbed over you forever.

#Jason Todd #jason todd x reader #jason todd fic #jason todd imagine #batman #BatFam #bruce wayne #dick grayson #red hood #red hood x reader #red hood imagine #Tim Drake #Damian Wayne #barbra gordon #stephanie brown #angst #death

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waywardwboys · 6 years

Text

Not alone

Characters: Sam Winchester, Dean Winchester, Reader.

Word Count: 2.5k

Warnings: self-doubt, low self-esteem, self-harm, swearing, mentions of blood and fluff.

Summary: the reader just can’t take it anymore. She’s sick of everything. When the Winchesters arrive and find her doing something they thought she’d never do, they calm her down and try to understand what’s happening.

A/N: so one more time, I felt like I needed to write down my true feelings as I always keep them to myself. No one should deal with mental illness alone. So if you’re suffering in silence like I usually do, feel free to send a message or comment below. You’re not alone. Special thanks to the gorgeous @coffee-shop-girl who has helped me so much. Thanks to anyone who’s reading this too, I appreciate your attention. English is not my first language, so I apologize if you read any nonsense. Hope you like it :)

Pics are not mine.

The books on the table fell and hit the floor. The chairs rolled until they crashed into a wall. The lamps on the library tables were broken, some bulbs had burnt out due to the constant hits they were getting. Y/N kicked the table legs, not caring about hurting her own feet afterward. She was kicking the surface with her hands as well, hurting her knuckles again and again but, one more time, she didn’t care about that either. Crying uncontrollably, her hair was a tangled mess, and her body required a break as soon as possible. Y/N new if she kept hurting herself like this, her carpals could break. But she couldn’t stop. She didn’t want to.

There was blood on her knuckles. But even though she noticed, she didn’t stop. Not until the Winchester's arrived.

When Dean opened the bunker door, the first thing he heard was Y/N’s unceasing screams. She seemed to be desperate. He ran towards her voice and reached the library, where he saw her strongly bumping her hands to the table.

“Y/N! Y/N, stop! It’s enough. Calm down!” he put his arms around her body trying to keep her from the table, but it was impossible. She got rid of him and continued hitting her hands to the hard surface of the wooden table. “Y/N, please! I need you to tell me what’s going on!”

Sam came running and interpose between her and the table.

“Move away, Sam” she frowned unable to stop crying.

“Listen, Y/N. You’re hurting yourself. I need you to stop doing that to your hands” he looked at her really worried.

“That’s what I want. Move away.”

Both boys were so surprised when they heard her words. Y/N, realizing Sam wouldn’t get out of her way, deciding to go around the table so that she would have more space to keep hitting it.

But the youngest Winchester interposed again and looked at her. That was not okay. She was not okay. And he needed to know why.

“Y/N, sweetheart. Why are you doing this?” Dean gave her a worried look.

“You don’t understand, Dean. No one does.”

“Everything is going to be okay, Y/N,” said Sam trying to approach her, as she started to step back.

“No! It’s not! It’s never going to be okay, Sam. Everyone tells me that. But they don’t know what the fuck is going on with me. They just say that because they don’t know what to say because they don’t understand.”

“But, honey, we won’t understand if you don’t explain what’s happening” Dean lowered his voice. Y/N was really nervous, she was almost shaking.

“What really happens is that I’m shit, Dean! I’m a fucking piece of useless shit, I’m a burden, a nuisance! That’s what’s happening. I’m not a person anymore, Dean. I’m insecurities. I’m insecurity personified. My mind is constantly playing games and it even hurts sometimes. My thoughts hurt. It hurts to think what I think, to feel what I feel. I’m always worried about what others think about me, about how would people react if I show how I really am… how would you react” she said with a hoarse voice as if her strength was failing her.

However, she seemed to be a bit calmer now that she let that all out. Y/N didn’t seem to be as desperate as she was before and didn’t look like wanting to bump her hands again into something that could make her bleed.

Dean made his way towards her and hugged her tightly. He thought Y/N would kick him or pull him, but it didn’t happen. She didn’t hug him back, but she didn’t reject him either. She just stood in his arms while he hugged her.

“Y/N, can you give me an example? What does your mind play with? What are those insecurities you talk about?” Sam asked approaching them.

“I’m wetting Dean’s fucking flannel with my fucking tears. And I feel guilty about it because he doesn’t deserve to be stained by something as dirty as the tears of this fucking piece of shit who does not deserve a thing in this world.”

Dean pulled her out and looked into her eyes. Then, he kissed her forehead.

“I wouldn’t kiss a piece of shit, Y/N. You’re not these things you’re saying, honey.”

“I can’t believe you. I just can’t. I’ve been to therapy because of this, Dean. And the life I left behind me when I decided to hunt next to you, included my therapist too. I’ve been feeling like this for so long and… I don’t know if it’s even worth it to be still alive just to suffer like that, you know?”

Sam couldn’t stand it anymore and walked towards her. He pulled his brother away from her and hugged her. He was able to understand what the girl was going through, he had had suicidal thoughts some time ago. He ran a hand through her hair and started talking.

“Listen, honey. We’ll call your therapist tomorrow to set up an appointment as soon as possible, okay? Is that okay with you? Leaving your past life behind doesn’t mean that you can’t resume it. Especially when we talk about something as important as a therapist. You know what? Once I was about to do something, that today I’m not proud of. I wanted to finish the third trial to complete something that Dean and I were eager for.”

“Closing the gates of hell” Dean murmured realizing what his brother was talking about.

“But if I had done it” he continued, “I would have died. At that moment I didn’t care about that because I wanted to end what I had started. But Dean made me see how much he loved me and still does. I chose to live, Y/N. I chose the second opportunity. I’m not telling you this because I want you to pity me or admire me or whatever. I’m telling you so that you can see that you’re not the only one who’s going through this. You’re not the only one thinking about suicide or feeling insecure.”

“A piece of shit doesn’t deserve a second opportunity, Sam.”

“I know. But you’re not any piece of shit. So you have nothing to worry about. And even though you may not believe this, honey, you’re a great human being. You’ve saved our lives so many times that I’ve honestly lost count. You’re smart, funny, gorgeous, you’re a great friend. You’re always worried about others, you have goals you want to achieve. Like when you asked Dean if he could teach you how to improve your aim. You drove him crazy by asking him for advice or taking him to the shooting range so that he could watch you while you practiced. And if he didn’t help, then you turned to me. You’re determined, honey. And that’s the best skill a hunter can have. Not talent or aim, but the ability to fight for what you want and get it at all cost.”

“But she’s not just a great hunter, Sammy,” said Dean this time. “She’s an awesome girl. Do you remember when he made that delicious apple pie? I swear that your apple pie is only served in Heaven, Y/N.” She smiled and finally hugged Sam back. They were making her feel better, how could she have two fantastic boys like them in her life? “And when you nerds read those Harry Potter books and start making comments about them but I don’t understand a word you say. Or when you’re cooking with your earphones on and you don’t realize that I’m watching you from the door. Or when you go to sleep and you ask for a flannel because it’s the most comfortable thing you’ve ever worn” he said emphasizing in this last sentence. “Those are the little things that define you, baby. They’re part of you. And you know what? I love them. And I wouldn’t change them for all the pie in the world.”

Y/N softly pulled Sam back and ran towards Dean, who received her with open arms.

“I’ll bring you a glass of water, Y/N. I think you need it” Sam mentioned running towards the kitchen.

When he got back, Dean and Y/N were still hugging. She took a sip from the glass and left it on the table she had hit with her own hands minutes ago. Y/N looked at her bloody knuckles and now, at this exact moment, she regretted it. She regretted bumping her hands into the hard surface of the table just because she hated herself. Now that she had the boys’ support, she was feeling so much better.

Dean lifted her chin softly and his eyes met hers. “Don’t worry about that now. We’ll solve that later” he said.

She nodded and looked at her feet.

“There’s something more guys,” she said avoiding eye contact.

“What is it, sweetheart?” asked Sam.

“I’ve been pretty selfish lately. When I met you, I was completely alone. I had no friends, no family… I had no one. And you guys came out of nowhere and changed my world. And every time I don’t join your hunt trips and I stay here instead… It’s a hell.”

“What do you mean?” asked Dean a bit confused.

“I never thought I’d need you that much, guys. The days feel like years when I’m alone. Everything reminds me of you. I never thought I’d need you guys there when I don’t feel okay. I always suffer alone, silently. And every time you’re not here, I feel awful. I count the days until I see you again. God, it’s insane. You don’t know how much I miss you when you leave the bunker. You saved my life, after all, when no one did. I don’t think I could admire you more than I actually do. And these selfish thoughts just make me feel like a fucking shit again. Because it’s obvious that there are lots of people who need you more than I do. They need you to save them from a vampire, or a vengeful spirit, or a werewolf; when I just need my friends next to me” she looked at Dean, then at Sam. They were both holding their breath. “Don’t you understand? Don’t you see how selfish it is?”

Sam ran a hand through his hair and looked her in the eyes.

“Y/N, sweetheart. It’s not. It’s not selfish at all.”

“How isn’t it?”

“It’s not, baby. It just shows how much you love us” Dean said approaching her.

“I didn’t think you could love us that much, to be honest,” Sam smiled.

“Sam, you saved my life. I had no one by my side and the two people who saved me are the ones who I live with right now. It’s not just about love, but about loyalty too.”

“Don’t deny it, honey. You love us to bits” Dean smiled and hugged her again.

“Dean, I’m serious. When you leave, you take something of me with you and I don’t know what to think about it” she insisted on hugging him back.

“Well, that’s easy to solve. Next time we leave, you’re coming with us” said Sam this time.

“What if I can’t go?”

“Why wouldn’t you?” asked Dean pulling her back.

“I don’t know, what if I mess it all up?”

“You won’t, baby. You never mess anything up. But if you don’t want to join the hunt, you can stay at the motel room until we’re back. That way we’d be close. How about that?” Sam smiled.

“I’d be eternally grateful, guys.”

“Then it’s settled. You won’t stay here all alone, Y/N. I promise” Dean kissed her forehead and sat down on one of the few chairs that were not broken.

Y/N couldn’t help but smile. It was strange how bad that situation had started. She destroyed her hands against a wooden table because of the huge pain she felt inside of her until the same brothers who saved her some time ago came and save her again. And now she was smiling because she’d never be alone again. She wouldn’t go away from them at any moment. Although, that made her feel something bad. Her smile disappeared and Sam instantly noticed.

“Y/N?” he asked.

“You’ll get tired of me. Sooner or later.”

“Are you joking?” she shook her head. “I’ll tell you something, Y/N. That’s fucking impossible. Believe me, impossible.

The feeling of insecurity was coming back again, so she said what she thought she needed at that time.

“May I sleep next to one of you tonight?” she asked regretting it instantly, thinking about how stupid she was. “I’m sorry, forget those last ten seconds, please.”

But the Winchesters just stared at her smiling.

“Y/N, you’re fucking adorable,” Said Dean. “You don’t ever have to ask, just choose a brother to spend tonight with.”

“Dean! That’s not what she meant, dude” Sam murmured.

“I know, Sammy, I’m just kidding.”

“I just… I need to feel that I’m not alone. I get it if you don’t want to but I…”

“Y/N, wait” Sam approached her and dried another falling tear. “You’re not alone. You’re with us. And if you ever need anything, just tell us. Anything. Don’t be scared of that, all right? Seriously, anything you need, baby.”

“Exactly. Whenever you need us just call us, and we’ll rescue you. Like those Marvel superheroes you like. We have no superpowers, but…”

“Dean” she interrupted. “There’s no Marvel character as great as you guys. There’s no one like the Winchesters. I am very lucky to be living with them.”

“Gosh,” Sam murmured hugging her tightly. “You’re the best. I swear to you that we wouldn’t know what to do without you. Do you know the only thing Dean talked about while we were getting back to bunker earlier?” he looked her in the eyes. “You. Your hair, your cooking, how much he likes those glasses you use when you read, your apple pie… I promise he didn’t stop drooling every time he mentioned that pie.”

“Sammy, please. I already told you guys that pie tastes like Heaven” Dean said making her laugh.

“I’m not a fan of pie but, Y/N, I have to say that I’d be so pleased to try it” Sam smiled again.

“Then I’ll get my hands to work if you want it that bad right after I clean all this mess,” she said looking around, still between Sam’s arms.

“No, sweetheart. Don’t worry about that. Why don’t you take care of her hands, Sam? We’ll talk about that pie later.”

“Are you sure?” she frowned.

“Of course” Dean smiled. “Come on, Sam. Take care of my little girl. I’ll clean this” the big brother ordered.

Sam caressed her hair and gave her a quick kiss on the forehead. Y/N smiled one last time and got out of the room followed by the youngest Winchester.

Dean heard them talking about the products that Sam wanted to use to heal her hands. He heard his brother talking about telling him to stop if he hurt her any moment. Dean smiled. The girl was in good hands. There was no doubt about that.

The oldest brother will make sure that she would not feel alone from now on. He swore that whispering and started cleaning.

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