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mallowstep · 3 years

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okay, i got an ask about an alternative to the misty au where leopardstar helps rescue the mistyfoot and featherpaw, so tigerstar ends up punishing her instead, and here's my answer:

cw: sexual assault, parents/children being involved in sexual assault

I had a horrible no good about the Misty AU where Leopardstar helped them escape and....Tigerstar took one of her lives, then...sexually assaulted her while making Mudfur watch until he was sure she was with kits and then he told Mudfur: "Maybe she'll go the same way as her mother." (If this is too dark I apologize immensely.)

hello, anon. let's talk, shall we?

cursory things out of the way, i generally don't mind what people put into my inbox. that said, if you're unsure, you can always ask first. i try to answer "housekeeping" qs as soon as i can.

now, onto the ask itself.

god DAMN is this an idea. poor mudfur. he doesn't deserve going through this. nor does leopardstar.

but like. here's the THING. we were talking about tigerstar's power a while ago and -- he's actually not maximizing his usage of it.

see, he has a thunderclan pov. in thunderclan, leaders and deputies are supposed to be -- a team. that's why they're so often mentors and apprentices. because they're supposed to fight side by side. it's supposed to be a very close relationship.

if you read mtbnsof,

"They will be slaughtered," he said, and really, she should have learned her lesson, because he lunged again, and this time, it wasn't for her shoulders — it hurt, blinding, and her eyes shut — and opened. Squirrelstar was bleeding, but she was still alive. Rosepetal had tackled Bramblestar, before he could complete the blow.

that's like -- the model thunderclan deputy. you're supposed to pick a deputy who you are that close with.

that's (part of) why tigerclaw's betrayal hurts bluestar so much.

but in riverclan -- the leader represents all of riverclan, and the deputy is, their enforcer, perhaps?

they're still a team, and still one of the very close relationships, but you're more likely to see friends and siblings chosen, with the goal of -- balancing each other out.

a thunderclan leader and deputy should not publicly disagree. but a riverclan leader and deputy might.

so -- when tigerstar has stonefur killed, he's trying to prove that he has such power over leopardstar that she wouldn't even intervene to save her own deputy. which does work, but it's not the most effective way to control riverclan.

the most effective way to control riverclan would be to get both leopardstar and stonefur on his side, and then have leopardstar defer to him.

uh. so uh. what's the best way to do that, then? well.

tigerstar just has to threaten mistyfoot and the apprentices to keep stonefur obedient. "just has to" i mean ig what i'm saying is. if your family's lives are on the line, you're pretty damn willing to go along with things.

but -- how does he. win leopardstar.

he has kits with her.

because -- well First of All if riverclan's leader is riverclan, then the leader's kits are -- the future of riverclan. so if leopardstar has kits with tigerstar, then riverclan's future is tigerclan. yeah?

Second of All leopardstar is known to not want kits and not like toms, right? like -- riverclan leaders are under a fair amount of pressure to have kits because that is the future of riverclan.

and she's not leader for long enough for that all to play out, but she was the deputy for a while, and -- riverclan knows her. they know how she feels.

so. no matter how well tigerstar hides it -- riverclan will know that it's not voluntary.

and -- leopardstar is riverclan.

but like i just -- okay so god. this is. fljksd;lal;f; j. back on topic to the actual ask -- it's a very very interesting story. not something i Personally would write i don't think, because. i'm not sure i would do a very good job of it? i don't think i am -- sufficiently visceral, i suppose.

and this feels like something where. you'd want mudfur's realizations.

i think it'd be a punishment for him too, wouldn't it? he must have helped them escape. he must have known.

i think for me. like when i was writing "after the foxes have known our taste," one of the...one of the sections i was most -- invested in? was these two paragraphs.

"To talk." Leopardstar sits next to him, pulling herself in, like if she makes herself smaller, she will absolve herself of the guilt she carries. (And he knows she carries it. He was barely her deputy for a season, but he has known her his whole life. She will never say it — and because she never will, Mistyfoot will never forgive her — but he sees it in her shoulders.) "We used to be friends."

and then

Leopardstar nods, draws herself together. She looks like herself, again. Regal. Not for the first time, Stonefur thinks that Leopardstar would have made a more striking image on the Bonehill.

i think. leopardstar makes the decisions she makes for the good of her clan

(and oh, tigerstar would use that against her.

"Don't you care about the future, Leopardstar? There are no more kits in the nursery.")

and so in that moment with stonefur, she's...turning to who was supposed to be her counterbalance, and trading all of her pride and strength for vulnerability. and when stonefur -- not rejects her, but tells her he's not ready, she returns to Leopardstar of Riverclan.

but mudfur is her father. the moment of vulnerability with him in denouncement is

"Come with us," she says, pleading. She feels like a kit, begging her father to let her leave camp. "There will always be a space for you in RiverClan." "I thought I taught you better than that," he says, and there is warmth in his voice, like sun on water. "There is no point in keeping spent bones." Leopardstar cracks. She presses her muzzle into him, breathing his scent, past the herbs and illness that clings to him. "Please don't leave me," she says, even though she is the one who is leaving.

and -- while that's not misty au canon, there's a reason that at the end of "the blood is rare and sweet as cherry wine," mudfur tells leopardstar she has work to do.

because by the time mistyfoot and featherpaw do escape, leopardstar has already, in mudfur's eyes, transgressed far beyond the forgiveable.

but now -- his daughter is hurt. and she's -- does she want his comfort? or does she try to be leopardstar of riverclan?

yeah. that's. some good emotional stuff to dip into.

i have -- tawnypelt to explore these ideas with. uh. tbisrasacw contains. sufficient implications but -- mistyfoot's treatment is uncomfortably public.

that's gonna come up again later, i think, but in tawnypelt's first fic, which i'm still toying with official titles for, but has the provisional title of "see them starving in the street," but uh there's a few ideas that it tackles.

all of these tackle -- several ideas. "heaven and hell were words to me" is probably the most, singular plot line of the fic. there's a reason i started with featherpaw's fic and not mistyfoot's.

tbisrasacw balances featherpaw and mistyfoot, and atfhkot is sliding between all of these different cats with moments of what stonefur feels peaking through.

i'm still deciding if i'm publishing "i didn't care much how long i lived" (feathertail) or "like this morning reveals to me" (stonefur) tonight, but idcmhlil is about featherpaw's relationships to other cats, so it naturally pulls in a lot of ideas, and ltmrtm is mistyfoot from stonefur's perspective, which means it necessarily pulls in many ideas.

but stsits is -- one character, many threads. tawnypaw's want to be accepted contrasted with her instictive horror contrasted with her belief that there is no going back contrasted with grappling with the fact that her father is -- uh. mistyfoot.

yeah.

and i don't know. i think. if tigerstar were to punish mudfur via leopardstar, that's one thing. but another thing is like -- depending on his precise interpretations, he could -- force mudfur to. be on "his side."

isolate him from leopardstar.

after all, the reason tigerstar fosters mistyfoot and featherpaw together is because it allows him to win mistyfoot's unthinking loyalty. but tigerstar has all of riverclan to threaten.

("You'll have my kits," he says, smirking. "Do you know why, Leopardstar? Because if something happens to this litter -- I'll take your worthless apprentice and kill her.")

he could -- turn mudfur. not actually, but make leopardstar believe he is.

("You deserve this," Mudfur says, and he is going to hell for this.

Tigerstar doesn't respond, and Leopardstar's ears pin back.

"Tell me, Mudfur, was her mother this pathetic?"

I'll take every last life from her, Mudfur, Tigerstar had threatened. Maybe I'll make you take one. Test me. It'll be fun to see her bleed again.

"Yes," he says, and Brightsky won't forgive him. I'm sorry, he thinks, but it's too late for that.)

i think -- in the misty au, tigerstar takes leopardstar's den. but he'd share it with her.

one of my favourite moments in tbirasacw is

She turns her head, meeting his eyes. He leans back, exposing his stomach, and Mistyfoot takes a moment to consider how easy it would be to tear him open. But she won't, and that's the point.

which you know. the forced intimacy and kindness.

(Tigerstar licks Leopardstar's cheek.

"Leopardfur," he purrs, his tail tucking around her.)

and more name shenanigans, because of course he would. if you've learned anything from this, it's that matthew likes contrasting kindness and violence, and matthew likes name shenanigans.

name shenanigans he would definitely pull mudfur in on.

("You'll call her what I tell you to call her," Tigerstar growls. He puts his paw over Mudfur's. "If I tell you to call her Leopardfur, you call her Leopardfur. You should be grateful I'm not telling you to call her a whore.")

i dunno What everyone would do when tigerclan was over. riverclan would have a Hell of a time.

leopardstar would probably appoint mistyfoot deputy and they'd -- grow closer together.

mistyfoot gave everything she had for featherpaw, and leopardstar paid the same price for the both of them. i think that is -- an apology in its own way.

(Mistyfoot sits with her when she gives birth. Mudfur reminds himself Brightsky was sick. That she did not die because of the kitting. Most queens don't.

Stonefur sits outside the den. Mudfur waits in his own, because he thinks he can't bear to know what he has done to his daughter.)

hm. yes. interesting idea to explore. i appreciate this ask.

#ask #anon #misty au #or adjacent #technically not misty au but like #it's related #it's relevant #if you're in the misty au tag you might be interested #leopard au #look it has an au tag now

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haikyuuvbc · 4 years

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Chapter 10: Sibling Day

It’s About Time!

Taglist: @jasminedesu @elianetsantana @thefangirl54

Growing up, you and your siblings had a deal: if any of you, for whatever reason, needed a day off from something, the others would make sure that it happened, no matter the situation. Miwa cashed in her “getaway” card a few times in high school, resulting in you begging Asahi to call her school and pretend he was the dad of the family (he had a relatively deep voice for a middle schooler), and this time it was your turn. You texted Miwa during class when Daichi thought you were finally replying to the GC. (you weren’t, and you refused to check the messages). Within the remaining 30 minutes of class, you see a teacher come into the doorway of the classroom, distracting your classmates. The man gestures to your teacher, interrupting his lecture. You’re already packing up your stuff because you know what’s happening.

“Miss Kageyama?”

“Yes sir?”

“You’re dismissed from school, we received a call from your sister.” You nod, and silently thank Miwa for being so dang quick with the follow-through. It was easier not to turn back to see the four pairs of eyes boring into you from your friends and instead head towards Tobio’s classroom, pulling him from school too, otherwise it would raise suspicion. Your brother raised his eyebrows but didn’t verbally question the event until off of school property.

“What’s going on?”

“I need a sibling getaway day,” you explain, “I’ll explain further but I need to leave school.” He nods, processing the information. You had never called for a “getaway card” before. Both he and Miwa had, but this is the first one you called. He knew something was wrong and his main feeling was grateful that you insisted he come with you. After dropping your bags off at home, you suggest going to a cafe that was a few blocks away. Tobio didn’t argue and let you lead. Along the way the setter messaged his captain and apologized, explaining that he wouldn’t be at practice.

Even after arguing with your brother you both enjoy your dessert immensely. After each of you has eaten your fair share, he looks at you expectantly. The seats at the café are comfortable, which you’re grateful for because the situation is far from comfortable. Sighing, you knew this was coming. You promised to share what warranted your first ever getaway day, and it was time to own up to that. He was missing practice, for god’s sake, and this was a boy who was serious about his practice. But it was also a boy who was serious about his sisters, which is something you and Miwa were always grateful.

“The background of this starts in middle school,” you start, and he gives you his full attention. “When Tooru and I were dating,” he cringes at this, wanting to forget you ever dated his senpai, but doesn’t interrupt, “His fan club was growing more and more every day. At first they didn’t mess with me because anytime I was near them, I was near Tooru and none of them wanted to seem ugly or rude in front of the person they admired.” The weight in your chest that had been haunting you since the movie night grew bigger as you continued your explanation. “For the most part at the beginning, they didn’t mess with me. When they found out that you were on the team, also a setter, Tooru’s fan club made a nasty accusation that I was only dating him because he was your senpai.” Tobio’s eyes widen, but he still stays silent.

“So they started calling me names, sending me nasty messages on social media, so on and so forth. At the beginning, it didn’t bother me too much. Later on, though, they started to say things like that you were only getting so much playing time because of my connection to Tooru, which of course was false because you’ve always been talented enough to stand on your own. But the words and insults started happening at my school. They made friends and connections with fellow students and I started getting bullied in my hallways. It was overwhelming.” You feel a sense of relief as you finally share this with your brother, and a sense of dread. You never wanted to drag him into this mess, but in a way, you’re protecting him with the knowledge rather than from it.

“What really pushed me over the edge is when they assumed that it wasn’t getting to me and they started to threaten to go after you. That’s when I decided a break up needed to happen no matter what, so I went to talk to Tooru about it.”

“Was that when you walked in the gym after he tried to punch me?” You take a deep breath, glad you didn’t have to be the one to voice that incident.

“Yeah. I had already planned on breaking up with him, but that gave me a better reason to do so. I was actually a bit grateful when Iwa informed me of it. I told Tooru’s fan club that we had broken up and they had backed off.”

“Wait, had?” This was the part you were really not wanting to explain, but you needed to.

“You picked up on the fact that I like Daichi,” you rush out, avoiding eye contact as you cheeks flush. Tobio takes a moment to process what you said, and he goes, nonchalantly,

“Yeah, you’re not super secretive about that.”

“Thanks. Mei, Asahi, and Suga agree with you on that, and they planned a get together on Sunday at the mall with the five of us and completely bailed on Daichi and I for the sake of an ‘impromptu date’.” Tobio is following along still, not surprised there’s so much info to catch up on. You’ve never been one to share. In fact, this situation has taken longer than you had anticipated, your drink melting in the process. Customers have come and gone, but you and your younger brother have remained in your seats. You continue on with the story, nearing the end.

“While it wasn’t an actual date, one of the fan club accounts saw us having fun and started sending me hateful messages about it. Pretty much saying the same things they said back then, that I’m only interested in Daichi because he’s your senpai, that I don’t actually have real feelings or anything, and the accusations hurt even though I know they aren’t true.” Tears start to well in your eyes and it’s obvious that it’s affected you more than you’ve ever let on. “I don’t want to deal with this again, and I don’t want anyone dragged into the mess, so I needed this day to process and accept that nothing’s going to happen between me and Daichi.” You say with such a finality that Tobio knows he can talk, although, he’s not sure how to share his thoughts kindly, so he does it how he always talks. Bluntly.

“That’s unfair to Daichi, Y/N, and you know it.” You give him a quizzical look, thinking your brother would be on your side. He continues in his normal agitated voice, “This doesn’t just involve you. He has feelings for you too, and I’m sure he’d be hurt if he knew you weren’t going to pursue something, even though you really want to, solely because of the fact that you’re scared.” This sinks in for a moment.

“You’re scared, Y/N, and that’s okay. Those fangirls were mean to you, are terrible to you, and I know it’s easier to run away, but since when are you someone who does something because it’s easy? Why are you trying to protect people without asking for their input?” He stares you down as he adds, “I appreciate you wanting to protect the people you care about. I’m so lucky that I fall into that category, but I’m not in middle school anymore. I’m not incapable of defending myself, and neither are your friends. If some Oikawa fan wants to say that I got where I am because of who you’ve dated, let them. We know the truth and that’s what matters.” Tobio may be the least emotionally intelligent one of your siblings, but it’s moments like this that remind you he is an expert in you and Miwa.

After the emotional talk was over, you both switched back to topics like school and volleyball, with you promising to help him study, learning that Hinata isn’t doing so great either. You offer to do a study group for both of them together, and he agrees, saying he’ll bring it up to Hinata the next time he sees him. Eventually, it was time to go home and explain what happened to Miwa, not because she would pry, but because you were tired of keeping this from the people you loved. On the walk home, Tobio brings up one more thing.

“Y/N?”

“Hm?”

“I really think you and Daichi would make a good couple, but either way, he deserves the truth.”

You sighed, but you know it’s the truth.

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#Haikyuu #Haikyuu!!#Haikyuu fanfiction #Haikyuu SMAU #Haikyuu Social Media AU #It's About Time #Daichi x reader #Daichi x y/n #daichi smau #Daichi social media au

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pocket-void · 4 years

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Table for Two

A/N: Hi! This the first fanfic I’ve written for literally anything! (I’m an on and off writer in general tho) I’m hoping to write a collection of unconnected short stories currently called Smaller Sides to Life, that focuses on small/short moments in time during specific events. I’d be so grateful for any comment or feedback, but honestly I just hope you enjoy it first and foremost! >///<

Pairing: Logicality Words: 2468 Content: Human AU? A lot of descriptions of anxious waiting, so I guess it’s got a lil angst. Happy ending! (Please tell me if I need to mention anything I am very unfamiliar with how this works ;///;) Summary: Logan grows ever more anxious as he waits for his date, who, at this point, he isn’t even sure is coming.

If you wanna read my google doc for this instead you’re free to. (I like Cambria font u///u) I have an Ao3 but I am currently not using it.

Logan was alone, sitting comfortably at a table for two in the back of a halfway decent food establishment, silently watching as the ice cubes in his water shifted and tapped against the glass while they melted with each passing second. Well, “comfortably” was a lie, of course. There was absolutely nothing comforting about being in such a place on his own, with only the dim flickering candles on the table to keep him company. He didn’t really know what the worst part of the whole thing even was. Was it the ever encroaching chatter that surrounded him? The sickeningly sweet music that played in the background? The blank, unflinching cold stone wall in front of him? Or perhaps, it was the still empty seat that sat mockingly at the other side of the table.

Indeed, Logan was unhappy, uncomfortable, and alone.

The nervous tapping of his foot was practically synonymous with the pattering rain against the windows. The typically majestic city view now nothing more than an amorphous glob of glowing lights amidst the water droplets and fog. He couldn’t help but repeatedly switch between checking his watch and frantically clicking his pen, occasionally scribbling down a loose nonsensical thought or two onto his little notepad. The action barely made a difference in soothing his racing mind, but he had to do something to distract himself. He’d do practically anything to ease the agony that was continuously settling in his heart with each passing minute. The absolute dread hanging over him like an impending guillotine.

This was foolish. Logan sighed. Surely he was overreacting. There must’ve been a reason. He thought to himself, but it was no use. Not a single thing he told himself could possibly make the immensely slow sinking weight forming at the pit of his stomach go away. Not. A single. Thing. For someone who typically prided himself on being able to, and rather efficiently mind you, keep his calm in the most stressful of situations, this was quite distressing to say the least.

He’s simply running late. He reasons to himself. It happens. You know that. Well, of course he did. There were practically an infinite amount of possibilities that could’ve delayed the arrival of the person he was waiting for, and most of them were not inherently related to Logan’s personal character. That was the most logical conclusion, anyway. Did that thought comfort him any though? No.

It’s been an hour, Logan. You must be joking if you still think he’s coming. Another thought tore through his mind. Well, he may not have been joking, but he was well aware of how ridiculous it must’ve seemed. Just him, sitting alone at a table for two, growing ever more and more desperate by the second. To hold on to even a sliver of hope must’ve seemed utterly utterly foolish. Every pitying glance by the passing waiter refilling his cup only served to make him feel even more miserable. He wished desperately, in that moment, that he could just disappear; he hoped he could shrink down in size so small that he wouldn’t have to be seen anymore. He wanted to completely collapse in on himself and crumple up like the pathetic scraps of paper he’d been unconsciously tearing out of his notes. He wanted the world to just fade to black, and for him to simply drift away into an endless void, away from everything. Away from this. Maybe then he’d be free from the dreaded weight that sat heavily upon his shoulders. He didn’t think his heart could even beat this fast, but there it was, hammering in his chest like a hyperactive hummingbird.

He hated it.

He’s not coming, Logan. That thought instantly sank itself into the depths of his soul. He felt a lump begin to form in the back of his throat; it was almost nauseating. He’s not coming because he doesn’t want to see you. Another thought that dug itself into his mind. He felt his teeth harshly grind against each other as his jaws clenched, begging himself to hold back the tears that threatened to spill from his eyes. He didn’t even give you a call. The world suddenly seemed to freeze. A quiet realization sent an absolutely disparaging chill down his spine. You didn’t even get the courtesy of knowing you’ve been rejected. He let out a weak shaky breath before finally lowering his face into his hands, completely defeated. This was beyond pathetic, honestly. How unbecoming of him to be this way. He wasn’t coming. He already fully knew how illogical it was to remain in his seat. Yet, a part of himself still refused to let him throw what remained of that practically shattered hope away.

And so, the clock kept ticking still...

Logan wasn’t really sure how long it’s been at this point. Everything had begun to slowly meld together in his mind. Beyond the disappointment and despair was just the dull aching pain of rejection in his chest, not to mention the utterly dry and bitter taste in his mouth. He berated himself for being this pathetic about the whole thing, and a coward who couldn’t even muster up enough courage to stand up and go home. It was frustrating, because he knew better than this. It was both impractical and nonsensical to keep waiting. But he felt weak, and his two feet remained firmly stuck to the floor as if they were made of solid, immovable lead. The waiters have collectively decided to leave him alone at this point, which he had considered a small blessing. He didn’t want to bother pretending to smile or claim that everything was ok anymore; the energy was long depleted by now.

Logan let out yet another shaky breath, wrapping his arms around him and hugging himself tight, trying as he might to figuratively and literally “get a grip” on reality. What was he even waiting for? Why had he been so eagerly anticipating sitting at this table just a few hours before leaving work? What was the point? What was he doing? He still had tasks to do! There were still piles upon piles of work that had to be done at his desk but no, he was here. He was here, sitting alone, and doing nothing. Logan glanced down at his watch yet again, but its face was unreadable. His eyes blurry and unclear even as he rubbed the tears away, adjusted his glasses, and squinted. The only message it managed to send was just how much time he was wasting away by remaining where he currently was. Nobody was coming. His grip tightened, nails practically clawing at the sleeves of his suit. Never in his life had he felt so betrayed by something that originally had a perfect and fitting place within his schedule. What had he done wrong? Where did he make a mistake?

The gentle laughter and casual chattering of the surrounding atmosphere were like needles in his back as he felt himself curl inwards. The sweet and decidedly romantic music that served as the loving backdrop for what was to be a pleasant evening for patrons was now mocking and decadent. It sounded almost like a distant echo, far far away. Something that he was always in the vicinity of, but will never truly be able to enjoy; a happiness he cannot obtain. He was trapped. He was trapped here, in a dim corner of a restaurant, with a lukewarm cup of water, weakly flickering candles, a cold unflinching wall, the pitter patter of rain, the incessant (and mildly imaginary) ticking of his watch, crumpled up scraps of note paper, sickening chatter, unappealing music, a dry bitter taste in his mouth, an unnerving feeling of cold sweat, a dizzying headache, a fast racing heart, a barely registering breath, a lump in his throat, and clearly watering eyes.

All at a half empty table for two.

He hated it.

He ended up sitting there for so long that he felt drained, empty. His eyes now only slightly stung when opened, but he kept them closed while he leaned against one arm against the table. By now he had, at the very least, managed to catch his breath. He felt so tired. Logan took a deep breath and glanced down at his watch yet again. It had only honestly been an hour and a half, not that much time at all in the grand scheme of things. And yet here he was, feeling like he had been stationary for several years. Perhaps it was finally time to go. He shifted his aching body to finally attempt to escape from this prison, but a hurried rush of footsteps instantly made him freeze up yet again.

It couldn’t be.

But it was.

“Oh my goodness god, you’re still here!”

Logan jolted at the sound of the sweet, silvery voice that rang out, very obviously filled with concern. He turned towards the person who hastily ran up to him, the cold hands cupped around his face immediately snapping him awake from his previous haze.

“I can’t believe you waited for me for this long!! Have you been here the whole time?? I’m- Oh my god I’m so so sorry Logan I-”

He honestly couldn’t even process what he was seeing, much less feeling. A man stood in front of him now, frantically gesturing and apologizing, and absolutely soaked to the core. Logan could very much feel the gazes of dozens of patrons on them now, but it didn’t matter. All he could do was stare with wide eyes at his date, whose suit was completely muddied and shoes absolutely ruined by the rain. He blinked a few times as he tried to understand what the man was even saying as he kept pausing and stuttering while constantly sweeping his matted and wet light brown hair out of his eyes. Seeing him there, standing in front of him, was enough to make Logan feel his heart slowly begin to beat once again.

“God, Logan, I know you must be mad at me, I’m- How could I possibly ever make this up to you? Oh god, oh dear, I can’t believe I did this to you! I’m just so sor-”

“Patton…” Logan finally managed, taking one of Patton’s cold hands into his and finally stopping his rambling. He took a silent moment to just quietly immerse himself into the other’s sparkling and visibly apologetic blue eyes. A beautiful and comforting sight for his literally sore ones. He felt something start to bubble up inside of him, and it began to slowly rise in his chest. A warm, fluttering feeling that rose, higher and higher, until a soft laugh finally slips from his lips. Patton’s expression instantly lightens at the sound, and Logan could feel the once soul crushing weight that surrounded him finally melt away. He gives Patton’s hand a light squeeze, an absolutely relieved smile now upon his face. “Patton. It’s ok.”

There wasn’t a single moment’s hesitation when Patton sprang forwards to wrap Logan in the tightest hug he could possibly manage. Despite the water that slowly seeped into Logan’s own clothes, and the hug being admittedly cold on account of Patton being completely drenched, he had never felt his heart swell with so much warmth in his entire life. They stayed locked in each other's embrace until Patton remembered his current condition and quickly backed off with yet another series of apologetic bows.

“Dear lord, now look what I’ve done. I went ahead and ruined your clothes too!” He giggled, trying his best to wipe away the water with a napkin to barely any success.

Logan just couldn’t help but smile at the clumsy yet adorable gesture. “Don’t worry about it. It’s clearly not as bad as whatever happened to you.” He pointed out. “Say, whatever did happen to you anyways? You weren’t answering any of my calls and I...I thought you weren’t going to…” He paused for a moment before opting to take a long sip out of his cup instead before shrugging. “You know.” He murmured, his body unintentionally stiffening at the insinuation.

Patton looked crushed at the thought, which he was unfortunately terribly aware of. He embarrassingly rubbed at the back of his neck and lowered his head. “I-I know, and I really am so sorry Logan. I...I didn’t expect you to still be here either. And I couldn’t even tell you! Oh geez… After making you wait so long, you probably honestly should have just-”

“It’s ok, Patton.” Logan reassured with a nod, voice barely a whisper. He gently lifted one of Patton’s hands and brushed his lips against the man’s knuckles. “What’s important is that you’re here. That’s enough.” He felt a small bit of pride as he watched Patton’s face flush at the unexpected gesture.

The man quickly took the hand back with a laugh before settling down in the seat across from Logan. At last, filling the space that completed the whole picture.

“Still, the fact that I made you wait that long is terribly unreasonable. So just please let me-”

Logan chuckled, gesturing towards a leaf that was still stuck in his date’s hair, to which the other quickly pulled out with a flustered huff.

“Logan, I’m trying to apologize here!”

“You already have.” He stated, quickly dismissing the concern with a smile. The other clearly had no defense against him doing that, to which Logan was fully aware of. The smile then curled into a satisfied smirk upon his silence. “So, are you going to tell me?”

Patton blinked in response. “O-Oh! Right! You aren’t going to believe this, but-”

And as Patton energetically attempted to recall his unfortunate run-in with the storm while trying to rescue a cat from a tree, forgetting he’s allergic to them, slipping up and falling out of said tree, missing the bus, and losing his phone in the entire process, Logan simply sat comfortably across from him, fully content to listen to his story. It was ridiculous, it was nonsensical, and it was of course, entirely hilarious, but he enjoyed every word that came out of the mouth of the sweet and adorable man that now accompanied him. Patton’s rain stained glasses, half dried and now puffing up hair, and his freckled smile, completely lit up the once dim and lifeless corner of the restaurant they sat in. Nothing could have detracted from that moment in time. Not the rain, not the stares, and certainly not how the time just seemed to fly by, even during the comfortable silence that sat between them while they both enjoyed their meals. Logan wouldn’t have missed any of it for the world.

Here at this table for two.

#I did it!#I'm lowkey much more nervous about posting writing than I am posting art #But this was nice to write so I'm glad I finished it #sanders sides #sanders sides fic #mock writes #logan sanders #ts logan #patton sanders #ts patton #logicality #Smaller Sides to Life

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kpop-zone · 4 years

Text

I’ll Always Find You | Jennie

Genre: Vampire AU

Wordcount: 3,163

Request: you’re a vampire and your girlfriend is the leader of the coven, old, regal and powerful. You’ve been feeling out of sorts lately and afraid you’ll lost control. So you made her promise to kill you if it happened because you don’t want to cause any trouble. And here comes the angst: you lost control. Will your gf keep her promise?

You looked at yourself in the mirror. Your eyes were bloodred with little veins surrounding them, making you look like the monster you were. From the beginning you had trouble adjusting to the life as a vampire. You had already been very impulsive as a human, but with your new gained abilities and sharpened senses that impulsiveness had developed to something life-threatening for everyone around you.

But then you had met Jennie. As cliché as it was, after you had been turned, you had thought that you were either doomed for a life as a serial killer or as a hermit, living in the woods. You were struggling, wandering around the city, half-dead, half-alive, because you didn’t want to accept your fate. Your stubbornness almost forced you to your knees. That was until you crossed paths with the most ethereal creature on earth. Jennie.

She had found you while you were fighting the urge to rip open the throat of an innocent pedestrian. As soon as you had seen her, you were mesmerized. Everything about her screamed superiority and power. Nevertheless, she hadn’t ended your lowly life back then. She had actually felt pity and decided to take you in.

You had learned that she was the leader of the oldest coven in the city. Because despite your original believe, vampires didn’t only have to be serial killers or hermits. They had a third choice: hide in plain sight as part of society.

Her coven owned a huge building in the middle of the city and consisted of around 20 vampires. Some of them were living a completely normal life and even had a job, while others decided to spend the majority of their live in the shelter of their four walls. They were like a big family and when you first entered their home, they treated you with suspicion. But because you were under the personal protection of their leader, no one dared to touch you.

From that moment on, your new life began. You became a part of a new family while learning to control your thirst. And in the process, you also found love. Jennie hadn’t left your side during your journey. Therefore, she had won your trust and your heart in no time. She had been an immense help, but soon you found that her affection went beyond that of a leader. For some inexplainable reason she had fallen for you too. It took a while, till the two of you admitted your feelings. But eventually neither of you could deny it anymore and you officially became a couple.

The two of you had a better love story than anyone else ever had and you became the rulers of the city. Together you took care of your family while keeping the other covens of the city in check and covering up any traces that could lead the humans to your secret.

Of course, you had planned your life to go differently. You had never wanted to be a vampire. But now, you didn’t want it any other way. You were meant to be with Jennie. Therefore, you were grateful that you had been turned, because otherwise you could have never been found by the love of your life.

For 10 years your life continued to proceed almost smoothly. Of course, you were at no point in your life the most trustworthy vampire on this planet because of your impulsiveness. But Jennie had given you a lot of useful tips on how to control yourself and you had gotten a lot more careful. Therefore, you were allowed to move freely around the city.

But then something changed.

From one day to the other, you started feeling more and more out of control. You were tensed up all the time and felt an insatiable thirst sometimes out of the blue, leading to moments like this. You were standing in the public bathroom of a mall right now, trying to get your thirst under control again, while your vampire form was clearly showing. Some innocent person could walk in every second now and you didn’t know if you would be able to hold back. Panicked you tried to gain back your composure.

Fortunately, no one came in though and after staring at yourself in the mirror for another couple of minutes while doing the breathing exercise that Jennie had taught you, you were feeling like yourself again. But you knew that it had been a close call this time. You had almost lost control.

It was time to talk to your leader and girlfriend. She needed to know what was going on with you lately.

But because you dreaded the conversation, you wandered around the secluded areas of the city until it started to get dark and you knew that your girlfriend would start worrying about you. Therefore, you slowly walked back to the busy streets again until you stood in front of the old, mysterious building that you called your home. As you entered the house, you immediately ran into Chaeyoung, one of your most trusted friends.

“Finally, Y/N. Jennie’s worried sick about you.”

She said with a concerned look on her face and you tried to muster a smile.

“I’m sorry. I just forgot the time. It won’t happen again.”

You lied, quickly patting her shoulder before rushing upstairs.

Jennie had already heard you entering the house, so as soon as you opened the door to your apartment, she was waiting for you with her arms crossed.

“Where have you been?”

She asked with a stern look and you gulped thickly.

Despite dating her and knowing that she wasn’t even half as cold as others always drew her out to be, you were still aware of the fact that she could end our existence without even having to put any effort into the act. She was much older than you and therefore, much stronger.

“I was shopping in the mall.”

You replied nervously and Jennie narrowed her eyes at you.

“Then where are your bags?”

She continued her interrogation, probably already knowing that you weren’t telling the truth.

Nervously you started fidgeting with your fingers, because you didn’t know how to tell Jennie that you were spinning out of control lately. You wanted to be honest, but it wasn’t so easy, because she was also your leader and had responsibility for a whole coven. You were searching for the right words to start your confession when you suddenly felt cold air hitting your skin. When you looked up, Jennie was standing right in front of you and her stern expression was exchanged by a soft one.

“Are you hungry?”

She smiled while already grabbing your hand and gently pulling you into the kitchen. She could truly read you better than anyone else.

You exhaled in relief and sat down at the counter while Jennie put the content of a blood bag into two wine glasses, causing you to chuckle. It was still funny to you how Jennie tried to remain classy and refused to drink out of a bag.

“What? We are no savages after all.”

She joked and you shook your head. You were grateful that she tried to make this conversation easier for you.

Together you cuddled up on the couch and you rested your head on your girlfriend’s chest. You knew that Jennie was still demanding an explanation from you. She had just wanted to give you more time to sort your thoughts. Therefore, you inhaled deeply before coming out with the truth.

“I have a favor to ask of you.”

You started and Jennie’s body tensed up behind you, so you knew that she was listening to you.

“What is it?”

Jennie asked and you could hear the nervousness in her voice.

“I need you to promise me that you will do what I ask of you. There is no other way if you truly love me.”

You explained while continuing to avoid Jennie’s gaze.

“Of course, I love you. And I will comply to your wishes.”

She answered a little hesitantly, but you knew that you could trust her word.

“I’m feeling a little out of it lately. I am unpredictable. And I need you to promise me that you will punish me like anyone else if I should lose control.”

Jennie’s breath suddenly hitched in her throat, and you knew that it was because of your wish. The common punishment for vampires in this coven that lost control, was to kill them.

Finally, you turned your head to be able to look at your girlfriend.

“I need you to promise me, Jennie. If this occurs, the person you fell in love with, won’t be there anymore. And I know that I won’t be able to live with this guilt.”

You explained but Jennie kept looking at you motionlessly.

“Y/N... do you know what you’re asking of me?”

She breathed shakily and you rested your hand on her cheek to stroke it softly with your thumb.

“I know. But it’s the only right thing to do. So promise me. It’s what I want.”

You demanded another time and Jennie closed her eyes, while nodding her head slowly.

“I promise.”

She whispered hesitantly and you pressed a quick kiss on her lips.

“But this case won’t occur. We will start training again. And you just won’t leave the house on your own for a while. It’s just a phase.”

Jennie added quickly and you knew that she was scared despite always seeming like she had everything under control.

Wanting to cheer her up, you nodded, although you could almost physically feel your time running out. Therefore, you cuddled up to Jennie again, because you were aware that moments like this wouldn’t occur that often anymore.

And you would be proven to be right. With every day in the following weeks, you started to feel less and less like yourself. You started to black out occasionally and only came back to your senses after a few minutes. You were a ticking time bomb, and everyone knew it, even if Jennie pretended not to notice it. She simply didn’t want to keep her promise. And until a certain point, she could justify her hesitation by saying that you weren’t out of control yet by her definition.

But then one day, even she couldn’t ignore it anymore. You had followed her order to not leave the house without another coven member up until that point, but one day you just disappeared. Jennie didn’t hesitate to mobilize the whole coven in order to find you.

They searched several hours until Jennie finally stumbled upon you in a secluded alley. You were just leaning over the lifeless body of a poor soul that had just been in the wrong place at the wrong time, sucking all life out of him. Jennie quickly ordered two of her subordinates to rip you away and to check on your victim.

Chaeyoung, the right hand of Jennie, was struggling to hold you back, but because she was older than you, she eventually managed to hold you in place. Jennie slowly made her way over to you and wiped away the blood that was dripping off your chin.

“I’m sorry about this, my love.”

She whispered before cupping your face despite you fighting her hands, indicating that you were still stuck in your bloodlust.

Her soft smile was just bringing you back to your normal self, when your head was suddenly whipped to the side and a second later everything turned black.

You didn’t remember anything following this, but when you woke up again, your throat was dry, and your head was pounding. Slowly you fought your eyes open to be able to scan your unfamiliar surroundings. This was definitely not your apartment. You were surrounded by cold stone walls and metal bars that prevented you from leaving this place. This had to be the dungeon that your coven had in the basement of your building. You looked down on yourself and could see that you were laying on an old bed that was stained with blood, making you remember what you had done.

Tears sprung to your eyes, when you remembered the fear in the eyes of the man that you had attacked. You buried your face into your hands and started to sob loudly, causing you to catch the attention of Jennie who quickly rushed to the metal bars.

“Y/N...”

She called your name and you looked at her in despair.

“Did I...kill him?”

You asked hesitantly. You weren’t even sure if you wanted to know the answer.

“No. He’s upstairs. Jisoo healed him. We will keep an eye on him for some time and then we will wipe his memory and let him go.”

Jennie informed you, making you sigh in relief.

“Everything’s fine.”

She added with an encouraging smile, but you shook your head.

“Maybe this time.”

You said with disappointment resonating in your voice.

You had tried to be strong, but your transformation had made you to a monster. The vampire venom slowly turned you ruthless and once you killed someone, you knew that there was no going back, and you couldn’t let that happen.

“You know what this means.”

You looked at Jennie while tears streamed down your face and she covered her mouth with her hand to muffle her sobs.

“I’m out of control, we both know it. There isn’t any breathing exercise that could fix this. You need to protect the world from me.”

You tried to reason with Jennie, but she kept standing in front of the cage like glued to the spot.

“Jennie, you promised me.”

When she heard your words, her gaze snapped up to meet yours and she reached into her pocket to pull out the keys for the door.

Hesitantly she looked at you again, but when you nodded, she slowly turned the key in the lock and entered the cage.

You smiled at her assuring, but when your eyes scanned her body, you suddenly realized that she wasn’t only holding one but two wooden stakes in her hands.

“Jennie?”

You asked confused, but your girlfriend calmly sat down next to you.

“It’s ok, jagi.”

She tried to calm you down, but you quickly leaped to your feet, backing away from her. Suddenly it sunk in to you what Jennie was planning to do. She didn’t need two wooden stakes to kill one vampire.

“No.”

You stated determined, not wanting to be the reason for your girlfriend’s death.

Jennie, however, stayed calm. She pulled you gently back next to her and wiped away your tears.

“It’s alright, my love. I lived a long life. But I have never been happier than during the years that I was allowed to spend with you. I don’t want to be alone again.”

She explained with a soft smile playing on her lips, causing you to sob loudly. Why couldn’t you be strong enough? You could have spent eternity with Jennie by your side. There were so many things that you had wanted to explore together. The two of had planned to move to the seaside and enjoy a slow life for a while, opposing to the rush in the city. But you needed to ruin everything.

You rested your head against Jennie’s chest, and she placed her hand in your neck to pull you closer.

“Don’t worry, Y/N. Our love is strong enough for five lifetimes. We will meet again, and we’ll start over; grow old together and have the life that we deserve.”

Jennie’s words made your heart flutter and ache at the same time. Quickly you pulled her into a tight embrace and let her wrap her arms around you.

“I love you, Jennie.”

You whispered into her ear in need for her to know how much she meant to you.

“I love you too.”

She responded before pulling back.

Shakily you took one of the wooden stakes and Jennie followed your move.

You looked into her eyes and she smiled encouragingly. Gently she placed her hand on your cheek and the stake against your chest. You wanted to do the same, but your arms were too weak. Therefore, Jennie let her free hand fall to yours and slowly lifted the stake to her own chest.

“Come on, Y/N. You know that I always wanted to go out with a bang. This is the perfect opportunity.”

Jennie tried to lighten the mood, but you gaze was fixed on the weapon in your hand that was bound to kill the love of your life.

“Look at me, jagi.”

Your girlfriend demanded, causing you to eventually look into her beautiful eyes.

Jennie seemed to be calmer than ever, and her aura passed over to you.

“On a count of three, ok?”

She ordered and you nodded hesitantly.

“Ok. 1...”

Your gaze flickered to the stake once again and panic filled your body. You couldn’t kill an innocent person, could you?

“2...”

Jennie continued her countdown and you looked into her eyes again. You remembered how hard this had to be for her. She had wandered this earth for centuries on her own. Eventually, she had found a family, but nevertheless, her heart always ached for more. And then she finally stumbled upon you. The one that she called her soulmate. But now you were forcing her to take your life.

Would you want to stay behind if Jennie asked you the same?

Of course, you wouldn’t. You loved Jennie more than anything and you knew that she felt the same about you. She had told you several times during the time that you were allowed to spend together.

One day when the two of you were watching the sunset from the rooftop of your house, she had even told you that she was convinced that the universe had only made her immortal, so that she could meet you. You had laughed at her back then, but now you weren’t so sure anymore. Nothing had ever felt so right in your life than this love. So wasn’t it more cruel to let Jennie roam this earth alone again? She was merciful enough to end your torture, so who were you to leave her behind to make hers begin. Therefore, you took a deep breath and nodded to Jennie.

“3”

At the end of her countdown, you closed your eyes and pushed the wooden stake as harshly as possible despite the resistance, while you felt pain filling your own body.

When you opened your eyes again, you could see that Jennie’s skin slowly started to turn ash grey. Nevertheless, she looked peaceful, almost relieved and you knew that you had made the right decision. The world started to fade around you until Jennie’s weak smile was the only thing, you could see anymore.

“I’ll find you again.”

Were the last words you heard before your last breath left your lips.

#blackpink scenario #blackpink #jennie scenario #jennie #jennie imagine #girl group imagine #girl group scenario #girl group #kpop scenario #kpop

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zahra-kha · 3 years

Text

Dear Diary 36

I’ve written in you less and less of late. This makes for less of a chronicle of my life if I don’t write in you diligently doesn’t it? Well, to be honest, I don’t feel like I need to remember every detail of my life. Especially with everything that’s been going on lately.

However, not all of it has been dark spots. Some of it has been grey, some of it has been bright. I’ve been wading myself through uncharted territory and I can’t say I’ve always made the best or correct decisions but I’m also not perfect.

I wrote in my previous entry that I didn’t know what I was supposed to do now that my troupe was...the way it was. I didn’t know what my purpose was here in Eorzea. If I’m honest with myself, I’m still not entirely sure. I’m frightened, nervous, and there are times when I feel alone. The people who I thought were my support - it’s a mystery if they ever really cared about me (which I’ll get into in a bit) - turned out to be a source of immense pain. I’m trying to recover from that but I wish I could explain to people how difficult that is. How hard it is to trust again when family betrays you.

There’s insecurities there that weren’t before. When I spoke to Sid, I initially told him that it probably wouldn’t make a difference if I left to return home, because everyone had their lives and everyone would eventually move on with their lives. I said that, but I didn’t really mean that. To be honest, I was just scared. It’s easier to leave than to be abandoned, easier to walk away than learn later you were never wanted or needed. Easier to pull away than get rejected.

But my whole life I’ve been running. I walk forward so I can run from something that’s been chasing me. I felt like this time if I moved forward, without looking back on what I’d gained, I’d lose something really precious. And I felt like something in me would break and never recover.

I spoke with Sid for a while at the Bojza camp - it was helpful. I wasn’t looking for answers, I don’t think I was. Maybe just some clarity from my chaotic thoughts. It was easy to talk to him. He was kind and patient with me as I rambled. He didn’t try to push me in any direction, and I was grateful. I wanted to know a bit more about him, I felt maybe he understood a bit of what I was feeling. I thought maybe if I understood him, it’d help guide me to a decision. Was that selfish? Writing that down, it almost sounds as if I was using his feelings and experiences. But I also genuinely wanted to know more about him. I think he’s an interesting person that carries a profound sadness, but it also seems he’s managed to find happiness and a sense of purpose.

That’s what I want, a sense of purpose again. Sid wondered if maybe what I’m searching for is what I lost - my family. I conceded that maybe that was it. But I’m just so hesitant in calling another group family again after what happened. I spent half my life with those people, and none of it was real. I loved them, but I was just a means to an end for them.

It would break me, shatter me beyond repair, if I fell into that trap again with everyone currently in my life.

I want to, I so badly want to believe and trust in them. They’ve been there for me, they’ve helped me, healed me. Cared for me during this whole ordeal. Hells, they have bled for my sake. And of course, I have not hesitated to jump into the fires for them as well. But that’s completely different from fully giving my heart. I just...can’t. I’m trying, but every time it’s like something cold and hard grabs hold of my throat and claws down, screaming I’m a fool. Fear consumes me, and I feel as if I’m drowning.

For now, I’m just content to be here. Sid helped me organize my thoughts and realize my path lies here. I want to heal here, and be around the friends who have shown me care. I want to relearn how to believe in true bonds again. I want to walk forward and see where the road takes me, and I don’t want to be afraid - I don’t want to do it alone.

That’s what I’ve decided.

I managed to tell Quin (Leo?) a bit of this, I hope I didn’t worry him too much. I was a bit under the weather when the truth came out, I’d been shot on the battlefield and was recovering - but it was a good talk. It’s amazing, when I first met Quin, I don’t think I had a good impression of him, and I don’t think he had any real impression of me. Now I think of him as a silly little brother.

Speaking of, Quin and Erith got fake married! That was...interesting? I probably should have done more to stop it but it wasn’t official so I didn’t really see the harm. Uh, save for Erith putting Quin at shotgun point. I don’t know, I don’t really like getting between their dynamics because they have a really unique relationship but it’s quite clear they deeply care for one another. So I just go with their antics. Should I though? Am I enabling bad behavior? [There’s a drawing of a dizzy Zahra along the margins]

I wonder if festivals bring out romance? There were quite a few couples seeking blessings and marriages, so I guess maybe they do? Erith was looking for a husband for Bernon so there was that. I didn’t really know how to feel about it. Not really lonely? Wistful, maybe? I can’t say I’m looking for a profound relationship, but I think having someone to laugh with and share small moments with would be nice.

Maybe...not quite the same as what Erith and Quin have. Being at shotgun point is frightening. I completely understand why Quin started drinking. Heavily.

I’m rambling, but my mind has been all over the place. I’m avoiding talking about what’s really going on in my head because I’m not sure if writing this down, reliving it, will be easy.

I’m talking about my confrontation with Sahrin.

I don’t know what I was expecting when I demanded answers from him. I think I was expecting him to explain why Sai did what she did. I was hoping he’d smile at me and tell me everything was a misunderstanding, or that they’d been acting on their own accord and he hadn’t know anything.

I didn’t mind Gail putting pressure on him - she understands what it means to be a leader, and how hard it can be to have people do things behind your back, and the heavy responsibility that leadership entails.

I also realize what I’d done to him - I appeared out of no where and threatened him into a meeting right after he’d seen everything he’d built up burned to the ground. Of course he was confused, of course he wanted answers. I’d given him nothing. I’m sure he tried to look into it on his own, but he likely didn’t get very far since he’d been gone so long deal with Armand and was unaware of all that’d been going on.

No one is omniscient, but I wasn’t entirely in a caring mood. People I had once cared about deeply had tried to kill me more than once - I was tired.

Father once told me that there are always two sides to a story, and what you know is always just a small part of a whole. He said it’s always good to know and understand the full picture of things, but never let that knowledge influence how the ending needs to be written. And if I can help it, I should always be the one holding the quill to those short chapters in my life.

Sahrin told us about Sai and Esila, and then he told us about the foundation of the troupe and what its original purpose had been. The first troupe they’d all been in - I knew they had worked for the government covertly, doing their bidding under the belief they were serving their nation. Even if it was unpleasant, someone has to do it.

Sahrin and the others felt the troupe wasn’t looking at the real threat - the Empire. And I suppose I can understand their fear. With the way the empire was expanding, the idea that Thavnair would have remained a free nation forever was questionable at best. The Empire wanted to be a world power, once they’d conquered all they’d truly desired, why not take Thavnair too? Would we had really been able to stop them, if they had truly put their forces to it?

"We’ll be on their list eventually.” was a legitimate fear. It was one I’d heard on the lips of some nobles and commoners growing up. Not everyone liked the Empire in Thavnair. Not everyone felt the arrangement we had was beneficial. For all the ones who welcomed them for business and trade, there were those who feared them.

I guess Sahrin had been one of those people. He’d become frustrated with his troupe and decided to form his own. Except he couldn’t be normal about it, no. He took others who had anti-Imperial sentiment and they all decided they were going to bring in children to train and raise them - and by raise I mean brainwash - into perfect anti-Imperial fighting tools.

I cannot express the emotions I went through upon hearing that.

I mean, yes, it’s preferable to bring children into a troupe’s fold because it’s easier to train a dancer when they’re younger, more flexible, and their minds retain things easier, than to start them when they’re much older. I’m going to try and give them the benefit of the doubt and hope that’s what they - no, what Sahrin was thinking when he started this. I don’t want to think of Sahrin as a bad person. There’s just a part of me that refuses to do that.

But I can’t...forgive him for creating the troupe with those intentions. It really doesn’t matter that ‘he grew a conscious’ with me and changed his mind. Congratulations, I guess? Maybe one day when I’m not feeling so angry I’ll send him a cookie for deciding not to be quite the terrible person he could have been.

Okay. I’m feeling petty. And angry. And hurt. But his admission ripped the floor of my reality right out from under me. I admired him, looked up to him - I had wanted to be like him. I had wanted to grow up and eventually be a role model to others because of him. And then to learn all of that had been based on a foundation of lies - that I had initially been nothing more than a tool for his ambitions...

Even if he had changed his mind, clearly the others hadn’t, and that hurts. And he knew that. He’d known and I guess had been trying to change them. But you can’t change people who actively choose to hate - even if they feel their cause is righteous. There is a right way to go about change, and using - hurting - children is not it.

Sahrin helped us decipher some of the letters, and it honestly made a bit more sense when he put them into perspective. It looks like Esila really was trying to sell me out to some guy named ‘Darling’. I don’t know why he wanted me so badly, but apparently, Cecilia was getting traded to Sabe, and I was gonna get sold off in some auction had everything gone well. In exchange, I guess they were going to get their audience with Orhan and incriminate Sahrin. Sahrin guesses this was all to get a connection back to the old troupe.

They wanted a way back to the old troupe so they lied, cheated, and were even willing to kill to do it. The warmth, smiles, all of those good times we had were all fake.

I was at a loss of what to believe in. I felt like an idiot for falling for their schemes for so long. I should have seen it - hadn’t I grown up surrounded by scheming adults? I should have known better by now.

I told Sahrin I never wanted to see him again, and then after that the rest of the night was a bit of a blur. I know everyone came back to my apartment. I served them drinks and sandwiches. I wanted to make sure Quin was okay. Outside of that, I don’t remember much. They left and I remember taking Bitey and Fènghuáng away. I still haven’t gone back to the kennel to pick them up.

I went back to my apartment and I just...suddenly I hated everything about it. It reminded me of home, of my troupe - and everything went white, then red. My heart felt heavy and my eyes burned. I think I screamed. I know I cried. And then I fled. I ran and ran and ran. Until my legs turned to rubber and my lungs screamed and I fell down...somewhere. I didn’t recognize the surroundings. I think I was around a lot of trees and sand. I just know the breeze felt good against my skin, and the grass was cool and comforting.

I cried, an ugly, gulping, gut wrenching cry - until there wasn’t anything left. And then I sat back against the cliffs and stared up at the sky until the sun rose. I didn’t want to return to the apartment, so I didn’t.

And then the next day I went and dyed my hair black. I need to find some white clothing, to mark the passing of the troupe, my family, and for Esila. The Esila I knew and loved - not the one who wanted to trade me to I guess slavers. The woman I had known to be a good person.

I will mourn her death, because she had lived, and she had brought me joy, even if it had been made of lies.

#ic #zahra kouris #zahra kha

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novamm66 · 4 years

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From Earth to Sky - Chapter 2

Arriving in Haven & Working to Close the Breach

The sun had just dropped below the horizon when they rode into the village of Haven. Cullen and his soldiers dismounted and immediately began setting up their tents outside the village walls. As Cassandra dismounted, the gates opened, and Sister Nightingale descended the steps to greet them.

“Welcome back, Cassandra,” Leliana said, “I hope your trip was successful.”

The two women clasped arms in greeting before Cassandra replied. “I couldn’t find Hawke, but I did find us a Commander, and hopefully, Divine Justinia can get answers where I failed.” Cassandra glared over her shoulder at Varric, who was watching the camp set up with interest. “Also, we were delayed by an ambush by soldiers from Tevinter,” she continued.

“On Ferelden roads? That’s unexpected.” Leliana’s eyes narrowed.

“I agree. The timing is too close to the Conclave not to be suspicious.” Cassandra shook her head. “How did the first day go?”

Leliana sighed. “Everyone is posturing like peacocks, trying not to show too much of their hand. You would have hated it.”

Cassandra snorted. “I guess I should be grateful then.” Her fingers traced the barely healed scar on her face.

Leliana laughed then gestured towards the path leading to the temple. “The Divine is waiting to speak with you and the Commander. Shall we…”

Cassandra gripped Leliana’s arm as every hair on her body stood on end. She recognized the feeling of magic being drawn together, but she had never felt anything on this scale before.

“What...?” Cassandra’s question was interrupted when the magic was released. A column of energy arched from earth to sky, followed by a cloud of fire. Then the shockwave hit. Glass shattered, horses and people screamed, and everyone was knocked to the ground. The sound that followed, of the very mountains moving, drowned out all the rest.

Cassandra clawed her way to her knees, a ringing silence in her head. Her eyes were blurry, unable to focus. When they cleared, she was barely able to process the world around her. As she climbed to her feet, her hearing returned. People were shouting, calling for help, but all Cassandra could see was the vortex of fade magic that had swallowed the sky.

The temple. The Divine.

Without another thought, she broke into a dead run up the valley.

—

Varric wasn’t even pretending to clean Bianca anymore. His crossbow sat armed and ready on his knee as he watched the restless crowd outside the Chantry. All they needed was a spark, and an angry mob would be born.

Things had gotten worse in the days since the Breach opened. Everyone who could stand and hold a weapon fought the tide of demons that kept appearing from the fade rifts. But the number of able-bodied fighters was dwindling, while there was no end of demons.

Fear permeated everything.

Varric’s presence was largely ignored. He spent his time fighting alongside whoever was going up the valley or helping with whatever he could in the village. The Seeker, Curly, and Nightingale were simply trying to keep peace in the town and to stem the tide of demons that threatened to wipe them out. If something didn’t change soon, they would fail.

The Chantry door opened, and Cassandra stepped out into the sun. Varric watched the crowd break up as her eyes swept the square. No one wanted to risk the wrath of the Seeker. Varric relaxed his hold on his crossbow when she crossed to the fire, where he sat and collapsed next to him. She wrapped her arms around her knees and buried her head in them with a groan.

Varric stood and filled his empty bowl from the pot over the fire, cleaned his spoon off in the snow and then sat back down next to her. “Here. You should eat something.” He said, holding the bowl out to her.

Cassandra raised her head and stared at the bowl a moment, her eyes hazy, before finally accepting it. Varric sat, watching the people milling about in the square as she ate. Neither spoke as she finished and handed the bowl and spoon back to Varric, who cleaned and stowed them away.

“Why are you still here?” Cassandra asked. Her eyes were unfocused as she stared into the fire, and while the question was blunt, her voice was soft, almost sad.

“Are you sick of me already?” Varric chuckled, retaking his seat.

“I am sorry, that wasn’t…” She sighed, her cheeks turning slightly pink. “I simply mean that you are free to go if you wish.” her eyes drifted up to the hole in the sky. “It would be wiser to be as far from here as possible.”

Varric chuckled, “Wiser, yes, but I’ve never been known for my wisdom. And anyway, if I left now, someone else would get to tell this story, and I couldn’t live with that.”

His reply startled a laugh out of her, and Cassandra’s voice was light. “Yes, that would be tragic.”

Varric’s heart gave a sideways thump. He would have to be dead not to admire the strength and beauty of the woman next to him, and sarcasm was something he always found attractive. Before he could pursue that line of thought, the Chantry doors opened with a bang, attracting Cassandra’s attention. A messenger paused on the steps until his eyes found the Seeker, and he hurried across to where they sat.

The messenger saluted, then spoke. “Seeker Pentaghast, the prisoner is awake. Sister Nightingale is waiting for your return before speaking to her.”

“Thank you.” Cassandra rose quickly to her feet. “Master Tethras, would you inform Solas and accompany him to the first rift? I will bring the prisoner to meet you.”

The moment Varric nodded his response, Cassandra was turning away, but she paused and turned back. “Andraste, protect you, Varric.” She said. There was something in her eyes that Varric could not pin down, and it disappeared before he could get a handle on it.

Then she was gone.

—

Varric’s reputation as a storyteller made him immensely popular in the village of Redcliffe. The mages were preparing to move to Skyhold, but until then, Redcliffe was busting at the seams. Their party’s’ fireside was always filled with people hoping to hear news and stories from Varric himself, and they were rarely disappointed.

But tonight was different. Varric had disappeared after Kiaya had woken up. Kiaya was finally past the worst of the poison from the knife wound she had sustained. Once awake, she told them more details of the future she and Dorian had been thrown into against their will.

Cassandra had noticed that when they spoke of the spread of red lyrium, Varric had gotten quiet. Every time they came across the stuff, Varric would withdraw, and it was always a while before he would join in the fireside banter again. But tonight, he had simply disappeared. Now it was getting dark, and Cassandra was growing concerned.

Her feet carried her towards higher ground and eventually up towards the abandoned windmill that overlooked the village. As she got closer, she started to hear the thump and crack of someone chopping wood. Rounding the last bend, she saw exactly that.

Varric was wielding an axe expertly as he split logs. His shirt and coat were tossed over a stump, the sheen of sweat on Varric’s skin gleaming in the light. It was the expression on his face that gave Cassandra pause. Varric was furious, a deep scowl etched into his features. He swung the axe with more force than was necessary, burying it deep into the block with each stroke.

She didn’t interrupt him. Instead, she sat down. The tension in Varric’s back eased a little, but he didn’t say anything and continued his work as the light faded. When it was fully dark, Varric buried the axe head into the block with a loud curse. “I should have dropped that shit down a deep hole when we found it. For that matter, I should have spit in Bartrand’s eye when he told me the plan for the expedition. He might still be alive if I had.” Varric angrily snatched up his shirt and dried off while pacing across the clearing.

“All the pain and suffering that that shit caused in Kirkwall, I could have prevented it. It was just too easy to let things lie after Meredith got her hands on it. I thought that it ended with her. I was a fucking fool.” He sighed and sat down next to her. “However long it may take, I’m going to fix the damage I have done.”

Cassandra had never been good at offering comfort. She couldn’t disagree with anything he said, but her heart ached at the defeat in his voice. Cassandra missed the joy of life that he always seemed to have, and for the first time, Cass wondered what it cost him. Right now, she simply wanted to make him smile again.

Varric sighed and spoke, the rare uncertainty in his voice wringing at her heart. “You never did tell me why you dragged me to Haven, Seeker. I mean, what could I have told the Divine that you couldn't say yourself?”

“I thought she needed to see your chest hair for herself.”

Varric’s jaw dropped, and he gaped at her. Cassandra was starting to regret opening her mouth until his face split into a wide grin. He burst into laughter until tears formed in his eyes, and he was gasping for breath. “Maker. Think she would have been impressed?”

Cassandra answered his grin with one of her own, although it felt rusty. “Certainly. I also knew she would ask you to help us.”

“Me? Help the Inquisition?” Varric said, wiping his eyes.

“A crazy thought, I know, yet here you are. The Inquisition has done great things, and you have been a large part of them. Don’t forget that.”

Varric’s grin melted into something softer, warmer, and Cassandra got lost in the hazel of his eyes. Whatever was happening, Cassandra wasn’t ready, so she looked away, swallowing, her throat suddenly very dry.

“It is getting late. We should return to camp.” She said, her voice only shaking a little.

Varric’s usual expression had returned by the time she looked back at him, but something had changed, and Cassandra needed time to think.

“You’re right, Seeker. I am suddenly starving,” Varric said as he put on his jacket and picked up Bianca.

“You may regret saying that. Dorian is cooking, and he raided the Alexius’s foodstuffs. I expect it to be interesting.” Cassandra said as she stood and stretched.

“Oh, I hope it’s spicy.” Varric laughed. “It’s been ages since I’ve burned out my stomach lining.”

Chapter 1

Thanks!

#fanfic #Varric x cassandra #Cassandra Pentaghast #Varric Tethras #dragon age inquisition #nova writes

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fuwafuwamedb · 4 years

Text

Dodging Death Pt 6 (Hakuno, Caster Gilgamesh)

Previously: 1 2 3 4 5

____

Ah, of course.

Magic retainer to lover.

Hakuno stared at the man a moment before she averted her gaze to her drink.

There was nothing to fear here. No, there was a more obvious explanation, one that would explain why Cu hadn’t fully listened and why she wasn’t really reacting strong enough to someone suddenly appearing where her cat had just been standing: she was drunk.

It wasn’t a big deal.

Whatever bottle she’d been partaking in, even though it was such a small amount, was no longer going to be drank in her home. In fact, she was going to go completely and one hundred person sober from here on out. She’d eat right, no more sweets-

…Okay, like one dessert a week.

She’d have one dessert a week instead of indulging in the daily sweets. She’d exercise and train from here on out. She knew Emiya was doing archery with Sakura. Rin did boxing a bit and sojutsu with Cu Chulainn. She could do one of those things. Or maybe she could become a boxer. She could get some serious arm muscle and start really working out.

That’d be cool.

Yeah, she’d learn to box.

“Hakuno…”

The point was, she was going to be a better person. She’d finally lost it. She had imagined her cat transforming into an obnoxiously attractive guy. She was no doubt panicking because, on some level, she’d had unprotected sex with a guy who-

“Shit,” Hakuno breathed.

The man stared at her.

“…How many women do you sleep with?”

If there was a man in her house, which her hand on his chest said there was, then she had slept with someone and not somehow bruised and bit herself. That meant she’d had sex with someone with no regard for consequences.

The man’s jaw dropped, his coughing and pulling back making her feel no better than before.

“Woman, I am not explaining this to you-“

“Are you tested?”

He just stared as though she’d asked something entirely ridiculous.

“Are you tested for diseases? It’s a simple yes or no question.”

“Hakuno, there’s no testing for diseases. One asks their gods to ensure that they are not struck down by illness.”

She cursed, climbing out from under him and onto her feet.

Great. So she’d slept with a guy who didn’t know the first thing about diseases and she’d had that great sex without any regard towards her own wellbeing.

“I could be pregnant with our luck.”

Another big absolute no in her mind. They weren’t doing that. She had classes to attend. She had friends to make and friends to fight with. If someone was going to date her, it would be after they became friends and became close. Emiya had been as close to acceptable as someone had ever become. Since he was a big no, there was no one else.

So, tomorrow morning she’d go and visit the doctor. It was a Saturday. There’d be a few hours at the doctor’s office that she could sneak in during to get a complete workup. She’d ask for some medicine to help prevent this panic from happening again and-

The man’s hand took hers, the blond nearby holding it as though he’d just grasped the most fragile piece of glass in the world.

“…I was not aware that your fertility was so great…”

She shook her head.

“I’m sure I’m probably not,” she told him, pulling her hand away.

They were tabling this conversation. Yes, they weren’t going to be considering that kind of thing when there were bigger problems.

“What’s your name?”

A name would let her know who to look up the next time he came whisking into her home and then scurrying out with the sun. If he was real. She was quite determined to keep that idea far, far from close to mind.

The man nodded, clearing his throat a bit.

“I suppose that this is all quite sudden for you. I hadn’t considered, since you had taken most everything so well, that you would become a bit concerned about a proper introduction. Since I am technically courting you and intend to claim you for myself, it is only just.”

It was only just. The man helped her to sit beside him on the couch and smirked, pressing a hand to his chest.

“I am Gilgamesh, Mage King and son of the god Utu’s child Lugalbanda and the goddess, Ninsun. I rule over the kingdom of Uruk, a kingdom of great prowess and insight. We are the luminaries of the world, the keepers of the great knowledge of the ancients. I defeated the great bull of heaven. I slaughtered the great monster of the Cedar Forest, Humbaba. I partook in the bounty of Uruk’s splendor and rose the kingdom to immense heights to such a level that the gods themselves weep in envy.”

Arrogant.

He was Gilgamesh and he was extremely, unerringly arrogant.

He’s worse than his story.

Hakuno stared at him for a moment, watching him turn that gaze to hers once more as he rattled off his accomplishments. He leaned in closer, that fine face just mere centimeters away from her own.

“I’m Hakuno Kishinami. Student. Librarian. Ancient Studies amateur researcher in the making.”

“Researcher… like on the television?”

Like on…

Hakuno shook her head, “Those researchers are for solving crimes. The only crimes I solve are in artifacts and ancient times. Like- What kind of meaning comes from these old texts,” she motioned at the epic.

“Hakuno.” The man snorted, covering the smirk on his face that said she’d said something incredibly stupid. “If I had my court here, I would forever record the absurdity of your words. Despite your metal horses and your finer technology, I’m afraid you must get your head out of your books and realize that Uruk is just a mere ride or so away from here.”

“The remains of it, maybe.”

She wasn’t dumb. She knew that the remains were out there. They’d made it a historical site and one in need of preservation but-

The man leaned in closer, his frown etching deep lines upon his face.

“Excuse me?”

“Uruk. Its remains exist.”

“What are you talking about? I came from there a mere month or two ago.”

No, she’d plucked her cat off the street a mere two months ago.

“Hakuno,” Gilgamesh moved closer yet. “Uruk cannot be destroyed so easily in two months’ time.”

“This isn’t funny. You can stop this and just tell me your real name.”

The man glared at her.

“Uruk’s been gone for centuries. Millenia. It’s… Hold on.”

She grabbed her laptop, against her better judgement, and turned it on. While it was booting up, she went for her drink, but the man downed it on her, setting her glass down harder than it needed to be set down.

She pulled up a selection of images, opting for the visuals since words probably wouldn’t mean much.

The man simply stared at it.

“…What is this?”

“Uruk.”

“My Uruk has the center ziggurat. There are channels running through the districts to ensure flowing trafficking of goods from one area to another. I have districts with smithies and breweries…”

“You may have had that at one time.”

But he didn’t have that now.

The man pulled the computer into his hands, looking at the keyboard and the mousepad in a strange manner. His fingers pressed to the screen, jumping a little at the fact that she had a touch screen.

“It’s ah… Let me show you,” Hakuno offered.

The man was either a brilliant actor or insane.

As she navigated the sights, showing him the images on the screen, she found him pulling her into his arms. Anything they’d discussed before was permanently tabled. His eyes were running over the images. His face was paling to the color of bleached sheets. Those red eyes were looking at the words, his voice barely getting out the question of what everything said.

“Uruk fell.”

He felt so still.

Hakuno glanced up at him as she read through the downfall of the kingdom. She could feel those fingers digging into her person as she described what she read.

“You should know some of this. There’s a large excerpt on the death of the advisor, Siduri and about the blasphemous clay being, Enk-“

“Don’t.”

Hakuno felt him reach in front of her, closing the laptop and setting it on the floor. His arms pulled her closer to him.

“Don’t speak of this right now. You are a maiden and you allowed me the comforts of your body before. I simply need the feeling of your person against my own. I require your silence and your arms holding me right now.”

That face nuzzled her own. The man holding her shivered and nuzzled her, pulling blankets over their bodies and murmuring softly to her.

“It is always so damn cold in your home.”

“I can’t afford…” Her words stopped at the sight of the king’s eyes closed. There was a wetness that hit her face underneath his.

He’s…

The man could have done anything.

Rage, threaten, scream, grow violent, try to come onto her; all of those things would have had simple answers of calling the police and sending him out of her home. She would have had a drink, called up Rani, complained about the asshole that had come into her home, and gone on with her life. It would have confirmed that the man was insane.

Seeing someone who’d just proudly declared that he pretty much could rule a kingdom and defeat the biggest of enemies begin to look like this…

Hakuno wiped at his face, murmuring for him to release her a moment.

She cranked up the temperature in the house, grabbing the blankets from the bed and bringing them to the living room. She pulled the coffee table closer and, after making a pot of coffee, she wrapped herself under the blankets with the king.

“What is this?”

“Coffee.”

“You enjoy your coffees,” he murmured.

There was nothing not to enjoy about her coffees. She sipped at them, grateful for pouring an ungodly amount of sugar into her drink. The man at her side sipped at his black version of the drink, humming appreciatively.

She set the television to one of those music stations, where it would just play soft music and let them see something just visually pleasing. Her body ended up atop his, nestled into his arms.

“I should find you clothes,” she murmured.

“I have no need for such things right now,” the man murmured to her, burying his face into the crook of her neck. “I have dreamed about holding you for days. Allow me my indulgences.”

“You are not my cat,” Hakuno argued.

“I have seen your naked body more times than I can count on these hands, Hakuno,” the man replied, smirking into her skin. “I know every curve, every dip and inch… I’ve nuzzled this chest you have so many times when I wished to rest.”

The man purred like a cat as he said that last bit.

“Had I possessed you in my time, I would have surely been harassed less about the task of seeking rest. I would have come to my bed far more easily.”

“Mhmm.”

“I know that you don’t like if there’s too much pressure on your chest,” he continued. “You are especially weak to someone moving anything light against your belly and chest though.”

As though to prove his point, he stroked at her stomach lightly, watching her squirm and nearly knock their drinks out of hand.

The mugs were abandoned.

The king pulled her deeper into his arms, kissing lightly at the top of her head.

She wasn’t sure she wanted to argue about his being a cat part of the time. He didn’t seem all that eager to bring it up either. Without that, they were left in a moment of silence, listening to the soft music playing in the background. His hand not holding her close began to brush back her hair gently.

Those lips of his pressed lightly to her forehead, then to the top of her head.

“I found my way here,” he murmured, taking his time to move those hands of his to her back. The man was working miracles on her back, making her sink into his embrace. “I will simply need to recall the magic I used before when we resolve this transformation problem of mine and we can return to my time. We’ll save Uruk.”

“You will,” she corrected, yawning lightly.

“We. Will.” The man tilted her chin up, pausing from his ministrations to look her in the eye. “I cannot promise you that your life will be simple. I cannot promise you that I will senselessly spoil you until you can want for nothing. I learned from a young age that such things cannot satisfy a person.”

That hand stroked her cheek softly.

“What I can promise you,” he continued, “is that there will never be a moment in your life where you are without option. I can promise you the joy that you showed to me upon having your magic freed. I will spend all the time that you wish teaching you how to use that power of yours. I will show you what the ancients, what your ancestors in particular, took great pleasure in while you were forced to live as a mongrel amongst mongrels.”

“You have a kingdom to look after,” Hakuno countered.

“I do.”

“I don’t need to know how to use my magic.” Despite how fun it would be to know, she could always just take pleasure in the fact that she could be lazy about turning off light switches. “Just take care of your people.”

“We will,” he pushed again, pulling her up his person a bit, delving one of his hands into her hair and tilting her face towards his. “I have seen what you are capable of. Harnessing winds to dry my hair, changing the temperature of a space without magic knowledge, harnessing the world’s information into the device you used before; your qualities are endless.”

She had no idea what he was talking about, but it sounded nice when he said it. She leaned into that hand, finding him stroking his thumb across her cheek.

“I thank you for the coffee.”

“Coffee always helps. At least, for me it does.”

She fell asleep, deep enough that she didn’t register anything until the sun started to stream into the room. The body beneath hers began to shake, pulling out from under her and waking her up in time to see the shaking of a light golden coat and the soft mewl of her cat.

Gilgamesh was once more G.

“It was too good to be true that you’d stay human, huh?” Hakuno asked, yawning lightly.

The cool air hitting her chest made her look down.

“…Really, Gilgamesh?”

When had he taken her shirt off? Why had he taken her- But there was a bitemark on her chest, showing just off to the side of her aching chest. Shifting merely told her that she was going to be taking a shower to simmer down this morning.

“We’re having a talk about what can and can’t be done when I sleep,” she warned the pet, stalking passed him with her comforter wrapped around her person. “You can forget about any coffee privileges if you become human at all in the next week.”

She showered.

She dressed.

Taking an extra few minutes, Hakuno found herself looking in the mirror.

Other than a bit of fatigue and a couple bruises she’d need to tuck her turtleneck over, she didn’t look that bad. Perhaps magic helped…

Magician Hakuno.

Now if she could just magic some knowledge into her head.

Wait…

Can I?

Hakuno moved into the living room again, finding G swaying gently to the sound of the music on the television. Those eyes opened lazily, regarding her with mild interest as Hakuno sat down.

Wasn’t this always the dream: to simply press your head to a book and gain all the knowledge through an osmosis kind of thing? The book was filled with translations and grammar rules about Sumerian. If she managed it, then she could really talk to Gilgamesh. She’d never have to study again.

A light, inquisitive mewling came from nearby.

“Just a second, Gil.”

She had to check this out.

She pressed her head to the book lightly.

Memorize.

The rush came like the crack of a whip, like a surge of burning heat speeding through her veins. Words and sentences flashed through her mind’s eye. She could feel her mouth and her throat aching for some reason, like she’d been talking for hours and had groan hoarse. The more she tried to breathe, the more it all hurt.

She could hear G meowing nearby, but she couldn’t fully see what was going on. Opening her eyes just made the piercing migraine increase.

Her body grew dizzy.

The floor was coming up to meet her.

And the world grew black.

#drabble #drabbles

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sweetbyte · 4 years

Text

Lessons in Magic

Intro

Rated | T

Pairing | Bakumomo (Friendship/Brotp) | Implied/Mentioned Todomomo

Harry Potter AU Short Stories

She huffed as she pushed the portrait closed behind her and closed her eyes in efforts to keep a calm composure. If she knew him as well as she thought she did, (and she really should after 14 years or so) he would be at her door very shortly and she did not want him to see any cracks in her façade. She started counting numbers in her head, not bothering to move from the entrance, enjoying the stillness of her dorm. She got up to 75 when she felt his hard, impatient knocks from the other side and tried not to jump in surprise.

She gave herself another 10 seconds before reaching for the door.

“You’re overreacting.”

“I beg your pardon?” She frowned, the portrait being completely shoved open.

“You bloody well heard what I said, Yaoyorozu, don’t act coy.” He bit as he pushed his way into her living quarters and plopped onto her sofa.

“I hardly think I am! Additionally, you cannot just barge your way into my dorm!” She chastised, exasperated, while softly closing the portrait who was outraged at the ‘unmannered brute’.

“S’never been an issue before, princess.” He replied, eyebrow arched, arms folded behind his head, feet kicked on her coffee table.

“Must you be so difficult?” she sighed, as she made her way to the small kitchenette to prepare tea, seeing as her uninvited guest was obviously not leaving anytime soon.

“Not anymore than you.” He snorted from his seat.

Momo rolled her eyes as she continued to make the tea in silence. When finished, she carried the cups into the living room where a lounging Bakugo had proceeded to rest his head back, eyes closed, in her absence. She ‘tsk’d’ at the sight of his feet still on her table and nudged them off as she set down the cups of tea. He growled “witch” but she briefly returned to the kitchenette in order to get sugar and a small jar of milk.

Momo sat down and prepared her tea to her liking aware of Bakugo’s staring. She finally looked up when she felt her skin prick at the intensity of his gaze. “Yes?”

“What good is it being the brightest witch in class if you don’t even use your magic outside of it?”

“One doesn’t need magic for everything. You know, muggles have managed to build empires without it. It’s rather fascinating, really.”

“You’ll end up sending your mother to St. Mungos if you keep talking like that…” She narrowed her eyes at him in warning causing him to roll his eyes. “Please, I’m far from being a bloody snitch”

“You maybe far from a snitch, but being a pureblood supremacist makes you no better”

“You’re overreacting-“ Bakugo hissed out again. “You know I don’t care about that blood bullshit.”

“You called him a mud-“Momo trailed off, feeling vile at the thought of completing the word causing Bakugo to scoff.

“Am I wrong? He is-“

“Enough!” Bakugo froze at her outburst as it was not in her nature nor upbringing to loose her temperament. “I do not know what it is that you have against that poor boy, but you must quit being so despicably cruel! We are not like our ancestors who fought and lost in an unnecessary prejudiced bloodbath, or even our parents who refuse to learn from their mistakes!” She quiets to regain her composure before continuing. “We are all people Katsuki; muggles, wizards and witches...even werewolves to some extent. We all have a right to live, regardless of blood status.”

“When did you turn into such a righteous bleeding griffindor?” She pointedly chooses to ignore him and continues. “Furthermore, to answer your previous question, you are in fact wrong. Midoriya’s parents are not muggles you know. You’ve been calling him an incorrect slur this whole time.”

“So you’ll feel better if I call him a squib instead? Doesn’t matter, his mother is a-”

“I would appreciate you stop tormenting him, period. You can’t call him a squib either since he can indeed use magic. His magic is quite brilliant you know, if you would set aside whatever grudge you have on him you would see an immense similarity between the both of you.”

“You expect me to look over the fact that he was born a sqiub and suddenly has awoken a fucking ‘grand magic potential’ just after being snuck into this school?”

“It could have been dormant...”

“Not likely. He is stealing that magic, and I’m going to prove it.”

“Doubtful.” She mutters, more to herself and they settle into a moment of silence.

“So, are we going to prance around the fact that you’re suddenly so invested in muggles because of your infatuation with that half-blood?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Momo responds, grateful she hadn’t been drinking tea for she surely would have choked.

"Don’t be daft now, I told you it doesn’t suit you.” Bakugou drawls, amusement very much evident in his tone. “You know exactly who I’m talking about.”

“It would be hopeless to lie to you, I indeed fancy him....” She sighs in defeat knowing full well that he can read her better thank anyone else.

“He’s a ponce”

“Regardless, I’ve been rebellious enough, don’t you think?” Her voice is small as she begins to fiddle with the handkerchief in her lap.

“You? Rebellious?” He snorts

“One thing is getting myself sorted into Ravenclaw-“ “Were you not just lecturing me about this?’ He sneers, and she huffs. “This is different...”

“What happened to change and shit?” He demands, and she can only shake her head at him.

“I will fight for change, I’ll make sure our child’s future is different. They won’t be raised into the same toxic environment we were”

“Or you could be the change and fight now and be happy. Honestly, what’s stopping you?” He’s pushing her, like he always does when he knows she is lying.

“I’m afraid.” She confesses, finally bringing herself to meet his gaze. “You are my safety net, you know. We’ve been betrothed since before we could walk and while you can certainly be exhausting to deal with at times, you are also always there...”

“Fuck, now I’m the bloody ponce.” Bakugou groans into his hands before standing from his seat to hover over her resolutely.

“Look, we’ve been together for a long arse time, but breaking this” He gestures between them. “doesn’t mean you’re losing me. I’ll still be there to fight the bad guys for you, even if I have to start with our parents.”

“Why?”

“You’re my safety net too, you dense witch, but I don’t want to keep being told what to do and how to live. I told you I don’t care about that shit. Let my parents strike me off the damn family tree. I’m the only heir they have.”

“Katsuki!” He only shrugged in response before plopping next to her and bringing his feet to the table again, making her his in distaste and swat at his legs. He, of course doesn’t budge and she just resigns with a final half-hearted shove.

“What happens now?” She asks out loud, more to herself if anything but he scoffs nonetheless.

“Court his trousers off, shouldn’t be too hard.” He nudges her as she tries to lean against him, and she starts to play with his hand in retaliation.

“I’m not exactly the type to court others, it’s usually the other way around.” She pinches

“Oh?” He teases

“I didn’t mean it like that! I’m just saying it’s not in my set skills. I’m extremely awkward, and I’m aware of it.” She blushes.

“Come off it, awkward or not, you’re quite the number. Blokes feel the need to let me know all the time. I’m apparently extremely lucky, blessed even” He boasts

“I’d rather you not tell me. I don’t want to be seen as just a number to impress.” She sighs

“Impress him with that bloody brain or yours then. I’m sure he’ll find that sexy. Or, maybe shorten that skirt, you’ve got killer legs.” He suggests, mischievously.

“Please, do hush up.” She implores

“Then again, you’re quite virginal. A walking wet dream.” He continues

“I will banish you from my quarters, after I spill this tea over you” She threatens

“We both know you won’t.” He dismisses

“How they made you Head boy is truly beyond me.” She mutters

He smirks. “Because I’m smart as fuck.”

‘Not smarter than me’ She thinks

A/N : Yes, hello I live! I'm slowly getting out o my writing block/hiatus so please take this as an offering? Life has been dominating every aspect of me and I apologize for the lack of activity, specially when updating Say When. Thank you for sticking with me.

Also I just binged a whole bunch of HP content so this came about, it'll just be a type of anthology/drabbles. enjoy

#bakumomo #brotp #implied todomomo #wingman baku #arranged marriage #but not the way you think #hp au #my fics #I write #ill be back #jots #my jots #lessons in magic

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duhragonball · 5 years

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Dragon Ball Z Movie 14: Battle of Gods

“Battle of Gods” premiered on March 30, 2013, seventeen years after “The Path to Power.” Apparently Toei changed up their logo a bit during that time.

Anyway, this movie, wait, what? Are we watching Star Wars now?

Yes, we know Toei made this, why are they credited again?

And what’s this thing for? I mean, they could have put this at the start of any of these movies, but why do it now?

The way I heard it, this movie got made because 20th Century Fox had the rights to make a Dragon Ball movie in the U.S., and then they made Dragon Ball Evolution in 2009, and it... did not impress anyone. At all. I remember thinking it was okay, but that’s about as much enthusiasm as I could muster for it. Anyway, the story goes that Toriyama decided that he didn’t care much for DBE, and decided to come out of retirement to make his own Dragon Ball movie and show all the big shots at Fox how it’s done. Well, maybe I just assumed this. It makes a good story, doesn’t it?

The theatrical release was 85 minutes long, but the home video version got an extra twenty-minutes of footage, which includes this rather lengthy introduction to the story, recapping Goku’s past adventures. I don’t think the movie particularly needed this, although I am grateful that they found a way to cram Cell into it.

Then we get to the actual start, where the Kaioshin have observed that Beerus the Destroyer has awakened from his slumber.

Kibitoshin contacts King Kai to keep an eye on the situation, and to keep Goku out of it at all costs.

But Goku is on King Kai’s planet, and he overhears their discussion, and King Kai can’t keep a secret, apparently, so he just tells Goku the whole thing. So far, all the gods we’ve seen in Dragon Ball are responsible for creating and preserving life, like the Kais and Kaioshin. Beerus, on the other hand, is a Hakaioshin, or God of Destruction, and it’s his role to destroy stuff from time to time, in order to maintain balance in the universe. And unlike all the Kais, Beerus actually has immense power worthy of his authority.

And naturally Goku wants to see how strong he is, even though King Kai keeps insisting that he’s not someone Goku needs to mess with.

And there’s the title of this here picture.

We then go to Beerus’, uh... planet? Whatever this thing would be called. It reminds me of Tokimi’s domain in Tenchi Muyo!

And here’s Beerus. He’s a big purple cat dude, and he’s pretty awesome. I’m not sure how long he normally sleeps, but he set his alarm to wake him up after 39 years, and everyone comments that this is a very short nap by his standards. Also, Beerus’ alarm clock is made of bombs, because Dragon Ball Z.

This is regarded as one of the best, if not the best Dragon Ball film, and it’s tough to argue the point. In 2013-2014, it was a big heckin’ deal because it was the big return of Dragon Ball after the end of Dragon Ball GT in 1997. From 2015 onwards, it became known as the ground floor of a whole new Dragon Ball franchise, Dragon Ball Super. But even without the hype and nostalgia, what puts it ahead of the other movies is the simple fact that it works within the canon of the original manga. It’s set during the ten year gap in the Kid Buu Saga, and it actually adds to the lore of the main story. Movies 5 and 8 introduced characters with connections to the main story in Cooler and Broly, but they barely tried to explain what those characters had been doing while all the stuff with Frieza was going on.

By contrast, Movie 14 introduces a new deity, and he claims at least partial responsibility for destroying Planet Vegeta. That’s a huge deal, and it’s not something that Turles or Bojack could ever do. According to Beerus, he believed the Saiyans were beyond redemption, so he planned to destroy their planet, but it was too far away for him to bother with, so he told Frieza to do it for him. At the same time, Beerus found Frieza to be quite insufferable as well, so he considers destroying him as well, but then his attendant Whis tells him that someone named Goku already beat him to it.

When Whis explains that Goku beat Frieza by becoming a Super Saiyan, it reminds Beerus of a dream he had about something he calls a “Super Saiyan God”. See, before he took his 39-year nap, Beerus was told that he would meet an arch-rival. That’s why he set his alarm bombs for this year, because this is supposed to be when it happens. Apparently during his nap, he had a dream of his own, that he would fight a Super Saiyan God.

Whis doesn’t put much stock in any of this, especially since the Oracle Fish who made the prophecy doesn’t seem to recall saying it, but Beerus insists on investigating, so Whis locates the remaining Saiyans on Earth. He then notices Goku is on King Kai’s planet, so they decide to head there first.

Meanwhile, on Earth, it’s Bulma’s birthday. She won’t say how old she is, but this movie is set in Age 778, four years after the fight with Majin Buu, and she was born in Age 733, so she’s 45 in this movie.

There’s a bit where Mr. Satan apparently meets Bulma’s father for the first time and mistakes him for a waiter. Ox King has to explain who Dr. Brief is, and Mr. Satan is mortified to learn that he just asked the world’s richest man to fetch him a drink. Dr. Brief doesn’t seem to mind much.

There’s a bingo tournament at the party, and the prizes include stuff like an entire castle. Bulma offers to liquidate prizes into cash if the winners prefer that. I dig how 18 really, really wants some sweet castle money.

On King Kai’s planet, Beerus and Whis arrive and have a somewhat awkward conversation with Goku, who knows nothing about “Super Saiyan God.” Beerus decides to head for Earth to ask the other Saiyans there, but before he goes, Goku asks him to demonstrate some of his awesome power with a quick sparring match. Beerus is intrigued by the request, so he agrees.

So Goku powers up to Super Saiyan 3, but he can’t even touch Beerus, or make him take the battle seriously.

Really, this is my favorite part of the movie, because I dig me some Super Saiyan 3, and this movie just demolishes the whole concept of SSJ3 with the way Beerus humiliates Goku in this form. It’s incredibly strong, as seen when Goku misses a punch and blasts a hole through King Kai’s planet, but against Beerus, SSJ3 is meaningless.

Beerus only uses two blows to beat Goku. The first is a playful flick of the finger in Goku’s face, and the second is a light chop to the neck. Goku goes down like a ton of bricks, and Beerus proceeds on his merry way to Earth.

Now, you might be wondering how King Kai even has a planet, since Cell destroyed it way back in Episode 188. Beerus and Whis briefly mention that it was restored, but they don’t say how it happened. Neither does anyone mention that King Kai and Bubbles are still dead. This is a running gag through Dragon Ball Super, where Goku keeps promising to wish King Kai back to life but never gets around to it. I could have sworn King Kai was alive in Movie 14, but I must have been mistaken, unless Toei edited all these halos in after the fact.

By the way, Whis also mentions that King Kai’s planet is so small because Beerus got angry once and did something to make it this size. I don’t know if he destroyed most of the planet’s mass, or some other thing. At some point, it got established that Beerus was the one who trapped the Elder Kai in the Z-Sword, but that seems out of character as well. Beerus destroys stuff. Shrinking planets and sealing people in swords really isn’t his style.

As for King Kai, he telepathically contacts Vegeta to warn him of Beerus’ impending arrival. He makes it clear that Goku was no match for Beerus, and if anyone upsets Beerus, he might decide to destroy the Earth in his anger.

Meanwhile, Goku struggles to make sense of what just happened. He’s thrilled to have encountered someone so powerful, but he has no idea whether Super Saiyan God is a new form, or a person named “God” who happens to be an unknown Saiyan. He also briefly considers fusing with Vegeta to beat Beerus, but then decides that not even Gogeta could close the gap in their powers.

Luckily, Goku had some senzu beans in his belt, and Bubbles fishes one out and feeds it to him. But that only restores Goku’s health. He still doesn’t have an answer to the problem of Beerus.

So it’s up to Vegeta, who finally puts in an appearance at Bulma’s party. She teases him, but he’s in no mood for jokes, because he feels like he remembers Beerus from somewhere, and he doesn’t know where.

So Bulma’s like, whatever, imma get my drink on.

Then Beerus calls out to Vegeta, and Vegeta doesn’t know where he is. One of the conceits of this movie is that Beerus’ power doesn’t operate on the ki used by most of the main characters. So Goku and Vegeta can’t sense Beerus and Whis’ presence the way they can sense one another. Supposedly, all deities are like this, except Kami and Dende had ordinary ki, and so did King Kai, because Goku was always able to find him for instant transmission. The Supreme Kai is a different story, I guess, but Goku threatened to teleport to him at the beginning of this movie, implying that he could sense his presence and use Instant Transmission to reach him.

Anyway, Vegeta searches a trash can for Beerus, since yeah, I guess he could be in there.

Oh, Krillin, you have no idea. One of the major qualities that makes this movie a fan favorite is all the dumb stuff Vegeta does in this one.

At last, Vegeta finds Beerus, and he remembers the time they visited Planet Vegeta when he was a child. His father, King Vegeta, prepared a banquet for him, and spent the whole meal as a footstool.

Personally, I never liked this scene much. I think they just needed a way for Vegeta to have already met Beerus in the past, and this works well enough, except having Beerus humiliate King Vegeta seems rather redundant. King Vegeta was already a vassal to Frieza, so having a second character treat him this way just feels hollow.

Beerus asks Vegeta about the Super Saiyan God, but he doesn’t know anything about it either. That might have been enough to get them to leave, except Bulma’s party attracts his attention, and he loves the smell of the food, and then Bulma herself walks over and invites Beerus and Whis to join them, much to Vegeta’s chagrin.

For what it’s worth, Beerus conducts himself with grace and manners at the party. He puts up with Piccolo’s karaoke...

...enjoys the cuisine and the view of Yamcha’s handsome face...

...and he shows everyone his awesome dance moves.

Vegeta gets nervous when Mr. Satan drunkenly challenges him to a fight, but then he passes out and Beerus has a laugh over it, so he clearly didn’t take it seriously.

Meanwhile, Emperor Pilaf is sneaking around inside Bulma’s house. So here’s the deal: these three never stopped trying to get the Dragon Balls to achieve world domination, and apparently at some point they succeeded, only for Pilaf to wish for restored youth instead. Mai complains that they were made too young, but Pilaf’s reasoning is that it wouldn’t do for them to wish for world domination and then die of old age immediately after.

I feel like this is some sort of shot at Dragon Ball GT, where the Pilaf Gang appears in the first episode and they’re very elderly. But maybe I’m reading too much into that. At any rate, Pilaf is young, but he’s also poor, so he plans to use their next Dragon Ball wish to get some cash, and then they can wish to rule the world. Does he know that the Dragon grants more than one wish at a time now? I feel like Toriyama might have forgotten that in 2013, honestly.

Somehow, Pilaf has a Dragon Radar, and that’s how he knows all seven Dragon Balls are in Bulma’s house. Turns out they’re the grand prize of the bingo tournament, and so they’re located in the prize room. How did Bulma fit an entire castle inside one room of her house?

Overcome with envy, Pilaf spray paints graffitti on the prizes. Yeah, DX Rulz!

They find the Balls, but can’t risk summoning Shenron indoors. Then Trunks walks in on them, and then Goten shows up, and they panic, because they mistake Goten for Goku, their old nemesis.

This screencap should be in the Smithsonian or something.

Mai was trying to steal one of the other prizes, a valuable diamond, but she hands it back to Trunks before running away.

Goten asks who those guys were, Trunks says Mai is his girlfriend, which impresses Goten to no end. “So awesome!” I like that there’s at least some effort to try to age up the boys. Goten doesn’t look too different, but his dad was pretty short at twelve, and he’s only eleven here. Meanwhile, Trunks should be almost the same age as Future Trunks was when he found Future Gohan’s dead body.

Anyway, Mai only gave Trunks the diamond to cover her theft of one of the Dragon Balls. Her plan is to hold it for ransom, say one million dollars. But the diamond was probably worth a lot more than that.

But before they can make their escape, Trunks invites them to join the party because Bulma wants to meet his new girlfriend. Pilaf thinks it’s him. Mai isn’t too keen on pretending to be Trunks’ date, but at least they get free food out of this.

Back on King Kai’s planet, Goku films more segments for Jackass. He always forgets to bring a camera, but it’s the thought that counts.

Then Bulma tries to start the bingo tournament, but Yamcha points out that one of the Dragon Balls is missing, which screws up her grand prize.

Pilaf gets caught sneaking the seventh ball, so Mai tries to use Trunks as a hostage. Except everyone thinks it’s a skit, either because Trunks is impervious to bullets, or because no one thinks Mai would have a real gun.

Then Gohan decides to join in, so he switches to his Great Saiyaman outfit and dares Mai to shoot him in the face. What the fuck?

So she does it, and Gohan deflects the bullets. He’s irked that Mai’s gun is real, and even more irked when he realizes he deflected one of the bullets into his wife’s leg. Imagine going to a party like this and getting shot. I guess this is why they stopped inviting Launch to these things.

Oh, and then Master Roshi wants to feel Videl up. She got shot, you asshole! Master Roshi belongs in jail. Seriously, imagine you’re Mr. Satan, and you just watched your daughter get shot, and some sex pest shows up and he’s all “Lemme give her mouth-to-mouth eh-heh-heh-heh-heh!” This whole part of the movie hasn’t aged well, at least for me.

I guess it didn’t bother me so much the first time I saw it because I knew Dende could just heal her, but that doesn’t make this okay. Someone informs Mr. Satan that Dende is Kami, and he’s all like “What? Really?” I guess he just forgot that day they hung out together stalking Super Buu on the deserted planet Earth.

Anyway, Dende somehow detects that Videl is pregnant while he heals her leg. He seems kind of concerned about this, like he doesn’t know what that means. “Ma’am, I don’t know how to tell you this, but I think you have a parasite.” “No, that’s a baby, it’s cool, I put it there.” “Look, I didn’t come here to listen to you brag about your sex life.”

Oh, also one of the bullets hit Beerus, which irritates him enough that he decides to blow up the world...

Until Vegeta jumps on stage and performs his epic Bingo song and dance number. How did he get the music cued up?

Watching Vegeta make an ass of himself is enough to calm Beerus down, so Vegeta thinks he might be safe for a little longer.

Meanwhile, Piccolo loses at Bingo and Bee eats his card. What a good boy. Well, without any pesky litter to annoy Beerus, it looks like Vegeta is home free. Wait, why is “Roundabout” by Yes playing?

Ohhhhhhhhhh.

Oh no...

Oh, he won’t share his pudding because he doesn’t know this guy can kill everybody that’s bad.

So this leads to Buu throwing down with Beerus, and Beerus can kick his ass easily, but the point is that he’s mad enough to destroy the world, and this time no amount of singing and dancing is going to calm him down.

Everyone tries to stop Beerus, but he just schools them all with chopsticks.

Gohan gets Beerus in a full nelson for like 0.2 seconds, but it doesn’t get him very far. Why did Gohan change clothes again for this?

So Vegeta figures we’re all screwed now anyway, so he jumps into the fray.

It goes about as well as you’d expect. To be fair, he lasts longer than Goku did.

Goten and Trunks fuse into Gotenks, who tries to shame Beerus over his motives. He’s going to destroy the whole world over pudding? I’ve probably said this before, but when Gotenks thinks you’re being immature, it’s probably time to take a step back and think about your choices.

Beerus replies that he’s upset about pudding because he’s never had it before, and now he can never taste it because some pink asshole ate it all. Gotenks doesn’t understand his frustration because he probably eats pudding all the time. This scene is dumb, but it actually captures the core point of this conflict. Beerus savors all these new experiences because he’s like a kajillion years old, and it’s hard for him to find something truly novel in life. So when he’s denied the taste of pudding, it’s a huge deal to him, while the other characters take it for granted.

Then he spanks Gotenks and tosses him to the ground.

You know, the funny thing about it is that I really have no idea what kind of pudding we’re talking about here. The term covers so many different types of food. I assume this is about Jello instant pudding, specifically French Vanilla flavor. So yeah, of course Beerus should be angry about that. French Vanilla Jello pudding rules, and he doesn’t even know it. But for all I know, Buu was eating a bunch of flan, Panna cotta, or haggis. In which case, yeah, Beerus probably shouldn’t be this worked up about it.

Anyway, nobody can stop this dude, and Vegeta’s amazed by just how much stronger Beerus is. He at least takes some solace in the honor of being killed by no less than the God of Destruction.

But then Bulma confronts him and tells him to cut out all this shit, because he’s ruining her 38th birthday party. Krillin’s pleased to hear how old Bulma is, but that’s dumb, because he ought to know Bulma’s older than he is.

Anyway, she slaps Beerus, who slaps her back and knocks her down, and Vegeta loses his shit. This is the famous “MY BULMAAAAAA” scene. It’s weird to me, but I remember what a big deal this was at the time, and yet now it feels sort of mundane. Like, I first watched this movie in late 2013, on some kind of bootleg fansub, and I think the scene had gotten around in the U.S. But even by the time it came to theaters in 2014, the audience went apeshit when this happened. Vegeta loves his wife! Now it’s like, of course he loves his wife. Movie 14 said so. But at the time, when Movie 14 was brand new, this was the sort of thing Vegebul shippers could only appreciate in theory.

Don’t get me wrong, this part fucking rules. Everyone’s been tiptoeing around Beerus this whole time, but Vegeta’s been pushed too far, and he’s got nothing to lose, and for a brief moment, it looks like Beerus is getting a taste of his own medicine.

Then we see this lady, for no apparent reason. This is Kaori Mutsumoto, who won the 2012 Olympics Gold Medal for judo. I guess that’s why they gave her a cameo in this movie, but that’s about all I know.

Anyway, none of Vegeta’s furious offense hurts Beerus at all, even though Master Roshi observes that he surpassed Goku in power. Beerus boops him on the forehead and knocks him out.

In the theatrical cut, this is when Goku would show himself, but in the extended version, Beerus decides to give the Earth one more chance by challenging Oolon to a game of rock-paper-scissors. I really don’t know what the point of this was. I mean, it’s kind of funny, I guess, but why Oolong specifically? I guess Toriyama wanted to give Oolong a moment in the film, but why? He was in most of the Buu Saga, holed up on Kami’s Lookout with the others until Super Buu ate him, but he barely said or did anything the entire time. Why should anyone care about him now? Why should Beerus single him out, of all people?

Anyway, the gag here is that Yamcha thinks Beerus picked Oolong because he’s a pig, and pigs can only do scissors because of their cloven hooves. But Oolong’s a pig-man, with man hands, so he can do paper and rock too. So Yamcha tells him that Beerus will certainly go with rock, so Oolong should use paper to counter.

Except Beerus overhears the entire conversation, because his ears are bigger than his entire head, so he does scissors and wins. Dragon Ball Super turned this bit into half of an entire episode. The Beerus Saga in Dragon Ball Super is fucking vile. They took a great movie like this and just turned it into crap.

All right, so now Goku makes his big entrance. At first he looks all cool, like when he walked up to Frieza back on Namek, but the truth is he still has no idea how to beat Beerus. Then he gets an idea on how to get a Super Saiyan God, and asks Beerus for time to try it out.

Said idea is the Dragon Balls. Is that Farmer with Shotgun? He’d settle Beerus’ hash.

Basically, Goku asks Shenron about the Super Saiyan God, and this throws him off, because Shenron grants wishes, and answering questions is kind of a grey area for him. Fortunately, he’s so frightened to see Beerus that he’s very accomodating and just explains the whole Super Saiyan God concept in detail.

So real quick, because this post is taking forever: The Super Saiyan God isn’t an individual deity, but a transformation once used by righteous Saiyans to rebel against their evil brethren. The figure seen while Shenron tells this story was later identified by Akira Toriyama as Yamoshi, the first Super Saiyan. He and his five Saiyan allies fought against the evil Saiyans, and I guess they turned him into this God form, which let him whoop-ass until he ran out of power.

With that settled, Shenron excuses himself, mostly out of fear of Beerus. I’d say that Shenron owes Goku a second and third wish, but I’m not sure answering his question counted as a first wish, so who knows?

So this leads to the gang arguing over whether they have five righteous Saiyans, since Vegeta used to be a real dick, and Goku’s not always dependable either, and Goten once shot a man in Reno just to watch him die. But they figure they might as well give it a shot, and they all hold hands and lend their power to Goku. Only it doesn’t work. Goku gets stronger, but nowhere near strong enough to beat Beerus, and there’s nothing divine about his power-up.

But Whis points out that they actually need six Saiyans, since Shenron’s story states that it took five righteous Saiyans to help a sixth one achieve the form. Bulma remembers Vegeta’s brother, Tarble, from the “Yo! Son Goku and His Friends Return” special, which aired in 2007 and was set about two years before this movie. Only Vegeta doesn’t even know where Tarble lives or how to contact him. Couldn’t Whis track him down? I mean, he found all of these guys easily enough.

Then Videl suggests that they have a sixth Saiyan right here, because Gohan got her pregnant.

Everyone flips out, but this is hardly the time to celebrate, because Beerus is about to blow up the world. So they do the hand-holdin’ thing again, but with Videl.

And it works. Like Beerus and Whis, no one can sense Goku’s ki anymore, and he’s got maroon hair and his body is lankier than before.

So Beerus and Goku fight. Honestly the Super Saiyan God form doesn’t seem like such a big deal, since this part of the fight is just the warm up. It takes Goku a while to get used to using it, and they spend most of that time discussing how Goku is dissatisfied with how he got to this level. He doesn’t like that he needed the others to help him achieve this form. Beerus scolds his stubborn pride, and says that most Saiyans wouldn’t care about such details, because all they crave is power, by any means.

But Goku points out that Vegeta is even prouder than he is, and yet Vegeta forsook his pride to protect the others, back when he did the bingo song and all of that stuff. This tells us two things. First, Goku was there to witness all of that. Second, Beerus was fully aware of Vegeta’s efforts to keep him from becoming angry. I’d suggest that Beerus isn’t quite as irritable and volatile as he seems. Maybe he purposely goaded Vegeta to test him, just like how he hit Bulma just to see if it might provoke Vegeta into reaching a higher power level.

The point, though, is that for all of Vegeta’s pride, he could set it aside for the bigger picture. He can compromise for the sake of protecting his loved ones and the Earth. Goku’s the same way, which is why he accepted the other’s help in becoming a Super Saiyan God. He doesn’t like how he got here, but he couldn’t afford to try to go it alone.

And really, this is a lesson Goku’s learned time and again. He had to accept teachers before in his life: Grandpa Gohan, Master Roshi, Korin, Mr. Popo, King Kai, and now this. But it’s been a long time since he had to take lessons from anyone, and maybe that’s the problem. Goku’s been on top for so long that he lost sight of something he understood better as a child. A student has to swallow their pride to learn and grow. And Goku will always be a student, because he’s constantly trying to improve himself and push past his limits. Like it or not, he had to accept this path to the God form.

Meanwhile, the rest of the characters get in an aircraft to observe the battle, and Whis asks 18 what ice cream is. He remarks that her response is as cold as his dessert, which he thinks is a clever bon mot. Look, your boss is going to blow up the world. How friendly can you expect her to be here?

Also, Vegeta admits to Krillin that he doesn’t envy Goku like he ususally does in these situations. I like this, because it shows that Vegeta is willing to drop his usual bravado in this situation. This isn’t a fun situation, and he knows it.

Anyway, Goku and Beerus keep fighting, but somehow Goku loses his Nacho Cheese Dorito appearance. He looks like he’s changed back to normal, and yet he’s still fighting Beerus as if nothing’s happened. He can even use Instant Transmission, which would have been nearly useless against Beerus before, because Goku couldn’t sense him. I assume that Super Saiyan God Goku could sense godly ki, so the fact that he can still sense it must mean that he’s still tapping into the SSG power, even if he doesn’t look like it.

Then he turns vanilla Super Saiyan, and now the fight gets really good, because the insert song plays. It’s “Hero” by FLOW. The weird thing is that they recorded an English version of the song for the dub, but when I watched the Japanese version on the DVD, the song is still in English. Weird. Fortunately, I have the Japanese version of “Hero” on my phone, so I can listen to that all the time.

youtube

Anyway, yeeeeahhhhh. Fuck Yamoshi, Goku’s gonna do this Luffa-style and fight Beerus as a Super Saiyan 1.

Then they fight IN SPACE because anime. Earlier, Beerus used hand energy on Goku, so Goku figures he’ll respond in kind, using the best hand energy.

WARP KAMEHAMEHA! Cell may not get to be in this movie, but Goku uses the move that blew his face off! Yee-haw!

But it doesn’t work, and Beerus chucks one of those big energy balls at Goku, like all the other bad guys use. He also points out to Goku that his God power expired several minutes ago.

Then Goku sees Chi-Chi in his thoughts, and that gives him the intestinal fortitude to somehow change back into a Super Saiyan God and nullify Beerus’ energy ball. Chi-Chi’s that good in bed, folks.

So Beerus is truly impressed by Goku’s performance. Somehow, his body learned the Super Saiyan God form, and allowed Goku to tap into that power without doing the hand-holding ceremony with five other Saiyans. Beerus calls him a fighting genius for this, although maybe Yamoshi and any other SSG’s had the same talent, and they just got killed before they could demonstrate it.

In any case, it’s still not enough to win Goku this fight. Beerus wants to hear him surrender, and Goku admits defeat. Beerus had offered to spare the Earth if Goku won, but Goku just can’t beat him, even with the God power. And Beerus refuses to back out of that stipulation, because once he makes up his mind, he sticks to it.

Instead, Beerus gives Goku a different consolation prize by revealing that Whis is actually Beerus’ teacher, and he’s even stronger than Beerus is. So it just goes to show that even Gods of Destruction have to swallow their pride and accept help to grow.

He also informs Goku that their universe is merely the seventh of twelve, which means that Whis isn’t even the strongest being out there. This fascinates Goku to no end, because he always longs to meet stronger folks.

Then they head back to the surface, and Beerus destroys Earth just as he said, only he just destroys a small piece of it, which I guess counts for something. I don’t know if this is a play on “Earth the planet” versus “earth the dirt”, or something else. Beerus says he’s too worn out from the fight to destroy the whole thing, so maybe that’s all it is.

Anyway, Beerus apologizes to Bulma for making a scene at her party, and for hitting her. She agrees to invite them to her next party, and promises to have a swimming pool full of pudding for him. That sounds kind of gross, actually.

On the Supreme Kai Planet, the Kaioshin observe Beerus’ peaceful departure, and are amazed that Goku was able to defuse that situation without Beerus destroying them all. Kibitoshin suggests that maybe it’s not just Goku’s character, but the entire Dragon Team as well. Not Roshi, though, he’s a sex pest who belongs in jail. If Beerus had boobs we’d all be dead right now.

Back on his own turf, Beerus is pleased with how things turned out. Goku and Vegeta weren’t really strong enough to be true arch-rivals, but Beerus is certain that they could eventually become arch-rivals in time, which is good enough for him.

Beerus plans to take a three-year nap, but Whis offers him some sushi that he got in a to-go box before they left. Beerus takes an interest in the glob of wasabi in the box, and he just eats the whole thing.

That makes him bounce around the place like a Tom and Jerry cartoon, and Whis has to hit him to stop him from damaging any nearby planets. So we get at least a glimpse into Whis’ true strength, which is as far beyond Beerus as Beerus is beyond Goku.

Back on Earth, the party just keeps on going. I like the idea of Bulma just throwing a marathon party, but I can’t really say I’d enjoy that personally. I’d probably get bored after 15 minutes.

During this quiet moment, Goku praises Vegeta for turning into “an awesome Super Saiyan” after Bulma got hit.

Vegeta’s embarassed by this, but Goku admits that he definitely surpassed him in that moment. Then he jokes that the next time they have to fight a guy, Goku will just get the enemy to hit Bulma, and that’ll get Vegeta good and fired up.

Then everyone’s mad at Goku, because he must have been watching them get beat up during the middle of the movie and didn’t step in until later. It ain’t easy being Goku.

Then the credits roll, and they show all the highlights from the manga, including this shot of Cell, which is the best one.

And yeah, that’s it.

I mean, it’s definitely one of the best movies of the lot. It’s a lot longer than most of the other films, and it feels more like an actual, stand-alone film. The Cooler movies really depend on you being familiar with a lot of DBZ lore, like Bardock, Frieza, the destruction of Planet Vegeta, and so on. This movie takes care to actually introduce most of the concepts it uses. The Kai’s introduce Beerus, Beerus and Whis introduce Saiyans and Super Saiyans, and Shenron explains what a Super Saiyan God is. It’s not entirely airtight-- no one really bothers to explain the Kais, or why Bulma invited bit players like Ox King and Mr. Satan to her party, but you can at least muddle through.

My main critique is that it’s a little too devoted to fanservice. Not the pervy kind, but the kind where they felt like they had to have Gotenks and Great Saiyaman in the movie, just for the sake of having them put in an appearance. Most of the characters just didn’t need to be there, and I think the movie drags in places when it tries to give Oolong or Mr. Satan something to contribute. There’s something to be said for the minimalist approach used in the DBS: Broly movie, where the only Dragon Team guys are Goku, Vegeta, and Bulma. Yeah, it kind of sucks that Gohan doesn’t get to be in that one, but if they didn’t have anything for him to do, then I’d rather leave him out entirely than have him just stand around like he did for most of this movie.

I remember being kind of bewildered by the way they went to all the trouble of introducing a new form for Goku, only to have him get stronger when he stopped using it, but now that we’ve learned more about the godly ki stuff from Movie 15 and the back half of Dragon Ball Super, it makes a little more sense. Nacho Cheese Dorito Goku was just the door, and this movie was about Goku stepping through it.

Rewatching “Battle of Gods”, I don’t feel quite as hyped as I did when it first came out. I remember being pretty excited about Goku fighting this purple cat dude, and I never dreamed that he’d lose so badly, or that Beerus would turn out to be an okay dude in the end. It was a big deal that they brought all of this stuff back after so many years.

Now, though, it’s just become part of the DBZ mythos, which kind of diminishes it somehow. It’s definitely not as good as Fusion Reborn, at least for me. I was looking forward to watching Movie 12 again way back in July, and when I did get to that one, I ended up rewatching large sections of it a few times. I just love that movie. Same thing with Movie 13. I only watched that one the one time, but the whole time I was watching it, I kept thinking “Man, this is so good.” BoG is a great movie, but it’s just not on the same level as those others. Just my opinion, of course.

Nevertheless, you’ve got a really awesome trilogy of movies here, which serves as a nice make-good for the crap trilogy of Bojack and the Broly sequels. And after that, you’ve got Movie 15, and well...

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sweetcinnamonmaplesyrup · 5 years

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Soulmate Prompt 46: You feel immense pain in your soul when your soulmate is in life-threatening danger (Seven x Reader)

NOTE: I suggest reading this anywhere else but the Tumblr app just so you can read the opening sentence to the fic lol So uh;; I’m sorry, @mysticmermaid , this took forever to make, I really, REALLY, wanted this to be perfect, so I’ve been working my butt of this for the past few days– I hope it’s ok ;w; this isn’t my first time posting my writing on the internet, but it is my first time writing this sort of thing?? Like, writing with using “you” so be gentle with mE- please- ahaha;;

I’m also terribly sorry for it being painfully long, like, it’s 5,672 words long;; and I would like to edit it down, but I also like how it is so have fun reading through it lolololol can you tell it’s my first time doing this sort of thing? I probably wouldn’t make this THIS long if I had a bit of experience (but I might just do that, who know? Lol). The endings pretty rushed– and personally, I find the whole thing to be a little over the place and I don’t particularly enjoy it. Just saying-

However, I am happy with taking requests if you do want to make one! You can suggest some from the soulmate list, or just make a request in general! I don’t mind doing any Mysme character EXCEPT for V and Jumin- I haven’t played their routes yet >.> But I must warn you, they may be a bit out of character- heck, this may be a bit out of character for Seven, so I do apologise >>;;

Uhh I’ll shut up now so you can read it- thank you for the request, again, @mysticmermaid QuQ I was pleasantly surprised that I posted it without the actually writing attached to it and then deleted it– it’s a good thing this time I read the message, ahahah! ^^

Thank you so much, dear. I sincerely hope that you enjoy this

Your soulmate was going to be the absolute death of you, and that wasn’t an exaggeration, or a joke. It was because they were the cause of the god awful pain that your soul experienced on an almost daily basis, right until the day you no longer existed in this world.

For as long as you remember, the adults in your life had told you about the pain that you’d be experiencing when you were older, and that it was more than just the monthly lady pains. You remember watching your older siblings smile one moment, before doubling over and clutching onto their chest, screaming in agony while your parents tried their best to calm them down. The news stories that covered people actually getting hospitalised because of the pain that they experienced because of something called their “soul”.

You remember what your parents told you, when you asked them a question as they tucked you to bed one night. It was a day where the pain your sibling experienced ended in them being sent to the hospital, and you asked what was wrong with your sibling. Your parents wasted no time in explaining what had happened to them to you. They explained that they were in pain because their soul was telling them that their soulmate was in a danger that threatened their life, that your soul was, essentially, a ghost you, that remained protected due to the invisible wall that separated the living and the dead. It was the thing that connected you and your soulmate, and that once you met your soulmate, that pain the soul would experience will be almost non-existent, and would flare up one last time if your soulmate were to die due to everything else but of natural causes.

After all, that was how your grandmother died. Her husband worked for the army, and when he was out on the fields, she was experiencing pain of a difficult degree to deal with. She ended up dying the same minute the bullet killed her husband. They told you not to worry, though, and that you’d just have to be extra careful not to put yourself in danger so that your soulmate won’t be put in danger either, kissing your forehead as they wished you a goodnight. And that was when you had pledged not to get into any danger whatsoever, not only to benefit from it yourself, but to also help out your soulmate because you didn’t want to be the reason why they were suffering badly, to the point of death.

And you had no doubt in your mind that your soulmate would be reciprocating these beliefs you had.

You were proven wrong later on.

You remember, vividly, the first time you experienced this pain everyone talked about. It was during a lesson of PDHPE, in your 7th year of school. You were playing basketball with the rest of your class, skilfully avoiding the attention of your classmates who were yelling at each other for the ball, doing so with one of your friends. Unfortunately for you, someone had thought it was a good idea to throw the ball at you, but before you could even catch it, there was a sudden pain in your chest. It felt like someone had thrown a brick at you, which caused all the air in you to be pushed out of your lungs almost immediately, your ribcage burning. You immediately fell to the ground, hands wrapped around your abdomen as if it would be able to do anything to make the pain subsides or stop. Tears rapidly escape your eyes as the pain engulfs your whole body, causing you to start to hyperventilate to get whatever air you could into your lungs. It felt like your lungs were suffering the most from the pain, sometimes your heart even. It felt like everything inside of you was going to explode and leave nothing but a splatter of blood and disembodied body parts that have been flung everywhere due to the explosion. A small scream managed to escape your mouth, but was mixed with your sobbing too.

You remember the teacher stopping the game immediately to check what was going on. The concerned expressions that your friends and classmates had on their faces when you fell over. The yelling of your name. And then black.

After that, you woke up on a hospital bed, the pain still there but a bit more manageable. You remember how relieved and happy your parents, siblings and friends who all waited for you to wake up, looked. The bone crushing hugs they gave you made you think that maybe the real pain you had to worry about was them. You remember what they told you, and then the doctor coming in. They sat down next to you, asking you questions about what happened before the pain occurred and how it felt. Afterwards, they had concluded that this was all because of your soulmate, and that you still experiencing pain – which was manageable due to the medicine they had given you – meant they were still in that danger.

Throughout the year after, you suffered from more pain, which ended in you going to the hospital several times after. At one point, they prescribed you with a medication that was similar to the one they gave you in the hospital, to help you manage the pain more so that you didn’t have to keep coming to the hospital. It wasn’t that they were annoyed by your constant appearances, they just wanted you to live a normal and enjoyable life. And you were eternally grateful for their efforts.

So, here you were, studying in the most prestigious university of the whole country, with three of your best friends in tow and taking pain reducing pills every day. Thankfully, they were working like a charm, and the pain that your soulmate inflicted on you lessened from that initial one. You concluded this was because they found a better thing to do with their life, because the doctor had suggested that maybe they just did something or lived somewhere that put their lives in constant danger, but whatever the case, you were glad that they were doing seemingly better than when they did back in your high-school years.

Those around you were relieved too, but never stopped talking about how they had half the mind to murder your supposed soulmate due to what they had made you endure all these years. Even if they were just joking, you were, and always are, quick to defend your soulmate, saying things like maybe they were forced to live in this danger, that maybe that was their way of taking care of things, or the environment they loved in was just that terrible. You didn’t want to believe that your soulmate meant to put themselves in this danger, heck, maybe they didn’t even know they were putting themselves in this danger! Surely, no one just woke up, thinking to themselves that they’d just put themselves in constant, life-threatening danger to put someone else in that same danger.

You wanted nothing more than to help them get out of that danger, find another path that’ll help them better themselves, and then live happily ever after. That applied to everyone and anyone you met. There were, however, times where the medication wasn’t strong enough to dull the pain. It was in these times where you cursed your soulmate for giving you this pain that left you in the nurse’s office, even the hospital, more than once. They even memorised the food that you enjoyed on their menu the most and left it there for you to eat when you woke up! It didn’t sound so bad to someone else when you and told them about those times, but you definitely felt embarrassed every time that happened and recalled it.

You were definitely killing your soulmate when you met them.

And meet them you did, not in the stereotypical, overly romantic, “oh my god, you’re totally hot, wait a second, you’re actually my soumate!!”, way that TV had implanted in your head and those around you like the plague. No no no! Not for you.

While your friends found theirs at cafés, libraries, one finding theirs on a trip to the public restrooms, you met yours over something that lacked better judgement from you.

It was one night, you had left the party of a friend’s that lasted until midnight. No one got drunk, thankfully enough, but they weren’t able to provide you a means to get home safely under their watch. Which lead to getting a mysterious and totally “not suspicious” message from an unknown number, talking about how they were a Korean college student studying abroad who found a missing phone and asked for your help. If you were actually fully awake and had taken that cup of caffeine, sugary goodness that was the caramel cappuccino your friends made you beforehand, you probably would’ve declined helping this dude out and let it munch on your conscience afterwards. But, you stupidly followed the address he gave you, made it inside the apartment, and practically passed out.

Not until after you dealt with suddenly being thrown into a chatroom with a group of people who called themselves the RFA and immediately established you as their party planner, with a simple and not so thought out “yes” from you. And then you passed out on the couch.

That night, or morning, one of the members had called you to see if the number he had managed to find was the right one. Particularly, a certain red-headed hacker who went by the nickname of Seven, though his real name remained unknown to you (however, you learnt his baptismal name was Luciel). You were already fast asleep, but your finger managed to accept the call from the boy somehow.

“Hello, this-“

The red-head stopped in his tracks as he heard your quiet snores coming through the other end, sighing to himself as a small smile crept to his lips. ‘Of course they were a sane and normal person who slept at this time, why would he had thought differently about this person?’ He thought to himself as he decided that maybe this wasn’t the time to be messing with you. That didn’t mean he didn’t think differently of you. In fact, he did think differently of you, the moment he saw you standing outside the apartment.

Something, some invisible force, managed to pull him out of his concentrated and hardworking state just to gaze at the cameras that were placed on the outside of Rika’s apartment. At first, he was confused and just turned back to his screen, but he had caught someone standing outside of it just before his eyes had completely left the screen that held that footage.

He whipped his head back to the screen, his glasses askew as he did so. There was a girl, who looked to be the same age as Yoosung, staring at her screen with furrowed brows. She seemed to be lost as she looked down both ways of the corridor, her gaze briefly meeting the hidden camera Seven was watching from. In that brief moment, the hacker could’ve sworn the rhythmic beating in his chest in his chest quickened. There was also a momentary pang of pain that came. It surprised Seven, which compelled him to keep watching your movements. She looked back down at her phone again, before punching in the digits to get into the unused apartment. His eyes widen as he watches her walk into the place, closing the door quietly behind her. And then, his phone pinged with the notification that a new chatroom had opened, and he noticed that a person named “U/N” had entered it. He did an immediate background check on the girl.

She was only a few months away from turning 21 years old, her name being Y/N. She was currently attending the same University that Yoosung attended (what a lucky boy) and has three friends who also attend there. Her grades were pretty high, and she had a lot of positive comments about her. She seemed to be a lovely and innocent girl, but she had already visited the hospital more times than a usual person would in her short 20 years of living, intriguing him. He read a few sentences of each medical record, finding that each reason was exactly the same as the last; strains to her soul caused by her soulmate, leading to immense physical pain which mostly affected her chest.

In her earlier records, it looked like she was going back to the hospital every week or so, and that her condition was worsening by the 26th visit. But then after that, the time intervals spaced themselves out a bit more, starting from every fortnight, to every month, currently sitting at visiting the place every few months. He read somewhere that after the 26th visit they put her on a medication, but those times she went to the hospital afterwards, the alerting pain from her soul was just too strong, meaning that her soulmate was in a spot that nearly killed them. Seven ran his fingers through his curly red locks, reading over these records with furrowed brows.

Sheesh. Her soulmate must be some sort of crazy.

“Ah, well, you’re obviously asleep. I just, wanted to call to make sure this number was the number of our newest member and to thank you for joining the RFA. It really means a lot to all of us here, even if some of us are a bit sceptical with your sudden appearance.” His mind wanders to the “strictly business” duo, Mr Trust Fund Kid (Mr Jumin Han, CEO in line to C&R) and his Zen fan girl assistant (Miss Jaehee Kang, Chief Assistant and cat-sitter). They were the main two who explicitly expressed their concerns of her sudden appearance and were apprehensive to telling any sort of information about them.

“However! Do not fret! I, God Seven Zero Seven, Defender of Justice, will guide you, oh lonely lamb, through this treacherous and confusing period!” He strikes a dramatic pose, his head held up high, his lips in a silly pout, with a hand over his heart, even though he knows you aren’t watching. He chuckles to himself once again, before letting out another sigh. “If you need anything, I’ll be willing to take your calls and talk to you. But please, don’t try to get close to me. I’m pretty dangerous.”

For some reason as he said that line aloud his voice trailed off and one of his hands ended up rubbing the back of his neck. He felt a pain in his chest too. Why was this all happening to him? It was true that he was extremely dangerous, his job at the agency being the reason why, and he has no other choice but to warn people about being too close and chummy with him. After all, he doesn’t want anyone becoming a victim because of him. So then why had he felt upset over telling this girl to stay away? Why did he feel this pull towards her? Was it his paranoia getting to him? Was his mind eating him about her hidden affiliation with a rival agency?

It didn’t make any sense to his binary world. None of this did. Especially the ache that he felt deep inside of him. But he decides to ignore that for now.

“Um, anyway,” He says, clearing his throat after a while. “You’ll be able to listen back to any calls you’ve made or received within this app in your call history. You’ll know who’s calling you because their profile picture and name will be one of the first things you’ll see. Everything that you need to do for the party is all within this app and you probably wouldn’t want to mess around with the apartment you’re at. One wrong move, and an alarm will go off, so I’d be careful if I were you.” He pauses once again, thinking for something else to say.

“We’ll be seeing each other more often, so I wish you all the best of luck, party coordinator.”

He hung up shortly afterwards.

When you woke up in an unrecognisable place, anxiety filled thoughts started circling your head. How did you get here? Why were you here? Was this some sort of prank held by your friends? Were you some sort of hostage?? You swore to yourself that you hadn’t been drinking alcohol or doing drugs the night before, nor were you grabbed and put into a car with a blindfold over your eyes. At least, that’s what your mind was telling you as you wracked it for answers of why and when you got here. Did anyone even live here..?

You spent a good while, sitting on the couch you had just woken up on (which was surprisingly comfy), thoroughly confused before your phone pinged with a notification. It startled you slightly, causing you to jump before looking at the device that sat a short distance away from the spot you were sitting in. You grab it, wondering whothe heck was messaging you. Checking it revealed that a chatroom from the RFA messenger, that you stupidly downloaded on your phone last night because of a stupid dare, had opened up. Zen and Jumin were currently occupying the room. It brought a slight frown to your features. ‘I wonder if Seven will come..’

Being honest, you found yourself intrigued by the man. Not only because of his jokes that he shared and his handsome looks from his profile picture (goddamn was his side smile the hottest thing you had ever seen in your life, like what the actual hell?), but the mysterious air he had to him. You weren’t exactly close to him, so you could only assume things about him, but he seemed like the type of guy who was helplessly lonely. You gathered that from the messages you read over that the RFA members sent about the man, your own personal experiences, as well as from the phone call you had found in your history. His tone of voice dramatically changed after talking about being “God Seven Zero Seven, Defender of Justice”. The whole “don’t try to get close to me, I’m dangerous” spiel gave it away too, but those words tugged at you for some reason.

He, the quirky, whacky, jokester, but somewhat lonely, Seven, was a dangerous person? Obviously, according to Jumin, he was dangerous to cats, but was he really a dangerous person? More so, how dangerous was he? Did he cause that danger, or did he just get thrown into it?

Was he potentially your soulmate?

That last thought was pushed away into the back of your mind. There was no way he was. He’s probably just got some definition of dangerous that makes his pranks look like they were intended to hurt someone!

… But that tone he used made you think otherwise. He sounded sincerely determined, serious, unlike the tone he used within the chatrooms. Immediately, you shook your head.

‘Now is not the time to be thinking about that!’ You thought to yourself as you stood up from the couch and stretched, looking at your new surroundings with a determined smile. ‘I need food, and food needs me! There’s also a bit of thinking to do about my new environment and friends!’

And so, over the past few days, you’ve been getting to know the RFA members a bit more. You got along well with them, but especially well with Seven. You happily played along with his pranks, showed concern for him when he started opening up slightly, frowning when he had denied your suspicions of being down and throwing jokes again. However, you kept up with the man and the group, determined to get to know him to prove that tiny voice inside of you that he wasn’t your soulmate, despite desperately hoping so.

It wasn’t until the day that the special security system alerted him about it’s status did Seven first experience a pain in his soul.

With Vanderwood watching his every move, it was proving to be difficult to keep up with work, the RFA and the new member. He already knew there was a problem with the security of the app from the complaints he received from the members and the error messages that came up on the screen that held the status of the RFA server. But he couldn’t do much about those problems except temporarily fix it and try to find a permanent one later due to the work he was trying to do – or more like not do – for the agency. He was also desperately trying to sort out his feelings for you. He knew that something was up with him, but he didn’t want to admit it. Besides, he wasn’t supposed to feel this way, anyway.

Though, as a notification from the screen holding the code and status for the special security system popped up, he felt as if his body was killing himself from the inside. He hunched over, holding onto his chest and abdomen, trying to steady his breathing while gasping for air as pain engulfed his body. It felt like an immense amount of pressure was thing to push out of him, but another one was trying to push onto him, squeezing him in pain.

Vanderwood ran into the room as he heard his strained breathing, rushing over to Seven’s side. Sure, he wasn’t exactly fond of the guy, but they became affiliated with each other and had this sort of unspoken bond between one another. Vanderwood might just lose his job and his life if he were to die on him now, so keeping one another safe was a priority.

“Hey, hey!” he shouted at the man who struggled in his seat, unsure as to if he had heard him. “What’s going on?! Seven, can you hear me?!”

Seven, despite the pain he is experiencing manages to give him a strained nod, causing the brown haired man to sigh in relief.

“Ok, good, I need you to calm down and steady your breathing. Right now.” He tries to get Seven to follow him, managing to do so. He already suspected what was going on, it was pretty darn obvious anyway. So, when Seven had managed to calm himself, he immediately hands him a glass of water and a pill. Seven eyes the pill, before he eyes him.

“What’s this for?” his voice is hoarse and weak, the vomit stuck in his throat threatening to come out. Vanderwood rolls his eyes.

“Well, you’re supposed to be working.” He blankly explains, simply placing the pill in Seven’s hand. “Just take it. It’ll dull your pain.”

Seven remains slightly sceptical, causing Vanderwood to become frustrated at him, shoving it and the water into his mouth and down his throat . He had a coughing fit afterwards, to which the brown haired man refused to help the red headed one with. Afterwards, the pain was manageable but still there, and he couldn’t help but think it was caused by the newbie he was finding himself to become infatuated with. After all, he started feeling this pain when that notification from the apartment came up, and the only one occupying that place was you.

So, when he finally got Vanderwood off his butt, he grabbed all the hacking equipment he could and dashed to the apartment in a desperate hurry, of course not forgetting to grab a few pain reducing pills for the trip. Once he saw you, he was sure that this pain in his chest would go away. Once he saw you, he wouldn’t have to keep staring at a screen just so he could see the real you. Once he saw you, he would be able to focus. Once he saw you, he had a feeling his soul would be in peace. But once it was at peace, he’d become scared. Once it was at peace, he’d have to push her away. Once it was at peace… What was he going to do with himself? With her?

He couldn’t and wouldn’t allow her to experience more pain because of him. It wasn’t right. It wasn’t what he wanted. He was sure that she was already fed up with dealing with the pain he caused. And if they were really soulmates, she should’ve just given up on him the first time he had caused her pain. But he wouldn’t be able to help the fact that they were fated to be together and that fate liked to twist things in the most horrible of ways.

If you were fated, he couldn’t just change that. You only ever had one soulmate. And one soulmate only. He was starting to think, as he shoved all of his belongings quickly into the car while his fire breathing robot dog chased Vanderwood around, that maybe this pain in his chest wasn’t only because his potential soulmate – that was you – was in danger because of the bomb that was installed as part of the special security.

Maybe, it hurt, because he knew what must be done for the benefit of both of you.

Making his way to the apartment was proving to be a bit of a hard trip to get through. The pain in his chest flared up again, making it incredibly hard to drive. His vision kept wavering, his body threatening to faint due to his desperate breathing. It meant that his driving was more sloppy and reckless than usual, because not only did he have to worry about the pain from his soul, he had to worry about your safety as well as the thoughts about his decision swirling around his head. He had never experienced a more stressful moment in his life, other than the time he had to leave his brother behind so that he could protect the both of them. Remembering that now was definitely doing more bad than good, because the ache in his chest was only growing more intense. He felt like he was going to die.

However, Meowy had other plans. In the case where you, his dear, were to experience terrible soul pains again, Meowy was to sense that and try her best to calm you down enough to take your medication to relieve that pain. It was a good thing that Seven had brought her to passenger seat and not in the case he had made for her that sat in the back. So, as soon as it flared up, she guided him through a few breathing exercises, which eventually allowed him to shakily take a pill. It didn’t exactly relieve his symptoms, or pain, but it did make the journey a bit more bearable.

Meanwhile, you were slightly panicking due to the last few messages Seven had sent. What? There was something wrong with the apartment? And he was coming here to fix it? But what about the work at the agency he had yet to finish? Was that what that noise from last night was about?

You didn’t know what to do. From what you have been told so far, you had been guided to an apartment that belonged to a dead woman, who was also the previous party planner and one of the two founders of the RFA, named Rika. They hosted parties for a good cause, and have so far hosted 2 parties. Ever since she left, however, they haven’t had a party since and the messenger became a place where they just talked for days on end (though, particularly for Zen, it became a platform to post his selfies every two days or so, before you came along). Basically, the apartment was filled with classified material on the party guests that had attended in their previous parties, most were notably higher ups, people with influence and power.

You obediently heeded to the commands of V, Seven and Jumin, and have not touched a single drawer or cabinet in the apartment (well, apart from the ones in the kitchen, which surprisingly held food that had yet to go bad, despite the place practically being abandoned for a while according to the members) but only now did you find out that there was a special security system. It was supposed to protect the information by setting off a bomb to not only destroy the information inside the building, but as well as the perpetrator and any innocents that were inside. Seven had advised you not to move because the hacker and managed to mess up the algorithm so that the function of the bomb going off was reversed. Meaning that if someone were to break in here at this moment, you’re basically going to die because they wouldn’t want any witnesses.

So, all you did was sit in the bed that the apartment had, laying down on your back, staring mindlessly at the ceiling. You talked with the remaining RFA members, and thought about your life so far. How you spent most of it avoiding as much danger as possible for your soulmate, only to end up dying without finding them. And god, were you feeling sorry that you possibly had to take them down with you, after all, you didn’t know anything about them. You wouldn’t and couldn’t know what they’d do if they found out that their soulmate died.

In your grandma’s case, she died with her husband because she was slightly older and had breathing issues. But if she was healthier, you had no doubt in your mind that she would have to live the rest of her life with half of her being torn from her grasp. You didn’t want your soulmate to experience that. Heck, what if they were just as excited to meet you as you were with them? It brought tears to your eyes just thinking about the pain that your soulmate would have to face every day just because you stupidly decided to trust a random stranger.

And then your thoughts went to Seven.

Good god, what we’re you going to do with that red head?

Honestly? You had fallen for the man. Hard.

From his jokes, to his pranks, to his poetic words he sprinkled in every now and then, his dorky pick-up lines, how he cared for the RFA members even if he showed it in the most abstract of ways and his silky smooth as god-damn butter voice.

Then there was his serious side. Your sneaking suspicions were correct when he was showing this side. This man really wasn’t ok, despite what he portrayed in the chatrooms, but he tried his best to keep that to himself. It was admirable, but it hurt you more than it probably should. It just motivated you to get to know him better! His world was just so interesting, irresistible to you. You wanted nothing more than to be able to be given the chance to explore that mysterious world of his.

Then, the sound of glass shattering outside of your room grabbed your attention. Lack of better judgement strikes back once again, because you end up running to the scene, to find man with a pale complexion climbing through the broken window. His hair was unnaturally white with pink tips, his outfit consisting of a black mask that covered half his face, a black leather jacket that hung off his right shoulder, revealing an eye tattoo, spiked bracelets, a red tank top, black pants that had a single red stripe going down the outer-most side and leather boots. His eyes were an unsettling mint green and- wait.

Why did he look similar to Seven?

“Stay over there, miss.” He spoke in a smug tone, you could basically hear his smirk.

Where are you?

Seven was having an incredibly hard time trying to get to the apartment in time after ditching his car, carrying all his equipment and trying to manage the growing pain that he felt in his chest. He probably looked insane to onlookers, but he wasn’t going to let you go or live with himself for allowing harm to come your way.

From the beginning, he was somewhat opposed to V allowing you to stay in the apartment because of the bomb; Rika left that place shortly after it was installed anyway. But now this just got out of hand. He needed to get to that place to disarm that bomb and to protect you, he wasn’t going to let the second light that fate had tossed to him slip out of his grasp like the first one. No. Not now, and not ever. He was going to fight for you, stay with you and make it through everything with you with your permission. He wasn’t going to give up on you.

With that thought, he keeps running, despite his legs complaining and threatening to give in.

He runs and runs. Pushing past crowds of people, yelling out several apologies. Running with all the strength he has, gasping for air desperately, not stopping until the apartment block comes into view. He bursts through the building, not wasting any time.

Each step he took, he was closer to his dearest. Each step he took wracked his soul with an immense pain, and so did hers. Each step he took, he was one step closer to finding the truth.

And when he had opened the door, the pain subsided as his golden orbs, that were probably red and swollen from the tears, landed on your own pair of teary eyes.

He wasn’t sure whether to feel relieved or scared.

But he was sure, as were you, of one thing.

You were soulmates.

And he was going to get a damned good beating for all those hospital visits.

#mystic messenger #mystic messenger x reader #mystic messenger 707 #mystic messenger writing #oh good lord #thank go thaty over qwq #you have no idea how relieved but anxious i feel.rn #like actually #thank you <3 #even though i've said that so many times already lol #but seriously #now #i'll just sit in my corner ahaha #and pray that this is ok qwq

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komahinasecretexchange · 5 years

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Title: Waiting For Dawn

Author: Kae @kaedeakamatsu

For: Philip @slickandsolangelic

Rating/Warnings: Parental Death Mentioned

Prompt: Flowershop AU. Bonus points for bedsharing, angst with a happy ending and hurt/comfort.

Author’s notes: I hope you enjoy!^^

AO3 LINK

Hinata is pulled away from watering the hydrangeas by a familiar little dog that careens into his legs with no warning and nearly knocks him to the floor.

Dropping the watering can — and dumping the water all over himself in the process — he tries to catch his balance, looking down at the adorable little Shiba Inu with wide eyes. “H-Hey, Koro, what’s got you all excited??”

Another familiar thing, this time a small laugh, rings out behind him. “Sorry, Hinata-kun. He was just so eager to see you, I had to bring him along.”

Hinata glances over his shoulder and rolls his eyes exaggeratedly. “Riiiiight, he’s the one who wanted to see me. Sounds like an excuse if you ask me.”

His boyfriend chuckles once more. “Oh, have I been found out?”

Hinata can’t resist smiling as Koro begins to settle down. “It’s nice to see you.”

The quaint little flower shop where Hinata worked is where he’d first met Komaeda, where the two of them had become friends, and then later… much more. He’d been enamored with the mysterious stranger who was covered in band-aids and bruises, the one who remained cheery no matter what new misfortune had befallen him. The pretty boy who remembered his name and took his suggestions on which flowers to buy. The one whose eyes reminded him of the ocean on a stormy day, the one who’d shown so much kindness and warmth and light …

What was once a hint of a feeling had blossomed into something much more.

And he was still so grateful that Komaeda had felt the same.

But nevermind that.

“It’s nice to see you too, Hinata-kun…” Komaeda squats down next to him and pats his dog’s head. “…For myself and for Koro here…” He’s close enough that Hinata can smell his cologne, and he has to remind himself not to lean closer. ‘ Not while you’re on the clock.’

“If you don’t mind waiting, I’ll be done in just a moment,” he says instead of cuddling up to his boyfriend in the middle of the floor. “And then we can get going?”

Komaeda nods, still petting his pup. “Can I help?”

“No, no, you’re fine.” Hinata stands, abruptly pulling off his apron. “One sec.”

It doesn’t take long for him to finish up, and he meets Komaeda outside the shop with a new burst of energy in his step. “Ready?”

“Sure.”

They begin the walk to Hinata’s apartment, Koro trotting in front. Usually, this is the point where Komaeda would launch into a story about his day, or ask Hinata how he was doing, or start telling him what he’d learned in class. Usually, he would act as though he’d be bursting at the seams with thoughts and jokes and questions, so much to hear and so much to say that it had all built up and was ready to come tumbling out of his mouth the moment he had Hinata to himself.

But today, he was quiet. He looked at the sky above with a smile on his face, but it seemed… sad, almost. Wistful.

Hinata cleared his throat. “Are you, uh. Are you alright?”

“Hm?”

He hadn’t even heard him? This could be bad. “I asked if you were doing alright?”

“Oh, yes, of course! No need to worry about me.” Komaeda assures him with a bright smile.

…He doesn’t buy it. “Komaeda.”

“What?”

“I know you better than that,” Hinata insists, frowning. “There’s obviously something bugging you, so please just tell me what it is.”

Komaeda hesitates. “Well, I… I don’t want to make a mountain out of a molehill.”

“It doesn’t have to ‘be’ anything, it just… is what it is,” Hinata said lamely. “We’ve talked about this. I know you’re used to smoothing everything over, but you have to work with your emotions instead of pretending they aren’t there, right?”

“Just like Yui said, you mean?”

He nods. “Just like Yui said.”

Yui was Komaeda’s therapist. Although it had taken a while for Komaeda to open up to Hinata about his mental state and past trauma, it’d been a huge relief when he finally got it off his chest. And now? He even had Hinata come with him to a few sessions. Who was immensely proud of all the progress his boyfriend had made, even though he’d insisted it’d been baby step after smaller baby step.

“Fine,” Komaeda said suddenly. “Can I stay the night with you?”

“W-What?” Hinata almost choked on his own saliva.

“I-It’s not for what you think —” Komaeda started to blush. “I want to sleep with you, n-not… sleep with you. Although I can’t lie, I would like to do that too, someday—”

“Komaeda!”

“Right, right, off topic,” his face is even more flushed now.

“I’m lost. What does that have to do with…?”

“I’ll tell you later,” he said. “Please?”

He feels as though he’s missing something. Or a lot of somethings. How did the conversation get from whatever was bothering his boyfriend to this?

But he does know Komaeda, so he thinks he’s figured out at least this much. “You want to talk about it when we have some privacy. Right?”

“If you don’t mind…” Komaeda faltered.

“Of course.” Hinata takes his hand then, and gently changes the subject. “You know, there was this really weird customer earlier today…”

They’d had dinner, given Koro his bath, and watched their movie. Komaeda had remained somewhat subdued, but Hinata was understanding, and he didn’t mind filling in the silence when Komaeda needed him to. He even coaxed a few smiles and some laughter out of his boyfriend here and there.

But now, with the movie over and the credits rolling, Hinata could feel the conversation coming. Because Komaeda was not getting ready to leave as he usually did during the credits. Instead, he remained next to Hinata with his legs hugged to his chest, chewing his lip as though he was preparing to speak.

Finally, Komaeda sighed and looked at his boyfriend. “I… hate being alone.”

“You’re not alone.” Hinata reminded him. “You have me now, and my friends really like you—”

“That’s not what I mean.” Komaeda bit his lip again.

“Sorry… I’m listening.” Hinata gently urged him on. “You hate being alone…?”

“My house is so huge, but it’s always just been me. Ever since I was little, anyway…” And then, quietly, he adds, “Today’s the anniversary of my parents’ deaths.”

“Oh.” Hinata’s mind goes blank.

“It’s a bit presumptuous of me, but I thought if you were willing, it would be nice to… not be alone right now.” he keeps his tone light and casual, but his eyes stay downcast.”I’ve been out all day, and the thought of going back to that huge, empty space makes me feel… very empty inside, too.”

“Thank you for telling me,” Hinata wrapped his arm around Komaeda and pulled him closer. Komaeda leaned into his chest and buried his face in the crook of Hinata’s neck, closing his eyes. Hinata rubbed his arm with his thumb and waited in case there was more.

There was. Murmuring into his partner’s neck, he continued on. “It’s silly, because it happened so long ago… I barely remember them. But before I met you, I was truly alone… so, so alone. And it’s been better because of you, but today —” his throat tightened painfully. “I started feeling alone again, and I thought— there’s no guarantee you’ll stay with me, either.” he was trying to hold back tears.

Hinata took his shoulders and maneuvered Komaeda to face him. “Hey… There are no guarantees for the future, that’s true. But no matter what happens, you and I will always be friends.”

Komaeda swallowed thickly and met Hinata’s eyes. “…Promise?”

“I promise,” he vowed. “And just so you know? I have absolutely no plans of breaking it off. Of— of breaking us off. I know we’ve been taking it slow, but… I just want to savor what we have while we have it. I… I should have said it before, but, Komaeda… I love you.”

His eyes widened. “You— You do?”

Hinata nodded seriously.

“I-I—” Komaeda stuttered breathlessly. “I love you, too.”

A grin slowly stretched across Hinata’s face. “Yeah?”

“Yeah.” Komaeda was smiling back, his eyes now glistening with happy tears.

Hinata laughed quietly before poking his forehead. Then a thought occurred to him, and he looked serious once more. “There is no cycle,” He said firmly. “If something happens to me, it’s not a result of your bad luck, and it wouldn’t be your fault. So don’t even go there.”

“I won’t,” Komaeda promised. “‘Choose what you can do instead of focusing on what you can’t,’ right?”

“Exactly,” he agreed. “Feeling better?”

“I am,” Komaeda’s genuine smile was so beautiful to Hinata it was almost cruel. “Thank you.”

“No need to thank me,” Hinata leaned in and kissed his forehead. “I’m always here for you.”

Komaeda, unsurprisingly, insisted he should sleep on the couch, but Hinata flatly refused, threatening to sleep on the floor if Komaeda wouldn’t stop being dramatic and just go the hell to bed already. So Komaeda gave in and the two of them laid in bed talking until they finally drifted off to sleep, Koro snuggling up to their legs. The next morning they would wake up to find Komaeda’s leg in between Hinata’s, and Hinata’s arm draped over Komaeda’s waist. Komaeda would laugh, Hinata would blush. They would make tea for Komaeda and coffee for Hinata before eating breakfast together. And then they would have their whole day— their whole lives— in front of them.

But for now, they slept peacefully. Waiting for dawn.

#fanfiction #komahina #komahina secret exchange

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bountyofbeads · 5 years

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Opinion: A letter to Kurdish soldiers from a US military wife

https://www.cnn.com/2019/10/17/opinions/letter-to-kurdish-soldiers-from-military-wife-opinion/index.html

PLEASE READ 📖 these 3 pieces as you consider voting for Donald Trump. 👇🤔😢😭😭😭

A letter to Kurdish soldiers from a US military wife

Published Oct 17, 2019 | CNN | Posted October 18, 2019 |

Editor's Note: This article was written by the wife of a Special Operations soldier, who has served throughout the Middle East. CNN is not revealing her identity at her request. The views expressed in this commentary are her own. View more opinion at CNN.

(CNN) - Dear Kurdish soldiers,

You don't know me, but I have known of you for most of my adult life. When my military husband and I quickly married, knowing he was deploying to the Middle East to be part of the 2003 invasion of Iraq, I feared what he and his Special Operations unit would face when they arrived.

How bad would the fighting be? How long would they be gone? Would he survive?

Months later, he returned and recounted to me what he could about his experience. I asked how he had made it through. He replied, "We had help. We had the Kurds."

He told me stories of how the Kurdish people in Northern Iraq supported the troops, advised them, stood by them, fought shoulder to shoulder with them in combat, and became allies and friends. And I became grateful -- immensely, unwaveringly, and forever grateful for you.

Since then, the word "Kurds" in my home has meant something. It has meant "ally" and "friendship."

There are pictures of Iraqi Kurds alongside my husband and fellow soldiers in our home. I have a coffee mug with depictions of female Syrian Kurdish soldiers on it that I proudly use to remind me of you. My children play soccer in their Kurdistan jerseys.

The Kurdish people are not nameless, faceless people across the world. You hold a place of honor and respect in our home. It's important to me that all of you know that. I owe you so much. My husband is home safe today after years of fighting and I know you helped make that happen.

But now, I watch the news in horror. I see promises broken, progress destroyed, years of hard work and unimaginable sacrifice gone in a tweet. I see allies betrayed, their faces in my picture frame. While watching the news, my children turn to me and ask if those are our friends and I say yes. They have looks of confusion on their faces.

I can't imagine what your families are going through. I can't imagine their fear. I can't imagine these things because for the last 17 years you have fought to help us keep an attack off our soil, and I know that has now compromised your safety. It breaks my heart.

Where I come from, a person's word means something. Our honor and integrity are everything, as I know yours are to you. To read in international newspapers that the United States, my country, has abandoned the Kurds is absolutely heartbreaking.

Hasty decisions like this have not only put your people in terrible danger, they make the situation for our soldiers there on the Syrian-Turkish border much more difficult. My husband was with you on that border not long ago and I can't imagine what our soldiers' families are feeling right now.

And it's not just safety. It's hard to imagine how difficult it is for American soldiers to hear a partner and ally's calls for help and not be allowed to answer them. It's also hard to imagine you having to turn to Putin or the Assad regime for support because you could no longer count on Americans to keep their promise.

I worry for the safety of you and your families. I worry about the instability of the region and what that could mean for the future. I worry about the thousands of ISIS fighters we worked so hard to put in prisons, and who you must walk away from as you defend yourselves. I can't imagine the threat that now poses for us all. I see the look on my husband's face when he watches the news at the end of the day. The only phrase that comes to mind is "I'm sorry."

I write you today, on behalf of my family, to say thank you for everything you have done for us. Thank you for your friendship, for keeping your word and fighting alongside us, for staying the course year after year. Thank you for keeping my husband safe so he could come back home to me and my children. You have my sincerest prayers today that you too may safely return to yours. Thank you to your families that sacrificed without you, so you could make this partnership happen.

I pray we return to your side, that we stand by you, and that this has not all been in vain.

Forever yours,

A Grateful Wife

********

On Syria, Trump is pushing Republicans too far

Opinion by SE Cupp |Updated 10:00 AM ET, October 18, 2019 | CNN | Posted October 18, 2019 |

Editor's Note: SE Cupp is a CNN political commentator and the host of "SE Cupp Unfiltered." This piece has been adapted from her Saturday evening show monologue. The views expressed in this commentary are solely hers. View more opinion articles on CNN.

(CNN) - Defending the indefensible has become a cottage industry for Republican lawmakers in the era of Trump.

In the days and weeks surrounding President Donald Trump's decision last year to enforce the separation and caging of asylum-seeking children at the southern border, Republican lawmakers were largely supportive of him.

In the days after a baffling news conference last year in which President Trump, standing alongside Vladimir Putin, parroted the duplicitous Russian position that it did not meddle in our elections -- even though his own intelligence community had said the opposite -- Republican lawmakers shrugged.

In the days and weeks after the release of the Mueller report earlier this year, which revealed multiple examples of the President's attempts to engage in obstructive conduct, Republican lawmakers were defiantly behind him.

And in the days after the news about President Trump's alleged attempt to coerce the Ukrainian president to investigate his political rival (Trump denied that was his purpose) -- news that unleashed a stunning flood of evidence, transcripts, testimony, texts, and whistleblowers and ultimately resulted in an impeachment inquiry -- the GOP circled the wagons around their President.

Those are just a few of the many embarrassing episodes from the past few years where Republican lawmakers had opportunities to condemn the indefensible, and many have chosen not to. Many, in fact, have decided to abandon their conservative principles, their ethical and constitutional obligations -- not to mention their sense of common decency -- to justify Trump's odious behavior and deleterious decisions.

One issue, however, has proven surprisingly perilous for the President, a rare pressure point that has caused Republican lawmakers to summon courage and roundly condemn him: Syria.

While President Trump hopes the announcement Thursday of a 120-hour ceasefire in Turkey, which Turkey says is "not a ceasefire," might appease his many detractors, much of the damage is already done.

In the days after President Trump's disastrous, immoral, inexplicable decision to pull US troops out of Kurdish-controlled Northern Syria, unleashing the Turkish army on an overwhelmed US ally, sending untold numbers of ISIS prisoners back into the Sahel to reorganize, and handing some of the world's worst actors the keys to a broke-down and dangerous palace, Republicans were quick to voice their disapproval.

Even his staunchest allies, including South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, have freely rebuked him. Graham told an NBC News reporter that he would "become President Trump's worst nightmare" on Syria if he didn't reverse course: "This is a defining moment for President Trump. He needs to up his game."

It wasn't the first time he's drawn this reaction: When Trump first threatened to pull troops out of Syria in late 2018, defying his generals and security advisers, Republicans were stunned. Graham told reporters, "If Obama had done this, we'd be going nuts right now: how weak, how dangerous."

He and other Republican lawmakers, including Sens. Tom Cotton, Marco Rubio and Joni Ernst, signed a letter telling Trump to reconsider.

That episode, in fact, led two of Trump's most important figures in the Syria conflict, Gen. James Mattis and Brett H. McGurk, the American envoy to the coalition fighting the Islamic State, to resign their posts.

And now, as a quickly spiraling disaster in Northern Syria grows worse, Republicans have come together again in a rare reproval of the President. The House of Representatives voted Wednesday to condemn Trump for pulling troops out of Syria to allow for a Turkish invasion by a vote of 354-60, with 129 members of his own party voting in favor of the measure.

It's hard not to notice the glaring singularity of Syria as an issue that, sui generis, unlocks the Republican caucus from Trump's otherwise vise-like grip.

One cynical explanation for this is that foreign policy issues are usually a safer space for dissent, at least in the short term. Lawmakers assume constituents back home are more concerned about immediate and pressing domestic issues, especially during an election cycle, and many are likely gambling that Trump isn't going to unleash his primary attack apparatus against them over a Syria disagreement.

But the other explanation is that the consequences of Trump's impulsive, ill-informed, politically craven and incomprehensible decision to abandon our Kurdish allies, empower Turkey's Erdogan and Syria's Assad, dissolve our containment of ISIS and put hundreds of thousands of lives in the balance are just too much to stomach for Republican lawmakers.

They have little to gain at home for condemning Trump's actions overseas. Voters are generally apathetic to foreign policy issues. In a Gallup poll from earlier this year that asked what voters think is the most important problem facing the country today, issues like immigration, health care, gun crime and the environment led the lists. Foreign policy got just 1% of the vote, and both ISIS and Russia received 0%.

So the rebuke of Trump wins Republican lawmakers no points in their own districts, at least in the immediate future.

But the long gaze of history is far less forgiving.

When the fog of war clears, voters do tend to hold major foreign policy blunders against elected officials, even in their own party. See: the Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Republicans know that the actions Trump is taking today in the Middle East could haunt him and the GOP for years to come.

And it's not just the folly of war they're worried about. It's the significant humanitarian crisis this will manifest, adding to the one that already exists in that region. There's the long-term threat to our own national security when ISIS and other terror actors regain a footing in Europe and even here at home. There's the destabilizing effect this has on important US allies like Israel. And there's the breakdown of trust among our allies all over the world.

All of that is -- right now -- staring GOP lawmakers in the face.

It should tell us something that Republicans, who are usually so protective of this President, despite an ever-crescendoing wave of bad behavior and bad decisions, have spoken out so vocally and unilaterally against him when it came to Syria. That's how fraught, how devastating and potentially disastrous this issue is both politically and practically.

And that's a problem for Trump. Because if he decides not to listen, it's an excuse for Republican lawmakers, who may have secretly been looking for an opportunity, to break ranks, and at the worst possible time for the President -- when impeachment is actually on the table.

For all those reasons, Trump should be extremely concerned. He doesn't like to be told no, and he doesn't like defectors. But on this issue, perhaps more than any other, he would be wise to listen to the majority of his own party telling him to stop. Otherwise, it may just spell the end for his presidency.

Correction: An earlier version of this commentary incorrectly stated the duration of the ceasefire in Turkey announced Thursday. It is a 120-hour ceasefire.

*********

What Mick Mulvaney's stunning admission tells us about Trump

Opinion by Paul Begala | Published Oct 17, 2019 | CNN | Posted October 18, 2019 |

Editor's Note: Paul Begala, a Democratic strategist and CNN political commentator, was a political consultant for Bill Clinton's presidential campaign in 1992 and served as a counselor to Clinton in the White House.

(CNN) - There is a bit of a brother-and-sisterhood former senior White House aides. Despite deep political and policy differences, I respect those who choose to serve. The White House can be a dream job -- it was the best professional experience and highest honor of my life. But it can also be, as President Clinton told me the first time I set foot in the Oval Office, "the crown jewel of the federal penal system."

My heart usually goes out to White House staffers. The hours are long, the challenges great. So it is with no joy that I offer this assessment of Mick Mulvaney's performance running Donald Trump's White House: it stinks.

Acting White House chief of staff Mulvaney needs to start acting like a chief of staff.

In his press briefing today, Mulvaney revealed himself to be a yes-man when this President needs someone who can tell him no.

The most important, most difficult, most loyal two words a White House staffer can use are: "No, sir."

President Trump is on his third chief of staff and diminishes and insults Mr. Mulvaney by making him merely "Acting" chief of staff. He's on his fourth national security adviser, his third press secretary, and his third defense secretary. Trump burns through people, it seems, until he gets what he wants. What's more important is what he needs -- what we all need. And that is a White House staff that will tell him to knock it off.

When the President wants to politicize national security, corrupting it for his partisan needs, the only acceptable response is "No, sir." When he seeks to take Ukraine policy away from Ukraine policymakers and give it to his unappointed, unconfirmed, unaccountable private lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, the only acceptable response is "No, sir." When the President acts as if he is above the law and beyond the Constitution, directing a global summit and millions of dollars to one of his golf resorts, the only acceptable response is "No, sir."

Instead, Mr. Mulvaney debases himself. When ABC's Jonathan Karl asked him about the clear quid pro quo in Mr. Trump's dealings with Ukraine, Mulvaney sniffed, "We do that all the time with foreign policy." That's the problem, Mick. The Corleone family used extortion all the time, too. Didn't make it right. Mulvaney was even more dismissive of those who decry political desires overruling security interests: "Get over it."

He was just getting started. Mr. Mulvaney, defending the indefensible grift of President Trump ordering that the G-7 summit be at his Trump National resort in Doral, Florida, laughably claimed of Mr. Trump, "He's not making money off of this."

Baloney. Trump's decision will flood his resort with federal funds for security, communications, and a host of other needs. Advance teams from around the world will fill the resorts' rooms for weeks, maybe months. Foreign governments will spend huge sums -- generating profits that will line Trump's pockets.

This is precisely what the Constitution forbids in Article I, Section 9, when it states that no one occupying federal office can accept an emolument -- which is profit -- from a "King, Prince or foreign State." (Incidentally, Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist David Fahrenthold, of the Washington Post, has reported that revenue at Trump's Doral resort fell 13.8% from 2016 to 2017, and net operating income fell 62%.)

No sir. That's what you say. No sir, you can't shake down Ukraine for dirt on Joe Biden. No, sir, you can't withhold military aid if the Ukrainians don't embrace a nitty right-wing conspiracy theory. No, sir, you can't call on China to interfere in our elections the way you called on Russia to. No sir, you can't spend millions of taxpayer dollars at your own resort. No sir, you can't reap profits from foreign governments spending millions at your resort either. No sir, you're not above the law.

Those words never seem to emerge from Mr. Mulvaney's mouth. Far from being a public servant, the acting chief of staff revealed himself to be a throne-sniffer of the worst order. If he were any more of a toady, he'd be catching flies with his tongue.

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ariannjs · 5 years

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KARIN | A SasuSaku FanFic (6/10)

(Karin - Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4 / Part 5)

———

Dinners and walks together on the way home became a usual day to day thing for them since then. Eventually, Sakura came to realize that Sasuke was intentionally spending time with her amidst daily tasks to aid the Hokage, for it doesn’t take a genius to figure out that the Uchiha wasn’t merely visiting the Hozuki family in the hospital after all.

She couldn’t help but feel so flattered with how he would still pick her up from the hospital even right after coming back from a mission, wounded or not. And it was then that she knew that Sasuke was, in his own subtle ways, trying to work things out between them. If he started feeling the same way towards her, she couldn’t be sure yet; nonetheless, she was absolutely grateful for the tiny steps that their relationship was taking towards rebuilding their bond that Sasuke almost oh-so-completely severed.

Undoubtedly, that fact gave her reasons for her insides to do somersaults and her heart to pound against her ribcage, yet her favorite part was getting to witness Sasuke’s kind and gentle side every time they were together – the side she has always believed to be present even back when they were still genins, no matter how much of an ice block he may look like on the outside. And whenever it resurfaces, her heart couldn’t help but feel in awe.

“I’ll ask Kakashi to allow you to take missions alongside me, then,” Sasuke suggested to Suigetsu during that last day of Karin and Suika in the hospital. Three pairs of eyes – purple, red, and green – looked at him afterwards.

“You’re really doing that?”

“You have a family now. You need to have a source of income all the more. Can you think of other ways to earn while you’re in Konoha?”

The head of the Hozuki Family stared at him in understanding and shook his head. “But won’t they think that I’m an outsider or something?”

“If they can trust me now, then they should trust you too.”

Sakura grinned at that, unable to stop herself from humming happily as she assisted Karin in finally getting off the bed after such a strenuous week.

“You seem so delighted, Sakura.”

“Huh? O-of course! You and Suika are now better enough to be discharged.”

Karin arched an eyebrow at her, a smirk forming on her lips. “I don’t think it’s just that.”

A blush appeared on Sakura’s cheeks as she glanced at Karin and then peeked at the men across the room again. “Fine,” she started in a softer voice. “I’m just glad that Sasuke-kun’s visibly more comfortable around the village now. And he’s been helping you guys and many others. I just…” She grinned. “I couldn’t help but be proud.”

The redhead’s eyes followed Sakura’s line of vision, which was directed to the Uchiha. “You have every reason to be proud of him. He’s come a long way.”

Sighing in content, Sakura beamed at her patient.

There was a clear agreement between the two women who adored Sasuke in their own ways. “Right.”

It wasn’t really a difficult adjustment for Sakura to have someone waiting for her whenever her shift was over; it’s just that this time, she was actually more eager to go home than stay in the hospital for as long as her body could.

Pleased with this progress, Shizune made a mental note to personally thank Sasuke once they get a chance to talk out of the pink-haired medic’s earshot. If Shizune knew it would only take Sasuke’s intervention in making Sakura obey after months of failed attempts in asking her to stop immersing herself too much in her work, she would’ve forced the Sixth Hokage to summon Sasuke much earlier.

But that didn’t mean that Sakura wasn’t tiring herself anymore. Hence, as if it was a self-proclaimed mission, Sasuke had been true to his word when he said that he would monitor if the hardworking medic was eating right.

Whenever he found the opportunity, he would discreetly add food on Sakura’s plate as she animatedly narrated about her day – which consisted of the surgeries she performed, the deliveries that were much easier compared to that of Karin (“Thankfully! Shannaro!”, she emphasized), the kid who didn’t want to take his medicine unless it was her who let him take it (Sasuke didn’t know if he would feel amused or threatened by this), and the flock of male medic and shinobi who endlessly left flowers or letters in front of her office (now, he absurdly had the urge to crush the teacup he was holding while hearing this part). Taking advantage of her focus on her stories, it didn’t even matter to him that he was taking quite a lesser amount of food, as long as Sakura got to eat more.

“Wow. I’m almost so full and I’m not even done yet.” She let out a deep exhale, rubbing her stomach in the process. “How about you, Sasuke-kun?”

“Hn.”

Recently becoming adept in Sasukenese, she already knew what that meant so she continued, “Just as I thought! They give big servings of their meals here, don’t they? I think this has become my favorite!”

Sasuke stifled a chuckle through wiping his mouth with a table napkin. “There’s a new restaurant a few blocks from here. We could try it there next time if you’d like to. I’ve heard they’re serving anmitsu too.”

“You’re kidding.” Her eyes widened. “Okay, I think that’s going to be my favorite place soo—hang on…” She eyed him carefully before taking a bite of another vegetable tempura that was secretly placed on her plate.

Sasuke braced himself at the idea of being caught.

“How did you know that I have a thing for anmitsu?”

Inwardly sighing in relief, Sasuke just simply shrugged in response to her question, not willing to let her know that he had been mentally taking down notes of the things he had learned about her since they were kids.

Meanwhile, he found it cute, to be honest, how she was one of the most intellectual in their batch yet she always failed to notice how her food became half greater than the amount that was first served to her. With that, he didn’t know if he would be glad or concerned that she is a shinobi yet she could completely let her guard down while he was with her. But at the end of the day, he often noticed how much that fact helped him trust himself more just because she trusts him fully without hesitation.

Sakura could go on and talk about everything under the sun, he realized. But he could observe that glint in her eyes whenever she talked about the medical field. On the outside, she might just see him nonchalantly chewing his food in front of her, but on the inside, he couldn’t help but be filled with pride and reverence for his former teammate.

How in the world could he not admire such a passionate woman whose heart is just so big for the people around her?

They were both privileged with immense abilities and strengths, yet he recognized how totally different they were. For in the past few years, he used his power to destroy and kill, but she used hers to heal and bring more life into the world.

He knew he could never be like her, considering all the negative things he had inflicted to others in the past. But as she continues to give her all in healing and taking care of more people, he vowed to himself to be the one taking care of her in the best way he could.

Even if he had to continue stealthily adding food on her plate just so she could properly eat everyday.

After all, it was her who deserves all the tenderness he could give and more.

A scowl with disapproving mismatched eyes met Sakura by the hospital doors one night, puzzling her if she was about to embark on a sudden battle. Because, why in the world would the Sharingan be activated if they were just about to go home, right?

“You’re chakra is almost completely depleted.”

“H-huh?” Ah. So she had just gone through a chakra X-ray courtesy of her former teammate’s visual jutsu. She scratched the back of her head. “Well, I visited Suika and Karin in their place for their weekly check up. And then I...I had four surgeries in a row. But I’m ready for dinner! Let’s go, Sasuke-kun!” Her attempt to tug at his hand failed when Sasuke remained still on where he was standing.

“You need to rest, Sakura.”

Her shoulders slumped forward. “But I need to eat too. I don’t know how to do both all at once.” She groaned. And true enough, her stomach started growling, but she was too exhausted to even feel ashamed.

“Annoying,” Sasuke muttered under his breath. “Follow me then.”

“W-wait! Where are we going?”

Sasuke stopped pacing and narrowed his eyes at her over his shoulder, suddenly remembering something. “Can you walk?”

“That’s not the answe—wait a minute...” She suddenly smirked which caused Sasuke to raise an eyebrow at her. “Why, Sasuke-kun? Are you planning to carry me? Because—ow!—my leg hurts right here, and I don’t think it’s—h-hey! Wait up!”

“Tch. You’re not a good actress, Sakura. You’re annoying,” Sasuke said, already a few strides away from her. When she fell in step with him, he stopped himself from laughing at the sight of her visible pout.

“Wouldn’t you actually do that if my legs were hurting?” And then Sakura mumbled, “I wonder what it feels like to be carried by you.”

But his sense of hearing was as sharp as his sense of sight with the Sharingan “I’ve done that a number of times back then, Sakura.” He smirked.

“Eh? You’re kidding.”

“Am not.”

Deciding to press on the issue, she walked a few steps ahead and stopped right in front of him with her hands on her hips. “Alright, spill. Because I honestly can’t remember that happening.”

Sasuke sighed. He didn’t expect Sakura to be stubborn times two at her chakra-depleted state. As much as it was, in fact, annoying, it was still quite entertaining for him.

“One, when Orochimaru pretended to be Naruto,” he began. Both of them slightly flinched at the name of his former sannin sensei. “...which I’ve noticed so I kicked him. Two, when he was about to hit us with two kunai while we were under a genjutsu.” There was something amusing with the puzzled expression on the kunoichi’s face that made him pause. “Three, when you’ve been freed from Gaara’s sand. And four, when I...left you on a bench that...night.” He suddenly trailed off.

Somehow, Sasuke felt a tinge of guilt again at the reminder of those memories he had suddenly dug, especially that last one. He has always wondered if Sakura has totally gotten over what happened that night. But to his surprise, Sakura didn’t show him any look of disappointment or harbored hurt, only of curiosity.

“Oh.” Sakura blinked, once, twice, feeling a bit lightheaded which she thought was due to her effort in remembering the said instances. “So those were years ago?” She giggled sheepishly with a hand on her head. “I don’t seem to remember any of it though.”

With that, he sighed once more, thankful that Sakura didn’t have any grudges about their agonizing encounter on that eventful night. He cleared his throat. “Well, you surely don’t. You were either only half aware or completely uncon—”

“...Uh, Sasuke-kun?”

With widened eyes, he suddenly leaned forward and caught her limp body on reflex just in time. Still stunned, he recalled what happened in the past few minutes and grumbled to himself. If she didn’t stop to insist in discussing about the past instances wherein Sasuke has carried her, they would’ve reached their destination before she even passed out.

But now, he had to do it again, and Sakura wouldn’t even get the privilege of experiencing it while fully awake.

He shook his head and then released a soft cackle as he stared at the woman he now held protectively in his arm with the help of a Susanoo limb. “Tch. Again.”

With the way her head was throbbing, Sakura was certain that she wasn’t performing a surgery anymore, for if she was, she would’ve channeled some chakra in her temples to ease the headache. But what happened after she conducted an appendectomy anyway?

A familiar handsome face then entered her now fully awake mind, causing her eyes to snap open. It didn’t take a minute for her to recall the scenario before she lost consciousness. And then she rubbed a hand on her face. Did she really just faint in front of Sasuke? And did he really go out of his way to carry her to—

Wait. Where am I?

She carefully sat up on the bed while allowing her healing chakra to do its thing to her head. Looking around, she couldn’t remember being in the same location before. But when she saw the lone picture frame similar to hers on the desk nearby, and noticed the oddly familiar manly scent emanating from the duvet she was clutching, a blush appeared on her cheeks at the realization that she was in the Uchiha compound.

And she was exactly in the last Uchiha’s room.

With a beam on her face, her body fell once more on the bed, her hands pulling the duvet up to her face afterwards. She couldn’t believe what was happening. She has always believed Sasuke to be caring in his own ways, one that would fight for the lives of his comrades; however, this gentle and tender version of him was always astonishing to witness, especially now.

With the nature of her work, she was used to being the one to look after other people to the point that it has become a second nature to her. But there was something so heartwarming about having someone to look after her as well, something Sasuke seemed to be purposefully doing for the past month or so.

That’s when it dawned on her – for the first time in a long time, it was Dr. Sakura Haruno who was being well taken care of.

And much to her delight, the one making this possible was the man that she has come to love for so many years.

Meanwhile, where was this hospitable and caring gentleman?

Sakura hopped off the bed and made sure that she left it fixed. Due to not being familiar with Sasuke’s house, it took her some time to maneuver from hallway to hallway inside the large place.

A new smell took over her senses when she turned the last hallway. That’s where she finally saw the man she was looking for, immersed in his task as usual, but this time, his task at hand was kitchen-related. She found herself grinning at the sight, for it’s not everyday that one gets to see Sasuke Uchiha stirring something in a casserole with an apron around his torso.

She cleared her throat after a few seconds of admiring him from behind.

Sasuke stiffened then, hand gripping tighter on the wooden spoon he was holding. In a flash, the memory of seeing Sakura’s Byakugou seal up close due to him brushing his lips against it appeared on his mind.

“Hn.” He didn’t attempt to face her, adamant to conceal the crimson stain now painted on his cheeks. “Did you sleep well?”

Sakura’s smile widened. Years ago, it was a very rare occurrence for Sasuke to be visibly caring, but lately, it was like his aloof personality was slowly being peeled off right in front of her, just her. She couldn’t help but feel honored with that.

“Yes. Thank you so much, Sasuke-kun. So, you carried me again while I was unconscious, huh?”.

Sasuke smirked to himself, she was probably pouting now due to missing an opportunity of being carried in his arms while wide awake. But then, he heard a sigh.

“I really appreciate it. But...I’m sorry.”

He suddenly furrowed his brows as he heard her footsteps coming closer behind him. “What are you apologizing for?”

Sakura stopped by the table. Although it was such a sweet instance to have Sasuke go the extra mile for her today, a big part of her still couldn’t avoid feeling embarrassed about showing weakness in front of him. For a moment, she felt like her 12-year-old self that was hungry for the acknowledgement of her crush and teammate resurfaced, much to her dismay. “I didn’t mean to be a burden, Sasuke-kun.”

Oh. He was barely aware of the sudden change in her mood. Tipping his head over his shoulder, he glanced at her as she fiddled with the hem of her tunic. It was in moments like this that he knew he had to do or say something, for even when they were younger, Sakura seemed to have a skill in overthinking. And he didn’t like seeing the effect of that now.

“You shouldn’t exhaust yourself, Sakura,” he replied; his eyes were soft but his voice was unyielding. “You don’t need to overwork just to make sure that you’re saving many lives. You’ve already proven that fact.”

Sakura’s head snapped up. The way her eyes widened a bit after he spoke confirmed to Sasuke that she was able to read between the lines.

You’re not weak. You’re doing enough. And I admire that. But I don’t like seeing you forgetting about yourself.

When Sasuke returned his focus on his task, a lone tear fell on Sakura’s cheek as a growing affection for the man in front of her filled her chest. Part of her wanted to dart towards him and throw her arms around him, but she wasn’t that 12-year-old clingy fangirl in his life anymore.

She understood how Sasuke wasn’t a man of many words, but it was after hearing his recent statements – despite being vague – that she knew: Sasuke didn’t only care about her, but he also saw her worth.

How could she not fall even more in love with such a man?

With a content smile on her face, she wiped her tear with the back of her hand while her gaze was fixed at her beloved’s back. “Hai, Sasuke-kun.”

Sasuke’s lips curved upwards, feeling accomplished with his small contribution. “Hn. Dinner’s almost ready.”

As if on cue, Sakura’s stomach made a noise once again. She could swear she heard Sasuke chuckle before he turned around to face her. “Oop. Sorry!” Red-faced, she then sat down as he placed the appetizing meals on the table. “Wow, Sasuke-kun! I’m honestly quite surprised that you are adept in cooking.”

Sitting across her, he shrugged. “I had to be. I’ve lived alone since I was eight, Sakura.” And then he started putting food on their plates.

She simply gazed at him, mentally vowing to herself that she would do everything that she could to make sure that Sasuke would never feel alone in his life again. An idea then crossed her mind. “How about...next time, let’s stay at my place so I can return the favor and cook for you as well?” Keeping her composure, she separated her chopsticks as she waited for his answer, quite afraid that Sasuke would think differently about her sudden boldness.

It felt like an eternity passed when she observed how he stared at her for a long moment, seemingly wondering if she would really be willing to do such a thing for him. She looked down on her plate and bit her lip in anticipation. Somehow, she was already bracing herself for his refusal. After all, it wouldn’t be the first time that Sasuke would reject an offer from her.

However, when she peered at him again, her heart skipped a beat upon seeing an almost unnoticeable yet genuine smile now plastered on his face.

“Thank you, Sakura.”

In one of their late night dinners, Sakura finally had the urge to ask Sasuke about something a lot deeper than their usual conversations.

Remembering how flustered and quiet Sasuke was when Suigetsu expressed how he and Karin have chosen the right path because of his influence, she wanted so bad to make sure that Sasuke understood the fact that he has come a long way ever since the war.

For some reason, the former avenger has such a fine skill in being too hard on himself. But Sakura thought it was just fitting to reassure him until he gained a change of perspective. For someone with unique and powerful eyesight like him, it saddened her how he couldn’t even see the good in himself.

“Sasuke-kun?”

The raven-haired man (whom she tried so hard not to call her date whenever they were seated across each other like now) glanced up at her as he chewed on his onigiri.

Her eyes didn’t meet his as she mentally prayed that she wouldn’t be dismissed with her question. “I know I’ve asked you before about how your journey was. I noticed how your answers were mainly about the things that you’ve seen, places you’ve visited, and people you’ve met, but…I think you haven’t mentioned much about...you.” She now looked at him. “How were you, Sasuke-kun, during your redemption journey?”

The silence was palpable. And there weren’t much food on the table that she could pretend to be focusing on while waiting for his answer. She didn’t want to rush him into discussing personal things, but she also believed that it’s time for him to completely forgive himself at the very least.

"There were days that were much difficult to survive than the others..." Sasuke began, catching her full attention. "...days that I thought should be the last. Days that made me believe that I'm better off having no tomorrow to wake up to." He absently traced patterns on his plate with his chopsticks as a vivid image of his brother's face before his undeserved demise crossed his mind again. "On some days, I...I remember Itachi, and all the things he had done for me and the village despite the immense cost. That's when the guilt cuts so deep. And then it makes me feel like redemption wasn't meant for me at all." Sakura’s eyes brimmed with tears. Although she has always known that he was a broken man due to losing his family horrendously at a young age, she had never seen him in such a state as if the injustice of the entire Shinobi world fell on his shoulders. Again, she felt honored that she got to witness that firsthand. But she didn’t want him to continue to dwell on that vulnerability.

"Forgiveness is available, Sasuke-kun. And so is hope.” She smiled faintly as her hand landed on top of his across the semi-filled table. “You just have to open up your heart for it."

Sasuke didn't know how to respond to that at first, for a part of him still believed that forgiveness is something that he has to work hard for, just like what he had been doing on his journey. But then, he gazed at the woman in front of her, and he was reminded of her love that he never even had to earn. Her love that he will never deserve. Her love that has always been there.

For such a long time it was just there, even during those moments that the Curse Mark consumed him, the Curse of Hatred changed him, and the drive for revenge destroyed him to the point of desiring to destroy others as well. And although he tried so hard to neglect and push that love away during his darkest days, it only waited and stayed. If such a love is possible, then forgiveness is available and hope is believable as well. Sasuke sighed, his eyes fixed on the hand above his. "You're right. There are things that I just have to accept after all. I understand now."

And then he gently pulled his hand so he could lace his fingers with hers. The gesture reminded him of that time he was bracing her hand for support while he was writhing in pain due to the tormenting effect of the Curse Mark – the very first time he welcomed any kind of comfort after the bloodshed of his entire family. This time, as his eyes met with her widened ones, he was welcoming her as a whole. He was accepting and reciprocating the love that's always been there even when he was most unlovable. And he was also finally completely receiving the forgiveness that has always been available for him – from the people closest to him, and also from himself.

———

(Karin - Part 7)

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Hey guys! What do you think about this chapter? I kind of struggled writing this one because of some internal struggles as well. I think I’ve mentioned in one post before that I needed to take some time off of writing after experiencing a recent anxiety attack. But praise God, I still managed to get Part 6 done! :D

Please please let me know what you think! It’s always encouraging to hear from you. The past two weeks weren’t completely unproductive for the Epilogue of this is already done! ;) It’s much more difficult writing the middle parts, haha. Hence, Part 7 & 8 are still rough drafts as of now. Pray for me as I finish it! Thanks & God bless!

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That last scene was inspired by the Love that I've personally experienced, the Love that you could experience for yourself too, the Love that we never even have to work hard for because it was made available to us for free despite the gravity of our sins that originally makes us bound to go to Hell.

And just like a gift, all we have to do is receive this Love, this then assures our redemption, and that we could be with the Author or Love for eternity in Heaven one day. It's been the best decision I've ever done since I've accepted Jesus as my Lord and Saviour. And more than the joy you give me whenever you read my fics, my heart would absolutely rejoice with you when the time comes that you decide to accept this Love as well :)

"This is real love—not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins." — 1 John 4:10

It's the Love Month after all. And I believe the greatest gift I could possibly share with y'all is this Love. Belated Happy Valentine's Day, friends. :) See you on the next chapter! – A

#SASUSAKU #ss fanfic #ss fanfiction #sasuke uchiha #sakura haruno #sakura uchiha #karin uzumaki #karin #suigetsu #sasukarin #suikarin #sasusaku fanfic #sasusaku canon #sasusaku fanfiction

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dr-daddy-cullen · 4 years

Text

Electric Love - Chapter 3

Chapter 3 of Electic Love. Chapter 4 has been written and does contain some smut but for now this...

ff.net : https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13442472/3/Electric-Love

ao3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21607798/chapters/51523078

I made it through the day in some kind of a surreal blur. English, Trig and Spanish all passed in a haze without me following any of it and at lunch, I sat my friends. Angela and Jessica had expressed how surprised they were to see me and I had to explain to them Edward and I had broken up. I told them the cover story that Carlisle had told me. I explained how Carlisle and Esme were splitting up and the children were going with her.

Everyone expressed their dismay and said they were sorry for me losing Edward. I shrugged them off and told them that it was ok, I thought things would have ended soon anyway.

Honestly, I was just looking forward to the end of the day. I knew Charlie would be busy with work till at least 7 which gave me a few hours to go over to the Cullen’s, or just Carlisle’s now I guessed, house and spend time with him. I was excited about getting to know him more. Most of the time I had been over there before he had either been working or in his study. I suspected now that that might have been due to his feelings for me which I also suspected he was hiding from Edward.

As we were walking towards History Angela squeezed my hand and said how sorry she was that Edward was gone.

“Lets you and I do something, just a girlie thing like a movie or dinner, “ I turned toward her excitedly, not letting go of her hand and looking her in the eye.

Edward had been so protective over summer and the spring before that I had never felt that I was able to spend any real time with my human friends, and I loved Angela. I knew how much I would enjoy just hanging out with her.

"Ok," she smiled shyly, "yeah I'd like that."

I made a mental note to make plans with her, I was excited about seeing my friends.

It felt strange like I had a new lease of life. I knew I should be upset that I had broken up with a man that I loved, and I was in away. I was mourning what had been but I was also grateful. I felt renewed. I was able to see friends again, and I was excited to see what would come with Carlisle.

It was with this excitement in the pit of my stomach that as soon as the school day was over I practically bounced in my truck and drove in the ever familiar direction the Cullen house.

No sooner had I cut the engine than the glorious blonde angel appeared at my door, yanking open the rusty metal with ease and offering me his hand to climb down.

“Hi,” I smiled breathlessly. He did that to me, making me breathless. I wasn’t sure there would ever be a time that I saw him and my heart didn’t quicken.

“Hello….” He said gently pressing his lips to my forehead.

As we walked into the beautiful bright mansion I asked, “so what’s the plan doctor?”

"Well, I thought we could get to know one another." I nodded in agreement. Yes, that certainly sounded like an idea. It dawned on me I only knew what Edward had told me which now seemed to be more of a story than someone's actual life.

We settled on a large sofa in the lounge. It was strange being here without all the others. I was used to hearing Edward play his piano, Emmett's booming laugh and Alice well.. just being Alice twinkling and glittering around.

I was sorry to see them go, although I knew I could not blame myself. Edward had chosen to ask them to leave, they had simply complied.

“I know, I feel strange without them all here as well,” Carlisle said as if he were the mind reader.

“It just seems so big without them all. Do you miss them?” I asked.

"Of course, but we will be together again. Sometimes this happens for a few years at least. Alice, of course, will have seen what has happened between us and although she hasn't said anything I would think she will check-in, in a few months. Esme will be back to visit. You know she thinks of you like a daughter and well Emmett and Rosalie… that could take a year or two, depends how far they travel," Carlisle smiled recalling each of his family members. Well, each but one.

“And Edward?” I felt sad. I didn’t want Edward to feel hurt or guilty, I loved him far too much for that, as a friend if not a lover.

Carlisle sighed, "Edward is a solitary being. I believe he was planning to spend some time alone although I think he will first go to Alaska and see our cousins there, after that, I do not know. I hope he knows he always has a home with me."

I took Carlisle’s hand and squeezed it in my own, “I know he does.”

Talking about the family made me feel better. I could not just carry on whatever I had with Carlisle and not think of them. They were my family too and I did not want to think they were driven from there homes because of me. I knew Carlisle was right though, I knew I was right, they all had to know that they had a home with Carlisle whenever they should want it.

We sat in silence for a while and I knew that we were both contemplating the loss of our family. I broke it after a few minutes asking, “so, Carlisle what did you do before Forks? I want to know everything,” and I did. I wanted to know everything there was to know about Carlisle Cullen.

“Well you know I was born in London in the sixteen hundreds after I was changed I wandered for a long time. Hunting in England at first. It was a very different place then,” a wistful look overcame him and I could tell he was no longer with me but in the England of his youth.

"There were great forests in England at that time, and bears as well. They roamed the country for only a few more years but they were there in small numbers. I was lost for a long time and it took many years for me to realise that I was never changing moving forward. I knew I had outgrown England, it was changing and I could not. So I packed up and swam to France. The countryside was even more pleasant and bountiful there. I roamed all over Europe, wandering learning and rarely coming across my kind.

“I felt very alone in the world and as far as I knew I was never going to die so instead of letting the depression take me I threw myself into studying. First in Paris and then moving to Italy. There were great medical schools in Italy in those days, in Padua and Bologna. It was there the Volturi discovered me, one the guard stumbled across me and took me back to meet Aro, Caius and Marcus. I was happy there for a time.

"I knew I couldn't stay there indefinitely, they had values that were just too different than mine so, after a few decades, I left. I wandered again. This time I found myself in the New World, America, I travelled and helped people the best I could. Until I met Elizabeth Mason. She guessed what I was or at least she guessed there was something different about me and she asked me to do for Edward what no one else could. I acted based on the sheer desperation of a mother, loneliness and tiredness. I was tired of being alone. It had been over 200 years and I thought he would be a companion to me. I never realised he would be a son as well." He looked up as if just remembering that I was there. I wasn't sure what expression my face, maybe one of shock and awe. I was processing what I had heard and my heart hurt for this beautiful man and his years on loneliness. I wanted to hold him and tell him that whilst he had me he would never be lonely. I felt tears threatening to spill in my heartache but his face did not look sad. He smiled, he looked happy.erhere

He pulled me against his chest so my head was resting against and my legs were curled up with his lengthways along the large sofa.

“Oh dear Bella, don’t cry beautiful girl. I am happy. I have my family, I know they are loved and happy and I have you and that is more than I could ever ask for,” he murmured against my hair before pressing his face into it.

“Not everyone is loved and happy,” I whispered feeling an immense amount of guilt for sitting here feeling so happy and loved with Carlisle when no one knew where Edward was or if he was ok.

"No," Carlisle replied thoughtfully, "I don't think he is happy but he will be one day and as for loved well it may not be the love of a mate but his loved by his entire family. Who knows, maybe being away for some time will give him a chance to figure things out and get a little perspective."

I just nodded, not sure the guilt would ever really leave but being content enough in Carlisle’s arms that I would try and put it out of my head.

He held me there for a long time asking questions about my childhood, my mother, where I had lived and where I would like to go. He asked if I could go anywhere in the world where would I go, I replied somewhere hot. That got a laugh out of him. He asked me everything about my favourite colour and song to what was my dream job. It seemed no detail of small, insignificant life was too little for Carlisle to care about.

We laid all afternoon on that sofa discussing our lives and hopes and dreams. On occasion, he would gently run his fingers through my hair, or as we were talking would pick up my slight hand his own and intertwine out fingers twisting them so he could see our joined hands at every angle.

He asked later on if I wanted anything to eat and I politely declined on this occasion knowing that I would still have to cook for Charlie later so I might as well wait and eat with him. I knew then as he asked that I hadn't realised it was getting later, almost 7 and Charlie would be home soon.

“I have to go, get back from Charlie,” I sighed not wanting this perfect afternoon to end.

He nodded understandingly and disentangled our bodies standing up before me and then offering a hand to help me up. As I did stand up he wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me into him so out chests were flush and our lips almost touching.

“Isabella,” he breathed as his eyes raked over my face. He softly bent down and pressed his lips to mine. I moved my mouth against him, the soft tender kisses didn't seem to be enough for me. I always needed more of him. I opened my mouth slightly deepening the kiss and just as he had before, he let me softly trace my tongue over his lips before I felt his ice-cold tongue touch mine and press against my soft human mouth. We stayed like this our mouths moving in sync for only a few moments before he pulled away smiling.

“I’m glad this time we can do it properly, not lying to anyone or in any confusion. Just us two figuring this whole thing out,” he smiled down to me.

I nodded in agreement happy with where we were.

He followed me out to my truck and pressed another small kiss to my lips as he stood next to the cab door once I'd climbed in. I shut the door and started the engine. As I drove down the narrow winding path I could see him in my rearview mirror watching me and smiling the entire time.

A/N: So the end of chapter 3, let me know what you think.

#twilight #the twilight saga #bella swan #carlisle cullen #bella swan x carlisle cullen #bella x carlisle #twilight fanfic #fanfic #fanfiction #twilight fanfiction

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whereithappens-theroom-blog · 7 years

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The Cuban struggle does not overshadow the current American struggle.

I am a daughter of Cubans who migrated to this country in the 60s. My parents were under the age of 10, so the Cuban struggle is something only my grandparents really understand. I would never take away what my grandparents went through. They were imprisoned multiple times, family members were murdered, they lost businesses; all truly horrific things they had to endure on top of having to leave their homeland for another country.

I was raised hearing these stories and feeling an immense sense of pride knowing that my own blood was so strong and resilient, something that has rung true to even the youngest of my family members and I like to think that genetics plays a huge part in this, that what my grandparents did, their courage is something we've all inherited through more than just stories but cells as well. The Cuban struggle is something that any one like me knows is a huge part of their story, and something they must always remember. I am grateful to my grandparents for doing what they did and coming here, had it not been for that, my parents would of never met at a sporting event between rival high schools and my sister and I would never have been born.

My whole life and still today, my grandmother (mothers mother) like to tell me stories of her other life and what she went through. I think she does this because I am so fascinated by our ancestry and I believe this is her way of letting me know where I come from, and I thank her for this. I thank my grandfather (mothers father) for living in some camp in Cuba where he braved the elements, amongst other things, to be able to “pay his debt” to leave the country. I would never take this away from him ever. That being said, I am not sorry that President Obama lifted the wet foot dry foot rule; I believe that it is about time. I believe that, while Castro was truly human scum, he is not the only face of evil, for evil has many layers, many faces.

My reason for writing this is not to discuss the issues with Cuba, because frankly I don't care nearly as much about Cuba as I do to what is happening in my country and other countries where their situation is atrocious. I am tired of discussing how terrified I am for my country and the world with this new administration and being told “oh its not bad. You don't know bad. Cuba, that’s bad.”

Like I said, I am well aware of Cuba’s history and its not a pretty one, but again CUBA IS NOT IN THE SAME NEED FOR HELP AS IT ONCE WAS. PLEASE BE HAPPY ABOUT THAT. But one thing I have noticed about Cubans is that because of Castro, they feel superior to the human race, as if they are the only ones suffering and that kills me to admit, but its something I've become aware of recently. For instance, Cubans won't vote democrat because it is a leftist idea, therefore must be communism, so we've got to vote Republican, hence where we are now with a Trump presidency. Now, I am not giving all the Cubans in this country the credit for electing Trump, but a mentality like that is why he is where he is and that really sucks for millions of others and myself. I am tired of the ignorance of so many of my family members who tell me I need to stop complaining because I am not living what the Cubans lived, but just like Castro took away your rights, Trump is threatening to take away mine.

News outlets are already starting to become silenced by the administration with audacious claims like “fake news.” Health care is looking to be repealed therefore leaving thousands of people without quality health insurance and some will most likely die in the next 4 years. Women are looking forward to a future where we have no say over our own bodies, women who have suffered some form of domestic abuse are looking at a future where they will get no help because of the organizations put in place to help them will be defunded. News networks like NPR might be a thing of the past. LGTBQ rights, will soon be rights for whom? Children in the public school system might suffer under religious oppression if we don't vote against Trumps pick for secretary. Also global warming/ the Paris agreement act, will no longer get funding either.

Why is it to my family and so many others that my life, mine personally has to be at risk for me to care about what is happening to my country, to my planet. Why do I have to hear “be glad this isn't Cuba” when ever I express my grief. My family in Cuba isn't suffering anymore than my stepfathers’ family in Colombia is and I'm glad for that. I am tired of a country you had to flee almost 50 years ago is priority number 1. I am your daughter, your granddaughter, niece, cousin, sister, my fears, my legitimate fears should be more important than an old act that was revoked/repealed.

The United States of America was always looked at as this great country, this country the world wanted to be a part of, now look at us, the laughing stock of the globe. So many of you should be ashamed of yourselves for behaving so nonchalantly towards the dismantling of our republic. So many family members care more about the Cubans of today that are fine compared to other poor Caribbean nations then other people, children from around the world who are actually suffering and losing their lives. Haiti for instance, why aren't so many of you crying for Haiti, the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere, or Syria where children don't even cry anymore they've become so numb to the atrocities, or Venezuela, Mexico, Colombia etc. I just don't think I can stand another day with another family member or fellow Cuban telling me to “stop whining” that things are not as bad as they seem, because they are as bad as they seem and it will only get worse. Why must a country be run by a communist to be considered dangerous but not when its run by an alt right wing con artist. So many people I know wouldn't vote for Obama because they believed he was a Muslim immigrant who was also black. So many people I know wouldn't vote Hilary Clinton because of an email scandal but voted in a man with zero experience, who has openly admitted to molesting women. A man who has ties to Russia, who escaped the draft, a man who is a business man but has filed for bankruptcy countless times. A man who won because of an archaic voting system and the help of Russian Hacking. I am so tired of hearing how I don't understand or how I don't know what I am talking about when I know for a fact that I am better educated on our current situation than most people I know, family included. I am tired of Cubans I know playing the Cuban card and telling me I am crazy and have no need to worry, because I do. This man is dangerous and a disgrace and I hate truly hate that he is the next president and that till the end of time he will always be the 45th President of the United States.

America is in crisis right now and you would think that the Cubans who warned me of crazy politicians would be aware of what is happening. You would think that the Cubans of this country would all stand together against Donald Trump rather than arguing with the Cubans who voted against him. You would think that they would all be less preoccupied with their homelands history than with the future of the country they currently live in. I am just so tired of being told not to complain or freak out because it is what it is and Trump wont be a Castro. I don't need someone to be like Castro for me to fear for my future and that of my family, and the rest of the world (the actual planet included). Why must anyone be like anyone to be concerned? Shouldn't his agenda be reason enough to throw up the red flag?

I don't believe that Trump= The end of the world, nor do I believe that Trump is going to send anyone to my home and murder me and my family or send us to camps then kill us. I know that even this crazy government wouldn't allow that, but why do we have to wait and see till if it gets that bad to fear? All of the people he has put in place to run this country are either millionaires or billionaires. None of them care about the majority of Americans. Everyone keeps saying he’ll run the country like a business but must I remind you AGAIN that multiple of his businesses filed for bankruptcy. Or I say again, repealing ACA, defunding numerous agencies, not giving a rat’s ass about the planet. This man became President all while telling people to “beat the crap” out of anyone who didn't agree with him, while disgracing women, Muslims, the disabled, the country itself. Our country may have its flaws, but to have every single one of those flaws now be in the next leader is just baffling on top of heartbreaking. How can the Cubans who talked so much about the Cuban struggle still not see how terrible and dark our future is looking? My heart breaks a little every day knowing not only that this country voted in an unqualified pig man for President, but that so many tell me and others “its not that bad.” And to end it, ill say this:

Dear whomever,

I am aware that this isn't Nazi Germany. I understand that this isn't Cuba in the late 50s and 60s, but while these countries and so many others have seen dark days in their past and those times are something we have learned about in history class, this current period to which we are about to enter, will most likely be our darkest of times. The difference between us right now and Cuba and Germany, is that we’re aware of the dying carcass and we aren't waiting till it’s died before we panic.

And to my grandparents: I will never take away your struggle or your pain. I will never (hopefully) understand the pain one must feel when needing to escape their country. You're struggle has marked you and our family and it is a more beautiful mark than the one found on my left leg. That mark is what makes us all who we are, fighters. I don't ever want you to think that because I don't agree with you on things regarding the homeland that I do not care, because I do, I care a lot, hence why I am so agitated about what is happening. You taught me to care, to fight for what is right and to call out our oppressors and I am doing that. Please just understand that your struggle and the one millions of others and myself are going to soon encounter may be different but it is just as important. Please understand that this doesn't need to be Cuba for me to fear for my future and that of my family and the people on this planet I love. You taught me better than that, that patriotism and country is worth caring and crying for, and that is what I am doing. Please, don't ever forget what you have taught me: thank you for teaching me.

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