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lou-struck · 4 months

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Bigger Bling

Mammon x reader

Wc:1.9k

~Mammon can’t stand to look at that damn promise ring Lucifer gave you any longer.

a/n: This is a loose sequel to this Lucifer One-Shot HERE (You don’t have to read it but If you want to go ahead)

It's shiny

It's expensive

And it's BIG!

Mammon's deep blue eyes glare down at the stunning promise ring on your finger. The very one Lucifer had bought for you all those months ago. As it rests on that special finger, the Demon determines that he has never hated a gem more in his life. The deep red garnet with the black-gold band looks like something his brother would choose for you.

He really hates that.

"Mc, you should take that thing off and Let the Great Mammon give you a real rock." he pouts, his tanned fingers boredly toying with the sparkling gem on your finger.

You only laugh and ruffle the Demon's white hair with your unembellished hand. "Mammon, I can't do that. This ring is very important to me. How would Lucifer feel if I took his gift off?"

The Demon's cheeks turn a dusty pink color as he tries to hide your effect on him with his hands.

"Who cares what he thinks?" he mutters, "I want to give ya somethin' even better so you'll be dyin' to take that old ring off."

That's it!

Mammon's eyes light up as the cogs in his head start to turn with a not-so-evil scheme.

All he has to do to get you to take off that cheap little ring is to buy you something even better. It will be gold, and shinier and will cost even more Grimm than what his older brother had spent on you.

He turns towards the door, using his insane speed to bolt before you have a chance to say goodbye to him. He doesn't notice the look of confusion on your face as he shuts the double doors behind him with a conniving grin.

With you out of sight, Mammon has the alone time he needs to revel in his brilliance. He had just made a killing from selling some of the gifts that were just sitting in Asmo's closet of offerings from his fan clubs.

His brother really has no idea how much of a fortune he is sitting on…

Nevertheless, Mammon reaches into his wallet and pulls out Goldie. The credit card seems to shake in apprehension of the Demon's upcoming shopping trip to only the best jewelry shops the Devildom has to offer.

It's been a long day at RAD, and without Mammon's company, the day seemed to go by even slower than normal. After he walked out on you this morning, you didn't see him for the rest of the day.

After talking to a few lesser demons you realized that he didn't show up for any of his other classes either. And as you are sent to his voicemail box for the nth time today, your heart begins to ache in worry that your Avatar of Greed has somehow gotten himself into some kind of trouble.

Twisted scenarios of the Demon being chased by witches or undead debt collectors churn your gut throughout your walk home. As you let yourself in through the massive double doors, your weary mind replays your last interaction with him before he left.

You fiddle with the ring on your finger and wonder what was it about the gem on your finger that got him so upset?

Your good-natured worrying begins to boil under your skin. When you notice that he's not in the living room with the others, those feelings only increase.

Clear your throat, gaining the attention of the three conscious demons in the room. Belphie, the fourth, is fast asleep, resting his head on his twin's lap. Lucifer is off at the castle doing some work with Diavolo. And Levi is up in his room, where he has been working his way through a new game since last night. "Hey, have any of you guys seen Mammon anywhere?"

Satan looks up from his book briefly and gives you a smile. "Thankfully, no. Without his jabbering, I've been able to make some sufficient progress in my book."

You roll your eyes lightheartedly at the blond's remark but look to the others in hope they have a different answer for you.

Asmo sees the concern on your features and tries to comfort you with an embrace. The sweet scent of his cologne soothing you a bit. "Sorry, Hon, I haven't seen him since breakfast. But I'm sure he'll come back soon. In the meantime, how about I take your mind off things?" The playful suggestiveness in his tone makes you giggle as you look over

"Mmnnnother two., Breakfast." Beel hums dreamily as he imagines the Bufo Egg quiche Asmo baked for you all this morning. You can tell from the little stream of drool that trickles from the corner of his , That he will be of little help to you.

Belphie blinks up at you sleepily, stretching his arms out lethargically as he sits upward. "Mammon?" he yawns. "I saw him earlier when Beel and I were walking home. He was out shopping and looked strangely happy.

"We did?" Beel asks, coming out of his food-related daze. "When? I didn't see him."

"Probably because you were trying to sniff out the Devil Dog vendor." Belphie snorts before turning his attention back to you and gives you a sleepy smile. "He's just messing around somewhere. He'll be back soon."

As if on cue, you hear the front door burst open. Mammon calls your same in a sing-song voice from the entrance as the others groan. Satan huffs and puts a cat-shaped bookmark in the novel he is reading. "There goes my quiet afternoon. I'm gonna go to my room and finish this."

The Avatar of Wrath gets up and pads quickly out the door just as Mammon strides in with a pep in his step. A small gift bag in his hand as he blinds you with his pearly white smile. He looks elated, which kinda irks you since you have spent the better part of the afternoon concerned for his well-being.

What are ya doin' Mc?" the white-haired Demon asks, as if you are the one who has evaded him all day long.

"Wondering where you have been all day, Mammon?" You respond back exasperatedly. "You just got up and left me this morning and didn't show up for any of your other classes. I thought you got yourself in trouble or kidnapped by witches… again." you mutter that last part under your breath, but Mammon seems too excited to notice.

"Course you were worried bout the Great Mammon," he laughs, slinging an arm around you comfortably. "That's why yer such a good human."

"Mammon, seriously, Where were you?"

There is a twinkle in his eyes and a faint dusting of crimson on his tanned skin as he looks around the room at his brothers, who are not-so-subtly listening in on the conversation. "Lemme show ya somewhere private."

He takes your left hand but quickly jolts and releases it when he comes into contact with your ring. He takes your right one instead, and you notice how sweaty his hands are. He walks you silently down the hallway and up the stairs until he gets you to the safety of his bedroom.

He sits with you on his plush bed and begins to ruffle through the tissue paper of his gift bag before pulling out a cubic, black, crushed velvet box.

The size throws you off a bit since it is roughly the size of a child's shoe box.

Far bigger than any kind of jewelry box you have ever seen.

Not even the cases Diavolo uses when transporting the crown Jewels are this big. Your curiosity and confusion blend together in a strange concoction as Mammon sets the box in your hands. "Mammon, what is this?" you ask nervously.

He is practically wiggling in your seat in anticipation "Jus' open it, you'll see."

Spurred but his excitement, you crack open the box to reveal the biggest freaking diamond you have ever seen in your life. The gem is the size of a softball and is tethered to a thin golden band at the bottom.

You blink at your reflection in the facets of the gem, unsure of what to say. "I-is this a."

"Isn't it amazin'?" he gushes. "The biggest ring ya ever seen?"

So it is a ring…

"It's certainly the biggest." you parrot, unsure if you should take the ring out of the box or put it in some kind of museum. "This must've cost a fortune. How did you pay for this?"

"Oh it's nothin'," he laughs with a nonchalant wave of his hand. "It'll take me a few hundred years to pay the thing off, but only the best for my human." It takes both of his hands to remove the heavy ring from its cushion. The thin golden band looks like it is bending under the ring's weight. "Come on, you should take that old thing off and put this baby on instead."

You realize that he is gesturing to your promise ring, and everything clicks into place.

Mammon wanted to give you something so special so you would remove the ring Lucifer had given you all those months ago. That ring is invaluable; it's a promise, a thank you for the love you have given to him and his brothers since you arrived in the Devildom. It's not something you can just discard.

But Mammon must think you wear it as a sign you love Lucifer more than him. "Oh Mammon," you murmur, placing your hand on his shoulder. "You know I love you, right?"

When he realizes that you aren't going to throw your older ring to the floor in disgust, his face falls. He's confused and looks at you like a kicked puppy. "B-but this one is better; i-it costs ten-no a hundred times more than the other one."

"It's not the price of the ring that makes it special," you say softly, gently tracing your finger over the massive diamond Mammon had gotten you. "This is beautiful, but it's too much."

"I jus' wanted to show ya that I'm yer first. I love ya Mc." he sighs. "And I wanted to give ya somethin special so everyone would know it."

"I know you do, and I love you." gently, you close the box and hand it back to him. "Even without the Diamond to end all diamonds."

"I know ya do." he sighs, bumping you playfully with his shoulder. "But do ya really want me to return it?"

"It's for the best," you chuckle. "I wouldn't want you to be in debt."

"It was a lot of Grimm," he says, chuckling nervously. "I swear Goldie was cryin' when I pulled her out t' pay but yer worth every bit."

"I'm sure she was," you laugh. "But I do appreciate the gesture. How about we take it back together."

"Yer the best mc," the Demon says eagerly, giving you a heartfelt smile, "How about we pick out another piece for ya. Like a bracelet or somethin?" He sees the slight apprehension on your face and places his hand over your own. "It doesn't have to be crazy expensive if ya don't want it ta be' I jus' wanna give ya somethin' so ya know how much the Great Mammon cares about ya."

Swayed by this little compromise, you find yourself agreeing to the Demon's request. Standing from the bed and taking his hand.

A few hours later, you come back wearing a simple yet elegant gold bracelet. Giggling when Mammon marches you around the Devildom to show everyone the special piece of jewelry he got for you.

Tagging: @enchantedforest-network

#obey me nightbringer #obey me #obey me x reader #obey me mammon #obey me mammon x reader #mammon x reader #Mammon fluff #obey me fluff #the great mammon #x reader

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juanitasuniverse1144 · 1 month

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Glow Week Day Four: Nurture/Nature

Comet was a... well, Comet had lots of love to give to his parents. Instead of play with the other children at the park, Comet preferred to stay with his parents and watch. He was curious, but reserved.

Tons of pediatrician visits told them nothing was wrong, but Connie couldn't stop her worrying until they had visited the Crystal Gems one particularly sunny day.

"Whoa, who let these little crazies in the house?" Greg asked with a hearty laugh as the girls squealed and ran for him.

Steven glanced away and down to his son, clinging to his leg. Comet was only 3 since Connie had had a lovely 3 months of recovery before they'd accidentally made a third child. But now his pink eyes met with his fathers and Steven immediately picked him up. Comet hadn't shown any signs of gem powers at all, but his eyes turned pink when he was feeling frustrated or nervous.

"Hey there, Comet. Grandpa will come see you once you're calmer." Greg had easily picked up on Steven and Connie's hints that Comet was gun shy. The gems took a bit longer but once they'd seen a bit of overstimulation, they'd backed off at a warning from two pink eyed people.

Connie patted Comets back as he laid on Stevens shoulder. The man instinctually began to sway to soothe him in the way a parent does once they are accustomed to the lifestyle. "Doctors say he's fine. It's just a bit behind his milestones."

Steven had the urge to remind her about milestones not being concrete, but kept his mouth shut as Garnet stepped out of the temple room and grinned. "I... predicted something like this might happen."

The girls gasped and little footsteps turned into them climbing Garnet.

"Garnet, yesterday I beat Azalea in a race!"

Lucky giggled as Garnet picked her up one handed and Azalea up by the back of her shirt. "I bet I could beat both of you."

"That's no fair! You have future vision!" Azalea proclaimed. "Amethyst has to play too! Mommy, Daddy, can we go play outside?"

"Of course." Steven grinned and moved out the door. "It's a beautiful day just... Be safe. Please."

"And you say I'm a worry wart," Connie teased as they all piled out. The day was too nice to not join them, and despite his care to make sure his father was okay, Steven was a tiny bit of a helicopter parent.

"I just love soaking up as much memories as I can. Plus, there's always a chance of trouble," Steven pointed out, pulling her onto his lap. "I love my perfect little family."

Greg chuckled and sat down wearily. "It's nice isn't it?"

The longing in his father's voice made him once again feel guilty. He'd never experienced anything like this with Rose. It wasn't fair.

He watched as Lucky and Azalea charged across the decidedly slippery sand to try and slap Garnets hand and race back. The unending energy was fascinating to him. Even with his stamina being endless, he could still only tolerate running for so long before he was too sweaty and bored to continue. But their little bodies seemed to be bursting at the seams with motivation.

Except his little Comet. Comet had one arm behind Steven as he leaned and one hand playing with his Mommy's hair as she rested back against him.

After a while Garnet tagged Pearl in, who Azalea immediately began asking to show all the places she'd been. After careful and straightforward discussion, Pearl knew which places to show and which to save for an older age where she would process the real story better.

Garnet was silent, stoic as she watched the children of what she supposed was like a human son to her. She could see endless possibilities with every ticking second, but the scene in front of her was far more interesting.

The rest chatted until the girls asked for water and dinner, so they all packed up and headed inside.

"You coming, Garnet?" Greg asked. "It's gonna get dark soon."

"I'm not afraid of the dark. I've got me as company."

As dinner came near, Connie heard the front door open and shut. Immediately her Mommy Senses were tingling and she followed the sound to watch as her 3 year old walked down to the beach and sat next to Garnet. "Steven."

He excused himself and joined by her side. They watched as Comet did his signature lean and Garnet patted his head. No words that they could hear through the screen or the ocean were exchanged. It seemed they were sitting in a comfortable silence.

"Maybe he's just quiet," Connie relented softly. "Maybe we just birthed a quiet child, and I have to be okay with three blabbermouths instead of four."

Steven sighed in relief. "Yeah, you think? Come on." He lifted her into his arms and thought really hard about telling Garnet dinner was ready. If he thought about it hard enough, it'd eventually become a possibility that he would. Instead he kissed his wife and sat her down gently, tapping her bottom as he passed. "Time for food, girls!" Then he paused midstep. Connie giggled just as Steven scoffed in offense. "Wait, what do you mean four blabbermouths? We only have three kids!"

She only laughed harder.

#steven universe #connie maheswaran #steven universe future #steven universe fanart #steven universe au #my writing #writers #su fanart #glow week #steven and connie #conniverse #conniverse future #conniverse baby #married conniverse #conniverse kids #jam kids #jam buds #domestic jam buds

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backburnerdio · 1 year

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HI HELLO ITS NICE TO SEE YOU ON MY DASHBOARD AGAIN!! I HAVE A QUESTION!! I've seen Beau and Ives's dynamic here and there before but I want to know! What do you think of their dynamic?? Do they get along well from the beginning?? What was their first impressions of each other??

Ah! Thank you! And for the question!! (Brace yourself for a ramble!)

Beau and Ives have something of a funny dynamic. I, personally, love it because it's not talked about much and it grows a lot through the story. I like to think of Ives, Mikki, and Beau as siblings, with Ives being the eldest. Funny enough, Ives also gives this eldest sibling vibe when Beau first arrives and is paired with Ryker –> He thinks he's being replaced.

But he's not mad, he doesn't hold a grudge against Beau for it. In fact, he sees how new and confused Beau is and tries to help him find his way about things. Ives is actually super protective of his fellow Synthetics around the station (including Mikki even if she doesn't need it) and Beau is instantly included in that! His first impression of Beau was a mixture of "this is a newer, nicer version that everyone instantly loves, but he also needs some help figuring things out. I remember being that way and how I didn't like it, so let me help."

Versus Beau seeing Ives and going "Wow! This guy is awesome, I wanna be like him when I grow up! He has so many friends here and so much experience!" And then gets a little awkward around him/doesn't know how to talk to him because Ives is the stoic, cool guy.

But as Beau develops he really starts to see Ives for who he is, that there's more than what he lets on, and starts trying to bring him out of his shell. While Ives grows more protective and caring for Beau. And even if he doesn't understand Beau's fascination with Garnet, Ives is glad that Beau isn't held back by fear in his journey of self-discovery.

TLDR; Ives is an exasperated older brother who's trying to keep Beau from sticking forks in electrical outlets, but he'll protect him with his life, and Beau looks up to Ives even after he finds out he's a massive dork and wants to help him be comfortable with himself.

Bonus: Mikki thinks they're both idiots with too much time/energy on their hands and need to stop getting in trouble and causing her more work –she'll fight you for them though.

#wip: tb #character dynamics #thanks for the ask!#asks #ives oc #beau oc #mikki oc

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suau-raised-by-corrupted-gems · 1 year

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Getting deeper into the spicy angst, oh boy.

How does our corrupt boi do with his Crystal Gem kin?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Hi! I'm Lil Quartz! What's your name?"

"...Connie... Connie Maheswaran."

1.) I've mentioned it before before that Steven's already learned how to manage some of his gem powers, like his bubble shield and bubble ability in general since he's used them to play with his aunts.

That being said, he and Connie don't end up stuck in a bubble meaning Bubble Buddies doesn't exactly happen. While he still creates a bubble out of instinct when the quake happens, he has no trouble dispelling it.

Also it should be stated that upon meeting Connie face to face, he's not very awkward around Connie.

I mean, he was raised by a doting fluffy mother that did nothing but shower him in adoration, a one-eyed aunt who constantly reminded him to do what he thought was right, and a six-eyed aunt who told him to not be afraid and to just go for it.

And coupled with the fact they lived without the restrictions or knowledge of being civilized, he was pretty much very confident. Maybe a tad over confident.

That being said, while he many not have full knowledge of purebred humans, he still has no trouble in approaching Connie, with some flowers in hand- after all, from what he's seen, humans like flowers- and introducing himself as Lil Quartz.

As one would expect, Connie's initially put off by his appearance, but given his friendly nature, she's quick to warm up to him, and is even excited to befriend him; he looks as though he walked out of one of those fantasy fictions she sometimes reads. After a brief, lighthearted chat about themselves, with them both technically being newcomers to Beach City and letting Connie touch his horns, they make a promise to meet up again sometime.

Yeah, a bit overly simple, but I see a bit of a contrast; OG Steven looked normal, but he nearly drowned at the bottom of the ocean befriending Connie.

Here, there's a brief bubble snag, but the encounter isn't exactly trauma inducing.

2.) “You know, I’d think dragons would horde things like gold rather than donuts. Do you breath sprinkles, horns?”

*disgruntled gem-boy noises*

while some residents are still a bit weary around the little pink tiefling, his charm earns him a somewhat good reputation in the small town.

...but on the other hand, he's not exactly on friendly terms with the more… annoying of residents.

Lars, he was surprisingly civil with since neither boy wanted to engage much with each other, but where it fell short is with Kevin and Ronaldo.

Probably cliche to put Kevin in the bunch, but I kinda see him taunting him, but only when around his friends.

And… Ronaldo needs no explanation.

And as much as Steven would like to maul the two in retaliation, he can’t lest he wanted his reputation to shatter.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

3.) “Steven, your slacking has gotten far out of hand! Just look at this place! It’s a mess! The least you can do is—*steven zones out*”

As far as the Crystal Gem duties go... Well, he's just not very enthusiastic to carry out missions as his OG counterpart was.

No matter how many times Garnet tells him "it's for their own good", he'll never be able to take part in the ritual of poofing and bubbling other gems, and imprisoning them in their lava room. Doing so would be an insult to his foster family.

And because of this, he'd mostly stay in his loft by himself, watching TV, reading those fantasy books Connie lent him, chewing on toys his father had gifted him or stuffing himself with junk food. He'd maybe go on missions, but only if bribed with food and didn't involve gem hunting.

Even then, he wasn't really too excited, since his mother wasn't there to see it all with him. Even upon meeting Lion, he felt a pang of somber nostalgia just at the sight of his mane. Because of that, he hardly had interest in tampering with any artifacts or trapped gems, stars forbid they come across.

Garnet wasn't too bothered by this, seeing that he was still going on missions, and Amethyst was content with his "lazy days" and would often join him. But the Pearl insisted that he needed to get over his Corrupt Gem past eventually in order to be a proper Crystal Gem.

4.) Speaking of Crystal Gems, his relationship as a whole with the team is actually quite strained.

I mean, all's he's ever seen and heard them do was assault other gems and bubble them against their will. And the term Corrupt is harsh and insulting in and of itself. Heck, they even had a gem that wasn't '"corrupt" stuck in a mirror and they didn't seem to give two sand specs about her.

He's at least thankful Garnet's cooperative with him, even using the term Feral Gems to not insult him nor his foster family. He's already quite close with Amethyst, since her laid-back, carefree nature reminded him so much of his dear aunt Tri-T. But the pearl always seemed like she had an entire oak tree jammed up her rump, and had a haughty air about her.

Nevertheless, the whole team still managed to under his skin sometimes.

And by sometimes, I mean often.

If "Warp Tour" is any indication, they never exactly took his feelings into account. They also seemed to focus more on his Gem half rather than his Human half, meaning they didn't always acknowledge that he was a hybrid of the two, only focusing on the gem traits more often then not.

And who could forget the fighting between Amethyst and the Pearl?

While he's learned to block it out, he'd often side with Amethyst, for obvious reasons. What bugged him was how Garnet didn't seem to do anything to stop it. She only seemed to intervene when Steven's hostility picked up.

It was a pain in the flank to deal with this on a somewhat regular basis, but it's not like it could get any worse...

...Right?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

...goes about as well as you'd expect.

See everything from season one play out, only its all completely different.

I mean, it's an alternate universe, of course it's gonna be different. So it shouldn't be any surprise when I say that some events are altered entirely or just didn't occur.

But yeah, Stevie's not a very hammy, happy boi in this circumstance, and is in face quite grumpled with this hooey destiny.

But if you think that's bad, hohoh, just wait til we get to parts that revolved around Rose...

As a challenge, try to decipher what episodes didn't happen using everything you just read.

Getting deeper into the spicy angst, oh boy.

#classic steven #steven universe au #corrupted au #steven universe #corrupt gem #corrupted steven #feral child #alternate universe #angsty #kevin su #lars barriga #ronaldo #leave the poor guy alone #connie x steven #connie maheswaran #art dump

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moquall · 2 years

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Dissidia Opera Omnia : Force Weapon partner connection (PART 4/?)

Part 4 compiled the FRs released in February 2022 banners. The purple one is FR user, black one is the partner.

Just click on "fr partner" tags in if you want to see the full list.

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Tifa - Rem (Glitter Strike) : Childhood friend and the love interest of the respective protagonist. Had been living separately with their love interest and not seen each other for years .

Tifa is Cloud's childhood friend, but they were not close. Cloud decided to join SOLDIER as a part to impress Tifa and Tifa asked him to promise to save her when she is in trouble but Cloud was hired as a infantryman instead. Ashamed of his failure, He lost contact with everyone in Nibelheim for years even hide his identity during his visit to Nibelheim with Zack and Sephiroth.

Rem is Machina's childhood friend. Machina promised Rem he is going to become stronger to protect her and one day their village was attacked by Milites. They managed to flee and ever since the incident, they lived separately but years later enrolled in Akademeia and reunited a year before the event of Type-0.

Llyud - Shelke (Speartek) : Interaction in Edgar's Intertwining Wills. Both unable to feel emotion until later part in their games.

Shelke was subjected to numerous experiment for her rare ability by Deepground, causing a mental scars that lead her become emotionless and talk with robotic manner. She started to feel emotion after experiencing Lucrecia's memories.

Llyud and the Aegyl's anima which is a part of person's soul that allows them to feel emotion were stolen by Feolthanos. After Balthier destroyed the second auralith, all the anima absorbed by that thing returned to their owner, allowing Llyud to regain his emotion.

Ardyn - Leonhart (Revenant Roar) : Interaction in Arc 3 Chapter 6. The older brother with strong affinity to darkness.

Ardyn is Somnus's older brother and was tainted with Starscourge too much thus makes him immortal and forsaken by the Astrals, unable to escape the darkness and decided to embrace it.

Leonhart is Maria's older brother, wished to be stronger, became the Dark Knight of Palamecia and fought his former allies. In the end, Leon decided to leave Firion's party to atone for his sins.

Faris - Wakka (Whirlpool Shot) : The eldest siblings and the captains living near the sea.

Faris is the captains of the pirates and Lenna's older sister. Wakka is Chappu's older brother and the captain and coach of Besaid Aurochs where they usually have training in Besaid Beach.

Faris and Lenna, Wakka and Chappu are not twin siblings.

(once again, another pair that feels random. I couldn't find their connection other than what i write here.)

Rinoa - Yuna (Double Holy) : Interaction in Dissidia NT. "Lost" their boyfriend but managed to reunited with them.

After his final confrontation with Ultimecia in Edea Orphanage, Squall was 'lost' in time, unable to return to his own era but Rinoa, found him with her sorceress power.

Tidus disappeared because the fayth's dream has ended and Sin was ultimately defeated. At the end of FFX-2, Bahamut's fayth asked Yuna if she want to see Tidus again and the fayth revived him so he could live forever with Yuna.

Aerith - Eiko (Ethereal Dancing Flowers) : The last descendant of an ancient race, serves the white mage role and use holy spell.

Aerith is half-Cetra and referred as "the last Ancient" and serves White Mage role with her high magic stat and can cast Holy after returning to Lifestream to push Meteor back. She is an assist character in dissidia duodecim and has Holy as her HP attack.

Eiko is the last descendant of summoner tribe. While Eiko is a summoner, she has stronger White Mage spells, including Holy compared to Garnet, who has stronger Eidolons. Eiko's Eidolons also casts White Mage ability like Carbuncle and Madeen.

Balthier - Cid Highwind (Seesawing) : Have an airship and the pilot itself. Once worked in enemy side but left after 'bitter' experience and now live with their female companion.

Balthier is former Judge but left after seeing his father's sanity is fading like talking to someone who wasn't there, not knowing Dr. Cid has been talking to Venat. He stole and modified the prototype airship, named it Strahl and become Sky Pirate with Fran, his female viera partner.

Cid is former mechanical scientist of Shinra company and the one who designs Highwind airship. Cid aborted the rocket's launch to save Shera who is fixing the fault, makes his dream goes unfulfilled. Shera decided to lives with him taking all the criticism toward her but some years later, Cid notices there is a fault in the rocket's oxygen tank and apologize for his rude treatment.

#dissidia #dissidia opera omnia #opera omnia #dffoo #fr partner #tifa lockhart #llyud #ardyn izunia #faris scherwiz #rinoa heartilly #aerith gainsborough #balthier #rem tokimiya #shelke rui #leonhart #wakka #yuna #eiko carol #cid highwind

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harinezumiko · 2 years

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Time for a big ol’ copypaste from Discord because rambling go brr!

This is Eerie Pearl, predictably for the RP with @corgigem, and here’s the infodump so I don’t lose it!

so Eerie's... Tragic Thing is absolutely that her owner was freaked out about her and neglected her and she was super-isolated. Along the way she's gone and put a Magical Artifact into her Gem because she is a simple neurotic pearl who must clean all the things, and she put it in her Gem and it. Did funny things to her brain. And she was already a little psychic/spooky/etc but now she's full on seeing fairy realm shit and A Lot of it is not happening in the same reality as the rest of us. But she's a very dreamy and tragic little princess who's probably lost in Wonderland half the time. She delivers exposition about the Goddess and how concurrently divine magic exists, except she sounds completely dazed about it. I absolutely adore this poor dear.

Now that she's safely at the Spire to be babysat, she's meeting Gems other than the pearls she did training with and like. her garbage owner. for the first time, and she is absolutely bamboozled by it. And very overwhelmed. But she's so shy and anxious and initially snuck around the Spire hiding in a little mist cloud to not get in trouble/be seen directly/not scare anyone because her owner told her she was scary.

And Bismuth was Nice to her and was accommodating to her even though she was hiding in her cloud, and Nambulite didn't come down on her even though they're the Lord of the Spire and have a fancy title and are Very Magickal, and Garnet just kind of Is Fine with her and was easy to talk at, and now she's gotten to meet Onyx and he gives big brother hugs, and she is completely overwhelmed that there are Nice Gems who are kind and she can talk to them and they'll interact with her

[snip]

She’s sensing Gems who’ve traveled from other worlds, and finding places where the veil is thin and that otherworld tears could happen, and she kind of gets drawn to magick spots where the Goddess can/has/will manifest. Most of how out of her mind she sounds to everyone else is because she doesn’t know how to describe what she’s seeing, because extremely sheltered Gem. She’s seeing magic auras and just saying that other Gems are bright/shining, or describing them with sewing or plantlife terms, and nobody has the framework to piece it together

She loves word association and gets distracted easily, too, so it sounds very… off on a tangent? Sanguine’s got a lot of experience with cryptic riddles and the like from the world she got yeeted to, and Garnet and Pearl are good candidates to sort through it, but Eerie needs several naps and some positive socialization before she’ll be ready to answer questions without panicking about being cornered

#gemsona #orichara #eerie pearl #eerie #my draws #pearlsona

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roses-boar · 10 months

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Chapter 3: Options and Trajectories

"Ugh, why is Pearl making us come all the way up here. Doesn't she know I got more important things to do," Amethyst complained as the sun shone on her through the mountaintops. She made no attempt to hide her contempt over the situation.

"Like?" Garnet plainly asked as she led the way up the path. She tried to keep her head clear, but she could not help but peer into her future vision. There were many ways this day could go, and she wanted to be sure they stayed on the right path.

"Psshh, I dunno, like, anything else," Amethyst responded with a shrug. While Amethyst's life was certainly much busier now that she was in charge of little homeworld, she did not actually have anywhere to be as it was the weekend. Her indignation could likely be attributed to Pearl's abrupt request. "What about you Bismuth? Don't you got some Bismithing to get back to?"

"Haha," Bismuth replied sarcastically, but she could not hide the grin brought to her face. "All my prep work is done for class next week, and I don't have any more orders for wedding armor to fill, so I don't mind a little hike. Kind of reminds me of the old days. Long marches leading armies of soldiers singing songs of triumph. Don't you think so Garnet?"

"Those are days I would rather forget. Things only got worse after you went missing," Garnet wistfully replied. She kept her attention forward as she continued along the path, taking each step with care. "We're almost there."

The path ended near the mountain's peak, nearly 3 hours away from the nearest warp pad. Up here was a concealed entrance to Rose's armory where Pearl requested they meet. Garnet had seen she was planning something in secret, but she felt no need to confront her.

"Looks like the mountain held up quite well all these years. Not much has changed since I was last here," Bismuth said. After being freed from Rose's bubble, Bismuth was often surprised by all the ways the ways the world had changed, so it was nice to see something unchanged for once.

"You know about this place?" Amethyst asked. "I thought this was supposed to be some secret armory."

"Who do you think built it?" Bismuth proudly replied with a face that made her look almost cocky.

"There waiting for us inside. Pearl will be surprised to see you, Bismuth." Garnet chimed in, cutting their conversation short. Garnet had foreseen Bismuth in many of the day's positive trajectories, so naturally she asked for her aid.

"Got it, anything else I should know?" Bismuth asked.

"Try not to be too rough." Garnet replied.

As the trio walked inside the armory, they could hear Pearl's voice echoing throughout the cave followed by faint laughter.

"When I landed in that cockpit, let me tell you, the look on that nephrite's face was-" Pearl paused as the trio approached, the water splashing beneath their feet. "Bismuth?" Pearl asked, surprised.

"I asked her to come," Garnet interjected.

"Garnet! Amethyst! Your here!" Steven jumped up off Lion, who was still asleep, and he ran to embrace them. After a few moments he turned to Bismuth. "Did you Bismith me?" Steven asked with a chuckle.

"C'mere you" Bismuth said with a chuckle as she pulled Steven in for a hug. "It's so nice to finally have you back. "Beach City hasn't been the same without you".

"Yeah, well, It's good to be back. Let's just hope I don't bring any more trouble with me" Steven replied.

"So, now that we're all here, I think it's time I told everyone why we're here," Pearl's words were shaking as she nervously eyed Garnet. "Garnet, I know I should have told you sooner, and I shouldn't have prepared all this behind your back . . . I didn't know how you would react." Pearl paused again as she took a deep breath. Garnet's shades covered her eyes, but Pearl could swear they were looking into her future, preparing every possible argument against her. Finally gathering her courage, Pearl looked garnet in the face. "Garnet, I want to free the heretic."

The room was dead silent for a moment. Amethyst expressed only pure confusion. Steven and Connie were too enthralled by the conversation to intervene and looked to Garnet, awaiting her response. But Bismuth seemed concerned as she glanced at the heretic's anguish which stood atop the armory.

"I know," Garnet bluntly stated. Garnet had seen she was planning something in secret, but she had felt no need to confront her.

"You do? So . . . so, do you think we can help him?" Pearl asked with a hint of hope in her voice.

"I don't think, I saw," Garnet replied as she gripped her glasses, the light seemed to perfectly reflect across the lens as she adjusted their fitting. "Time is like a river which splits into many paths. We are given options which lead to paths where we succeed and there are paths where we fail. The question is whether what we have to lose is worth the chance of success." Garnet looked at Steven with concern. She did not k want to put him through that risk, but she knew that was not her decision to make.

"Hold up, wait a minute, what are you two talking about right now. Who is the heretic?" Amethyst finally spoke up with just of hint of irritation. It seemed as though she was always the one left out of the loop.

"Yeah, why would they need our help?" Steven added.

Pearl smiled. "I'm glad you asked. the heretic was a human soldier once known as the Paladin of Rose Quartz. He formed the order of Rose, a large group of human knights. Sometime after the war, he attempted to fuse with the Prism . . . and failed."

Garnet clenched her fists at the thought. "Fusion is supposed to be a mutual bond between two consenting individuals. Whatever they had become, it wasn't fusion. The Prism completely consumed him and acted upon his rage," Garnet's words were uneasy, nearly coming to a shout. She was very sensitive to the topic of fusion, but she quickly calmed herself down before she said too much.

"The Prism? You mean the one that Mom took from Hessonite during the war? The same Prism we helped set free?" Steven was asking questions quicker than they could respond. He looked over at the Heretic's anguish. Things were starting to come together, and he did not like where it was going.

"Yes, Steven, after Rose defeated Hessonite, we bubbled the Prism and kept it in a fortress so that its power could never be used again. What we don't understand is why the Paladin had the prism or why he would try to fuse with it. He knew what it had done and he of all people should have known the risks," Pearl replied, beginning to pace around in thought again.

"We need to get him out of there, we have to help him, Garnet," Steven pleaded as he pieced everything together that the heretic's anguish was a prison.

Garnet chose her next words carefully, not wishing to disrupt the path she steered them to. "The truth is not always as simple as history would make you believe. Truthfully, the Paladin was a violent man who was consumed by grief and anger. During the war he was a hero, but there's no telling what he might become in today's world. Not everyone can be so easily changed. I have seen a path where this ends well, but I have seen many more which lead to catastrophe."

Steven looked around at everyone in the room, his family. This wasn't just about him, whatever happens will affect them all. "Are all of you willing to take that risk? If we are going to go through with this, then we should do it together."

"If you think we can help, then I'm in," Connie's words were supportive as she stood beside Steven.

"I'm always up for a fight if it means protecting my friends," said Bismuth, forming her fists into hammers and slamming them together.

"Sure, why not. I got nothin better to do anyways," Amethyst replied.

Pearl clapped her hands in excitement. "Well, that settles it then. Let's get him out of there."

Everyone turned their attention to the heretic's anguish which stood ominously still. The heretic's anguish appeared as a large statue of a gem in a dress made out of various metals which mainly resembled copper and rose-gold. It towered over everyone there, even Garnet, and stood in a t shaped pose with its arms extended outward. Each arm carried three spiked flails which hung down. On its waist were three interlocked rings with a spot of black stone which resembled the shape of a keyhole on the navel.

"First things first, how do we open it?" Steven asked, side eyeing Bismuth."

"What?" Bismuth asked, staring back. Everyone else was giving her a similar look. "Alright, I am the one who built it, but don't always assume everything was made by me. I had disciples ya know! All we need is the person who sealed it to place their hand on the navel of the cell and it should open."

Garnet stepped forward without hesitation. She approached the heretic's anguish with perfectly linear steps. Everything was going well, but this was the moment where everything could go wrong. There was nothing more she could do to push them on the right path. She placed her hand over the navel which responded with a bright light.

Garnet stepped back as the bonds between the metal became illuminated and the components of the cell began to separate. Mechanical mechanisms could be heard whirring as each flail dropped to the ground, one by one. The three rings around the cell's waist unlocked allowing the dress to contract and open in a blinding flash of light. Lion leaped up, perfectly alert as he sniffed the air.

A man clad in plate armor dropped onto the ground with a loud thud. He slowly collected himself and struggled to rise.

Steven cautiously approached as he looked over the man. His armor was a metallic pink and the left shoulder was painted to depict Rose's shield. The right brandished a single silver star, similar to the one they all wore, but several black streaks went down his right arm beginning on the shoulder pad as though something had burned him. He wore a helmet which concealed his whole face, and his surcoat was a mixture of pink tones which resembled the banner he had given Bismuth.

Pearl and Garnet rushed forward and attempted to aid him. When he looked up at them, he became agitated as he frantically pulled away from them. He reached for one of the flails on the ground, wrapping the chain around his wrist as he rose to his feet.

"Where am I? What did you do to me!?" The Paladin shouted, clearly in shock.

"Paladin, please calm down. It us, Pearl and Garnet. What's the last thing you remember," Pearl spoke softly as she tried to defuse the situation.

"Remember? I don't want to remember anymore!" The Paladin yelled, gripping his head as he struggled to steady himself. "Nora. Sergeant Dewey. What happened to them? I have to find them."

"Nora? Yes, I remember Nora. She was fine," Pearl said looking to Garnet who gave her a thumbs up.

Bismuth, Connie, and Amethyst carefully moved forward, weapons in hand, ready to surround the Paladin.

"Stay back! I need to see for myself. Where is she?" The Paladin was only getting more skittish as the conversation went on.

"Ehrrmm, well, that's complicated. a lot of time has passed, so If you would just sit down with us a moment, we could explain everthing," Pearl was beginning to unravel as she worked the conversation into a corner.

" I can't. Not until I find them. Not until I-I" the Paladin paused. Lion had moved to him, nuzzling his helmet. "A Lion?" The Paladin was baffled. He took several deep breaths as he looked at the heretic's anguish and felt the black marks on his armor. "I remember . . . you two put me in there. I'm not going back in."

The Paladin begun swinging the flail towards anyone who tried to approach him. Amethyst lashed her whip at him, wrapping it around his arm and tugging hard. Bismuth and Pearl rushed in, grabbing his left arm to restrain him.

"What do we do, Garnet?" Steven asked as the situation unraveled around them.

Garnet stared at the struggle which ensued for only a moment before she sprang into action. She reached for his helmet; she needed it off so that she could show him the future. Maybe, if he knew where his path would lead him, then he could make the right choice.

#crystal gems #fanfic #pearl #steven universe #steven universe fanfic #paladin of rose quartz #fantasy #writers #garnet #amethyst #bismuth #steven #connie maheswaran #su #su fandom

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kahran042 · 2 years

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Encyclopedia Brown thoughts: book 22

Encyclopedia Brown and the Case of the Slippery Salamander

General:

This book is dedicated to the memory of Rebecca Blackwell, who died before her second birthday. :,(

The Case of the Slippery Salamander:

What, no references to Idaville's banks and delicatessens? :)

Maybe it's just me, but a reptile/amphibian exhibit seems more suited to a zoo than an aquarium. Making matters worse is the fact that The Case of Bugs’s Zebra establishes that Idaville has a zoo.

Now I'm imagining a case where someone steals a $300 ferret from a pet store, and is given away when he claims to be an expert on "ferrets and other rodents."

The Case of the Banana Burglar:

I wonder if Bugs willingly signed up for Art in the Park out of a genuine interest in art, if he signed up to make trouble, or if his parents made him sign up.

I love Bugs' chutzpah here with his "All I've eaten today is a lousy banana" remark. ^_^

Does Monsieur LeBlanc have a real name, or is his first name Monsieur?

If I were Pablo, I wouldn't want my job back, considering how much of an asshole Monsieur LeBlanc is.

The Case of the Dead Cockroach:

Scorpions are arachnids, so they probably shouldn't be competing in an insect race.

Um, @brownencyclopedia, you know that the roach is Bugs' freakin' pet, right? Sure, he's just using it to frame Encyclopedia for killing it, but still. :P

I've never seen a real roach, but if I did, I don't think I'd be learning anything about how they look when they die... of natural causes, that is. ;)

The Case of the Roman-Numeral Robber:

Charlie is ten, and he doesn't know what Roman numerals are? o_O

Whatever happened with the real Roman-Numeral Robber? Personally, I would have had Mr. von Martin turn out to have been the Roman-Numeral Robber all along.

Uh, Sobol, you do know that jewelers presumably know how to use Roman numerals correctly when not making watches, right? After all, even watches with IIII in place of IV don’t have VIIII in place of IX.

In addition to watches, tower clocks also usually use IIII instead of IV. Just thought I'd mention it.

The Case of the Runaway Judge:

A rose grower from Bloomington... yes, yes, very clever, I'm sure.

By "garden mazes," do they mean hedge mazes or something else?

Awfully convenient that Roberta Garnet happened to be the winner... or did Ms. Wedgwood just pick her because she could easily encode her name? I can't seen her being able to encode, say, Karyn Meyers or Alexander Findlay so easily.

The Case of the Peacock's Egg:

So, is it Wilford who doesn't know that peacocks don't lay eggs, or does he just assume his customers won't? I'm leaning toward the latter.

The Case of the Umpire's Error:

Interesting how both teams have alliterative names. I hope that Idaville is only the "Indians" because Sobol couldn't think of anything else that started with I.

That being said, I'd probably be rooting for the Porpoises, if only because I like dolphins.

On a related note, is there really any difference between a porpoise and a dolphin?

If I were an umpire, I wouldn't want to be polite to a crowd that were being total assbutts to me. But that's probably why I'm not an umpire.

The Case of the Calculating Kid:

It really doesn't seem to me that Encyclopedia and Sally randomly ducked into the convention center, but that they knew that the boat and fishing show had set up there and decided to go there to beat the heat.

"Yacht" is a funny word. Sorry, just had to bring it up.

Shells and More Shells isn't just a "company that sold seashells". For one thing, they aren't a company, but just a booth, and they also sell shell-decorated objects. That being said, the name does sound kind of fakey, so I would be suspicious of them, although not for the reasons that @brownencyclopedia is.

Amazing Grace is kind of a stupid name for a yacht, IMHO. What's worse is that Sobol had come up with at least two cooler yacht names - Coral Reef (The Case of the Pirated Yacht) and Defiance (The Case of the Blond Wig) - before this.

"These are" Mr. and Mrs. Hinton, not "This is," dammit! And Chief Brown is supposed to be smart?

What kind of tricks can you play with a calculator?

Lucky that Kent was able to recognize the face of the Shells and More Shells guy. I probably wouldn't be able to, not would I have had the presence of mind to enter "577345" into my calculator to finger my kidnapper. So I like this kid!

Seriously, though, "Shells and More Shells" sounds only slightly more believable than "Alkali Products Incorporated" from The Great Brain Reforms.

The Case of the Presidential Auction:

I’m sorry, but Gwendolyn doesn’t seem any different from Winslow Brant. Why is it wrong for her to do basically the same thing as him? Is it because Winslow is Encyclopedia’s friend, or because Gwendolyn is a teenager?

It should be Harry S Truman, without the period, because his middle name was just the letter S.

The Case of the Stolen Surfboard:

Final appearance of Benny Breslin, and good riddance.

Is this the same heat wave from The Case of the Calculating Kid?

Todd and Garth Breslin return, with the exact same description as in their first appearance. -_-

Why doesn't the lifeguard get a name if Benny knows him?

#encyclopedia brown #donald j sobol #encyclopedia brown and the case of the slippery salamander

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bakugotrashpanda · 3 years

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Bakugou x Fem!Reader Word Count: 7330 Flower Shop AU, No Quirks, Heist?

Part of a BNHArem collab, check out the others here! For this collab I was challenged to do a One Night Only, Flower Shop AU with the line “If you leave now, you get nothing”

You’re forced into the opportunity of a lifetime

The bells above the door chime. A gentle breeze wafts across the leaves of flowers lining the wall. Turning, you spy a tall, ash blond man removing his sunglasses. Crimson eyes rove around, taking in the ready-made bouquets in showcase fridges and dried flowers hanging from the wall before settling on you.

They soften from hard garnet gems to pools of lava you could lose yourself in. A cocky smile graces his face as he approaches the counter where you put the finishing touches on a dozen roses.

“Bakugou,” you smile at him, “I haven’t seen you in a while!”

“I’ve been busy,” he says and peers at the note you attach to the roses. I hate fighting and wanted to say sorry for what happened. I love you to the moon and back. He arches an eyebrow at you and scoffs at whatever fool thinks a bunch of roses will make things better.

“Don’t get me started on it,” you roll your eyes, “But you, are you too busy to stop by and say hi?” Bakugou’s brow twitches slightly.

“I need another bouquet of gardenias sent to this address today,” he says, completely ignoring your chastisement. He scribbles down an address on a scrap of paper and slides it across the counter.

“Sure thing,” you peer at the address. It’s across town. A slight pain in the ass, but for your favorite customer? Not a problem. “Any message with it?”

“Congrats,” he says, “No name attached to it.”

“Your girlfriend is lucky…” you hum and check your computer to make sure you have everything in stock. When he doesn’t respond, you raise an eyebrow. “Your boyfriend is lucky?”

“It’s just a friend. You know I’m not dating anyone,” he points out, “Do you guys deliver single flowers? Like a single rose and that shit?”

“Not normally, but you’re one of my best customers,” you reply. It’s true. The man sends more flowers than most people will in their entire lives. Some people visit coffee shops daily and are labeled regulars. Bakugou visits weekly, sometimes ordering up to five bouquets at a time. “If you give me the addresses, I can personally deliver them after hours.”

“I need gladioli delivered to these addresses. Knock and leave it at the door. Don’t bother waiting for anyone to answer.” Pulling another scrap of paper out of his pocket, he jots down three more addresses. The pencil hesitates above the paper for a second before he hastily adds one more. “And an amaryllis to your place for your trouble.”

It’s the combination of smolder and wink that has you biting your lip, and your knees turning to jelly like a damn high schooler who’s head over heels for someone.

“So the usual delivery method,” you smile wryly. “All today as well?”

“Of course.” Bakugou pulls out his wallet and plunks the card down on the counter with a satisfying snap. It’s not a clatter of plastic, no, this is a crisp crack of metal, and it’s a well-practiced move.

“I’ll have these all delivered by 8pm,” you say and type in the card number from memory.

“Perfect,” he purrs.

“I have a lunch break coming up if you have some free time?” you ask hopefully, the ‘gone to lunch’ window card already in your hand.

“I know a place around the corner,” Bakugou says and waits for you to close up shop.

As always, lunch is too short, and you find yourself dragging your feet on getting back to the shop. Days Bakugou comes in are always livelier and you never want them to end, but of course, he goes his way, and you go yours.

Setting aside the flowers Bakugou requested, you pack up your car and wait for your co-owner to show up so you can make the deliveries. Logically, if one were to deliver packages, it would make sense to plan a route with the least amount of driving. But your method is slightly different. You always go based on how needed you think the flowers are; a ‘happy birthday’ bundle for family? Right away. A customer’s third, dozen roses with a card apologizing for being an asshole? Not so much. And requests for Bakugou? Always saved for last. Sometimes you hope that you’ll be delivering to the man himself, or get a chance to see a girlfriend – not that you’re jealous.

Deliveries go smoothly; a congratulations on graduating bouquet from grandparents who are too old to travel and live too far away, a gift for a mother from her son, some ‘just because’ flowers to an unsuspecting partner, and the apology roses. Bakugou’s order sits in a box in the passenger seat of your beat-up car. The bouquet of white gardenias with greenery surrounding it looks more like wedding flowers for a bride, and the towering apartment complex you arrive at in the heart of downtown has your jaw drop.

The doorman in the marble lobby thoroughly inspects the arrangement before dismissing you. Who could possibly live in such a grand building? A client? Family? He probably didn’t know when he ordered them, but gardenias are a sign of secret love. But they’re also beautiful flowers.

The gladioli go to much more mundane places; an apartment above a bakery, a gym where a trainer took it claiming to know who it was for, and a house on the edge of where suburbs meets city. The last address takes you out towards the water.

Gravel crunches under the tires of your car as you pull up to a giant metal building. You sit in the driver’s seat and stare at the warehouse. There’s no office to approach, no name on the building, and no workers milling about who can give you directions. In fact, there doesn’t seem to be anyone here. Checking the address again, you frown and get out. There are mechanical noises inside, so clearly there is someone here.

Remind me to check the addresses before agreeing to deliver anything.

The rusted, corrugated metal warehouse is tall enough to fit a ship. Maybe at one point that’s what it was used for, but boarded up windows make it clear that if there was ever any new construction happening, it was a long time ago. Going to the only human sized door there is, you heave it open slightly and peek inside.

This… doesn’t look like your normal crowd of people you deliver flowers to; instead of mothers, partners, brand new babies, and grandparents, you can make out men playing cards at a cheap folding table and other individuals hammering crates closed through a haze of cigarette smoke.

Maybe he wrote down the address wrong. You slowly close the door and pray to all the deities in the universe that none of them hear the door click shut. Maybe there’s another place around here he meant to have the flower delivered to. Aware of all the gravel shifting under your feet, you try, and fail, to back up without a sound. Maybe-

“What are you doing here?” A hand wraps around your upper arm. Inside, you’re screaming, your fight or flight responses opting for ‘deer in headlights’. You whip around and yank your arm out of the hands of-

“Bakugou.” Even your whisper is too much noise. You should have trusted your instincts and left as soon as you saw where you were. “I’m delivering the flowers you wanted, what’s goi-”

“Quiet.” Bakugou whispers and presses a key fob into the palm of your hand. He spins you around and points to a sleek car with tinted windows parked on the other side of the street. “Black car. Wait in it. Do not let anyone see you.”

He watches you retreat to his car before entering the warehouse. Thirty minutes. Thirty minutes of waiting, hoping that he was okay. Thirty minutes of realizing that since he wasn’t running out with a horde of angry people behind him, he probably knew them – probably worked with them.

And it takes thirty seconds of him exiting the warehouse with a grim look on his face to realize that you’re in deep shit.

Bakugou turns the car on and sits there idling, his hands growing white against the steering wheel. His jaw clenches as he stares straight ahead. No one says anything. The agonizing silence stretches on as you both try to figure out how to break the silence.

“How much did you see?” he asks, putting it in drive and smoothly pulling away.

“What do you do for a living?” you counter cautiously. The Bakugou you have lunch and coffee with on a weekly basis doesn’t seem like the kind of man who would willingly go down to the docks for who knows, but… the lifestyle he lives… The amount of money he spends could be explained by… illicit activities.

“That’s not important.” His words make you want to laugh. Not important? The color of a car isn’t important. Being an importer of black-market goods? Important.

“But it is. Drugs? Guns? What was in those crates?” you press, “Who are you?” He doesn’t answer right away, choosing instead to pay attention to traffic.

“Just someone making their way in the world,” he says after a moment. Vague. What did you get yourself into?

“Take me back to the docks,” you say sourly and sit back in the leather seat. He makes no effort to turn the car around, instead driving further into the city. “Bakugou, I left my car there. Will it still be in one piece when I go back?”

“Promise me you will never go back there. I must have given you the wrong address,” he says. His eyes meet yours, but you make no promise, just as he doesn’t promise your car will still be in one piece. “I’ll get you a new one that isn’t a piece of shit to make up for it.”

He pulls up to an apartment complex. It’s bland – blends in with the neighborhood, looks just like the complex next door and across the street. The entirety of the quiet street seems to be beige buildings that all look the same

“Come on,” he parks.

“Where are we?” you peer around trying to recognize any of the buildings. Even though you drive around the city often, you don’t recognize where you are.

“My place,” he says and gets out. Walking around to your door, he opens it and waits for you to get out. “There’s some people you need to meet.” Quietly, you follow him, curiosity getting the better of you. Plus, if you were to run, you’re pretty sure he could catch you.

In front of a door numbered 23, Bakugou sticks a key in and unlocks it. If you weren’t perturbed about everything that happened in the last hour and a half, you might have enjoyed the warm, spicy scent of his cologne.

Spread throughout the apartment are three people. A dark-haired man in the kitchen puts the finishing touches on a feast spread across the counters, a red-haired man you recognize from the gym earlier in the day sits on a couch, and a woman with auburn hair leafs through the pages of a book. On the coffee table in the middle of the living room are all the gladioli you delivered earlier in the day. They all look up when you enter, their warm familiarity turning to closed off scowls when they spot you. Bakugou closes the door and locks it before they speak.

“What’s she doing here?” the redhead gym trainer asks. His garnet eyes narrow as he studies you like a dog wary of a stranger.

When you handed the flower to him earlier, he had been so cheerful and enthusiastic. Where was that man now?

“She runs the flower shop I use,” Bakugou says and removes his shoes. You follow suit and bite your tongue to try and blend in.

“That doesn’t answer my question,” the man asks. He crosses his arms, accentuating his prominent muscles. “What is she doing here?”

“She got caught up in everything,” Bakugou mutters and flops into a chair.

The woman returns the book in her hand to a shelf and walks over, also sizing you up. You have a fleeting thought to make a sudden movement just to make her and the redhead jump, but you’re not that stupid.

“We can’t let her go!” the woman hisses. Chestnut eyes stare coldly at you. “She’ll ruin everything.”

“Do I need to take care of this?” the redhead asks and stands. He towered over you at the gym and you didn’t think much of it, but now his height and musculature make standing near Bakugou the best option to not get hurt.

“We’ll use her,” Bakugou says and waves the man off. You turn your head so fast there’s a possibility of whiplash. Use me?

“That doesn’t promise her silence,” the man in the kitchen says. He wipes his hands in a towel before walking out to see what’s going on. He looks at you curiously and with none of the hostility the other two people have.

“If she has as much skin in the game as the rest of us, she won’t say a goddamn word,” Bakugou snarls.

“What can she do for us?” the woman sneers, “We have the brains, the brawn, the hacker. We don’t need anyone else. Especially her.”

“She’s our in,” Bakugou reclines in his seat and crosses his arms over his chest triumphantly. “She can get us into the event. Ever since Sato got let go from the place that’s doing the catering, she can do the floral arrangements.” The man from the kitchen looks down sheepishly.

“I didn’t know they would be downsizing so soon,” he, Sato, mutters.

Begrudgingly, all hostility towards you dissipates. You can see the gears turning in the rest of their minds. You rub your arm self-consciously and shift from foot to foot. You’ve been able to piece together a vague picture of what’s going on, but your spot in everything still eludes you.

Their ‘in’? The flower shop he uses? I can do the arrangements? What does this have to do with what happened at the warehouse? And are they all a part of it?

Questions bubble inside you. If you speak, it’ll draw more attention to yourself. What if you say the wrong thing though? What if somehow you manage to describe what you think is going to happen in detail and it’s correct? Would they think that you know too much for your own good and ‘take care of you’ regardless?

“They’re not going to use her out of the blue,” the woman says slowly.

“Let me handle it,” Bakugou says. He turns his attention to you, and for a moment when his fiery eyes meet yours, you forget about everything. It’s just the two of you, like always. “You’ll be compensated for your time.”

“I’m not giving her a portion of the haul,” the redhead says defiantly.

“I don’t need anything,” you say automatically. Your throat is dry to the point where your words come out scratchy. “I’ll do whatever you want, please don’t kill me.” Bakugou glowers at the redhead and stalks over to him, his lips turning into a sneer.

“Kirishima, you know better than anyone that no one does anything for free, because free means a favor, and I don’t do favors,” Bakugou punctuates each of the last words with a jab of a finger to Kirishima’s chest. You can feel the electricity in the air as the two men stare each other down. Reluctantly, Kirishima looks away, and Bakugou grins victoriously – even though it doesn’t reach his eyes.

“You’re in,” Bakugou says to you in a firm tone. “End of discussion.”

Brief introductions were made, along with ambiguously telling you the plan – and that was only when you started panicking that you would be in another warehouse with a crime lord and be forced to kill someone. Kirishima chuckled and unhelpfully told you that wouldn’t happen ‘this time’.

From what you can gather, Bakugou found everyone when they were down on their luck and he needed help. This job would involve a glamorous party and leaving richer than when you went in.

“Do I get a say in this?” you ask Bakugou as he drives you back to your place. With your car gone, you had no way to get to work easily – a fact you pointed out to him once the two of you were alone in his car. Until you did have a new set of wheels, Bakugou would pick you up and take you to work. Of course, you would have to come up with a lie of why you didn’t have a vehicle anymore to your coworker.

“No. It’s one night. You’ll make it,” Bakugou says grimly, “Don’t even think about running. If you leave now, you get nothing but a bullet.”

“Kirishima seems like the kind of person who would snap my neck with his bare hands,” you snort. He could probably flex his arm and it would all be over.

“I would have to be the one to do it, and I don’t want to,” Bakugou says stonily. Your mouth snaps shut. Silence descends while Bakugou weaves in and out of traffic. “You’re going to accept the order when it comes your way. Make the arrangements, and then we’ll deliver them as your employees. After that, you stick by me so I know you’re not running off to the cops.”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence,” you say dryly. So that’s how they’re going to use you. A convenient detail he left out when he was around the others.

“This isn’t our first time,” Bakugou turns fractionally to glare. The setting sun highlights strands of warm honey hidden within his red eyes. “I’ve carefully chosen my people for their skills and we work like a well-oiled machine. You landed in the middle of this. I will not have you messing up my plan. It’s one night. After that, you can go back to your boring life.”

Boring. Ouch. Part of your ‘boring’ life is the mundane; seeing the beauty in each flower you work with, seeing the smiles on customers’ faces when they answer the door. Bakugou is part of that too. Walking side by side down a sidewalk talking about anything and everything, getting into philosophical debates over lunch, discussing the validity of conspiracy theories over coffee. Those moments mean everything to you, and he sums it all up as ‘boring’.

“You don’t mean that,” you mumble, heat flooding your face. He said he used you and your flower shop – was any of it real? Were any of the single flowers he picked out and bought specifically for you to keep a ploy to get close to you? Were the times he waited outside your shop in the cold mornings before you even opened, two steaming drinks in hand, all meaningless?

His lips form a thin line and his jaw clenches. You sink back into your seat, resigned to the fate he’s brought upon you. You almost miss his words, attributing the whisper to the sounds of the passing cars. “No, but I have to convince myself of that.”

Somehow, through pulled strings or threats and bribes, Bakugou does make the order appear. Twenty-one arrangements needed for Friday, to be made and delivered by you.

The cover story to your coworker is easy enough; they requested you specifically to make the floral arrangements, and they would have their employees unload everything. Your coworker was skeptical at first, but it was the largest order the shop had received, and neither of you could turn down the money.

You spend all your time drafting and crafting exquisite centerpieces. Pale purples and whites, roses and lilacs in tall vases, eucalyptus and ivy. The store is overrun with the project to the point that you have to reject regular orders unless it can be delivered the same day because there’s simply no space.

Friday comes before you know it. You’re a mess in your work apron, scurrying around the shop putting the finishing touches on everything. Two vans sit in the parking lot, and Bakugou, Sato, and Kirishima wait awkwardly against a wall.

“They look good,” Bakugou says, “Unlike you. Did you get any sleep last night?”

“Sorry,” you shoot him a dirty look and finish settling a tall white candle in a vase with a wreath of flowers at the base, “I was too busy trying to not get killed by the person who strongarmed me into this.”

“I like her,” Kirishima chuckles. You shove a box into his arms and continue flying around the shop like something is on fire and you’re the only one who can put it out.

“Good!” you say with mock cheerfulness, “Then put that in the van, and do not let it fall over and bruise!” Barking out more orders, you give each of the guys a job to do. “And where the hell is Ururaka?”

“She’s getting some things together,” Bakugou says and nudges your shoulder before following your orders, “We’re all the help you have right now.” You shoo him away and take a moment for yourself. He’s right. You look like shit. Dark circles mar your under eyes, and your clothes are disheveled. Is the shirt you’re wearing even clean?

“Everything’s packed up how you wanted it,” Sato calls from the entrance of the store. Attempting to make yourself presentable, you hustle out to the front of the store and lock up. Kirishima and Sato sit in one van, while Bakugou sits in the other.

“Go change,” Bakugou hands you a duffel bag. Kirishima and Sato start unloading the vans onto carts to bring into the… hotel? Apartment? Office? You’re not quite sure what building you’re looking at. “Ururaka put everything you’re going to need in here. I’ll meet you by the bathrooms when we’re done.”

“But,” you protest and stare at your creations being wheeled away. You put your heart and soul into them. If something were to happen now at the end of it all, it would be devastating – potentially career ending.

“We’ll take care of it,” Bakugou says gently, “Now go.”

With the bathroom all to yourself, you shut yourself in one of the stalls and open the bag. Inside you find a dress neatly folded on top of bags of new makeup supplies, all the hair products in the world, and even a bra and shoes – all in your size. On top of it all is a folded piece of paper with a message scrawled in pink handwriting.

Consider this to be insurance for your cooperation.

Unfolding it, you see a list of your search history for the past week. Scary. Fighting the warmth crawling up your neck and settling in your cheeks, you tuck it away and make a mental note to destroy it later.

Pulling the gown out, your eyes pop at the custom-made gown. The sweetheart neckline flows into off-the-shoulder sleeves. Black chiffon, loosely pleated at the bust, crisscrosses at the waist and meets at the zipper in the back. The floor length dress cascades down your body and gently flutters to your feet.

Ururaka, using all her brilliant hacking skills, nailed it with this gown. Somehow, through past online shopping sprees, she managed to order a dress that fits you like a glove.

Glancing at your phone, you see a message from Bakugou.

Bakugou: all set up. Done yet?

You work fast to make the rest of your appearance respectable enough for the party. In the past, you had stayed at functions to help with set up and clean up in respect to your floral arrangements, but never at something as extravagant as this. Giving yourself a once over, you pack everything up and walk out of the bathroom.

True to his word, Bakugou is waiting outside the hallway leading to the bathrooms. You stop a moment and marvel at his transformation. With his hair slicked back and a well-fitted, black suit with a black shirt that simultaneously shows off his muscles and hides them, all you can do is stare. He rolls his shoulders and turns, the scowl melting off his face when he sees you. You can feel his eyes roving up and down your body as you walk up to him.

“Well?” you ask and give him a 360 view of the dress after handing him the duffel bag, “Am I presentable enough for you?”

“Stunning.” He clears his throat and adjusts his garnet-colored tie, “Now stick close.” You can’t help but smile at the blush dusting his cheeks when he holds his arm out for you.

Taking the elevator to nearly the top floor, you gasp when you step out. Whoever owns the building had this floor and the one above it renovated to make essentially a grand ballroom. A large chandelier hangs from the ceiling and throws dazzling light around the room. Tulle backlit with fairy lights reach from the corners of the room up to the chandelier. Your floral arrangements are perfectly positioned on the tables.

“There’s balcony access from the second floor,” Bakugou murmurs and points to the night sky peeking through from the upper level.

“Bakugou! You have some gall showing your face around here tonight!” an older man laughs and slaps Bakugou on the back in greeting. You catch his face scrunching up for a quick second before adopting a neutral, almost jovial mask. Knowing Bakugou as well as you do, it looks… out of place like someone swapped faces with him and didn’t know any of his mannerisms.

“I wouldn’t miss this for the world,” Bakugou smiles and snags two flutes of champagne from a passing tray. He hands one to you and takes a sip from the other to cover his irritation.

“Your ex’s engagement party?” the man chortles. His cheeks are ruddy from drink, but the party has barely started and guests are still flowing in.

“Our parents are close,” Bakugou says smoothly, “I couldn’t say no, you know how the old hag is.” The man balks at Bakugou’s language but covers it up with a cough. Whoever Bakugou really is, he has enough power to say what he wants without repercussions – like call his mother a hag.

“Speaking of,” he looks around, “Where are you parents this evening? I would love to-”

“Sweetie,” you interject sweetly, sick of listening to forced pleasantries, “It’s so warm in here, do you think we could step out to the balcony?”

“Of course,” Bakugou says and offers you his arm. You both smile at the man who totters away and greets another pair of unsuspecting individuals who will most likely also be subjected to his lacking manners.

“You’re robbing your ex?” you hiss and tighten your grip on his arm. Bakugou waits until you’re at the top of the stairwell leading to the second floor before responding.

“The daughter of a Fortune Global 500 executive who almost got me thrown in jail for a crime her side lover committed while we were together mind you, and got my scholarship to Tohaku University revoked,” he growls, “All my internship opportunities dried up, and I lost everything I had.” You stare intently at each other as a group of people pass by. Laughter and clinking glasses fade away.

“How are you…” you fish for the correct word. How are you able to spend so much money? How are you able to waltz in here and no one bats an eye? Just who are you?

“How am I here?” he raises an eyebrow at you.

“Yeah.” Sure. Let’s go with that.

“I got the charges dropped, but my name was ruined,” Bakugou sighs and runs a hand over his hair. “I lived up to that ruined reputation to get my feet under me for years. Now I’m getting back everything that was stolen from me.”

“So you do… import things.” you clarify, “And what about your parents? Are they actually here? Do they know what you do? Are they in the same business as you?”

“My parents aren’t important,” Bakugou says and drops your arm. His gaze is focused elsewhere, but when you try to follow it, there’s nothing.

“I’m going to the bathroom,” he says, “Don’t move.”

“Don’t worry,” you call out sarcastically to his retreating form, “I’ll just wait here.”

He makes a beeline down the stairs and into the crowd. He can’t seriously expect you to wait here for him to come back. And that line about the bathroom? Utter bullshit.

Clinging to the shadows, you make your way to the balcony outside. A light breeze whips around you and causes the fabric of your dress to flutter. Buildings lit from the inside surround you. Tall apartment buildings filled with people settling in for the night, families spending time together as the sun sets. People on the ground look like ants, scurrying around in packs of two or more. Cranes, done hauling the bones of buildings around for the day, emit steady red lights. Stars fight in the onyx sky to shine, but they’re barely visible.

The magic of the moment breaks when voices from around the corner float to where you stand. Sighing, you quietly make your way to the door to give them their privacy. You almost make it too when a name catches your attention.

“Katsuki,” a woman’s voice says, “What are you doing here?”

Katsuki? As in Katsuki Bakugou? Your Bakugou? It’s not the most common name in the world, but what are the-

“I couldn’t stay away,” a deep voice says. A familiar voice. A voice that’s laughed over coffee with you. A voice that belongs to someone who called you stunning earlier this evening.

“You shouldn’t be here,” she whispers again. Her light and airy voice lulls you closer – a siren’s song bringing all who hear it to their deaths.

“What happened to us?” Bakugou’s murmur barely makes it around the corner where you hide. “We were in love, Momo.” You bite your lip to the point where you don’t know if you broke skin or not. Humiliating tears sting your eyes. You shouldn’t be here. This is a private moment. But you can’t leave either.

“I…” Momo’s musical voice trails off. You can practically envision it; Bakugou’s fingers gently running up and down her arms, his soft and sultry voice caressing her ears. Each person inching slightly closer to the other until-

“Give me another chance,” Bakugou says. You’ve only heard this gentleness a couple times before, and not recently. “I’ll make it worth your while.”

“Katsuki…” she sighs, “You know I can’t.” A stifled squeak has you peering around the corner to make sure she was alright.

All you get is a knife in the heart for your troubles.

A gorgeous woman in an emerald green mermaid gown that hugs her curves has her arms wrapped around Bakugou’s neck. His own hands are tangled in her long black hair, a light flush on her cheeks. Bakugou’s lips are curved against her own, a low moan escaping him. One of his hands untangles from her hair and starts working its way down her body, sliding along her waist before settling on the curve of her ass to pull her closer. As if their bodies could be any closer right now.

Slowly, you back away and try to get as physically far away from them as you can. Going inside would mean opening a door and spilling the noise of the party out into the nearly silent night, and one look at you would solidify that it was you who caught them. But if you stay, then-

“How long were you there?” a voice interrupts your internal monologue. You jump back guiltily to see Bakugou, and only Bakugou reaching out towards you.

“I-Long enough,” you sputter. The wind shifts, and the spicy scent of Bakugou

“What did you hear?” Bakugou demands. Hear? Everything. See? More than I bargained for.

“Does it really matter?” you mutter and step out of his reach. Wrapping your arms around yourself, you watch the city go to sleep. “How much longer until I can go?”

“It’s not what you think,” Bakugou says.

“Really?” you snap, “Because it sounded like you still want her.”

“Or,” he holds up a security card between his fingers, “I wanted the security card I knew she’d keep on her. You have nothing to be jealous about.”

“I’m not jealous,” you say a tad too defensively. Bakugou stows the card in his pocket. Crimson eyes take you in and a small smirk curls the corner of his lips.

“That’s too bad,” he shrugs and holds the door open for you. “Let’s go.”

Reluctantly, you follow him inside. The party is in full swing now with booze and congratulations for the bride-to-be in abundance. A swath of red hair bobs its way through the crowd. Bakugou doesn’t seem to notice as Kirishima makes a beeline towards them. A shimmer of plastic catches your eye, and you watch as the security card is passed off to Kirishima, in a dashing merlot red suit. Neither man blinks. Onlookers wouldn’t be able to tell that you were all together. Just two people passing by.

At the refreshment table, you watch Kirishima make his way over to the elevators. Sato is waiting there as well. Again, neither man acknowledges the other. Two party goers in a crowd of a hundred.

You still have no idea where Ururaka is, but if Bakugou is the brains, Kirishima and Sato are the brawn, then logically she must be the hacker.

“What do we do now?” you whisper behind your drink. Bakugou turns his back to the crowd and pretends to survey the spread of food in front of him.

“Now we wait,” Bakugou says.

You’re whirled around the room, dancing and schmoozing at Bakugou’s side for an hour before you finally need a break. Being introduced as Bakugou’s ‘girlfriend’ garnered you some strange looks since it is his ex’s engagement party, but you soak everything up. For a moment, you’re able to forget that you’re here under threat, and pretend that you’re actually dating him. You leave him for the refreshment table, hoping water will quench your thirst and your thirst.

“I don’t think we’ve had the pleasure of meeting before?” a familiar voice says. You nearly spit out your water when you see Momo smiling at you. She’s more enchanting in person, and you can’t imagine her betraying the person she supposedly loves for any reason. Unless she didn’t really love Bakugou.

“I don’t think we have, I did the flowers for this evening,” you gesture to the nearest vase. Set on making this exchange as short and painless as possible, you get ready to leave. “Congratulations on your engagement.”

“Oh, the florist!” she exclaims, stars in her eyes, “I remember the doorman told me you brought a bouquet of gardenias to my apartment. They were lovely, and you’ve done an immaculate job here tonight.”

“Thank you,” you say, slightly taken aback, “I didn’t know it had that big of an impact.”

“Of course, that’s why my father hired you!” she tilts her head as if it should be common sense. Something behind you catches her eye and she lights up again. “If you’ll excuse me.” She waves at whoever is behind you and walks off without another word, leaving a subtle cloud of jasmine in her wake.

The bouquet…

Gears slowly turn in your head. Bakugou… the flowers… the bouquet… No. No, it couldn’t be… The further your thoughts spiral, the more anger festers in the pit of your stomach. Answers. You need answers. You clench your jaw and look for the man of the hour.

Bakugou stands with a group of people, chatting amicably, drink in hand. You march up and thread your arm through his and squeeze it close.

“Excuse the interruption,” you cut into the conversation, “I need to borrow him.” Without waiting for a reply, you stomp off towards the balcony again.

“What the fuck are you doing?” Bakugou hisses and tries to keep his drink from spilling. You ignore him though. He’s evaded your questions for long enough.

Wind whips around you, stirring up your dress as you push the balcony doors open with more force than necessary. You’re alone on the balcony with only the moon as witness.

“You set this all up,” you accuse Bakugou once the door closes.

“Of course I did,” he frowns and straightens his jacket, his drink no longer in his hands but probably on a tray of a server.

“No,” you jab his chest. You want to scream and shout, to beat on his chest and break down in tears, but neither of you need that attention right now. Your nerves are on fire and you’re itching for a fight. “I mean you set me up. It wasn’t an accident that I was at the warehouse by the docks. You had me deliver a bouquet of gardenias to your ex knowing that she would hire me. You really had me going, I’m such a fucking idiot. I thought…”

Anger dissipates to sadness. Is this the fucking five steps of grief or whatever? Anger? Bargaining? Sadness? You walk to the railing and stare at the city below you. Cars move in orderly fashion, stopping at intersections where crowds of people cross.

“Say it,” Bakugou growls. Your shoulders sag in defeat.

“I thought you liked me,” you admit, burning shame searing your face, “But that was obviously part of your con.” Silence after your admission stretches on longer than comfortable. You wish he would say anything. A confirmation that he too likes you, or swift rejection.

“Was it though? Or was it so I would have one last chance to see you before I disappear?” Bakugou says.

“What?” Turning to face him, you expect to see a smug grin that you were wrong in your assumption, but Bakugou isn’t gloating. Hands shoved in his suit pocket, his brows are slightly furrowed.

“You didn’t really think I would stay here after this is over, did you?” he asks. Guiltily, you stare at the floor. You didn’t really know what to expect after this was over, but Bakugou leaving? It hadn’t crossed your mind. “I have a buyer and a plane waiting on standby to take me anywhere I want to go after this is over. Ururaka is wiring money from her accounts to four offshore shell companies as we speak. If I hadn’t gotten you wrapped up in this, I would have ghosted you, and you would’ve wondered what happened.”

“No I wouldn’t,” you say stubbornly.

“And you would go around asking questions,” Bakugou cocks his head, completely ignoring your interjection, “And eventually you’d ask the wrong person and would wind up in trouble.” He slowly makes his way over to you.

“You’re wrong,” you hold his crimson gaze. He stops right in front of you, closes enough to feel heat radiating off of him, but far enough away to leave you wanting more.

He leans in, his lips next to your ear. His anticipatory exhale tickles your ear. “I guess we’ll never find out, now will we?”

“Did you really have to kiss her though?” you ask quietly, the searing kiss playing on repeat in your mind. If it was to get a security card, he could have felt her up, no need to play tonsil hockey.

“So you are jealous,” he says smugly and leans back. Triumphant eyes rove your face, taking in your embarrassment.

“Of course I am,” you snap, “I didn’t want you to know though.”

“Aw, did I bruise your ego?” he purrs, “Do you want me to kiss it better?”

“How the hell do you-” His lips are on yours before you can complete the sentence.

Bakugou’s hand ghost over your neck, sending shivers down your spine, before cupping your cheek. The rough pads of his thumbs tenderly stroke your cheekbones while the other hand pulls your body flush with his. His tongue traces your bottom lip and draws you in.

Blood buzzes in your ears and your heart feels like it will burst out of your chest. Your fingers dig into his back, eliciting a sinful moan from him. You break the kiss with a whine when his hips torturously grind against yours.

“You really don’t know what you do to me, do you?” Bakugou rasps against your neck. Teeth trail along your skin before biting down possessively in the soft spot where neck meets collarbone. You arch into him, breathy pants escaping you. He kisses the spot tenderly before resting his forehead against yours.

Breathes commingle between the two of you while your beating hearts slow.

“I was supposed to do this job a long time ago,” he murmurs, “And then I went into this flower shop to send reminder flowers to everyone involved that the time was coming. Instead, I found a woman behind the counter whose wit rivaled my own and was beautiful beyond comparison. The more I grew to know her, the less I could complete the final job. And then it was too late. I couldn’t leave her willingly.”

“The others,” you press, “Did they know?”

“Yes,” Bakugou responds quietly, “They knew I was stalling, and I had to tell them why.”

“That’s why they all hated me,” you sigh. Bakugou presses another kiss to your cheek. Something vibrates against your stomach, and Bakugou releases you to pull a phone out of his pocket.

“It’s time for us to make our exit,” he says and helps adjust your dress back into place, “Wait by the elevator.” Your head is in the clouds, but you comply. Weaving your way through guests who have their eyes on Momo and her fiancé, you stand by the elevator and wait for Bakugou to join you.

You watch the ash blond grab a drink from a tray and silently toast his ex. Momo’s eyes widen fractionally, but her smile freezes when the speakers pumping muzak through the room switch to a scratchy recording of the sweet voice of the siren herself.

“It’s okay, we can pin it all on Bakugou. I love you dear, not him. This will allow us to be together and not have to hide in the shadows anymore.”

Bakugou finishes his drink while the audio goes on to incriminate Momo and her new fiancé further. He calls the elevator and rests his hand on your lower back.

“Now we can go,” he smirks.

“You’re really that petty?” you raise an eyebrow at him. Stepping in, the last thing you see are all eyes on the bride-to-be.

“I could’ve done much worse,” Bakugou shrugs, “But if life hadn’t happened the way it did, then I never would have met you.”

“Bakugou…” your voice trails off.

“Katsuki. Please.” The door opens in the garage. The vans from earlier idle, ready to go once the two of you are in. Kirishima, Sato, and Ururaka sit in one, the other remains empty. “Say it once, before I never get to hear my name fall from your lips again.”

“Katsuki,” you whisper. Bakugou closes his eyes, relishing the sound of his name.

“You’re free to go,” he says sadly, “We’ll go to the airstrip and then the van is all yours.”

“What if I don’t want to go?” you tilt your head. Crimson eyes with garnet and honey woven in them meet yours. Your heart beats faster as you think about your next couple of words. Licking your lips, you add, “I hear the Alps are nice this time of year.”

“You know you won’t be able to return.” His hand takes yours and squeezes it reassuringly.

“I know.”

Picture in banner by earl_plannerzone on unsplash

#bnha imagines #bakugou #bakugou x reader #collab #flower shop au #no quirks #writing

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dienamights · 3 years

Text

A Reverberate Lullaby | K.Bakugou

✎ The echoing howls stalk you, a ghost hunched on your shoulders, wailing like a child calling for rescue, who cries with no tears. Chanting for a hero that is willing to pick up the pieces of its soul and being, yet it is only left to wither. For the ghost has lost faith that such others exist and can only be cured by finding them, for you are the ghost of your world and love is the only true exorcist.

✎ Protagonists: Katsuki Bakugou x Fem!Reader.

✎ Word count: 4.1K

✎ Category: hurt/comfort, Implied Mature Content MDNI, Prohero!au, Established relationship!au

✎ Caution(!): Implied Mature Content MDNI, mention of depressive state, toxic family, toxic coping mechanism, mention of reader’s weight gain and thoughts about self worth. Please keep in mind while every person’s reaction to depression is different, don’t belittle anyone’s battle when you don’t understand it.

✎ Author’s notes: Hello! Hope everyone’s taking care! Still on hiatus BUT I’m here to post my contribution to the Mental Health Awareness collab by @doinmybesthere ! This has been in the works for a while because I kept scarping ideas for triggering me lmao. This piece is very personal to me and I’m glad I am able to share my experience with you all, I hope that it might help anyone out there in reaching out and asking for help because I know how difficult and scary it might be! Please check out everyone’s contribution that they worked so hard for! kisses kisses take care!

OOH ALSO! Thank you so much for 900 followers aaaaaah! You’re all so amazing and if anyone has suggestions for an event to hold in June lemme know! I’ll also think of some ideas

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The morning sun barely rises and peaks through your blinds, sunshine starting to kiss at your cheeks as you squint at the light, the room welcoming the warmth that is being brought into it after the evening’s chill that made you curl tighter in on yourself, clasping whatever heat you could muster than to turn around and find it in the heating pad of a body that lays next to you.

An alarm only just rings before quickly being shut off, followed by the creaking of the bed when the person behind you shifts, shifts again, another time, before getting up and stalking to the bathroom, after letting an elongated sigh when they sit at the edge of the bed, not acknowledging your presence accompanying theirs. The door clicking closed before the trickling of water fills the quiet room.

Your clock reads 5 am when you squint at it, and you blink at the time before you go on with your routine, setting up breakfast while your boyfriend gets ready to go to work.

Oddly enough, you don’t really quite remember when you started working on the food, all that you could see in front of you is nothing but a scene that looks like it’s out of a broken TV - there’s just so much static. The voices are distorted, as if they’re coming from a defective radio.

“Listen, this ain’t about me, this is about you and how you-”

“What about me? Huh? That you see me as nothing but a burden? No, you can say it-”

“You wanna hear me fuckin’ say it then fine! This is about you sitting on yer ass all day obsessing over her while she wouldn’ give you the time of day y/n. When will you fuckin’ realize that?”

The scene blurs and sways, and you feel your mind run at a speed you didn’t know it could muster, and you’re unable to keep up with it. The knife in your hand shakes vigorously and barely misses your fingers when you bring it down to cut the vegetables.

The sound of the bedroom door shutting closed alerts you, straightening your back when you hear the drop of your boyfriend’s gauntlet by his chair at the dining table. Katsuki approaches you with careful steps, his still ungloved hand circles your waist before pressing his lips to your temple, a gruff greeting of a whisper laced in between.

“G’morning.”

The familiar scent of caramel mixed in with his aftershave welcomes you, wraps around you and cradles you, promising everlasting safety and happiness. Yet, your heart wrenching sobs and muffled crash of your laptop against your floor that rings in your ears tell a different story, shrieking at you, roaring about your failures, mocking your entire existence.

“Made gohan, should be ready in a minute.” you mumble back, posture stiff at the close proximity of Katsuki and you feel the curl of his lips in displeasure pressing into your temple from both not reciprocating his greeting and your choice of meal for the morning. “You don’ eat gohan,”

“s’why I’m making it.” The quick retreat from your figure is like a slap to your face, and you barely stop yourself from reaching out and forcing his arms back around you. Because it's the bite in his voice that halts your movement.

“You’re still going?” you finally turn to take a look at him, the garnets in his eyes shifting, bleeding from hurt, betrayal, confusion, you really weren’t sure. And by God you had no energy left to try and figure out. “Yes I’m still going Katsuki, they’re my-”

“Yer really listenin’ to the bullshit spillin’ outta ya? This isn’t about em being your family y/n, we’ve been through with it already.” the space between you two feels like endless miles, pieces of the broken bridge you both worked so hard to build the only evidence of it ever being there, the rest crumbling into the valley in between your bodies.

“No, you’ve been through with it, I just wanna make things right, m-maybe I can fix it”

“It ain’t yours to fix y/n, when will you realize that?”

“No!” there you go again, sobbing pathetically. “W-why can’t I have a family, huh? Why- why can’t I, fuck, have a family that just loves and supports me a-and just doesn’t- ” your voice croaks, not failing to notice how Katsuki stepped away from the wreck in front of him. Probably having had enough of you, had enough of how troubling and bothersome you are, probably wondering how he got roped with all your shit and got dragged into your mess of a life.

His hands feel like scolding fire when they’re placed on your shoulders, halting their shaking as you cry into the palm of your hand to muffle the sobs, a habit Katsuki has been working so hard on to help you overcome, saddened to see you try and hide your vulnerability from him.

“Because they never made an effort, so why should you?” The tugging at your heart burns, the swallowed sobs feel like needles prickling at your lungs, making breathing feel like an impossible chore. You can’t help but feel restrained whenever you’re presented with the truth, especially unfiltered and unsugarcoated like right now, you know he’s right, you’ve known he was right a long time ago, but admitting it out loud just felt borderline impossible.

So you do what you do best, push him away, all the strength you can muster barely budges his figure, the meal forgotten on the counter as you run and lock the bedroom door on yourself.

Your footsteps feel heavy, dreading the topics and scenes you’re bound to relive. The grip on the strap of your shoulder bag tightening as you push the glass door open. A sigh escapes past your lips again as you enter the restaurant, half-heartedly smiling at the hostess before making your way inside to look for them.

It’s always the same scenery, the kind that always makes you want to run away to the other direction instead of being dragged down into whatever hell this is. And you pause to question yourself, again, why you actually agreed to put yourself out there.

There they are, seated in the four person table, with two empty seats, one for yourself and the other for the sibling your mother always hoped to have instead of you.

Your mother’s pursed lip could be seen from where you stand at the entrance, the clicking of her tapping foot sounding as bad as grinding metals in your ear, you hate it, despise it

It’s the same clicking you learned to memorize, to anticipate, to fear, when she passed by your room, the clicking that made you smother your face in your pillows and swallow your sobs, because the sound of you crying brought her more distress and annoyance than concern for her daughter.

With another tug at the hem of the shirt you’re wearing, you approach the table, hugging your father when he stands up and nodding to your mom when she eyes your figure.

“Good morning mother. It’s good to see you.”

“What’s wrong with your hair?”

Here we go, you breathe out before tugging at a strand of hair, spitting out your words “nothing’s wrong with it.”

“Then why does it look awful like that?”

There are times like these where you are left to question your reasoning for accepting whatever invitation you received from your parents to have brunch with them after all those months, a moment of weakness deceiving you into believing it was better than to spend it in your empty apartment, with the silence that ate away at your sanity every second. The only evidence of life in it other than yours was the recently cleaned dishes and the note thanking you for the meal, the promise of cuddles and movies tonight making you gain just a little more patience, barely.

You refrain from answering, your response is to lower your head, drag the dining chair before plopping on it, a dreary sigh escaping your lips as you scoot your chair closer to the table. Your mother never changes, it’s been a while since you were able to move out of her home, and while your father tries to tell you that these brunches are a way to reconnect with them, you yourself know that it’s merely a chance for your mother to nitpick at everything you ever did or are doing since you left.

“How have you been y/n.” your father smiles at you, both of you ignoring the sound of your mother kissing her teeth when her attempted jab at you is ignored. “Uh, I uh I’ve been good, I just wrapped up with my exams and so far things have been-”

“How is your hero boyfriend?”

For a second, you contemplate whether to ignore her question and keep conversing with your dad, dreading the questions that are to be pushed your way regarding Katsuki, of which will be used as bragging material for when she meets whatever group of friends she associates herself with, but you know better than to ignore her with the way she gets when she isn’t fed with attention.

“He’s uh, good.”

“Why isn’t he here today? What, too good to meet us?” your mother nags, and for the love of God, would that fucking clicking ever stop?

“No, he’s doing his job of, you know, being a hero.”

“Is he now? Well, what about you, hm?” She cocks her head as her nails tap the table. ”Did you think your father and I wouldn’t figure out you got fired?”

“How-” the gritting of your teeth is deafening at this point, your jaw clenching so tightly as you and your mother stare each other down. “Your dad pulled some strings, it isn’t that hard. So tell me, you like leeching off of him after you were done with us?”

“This isn’t, I just- I was- I, I had a lot of university work piling up a-and I couldn’t make time for my shifts and I just, it was just so hard for me to get out of bed these days and I.” why are you doing this? Why are you explaining yourself to people that don’t deserve it? Why are you feeding off of their acceptance, knowing damn well you never got it, and that thing was never gonna change.

“Oh, I don’t wanna hear about you not getting out of bed, you’re here now aren’t you? This is all in your head y/n. You need to stop talking nonsense, what’re people gonna say about you, about me, when they hear you?”

It feels just like yesterday, your figure standing and facing your full length mirror, your reflection eyeing you with identical vacant eyes. Fingers running through your bed head, a wince escaping you at the movement. Bringing your hand up and catching a glimpse of a slight swollen purple bruise along your wrist and the dried blood on your knuckles, the skin stretching upon rotating your wrist and causing notable pain.

Alas, that pain paled in comparison to when your mom barged into your room, blaming you for the way you were acting and belittling your reasoning. Beckoning your father over to replace your broken vanity and for your house maid to disinfect the space, the place sparkling clean and void of any evidence of what had transpired the day prior.

The shattered glass was picked up and thrown out, the splatters of blood were wiped clean, and whenever you brought up, what your mom refers to as ‘the temper tantrum’, you’re ignored by both your parents as they continued about their day, fearing the shame it would bring upon their name if the event was to catch others’ attention.

“Good morning! I’ll be your server for the day. What can I get you?” the foreign voice sounds more comforting than your own mother’s, and you almost laugh at the irony of it, but you only return her smile and take a look at the menu. Lighting up a smidge at the name of one of the dishes, while your parents place their order.

“Can I please get the soufflé pancake?” you look up to catch the horrified look on your mother’s face, followed by her clicking her tongue and shaking her head as if your choice of food was shameful.

“Certainly-”

“Uh, no she won’t be having that. Get her the Honzen Ryori,” your mother eyed your figure -whatever was visible to her from across the table- before turning to face the server again “maybe cut down on the rice, God knows she doesn’t need the extra calories.” and waves her off, disregarding your protests and tapping her nail against the table top, her annoying method in demanding your silence, which you subconsciously react to, snapping your mouth shut when the sound reaches your ears.

“What was that for? You know I like having sweet breakfasts,” was fuming even close to what you are feeling? Probably not. “Yes I can clearly see that, you’ve let yourself go as well. Do you think that boyfriend of yours will stick around when you start putting on even more weight?”

At a loss for words, you turn to your father, who has been quiet this whole time, for any sense of support when it comes to his wife. But the way he presses his lips together tells you all you need to know, how just because he isn’t bad as her, doesn’t make him that great of a parent. That standing by while you have been bullied your entire childhood and well into your adulthood is just as bad as being the cause of it.

“God forbid he realizes how much of a train wreck you really are and throws you on the side of the street, because you know damn well we won’t be here to pick you up.”

It began as a whispering in the air. The day had been beautiful -well, as beautiful as it can be with the kind of day you’re having- and the sky was like a dome of plasma-blue. The clouds had looked like airy anvils drifting under the gleaming disc of sun. People quickened their pace as the clouds began to gather in the sky. The postcard-perfect sky started changing. The beautiful cocktail-blue shade merged in with the flaming orange and mesmerizing purple as the sun sunk deep into the horizon, before beginning to darken into gravel-grey. Large pillows of cloud start to form, blocking out the old-gold color of the sun.

The first splatter of rain hits you when you’re halfway across the street, dismissing the need to take shelter under the roof of the buildings like some passersby are doing, hoping to see out the shower. Droplets of moisture begin to drip onto your head, sprinkling onto you like a gardener’s hose. It was well after your meal with your parents, and you had spent the last few hours walking aimlessly through the streets, making sure to avoid those covered by your boyfriend during his patrol. Hoping, praying, that something will clear your head, will help your poor jumbled mess of a mind forget about this entire nightmare of a day.

Should’ve listened to him

The rainfall intensifies, the drops drumming against the hood of the cars that you pass by, there is so much rain that the sound blurs into one long, whirring noise, reminding you of the blades of the fan that you stuck your finger in, that one time when you were left alone in your house when you were only five years of age. Eventually, they fade into a musical chime as you push your drenched hair away from your face and feel the vibration from your phone as it rings the ninth, maybe tenth time.

He told me so.

Tall apartment complex building; you couldn’t see its end from where you stand. You shiver as you approach it, the doorman - bless his heart - running and placing his umbrella to futilely shield you from the rain, and you just laugh and tell him that you’re already drenched and just waiting to go back home.

God forbid he realizes how much of train wreck I am

Not wanting to dampen the people at the elevator and make them uncomfortable, you take the stairs up to your shared apartment, you usually don't mind the exercise but with how heavy you feel after the rain and day spent up on your sore feet, all you think about is locking yourself in your room and discover what kind of new façade could you try and fool Katsuki with when he reaches home.

Just how I trick him into thinking I’m not with him to leech off of him

Eventually and with a struggle, you make it to the door, dreading the sight you might come to face, almost hoping for a black hole to emerge and swallow you whole.

What would people say about me? Do people think I’m crazy?

With a forced exhale out of your lungs, you fetch the key from your bag to unlock the door, but it’s wrenched open before you have a chance to insert your key.

“Where the hell have you been?”

Your eyes meet the beautiful rubies of Katsuki, and despite his anger that always overcompensates his worry, you smile and throw yourself on him. The shivering ceasing when he wraps his warm arms around you and that loving caramel scent engulfs you, in spite of how your hair is drenching his shirt and how you sniff against his neck.

“You need a shower, you’re shivering.”

“Take one with me?” you look up at him through your lashes, and he blinks at your uncharacterized boldness but agrees nonetheless, helping you out of your clothes and turning on the hot water before stepping in with you.

It is a struggle to help you clean up when all you do is grab at him, whether they’re your hands on his shoulders to lower him to kiss you, wrapping your arms around him and pressing your breasts against him, or palming his hardening cock as the poor man tries to shampoo your hair.

“Would ya knock it off? I’m tryna help you here shitty woman” you frown and squint your eyes when the shampoo gets close to them. “I wanna have sex.”

“Yea I can fuckin tell, just lemme-” you bring his arms down and press his palms to your boobs, letting go of his wrist when he starts squeezing at them. “Do you not want to?” he gulps, his dick twitching at the feeling of your soft mounds in his hands, your nipples covered up by the suds from the shampoo, as your finger traces the underside of his cock. “Yeah, I uh, fuck, I do, just- you need to wash up so you don’t get sick, alright?”

“Do you not think I’m pretty anymore?” you pout childishly, tears threatening to escape your eyes, and they burn as you close them when he washes the product out of your hair, a deep frown on his lips when you open your eyes back again. “The fuck you on about? That rain really fucked with ya?”

“Are you gonna get rid of me when you realize how much of a mess I am?” you whisper, your voice muffled under the sound of the shower above you, and you keep quiet as he helps you scrub your body, but your boyfriend is observant, he isn’t fucking dense.

“What do you want, right now?” he lowers himself to your level when he’s done, his hands stroking your cheeks as he eyes the way the water droplets cling to your lashes, but still not missing the red rimming around your eyes.

“I just wanna for- I uh, I wanna have sex.” you mumble, a plea hidden underneath your words, a plea to help you forget, to help you bury this day behind you and pretend it never happened.

What you don’t expect is the way that Katsuki pulls your naked wet body out of the bathroom and drops you on the bed, feeling your bodies dampening the bed as he hovers over you, no words are spoken between you as he kisses and nips at your skin. Marking it up and down as he all but worships your body, strands of his hair tangle between your fingers when you run your hands through it, arching your back at the feeling of his tongue tasting your slick.

He doesn’t let up until you cry out, and not in pleasure, your sobs far beyond those he loves to hear when he’s denying you an orgasm. No, they’re sobs that wreck your whole body, kicking away at his shoulders as you curl in on yourself and wail into the sheets. Sitting on his haunches on the floor, Katsuki’s eye soften at your figure, the way your shoulders are shaking and how -yet again- you’re trying to muffle your cries with the sheets this time, pressing your face against the mattress in an attempt to lower your noise, as your mother would call it.

“Hey, look at me” you feel his lips grazing your ear as he kisses it, pressing his lips against your temple, fingers unwrapping your fist against the sheet and digging into your hands and pressing kisses against the nail marks in the palm of your hands. “There she is, there’s my girl.” you hear when you lift your head from the bed, sight blurry from your shed tears but still easy to distinguish Katsuki even between billions of people.

You sniff when he kisses at your lids, groan when he chuckles and calls you ‘snot the naught’ when you wipe your nose with the back of your hand, beaming when he hears you let out one weak chuckle at the way he teases you. Still pressing his lips against any surface of skin he can reach.

“You don’t have to talk about it you know, to me at least” he mumbles to you when you’re both dressed in your sleepwear and are cuddling on the dry side of the bed, opting to change the sheet the next day. “Maybe, maybe we can get someone who can help you, you know.” you press your face deeper between his neck and shoulder, shuddering when his warm palms rub your back from under your shirt.

“I can make some calls, get in contact with someone.” you lift your head. “But I can’t afford-” he tuts and frowns at you “None of that.”

“Remember what I said when we agreed to move in?” you do, you just love the sound of his voice when he says it, feels like he’s making all these promises all over again. “Tell me.”

“Told ya I’d be whoever you want me to be, whoever you need me to be. I’ll be yer mom, even better than that bitch, I’ll support and love you unconditionally.” you sniff and tighten your hold against him as he presses his lips against your cheek.

“I’d be better than yer pussy dad, you can rely on me any time and I’ll live up to all your expectations. And callin me daddy is always a plus” he tangles his legs with your own when you wiggle away from him, laughing and giving you no chance of escape, not that you are even thinking of it.

“I’d even be yer genius fuckin nanny that taught you to tell yer mom to go fuck herself when you were four,” your suppressed giggles lights him up and he can’t help but chuckle as well. “I’ll be anything and everything you’ll ever need, baby. I’ll be your goddamn hero.”

The sun comes out again, casting slanted beams of light across the buildings. Steam rises slowly from the greenery. It rises up eerily and drifts mist-like towards the molten-gold sun, right before it escapes into the abyss. The image is so vivid that it stays with you for as long as you remember. Because on this exact day, the shrieking that follows you everywhere you go, haunting you and mocking you, suddenly is nowhere to be found. And all you can hear is the comforting sound of Katsuki as he hums you a lullaby to sleep.

aaaah I hope you like it!

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universallywriting · 4 years

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Angry Steven Essay 1 - Ignoring Your Kids and the Consequences

A lot of people have been wondering why Steven is so angry, and where their sweet baby boy has gone, and I think people are struggling because they don’t understand how little they respected Steven before.

Because I don’t think that Steven has undergone a huge character shift. Admittedly, he’s angry more frequently now, but I don’t think his anger is bigger or more intense or any worse than it’s been at other points in the series. Steven’s feelings haven’t gotten bigger…

But Steven has.

I counted up all the times Steven gets angry in the series, being fairly charitable and not counting more minor moments of annoyance of frustration. I’ve got about 21 moments out of 160 episodes for the original series. Granted, that’s only once every seven episodes, but it’s not insignificant. The idea that Steven never gets angry is factually wrong.

We see his temper the first time in Steven the Swordfighter, and it’s not a very wholesome look at the boy. He’s frustrated because Pearl is gone and Holo-Pearl isn’t a good replacement. And, already, I bet you’re starting to tune out a little. Because Steven’s being a stupid little kid, isn’t he? Pearl’s coming back. He’s just throwing a tantrum.

Tantrum is the word we give to anger and sadness we don’t respect. It’s a word we use to belittle and ignore children, even when their feelings are justified.

We see something similar in Rose’s Room. He screams at the gems because they ruin the ending of his video game. And, sure that’s a bummer Steven, but it’s just a game. There’s a big space opera out there, so why are you so worried about this? And yeah, you got mad that Greg lied to you in House Guest, but he just wanted to spend time with you. It’s a cute father/son moment, really. Steven is angry, sure, but it’s just kind of pitiful, isn’t it? Poor silly kid. He’s wrapped up in his little concerns when the world is so big and scary.

But you were on his side in Warp Tour. Because he’s right this time, so it’s not a tantrum. And you’re mad at the gems because they’re treating it as a tantrum. But here’s the thing - the gems should never treat him this way. Because so far? Every single one of Steven’s fears and struggles are valid and worthy of respect. Steven isn’t pitching a fit because they brought him a scarlet firetruck and he wanted a cherry firetruck. He’s hurt. That deserves respect and attention and apologies.

In Steven the Swordfighter, he’s struggling because one of his guardians is really hurt. Not only that, but she’s hurt in a way that she can’t talk to him, can’t let him know it’s going to be okay, and in her place is the thing that hurt her. You’ll also note that Amethyst and Garnet are conspicuously absent during all of this, because apparently the boy doesn’t need comfort and care after watching Bird Mom get wasted and spending days hovering over her unhatched egg. Steven is going through all this grief and fear alone.

In Rose’s Room, Steven is denied his chance to spend time with the gems after they promised. They don’t respect or value Steven’s time. Why would they? He’s a child. And clearly he proves his time is worthless by putting so much value in his silly video game he interrupted. What’s the ending of your stupid golf game matter when the plot it rolling along, Steven? Big, important adult things are here. Drop what you’re doing. Ignore your interests. What the gems are doing is more valuable than what you’re doing every single time.

This is a general trend. Warp Tour is the perfect encapsulation of the problem, because it’s finally important enough that Steven fights to be heard. The first thing to remember about this episode is that we, the audience, are placed on Steven’s side because we’ve seen what Steven has seen. We know he’s right. The gems, however, believe what Steven is saying to be impossible. From their perspective, Steven is saying that a masked man broke down their door last night. Be honest - if you knew a kid making that claim and the door was fine, are you going to take it seriously?

The problem in Warp Tour is not that the gems don’t believe him. It’s reasonable not to. The problem is the way they react to it. Amethyst groans and complains about how long it’s taking to make Steven feel better, making him feel like a burden. Pearl aggressively confronts him with evidence, treating him like they’re in a debate and he needs to be proven wrong. That makes him feel stupid, belittled and ignored. Garnet says that it’s important to make Steven feel secure, but even that is condescending and quietly insists that Steven is being irrational.

Even at the end, Garnet is the only one who even slightly makes amends, saying she should have listened to him while also not apologizing. Pearl and Amethyst don’t make amends at all. But do you know who does say sorry four times? Steven. Steven has been taught and continues to be taught that his feelings are secondary. The things in his life that are important aren’t really important compared to the serious grown up issues.

The lack of apologies are consistent. In Keystone Motel, Ruby and Sapphire realize Steven is upset and make up with each other, but don’t make up with Steven. Don’t apologize to Steven. In Maximum Capacity, Amethyst never apologizes to Steven for shapeshifting into his dead mom. (Which, always and forever - What the hell, Ame?)

The gems brushed off these feelings and due to that, I think a lot of the audience did too. But the gems do occasionally ask Steven what’s wrong, and he shuts them down.

So why does he do that? Why doesn’t he work it out? Because they spent his entire life ignoring his problems, disregarding his fears, not knowing what’s important to him. I’ve seen a lot of talk about Gemcation and how the stuff with Connie was Steven repressing his trauma over space and… no. It’s not. It’s really, really not. It’s yet another example of how the gems (and the fandom) ignore the things that matter to Steven in favor of what they think he should care about, and it comes down to this one extremely painful moment.

Garnet: Steven, I know what’s troubling you.

Steven: You do? (huge relieved smile) Gosh. I really messed up, didn’t I?

He’s so, so excited for someone to understand him. He’s so thrilled for someone to understand what’s wrong, and value his problems and his life. And what happens? Garnet talks about Pink Diamond. He’s crushed again.The most important thing to Steven is his relationships with other people, his friends. Literally his entire problem solving method is to go make more friends. He’s not worried about getting hurt or how scary Homeworld is, he’s scared that his family is going to stop loving him because of the mistakes he made.

But the gems don’t take the time to understand what Steven truly values. They don’t take the time to respect his interests. They don’t take the time to know him. And we’re still seeing that. They don’t understand what movies he likes. They don’t understand how his taste in food has changed. They don’t realize he’s been a vegetarian for a month. That’s not a little change. And, what’s more, that’s a value. That’s something extremely important, a sacrifice you decide to make because you think it’s a big deal.

And the gems don’t know.

So why would he talk to them? If someone was so uninterested in my life they couldn’t figure out I’d been a vegetarian for a month, I wouldn’t be opening up about my deepest problems. And when have they ever guessed a problem right? When have they ever taken an interest in things that matter to him? When have they ever told him that his human half is just as valuable, that he deserves to do whatever he wants, that he doesn’t have to be the son of Pink Diamond and can actually just be Steven?

But why bother when you can just cheer him up with s’mores and camping and Dogcopter, right? Steven doesn’t get angry! Our precious baby boy pouts. He throws some tantrums. The only time his anger matters is in Warp Tour, because he’s right about these big adult things. Steven is a child and he is small and cute and funny and his voice cracks when he shouts. It’s funny, isn’t it? He’s just a little kid. Little boys get angry and they scream and they holler about stupid things, and who cares, right?

Until one day they’re not so little anymore.

And now it doesn’t seem so funny, does it? Now it’s kind of scary. Now, the little kid that you rolled your eyes at and ignored the emotions of is big. He’s got a deep voice. He’s got broad shoulders. When he screams at you, it’s not something to roll your eyes over. It’s kind of terrifying now, isn’t it? Because there’s real power in that bigger body, and even the lizard part of your brain at the base of your spinal chord knows that. There’s a real, destructive power when he screams, and you have to listen.

The gems still think he’s a kid, and the audience is starting to realize he’s not. And the audience is already scared of what a kid as angry as Steven, with no coping mechanisms, is going to look like as a grown man.

It’s really easy to ignore a little boy with a weak grasp of his strength. It’s a lot harder to ignore a man whose screams shake your house down.

Value your kid’s feelings. They’re going to be grown some day. And what’s more? They’re people. Their feelings mattered all along. Steven’s feelings mattered all along.

The only thing that’s changed is that you can’t call it cute anymore.

#steven universe #steven universe future #su #suf #su steven #steven su #angry steven essay #meta #essay

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drabbleitout · 2 years

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Find the Word Tag Game

Tagged By: @spacetimewraithwrites over here like 5 years ago, I'm so behind My words: time, terrible, turn, thought, thirsty, ticket Tagging: Leaving this as an open tag because I'm fighting a killer headache and I need to make a list of people who like to be tagged. If you see this and wanna be tagged, you're it! Your Words: Brow, Trade, Spit, Grin, & Fast

Time & Thought

“I’ve got him! I’ve got him over here!” “What happened?” Ives heard himself say, unable to feel the movements of his body. “You’re gonna be okay. Okay? I’m gonna take you home.” It felt like it had been years since he’d seen Ryker, centuries even. Some part of Ives memory thought he was dead, blaming it on being corrupted, unsure when the last time he’d been online. “Ives, I need you hold steady. Okay? I’m going to help you get up, but you may have some trouble standing.” He tried to nod and agree. “We’re going to get it fixed. You’re going to be okay.” Fixed? He tried to say, regulator skipping as he watched Ryker glance down. “You’re gonna be okay.”

Terrible

They descended into a thrumming well, flickering lasers and strobes breaking the dark in accompaniment to the bass. Beau had to adjust the rate of his regulator to keep his TLN moving against the thrum of music. The weight of it in the air caused static to dance at the edges of his HUD. Visuals beyond the light show was terrible to none. A table here or there, the rest packed with bodies. There was barely room to deviate from the rhythm of the crowd, nevertheless venture into the tide. A hand pressed at the small of his back, glancing over to Garnet who stepped a bit closer. Beau had no idea how Humans could use their electromagnetic senses in such a frenzy, but, somehow, Garnet was aware of his apprehension.

Turn(ed)

“Mikki and Midland, you’re with me. We’re going to see if we can meet up with Garnet, or if he has the location of either of the boys, we’ll go from there. Remember, we need to do the least amount of damage as possible.” He turned to look at Valetta. She kissed her teeth, rolling her eyes, “okay, fine.”

Thirsty

They paused as the waitress came back over, setting down a mug of coffee, two waters, and a bowl with wrapped crackers. “There you go, cowboys. Food will be right out.” “Thank you, I’m so thirsty,” Garnet reached for the coffee, drawing back as Beau swatted his hand. “The fuck?” “Drink the water first. You’re dehydrated.” “C’mon, Beau, I’m dying here.” “Because you’re dehydrated. And your meal isn’t going to help any.” He slid the mug farther from Garnet, exchanging it with a glass of water. Garnet showed how tired he was, giving in and taking the glass.

Ticket

“Whoa. What’s he running? Sixty? Sixty-five?” “I’m reading sixty-five point two. Extremely accurate, sir.” Beau congratulated as Ryker pulled them onto the road, sirens wailing. “Comes with experience. Can you log that with the tag number when we get up to it?” “I already have the plates. The owner is Al Doomer, forty-two years old, married to Kathy Doomer; accountant. Insurance and registration are up to date. He has one infraction from five years ago for a rolling stop at a stop sign. His last speeding ticket was… twenty years ago.” Ryker slowly turned to him, frowning. “You already found all that?”

#wip: tb #tag game #ftw tag game

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shisekibo · 2 years

Text

[Event Story] Chapter Eight - The Worst Possible Situation

↫ previous story | story list | next story ↬

- Some Time Later -

Muu:

“Yum, yum... This meat is so delicious, isn’t it?!”

Lamli:

“Master! Master! Have you tried this yet?”

Lamli:

“It tastes so good!”

Choices:

“Thank you. I’ll try it.”

“Okay, I’ll have some.”

Lamli:

“Hehe. It’s like a dream come true to be able to eat with you, Master!”

Nac:

“Lamli. You are way too close to the Master.”

Nac:

“They are a tolerant person...”

Nac:

“But you should not forget your position as a Butler.”

Lamli:

“Shut up~.”

Lamli:

“Why don’t you at least try and look like you’re having a good time?”

Nac:

“Wh-...?!”

Lamli:

“Master’s eating with us for once...”

Lamli:

“But you’ve been eating in silence this entire time.”

Nac:

“T-that’s because...”

Lamli:

“Nac... Are you super nervous because we’re eating with the Master?”

Nac:

“Of course I am!”

Nac:

“You are much more unusual for not even being slightly nervous.”

Lucas:

“Haha, you’re so serious, Nac.”

Lucas:

“But, you know...”

Lucas:

“Our Master won’t be able to relax if you don’t relax first.”

Nac:

“Mr. Lucas...”

Lucas:

“Come on now, let’s relax.”

Lucas collapsed backwards onto the pillow behind him.

He picked up a bunch of grapes from his plate and began to eat them.

Lucas:

“Mmm. These grapes are so sweet. They’re delicious.”

Nac:

“Mr. Lucas?! Do you not think you are relaxing a bit too much?!”

Lucas:

“This is a banquet, you know?”

Lucas:

“Let’s just enjoy tonight. Do as your heart tells you.”

Choices:

“I want you all to have fun.”

Nac:

“You say that, Master...”

Nac:

“But we are still servant and master.”

Nac:

“I am not certain we should be forgetting our place so boldly.”

Lamli:

“It’s fine, serious! There’s no one here but us, anyway.”

Lamli:

“And! Master will hate you if you don’t loosen up?”

Choices:

“That’s not true...”

Nac:

“Ugh... I do not want you to hate me.”

Nac:

“Okay, then! I, Nac, will enjoy myself tonight!”

- A Few Hours Later -

I was relaxing after dinner.

Nac:

“Hehe. Everything is terribly delicious.”

Lamli:

“Sir Lucas! Would you like more wine?”

Lucas:

“Thank you. I would.”

Lamli:

“Here you go, Sir Lucas.”

Lucas:

“What a lovely aroma.”

Lucas:

“Is this a different wine?”

Lamli:

“Yes! This is the one I thought you’d really like!”

Lucas:

“It’s a beautiful deep garnet colour. And it’s clearly matured well.”

Lucas:

“It’s the perfect level of bitterness. The flavour is so delicate. Hm. It’s delicious...”

Lamli:

“I knew it would be!”

Lamli:

“I knew you would love it, Sir Lucas.”

Lucas:

“You did well, finding such a good wine.”

Lamli:

“Um...”

Choice:

(He’s gone quiet...)

“I have a terrible feeling about this.”

Muu:

“Huh? Mr. Lamli?”

Muu:

“Did you find that while we were exploring the palace?”

Muu:

“It’s decorated with gold... It looks much more special than the other bottles we have.”

knock knock

Choices:

“Someone’s here...?”

“I wonder who it is.”

Servant:

“I-I’m sorry to interrupt while you’re eating...”

Muu:

“You’re the servant who gave us the wine...!”

Nac:

“You look rather panicked. Has something happened...?”

Servant:

“Um... I know this may seem an extremely troubling question...”

Servant:

“Have any of you seen a wine bottle, decorated with gold?”

Servant:

“It’s a very important bottle of wine. We need to offer it up during the festival but it’s gone missing...!”

Choices:

(Could it be...?!)

Lucas:

“Lamli...!! You didn’t...?”

Lamli:

“Um...”

Servant:

“Have you seen it?”

Lamli:

“N-no! I don’t know a thing about it!”

Servant:

“I-I see... Who else could it be...?”

Servant:

“We can’t carry out the festival without it...”

Servant:

“God will get angry at us... It will be terrible...”

Servant:

“I need to hurry up and find it...! I-I’m sorry for intruding...!”

click

...

Lucas:

“Lamli...”

Lamli:

“Um... Well, isn’t this a sticky situation?”

Lamli:

“What should we do...?”

Nac:

“There is no we about it! You are the one who brought the wine for the ceremony here, are you not?”

Lamli:

“I didn’t know they needed it for their ceremony!”

Nac:

“That does not change the fact you stole it!”

Muu:

“Isn’t this... a really bad situation?”

Choices:

“Yes...”

“Really bad...”

Lucas:

“Nac, calm down. What’s done is done.”

Lucas:

“We need to think of a solution now.”

Lamli:

“I’m sorry, Sir Lucas...”

Lucas:

“Lamli... We’ll talk after we clear this up, okay?”

Lamli:

“Okay...”

Lucas:

“To summarize...”

Lucas:

“We have opened and drunk the wine for the ceremony.”

Lucas:

“Without this wine, the festival - which was supposed to be held in three days - will not be able to go ahead.”

Nac:

“This ceremony is very important to the Portlair family...”

Nac:

“And if they find that we have consumed the special wine for it...”

Muu:

“Wh-what’ll happen?”

Lucas:

“The relationship between the Portlair and the Grosvenor families will break down.”

Muu:

“It takes that little?!”

Nac:

“That merely emphasises the gravity of what we have done.”

Lamli:

“I’m... sorry...”

Choices:

“Lamli...”

Nac:

“The ceremony is in three days...”

Nac:

“That means our time limit is three days.”

Nac:

“We need to find a new wine before time runs out...”

Nac:

“So, what should we do?”

Lamli:

“I’ll fix this somehow...”

Nac:

“Somehow...”

Nac:

“Are you saying that because you have an idea?”

Lamli:

“...Moving on.”

Lamli:

“I’ll take responsibility, okay!”

#event #story #akuneko #akuma shitsuji to kuroi neko #devil butler with black cat #悪魔執事と黒い猫

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backburnerdio · 2 years

Text

I think what I like best about Beau and Garnet's relationship is how it changes.

Rambling under the cut

It starts with Garnet being cold and biasedly hateful towards Beau due to his unresolved anger towards Ives (thinking Ives abandoned their team to join Royston's team), and Beau being quite oblivious and thinking "Ok, so his personality is just being a bully. Noted."

Until Beau is at his lowest point. Ives gets infected and he thinks everyone's afraid of him. He's trying to hold it together because he thinks something's *wrong* with him, that he's defected, and he really just wants to go see Ives –because he's the only one who understands what it's like to be different.

And that's when Beau and Garnet's differences come to a boil. They're alone, away from anyone to break them up, and it gets ugly. All the cards come out. Teeth and blows and blood.

And Beau vents. He comes apart. He's yelling and angry and not acting like "the next best thing" that everyone keeps telling him he is. He's almost terrifying. Almost berserk. But Garnet doesn't tell him to calm down, or that he's defected, or a monster. He doesn't treat him like he's some fragile science experiment. He tells him to come on. Let's go. Fight me then.

And Garnet vents. He tells him how lucky he is. That he has everything. That he hasn't seen how terrible and dark the world can be. How it was. What he's seen. But Beau tells him no, the world isn't nice. "How can the world be nice when I'm so alone??"

And that's it. That's the moment it clicks for Garnet. Because he's thought all this time A.I.s didn't feel, because how could Ives have left their family without feeling something? But Beau feels. Beau isn't like Ives. Beau is terrified and lost and alone.

And Garnet knows exactly what that's like, and he wouldn't wish it on anyone. But Garnet isn't good at being soft. He's never had to be soft. So he chooses sarcastic. Takes the blame for their tussle when they get back to the office. And watches from a distance, at first. Let's Beau make his own choices, fight his own fights, but steps in when he sees it gets too much. He doesn't smother like Ryker or helicopter-parent like Lora. And it makes Beau feel like a person instead of a ward.

Yeah, Garnet lets him get into trouble and isn't as careful as he probably should be, but he gives Beau free range. Beau gets confident and bold, he's less scared because he knows, even if he messes up, no matter how big the mistake, Garnet's always there, somewhere, to tell him "Don't worry about it, we'll find a way to fix it"

And he usually can before any ties or ranks figure it out.

#wip: tb #tb notes #garnet oc #beau oc #character development #character relationships #dio rambles #That chapter ending with Garnet being like 'oh fudge oh shit' is probably my fav part #rambling

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stormgardenscurse · 3 years

Text

A Solstice Ball (Lilia Vanrouge)

About: Lilia x Reader (gender neutral) where Diasomnia invites you to spend the holidays with them back home, including the celebration of the winter solstice.

Warnings: None

Word Count: 2.6k

The Valley of Thorns, despite its rather prickly name, is a place that shines with an otherworldliness unique to itself.

It’s the same kind of timeless beauty that you’ve come to associate with Diasomnia. Even Silver, who is not fae himself, wields the aura. You’re a little jealous that they’d grown up in such a place, where mountains were aplenty and stars glittered clearer than you’ve ever seen.

And when you’re wandering around the hallways on a sleepless night, said stars lend you their company. It’s easy to gaze out of the windows since there are plenty flanking the walls. You’re currently staying in the castle and home of your friends, who were generous enough to invite you to celebrate the winter solstice together.

It’s tradition for the royal family to host a ball welcoming the Sun after a night of festivities - meaning the event would be run for almost twelve hours, starting with the evening and continuing into the next day, where the guests would eventually transition from the ballroom into the main gardens to witness the sunrise together. Malleus, for the past years, has been responsible for the ‘welcoming’, which according to Sebek was a magnificent sight, but Lilia insisted you not be spoiled of the details just yet, wanting you to witness it yourself.

Recounting the events that lead up to now helps calm your mind a bit, but the effect falls away briefly when you notice a figure walking down the hall toward you. While it’s unlikely they pose any danger to you, the suddenness of it spikes your heartbeat nevertheless. Many fae are undoubtedly graceful and agile in their movements, so it wouldn’t be a surprise to not have caught the noise of footsteps at first.

However… This person is entirely soundless, and it’s only when you catch a glimpse of pink-dyed strands that you realise why.

Lilia settles into a kind smile as he nods at you in greeting, making his way to you. “Is something keeping you up, Y/N? I never took you for one to wander about at night.” He holds his chin to ponder it for a second. “Though young people do tend to retire to bed at later times...”

“You say that as if your sprightly self doesn’t do the same.” You shake your head, lips lifting amusedly. “Between your liking for strolls and gaming habits, I sometimes wonder how you find the energy to cause trouble.”

Lilia chuckles, “I suppose that was deserved, for my prank on poor Silver. He usually doesn’t express himself too explosively, so it’s always a treat to be gifted with the sight.”

“...If only that wasn’t at the cost of his risotto.” You lend him a scolding look, albeit jokingly. “He was looking forward to it too - Silver may never recover from the shock, poor guy.”

“The experience is sure to be a valuable one.” His eyes glimmer like garnets, and you’re suddenly reminded of their dark-red hue. Mysterious and lively, and somehow communicating a depth forged through his long-lived life. “A knight has to be alert after all, both on and off the battlefield.”

“...I suppose so. And knowing how dedicated those two are, they likely accepted that excuse?”

“Indeed.” Lilia looks out of the window and at the landscape beyond. Part of you feels like he’s reminded of a memory, from the fondness in his expression. “Sebek and Silver are reliably hard-working. Even if they are mere hatchlings as of now, they will surely prove formidable someday. I hope you’ll be there to cheer them on when that time comes.”

“Of course, I look forward to seeing them grow.” Your smile grows warm at the thought. “They want to make you and Malleus proud after all. Their resolve burns brighter than most their age.”

A comfortable silence fills the air, and you notice Lilia’s posture loosening a bit more. His gaze turns to meet yours, light and content. “Malleus and I have regretfully been busier with the ball’s preparations, but I promise to take you to our favourite places once this is over with.” Lilia makes a small gesture toward your hand, to which you give a nod, allowing him to interlace your fingers and place a kiss to the back of it. “It’ll be fun to show you around our hometown. There are some things you can only experience in the Valley of Thorns after all~ Like that shop that sells enchanted sweets! I’ve been meaning to make a stop there before we return to Night Raven College.”

Your lips quirk as you raise a brow at him. “Why is it that you sound more excited for that than the ball tomorrow? Just before break, you were reminiscing of the winter solstices you attended in the past.”

“While the event is an annual one, it is the first time you’re spending the holidays with us.” Lilia winks at you playfully. “That, I am more excited for. And seeing what attire the fairies have come up for you - It’s not often they take to someone and mend them an outfit, after all.”

“Please don’t remind me…” You groan at the memory. “When they took my measurements they wouldn’t stop arguing about the colors. And at the end they never settled on a decision, so I’m left in suspense!”

Lilia laughs at your mournful expression. “This group is known for their craft, so it’ll certainly be worth the wait. Both for you and me.”

“Oh?” You narrow your eyes playfully. “So you’re looking forward to that.”

“A chance to see you more stunning than usual is always one I’d be interested in,” Lilia counters without missing a beat. “I just have to be sure no one else steals you away from the ball before I can - There was something I’d wanted to show you tomorrow.” He gives your hand a light squeeze, eyes bright. “The surprise will be around midnight, so please bear with it until then.”

“I’ll try,” you laugh as he presses a light kiss to your cheek. “Tomorrow is going to be a busy day, huh?”

Looking back, truer words couldn’t have been spoken. Right from the moment you awoke till right before the ball, you were constantly moving about preparing your attire and helping the others run small errands, like delivering a message or checking on the status of the main hall.

The venue was pretty before, but now that guests have trickled in and the night has begun to celebrate, the entire place transformed into a magical sight.

Despite the late hours the event has journeyed into, the room is lit just like any other time of the day. The lighting helps keep you active, thankfully, while the crowd seems to never tire; dancers exchange partners while others conversed at another side of the ballroom. The melody that lives in the air takes turns being magically played and performed by musicians, though the transitions are so practiced and quick that you barely notice until later on.

To your surprise, you find yourself at no short of stamina throughout the night. Perhaps it’s the shared energy in the room, the refreshments, or the entertaining chats you’re led into, but time flies as swift as a bird.

From some spellwork, flowers that glow like stars float above the crowd, reminding you of lanterns. On occasion the odd one would wrap into itself and descend onto the crowd, by which a guest could catch it, watching the enchanted bud unravel and bloom. It would then start to shine, before drifting off into the air like a feather caught in a breeze.

Throughout the night the flowers take turns falling onto the crowd, earning the attention of those nearby with their soft but colorful hues. You’re starting to suspect the intervention of a friend as the shadow of one floats above you; the third one this night.

Despite receiving them multiple times, the sight of petals unfurling so gracefully never ceases to put you in a state of awe. This time it is one of gentle lavender, though tinged with hints of blues and pink. It’s unexpectedly light to the touch compared to its size, which is just a little smaller than your head.

The bloom eventually starts to float out of your grasp, by which you give it a little push into the air as it rejoins the sea of flora. A familiar face approaches you from within the crowd, his gaze lending itself to the sight above before settling on you.

“It seems that the flowers enjoy your company as well,” Lilia jokes, before extending a hand for you to take. He begins to lead you somewhere, sending a small smile your way. “People say that receiving them repeatedly is an auspicious sign.”

You hum thoughtfully, “I was starting to think that the places that they landed are being controlled by magic. Sebek and Silver were there the first time, then Malleus at the second…”

Lilia grins almost proudly, the tips of his fangs showing. “Third time’s the charm~ I’m glad to have witnessed you carrying that flower. It was a fitting sight, especially with your attire.”

“I still can’t quite believe it.” You admit, looking down at the fabric - it feels weightless on your skin, yet is still woven with such detailed patterns. “The fairies really outdid themselves, this feels like something out of a fairytale… I feel a little bad keeping it.”

“Well, seeing as it was a gift, you have every right to have it as a keepsake of tonight.” He reminds you, pushing a door open. It wasn’t the main one that guests entered through, but another on the side of the ballroom. The air is quieter out here, save for the castle staff that would cross the corridor every now and then.

With every step away from the ballroom, Lilia starts to shed away his formal stance and shrugs off the feeling of the party behind. He sighs a little, sounding more tired of the situation than physically exhausted. The fae catches your amused look as he raises a brow in return, his smile more mischievous and relaxed - just like his usual self, outside of events like these. “Oh? What an expression you’re making. Do I have something on my face?”

“Not quite.” You mirror his tone. “But rest assured I’ll let you know if you do~ I have a question though, where exactly are we heading?”

“The gardens,” Lilia informs as your arms loop together. It’s less of a childish act and more reminiscent of a knightly escort - perhaps it’s because you’re in a castle and just left a ball, but you’re starting to see more and more noble qualities in the things he does. “I’ve been wanting to show it to you for sometime, but now seems like the most appropriate chance. It does offer a view of Malleus’ welcoming later on, so we’re free to stay until the end of the event.”

“You still never told me much about it,” you muse lightheartedly, “You overestimate my patience, Lilia. I’m growing curiouser by the minute.”

“In that case…” He’s led you to an outdoor garden on the upper floors, which extends into a balcony that overlooks the grounds. “Would this do for now? It’s one of my favourite spots in the castle,” he chuckles, “I hope you'll enjoy it.”

How unfair. There were flowers of every kind dotting the bushes and growing into overhangings. With this amount of space, you felt like it could pass for an attraction in itself. It was different from the grandness of the ballroom decorations, but held its own with its serene charm. Lilia takes your reaction as a sign of agreement. He chuckles and bows toward you, offering his palm.

“May I have this dance?”

You both start a simple one, more for the sake of enjoying yourselves and the cool air than trying to show off any moves. Although this doesn’t stop Lilia from adding a few twirls and steps to the rhythm as he hums softly, a tune that you swear you’ve heard before but couldn’t pinpoint where or when.

You wonder aloud of how your limbs hadn’t started to tire from the festivities, to which Lilia explains that the refreshments from the ball are suited to help replenish energy and revitalize the body, due to the sheer length of the event. The topic flows to other things, like an ice cream parlour he’d like to visit with everyone and how you’re adjusting to Twisted Wonderland. At this point the dance has also broken off into a simple stroll about the gardens.

Eventually you’re interrupted by the sound of doors opening and the chatter of guests.

"The sunrise." Lilia confirms in response to your questioning gaze. The two of you make your way to the balcony for a better view, where you can see Sebek and Silver accompanying Malleus to an open space that's elevated like a stage of sorts. Gargoyles guard the marble platform at its feet, though their presence is no comparison to the prince's, who stands facing his back to the crowd.

You briefly see the glint of a gem as Malleus waves his magic-pen in a swift motion, summoning a plant from the ground.

Or perhaps… It was more accurate to say that he grew it right before your very eyes, shaping the branches of what you realise to be a tree to form a circular frame of sorts. You doubt that any old magician could perform such a feat in mere minutes, judging by its sheer size.

Lilia smiles from beside you like a proud parent, though it edges into a smirk as he briefly mentions that this tree was more elaborate than last year's with its patterns. You're left confused for a moment before realising that it indeed has spiral carvings throughout its trunk and branches, ones that depicted the sun and moon, and even illustrating dancing figures and musicians. It held the story of the winter solstice and the ball that celebrated it, and you're left with your breath stolen from such a sight.

Yet the star of the show (quite literally, in a sense) only makes its appearance soon after - the Sun rises from the horizon and peeks between the mountains in the distance, accurately falling into the frame that Malleus created with the tree. He waves his hand once more, taking the moment to expand the light like a fracture.

You hear a chuckle from beside you as you shield your vision from the brightness. As soon as you lower your hand you notice a ball of light remaining where the Sun had passed, like a star captured in the frames of the oak. It still shone with a youthful light, as if daring its surroundings to challenge its worth.

"How temperamental," Lilia echoes your thoughts bemusedly. "I expect this year's tree to shine longer than the last ones."

The crowd bursts into applause as Malleus steps down from the stage. You're about to ask Lilia something when you suddenly realise how close his face was to yours.

"Is this another tradition?" You ask, studying his eyes.

"There is a saying about it, yes." Upon your answering smile, Lilia starts to lean in closer, a hand cupping your cheek. "Sharing a kiss with someone at the welcoming of the Sun is a good luck charm of sorts."

You can't help but laugh after pulling away, lips tingling from the contact. For someone mischievous, Lilia liked to use oddly innocent excuses to steal moments of affection. "Happy winter solstice, Lilia."

"May a fortuitous time be ahead." He returns, smile content. "I'm glad you're here to spend it with us."

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