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shijiujun · 4 years

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Time for some BL/Danmei novel recs!

You guys have probably (maybe) seen my novels list here - [X] - but it’s more for my own tracking than anything else, so here’s a brief list (I’ll probably do full ones of the ones I really love in another post, probably on Minmo).

The ones elaborated on below with the asterisks are the novels I’ve actually finished reading.

*since everyone more or less knows MXTX’s works - TGCF, MDZS and SVSSS, I’ll skip those!

1. SCI 迷案集 | SCI Mystery Series by 耳雅*

Summary: Bai Yutang and Zhan Zhao are childhood friends and rivals that end up working together under the newly established SCI unit as co-leads, with Bai Yutang providing the brawn as Captain and Zhan Zhao the brains as Vice Captain and the team’s resident genius psychologist. They solve cases together and slowly unravel a wider conspiracy that involves their parents’ generation and beyond. At the same time they also realize that they’re meant for each other!

Other CPs: Bai Jintang (Bai Yutang’s older brother) & the medical examiner, Gongsun Ce, Bai Chi (Bai Yutang’s younger cousin) & magician Zhao Zhen, and at least three other gay pairings, one of which is considered another main couple of sorts from Vol. 2 onwards

Status: Incomplete (Began in 2010, author is still going on strong with one chapter every one or two months, we’re halfway through Vol. 5 right now and it’s been 10 years ;-; Love that the author is going on strong!! Everyone on JJWXC are like “please author it’s okay if you go slow as long as you keep going we’re here for you” and jfc I understand the fear of this not completing, also when will Vol. 5 be completed and printed?!! I need to complete the collection)

Translations: Unfortunately, only the first volume has been translated well so far on novel updates. The one on Wattpad seems to have caught up, but I would not recommend that one.

Drama/Live-Action: Season 1 was filmed and released in 2018 under the same name with slightly changed names for the characters. Season 2 was supposed to start filming this month but... oh well. First season basically covered Vol. 1 novel from start to end.

*I love this one only because it was my very first danmei and so it’ll forever have a special place in my heart, and also because it’s still ongoing so ya know, I relive how much I love this every month

2. 成化十四年 | Cheng Hua’s Fourteenth Year (The Sleuth of Ming Dynasty) by 梦溪石*

Summary: Tang Fan, a prefectural judge, and Sui Zhou, a high ranking officer in the Embroidered Uniform Guards, meet while trying to solve a murder case. Both of them end up partnering very well together, Sui Zhou ends up inviting Tang Fan to live with him, and the rest is history. Through their days living together and solving cases + a larger conspiracy involving the royal palace, they fall in love. Adding to this mix is also Wang Zhi, a powerful, young eunuch who befriends the pair, and the three of them basically help the crown prince to overcome challenges and his enemies to become the next Emperor

Other CPs: None XD

Status: Complete!

Translations: Ongoing on several websites. I’m only translating relationship highlights, but here’s an introduction post I did for it, if you guys would like somewhere to start without getting too invested - [X]

Drama/Live-Action: The Sleuth of Ming Dynasty was released earlier this year, directed by Jackie Chan and starring Darren Chen and Paul Fu, but cases are a little different and there are new characters in the show that weren’t from the novel etc.

3. 杀破狼 | Shapolang by Priest*

Summary: Set in a steampunk universe where flying boats named ‘kites’ and flying armour exist. Young teenager Chang Geng lives with his mother and stepfather - the former abuses him and the latter neglects him, and the only person that he cares about (and cares about him) is Shen Shiliu, his (very young) godfather. He realizes his identity as a royal prince when the Man tribe invades his city and Shen Shiliu, whose real name is Gu Yun, turns out to be an army general whose duty was to protect Chang Geng in secret (among other things).

Chang Geng has been critically poisoned by his mother (who’s not actually his birth mother, if I recall she’s an aunt) which leads to him getting terrible dreams frequently with the end result of him being driven into insanity, while Gu Yun is half blind, half deaf due to poisoning + injury when he was much younger, and he can only regain his hearing and sight fully when he takes a medicine that is slowly losing its effectiveness with every dosage he has.

The both of them navigate learning about each other again, falling in love a few years later when Chang Geng is all grown up and also unravel conspiracies and fight bad guys (both external threats and internal as in the current Emperor and other parties) XD

*Note: The age old debate is that Gu Yun ‘preyed’ on and also ‘groomed’ Chang Geng, but I disagree and stand by the fact that Gu Yun was 90% of the time not around while Chang Geng grew from a teenager to a young adult as he was fighting wars elsewhere, while Chang Geng refused to stay at the Gu manor and insisted on running around, travelling on his own and seeing the world for a few years before they met again. And it was Chang Geng who’d always loved Gu Yun and devoted himself to caring about him, making advances on him etc. when he became an adult

Other CPs: Shen Yi (Gu Yun’s second-in-command) & Chen Qingxu (a renowned physician who ends up healing both Chang Geng and Gu Yun of their ailments)

Status: Complete!

Translations: Fully translated the last I heard, it’s up there in the list of holy grail BL/danmei novels, so I’m sure it’s done hahaha.

Drama/Live-Action: Filming in progress!

*This is up there in the hall of fame for danmei novels for more than just the amazing content and writing - It’s also famous for being one of the most complex novels ever. I don’t know how the translations team did it because DAMN it was complex and I read all my novels in Chinese without much issues but I was honestly STRUGGLING WITH this one and I went through some existential crisis while reading because I was like ‘did I ever learn Chinese, am I even Chinese’ XD

4. 默读 | Silent Reading by Priest*

Summary: Luo Wenzhou, a police captain, and his team including best friend and partner Tao Ran, face a few challenging cases that end up being small parts of a larger conspiracy, and end up having to consult with Fei Du, a flamboyant, charming and flirty, young and rich CEO, who Luo Wenzhou describes as someone who is an expert at ‘crimes’. Not deduction, not solving crimes, but someone who is familiar with how the murderer or culprits would commit crimes. Both Luo Wenzhou and Tao Ran know Fei Du well, because they first met when Fei Du was in high school, when he called the police because his mother had hanged herself in the house, and since then Tao Ran and Luo Wenzhou look out for him, spending holidays with him, giving him presents here and there. Luo Wenzhou and Fei Du overcome their misunderstandings of each other and fall in love while solving all the cases and the larger conspiracy behind it.

Other CPs: Tao Ran and someone he knew first from his school days or was a neighbour when he was younger, I can’t remember, but they meet again at a blind date and end up living in the same building on different floors XD

Status: Complete!

Translations: Complete!! There’s a huge post floating around on Tumblr with all the links (I can’t find it right now) and on Twitter you can also find the collated, epub versions etc.

Drama/Live-Action: Rights for a live-action was signed, no casting confirmation or set dates yet

5. 犯罪心理 | Criminal Psychology by 长洱*

Summary: Police captain Xing Conglian drags psychologist Lin Chen out of seclusion/hiding to solve a case that is indirectly tied to him. Lin Chen was involved in a case a few years ago that led to four deaths - these four victims were the sons/daughters of four of the five huge old-money (super rich) families in the country and these family members sought to make Lin Chen’s life very difficult for him afterwards by making him lose all the jobs he can find, by surveilling his every move and ensuring that he’s not happy etc. Because of that, he backed out of the police force as well and quietly lived as a school dorm administrator, which is where Xing Conglian finds him a few years later. Lin Chen fakes his death after the first case (not deliberately but kind of a by-the-way thing), but as fate would have it, he ends up meeting Xing Conglian on another case, and he decides that he’ll move in with him and also involve himself again, consequences be damned, and they fall in love!

Other CPs: None XD

Status: Complete!

Translations: I think it’s not complete yet.

Drama/Live-Action: None that I know of.

6. 死亡万花筒 | Kaleidoscope of Death by 西子绪* (MY ABSOLUTE FAVOURITE)

Summary: Supernatural setting where people who are about to die get a second chance to live. These individuals are either in the midst of a dangerous situation (for e.g. a shootout or a deadly mugging incident) or are about to get into accidents (for e.g. an entire bus going off a bridge or a chandelier dropping from above and crushing the person underneath) or are ill (recently diagnosed with cancer or are terminally ill with a condition for e.g.) - The list is endless, and in the situation between life and death, 12 doors will appear before them.

It is said that once these individuals finish all 12 doors, they will truly get a second chance at life and survive whatever cause of death they were imminently facing.

Each door represents a creepy, supernatural mystery, and Lin Qiushi finds himself in a strange place after opening a door when he was trying to enter his apartment one day. He meets Ruan Baijie, a beautiful, tall woman who he happens to meet, and they realize that in this strange world, he and other individuals who came through the door have to complete a given task, find a key and an exit door, and make it out alive. The others in the team (some of which have already gone through several doors) explain to Lin Qiushi, who is a first-timer, what the doors are about.

The catch is, if they die inside the door, in the real world, they’ll die immediately, by accident, throwing themselves off a building, or just throwing up blood until they die (just to name a few)

On the first night, however, three people are slaughtered and eaten by a long-haired ghost/creature. The good news is, Ruan Baijie isn’t all that she seems to be (for one, she’s not exactly a woman) and she takes a liking to Lin Qiushi immediately.

Other CPs: None XD

Status: Complete!

Translations: I think it’s not complete yet!

Drama/Live-Action: None that I know of, but honestly, this novel would be fricking EPIC as a live-action, and really creepy, but this is my all-time favourite novel, I kid you not!!!!

*I’m definitely doing a longer and more detailed to-read for KOD on my translation account, gosh you guys have no idea how much I love this.

7. 当年万里觅封侯 | Those Years in Quest of Honor Mine by 漫漫何其多

Summary: Yu She and Gu Wan were close friends for a short period of time when they were younger, but unfortunately their identities and positions meant that they were opponents. Yu She’s family was for the Second Prince and Gu Wan was taken in by the Sixth Prince’s family, but in the end it was the Second Prince who ended up getting to the throne, while the Sixth Prince was accused of treason and died somewhere far away at war after being captured. Gu Wan’s only wish was to keep the Fifth Prince’s children - Xuan Rui and a pair of twins, Xuan Yu and Xuan Congxin safe, and so he moves them to another province and asks the Emperor (the Second Prince) to demote Xuan Rui’s status to prove that they are no threat to the Emperor, if only to stay alive for another day.

However, their days of hardship have only just begun, and Gu Wan decides to namedrop Yu She, whose family is so powerful now, and claims that Yu She loves him and that he was wooing Gu Wan back in the days they knew each other so that officials and others would treat the children under his care better. A few years pass and Yu She doesn’t expose Gu Wan. Gu Wan thinks they can go on like this forever, until the Emperor asks Xuan Rui and the twins to head back to the palace for a visit.

Gu Wan meets Yu She again, but the boy he knew, who was gentle, a stickler for rules and a proper, well-mannered person, has changed almost completely. Cue palace conspiracies again, brothers fighting for the throne, scheming consorts etc. XD

Other CPs: None XD

Status: Complete!

Translations: I think it’s not complete yet but I’m not super sure on this

Drama/Live-Action: None that I know of!

*They came out with a new reprint edition three days ago and it’s gorgeous! And comes with amazing freebies, and I am a sucker and read it on the day of the printed novel release because I saw the art and loved it, wanted to see if the story was any good, and damn after chapter 2 I WAS GONE and then I checked out two copies from different stores for the two different sets of freebies

A list of those I haven’t read but I see are highly raved about:

1. 二哈和他的白猫师尊 | The Husky & His White Cat Shizun by Meatbun

- I’ve already been spoiled and I know what goes on mostly, and there are a lot of warnings for a reason, but I’m still a fan, and let’s not get into the debate on the content, I know I have to read this but the angst level is apparently ridiculous, so I need like some mental preparation before I sit down for it.

2. 千秋 | A Thousand Autumns by 梦溪石

3. 烈火浇愁 | Lie Huo Jiao Chou by Priest

4. 将进酒 | Qiang Jing Jiu by 唐酒卿

- A really good group of translators picked this up initially on Twitter, but then assholes were complaining that they were being too slow and insisting that machine translation (MTL) did an equally good and faster job, so the OG dropped it, and then another nice team picked it up, but MTL team is still being an asshole XD I’ve heard really good things about this one, it’s apparently quite complex as well, I’d liken it to Shapolang level? But it might be even more complex (with a lot of politics and stuff), so much so that apparently the printed novel comes with a relationship/character chart so readers are at any point in time clear on the characters which is like amazing XD

#danmei #bl novels #novel recs #sci谜案集 #kaleidoscope of death #silent reading #shapolang #犯罪心理 #成化十四年 #the sleuth of ming dynasty #2ha #priest #梦溪石 #meatbun #西子绪 #耳雅 #长洱

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bonjour-rainycity · 3 years

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Late in the Night | Part Four

Previous part

Prompt: Friends have a bet how long it will take the ship to get together (Content Challenge Day 7)

Pairing: Legolas x Female Reader

Rating: PG-13

Word count: 1602

Warnings: None

Challenge participants: @game-ofthe-company @grunid @themerriweathermage @errruvande @the-reformed-ringwraith @awkwardkindatries

^^ Hey! If I haven't commented on your post(s) yet, it just means I haven't gotten the chance to read them. School has been ramping up, but as I have free moments, I'll be going back and looking at all your challenge posts <3

A/n: You guys...IT'S THE LAST PROMPT OF THE CONTENT CHALLENGE! What?! Thank you so much to everyone who participated and interacted with our posts. I had such a blast creating this past week and getting to know each and every one of you. I think it would be fun to do something like this again in the future, so let me know if you would like to be involved in planning/get updates!

As always, I encourage you to check out the accounts tagged above and our masterlists! You can find the challenge masterlist here and my personal masterlist here. Okay, enjoy :)

Aragorn waits, keeping an eye on the trees.

The minute his friends from the eastern inn arrive, they will leave town.

He had a pleasant night — private room, hot bath, well-prepared meals — but is ready to get back on their journey. For all he knows, the brief rest he allowed them could have already cost them vital time.

That thought causes him to pace.

“Calm yourself, dear friend, they will be along shortly,” Gandalf councils.

Aragorn tries to heed the wise wizard’s advice. Sure enough, he soon hears the light sounds of feet crushing grass and twigs, and knows they are close.

The four of them break into sight at roughly the same time, and Aragorn notices two things:

One, Legolas and Y/n refuse to look at each other.

Two, Gimli wears a grin bright enough to rival the sun.

Aragorn knows he must speak with the dwarf as soon as possible.

Something has happened.

Merry, who doesn’t get enough credit for his observation skills, notices the oddities too, and elbows Pippin in the side. Their eyes grow wide, and it takes everything in them not to shout guesses as to what this means.

It is a good while before Aragorn, Pippin, Merry, and Gimli have a chance to convene and discuss the new development. All four of them, though of course dedicated to the task at hand, desperately want a resolution to their ongoing bet.

It had started innocently enough.

Merry made an off-hand comment about how well Legolas and Y/n seem to get along. Gimli noticed the lass was a clumsier fighter when Legolas was watching. Aragorn realized his friend seemed nervous around the human woman. Pippin saw how each of them smiled brighter when the other was near.

Somehow or other, the four of them had put together their observations, and the rest is history.

The bet was born.

Each of them had put down fifteen coins and a deadline, losing the coins if Legolas and Y/n did not become a couple by the deadline, and winning coins if they did. Knowing his friend’s shy nature well, Aragorn had given the two the lengthiest allowance — six months. Pippin and Merry recognized the bold nature of humans, and guessed it would only take four months for Y/n to speak her mind and Legolas to reciprocate. Gimli, on the other hand, thought the two were already head-over-heels for each other and wouldn’t be able to keep quiet about it, and had given them only a month and a half.

Each participant, knowing his deadline was drawing nearer, had taken steps to push the two in the right direction.

The hobbit friends moved Legolas’ and Y/n’s bedrolls closer when they weren’t looking.

Aragorn put them on watch together. A lot. To the point where he actually felt bad about the bags under Y/n’s eyes.

But Gimli, perhaps, had been the boldest of them all, and proudly tells his friends so the moment they are alone much later that evening.

“Quickly, they are suspicious why it took four of us to gather firewood and herbs,” Aragorn mutters, darting a quick glance in the direction of camp.

“Yes, just get on with it,” Pippin squeaks, then throws a hand over his mouth, knowing he might alert Legolas with his volume.

“Alright, listen up lads.” Gimli grins and proudly tells his tale. “Boromir and I got to the inn first, as planned, and the innkeeper asked how many were in our party. I said two, and the innkeeper made a comment how it was good we didn’t have more folk waiting outside, as his inn was almost full. Well, that got me thinkin’, so I inquired how many more rooms were available. The innkeeper said two, not including the ones Boromir and I purchased. So I whipped out my velvet pouch and paid for another room, fibbin’ a bit and saying I might have a lady friend visiting and wasn’t sure if she would want to sleep in my room or not after our activities.” He wiggles his eyebrows in response to the stunned looks of his friend.

Aragorn shakes his head slowly, a bemused smile setting in his lips. “So you paid for an extra room just to force Legolas and Y/n into sharing?”

“Right you are,” Gimli grins, placing his fists on his hips. “It wasna even that expensive — I’ll make it back three times over, now that I’ve won this thing.”

“Ah, ah, ah, hold on,” Merry holds up a hand, halting Gimli’s gloat. “You can’t prove they did or said anything to start a courtship, so you haven’t won!”

“They won’t even look at each other and the elf’s as red as a strawberry, of course something happened,” Gimli practically shouts.

Aragorn, reliably a voice of reason, intervenes. “We shall have to inquire then, but be smart about it. We do not want to jeopardize their potential courtship with our game.”

The companions agree, then quickly turn to the forest, gathering firewood and herbs to supplement Sam’s soup and their cover story.

{***}

Back at camp, Legolas sits on a low tree branch, keeping watch over all his friends.

But mostly Y/n.

He cannot pull his eyes from her face. She sits on a rock, staring into the fire, absently cleaning the mud from her boots. Without permission, his mind goes back to the way he held her this morning, tucked against his chest, her leg wrapped around his. It was wildly improper, and he should be ashamed of himself.

But he doesn’t feel ashamed. Because the way they woke up this morning didn’t feel improper, it felt natural. With all his heart, Legolas wants to wake up like that every morning — his favorite person kept safely against his side. He wants to guard her and give her a wonderful life and bring her home and have his people adore her, too.

Legolas’ resolve hardens, because he knows he can no longer keep this to himself. Y/n has a right to know how he feels, because it affects her too.

He pushes himself from the branch, landing on the ground in silence. With four long strides, he stops beside her, reaching down a hand. “Will you talk with me?”

She looks up at him, nerves like she’s never felt before erupting within her. But she gathers her courage, forces what she hopes is a smile, and takes Legolas’ hand.

She wonders what he’ll say.

All day, she had been lost in embarrassment. Somehow in the night, she’d thrown her leg over his and practically attached herself to his chest — who does that?! And he’d said nothing when they woke up, only got up and went about his routine like normal.

So obviously, he doesn’t feel anything for her.

And that’s what this conversation has to be about.

Briefly, though, she allows herself to remember what it felt like to be in his embrace, and knows that she will cherish that feeling forever.

The warmth of his hand in hers helps her hold on to that memory and, to her surprise, when they reach a secluded spot, he does not let go. No, he takes her other hand in his, clutching both tightly.

Legolas nearly shakes with nerves, and he wonders if she can tell? Does she know how he feels like he might be sick? Oh, he has never felt anxiety like this before, and desperately wishes for it to be gone.

So he wastes no time in putting himself out of his misery.

“I want to be with you.”

Y/n blinks. Surely she can’t have heard him correctly? “What?”

Legolas sighs — her reaction gives him no indication how she feels either way. He bolsters his courage, and tries again. “I feel affection for each member of this Fellowship. But whereas I love the others as if they were my kin, I am unable to deny that how I love you is different. Elves live long lives and thus take matters of the heart very seriously. And, well,” he shrugs, all eloquence leaving him the moment he sees the shy, hopeful smile spread across her lips. “My heart is with you.”

Y/n can hardly believe her ears. She thought that he didn’t…that there was no chance of…but rather than dwell on all her miscalculations, or the myriad of dangers that haunt their future, she decides to just enjoy the moment. She throws her arms around Legolas’ neck, and he grips her tightly against him.

She turns her cheek to rest on his shoulder, unable to contain her grin. “You hold mine as well. I love you, Legolas.”

He pulls back only to rest his forehead against hers, head swimming from the joy of her acceptance and at being this close to her. “And I love you.” She lets out a giddy laugh and he closes his eyes, soaking in the sound. But then he focuses again, for there is something important he still must ask. “Will you accept my offer of courtship?”

Y/n can’t help herself from bumping her nose against his affectionately, and it feels so wonderful, so free to be with him this way. She has no desire for her future to continue without him, and so, her answer is found easily. “Of course.”

Relief settles in Legolas’ bones, the nerves finally leaving him and being replaced with happiness.

Just as their lips meet, the four friends break through the tree-line, back from collecting supplies.

Gimli’s triumphant shout can be heard for miles.

“Pay up, lads!”

A/n The end! This is the last chapter of this mini-series! Thanks for sticking with me as I had some fun with this one. I keep tag-lists, so at any time, just let me know if you would like to be tagged in anything. I’m in the planning stages of a Haldir x OC fic, and while I usually stay away from OC’s, I just cannot fathom typing “Y/n” for the length that I’m planning on making that story. So be on the lookout for that! Hope you all are taking care of yourselves and please know that my inbox is always open. Lots of love!

LITN tag list: @angelic-kisses13 @lainphotography @anangelwhodidntfall @sheriffgerard @themerriweathermage @k-llama-llama @hirokosoul @wellfuckmyexistence @ipsychosocial @anjhope1 @my-lotr-obsession-is-unhealthy

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deltas-writing-corner · 3 years

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Courtship (4): The Gargoyle Graveyard

Fandom: Twisted Wonderland (Malleus x GN!reader)

Author note: Again, thank you all for being patient with me and I apologize for having a very inconsistent writing schedule. I'm going to make it my goal to update on a bi weekly basis instead of leaving you all in silent limbo. Also a reminder I suck at figuring out which warnings to put so if there's something that needs to be forewarned that I failed to disclose please lmk!

Warnings: Mentions of heavy bodily injuries | childhood trauma/neglect | discussions/mentions of discrimination | mentions of virginity/sexual history

Previous chapter | Next Chapter

AO3 version

Clay. Stone. Porcelain. Plaster. Metal. There are even gargoyles carved entirely of wood! Some statues are stand-alone works of art while others are part of a clear collection or series of similar inspiration. They even come in all sorts of shapes and sizes; as small as an apple or a towering height to rival Malleus himself. No matter what, each grotesque has been crafted with the utmost consideration, by well seasoned and knowing hands. Even the ones that have clear defects and cannot serve their intended purpose are free of overabundant ivy, weeds, or dust. There’s a clear degree of love and care the family who makes these statues has for their craft that makes him feel less alone in his interest in an uncherished form of art.

“It should be around here somewhere,” you muse aloud. Ever since he expressed interest in seeing more sculptures made with non-traditional materials, you’ve been keeping your eye out for a particular one that would fulfill his yearning. You eventually find it and eagerly point to it. “There it is!”

Malleus watches as you approach a massive-sized statue covered with a thick and half-wet tarp. He helps you remove the cover, revealing a winged and slightly humanoid canine. There are many more grotesques with a similar design, but what makes this one stand out the most is the material it’s made out of.

“Amazing!” Malleus awes. “I’ve never seen a grotesque of this size made entirely of glass! They’ve even managed to maintain their attention to detail despite such an abnormal material choice.”

“You can even see the inner channel where the water would flow in and redirect out of its mouth,” you notice.

“They even went out of their way to make it functional despite it being unfit for actual installation?” Malleus inquires with disbelief. “Such a shame.”

“If you’re looking to buy anything here, I’m afraid it's a lost cause. One of the first warnings the grandfather gave me is that none of these are for sale.”

“What was his second warning?”

“If we damage anything, even as small as a scratch, he’ll kill us.”

“How charming,” he chuckles. “I cannot blame him. These statues must take weeks to complete. Time is a human’s greatest enemy.”

“For some, sure. But when I went to visit the family and talked to the old man, he was lunging around all this heavy equipment like he was still in his prime,” you recall. “He lives for his craft. If there’s anything humans are at risk of their entire lives, it’s a lack of motivation and reason to live.”

“I suppose that’s true, but the lifespan of humans and the inevitable effects of aging is difficult to live with, especially once it begins to hinder one’s ability to do what one could previously do without issue. ”

“You’re not wrong,” you acknowledge. “But I think I’d rather live a short life with fulfillment than a dull, long-as-shit life.”

To show that he’s entirely on your side, Gunter lets out a guttural bark while his tail rapidly wags and thumps the damp ground, coating the ends of his bushy tail in specs of dirt and dirtied, remnant snow of the north that has managed to stay frozen on the isles warmer south end.

“You’re only agreeing with them because you’ve been promised food,” Malleus chastises. “Don’t think I didn’t pick up on your grumbling stomach.”

“And don't think I didn't pick up on your stomach rumbling either your highness," you quip back at him. "The family has a small cottage nearby we can use. We'll settle down for a bit and eat before sightseeing some more."

Before you turn and walk in the direction towards the aforementioned lodgings, you reach your hand out for Malleus to take and he latches onto you with restrained enthusiasm. He's taller than you, but he takes care not to take his normal strides as to not leave you struggling to keep up with him. Gunter doesn't know the way, so he trots beside you every step of the way up until the destination is in plain view. The cottage is small but well-attended. There’s a rustic flair to its construction that makes it feel familiar and safe despite never stepping foot in it before.

"Those gargoyles were something, huh?" you remark to him while you tap and shake off the gunk wedged into the soles of your heavy boots against the frame of the door.

"Indeed," he nods, taking your cloak off for you and hanging it on the wooden rack nearby. "I don't think I've ever seen that many gargoyles in one day. Just when my eyes land upon an intriguing one, there's several more that catch my attention."

The way he gets all wide-eyed is outright adorable. It makes you grin just as enthusiastically too. "I bet your club is going to have a field day once you tell them about this!"

His child-like smile turns into one of disappointment. "I'm certain they would, if I wasn't the sole member that is."

Your hands halt from pulling out and setting down all the premade food out of your pack. "Seriously? You're the only one?"

When he nods his head, you feel a twinge of hurt in your heart. Poor guy. You can only imagine how disappointing it must be to go through all those lengths to start a club (you would know since you're technically a staff member of the school and have been given a rundown on some of the school's functions and regulations) only for no one to show interest. Of course, you completely understand that gargoyles aren't exactly all the rage within the minds of teenage boys. Still! He goes through so much effort to build relationships with his peers but they always cower away, either due to his status or even because of the way he looks. You won’t deny that he does come off as rather intimidating at first glance, but he's a sweet guy once you give him the chance to speak.

But to expect teenagers going through social pressures and demanding academics to be as understanding and willing to understand someone like Malleus is an impossible demand. Given that everyone in the school can be a bunch of self-centered and easily agitated bunch of pricks, it's understandable that most of the student body isn't keen on trying to take into consideration the proper etiquette one needs to consider in the presence of a young and noble fae. Deuce has met and talked briefly with Malleus on one occasion, but even he visibly shakes whenever his name is mentioned, even in casual passing.

Wait until they found out who you've gone and gotten buddy-buddy with behind their back. They probably think they're slick or that their intentions are well swept under the rug, but it's clear they feel some semblance of responsibility for your well-being, as both a magicless individual as well as a close, albeit older, friend. You dread the day people begin to make the connections between Malleus and you, but you still can’t help but wonder what their reactions might be. You also dread the high probability those two idiots are going to find out and embarrass the living hell out of you, which you know you do not have the patience or tolerance for.

Gunter jumps up and sits himself down in one of the wooden dining chairs, pushing the small ceramic plate towards you with his nose, as if telling you "Alright, I’ve done what I said I'd do, now feed me what I'm owed." You tell him that you'll give him what he's well earned after you get a small fire started in the brick fireplace. Just because it's warmer near the southern half of the island and not as heavily blanketed with snow, doesn't mean the cold has completely vanished, Winter is still winter after all.

"Where did these scars come from?"

Malleus' unexpected question and closeness nearly make you drop the iron rod you've been using to stoke the growing fire. You've since taken off your boots and rolled up the bottoms of your pants just above your knee as the room starts to warm up enough for a thin layer of perspiration to accumulate and roll down your skin. The scars he's referring to are the ones on your right leg, both side by side at an awkward angle and discolored. You have a lot more scars than these, some much more gruesome in appearance than these two. Malleus has never asked about your scars, but sometimes you catch him looking in the general area of some that peak through your clothes. He likely keeps quiet about their existence out of courtesy.

Yet out of all the markings on your body, why did these two stand out enough that he'd finally ask about them?

"It's a long story," you say in an effort to stall the topic. "Sit. I'll feed you two once the fire is stable."

He doesn’t push you for an answer, instead simply doing as you say and lets you poke at the burning logs until they're properly aflame on their own. You made mostly some of your morning favorites; Creamy and thick potato stew with diced carrots and peas and some eggs, ham, and crispy hash browns sandwich between homemade halved croissants. You teased him about having picky taste buds earlier, but Malleus is content to eat anything you serve him so long as it is not comparable to the likes of Lilia's atrocious cooking.

(Seriously, how does a man as old as Lilia not know the basic fundamentals of cooking? And why does everything he makes end up burnt and tasting like something rotten? You will never understand.)

"Don't eat too quickly," you warn Gunter as you pour a bit of light-colored soup onto his designated plate. Your words are ignored, as the equally marred wolf sloppily slurps and munches on the few bits of potatoes and vegetables you generously scraped out of the thermos. His food is gone as quickly as it’s put in front of him and he looks at you expecting more.

"No. The rest is mine," you scold. "And don't beg Malleus for some either! I know you do it behind my back, you little shit!"

He turns to look at Malleus with an accusatory glare, thinking that he ratted him out to you. Malleus’s response towards the silent imputation is to turn and look out the window as if something caught his interest all of a sudden, cup raised to his lips as he politely sips away at his meal without an air of calmness. You have to slap a hand over your mouth to hide the amusement that overtakes your senses.

"Malleus, stop that!"

"Stop what?" he innocently asks.

"Stop making me want to laugh!"

He sets his cup down onto its matching serving dish. "It's not my fault you have an easily satiable sense of humor."

"Wow!" you say incredulously and put your arms up in offense. "And here I was thinking we were friends!"

His distant demeanor breaks and you both devolve into a fit of laughter together. Gunter unfortunately takes advantage of your joint distraction and slips away with a warm sandwich between his jaw, your sandwich in particular.

"That damn wolf!" you curse. "I knew I should have trusted my gut and pack extras.”

Malleus pities your distress before moving over to sit closer. "Worry not. I'll split mine in half with you,” he reassures.

"No, it's fine," you immediately dismiss his offer. "Have it for yourself."

"I'm not taking no for an answer," he firmly states. “Don’t be stubborn. It’s far too early for that.”

"I thought you liked it when I was stubborn?” you pout.

He shakes his head with a smile. “I would be lying if I said I didn’t”

"At least someone likes my attitude,” you say after chewing and swallowing a mouthful of soup. “Sebek certainly doesn’t."

"The boy is stubborn as well. When two equally stubborn individuals cross paths, you will witness nothing but discord between the two."

"Add the fact I'm human into the mix, and we'll be exchanging fists instead of words sooner or later," you scoff. "I get that some faes don't like humans, but what's his deal with acting like he’s got a vendetta against me?"

"Sebek doesn't hate humans for the reasons you might think," Malleus admits. "It’s more like he finds them difficult to think that highly of. Did you know that he is half-human?"

You nearly choke on your own breath over the sudden revelation. "Really?"

"Indeed," Malleus finds amusement at your disbelief. "Have you ever wondered why his ears aren't pointed like Silver, but his eyes are like mine and Lilia’s?"

"Damn,” you scratch the back of your head with embarrassment. “Now I feel stupid.”

"You aren't. Given the way he speaks, not many would assume he had human blood in his veins. His mother was highly regarded within her social circle, but her marriage to a human man tarnished her reputation a great deal. She's happy and does not seem to care what others think of her these days. However, when Sebek set out to be a knight, his mother's marriage and his lineage were often brought up as a way to scrutinize his character and capabilities rather than any of his actual shortcomings as an individual."

"Poor kid," you sigh. "Lilia told me those sorts of things still happen in The Valley, but it sounds so outlandish that I couldn’t take it that seriously."

"Many faes hold old traditions above all else, to a degree that the purity of one's blood stands above all other merits." His eyebrows pressed together in annoyance. "Even my grandmother thinks it's archaic, but as the reigning queen she has to embody a persona of neutrality between the social divide."

"It sounds like you have your work cut out for you in the future," you say, almost apologetically. "What do you plan to do about it once you're the king?"

There's a brief flash of surprise over your question, but Malleus easily answers it as usual. "I think my first course of action as king would be to properly knight Sebek and Silver."

"Bet my rifle that Sebek is going to cry the entire ceremony!" you remark with certainty. "That's all he ever goes on about, being a knight and all."

"He's devoted countless hours and efforts since he was a child. If there's anyone who deserves to join the knighthood, it's him."

"Definitely," you nod to further cement your agreement with him. "He could stand to lower his voice a bit. He'll give you tinnitus before long.”

"At least we won't have to worry about losing him in a crowd," Malleus jests.

"That's to say we'll lose sight of him to begin with," you remark. "He'll gladly lose me in a crowd. You? You'd be lucky to get out of arm's length."

"You underestimate me, dearest," Malleus smirks. "Ever since I've met you, I've perfected the art of avoiding Sebek's insistent searches."

"Have you now?" you razz back. "Don't let him catch onto the fact. He'll have my head."

He reaches over and tucks a strand of hair behind your ear. Each second his skin touches yours makes you tingle. Time slows down ever so briefly if only to savor the small instance of physical connection for as long as possible. "What of your aunts?" he inquires. "Are they as overprotective of you as Sebek is of myself?"

"They’re a trio of mama bears," you proudly admit. "I'm old enough to drink and well equipped to fend for myself, but in their minds, I'll always be the little tyke that couldn't even eat their meals without looking at them for approval. Especially my aunt Gia."

You have three aunts. There's your aunt Marisol, the mother of most of your cousins and the main caretaker of the household. Your second aunt Lucia was well into her studies at university when you came to live with them, but her stress and long hours of mulling over her course materials paid off in the long run. Your gardening skills wouldn't be what they are now without her expertise in agricultural botany.

Then there's your aunt Gia. Oldest of the three. An absolute tank of a woman. No spouse. No kids of her own. She lived off the land like an absolute titan. The woman raised you as if she was the one that carried you for nine months and not your actual birth mother.

How would you describe your parents? If your parents were told to list out their priorities in life, their careers would be at the top of the list and you would be put at the very bottom. Why they carried you to term is beyond your understanding. You later learned that Gia had even offered to take you under her care well before your birth, knowing that your parents might not be well-suited to take care of you in the way she thinks would be beneficial for you. It was a convenient offer that would have saved everyone the trouble years down the line when you had your accident. They worked in a cutthroat industry and were constantly moving up the executive echelons. They had no time for you, yet their pride as a pair of young, successful business magnates made them incapable of seeing past the reality of the situation. That left you mostly in the care of last-minute caretakers and your aunts, but only if they had time from their own busy and preoccupied lives to come out into the city and visit.

You were eight years old when things started to get better, but it was upstarted in the worst possible way. Your parents had to go away for the upcoming weekend for work and left you in the care of a babysitter as per the norm. The babysitter never showed up however and your parents apparently couldn’t be bothered to check up on you even once the entire trip. Their silence wasn’t surprising. You just went on about your business for the next three days on your own like nothing was wrong. Your aunt Gia had even called at one point to check up on you, but you didn’t bother to tell her that your parents had left you to fend for yourself. She would have exploded if you did, but not as much as she did when you woke up in the hospital after falling down the stairs and lying helplessly on the ground for several hours with a dislocated shoulder and a compound-fractured leg. You were lulling in and out of consciousness due to all the medication pumped into you, but what little you do remember seeing and hearing when you regained consciousness will forever stick with you for the rest of your life.

If people think your level of swearing is bad, they should have heard your aunt that day. She swore so viciously that it could set an innocent bystander's eardrums on fire. What will forever stand out the most to you was the fact that your parents didn’t even look the least bit apologetic or regretful. They didn’t even approach you once your aunt was done giving them a piece of her mind to check up on you. They simply talked with the awaiting social worker and doctors and then left. It was for the better, but the small part of you that continued to hold onto the desperate belief that your parents would come around one day sent you into a thrashing frenzy and you had to be sedated before you could hurt yourself anymore.

The next year was spent recovering from your injuries, meeting regularly with your caseworker, and going through therapists like a pack of cigarettes. By the time you were back on your feet and the legal proceedings of your custody case were concluded, all you wanted was to move on with it all. Nearly a decade of neglect left you this unattentive, uncertain husk of a person who couldn’t take a single step forward without looking for some sort of guidance or assurance. Your family was exhausted by the entire ordeal and over speaking with third parties. Your aunts took it upon themselves to help you regain your sense of self in the comfort of your new home, no matter how difficult or demanding it was going to be.

“It took some time, but eventually it clicked in my mind that I was in a better place and I started to get better. As for my parents, I have no clue what they’re up to these days.” You lean back into your chair and let out a shaking yawn. “I like to think they’re getting on well like I am.”

“I don’t understand.” Malleus looks at you with unbelievable confusion. “Your parents treated you poorly, yet you don’t sound the least bit resentful. Why is that?”

You shrug your shoulders. “What’s the point? I'm in a better place now, so I've let bygones be bygones. 'Doesn't mean I don't harbor any anger against them anymore. I do, but getting upset won't change what's happened to me."

Gunter, having sensed your discomfort over the matter, trots over and rests his head on your lap. You gratefully rub the top of his head, carding your hands through his thick, coarse hair. "I'm just glad they let me go without a fuss. Family court was hell for my family.” Your eyebrows knit together. “Expensive too.”

Crackling wood fills the momentary silence that befalls the small cottage. What you've recollected to Malleus is a lot to take in, and if you're being quite honest you'd prefer if he just dropped the subject and talked about literally anything else right now. You hope he doesn't say he's sorry or any other type of apologetic comment. That's all you were ever told that entire year it all happened, during court proceedings, your rehabilitation, by both strangers and distant family members alike.

"I'm so sorry. What happened to you was unfortunate. You didn't deserve it."

No shit you didn't deserve any of that. You were a kid. You don’t need one pity party after another to realize that what took place then had fucked you forever. But as you said earlier, you're in a better place now, with a loving and supportive family that's moved on alongside you. A family you need to get back to as soon as possible.

"I love you."

Well, if he was hoping to take your mind off the past. that certainly did it. How can it not? It came out of nowhere and as good as you are at holding your composure when need be, you're sure you look no less like a gaping fish when warm and plush softness presses right against the corner of your lips. A kiss. His kiss.

"What's wrong?" Your voice sounds shaky. You’re nervous.

"Nothing," he smiles reassuringly. "I simply said what I felt needed to be said."

"Fair enough" you concede easily. He was going to say it sooner or later. He already has actually, now that you think about it. Yet here you are trying to process his words like it’s rocket science.

"Am I going about this too fast perhaps?" he genuinely asks. His hands that have been busy massaging your calves that have settled across his lap somewhere during your long retelling gradually slow down, but his hands never go completely still. "This is my first time experiencing something like this."

"What?" You sit up a bit straighter. "A relationship?"

"Yes."

Your head tilts to the side. "Really?"

He nods hesitantly "Yes?"

For a moment, you go completely quiet. "I don't believe you,” you doubtfully say, head shaking to further showcase your refusal to believe him.

He must not have liked your remark, frowning with clear offense in his eyes. When he dislikes something, the vertical slits in his eyes contract into a thin line. "I cannot lie, yet you still doubt me?"

"I know you can't lie, but I find it hard to believe you haven't been with anyone else before," you explain. Before you can consider the appropriateness that was your newfound curiosity about Malleus's apparently non-existent love life, you blurt out, "Are you still a virgin?"

You slap your hand over your mouth the moment those words come out of it. He's equally caught off guard and nearly drops his warm cup of coffee. Even Gunter is surprised by your question, olive-colored eyes looking at you as if you've lost your mind. It's an invasive question, inappropriate even. You and Malleus have been dating for a little over two days. A question like that is way too early to bring up just yet.

"You don't have to answer that," you tell him behind your palm. "I shouldn't have even asked it. Forget I ever brought it up-”

"I'm not," he interrupts you, leaving you even more shocked than you already are. You’re practically gaping like a fish by now. "I'm not a virgin,” he further insinuates.

A deafening silence, but it’s eventually broken by yourself. “I still don’t believe you.”

Malleus gets further annoyed at your refusal to accept his truth. "I'm not lying!" he insists.

"Bullshit!"

"Do you want me to recount my history to you?" he asks, exasperated as you are at the shift the conversation is taking. "Will that satisfy your doubts?"

"You know what? It will!" you loudly declare. "Who'd you sleep with?"

"He was a young page at the time,” he reminisced. “It happened before I was a century old.”

Your eyebrows raise with intrigue. "Was he cute?"

"Yes," he hushedly agrees. The disconcerting admittance paints his face a pinkish-red glow. "But that's not why I bedded him."

"But surely his looks are what made you interested in the first place?” you make blatant regard of the fact.

“You’re not wrong,” he acknowledges, expertly avoiding agreeing with you outright. “But his looks aren't the sole reason I was drawn to him. He was bright-eyed and ambitious, to the point you’d think him insane given his position in the court. It was also the first time I ever truly met with a group of humans, and my young mind was eager to get a more accurate perspective of humans that wasn’t through the lens of my tutors.”

“An ‘accurate perspective’?” You make playful air quotes, eyebrows wiggling because you know the fact that he knows what you’re implying. The playful comment is met with a sharp pinch on your leg that makes you jump and shriek out in pain. Did he have to dig his nails into you? Apparently so, and now you have small crescent indents on your skin. “I bet Lilia had a good laugh when he found out.”

“He doesn’t know, actually,” he admits to you with what is obviously a proud smile.

“Now I know you’re lying to me,” you scoff. “Nothing escapes the old man’s radar.”

His hands begin to rub out the marks he’s left on you as a form of apology. “Lilia is sharp, but he had lost most of his vigor by the time I was born.”

You go wide-eyed again. “You mean his hearing and eyesight was better than it is now?”

He nods affirmatively. “From what I’ve been told, terrifyingly so.”

Lilia is already frightening as is. His short stature and boyish looks make him perfectly unassuming to those who don’t know any better. You once watched him beat up a couple of bulky, twice-his-height students from Savanaclaw without breaking a sweat, yet moments before he was jokingly scolding himself for dozing off so easily. You never once thought he was ever out of his elements. A cold chill runs down your spine thinking how much more perceptive the older fae may have been back during his prime years.

“Wonder what Lilia’s gonna think,” you ponder out loud in a quick effort to banish out the skin-prickling mental imagery your mind was invoking. “About us, I mean.”

Malleus seems surprised that you would change the topic to that of all things, but his initial shock goes away as quickly as it came. “As you may have guessed, he’s an open-minded individual, but he’s also very realistic and unafraid to say what’s on his mind.”

“So what does that mean for you and me?” you question with a bit of hesitation.

“Well,” he trails off and ponders for a moment. “He’ll surely like the scandal our relationship would invoke. However, as my caretaker and mentor, he won’t hesitate to put an end to it if he feels it necessary.”

Had it been anyone else sitting beside you, you’d have found that comment way too extreme and outright ridiculous. However, you are not speaking to anyone ordinary. You are not sitting before someone normal. It doesn't matter how well you get along with him. It sure as hell doesn't matter how deeply in love you are with him, and him of you. The moment you have been deemed a shortcoming, the outings, the closeness, it all stops. All of it will come crashing down and both you and him will be left wondering what could have been done differently.

Malleus is truly your best friend, because already he can tell that your mind is beginning to spiral even when you go quiet. He calls for your attention by gripping his hand around your bare ankle and carefully tugging the end of your limb. “Don’t fret over it too much,” he soothes, yet also sounding like he’s scolding you for letting your mind wander off so negatively. “Lilia is an exceptional judge of character. From what I’ve gathered, you’ve well exceeded all his marks. He trusts you, and to gain such a thing from someone as old and wise as him is an extraordinary feat.”

You brew over the attempted compliment he tried to pay to you. Unfortunately, it doesn’t snub out all these festering thoughts in your head. It doesn’t even give you temporary relief. Perhaps it would have brought you a sense of peace a few months ago, but with everything that has happened thus far, you doubt even Malleus can alleviate the storm that rattles inside you, even if what he speaks is without a doubt nothing but the truth.

Surely he can see that you are still having some hangups. When you lift his hand and plant a chaste kiss on the back of his hand, you hope he can decipher the gesture as a pitiful request for his forgiveness for dampening the once energetic mood. He is not at fault for your loss and inability to think optimistically at the moment and you need to make sure he knows it.

Today is about him, not you. Even if it’s just for today, you’ll put on a pleasant facade and worry about the rest at a later date. It’s just you and him, and for now, that’s enough.

You do a mental countdown starting from three, before finally giving him a late response to the three words he uttered in confidence to you earlier. “I love you too, by the way.”

You love him. You love him. You love him. That’s all his mind can think of for the rest of the day. He replays your reciprocation over and over like it’s sacred and all-powerful.

He had planned to return to his dorm before the sun began to set, but he found the mere idea of detaching from you deeply unwanted and made the last-minute decision to spend the evening at the Ramshackle dorm. He already has a few articles of clothing and personal essentials set up in one of the many empty rooms, so neither Lilia nor you had any objections at his sudden request.

“Don’t worry!” You shout across the room so that Lilia can hear you over his phone. “I’ll make sure he gets to bed on time!”

“You have my gratitude!” Lilia’s muffled voice responds gratefully. “Don’t cause too much trouble now, you two.”

“No promises~” you sing in jest before Malleus hangs up. Once the call ends Johnny, Benji, Franky, and you turn their attention back to their ongoing game of poker. Malleus watches and occasionally laughs to himself over the friendly banter shared between the quartet. At the end of every round, the winner is assaulted with colorful profanities whilst they take their newly won gambling chips with ebullience. Yet with each new dealing of cards, the animosity goes away and they’re all back to being friendly. He finds your interactions with your incorporeal roommates more entertaining than the book he’s been reading to pass the time.

“Hey, fairy boy,” Franky informally calls out toward him. “Don’t be a stranger now. Play a few rounds with us.”

“I’m afraid I’m not well versed in card games,” he admits, yet he still finds himself setting his literature aside and moving over to join them.

“Don’t worry,” you give him a reassuring smile. “They’ll go easy on you.”

“For how long?” he knowingly asks.

You give him an impressed smirk at his quick uptake. “I give it three rounds before they start to pull back their sleeves.”

Malleus is well-adjusted to the need to quickly learn a new topic and the expectation for him to fully comprehend it in full. None of them are harsh on him for his minor mistakes like some of the tutors he’s had in the past. Answers that he believes may be obvious or not as complicated as he thinks they are being answered with enthusiastic patience. The smallest achievements he makes are met with a proud response. When he makes a surprise turnabout and wins his first game, he’s rewarded with an encouraging round of applause by everyone.

“Not bad,” Benji praises as he shuffles the deck of cards. “You’re a fast learner.”

“So I’ve been told,” he humbly replies. “Is this the part where you all stop going easy on me now?”

“Don’t provoke them,” you half-heartedly warn. “Otherwise we’ll be up all night duking it out otherwise.”

Franky sets his glass of iced liquor down on the edge of the table. “Don’t you little lovebirds worry. We won’t take up too much of your well-needed time together.”

Annoyed at the clear jab at his relationship with you, you throw one of your chips towards his head. It passes through his body and clatters on the floor behind him. Your fawn Blossom jumps down from their spot on the couch and goes to sniff it, thinking it to be food, but walks away with a disappointed strut when he realizes it isn’t anything edible.

“I didn’t tell them a damn thing,” you defensively clarify. “It was so obvious what was going on between us that they figured it all out before we made it official.”

He lets out a deep breath he hadn’t realized he was holding. “That’s...I can’t say I’m too pleased to hear about that.”

“We won’t say anything,” Franky reassures. “Just make sure to put a sock on the door whenever you guys want some alone time.”

“Franky!” you hiss at him. “What the hell?!”

“What?” he looks at you, unbothered by your clear embarrassment. “Do you honestly expect us to think you guys went out just to look at a bunch of statues?”

“Oh, I’m sure they were looking at something,” Johnny smirks. “It wasn’t made of stone though.”

“I hate you guys,” you growl out, arms crossing and leaning back into your seat with an angry huff. You don’t mean it. He can see the tremble of your lips as you try to contain the urge to grin. “Even if we did end up rolling around in the sheets, I wouldn’t be yapping about it for all to hear, much less you guys!”

“What happens in the gargoyle graveyard stays in the gargoyle graveyard, eh?” Franky winks at both Malleus and you, nudging you with his elbow.

“Exactly!” you affirm, batting the large ghost away from you for some much-needed distance. “Now stop being so damn nosy.”

They cackle one last time and everyone seamlessly goes back to their ongoing game. Conversations like the one that just concluded are commonplace in your dormitory. Even if he contributed next to nothing to the discussion, he enjoys watching them interact. You come from a world where ghosts are hardly as overt as the ones in this world. Ghosts are said to entertain themselves by picking on the living, to the point that it can be fatal. Your ability to come up with witticisms at a moment's notice is something he enjoys seeing in action. He feels great satisfaction not only knowing that he has secured your love but to also see you in a state of tranquility and within your elements.

As Benji and you have a hushed conversation on the sidelines, he reaches over and places his hand on your knee beneath the table. You quietly reach over and put your hand over his, stroking the back of his hand with your thumb like it’s instinctual. Unfortunately, the heart-fluttering moment is ruined by the sudden buzzing of his phone. He has half a mind to ignore it, but when he gives the screen a glance he realizes ignoring the caller is not an option.

“I’ll be out for a moment,” he excuses himself once he sets his hand down and stands himself upright. “This shouldn’t take that long, hopefully.”

They all stop to look up at him inquisitively for half a second. In unison, they ask, “Sebek?”

“Sebek,” he affirms.

There are simultaneous displays of annoyance, pity, and silent wishes of good luck directed at him. He’s tempted to ask where all this contempt for the boy comes from, but then he remembers the many times Sebek barges his way into their dorm at the worst possible moments. It is either when everyone is beginning to settle down after a long day or in the middle of an important house project, the former more so than the latter now that the dorm is much more stable and in need of less restoration. Malleus learned the hard way how ill you and the ghosts will react when your peace is unwantedly interrupted and your space invaded by an unwanted guest.

Sebek is also quick to scrutinize whatever he sees out loud without a filter. You never seem to mind half of the time, merely rolling your eyes and moving past Sebek’s ill-meaning remarks as if you never heard them. As you are someone Malleus highly regards and holds close to his bosom, he hopes Sebek can one day set aside his strife with humankind and give you the due diligence you deserve.

...Though, he completely understands that reaching that point will take time. While you can endure Sebek to a certain degree, there are times where he, unfortunately, pushes you past that threshold and, without flinching, you will tell him to “Shut the fuck up”. Your words, not his.

“Young master!” Sebek's transmitted voice peaks and he has to half pull it away to give his pained eardrums some relief. “I was informed by Lord Lilia that you will be spending the night over at the Human’s dorm. Have you all your accommodations at their estate? If not, I will swiftly-”

“That won’t be necessary,” he half laughs at his enthusiasm over such a small task. “I have enough to keep me comfortable and well for a few days. Your offer is still very much appreciated.”

“Y-Yes, of course,” he stutters. “If there’s anything you should ever find a need for, please inform me at once! I will fulfill your every wishes no matter the hour!”

He’s enthusiastic and ready to act at a moment’s notice, even during the middle of a cold and dark hour. Malleus doesn’t necessarily dislike this part of Sebek, but he’s starting to understand why someone like you would find such subservience difficult to deal with. At any moment, Malleus could ask Sebek to grab some insignificant item of his and tread through the thick snow to deliver it to him, and the boy would do so with jubilation and utmost timeliness. You on the other hand wouldn’t be caught dead ordering someone to do something on your behalf when you believe you are well and capable of doing it yourself.

You don’t put expectations onto the backs of others, choosing to trust yourself first before anyone else. He knows now that it’s a result of the one instance where you expected something from someone, only to be thoroughly let down and left wondering if it was you who did something wrong.

Malleus cannot make up for the pain you’ve been subjected to, but he hopes that he can become the outlier in your life that surpasses any preconceived notions you may hold onto others. He hopes...No, he absolutely will be the one who brings you your well-earned and deserved joy and repose, just as you have done for him and continue to do so.

You love him, and he will ensure he is worthy of every last drop of your fidelity.

#twisted wonderland #twst #twst x reader #twisted wonderland x reader #twisted wonderland imagines #malleus draconia #twst malleus #malleus x reader #malleus draconia x reader #twst writing #twst fanfic #fanfic: courtship #reader insert #reader insert fanfic #reader insert fanfiction #gender neutral reader #gender neutral pronouns #x reader

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author-a-holmes · 3 years

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Greetings!

I thought it was about time I put together a proper Writeblr Intro Post.

My name is Arista, or Ari, but as long as it's polite I'll answer to pretty much anything. I'm an English writer in her 30's, currently living with my cat Litha, my dog Bumble, and my mother-turned-flatmate.

I am a voracious reader, and although I dabble in writing all sorts of genres, I always seem to cycle back round to Fantasy of some sort. It's very clearly where my heart lies.

To find out more about me, please check out my About Me page on my tumblr, or shoot me an ask! I'm always open to questions, asks or tag-games.

A brief run down on my current Works in Progress can be found below the cut, along with relevant Tags, and an @-list.

If you'd like to be added to any of my lists, then please leave a message on this post.

(Edit: Apparently my "#Tag Game" tag isn't showing any posts when I search my blog, so I've made a Masterlist Page with direct links...)

Taglist for Tag-Games

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Relevant Tags: #Tag Game

Taglist For My Writing Exercises

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Relevant Tags: #Writing Exercise

Stolen is the first book in the "Stolen Stories" Fantasy Romance series. The series will follow the journey of Stella Korazon as she fights to find her place in the ever turbulent world of Moryann.

Official Blurb

It had been a long couple of weeks for Stella Korazon.

When a simple pickpocket job goes horribly wrong and sends her entire life spinning into chaos, Stella must figure out how to navigate the treacherous world of Moryann alone.

Finding herself in the City of Antillune Stella is quickly pulled into the middle of a brewing war between two thieves guilds when a recruiter for the guild known as Vine coerces her into stealing from their rival, Guild Master Mosswolf.

Surrounded on all side by rogues, liars, spies and betrayal, it's a constant struggle to know who she should trust, but standing in the heart of it all, can she find somewhere, or someone, to call home?

Relevant Tags

#Stolen #A Stolen Story #Stolen A Stolen Story #Stella #Stella Korazon #Reilly #Reilly Mosswolf

Taglist For Stolen

@/josephinegerardywriter , @/strangerays

Current Status

First draft complete. 32 chapters, 146k. Currently undergoing edits, and I'm working on Chapter 3 right now - Updated May 23rd 2021

Takeover is the second book in the "Stolen Stories" series. Set several months after the end of book one, the rival guild Vine is beginning to cause trouble within the City of Antillune once more, threatening the peace Stella has found within Reilly's guild.

Relevant Tags

#Takeover #A Stolen Story #Takeover A Stolen Story #Stella #Stella Korazon #Reilly #Reilly Mosswolf

Taglist For Takeover

@/strangerays

Current Status

First Draft being written. Currently on Chapter 11 of an estimated 32. Wordcount sitting at; 41k - Updated May 23rd 2021

EFey Touched is my project for July Camp Nano 2021. It's a YA Paranormal Romance about a young Fey, Lizzy Hail who decides to leave the Fey realm for the mortal realm to find her mother, who recently went missing.

She drags along her best friend, Booker Reed, but the mortal realm isn't only home to humans, but also Vampires and their insane cousins, the Kavian. Lizzy and Booker quickly find themselves entangled in the world of the vampires, high school and budding romance, all the while still determined to track down Lizzy's mother.

Relevant Tags

#Fey Touched #Lila Isabelle Hail #Lizzy Hail #Booker Reed #Andric Roche #July Camp Nano 2021

Taglist For Fey Touched

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Current Status

First Draft being written. I'm doing an update on Tumblr every time I complete a chapter (Tag; #Fey Touched). Since this is a Camp Nano project, it's moving pretty quickly and I'm hoping to get the first draft (66k words) finished by the end of July.

Projects on Hiatus

An Urban Fantasy Romance Interactive Fiction project that I work on intermittently when I need a break from the world of Stolen.

Blurb

When the demons broke into our world from their realm, and the covens joined their powers together to trap them within a single city, your training as a witch got put on the back burner.

Still, untrained though you may be, you cannot help but use your magic to assist a young woman and her son when they are being harassed by demons.

Should you walk away? Yes. Do you? No.

That decision propels you into the center of events. The woman you save is a Seraphim and the demons want her dead.

Why they are hunting all Seraphims within the city, you don't yet know, but what you do know is that the Covens are rapidly running out of time if they intend to banish the demons forever.

Relevant Tags

#WotW #WOTW Interactive Fiction #Words of the Witches IF #Dashingdon #Choice Script

Taglist For WotW

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Current Status

Slow going because this is a side project. I'm about 1/4 of the way through the prologue, but a lot of coding happened in the first few thousand words, due to entering in variable genders for the four romance options - Updated May 23rd 2021

#Writeblr Introduction #Writblr Introduction #Writing #My Writing #Am Writing #Writing Community #Writeblr Community #Writeblr #Original #Original Writing #Fantasy #Fantasy Romance #Urban Fantasy #Urban Fantasy Romance #Interactive Fiction #Fiction

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heliads · 4 years

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Troubled Waters Chapter 4: Come and Go

Strange happenings are starting to plague Beacon Hills. Scott McCall and his pack have always been able to defend their hometown no matter how dangerous the threat, but they may need the help of mysterious newcomer Y/N L/N.

previous / series masterlist / next

Scott still can’t believe it. He’s sitting at his desk at school while the teacher drones on and on in front of him, but he can’t hear a word she says. A steady stream of thoughts is on loop in his head, drowning out any other sounds.

Y/N is a naiad. Y/N lied to him. Y/N lied to them all.

Her betrayal cuts Scott like a knife. Looking back now, he realizes how foolish he had been to trust her. Why was it so easy for her to weave her way into the pack? Why had they been so willing to tell her all about the other supernaturals of Beacon Hills? Of course she had taken the news of the supernatural world well, she wasn’t even human herself.

Now, Scott and his friends have decided to do what they probably should have done at the start, which is to go find Deaton. When the pack first showed the veterinarian the message in Ancient Greek, he had nodded understandingly. “Your friend was right, this is a warning about the naiads. She was willing to help you find out their weaknesses, even though it could have undermined their entire plot to take over Beacon Hills. That alone is odd, that she would be so eager to take down her own people.”

Deaton had asked for a few days to do research of his own, insisting that Scott and his friends go back to school and carry on as normal. He requested only that they inform him if they see Y/N at school. This appears to not be an issue, as none of the pack have spotted Y/N in the halls. She is in different classes than them, so they have no idea if she’s there and simply hiding from them, but Y/N remains an elusive shadow nonetheless.

The bell rings overhead, distracting Scott from his thoughts. He slings his backpack over his shoulder and heads out of the school, still not entirely focusing. His friends are waiting for him in the parking lot, Stiles peering at some dented corner of his Jeep and brightening when he sees Scott approach. “There you are! We were thinking about heading to Deaton’s to see if he’s got any updates.” Scott nods. “Sounds good.”

The veterinarian does have some updates, and they’re actually pretty important. Deaton has determined that there is more to the naiad situation than meets the eye. “There are certainly naiads here, and they have been here for a while. The thing is, I believe that many more showed up the night you were all at the lake house, and I’m not sure what their intentions are. If we wish to protect the town, you’ll have to learn more about why they’re here and how to stop them.”

Kira nods slowly. “How do we do that?” Deaton sighs, looking at each friend in turn. “You’re not going to like this. The best way to learn about the naiads is by talking to one of them, and I believe that your friend Y/N would be the best candidate for the job.”

Scott lifts his head in surprise. “Absolutely not. She lied to us before, what’s to stop her from doing it again?” Deaton raises his hands reassuringly. “She lied to you about being a naiad, not about the naiads in general. Also, that was most likely to protect herself.”

Deaton steeples his fingers together. “Y/N is your best bet because she’s the most likely to tell you the truth. Any other naiad would probably resist questioning and refuse to say anything, but not her. Scott, you said she looked almost regretful the night you found out her true identity- we can use that to our advantage. Like it or not, Y/N will be the one to tell us what we need to know.”

Scott frowns, but concedes. As much as he doesn’t like to admit it, Deaton is right. The veterinarian also has an idea as to how to find Y/N- a tracking talisman using the same properties as the Nine Herbs. It will summon her to the beacon, and then knock her unconscious the second she touches it. All it needs is the proper base, as well as some object that used to belong to Y/N. Scott finds one pretty easily- she had left a bookmark of hers in one of the mythology books still languishing in Malia’s backpack.

Deaton carefully snips a strip of paper off of the bookmark, and paints a herb concoction on either side of it. Then, he places it in a box, sealing it shut and handing it back to Scott. “Put the box in some body of water. She’ll find it soon enough.”

Deaton’s word is good- after a few hours, the pack checks on the box to find Y/N’s unconscious form lying next to it on the bottom of the lake. Scott insists on being the one to dive down and get her. He doesn’t know how he looks, emerging from the lake with Y/N’s body in his arms, but he knows how he feels- a swirling mess of emotions even he can’t begin to understand.

When Y/N wakes up, she finds herself in the middle of a protective ring of mountain ash. She starts to panic once she sees the pack standing around her. “Where am I? How did I get here?” Scott steps forward. “We brought you here because we needed to talk.” Y/N raises an eyebrow at that. “So you kidnapped me?”

Malia scoffs. “Oh come on, you lied to us about literally everything. You expect us to treat you like an honored guest?” Scott flashes a glare at her, but Y/N looks at them with a new emotion bubbling up behind her eyes- regret.

“I wish I didn’t lie to you. I wish I never had to leave the way I did, but it was the only way to make sure my family was safe. I didn’t send that message, nor did anyone I know. I had to get close to you so I knew what the other naiads were up to.”

Scott turns to her, confused. “Wait, what do you mean, ‘other naiads?’ Aren’t the others with you?” Y/N shakes her head. “There are different groups of naiads in the world, kind of like different clans. My clan lived here in peace for years, it was our homeland. This new clan of naiads are different- they’re angry, and willing to fight for control of the area. The second I saw you with that message, I knew it was from them, and I knew I had to find out more about it.”

Stiles leans forward. “Why didn’t you just tell us you were a naiad too?” Y/N spreads her hands. “Well, what was I supposed to say? Hi, I know you just got a warning saying ‘beware the naiads’, uh, just not me? Come on, if I had told you from the start you would never have believed me, and I needed your trust so I could work with you to find out what was going on.”

Scott nods at that, then turns to face the rest of the pack. “I think we can trust her. I’ve been listening to her heart the whole time, and she never lied, not even once. We need everybody we can to solve whatever is going on with that other clan of naiads, and I think Y/N can help us.” His friends nod in some sort of agreement, and just like that, Y/N is back on their side.

Well, calling her an ally is a bit of an overstatement. None of the pack can really bring themselves to trust Y/N again, even if she had well-intentioned motives. She’s allowed to work with them, and share ideas with them, but she’s always got at least one person watching her, staying on guard just in case she tried to run away again.

It’s on a peaceful, quiet day when Scott is on guard duty for Y/N. They’re alone in his house, poring over mythology books or math homework. Y/N turns to Scott with a regretful expression. “You know I never wanted any of this to happen, right? I know how it sounds, but I never wanted to hurt any of you.” Scott sighs. “I know. When we were on that dock at the lake house, you told me you wanted to protect the people you cared about. This is your way of doing it.”

Y/N nods slowly. “I still hold by that. The thing is, the people I care about aren’t just you and your pack, it’s my family and my community that could get hurt by these rival naiads. I wish you could understand everything I’m doing, and why I have to do it.” Scott inclines his head in agreement. “It’s hard to feel like you have to protect everyone in your life. I get that, trust me.” A faint smile flickers across Y/N’s lips. “I hope you do.”

The afternoon is sunny and warm, and Scott is feeling more than a little tired after night after night of stress. He supposes that’s why his eyelids feel leadened, and why the couch is so inviting. Scott isn’t sure when he fell asleep, or for how long, but he is awoken by the sound of a car starting in a driveway. Suddenly alert, Scott glances over to discover with horror that Y/N is no longer sitting next to him. He sprints out to the front door to find her already gone, and her silhouette is just disappearing around the curve of the road.

Cursing, Scott closes the door and dashes after her. Thanks to his abilities as a werewolf, Scott is able to find her pretty easily. Her destination is plain- there’s another lake pretty close to his house. Sure enough, Scott rounds a bend in the road and finds Y/N approaching the lake. He starts catching up to her, close enough that he can hear the frantic beating of her heart. Oddly enough, he senses sadness heavy around her as well.

When they’re only yards away from the lake, Scott calls out to her. “Y/N, wait! You don’t have to do this- we can help you!” She stops running and turns to face him, Scott halting his sprint as well so he doesn’t make her nervous. He realizes with a twist in his heart that she’s crying, silent tears slipping down her cheeks. “I have to do this, Scott. My family is in danger.” Scott takes a slow step towards her, gently reaching out his hands as if offering her a way out.

“I can’t help you if you go, Y/N. I can’t defend your absence to the pack. Please, come back with me.” A muffled sob escapes Y/N’s chest. “I wish I could. I wish it more than anything. But this is the only way.” She turns and runs the last few feet, diving into the water. Scott sprints after her, and his hand catches for just the briefest of moments on the back of her shirt before she is gone, slicing into the water like a knife.

tag list: @savingprivatecass @lolychu @linkpk88

#teen wolf #scott mccall #scott mccall imagine #scott mccall x reader #scott mccall imagines #teen wolf imagine #teen wolf x reader #teen wolf imagines #scott mccall series #teen wolf series

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symphonicscans · 2 years

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Fujimi Orchestra - King of Frogs (Book 7, Part 3)

Author: Akizuki Koh Illustrator: Keiko Nishi Content Warning: mild racist language (the series itself is 18+) In this gaiden chapter we get a flashback to when Kei met Takane Ikushima in New York when they were teenagers. Just a heads up, Akizuki is trying to be 'authentic' here with racist American attitudes towards immigrants, so she uses some derogatory language (but mostly for Asian people for obvious reasons). This is the last chapter in book 7, so as usual there will be a full book posted later and the masterpost updated. You can read this chapter below or here on Google.

Fujimi Orchestra Book 7: Chapter 3

King of Frogs

It’s ten o’clock in downtown New York… still a bit early for the nocturnal crowd. The city, famous for its garish neon signs, graffiti, trash, and immorality, was bustling tonight with men and women who were out indulging in its repulsive squalor.

A young prostitute spotted a gullible passerby, and twisted her red lips into a smile. Smacking gum apathetically, she approached him with a Marilyn Monroe swagger, the tool of her trade. She knows her sex appeal won’t bring her happiness, but it can pay for her apartment. But then a red-headed woman — who’d been in this business for ten years — swooped right in front of her and snatched the customer by quickly whispering the price in his ear without any pretense. The younger prostitute’s protests were met with a verbal backlash from the redhead’s friends in the back alley, since she hadn’t had a customer in two days.

Across the street, a man watched the scene with a bored look on his face; he’s a drug dealer who spends his days cultivating new junkies while keeping an eye out for undercover cops and rivals, so he doesn’t miss an opportunity to make some cash. He was born and raised in New York, but the brown skin that betrayed his Puerto Rican immigrant heritage was what kept him here in the slums.

“Yo, JB! How ya doin’?”

JB looked the person who approached him up and down, who he had been expecting. “I was having better luck before I saw you.”

The blue-uniformed cop’s bribe-fat belly shook as he huffed, “Chino told me he’s seen another guy around here, that’s probably who’s taking your luck.”

“I’ll have the money for you next week. If you want something now, it’ll have to be in product.”

“Give me three.” JB shrugged internally as he pulled out three small baggies from his left pocket and handed them over. “You’ll have to pay me in cash next week.” The police officer said with a stern look on his face, then wandered off to continue his patrol.

“Go to hell…” JB muttered. He took some satisfaction in having given him some cut-rate, low-purity stuff.

He turned around at the sound of an empty can being knocked over, and his face twisted into a grin. It was a group of three young guys — large, medium, and small — and in three different skin colors. He recognized them: they were a jazz band that had been making a big splash around downtown lately. “Yo, Takane. Where you going tonight?” He called out to the oriental guy, who was the biggest of the three.

The little black guy responded with a friendly wave, “ We’re playing at Crime Clan tonight.”

“Are ya gonna play Georgia on my Mind?”

As they walked past JB, the black guy looked up at the oriental guy to pass the question to him.

Takane Ikushima… born in Harlem to Japanese parents, but raised by a black foster mother. By the time he was out of middle school he was the boss of every kid in the neighborhood. He was like an oriental gorilla, having surpassed the average size of most orientals, speaking with a Harlem accent and overcoming minor racial differences to associate with mostly black people. He was even accepted by jazz-loving white people — as long as he was playing piano. This young jazz pianist was on his way to living some version of the ‘American Dream…’ but right now he wouldn’t even spare a glance for JB, with a pompous look on his face that matched his size, even if it didn’t look like it belonged to a sixteen-year-old.

“I ain’t doing it,” he said. “I don’t play fucking requests for pushers.”

“W-wait, hold on!” JB plastered a fake smile on his face as he rushed to catch up to them. “You’ve got it all wrong, I didn’t mean to piss you off.”

“You sold shit to Joshua last week.”

“Oh…that. Yeah, but he’s nobody!”

“Then Joshua used it with Jill, and her six months of detox went down the drain.”

“O-oh really, I—”

“You know that Joshua’s a lousy fucking pimp, and Jill just got out of rehab.”

“Y-yeah, but I—”

“You’re the dealer, it’s up to you whether you want to sell or not… just like I’m the player, so it’s up to me whether I want to play or not.”

“Takane…”

“That’s Mr. Ikushima to you.” The three men disappeared around the corner, and the dealer’s shoulders slumped in disappointment.

“You’re never gonna hear Takane play piano again,” One of the prostitutes called to him nastily.

“Hmph!” JB spat and walked back over to the street corner. It’s only jazz, it’s not like it’ll put food in your stomach, it’s just entertainment. But deep down he knew that it was food for the soul, a bright spot in his otherwise dreary life. The combination of Takane’s big gorilla paws and the keys of a cheap piano could produce anything from blues and gospel to vibrant dance music… the human tendency to want something you can’t have made JB want to hear Takane’s piano playing even more.

(I wonder if it would put him in a better mood if I got Joshua’s ass busted by the police?) the charm and charisma of Takane Ikushima’s piano playing made JB start thinking about how he could make up with him.

He turned his head when he heard somebody say, “Excuse me.” A pair of long, black eyes were staring at him, level with his own. The owner of the eyes, however…

(Is he Chinese?) he thought. “Hey there, kid.” It’s usually hard to tell the age of oriental people, but the person in front of JB now was particularly hard. From his face he didn’t look old enough to grow a beard… but then he was almost as tall as JB at five-foot-seven, and he had a cool, stately appearance — but that was probably because of the nice coat he was wearing. He called him a ‘kid’ for now, but to be honest he wasn’t sure if the person in front of him was a man or a child. “What do you want?” The young oriental was still staring at JB intently.

“I have a question for you,” he said in strange, stilted English.

“I don’t know much about nothing, and what I do know ain’t cheap.”

He seemed to accept JB’s reply with a faint frown, his eyebrows drawing tighter on his porcelain-mask face,“I want to listen to some music. Where should I go around here to find the best players?”

JB frowned when he heard the question and mumbled, “Music…?” Of course all JB could think about was Takane Ikushima’s hot and heavy piano, and he suddenly had the idea that he could use this guy as an excuse to go hear him without getting kicked out. “Where are you from?” He asked, hoping at least to have the excuse of showing a tourist around.

“Japan,” he replied.

“Japan? Like, Honda-Sony-sukiyaki Japan?”

“Yes.”

JB clapped his hands… luck was on his side after all! A Japanese tourist, of all things. He bet Takane would like that! “C’mon.” JB gestured the way forward with a jerk of his head.

“Thank you,” the kid said with a hint of pride in his voice.

“By the way, what’s your name?”

“Tounoin.”

“Tooween?”

“Toh-noin.”

“Tow-now-in?”

“TO-U-NOI-N.” JB scratched his head when he said it again, and the tone and attitude with which he said it told him that this time he should listen carefully and remember; he felt somewhat intimidated.

“Uh… ‘Toh-noh-win.’ OK?” JB did his best to mimic his pronunciation as closely as he could, and ‘Tonowin’ gave a nod of approval.

“And you?”

“I’m JB.”

“Jay-bee?”

“Yeahhh. Nice to meet ya.”

As they started walking, Tounoin grasped the hand that was held out to him, giving it a hard squeeze while maintaining an impassive expression, “Nice to meet you.”

His fingers were long and cold, soft as kidskin gloves — a high-society hand, JB thought. He had already figured as much, and he looked around to see if there was any bodyguard with him, but didn’t see anybody that looked like the type. He asked cautiously, “Did you come here by yourself?”

Tounoin nodded, “I’m the only one here, every time.”

JB’s quick eyes did not miss the fleeting movement of a shadow behind him; so he had an unexpectedly effective guard after all. Even though the lonely way Tounoin said it made him seem reluctant about having protection, JB understood it as a warning that he couldn’t cross this guy. When he said ‘I’m the only one’ he was lying…‘every time’ meant that he had a guard. Having grown up on the streets, JB knew he should give up thinking about extorting him by kidnapping or trying to sell him drugs — a fortunate misunderstanding for the Tounoin kid.

As they approached the door of Crime Clan, it occurred to JB that he needed to make it obvious that he was acting as a guide; the inside of the club was Takane’s ‘domain’ tonight, which would make JB a trespasser. He might need to use his guest as a passport.

“You’re lucky, man,” he began. “Yesterday we’d have had to go all the way to 28th to hear Takane.”

“Takane?” Tounoin raised an eyebrow.

JB said enthusiastically, “Takane Ikushima’s an amazing piano player.”

Tounoin’s brows furrowed, “I didn’t mean to say that I wanted to hear a Japanese player. What I want is to listen to music from here, music that can only be heard here.”

JB was a little confused, but even though Tounoin’s Japanese-English was kind of hard to understand, he got the idea that he didn’t want to hear a Japanese musician. He shrugged and said, “Takane Ikushima is American, and so is his piano playing. Anyway, just give him a listen first.” He opened the door and pushed Tounoin inside, his tall body slimmer than it looked in the coat.

Fortunately for JB, Takane and his band were already in the middle of playing, so he was able to listen to two blues numbers without worrying about getting kicked out the moment he stepped in. Against the backdrop of clapping and whistling, he turned to Tounoin and said proudly, “So what do ya think?”

Tounoin shrugged, and with a simple “Thank you,” he started to head for the door.

(He’s not impressed!) JB was offended; he ran after him and grabbed his arm. Tounoin turned around, and JB stared at him intently, “He’s the best player you’re gonna find around here!”

Tounoin’s reply was a chilly, “Excuse me.” He shook JB’s hand off, “I can see what kind of music he plays, so I don’t need to hear any more.”

“You think you got it? You think you know Takane’s piano playing after only two blues songs, so there’s nothing more to hear?!” Suddenly JB’s face was grabbed from behind by a big hand and pulled back.

“What’s this!?” A grizzly voice that could only come from Takane Ikushima’s throat said behind his ear. “I told you that you weren’t allowed here, but not only did you come, you even brought trouble? Huh?!”

JB sputtered and tried to make an excuse, but his mouth and face were still being gripped by the hand like a baseball glove. “Fugub…” was all he could get to come out. Then the hand that was holding his face shoved him so hard he flipped over and took out the tables and chairs along with him. Immediately he responded with an automatic, “T-Takane, I’m sorry!” He scrambled to stand up and defend himself, but Takane was already taking on Tounoin.

“So you don’t need to listen to my piano anymore, eh?”

JB could tell from Takane’s voice that his temper was about to explode, so he shut his mouth with a sly smile. There’s not a person in this city stupid enough to voluntarily pick a fight with Takane.

“I heard two songs, so I just said that I don’t need to hear any more than that.” Tounoin boldly replied; apparently he didn’t sense how dangerous the person in front of him was.

JB muttered a prayer with an (Amen) for him under his breath. (This is your own fault, boy. Don’t blame me for what happens next!)

Sure enough, Takane’s expression changed to an evil grin— which meant he was getting angrier, “You’re really starting to piss me off… so that’s it, two songs is enough for you to understand how I play?”

Despite the obvious danger in Takane’s voice, Tounoin replied very calmly, “Yes.”

“Well…” Takane smiled, “Then get the hell out!” Of course this was accompanied by a heavyweight punch; everyone watching thought the oriental would be slammed out the door, leaving a trail of blood in his wake.

“Why are you trying to hit me?” Tounoin was still standing there, face intact. On the contrary, it was Takane who was groaning in pain; Tounoin’s foot was wedged squarely in Takane’s stomach, creating an ‘H’ shape with their bodies. A moment later he broke away from him, lowering his leather-shoed foot.“I’m sorry, but I can’t tolerate being attacked without knowing the reason.”

His face was expressionless, and his tone quiet and even. But JB was experienced at reading people, and he could tell that the look in his eye carried the same meaning as Takane’s sinister grin. (Don’t let your guard down!) JB said internally, (Don’t be fooled by his appearance, Takane).

However, Takane didn’t seem to be too concerned, considering he was a brat born and raised on the streets of Harlem, “Who the hell are you?!” He didn’t try to hide his bloodlust, his eyes blazing.

“Kei Tounoin,” he replied arrogantly.

Takane laughed and said through bared teeth, “That’s enough for a tombstone. I’m gonna murder you!”

“If you still won’t clearly explain why you’re attacking me, then I’ll focus on defending myself.” Tounoin slipped off his coat and put his hands in his pockets.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing…?!” The beast asked angrily.

“My exclusive future pursuit is to be a musician.” So that meant he wasn’t going to use his hands.

“Hahah…!” Takane laughed wildly and lunged forward, throwing a sideways punch that whistled through the air… but it was a feint! He swept Tounoin’s leg with his foot after he dodged Takane’s fist without blinking! But the moment he was off balance— since he was only using his feet to defend — Takane immediately slammed a fist into Tounoin’s chin… The sound of the fist contacting bone and the thud of his head hitting the floor happened almost simultaneously. He didn’t move… Tounoin had had been knocked down onto the floor… JB looked at the bulges in his pockets. If only he’d been willing to use his hands, he’d have been able to fight back…

“Fucking idiot.” Takane muttered what JB had been thinking. He watched with admiration as the heavy sixteen-year-old — who probably would have become the head of a gang around here if he weren’t a piano player — bent down to check the breath of his opponent, then hefted him over his shoulder with a scowl on his face.

(Ah…you’re taking responsibility. I’m sure you‘re gonna be fast friends, so take care of him! He seems like… a good guy.)

“Alright, I’ll do this…” The short drummer said as he rummaged through Tounoin’s coat pockets. “Heh, he’s Japanese…” he cheerfully rattled off the information from his passport. He burst out laughing, “This guy’s only fourteen!”

(No way!) JB looked at the drummer.

“He can’t be that young, right?”

“But it says so right here.”

JB felt a chill… Takane was only sixteen, but the guy who had faced off against him with a handicap was even younger.

“What is it with these Japanese people…” JB mumbled to himself.

Suddenly he heard the drummer yell, “Takane, where are you going!? We still have one more set!”

“I’ll be right back.” Takane replied as he walked out the door, carrying Tounoin.

“Oh, does he mean Momma’s?”

The drummer nodded. “Hey, JB. Clean this shit up!”

With his head down, the dealer hurried to get his ass up off the floor and quickly reset the tables and chairs that had been knocked over.

---

Someone was singing. The voice was warm and soft, but not like velvet or silk… or fur… as Kei listened and analyzed the voice, he realized he had been asleep. The style sounded like gospel, the voice thick and gentle, and appeared to be right next to him. She was singing the refrain of the famous gospel song Nobody Knows The Trouble I’ve Seen, her breaths deep and even like the movement of a large bellows.

“A-men.” She said when she finished.

Kei opened his eyes; instead of what might have been a morning prayer, it was a black woman with an imposing physique who had been singing the gospel song, and now had switched to a cheerful love ballad. He could only see her big back as she sang towards the window, so he couldn’t tell how old she was, but he figured she was middle aged... At any rate, she didn’t seem young. While singing, she was taking the laundry out from a large basket she held against her ample waist, unfolding it and hanging it on the rope to dry outside the window. She carefully smoothed out the wrinkles from each piece with her thick fingers before taking out the next one.

When she finished hanging the last of the laundry, she turned around with a stretch and met Kei’s eyes. She was the kind of motherly woman you’d expect to find in Harlem, and gave him a bright smile tinged with a nostalgic feeling, “Good mornin’ my boy.” Her dark eyes stared at Kei for a second or two before she smiled again, “Get up an’ go wash your face. Breakfast is ready.”

That was his first encounter with Momma Maria.

—-—

In the mirror of the old — but sparkling clean — bathroom of the small apartment, Kei was able to look at his face for the first time since the day before. The left side of his cheek was hot to the touch, and as expected, the area down to his chin was perfectly swollen.

(Hmm…) After observing himself for a while, he tested his jaw and lips to make sure they worked and washed his face with water. He didn’t have any way to brush his teeth, so he rinsed his mouth out with water as well and looked for a towel; remembering this wasn’t a hotel, he made do with the hem of his shirt. He used his hands to comb his disheveled hair back and left the bathroom.

“My boy? Come’ere.” She showed him where the dining room was in a sing-song voice. There were eight backless chairs around a table that occupied half of the dining room and kitchen, which was about the size of a six-mat Japanese style room. “Sit wherever you like.” She told him, so he took the nearest seat.

In front of Kei was a bowl of soup, which he noticed had a delicious smell rising from it with the steam. He said in awkward English, “Where is here, Lady?”

“I’m Maria. Ma-ree-ah.”

“Maria…”

“Yes. And ‘here’ is my home.”

“I see. So why am I in your house?”

Maria answered him with a flurry of words, and all he managed to catch was ‘Takane.’ She must have seen the confusion on his face, because she repeated herself at a slower tempo, “Takane brought you here and put you in the bed. He’s gone off to stay somewhere else, but I think it’s ‘bout time for him to come back.” Then she looked at the bowl, “Your soup’s gettin’ cold.”

He realized he hadn’t told her his name. He bowed his head and said, “I’m Kei Tounoin. Thank you very much.” He picked up the spoon and said, “Itadakimasu.” The soup was thick and rich, with such strong spices that the broth stung the inside of his mouth. But Kei ate it silently along with the hard, unbuttered bread and cold fried eggs that accompanied it. When he finished eating he bowed his head and said, “Gochisousama deshita.”

“Sorry for the bad food.”

(Huh?) Kei looked up at her, “No, it was good. Ah…if it looked like I didn’t like it, it’s because I have a cut in my mouth and it hurt.”

“You shoulda said so!” Maria sighed heavily. “We don’t have much, but we have milk at least.”

“Yes. Sorry.”

“I’m gonna need you to clean up your dishes and make up the bed you slept in.”

“Yes.”

Maria watched Kei as he began awkwardly cleaning up with clumsy hands, and realized he probably had grown up with servants to do this kind of stuff for him. She turned her attention back to the mending she had started, until she heard a crunching sound.

“O-oh, I’m sorry…” Kei was trying to pick up the pieces of a broken plate, and she noticed his eyes were edged with redness.

“I’m the one who’s sorry,” Maria came over and put her hand on Kei’s forehead. “You shoulda said something. You have a fever, don’t you?”

The look Kei gave was nonchalant. He said, “I’m fine,” and gave her the barest hint of a smile. “I broke your plate. I can pay for it, but… where’s my coat? My passport and wallet are in—“ He started to walk and staggered, falling flat on the floor.

Maria stooped to take Kei’s arm, wrapping it around her shoulders. Kei tried to refuse her support as she lifted him to his feet. “Maybe you don’t like being touched by a black person, but you’ll have to bear with it, just to be safe.”

Kei seemed deeply surprised by her words, “No it’s not that, I’m just…”

“No need to be polite, I don’t mind. I’ve raised thirteen difficult kids, a fourteenth is nothin’.”

In a small voice he whispered, “Thank you…” then shyly added, “…Mrs. Maria.”

“Everybody calls me ‘Momma Maria.’”

“Momma…Maria…” She caught the faint smile on Kei’s face as he repeated the words, testing the pronunciation.

As she walked him to the bed and tucked his tall but still childlike body in a blanket, she thought (Look here, my children. Rich kids ain’t always happy… we’re poor, but we didn’t let you grow up like this boy, holding in all your pain and suffering, only letting yourself cry and laugh in your heart. Kei, you’re a good boy… but I feel sorry for you.)

“Momma Maria?” She smiled at how timidly he called to her. “My coat, is—“

“I think Takane brought it with you. Wait a bit, I’ll go get it.”

“No, it’s okay as long as it’s here. I’d… like to make a phone call.”

“We don’t have a phone, though.”

“Yeah…” he had already noticed that.

“There’s a drugstore on the corner, I could make a call for you there.”

“Thank you… if you could, call Mr. Bandou in room 602 at the Sunrise Hotel, and give him this address. Um… he’s my tutor. The hotel’s number is in my passport.”

“Alright, I’ll call Bandou. Can I ask him if I can keep you here for a couple more days?”

He looked up at her and hesitated, then nodded, “If it wouldn’t be too much trouble for you, Momma Maria.”

“It’s a mother’s job to take care of sick children, right?” When she said that, a strange look flickered across Kei’s face; it seemed like the word ‘mother’ had a different meaning for him. “I’ll be back in a bit.”

“Please, use my money...”

Maria pinched Kei’s nose and gently wiggled it. “Kids don’t need to worry about stuff like that. Just lie down and go to sleep.” She kissed him on the forehead.

“Okay.” He replied and closed his eyes.

As she was leaving the apartment, she saw Takane coming back from wherever he had spent his morning. “Soup’s gone cold,” Maria told him. She twisted her big son’s lion-like nose.

“Where is he?”

“I gave him food. He’s been in bed all day… when are you gonna learn to go easier on people?”

“I only hit him once, though? Besides, he’s the one who picked a fight with me.”

“He doesn’t look like that kinda boy, I’m sure you’re the one who got your fists out first. Look,” She patted his tall shoulder with motherly care, “I’ll take care of him for a few days to make it up. I’m goin’ to Jake’s, so go ahead and cook your own eggs.”

Takane watched Maria’s stout body trundle down the stairs, then turned towards the door with a sullen look on his face. “A couple of days, huh? Heh…” After all, that was the same way he’d been welcomed into this house, and then ended up being raised by her. He said to himself, “That’s just what Momma likes to do,” and opened the door.

---

Takane watched the somewhat stilted discussion between Mr. Bandou and Kei with an irritated look on his face, his natural reaction to high-class society people. Kei, with his swollen cheek and puffy eye, was sitting on the bed. Bandou looked like he was in his late twenties, and was dressed in a suit, standing in front of Kei like a Kanbei soldier. It seemed like the relationship between the caretaker and his young master was strained.

“There’s no need to report this matter,” Kei said coldly.

“That’s an impossible request,” Bandou replied, with the same cold tone. Both of them spoke in Japanese, which was Takane’s second language, as his parents were Japanese and had only spoken that in the home. However, he made sure not to let on that he could understand them, so he could hear more of their interesting conversation.

Takane was a very curious person, and there was something about Kei Tounoin that piqued his interest. The way he had declared he would become a musician even though he was just a middle schooler, and that business of keeping his hands in his pockets, even though he was so bad at fighting that he could be taken out with a single blow… it was all very interesting to Takane. And how he had declared that he ‘didn’t need to hear more than two songs…’ he really wanted to find out why. For Takane, the piano wasn’t just his tool to achieve the American dream, it was his entire reason for existing.

“In any case, let’s go back to the hotel. Your injuries don’t look bad, but I still would like you to see a doctor.”

“There’s no need. I’ll go back to the hotel the day after tomorrow. If somebody calls from Japan, just tell them I was invited to stay at a friend’s house.”

“I don’t think you understand, we’re in Harlem, remember? One of the most dangerous parts of New York City, and you were involved in a violent incident!” Bandou glanced at Takane, seemed to confirm for himself that he didn’t understand Japanese, and continued, “Just because he’s not black is not reassuring. You don’t have any idea why he brought you here. You see, to these people, Japanese are irritating because we’re colored but have money. And it’s not just white people that think that, other colored people do too. They’re jealous. So—”

“Is that something you know from legitimate research? Or is it just your opinion?”

“…what?”

“The basis for what you just said. Doesn’t that sound a bit racist to you?” Then Kei turned to Takane and said in Japanese, “I apologize. He still doesn’t quite understand the sincere kindness I received from you and Momma Maria.”

Bandou blinked and his jaw dropped when Takane replied in Japanese, “Don’t worry, I’m used to it.” Then he sniffed at Bandou, whose pale skin had started to flush, “I’m not trying to take advantage of him, but I’m also not obligated to give him free room and board. He can stay for fifty bucks a night, paid in advance, take it or leave it. So that would be $150 for three nights.”

“Please pay him,” Kei ordered. Bandou reluctantly pulled out his wallet and took out a hundred and a fifty.

Takane accepted the crisp, new bills, “Wow, I’m gonna cut my hand they’re so fresh…” as he took the money, a black hand suddenly slapped him on the head from behind.

“What are you doin’?!”

(When did she come back?)

With a heavy shopping basket in one hand and the other ready to deliver a second blow at any moment, Momma Maria shouted furiously at Takane, “Oh, I don’t remember raisin’ a child so shameless he’d charge his friends for using a bed!” Then she turned to Kei, “And you too! If you can’t sleep on a pillow you didn’t pay for, then get the hell out! My house ain’t a hotel!” She scolded him the same way she had Takane. Then she said to Bandou, “So that’s that. Take back your money.” She snatched the bills from Takane’s hand and thrust them back to Bandou. In a calmer voice she continued, “Kei can be my fourteenth kid for a few days. I know that this is a dangerous part of town, but there’s nobody bad enough that they’d touch one of Momma Maria’s boys. So will you trust me?” Then she added after a touch of hesitation, “He needs to experience a little bit of real life, don’t you think?”

Bandou seemed a bit shocked. He stared into Momma’s dark eyes and bowed his head, “Thank you for taking care of him.” He said to her, then turned to Kei, “I’ll pick you up the evening after tomorrow.”

“I apologize for the inconvenience,” Kei said and bowed his head.

Takane bopped him on the head, “It’s your fault, you know. Well, not entirely.”

Then Bandou bowed to no one in particular and left. Takane watched him leave and said with a smile, “Well he caved pretty quick.”

“He has a responsibility to his employer, that’s all.”

Maria looked at her two wards, “Don’t talk like y’all know everything. It takes a certain amount of courage to trust somebody, and Mr. Bandou has that courage.” She watched with a sigh as Kei and Takane looked at each other; both Takane and this boy were used to seeing the worst in people, and tried to see behind their masks. That might be useful to keep from being betrayed, but it’s more important to learn how to trust others. “If all you see is the bad side of people, your mind’ll become bad too. That’s the way people are.” She thought of a metaphor her grandma had used, “‘Flowers grow in mud, but they bloom so beautiful ‘cause they’re always lookin’ at the sun,’ is what my grandmama used to say. Now, let’s start preparing lunch. Takane, help me peel the potatoes. I’ll mash’ em so Kei can eat without pain.”

Takane glared at Kei; of course he always helped Momma, but why did he have to peel potatoes for him?

She could tell what he was thinking, “If you was the one that got knocked out and was stuck in bed, I’d have asked Kei to help.” Then Momma grabbed Takane by the ear and dragged his big body into the kitchen while he yelled in protest.

As he got to work, Takane looked at Kei out of the corner of his eye. He was sitting on the bed with a blank look on his face. If that guy dared laugh at him for getting treated like a child… he’d pick up where he left off last night with him, even if it was in front of Momma. Kei was looking at him, but when he noticed Takane’s gaze he turned away. His face was expressionless, but faces aren’t the only thing that can reveal what a person is thinking. (That bastard…) he thought as he picked up another potato, (What, don’t you have a mommy?)

In reality, Kei envied Takane for Momma treating him like a child. But he didn’t want Takane to notice, so he turned over so his back was to them.

“He said he’s fourteen,” Takane said quietly, so his voice wouldn’t reach the bed.

“He’s probably ‘round that.” Momma nodded.

“A brat like that criticized my piano playing.” He said as he tossed the finished potato in a pot and reached for a new one.

Momma laughed, “Is that what started it?” She shrugged, then remembered something, “But, isn’t he a musician too? His palms are soft, but his fingertips are calloused.”

“Oh…” Takane looked at the bed; he had turned his back to them and seemed to be asleep.

“If he uses music to fill the void in his heart, then you’re one and the same,” Momma said quietly.

“I dunno…” he replied, but Takane knew that a fight wouldn’t cloud Momma’s judgement. And out of all the fights he’d been in, he’d never fought someone dumb enough to take on someone bigger than them with their hands in their pockets. But if he didn’t know anything about fighting, he wouldn’t have been able to keep from using them. Only a true idiot would do that — or somebody who had such conviction they were willing to sacrifice themselves for it. This Kei Tounoin… he stuck to his guns and caught him off guard with that kick out of nowhere. Then he asked him who he was, and all he did was say his name… (I’ll ask him more when he wakes up) Takane thought to himself, nodding (Ahh…) Why did he say he didn’t need to listen to more of his piano? He’d get it out of him even if he had to wring his neck.

“Uhnnn…”

When she heard Kei’s pained groan, Momma got up quickly and went over to the bed and patted his shoulder. “Momma’s here, momma’s here. Don’t you mind, my boy. I love you,” She said softly as she tucked him in to sleep, then went back into the kitchen. She took a peeled potato from Takane and asked, “What does ‘arigato’ mean?”

“It means ‘thank you’…”

Momma let out a sigh, “Maybe I shouldn’t have said three days... I shoulda said he could stay as long as he wants.”

Takane silently threw the peeled potatoes into the pot.

---

“Explain it,” he said. “It’s not like you had to listen.” Takane said bluntly.

Kei gave a small shrug in response to Takane’s eager question, “I simply didn’t think it was necessary, that’s all.”

“But why? Why the hell not?!”

“Well…” Kei said, looking up at the ceiling then dropping his gaze to his hands, which were folded on the table. “In short, jazz and blues were not the kind of music I wanted. That’s what it is.”

“Okay—“ Takane started to speak when Kei raised his eyes to meet his.

“Can I speak in Japanese?” He asked. “I’m not confident I can explain well in English.”

“Sure.” He replied.

“Thank you,” he bowed his head. “I want to become a musician,” he began. “Don’t ask me why, but I feel that it is my destiny to become a musician.”

(I know what you mean) Takane thought, and nodded. He understood the feeling well. “Performing music is my life.”

“However, thus far I’ve only been exposed to classical music. I was never allowed to listen to anything else; both my mother and father consider jazz, rock, and anything outside of classical to be vulgar.”

“Vulgar?”

“Ah… low-class.”

“I see.”

“I like classical music, of course. But I had some doubts about choosing it as my lifelong path since it’s the only thing I’ve known, so I thought I’d take the opportunity on this trip to see if there’s something else… I ah… wish to know if classical is ‘my’ music or not.”

“I see.” Takane nodded, though he only somewhat understood.

“So, I decided to listen to something different and went to that club. I could tell that your blues was good, but it didn’t strike a chord with me.” Seeing Takane’s frustrated expression, Kei politely added, “It’s just not my thing. It didn’t move me.” Ah… he looked up at the ceiling again. “Maybe it’s because of the lyrics.” Then… he brought his eyes down. “It’s like…the music of a frog in a small pond. But the classical music I’d have as my lifelong goal is as deep as the sea. That’s the reason.”

“What does that mean?”

Kei reiterated it in English, “Frog in a pond. As good as you play, I think that you could be the king of them…ahh… the King of the Frogs—”

Takane’s hand shot out and grabbed Kei by the chest before he could continue, “You think I’m the ‘King of Frogs?’ Me?”

Kei flinched momentarily at Takane’s reaction before quickly hiding it behind a blank expression. “That’s what it is, if you ask me. You’re a frog living in the shallow pool of jazz.”

“You sonnuva..!” Before he could think, his fist came down — but Kei didn’t dodge. The impact of the punch square to his temple sent him flying from the chair, but he got back up and sat down again to continue.

“I had always hoped to find the sound I wanted in a world outside of classical music. But there is no other music anywhere that has appealed to me more than that huge, profound ocean of emotion. I… hate to admit it, but… my parents were right! It truly is my music…” He looked at Takane with strangely determined eyes, his lips slightly turned up at the corners. A bitter smile… “I will be the fish that conquers the sea of classical music.” Then he laughed, the look in his eye disappearing in a flash, “I didn’t mean anything by it… calling you the King of Frogs.”

Then his head abruptly dropped and he slumped forward in a heap.

“Hey?” Takane peered at him.

Kei opened his eyes and mumbled, “I don’t feel good...” Takane looked at his fist… Momma was gonna be mad at him again…

---

He had lost count of how many times he had ‘tsked.’ Takane stuck the tip of his pinky into his ear and tried to scrape out the sound of Kei’s piano that had gotten in. But before long the finger stopped fiddling around, and he allowed himself to listen to the melody that Kei was playing, still trying to keep his composure. But he gave up with another ‘tsk…’ (Ah, well, yeah good playing is good playing. I can’t help but listen, right?)

Kei was playing the piano at one of Takane’s old haunts, where he had never played anything but jazz. But the piano seemed to have no trouble handling Kei’s fingers as they played intricate, gorgeous, delicate, and sweet music on the keys. The names of the songs however… he had no idea. He had never heard the one he played first, nor the one after that or the one after that. But that had nothing to do with understanding the music, and for Takane’s curious, flexible sensibility it wasn’t difficult to be moved by these masterpieces once the earplugs of obstinacy were removed.

“So is this the ‘ocean music’ you were talking about?” He asked when Kei had finished playing another song.

“Yes… a part of the ocean. That one was Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata.”

“Moonlight… so it’s like…the moon on the sea? So that part that goes ‘da-rara-da-rara’ is like waves, right?”

“Well… I’ve never heard that particular interpretation before, but if that’s what it felt like to you, then that’s what it is.”

“I guess. It’s definitely not like jazz or blues, though… it’s more like… ahh, what the hell… like looking at a painting in a museum.”

“Yes, well… Jazz and Blues are more humanistic, more raw human emotion. Classical music purifies that raw humanity… it’s ah... More abstract?”

“It’s so-called ‘art.’”

“I think it’s true that it’s attained a certain point of perfection.”

“Huh? Whatever you’re saying is too complicated for me.”

“Excuse me. Ahh… I think it’s—“

“It’s even harder to understand if you try to say it in English.”

“Then, how can I explain it to you?”

Seeing that Kei was upset, Takane waved his hand at him and said, “You don’t need to explain music to me, I understood it well enough when you called it an ‘ocean of emotion.’ That’s different from jazz.” He stood up and shoved Kei by the shoulder onto a barstool he had pulled over. “I think… it went something like this…”

He sat down and started to play the opening phrase of Moonlight Sonata, continuing until he said, “Hm? What’s the next part?”

“You can play something you’ve only heard once?” Kei said, shocked.

“Yeah, what about it?” He turned around. “That’s all I know how to do.”

“You don’t learn by reading sheet music?”

“Sheet music? What’s that? I just listen to music, then remember it and play it.”

“So… you’re a King after all.”

Takane gave a frustrated laugh, “Look…” he shook his head at Kei, “Just go on and tell me the rest. I like your ocean music, I’d like to add it to my rep.”

“But aren’t you a jazz pianist?”

“I’m just a pianist. I don’t care if it’s a frog song or a fish song, if I like it, it’s mine.”

Two years later, the Japanese-American pianist from Harlem, Takane Ikushima, would make the classical music world sit up and take notice as a super-unconventional piano genius. And it all started with the Moonlight Sonata he had learned from Kei Tounoin, who would later go on to become a world-famous conducting genius. However, while the piece played by Kei that night was about the tranquil moonlight falling down, Takane’s version was about the moonlit sea — the same piece by two very different players. But the enormous depth of the sea that is classical music accepted both of these young musicians, who were as similar as fire and water.

Incidentally, in later years Kei Tounoin would be admired for his formidable memory, which enabled him to memorize even the massive scores of Mahler’s symphonies. But not many people know that behind his ability was the somewhat childish rivalry he had with this downtown jazz pianist, Takane Ikushima, who had a repertoire of hundreds of pieces all by ear.

#fujimi orchestra #Akizuki Koh #Keiko Nishi #light novel #Japanese light novel #English light novel #classical music #piano

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ziezie13 · 4 years

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Additional Tags: Various cameos by various different skaters, Alternate Canon, Rivals, Canon Universe, Enemies to Lovers, Hate to Love, Hate Sex, Rough Sex, Explicit Consent, Romance, Falling In Love, Happy Ending, Drama, Angst, Anxiety, Jealousy, Misunderstandings, Confessions, Social Media, Single POV, Unreliable Narrator, First Kiss, First Time, Sexual Content, Slow Burn

Technically Arranged by ajwolf

Yuuri is a tech genius working in Silicon Valley, but he never would have gotten this far if not for the support of the Russian Royal family who offered him a full scholarship to the elite Rostelecom Academy and have been supporting his education ever since. Of course, this help didn’t come for free. He’s now considered a member of the Royal family, which isn’t so bad, other than the inordinate number of weddings he has to attend. There’s also the small stipulation that he is technically a candidate to become the Prince’s consort, but that’ll never happen…

Words: 77,601; Chapters: 12/?; Series: Part 1 of The First Prince; Fandoms: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime); Rating: Explicit; Last Update: 08 Jun 2018

Relationship(s): Katsuki Yuuri/Victor Nikiforov, Mila Babicheva/Sara Crispino

Characters: Katsuki Yuuri, Katsuki Mari, Katsuki Hiroko, Katsuki Toshiya, Vicchan (Yuri!!! on Ice), Makkachin (Yuri!!! on Ice), Phichit Chulanont, Phichit Chulanont's Hamsters, Yuri Plisetsky, Otabek Altin, Mila Babicheva, Sara Crispino, Original Characters, Okukawa Minako, Christophe Giacometti

Additional Tags: Arranged Marriage, Alternate Universe - Arranged Marriage, Alternate Universe - Royalty, Modern Royalty, Royalty, Prince Victor Nikiforov, Victor with a K, Oral Sex, Anal Sex, Technology, Minor Character Death, Grief/Mourning, Fluff, Fluff and Smut, Domestic Fluff, Royal Wedding, Non-Graphic Violence, Minor Violence, Mutual Pining, Communication, Supportive Katsuki Yuuri, no dogs die, Vicchan Lives, love and support, Marriage, Marriage Proposal, Loving Marriage, First Kiss, Kissing, Boys Kissing, Switching, kinda subby viktor, Anxiety, Anxiety Attacks, Don't copy to another site

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youdontloveme-yet · 3 years

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Okay, how do I start this? After the GMMTV 2021 premier and watching the trailer for Bad Buddy I’ve been extremely bothered by the soundtrack, which is TIlly Birds - Same Page and that song is all bittersweet and kind of sad. I mean, it’s not exactly sad, but it’s definitely not in the spirit of how that trailer went down visually. Thus I got curious and very suspicious of the series. Here is what I found out about the novel:

[SPOILERS AHEAD]

First of all the novel is called “Behind The Scenes” and it’s written by Afterday & West. It started publishing in May 2016 and it ended in January 2017. It is 36 scenes/chapters, two of which are extras. There is no english translation (yet) and the paper copies are mostly sold out from what I could access, which is not much since I ain’t in Asia. Anyway, off to the summary.

Pat (Ohm) and Pran (Nanon) are enemies who have loved each other since childhood. Although they were neighbors, the relationship between the two families was very bad because both parents did not like each other. They also taught their children to hate each other as well. When Pat and Pran grew up, they went to the same university and even studied in the two faculties that were rivals. Pat was the leader of the Faculty of Engineering and Pran was the leader of the Faculty of Architecture. Whenever these faculties met, they would plunge into battle. But the funny thing was that, after finishing punching and kicking, Pat dragged his injured body to Pran to bandage. Although Pran cursed a lot, he still treated the wound. The two were neither friends nor enemies. Pat loved teasing and annoying Pran. Sometimes Pat went to Pran's room to sleep and Pran chased him away, but Pat wouldn't go no matter what. Pat made the room super messy, causing Pran to go clean and clean after him, finally getting mad and angry. Actually, Pat liked Pran a lot, not like being taught by the parents. This relationship continued to grow until Pat got frustrated every time he saw Pran got close to someone else. Pat was even jealous of Pran's best friend that he dragged the friend out and hit him, making Pran mad at him for a long time. After calming down, he realized why he was jealous. At this moment he did not care about honor anymore. Pat did not want to lose Pran, so he decided to open his heart to confess his feelings and ask the other person to be his lover. Pran, although not sure when the two people love each other, in the end, agreed because in his heart he also secretly loved Pat. However, Pran had a condition that Pat needed to reduce his temper. After that, Pat was extremely addicted to his lover. The two were very lovey-dovey. They moved to one dormitory room. Pat completely transformed into a different person from what outsiders saw him. But their love could only be shown in the dorm room, after walking out there, they still pretended not to like each other. However, there are no secrets in this world. The secret was revealed so Pat and Pran had to confess to their departments. But contrary to the expectation, the Faculty of Engineering and the Faculty of Architecture got along well, becoming good companions. But the happiness did not last long, the drama had arrived. Pat's father discovered that two boys were in the same dorm, so he got angry. Both sides argued back and forth, and no one gave up. Pat was forced to move from the dormitory to his house and was barely able to go out to see Pran. Every time Pran came home, Pat climbed the balcony to meet him. When the parents on both sides discovered that they were both secretly dating, they got super angry. Pat was forced to marry a girl, and Pran was sent abroad to study. The atmosphere was filled with darkness. Adults were not interested in their child's feelings, they just held on to their own thoughts. Pat had no choice but to run away, but Pran refused because he could not leave his family behind. So they broke up in pain. Pat then followed his parents' wishes like a robot, got engaged to the girl, graduated, and worked at his father's company. His working style completely contradicted his father due to their dissimilar thoughts. Pat decided to meet Pran's father to consult about the business, and at the same time opened his heart to talk about the previous puzzle of the two families. Pran's father, seeing Pat's bravery, immediately softened, agreed to recount that the reason for the argument was due to a misunderstanding, but because his father kept grinding it, they could not be on the same page. Pat proved himself at work. In the end, his father was the one to withdraw, admitting he was too old. As time passed by, parents on both sides saw that their children were unhappy, they did not forbid them anymore. Pat canceled the engagement and flew over to make up with Pran. The two were together, there was no more drama afterward. They lived happily ever after.

[Cerdit: @ thuong on MDL]

Okay, so I think I found the whole novel online, but I cannot be sure it’s the whole thing yet. So, if anyone wants the link, hit me up.

The concept is quite interesting and I’m very eager to get to reading it, tho it will be an absolute struggle with my minimal knowledge of Thai, not that that is going to actually stop me.

I very highly doubt that GMMTV are going to strictly follow the novel, but there is definitely going to be angst, lots of it. And I can only guess if the novel is good, but since we all know that Nanon is very picky with what he plays, I guess the script has to be quite nice.

I’m honestly getting major coming off age vibes from everything that I managed to read.

Anyway, depending on how I progress with the novel, I may or may not do updates on how the story is. I’m slightly concerned with the whole “obsessed with his partner” thing... it just bothers me, but we shall see.

#bad buddy #bad buddy the series #bad buddy series #pranpat #pran x pat #bad buddy spoilers

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winryofresembool · 3 years

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Things We Lost in the Fire, ch 24

aka Caleo uni au

Fic summary: Calypso starts studying at a new university, but to her annoyance her new flatmate is a loud mouthed mechanic who also likes to sneak his dog in whenever. But as she learns to know him better, she realizes they might have more in common than what she first thought. Eventually, even the darkest secrets come out…

Chapter summary: Halloween chapter, part 2.

A/N: Yay, an update! I think some of you are gonna be happy about the characters that are being introduced in this chapter... Also lots of Caleo dorkiness (and canon references) in it! And you'll get to see if you were right with your costume guesses :D

Also like I already mentioned last week, this is the last chapter that I have written so far (when I started posting this fic I tried to make sure I'd have at least 7 chapters ready so I wouldn't have to stress about deadlines... and here we are now) so it is possible that updates may slow down a bit, at least if the chapter wants to become long. But I am still /trying/ to keep up with the regular updates the best I can :) So worry not!

Now, enjoy and let me know what you think!! Ps. somehow we’ve managed to pass 50k words already :O

Words: 4040

Genre: romance & hurt/comfort

Warnings: none

previous chapter / AO3

…

“Hi, you guys!” Piper, who was dressed as Wonder Woman, greeted Leo and Calypso first when they arrived, gesturing for them to come in.

“Hello! I was afraid Argo II had decided to stop working because you guys are late,” Jason the Superman noted as he offered to take Calypso’s coat and put it in a hanger by the door.

“I’m not going to lie to you, Jason, that possibility did cross my mind as well,” Calypso said, casting Leo a meaningful look. “But no, not this time.”

“We’re only 10 minutes late!” Leo protested, checking the time from his phone. “I was busy finishing something… and Calypso took her time preparing herself as well. She probably did her wig for like two hours.” He gave her a not so serious side-eye.

“I did not!” Calypso said defensively. “Yeah, I straightened and combed and braided it but that took me maybe 15-20 minutes so he is highly exaggerating.”

“Don’t worry, Calypso, we know he does that a lot.” Piper smiled at her reassuringly. “Speaking of your wig, though, you look very cute! That hair reminds me of the style you had before my makeover. You’re dressed as the mythology Calypso, right?”

“Yes, I am,” Calypso said, pleased that Piper had figured that out so fast. “I thought it would be fun to be a bit self ironic for once. I haven’t really had a good reason to sew recently so this was a nice excuse to do that as well.” She made a small twirl to show the dress better.

“That dress really looks great!” Piper told her. “I would gladly commission you to sew me clothes; it’s so hard to find anything nice from the clothes stores these days. But Leo.” She turned back to him. “I see someone hasn’t bothered to get a costume. I wasn’t expecting that from you because you’re always so excited about them.”

“No, you got it all wrong.” Leo wagged his finger at her. “I do have it here, but as I told Cal, it would have been too difficult to wear in the car.” He dropped his bag on the floor, causing a loud thud as it hit the ground.

“Alright. Care to give us any hint what it is?” Piper asked curiously. “Seems heavy.” Calypso wondered if this was something they did every year.

“I’m just saying that it’s inspired by some movies that united us three,” Leo noted mysteriously. “But that’s all, you’ll see soon!”

“My mind is blank now,” Piper said. “Jason, what movies have we watched with him?”

“The first one that comes to my mind is Star Wars,” Jason reminded her. Suddenly both Jason and Piper’s eyes widened in realization. “Could it be?”

“Oh no, Leo you didn’t!” Piper doubled over in laughter when it occurred to her what Leo’s costume most likely was. “I can’t wait to see this!”

“I hope you took pictures with Festus!” Jason couldn’t keep his poker face either, and Calypso watched their reactions with confusion.

“Don’t worry, I will show them later.” Leo grinned, unperplexed by Jason and Piper’s laughter. “Now, where can I change?”

Piper showed him an empty room where he could get into his costume in peace, while Calypso started looking around the house on her own. Even though the place seemed rather fancy, Jason and Piper had managed to make it cozier with their personal objects. A lot of them had seen life and were worn but somehow they still fit in with the newer decorations.

As Calypso reached the living room, her focus went to the guests who had already arrived at the party. She waved at Annabeth and nodded awkwardly to Percy. Even though she and Annabeth were friends again, she wasn’t quite sure how she should act near Percy so ‘reserved’ felt the most natural reaction. She couldn’t help but smile a bit, though, when she registered their costumes: Annabeth had a Chiton just like her, although grey instead of white, with some silvery accessories and a beautiful owl shaped brooch over her chest. Perhaps the most impressive part of her costume was the Greek styled helmet that was used in battles and that hid most of Annabeth’s curly ponytail. Calypso was quite certain she was dressed as Athena, the Greek goddess that according to her was the one she identified herself the most with. Percy on the other hand was wearing sandals, shorts, a tropical shirt, and a belt with fishing equipment and he was holding a fishing rod in his hand. Calypso couldn’t quite figure out who he was supposed to be, other than some sort of fisherman.

“Hi,” Calypso greeted them as she got to hearing distance with them. “You guys look nice. You’re Athena, right?” She asked Annabeth. “Matches my theme, don’t you think?”

“Sure does,” Annabeth nodded, eyeing Calypso’s costume. “You look pretty much exactly like how I imagine the mythology Calypso.”

“Thank you. Coming from you it’s a big compliment.” She turned Percy. “I can’t figure out who you are, though. You don’t seem like a Greek god?”

“I am, though,” Percy replied. “I’m Poseidon.”

“Ooh, so that’s why the fishing gear!” Calypso realized. “But I don’t think the Greeks had tropical shirts quite yet.”

“No, you’re right in that.” Percy shook his head, smiling a bit. “But I’m basing this on the version in the Peter Johnson series. That’s how he was described in it.”

“I didn’t know you have read that too,” Calypso said, “But makes sense. Um, the Poseidon and Athena of the mythology hated each other, though. Not that it’s really my business, but I hope you two are doing fine…?” She asked a bit nervously, not wanting to be the reason for their issues.

“Oh yeah, we are,” Percy confirmed immediately. “It’s just an old joke – back when Annabeth and I were reading the Peter Johnson books I used to say Poseidon is my godly parent and Athena Annabeth’s, and that just kind of stuck with us.”

“Alright.” Calypso accepted Percy’s answer, turning her attention back to Annabeth. “By the way, where did you get that helmet? It definitely looks fancier than most of the plastic ones you see at costume shops.”

“My father collects these things,” Annabeth answered, lifting the helmet from her head for a moment. “I’ve told you he’s also a historian, right? Well, one of his friends wanted to make a replica of the ancient Greek helmets with some modern machines and dad bought this from him. I’m not saying this is 100 per cent accurate but it looks pretty cool, in my opinion.”

“It does,” Calypso confirmed.

“You came with Leo, right?” Percy asked then, to which Calypso nodded. “Where is he? I can’t wait to see his costume; he usually goes for something that is way over the top. Last year he was Hiccup from How to Train your Dragon and he had made a Toothless costume for his dog. I’ve also seen pics of him as Iron Man. Yes, with a full iron costume.”

“I can believe that of him,” Calypso chuckled, imagining Leo in the said costume. “He just went to change into his costume because apparently he couldn’t drive in it. He didn’t reveal what he was going to be, but it does sound like something extravagant.”

“I missed his costume last year but I’ll be sure to have a camera ready when he shows up this time,” Annabeth said happily. Calypso was relieved that the conversation was going this well; she hadn’t known what to expect beforehand because this was the first time she was in the same room with Percy since the ‘incident’. Talking with him now, though, made her realize that holding a grudge wouldn’t be smart and he seemed to think the same way.

“I just realized,” Calypso decided to change the topic, “that I’ve never heard the story of how you guys know Jason and Piper. So how did that happen?”

“It’s a funny story,” Percy started, smiling at the memory. “Jason and I used to be the captains of rivaling soccer teams when we were around 16. Well, one time Jason’s team was visiting us but we were playing in an arena that had just been renovated so I hadn’t been there before. I may have been a bit late from our team meeting and I was a bit lost so I decided to ask one staff lady where I was supposed to go. Somehow she got our teams mixed up and I ended up in the locker room of Jason’s team. Some of Jason’s teammates said that my expression was worth seeing when I realized the mistake but I dunno about that. The funny thing was that somehow the same thing had happened to Jason; he had also been late for the meeting because of traffic or something and he had gotten into my team’s locker room. Well, after the game we had a good laugh about it together and ended up talking about other stuff as well and noticed we have a lot in common. That’s how we became friends. When we moved into the same town, we started training together at least a few times a week.”

“Piper and I didn’t learn to know each other until Jason and she started dating a couple of years ago and they invited Percy to some party where I went with him. To be honest, I was a bit suspicious about her at first because we seemed very different but eventually we learned to respect each other’s qualities. And here we are,” Annabeth added.

“Those are some cool stories,” Calypso said. “It seems like a funny coincidence that somehow we all ended up in this city even though most of us are from somewhere else. Like Leo is from Texas, I am from Greece…” “Speaking of him,” Annabeth had to muffle his laughter with her hand, “I believe we are finally getting some answers about his costume.”

“Oh… my gods” was all Calypso could say when she turned to the direction Annabeth was looking at. “You’re really something else.”

Leo was completely hidden inside his costume, but Calypso could practically hear him grinning at their reactions. The costume looked very much like in the movies; golden (just painted, not real gold, because there was no way Leo could afford something like that) plating forming a droid with big round eyes and an ability to speak lots and lots of different languages: C-3PO from Star Wars.

“Holy shit, dude, that looks so real.” Percy gaped at Leo. “I’m starting to understand why you spent so much time in your room the past few weeks.”

“Why C-3PO, though?” Calypso asked once she managed to put her poker face back on. “Does that have some story behind it?”

“Because, duh, it looks cool!” Leo exclaimed with a mechanical voice from inside his costume. “I dunno, ever since I first saw C-3PO as a kid I thought it would be cool to be able to build something like that. And hey, his ability to translate like all the possible languages is pretty neat. Me? I just know 3.”

“Isn’t it uncomfortable in there, though?” Calypso asked. “That thing must be heavy.”

“Sunshine, I’m always uncomfortable. But this was a childhood dream of mine so I sure as heck am not backing off now,” Leo said with determination.

“A stubborn one, aren’t you?” Calypso stated. “Even I have to admit, though, that you have certainly done some thorough job with it. Hey, I should take photos before I forget! You don’t get to see this every day.”

The others dug their phones up as well and for a while Leo just made silly poses while they took pictures, clearly enjoying the attention his costume got. Eventually he started demanding that Calypso should join him for the photos but she was a bit hesitant at first.

Leo argued: “Come on. Greek mythology meets Star Wars? You don’t see a crossover like that every day.”

“Can’t argue with that, I suppose,” Calypso said and went next to him. “Well, do we have some kind of story for Calypso and C-3PO’s meeting?” she asked as Percy and Annabeth waved at them to look at the camera.

Leo considered her question for a moment. “Oh, how about this? C-3PO somehow ends up on Calypso’s island - because duh, Calypso is cursed so she can’t leave the island…”

“You seem to know surprisingly much about Greek mythology, just saying…” Calypso noted while trying to smile for the photos, resting her hand on the metallic shoulder.

“I told ya, Sunshine, you can blame tía Callida for that…” Leo reminded her. “Anyway, I imagine those two don’t really like each other at first because they’re so different but eventually they learn to respect each other’s skills; C-3PO can translate basically any language and Calypso is good at all kinds of handiworks, which is hard for a droid.”

“And? What happens after that?” Calypso asked curiously.

Leo considered it for a moment. “C-3PO doesn’t really wanna leave Calypso’s island but he has galaxies to save with his friend R2-D2 so he has to go but he promises to come get her afterwards.”

“Aw, Leo, that is kind of sweet,” Calypso commented, suddenly aware of the metal arm that had snuck around her waist. “Does he… does he ever return, though? Shouldn’t that be impossible?”

“For a human, maybe, but he’s a droid,” Leo noted. “Unfortunately during a big battle he blows up badly but the ever so faithful R2-D2 collects the pieces and finds someone who can rebuild him again. And boom, he makes it back and lives happily ever after with his goddess.”

“What’s the term you use when you enjoy a fictional relationship a lot?” Calypso asked. “Shipping?” Annabeth nodded at her. “I don’t know, Leo, to me it sounds like you ship those two. Isn’t that a bit weird?” “What, why would that be weird? I’ve seen people ship…”

“I see these two have gotten into a full on nerd mode again,” Annabeth said quietly to Percy while they were waiting for the flatmates to stop their bickering so they’d be able to take the photos. “Not projecting themselves into their characters, right?”

“No, definitely not,” Percy agreed.

Eventually Leo and Calypso stopped bickering and Annabeth was able to take the pictures. Even if Leo was mostly hidden by his costume, Calypso felt a bit self conscious about the fact that these were the first photos of them together. They did a few goofy poses because Annabeth and Percy told them to, but Calypso thought she probably looked more embarrassed than funny in them.

Once they were done, Leo went to Annabeth who was going through the photos and bowed his head a bit to see them better. “Hey, these do look pretty cool! It’s probably just the lighting but here you look like you’re blushing to some funny comment C-3PO made.”

“Show me!” Calypso yelped nervously and took the phone from Annabeth. When she saw it, she could immediately tell Leo was not wrong; she really was blushing. “Yeah, it’s definitely those candles in the background that do it… And I think it’s pretty warm in here, maybe all the people here heat this room…”

“OK, if you say so,” Leo said but Calypso imagined that he was looking at her suspiciously through his costume.

Trying to get the others’ attention to something else, she said: “So, who else has arrived so far?”

“Nico and Will. I think they went to get some snacks from the dining room,” Piper, who had just entered the room, answered.

“Leo told me that Nico is Jason’s relative, but what about Will?” Calypso asked her.

“Will is Nico’s boyfriend. This is the first time we’re meeting him but they seem very good together. At least he seems to have a grounding effect on Nico, and he actually listens to him, unlike most of us. Um, sorry, it’s a long story, one that I should probably save for another time. Nico may be a bit hard to approach sometimes but he is a very nice guy when you learn to know him. Just… been through a lot. I guess like many of us here. But he seems way happier now,” Piper said, and as if on cue, they could hear some distant laughter coming from the dining room.

“We should start a traumatized college kids’ club,” Leo attempted to joke, and the others hummed in agreement. Maybe she did belong to this group after all, Calypso thought. If only they knew, though…

“This just got cheerful,” Percy said, interrupting Calypso’s thought process. “Who’s up for blue candies? Get them before Will and Nico eat them all.”

“I heard that, Jackson!” Nico entered the room without a warning. “No offense to you or your mom but blue candies aren’t exactly my thing.”

“Hi, Nico,” Percy greeted him, seeming a bit flustered after Nico’s comment. “You haven’t met Calypso, right?” He pointed at her.

“No, I haven’t,” Nico took a quick look at her and crossed his arms over his chest.

“Alright, in that case, this is Calypso Astal. And Calypso, this is Nico di Angelo,” Percy introduced them to each other.

“Nice to meet you,” Calypso approached him, but he seemed to evaluate her for a moment before he took her hand.

“Likewise,” Nico said finally. “I think Jason has mentioned you a few times.”

“Oh. That’s nice,” Calypso said a bit unsurely, like every time she met a new person. The lonely years still had a toll on her, and even though she liked spending time with her friends, meeting new people was always a bit nerve wracking to her. “You’re his relative, right?”

“A distant cousin,” Nico answered. “Yeah, our fathers are related, but I have my mother’s last name and Jason has his.”

“I take it your mother has roots elsewhere, based on the last name?” Calypso asked.

“She was Italian,” Nico shrugged. “I lived there my first years too. But now I can barely remember those times.”

Calypso noticed the use of past tense, but she thought it was probably better to not ask about that in the middle of a party. “Oh. I’ve been to Italy a few times. I’m originally from Greece.”

“What brought you here, then?” Nico asked.

“Dad’s work,” Calypso responded in a tone that told everyone she wouldn’t elaborate on that topic more. It seemed to have become a habit to her.

“Anyway,” Leo, who had managed to stay quiet for a surprisingly long amount of time in Calypso’s opinion, stepped forward and cleared his throat. “Nico, a little bird told me,” he looked at Jason, “that your boyfriend is a Star Wars geek. Is that true?”

Nico took one look at Leo’s costume and his mouth twitched when he realized why Leo was asking. “He is, but don’t let him get started on it, or else he will never stop. Besides, he’s not my boyfriend, I prefer calling him…”

“A significant nuisance?” Will showed up from the dining room, carrying a plate full of food. “Don’t mind him, he just warms up a bit slow.”

“Yes, this is Will,” Nico sighed, addressing those who hadn’t met them before. “Sometimes he’s a nuisance, sometimes he can be quite OK. When he’s having a good day.”

“Same back at you, dear,” Will laughed. “Did I hear someone mention Star Wars, though?”

“You did,” Leo said, stepping forward so Will could see his costume better. Needless to say, Will looked beyond thrilled.

“Oh boy, here we go again,” Nico said quietly before Will even had time to comment on the costume.

“Woah, that must be the best C-3PO costume I’ve seen. And yeah, I’ve seen a few so I don’t compliment you for nothing,” Will assured.

“Thanks, man, I did spend quite a while with it,” Leo said, high fiving Will. “Glad someone here appreciates good things.”

“I still hope you’re not one of those fans who have only seen the most recent movies and not the originals,” Will noted.

“Heck, no!” Leo exclaimed immediately. “The original three for the win! Mom and I used to watch them a lot… um, when I was little. She was a big fan. But the newer ones just don’t feel the same.” Calypso had a feeling Leo had almost said something else, but he had changed his phrasing at the last moment.

“You have a pretty good taste,” Will said approvingly. Then he finally realized he hadn’t even asked Leo and Calypso’s names before getting into the geek mode.

“So, who are you two? I already met Percy and Annabeth earlier but I don’t think I know you guys yet.”

“I’m Leo Valdez, and this is my, um, flatmate, Calypso Astal,” Leo introduced. Calypso hoped there was a better word to describe their relationship than a ‘flatmate’ but at the moment it was probably the best and the safest option there was.

“Flatmates, huh?” Will repeated. “How did that happen?”

“I was in a hurry to find a roof over my head so I put in the application that I also accept mixed flats,” Calypso replied. “I didn’t meet Leo beforehand because, um, that would have been a bit difficult to arrange in this case, but it worked out OK.” Calypso noticed Leo was looking at her from the corner of his eye, and she realized she had never even talked about that option before. The truth was that she had had to plan her leaving very thoroughly so her father wouldn’t notice and she had driven to Indianapolis as fast as possible, with no time for second guessing.

“And my flat happened to have a room free because our boy Jason decided to move in with Beauty Queen,” Leo added to that story. “It’s really no stranger than that.”

“Oh, right, someone must have mentioned that you and Jason used to be flatmates,” Will recalled. “I just didn’t connect the dots.”

Jason had apparently finished welcoming the rest of the guests because he joined the group in the living room. “That reminds me, I don’t think I’ve asked you, Calypso, if Leo still leaves his dishes undone and if he has empty milk cartons in the fridge.”

“He used to do that?” Calypso asked with amusement. “After seeing his room that’s not so hard to picture, but no, he’s been pretty tidy in the common area. Although one time he bribed me to do his dishes for him in exchange for some of his food.”

“It was a good deal!” Leo protested. “You didn’t have to cook and you also got to taste some Valdez’ sizzling hot quesadillas so I’d say it was a win-win. Besides, you didn’t seem to have anything against that.”

“Alright, I will admit the quesadillas were pretty good,” Calypso conceded. “But a true gentleman offers them without even asking. Well, other than that he’s been OK,” she told Jason with a playful twinkle in her eye.

“I guess he really is able to change his habits, then,” he replied. “At least when the flatmate is someone he...”

Before Jason had time to finish his sentence, Leo intervened: “Folks, do we really have to be talking about my cleaning habits in front of people I don’t know? The first impressions are important, especially when it comes to Supersized McShizzle!”

“We’re just being honest, Repair Boy.” Calypso couldn’t resist booping his metal covered nose. Apparently she just didn’t know how to not cross the line with this boy, she sighed in her mind.

“Is that all? Where’s the feisty Sunshine I know?,” Leo said in a low tone, so the others could barely hear his comment, coming out almost flirty.

“Shut up,” Calypso answered equally quietly but held her gaze at him.

“Ahem,” they suddenly heard Piper’s voice behind them. “In case you’ve stopped with the flirting, I’d like you to meet a couple of people.”

Calypso turned to see the newcomers and as she recognized the Hunter badges both of them had attached to their shirts, something in her mind just suddenly turned off.

#caleo #leo valdez #calypso #heroes of olympus #percy jackson and the olympians #trials of apollo #my fics #caleo uni au

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love-bokumono-fics · 3 years

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WIP Wednesday - Friends of Mineral Town, Part 2!

I'm going to make 2 WIP Wednesday posts today for the FoMT WIP Wednesday feature. When I sorted by Date Updated, I realized that the most recent 10 fics have all received a feature on the blog over the last couple months. Which is great! But I also want to take time to feature some of the WIPs that haven't been updated in a little bit, but still deserve some time in the spotlight. Part 1 featured the first 10 fics on the list, Part features the next 10! Happy reading! Do you have a FoMT WIP that didn't get featured today? Drop the link to it in a Submission box! We're always happy to feature submissions! to cure what ails you - by indoorsy; WIP, 7/?, 22k Rating: Mature; Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply; Category: F/M Fandoms: Friends of Mineral Town Relationship: Claire the Farmer/Doctor Trent; Characters: Claire, Doctor Trent | Torre Additional Tags: Slow Burn, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, his name is Doctor Summary: Claire, a perpetual people-pleaser with a sensitive soul, uproots her mundane city life to take over her grandfather's farm. Her endeavors are supported by the friendly community of Mineral Town - including the town's eccentric doctor. A Happy Lamp for an Unhappy Life - by MacchiatoRodion; WIP, 7/?, 17k Rating: Teen And Up Audiences; Archive Warning: Major Character Death; Categories: Gen, Multi Fandoms: Back To Nature, A Wonderful Life, Friends of Mineral Town, Havest Moon DS Cute Characters: Cliff, Old Nina, Galen | Guri, Mary the Librarian, Ann the Innkeeper | Ran, Basil the Writer, Celia | Seperia, Marlin | Mash, Pony | Aya | Jill, Jennifer, Gray, Kai, Carter the Pastor, Popuri, Rick, Manna, Lillia the Shopkeeper, Aja | Adge, Doctor Trent, Dr. Hardy | Paddock Additional Tags: Canonical Character Death, Grief/Mourning, Suicidal Thoughts, Child Death, Past Character Death, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Tags May Change, Childhood Memories, Child Abandonment, Domestic Disputes, Poor Life Choices, Flowers, Developing Friendships, Healing, Child Neglect Summary: Cliff was once considering committing suicide, so his instinct is to jump off the edge of Mother's Hill, where so many lovable people had perished before. But something compels him to look down at the area where the bodies should have landed. To his surprise, there was an entire village at the bottom. He decides to investigate since he doesn't anticipate that anybody will miss him while he is away. He ends up meeting someone who shows him the impact of even the shortest life to him. This story begins in the summer leading up to the beginning of Friends of Mineral Town and the first chapter of A Wonderful Life/DS. Story of Mineral Town - by CustardPudding; WIP, 2/?, 5k Rating: Teen And Up Audiences; Archive Warning: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings; Category: F/M Fandoms: Friends of Mineral Town, Harvest Moon 64, Back To Nature Relationships: Claire the Farmer/Gray, Cliff/Female Farmer, Ann the Innkeeper | Ran/Brandon, Kai/Popuri, Harris/Mary the Librarian | Marie, Elli/Doctor Trent | Torre, Karen/Rick; Characters: Claire, Sara, Cliff, Gray, Jennifer, Karen, Ann the Innkeeper | Ran, Doug | Dudley Additional Tags: Chickens, Angst, Family Drama, Self-Esteem Issues, Slow Burn, More like medium burn? I don't really know, Some Fluff, But also quite a bit of angst, Canon couples, Ann/Brandon is kinda cracky, Some underage drinking, Which is mostly Karen, Minor Swearing Summary: Claire and Sara, sisters who have been inseparable for their whole lives, are vastly different. With Claire's quiet and responsible nature combined with Sara's hotheaded and standoffish one, many wondered how they could possibly be related by blood. But they took care of each other nevertheless. So when they inherit their late grandfather's farm, they expect it to be an easy thing. Take a few looks at it, restore it to its former glory, and then sell it and move on. They were wrong, of course. Rival After Events - by LuxBeacon (Number13teen); WIP, 4/13, 7k Rating: General

Audiences; Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply; Categories: F/F, F/M, Gen, M/M Fandoms: Friends of Mineral Town Relationships: Elli/Doctor Trent | Torre, Kai/Popuri, Ann the Innkeeper | Ran/Cliff, Karen/Rick, Gray/Mary the Librarian | Marie, Harvest Goddess/Pete | Jack, Kappa/Claire, Male Farmer | Yuto/Huang | Won; Characters: Elli | Elly, Doctor Trent | Torre, Popuri, Kai, Ann the Innkeeper | Ran, Cliff, Karen, Rick, Mary the Librarian, Gray, Pete | Jack, Claire, Harvest Goddess, Kappa, Won | Huang, Gourmet - Character Additional Tags: Fluff, Rival Marriage, LGBTQ Themes, Wholesome, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net Summary: A series of one shots detailing the lives of the Mineral Town bachelorettes and bachelors after marrying their rival. Each story references different locations and characters from across the franchise and each chapter takes inspiration from actual events in the games. Pure Fluff. Year One - by pawprintmusical; WIP, 7/?, 10k Rating: General Audiences; Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply; Category: F/M Fandoms: Friends of Mineral Town, Harvest Moon DS Cute, A Wonderful Life Relationships: Claire the Farmer/Zack, Ann the Innkeeper | Ran/Cliff, Elli/Doctor Trent | Torre, Gray/Mary the Librarian, Kai/Popuri, Karen/Rick; Characters: Claire the Farmer, Zack, Ann the Innkeeper | Ran, Cliff, Elli, Doctor Trent | Torre, Gray, Mary the Librarian, Karen, Rick, Kai, Popuri Additional Tags: MFoMT, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, alcohol mention, didn't want to tag the whole town but they're here with a chunk of AWL people too, Tags Added As I Go, Pre-Relationship, Not Remake Compliant Summary: Claire needed a change, and Mineral Town seemed like just the ticket. She just never expected how much it would change her. Rainy Day Vignettes - by Shelookstothesky; WIP, 7/?, 31k Rating: Teen And Up Audiences; Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply; Category: F/M Fandoms: A Wonderful Life, Harvest Moon DS Cute, Friends of Mineral Town Characters: Marlin | Mash, Pony | Aya | Jill, Rock, Muffy | Muumuu, Griffin | Garfan, Takakura, Celia | Seperia, Vesta, Claire Additional Tags: Vignette, Eventual Romance, Angst and Drama Summary: This fanfic is a collection of scenes I wrote with the Jill/Pony and Marlin paring back in 2016 and decided to reread and edit them just for fun. I'm not sure if I'll actually write new scenes in addition to the original ones I wrote back in 2016. I suppose it will depend on how engrossed I get back into the plot. I hope you enjoy anyway!~ Life is like a Festival - by LeafBubble; WIP, 7/?, 26k Rating: Teen And Up Audiences; Archive Warning: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings; Category: F/M Fandoms: Friends of Mineral Town Relationships: Many relationships will happen, Final pairing is a mystery; Characters: Rick, Popuri, Barley | Mugi, May | Mei, Saibara, Gray, Duke, Manna, Basil the Writer, Anna, Mary the Librarian | Marie, Thomas, Harris, Old Ellen, Elli | Elly, Stu | Yu, Jeff, Sasha, Karen, Doctor Trent | Torre, Carter the Pastor, Cliff, Doug | Dudley, Ann the Innkeeper | Ran, Kai, Gotz | Gotts, Brandon, Jennifer, Zack, Won Huang Additional Tags: Adult themes are present, Depression, Angst, Prejudice, Sexuality, Abandonment, Happy Themes, Life gives the good and the bad Summary: Claire is a young woman who led a comfortable life. Great up bringing, amazing schooling, landed a dream job. As the days go by she feels as if she was doing nothing, but being a cog in the machine. A chance get away on a cruise forever changes her life. A forgotten land, facing turmoil when crops and animals begin to decay. A goddess is in disarray as she needs to find a new farmer to help restore the town. After making a deal with a goddess, Claire vows to find the man who saved her life. Will she decide to take on the challenge of being a farmer in an unfamiliar town and find this mystery man, or pack her bags and face reality? Friendships will be tested, and love will be fought and lost. A slow burn story that will go through the lives of the many

characters of Mineral Town and their connections to each other. all that glitters - by christinahosetti; WIP, 3/?, 5k Rating: Teen And Up Audiences; Archive Warning: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings; Category: F/F Fandoms: Friends of Mineral Town Relationship: Claire the Farmer/Jennifer; Characters: Claire, Jennifer Additional Tags: Slow Burn, Supernatural Elements, Worldbuilding, Eventual Smut, Fae & Fairies, not gonna tag the whole town but they're all there basically, claire is called clover Summary: “You’re not completely solitary, though,” Clover points out, now harvesting the blackberries into a tupperware container she’s fished out of her rucksack. “You hang out with me all the time. And Mugi, and Lillia, and Harris.” “That’s true. They’re all people with peaceful energies, though, so I don’t mind them so much. No drama or nastiness.” Clover gives her an odd look. “I’m not sure that applies to me.” “Well, you’re the exception.” - Jennifer has secrets to keep, but the farmer makes her want to spill them all. Harvest Moon: The Novel - by CurtTheGamer, WIP, 5/?, 8k Rating: Teen And Up Audiences; Archive Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence; Major Character Death Fandoms: Friends of Mineral Town, Back To Nature Characters: Pete | Jack, Ann the Innkeeper | Ran, Doug | Dudley, Mary the Librarian | Marie, Karen, Elli | Elly, Old Ellen, Gray, Jeff, Cliff, Gotz | Gotts, Sasha, Maria the Mayor's Daughter, Anna, Thomas, Manna, Doctor | Trent, Duke, Saibara, Stu | Yu, Won | Huang, Kent, May | Mei, Barley | Mugi, Kai, Popuri, Lillia the Shopkeeper, Rick, Basil the Writer, Harris, Jennifer, Zack, Dog, Horse Summary: Pete is a young man from the big city. He hasn't dreamed of having a job outside the city, nor does he want to. But when an old friend from a small village dies, Pete inherits his farm. Though reluctant, he agrees to leave his city life to become a farmer. Will he live happily ever after, or will the old-fashioned country life become a bore? What is Art? (Not That) - by FosterTheBananas; WIP, 1/2, 1.2k Rating: General Audiences; Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply; Category: Gen Fandoms: Friends of Mineral Town Characters: Won | Huang, Brandon Summary: Huang heads to Mineral Town to help oversee shipments for his cousin. While there, he tries to buy some art in the hopes of reselling for a profit, but instead he catches the attention of an eccentric artist who. just. won't. go. away.

#wip wednesday #harvest moon #story of seasons #friends of mineral town #fomt #sos fomt #story of seasons friends of mineral town

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stillebesat · 4 years

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Stille’s Sanders Sides Master Post (Updated September 9th, 2022)

Here’s my official Master Post of my Sanders Sides Fics!

All of them can also be found on my Ao3 account NikaylaSarae. ^^;;

For Tumblr, the links to all my stories are below the cut. <3

Enjoy!

The Brilliant 3 A.M. Idea -Roman gets an Idea at 3am and must tell Thomas. -Inspired from Image posted by: organisoitukaaosteoria, Fic request: darude-sanderstorm

The Nest -Patton misplaces his cardigan and finds it in an unexpected spot. Inspired from series of text posts by: the-zebra-dragon and arc852, Fic request: sidewritings

That’s How You Know -Roman is feeling low after not getting a part he auditioned for and desperately wanted. The others step in to cheer him up. Song!Fic -That’s How You Know from Enchanted

Out There: Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 -Logan finds himself alone in the apartment. So he does something he usually doesn’t do. Sing. Song!Fic -Out There from Hunchback of Notre Dame

Deep Heart: Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 -When Logan leaves the others in Patton’s room, Virgil takes matters into his own hands and ends up revealing a secret Patton wanted to keep hidden. (takes place at the end of Moving On ½) Inspiration from This Post Courage, Braveheart: Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 -Virgil had known since he was young that his chances for living long were slim. Still, he had hoped to have lived a little bit longer.

A Sweet Discovery -It’s 2 a.m. and Tiny!Logan is on the prowl for sweets. Tiny!Sides

It Takes Two -When Logan can’t convince Thomas to not give into peer pressure in a potentially dangerous situation, he turns to the Side he thought he’d never go to for help. Virgil.

Found in the Glitter -Working backstage is not always the easiest, especially when Virgil manages to get on the new guy’s nerves. Theatre AU

A Rainbow Connection -Roman’s on the run, desperate to escape the man who’s been able to control his entire life just by looking into his eyes. Hopping from airport to airport, Roman unexpectedly runs into the person who gave him the key to slipping from the Cobra’s mental control; Thomas Sanders. Song!Fic

Shades of Truth: Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 - -Everyone has secrets, Roman knows this. But after dealing with Deceit in the most recent video and discovering that Virgil doesn’t like liars…he decides to come clean with a secret he’s been hiding from the other Sides.

Meeting Einstein -It’d been a horrible no good very bad and awful day, and all Patton wanted was to play with the puppies in the local pet store to cheer himself up. Instead he finds something completely different.

True Colors -There’s a place in the mindscape that Roman only goes to as a last resort when the criticism from the others becomes too much. Unfortunately, it’s becoming an all too frequent occurrence.

A Work of Art -After a rough night of public humiliation at the hands of his old rival, Roman just wants to take a shower and get some sleep. His roommate has something else in mind though.

Contained-Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 -You know what they say about Creativity. It’s best if it’s locked away.

FreeFalling- Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 -Sometimes you just need to take a leap of faith. Winged!AU

The Butterfly Effect- Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Chapter 23 Chapter 24 Chapter 25 Chapter 26 -Roman has three chances to change his life for the better. Three chances to fix past mistakes. Three chances to totally screw it all up. But who said life is worth living unless one takes a little risk?

The Training Program-It’s five a.m.. Virgil hasn’t yet slept and Thomas is summoning him. That couldn’t be good.

A Hero’s Rescue Part 1 Part 2 -After being defeated in battle, the last thing Roman expects is to have a soaking wet hero show up at his doorstep.

The Beginning -Creativity has an idea. A wonderful, awesome idea. Now…if only Creativity could focus enough to make the idea a reality.

Little Lies - Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 -All he’d been looking for when he’d revealed himself to Thomas was a little less work. One less secret to hide. One less thing to keep Thomas from knowing because his host didn’t want to know. To say it had backfired for Deceit was a bit of an understatement.

White Lies - Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 -Sequel to Little Lies -Deceit has been stuck in his ‘role’ as Dilyn for almost a year now. It’s about time he changed that.

CatScratch - Virgil’s learned to expect a lot of things helping the police solve murders, but he never thought that they’d actually find something that could crack his own unsolved case.

The Finish Line - After years of training, Logan Star is finally going to accomplish the one goal he’s had since his first High School track meet. Beat Roman Prince.

Growing Pains -Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 -For the past year Logan has been fighting to keep a part of himself hidden. Only now, thanks to Roman, he’s been compromised.

The Grade -Patton: I’m sorry I graded your tests in magic marker, but I just felt like it.

Seeking Warmth -If he’d known he’d be spending the rest of eternity freezing to death on Earth, Deceit would never have left Hell in the first place.

Spilled Milk -Logan never expected to get in the middle of a fight while at the self-checkout of a grocery store.

Egg-stenuating Circumstances -Why is it that the simplest of quests for Roman always end up more complicated than they should be?

The Rise of Deceit -With the Dragonwitch destroying the kingdom, the Crown Prince has a difficult choice to make.

Tattered -Part 1 Part 2 -Left to fend for himself, Roman can’t trust anyone…right?

Raindrops and Cookies -Most people would only be focused on getting themselves out of the rain. Patton isn’t most people.

A Special Delivery -Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 - “The stork brings the baby to deserving parents.” He whispered, quoting the words from memory. “All the lost, forgotten, and alone.”

In These Tangled Webs: Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 -It should be easy admitting to your roommates that you’re not entirely human. Only in Logan’s case it’s not. Not when he discovers that Patton is afraid of Spiders.

The Old Hoodie - 2 sentence prompt –Thomas glared at Virgil, eyes filled with hate, and held out Virgil’s old hoodie, obviously expecting him to take it and go back to who he used to be. “I don’t trust Dark Sides.“

I Miss The King: Part 1 Part 2 -2 sentence prompt -“I miss you… I miss the King” a sigh “Apparently, it’s the same for me.”

Infinitesimal -Logan isn’t quite sure why Roman thinks he needs his help at three in the morning.

To Break A Curse: 2 sentence prompt -Logan looked at Roman, eyes dark. “I need you to really think about what you’re saying, because you’re going to hurt Virgil even more if you do not.“

Shutting Down -Having your phone die shouldn’t be that big of a deal…right?

Anxious to Touch - Virgil ca’t be around the others without hurting them, so he has to stay away. Only Deceit won’t let him do that.

The Path: A Tale of Trick or Treating - Remus(1) Patton(2) Emile(3) Remy(4) ???(5) Logan(6) Roman(7) Virgil(8) Diva(9) Duke(10) Prince(11) Picani(12) Logic(13) Deceit(14) ???(15) -2nd person pov. -You’ve been trick or treating at the Sanders Side’s homes for as long as you can remember, but this year things get a bit more…complicated.

The Interview: Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 -A normal day at StoryTime! Inc. takes an unexpected turn when Logan goes to investigate why his coworkers have made a bet using Crofters as the prize.

Virgil’s Interview: -It’d been his dream to work for StoryTime! since he was a kid, and now finally, Virgil may be able to make it come true. Note: Virgil’s pov of Chapter 3 in The Interview.

The Olive Branch -They used to celebrate Christmas Eve without Anxiety there to ruin things. But this year Roman plans to change that.

These Black Wings -An hour ago Patton had been loved, wanted, celebrated. Now? He’s on the run for his life thanks to the large black wings that sprouted from his back.

Chimney Sweep -Sure. It’s great to be able to see visions of missing children…but being able to find them still alive is another thing entirely.

Meeting Romeo -A Prequel to A Work of Art. -It was unfortunate really, but someone had to tell the Romeo standing on the street that his Juliet he’d come to listen to day after day no longer lived in the apartment complex. It might as well be Virgil.

Dance with Me -Patton’s never had a father figure to bring to his ballet class for Valentine’s Day like all the other kids before. But this year…he might.

A Midnight Conversation -All Virgil expected when he stepped out onto the balcony was to have a quiet moment to himself. Note: Virgil’s pov of ch 2 of White Lies.

Warm Fuzzies -Two Sentence Prompt: Remy thought that he didn’t deserve love, not after everything he’s done. But, when Emile walked through the door to room 127, Remy’s heart skipped an unexpected beat.

A Shadowling’s Happiness -Two Sentence Prompt: “Where the hell are you going!?” “To the subconscious, and you can’t stop me.”

Scales- Prologue Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Epilogue -Deceit hadn’t expected his absence from the Mindscape to be noticed by the others…until Logic knocked on his door.

Mother’s Day -Janus has never liked Mother’s Day.

Wanted -Remus knew one thing for sure. No one would ever want to Want him.

To The Moon - A Vague AU Prompt. -This wasn’t at all how Patton expected their wedding night to go.

The New Hire- Roman has never known his brother, Logan, to break a promise. Until now. Note: Roman’s pov of Chapter 4 in The Interview.

Be My Dad- A Vague AU Prompt -Janus has no interest in being a parental figure to a kid, but trying to convince the universe of that is another thing entirely.

Moonshot- Was it too much for Logan to ask to have just one date not revolve around sports talk?

The Sweater- Emile had said he was making a sweater for a friend. Only he neglected to tell Remy that this friend wasn’t exactly…well…human.

October ThirST -After seventy years of searching for his Soulblood, Virgil is highly doubtful he’ll find them tonight.

Lemon Drops -Patton just wanted to go somewhere where he wouldn’t be judged, wouldn’t disappoint…wouldn’t…screw up another relationship. (Takes place after SvS Redux)

The Path: A Promise Kept -sequel to The Path: A Tale of Trick or Treating -Trick or Treating may be cancelled this year, but that won’t stop you from keeping a Promise.

The Chaos Twins -prequel moment to The Sweater -Everyone has their hobbies, though Emile wishes his roommates’ hobbies were a little less…explosive.

On the Run -prequel moment to the Sweater -When life gives you an escape attempt, you run as fast and as far as you can to get away.

Nitemear -It’s not considered running away if you’re merely trying to find a more defensible position.

The Key is Confidence -Confidence. That was the key, his father had told him, to getting away with anything.

Among the Branches -Getting woken up at the crack of dawn by your landlord can’t be a good thing. Fractured Trust- Trust is a tender thing, easily made…and just as easily broken. Written for the Two sentence prompt -"Why don't you trust me Roman?" Patton asked tightening his grip on Roman's shirt. "P-Patton I-" Roman stuttered out fearfully.

A Mini’s Pep Talk -It shouldn’t surprise Roman, at this point, that on top of an already no good really really bad day he ends up getting attacked by another Side’s Mini-Me while looking for his own. (Takes place after SVS Redux)

The (K)nightmare -They say that the brain uses Dreams to help understand and solve problems one faces in the waking world.

Demon Comfort -Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 -Lurking under a Human’s bed should be downright dull for a Demon of Logan’s rank. And yet…he can’t help but be intrigued by his human charge.

First Contact - Things would be so much easier if only their human, Virgil, would talk to them.

Meeting Virgil (5x1) - Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 -Five times Remy tried to give Virgil a child and the one time he succeeded. A Special Delivery Prequel.

Catch Me (If You Can) - Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 -Remy would not allow himself to be seen as needy and helpless in front of the general masses. He had an image to uphold. One of perfect health, snarky comebacks, and general sassiness. He didn’t get sick.

Beneath the Moon - Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 -After all the research he’d done, after all the signs he’d been experiencing. Logan needed someone to tell him he wasn’t crazy. And Roman…Roman had always been the one most likely to believe in the fantastical, the impossible, the…supernatural.

Hello Darkness (My Old ... Friend?) - Part 1 -Is it possible to search for something…for someone…when you don’t even remember that they’re missing?

Dance Break! -Roman suddenly jumped up, a sparkle in his eyes, as he turned, seeking out the first person he can find and holding out his hand. “Dance with me!” (Written with @kieraelieson)

Christmas Eve -Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 -Of all the barriers that Janus expected to have to overcome in order to get his son a pet for Christmas, encountering his Ex, Roman, working in the pet store had never once crossed his mind.

Code: Blanket -Part 1 Part 2 -A friendship doesn’t stop just because one person decides to act like a dick. Especially when said dick is obviously in trouble.

An Unconventional Defeat -Patton knew that heroes started out young, far younger than villains ever did. But this young?

Into the Fray -It wasn’t like he shouldn’t have expected this. It seemed like any plan involving him and Virgil had a tendency to well…go astray.

No Longer Alone -Growing up in isolation away from people has been all that Virgil’s ever known. That changes today.

A Restless Christmas Eve -Even if it had been five years since he’d appeared in the real world, this still felt like it should have been a Virgil problem and not a Deceit one. He’d never had issues staying asleep before. Let alone ending up wide awake, feeling like he needed to–to–just move. Get out. Because of a stupid storm.

Out Camping - Part 1 Part 2 -A Father and Son Camping Trip.

Sanders Sides Art Portals AU- Deceit Roman Patton Logan Virgil

#stillemasterpost #stille stories #master post #Sanders Sides #Virgil #Roman #Logan #Patton #Janus #Remus #Remy #Emile

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deansmyapplepie · 4 years

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The Masterlist

Last Updated: 10/23/20

Enjoy and please send me feedback! I love hearing from you guys!

If any links are not functioning correctly, please let me know!

Supernatural:

(Last Updated: 10/09/20)

Who We Are: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

Sam, Dean, and the reader are locked in the MOL bunker with Lady Bevell. Based on S12 E22. (Season 12 Spoilers!, sweet!Dean, protective!Dean, protective!Sam, protective!reader, badass!reader, mentions of sex, slight fluff)

[Status: Completed]

You’re Always Worth My Favorite Shirt

When the reader is severely injured after a hunt, Dean stays with her until her last breath. (angst, reader death, worried!Dean, protective!Dean)

Green Eyes

Dean escapes the devil’s trap in the dungeon, causing panic throughout the bunker. Based on S10 E3. (Season 10 Spoilers!, angst, demon!Dean)

Happy Birthday, Baby

When Sam and Dean are away on a hunt, it leads the reader to believe that they have forgotten her birthday. (fluff, implied smut, proposal, sweet!Dean)

Our Song

On Dean and the reader’s anniversary, they recount memories of how they ended up together after a bad fight. (fluff, angst, break-up, proposal)

He Was Right

After hearing stories of how John used to treat the boys while raising them, the reader goes to give him a piece of her mind. (angst, mentions of emotional abuse)

Sleepless Nights

The reader can’t sleep, so she takes a walk in the bunker, only to find herself at Dean’s door. (angst, nightmares, sweet!Dean, fluff)

Only You Series

When a man who left the reader six years ago suddenly reappears on her doorstep, she does everything she can to stop herself from falling in love with him all over again. Little does she know that his seemingly brief return will open an entirely new chapter for both of them.

[Status: Completed]

Together

Sam and Dean Winchester are still grieving from the loss of Castiel, and reeling from Mary being stuck in apocalypse world with Lucifer. With all hope going down the drain, the reader offers a shoulder for the boys to lean on. (Season 12 Spoilers!, angst, fluff, angry!Dean, depressed!Dean)

A Father’s Blessing

A nervous Dean goes to the reader’s childhood home to ask her father for her hand. (proposal, nervous!Dean, sweet!Dean)

Trick or Treat!

After years of hunting, the reader, Dean, and Sam are able to retire. The world is finally safe, allowing them to all live a normal life and enjoy Halloween night. (husband!Dean, father!Dean, mother!reader, sweet!Dean, Halloween, trick or treating)

Finally

Sam goes with the reader to the bar after a hunt. She has a little too much to drink, resulting in a drunken confession to Dean. (slight angst, drunk!reader, sweet!Dean)

Bad Moon Rising

The reader and Dean watch each other’s backs on an intense hunt. After Dean is almost killed by a werewolf, the reader makes a confession. (implied smut, fluff, angst, badass!reader)

Pancake

The reader is a professional volleyball player trying to get to nationals, and Sam and Dean are in the stands cheering her on. (athletic!reader, volleyball, very slight fluff)

Play it Again

On a day in the bunker, the reader overhears Dean in his room playing guitar and is surprised by just how talented he is. (Dean singing, Simple Man, Dean playing guitar)

What a Douche

Sam, Dean, and the reader are enjoying their weekend off at a bar. But when a man raises his hand against a woman, the reader steps in to save the day. (protective!reader, protective!Dean, chivalrous!reader, chivalrous!Dean)

Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

When Sam goes comatose, Dean stays with him at the hospital, leaving it up to the reader to take care of him. (comatose!Sam, hospital, worried!Dean, worried!reader, sweet!Dean, angst)

Between Timelines

Dean enlists Rowena’s help to use a spell that allows him to go back in time and see the reader before she meets an untimely demise. (reader death, mentions of death, angst, sad, bittersweet ending)

You Bring Out the Worst in Me

Crowley asks the reader, a demon, to spy on the Winchesters and keep him informed. While she is living with the boys, Dean turns into a demon. (Season 10 Spoilers!, demon!reader, sexual innuendos, suuuuper dark and sexy vibe)

A Little TLC

The reader suffers from issues of self-hate, and although she is getting better about it, she still has her bad days. Luckily, she has Dean to help her feel better. (self-consciousness, self-hate, sweet!Dean, fluff, comfort, light-hearted humor)

All That Matters Is You’re Okay

On her way home from a grocery run, the reader gets into a car accident and ends up in the hospital. When she wakes up, all she can think about is how upset Dean is going to be about his car. (wounded!reader, protective!Dean, worried!Dean, car accident)

Tiny Dancer

The reader is taking a drive after a long week when a handsome stranger in the car next to her starts singing along with her to the radio. (Tiny Dancer, cute, some humor, brief encounter)

Keep Talking

When Dean’s life is on the line after a rough hunt, the reader takes it upon herself to make sure Dean stays awake. (wounded!Dean, concerned!reader, protective!reader)

More Than Sex

After so many blind dates gone bad over the past two years, the reader finally decides to give up on her love life. That is until she meets a man by chance in the men’s restroom. (sweet!Dean, blind dates, bad dates, mentions of sex)

Precious Moments

When Dean is having a rough night with his thoughts, the reader is there to comfort him. (emotional, fluff, comfort, emotional hurt, bittersweet)

Beat Them at Their Own Game

The reader, a rival hunter of Sam and Dean, makes it a personal goal to solve the boys’ cases before they can. (hunting, irritated!Dean, amused!Sam)

Gut Instinct

One night, the reader is closing down the store where she works when suddenly, she is attacked by a demon. Of course, none other than Dean Winchester comes in to save the day. (protective!Dean, stranger!Dean, flirting, demon)

Plus One: Part 1, Part 2

Dean goes with the reader to the wedding of one of her old friends. On the drive home, they have a serious talk about what the future holds for them. (wedding, sweet!Dean, engagement)

Seeing Double

In order to keep Chuck from suspecting that they’re searching for the Occultum, the reader and the Winchesters are forced to use the alternate universe versions of themselves as a diversion. Based on S15 E13 (Season 15 Spoilers!, AU!Sam, AU!Dean, AU!reader, confused!Sam, confused!Dean, confused!reader)

Under the Weather

For the past few days, the reader has been really sick. Dean takes care of her. (sick!reader, sweet!Dean, fluff)

Stress Relief

The reader sees her ex with the girl he left her for, and she gets a little pissed. When she’s taking out some of her frustrations on Dean, the conversation takes a sexual turn that she hadn’t been expecting. (smut, dom!Dean, angry!reader, rough sex)

The Rescue

When Dean and the reader are on a hunt together, Dean dies because of a warlock’s hex bag. When the reader finds him dead, she has to perform CPR to bring him back. (angst, dead!Dean, panic, reader saves the day)

Fateful Encounter

The reader has a dream involving a strange green-eyed man that she’s never met before. So, when she meets him and suddenly realizes that she knows his name, it becomes clear that the man had the same dream. (mystery kinda?, confused!reader, confused!Dean)

Jealousy

The reader has to flirt with a man to get information for a case, and Dean doesn’t like it one bit. (jealous!Dean, irritated!Dean, frustrated!reader, awkward!Sam)

What Could Still Be

Several years after the reader has left Dean, she is filled with regret as her best friend informs her that she cheated herself out of happiness. As fate would have it, though, Dean walks into that very bar. (angst, heartbroken!Dean, sad!Dean, ex!Dean, guilt)

The Kiss

When the reader’s ex-boyfriend reaches out to her, she has to convince him that she has a boyfriend. He asks for a picture as proof, and Dean just happens to be around. (asshole ex-boyfriend, steamy, shirtless!Dean)

(Last Updated: 10/02/20)

Loud Arguments

After the reader saves Sam’s life on a hunt, they get in a fight, resulting in Sam saying some things he doesn’t mean. (slight angst, drunk!reader, angry!Sam, slight fluff)

Please Don’t Leave Me

Sam and Dean allow the reader to go on a hunt by herself, and it doesn’t end well. (angst, sadness, grief, reader death, engagement)

When We Start to Live Series: Part 1, Part 2

When Sam is drunk one night, he confesses his feelings to the reader, leading to a relationship neither one of them was expecting.

[Status: Discontinued]

Sleep-Deprived

Lately, Sam hasn’t been sleeping, and it’s putting everyone on edge. He mistakes the reader for an intruder when she comes home after a night at the bar with Dean. (slight angst, paranoid!Sam, worried!reader, fluff)

Night Off

Sam decides to take the reader out for a surprise birthday dinner after they didn’t celebrate her birthday. (shameless flirting, implied smut, sexual innuendos, sweet!Sam)

Hotel Impala

When there are no open rooms in the motel, the Winchesters and the reader have to stay in the Impala for the night. (fluff, slight mention of sex, Impala)

Without Me

Sam starts drinking demon’s blood again, and the reader decides that leaving is going to be the best thing for him. (demon blood, angst, not a happy ending folks)

Complications

The reader sits alone in the bathroom as she waits on a pregnancy test. (pregnant!reader, protective!Sam, angst)

Lost Time

When facing an unusual monster, Dean calls the reader (Sam’s ex) for help, much to Sam’s dismay. (ruga-wolf, nerd!reader, sweet!Sam, protective!Sam)

Late-Night Research

While doing some research for a case, the reader falls asleep in the bunker’s archives. Sam comes down to check on her and finds her sleeping. (lil bit of fluff, cute!Sam, tired!reader)

Closure

Sam comforts the reader as she goes through the loss of a close friend. (angst, loss of a friend, heartbreak, comfort)

Near-Death Experience

The reader goes on a hunt alone, and it’s been a while since Sam or Dean heard from her. After she almost dies, Sam confesses his feelings for her. (angst, confession of feelings, protective!Sam, wounded!reader)

Perfect

For a long time, the reader has struggled with body issues. When she starts to feel bad about herself again, Sam is there to lift her up. (body insecurities, self-consciousness, fluff, triggers, anxiety)

Bad Decisions

After a night of dancing (and a little bit of drinking), things start to get hot and heavy between Sam and the reader. (almost sex, making out, dancing)

Lean On Me

After choosing to become a hunter, the reader leaves her family behind in order to keep them safe. After discovering the last remaining member of her family has died, she finds herself in the bunker’s library in the middle of the night. (angst, anxiety, grief, comfort)

Going Under

On a very cold hunt, the reader falls in a frozen lake, and has to fight for her life. Luckily, Sam knows just how to warm her up. (hurt!reader, near-death experience, worried!Sam, protective!Sam, drowning, hypothermia)

KO’d

Worried by the fact that the reader isn’t at the bunker when he gets back from a hunt, Sam follows her to Wyoming. (worried!Sam, unconscious!Sam, comedy)

Take Me to Church

After hours of researching, the reader is feeling hopeless. Sam knows just how to get her mind off of it. (smut, humor, cunningless)

Feelings For You

The reader wakes up hungover, not knowing where she is, and with a certain Winchester in bed next to her. Unfortunately, she can’t remember anything about the night before. (naïve Sam, oblivious!Sam, mentions of smut)

Speechless

Posing as the FBI, Sam and Dean go to the reader’s apartment to ask her a few questions. Sam is caught off by her beauty and finds it hard to concentrate. (awkward!Sam, subtle flirting, shy!reader)

The Colt

After being in disrepair for so long, the reader finally takes it upon herself to try and fix the Colt. Sam (Season 12 Spoilers!, sweet!Sam, badass!reader)

Musically Inclined

Sam, Dean, and the reader investigate the case that brings them to Supernatural the Musical, and Dean is surprised to find out through the stage interpretation of their lives that Sam and the reader have been sleeping together. Based on S10 E5. (confused!Sam, confused!reader, irritated!Dean, implied smut)

Five More Minutes

The reader is tired from overworking herself. When she sleeps through her alarm, Sam has to wake her up, scaring the bejesus out of her in the process. (sweet!Sam, fluff, sexual innuendos, stressed!reader)

She’s Got This

When Sam hears the reader scream during a hunt, he assumes the worst. Little does he know, though, that she’s more than got it covered. (worried!Sam, protective!Sam, badass!reader)

Remembrance

After Sam leaves Stanford without a trace, his girlfriend at the time, the reader, dedicates her life to a fruitless search of looking for him, only for him to reappear fifteen years later, when she’s finally given up. (Stanford!Sam, Stanford!reader, emotions, angst, hurt)

Pizza Delivery

Between running on almost no sleep, being reminded that kids aren’t in the cards for her because of her hunter lifestyle, and dropping her pizza down the stairs, the reader is having one hell of a night. (exhaustion, slight angst, sweet!Sam)

Close Call

The reader drowns on a hunt, and Sam has to perform CPR to bring her back. (near-death experience, worried!Sam, emotions)

(Last Updated: 10/23/20)

Demon-Killing Arrows

When Dean decides to blow off the reader’s plan, she has to save him, and ends up doing so in the most badass way possible. (slight angst, mild flirting [if you squint really hard], badass!reader)

Saving People

When the reader saves Dean from being killed on a hunt, he begins to question her recklessness, leading to the revelation of her true emotions. (angst, anxiety, depression, slight mention of suicidal thoughts, feelings of helplessness, trigger warning)

Three Years Later

Several years after being saved by the Winchesters from a nest of vampires, the reader has become a hunter, and calls Sam and Dean for their assistance on a case. (protective!Dean, protective!Sam, badass!reader, Djinn)

Rock, Paper, Scissors

After helping the Winchesters on a hunt, the reader teases them about buying her a drink next time. (flirting, teasing)

Long Way From Home

After Michael took off in Dean’s body, spirits are low. When driving home from investigating a dead-end lead, the reader attempts to cheer Sam up with some music. (Season 14 Spoilers!, angst, feelings of helplessness, slightly depressed!Sam)

Post-Hunt Therapy

After a long hunt goes awry, the reader is looking forward to a night in with her ice cream, only to discover that Dean has already eaten it. (angry!reader, ice cream, nervous!Dean, comedy)

I Promise

In the midst of an anxiety attack, one of the brothers is there to comfort the reader. (angst, anxiety, panic attack, trigger warning)

The Time of My Life

The reader doesn’t celebrate Valentine’s Day and Dean doesn’t understand why. When he finally hears her reason, the brothers plan a surprise to cheer her up. (slight angst, sweet!Dean, sweet!Sam, Dirty Dancing)

Blueberry Pancakes

The reader and Dean work together to make pancakes, but when a small argument gets in the way, a food fight breaks out. (food fight, Sam’s bitch face, arguments)

Unfinished Business

The reader is Ketch’s twin, and goes with him to Save the Winchesters from the agents after them. Based on S12 E8. (Season 12 Spoilers!, British Men of Letters, British!reader, slight violence)

What is to Come

The reader is a reaper assigned to keep an eye on Dean Winchester. Over time, the two have become close friends. One day, on a bad hunt, the reader has to make a decision of whether or not to intervene (against orders) and save Dean’s life. (gender neutral!reader, reaper!reader, slight violence)

Unexpected: Part 1, Part 2

When Sam gets knocked out on a hunt, Dean has to come save the day. Little do they know that the woman who captures Sam isn’t even the demon they’re after. (badass!reader, reader knows nothing of monsters, protective!Dean, irritated!Dean)

Home

The reader is feeling lonely when her two favorite Winchesters come to save the day and remind her that she’s part of their family. (the end, comfort fic, sad)

Without a Scratch

When a case goes wrong, it’s up to the reader to evade the cops while making sure the impala goes unharmed. (speeding, police chase, risky driving, protective!Dean, Baby)

Who Doesn’t Love Karaoke?

Dean is drunk and singing karaoke, and Sam and the reader are responsible for getting him home. (drunk!Dean, irritated!Sam, slightly irritated!reader)

There’s Something About Y/N

After all the time spent hunting with Sam and Dean, the reader still doesn’t have an anti-possession tattoo. Unfortunately for her, a talisman is the only thing protecting her. (possession, possessed!reader, protective!Dean, protective!Sam)

A Daughter’s Revenge

On a tragic night, the reader loses her entire family to a rogue pack of werewolves. She readies herself for revenge as she relives the memory. (angst, family death, grief, violence)

Dinner Time

Sam and the reader are both trying hard to get Dean to eat better. unfortunately, he isn’t very willing to give up his burgers and fries. (grumpy!Dean, comedy, healthy eating)

Hocus Pocus

When the boys need to summon a demon, Rowena gives them a spell to do so. When nothing happens, Sam and Dean are confused at first, but then they realize that they’ve summoned something else. (goddess!reader, confused!Sam, confused!Dean, comedy)

Stolen Goods: Part 1, Part 2

The reader (Dean’s ex) constantly steals Dean’s clothes thinking he never notices. What she doesn’t know is that Dean has been snooping through her room looking for them. But when he finds something else, all hell breaks loose. (irritated!Dean, irritated!reader, embarrassed!reader, amused!Sam, stealing clothes, fanfiction within fanfiction, I’m making fun of myself)

[Status: Completed]

Fright Night Mini-Series:

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

On Halloween, the reader is in for much more of an interesting experience than ever before. (slight angst, Halloween, mystery, werewolf!reader, werewolf cure)

[Status: Completed]

Sleeping Beauty

Cursed by a witch, the reader is slowly being killed through what seems to be a sleeping curse. (Season 15 Spoilers!, angst, protective!Sam, protective!Dean, reader death)

Out of Her Element

When the reader is somehow placed fifty years in the future, she has to learn to live a new life and leave her old one behind. (married!reader, time travel, heartbreak)

Movie Night

Sam and Dean are in trouble, and it’s up to the reader to save them. unfortunately, they were after an arachne, and the reader has arachnophobia. (arachnophobia, movies, badass!reader, protective!reader)

Breaking and Entering

After a long day at work, the reader comes home, ready to catch up on sleep. She’s awakened in the early hours of the morning, though, when someone breaks into her house. (awkward!Sam, scared!reader, tired!reader, baseball bat)

Midnight Snack

Sam, Dean, and the reader all find themselves unable to sleep. When Dean finds out that the reader replaced his pie with cheesecake, though, he isn’t too happy. (cheesecake, humor, tired!Sam, tired!Dean, tired!reader)

Reckless Abandon

After a risky choice to save a boy’s life on a hunt, Dean gets angry with the reader for being too reckless, which causes the reader to reveal that she once had a sister. (angst, arguing, angry!Dean, irritated!reader)

Jailbird

The reader is awakened one night to find that Dean has been arrested, and he used his one call to call her. Unfortunately, things get complicated for two reasons: 1. their somewhat complicated past, and 2. the reader is a police officer at the station where Dean is being held. (irritated!reader, pissed!reader, cute!Dean, humor, Dean gets punched)

A Drink With a Friend

Grieving for their lost friend, Sam and Dean honor the reader’s last wishes. (dead!reader, sad!Dean, sad!Sam, grieving, bittersweet)

Grief

After the death of Sam and Dean Winchester, the reader has become an empty shell, and stopped taking care of herself. She runs from Castiel to avoid her grief, but he eventually tracks her down to bring her home. (grief, sad as FUCK, worried!Castiel, protective!Castiel, angst, sad, emotional hurt)

(Last Updated: 07/31/20)

Don’t You Dare

When the reader is fatally injured on a hunt, she agrees to let Billie reap her, so long as she is given time to say goodbye to her brothers. (sister!reader, angst, reader death, sadness)

Hunter In Training

Wounded on a hunt she attempted to work solo, the reader’s brothers had to come rescue her. After seeing her so close to death, they become incredibly overprotective. (sister!reader, protective!Sam, protective!Dean, wounded!reader, comedy)

The Talk

A young reader is along on a hunt with her two brothers, who are after a dragon. When the hunt is over with, Sam and Dean try to figure out why the dragon didn’t try to take her along with the other virgins. (sister!reader, protective!Dean, arguments, sex talk, comedy)

Just Visiting

After a hunt gone awry, the reader asks her brothers if she can stay with them for a while, all while trying to avoid telling them that the police are hot on her tail. (irritated!Dean, protective!Sam, brotherly love)

Helicopter Brothers

Sam and Dean finally agree to let the reader take on a hunt on her own. She’s excited to finally show them that she can handle herself, but when she realizes that they’ve been spying on her, she is not happy. (protective!Dean, protective!Sam, worried!Dean, worried!Sam, irritated!reader)

Lay ‘Em Out

While on a case, the reader is sexually harassed in a bar while she is with her older brother Sam. When things escalate, he has to intervene, but the reader eventually knocks the guy out. (possible trigger warning, protective!Sam, badass!reader)

(Last Updated: 12/24/18)

Our Tree

The reader enjoys a quiet Christmas Eve in the apartment she shares with Jensen. (fluff, cute, dancing, sweet!Jensen, Christmas Eve)

(Last Updated: 01/09/19)

Blooper Reel

It’s a normal day on the set of Supernatural. The reader is trying to get through a serious scene, and J2 won’t stop horsing around. (joking around on set, bloopers, J2)

(Last Updated: 04/08/18)

You Are Not a Monster

When the reader is struggling with her first transformation under the full moon Stiles helps her to change back. (slight angst, fluff, confession of feelings, werewolf!reader, sweet!Stiles)

#masterlist #active post #I update this as I go #:)

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ancano · 4 years

Text

YoI Fanfic Recs

Okay so I just wanna share some love and show y’all some amazing fanfics that I have personally read and absolutely adored!! You’ll likely see repeated authors, either cuz I follow them on tumblr or cuz I’ll raid their uploads once I find one I really like. Also apparently I read a lot of A/B/O so if that isn’t your thing sorry hhhhhh

No particular order for these, just going down my bookmarks and history lists on ao3

Glitter & Gold by plisetskytrash and victurius (I just caught up with this one and oh my god I love it.) Summary - In a world where drugs, sex, and violence rule, Viktor Nikiforov is the king. As the Pakhan of the Russian Mafia (the Bratva) he is responsible for murder and mayhem across multiple continents and that’s just the way he likes it. The only problem is that a new leader has risen to power in America – known only as ‘JJ’ – and he starts to intrude on Viktor’s territory.Not only is that rude, it’s damn right unacceptable.So, Viktor sets out to find out as much about JJ as he can, including infiltrating the businesses he owns, such as The Kiss and Cry, a sleazy club that works as a front for an exclusive exotic omega strip club that only the richest and most powerful men can access. Naturally, Viktor has no trouble getting inside. Once he’s there, however, his plans are thrown out of the window when he spots a beautiful, young Japanese omega with chocolate-brown eyes and an ass to die for. There’s only one problem: Viktor swore he’d never mate an omega.Will Viktor manage to stay focused on his mission? Or will this omega break Viktor’s most important rule?

Eros and Agape by ImaTastyPorkCutletBowl and Spunky0ne (you’ll see a couple works from these guys in this list because they are *chef’s kiss* amazing) Summary - For as long as Victor can remember, Yakov and Lilia have protected him from being discovered to be an Omega by helping him to project as an Alpha. But at the Grand Prix Final banquet, he comes face to face with the man destined to be his husband.

NEXT LEVEL: Nights After Dreams by RipVanGabriel (this is a LONG one, I haven’t even gotten very far in it, but trust me it’s worth it) Summary - The silver medal was hard fought and won, but now the stakes are higher than ever. Five gold medals loom on the horizon, but more importantly, the "life and love" within the gold rings. Yuri and Viktor's relationship grows as they get back on the competition road, and new complications rise with them. (Proper follow-up to the TV series; not AU, no crack ships, no weird shit.)

Wait! But, I’m not Yakuza! by ImaTastyPorkCutletBowl, SesshomaruFreak, and Spunky0ne (like I said, these guys, *chef’s kiss* I refuse to admit how many times I’ve reread the 2 chapters that are currently posted. I’m also the only person commenting on it last i checked which is a fucking shame, so y’all go comment on this amazing fic pls) Summary - The Katsuki family, except for the Hasetsu Katsukis, are the largest and most powerful Yakuza family in Japan, so it’s not surprising that poor Yuuri keeps getting mistaken for one of his distant relatives. On a trip to Russia with his father, Yuuri stumbles into a bar to avoid a group of rough looking punks, and he comes face to face with a beautiful, silver-haired exotic dancer. Things get crazy when Yuuri sees the lovely dancer being abused and steps in, only to get himself beaten into unconsciousness. He wakes in his hotel room and finds a note next to his bed…”Thank you for your kindness. I’m sorry those ruffians hurt you. It’s better you stay away. I don’t want anything else bad to happen to you. Vitya” He should go home. He should just forget the man, but Yuuri can’t help himself…Victuuri, intersex Victor, intersex pregnancy, lots of flustered Yuuri!

Love’s Requiem by Kashoku (gonna be honest, I don’t even ship Yuuri/Yuri, but I enjoy this fic) Summary - If you had asked Yuuri in Barcelona if there was anything that could ever bring him down from the high of being with Viktor Nikiforov, he would have laughed. But when the living legend suffers a career ending injury, it brings new struggles to their relationship. Viktor begins to drown his sorrows, and Yuuri finds himself being pulled beneath the surface in a way he’s not sure he can survive.

you’re the closest to heaven that I’ll ever be by roserelease (this shit right here is my fucking bread and butter y’all. I can’t even express how much happiness and love this fic gives me) Summary - More than anything, Yuuri wants to impress his cosplay role model Viktor Nikiforov. But after a horrible start to a convention weekend, he panics and backs out at the last second to meet his idol. Normally this would be fine, except Yuuri discovers too late that there's a little Viktor related secret inside the con vlog his best friend filmed over the course of the weekend for him...It's fine, he thinks. Embarrassing, but not the end of the world. And it's not like Viktor himself will ever see the con vlog, so why worry?(Except then Viktor does.)

Paying For Poison by SaerenDPity (another one of my absolute faves that sadly only updates once every other blue moon but when it does update I feel overwhelmingly Blessed) Summary - "Skater Katsuki?" Yuuri's eyes widened as he nodded, and suddenly Viktor Nikiforov was clutching at his coat. He barely registered that his childhood hero knew his name, he couldn't think on that when Viktor's voice was on the edge of breaking. Desperation lined his every movement."Yes th-that's me. Um… Mr. Nikiforov… Do… do you need help?"Viktor shook his head violently and shoved his hand into Yuuri's pocket. Yuuri only had time to squeak before Viktor was backing away, breathing heavily. "Please… please buy me."…Years after Viktor Nikiforov suddenly disappeared from the public eye, he resurfaces at the Rostelecom Cup, desperate for help. And Yuuri simply cannot abandon the man who inspired almost every aspect of his life, and so, he makes the decision to do just as Viktor asks - buy his services as an omega for one night.

Drowning In Your Love by MysticLipstick (another rarely updated fic that I’m head over heels for. please feed me, I need MORE) Summary - Victor Nikiforov has always gotten away with being a whore in college. Being the top athlete swimmer has gained him tons of attention, championships and girls. However, a cosmic encounter with Yuuri Katsuki has him questioning everything—including his sexuality. Yuuri’s shy nature and blatant disregard for Victor’s fame has Victor chasing him—something he’s never done, but Yuuri shuts him down. Completely.

November’s Secret by LanaBerry (I’ve reread this one about 5 times already tbh) Summary - Overwhelmed with anxiety and his fear of failing, Yuuri faces the issue of if he should continue skating. His best friend, Yuko, proposes a solution - if no one knows it's you, then it's less embarrassing, right? Yuuri begins to create a completely new disguise and persona.But it works a little too well.Before he knows it, Yuuri has become the biggest mystery of the skating world and everyone wants to know who he is. Especially Viktor Nikiforov, the idol he's been loosely basing his new persona on for years.

The ‘Until My Feet Bleed and My Heart Aches’ series by Reiya (recently finished rereading this one, always so fucking good) Summary - ‘…Of all the rivalries in the world of sports over the years, perhaps none has become so legendary as that of Russian figure skater Viktor Nikiforov and his rival, Japanese Yuuri Katsuki…’ A single event changes the course of Yuuri’s life, throwing him into a bitter rivalry with Viktor Nikiforov that spans across his entire skating career. But as the years go on, rivalry and hatred begin to develop into something very different and Yuuri doesn’t seem to be able to stay away, no matter how hard he tries.Hatred and love are two sides of the same coin and even though everything changes, some things are still meant to be.

With What We Once Had by MagicalMirai (this one is just too cute tbh) Summary - They called it quits, over a year and a half ago. But even though he should have been expecting it, Yuuri can’t help but feel suffocated when he bumps into Victor at the Grand Prix final, whilst holding his son. The son... he never told Victor about.

Nerve Endings by Phyona (this one is next on the “to reread” list) Summary - When Yuuri moves in with Victor in St. Petersburg, they have to work through Yuuri's anxiety and Victor's secrets to find their balance.

Puppy Love by Phyona (another phyona fic and it’s just way too fucking cute tbh) Summary - When Yuuri gets turned into a dog, the last place he expects to end up is Victor Nikiforov's apartment. He learns quickly that the only thing worse than being his idol's pet, is watching him pine for someone else.Warning: Makkachin has recently passed away at the start of this story.

The Stars on his Cheeks by QueenWinterofLuna (this one was actually written for a prompt I personally requested and I absolutely adore it, even still) Summary - A short drabble based on this Tumblr request from @napsushi: Can you write a fic where Yuuri discovers Victor has freckles and is just over the moon about it? This fandom needs more freckled Vitya.

This is all I can find and think of for now but if I remember more I’ll be sure to update it!!

#yoi #yuri on ice #fanfic #fanfic recs

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