#if no one pays attention to me it means i’m not interesting talented or entertaining
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Do It All The Time (Hisoka x Chubby Reader x Illumi)
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When Hisoka and Illumi realize that they both want to catch your eye. How far will they take the competition for your affection.
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Hi guys, I'm back at it again. Bringing the throuple energy, but with a gender neutral reader this time. I really think that these guys would just date who they're interested in, regardless of gender. Any who, hope you enjoy.
Also sorry for the late post. I'm getting over being sick. So with that and the holidays, I honestly forgot what day it was.
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He was watching you again. Letting his gaze slowly rake over your plush form. Imagining how pliable and soft you would be under his fingers. He shuddered at the mere thought of how you would feel.
“You know, you could get your work done faster if you paid attention.” You would never understand how Hisoka got any work done. He always seemed to be in his own world.
Turning to you, with a smug look on his face, he reveled in the attention you have him. Only for his expression to sour when he noticed an interuption.
Illumi placed a hand on your shoulder as he stepped behind you. “Yes, I have to agree with (Y/N). You would be a better employee if you kept your mind on the set task.” His gazes attempted to pin the other man in place.
He didn't enjoy the obvious challenge, or the fact that he still had a hand on you. “Maybe i’m just talented enough to focus on more than one thing at a time.” He placed on a false smile and placed his hand on yours.
Sliding yourself out of both of their grasps, you faced the duo. “Be that as it may, efficiency is a likeable quality in any coworker.” Heading towards the door, you glanced over your shoulder and raised an eyebrow. “Plus not pissing off the boss is even better.”
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It was on their walk home that Hisoka decided to retaliate. “Agreeing with them isn’t going to make them view you as more attractive.” He cut his sharp gaze over to his roommate. Only to see that his expression was as blank as ever.
Without even a look at the other man, he kept a steady pace towards their apartment. “Being an agreeable partner is always a sought after quality. It also doesn’t matter, because they were right. You do lose sight of what’s important, if there is a more entertaining option.”
While he wanted to argue, he knew they were both right. But that didn't mean that he couldn't get a little petty revenge, as pay back that is. A smirk slid over his face at the idea. “Perhaps I should ask them about what they looks for in a partner. Yes, over lunch would be a good option.”
His visage never shifted, however his hands balled into tight fist. “That might be a good idea. I could make a pasta dish.” Illumi held back his annoyance, he wanted to be the one to invite you over.
His eyes crinkled in amusement. This was better than the previous thought. Originally he wanted to ask you out in front of his roommate, but to bring you over to their place. Well that would be an entertaining gambit indeed.
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Happy that it was the end of your work week, you took your time with the final task for the day. It was better to hold off on finishing early, than getting over loaded at the last minute.
This made the unexpected visit from Hisoka a pleasant surprise. “What a nice coincidence. I could use a break.”
His brows rose at the statement. Then a teasing smirk came across his face. “Weren’t you just reprimanding me on taking work more seriously?”
Rolling your eyes, you pointed at a near by clock. “I still feel that way, but when it’s this close to the weekend. I tend to make an exception.”
Leaning his hip against your desk, he leans towards you. “I see.” Then he flick two fingers forward and producing a piece of paper from thin air. “We want you to come over for dinner tomorrow. I want to spend some time with you.” He had to hold back a giggle. Imagining the face Illumi would make if he heard the conversation. They had agreed to say the pair wanted you to come, but that didn't mean that he couldn’t pull you in his direction.
Thinking it over for a moment, you realized it would be nice to get to know them better. At work it felt like every time you weren't busy, was spent with them. “Ok, sounds fun. What can I bring?”
Bringing his face closer to your own, he said. “Your beautiful body.” Walking off, his smirk widened. He couldn't wait to tell Illumi how it went.
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Though they wouldn't admit it out loud, the pair was nervous for your arrival. Hisoka had put more effort into tidying the place than ever before. While Illumi cooked a simple, but none the less delicious pasta dish. All that was left to be done now was fidget as they waited for you. It wasn’t a silent wait though.
“Did I tell you the whole conversation we had?” The smug expression on his face was one of his most antagonistic.
“Yes, you have. Several times in fact.” The same passive look as always, all the while he was seething inside.
Before the ‘discussion' could become physical, a knock came from the front door. The men shot a look at each other, then scrambled to be the first to greet you. Trying to trip or shove one another, it took longer than necessary to get there.
Illumi was the first one there, due to a well aimed jab. As he opened the door, he couldn't help but drink in your luscious figure. The way your outfit was a complimentary drape over a goddess such as yourself. If only you would give him the chance to worship you.
“Hi, I hope you don’t mind if I brought dessert.” You held up a white box with a twine tied around it. “I know Hisoka said to not being anything, but there is a great bakery near my place. I stop by there when I get a chance and it's nice to share it with others.”
Without missing a beat he said. “That must be what makes you so sweet.” He enjoyed the amused look you had.
“I should be saying that about you guys. It was so nice of you to invite me over.” You stepped into the apartment and placed your hand on his arm. “Seriously, I don’t get out much. So it was a pleasant change to get an invite.”
Your genuine smile shook him to his core.
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Dinner was delightful. Hisoka brought out a bottle of red wine, while Illumi dished up pasta with a red sauce. Everything was filling and immaculate. The issue started after the plates were taken away.
“Darling, I told you to only bring that luscious body of yours. You didn't need to trouble yourself with dessert.” He laided a hand on your own and gave it a gentle squeeze.
Shaking your head you smiled. “Nonsense. I had to pay you both back for the lovely invitation. It’s the least I could do.” You looked over to the other man. “Especially after your excellent cooking. Do you think you could give me the recipe?“
Illumi was beaming from your attention. And Hisoka could tell. The man was seething. How could you give your affection to anyone but him.
A gentle smile settled on his face. “It's a recipe my father made for my mother. It was one of her favorites. Though he always undercooked the pasta, but that didn't matter to her.”
You were surprised that he was sharing such intimate information. It was rare to hear him mention anything about his family. “That’s so sweet. And for you to carry on with someone you care about. I’m honored to have had the chance to try it.”
He was going to tell you that he was happy that he could continue the tradition with you. Until Hisoka decided it was time to move on.
“Why don’t we adjourn to the living room for a movie.” He pulled you from your chair and guided you to the couch. Shooting a glare behind you at his romantic rival.
The man raised a brow and followed the both of you.
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The movie picked was a stereotypical action movie. Basic save the world plot, but with enough fire fights to hold your attention. That would be if you weren’t sandwiched between two men. They seemed to be in a battle to see who could cuddle you harder. The red head had pulled you against him and wrapped an arm around you. While the other leaned into you and played with your fingers. You saw this as them becoming more comfortable with you. They saw it as an opportunity to war for your physical affection.
Every shift that happened, caused the cuddling to become more intimate. Hisoka would run his nails along your neck and scalp. Illumi traced random patterns in your palm.
Suddenly the nails left your head and he said from behind you. “If you’ll excuse me for a moment.” He went in a direction of the apartment you hadn’t been to yet.
Sitting up a bit more, noticing the displeased grunt from the man in top of you. “Do you want us to pause it?”
Smiling at your concern, he shook his head. “No, we’ve seen this before.”
Settling back down, your eyes went back to the screen. This meant you didn’t see the warning look that he sent the man lounging on you. Not one to step down from a challenge, he circled both arms around your waist. Scoffing, Hisoka continued to the bathroom.
Now that he had a few moments alone with you, he was going to take advantage of it. Looking at your face, he couldn't help but admire you. It was like your features were made just to make his heart race.
You glanced at him, to gauge what he thought about the sudden plot twist. Only to discover that he was watching you rather than the screen. “What’s on your mind, Lumi?”
He held back a shiver at the nickname. The first time you called him it, he felt his heart skip a beat. “About how lucky I am to have you in my life.”
You say up full at that statement. “Oh. I feel the same way.“ Pulling him into a hug, you were glowing with happiness. To think, before you started working in the same office as these two you were a wall flower. They really helped you blossom.
As the two of you pulled apart, he thought this would be the perfect time to confess. He leaned forward and captured your lips with his own.
You settled into the kiss and laided a hand on his chest. Until you regain your wits and pushed him back. “What are you doing?”
Then a voice came from across the room. “He’s being an impudent little brat is what.” He casually strode back to the couch. “I can’t believe the second I leave the room, you pounce on them. That's something I would do.” He smirk down at the two if you.
Illumi gave him a raised eyebrow and said. “I was just seizing an opportunity. As you stated you would have done the same.”
You scrambled off the couch and took a step back. Looking between the duo confused. “What is going on here? Shouldn't you be pissed?” Gesturing to Hisoka, you stood there befuddled at his reaction.
Brows knitting together, he frowned in bewilderment. “Why would I be? It was only a kiss, I should still have a chance at courting you.”
Running your fingers through your hair, you shook your head. “Wait I don't understand. Your not upset that you just caught your partner cheating? “
What happened next built onto the oddity of the situation. Both men started laughing. Hisoka gave a belly shaking cackle and Illumi quietly chortled.
The red head was the first to compose himself. Taking a deep breathe, he held a hand to his chest. “Darling, were best friends and roommates only. Sure we’ve tried dating in the past, but it always felt as if something was missing.”
Illumi nodded. “When we met you, we became enamored. Most people wrote us off as odd, but you welcomed us with open arms.” Glancing between you and his friend, he said. “We realized that we both wanted to be with you romantically. So we competed for your attention.”
As you stared at the pair of men, you couldn't help but feel a pit in your stomach. “I like you both, a lot. I didn't know it until now, but I think i’ve subconsciously been harboring feelings for each of you. I just didn't want to come between you. Even now knowing that you aren’t dating. It still seems like i’m straining your relationship.”
Both men stepped forward and without a word to each other, they embrace you.
“Darling, you could never be a bad thing for us.” Giving a look to the other man over your shoulder, he took a step back. Seeing that his roommate had yet to let you go. He knew this would be a good suggestion. “Why don’t we try a relationship together?“ He saw you go to protest and held up a finger. “Not you and I only, the three of us.”
Illumi perked up at the statement. “Yes, I would find that most favorable.” Then he looked up at you with a puppy like expression.
Looking between the two, you realized just how much you liked them. Grabbing Hisoka's arm, you brought him back into the hug. “I guess I wouldn't be against that.”
Hearing an explosion from the TV, you noticed that the movie was still playing. Dropping on the couch, you pulled the pair on top of you. They immediately wrapped themselves around you and settled in.
The noise of the movie and all of your breathing filled the room. Until the dark haired male decided to gloat. “I kissed them first.”
Smirking over at him, Hisoka said. “There are a lot of first to come.”
Tapping both of their arms, you felt your face flush. “Hush, both of you.” Wiggling further into the cuddle pile.
All of you thinking of what this blossoming relationship could become.
#hunter x hunter#chubby reader#hisoka#illumi zoldyck#hisoka x chubby reader#illumi x chubby reader#hisoka x chubby reader x illumi#mature#gender neutral reader#pining#flirting#rivalry#romance#misunderstanding#throuple#sharing
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The next episode of Roswell, New Mexico finds Liz trapped inside a mindscape — and this one has a theme: It's the Wild West! And if that's not crazy enough for you, there's more than one Liz! Behind the camera, star Michael Trevino (who plays Kyle) is bringing it all to life with his directorial debut.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: I know you've directed a short, but how long has directing been something you wanted to do? I remember you talking about shadowing directors on The Vampire Diaries.
MICHAEL TREVINO: I'm really happy you say that because yes, that is part of my journey here. Ever since Vampire Diaries, I've been shadowing and paying attention and had interest. But I made it more of a point since the pilot of Roswell, that if the show went for a few seasons, I was going to ask if I can get a shot at directing. Since the pilot, I've been shadowing Julie Plec and then all the guest directors. And luckily, I shot a short film after season 3 and proved that I was not going anywhere and that I was still just as serious. [Laughs] And finally, I think they're like, "All right, we'll give them one." And they gave me a shot here in season 4.
I mean, it was episode 409. But as far as the story line, when they're breaking story and what episode's going to be about what, no. I had no idea this was going to be what my episode was about. And I think when we got closer to the date, I was getting nudged by the writers and by Chris Hollier, our showrunner, saying, "This one's a big episode." I was like, "Are you sure you want to do that?" [Laughs] I guess they trusted me. But I'm so grateful that the writers gave me so much in this episode.
So many Roswell episodes look similar. What was your reaction to getting to do something so different?
What a gift — and also what a challenge. And so, like you do starting off, you ask for help. I leaned on my department heads and the first AD and our director of photography. But luckily, this isn't me stepping onto a set of a new show and not knowing anybody. It's a family and everybody's so supportive and has your back and wants to be there for you. And I couldn't be happier.
Did you go into this episode with a list of classic Western shots you wanted to incorporate? Where'd you look for inspiration?
I will say that my grandfather was huge into Westerns, and one of his favorite movies is The Searchers. And so I can remember months leading up to this, watching that film, because it was my grandfather's favorite movie. And just getting in that genre, just watching those movies and seeing how that feels and what that's about. I just tried to find something that was interesting. I feel like the episode plays a little playful. Because it is a mindscape, it is kind of a make-believe circumstance. And so I think we thread the line there of, okay, it is serious, but at the same time, this is kind of fun and wacky.
You also had a massive task of having your main actor play multiple characters. What was it like working with Jeanine?
Well, Jeanine is such a talented actress. She obviously has Liz down, and it was just about playing Liz in this world where now she's in a mindscape and these are all the people in her life, but they're kind of different. But I know it was very fun for her to play the outlaw Liz because it's such a departure. It's good versus evil here. And so it's the complete opposite direction of the character she usually plays. But I have to say, those were difficult days because the scenes are so heated and it's her acting opposite herself. She had a friend flying in from New York to play outlaw Liz to read lines against her because we needed to have somebody who can keep up with her and really deliver these scenes with her. She's the real MVP of the episode because to play two characters.... I mean, to be the lead of the show, working every day and you ask that person to play two characters in one episode is a huge ask. And she came through for me so prepared, so ready to go. She's just such a pro.
You also get to direct Jeanine and Shiri Appleby together. What was that like for you?
Yes. Shiri is part of the family already. She's directed two episodes for us, so we're all familiar with each other. But yeah, it was a full circle moment because I was shadowing Shiri when she did her episodes. And then her coming back now and me directing her, it's a great feeling. And I'm just so happy that she was able to make her debut in my episode. And yes, we have the two Liz's together. We have the OG Roswell veteran and we have Jeanine Mason here holding it down for us now. There are very special scenes between them and I hope that fans get a kick out of that.
The last thing I will ask you — because I have to — is what can you tell me about what's coming up with Kyle and Isobel [Lily Cowles]?
I've been waiting many, many seasons for them to finally come together and be a couple. But then to get great television, we've got to bring people together just to tear them apart. And so we're going to have a bit of that. There's going to be a lot of outside circumstances that bring these two together, as much as they pull them apart. But because this is our final season, I think we have a nice ending to both of these characters. We're not done yet. We're going to revisit this in a big way and it'll be nice. Put a nice little bow on it.
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Floyd and Epel?
Leona Character Opinion Bingo here!
Rook Character Opinion Bingo here!
***Standard disclaimer: These are just my personal opinions of the character(s); regardless of what I may think of them, sharing my thoughts is NOT meant to offend or to shame anyone that thinks differently.***
I think I’m speaking for almost everyone when I say that Floyd has one of the most unique character designs I’ve ever seen before (I mean, the same applies to Jade, just flip Floyd’s face horizontally and change the eye shape). It’s very bold and eye-catching in both the colors and the shapes; the earring, the black stripe of hair, and the heterochromia should make him look like a non-cohesive mess, but instead it really help the look pop. Floyd’s laidback attitude is reflected in how he dresses—loose, without paying much attention to fully buttoning up. Little details like that are the cherry on top 👌
Floyd is an extremely difficult character to comment on because he’s so finicky and hard to pinpoint. I generally really like him; his unpredictability makes Floyd a real wild card in any scenario or interactions he ends up in. I’m unsure of where he’ll lead the situation, but it’s sure to cause chaos and being me a good amount of entertainment. This wouldn’t be the case if he were real; it’s a nightmare to deal with a person that��s so moody and flippant with their desires and motivation... and worse yet, no clear or consistent way to tame or to calm him! I get a migraine just thinking of that mess 😔 But even with all of that in mind, I can’t help but love how free-spirited he is. Floyd doesn’t let anyone or anything tell him how he should live. He doesn’t let other’s opinions of him or their judgement deter him from having a good time. Yeah, it definitely means he gets out of hand sometimes, but there’s still something so cool about being free of everything but your own whims. Floyd doesn’t even want to be tied down by his relationship with Jade as a twin, he wants to be seen as a separate entity, not just someone “similar” to Jade.
Funnily enough, I think Floyd is the least insidious of the Octatrio. He’s not 100% innocent, he’s still capable of inflicting harm, but at the very least Floyd is open about it and will give you super blatant signs that you’re About to Die. With Azul and Jade, it’s much more of a slow burn, or like... the build-up to a jump scare in a horror movie. You never know what to expect or what they will knock you out; meanwhile, Floyd will give a ton of signals via his facial expression or body language (or outright announcing that he’s coming after you).
There’s two big misconceptions about Floyd in the fandom, and quite frankly, both of them can get on my nerves 🤡 because those misconceptions grossly contradict the canon information we are presented with in TWST. The first of these is that people seem to think Floyd is... dumb??? I’ve seen people straight up and unironically call him a himbo????? Which simply isn’t true; Floyd is “all or nothing”, he runs extremely hot or cold. If he feels like it, he can ace anything. If he doesn’t, then he fucks off to do something else or just doesn’t put in the effort. Floyd is extremely brilliant, but he doesn’t feel the need to put his talents to use all of the time if it doesn’t hold his interest and/or attention. Just because a character is spontaneous and “lolz so random” doesn’t always correlate with low intelligence, and I think it would be unwise to conflate those traits.
Now, the other big thing that the fandom tends to do with Floyd is 🤡 infantilizing him to a sometimes uncomfortable degree, and then often romanticizing that very childish and simple version of him. I totally agree that Floyd can be really cute (especially when he’s in his better moods), but to believe that he can do no wrong, that he is incapable of harming others, that he feels bad when he does it, or that his “squeezes” only amount to bear hugs is just incorrect. Episode 3 literally opens with Floyd “squeezing” a mob student until that mob student passes out. Note that Floyd appeared to be even eager to do it, asking Azul if they’re done talking and if he can finally start squeezing. When Azul prompts him to “squeeze to [his] heart’s content”, Floyd does it hard. There’s so many other instances of Floyd terrorizing his classmates (to varying degrees, it’s not all extremely violent, like when he teases Riddle about his height or ill-intentioned, like when he keeps chasing Jamil after he’s already out in a game because he wants to have more fun), but the fact is that Floyd isn’t sorry about anything that he does, he actively enjoys being a shit. Another thing I see a lot (that’s related to this take) is that???? People believe that somehow his mood swings can be controlled????? That isn’t true; even Azul and Jade, the people closest to Floyd, have a difficult time reining him in because Floyd HATES being controlled or being told how he should act. No one--not figures of authority, not his friends, not his significant other (in fanon), not even his family--can take charge of Floyd. Only Floyd can take charge of Floyd.
One headcanon that I’m very adamant about when it comes to Floyd is that I believe his nicknames aren’t meant to be cute or affectionate (especially Koebi-chan/Shrimp). I’m honestly shocked that so much of the fandom thinks otherwise???? Yes, he nicknames people based on the traits they have that remind him of corresponding sea creatures, but nicknames don’t inherently mean that Floyd likes everyone. The biggest example of this is Azul. When Floyd first met him in middle school, he had called Azul “Tako-chan” (Octopus). In modern day, Floyd only ever addresses Azul by his NAME. The same goes with Jade. What this says to me is that Floyd will actually drop the nickname if he likes someone enough. Now, that doesn’t mean that Floyd will necessarily always obey them, but it confers a degree of respect that’s rare for him to demonstrate in anyone else.
It’s so easy to just take Floyd at face value and not look any deeper into the things he says and does. He’s simple in that he just wants to chill and do whatever he feels like doing, but he’s complex in that he’s a lot more skilled than people take him for. He’s carefree, but that doesn’t mean he’s entirely childish or dumb--and he definitely can be cruel when he wants to be. I won’t claim Floyd is Super Deep, but I still wish the fandom wouldn’t lean into such extremes (whether it’s the soft takes, the harsh takes, or the ones that make him out to be just “random XD”) when it comes to him. It disregards the subtle nuances of his character 😔
With most characters, I can at least list a few redeeming qualities, but that doesn’t really hold true for Epel. He hasn’t done anything to offend me to the point where I’d actively dislike him, though! I just... find Epel to be blander than a slice of heavily processed white bread (and yes, that’s taking the other characters I think are boring into consideration). I guess he looks kind of cute cool? I really like the lace collar of his school uniform, his dainty lashes, and how his lilac bangs form delicate wisps around his face. Maybe I’d cut Epel some more slack if he didn’t look like he was 10 and constantly worrying about coming across as cool and stereotypically masculine 😅
He doesn’t have anything going for him personality-wise other than being a country boy that’s forced to act like a proper high society gentleman (which just so happens to be a trope that I don’t like), and his accent only makes it harder for me to understand him 😔 I don’t even find any of the little things he does cute or charming, I just stare at Epel and see your usual “fish out of water” character with kind of inconsistent writing. Like... in-universe, is there a clear reason for Epel keeping up his shy, timid facade whenever Vil’s not within view or within earshot? I thought the whole point of Epel was that he wanted to be more of a wild child, so why isn’t he breaking free more, because he’s scared Vil will catch him? What about when he’s back in his hometown, why does Epel keep up his polite and well-spoken act up then and only occasionally break out into his dialect?
There’s honestly not a lot of interesting lore about him 💦 I found myself paying more attention to the local foods of Harveston more than I paid attention to Epel’s family tree or to his childhood stories. There’s not a lot happening to keep me engaged, and everything seems to go by so much slower when Epel’s involved. I can’t even explain why I feel this way, it just is.
This is a personal peeve of mine (since I didn’t like Epel to begin with), but I think he took up WAY too much screen time in episode 5. It felt like he and Vil were fighting for dominance, being equally as unreasonable to each other, while pushing everyone else out of the spotlight, including his own vice dorm leader. The back and forth between his cheekiness and his moments of timidity were NOT cute to me. Perhaps I would be more forgiving if I actually cared about Epel, but I don’t :/ so the entirety of episode 5 was mildly irritating to sit through.
In spite of everything I’ve just said, I’m not going to completely write Epel off; he does have something to offer in how he engages with other characters (most notably Pomefiore). He has kind of a found family dynamic with Vil as his stricter parent and Rook as the more lax one. It’s also nice to see Epel cut loose and be himself around the other first years! I think what bothers me about Epel is that most of the time he’s pretending to be something he’s not??? It feels forced on his part and like he’s not enjoying it, so I feel like I can’t get invested in it either.
#Floyd Leech#Epel Felmier#twst#twisted wonderland#disney twisted wonderland#notes from the writing raven#spoilers#ask game#character opinion bingo
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Almost Lisa: Pt 16, “The curse of ALMOST”
( *I retain all rights to my photography and story, story details, biographical information, fashion designs, art work, and anything and everything I have posted which is my own creation*)
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“If you build it, they will come”
It's raining today here in Georgia. Per usual, I'm sitting at one of my favorite cafes writing this, to get out of my beautiful prison (aka the home I purchased here). I sit and listen to the voices around me, chatting and collaborating. I pay attention to what locals discuss, their views, their way of communication. It's definitely a place where many come to settle, slow down, and raise a family.
I want none of those things.
“The simple life” has never been for me. I want to grow, expand consciousness, see the world, talk to (lol, almost) everyone. I've come to realize that I may be the most “artsy fartsy” cultural thing here on the south side of the city. My skills, experiences, and interests are different than most people I meet (in general, not only here). I also enjoy being childless and the freedom to live my Gypsy life. Locals often remind me that I’m different. I know better than to bore them with Hollywood stuff. I get it. This is their world. And I am passing through.
As expected, my favorite cafes have become super busy and popular in the past year. Rents have increased all around (almost as much as CA was when I left), there's high-cost residential development everywhere (funny how that never stops), and plans for future studios to be built in surrounding areas. On paper, Georgia film production looks to have massive promise. Y’allywood (as the locals call it) has moved to the South, to stay.
So where’s all the Work??
BEHOLD! The top 8 studio heads and their current annual salaries . Entertainment journeymen are being devalued and greatly taken advantage of by the studios. Studios will spend 10′s of millions on CEO salaries, 100′s of millions on non-profitable streamers, and BILLIONS on debt-laden investments/ purchases, but claim there's no extra money to give raises to the writers who create all their content. Last year, eight major studios CEOs made over $773,000,000. Meanwhile, many of the workers who write their shows can't afford their own rents or match their rising costs of living. It’s why the WGA (Writers Guild of America) is on strike. It is the same reason Sag-Aftra (the Talent union) and IATSE (the craftsmen/ laborers union) is preparing to do the same, and why other industry unions stand in solidarity. What does this mean for journeymen like me? We have to ride out yet another storm. The last one- in 2007- lasted just over 3 months. While that doesn't seem like a significant amount of time to resolve concerns, in that time the entire industry shifted. Completely.
In the 16 years since the entertainment industry’s last strike, massive technological change has upended the television and movie business. Back then, Broadcast networks commanded substantial audiences, and cable channels were growing. The profitable superhero boom had begun for movie studios, and DVDs generated around $16 billion in annual sales. Now, television as we’ve known it is dying, movie studios are seeing poor ticket sales for dramas and comedies, and the DVD business is all but done with. Content today is streamed. It lives in a “cloud”. However, the formula studios use to pay Creators hasn’t changed. Streaming asks different (higher) demands in several ways and now pays fixed fees in lieu of the residuals which most of us thrive on.
Perhaps the most impactful change that no one seems to be talking about (and I'm repeating myself here in this blog) is that hedge fund and private equity moves the needle of Hollywood, and these companies are under pressure from Wall Street to cut costs. They have been and continue to do so on the backs of everyone creating their product. Established career journeymen like me are working twice as hard for about half what we used to earn. Now, we face extended unemployment, fighting alongside our fellow Unions for fair wages and working conditions. If that isn't enough to fight for, there is also the painful reality (that many Hollywood investors are especially excited for): the implementation of AI Technology to create “content”. That means potential for even more losses of jobs and revenue for us Creatives. And, in our opinions, loss of artistic integrity. Believe us, YOU WILL NOTICE.
At the end of 2019 I was making the most I’d made yet in my 20+ years as an Entertainment professional. I’d saved over the years to afford opportunities to invest in myself and my business, and take the occasional international trip to learn more about the world. 2020 and 2022 were absolute nightmares due to the Covid Pandemic and further changes in the Business of my industry. My savings are almost gone. I did everything right. And I’m struggling. I did everything right. And I’m losing. We all are.
Daily picket lines began Day One last week in front of studios in LA, NYC and wherever they can organize. I gotta give credit to the writers for having the most creative (and effective) picket signs, and I respect IATSE and SAG-AFTRA members refusing to cross those picket lines, in Solidarity. We are all in the same fight for the same reasons. If only the public realized how much “say” they have in assisting our efforts, simply by how, where, and if they spend their dollars. But us gosh darn “liberal, entitled Hollywood types...”
NO ONE WANTS A REBOOT.
We’re only on week two of this strike. The AMPTP (the producers) aren't budging yet. From their actions/ inaction, it seems they never had any intention of negotiating to begin with. In an attempt to “hit them where it hurts” (the wallet), Union workers are aiming to shut down as much production as possible. We apologize in advance for the return of reality TV and unscripted “content”. And we all could use your support to change things so that everyone can get back to work, making Magic!!!
Now, if you'll excuse me (*sigh), I have to sell some photography.
(If you care to support, find inspiration @ Catara_Photo_Art on Instagram)
(To be continued...)
*PS If you like what you're reading, I welcome contributions to the efforts via Venmo @LTarantinoDesigns)
#hollywood#Lisa Catara#Movies#Entertainment#blogs#writing#actress#WGA#WGAstrike#Unions#SAGAFTRA#IATSE#Teamsters#DGA#UnionStrong#AI#writers
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i've been keeping a list of possible prompts for you and there's one i have no memory of adding that just says "courtesan nmj????" so i guess that's the prompt you're getting lmao
What Does the Fox Say - ao3
“Second Madame Nie!” a disciple shouted, rushing into her little garden. She didn’t recognize him, but he was solidly built and well-muscled like most of the others – truly, the Unclean Realm was a rapturous feast for one with eyes to see it. Yum, yum. “Second Madame Nie, I have bad news!”
Boo. She hated bad news: bad news meant she’d have to do something, usually, and right now she was seated very comfortably in a pleasant piece of sun in the garden path that’d been made up just for her and to her preferences, with her feet up on a chair and a full plate of fruit from the kitchen on the table in front of her just begging to be devoured, morsel by delicious morsel.
Her schedule was packed!
“I regret to tell you, but your husband has been killed!”
“Oh,” she said, frowning slightly. “Has he? How obnoxious of him.”
How unreliable. Men.
She sighed.
“Second Madame – Second Madame – you don’t understand!” The disciple was all red-eyed and weepy, which was a look she liked, especially in big, stout men like this. The salt added a bit of spice to the whole thing. “You must flee at once! He was killed by Sect Leader Wen in an act of outright aggression – Sect Leader Wen has declared war – the Wen sect is invading!”
She nodded and picked up another lychee to start peeling it. She’d get around to fleeing in her own time. As long as this Wen sect or whatnot was being led by a man, she wasn’t terribly concerned.
“They intend to wipe out the inheritance of Qinghe Nie! They will rip out the child in your belly!”
She hummed noncommittally. Really, how attached was she to having a child of her own? Really?
“They will slaughter civilians – execute Nie-gongzi –”
Her hands stilled.
“What,” she said, and the disciple took a step back automatically, proving that he, at least, had something more of a survival instinct than her late husband did. “Hurt my little meat bun? My darling rice roll? My savory zongzi?”
She stood up, diminutive height and over-large belly and frilly clothing doing absolutely nothing to diminish the vaguely menacing aura that darkened the sky around her. She bared her teeth.
“Who does this upstart Wen dog think he is?!”
The disciple blinked owlishly, but nodded, seeming relieved that she’d finally accepted his concern, though she could see on his face that he was thinking that her reasoning was – characteristically – a little strange. But then again, and she could see this thought process on his far too honest face, it was well known that the second Madame Nie been quite strange ever since Sect Leader Nie had found her in some lonesome place with no family or background and brought her back to be his new wife nevertheless.
Such a charming man. Pity about his loss, really.
“You have to flee at once, we can’t possibly fight so many people,” the disciple said once more, and this time she nodded in agreement. “We can escort you to a hidden exit –”
“No!” a little voice called. “We can’t go.”
She turned to look, and there was the little pork-and-shrimp dumpling himself, chubby-cheeked and earnest-eyed, looking as delicious as always.
“What do you mean, fish cake?” she asked. “Of course we have to go. Didn’t you hear what this strapping young man said? This Wen person wants to kill you!”
“If Father is dead, then I’m the sect leader,” her stepson said. He was serious and solemn in a way that made her want to pinch his cheeks and bury her face into his belly to blow raspberries, and also possibly to eat him right up, flesh and marrow and gristle and all. “That means it’s my responsibility to preserve the Nie sect.”
“Nie-gongzi, no!” the disciple cried, throwing himself to his knees in a dramatic display of loyalty. “You would only die – far better for you to run, and live!”
“Then isn’t the same true for everyone else?” the tasty little dish asked, crossing his arms over his chest and pouting. Possibly he was trying to put on a fierce expression, maybe, she couldn’t quite tell sometimes. He was so cute. “Why should I live, and them not? I refuse to buy my life with their deaths!”
“But – Nie-gongzi –”
Her charming little honey cake shook his head and held up a hand to stop the disciple, turning to look at her instead.
“Second Mother,” he said, and he had that wholesome trusting expression again that was such a perfect little one-shot-kill to the heart, ugh. “You always said you’re the best at hiding. The best in the world, no one better among all the gods or demons!”
She was, too. She couldn’t help but preen a little, proud.
“– can’t you do something?”
“Oh, darling cabbage bun,” she said, not without fondness. “I can hide myself from even the net of Heaven itself if I so choose, from gods and demons alike, and I can most certainly hide a small group from any mortal eyes that dare to look, if you don’t mind being a little tiny bit dishonorable about the business. But an entire sect? That’s a bit much, even for someone as talented and skilled as me.”
Her stepson looked up at her, all straight-steel sincerity and upright righteousness wrapped into a perfectly edible little snack-sized package. “If we split them up, the sect could be small groups,” he said eagerly. “Couldn’t you do something then?”
He was so cute, and he trusted her. He trusted her, believed in her, felt that she could perform miracles with a wave of her sleeve if only she so wished.
It was awful.
She couldn’t bear it.
“Oh all right, you nummy little slice of roast pork belly,” she said, yielding. “But I’m telling you now, it won’t be the least bit honorable! There’s only so many excuses you can come up with for having a lot of strong men with wide shoulders and women with thick thighs hanging around, and not a single one of them has the slightest bit to do with what you people consider to be appropriate.”
“That’s all right. Preserving human life comes first, always.”
The disciple looked between them, clearly completely confused. Clearly all his effort had been spent on developing the muscles in his arms (quite nice) rather than his brain (quite slow).
“What?” he said. “What’s happening?”
“We’re saving the sect,” Nie Mingjue announced happily, clapping his hands together. Too precious, too precious entirely; she’d have to make sure no one else even thought about going near her darling little snackling. “Tell everyone to prepare to evacuate.”
“That will take too long,” she said, and smiled, with teeth. “Let me call some friends to help.”
-
When the Wen sect arrived at the Unclean Realm, they found the gate open.
That was unexpected enough, but when they entered, they found that the entire place had emptied out – not just of people, but of everything else, too. There wasn’t a single intact chair or table in the entire place, not a scrap of cloth nor a bit of food, like it’d been swept clean by locusts or wild monkeys come to pilfer whatever they could.
Even the paving stones where arrays had been laid out by the Nie sect’s ancestors had been pried up and carted away.
Sect Leader Wen ordered a search, but there wasn’t any trace of it – of the people, of the stuff, anything.
No one ever found out what happened.
-
Jin Guangyao despised social events, he’d found.
It was one thing when it was something he’d planned himself, where the work was interesting enough to distract him, but when he was an honored guest for someone else…miserable. Utterly miserable.
The only thing more miserable was when the host was his erstwhile father, from whom he’d forcefully extracted recognition. With Wen Ruohan as his backer, indulging his favorite torturer as if a beloved pet, there wasn’t much Jin Guangshan could do to refuse, and neither could he force Jin Guangyao to do anything on his behalf, either. And so Jin Guangyao, sitting as always by Wen Ruohan’s side, right beneath his sons, was now an honored guest at his father’s house, getting offered his pick of prostitutes as if the man had no notion of the irony.
Maybe he didn’t. Jin Guangyao couldn’t quite tell if his father had just forgotten his origins, thinking his bastard son too unimportant to remember the details of, or whether it was meant as a deliberate insult – who could tell?
“Oh, right,” the simpering idiot in front of him, a nephew or cousin of some sort to the sect leader, said. “Our dear Jin Guangyao is known not to like the gentle flower queens, even when they come from the finest houses in Lanling. Isn’t that right, cousin?”
Jin Guangyao’s fists clenched. A deliberate insult, then.
Despite that, his face remained neutral. Instead, he chuckled and said, “The appeal is limited. After all, I have seen the best of them.”
Beside him, Wen Ruohan nodded and smirked. He appreciated Jin Guangyao’s devotion to his mother, though Jin Guangyao suspected it was because he thought it funny that Jin Guangyao would bother to honor such a lowly woman – but what he thought didn’t matter, not really. All that mattered was that he let Jin Guangyao pay his respects to her to his heart’s content.
“Well, you’re in luck!” the idiot Jin Zixun said, looking absurdly smug. “We have something of a different flavor than the usual tonight – we’ve invited entertainment from the local branch of Splendid Spring.”
Jin Guangyao barely managed to avoid rolling his eyes.
The Splendid Spring Palace was a series of brothels that had popped up fully formed just about everywhere some years back, with madams and girls and musicians and bodyguards of all sorts. It was so patently a political move that Jin Guangyao had barely bothered to pay attention to it once he’d become actually powerful, and Wen Ruohan hadn’t paid attention to it at all. After all, in the unlikely event that the business really was backed by a cultivation sect that didn’t care about its face any longer, anyone who needed to use such a façade to gather power was clearly beneath notice.
Jin Guangyao had paid only very little attention, but to different and unusual aspects of the place: by all accounts, they were surprisingly decent employers as far as places like that went. They didn’t steal girls or accept unwilling goods – they had some connection with the merchant caravans, or at least one of the companies that helped coordinate routes and provide protection to such things, and they were as meticulous about checking things over as they were about seeking refunds if they were dissatisfied – and they did accept married girls fleeing unhappy marriages, which not everyone did. They did buy up all the girls in the local markets wherever they were, but they swept them away and brought them back transformed, even the ones that wouldn’t sell because they were too ugly; Jin Guangyao assumed that meant they had people who were talented in make-up and clothing, since the usual rumors of the girls being blessed with a yao’s enchantment were obviously ridiculous and nothing more than the usual marketing gimmicks that brothels since time immemorial had tried.
Even once they had the girls in hand, the places were pretty decent: they had physicians on staff to help with the usual side effects of the business, made sure their girls were clean and healthy, and were said to even limit the number of customers a girl would be obliged to take on in a given evening…honestly, knowing as he did the brothel business, Jin Guangyao sometimes wondered how they’d managed to bespell enough people to even make money in the early days. At any rate, whatever they’d done, it’d worked, because by now they had a solid enough reputation to trade on.
In short: a decent enough place, far better than the usual run of the mill. Once he’d had the ability to do so, he’d even pulled a few strings and arranged for the better of his mother’s old compatriots to end up there, since he couldn’t convince them to leave their old professions behind entirely.
Anyway, if they also seemed to have a sideline in information brokering and assassinations, well, let them. In the cultivation world, where the only thing that mattered was strength, real strength.
A little thing like that wouldn’t make any real difference.
Or so Jin Guangyao had thought.
He found himself re-thinking that, though, when the entertainment in question came out. There were the usual set of attractive (albeit in a wider variety of shapes and sizes than usually seen) dancers, dressed up in silks that seemed actually high quality, and plenty of strapping young men carrying sabers – dancers as well, once assumed, to provide some spice to the entertainment, and implicitly on the offer for men who cut their sleeves or women with more flexibility, like widows or ones with especially permissive husbands. Wen Ruohan’s wives were in that latter category, and they were already whispering to each other excitedly, looking at them.
They’d even brought in the local madame, who was…
Well, she was actually breathtaking, even by Jin Guangyao’s extremely jaded standards. She had hair that fell almost all the way to her ankles, shimmering in the light, and dark eyes shining with liveliness, a smooth and ageless face that simultaneously suggested youth and health but also winked at knowable experience, the features characteristic of what his mother’s employers had called the ‘fox-face’. As if to emphasize that, the lady was wrapped in fox-fur and draped in embroidered brocade, with little stylized foxes running up and down the hems of her clothing and along the gazy silk draped on her shoulders.
It ought to have looked absurd, looked gaudy and overwrought and overdone, but it didn’t.
She was a thousand dreams of wealth and beauty and power and sex appeal all wrapped up in one, and even Jin Guangyao – who was in his personal preferences quite firmly a cutsleeve – couldn’t help but intrigued by her, wondering what it might be like to touch the hem of such a glorious creature.
And next to her…
The lady was accompanied by two men that seemed completely different from each other. One was a slender and winsome young man, fluttering his eyelashes from behind a fan with a charming smile, emanating the appeal of softness and weakness, ready to be indulged. While the other…
Jin Guangyao swallowed.
He was the exact opposite of the first man. Clearly strong, muscular and powerful, and tall to the point of towering, with wide shoulders and a narrow waist, a chest that you could lean your head against and an ass that begged to have someone’s hands on it – and there were his hands, big and broad, perfect for holding someone down or up if they so wished and of a size that was very promising as to what was only hinted at under his clothes. His face was hidden behind a veil as if he were a woman, marking him, like his comrade, as one of the available courtesans of the Splendid Spring, but his body was visible under clothing clearly cut to put it to the best advantage.
And oh, what advantages it had…!
“It seems we found something to the tastes of dear cousin Guangyao after all,” the idiot said mockingly, sniggering and snorting like the pig he was, and for once Jin Guangyao didn’t even care.
“Who’s the woman in front?” Wen Ruohan asked, ignoring their interplay. He seemed utterly fascinated, almost spellbound, and Jin Guangyao couldn’t blame him one bit. If this woman had been at the same brothel as his mother, there wouldn’t have even been room for jealousy or shame; his mother would have gone straight up to her to ask for some tips. “She seems…familiar, somehow.”
“That’s the madame of the Splendid Spring,” Jin Zixun said proudly, as if he’d done anything at all in relation to this – nonsense, of course. Everyone know which brothels were backed by the Jin sect, and Splendid Spring wasn’t one of them. He was acting as if he deserve a pat on the back just for the introduction! “That means she’s not for sale.”
His smile faded a little, twisting in a small bit of bitterness. “Or so she told my uncle, anyway…although I’m sure if it were Sect Leader Wen asking, the answer would undoubtedly be different.”
Probably because Jin Guangshan couldn’t slaughter prostitutes with impunity if they said no to him, whereas no one could stop Wen Ruohan from doing any damn thing he pleased.
Wen Ruohan grunted, pleased by the answer – he was a possessive man, in the rare events that he did exert himself in the realm of women, and there had been more than one instance where he’d stolen away some girl his sons had been eyeing first just for the joy of having had her first – and raised a hand, catching the lady’s eye and gesturing for her to come over, which she did.
“What’s your name?” he asked.
She laughed. “You can call me Hu Jiuwei. With the ‘Hu’ being the character for fox.”
Jin Guangyao tried not to choke. There were false names and then there were false names – the lady’s theme was already clearly related to foxes, given her fox-face and fox-fur lining and the foxes embroidered onto her robes. Was the over-the-top name really necessary?
“It’s a fake name,” she added, unnecessarily.
“I see,” Wen Ruohan said, sounding a little choked himself. Possibly it was the woman calling herself ‘Foxy Ninetails’ and then kindly reassuring them all that the name was false as if she thought them too dumb to figure it out that was tripping him up a little. Jin Guangyao couldn’t tell if she was doing it deliberately in order to make her frankly inhuman beauty a little less frightening, or maybe she was blessed with so much beauty that she hadn’t bothered to cultivate her brain at all. “Are you our entertainment for the evening?”
She smiled, and any complaints Jin Guangyao (or indeed Wen Ruohan) might have had about her intelligence faded away at once.
It was that type of smile.
You could wreck nations with that type of smile. Jin Guangyao couldn’t help but wonder: how had a woman this extraordinary ended up in a brothel, of all places? How had no one snatched her up to keep her all for himself before now?
“My sons and I –” she gestured at the two behind her, “– would be more than happy to provide you with all the entertainment you could possibly want.”
Her smile widened.
“We’ve been hoping for an opportunity like this for a long time.”
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Gold Writing
Pairing: Loki x reader
Summary: When a charming, handsome stranger gives you inspiration for the first time in weeks, you try to guess what it is he’s famous for in exchange for his name.
Warnings: none at all :)
A/N: Just a little idea I’d been toying around with for a bit. Enjoy :)
Tag List: @lucywrites02 @frostedgiant @lunarmoon8 @twhiddlestonsstuff @lokistan @lowkeyorlokificrecs @gaitwae @whatafuckingdumbass @castiels-majestic-wings @kozkaboi @cozy-the-overlord @birdgirl90 @myraiswack @mythicalgarlicknot
Disclaimer: Gif and picture not mine
It was an uncharacteristically warm day for this time of year in New York City. Or so you’d been told, anyway. You had been living here for three months, tops; not really long enough to have a feel for the weather patterns. Either way, you were grateful for the sun’s rays coating your face, bathing you in their heat.
You turned your face away from the sky and down towards the sketchbook in your lap. It had been your hope that Central Park might inspire you, but you were still having artist’s block. It was at least better than being cooped up in your apartment all day. You didn’t really know anyone yet, save for your old friend who you had moved in next to. If it hadn’t been for them encouraging you, you probably never would have packed up and moved. They’d promised to introduce you to some people they knew, too, so you wouldn’t get lonely. Sadly, the scheduling never worked out.
And so, here you were, alone on a bench. Looking at all the couples and families and friends bustling and laughing around you, you thought you might be the only person all by yourself on this Saturday afternoon. Well, no, not the only one, you realized, spying a raven-haired man on a bench not too far away. His nose was buried in a book, a few locks of his shiny, dark hair falling out of his bun and framing his face. He looked familiar, but not in a "you knew him" sort of way. More in that you thought he might be famous somehow. No one else seemed to notice him, though.
You glanced back down at the empty pages, waiting to be filled by the strokes of your pencil. Then you looked back at the mystery man again, scooting a little closer to the end of your bench. Without really thinking about it, your deft fingers picked up your standard 2B pencil and began to sketch.
Starting with the sharp lines of his jaw, you moved onto his hair that intrigued you so. You don’t think you’d ever seen another person with hair that dark a color. Trying to get every last detail right, you kept glancing up and down. By the time you were onto the shading, you were certain that you had seen him somewhere before. The next time you glanced up, he was gone, and a frown settled on your features as you looked left and right, searching for the only subject to inspire you in days.
“It is a lovely drawing, darling,” a smooth baritone voice with a British accent said from behind you, “but I do not really think that is my best angle.”
You squeaked in surprise and dropped your sketchbook. The man somehow managed to reach out in front of you and catch it. He came to sit next to you, and as he walked around the bench, you realized just how tall he was.
“I think you dropped this,” he said with a charming smile, handing your sketchbook to you.
“I, uh, yeah. I did,” you stammered, hating how you couldn’t be as suave as him. Plus, he was unfairly good looking. “Thank you. And, um, sorry. About, you know, drawing you.”
“On the contrary, darling, there is no need to apologize. I am quite happy to have my likeness captured in such a flattering light,” he chuckled, taking off his sunglasses and revealing his brilliant blue-green eyes. “Really, I should be thanking you.”
With all the small details you were gathering, it felt like his name was on the tip of your tongue. Infuriatingly enough, you still couldn’t place it. You didn’t think he was a singer, that didn’t feel right. Though you did feel like his mesmerizing voice would be well suited to it. So, a well-known author, perhaps? He had been reading, after all. But you were woefully behind on your own reading list, so you had a feeling it wasn’t that either. You briefly wondered what even happened to the book he’d had; it was nowhere on him, almost like he’d stored it in some pocket of space.
“Oh,” you finally responded, nervously laughing. “You’re welcome, in that case. And thank you. For the compliments, I mean.”
“Ah, you are very welcome, too. It is not often I meet such a talented artist.” He somehow managed to sprawl out on the somewhat uncomfortable park bench, his long legs spread wide. It wasn’t indecent, exactly, but it somehow felt like it was. His arms were resting on the back of the seat so that, had you been leaning back, one of them would have been wrapped around your shoulder. “I do somehow find it hard to believe I was the most interesting thing in the vicinity, however. Though, I suppose I am rather flattered by that notion, too.”
His mischievous grin sent pleasant shivers down your spine. “Well, when inspiration strikes,” you anxiously chuckled with a shrug. Your nerves were still telling you he was about to get mad at any second.
“I do suppose that is true.” He cocked his head at you in the most adorable way. “Then I am honored to provide you with it.”
You suddenly felt even warmer than you had before, but you knew it had nothing to do with the sun anymore, but rather was from this enrapturing stranger. Though, this man’s smile certainly rivaled the sun.
“I hope you don’t mind my asking,” you began, “but you seem awfully familiar. You don’t happen to be famous, do you?”
“Oh, so you have not yet figured it out, then. I had been wondering. I suppose that, yes, I could be considered famous.”
When he didn’t say anything else, you continued, “Can I get a name then? I’m afraid I don’t really keep up with pop culture all that much.”
“Well, I suppose I could tell you my name.” His grin somehow grew to be even more mischievous. “But where is the fun in that? Besides, I am afraid you might start treating me differently if you knew.”
“Ok, that’s fair.” A spark of excitement lit behind your eyes as you got an idea and turned to face the captivating stranger. “How about this, I get three guesses about what it is you’re known for. If I get it right, you have to tell me your name. If not, then it can stay a mystery forever, if you want it to.”
“A most intriguing proposition. Alright, I accept. First guess?”
“Hang on,” you said, putting up your hand. “If I only get three guesses, I feel like it would be fair if I got to talk to you for a bit longer, at least. Unless I’m holding you up from something, of course.”
“I have time to spare, darling.” He stood up and offered you his hand. “Join me on a walk?”
An easy dialogue flowed between you as you strolled through the park. The way the light was illuminating his features made your hands itch to sketch him again. That reminded you to ask about his book, which he pulled out from seemingly nowhere.
“Hang on,” you said, getting your first idea. “Are you like a-a magician or a, um, an illusionist or something?”
“Well, it is interesting that you mention that. Magic is more a hobby than anything else,” he replied. “But not what I am known for, per se. Two guesses left.”
You frowned and flipped through the pages of the book he’d handed you. Hoping he’d made some kind of foolish error, you checked the covers for his name. No such luck. Absorbed in your hunt for clues, you weren’t paying attention to the world around you. Your companion suddenly grabbed you and jerked you to a stop. A ball whizzed past your head. If you’d kept walking, it surely would have hit you.
“You really should be more careful,” he playfully tsked. Then he grew more serious as he gently turned your head, checking for injuries. “Are you ok?”
“Yeah,” you mumbled, feeling flustered from the attention of his piercing gaze. He also felt surprisingly cool for how warm out it was. You looked up at him and saw him raising his eyebrows as if he didn’t believe you. “I’m fine, really,” you added more convincingly. “Just my pride that’s wounded, I guess. But you stopped me in time. So, thank you.”
“It was no problem, darling,” he replied as you set off on the path again. “After all, I can’t have you getting hurt before you finish guessing, now can I?”
Again, you giggled, simultaneously loving and hating how he had that effect on you. “No, I guess not.”
“So, have you found whatever it is your looking for in my book?”
Glancing down at the page you had open, you saw it was the story of Rumpelstiltskin. How ironic. You tried to forge a connection between the book of fairytales and this man in your mind, but were coming up empty. Unless, of course, he was going to the source material for some reason, like he was preparing for a role.
“An actor!” you said, feeling sure you’d gotten it now. You’d definitely felt like you’d seen him on your TV screen before. Plus, he was definitely handsome enough for it. “That’s got to be it.”
“While I have appeared on television before, that is still incorrect, darling. One guess remaining.”
Oh how you wanted to wipe that smug yet ridiculously captivating grin from his face. Maybe with a kiss... Nope, no. That was ridiculous; you just met him. Besides, he was famous. Why on God’s green earth would he be interested in you as anything more than an entertaining encounter to pass the afternoon? So, you’d just have to do it with the right guess. You put your thinking cap on.
“Ok, well if you were on TV but aren’t an actor, maybe it was in an interview,” you thought out loud, gauging his reaction. You were excited, but also sad that your game was coming to a close. He’d surely leave after, whether you got it right or not. You supposed you could always try to look it up once you got home, if you couldn’t guess correctly. At least it would make for a fun story then. “I suppose there’s reality shows too, but that doesn’t quite seem your style. And, I guess you could be doing the interviewing—like a reporter or something—but that doesn’t sit quite right either. Sports! They televise sports. Plus I’m not really a fan, so I could believe I’ve heard of you but not totally recognize you. So, my final guess is athlete.”
“And you are certain that is your final guess?” He had a wonderful poker face and gave away nothing as to whether or not it was right. “Last chance to turn back.”
You appraised him, thinking he looked like he could be an athlete. And maybe it was some reverse psychology, trying to get you to abandon the correct guess. You didn’t really have any better ideas, anyway.
“Yes?”
“So sorry, but that is incorrect. And you are regretfully out of guesses, darling.”
“Of course it's not,” you sighed. He seemed genuinely saddened by how dismayed you seemed, so you perked up. “It was fun, though. So I, uh, I guess I won’t hold you up any longer.”
“You are correct; this was quite fun. Unfortunately, I do have another arrangement to get to,” he said in a way that made you believe he was actually upset over it. “How about that sketch that started this all, though? That one you made of me?”
“What of it?” you asked.
“May I buy it off of you?”
Your mouth formed a surprised little circle. “I mean, you can honestly have it for free. It is an unsolicited picture of you, after all. I wouldn’t feel right accepting your money for it.”
“Nonsense, I am only offering a small amount, anyway. Say, the price of a cup of coffee?”
You smiled at your feet as you caught onto what he was saying. It made your insides feel fuzzy. Maybe you wouldn’t accept, though. After all, you still didn’t know who he was. But if you were to go on a date, then certainly he would tell you.
“Sure,” you agreed. “I would love that.”
You tore out the sketch and handed it to him. In exchange, he gave you his card and said to call him to set a time and place. You glanced down at the small paper in your hands, not yet reading it. By the time you looked back up, he was already gone. With your handsome stranger nowhere to be found, you went to actually read his information. Unable to contain your surprise, not to mention shock at how foolish you were, you gasped, and your jaw hung open.
Gold writing on a green card held the secret you’d been trying to find the answer to all afternoon. Of course he was an Avenger, a hero. You ran your fingers over his name, a small smile forming on your lips. You quickly punched the contact into your phone and headed off in the direction of your apartment.
“Well, I’m glad this isn’t goodbye, Loki Laufeyson,” you mused to yourself, relishing in the way his name rolled off your tongue. “I’ll see you soon.”
#loki x reader#loki x you#loki laufeyson#loki odinson#loki#mcu loki#loki fluff#fluff#mcu fluff#marvel fluff#reader insert#gender netural reader#marvel#mcu#marvel reader insert#marvel fanfiction#loki fanfic#mcu reader insert#loki friggason#loki friggason x reader#loki laufeyson x reader#loki odinson x reader#loki oneshot#marvel oneshot#loki x y/n
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I'm not really sure how long these are meant to be. "Right, I'm pretty sure that's called trauma".
Trauma Bonding, (a Jason Todd x Reader)
Warnings: Language.
Genre: Fluff/angst/comedy/romance
Authors note: This prompt is perfect, thank you @aethers-stuff ! Sorry it took me so long to write! I hope you like it. ♡(: _______________________________________________
Dick watched you two from the kitchen.
Jason was seated on one end of his livingroom couch and you on the other. You were talking loudly, gesturing with your hands so much that you looked like Italians at a family gathering. You were both exceptionally expressive and extroverted people on your own, so when you got together, the room's volume was always raised a noticeable few notches.
It was endearing, but a real headache when it went on for too long.
Dick massaged his temple. An extrovert himself, he felt the need to jump into the conversation, but he knew better. You and Jason would simply not shut up long enough for him to get a word in when you were both really on a roll, and Dick didn't feel like expelling that much energy. Plus, he was curious to see where this would end.
“...That’s ridiculous Jason”.
You crossed your arms.
“There is no way in hell you're dying your white streak black.”
He raised his hand from the couch armrest in exasperation.
“I wasn't even asking you.”
You arched an eyebrow.
“You should've been. The white streak stays. It's your trademark. If you're concerned about me being right, I dare you to ask everyone to vote.”
“Hon, I am not in the practice of asking people if I can or can't do things.”
“Luckily, you never ask me my opinion so you don't have to worry about breaking your pattern just yet.”
“...You never keep it to yourself, so why would I even bother”.
Dick shook his head. You were like an old, emotionally constipated couple and it was amusing to observe.
“Just kiss already”, he said under his breath.
You turned your head towards the kitchen, hearing him faintly, but almost unintelligibly.
“Dick, did you say something? Sorry, we're arguing here, I hope we're not too obnoxious”.
“Hey don’t throw me under the bus with you, I was just trying to have a moment of quiet meaningless thought when you started playing hair cop,” Jason quipped.
“Hush.”
“Right back at you”.
“-Both of you shut up for a minute. I didn't say anything”.
Dick rolled his eyes.
“However, we do have patrol in an hour, and Bruce sent me some weird instructions.”
“Weird how?”
You tilted your head in curiosity.
Jason glanced at you, and huffed a little. He couldn't help himself. Despite himself, he found you really endearing. Especially in moments like this when your lips were pouted in confusion and....”.
Dick snapped Jason out of his brain fog.
“Jay. Buddy. Try to pay attention.”
“Wasn't not doing that,” he grumbled.
“Then what did I just say.”
The two brothers shared a childish battle of glares.
“...fine, you made your point. I was dreaming about this whisky I saw in the manor the other day”, he lied.
“Ok. Very in character, Jason. Now, the mission is-”
“...looked decadent. It was really old and had this fancy label on it that-”
“...Guys. I can hear you from the other room”, Tim walked in looking miffed.
There was a pause as all three of the human boom-boxes stared blankly at the intruder.
“...you’re a detective, Tim”, Jason deadpanned.
“Ugh, Jason...that’s not the... just shut up.”
Tim pressed his fingers to the bridge of his nose.
“Did you all get the mission briefing?”
“Somehow, Jason didn't”, Dick fumed.
“Alright, fine. Basically, Jason, you, and Y/n are staying back tonight because you're the only ones who haven't been seen yet in the city, and Bruce wants to save you guys for an undercover mission next week”.
“What?!”
You both looked at each other in disgust.
“I'm not working for the bat anymore!”
“Yeah, and I've never even started to work for him! He can't just expect us to be at his disposal and then bench us!”
“Guys, relax. He's just doing this so you can have a better element of surprise later. You're both really valuable, ” Dick reasoned.
You and Jason paused, your egos begrudgingly satisfied.
“...fine”.
“Fine”.
“Good. Ok. So everyone suit up”, the oldest brother concluded.
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
Jason was irritated.
He found you interesting. Really interesting. Usually, he dealt with his fear of vulnerability by acting too unbothered to care, but you intrigued him so much that he struggled to keep his mouth shut around you. He was afraid to get too close to you; he would lose you eventually like everyone else.
But, he knew so little about you, despite all of the banter. A talent you both possessed, was chattering without disclosing any actual information. You had only met each other two months ago, and usually it would take both of you longer to warm up to a new person, but there was just a feeling. You were kindred spirits. He wanted to learn more about you, despite himself.
“So what brought you here”.
“Here as in what brought me to dress up and punch criminals as a nightly routine, or as in what brought me to be in an alliance with Bruce Wayne that I'm now regretting?”
There it was. Those were the kind of responses that made Jason feel just enough on his toes to be uncharacteristically comfortable with you.
“Take your pick I guess.”
“Bruce Wayne it is then. I'm not really a fan of my life story”.
“Ttt, ” Jason laughed, taking a page from his youngest brother’s book.
“I'm kind of an accidental friend of Dick’s. We met first at the Bludhaven police station, I was there for...pfft...I was just there, ” You paused with a laugh.
“He helped me out, and we didn't see each other again until he ended up working with me anonymously for info on a case as Nightwing years later. We both just figured out each other's identities and he brought me on a mission once where I met Bruce. And Bruce is a convincing prick so now here I am, somehow under his command”.
“Sounds about right. So when do we kiss?”
Great. Now he sounded like an asshole.
Jason looked at you, gauging to see what your reaction would be. He’d half said that last part by accident, but now that he’d acted out of impulse he knew he couldn’t take it back.
“-What?”
“When do we kiss? You heard Dick”.
He was really committing to his blunder now.
“Yes, and I ignored him and smoothly got him to change the subject. Besides. You're not my type”, you lied.
Jason was in fact, exactly your type.
“What is your type?”
“Shit”, you thought.
“Hmm. I like people who I can chase that don't actually like me, and then I eventually get to give up. It makes it easier”.
You admitted this in a tongue-in-cheek manner, but you weren't really kidding. Something about Jason’s persistence made you want to open up, despite your usual habitual wall-building.
“You're like a fucking mirror; you know that?” Jason laughed.
He knew you weren’t kidding because he’d said things along those lines millions of times.
“Your point, Mr. Therapist? People hurt people. I kind of prefer to enjoy relationships from a distance at best”.
“Right, I'm pretty sure that's called trauma”.
“Call it what you will, but it's a good way of not getting even more mentally busted up than an already fucked vigilante”, you grinned.
“Nice.” he smirked.
“You sound as dumb as me”.
“That’s a little low don’t you think? I’m only half as dumb as you at most, but yeah. Fine. We share some things”.
“What’s that supposed to mean Princess,” he smiled.
He felt himself get exited a little. What you had just said made it sound like you felt you two were similar just as he did.
“That I think we’re both stupid people that have really stubborn hearts that get us into trouble”.
Your heart was beating so fast. You hadn’t meant to say that much.
“Now who’s the therapist”, he said in a low voice.
He leaned in closer to you a little, testing the waters to see if you were just being a little cautious, or if you actually weren’t comfortable. He felt like you were just being scared like he always was deep down, but he didn’t want to push you if it was only going to cause you both more pain.
He was a little scared too. You scared him. Not just because you were powerful and beautiful, but because he actually liked you. He wasn’t used to that. But he knew himself, and when Jason Todd does something, he can’t do it half way. If you were in this too, he knew he’d do anything for you, and that was terrifyingly vulnerable.
As he leaned in, your breath caught.
“Fuck”, you thought.
His eyes were stunning.
You hadn’t let yourself notice how much until now.
“Jason…”
“...Todd why are you about to taint Y/n”.
Jason spun around.
“Damian!” you yelled.
The small Wayne was standing in the doorway.
“Shortstack, you are too young to be using a fancy word like taint”, Jason recovered.
Tim and Dick emerged behind Damian in the doorway.
“What’s going on?” Tim asked.
“Todd was just about to be disgusting with Y/n in front of all of us”, Damian smirked, crossing his arms.
He knew he just set up Dick to take a fit.
The oldest brother was not pleased.
“Jason, really? Damian is right here and you didn’t think to chill?”
Jason rolled his eyes.
“We didn’t do anything Dicky. The kid here is being a drama queen. The only thing he walked in on us doing was some good old fashioned arguing”.
Jason knew he was making himself look like a major...well...dick, but he knew you wouldn’t want to commit to the family knowing about anything that might be going on between you two, however small just yet.
Dick rolled his eyes, and the three brothers walked in the doorway and into the kitchen to get water. You and Jason were always an entertaining spectacle for sure, but patrol was tiring, and they all needed to cool down.
Jason looked back to you. You were looking at your feet with your arms crossed and a barely contained smile on your face.
“The kid has good timing,” he huffed with a laugh.
“Oh fantastic”, you gazed at him, laughing back quietly.
“So, you want to talk some more about trauma?” He asked in a playful, but matter of fact tone.
“Maybe sometime, Red,” you smiled.
You turned and walked away.
“She’s gonna make me work for this”, he thought.
It had been so long since either of you had met your match, and you both were going to thoroughly enjoy this.
#writing requests#dc#jason todd#red hood#batfam#dick grayson#jason todd x reader#jason todd fluff#jason todd fic#jason todd funny#jason todd fanfiction#asks#dc ask game#batfam fic#batfam fanfic#jason todd fanfic#red hood fic#red hood funny#red hood fanfic#red hood fluff
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picture perfect - yandere! kihyun x f! reader
a/n: i know i don’t normally post monsta x content on this blog, but i enjoyed writing this fic and wanted to share it here without the feeling of guilt that comes with posting a non-request on the joint blog! please let me know if you like it :>
warning: stalking, abuse and suicidal allusions
The strap of his camera bag weighed on his shoulder, but not nearly as heavily as it did on his conscience. Yet he had no choice but to comply - with the threat of losing his scholarship on the line, he was putty in the hands of his psychotic professor, who’d sent him on the ‘mission’ to stalk his ex-wife.
His musings on the morality of what he was doing were cut short as he heard the front door of the house he was observing open and close. There she was.
Kihyun raised the camera and snapped a few pictures, capturing the flush faced woman as she walked out onto the drive. A young girl was in her arms, swaddled in a warm coat as her mother opened the car and tucked her into a car seat.
She had a child. As if she was dead-set on making Kihyun feel awful. Still, he persisted in taking the photograph from his hiding spot, hoping the camera wasn’t too loud. Luckily, the woman was too occupied with taking care of her daughter to pay attention and soon enough she was climbing into the driver’s side of the car and leaving.
He gazed after her, still rooted to the spot even though his job was done. When he snapped out of his daze he pulled out his phone and texted his boss of sorts, who immediately asked to meet him in the red room for a ‘friendly chat’.
“There wasn’t anyone else there, right?” Junho asked, having snatched the camera out of Kihyun’s hands the second he arrived.
“No sir, just the woman and her child.” Kihyun confirmed, shifting on his feet uncomfortably.
“I’d prefer a clearer angle next time. This feels a bit distant.” His professor commented. “I’ll give your camera back once I have these printed.”
“Wait, n-next time?”
“Yes. You need to do this until we’re back together, understood?” Junho snapped.
“Sir, I can’t do that!” Kihyun protested, only for Junho to approach him in such an intimidating manner that he found himself backing up.
“I guess this scholarship really doesn’t matter to you, then. A shame.” The professor tutted. “And how disappointed your parents will be when they find out the reason you were kicked out of photography school was stalking a poor innocent woman.”
Kihyun felt his heart drop to his stomach as Junho gave him a seemingly friendly pat on the shoulder.
“I’ll see you this afternoon for my lecture, correct?”
The student just nodded numbly.
◦◦,`°.✽✦✽.◦.✽✦✽.°`,◦◦
The neighbourhood was quiet at night, only the occasional hooting of owls breaking the silence. The blackened streets only lit by a few street lamps provided a cover for Kihyun, dressed in all black with a key clutched between his fingers.
‘She’ll be asleep by 10PM, she has to work late on a thursday so she can never stay up late.’ The words of Junho lingered in his mind as he slipped the key into the keyhole and the front door creaked open. ‘Besides, she never remembers to lock the door. That’s always my responsibility.’
The first thing he noticed was that the house clearly needed an extra pair of hands. There were cobwebs in the corners, and the floor was littered with unorganised toys and shoes.
But that wasn’t his purpose. He was there with a mission: a sick, illegal one at that, but something he had to do nonetheless to preserve his chances of success in the future. He found his target quickly and quietly, pushing open the bedroom door cautiously to see the sleeping woman.
Kihyun could almost understand how Junho was so obsessed with her. She looked simply ethereal splayed out, fast asleep.
He raised his camera up and snapped a picture of her from the doorway, before advancing into the room. Every step closer only made his heart race more, from dread of what could happen if he was caught but also the minor crush he was developing on the older woman.
It was just as he was getting a close up that there was a small knock at the door, just barely audible. Then, before Kihyun could even think to hide, it was pushed open to reveal a small figure silhouetted by the light from the hallway that had inexplicably turned on.
“Mommy?”
The woman in question groaned, creeping open her eyes. The figure dressed in all black standing over her was unmissable. She let out a shrill shriek, falling out of the bed and scrambling to the doorway to grab her daughter.
“Who the hell are you?” She screamed. “Get out of my house!”
“I-I-I…” Kihyun struggled to come up with an answer, his brain clouded. He’d planned an answer beforehand in case this happened - he’d simply gaslight her into thinking it was a dream - but at that moment his mind was fuzzy.
“Get out, before I call the police!” The woman screamed again.
“Please… you have to understand…” He stuttered. “Can I just explain?”
“What could you possibly have to explain?” She snarled back, holding her daughter closer to her chest.
“I’m not here of my own accord. Please, don’t call the police and I’ll explain everything. I swear on my life I would never hurt either of you.”
There was a moment of silence.
“Get talking.”
Kihyun gulped, before taking a breath in and explaining it all.
“Your ex-husband is my photography professor. He’s blackmailing me to essentially stalk you, to take photos of you for his “collection”. If I don’t do it, he says I’m going to lose my scholarship, and I can’t just let that happen. I’m really sorry for all the distress I’ve caused, but please don’t ruin my life because of it.”
The woman sighed, but visibly relaxed.
“Almost sounds believable.”
She put her daughter down.
“Go to your room honey. Go back to sleep, okay?”
The young girl nodded and plodded off.
“We should talk.”
◦◦,`°.✽✦✽.◦.✽✦✽.°`,◦◦
A half empty glass of sherry was nursed between (Y/N)’s fingers, but Kihyun’s remained untouched.
“I’m really sorry. You shouldn’t have to suffer because of my relationship.”
“It’s not your fault. It’s all because of that power-abusing bastard.” Kihyun attempted to comfort her. They’d spent the last half hour giving a brief recounting of their lives, a mellowing experience for the both of them.
“I mean, clearly you��ve got talent, and I would hate to see that go to waste because of me.” (Y/N) sighed, taking another sip of the alcohol to soothe her woes. “I guess you can just continue doing this. He’s just way too smart to break his restraining order and get arrested.”
“Are you sure? I hate invading your privacy, especially now that I know you.” It made Kihyun’s heart ache to even think of being such a creep to the kind-hearted woman.
(Y/N) out and took one of his hands into her own.
“You’re such a sweet guy, Kihyun. Do you have a girlfriend?”
He felt his face heat up, not quite wanting to admit how the only woman who he was remotely interested in was her.
She chuckled seeing his expression.
“Well, you’re always free to get a drink with me. Or we can have something more, if you’re interested.”
“Maybe I’ll take you up on that.”
◦◦,`°.✽✦✽.◦.✽✦✽.°`,◦◦
Minji loved Kihyun. Whenever he visited after his work for the day was done, she would be waiting by the door with a puzzle she’d picked out for them to do together. (Y/N) would always make them tea as Kihyun entertained her daughter by helping her sort out the puzzle pieces so that they could do the edges. Then they would sit together, the perfect picture of domesticity as Minji talked excitedly about nothing in particular and (Y/N) rested her head on his shoulder and slowly drifted to sleep. He’d leave the dozing (Y/N) and energetic Minji alone as he cooked them supper, often with Minji by his side asking questions about everything he was doing.
There hadn’t been one moment when he’d asked (Y/N) out, or vice versa. Things just fell into place, and there was such a warm feeling Kihyun got as a new part of the family that he almost forgot about his responsibilities. Having to take photos of (Y/N) as if she was a stranger jarred him, when he’d taken to capturing more intimate photos on his phone, saved for the mornings where he didn’t want to get out of bed.
Kihyun knew he was falling for (Y/N), deeply. It was dangerous knowing his scholarship was on the line and one fuck up could ruin his career permenantly.
One day, as Kihyun was helping Minji with her homework as (Y/N) was doing the laundry, the phone rang.
“I’ll get it.” (Y/N) sighed, letting the iron rest as she reached for the landline. “Hello?”
There was a pause as Kihyun paid no mind to it, quietly pointing out where Minji had made a mistake.
“Junho?” Kihyun froze. Surely he wasn’t going to make a move, surely he wasn’t going to win over (Y/N).
“I’m busy actually, so if you could leave me be-”
Minji smacked the arm of the out-of-focus Kihyun.
“Kihyun, what does this word mean?” She whined loudly, giving him her biggest puppy dog eyes to try and draw him back.
It stayed silent as Junho spoke to (Y/N) down the phone.
“No, you must be hearing things. She’s just reading to herself.” (Y/N) stuttered, and it was like someone had poured a bucket of ice down Kihyun’s back.
“Don’t talk to me like that.” She finally snapped back. “Go to hell, and stay away from my family.”
(Y/N) slammed the phone down and let out a huge sigh, her breathing having quickened. Kihyun quickly abandoned the english homework and took the shaking mother into his arms, letting her sob into his chest.
“He knows, he knows. This is a nightmare, he’s going to ruin your career, he’s going to-”
“Shhhh.” Kihyun held her just a bit tighter, feeling the same fear dwelling in his stomach but quashing it so that he could be strong for her.
“I’m so sorry, I should have never initiated anything between us.” (Y/N) continued to cry, but Kihyun shook his head.
“I wouldn’t exchange you for anything, not even my career.” He smiled. “I’ll sort this all out, don’t you worry.”
The young man saw over (Y/N)’s shoulder the crestfallen face of Minji staring at the couple, and he removed one of his hands from his partner’s back to beckon the young girl, who squealed in delight as she attached herself to his legs.
“No one will take this away from us. I swear”
◦◦,`°.✽✦✽.◦.✽✦✽.°`,◦◦
Processing photos was a relaxing process. Whilst his professor preferred to use digital cameras, Kihyun liked watching the developing film, the quiet that enveloped the room save for the buzz of the LED lights.
His peace was interrupted with the arrival of Junho, who dropped his bag rather loudly on the floor.
“Yoo Kihyun. I trust you’ve been keeping up with your work?” His voice possessed such animosity it made the student shiver.
“I’m sorry sir, I was busy yesterday. I wasn’t able to take any pictures of your wife for you.”
“But you visited her, no?”
Silence spread throughout the darkroom.
“I didn’t. I’m very sorry, I hope you can forgive me.”
Junho let out a deep, irritated sigh.
“That’s a shame. But also, I know you’re lying to me Kihyun, and I want the truth.” He snarled, grabbing the student’s wrist in his iron grip. “Why did I hear my daughter say your name yesterday?”
“You must have misheard her.” Kihyun replied smoothly, his heart racing nonetheless.
“I wasn’t born yesterday.” His superior snapped back, twisting the young man’s wrist until he cried out in pain. “You think you’re so smart, you think you’ve got the world in your hands. But just you wait. First, I’m making sure you lose your scholarship for severe misconduct. Then, I’ll phone all the contacts I have and make sure you can never get into another school like this, no matter where you go, Finally, I’m going to make sure (Y/N) doesn’t even remember your name, so that you have nothing left after your useless escapade.”
“Fuck you.” The student hissed, tears brimming in his eyes. He couldn’t let this happen, let himself lose everything he worked for and (Y/N). He finally snatched his wrist away. “I’ll kill you before anything of that happens, you rotten bastard.”
“What will that achieve? You’ll still lose your career, your life, and (Y/N) and Minji will hate you for the rest of their lives.”
No, that wasn’t true. Kihyun had been woken up too many times by (Y/N) crying out in her sleep, wrecked with the emotional damage Junho had done to her. He’d always go and make her a cup of camomile tea, and rub her back when she cried to him about how she wished that she’d never met Junho. She’d be much better off if he was dead.
His swiss army knife was in his pocket. Maybe he could end all their troubles here.
“Now get out of my site, rat. No point doing any more work when you’re going to be kicked out by the end of the day, right?” Junho’s triumphant smirk only served to piss off Kihyun even more.
He found the knife in his pocket, flicking the blade out and letting it rest in his hand.
It was when Junho gave him a shove towards the door that he snapped and pulled it out, brandishing it in front of his face.
“Nice tool you have there, little rat. What are you going to do with it? You haven’t got the guts.” It was to Junho's surprise that he found himself pinned down to the floor, Kihyun’s weight on his chest keeping him from moving as the blade was dragged up his wrists. One of the student’s hands was clasped over the professor’s mouth to keep him from screaming out as he finished his work. The light was leaving the villain’s eyes, and it was sickeningly satisfying to see as Kihyun cleaned off the knife before leaving it in the dying man’s hands. Even if his victim tossed the blade away, it would still have the prints and Kihyun would be cleared nonetheless. He cleaned off his hands, shrugged on his jacket and left the bastard in a pool of his own blood.
◦◦,`°.✽✦✽.◦.✽✦✽.°`,◦◦
It was just after three o’clock, with Kihyun having spent the afternoon in the library studying his theory textbooks, that he got a text from (Y/N).
‘Can you pick up Minji from school as soon as possible please? I can’t leave the house right, I’ll explain it later.’
His heart thudded. He was more than ready to do it for (Y/N), to be the rock of stability in her life. If she ever needed him, he would be there.
Minji was chipper as always, not questioning why she’d been asked to leave classes early although Kihyun did have some difficulty proving to the receptionist that he had permission to pick her up despite not being her father.
She chattered to Kihyun all throughout the journey home, practically bouncing in the seat even after he gently scolded her for distracting him. He could never be mad at her, she was too cute.
Minji was ready to jump into her mother’s arms the second the front door opened, but the sight of (Y/N)’s reddened eyes as she pulled the two inside before quickly shutting it behind them was enough to concern her.
And as soon as the three were hidden from the eyes of the public, (Y/N) broke down into tears.
“M-m-minji… your daddy…” She choked out. “He’s…”
Kihyun rushed to comfort her, letting her sob into his chest.
“We’ll explain to you later, Minji. Do you want to go to your room and play with your dolls?”
The little girl bit her lip, trusting Kihyun but also concerned about the state of her mother. He gave her a gentle pat on the shoulder with his spare hand, and it was enough to sway her and run off.
“Honey, we need to sit down.” Kihyun muttered, gently leading her over to the armchair. The mother sniffed and detached herself from him, wiping at her eyes.
“It’s Junho. I got a call from the police. They found him dead, and they think he killed himself.” Kihyun couldn’t care less, but seeing the state (Y/N) was in he knew it was best to fake sympathy and coo apologies.
“It’s all my fault, I told him to go to hell, I told him I hate him. It’s all my fault, I killed him!” She wasn’t exactly wrong, she had been the cause of his death, but Kihyun didn’t want that weight on her shoulders.
“No, it’s not. You’re not to blame for whatever he did.” He whispered.
“I shouldn't have ever fought him. If I’d been a bit more tolerant, he w-w-wouldn’t be dead!” A new wave of tears dripped down (Y/N)’s cheeks.
“Don’t blame yourself, you did the right thing.” Kihyun repeated, like a mantra. (Y/N) just shook her head at the response.
“Please, Kihyun. I love you, but this should have never happened.” There was a pit in Kihyun’s stomach as the love of his life spoke. “I think… I think we need some time apart. This doesn’t feel right.”
No. This couldn’t be happening.
Surely Junho hadn’t been right. Surely (Y/N) didn’t hate him?
“We’re meant to be together, (Y/N). I’m here for you, no matter what. I’d do anything for your love.” He clasped her hands in his.
“I know. I just can’t do this, the guilt would eat me alive.” She continued, her eyes still watery. “What would I look like, Minji’s father dying and me staying with my new man without a care in the world?!”
“He was a rotten bastard!” Kihyun raised his voice, standing up. “Why should you care if he’s dead? He hurt you, he deserved everything he got!”
(Y/N) was stunned.
“How could you be so heartless? I never wanted him dead!” She snapped.
“And what if I did?” Kihyun replied heatedly. “He had it coming!”
There was silence, although Kihyun’s blood was boiling so hot he was surprised there wasn’t steam coming out of his ears.
“Dear lord, Kihyun. What did you do?” (Y/N)’s voice was barely a whisper, but he heard her loud and clear.
“Nothing he didn’t deserve.” Kihyun said simply.
“Get out of my house right now.”
He didn’t move.
“I’m calling the police.”
Her empty threats meant nothing to the lovesick man.
“I’d do anything for you.” He affirmed. “Don’t test that.”
(Y/N) was shaking. She was out of the grasp of one obsessed man, only to fall into the arms of one much worse.
He sat down next to her again, taking her hands into his own.
“No one could ever take me away from you. I swear.”
#Yandere kpop#yandere x reader#yandere#yandere monsta x#yandere kihyun#kpop Yandere#Yandere Kihyun x reader#Kihyun x reader#yandere monsta x au#yandere monsta x reader insert
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𝘔𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘶𝘱 𝘚𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯
→ 𝘈𝘴𝘮𝘰𝘥𝘦𝘶𝘴 𝘹 𝘙𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳
›› 𝘚𝘶𝘮𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘺: You thoroughly enjoyed your makeup sessions with Asmo. Not only were his stories so extravagant and entertaining, but he also loved giving you advice on any of your troubles. In this particular session, you start to reflect on your feelings for your coworker
›› 𝘎𝘦𝘯𝘳𝘦: Fluff
›› 𝘞𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵: ~2.5k
›› 𝘏𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘴 𝘶𝘱: gn!reader , makeup artist!asmo, actor/actress!reader, human au (? kinda)
“ah, y/n, it’s a treat to see you again!” at the sound of your makeup artist, you couldn’t help let out a small smile, happy to have your favorite person on set with you yet again. sure, he may have been the artist that was sometimes assigned to you, meaning that the two of you were nothing more than coworkers, but you also became close friends with him. plus, asmo’s craft and talent with his brushes never ceased to amaze you. your makeup, no matter how extravagant or simple, always seemed to take the spotlight during each shot. it was perfect to say the least, for both the scene and the atmosphere. besides, asmo always knew how to make you look good in anything. he truly had a talent for this.
“asmo! i’m so happy that you’re my artist,” you exclaimed, finding it quite hard to contain your excitement. you moved to sit in a black chair that was in front of his work station, sitting up straight as you prepared to, once again, be blown away by him. as much as you enjoyed the other artists that were on set, asmo just had a magical touch to his work. he was your favorite by far, although that is to say you weren’t putting down the others. asmo’s makeup work, in particular, exudes confidence, elegance, and beauty all in one. it not only served to accentuate your character’s traits, but also gave you much more confidence when you were up on set.
“well, i’m glad to hear that you love me so much,” he giggled, getting right to preparing his brushes and kit. this time, he was given the orders to create a natural and simple look. your character was supposed to be at a cafe in this scene, supposedly on a date with some hotshot you’d met in a previous scene. although asmo did get orders from the head makeup artist, he often liked to deviate a little and add his own personal touches in order to make you stand out. as much as that would serve as a reprimand, everyone on set was always taken aback by your makeup, so they let asmo run free. “so, would you like to hear the story of my last failed date?” he sighed, opening up the primer as he dipped his brush in.
“of course i would, duh. your stories are the highlight of my day.” although that may have sounded a bit of an exaggeration, you weren’t lying. asmo always seemed to have the wildest stories, yet they were exciting and always kept you on your toes. you couldn’t help but wonder how he led such a fascinating and eventful life. currently, your life was quite dull. all you did was wake up each morning and arrive on set, that or practice your lines over and over again to your audience of stuffed animals that sat on your bed. you wished your life held an ounce of excitement that asmo’s had. “did you run into your psycho ex this time too?”
“yep,” he sighed once more, though he never stopped applying makeup. his soft touch on your skin felt so electric, though that was your crush on the man speaking. yes, despite his narcissism and usual shamelessness, you couldn’t help but fall for your coworker. of course, he was dreamy in a sense, with his good looks and fashion taste and all, but asmo was also very caring, a side he didn’t seem to show to just anyone (he seemed to only care for folks that he deemed to be attractive or interesting). however, he always listened to your problems and gave advice whenever you vented to him. and as someone who moved out to a big city in order to pursue more acting opportunities, it really did help to have someone by your side that truly did care. that, plus, he was just so interesting! you swear you could listen to asmo talk on and on for hours about his crazy stories.
as he went on about his encounter with one of his exes, applying concealer, foundation, etc. in the meantime, you listened to each and every one of his words rather intently. as mentioned before, these stories always kept you on edge. you also couldn’t help but admire asmo’s voice. it was so full of emotion and expression. it was so lively! his voice was honestly really nice. plus, when he sometimes sang little songs under his breath, you couldn’t help but be blown away by this man’s singing talent. who knew he was such a good singer too? geez, now you needed to hear him sing a cover of your favorite songs or perhaps even a lullaby. although you were quite fixated on his story and voice, you didn’t forget to respond every once in a while and throw in your input and reactions, which asmo seemed to admire as well.
“and that’s basically how i now have a cease and desist on my ex as well as a wanted criminal in the next town over.”
“wait wait wait, back up a second. wanted criminal?”
“i’m just teasing you darling. just wanted to make sure you were paying attention,” asmo replied in a singsong voice, booping your nose with one of his clean brushes in the process. you couldn’t help but roll your eyes, quite used to his incessant teasing. you never knew how you still fell for it after many years of working with him. “anyway, is there anything new with you?”
“well,” you started, though you were immediately interrupted as asmo applied a small dash of lipstick to your lips. ahh, his soft touch on your ever so sensitive lips made you feel goosebumps. it felt almost electrical in a sense, and you couldn’t help but jump a bit from the contact. geez, you really were head over heels for your makeup artist, especially if a simple touch was enough to make you feel butterflies. asmo took notice of your startled reaction and tilted his head (rather cutely you should say), making sure that you were alright before continuing on. when you nodded that you were fine, asmo happily smiled and continued on applying the lipstick, though you weren’t any calmer the second time around.
it’s not like you despised his touch. you, in fact, were so in love with it, but the fact that you had such a huge crush on him really didn’t help. you also couldn’t help but recall the time that he had accidentally applied too much lipstick, and when you jokingly asked how you’d take it off, he grabbed your chin and said in such a sultry voice that he’d just kiss it off. gahh, just the memory of it got your heart rate up. of course, he did say that he was merely joking with you in a flirty way, but it felt so real that you didn’t really believe him. despite that memory resurfacing at the moment, you shook it off and continued on with what you wanted to say. “will you ever let me know your real name?”
“nope~” well, that was a quick response, and one that you weren’t even expecting to be quite honest. asmo, for some strange reason, never really let anyone in on his true name, insisting on the fact that everyone around him just called him asmo. you weren’t quite sure as to why he only ever wanted to go by his nickname, but you decided to give him the benefit of the doubt and assume that he hated his name. if that was the case, then it would be better off if you just dropped it. “it’s not that i hate it or anything,” he continued on, though you were surprised by how well he seemed to be reading your thoughts. “i think that the mystery aspect of it makes me much more appealing, don’t you think?” with that, he added a dangerous flirtatious wink which surely got your heartbeat rising.
“alright, i get it,” you sighed, smiling as you felt him powder blush on your cheeks. “but you are an expert on relationships and love and whatnot, right?”
“y/n, you’ve known me for a while now, what do you think?”
“i know i know, just thought i’d ask. it’s just that...well.” oh now asmo was listening rather intently to you while simultaneously continuing to put on your makeup. he really was the biggest gossiper you knew, always wanting in on the juciest of details. and your dull love life was no exception. “i don’t know how to tell this person that i like them…” you couldn’t help but avert your gaze from asmo’s the moment you muttered that sentence, embarrassed that you were talking about your crush in front of him. it really wasn’t something that you had mentioned to anyone beforehand.
“oo, who are they? you gotta tell me everything if you want me to help,” asmo responded, quite intrigued at where this entire thing was going. “i must say though, they are quite lucky to have someone as cute as you crushing on them.”
perhaps it’s the other way around you thought to yourself, though all you did was smile at asmo’s statement. “well, they’re always so kind. a bit eccentric at times, but that’s part of their charm!” you couldn’t really see asmo’s face at the moment since he was applying the tiniest bit of natural eyeshadow to your lids, knowing that he did so in order to make your eyes pop out a bit. if you could see him, however, you’d assume that asmo was giving you a face that basically told you to continue on. “um, let’s see,” you mumbled, trying your best to articulate your feelings in the best way possible. “although they can be shameless and really flirty, i know that they are really loving and can be a bit insecure at times. i think that their love would be my type of love, ya know?”
“you haven’t told me much, but you sound so smitten with this person.” dang, asmo really knew a lot about love, huh? it was rather embarrassing that he was able to quickly catch on to your strong feelings. “i say that you confess. who knows, they may even like you back~” with that final statement, you couldn’t help but shake off the feeling that asmo most likely knew that you were talking about him, as much as you prayed that wasn’t the case. imagine telling your crush to their face that you liked them, and they knew that you were talking about them but feigned ignorance anyway. that in and of itself was so embarrassing. but if that was the case, then wouldn’t it be better to take his advice and confess? well, in the heat of the moment, you decided that you’d go with it.
“you think so?”
“mm”
“ok then, asmo, would you like to go out with me?”
there was a few seconds of silence between the two of you, painful silence that felt like years in your eyes. oh no, what if you just ruined your friendship with your coworker that you had cultivated over the years? all those years of friendship, down the drain due to some stupid five second confession. how dumb could you get? before you could mentally beat yourself over it, however, asmo replied.
“oo, i like that confidence~ i find it quite hot.” of course, you should’ve known that asmo would’ve found a way to tease you in such a situation. it wasn’t the ideal response, especially since it kinda felt like he was making fun of your feelings, but you knew that it was just his nature to do so. didn’t mean it didn’t hurt any less though. you felt yourself tearing up a bit, though that all went away when you heard his next words. “of course i’d go out with you though. i’ve liked you for a while now too.”
“really?!” it was a bit too enthusiastic and loud of a response that the other artists and actors couldn’t help but turn their gaze towards you for a few seconds. becoming flustered, you averted your gaze and focused on asmo, mumbling out your answer once more. everything had happened so fast that you hadn’t processed the entire situation yet, unsure whether you were stuck in a dream or not. this surely was one exciting thing that happened in your life.
“yep,” he replied, giggling a bit at your enthusiasm. in his eyes, your reaction was adorable. he really did have a lot of love for you.
“do you wanna go on a date this saturday then?” wow, you really were quite enthusiastic and fast-acting. it’s not that you were desperate (though some people may argue otherwise), but you were rather bored, and your life was uneventful, so you figured that a date would be perfect.
“ahh, no can do,” he pouted as he added the finishing touches on your makeup. “my brother lucy,” he rolled his eyes at the mention of the name, “wants me and my other brothers back home for some reason.” he spun you around so that you faced the mirror, opening your eyes to be met with a job well done. his makeup work was truly top of the line, and you were always blown away at the spectacle beforehand. “how about next weekend though?”
“that sounds perfect,” you muttered to both asmo and the makeup look before you. first you snatched yourself a perfect makeup look and then a handsome boyfriend? today really was a great day for you. as you sat there speechless, you heard the director call your name out of the blue. it was finally time for your scene, and right on time too. “oh! i have to go,” you said to asmo, quickly getting up from your seat and adjusting your clothes. “i’ll definitely call you later to set up the details!”
“sounds good.” with that, asmo gave you a quick kiss on the cheek before he turned back to washing and fixing up his station, preparing to do a job well done for the next round of actors. shocked at the sudden kiss, you stood frozen for a few seconds, contemplating on what had just occurred. your first ever kiss from your boyfriend. this truly was a moment to treasure. though, before you could continue on with your daydreams, you heard the director call out to you once more, causing you to drop everything and rush on over.
although you couldn’t tell, asmo was staring at you quite lovingly from afar, admiring how pretty you looked in both your makeup and costume. too bad he had to go back to the devildom for a few days to prepare for the exchange program. he really did want to spend more time with you.
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A platonic one with Vox Machina and the Might Nein where the reader is a dancer/bard/entertainer and the group is a little tight in money or whatever reason so they go off and perform to help out in some way. The groups didn't know so they kind of state at them with jaws dropped
May have gotten slightly carried away, especially on that second scenario, but I had fun with it (might even continue a small story off it, who knows). This should be interesting, I hope this turns out well…… Enjoy 😁
Payed Preformance
Mighty Nein, Vox Machina & Reader (Platonic)
Mighty Nein
Just starting up in the adventuring business has proven to be very tricky, especially when it comes to making and managing money.
"No matter how we try it, there’s just no way we can afford enough rooms for everyone." Beau scratches the back of her head as she recounts your small amount of coin the group had for like the fifteenth time.
"We could always steal some." Nott points out.
"I don’t reckon that to be a good idea, we're tryin' to be in these people’s good graces remember." Fjord counters, rubbing at his temples.
"Just a friendly suggestion." Nott shrugs, clearly still plotting to actually do it. Everyone starts discussing what to do next, you let out a small sigh.
"I have an idea, that doesn’t involve stealing." You speak up, gaining the group’s attention. They stare at you in silence, waiting for you to continue and explain. You look away a second and take a breath. "Look just… just trust me on this."
"Hey, if it’ll help, I say go for it." Beau encourages. You give a nod, stand from your chair and leave the tavern with the group following behind curiously. As you look for a nice open spot you also dig around in your bag until you grasp the item you’re searching for, pulling out a small lute.
"I didn’t know you played!" You hear Jester pipe in, you turn to her and give her a smile and a small laugh.
"I don’t, I’m not the one who’ll be playing it." You get some confused looks, you just roll your eyes playfully and cast Unseen Servant, whispering your command to it whilst handing over the lute. Music begins to play and you start performing some fine acrobatics and contortionist abilities, quickly gaining a crowd as you did. Soon enough people start tossing their spare change, as they do you up the ante of the music and your performance baiting people to want to toss more coin your way just to see what you would do next. The whole time you can see at the corner of your eye the Nein staring in awe, as a grand finale you kick off a wall, do a tumble roll through the air and cast Prestidigitation to make a small fireworks display go off behind you. There’s a pause before the crowd you'd drawn in starts to clap and cheer a few "good show" being yelled here and there, you gather your spoils into your bag and walk over to the group.
"Will this do?" You ask, holding you bag open for them to inspect. Caleb stares into the bag giving a quick head count.
"I believe this’ll do just fine." He comments. There’s a small awkward silence that soon falls onto the group.
"Alright, since no one else wants to ask the question that’s on all our minds, I’ll do it myself." Molly quickly breaks away from the silence and looks to you. "Where did you learn how to do that?" You give a sigh.
"You know, you and Yasha aren’t the only ones who lived with a circus." You say somewhat matter-of-factly.
"Oh now that’s a story I have to hear." He perks up and gets uncomfortably close to your face until you shove him away.
"How about first we actually go through how much coin we *cough* I *cough* earned, then I might tell my story." You exaggerate on the might as a means to say you weren’t going to willingly give away your life story. Before anyone has the chance to say or ask you anything else you turn and make your way back into the tavern.
Vox Machina
"Alright! What did you boneheads do!" The doors to the tavern slam open and a very angry Vex marches her way over to the table giving a hard glare towards Grog and Scanlan. You, Keyleth and Percy all share a look then sit back and take a swig from your drinks ready to watch the show unfold.
"I have no idea what you’re talking about." The gnome tried to play things off smoothly, it didn’t work.
"Really." She raises an unconvinced eyebrow at him. "Well then I’m sure you have a perfectly good explantion for where that gaudy belt you’re wearing came from." You have to hold back a laugh at Scanlan's obvious discomfort. Vax comes and places an arm around his sister's shoulder.
"Hey relax, I’m sure it can’t be that bad." She eyes him a moment.
"Right… that’s a nice new cloak you got there. Where’d that come from?" Vex asks suspiciously. Vax then slowly removes his arm from her shoulder and she lets out a sigh. "Until we can sort this out you’re all banned from taking any money." You and Keyleth both nearly choke on your drinks.
"Come on Vex, don’t throw us into this mess. We’re not the ones who did anything wrong." You try to reason. She turns to you and pinches at the bridge of her nose.
"Look, I’m not trying to be the bad guy here, but we barely have enough gold for rooms and a meal." You let the words sink in, contemplating if you should suggest the idea that popped into you head or begrudgingly go along without spending money. When you come to your conclusion you take a deep breath to spike yourself up.
"What if I told you I had a way we could make back… at least a good some of the gold we’d lost." Everyone looks at you curiously.
"Please, by all means." You nod, chug down the rest of your drink and stand up walking around the table.
"Scanlan I’m borrowing you for a moment." You say grabbing the gnome by the collar of his shirt without letting him answer. You head out to find an open space on the road and place him down once you do.
"What was that for?" Scanlan asks, brushing himself off.
"I have a special request, if you don’t mind." He raises an interested eyebrow at you. You whisper to him your request and give an expectant look. "Think you could do that for me?"
"You got it!" He shoots you some finger guns then pulls out his instrument to help fulfil your request. You wave your hand letting the magic shimmer over you, changing your outfit to something more fitting and wait for your cue. Already a curious crowd starts to form around you, and when the music hits your ears you begin to move your body perfectly in time with the notes. As the song plays you match your movements with each note as if your body was a physical interpretation of the song itself. People start to toss gold and silver coin your way, some cheers and whistles being heard amongst the crowd, all the while you do what you can to repress any memories that try to resurface themselves, you were not gonna let the past ruin this for you. When the song is finally done you give a bow to the crowd breathing heavily to catch your breath, they all clap, cheer and some toss even a few extra coin your way. Once you’ve finally regained a normal breathing pattern and the crowd had dispersed you look back to the group, seeing them all jaw dropped.
"You’ve got quite the talent there." Scanlan says astonished. You give a light laugh, waving your hand as you do to change your outfit back to the way it was before.
"Where in blazes did that come from?" Grog asks, confused by your secret talent.
"That was incredible." Percy compliments.
"Where did you learn to dance like that?" Vax questions.
"You have to teach me how to dance sometime!" Keyleth quickly jumps in excitedly.
"Whoa, whoa slow down everyone, please." You hold your arms up defensively. "Look, it’s no big deal. Does that help make up some lost change?" You quickly change the subject, directing your attention over to Vex as she finishes collecting the last of the coin people left behind.
"I certainly does. I too am curious though as to where you learned to dance like that?" Vex reiterates her brothers question.
"Eh, it was a long time ago really. I don’t really dwell too much on it though." You wave them off.
"Well now I'd like to know too." Percy raises an eyebrow your way. You let out a sigh.
"Right, and I’m famished after all that. Can’t we just head back into the tavern and enjoy ourselves?" You ask, avoiding the question. Realizing they wouldn’t be getting a straight answer from you they all nod.
"You know what you need to really hammer home a job well done?" Grog gives you a big goofy smile, you knew where this was going but look at him curiously nonetheless. "A nice big mug of ale. Come on then!" He gives you a hardy laugh and a pat on the back, his immense strength making you have to catch yourself from falling to the ground.
#critical role#mighty nein#the mighty nein#vox machina#caleb widogast#jester lavorre#beauregard lionett#yasha nydoorin#nott the brave#mollymauk tealeaf#caduceus clay#fjord#fjord stone#vax'ildan#vex'ahlia#percy de rolo#pike trickfoot#scanlan shorthalt#keyleth#cr grog#nothing romantic here#critical role & reader#mighty nein & reader#vox machina & reader
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In tHiaM, Renji mentioned a fictional fateful encounter in which he and Rukia met in the circus. I can picture this deeply. The Rukon has circuses. It has gritty knife throwers, it has scrappy beast tamers, it has a lovely doe-eyed tightrope walker who does stunts so dangerous your hair'd turn white just watching her. It is for Renji's birthday so he should get Rukia being extremely badass and saving his life from a rampaging circus bear. Ideally, Kenpachi is there.
A lot of times, I’ll have some idea for a story, and I’ll do a bit of research and find out that the thing I wanted to do absolutely does not exist in Japanese culture, and I was completely sure that when I dug into it, Japanese circuses would not be a thing, or they would be extremely different from Western circuses, but as it turns out, circuses were absolutely a thing in the Edo era, and they had acrobats and strongmen and horseriding and more. I had so many tabs open about circuses, and almost none of it actually made it into this fanfic.
Anyway, THANK YOU ALOPEX, you know what I like to write, and what I like to write is Renji telling rambling stories of questionable veracity. I put in some lifting for good measure. This might be the most perfect Renji birthday story.
If it isn’t immediately evident, this takes place in the middle of the Advance Team Arc, or more specifically, in the middle of my Advance Team Arc story, See You on the Other Side, where Renji tells Chad a different RenRuki origin story that’s basically the desert bandit subplot from Crouching Tiger, and also a story about bees.
Read on ao3 | ff.net
🏋️♂️ 💪 🤡 🎪 🐻
Renji hefted the last bumper plate onto the end of the barbell and tightened the collar. Chad watched him with narrowed eyes.
“You sure you want to try this?” Renji asked. “One thousand pounds. It’s the weight limit for this bar. Once you beat this, we gotta go back to Urahara’s place and pick up big rocks.”
Apparently, Chad worked part time at his gym, which meant he had a key, which meant that he and Renji could go in at two a.m. so that Renji could teach him how to lift absurd amounts of weight with his reiatsu. It was pretty convenient, as long as you didn’t mind lifting weights at two a.m. Renji loved lifting weights at two a.m.
“You just don’t want to tell me another story,” Chad replied, flexing his shoulders in anticipation.
“Whatever, I got a million of them.” Renji took a few steps backward.
Chad flared his nostrils and stepped up to the barbell. He squatted down and curled his fingers around the grip. He took three deep breaths as he stared straight again. Leading with his hips, he straightened up in a smooth, textbook perfect movement, the sinews in his neck popping out, the air around him boiling with power.
Renji wished he could drag Chad over to Squad Six, so those spoiled weenies could see what hard work actually looked like.
Chad dropped the weight and a huge breath burst out of him, his eyes widening in relief. “I did it,” he gasped.
“You did it, buddy!” Renji shouted, pointing at the barbell. “You’re a machine! You didn’t even make it look hard!”
“It was hard,” Chad managed.
“I don’t believe it!” Renji continued. “One thousand pounds! You’re incredible, dude!”
“What do you mean, you don’t believe it? You told me to do it.”
“I mean, when I told you we were gonna work for the big one-kay, it was, you know, a stretch goal. I didn’t expect you to get there so fast!”
“You said you would tell me another story when I hit it! I assumed it was a reasonable goal.”
“I keep making unreasonable goals and you keep hitting them, so I’m just sort of winging it, now, t’be honest! I’m actually really bothered how much you are motivated by my dumb stories. If I had any human money, I would just offer to buy you tacos or something.”
“I can make my own tacos. I like the stories.”
Renji sighed. They didn’t have tacos in Soul Society and he was determined to eat as many tacos as he possibly could while he was stationed in the Living World. “Go get cleaned up, and I’ll put the weights away and try to decide which story to tell you this time. I did bring us some protein shakes. I can’t vouch for them, because they’re made out of stuff I found in the Shouten, but it’s important to get some calories in you after lifting. ”
“I’m sure they’re fine. I like your protein shakes. Oh, and I know which story I want to hear--how you met Rukia.”
Of course he did.
Renji was a man of many stories. He had so many good stories. He had Inuzuri stories that were full of mischief and dirtbaggery. He had Squad 11 stories that were full of headbutting and idiocy. He had interesting stories about his clever friends Izuru and Momo and funny stories about his goofy friend Shuuhei and horrible stories about his horrible friends Iba and Madarame. But Chad had asked him once how he met their mutual friend Kuchiki Rukia, a very reasonable and natural thing to ask, and Renji had responded with a ridiculous story that was very obviously not true. Now, all Chad wanted to hear was ostentatious lies about how he, Abarai Renji, had met the incomparable Kuchiki Rukia.
Renji racked his brain as he racked Chad’s weights. This would probably make the eighth or ninth Renji-Rukia origin story, he’d honestly lost count. He was running out of material. There was a bulletin board next to the weight storage rack, covered with flyers for a weightlifting tournament in Naruki City, the Karakura High kendo team, tumbling lessons. Renji stared at the picture of the girl in the sparkly leotard on the last one. He thought about how he and the gang used to make up stories of how they were gonna make it out of Inuzuri some day. He thought about Rukia’s absolute favorite, the one she told over and over, the way it got bigger and sparklier every time she told it.
Chad returned, a tracksuit zipped overtop his workout clothes. “Need help?” he asked.
“This is the last one,” Renji replied, hefting it up onto the shelf. “You can put the bar away, though.”
Chad did.
It was kinda nice, Renji thought, being in a gym in the middle of the night with Chad. It reminded him of hunching over his dorm room desk across from Izuru, cramming for written exams. It reminded him of achy muscles in a dim Fifth Company dojo, trying to figure out the mechanics of Zabimaru’s shikai deep into the wee hours. It reminded him of long runs with Ikkaku as the sun was just peaking over the city walls. The hours between dusk and dawn were a pretty good time for doing things, in Renji’s opinion.
“So, did you remember? How you met her?”
“Of course I remember!” Renji protested. “You think I would forget something like that?”
“You do get hit on the head a lot,” Chad rumbled gently and it took Renji a moment to realize he just got dragged. Chad was actually a really funny guy, you just had to pay attention.
Renji plopped down on a pile of mats and started rummaging around in his backpack for the two bottles of questionable nutritional substance he had mixed up earlier. “Well, I certainly remember the time I ran away from home and joined the circus, I’ll tell you that.” It was a good opening line, and he paused a few seconds to get the full effect.
“The circus?” Chad echoed skeptically, sitting down next to Renji and accepting his smoothie.
“The circus,” Renji replied after taking a long swig. It was very, very strawberry flavored. “So. I think I mentioned once that when I died I got sent to the shit-end of Rukongai. District 78 of the Southern Quadrant, where your best hope is to die soon and catch an express trip back to the Living World. I was too dumb and stubborn for that, though, so I was always on the lookout for a way out. Now, it’s pretty hard to move between districts in Rukongai-- it’s illegal without a special permit, see, and special permits get harder to get the further out you go. But there are a few kinds of permits that allow you to travel all up and down Soul Society, and one of those is for entertainers.”
This was more-or-less true. It was true in theory, but travelling shows never made it out to the deep Rukon-- there was no profit in it. Rukia used to swear up and down that a circus had made it to Inuzuri once, basically just passing through on their way to capture wild animals from the magical wilderness past the end of District 80, but she had seen it. Rukia was older than the rest of them, and she used to talk about it in such nauseating detail that they had no choice but to believe her.
“When I saw the posters plastered up all over town, my first thought was that it was an opportunity to pick up some quick kan as temporary labor. My primary job skill at the time was picking up heavy objects, you see, perhaps moving them from place to place. Circuses always need help with set up and tear down. I mean, do I look like a theater kid?”
Chad stared at him pointedly.
“I don’t know why I asked that,” Renji quickly corrected, “but also, keep in mind that I am Like This because I was in the circus, not the other way around. Anyway, my instincts were correct, and I found myself gainfully employed, carting crates and also tying and untying knots, another of my many talents. But then two things, or rather two someones made me decide that I needed to hitch my star to this ridiculous pageant. The first, I will admit, was a complete castle in the sky, but what is being an adolescent boy about if not chasing after hopeless dreams?”
Chad frowned. “Well. There’s school.”
“There is no school in Inuzuri, actually, and perhaps that would have kept me out of trouble, but instead, I became absolutely entranced by the glittering star of the show-- a tightrope walker of exceptional agility, grace, and beauty. Her most defining characteristic, though, was her audacity. There was no trick too dangerous for her. She somersaulted through hoops of fire. She juggled daggers. She’d stop halfway across the tightrope, pull out a tokkari, and pour herself a saucer of sake and drink it, while the audience gasped.”
“It was Kuchiki,” Chad guessed, the corner of his mouth tipping up into his shy grin.
“It was Rukia,” Renji agreed, “but imagine Rukia in head-to-toe spangles, with bells in her hair and glitter painted around her eyes, 20 feet in the air. She was unreal. She was an apparition, a spirit. I was desperate to meet her.”
“Did you?” asked Chad.
“Chad,” said Renji.
“What?”
“Did you just… did you just ask me if I ever managed to meet Rukia? Your friend and mine, Kuchiki Rukia? In the middle of this story about how I met Rukia?”
Chad thought for a moment. “It’s two a.m. and I just deadlifted a thousand pounds.”
“That’s fair, and the answer is yes, eventually, I did meet Rukia and she saved me from being eaten by a bear, but we’ll get to that. Are you drinking that protein shake?”
“Oh, sorry! It’s really good, I just keep forgetting because this story is a good one.” Chad took a long sip. “Hey, Abarai?”
“Yeah?”
“Sorry to interrupt again, but I have a question about the bear.”
“The bear is later.”
“Yeah, I realize that, but does the bear die?”
“Huh?”
“I’m just asking up front, because I don’t like stories where animals die, and if the bear gets hurt or dies, maybe could you skip over that part?”
“Oh! No, the bear is fine. Well, he’s probably reincarnated back into a living bear by now, he was pretty old even then. I exaggerated a little to make it sound dramatic, he probably wouldn’t have eaten me in any case.”
“Okay, you can go back to the story now, I just wanted to make sure. Thank you.”
“No, no, it’s cool. I’m glad you checked in.” Renji took a deep breath through his nose and mentally rearranged his story so that Rukia no longer defeated the beast in a dramatic knife fight. “Right. So, as I said, there was a second person at the circus who influenced me greatly and that was the most famous strongman in the entire Rukon, Zaraki Kenpachi--”
“Wait, Captain Zaraki? Big guy? With the bells in his hair?”
Oh, shit. “Uh, yeah. That’s a circus thing, you know. Hair bells. You, uh, know Captain Zaraki?”
“Yeah, Orihime made friends with him, and he broke us out of prison, but then we split up because there was someone he wanted to fight.”
“That sounds like him. Anyway, yeah, he’s in this story, too. I used to be in his squad, you know?”
“I gathered that from the way Madarame and Ayasegawa talk to you.”
“He helped me get in the Gotei, you see. Because of our time together in the circus. That’s a different story, though, we’re focusing on circus times, here. He wasn’t even the Kenpachi, yet, actually. One of the reasons he’s so strong is because before he was a fighter, he lifted things, heavy things. He did all the typical strongman stuff-- bending iron bars, biting through teacups, tearing packs of cards in half, but his most famous trick was balancing bamboo poles on his shoulders and then various acrobats and other performers would scramble up on them and do tricks from on top of him. He was wildly popular, pictured on all the posters. People would come to the circus just to see him. I did not have a lot going for me at this point of my life, but I was strong, and when I saw this guy, it occurred to me that if I could get him to take me on as some sort of apprentice, I might finally be able to use my strength to get out of that shitty town.”
“Seems like a good plan.”
“It did. It seemed like a good plan, except that Zaraki had a very busy schedule of getting drunk and napping when he wasn’t lifting things, and he was absolutely not interested in Inuzuri punks who had been hired to move crates around.”
“So, what did you do?”
“Well, speaking of Inuzuri punks, I may have been a fairly honest and hardworking fellow, but one day, a couple of my reprobate neighbors decided to sneak in and try to get a glimpse of some of the wild animals. The fellow who looked after the menagerie was a little guy by the name of Mameji. Very kind and loved the animals deeply, but not very good at standing up for himself. I barely knew him, but I don’t like bullies, and I owed most of those guys a punch in the nose anyway. Mameji was pretty grateful for the solid I did him and asked if there was any favor he could do me in return. Naturally, I asked if he knew Zaraki, but unfortunately, he was terrified of the guy, so I told him I was just happy to do a good deed and make a friend.”
“You should have asked him if he knew Rukia. Rukia likes animals.”
“You’re very smart, Sado, but remember that this story is about me, not you. It didn’t matter anyway, because the next day, he comes to find me and says there’s someone who wants to talk to me. I can’t imagine who he means, aside from holding out hope that maybe he did know Zaraki after all and was just slow-rolling me.”
“But it was Rukia.”
“It was. Mameji leads me over to the area where the animals are kept, and there, in a blue kimono embroidered with silver stars and crystals in her hair, was The Fearless Rukia.” Rukia’s circus stories were usually at least seventy-five percent descriptions of her outfits, and Renji felt obligated to keep up that detail. “‘You helped my friend out,’ she says to me. ‘I appreciate that.’ And I replied something very smooth and suave, like, ‘I like the way you do cartwheels’ or possibly just “Guuuuuuh.’ And then she says, ‘I hear you’re interested in Zaraki, what’s up with that?’ and as you know, I’m much better at talking about muscle stuff, so I explain about picking up heavy things and Inuzuri and my ambition to join the circus and she just listens carefully, nodding from time to time. She makes me pick up a few barrels and then Mameji, for good measure, and finally, she nods and says, ‘You’re pretty strong and I like your hair. Come back here tomorrow. I’m going to help you impress Zaraki.’”
Chad’s eyes sparkled with anticipation.
“So, the next day, I came back, like she said, and Mameji was there, too and they’ve got this big sack of yams. I’ve told you before about eatin’ in Soul Society, right?”
Chad nodded and belatedly took another gulp of his shake.
“My initial thought was that they were gonna try to bulk me up. Raw yams may not sound very exciting to you, but after years of living on near-moldy rice and the occasional sad vegetable or bony fish, I was watering at the mouth. ‘You’re gonna feed these yams to Sunny,’ says Rukia. ‘Who?’ says I. ‘His stage name is Brawler,’ says Rukia, ‘But he’s a good boy so Mameji and I call him Sunny. It’s a joke. Because he’s a moon bear.’ Brawler, you see, was the second scariest thing in the circus, right after Zaraki-- the biggest, ugliest moon bear you can possibly imagine, probably 200 kilograms. A lot of circus bears do tricks-- balance on balls or some shit, but Brawler’s only trick was looking mean as Hell. Sometimes they’d throw him a deer haunch and he’d eat it in a real gross way, I guess people like seeing stuff like that. I, like most people growing up on the southern border of the Rukon, had a healthy fear of large carnivores, but I had a much larger fear of looking like a weenie in front of Rukia, and I was determined I was gonna do whatever she told me to. The first time wasn’t so bad-- I just tossed the yams in and he snuffled over and gave me the hairy eyeball before snorfling them up. We did that the next day, too, but the day after that, Mameji took me into his enclosure to give him his yams. I was a little surprised, you see, because I would have expected a bear like that to eat meat or something like that, but he sure did like those yams.”
“Moon bears are omnivores,” Chad supplied. “They like sweet things.”
“You’re right, and I later found out that Sunny did get meat and other stuff at other times of day, but yams were his absolute favorite thing. Again, Rukia did not tell me this, because Rukia often neglects to tell me important things. I found all of this to be absolutely terrifying, and I probably would have given up and stuck to my crate moving, except that Rukia and Mameji were just about the nicest and amazing people I had ever met. They let me hang out with them for a bit and they told me stories about traveling with the circus and I told them about Inuzuri. They introduced me to their other friends, Fujimaru, who could do all sorts of knife throwing tricks, and Kosaburou, who had the most beautiful singing voice you could possibly imagine. By the time Rukia asked me to give Sunny the yams right out of my hand, I was doin’ it, not because I was desperate to get out of Inuzuri, but because I was desperate to do anything to stay with my new friends.”
Renji paused and pretended to be interested in his protein shake. Usually, he tried to fill these stories with a lot of daring-do and badassery, but he’d gotten a little off-track when had to junk his big exciting Rukia versus Bear fight scene. All he could think of was lying around the squat on miserable rainy days, one-upping each other with stories about their ridiculous circus acts. He hadn’t thought about those days-- hadn’t let himself think about those days-- in years. What a sap he was turning into. Maybe it was because Rukia was back in his life. Maybe it was because there was a war coming, a war he might not make it through. Maybe it was because it was two a.m.
“I know how that feels,” Chad said very quietly, so quietly that Renji almost didn’t catch it, and it occurred to Renji that maybe sometimes it helped to hear a sappy story at 2 a.m.
Renji snorted softly. “So, the day before the circus was set to pack up, Rukia explains her big plan to me. Up until now, I’ve sort of been assuming that this is all an exercise in building courage or some gonzo shit like that, but it turns out it’s very straightforward. Zaraki’s dream the whole time he’s been in the circus is to pick up Sunny as part of his act, except that Sunny has zero interest in being picked up and ends up chewing on Zaraki’s head every time he tries. If Zaraki had ever bothered asking Mameji for help, maybe he could have tried the old yam trick himself, but then this wouldn’t be much of a story.
“I wait ‘til the big guy is done with his nap and is prepping for the night’s performance, inventorying his lead pipes and such, and I go up to him and I say, ‘Zaraki the Great, I am very strong, you should take me on as your apprentice!’ Now, Rukia had seen people do this to him before, and she knew that he always came back with ‘Oh, yeah? Do something to impress me, then.’ Of course, I was prepared, and I said, ‘I am going to pick up Brawler, would that do it?’ and Zaraki laughs in my face and says ‘If you can do that, I will definitely take you on, kid.’”
Chad’s face had split into a huge grin and he leaned forward in anticipation.
“We go over to Sunny’s pen, and of course, Mameji’s already given him his dinner and he’s feelin’ real fat and happy when he sees his old yam buddy Renji coming. I slip him a yam that I had tucked in my sleeve and I start rubbin’ his side, which is a thing we’d been practicin’. He leans into it, ‘cause he was a big, itchy boy, and I just… flipped him and picked him up like a baby.” Renji made a scooping motion to demonstrate. Chad’s face absolutely lit up. “He was incredibly heavy and also he did not really like that,” Renji continued, “but I put him down right away and gave him another yam and he forgave me. Zaraki was laughin’ his ass off, but he kept his word and got me signed on as a Strongman-in-Training. We went on to have many more adventures, both me an’ Zaraki and me an’ Rukia an’ Mameji an’ Kosaburou and Mameji.”
“And Sunny.”
“Sunny continued to be a hideous, angry bear for the crowds, but I kept giving him yams and never picked him up again and we were great friends for the time we spent together in the circus.”
Chad sat back, smiling his usual inscrutable smile. “Thank you, Abarai. That was a really good one.”
Renji cocked an eyebrow at him. “Was it?”
“Yes. It had friendships and a nice bear and I felt like Rukia would really appreciate the effort you put into describing all her outfits. I’m pretty sure it wasn’t true, but it was a good story.”
Renji heaved a big sigh, as though he’d honestly thought Chad was gonna buy it this time. He stretched his arms and legs out in front of him. “Let’s go home. I could go for a few hours of sleep before the Shouten Shouting starts. You’re taking a rest day tomorrow, but don’t forget to stretch.”
“The last time I had a rest day, you came over and you taught me some stuff about reiryouku.”
“Did I?” Renji frowned.
“Can we do that again? You said you would try to explain how flash step works.”
Shit, he did remember promising that. He’d just gotten overenthusiastic because it was nice to be the guy who knew things for a change. On the other hand, he also remembered the enthusiasm of going to school for the first time and wanting to know everything, and could hardly fault Chad for the same. “Sure,” he agreed. “After noon.”
“Let’s make it noon,” Chad amended. “I’ll make you tacos.”
“That,” replied Renji, “is a deal.”
#renji's birthday 2k21#my writing#chad-renji brotp#i honestly hope that over in soul society rukia shot awake#she gets a +2 to badassery every time renji tells a story about her
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Into The Wild
Chapter 5: Honeysuckle
✧ Into The Wild Series ✧ playlist ✧
Words: 3023
At the beginning of the summer Asra and Willa did a tarot reading, just for fun and mostly as an excuse for Willa to show off the cards she’d designed and painted herself. It had been a simple one card pull to symbolize the theme of the summer, and she’d pulled the star— symbolizing hope, faith, and rebirth. She hadn’t thought much of it at the time, but now, looking back at the last few weeks of summer, Willa has realized just how correct that prediction was.
She can’t remember the last time she was this happy and excited for the future. The last few years have been hard on her own, and joining the staff of Camp Vesuvia had been a last-ditch effort to fix things, to make something of herself, to find a place to belong. And as her tarot deck had predicted, she’d done all of those things. Though there was no way the cards could have predicted Muriel, or how much Willa has grown to like him in just a few short weeks.
After the movie night, specifically after the cuddling in the dark and goodbye cheek kisses, she’d been afraid he would disappear. But Muriel had kept his promise to be around more, and they’ve spent the last few days almost entirely together. He’s joined her at meals, sat with her every night at the campfire, and even helped her with work. volunteering in the arts and crafts cabin when his own work was slow.
And Willa had been just as eager to see him, she’d even followed him around on a patrol one evening. It should have been scary to be in the forest after dark like that, but she’d never had so much fun in her life holding the flashlight and listening to Muriel tell stories about his work to pass the time. That’s another change, he actually talks to her now. And whether it’s due to her persistent encouragement finally wearing him down or the tentative trust they’ve built up over a few weeks of friendship, Willa is very glad for the change.
In all of the busy days of work and evenings spent sitting close together by the fire, time has moved fast. Only one week remains before the end of the summer. Only one week remains until Willa has to drive back down the mountain and back to whatever remains of her solitary life in the city. She supposes she’ll have to look for a new job, and that she’ll simply have to forget about how wonderful things have been here at Camp Vesuvia.
Willa doesn’t want to think about forgetting Muriel yet, the thought hurts too much to consider though the deadline for accepting it grows ever nearer.
With only seven days left till the end of camp, it’s time for the culminating event of the summer— the annual talent show. It’s all the campers have been able to talk about for days, and most camp activities have been halted to allow them to practice their talents. Willa had been asked to judge, but she decided to leave that job to Asra and Julian. They’ve been bickering all day about the criteria used to find a winner and what “defines talent”. The winners will get prize money, a trophy, and most importantly— the glory of winning Camp Vesuvia’s talent show.
The air is full of excitement, and as Willa enters the amphitheater she can’t help but be swept up in the festive mood. Lucio has been busy with the decorations, he’s got an eye for dramatic decor and somehow managed to turn the outdoor stage into a real theater experience. There are lights strung through the trees, a red curtain creating a backstage area, and he even managed to convince the kitchen staff to bring out the popcorn machine.
As the campers file in, Willa takes her seat in the back, making sure to save the seat next to her for Muriel. When she saw him earlier in the day he’d promised to be there even though “talent shows aren’t his thing”, as he’d told her in no uncertain terms. Nadia takes to the stage to start the show and Willa searches the crowd, not spotting Muriel anywhere. Portia waves Willa over to sit with her and Asra, but she shakes her head. She’ll wait a little longer for him.
The first act goes up, one of the older campers sings a Taylor Swift song. She’s actually really good and Willa gives her a standing ovation when she finishes. The camper gets a ten from Julian and an eight from Asra which causes a squabble between the judges which Nadia has to break up. The judges are almost better entertainment than the show itself, and by the time the second competitor takes the stage Willa’s nearly forgotten the empty seat next to her. But sometime in the middle of the next act Muriel arrives, silently taking the open seat.
“Sorry I’m late,” Muriel says.
Willa scooches over to make more room for him on the bench, giving him a smile in greeting. “I’m glad you made it.”
“What did I miss?”
“The first camper sang a cover of ‘You Belong With Me’, and then Julian and Asra fought over the scores. Someone needs to take those score cards away from them before a physical fight breaks out,” Willa laughs, eyeing the judges warily.
The corner of Muriel’s mouth quirks up in amusement. “Sounds like them.”
The next act features a bunch of card tricks involving audience participation. “Is this your card?” the boy asks, holding up the King of Hearts for another camper to inspect. It turns out that it wasn’t the right card, and the judges give out a measly 5 and 3 as scores.
Willa sneaks a glance at Muriel as the judges deliberate and finds him already looking at her. Instead of looking away they both stare for a minute, only breaking eye contact when applause signals the next act taking the stage. Willa clears her throat, hoping the moment of staring wasn’t as awkward as she fears it was.
“Did you ever compete in a talent show?” Muriel asks, his voice pulling her out of her thoughts. He keeps his volume at a polite whisper so as not to disturb the performance.
“I was homeschooled so I didn't have much of a chance, but my brothers and I would put on our own talent shows,” Willa whispers back. “We used to charge our parents a dollar to watch the show.”
“What was your talent?”
“Singing, I wanted to be on Broadway when I was a kid. As I got older I realized I’m not that great of an actor,” Willa says, smiling at the memory of her younger self tap dancing her way across the barn.
“I think you’d be good at it.” Muriel sounds earnest, as if he really means the compliment.
“Thanks, but I think you’ll have to hear me sing first before you make that judgement,” Willa laughs.
“I’d like to hear you sing.”
Willa blushes at the comment, ducking her chin into her scarf to hide her face. “Maybe someday.”
“But I’m not going to karaoke.”
“That’s ok, it’s a bit much even for me,” she says, trying to keep her tone even as he continues to look directly at her.
A strong breeze moves through the trees around them and Muriel suppresses a shiver, his shoulder bumping hers. Willa wonders again why he doesn't bundle up in more clothing, maybe the cold doesn’t bother him like it bothers her. The thought reminds her of the present she made him and Willa turns to him excitedly.“I brought you something.”
“Huh?”
Willa reaches into her tote bag, digging past her water bottle and various scrunchies and nearly-empty packs of gum. Finally she locates the gift and pulls it out for Muriel to see. “I made you a scarf!’’
“You… made this?” Muriel takes the green knit scarf out of her hands, inspecting the repeating pattern with interest. “Why?”
“I wanted to! It gets cold here at night. I know you have to patrol outside a lot and I thought you might like something to keep you warm.” Willa reaches for the scarf again and he lets her take it. “May I?”
Muriel inclines his head slightly and allows her to wrap the scarf around his neck. When he lifts his head he’s smiling and Willa exhales in relief. He likes it.
The talent show goes on, though Willa and Muriel admittedly don’t pay much attention to it. There are musical acts, dancing, and every sort of talent in between and though Asra and Julian continue to bicker a little, as the night continues they seem to get it together. They manage to at least avoid breaking out the score cards as weapons.
With only a few acts remaining the tensions are high, and the crowd has only gotten louder. Willa looks over at Muriel and notices how uncomfortable he looks at the increased volume and chaos. He seems like he wants to leave, and Willa can’t blame him, it is a bit much. Since she’s not technically on duty tonight, and she wants to spend more time with him, Willa concocts a new plan for the evening.
“Would you like to go get some cocoa? The kitchen should still be open,” she suggests.
Muriel looks up, eyes wide in relief. “That’d be nice.”
“Let’s go then! I need a snack.” Willa grabs his hand on the pretense of pulling him up from his seat, but he doesn’t pull his hand away once he’s up. As they leave the amphitheater his fingers weave through hers and he holds her hand more tightly.
“Are we allowed to be in here this late?” Muriel asks as they enter the kitchen building. It’s warm and brightly lit, a nice reprieve from the dark path they’d had to navigate to walk here.
Willa crosses over to the cabinet where mugs are stored, reaching up on her tiptoes to grab two mugs. “Wellll… not technically, but I’m friends with the kitchen staff so it’s fine!”
“I don’t want you to get in trouble.” Muriel stands by the door, uncertainty clouding his expression.
“Muriel it’s fine, I promise. Come here and help me measure the cocoa,” she beckons him over, holding a spoon out for him to take. They make their cocoa, stirring warm milk and chocolate powder together until it's smooth.
Willa holds her mug up to her nose, inhaling the chocolate scent. “Do you want marshmallows?”
“Only if they aren’t burnt to a crisp. Maybe I should handle them,” Muriel laughs, and Willa turns to him with a surprised grin.
“Wait, was that a joke?”
“I can be funny.” He plops two marshmallows into his mug and puts three in Willa’s.
“Thanks.” Willa holds her mug up, clinking it against Muriel’s in cheers.
They sip their cocoa in silence, enjoying the quiet after a night of too much noise. Out of the corner of her eyes Willa notices Muriel watching her and she wonders if he’ll say something or if she should first. He beats her to it, setting his mug down on the counter before he turns to face her more fully.
“What will you do after this summer?” he asks.
Of course he would bring up the one topic she most wants to avoid. “I’m not quite sure, I guess I’ll move back to the city and start looking for another job,” Willa sighs.
“So you’re leaving.”
Willa takes a sip of her cocoa, trying to decipher his tone as she thinks of a response. He sounds almost sad, and she can’t imagine it’s on her behalf. “I think I have to, I can’t stay here with no campers around, I wouldn’t have a job.”
Muriel’s hair falls into his face, leaving half of it in shadow, but Willa can still see him frown. “Why are you spending time with me, why aren’t you out there with your friends?”
“You are my friend and I like spending time with you, I like you,” she says. “We’ve been over this.”
“Why do you give me things? I don’t ever give you anything in return,” Muriel looks frustrated now and Willa fights the urge to reach out and take his hand. She gives him his space, keeping her hands firmly planted on her mug.
“You give me plenty, Muriel. I know this will sound cheesy but your friendship is a gift, being around you is the best part of my day,” Willa explains. “You don’t have to give me anything.”
Muriel still looks frustrated and confused, and Willa sighs in defeat. She’s leaving in a week, it’s now or never. If Muriel isn’t getting the picture she’ll just have to draw him a new one. Though part of her wants to just bury these emotions and not risk ruining things, she's never been one to shy away from her feelings. Even if he doesn’t feel the same way as her it’s only fair that he knows how she feels.
Before she can overthink it any more Willa blurts out, “The truth is Muriel, I like you.”
He tilts his head to the side in confusion. “You already said that?”
“No, I like you, as in romantically,” Willa pauses. Muriel stares at her blankly as if he doesn’t understand her words, but now that she’s started talking it’s hard to stop.
“I’ve liked you for weeks now, actually, ever since that night when you taught me how to roast marshmallows. And I know summer’s ending soon so I feel like I have to tell you now or I’ll never get a chance and I know I’ll regret it forever if I don’t. I don’t want to be an old lady still thinking about that crush I had in my twenties that went nowhere because I was too afraid to tell him so uh, here I am telling you…” Willa trails off, wondering if Muriel might need medical attention, he looks very pale.
“You like me?” he repeats.
“I do,” Willa nods.
Muriel continues to stare at her in silence and Willa doesn’t know what to say. Finally, the tension breaks and Muriel grabs his jacket off of the coat rack by the door. “I should go.” Before she can process what he’s said Muriel opens the door, practically running outside.
“Muriel, wait!” Willa stands in the doorway calling after him, but he doesn't turn. She briefly considers going after him but that might only make things worse.
Instead, she takes a seat on the doorstep, feeling like she wants to disappear into the dirt. For a second, tears well up behind her eyes but she blinks them away, feeling silly for caring so much. He’d run away. She’d told him she liked him and he’d left, there could be no clearer sign of rejection.
“Well, that went well didn’t it,” Willa mutters sarcastically, using her sleeve to wipe at her damp eyes. “I need to go clean something.”
She heads back into the kitchen, trying to ignore the well of emotions she feels as she washes the mug Muriel had been holding only minutes ago. She watches the cocoa wash down the drain, feeling like her own life might be headed in that direction.
Her tarot reading from the beginning of the summer feels like a sick joke now, she should’ve pulled the tower instead, that would be a more accurate depiction of the summer. At least she’s leaving soon, Muriel won’t have to worry about bumping into her anymore. And she won’t have to see him, she won’t have to walk around camp being reminded of him and how she’d ruined things.
After a few minutes of listlessly scrubbing already clean kitchen counters, Willa takes a seat on the doorstep again. The sudden sound of footsteps approaching startles her and she turns towards the path, wondering if perhaps Muriel has come back after all. She’s surprised, and a little disappointed, to find Nadia instead.
The camp director gives her a soft smile in greeting and gestures to the step, “Is there room for one more?”
“Of course.” Willa scoots over to make room for her.
Nadia looks at Willa with a raised eyebrow, taking in her tear-stained face and red eyes. “I saw Muriel on the way here, he looked quite disturbed.”
“That’s my fault, I scared him off.” Willa fiddles with the edges of her scarf as she speaks, picking at a loose thread.
“I’ve known Muriel for many years now, and while he is a very capable, kind person he does not always know how to react to people. Especially not pretty girls,” Nadia smiles, nudging Willa with her shoulder.
Willa tries to laugh, though the sound comes out as more of a weak sniffle. “How did you know I liked him?”
Nadia laughs, “Oh Willa, the whole camp knows.”
“Of course they do,” Willa shakes her head in dismay. “Well clearly Muriel doesn’t feel the same way, he ran away from me after I told him.”
“As I said, he doesn’t always know how to react. Give him some space, give him some time,” Nadia counsels. Willa would normally agree but she has no more time, she can’t be patient.
“I’m out of time, Nadia. Camp is over in a week,” Willa frowns. “And I think it’s pretty clear that he doesn’t like me.”
“He likes you,” Nadia states, her tone the no-nonsense matter of fact one she uses when directing campers. “I’m certain of that.”
Willa stares down at the dirt, wondering how Nadia could possibly be certain of that. “Even if he does like me there’s no point, it doesn’t matter if I'm leaving.”
“Where’s that eternal optimist who stepped into my office at the beginning of the summer?” Nadia asks, putting a comforting hand on Willa’s shoulder to draw her attention. “Would it change anything if I told you that you don’t have to leave Camp Vesuvia?”
“What?”
“Would you like to stay?”
✧
#willa wednesday#only one more chapter to go i can hardly believe it#but as summer comes to an end so must this mini fic series#im love them#willa clary#muriel the arcana#apprentice willa#milla
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AEW ALL OUT 2021
In which, not to get ahead of myself here, AEW puts on one of the best major wrestling shows in several years*, following the simple yet effective principle of giving the people what they want and sending everyone home happy and hungry for more.
- The incredibly 'Nitro' ending of the go-home Dynamite, which ran a little long on the 'heels beat everyone up and strut around like assholes almost too in desperate need of comeuppance' bit, short of garbage raining into the ring, did actually increase the heat for both promoted matches. Again, not rocket science, but executed perfectly. Catharsis was on the card, and catharsis went over several times Sunday.
- Again, it's time to move on from the Casino theme, shuffling the deck and drawing suits really only detracted from the Battle Royale and seemingly always throws the production crew a curve. If they haven't hammered it by now, it's not going to happen.
- Bit unhappy about the PAC/Andrade situation, but still over the moon with Andrade's promo style and Chavito being unhelpful at best.
*Pre-Card
Best Friends and Jurassic Express v The Hardy Family Office and The Hybrid 2 (**)
- Not usually much to say about a loaded-up multiteam boondoggle, particularly when the show has yet to begin, but there were some moments worth sitting up to take notice -- there's a lot of talent in the ring, even if Jack Evans/Angelico aren't going to be more than mid-level mooks, little matchups with guys like Luchasaurus and Chuck Taylor are opportunities for innovative/weird spots.
- Really this match exists to show-off Jungle Boy, play his theme song twice, and work him in to the aforementioned spots. I don't rightly know what Jungle Jack's ceiling is, but it sort of feels like he's plateauing, at least this version of himself.
- Dan Lambert thing is interesting in that it doesn't seem to easily lead to something obvious... I mean who are Scorp and Ethan Page feuding with by proxy here, the concept of contemporary professional wrestling? Orange Cassidy and Kenny Omega?
*Main Card
Miro (C) v Eddie Kingston for the TNT Championship (***1/2)
- 'Redeem Deez Nuts' T-shirts now available -- and made immediately redundant now that Miro has graciously redeemed Eddie's nuts.
- Imagine looking at Miro, listening to Miro talk, and not really being able to figure out this guy is money. Also imagine panicking when he took a little while to find his groove in AEW. 'The Redeemer' is both entertaining and terrifying, and this match delivered heavily on the promise of two big fellas smacking together repeatedly.
- Not only does Eddie's arsenal of power moves target Miro's neck, he may also be quite difficult to put in the full reclined camel clutch. Or he'd quite literally snap in half. It didn't come to that.
- Weird heel turn by Bryce's attention span and the overall weirdness of the finish is all that kept this from being an excellent match, otherwise this was a tremendous curtain jerker and started off a dangerously fun run of pure adrenaline.
Jon Moxley v Satoshi Kojima (****)
- The stakes were nebulous, the build was abrupt, yet this was a fantastic match and tremendous showcase for an underappreciated great who has been more or less just toiling for a bunch of years as a NJPW Dad. Same deal for Nagata, and I assume Tenzan is the same, Taka Michinoku even -- let's see it.
- I have to assume the Cozy Lariat might have put Mox down, but Kojima otherwise played the hits (Koji Cutter, Piledriver, Brainbustaaaa) in a big way and Moxley once again proved he's become a very well-rounded wrestler who can match the intensity of just about any former IWGP champion.
- More to the point-- KAZE NI NARE -- out of nowhere, too. Or out of nowhere to those not paying attention to the whereabouts of Minoru Suzuki (Right, he's just over here to fight Daniel Garcia and not Mox?), which I guess is to my own peril. Wow, though. Surprise Number 1- a complete surprise, and a welcome one. Let's have it.
Dr Britt Baker, DMD (C) v Kris Statlander for the AEW Women's Championship (****)
- I love Kris and her best friends but she didn't have a prayer of dethroning Britt. She got one promo, several weeks ago, and though she did make a meal of Hayter and Rebel, the chase has been abrupt and not given much discussion, other than Mark Henry and whomever else acknowledging what is extremely evident -- Statlander is stronger than she looks, and she looks really strong. They've got her doing Cesaro-level 'modify your grip while holding your opponent's entire weight' nonsense, and it's amazing and scary.
- Even with the reign of the good doctor not being credibly threatened, this was an excellent match that demonstrated the continued growth of the competitors in the women's division, even as it underlined that their storylines remain undercooked and perfunctory: Orange Cassidy whipping off his shades to urge Stat to get up was a beautiful moment. Britt's Panama Sunrise, also, too sweet. Statlander eating shit on her 451 and her pendulum moonsault was properly brutal, as were Britt's curb stomps. Really great match between these two.
- Again, if they had bothered to write anything into this story, such as Kris' alien physiology making her immune to the lockjaw or something... actually, maybe that's a terrible idea. it's an idea. Undefeated challenger is defeated, on to the next for Dr Britt. Statlander and OC should tag against some of the boys.
The Young Bucks (C) v The Lucha Bros for the AEW World Tag Team Championship(*****+)
- Can't not mention the insane entrance lined up for Fenix and Penta. It was bewildering, it was enchanting, it was aggressive, it was hype. It also reminded everybody how very badly we all wanted the Lucha Bros to win. The crowd has been setting new peaks with their volume since Punk showed up, but things were absolutely thunderous and ecstatic at the end of this match. Absolutely valid response. I yelled on the couch.
- Nick's facial hair was a bigger tell that it was time for the Bucks to lose than anything else about this build. There's literally nowhere to go from there -- they've done the hair, the bandanas, the kicks, the animal print, the dangly earrings -- peak visual heel for this time and place.
- Sincerely thought this was going to be too much of a full sprint spot-fest (the PWG-esque circle of trading blows is not really 'my thing') but even so they kept finding gears, and ramping and ramping and adding blood and brutality along the way. Even a bit of levity, with the tacked up sneaker, followed by the sincerity of Penta throwing himself in harm's way to protect his brother. Immense match, I think you'd have to go back to the Bucks vs the Addiction and MCMGs Ladder War to find a more thrilling tag team gimmick match.
- If there's a single flaw to be found it's in the production not really settling on wide angles for simultaneous action at the start of the match. They figured it out.
- Rey Fenix is the best luchador in the world.
Women's Casino Battle Royale (**1/2)
- If nothing else, this really shows off that they now have a surplus of women's wrestlers who deserve time to hang in the ring. Unsurprisingly, the match picked right up when Thunder Rosa and then Jamie Hayter got to the ring, with additional props to Tay Conti and Jade Cargill, who was dumped rather unceremoniously given her general booking...
- Okay, there was something else. Welcome to the rechristened Ruby Soho, who I've not seen a lot of outside of her extremely limited showcase in WWE, but she has so many friends in the back and in the industry and that's never for nothing, not in wrestling, anyway. Intrigued to see where she fits, and if the women ever get more than a match per show.
- Touched on this in the preamble but this was the roughest part of the night for the home viewer, just weird decisions on cutting away from various entrances to show... nothing in particular happening. Also while the commitment to not-kayfabing the countdown clock is... admirable? It makes the pacing hinky.
- Almost everyone who got new gear for tonight was looking like the white ranger -- Nyla, Swole, Bunny, someone I'm missing. Except Anna Jay, whose stars and glitter gear looked great.
MJF v Chris Jericho for the fate of Jericho's in-ring career (***)
- MJF's unauthorized homage to Y2J's entrance: good. Fozzy's guitarist going off tempo with the instrumental Judas: weak, and would've been sad if this were the end for Jericho. Especially as the build has felt... muted, somehow.
- Props to the commentary for continuing to feed the red herring of 'in AEW,' as a caveat to stipulation, it did feel like... a remote possibility that MJF would win.
- Credit to Aubrey for calling this one down the middle and not putting the fix in for her friend Jericho, and I guess the Dusty finish will give MJF plenty to gripe about.
- MJF wrestles with a pure heel style, holds, chops, blocks, and Jericho is fifty years old, so the level of wrestling on exhibition in these matches is well beside the point. It was solid to good, and I was fighting burn out from the first half of the card's level of excitement.
CM Punk v Darby Allin (***1/2)
- There are a couple benefits of Darby as a dance partner, and it's certainly better than having to watch Punk return against like, QT Marshall or Shawn Spears. Darby does make everyone look slow, but he can also be tossed around, and this raises his profile even in defeat, obviously. That said, the stakes here are... meta, at best, in that we want to see the man look good and justify the hype. It's a weird thing to root for. He certainly does look good. (Tights? Tights!)
- It's fun to theorize about actually booking an angle where Punk is rusty and needs to regain his prowess, and maybe he'll stumble, but maybe the most we get out of that angle is hitting the GTS a little close to the ropes so Darby falls right out of the ring, in what was, for me, the spot that justified this whole match.
- Sting's proud step-dad aura is still a hell of a thing, I really liked the end of the match kudos all around.
- Match was good, hard to hang my emotions on. I wasn't watching WWE when Punk was in WWE. Definitely feeding off the excitement of others a bit here, and he sure can talk. I'd like to see him cultivate a stable, certainly.
Paul Wight v QT Marshall (n/r)
- ...popcorn match? QT Marshall is like the anti-Daniel Garcia in that while his prominence and presence is just as inexplicable, I don't want it to continue, and he doesn't justify it in the process.
- Match was two minutes longer than it needed to be.
Kenny Omega (c) v Christian Cage for the AEW World Championship (****1/2)
- Crowd was both burnt out and more or less waiting for the post-match angle. Which I get. it's hard to cruise to the main event and having seen all the different things we've already seen on this card, even a singular performer like Kenny Omega and a legend with whom he (surprisingly? fittingly?) has superb chemistry with in Christian Cage were up against it to deliver something memorable.
- Context dependent, I can definitely see rating this below their Rampage match, especially since... I mean Christian isn't winning the AEW title off Kenny at this or probably any other event.
- But! It was really good! It was very good! They really do match-up well, and Kenny's v-trigger has rarely looked more devastating than when it knocks Christian flat. Christian got cut open in a novel and initially worrying way, and Kenny followed up a botched moonsault with a harder version of the same move off a rail, but it was a really great match and it deserved more energy than was available.
Post-Show
- Calling back and inverting the end of Dynamite, The Elite strut about the ring, slightly less stoked than they were on Wednesday, but with the Bucks smiling through the pain, and Jungle Boy once again subjected to violence for his misguided heroism, Kenny 'not much a promo' Omega lays down a killer line about nobody being fit to challenge him who isn't unavailable, already tired or dead.
- The Undertaker ADAM COLE, BAY BAY as Surprise #3 was a minor stroke of brilliance, and a fun swerve because while it's exciting to see him, his appearance at this point in the narrative does nothing to solve the problem of The Elite beating up Christian and Jungle Boy. Unless he's still sore about his unsolved murder, which he isn't. Storytime with Adam Cole is back and it's beautiful. Also Jungle Boy died for this.
- Okay. But. Just. Okay. CM Punk and Bryan Danielson are All Elite. They will hopefully tag together. Bryan will head to NJPW, almost definitely. Minoru Suzuki just walked in and started slugging on Mox. The Forbidden Door is wide open. Will Kenny Omega one day return to Wrestle Kingdom? There are so many possibilities and they are all very exciting. This was a phenomenal show and it didn't have Hangman Page, Cody Rhodes, FTR, Santana and Ortiz, PAC, Andrade, Sammy Guevara, Team Taz, and the rest.
- Wrestling is good, actually. Imagine watching like five hours of wrestling and loving wrestling at the end of it.
*What competes- WK11, Dominion 2018, 2019, DoN 2019, 2021.. All-In, probably. Wrestlemania 30. A few Takeovers. Kris Wolf's retirement show...
#aew#aew all out#all out 2021#cm punk#bryan danielson#kenny omega#christian cage#chris jericho#mjf#darby allin#the young bucks#penta el zero m#rey fenix#miro#eddie kingston#sting#jungle boy#kris statlander#dr britt baker dmd#orange cassidy#thunder rosa#ruby soho#adam cole#the elite#jon moxley#satoshi kojima#wrestling reviews
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wanna be - m. atsumu
friends to lovers atsumu fluff because i said so.
warnings: none, just unedited so might be a lil sloppy lol, mention of konoha x reader (they go on like one date)
word count: 3.5k
wanna be by the internet (2018)
he remembers you from onigiri miya.
your baggy jeans, loose t shirt, eyebags. he remembers it all down to the way you stuffed your face with onigiris to the neon lights the shined outside. you were pretty, but he was indifferent. after all, he was miya atsumu, a player both on and off the court.
to you, he was miya atsumu, osamu's brother. and miya osamu was simply a friend who owned a restaurant and understood the crushing pressure of being a student with a part time job that struggled to pay rent. besides, one day you'd pay him back because you were one smart cookie, though he didn't know in what way. however, he did notice how atsumu made an effort to avoid eye contact while you introduced yourself. he didn't miss the color that made its way to his cheeks when you held your hand out for him to shake.
and he sees you again waiting outside his team's gym after practice.
that day, your hair was tied back. you wore a long coat that went down to your calves and loose black clothing under it. did you always wear loose clothes? you smiled and waved in his direction and his heart skipped a beat. he waved back excitedly until he turned around and saw hinata jumping up and down at the sight of your happy self. turns out, you were karasuno's manager in high school. atsumu, usually confident and cheerful, now sunk into his sweater while his teammate introduced you to the rest of the group.
"i know atsumu. i met him at onigiri miya a few weeks ago."
he nodded as you spoke. he barely knew you, but your presence had a significant effect on him, one that was beyond what he can describe.
so maybe he goes over to his brother's restaurant more, once or twice a week.
"so, how do you know hinata?" stupid question. hinata literally told everyone like a week ago.
"i went to karasuno and became the team manager for their volleyball team," you answered anyways, how sweet of you, "i actually got to see you and osamu play at nationals. that's where i first met him."
all of the sudden, atsumu wishes that he paid more attention to the pretty managers of the opposing teams. although, he does thank whatever higher power is out there that he got to meet you at some point and curses osamu for not telling him about you at all.
"i didn't know you knew (y/n) in high school."
"what do you mean?"
"i just didn't know that she was a team manager and all that, you know? i feel kind of bad for not knowing she existed."
"oh she definitely existed. who do you think i made extra bento boxes for when we went to tokyo?"
"those weren't mine?"
hinata invites you to watch him practice and he doesn't know if its a curse or a blessing.
on the one hand, you can see all of his talented sets and gameplay. on the other, he usually reached peak idiot during practices, at least that's what sakusa would tell him.
that's not going to stop you from sitting down and letting out a cheer for hinata's, and even bokuto's, spikes. you knew that shoyo and kotaro loved the support they got. it gave them motivation, made them perform better. of course, the team wouldn't mind that.
atsumu just wishes he got a few cheers or smiles from you.
the next time you see him, he's sucking face with some hot model with a drink in hand at a party that shoyo brought you to. you weren't surprised. you were close enough to osamu to hear him rant about his brothers antics, so you brush it off like usual when seeing two people getting a little busy. after all, you were here to take a break from studying
by the middle of the party, you're tipsy and cheering on bokuto who was shaking ass to hot girl summer. hinata is passed out on the couch in a fetal position while kageyama sits down and stuffs his face with rice. osamu joins him and witnesses the mess that is you and bokuto. atsumu looks disheveled and everyone already knows why, all of you just hope that the room he went to earlier was not the master bedroom.
"tsumuuuuu," you slurred as you spoke, a happy smile plastered on your face, "you're a manwhoreeeeee."
"what?"
"i'm joking, but also not," you kissed the tip of his nose, "you're a very nice boy."
he didn't know whether to be offended or flustered, especially with the combination of your little antics and the alcohol in his system, which only resulted in a strong of incoherent words that entertained osamu.
"man, i really wish you met her in high school. she was way worse." kageyama added, memories of you blatantly flirting with your close friends for fun.
"she really was. i believe the first thing she ever said to suna was 'holy fuck, how do you look so fucking hot while shoving those jelly sticks in your mouth?'" osamu laughed, the image of his teammate's red face playing in his mind, "the (y/n) you know is more tame, a stressed college student with a low alcohol tolerance."
you gave bokuto's ass another smack as you giggled at the way his ass jiggled. having athletic friends is fun, especially when the stress from your graduate studies needs to be relieved and their pro player money literally prevents you from paying for your own food. you were lucky.
the day after, you drive to the gym you knew they would be practicing at. of course, sakusa had the common sense to not drink the night before practice. his other three teammates did not.
atsumu is the first one to spot you, a big bag in hand, your hair tied back, another pair of loose jeans and a plain t shirt. it's more different from the flattering plants and small top you wore last night, but he wonders how you can look like this after a night of drunken fun. it was almost like you were glowing.
hinata greeted you first, taking your bag and thanking you for the food.
"are your heads okay?"
"i think i died last night."
"you die every time there's alcohol at a party, shoyo."
"hey!"
sakusa snickered while the rest tried their best to hide their laughs. you weren't wrong, though. shoyo does end up passing out on someone's couch after some energetic dancing.
"what about you, tsumu?"
"i don't remember anything that happened except for bo's ass."
"not even the hot blonde girl?"
"the what?" again, everyone failed to contain their laughs.
"you manwhore!" you chuckled, handing him his bento box.
"you should have seen how red he got when you kissed his nose!" bokuto chimed in.
"i did that?" your smile faded, "sorry, if i made you uncomfortable, tsumu."
"it's okay, i don't remember it." he lied.
the memory replayed in his mind again and a foreign feeling came over him. it was warm.
the next time he sees you, you're at osamu's house to taste test his new food. it's osamu's classic duo, his dear brother that loves to freeload off of him and his stressed grad student friend who also likes free food.
when atsumu walks in, you motion for him to sit next to you while stuffing your face. you're wearing baggy clothes again and he's pretty sure that you slept with your makeup still on from the night before.
"osamu, if you keep cooking like this, i think i might marry you."
"gross."
"what's gross about marrying the hotter twin?" you turned to atsumu, a smirk on your face.
"we look exactly alike."
"yeah, but he cooks."
atsumu couldn't argue with that. you were funny. you were always funny and warm even when talking down to him like this. and it made his heart beat faster, his face a little redder, his smile a little brighter.
fuck.
"i can cook."
"yeah, a pack of cup noodles." osamu responded while you chuckled in agreement.
"they're some fire ass cup noodles."
"yeah okay, playboy."
"playboy?"
"do you prefer manwhore?"
"no."
you throw your head back, laughing again at atsumu's expression. for someone who fucks around, he was easy to fluster. and you enjoyed it every time. the way he would look down in an attempt to hide his crimson cheeks, the slight smile that would rest in his face. he was pretty.
it all confirmed osamu's suspicions.
"you guys want to make every sunday a taste test day?"
"yes!" you responded excitedly. more free food? you're there.
"sure."
after osamu packed up some food for the two of you, both of you walked out. the early afternoon sun was scorching and your baggy jeans and oversized hoodie were not helping.
"you wanna get some coffee? i'll pay."
"what are you doing? trying to woo me or something, manwhore?"
"you look like shit and i think it's because you're tired."
"fair. but you have to drive me home first. i need to change and i do not want to walk to the bus stop."
"you didn't drive here?"
"i wanted to take a nap on public transport, sue me."
after a ten minute drive filled with food critiques, you finally made it to your house, quickly changing into some shorts and a t shirt that was actually your size. your raccoon eyes were fixed and you were back in atsumu's car in no time.
"i had no idea you existed up until a few weeks ago."
"nice way to start a conversation, tsumu."
"sorry-"
"you know, when i was karasuno's manager, i thought you were terrifying."
"how?"
"it was after one of your serves, you had this scary look on your face, but i forgot what you were looking at. you scored an ace, though."
"the fangirls."
"huh?"
"it was those squealin pigs that almost messed it up. i remember."
"you call your fangirls pigs?" you scoffed, "you're a whole manwhore."
"yeah whatever, (y/n)."
you both went on to reminisce about high school memories, him mostly talking volleyball while you talked about shoyo and tobio being absolute dumbasses. he was interesting, really. his voice was smooth and his tone was always lively, always showing some emotion.
the cafe was mostly empty, a few people scattered around. the bitter taste of coffee met your lips as you hummed with delight.
"what are you looking at?"
"how are you drinking that shit? didn't you order extra espresso shots?"
"yeah, and? i see a ridiculous amount of condensed milk in yours, but i'm not saying anything."
"whatever." he chuckled.
everything was natural, both easing into friendly teasing comfortably. there was always some sort of glint in his eyes, a sly smile whenever he wasn't talking, reddened cheeks whenever you caught him staring.
being friends with miya atsumu was easy.
every sunday was easy. talking to him was easy. thinking about him was easy. a little too easy. and summer becomes fall. and fall becomes winter. and every sunday, there's a new source of energy you find despite your sleep deprived state.
"bo's sending me on a blind date." you tell the twins excitedly.
it's been awhile since you've gone on a proper date. you really haven't had the time for anything except for fooling around at a party once in a while. even if it went nowhere, at least you had something to distract you from the blonde manwhore who's constantly on your mind.
"oh, really?" osamu grinned, "i would have gone a date with you."
"liar. we both remember what happened while you were in school."
"yuck."
atsumu looked between the two of you, the gears turning in his head until it finally clicked.
"you guys went on a date?"
"sadly, yes," you chuckled, "we became closer friends, but that was not the move."
"agreed."
atsumu had already accepted that he had feelings for you. which he suppressed out of embarrassment. he had already accepted that you would have rejected him anyways. you called him a manwhore after all.
"when is it?" he finally asked, jaw clenching. his harsh tone wasn't intentional, but it was there nonetheless.
"next saturday. i'll tell you two about it when we taste test, again."
"you wanna get some milk tea after?"
"no. i have to buy a dress."
"oh."
atsumu watched you walk out the door, a cheerful smile on your face. he felt sick.
and when next sunday comes, you're an hour late.
you looked like you were up all night studying for exams. he recognizes the smudged mascara, the eyebags, the messy hair. except instead of your usual baggy clothes, it's a dress that loosely hugs your figure. he doesn't miss the way your nipples peaked through or the marks on your neck. nasty.
"samu, i'm gonna need more food than usual."
"you got it boss."
the sounds of the kitchen fill the room as you lay your head down. you turn to atsumu, eyes droopy and exhausted.
"you look like you had fun. who did bo hook you up with?"
"his name's konoha. he played for fukurodani back in high school. bo's such a sneaky lil shit."
"how?"
"i may have had a small crush on him in high school when i saw him at a training camp. i told bo and he probably remembered it and thought it was funny."
"nice," he replied, running his fingers through your hair, "are you guys going on another date?"
you closed your eyes, relishing in the feeling of his touch, "i don't think so. it was fun, but i don't think i like him that much anymore."
"ah."
he internally celebrated while osamu rolled his eyes.
and winter turns to spring in atsumu's apartment.
soft white walls, light brown cabinets, a fridge filled with his brother's food. a few photo frames hung around, the most notable once being a photo of osamu stuffing his face when they were kids. the best part was that osamu hated that photo, yet it was also the centerpiece of his table.
you set down the vase of flowers that you were asked to bring. something about making the party feel more "springy" or whatever atsumu said. you were expecting a nice apartment, atsumu was a pro volleyball player of course. but you weren't expecting it to be this nice.
it almost makes you sad. the fact you were constantly exhausted, studying, and stressed while atsumu was the same age having fun and being a playboy. god, this kind of sucks. why the hell was this man friends with you anyways?
"your dress looks so cute!" always count on shoyo to immediately make you feel better.
"you look good even in your big jeans, but you look even cooler?" bo added on, making your cheeks heat up.
while you and sakusa exchanged a small wave, atsumu came out of his room. an unbuttoned short sleeve, white shirt underneath, jeans. wow. god. fuck. and seeing you in the pink dress that flowed around your body, the sleeves being a little puffed, the same train of thoughts ran through his head.
"you needed help setting up?"
"uhm, yeah. can you guys get the plates out and shit?"
"you want us to shit on the plates?"
"shoyo-" you cackled at the confused tangerine headed boy.
it's a good thing you figured it all out before the guests arrived.
seeing kuroo and kenma after so long was refreshing. and the fact akaashi also had a caffeine addiction was comforting. and yachi? she was so grown now. your conversation with the two was interrupted by a tap on your shoulder.
"hey, stranger."
"konoha?"
you gave him a short hug. both of you caught up on the last few months, the situation being less awkward than you expected. it's not like he was trying to get in your pants again, what was the harm in talking? there's nothing wrong with two tired college students having a conversation, right?
suna's voice became distant to atsumu as he observed the blonde across the room. should he go there and save you? his question was quickly answered when you greeted the man with a hug.
"dude? can you hear me?" suna waved his hand in front of his face.
"don't mind he's just being a simp." osamu responded, a smirk on his face.
"am not!"
"for who?"
"(y/n) (y/l/n)."
"that cute manager from karasuno?"
"yep."
"you go, dude!" suna patted him on the back.
"i don't like her like that, we're just friends."
"why is your face red?"
"it's not red!"
"ooo! is atsumu afraid of (y/n)'s cooties?"
"suna, we're twenty three."
"and you act like you're sixteen with this lil crush, atsumu."
atsumu sighed in response. it was too late. you were going to go home with konoha, or maybe you two would go to his many spare rooms. and you would go on another date. fall in love with him. marry him. have his kids.
"she calls me a manwhore a lot."
"she's not wrong."
"aren't you two supposed to be supportive?"
"no." they both said in unison.
"look just offer to give her a house tour or something," suna advised nonchalantly, "works every time."
"good idea."
feeling a presence behind you, you turned around only to be met with a scary looking blonde towering over you. konoha kissed your cheek and bid you a farewell once he realized another figure grabbing your attention.
"house tour?"
"thought you'd never ask, manwhore."
after a tour of a guest room, a bathroom, and a washing machine, the two of you finally made it to his master bedroom. of course, the pillows on his bed were thrown around and there were a few shirts thrown on the floor.
"i may have forgotten to, uh, put those away."
"how are you gonna give me a house tour and forget to clean your house."
"i remembered to fold my blanket!"
"you don't fold your blanket when you wake up? do you even make your bed in the morning?"
"shut up."
you chuckled as he looked away, a poor attempt to hide his face. judging by the mess of clothing, the setter probably had no idea what to wear for his party. the one that was being hosted by him, in his own apartment, right now.
"i see you had a little fashion show this morning."
"i didn't know what to wear!"
"you're the host!"
"what if i looked bad?"
"who cares?"
he looked at you, a confused expression on his face. his eyebrows were furrowed, mouth slightly parted open. your eyes landed on his lips before you immediately turned away. you couldn't get distracted, but he looked so pretty. instead, you sat down on the bed, finding a pillow to rest your head against.
"if it makes you feel better, you look really nice today, tsumu."
"i did it! you finally didn't call me a manwhore!"
"you're still a manwhore."
he pouted while you threw your head back in laughter once again. atsumu took this as an opportunity to sit next to you on his bed, readjusting your head onto his lap. you looked up at his face, eyes boring deep into yours.
"what are you thinking about?"
"you."
"do i have something on my face?"
"no."
his fingers made its way onto your scalp, slowly massaging your head. a moan left your lips at the satisfying feeling. the past few weeks have only stressed you out, but atsumu's presence cushioned you when necessary.
"how's konoha?"
"he's okay, i'd honestly become friends with him if he wanted to."
"didn't he give you a kiss?"
"it was just a cheek kiss."
"you wouldn't mind if i gave you one, right?"
"who cares? i think everyone should give their homies a kiss."
and with that, his lips met yours. his were soft and warm, and though you were caught by surprised, you kissed back. you two melded together until you sat back up.
"i meant a cheek kiss, but whatever."
"you kissed back!"
"no, i didn't."
"did to."
"i don't want your cooties."
"are you five?"
you rolled your eyes, laying back down on the bed. he ended up giving you a kiss on the cheek, then slowly traveled to your ear, then your neck, then dangerously close to your chest. he laid down next to you, arms around your waist, head resting on the crook of your neck. you acted as if you were indifferent, but of course your cheeks still heated up and your heart was beating faster than usual.
"do you wanna be my girl?"
"no."
"rude."
he chuckled into your neck while you grinned, turning your head to look at the pretty setter. it only resulted in more kisses on your face which you happily received.
"is osamu still single?"
"don't even joke about that."
#atsumu miya#miya atsumu#inarazaki#miya atsumu x reader#atsumu miya x reader#atsumu fluff#miya atsumu fluff#atsumu miya fluff#hq fluff#hq fic#haikyuu fic#haikyuu fics#miya atsumu scenario#miya atsumu scenarios#miya atsumu imagine#atsumu miya imagine#🍓.writes
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Touch (Pt 2)
Pairing: Dabi x Fem!Reader
WARNINGS: 18+ only please! Drug abuse/withdrawal, adult language/themes, heavy angst, past trauma/abuse, anxiety/panic attacks, PTSD, fluff, pining, slow burn, eventual emotional SMUT. *please pay attention to the chapter tags as these warnings will apply at different times*
Synopsis: When you first joined the LOV to lend your healing quirk, Dabi terrified you. Not interested in attachments, he wanted to keep it that way. That is, until he needs your help. (Slow burn, soft Dabi).
Time Frame: Right before the League meets Overhaul
Additional notes: I took some liberty in giving Reader a backstory that fits in with the BNHA world and is important for the story. If that bothers you, I apologize - just think of it as role playing! Also, this’ll probably be broken up into 8-10 parts, roughly. JUST KIDDING - this has now turned into an epic (roughly) 40 chapter series. Oops.
Please let me know if you’d like to be tagged in future chapters.
Recommended Chapter Song: Cradles by Sub Urban
Part 1
Artwork credit to @hellowon31 on Twitter (https://twitter.com/hellowon31)
Part 2 - A Crack In The Armor
The pain came back, just as you said it would. What you didn’t mention was that the numbness would gradually fade away. It might sound nice to some, but Dabi hated it. He felt like he was driving towards a cliff in slow motion, waiting for the crash, unable to turn the wheel. He had no control. He hated this feeling of helplessness and traded it for anger instead. Why did he even ask for your help to begin with?
His answer was given to him as soon as your quirk’s effect finally stopped. Dabi stared angrily at the empty pill bottles. It was amazing how quickly the brain adapted, his body acting as if he’d never had to deal with his damaged nerves before. He had half a mind to hunt you down and demand you take care of it. He didn’t, of course, pride the deciding factor. The scars were his, a series of choices made, a patchwork flag he wore into battle. They were his burden and a reminder of his fight; he wasn’t going to give that up so easily. Still, he couldn’t deny the temptation that surrounded him like a cloud, even if all he did was entertain the thought.
Dabi waited all day for your visit until finally your characteristic knock on his door rewarded his patience. He stood from his bed and cooled his features into their typical mask before opening the door. There you stood, keen eyes already assessing him.
“Can I come in?” you asked. Like the day before, he stepped aside just enough to let you pass. He had discovered yesterday that he liked having your presence close to him… it gave his pulse a little rush. He caught a whiff of your shampoo as you gingerly passed him and felt the softness of your shirt as it brushed against his own like a whisper. His grip on the doorknob tightened.
As soon as Dabi closed the door behind you, you got started. You were determined to be strictly business. “How’re you feeling?” you asked, keeping your tone even, the perfect balance of concern and professionalism. Dabi wanted to laugh. Were you always this serious?
“Like shit.” He grinned. “That quirk of yours is potent stuff.”
You couldn’t help but let a grin escape in response to his candid words, a fracture in your hastily built armor. “Not sure if that’s a compliment or an insult.”
“It’s a compliment.” He stated.
You felt your throat go tight. Stay on task. Stay on task. You cleared your throat slightly as you averted your eyes from him. “Well, let’s have a look.”
With a little less flair than yesterday, he removed his jacket like before, followed by his shirt as he turned around to display his back for you.
You could see that the bandages were seeped through. You had laid them on thick since you knew you wouldn’t be able to check on him as often as you’d like – he was still going out to do Shigaraki’s bidding and you had others to look after as well. You were planning on seeing him daily, but it looked like he’d need more.
Your little checkups were far from over. You couldn’t help but wonder what he thought about that. You honestly weren’t sure what you thought about it yourself.
“I’m going to use my quirk and then change your bandages. I’ll check on you again tomorrow morning before you leave.”
“How often do we have to do this?” Dabi asked. His tone was difficult to decipher. Concerned? Annoyed? …Hopeful?
You cleared your throat again, desperate for a glass of water, as you began to remove the soiled gauze. “I’ll probably visit you twice daily for the first week, then reduce it to once a day or every couple of days for the second week. We’ll see where we are by then. It’ll take at least a few weeks before it’s fully healed. That’s only if you’re good though, and don’t go out and use your quirk for a bit.”
“I won’t make any promises.” He replied.
You sighed. “Well, at least your honest. Really though, you should at least try not to use it.”
“That’s up to the Crusty Hands.” Dabi replied. “He’s the one sending me out there to try to recruit members and gather intel.”
You rolled your eyes at the nickname for Shigaraki. “Couldn’t you ask him for a break then?” You asked, your head tilted. “No point in making you hurt yourself over lackey work.”
The question was innocent enough, but Dabi turned around and stared at you like you grew a second head. Ask Shigaraki for time off? The thought made Dabi bristle for so many reasons.
You quickly caught on to his shift in mood and tried to repair your previous statement. “Look. I get it if that’s an issue for you. Maybe I could be the one to ask him. I can make it a medical request, since I’m the healer.”
That option almost seemed worse. He didn’t need to be excused from his duties like a child with a sick note. And he most certainly didn’t want you putting your neck out for him.
“Look, I know your still kinda new here. So, let me break this down. There is no ‘sick time’ in the League of Villains. No vacation, no hazard pay. We all got our jobs to do.”
Now you bristled, your shoulders tensing up and your arms crossed in front of you defensively. “Yeah. And my job is to make sure you crazy idiots don’t kill yourselves before we complete our mission. You know, the big long-term one where we change the world, not the pointless dirty work Shigaraki’s got you doing.”
“Pointless dirty work? That dirty work is how we reach that long-term goal, sweetheart.” Dabi grinned devilishly. “I didn’t realize you had such strong opinions about how we do things here.”
“Just the part about using your talents for recruiting street thugs. Most of them are idiots that can’t tell Stain’s message from an anarchist bumper sticker.”
You were right, of course. Dabi chuckled. You were more interesting than he thought.
“Look,” you said, your voice quieter as you uncrossed your arms. “We’re all in this together come hell or high water, and I’m really hoping we can all see it through to the end. If that means taking some time off to let your body recover, then I’d think that’d be worth doing.”
Dabi stared at you silently while something tightened in his chest. Your need to hold everyone together like glue was admirable and almost… endearing. He felt a sinking feeling in his gut. He knew there was a high likelihood they wouldn’t all see the end of this, if the end ever even comes. Did you know that but stubbornly hold onto your optimism? Or were you really that naïve that you believed there was a chance that everyone could come out unscathed? When the worst happens – which it inevitably will – will you blame yourself?
The thought bothered him.
For the first time Dabi’s mask slipped, and for the briefest of moments you could see the pity in his eyes.
“Thanks for the concern doll, but I got it under control.” Dabi said, his voice unusually calm. “Besides, if I took time off every time I hurt myself with my quirk, then I’d never be any use.”
Between his eyes and his words, there was no room for discussion, so you let the topic drop.
You let out a defeated sigh. “Well then, let’s get started.” You placed your hands on his back.
Once again, the sweet balm of your touch spread across his skin, bringing back the relief he had missed. His body responded instinctively. His breathing slowed; his muscles relaxed. He closed his eyes, relishing in the sensation. You noticed the slightest drop in his shoulders and a pang of sympathy washed over you like a wave. You wished you could do more for him, but you had to conserve your quirk for the others too.
You cleaned his wound quickly and applied fresh bandages without any more talk. As quickly as it had begun, it was over. Without missing a beat, he pulled his shirt back on while you packed your items.
You turned to leave, but paused for a moment before turning back slightly, your eyes bravely locking with his. “Try to get some rest… it’ll help your body heal faster.”
Dabi didn’t respond with his usual quips. Instead, his electric blue eyes stared at you in a way that made your blood pulse in your ears and the air burn in your lungs. You stood captivated for a moment, locked in his gaze, before finding your way out of the maze of his eyes and left his room, hearing the quiet click of the door behind you.
Without a word, Dabi sat on the edge of the bed and stared at his hands. His brow furrowed in confusion.
This was supposed to be a game. A game of walls and mazes and misdirection. He was the ‘Asshole,’ full of snarky comments and flirty quips all while withholding his true self. He didn’t need friends, just coworkers so he could carry out his mission and bring Stain’s vision to life before his quirk killed him. But your magic hands dismantled his walls, allowing you to walk right in and get in his head with your stubborn heart. He had cared. For the briefest of moments, he cared.
It was his game. Why did he feel like he was losing?
______________________________________________________________
Part 3
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Taglist: @lemonfvck @vs-redemption @inanabsentia @sheedaabee @toshiuwuu @marydragneell @chillinwithmybakubros @genuinelytodorokisbitch @sam-i-am-1025
#Dabi x reader#Dabi#Dabi fanfic#bnha#mha#bnha imagine#soft dabi#fluff#slow burn#pining#long talks#intimacy#dabi is a todoroki#touya todoroki#dabi is touya#angst#trauma
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Okay so, anyone who ever so slightly knows me knows I like birds. Like, really like birds. Like I’m organizing my life plan to hopefully be able to dedicate my life to ornithology levels of liking birds. One of my hobbies is birdwatching/ bird feeding and it’s really really fun! So I decided to make a little post about some of my FOs and birdwatching.
Note: if you’re going to be rude about my hobby please leave, I’ve been bullied for liking bird watching before and I just don’t want to deal with that before school starts. Yes it’s an old person hobby, but I enjoy it :)
With Jester I feel like she’d be very enthusiastic to join me, happily sitting next to me to doodle the birds we see. After a bit I’d notice that I’m seeing fewer birds than usual and realize that she’s talking very loudly and making a lot of sudden movements and it’s scaring away all the birds. After a brief conversation about it I decide to take her to visit my less timid bird friends: I’ll introduce her to all the geese I’ve gained the trust of and tell her all their names and help her feed them out of her hand and I’ll take her to visit all my crows and seagulls. I think she’d really like seeing all my friends and would appreciate the beauty of them, she wouldn’t find my enthusiasm about them obnoxious because she’s able to match my energy.
Yasha and I have travelled separately from the nein together in the past, and she’s kind of joined me accidentally. Sometimes I accompany her to pick flowers and I’ll spot a family of sparrows and point them out to her. She’s not very talkative but she doesn’t mind sitting with me and watching them, usually taking the time to write in her notebook as they warble and play. She finds them fascinating and she appreciates cute animals much more than you’d expect from an intimidating woman like her. Sometimes she brings me feathers she finds on the ground, she understands collecting things from nature. When we’re with the nein Beau will sometimes join us just to see what we’re up to. She likes to tease me about it but she’s chill, she gets very into my hypotheticals about what birds would beat each other in a fight.
Caduceus is a member of the nein who I can see genuinely enjoying birdwatching, and he probably adopted the hobby long before we met. He enjoys my enthusiasm and although he doesn’t know much about birds on an ornithology level, he appreciates my info dumps. When my insomnia acts up and he’s up late as well, sometimes we’ll sneak off together and try to find owls. He finds them a bit annoying because of how loud they are but they’re some of my favourites and it’s fun to watch them hunt.
Fjord and Caleb are a bit indifferent to them, Caleb appreciates my bird facts and knowledge (He especially likes my information on vultures and how acidic they are) and was kind enough to buy me a bird guide from a bookstore after noticing a lot of my guides don’t cover the regions we travel to. If I ever invite him out with me he doesn’t pay much attention to them but takes the opportunity to read and study, I don’t mind. The most birdwatching I’ll get out of Fjord is pointing out the seagulls around the ship, he finds them annoying as hell but even he admits seagulls can be fucking hilarious.
Nott and Molly are a bit too chaotic to take out birdwatching, I am worried that either they will accidentally harm the birds (or well,,, intentionally in Nott’s case) or they will accidentally piss off a bird and get mauled. Although one time they wrestled a living seagull back to camp after misunderstanding me talking about how I didn’t have many seagull FEATHERS in my collection.
Percy sometimes comes down to the ocean with me, he’s well acquainted with my geese and seagull friends and even the one crow that lives down there. He mostly likes to feed them with me and laugh about their mannerisms. He’s one of the people who kind of makes me remember how fun this hobby is. It can be very boring when you’re alone or take it too seriously but it’s hard to take much of anything serious when Percy is goofing off and cracking jokes with you. Sometimes when I meet up with him he’ll tell me about the birds he’s seen around because he knows I’ll appreciate it.
What’s the point of birdwatching with Alex around? She gets enthusiastic when I ask her to turn into different types of bird and enjoys the challenge, she never wastes an opportunity to show off her shapeshifting talent. Of course if I ask her to, she’ll happily chase the ravens through the hotel’s halls, trying to get a better look at them. Sometimes they pity us and perch for a few seconds so we can get a better look. When we meet up to work on art together she teases me about the amount of birds I incorporate into my art but I know she doesn’t mean it. Sometimes we’ll even collaborate and she’ll ask me to paint ravens and other animals onto her pottery. One morning I woke up to a small statue of an owl in front of my door, she never mentioned it to me but I recognized her stamp at the bottom of the statue.
Halfborn also isn’t that into birdwatching but he’ll be sure to tell me when birds are mentioned in littérature and loves to discuss poetry with me and will show me any bird themed ones. He appreciates the symbolism behind them more than anything. Sometimes when we can’t sleep we’ll spend the night in each other’s room and tell stories of when we were alive, although he’s a bit tired of me harassing him for any stories about the seagulls in his old fishing village.
Aragorn and Legolas are both fairly into my bird obsession but most of all they like it when I explain falconry to them, they enjoy seeing my owl around the camp and find any facts about her interesting. They find nature and all its creatures simply delightful. Gimli’s a bit indifferent to it but sometimes he’ll point out any birds he sees to keep me entertained on the road (I don’t think he likes birds that much :/).
#raynards rambles#long post#fo: Beauregard Lionett#fo: Jester Lavorre#fo: Mollymuck Tealeaf#fo: fjord tusktooth#fo: Nott#fo: Veth Bernartto#fo: Caleb Widoghast#tea time 🍃#fo: Percy Jackson#💫the boys💫#fo: Alex Fierro#fo: Halfborn Gunderson#self ship blog#self ship#self shipping#source: critical role#platonic fo#familial fos#source: riordanverse#source: lord of the rings
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