#if you complain she will remind you she's literally dying. life is too short and mediocre songs are too long | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

fruitcoops · 3 years

Note

Eve, I LOVE binging your masterlist. I was wondering if I could request a short lil story where someone reminds Jules that since Remus + Sirius got married, then Sirius and Reg are his brothers now too and Jules gets really excited about having TWO more older brothers after Coops' wedding? If not, totally fine!! Have a great year!!

Part 2 of the Coops Wedding series! It’s finally here after my computer was possessed and deleted the first version--this one is just over 4k words, so I hope that makes up for the delay! Sweater Weather credit goes to @lumosinlove <3

Preparations II Part 1

Remus had never been much of a dancer—despite his speed on the ice, he had two left feet and only the barest hint of rhythm. However, dancing at his wedding was a different story.

Sirius twirled him in a small circle, smiling from ear-to-ear as their friends and family spun around them to the beat blasting through the speakers. They still had three hours until sunset, and Remus was planning on spending every second of it with Sirius’ hand in his own. He pulled him in for another kiss—our tenth today? Twentieth? One hundredth? Who cares—and pulled away with a laugh as Jules and Katie bumped into the backs of his thighs.

“Watch it!” he called, ruffling Jules’ hair as they passed in a dramatic tango. Katie shrieked with giggles as Dumo swept her into his arms, spinning her around with a broad smile. Hope took Jules’ hands while Phil Collins began to sing about love, happiness, and everything Remus was already holding in his arms.

“Hey!” Sirius said over the music, giving Remus a squeeze.

“What?”

“I love you!”

“I hope so!” Remus laughed, spinning Sirius under his arm before reeling him in to bump their noses. “Not bad for a wedding we planned in six weeks, eh?”

Sirius shook his head, grinning. “We were engaged for ten months. How did we put that off for so long?”

“Because we’re busy all the fucking time.”

“We’re not going to be busy for three whole months,” Sirius said giddily as he picked Remus up a few inches with ease. He paused for a moment, scanning his face as if he was trying to memorize it.

“What’re you thinking about?” The were close enough that Remus hardly had to raise his voice above a murmur.

“We get to do this every day for the rest of our lives.”

His words hit Remus like a semitruck of affection and tears prickled his eyes as he leaned down for a kiss; Sirius set him down to kiss him properly, hands gently bracketing his jaw. “You are the most incredible person,” Remus said against his lips. “How the hell did I get so lucky?”

“I could ask you the same.” Sirius smiled and rested their foreheads together. “Come on, I think Celeste wants to cut the cake soon.”

Remus looked over at the folding table on the other side of the dance floor and stifled a laugh; Celeste, in her pretty blue party dress, was adjusting the cake by millimeters and glanced at her watch every few seconds, as if she was afraid people were going to leave. “I’m dying to know what she eventually decided on for the flavors.”

Sirius hummed his agreement and pulled Remus along by the hand—they didn’t even have to say anything before the rest of the small crowd followed them and gathered around the table. “Wait, wait, wait!” Celeste gasped, taking her phone out of Dumo’s pocket. After a few seconds of quiet, she nodded and centered it on them. “D’accord.”

“Ready?” Remus set his hand on top of Sirius’ and the hilt of the knife, pushing slowly down as it cut through the white frosting in a smooth glide. It was perfectly baked; not a single crumb stuck to the blade as they pulled it out.

“Here we go,” Sirius muttered as they took the first piece out. “Vanilla!”

“Orange, actually,” Celeste said, beaming. “The next layer is chocolate.”

“Celeste.” Remus gave her a tight hug before passing her along to Sirius, who bent down so she could kiss his cheek.

“Merci, maman,” he said quietly. “C’est parfait.”

“Surprise!” She did little jazz hands before handing them two forks from the end of the table. “Oh, this is so exciting. You have to try it, I don’t know if it’s good. I’ve never made an orange cake before.”

“Hurry up, Cap, we’re hungry!” Logan called from the back of the crowd. Sirius pulled a face at him and carefully slid the piece onto a paper plate before linking his elbow with Remus’.

Remus took a forkful of the cake and held it to Sirius’ mouth—just as he went to eat it, Remus scooted it to the side. “Ope, a little to the left, love.”

“Remus.”

“Oh, you almost had it! Not quite that far.” He could hear Jules giggling and grinned, moving it two inches to the right as Sirius tried to get it a third time.

“Remus!”

“What? It’s not my fault you can’t catch a fork!”

Sirius finally grabbed his elbow and held it in place to get the cake into his mouth, narrowing his eyes at Remus. “Only you would be mean to me on our wedding day.”

“I’m not being mean.” Remus kissed his nose. “Just keeping things interesting.”

“Yeah, yeah, alright.” Sirius got his own bit of cake and held it up. “Close your eyes, sweetheart.”

The second his eyes shut he regretted his decision, but before he could shout a full paper plate of cake smacked into his face with a splat. Everyone gasped, then burst out laughing as the plate fell back down onto the table. Remus slowly wiped frosting from his eyes, flicking it down onto the grass. “That was mean.”

“That was payback,” Sirius corrected.

“See, I would believe you, except I know you’ve been planning to do that for at least three days.”

“Honestly, I’m surprised you didn’t do it first,”

“C’mere, you.” Remus reached half-blindly for his tie, pulling him in for a sugary kiss and feeling around with his other hand for the plate. He pulled away and, before Sirius could open his eyes, smushed the leftover cake right onto his forehead.

Sirius licked his lips. “Celeste, the cake is fantastic. Do you think it’ll moisturize?”

She was laughing too hard to respond, but she blew him a kiss in between drying her eyes. Remus took a napkin of his own and wiped his face off, licking as much of it off his hands as he could. “Oh, please don’t wait for us to clean up,” he said, motioning the still-laughing crowd forward. “We’ll be here for a while.”

“Whose fault is that?” Sirius teased.

“Yours!”

They ended up ducking into the kitchen to wash up while Dumo and Celeste passed out slices of cake. “I hope there will be some left over for us,” Sirius said as Remus washed the crumbly frosting from his hair. “From the little I got, it was amazing.”

“Yeah, she nailed the orange flavor.” Remus leaned on the front of the sink, watching people mill around or return to the dance floor for one more song before enjoying their cake. The buzz of their mingled voices dripped with joy and he smiled to himself, soaking in the feeling of his family’s happiness.

Warm arms encircled his waist as Sirius’ chin rested on his shoulder. They said nothing and waited in utter silence until Remus laced their fingers together and headed back out into the summer sunshine.

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

An hour later, a dozen mismatched plates of food laid decimated on the folding table with a quarter of a wedding cake left as James headed toward the dance floor alone, clutching a piece of paper. He stopped just in front of Remus and Sirius’ table and winked at them.

“Hey, everyone. If you don’t know me, which I find difficult to believe for a number of reasons, I’m James Potter, the groom’s best friend. Yes, both of them.” He paused for a moment to let the laughter roll through. “However, I didn’t want a fight to break out over who got to have me as their best man—”

“There was no fight,” Remus corrected with a grin. “The loser got you, Pots.”

“And a lucky loser he is,” James shot back playfully before clearing his throat. “I met Sirius Black six and a half years ago, when he was eighteen and awkward. We were both awkward, actually, but he had this uncanny ability to make it look cool while I tripped over my own feet.

“The minute I met Sirius, I knew we were going to be friends. He was quiet, a little shy, and didn’t really know how talk to people. In that way, we were exactly alike.” The laughter was even louder that time and Sirius shook his head. “Ah, who am I kidding. I adopted Sirius as my best friend because I thought it would be hilarious to corrupt him.”

James glanced down at Sirius with a smile. “While I attempted to make an extrovert out of him, I learned several important things: number one, he is the least extroverted person I’ve ever met. Two, he is one of the kindest, funniest people on the planet. And three, my life had been severely lacking without him in it.”

A soft ‘aww’ washed over the group and Remus ran his thumb over Sirius’ knuckles.

James looked back at the other tables as he continued. “Sirius Black is known to most of the world as one of the best hockey players of our time. To me, he’s the dorky little brother I never had, and I am so, so proud of him. I’ve had the privilege of watching him open up, not only to me, but to everyone else on the team that he loves with that big soft heart. When my son was born—you all know my son, right? I think I have a picture here somewhere—”

“No!” half the group shouted as James grinned.

“Just making sure you’re still awake. Anyway, when my son was born, naming Sirius godfather was literally the easiest thing I’ve ever done. I kinda sat back went ‘hmm, who is the first person I can think of to entrust with my child’s life?’ and the only natural decision was the one who is terrified of children.”

“Terrified is a bit of a strong word,” Sirius complained, though his eyes were shining.

“My bad, you’re petrified by children,” James corrected. “But in all seriousness—sorry, couldn’t resist—in all seriousness, I couldn’t think of anyone better suited to the job. I think that tells you everything you need to know about Sirius, actually. Even when he’s scared to death, he goes out of his way to help people when they need it.

“Sirius, however happy you are right now—and you’re basically glowing—I need you to know that it’s one tenth of how happy you have made the people you love.” James’ voice got a little tight and Sirius took an unsteady breath. “You are a natural leader and a great hockey player, but most importantly, you are an outstanding friend. You deserve every good thing coming your way, today and for the rest of your life. As your best man and your best friend, I’ll be there whenever you call.”

Sirius sniffled as James wiped his cheeks dry and turned to Remus. “Loops, take care of my little brother, alright?”

“You got it, Pots,” Remus said, barely above a whisper.

James nodded, then raised his glass of champagne. “To Sirius and Remus, and all the happiness they deserve.”

A loud cry of “cheers!” went up, followed by thunderous applause as Sirius got up and wrapped James in a full-body hug, nearly knocking them both over. They separated after a moment and James stood on his toes to kiss the top of Sirius’ head before they went back to their respective places.

“You okay?” Remus murmured, linking their hands together again.

“Fuck, I knew he was going to make me cry.” Sirius shook his head with a smile and sniffled once again. “Yeah, I’m alright.”

Lily raised an eyebrow as she stood James’ place. “Y’know, Re, I seem to recall you promising me a microphone if I did this.”

“Sorry to disappoint!” Remus called back, feeling a flutter of nerves in his stomach. Lily had refused to share any of her speech with him; when he tried to sneakily grab it once, she shoved it down her shirt and glared until he left the room.

“I’ll get over it.” She rubbed her fingers along the edge of her paper and sighed. “I’ve written and rewritten this speech about a dozen times since Re asked me to do it, but just being here—” She took a moment and blinked back tears. “It’s different. Just ignore me if I cry, okay?

Lily cleared her throat and turned back to the paper. “I met Remus Lupin six and a half years ago, on the same day James met Sirius for the first time. Personally, I think we should make that day a national holiday, since it irrevocably changed the course of both our lives. James found his best friend and little brother, and I found my Remus.

“One of the first things you will notice when you meet Remus is that he is friend shaped.” Several murmurs of agreement rippled through the crowd and Lily winked at Remus as he flushed pink. “Told you so. Honestly, Remus is one of those people who just exudes kindness. When I found out I was pregnant, he was the first person I told besides James. I knew Remus would not only keep my secret, but also be there in whatever capacity I needed because he cares. Truly, madly, deeply.”

Lily looked over to them with a soft, fond expression that made Remus’ stomach twist into knots. “In Sirius’ vows, he said you were sunshine through dark clouds, which is quite possibly my favorite descriptor of all time. It’s really sappy and cute, for one thing, but also true. Re, you bring light and warmth wherever you go. As someone who has been on the receiving end of that light, I can tell you that it is absolutely overwhelming in the best way. There are few places I feel safer than around you.

“And now we’re here, where you just married the love of your life.” The first tear slid down Lily’s cheek, dipping into her dimple as Remus’ own tracked down his chin. “God, Re, this is incredible. You two get to be together for the rest of your lives, and the rest of us have the best seat in the house to one of the greatest love stories of this century! I mean, c’mon, how many people can say they’ve made it through everything you did?”

Lily sniffled and raised her glass, though she maintained eye contact with him the whole time. “To Remus and Sirius, who remind us all what it looks like to be in love, even when the whole world tries to stand against you.”

A second ‘cheers’ began, but Remus was already on his feet and crashing into Lily, pulling her close as she clutched the back of his suit jacket. “I love you, Lils,” he choked out. “That was fucking incredible.”

“Love you too, Re.” She pulled back and carefully smudged her hands under her eyes to keep her makeup intact. “Ugh, sorry if I ruined your jacket with the waterworks.”

“You’re in good company.” She kissed each of his cheeks and fluffed the front of his hair up, making them both laugh as she took her seat again and Remus moved past his table with a last look to Sirius.

His mother’s eyes grew shiny with unshed tears as he held his hand out and guided her to the dance floor, where they swayed back and forth as Here Comes the Sun started to play, gentle and smooth. “Oh, you,” Hope managed as the lyrics began and Remus twirled her slowly. “I bet your father’s crying even though he’s not dancing.”

Remus glanced over to their table—as always, she was right. “He is. God, you’re good.”

“That’s what happens when you’ve been married for twenty-seven years,” she said, eyes crinkling. “Someday, that’s going to be you.”

He huffed softly. Don’t cry on mom, don’t cry on mom, don’t cry on mom. “You can’t just say stuff like that. It’s like kicking me while I’m down!”

“Little darlin’, it seems like years since it’s been clear,” she sang with a grin, tapping his nose. “Here comes the sun, dodododo, here comes the sun, and I say…”

“It’s all right,” Remus finished under his breath. The dance was over in an instant and after a thousand years at the same time—all too soon, people were clapping as they made their way back to the tables and Sirius walked over to Celeste.

She covered her mouth with her hands as he offered an arm, then nodded and accompanied him to the dance floor. He whispered something and she laughed, looping her arms around his neck with a bit of a stretch as a French song Remus had never heard came through the speakers and softened their smiles.

They talked quietly as they danced; Celeste was as elegant as ever and Sirius could be quite graceful when he put his mind to it. She traced his cheekbones with her thumbs and he closed his eyes, looking utterly at peace. Remus’ heartstrings tugged at the sight and he rested his chin on his hand, letting the waltz roll over him.

More applause followed their dance as Celeste held him in a tight embrace until a more upbeat song began and couples mobbed the dance floor. Sirius downed half his water in one gulp before sitting down with a heavy sigh, and dropped his forehead onto Remus’ shoulder. “You looked good out there,” Remus said, running a hand through his hair.

“So did you. I can’t feel my feet anymore.”

“I think we’re supposed to dance at our wedding.”

“I’m so hungry.”

Remus groaned; between the endless congratulations and conversations after the ceremony, they had no time to enjoy the assorted dishes people brought. “Same. We should go somewhere after this.”

“Other than home?”

“Home…” Remus trailed his lips to Sirius’ ear. “Is for other plans. Food happens elsewhere.”

“Good plan,” Sirius said, a little breathless as he sat back up and stood with a stretch. “Come on, sweetheart, the dance floor awaits.”

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

Thirty minutes after the sun set and Adele’s perfect fairy lights lit up the backyard, the party finally started winding down. Finn had fallen asleep with his head on Leo’s shoulder about ten minutes prior, but nobody had the heart to wake him; as the best dancer of the group, he had been a hot commodity for anyone looking to show off in addition to whirling both his boyfriends around.

Jules stumbled over to Remus and curled up in his lap without warning, snuggling his face into his chest with a jaw-cracking yawn. Regulus came up behind them a moment later, resting his hands on Sirius’ shoulders and scaring the daylights out of him. “Jesus f—frick, Reg!” he yelped, holding a hand over his heart.

“Sorry.” He didn’t look very apologetic as he turned to Remus. “Jules has been asking for you.”

“Oh, yeah?” Remus looked down and brushed the soft bangs from his eyes. “What’s up, buddy?”

“I love you,” Jules mumbled. “You got married. That’s so cool.”

Remus smiled. “It really is. Thanks for being the ring-bearer, by the way. You did a great job.”

Jules made a muffled noise before wrapping his arms around Remus’ waist with a sigh. “Mmkay. G’night.”

“You can’t fall asleep yet!” Remus tickled his side lightly. “We’re almost done, I promise.”

“What time is it?” Jules cracked an eye open and fumbled for his wrist, turning Remus’ hand over to check. “It’s not even ten! Why am I tired?”

“You’ve had a busy day. Do you know where mom and dad are?”

“Still talking.”

Remus surveyed the crowd and quickly spotted them next to the cubs, sipping water and sharing a piece of cake. He stood carefully, making sure Jules was steady on his hip before heading toward the table with Sirius and Regulus in tow. “We’ve got a tired munchkin,” he whispered when they arrived, depositing Jules into the chair next to his mother; within moments, Jules laid his head on the table.

“Love you, Re,” he said as he tucked his arms under his head. “Best big brother.”

“Best of all three?” Logan gasped in mock-surprise.

“Three?” Jules sat up straight and gave him a confused look. It was made extra adorable by the crooked cowlick decorating the whole right side of his head. “I only have one.”

“Now that Remus and Sirius are married, you’ve got two more big brothers,” Logan reminded him. “Regulus and Sirius count.”

“That’s crazy,” Jules yawned, cocking his head at the brothers. “Re is still my favorite, but you’re awesome and I love you, too.”

Regulus made a soft sound and Sirius kissed the top of Jules’ head. “Don’t tell anyone, but you’re my favorite Lupin,” he stage-whispered, laughing as Remus rolled his eyes.

Jules frowned. “You married one of us, and it sure wasn’t me.”

“Alright, second favorite,” Sirius conceded with a grin as the rest of the table laughed.

“Mama, I’m tired.” Jules traced the bead patterns on Hope’s dress.

“Okay, lovey, we can go home soon.” She raised an eyebrow at Remus and he nodded. “Do you want to say some goodbyes first?”

“We’ll see everyone tomorrow. ‘s okay.”

Lyall gathered Jules into his arms, then turned to Remus and pulled him close with a kiss to his forehead. “So proud of you, kiddo.” He looked over at Sirius for a moment. “Take good care of him, eh?”

“Sir, yes sir.” Sirius pressed a kiss to Remus’ temple as they separated, then moved aside for Hope.

She scanned his face for a moment, then touched their foreheads together. “Good luck, baby. Not that you need it, but you deserve it anyway.”

Remus pulled them both back in for a family hug, feeling Jules drape a drowsy arm around the back of his neck. “Thank you so much for being here. It means—it means everything to me.”

“Wouldn’t miss it for the world,” Lyall whispered. “Now go, you two haven’t eaten anything tonight.”

“Thank you,” both of them breathed at the same time, sending the whole group into a fit of laughter.

They said a few more ‘thank you’s and goodbyes until the other Lions started a loud, incoherent cheer and all but chased them toward Sirius’ car, where a small ‘Just Married’ sign had been stuck on the back window. They were planning on keeping the wedding a secret from the media as long as they could—the reaction would be even more hilarious the longer they waited.

“What if—” Remus broke off into snickering as they pulled out of the Dumais’ driveway. “What if nobody notices?”

“What? That we’re married?” Sirius gave him a disbelieving look. “People are going to figure it out so fast, no matter how many times Pots changes the subject.”

Remus hummed and rested his hand on Sirius’ thigh as he drove, tapping along to the rhythm of the radio; the route was familiar to them both, even after the chaos of the day. A slow, unstoppable smile made his cheeks hurt. “We got married.”

“Damn right, we did.”

“Scuse me for a moment.” Remus rolled down his window and cleared his throat, then leaned out and whooped loud enough that people in the next state would probably be able to hear it. He calmly closed it once more, fighting down a smile. “Sorry, I just had to get that out.”

Sirius slowed and rolled his own window down, sticking his head out into the empty night air. “I got married!” he shouted at the top of his lungs with a wild grin. “I have a husband now! Just thought you should know!”

“Husband,” Remus mused as the car started moving again. “Hmm. I like the sound of that.”

“Me, too.”

227 notes · View notes

mrs-hatake · 3 years

Text

here comes the bride: prologue

pairings: levi x female!reader + minor zeke x female!reader.

genre: alternate universe, illegal car racing, suggestive themes, arranged marriage, strangers to lovers, slow burn, falling in love, eventual smut, heavy make out sessions, hurt/comfort & fluff.

summary: “Fine.” She breathes out without bothering to hide her unhappiness. “I’ll get married.” She swallows the bile at the back of her throat. Her mother casts a radiant smile her way and weakly reaches out to take her hand in hers.

“Thank you.” She says sincerely, bringing Y/N’s hand to her lips and kissing it with difficulty. “I’m sure you’ll come to love Levi, he will treat you right.”

a/n: helloooooo!I'm back with another aot fic :Dthe plot for this fic came to me randomly and i instantly fell in love that i HAD to write everything down. each chapter will contain trigger warnings if necessary and this chapter is tagged with tw for mentions of death and manipulation. lastly, I would like to thank my soulmate for helping with proof reading and selecting the appropriate characters for y/n. that's all that I have. happy readings! ❤️

this fic can also be found on ao3

The sound of the monitor is deafening. It’s consistent beeping is accompanied by the soft pitter patter of the rain outside as the weather slowly transitions from spring to summer, emitting an ominous atmosphere. The grey clouds and the wind howling outside, the large rectangular windows outside don’t help with the uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach. People rush to seek shelter and cars zoom by despite the slippery streets, eager to reach their destination without delay.

A small family of three surround a luxurious hospital bed which fully showcased their financial status and class. The bed was covered in the finest linen, a soft cream color and the silkiest pillows that accommodate absolute comfort.

An air purifier with the aroma of lavender and honey is found in almost every room of the hospital, masking away the horrible stench of disinfectant and death. However, it still lingers in the air, like a criminal imprisoned for life.

The woman on the bed is pale, no longer looks like the tanned Goddess that had been dubbed Miss Osaka at the Young Ladies of Japan debutant three years in a row. Her long and healthy locks have lost their sheen and are brittle and dry, split ends can be seen and her grey hair is on display, when she usually dyes them every two months. The healthy fat in her body has dissolved, leaving nothing but skin and bones. Despite all of this, her glimmer of ebullience still lives on.

“How are you feeling, mother?” A young woman in her early twenties is sitting on a wooden chair next to the hospital bed with a look of worry on her face. Her fingers are brushing through the knotted hair of the dying woman on the bed while her other hand tightly holds her mother’s boney and wrinkled hand.

The older woman offers a weak, gentle smile. “I’m fine. Don’t you worry your pretty little head.” She chuckles but is soon coughing heavily, eyes shutting tightly to fight off the pain in her lungs.

“Are you alright? Should I call the nurse?”

The older woman shakes her head, however, and instead motions for the pitcher of water and the empty glass on her bedside table. Understanding dawns on her daughter’s face and she hurriedly pours a glass of warm water and hands it to her mother and helps her sit up straight to drink the entire glass in one go, her mother gasping in relief once the glass is empty.

“Mamiko.” A man in his mid sixties rubs his hand over his face in distress. He had been wearing a mask of bravery for his wife and two daughters, but seeing his usually strong and stubborn wife look so frail and weak frightened him. Memories of them butting heads, teasing each other and fighting over the course of their marriage reminds him of just how fiery his wife was. Seeing her in such a state tears off the mask he’s wearing on his face and tosses it away, exposing his true emotions.

“I’m fine, Masamune.” The woman waves him off and motions for her daughter to press the remote to raise the head of her bed so that she can sit up straight. She gives a pointed look to her husband, as if to prove her point.

All that her husband can do is sigh.

Just then, a timid knock reaches their ears and a smiling nurse enters the room with an apologetic expression on her youthful face. “I’m sorry, but visiting hours are ending soon.” She reminds them gently.

Masamune tiredly nods his head and pushes himself away from the wall to cross the short distance to where his wife is resting on the bed and lovingly kisses the top of her head. “Come back to us soon.” He whispers before heading towards the door, awaiting his two daughters.

“Get well soon, mother.” The younger of Masamune and Mamiko’s daughters, Tsukiko, is a twenty year old woman in her third year of law school and is aiming to achieve her Intellectual Property Law Certificate to assist her family in the future. She bids her mother goodbye with gentle eyes and a strong squeeze to her hand.

Y/N is about to get up from her chair and mimic her father by kissing her mother goodbye, when the older woman interrupts her, “Y/N, stay. I need to discuss something with you.”

Glancing to where her father and sister were lingering by the door, she nods her head and remains in her seat. She has a feeling that her father and younger sister are aware of the topic her mother wishes to discuss with her.

When the door is softly shut behind the two, Mamiko turns to face her eldest daughter and the heir to their company. “Have I ever told you the story of the day you were born?”

Growing up, Y/N had heard the story of her birth countless times from her parents, her grandmother who had been living with them at the time, and the maids living in their mansion all told her about it. They coined it as the funniest situation they’ve ever experienced in their lives. She had heard the story so many times that she has it memorized. Still, she shakes her head no.

“It was my twenty-fifth birthday. Your aunt Chiaki insisted that we have a girls night to celebrate the big day.” Her mother chuckles at the memory of a young Chiaki who had recently gotten a pixie cut after a terrible break up with her boyfriend of three years and how she had practically dragged Mamiko out of their house.

“We did your typical girly traditions; going shopping, getting our nails done, the usual.” Her mother weakly waves her hand. “Little did I know, your father had gathered up everyone who could come to our home on short notice for a surprise birthday party. It was around three or four o’clock in the afternoon that Chiaki and I finally decided to return home. I opened the door and the lights flickered on and a discordant ‘Happy birthday!’ was yelled. I was so elated and touched by their surprise that I couldn’t stop laughing! I laughed and laughed for five minutes straight, literally, when I felt a warm and tingling sensation trickle down my legs. Though I should be embarrassed at the thought of wetting myself in front of our guests, we quickly realized that the speed and the amount of liquid rushing through was actually because my water broke.”

“Everyone screamed and squeaked at the arrival of the baby. Panicking, I was rushed into the car with your father hysterically, frantically gathering all of the necessities we need for your delivery and drove all the way to the hospital like a mad man. Now that I think about it, I’m surprised we didn’t get into some kind of accident.” Mamiko hummed at the thought and then turned to face her daughter with raw affection in those fatigued eyes of hers, and with a shaky hand, cupped her daughter’s cheek. “And two days later, our beautiful baby girl came into our world. Your father had complained that you were as stubborn as I am for taking two days to arrive but I knew that you were taking your time to get comfortable and face the world head on.”

Y/N offered her mother a small smile as she desperately tried to hold back the tears that threatened to spill and swallow the thick lump in her throat. “I love you.” She whispers with a hoarse voice.

“I love you too.” Her mother returns the sentiment with a small curl of her lips.

“And you were such a joy to raise, your sister, too? of course but you were our first. Our first child, our first daughter and our first experience as parents. There were difficult times, I can’t deny that, but seeing the woman that you are today, it was worth it.”

Y/N couldn’t stop the tears from filling her eyes and cascading down her cheeks. She licks the single tear that lingered on her tongue and turned her head to kiss her mother’s palm. “I’d trade the whole world for you to return home to us in good health.” Y/N’s voice is broken but her sincerity is firm.

“I know you would.” Her mother says as she retrieves her hand. “Which is why I hate myself for asking you for such a request... but I want you to know that I am doing this out of love and care for you.”

Y/N’s eyebrows draw together in confusion before realization dawns on her and she vehemently shakes her head in denial before her mother could voice her request. “No. No, I won’t do it.”

“Please, Y/N.” Mamiko holds her daughter's hand with hers using all of the strength she could muster. “Think of it as my dying wish.”

Y/N continues to shake her head but this time her shoulders are shaking as sobs rake her body. “Don’t say that!”

Neither of them say anything as Y/N continues to cry at the predicament they are in. Her mother; old, frail, and dying and is begging her to do the one thing that Y/N loathes more than anything. She had fought all her life with her parents to be emancipated from their backwards traditions, live her life how she sees fit and make her own decisions accordingly.

“I know your father and I weren’t the perfect example of a happy couple and that you have witnessed things little girls your age shouldn’t have witnessed but we tried to be decent and put together for your and Tsukiko’s sake.”

Suddenly, the memories of her parents screaming at the top of their lungs, insulting each other with words that Y/N knew she wasn’t meant to hear, and her father harshly grabbing her mother’s upper arm until it bruised, all came flooding in that moment. She had bare witness to their flawed marriage.

“I won’t force you into an arranged marriage, but I won’t die happy knowing that my first and eldest daughter isn’t married.” Mamiko knows that she is guilty of manipulating her daughter into a marriage, especially by using her nearing death as leverage, however, she is certain that her daughter will one day find it in her heart to forgive her. And that’s why she pushes on with her dying wish.

“Your father and I have already found a suitable man-”

“You found someone behind my back?” Y/N unintentionally snorts at her mother as though she does not care. She is hurting and is scared of being blackmailed into marriage.

Mamiko withholds the urge to heavily sigh at her daughter and patiently explains herself. “Your marital status has been haunting us for years, we can’t just ignore the fact that our daughter wishes to remain single for the rest of her life.”

“And you can’t just respect my wishes, can you?”

Mamiko’s eyes seem to glass over and get shiny, she hesitates, yet still won’t back down. She was doing this for her daughter. “Stop being stubborn for once and listen to your mother.”

Y/N rolls her eyes as she humorlessly chuckles at her mother. She had done everything for her mother’s sake, sacrificed so much to make her happy. And the one time Y/N asks for the same in return, she is strongly denied of it.

Her mother’s coughing fit snaps Y/N out of her stupor and she hastily refills the glass with water and gives it to her. Perhaps it could be the works of her mother’s illness or the inevitable truth of her mother’s demise that has Y/N letting out a noiseless exhale, her shoulders sagging as she slumps into her seat.

“Fine.” She breathes out without bothering to hide her unhappiness. “I’ll get married.” She swallows the bile at the back of her throat.

Her mother casts a radiant smile her way and weakly reaches out to take her hand in hers. “Thank you.” She says sincerely, bringing Y/N’s hand to her lips and kissing it with difficulty.

“I’m sure you’ll come to love Levi, he will treat you right.”

When she hears that name and recognizes who he is, it feels like cold water is being dumped all over her and she shivers at the thought of a future being married to an expressionless and strict man. In that instance, she felt like she wanted to bolt and run away with a new identity. But for her mother’s sake, she puts on a brave smile and nods her head.

#levi x reader #zeke x reader #levi x y/n #zeke x y/n #aot imagines

60 notes · View notes

goldenkamuyhunting · 3 years

Text

Ramblings and crazy theory time about GK chap 276 “Fried shrimp”

New chapter before the break in which we get to meet…

…yeah, Hanazawa’s sacrificial sheep, Yuusaku. The poor guy seems to believe he shares his father’s beliefs on how he (Yuusaku, sadly not Hanazawa) has to die for the well being of the country… as if he were the antichrist or something like that.

So we’ve left Sugimoto showing, in his hurry to eat the fried shrimp, that he has not the slightest idea how to use western cutlery, realizing he has messed up and thinking, in panic, he’ll have to signal to Kikuta already about his failure.

I mean, Sugimoto, if you’ve no idea what to do just let Kaeko start eating first and then copy what she does.

Anyway, luckily for him, Kaeko thinks she’s making a joke and Sugimoto takes advantage of it, saying he did it to lighten the tension.

She then observes he’s still wearing his cap, asking him if that too is due to him being tense. Sugimoto removes it, then claims at the academy they eat in Japanese style so he’s not used to this.

Kaeko notices there’s a difference between him and the photo but she’s pleased by his look anyway and continues not to suspect anything.

Anyway Kaeko gives him tips on how to eat the food, which, as usual, pleases Sugimoto greatly. He asks her if she comes there often and it turns out she does, as well as visiting other expensive places. Sugimoto thinks at how he, instead, after his father died, was in such a poor situation he resorted to steal the food that was given to cats.

We get a one page image with Sugimoto, in his dark uniform seated in this white and luxurious place, as if he were a dark spot clearly out of place in all that white luxury, his gaze downcast as he looks at the food in front of himself and is forced to take conscience of the huge divide between his world and Kaeko’s.

Later he’s with Kikuta again and claims since he kept silent, he should have felt like a boring guy, which should have displeased Kaeko. Kikuta is predictably happy and tells him since marriage interviews involve more than one meeting he’ll be counting on Sugimoto again.

Sadly for him, Sugimoto is seriously mistaken in regard to Kaeko’s reaction to his behaviour.

In fact Kaeko is delighted with ‘Yuusaku’, thinking he was just a quiet man, who kept on nodding at whatever she said without disagreeing with her and who had an awesome look.

In a way this is interesting because it’s clear Sugimoto thinks to impress a girl he should be vivacious and talkative, strong and assuring, when this isn’t necessarily what girls search in men.

Toraji never beat Sugimoto and was even prone to cry and yet Umeko loved him because he would do everything for her.

Tanigaki is quiet and grumpy as a bear yet Inkarmat ended up liking him because he was actually gentle with her.

Shinpei is a coward, yet Chiyoko wants him because, again, he is willing to leave his life for her.

Girls aren’t all made with the same mould, Sugi, they are different one from the other. Not everyone likes the loud type and it’s kind of relevant how, ultimately, the girl in GK ultimately chose men who just cared for them.

Kaeko assumed Yuusaku did her the kindness to let her speak without him disagreeing, that he tried to make her relax with a joke, in short that he was kind with her, though clearly Sugimoto’s look also played a part in this.

Anyway Kaeko’s maid warns her about how she cares too much for the look of men, which is why she lost many chances to get married so yes, Sugimoto’s good looks played a huge part in why Kaeko liked him.

Back to Sugimoto he complains he can’t believe how someone would marry someone else only after meeting them a few times. Kikuta explains him that’s how it works among the upper classes and Sugimoto ends up on talking with him about Toraji and Umeko… and this is relevant because instead he kept for a really long time the matter for himself when with Asirpa and Shiraishi and was reluctant to talk about it.

Sugimoto concludes his tale pointing out how Toraji told him he was still Umeko’s number one yet she married Toraji so he wonders if this sort of things happen as well.

Kikuta gets angry, asking him if he’s wondering if Umeko is happy after marrying Toraji and what does he understand about women.

Kikuta views his words as arrogance, as Sugimoto thinking he’ll always stay number one in her heart, she always pining after him and never being happy with Toraji… and yes, this is what in a way Sugimoto hopes, because he’s unhappy without her and thinks it’s not fair how Toraji took her from him and a side of him probably would like to hope she’ll jump Toraji for him in the future.

Kikuta points out how this is rude toward Umeko and Toraji, how women are capable to move on from a failed love story and start another, without remaining dependant on the man they had lost and how Sugimoto should apologize to them both.

Sugimoto doesn’t get why Kikuta got so mad and wonders if he’s just being pathetic because he can’t let go of things. Kikuta’s mood changes radically and he assures him it’s absolutely normal for men to be pitiful creatures who can’t let go of the woman they love.

I wonder if part of Kikuta’s reaction is due to him living an experience similar to Sugimoto. Did he too pined for a woman who ultimately chose another? Or was he the replacement for such a man?

Anyway Kikuta tells him that, as a man, he should understand Toraji and leave the whole thing behind himself, firmly and completely. So hum, yes, I tend to think Kikuta lived through something similar as Sugimoto.

Anyway Kikuta’s support brightens Sugimoto up, who smiles and agrees to do so.

I think Sugimoto is starting to see Kikuta as some sort of father figure, who feeds him and scolds him and accept him. He’s a replacement family in a way.

I wonder if it’s due to his discussion with Kikuta that Sugimoto became reserved on the topic, for fear to look pathetic… or it’s just due to Toraji’s death. He feels guilty because deep inside himself he had hoped for Toraji to get out of the picture and when it happened in such way, it broke him.

Anyway Kaeko’s maid is giving her tips on how to seduce ‘Yuusaku’, get him into the right mood and then wrap her legs around him. Kaeko is determined to get ‘Yuusaku’ and her maid is very encouraging about this.

Kaeko comments that since men who chose brides from her school do so for her pedigree and looks, there’s no problems if she does the same. ‘Yuusaku’ is good looking and of a high social ranking so he’s perfect for her.

As she thinks so she realizes her cousin might chide her for focusing too much on appearance but he also picked up a country girl with curly unruly hair merely due to her look and now he seems to be really happy… and so now we know what had happened to Igogusa/Harumi Chiyo.

She really left her hometown because she married the son of a manager from Mitsubishi, which is to say Kaeko’s cousin. Well, in a way it’s a relief. I’m glad to know she’s alive and I hope she’s also happy.

In short Tsurumi was honest the first time, when he said how a man from Mitsubishi wanted her as a wife for his son, and Tsurumi only tricked Tsukishima with the story Tsukishima was told in Mudken, in which he made Tsukishima first believe she was killed by his father, then that Tsurumi merely made things look like that, so he could make Tsukishima feel indebted to him even more.

Also this means Tsukishima really killed his father over nothing, as the man might have many faults but didn’t cause Chiyo to die.

Kikuta and Sugimoto are out eating in a poor restaurant, Sugimoto thinking at the fried shrimps and feeling angry and jealous at how upper class people can eat them. Kikuta reminds him that’s how it works in Tokyo.

Sugimoto then wonders if Yuusaku wants to be a flag bearer. Kikuta says his job is only to protect Yuusaku’s virginity and have the lady rejected as gently as possible. Sugimoto insists Yuusaku might want to eat fried shrimp instead than joining the army. I mean Sugi, in the past chapter you considered joining the army so as to get food… I get your situation is desperate because you were literally starving but food serves little when you’re sent out to fight and die in a war… and you realize this only when you think Yuusaku, instead than dying in a war, might want to eat fried shrimp?

Kikuta insists Sugimoto shouldn’t worry about Yuusaku… but those are wasted words.

Sugimoto dresses up in Kikuta’s uniform and goes to meet Yuusaku, telling him he’d heard his father wants him to become the regimental flag bearer. Yuusaku is confused but points out this will be only if he gets chosen for the position…

...which makes him pretty naïve because of course his father can hugely influence the choice if he’s already set on having him in that role.

Have I mentioned in this ramblings how Hanazawa senior is a jerk? No, I think I haven’t yet so here it is, Hanazawa senior is a jerk.

Sugimoto asks him why his father would want such a role for him, wondering if it’s maybe Hanazawa thinks there won’t be a war.

Yuusaku ‘reassures’ him it’s quite the opposite, his father believes there will be a war soon and what a better chance than to make use of his son for his honour by putting him in the riskiest position with the highest death rate? Because what’s a son if not cannon fodder meant to be used for his father’s honour?

Hanazawa is a disgusting person.

Sugimoto asks Yuusaku if he wants to be a flag bearer and Yuusaku… circles around the subject, saying if he’s chosen he’ll feel pride. Yeah, because who doesn’t want to die as a sacrificial lamb for his father’s social standing?

Sugimoto asks him if he’s merely trying to met his father’s expectations.

Yuusaku sweats and denies it, asking him what does he wants.

Sugimoto says he just wants to know how he feels.

Yuusaku explains Hanazawa (at this point, as Alessandro Manzoni would have said “I have not the hear to call that guy ‘his father’”) told him about how his life can be used for the good of Japan so Yuusaku believes using his life for the good of Japan is the right thing to do.

Dear God, this man really viewed his sons as pawns to use and dispose when they weren’t useful anymore. Is he ever human? Or there’s only duty and honour running in his veins?

Sugimoto, who has no idea Yuusaku is the kind who’s stubborn as hell and would have refused anyway, thinks Yuusaku’s problem is merely he thinks he only have one path open, but wouldn’t think so if he were to know there’s another path, one they’re hiding from him.

No Sugimoto, the problem is actually Hanazawa completely brainwashed his son, to turn him into a noble and righteous icon without even knowing well why except that daddy thinks that’s the best way for him to live his life.

Hanazawa is a jerk.

On a sidenote I hate this situation even more exactly because Yuusaku is basically brainwashed. Each time he has to explains his position he uses as argument what his father told him, yes, he says he came to believe it too, but it doesn’t seem like it’s something he came up on his own, or something he gave deep thought about, but something that was merely put into his mind by all of Hanazawa’s talk.

Maybe it’s just me but Yuusaku always feel more like not thinking for himself but merely reporting what his father told him to think. Whatever, let’s go on.

Meanwhile Yuusaku proves he can be observant, as he notices Sugimoto is wearing Kikuta’s cap due to it being stitched in a little area due to a hole made when Kikuta has been nearly killed by an officer candidate during shooting training. Sugimoto tries to cover up the thing by claiming he got the hat from Kikuta, but this is even more suspicious as that cap belonged to Kikuta’s little brother who died of illness during the war with China.

This is probably why Kikuta is adopting young men… but at the same time, although he should know Yuusaku since Yuusaku knows him so well, he has little to no sympathy for his fate and will show complete disinterest for Koito as well. I do wonder if Kikuta has issues with people from the upper classes.

He trains officer candidates but this might have exposed him even more to the differences between classes and made him think low of them. We’ll see.

On another side I wonder if Yuusaku will do something out of this information there’s someone wearing Kikuta’s cap and who’s asking him if he’s okay with being the flag bearer.

This little exchange proved Yuusaku can be observant and connect the dots so now if only he were to think a little more he could prove himself to be more than just his father’s puppet.

Anyway as Sugimoto walks for the city, holding his cap in his hands he gets careless and slams against someone… this someone turns out to be the 4 horsemen of the apocalypse…

...pardon, I mean Tsukishima, who’s with Usami, Ogata and Tsurumi (please notice how the light shines on them as if they were some sort of saviours or angels from above), the four of them all enjoying a trip to Tokyo prior to the start of the apocalypse… Tsurumi’s plan, I mean… because really, it would feel to absurd to have those 4 in Tokyo just for a touristic trip, so they had to be there to pursue Tsurumi’s plan.

Okay, I know, maybe the apocalypse was safer than what Tsurumi’s plan will turn out.

Anyway, some random observations on them.

From the 27 on Ogata and Usami’s shoulders we can see they’re already in the 7th division.

From the stripe on Ogata’s sleeve we can see he’s a second class superior private, meaning he has just enrolled in the army since, second class privates should have been automatically promoted to first class after 6 months (at least from the info I have who’re dated past GK so it might be things were different that early on). It’s 1901 so he should be 19. It means he enrolled in the army earlier as although one could join the army from when he was 17, the norm was they would be examined for fitness at 20 and, if judged fit then they would join the army for a 2 years period of training.

Considering Noda said Ogata studied Russian with Tsukishima and Tsukishima went in Russia with Tsurumi much earlier on, it seems that Tsurumi recruited Ogata prior to him being able to enrol in the army.

Usami should be a year older, so he’s still pretty young. Did they join together or Usami also joined much earlier than planned? We’ll see.

Anyway the 4 of them are having a trip to Tokyo… and I can’t help but think if Tsurumi went in Tokyo with 3 of his soldiers whom he has twisted with ‘love’, things are likely going to turn troublesome.

LOL, now let’s only hope Sugimoto won’t introduce himself as Yuusaku… though if he were it could be that Tsurumi would spot the lie immediately and that’s why Ogata knows passing for an officer is a dumb plan.

On another side... this might be the moment in which Yuusaku and Ogata first met. I’m honestly scared.

Oh well, we’ll see.

Overall this chapter provided us some info and was nice but not that emotionally compelling, it merely seemed to plan to set up things for the next developments.

Anyway next week there’s a break so we’re in for a long wait.

#Golden Kamuy #Sugimoto Saichi #Kaneko Kaeko #Yamamura Hamako #Kikuta Mokutarou #Hanazawa Yuusaku #Hanazawa Koujirou #Ogata Hyakunosuke #Tsurumi Tokushirou #Usami Tokishige #Tsukishima Hajime #Kenmochi Umeko #Kenmochi Toraji #Golden Kamuy Ramblings and Theories

72 notes · View notes

bleulone · 3 years

Note

i love your analysis so much! i have a question as well, like, how do you envision polin's sex scenes ? thanks for your answer (:

Hey! Thank you very much :)) I have no idea if they are that even good but I’m happy you like them. It’s just my brain tending to produce some iNsIGhiTfUL analyses though they usually end up drowned under a huge wave of stupidity and horrid spelling/grammatical mistakes XD. So, about Penelope and Colin’ sex scenes, I guess we’re getting spicy in this house 🌶. I mean, I don’t blame you. Who’s not hot for Polin ?! The steamy Polin hours have already begun and they’re legit challenging my patience. (Be still my Polin heart, be still).

Okay, without further ado, let’s talk about sex baby, shall we ? It’s a pretty long answer/meta so bear with me.

I don’t know if you’ve read Romancing Mister Bridgerton, but a quick reminder (for those who haven’t... yet), there are a bunch of iconic steamy scenes that I’m dying to watch on screen. First we have the famous “thank you” scene where Penelope, now a 28 year-old spinster, asks Colin to kiss her because she doesn’t want to die without having been kissed... then ends up thanking him— which happens to be humiliating for our 33 year-old boy because he thinks that she thinks he did it out of pity while he absolutely did not. The man definitely felt butterflies in his stomach... and in other places as well lol. We also have the ICONIC carriage scene where Colin gives Pen’s generous bosoms™ the attention they deserve. This is followed by his proposal. Later on, after the announcement of their engagement, there’s a pretty hot make-out scene on Lady Violet’s sofa. Finally, we have their first time in Colin’s bedroom, after sneaking out of their own engagement party... which leads Colin to push the wedding date forward. At this point, I just love their horniness, especially Colin’s who’s just so freaking amazed by Penelope for more than 300 pages straight (duh! who isn’t ???).

When you say envision, I suppose you mainly refer to the way those scenes will be filmed right ? I’m afraid I don’t have an advanced knowledge in film-making but let me start by telling you what elements need to be depicted. I would love Shonda and Chris to capture the real essence of our boos’ feelings : the yearning, the love, the respect and the guilt (specifically on Colin’s side) in their eyes. The more we move forward throughout the seasons, the more we see different layers of the perceptions of they have of each other, going from a childish idealization/immature ignorance to a sudden realization. A mature one. Penelope goes beyond the facade of the charming devil-may-care guy to meet the seriousness and temper of her significant other. Meanwhile Colin discovers how confident, powerful and attractive this woman is and always has been. It echoes what I’ve written about the importance of the gaze in Polin’s love story in this meta. By the time season 4 hits, man... their heart eyes and eye-fucking will jump OUT XD, all fibers of their beings, burning with need. The fact that this evolution took literally years is very emotionally painful, which is why I find it important to keep the slowness aspect of their relationship before and during their love making. I’m really looking forward a slow build-up toward their intimacy. It would differ from Daphne and Simon who merely shared one hell of a kiss in Lady Trowbridge’s garden then shared their sexy times after they married or Anthony and Siena’s rough sex... In fact, there’s a certain (sweet) ardent tenderness in Polin I like due to the fact that they’re slowly (re)discovering each other, as adults. Since they were both introduced in season 1, the audience will have all the time in the world to notice numerous evidences of the many natures of love they have for one another : from an affectionate and friendly love to a more carnal and enduring one.

Okay so, in terms of filming, with Netflix’s Bridgerton being a show which promotes the female gaze, it wouldn’t be that much of a surprise watching those sex scenes being shot from Penelope’s perspective, like it was the case with Daphne in the first installment of the series. Most of the time, sex scenes in Historical Romance are not gratuitous. Their presence serve an important purpose in a hero/heroine’s journey. In Penelope’s case, they’re here to help her learn to embrace and love herself. In other words, sexuality is synonym of freedom. I don’t know if they’ll show a lot of skin, but I won’t be complaining considering the fact that we’ll have the chance to get a chief kiss treat on screen : a plus size woman in a major successful Netflix period drama getting a love story as romantic and steamy as other more “fit” female characters. No, your weight doesn’t prevent you from being desirable at all. As far as I’m concerned, I haven’t watched a plus-size female character portrayed as an attractive protagonist in a period drama (please if you have, let me know, I can be wrong). Having a beautiful half bare curvy body like Nicola’s being equally filmed like numerous slim actresses will be so inspiring and powerful to watch, especially for (young) women who struggle, like Penelope, to love their body shape which, to them, doesn’t “fit” the “beauty standards”. By showing her female gaze and portraying her as seductive, Pen’s “supposed” imperfections transform themselves into mighty assets, loved and worshipped by our dashing Mister Bridgerton. That’s body positivity at its finest darling ;).

It will be deliciously erotic watching the undressing process being exquisitely slow, garment by garment, while their gaze are all heated and hungry. Their sex/make-out scenes should be tender and passionate, sweet and raw. The lightning, colored by a dark blood orange yellow or a blue depending the locations^^. Moreover, the depiction of the exploration of Penelope’s desire can translate itself thanks to multiple close ups. For instance, I can imagine a few ones on Pen’s fingers gently roaming over the smooth skin of Colin’s firm chest and back/touching his hair right after he removed his shirt. And a disheveled Colin letting his hands and lips making a journey of their own, mapping, conquering the alluring unknown territory that is her gorgeous voluptuous body... kissing her on the places he knows oh too well will give her pleasure (is this me wanting him to go down on her?— um yeah I sure hope it IS! If he doesn’t, trust me imma riot... AGAIN). Even a close up on her face while Colin is performing his addictively pleasing torment will be a marvelous proof of the female gaze. By the way, why not even adding a post-coital scene after their first time ? I can picture Penelope waking up first and contemplate her handsome soon-to-be husband. She’d bring her hand to his face and let it travel all around his forehead, his cheeks, his lips, his neck and let it rest on his heart— making sure that what she’s just experience was real... obviously, Colin will wake up in the process and he’ll take this as his cue to go for another round of sexy times under the sheets.

Showing Pen reaction is essential according to me because she was stuck with the idea that she would never experience the luxury of being loved, giving pleasure nor receiving it... she ended up being happily wrong. Throughout her multiple intimate encounters with Colin, I want her to progressively realizes that she can be an active partner. In the carriage, she knew she had an effect on him, but it’s not until their first time that she actually realizes it. Hence the reason why I WANT the mirror’s introduction in one of their sex scenes. Here’s as a little reminder an excerpt from chapter 18 :

“I want to see you sitting up," he groaned, "so I can see them full and lovely and large [about Pen’s breasts]. And then I want to crawl behind you and cup you." His lips found her ear and his voice dropped to a whisper. "And I want to do it in front of a mirror."

“Now?” she squeaked.

He seemed to consider that for a moment, then shook his head. "Later," he said, and then repeated it in a rather resolute tone. "Later.”

It would be such a shame if the show doesn’t use the incredible potential of this object (/kink). I mean, the symbolism is pretty clear. Penelope has always fled her “ugly” reflection but it seems like Colin wants to show the real her, the beauty that holds every single inch her alabaster skin and the effects they have on him. Thus, I would love to watch a scene where Colin just praises the alluring goddess and siren that is Penelope Featherington. Just imagine! Just IMAGINE the power of this scene : a shirtless Colin sitting behind her on a bed, meeting her gaze in the mirror, his lips touching her right ear, biting and licking the lobe sometimes, whispering all kinda of dirty yet poetic words to her while letting his hands caress her thighs, her hips, her arms, her lovely bosoms™... oof. At the same time, a wonderful and harmonic instrumental music will play in the background and match the melodic partition of shudders, breathes and moans let out by our lovers. I can imagine Luke inspiring himself from his performance in the 2019 short film, Youth In Bed. The way he conveyed the awe and the yearning on his face, in his eyes with his mouth slightly open when he knelt before his partner Shun Yin was just captivating and— and so Colin! I cannot help but bring myself to picture Ethan, the character he played in YIB, in a Polin steamy scene. I cannot unsee this anymore jsksk. I mean, all this gifset radiates this book4chapter18!Colin, you cannot tell me otherwise!

Also, I would love Shonda and Chris to keep Pen and Colin’s cute/emotional pillow talk. One thing I really love in JQ’s books is the concern she gives to her male protagonists about potentially hurting their partner during the act of penetration. Colin is a rake, and what his experience with women taught him is that he needs to be very gentle with the love of his life. It was so adorable seeing him not wanting to harm her and asking her to tell him if he does anything she doesn’t like 🥺. Plus, before actually doing it, Colin and Penelope shared a few kisses and just laid down side by side, confessing their love. Though our boy kept feeling guilty about not returning her love after all these years. He desires nothing but to make up for the lost time and show his love and desire during this special intimate moment. I hope they’ll keep all of chapter 18’s dialogue. It’s just so telling of our boos’ feelings, you see.

All in all, I can’t wait to watch those Polin steamy scenes. As much as I may sound crazy, I want them after two other seasons of pure pining and yearning in order to have a very good payoff. I’m not an expert on depicting intimacy on screen, but I loved so far what Lizzy Talbot, the intimacy coordinator who worked on the show, have done in season 1. Sex scenes in Bridgerton seem very real and dive you in the intimacy of the moment, leaving you all flustered and hot. So probs to her! I have faith in her work and have no doubts about what her and the directors will serve us in future seasons. Though, in the end, I think it’s mostly up to the actors, Nicola and Luke, to see if they’re comfortable filming sex scenes.

If you guys have any suggestions or wishes for those steamy polin scenes, please do share them :) by commenting on this post or by sending me asks! I’d love reading your thoughts/take on this very important matter ;))

#bleulone answers #meta and gush #polin #colin x penelope #bridgerton #colin bridgerton #penelope featherington #polin meta #ask #anon #luke newton #julia quinn #nicola coughlan

122 notes · View notes

battlinghurricanes · 3 years

Text

LITYERSES HEADCANONS!!!!!!!

I saw some other headcanon posts for him, so I felt inspired to throw my own ideas out there! I think some of my headcanons are pretty different from the ones a lot of people have of him, but I always like reading other people’s ideas so hopefully people will like this too!

(also theres a lot, this is long *cough* my bad)

- After the incident in The Lost Hero, after Midas dies, Lityerses is homeless. His father’s mansion is destroyed and it’s not like he has anyone to turn to.

- They mention in The Lost Hero that the Hunters of Artemis came across Midas and Lityerses earlier. When they did, Lityerses heard in passing about Camp Half-Blood. It’s the only place meant for demigods that he has even the slightest knowledge on, so he sets his sights on making it there.

- It takes eight grim months to reach New York. It’s half a miracle, slowly taking busses, hitchhiking, and sometimes just walking to the next city. Monsters attack him the entire way and he adds plenty of new scars to his collection.

- There’s no reliable way for him to get money. He gets much, much better at using his powers as a son of Demeter. He uses it to grow fruits, vegetables, and any sort of edible plant so he can at least have food of some kind.

- He goes to New York City because he doesn’t know what else to do. He doesn’t even know if the Hunters were talking about the city or the state but he figures he has to start somewhere. Unfortunately, the Triumvirate notices his presence before anyone from Camp Half-Blood does.

- He follows some demigods to Nero, who sent them to collect him. He offers a position working for the Triumvirate in exchange for food, lodging, and other basic support. Lityerses is tired and he wants to sleep in a bed and have proper meals he doesn’t have to worry about acquiring.

- He accepts, not caring if what the Triumvirate is doing is shitty or not. Nero sends him to Indianapolis to work for Commodus.

- Apollo’s decision to give him another chance was very affecting. Especially coming from ancient times when the stories of the gods on earth were far more real and immediate, he knows very well how the gods could treat mortals as simply disposable.

- He had never questioned his belief that any mortal who got wrapped up in business with a god suffered a horrible fate because of it, whether the god intended it or not.

- But then Apollo saved his life and defended him at the Waystation and told him he trusted him and Lityerses’s mind keeps drifting back to him over and over and over.

- His mind wants to reconcile what Apollo did for him with what he knows about the gods. He can’t, and that makes him feel a great many things that he can’t pin down. Apollo decided to care about him when he had no reason to, and he doesn’t know what that means for him.

- He feels a twinge of gratitude whenever he steps into the sunlight and pulse of anxiety whenever he wonders if he’s okay on his quest.

- He thinks about Meg, his little sister, and hopes they’re keeping each other safe.

- Lityerses can occasionally seem really dull, indifferent, or unresponsive because he gives super minimal reactions to things sometimes, but that’s really not the case.

- Being in the modern world for him is sort of like a slight, but near constant sensory overload. Sometimes, his brain is too busy processing other stuff to fully load up an emotional response. He’ll react to something in his mind but he won’t express it outwardly at all.

- Leo, running up: Wanna help me strap a firework to a crossbow bolt and try to shoot it into the office building across the street to see if it’ll blow up in there?!!!!! Lityerses, with a completely flat voice and blank expression: I think that’s a very bad idea.

- It’s definitely not all the time, but it does happen.

- (Me? Projecting sensory issues onto every character I like? It’s more likely than you think.)

- He has a very “go with the flow” attitude, to the point of being a character flaw sometimes. It can make him easy to manipulate.

- (Commodus: hey lityerses go put this barbed wire and war helmets and metal teeth on these ostriches Liyerses, in his head: uhuh uhuh uhuh uhuh yeah cool got it i hope i still have some fingers left tomorrow)

- He’s working on it though. He’s working on it.

- One side effect of this is that whenever Leo makes some pop culture or meme reference, Lityerses will just nod and agree. It takes Leo forever to realise that he was just lying going along with it.

- *mid conversation* Lityerses: I’d go get some food, but I don’t have any money Leo: dude, you’re literally just the 69 cents vine, not enough for chicken nuggets Lityerses: oh, for sure Calypso, overhearing: wait, you understood that?? Lityerses: no, I’ve never understood a single word that’s left leo’s mouth Leo: what?!!!! but you said you understood my reference to that dril tweet the other day, right?! Lityerses: yeah, of course Calypso: what’s a dril tweet?? Lityerses: I don’t know. Leo: YOU TRAITOR

- Another side effect: he’s a complete pushover for Georgie.

- At one point, when some of the Waystation crew are walking out in the city, she complains that she’s tired and wants to be carried. When her moms gently refuse, she immediately goes over to Lityerses and holds her arms out and says that she’s tired. He doesn’t even stop walking, he just swoops her up and puts her on his shoulder right away.

- Hemithia and Jo glare at him but he just avoids eye contact. “She’s already up there, too much effort to put her down now.”

- He was in the Fields of Punishment in the Underworld and wow was it incredibly traumatizing.

- His memories of death are sickeningly agonizing, but they also usually feel distant and unreal. Sometimes, though, they’ll worm their way into his dreams with horrific clarity. He’ll wake up in a cold sweat, hyperventilating, with full body tremors he can’t control.

- One morning after waking up like that, while sitting on the floor regaining his composure, Hemithea comes in to see why he wasn’t up yet. He pulls himself together in due time. He doesn’t answer any of her questions.

- He never talks about it, but he’s truly terrified of dying. He never was before, but now that he knows what’s waiting for him...

- It doesn’t help that he knows that, no matter how careful he is or how well he defends himself, he could die at any moment if Thanatos decides to bring him back to the Underworld.

- It weighs on the back of his mind that, at least on a technical level, he has no right to be alive. Sometimes he can’t help but think that the things he does now don’t matter in the end, because there’s no reason he would get a second judgement when he does eventually return to the Underworld.

- He does his best to shut that down and remind himself that trying to do the right thing helps the people around him, no matter what happens after his death, but the thought exists and it is painful.

- He really never voices these fears because he feels like all he can really do is try not to think about it, and when he does, he tries to forget as soon as he can. It’s a burden he shoulders as quietly as he can.

- He isn’t used to owning a lot of material possessions, both from how he lived in ancient times and then from being homeless for a while. He’s only ever described wearing that Cornhuskers shirt because it’s the only one he owned for a while.

- Not long after joining the Waystation, the first time he was going out somewhere them, Jo snapped that it just made him look stupid, trying to look tough by going without a coat when it was so cold outside. Earnestly confused and defensive, he tells her that he just doesn’t own one.

- After that, she insists on filling his wardrobe until he has enough clothes.

- (Speaking of the Cornhuskers shirt, he just picked it out on a whim, sort of thinking of Demeter (They grow corn here like we used to grow wheat, right?) and sort of just thinking it looked cool. Olujime once tried to talk to him about how some college teams were doing and Lityerses just goes “What’s football?”)

- He doesn’t really get modern fashion trends. Leo offers to catch him up, but he declines very quickly.

- In ancient times, dyes and patterns available for clothes were much more limited and much more expensive. He’s fascinated by all the colors and prints people can wear just all the time now. Lityerses wears a lot of bright colors because he thinks they’re cool and fun. He likes red, blue, and purple the most but he’ll wear a lot of stuff.

- Along with not really following any trends, he also hasn’t picked up on a lot of unspoken gender connotations that come with modern clothing.

- When the Waystation are first trying to get him some clothes, he picks out a pink jacket and Leo snorts at him like “You’re going for pink?” Lityerses just stares at him like “Yeah. It’s just pink.” Leo sort of realizes and goes, “Oh, it’s just, you know...” to Calypso. But Calypso is also just staring blankly and says, “No I don’t. I don’t get it. Is there something about pink?” And Leo notices Hemithea glaring daggers at him and he laughs nervously and goes, “Nevermind, it was a stupid joke anyway.”

- Hemithia: Leave the ancient demigod and ex-titan blissfully unaware of our complex, modern gender stereotypes. Leo, sweating: gotcha.

- He pretty much just wears what he finds comfortable. Generally it’s just t-shirts with jeans or basketball shorts.

- Lityerses is a super clingy sleeper and will reflexively grab on to anything within arms reach while he’s asleep. (He’s a big spoon by nature.)

- Leo discovers this and now, whenever Lityerses falls asleep on one of the couches, he’ll entertain himself by slowly pushing a pillow up to him until he inevitably grabs it and pulls it against his chest.

- No one gets those pillows back until Lityerses wakes up.

- He’s very buff. His muscles aren’t super defined, nothing at all like a bodybuilder, no six pack abs or anything. But he’s built. Thick arms.

- He’s very limber and flexible too. He has great balance, which lets him move as fast as he does in combat. He’s quite physically fit in general.

- He’ll never admit it, but he ended up getting attached to the highlights in his hair he got when Apollo revealed his godly form. He thought they were fun and different and he sort of missed it when his hair grew out.

#trials of apollo #toa #lityerses #pjo #litpollo #well none of its super litpollo but #you know you know #long post #also sorry for giving you super cute georgie and lityerses headcanons #and then punching you in the gut with the trauma of death and revival with no warning #not that sorry tho #god its been a long time since ive done headcanons like this #this better go in the tags #edit- it did for a min then disappeared :^)

260 notes · View notes

amesstm · 3 years

Text

Nice Receive!

WC: ~2K

A/N: So... I couldn’t figure out Social Dummy, because I am a dummy :D And since no one told me if they wanted an actual schedule or not, we will now work around my work hours which is a lot because my gm is evil :)

~series masterlist~

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

The weekend passed quickly with much needed rest being earned. Yet, there was that voice in the back of your mind urging you to do some form of exercising. After all, this was your last year in high school and the last time you could go to nationals.

In fact, your volleyball team had been mourning the loss of their libero loudly in the group chat. Everyone joked that they would have to take down the 189.5cm man somehow. It seems that you had an army now, with your cousin Yu as its commanding general.

For now, that wasn’t your concern because all you could think about was the upcoming exams. Yuki was studying more often with her boyfriend, which meant that you had the dorm room to yourself. Even Yuki was putting her studies before her volleyball practices because she skipped the one yesterday. So here you were with your text books and notes all laid out before you as if the words would jump off of the page and into your brain.

But after an hour of trying to focus on what was literally right in front of you, you gave up from the sensory overload. You sighed and collapsed onto your bed, hoping that the bed would swallow you. You closed your eyes and breathed slowly to prompt your muscles to relax. Perhaps you should start meditating.

A soft knock interrupted your thoughts, immediately causing the irritation to return. But you opened the door and saw it was your whole volleyball team. Of course, the coach wasn’t there, but the manager looked like she led the brigade to your room.

Your manager Tamako bowed with a smile, “We come in peace.”

She held up a pompompurin kotatsu plushie and you quickly forgot about your past irritation. You waddled towards her and clutched the plushie in your arms. “I accept your peace offering.”

The volleyball team cramped into your small room. The first-year opposite hitter Hana leaned in with wide curious eyes like that of a newborn baby, “Is it true that you and Ushijima-san like each other?”

Hana’s adoptive-mother, second year setter Karin shushed her, “They don’t know it yet!”

Hana poured and whined, “But it’s so obvious!”

You tilted your head and blinked, “What do you mean?”

Captain Hoshimi, the mountainous middle blocker, sighed, “You two are so oblivious.”

“Anyways,” Tamako cleared her throat, “Yuki says that she knows you’re dying to be on the court again. Obviously you can’t but you can watch!”

A part of you felt bad, knowing that Yuki was worried about you this whole time. You were about to open your mouth but she added, “Hoshimi has noise-canceling headphones.”

“Oh, okay that should work!” You grinned and sprung with life.

Finally, you were able to be in the gym again. It wasn’t a formal practice, so everyone was just playing together. Unfortunately, you still had to sit on the bench. Of course, you were used to it since you were the liberal and weren’t always on the court; but every time the ball hit the floor, you couldn’t help but think that you could’ve gotten it.

You watched Hoshimi block Hana with great speed and height. Although Hana had immense talent for her age, she needed much refining. You were sure that Tamako’s fast scribbling was notating all of this down even if she was off-duty.

Still, you couldn’t hear what was going on. Everything you absorbed was purely on seeing the ball fly or land and feeling the vibrations of the ball landing or being smacked. So, you also didn’t hear someone approaching you and calling out your name.

A light tap on your shoulder finally caught your attention. You whipped your head to see Ushijima talking to you, but you only saw his lips moving. Although you couldn’t hear, you said, “I can’t hear you. These are sound-proof.”

He nodded and sat down next to you instead of trying to find a way of communicating. It’s not like you two could learn some form of sign language or Morse code in a few minutes.

Yet, there was that comforting silence. Sure, you were always flustered around Ushijima but now? Now, you’re on a different playing field – or court for this scenario. The embarrassment and hesitation scattered away, and the confident and radiant personality Ushijima always heard of came to light.

After Hoshimi’s team won the set, Hana came panting to see how you were doing. She also wanted to check on her ship but that’s besides the point. Karin wandered towards you three, like a mother hovering around her chick. You decided that it’d be safe to remove the headphones since there weren’t ball smacking across the court now. “You guys did really well!”

“Did I?” Hana asked, red from huffing. “I think I could do so much better.”

“Try opening up your shoulders to Karin more,” you said, making the young spiker tilt her head. “You limit your options when you close yourself off from your setter. You’re only a few centimeters taller than me, but you’re still considered short on the court. Opening yourself up should make a difference.”

Ushijima watched you, observing the way you speak like a coach. No, nothing like Coach Tanji. On the contrary, your advice was constructive and kind, but still precise. Your voice’s volume didn’t raise above speaking level, which was another big difference. In the short time that Ushijima was considered “short”, he had to learn how to spike in ways similar to how you would have to.

Once you were done advising Hana on what to do, the next set began. Soon, Hana was scoring more points. With each one, she would smile at you with all the brightness of the sun. You would smile back and raise your thumbs up in pride.

Tamako tapped on your shoulder and asked if you could follow her a bit towards the back. You whispered in Ushijima’s ear, “I’ll be right back.”

It took him a minute to process that you were just that close to him that he could feel your lips almost on his earlobe. After controlling his rush of emotions, he nodded. Ushijima wondered what you two were talking about. Maybe it had to do with Hana’s improvement or the earliest you could return to playing. Either way, Ushijima continued watching the girls play, waiting for you to return to his side.

Hana soon excelled quickly, getting in quick spikes that couldn’t be received soon enough to get back into play. They’d smack onto the floor and then fly away. As Hana got more and more in the game, her spikes became quicker but also more forceful. There was no doubt that Hana would become the ace of the girls team when she got even better.

But then one of her balls went astray. Ushijima noticed that this ball had a certain angle to it as she hit it at a cross. Knowing where the ball would go next, Ushijima rushed off of the bench just as the ball was about to hit you. He managed to receive the ball in time.

On the other hand, you were also prepared to come in contact with the ball as you placed yourself in position. Of course, you might’ve been scolded for playing before you were allowed to, but you were sure that you could handle it. But Ushijima got to it before you could.

After his dig, the ball bounced back into court but no one went to catch it. He looked behind towards you, eyes wandering over your face to see if you were shaken. Yet you didn’t look fazed at all. Instead, you grinned, “Nice receive!”

Now, you definitely noticed a change in Ushijima’s stance. His shoulders drooped in relief and his features softened. His eyes looked at you as if you were the only one he cared about.

“Are you okay, Y/N?” Hana asked, running towards you in worry. Her eyebrows furrowed slightly as she examined your state.

You shook your head with a soft chuckle, “I’m fine, Hana. That was a really good spike!”

Hana crumbled underneath your compliments. Then, she turned towards Ushijima and bowed deeply from her hips. “Thank you for receiving the ball before it could hit her!”

Ushijima stated with seriousness etched into every centimeter on his face, “I won’t let another ball hit her ever again.”

To the team, it was practically a declaration of protecting you – which they swooned over. To you, it sounded like he didn’t want you playing. “But I’m the libero?”

With your confusion, the team sighed with dejection. Hoshimi groaned, “You’re so dumb.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” You complained, eyes aimed towards Hoshimi.

“We’ll tell you when you’re older,” Karin said, sticking out her tongue.

“I’m literally older than you,” you replied with a raised eyebrow.

“And denser, too,” Karin jabbed back, earning a snicker from Hana who followed her mother’s behavior.

You rolled your eyes, choosing to ignore the duo. “Anyways, I’ll see you guys tomorrow.”

You returned the headphones to Hoshimi and started to walk towards the exit. But you felt a presence behind you and saw Ushijima looking at you expectantly. “May I walk with you?”

“Of course,” you smiled.

As you two walked, you were surprisingly calm. Perhaps that moment in the gym reminded you that the superstar of Japan was just another human being. Of course, he was someone with fans who would do anything to be with him and recruiters who would fight to have him on their team. But something about him seemed more human to you.

Another thing that surprised you was that Ushijima was a slow walker. Perhaps you were always used to walking fast because you always rushed to catch up to your taller friends, but walking with Ushijima was a different pace. Now you could take the time to absorb the scenery around you.

When you approached a ledge that had a brilliant view of the sunset, you just looked at it in awe. Was the sunset always this beautiful? Japan was known as the Country of the Rising Sun. Then again, you wouldn’t be awake enough to enjoy the sunrise even if you were awake.

But this sunset? You actually took the time to look at it. You didn’t walk past it like you would usually do because the sun would always set. But as the pinks and oranges cascaded from the sun to the rich purples and indigo of the night sky, you couldn’t just walk away. “Has it always been this beautiful?”

Ushijima noticed that you stopped to admire the sunset, so he stopped, too; but all he could look at was you. Something about the way the spring breeze brushed your hair away from your face so the golden hour could paint your features was captivating. “Always.”

You looked behind your shoulder to see that Ushijima got closer to you. “Haha, sorry. I didn’t realize that I had stopped.”

“No, it’s fine.” Ushijima said, opting to sit on a rock that laid along the side of the road. “Sit with me, we can watch it longer.”

You took the opportunity to sit on the rock closest to him. Again, with that comforting silence. There was no need to speak because you two could just enjoy each other’s company. Then Ushijima spoke, “Will you play volleyball professionally?”

Of course, you had contemplated it but it didn’t seem completely viable. Sure, you were among the top three liberos in the country. Yes, you would love to continue playing the sport that you’ve dedicated so much time to. But could you really do that? “I’m not sure, yet.”

Ushijima’s gaze left the sunset to look at you, so you returned his gaze. “It’d be a waste of talent not to.”

The breath you were intaking halted dramatically. “You’re right. It would be.”

“Will you at least play in university?” Ushijima asked, hopeful that you would at least continue then.

“Absolutely,” you chuckled. “I don’t want to say goodbye to years of my life just yet.”

“You should play professionally,” Ushijima stated, his confidence in your ability making your heart flutter. For some reason, the sentence felt really familiar but you couldn’t remember why.

Anyways, you didn’t know what to say. When you finally spoke, it was to say goodnight. Ushijima left you at your dorm room and with plenty to think about.

When you finally collapsed onto your bed, you pulled out your phone. There was a notification from Hana. You opened your phone to see it was a picture of you and Ushijima watching the sunset. Underneath was a caption saying, “Nice receive ;)”

#Ushijima Wakatoshi #ushijima x reader #ushijima x y/n #ushiwaka #ushijima fic #haikyuu!!#haikyuu #haikyū!!#hq ushiwaka #hq ushijima #nose bleeds

33 notes · View notes

goldentournesol · 4 years

Text

Overworked

(Spencer Reid x Reader)

The one where Spencer feels overworked and stressed out so Reader decides to take him on a mini-road trip and feeds him lots of donuts.

Length: 3.6k

A/N: a special thank you to @random-ravings for requesting this and basically helping me plan it all out <3 ENJOY SOME MAJOR FLUFF!

masterlist

The sheer amount of bad days that Spencer generally had would surprise anyone, however that particular day had been too much to handle. He uncharacteristically overslept and missed the metro car he usually took in the morning, which meant he didn’t have enough time to get his morning coffee. Once he got to work and made his coffee there, he managed to spill it on his desk, ruining a lot of paperwork. This resulted in a stern glare from Hotch, which he totally deserved but that didn’t make him feel any better. On top of that, he spent the rest of his day doing repetitive filing and staring at mutilated bodies. All in all, it was a horrible day and he wanted nothing more than to get home, eat something warm, and cuddle with his girlfriend.

When he entered the apartment silently, she knew something was up. He usually called out for her.

“Spencer?” She called out from the couch where she was seated enjoying some reruns of The Office on the TV.

He stayed silent as he walked into their shared living room, his shoulders hunched over and his head hanging. One look at him and she knew he’d had a hard day.

“Bad day, baby?” she asked, getting up and wrapping her arms around him. In moments like these, he actually preferred physical contact from her.

He nodded as he bent his neck to rest his forehead on her shoulder. The sudden change in weight had almost toppled her over, but she steadied herself. He must have forgotten momentarily how much taller than her he was. He reminded her of those big dogs that liked to settle themselves on their owners’ laps, miscalculating just how much they’ve grown. One of her hands immediately reached to comb through his hair, the other rubbing large circles on his back.

“I’m sorry, love. Wanna tell me what happened?” He replied by shaking his head, groaning, and burying his head further into her neck. She giggled in response and nodded, “Okay, okay.”

He straightened out his back and tightened his grip around her middle, now it was her turn to bury her head in his chest. She placed a kiss to it and he cracked his first smile of the day. She was so tender with him, it made all his worries disappear. She hummed into the fabric of his shirt.

“You smell good. You always smell good.” She pointed out and he chuckled lightly, leaning down to give the top of her head a kiss.

“Thanks, sweetheart. I missed you.” He replied and he brought one of his hands up to the back of her neck to guide her face to his. She complied and met his eyes for the first time, they were tired. He was overworked and she could feel it in his shoulders.

“I missed you, too, Spencie.” He smiled at the nickname and she leaned closer for a kiss. They shared a sweet kiss and Spencer hated to admit it because it was so cliche, but the rest of the world seemed to fizzle away around them. She smiled onto his lips and pulled away, a mischievous look in her eye.

“What?” He asked expectantly but she just bit her lip in excitement, signaling that she had an idea.

“Can you take tomorrow off?” she asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Um, I don’t know...well, I mean I guess it depends if we get a case or not--wait, why? What are you thinking?”

“You, my love, are seriously overworked and stressed. I’m going to do my best to make sure you relax.” She smiled proudly.

“Uh, okay...what do you have in mind?” He pressed further.

“Do you have your go-bag?” she questioned and he nodded, “Great! ‘Cause we’re taking a short road trip!” She announced casually as she made her way into their room to pack an overnight bag.

“Wait, what?! No, I can’t do that, Y/N. I have to be in town in case the team needs me.” He began to protest, following her.

“Relax, Spencer. We won’t go anywhere far. You just need to get some fresh air and we’ll have some good, clean fun, I promise. Now let me de-stress you, baby.” She said turning to him and placing a soft kiss to his cheek. How could he say no to that?

She proceeded to pack her bag and change into a pair of leggings, one of Spencer’s large hoodies, and some sneakers, “Let’s go?” Spencer eyed the hoodie and gave her a lopsided smile as he leaned against the door frame.

“Really? Don’t you have any other hoodies you can wear?” Spencer teased and she laughed. She rolled her eyes and walked right past him, shoving his chest gently. She knew he was just teasing her and in actuality loved it when she wore his clothes. When he would wear them after her, he would understand why she loved wearing his clothes. The hoodies always smelled like her. Like strawberry shampoo and vanilla body mist.

“Should I change?” He asked her.

“Mmm, yeah, you should probably get into something more comfortable...like this hoodie.” She smirked at him and now it was his turn to roll his eyes.

“Alright, alright.” He proceeded to change, getting into some sweatpants and one of his other hoodies.

They made their way down into the car they shared (although Spencer still preferred the Metro) and Y/N sat in the driver’s seat. Spencer laughed at her from the passenger seat for struggling to pull up the chair. He’d been the last one to drive the car and so he had the seat pushed all the way back.

“Don’t laugh at me! It’s not my fault I have short legs!” She exclaimed which made him laugh even harder. She gave him a playful glare and the heaviness of the day began to lift itself off of his shoulders. It was hard not being happy around her. She radiated happiness and Spencer couldn’t be more thankful to have her in his life. The car started moving and he turned in his seat so that his back was resting against the door and he was staring straight ahead at her. He liked watching her drive, he thought it was attractive.

“So, where are you taking me first?” He asked, noting how she glanced at him, trying to keep her eyes on the road. She couldn’t help it, his gaze was intoxicating. He saw a small smile form on her lips.

“Well, let’s just say I have a lot of things planned and I don’t want you to get bored, so I’m getting you some incentives. It’ll make more sense when I get them.” She explained, practically feeling the confusion radiate off of him.

“Them?” he repeated and she nodded. A few minutes later, she parked in front of their favorite bakery. It instantly clicked in his head and he let out a soft laugh. She giggled again and they both entered the bakery, all the different aromas surrounding them. Spencer’s stomach made a few loud noises, but thankfully the chatter of the customers drowned it out.

She ordered half a dozen donuts, all of them Spencer’s favorite: chocolate frosting with sprinkles, even though she preferred glazed. Spencer was too endeared by the gesture to say anything about it. Y/N literally had to swat his hands away from the box upon receiving it. Spencer rolled his eyes playfully and they got back in the car. He looked at her expectantly.

“Relax, pretty boy, you’ll get all the donuts your heart desires.” He grinned at the nickname, once she’d heard Morgan call him that, it stuck with her. She used it whenever she wanted to tease him. “Alright, here are the rules.”

“Rules?!” He looked at her incredulously, his fingers curling and tapping restlessly on his sweatpants, practically drooling at the thought and smell of the donuts.

“Yes, rules. After each activity, we get to share a donut.” He saw the way her eyes sparkled under the street lamps and gave in.

“Fine, what’s our first activity?” He groaned dramatically and she laughed at his childish antics.

“Well, actually the first activity compliments the donuts.” She began driving again after gingerly placing the box in the backseat, “you know that new Indian restaurant I’ve been dying to try?”

“Yeah! But that’s like…” he paused for a millisecond, “81.343 miles away! If we drive at 65 miles per hour we’ll get there in 74 minutes and 16 seconds!” Spencer said impatiently but she just giggled because she knew he didn’t really care about how long it took to get there, he just wanted a donut.

She gave in, “Fine, Spence, you can have one. But don’t you dare complain about losing your appetite once we get there.” She waved a finger at him and he cheered as he got one from the backseat.

She grinned as she watched him take a bite out of the donut. She had to physically tear her gaze away as he licked his lips and rolled his eyes to the back of his head, “Alright, alright. I know they’re good, just for the love of God, stop doing that.”

“Mmm, losing focus, baby?” he teased and she turned on the radio, “Do you want the other half?” She shrugged and took it, eating it in two bites.

“Ugh, it is good.” She confirmed and tapped her fingers on the steering wheel along to the music. She gasped as the song changed, startling Spencer.

“Oh my God, they’re playing throwbacks! I love this song!” She said singing along to Taylor Swift’s ‘Love Story’. For the first two verses, all Spencer could do was watch her in awe of her beauty as she sang along. He didn’t know all the words, but he memorized the chorus just in time for it to play again.

“Come on, Spencer! Sing with me!” She laughed and he sang along. She was the only one capable of making him feel this carefree. He would usually be too embarrassed to sing along to the radio, but her happiness was contagious. The radio kept playing some hits working backwards in time until they got to the 90’s when he finally recognized one.

“Oh! I know this one!” Spencer said excitedly and she laughed again in shock as he began singing along to the first verse of the Backstreet Boys’ ‘I Want It That Way’ and miming the words in a dramatic performance. Y/N was too surprised by Spencer to even sing along at that point, but later joined him.

“Spencer, why, of all the 90’s songs on Earth, do you know this one?” She struggled to contain her laughter as the song ended. He felt the blush creep up to his cheeks.

“Garcia was playing it at her birthday party. It’s pretty catchy!” He admitted sheepishly. They spent the rest of the car ride singing songs at the top of their lungs until they reached the restaurant.

“Ugh, I’m starving.” Spencer said as his eyes darted over the menu. She nodded and gazed at him in awe, missing his face since she couldn’t really look at him while she was driving. Spencer glanced over the menu at her, “You alright?” She nodded again, admiring him. “Okay…” he said, smirking. He ordered for the two of them and finally gave her all his attention.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” Spencer said as he munched on the complementary naan.

“What? I’m not allowed to admire my ‘pretty boy’ boyfriend?” She raised a brow at him, knowing the comment will make him blush. She loved it when she could make him flustered. He smiled and it reached his dimples, making her swoon momentarily.

“Are you feeling better, babe?” She asked him, laying a hand on top of his.

He nodded, “Yeah, so much better. Thank you, by the way, for doing all this. I don’t deserve you.” he intertwined their fingers.

“Come on, it’s nothing. You work too hard and too much. It’s good to take a break sometimes. Although, I can’t say I’m not being selfish, whisking you away on a spontaneous road trip. I want to spend time with you because I miss you a lot.” She flashed him a small smile and Spencer couldn’t help but feel slightly guilty.

“I’m sorry, I know that I put you through so much.” He began apologizing but she shook her head.

“Spencer, I love you way too much to think about all that.” She squeezed his hand and he realized how lucky he was to have her in his life.

The rest of the time at the restaurant was spent eating. Spencer had ordered so many different dishes and she couldn’t wait to try them all. They occasionally reviewed the dishes among themselves, picking their favorites and their least favorites. Spencer also learned that they have very different tolerances to spicy food. Soon, they’re back in their car, splitting another donut. Spencer scarfed it down before they even started moving.

“The food was so good!” Y/N exclaims as she starts driving again. Spencer agreed as he rested back in the seat, the food in his stomach creating a nice warmth. He was out before he knew it. She decided to let him nap a little bit as she used the GPS to get to their next location. She really wanted to take his mind off of work so she took him to a bowling alley. She decided to park in front of it to let him nap a little more. A few minutes later, Spencer awoke and looked around.

“Woah, did I fall asleep?” he asked, his tongue thick. She nodded and he rubbed his eyes, yawning, “Where are we?” He looked outside and spotted the bowling alley.

“If you’re not up for it, we can come back another time.” She offered, knowing he was probably exhausted.

“Hmm, sounds like you’re afraid of losing, Y/L/N.” Spencer replied by getting out of the car. She shook her head at him and made her way inside. Spencer insisted he’d play in his socks because he was wary of the fact that he’d have to wear shoes that someone else wore--someone that probably had sweaty feet. He shuddered at the thought.

They began playing and Spencer had been protesting the entire time because Y/N decided to write his name as ‘DrSpencie’ and so it was flashing all over all the screens for everyone to see. Spencer really tried to be good at the game, but athleticism really wasn’t in his blood. Instead, he tried to calculate the angles he needed to roll the ball at as well as calculating the optimum velocity needed to knock down all the pins, but as soon as Y/N noticed the concentrated look on his face, she began booing him.

“That’s cheating, Dr. Spencie!” she called out from behind him. He, however, was completely unaware that she was videotaping this shot. Somehow, he knocked all the pins down and immediately his hands rose up to cheer, spinning around to face his girlfriend.

“Did you see that?!” He said before he realized she had the phone practically in his face. He laughed and she promptly sent the video to the groupchat of her and the rest of the BAU ladies. They’d grown quite close since she and Spencer started dating and they’ve even gone out together on a few ladies’ nights. JJ quickly responded, teasing Spencer about the nickname Y/N gave him and she knew they weren’t going to let it go.

Y/N laughed and cheered with him, “Alright, I’ll admit it, that was a pretty good shot.”

Even though Spencer did make a few good shots, Y/N ended up getting a higher score. She smiled smugly as they got into the car again. She immediately reached for the donuts and split one in half. She leaned over the armrest between them to give him a loud celebratory kiss on the cheek to which he rolled his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest in feigned annoyance.

“Aw, Spencie, don’t be a sore loser! Here, take your half.” She gave him his half. Spencer made sure they’d both washed their hands before leaving the bowling alley, rambling in detail how dirty the bowling balls must have been. His face immediately lit up and he reached out for the donut, forgetting about his unfortunate luck when it came to any games involving any physical activity. She grinned as she watched him eat it.

“So what’s next?” he asked, mouth full of donut.

She shrugged and began driving, “How about we go for a stroll in the park? Get some fresh air? I saw one a few miles back.” He nodded and zoned out fairly quickly. She noticed and placed an upturned hand on his thigh, wanting him to take it. He slid his hand through hers and she saw a smile make a home on his face. He loved how she always wanted to be close to him. She never got sick of him and it baffled him every day. They sat in a comfortable silence with him occasionally using his thumb to caress her hand. At this point he doesn’t even realize he’s doing it.

Soon, they made it to the park and they were walking along the path, making playful conversation. She looped an arm around one of his as they walked together. He had his hands in his pockets and was excitedly telling her about the book he finished last. She couldn’t hear him, though. All she could see was the way the soft glows from lamp lights sparkled in his eyes and danced across the contours of his face.

“Y/N? Are you okay?” He said softly, stopping and turning to face her. She snapped out of it quickly.

“Hm...oh, yeah. Sorry, I was distracted.” She blushed and he smiled with a special kind of confidence he found with her. He proceeded to wrap an arm around her shoulders and she instinctively cuddled into his side as they began walking again. She spotted a big tree and they sat under it. He leaned his back against the tree and she put her head in his lap.

“I don’t want any bugs in my hair.” She giggled as she spread her hair onto his lap. His hands immediately reached down to twirl it around his fingers.

“I’m not complaining, angel.” He said as he rested his head back on the tree. She stared up at him as he stared into the branches of the tree above them.

“Did you know that a single tree has the ability to absorb as much as 48 pounds of carbon dioxide each year and can sequester 1 ton of carbon dioxide by the time it reaches 40 years old? It’s actually estimated that United States forests absorb about 10% of the country’s CO2 emissions each year.” he mindlessly stated and she beamed up at him.

“They’re so awesome.” She yawned as he played with her hair, she didn’t mean to sound disinterested because she was interested, she was just growing tired. He looked down at her and ran a finger over her jawline.

“Are you getting tired, love?” He asked and she nodded.

“But I wanna stay here with you, just a little longer.” she murmured and he felt his heart swell up in his chest, “keep talking, I like listening to you.”

He smiled, “Okay, what do you wanna hear me talk about?”

She shrugged and turned on her side, resting her cheek on his lap and looking out across the greenery, “Tell me about…” she pondered, “the stars.”

His hands continued to run through her hair, “Okay, so did you know that when we look at a star in the sky, we’re actually looking into the past because of how long it takes its light to reach us? The Sun appears as it was 8.5 minutes ago. The view of Alpha Centauri is 4.3 years old, while the appearance of Sirius is more than 8 years old. So while we can’t know for sure without a telescope, most of the stars we see in the sky have probably already died and we’re just looking at what they used to look like.” He checked on her to see if she was still awake and saw that she barely was, seeing that it was almost midnight.

“Tell me about…” she yawned again, “the rarest dog breed.” Spencer couldn’t help but let out a soft laugh. Here he was, in a random park a few towns over with this amazing woman who was seconds away from falling asleep on his lap and all she wanted to hear about was dogs.

“Okay, I will.” He said as he brought his knees up gently to shift positions. He wrapped one arm underneath her knees and the other around her middle to bring her body into his lap so she was sitting across it. She rested her head in between his shoulder and his neck like it belonged there. Spencer knew she was already half asleep so he didn’t want to risk waking her. He placed a firm kiss to her head and rested his cheek against it. He stayed quiet until he felt her breathing even itself out, letting him know that she’d fallen asleep.

“Love, I’m gonna take you back to the car now.” He spoke softly, not knowing whether she actually heard him or not.

He moved her off his lap swiftly before standing and hooking an arm underneath her legs again to pick her up off the ground. He carried her all the way to the car and set her inside gently. Spencer readjusted the seat to fit his long legs, chuckling at the memory of her struggling to pull it up.

He decided it was too late to drive all the way back home so he settled on a nearby motel. After checking them in, he set her down carefully on the bed. Spencer removed her shoes, then his, and got in bed next to her, knowing that tomorrow the donut-filled adventures would continue. At that very moment, it was hard for even Spencer Reid to remember a life before her.

#spencer reid x reader #spencer x reader #spencer reid #spencer reid fic #spencer reid fluff #dr spencer reid #criminal minds #criminal minds fic #criminal minds fanfic #cm #spencer reid masterlist #spencer reid imagine #spencer reid one shot

474 notes · View notes

baobaojng · 4 years

Text

ember nights - one: formalities

ember nights - chapter one

summary: You could forget pain, nothing was as immensely capturing - nothing as captivating, consuming than his ember eyes.

wordcount: 4366

series masterlist

< prev | prologue / next | two >

To your dismay, you woke up the same way you did in Zurich. Tucked safe and sound in the Airbnb you stayed in, as if everything had been a dream conjured by your imagination.

Amber colored eyes still secured their way into images in your brain, a little reminder that maybe there was reality to last night.

The buzzing sound muffled by the thick cotton sheets distracted your internal monologue. You were going to find out if your theories were true.

“Hello?” Pressing your phone to your cheek, you disregard the display of multiple messages on your home screen. You get up from bed to check any signs of foul play in your room.

“Oh! Oh. Thank God you picked up! Finally!” You recognize the voice of one of your friends, but turn your attention to the mirror to notice that you look exactly as you did last night. Save for the smell of alcohol coming through, and the dainty necklace hugging your neck - a deep blue shade of gem stone sitting perfectly above your sternal head. “Are you okay? Is everything alright?”

No. You want to answer. Realistically you currently weren’t able to figure out the logistics of how you even got into bed, even more so the place you were renting out for your stay. But it was difficult to explain everything through the phone, “yeah, I guess so. I just woke up.” Your fingers make their way to play with the jewelry, childishly hoping it would give you answers.

“That’s why you haven’t been answering any of our calls and texts— Y/N we were worried!” Her sigh exhausted the sound of your speakers, the volume of her voice fluctuating with all the worry in her tone.

“Did anything happen?” You turned the question she was meant to ask to her; hoping that your act of feigning any suspicion would get an answer from her.

“Well for starters you disappeared in the club last night,” she pauses, probably giving you a second to feel guilty, “and nobody saw you leave!”

“I just went out to get some fresh air and I thought I’d go, I felt a little too tired.” You lie, now a little disappointed that you barely had confirmation about the owner of the eyes you were still mentally stapling in.

“And I didn’t know you had friends in New York!” She complained, and this encouraged your speculations.

“What do you mean I have friends in New York?”

“A couple of guys went up to us asking where you were a couple of minutes after we realized you disappeared,” she sounded confused this time, “even showed us your picture and stuff, said you met three of their friends from Zurich.”

You gulp, knowing this wasn’t a good thing.

“They left some details with me actually! Gave me an address to a building in case you wanted to meet up.”

Obviously, any rational human being would stay away. Think of this as a bad idea, go home today like you were supposed to. But you weren’t rational, anything about waking up to this situation didn’t make you feel normal. There were questions in your head that desperately needed answers and you were determined to get them. Even if it meant putting your life on the line like a movie character idiot.

You take two fingers and try to stretch out the silver band, and it does not budge. But you hope that your intuition would save you from danger.

“Text me the details.”

It dawns on you that you like to see things in rose colored glasses. Maybe it’s the grime on the walls, or the unsuspecting run-down building in the middle of the city that catches you off guard. You only noticed the beautiful buildings and the distractingly humungous skyscrapers made of glass. Unknowing facades of perfection.

If there was any way for you to turn the address into a lie, or a typographical error committed by your friend, you would take the easy way out and manipulate the address.

At this point it was easy to turn away and pretend like none if it was real, maybe think of it as a nightmare that just happened twice.

But who’s to say that this won’t follow you elsewhere? The pain.

When you enter the building, it feels a little bit too confined. The dangling light bulbs seem like they haven’t been replaced since the building was put up, decaying wooden steps on the staircase, and paint chipping off the walls.

From what you could gather, this was a run down motel. The countertop of the supposed reception was painted a tacky lime green, and a bell sitting on top already accommodated spider webs. Nobody was behind the counter, only keeping you more tense.

Of course, you let stupid curiosity reign, pinching the wooden handle of the bell to lift it up slowly.

Shaking the bell, you notice no sound comes from the rusted copper. So you shake it frantically, hoping that it would emit some sound. It takes only a few seconds until you hear echoes of the bell sounds, muffled, as if they’re coming from miles away.

The sound is clear, and it breaks into your head like daylight shoving itself in a dark room. The sound is only in your head, not providing any destruction to the silence of the room.

You wince, forcing your eyes to close for a good few seconds, and when you open your eyes you are brought into a new room.

A huge ninety-seven burns into your eyes, flashing quickly in written neon and disappearing moments later. It is the room number, the one you were sent to go to.

Velvet colored red lines all the floors, matched with the paint the walls were coated with. Only dark and aged wooden furniture decorates the place, no signs of any other being lingering around.

It’s an odd thought, but you secretly wish to feel the pain.

Maybe the pain’s supposed to tell you something.

You’ve been holding your breath in short inhales and exhales, cautious with taking even the slightest of baby steps. You were in a bedroom, and it was safe to assume that there were was a common room outside. There could be somebody else.

What did ‘three of his friends’ mean, exactly?

Was it meant in the literal sense? Friends. Was this the dumbest decision of your life, and were you stepping right into the end of it? This person could be avenging his ‘friends,’ and you could be taking the blame for the deaths of those soulless eyed people. If they were people. These people could be mistaking you for someone else.

Okay, okay. Clear and rational adult thinking. If living the life you have has thought you anything. Business, you studied business. Something good or something great like out of a sales pitch, you could start there.

The unclear assumption that somebody terrifying was waiting for you outside could hold the possibility that sweet talking could save you out of this.

You think that you aren’t even worthy of suspicion; you only harm mosquitoes that land on your skin and you can barely get a hold of yourself when you see a cute guy in public spaces.

How could you pique anyone’s interest?

There was nothing particularly harmful about you.

With five deep inhales you slowly walk out of the room, opening the door to see a man already slumped over with his back facing you. He was bloodied right on the floor, body directed to the entrance of the room you were in.

You cannot consider the details of his face, seeing none of it at all with the stream of bodily fluids that you’re avoiding with your feet. The clothes are familiar, the same tailored dark clothing like the men from Zurich.

Reality sets in, and your human instinct kicks you in the throat. You want to hurl.

In Zurich, you were spared the chance to even see a dead body. And now, you were left alone to gaze over it, your hands gripping at the doorframe not knowing how to get past the body blocking your way.

Just when your knees were about to give in, hands hold you up from behind, and you scream in terror.

Amber stares back at you, and you don’t know if you should be unafraid. No matter how familiar the shade or the feeling is, but the handsome man stares at you with a disappointed glint in his eyes.

In the most delicate tone, he speaks. “You really do have a death wish, don’t you?”

“Oh, I—“ You try to speak up, now that you’ve regained some sense of composure. He softens his hold and leads you carefully and swiftly to the middle of the common room where you see that he had company with him.

“Jungwoo, you didn’t do a very good job keeping her away from this place.” He complains as he stretches his neck up to louden his voice, although still as gentle as when he asked you a question.

“You think Jungwoo would actually listen to you?” Someone emerges from the bathroom, and the man holding you loosens his grip of your uncomfortably tense arms. “He barely listens, and the Oracle told him to never second guess his gut feeling.” You observe this man who opposed the other, half of his hair dyed red and the other half left white.

“Was I not clear when I told you guys I didn’t want her to be part of this?” The man still holding you said, obviously referring to you.

“We can’t keep bending fate, Jaehyun. You out of all people should believe that more than we do.”

Jaehyun, apparently, leaves you be. Away from the confines of his warm hands. The moment he walks away, huffing in his own frustration - you shiver.

Your mind could not process this, someone else showed up from one of the rooms and dragged the body away. You were standing there frozen, not knowing if these other men were any better - of it it meant you were any safer here. Could you get away? No, you didn’t even know the way in, or at least you could not even explain it.

The man with half red hair approaches you slowly, and you could tell he was aware of the state you were in. “Hi,” he gently says, “I’m Taeyong.”

You look up to get a better look at him, his soft brown eyes— almost grey— mirror back to you. You don’t notice you’re shaking until he lays a soft hand on your shoulder.

“Am I going to die here?” Is the only thing you ask, straight and without any comical sarcasm.

He laughs, the reaction isn’t something you expect, but he looks at you as if you’re insane for even asking something that seemed normal for you to assume. "Die?" He wheezes and his eyes go even wider in disbelief, "you think we’re going to kill you?"

"Are you not?"

Taeyong disagrees quickly, "no." He sets his hand on your now, and like magic you’ve stopped shaking. "If anything we were trying to help you out."

The sudden calming of your nerves is unnatural, you know he has something to do with it. "How are you doing that?"

"Taeyong stop playing around." The one with the ember eyes emerges from one of the rooms he disappeared to, looking pretty annoyed. "She isn’t around for you to do your mood games with." He had a problem with you, you could feel it.

Taeyong smirks, not caring for Jaehyun’s remarks.

"I know you’re pretty aware about how weird things are," Taeyong whispers to you, "it probably wouldn’t faze you if I told you that I can control somebody’s mood with the touch of my hand." He withdraws his hand from yours and your goosebumps returned.

Momentarily, you try to grasp for rationality.

This couldn’t be practically real. As far as you were concerned maybe the colored eyes were just an aesthetic choice; contact lenses were actually a thing for some people. Holding up the bell and getting into another room could’ve just been a hallucination. And maybe you do find comfort from touch. But all of your ‘practical’ explanations couldn’t compensate for the gut feeling you had. It was stupid, illogical, but you felt like you could trust what was happening.

“What am I doing here?” You ask to no one in particular; you were sure that all five of them were pacing around the common room. Perhaps they were unsure of an approach, they didn’t seem exactly like the friendly type - except Taeyong who bit his tongue. Waited for somebody else to interject with an acceptable answer.

“You came here looking for answers,” Jaehyun said staring at the wooden flooring around his feet, “you know exactly why you’re here.”

His tone mocked you, and it was baffling. How a few sentences could catch you off guard.

“What, you want to accuse me of knowing and readily putting myself in danger?” You’re offended by the condescending smile he manages to hold. “Excuse me for wanting an explanation.”

“If you weren’t so eager to flirt around with death then you wouldn’t come here in the first place.” The answer is plain and it’s monotone, but he catches you right where you were wrong.

You did think about ignoring the address, you did have thousands of chances to not know. Not see what this was, or at least risk the safety of getting there at the wrong time and possibly being hurt by the man they killed.

There was no justification you could come up with, and this time you bite your tongue to contain projecting your frustrations.

He laughs, entertained by your silence.

“I thought so.”

Taeyong looks like the most sorry human being on the car ride back to your Airbnb, but the quiet in the car keeps him from explaining the puppy dog eyes he was wearing so well. Jungwoo was sitting next to you, the runner up for looking sad about not vocalizing his quite odd tendencies. Mark was scrolling through his phone as he occupied the seat behind you, and he seems to do well with the the tension. Johnny, who was probably the most approachable feeling one, was sitting shotgun and was turning his head back to finally start some conversation.

"So, Y/N, what do you do?" Johnny asks you, but you take a quick look at Jaehyun whose arms tensed at the steering wheel at the question. He was bothered that somebody was speaking, but even more so speaking with you.

"I operate mostly online." You try not to sound like you’re showing off.

"Like what?" The tallest one wonders, and Mark reaches his phone screen out on display to show Johnny.

"She owns retail," Mark scrolls without looking, "but right now she’s writing for her travel blog."

"That’s why she moves around a lot, huh." Jungwoo completes the thought that all of them were wondering. Nobody confirmed that it was Jaehyun you saw in Zurich, but you no longer needed confirmation. You just knew.

Johnny looks over to Jaehyun, who looked like he wasn’t paying attention to what was going on. "See, she can’t help but be in different places. Jungwoo told you she couldn’t help it."

Jaehyun presses his lips to a thin line, keeping his eyes on the road. But Johnny has more to say, "you know you do have the option not to be a control freak about everything."

Right on time Jaehyun steps on the breaks at the sight of a red light, making everyone in the car feel the movement of the sudden stop. "Leave it, Johnny." He looks at the rearview mirror, where he catches you looking back at him. "We’re getting her out of this city."

And again, silence. He says no more than ten words and nobody around him wants to act normal.

"What if I don’t want to leave?" You challenge, alarming the other four pairs of eyes. The amber ones had 20 seconds left on the red light to keep looking at you through the mirror.

"Do you want to die?" He asks you like you’re stupid.

"How do you know that? I don’t even know who you are and you’re acting like you have complete dominion of my life." You irate, but not enough to exhaust yourself.

"I saved your life three times, don’t you think you owe me more than this?"

"As if someone like you even has the heart to—" The light turned green and he sped the car off.

"You want me to remind you of Zurich? Or last night where you almost passed out vulnerable in some club? And that necklace around your neck too—" You quickly unlock at the piece, making it fall into your palm much to his really pissed off dismay.

He’s about to say something much meaner, something more vile to prove his point, but your face aches in pain. The same kind that had your body shivering, quickly grabbing on to the arm rests of your seat.

"Stop the car!" Taeyong demanded, concerned about your appearance.

Jaehyun pulled into a random alley for some resolution to be made, but the pain was even worse.

The metal of the car made a crashing sound and rumbled through vibrations in the car. This sound repeated multiple times until you could see booted feet stepping on the windshield.

“We have company.” Mark sighs, like he’s tired of this constantly happening.

“Call Yuta, Mark.” Jaehyun tells him.

“Why do I have to?” Mark whines, but the van’s shaking one more time and there’s a screeching sound to the doors being scratched - and it’s bleeding through and through your head.

“We don’t have to get over this Mark! Yuta listens to you!” Jaehyun complains. “Johnny, Jungwoo, and I are going out and the three of you,” he looks at you to exaggerate, “stay in the car.”

The three quickly leave and Taeyong turns to you, “put the necklace back on.” He suggests and all you can do is nod in pain, and the moment your shaky fingers clasp the locks back it’s like all the tolling sensations went away.

“Woah.” You comment and Taeyong smiles.

“Now you know why he gave you that thing?” Taeyong says and you suppose you have to agree.

“You want me to believe that that–“ you point to the sight outside, where Jaehyun twisted a man’s neck almost 360 degrees to a point where you were sure the other man was decapitated -“beast of a man is supposed to have enough heart to give me this necklace and care about the pain I feel?” The vivid, very vivid, sight of him outside catches Taeyong’s attention completely and you think that it backs up the opinion you have. Mark couldn’t swoop in to agree with Taeyong, too engrossed with the phone call he was having. Little did you know this Yuta was shamelessly flirting with Mark instead of feeling any sense of urgency to the situation.

“If he didn’t have the heart to protect you from the pain, he wouldn’t be out there kicking ass. He’d be in here and he’d probably save our entire clan from the trouble of getting you to safety.” He convinces you, and you have to accept that you’re getting your ass handed to you more than twice in one day.

“But I think...” You trail off, but he cuts in the conversation.

“You know, you do have the tendency to prove everyone else wrong. We haven’t known each other that long yet, but in every single situation you try to paint it off as if Jaehyun’s not the best character.”

You nod, considering his point. “We could say he was, but maybe he doesn’t present himself to be.”

“Yeah,” Taeyong says, his tone a little sad, “it’s the coping mechanism he stuck with. Not the best, but he means well. You have to trust me.” He pats your arm, and you already feel at ease.

“No fair.” You point out at the contact of skin, and he laughs - momentarily forgetting he can do that.

The sound of breaking glass comes in only moments later, and it’s Jungwoo’s head being used to bash into the car. Jungwoo seems unfazed by the impact of his head to the glass of the car, but Taeyong takes this as a sign to get up off his seat and take matters into his own hands. Any more damage to Jungwoo’s head and the damage would be terrible, maybe even fatal.

So Taeyong doesn’t answer you. Instead, he quickly runs out and it’s you and Mark inside the car.

Mark’s face is laced with panic, freshly off his call from Yuta, and he too has barely enough time to express his emotion - when the glass of the rear windshield gets broken into by another black-eyed man. Dragging Mark out within actual literal seconds.

You think, based on Jaehyun’s instructions, that you shouldn’t leave the car. But the wreckage is already too great for you to stay inside, afraid that all the dents it was receiving would only result to it caving into you. You didn’t see the appeal of suffocating to death by a metal contraption. Nonetheless a 2016 Honda.

So you do hesitantly step outside, and it’s already awfully quiet when you do. You can hear the grunts and the punches from a distance away, but the area around the car had already been abandoned. They were all chasing each other off elsewhere.

It isn’t long, just a few uncomfortable inhales and exhales and a stalking figure walks up to you sinisterly. Like how predators carefully stalk their prey’s movements before coming in for an attack.

You don’t mistake the black eyes for anything else this time, sure that it is death. Walking grossly on two feet.

“Finally, the one kissed by Persephone.” He says, doing away with all the breath in his lungs. Prolonging the word in a way that horrified you, he reached out a finger to graze upon your cheeks - he finds entertainment in the way you twist in discomfort. “Mortality.” He says, swiftly lifting up your arm to observe your wrists.

You stay silent, frozen in place. You’re terrified.

“We don’t want to ruin your pretty face.” It’s the way that he says the words with a smile that really scare you, digging deep into your bones.

The man opens his mouth to reveal fangs, and you can’t even fight back when he punctures them into your wrists - immediately drawing blood. It hurts. There’s no other pain you can describe it to, no kind of pain that can be the same to this one. It’s piercing, burning, stinging you quickly and traveling almost at lightning speed.

You look at the man, and his greyed skin quickly regained color. Drinking your blood visibly altered his appearance, slowly faded away the darkness from his eyes. Everything about him had life almost way too rapidly. Drinking your blood made him look human.

But he didn’t stop there, when you heard the sound of your own wrist breaking from the sudden pressure of his bite. His teeth heavily pressing into your flesh now, drawing blood greedily - and he returned back into his original form. Lifeless.

You’re squirming with the pain.

“Y/N!” You hear somebody’s voice echo from the end of the alley, and it’s Jaehyun looking petrified. Ready to blow his fists at the man who had your wrist caged in his teeth.

It felt like there was too much blood, too much of your blood was being taken away.

The man bites deeper, and you wince when you feel skin tearing apart. In only a split second the man makes an alarming gurgling sound, followed by the clear noise of his throat constricting.

Jaehyun stares blankly for a couple of seconds, trying to process what had just happened when the man falls down - paralyzed.

Yuta arrives a few minutes later, and you’re all piled up in the van he brought.

Nobody was injured, just a few scratches and cuts, but Taeyong insisted that they’d all heal in no time.

This time you and Jaehyun were sat next to each other, and he’s repeatedly running his hands through his hair - bent down with his elbows rested on his knees. You know it’s a little weird to gloss over his pale arms, but he volunteered for you to use his corduroy jacket to wrap around your pretty damaged wrist.

If the first car ride was silent, this was dead air. Everybody looked so desperate to hold in their breaths.

"Where do we plan on going from here?" Yuta asks, and the question is aimed at Jaehyun.

He looks unsure, his eyebrows knitted together - you want to focus at his delicately handsome features, the way they shrivel up, but you’re enduring a pain you never imagined. The question implies more than it lets on. Obviously it doesn’t just ask where everyone is going, the way everyone’s eyes swiftly turn to your frame says that it asks what happens to her, where are we taking her.

So you answer for yourself, "maybe you guys should start by getting me home." You suggest.

"No," Jaehyun disapproves, "you’re injured. Don’t expect us to drop you off at the airport like that." He says as if he’s offended by your assumption, and once again he’s sitting atop your nerves and you don’t have much means to deny the fact that he’s right. It was a little ridiculous for you to be playing hero, especially now that you still weren’t sure what this whole situation meant.

But the lifeless eyes of the man biting your wrists gave you a pretty good idea.

“Okay, but only if it means that after this you won’t run into any more trouble trying to protect me from something I don’t even know.”

He sits up, and everyone silently anticipates his response, looking to you with the same plain expression.

“Then it was nice meeting you.”

< prev | prologue / next | two >

#jaehyun scenarios #jaehyun imagine #jaehyun smut #jaehyun scenario #jaehyun fluff #jaehyun angst #nct angst #nct fluff #nct smut #nct scenarios #nct scenario #nct imagine #jaehyun x reader #jung jaehyun x reader #jung yoonoh #jung jaehyun fic #jung jaehyun scenarios

214 notes · View notes

puckbuddies · 3 years

Text

The bucket list (part 1)

Tyson Jost x reader

6454 words

Thanks to @justjosty for helping me figure out the idea and to @canadianheaters for being my biggest fan always ❤

AN: so back in the day when I was still in the Avengers fandom, I read this fic about doing a bucket list and my fic is inspired by that one. I tried really hard to find it but I think the account deactivated :(. Anyway enjoy

This was it. The start of the most boring summer vacation of your life. And all thanks to your dear best friend who had decided that staying in Calgary for an internship was more important than coming home with you. This was the first year ever you would have to spend the summer without Ava and you really weren’t looking forward to it. Ever since five years old you guys had been inseparable. Living in the same street, taking up hobbies together, going to the same school and eventually the same university and yet, this was the end.

You were just being dramatic, it was most definitely not the end. Still, standing in Kelowna International Airport by yourself, it kind of felt like it was.

It was just a month until you would see Ava again but that was the longest you’d ever been apart and you hoped it wouldn’t put a strain on your friendship. To be quite honest, you already missed her.

You were happy to see your parents of course and wrapping them up in a hug in the middle of the airport made you forget about Ava for a second. You hadn’t seen them since the middle of march and you knew that being home would help you relax regardless of your company.

Ava didn’t leave your mind for long though, just like she didn’t pretty much the whole flight home and you knew exactly why she didn’t. You could still recall the conversation you both had about a week before.

~~ “But it’s going to be so boring without you.” you whined while dramatically flopping down onto the sofa.

“Find someone to make it fun then. You know, this is the perfect opportunity for a steamy holiday romance.”

“Who wants a holiday romance when you could have New girl marathons in your comfiest pajamas?”

“Y/n, I’m sorry. You know I want to go home too but this is really important for my future.”

“I get that and I fully support you. I just wish it didn’t mean I had to spend a month inside my room.”

“Stop being dramatic. You can still do fun things, you don’t need me for that. Maybe you’ll do cool stuff this summer without me holding you back.”

“Yeah like learning to paddle board.”

It was kind of an inside joke between you two. You loved the water while Ava was not that big of a fan. Whenever you had an argument on holiday, you joked that you would leave her to go paddle board and the discussion would be forgotten after the laughter it pulled out of you both.

“Oh my god you totally should! See there’s lots of things to do.”

You were quiet after that. It was actually not a bad idea. This summer would be the perfect time to do all the water related things that Ava didn’t want to do. But then again, you didn’t know how fun it would be to do it by yourself.

A gasp pulled you out of your thoughts and it startled you so much that you almost fell of the sofa you were lying on.

“I just had the literal best idea ever! You should make a bucket list with all the cool things you’re going to do this summer. That way you won’t have any time to miss me.”

You thought about it. And then you quickly decided to disagree with her proposal.

“No thank you.”

“I could help you make it.” ~~

And by that she meant I could make it for you and you have no say in it whatsoever. After a lot of disagreeing and a quick argument, you figured you had to go along with it. You’d known Ava long enough to know that she wasn’t going to change her mind on this.

And so on that faithful Wednesday afternoon, Y/n’s summer bucket list was created.

Number 1. Go to the annual blacklight party

Number 2. Learn how to paddle board

Number 3. Wear the dress (you know the one)

Number 4. Karaoke in public

Number 5. Eat five different kinds of fish

Number 6. Go cliff jumping

Number 7. Volunteer somewhere

Number 8. Climb a tree

Number 9. Spend at least 100 dollars while shopping (treat yourself)

Number 10. Relearn how to play guitar

Number 11. Adopt a dog

Number 12. Find best friend the best souvenir ever ;)

Number 13. Lay in a flower field for one hour (to feel like the main character)

There was a lot that was wrong with the list. You had absolutely no desire to sing karaoke in public and adopting a dog seemed pretty unrealistic in such a short time frame. There was no way you could take it back to Calgary with you after summer and leaving it with your parents was no option.

To say the list was in the back of your mind was an understatement. It was the main focus of your thoughts the majority of the time. While it was meant to make your summer more fun, the stress that you were getting out of it was not worth it in the slightest.

The first week, you ignored the list completely. You still had a whole month to complete it and your main priority was family. Your parents had thrown you a welcome home party with all of your family that had left you in a state of happiness for a couple of days after and you had no desire to dull that feeling. Still, you couldn’t quite forget about it for some reason.

When you opened the document for the first time the beginning of the second week, you were still as unsure about it as you had been in the beginning. There were some things you were willing to start on but the majority of the items would still be left unticked.

You started practicing guitar that week, having found your old one in the garage. Slowly but surely you were getting the hang of it again and you were quite enjoying it even if it meant that you had to keep your nails short. What you didn’t miss was the way your fingers hurt every time you touched something after having played for a while. All in all, not as hard as you had imagined it to be and you were happy that you did it.

Number 10. Relearn how to play guitar ✓

The end of the second week of summer vacation came with the faithful blacklight party. The Kelowna annual blacklight party was probably the main event of the summer for anyone ages 17 to 27. It was an event you usually went to with Ava. You always had the most fun getting ready together. This year however, that was not in the cards and you had to get ready by yourself.

You had texted a couple of your high school friends to see if they wanted to meet you there. Some of them agreed and you set up a time and place to meet up. The fact that you wouldn’t be arriving solo calmed your nerves a little bit, but you hadn’t seen these people in three years and you had no idea how the vibes were going to be. Deciding that a little alcohol wouldn’t hurt you, you poured yourself a shot right before you had to leave.

You had to admit, you looked good. Not that you were trying to pull tonight but with the way you looked, you felt like you could.

Checking one last time to see if you had everything you need, you made your way to where you had agreed to meet up. While you walked, you took the time to breathe in the fresh air. Walking at night was not something you enjoyed doing in Calgary for obvious reasons. Here, you could see more of the stars and you were reminded of how much you liked just being under the night sky.

You arrived at your destination a couple of minutes later and were warmly greeted. Seeing these people again felt weird but also strangely familiar. You spend a big part of your life seeing them every day so you assumed it was only normal to feel like that.

You did one more shot before you made your way to the party. Excitement was creeping up through your nerves as you remembered how much you loved the annual blacklight party. It had always been the figurative start of the summer for you as the actual start of summer was spend at your desk dying from studying too much and sleeping too little.

You made a silent promise to yourself that you were going to enjoy yourself. Even if the company wasn’t necessarily who you’d prefer to have by your side, you were going to have fun dammit.

Arriving at the place, there was a lot more people than the year before. You almost immediately noticed how much more crowded it was.

Your friends didn’t seem to mind this as they promptly dragged you to the bar, not that you were complaining. After that you made your way to the pool to catch up. There were some people splashing around and a couple heavily making out but other than that, it was the least populated area. It gave you an opportunity to talk a little bit about what everyone had been up to since graduating.

You had to admit your attention wasn’t completely there -you blamed the shots- but you were genuinely interested in what they had to say. It was kind of sad that you’d been home for two weeks without texting them. Sure, there were some people from high school that you never wanted to see again but most of them were alright. Most of them were studying too and shared your pain there. You made a promise to at least hang out one other time while you were all still here for the summer.

After a while, your group started to disperse. Some people had disappeared some time ago to get more drinks but had never returned, others were planning on beer pong somewhere in the yard.

But you didn’t want to go play drinking games, you wanted to dance. So far, you had stayed outside and you felt like you had put on your favorite white dress for nothing. there were so many people inside that no one would notice you were alone and you wanted to take advantage of that. And so you said goodbye to your friends before you made your way to the dancefloor.

The air was noticeably thinner inside, most likely as a result of the young adults all dancing in an area way too small for comfort. Before actually joining them, you made a quick detour too the bar to get what you told yourself was your last drink of the night but even you weren’t sure if you actually believed that.

It was more difficult than you anticipated to get in between everyone. You could feel beer being spilled down your back and you cringed at the feeling of it running down. You make a mental note to put your shirt in the wash before you laid on your bed when you got home.

Once you got to an open spot – open was relative, you were still touching at least two other people – you started regretting your decision to go dancing alone. It seemed like everyone had someone else but you.

But it was too late now. You had fought hard for this spot and you weren’t giving it up. Dancing felt kind of uneasy at first but that soon got better as you noticed no one was paying attention to you.

You felt great. There was nothing in your mind apart from the lyrics to the song that was playing and you felt yourself relax. This was exactly what you needed to destress yourself.

Your arms were swaying all around you as you got lost in the music. When you opened your eyes again, you made eye contact with a guy a few feet away from you. Giving him a quick once-over, you concluded that he was pretty attractive. You gave him a look that invited him over to dance with you and waited for him to come over.

You didn’t need to wait long as the guy was enthusiastically making his way to you. Up close, you got to see more of his features but the one thing that stood out was his incredibly curly hair. it was bouncing along to every movement he made.

He introduced himself as Tyson and followed it up with an incredibly cheesy pick up line that you could only laugh at. He was very cute but you had no intention of this going somewhere. all you wanted at this moment was to dance.

Dancing with Tyson was fun because you invited him to dance with you. What you didn’t enjoy was the looks people were giving you as you were swaying your hips to the music. Especially this one guy that was not even trying to disguise the fact that he was looking at your ass.

Your body felt sticky and it got too hot all of a sudden. It seemed like Tyson could feel the shift in your mood. He observed you for a second only to conclude that you not having a good time anymore.

“Do you want to go outside for a second?”

You nodded in response. Making your way outside was a lot easier when you had Tyson pulling you behind him. He was taller and bigger than you and had no problem bumping into people to find a path. You kept your head down as to not attract anymore attention from creeps.

Once outside, you wasted no time taking a deep breath of fresh air. You didn’t notice it then, but there was barely any oxygen inside and it made you dizzy when you were walking out. It could’ve been the alcohol as well. Deciding to not take any chances, you plopped yourself down on the ground so you could lean your head against the wall.

You didn’t notice Tyson had left until he held a fresh bottle of water in front of your face. You thanked him quickly before taking the biggest sip of your life.

It was quiet for a while. Tyson had taken a seat next to you and you were currently trying to clean up your shoes to the best of your ability even though you knew that getting them clean again was impossible.

“So why are you at this party all by yourself?” Tyson spoke into the silence.

“Blame Ava, she left me here alone for a whole month. And then she’s forcing me to go to this party even though I really don’t like being on my own and she knows that. I have other friends but I lost them some time ago.” You were rambling. In a different circumstance, you would’ve held yourself back but you were tipsy and really needed to let your frustrations out. Complaining to a stranger at a party seemed a great idea for the time being.

“How is she forcing you if she’s not even here?”

“Because I promised her I’d do this stupid bucket list we made and I can’t break a promise. Even if she did leave me here.”

You leaned your head back against the wall in frustration. Why you had ever agreed to this, you had no idea. It seemed like fun at first but the reality of it soon caught up to you. You weren’t spontaneous or adventurous and you really fucking hated fish.

“What kind of bucket list?”

“How many kinds of bucket lists do you know?”

“A sex bucket list?”

“No!” Your answer came fast and a bit louder than you expected. Fortunately for you, the people around you were too caught up in drinking and dancing to pay attention to you.

“It’s more like a summer bucket list. I have a month to complete it. Well, technically 2 weeks now because I put it off too long.”

“Can I see the list?”

He looked at you with genuine curiosity. Deciding that you didn’t really have anything to lose, you reached for your phone in your back pocket and pulled up the list.

Tyson looked at it for a few minutes while you stared straight ahead. You could just say fuck it and not do it. But then Ava would be really disappointed in you. You knew she didn’t make it to annoy you, but more so to bring you out of your shell.

“Why is climbing a tree on here?”

“There’s this tree behind my house that I’ve always been too scared to climb because I fell out of it.”

“So you’ve not climbed a tree since that moment?” he said with a teasing smirk.

“It’s a childhood trauma leave me alone.”

Your tone was slightly snappy which caused Tyson to erupt into laughter. You knew it wasn’t serious but you still didn’t appreciate the fact that he was laughing at you. At nine years old, almost breaking your arm was a big deal and you felt justified in staying away from trees since that day.

“Have you ever been skinny dipping?”

“No?”

“I think you should put skinny dipping on the list. Ooh and quad bike driving, that’s always fun.”

“Excuse me who’s list is this?”

“It’s ours now, I’m helping you remember?”

“When have you ever said that?”

“It seems like fun. Besides you can’t go singing karaoke on your own, that’s just sad.”

As much as you tried to refuse his help, Tyson didn’t give up. For some reason unbeknownst to you, he really wanted in on the list. You could keep arguing with him or you could just agree. So that’s what you did. But only because you were 90% sure that Tyson would not remember your conversation in the morning.

After giving him your number you decided that you had enough of this party. While it had been fun, you drank a little too much and the only things that were going to make you feel better tomorrow were water and your bed.

Saying goodbye to Tyson was not as easy as you thought it would be. He only let you go after reminding you four times that he was going to call you the next day. Each time you just rolled your eyes and affirmed his statement, knowing full well that he wouldn’t. It would surprise you if he was out of bed by noon by the amount of drinks he had consumed.

Eventually, you did make it home and nothing could separate you from your bed. Even if your social battery had run out a couple hours ago, you were kind of glad you went to the party. The last thing you did before tapping out, was send Ava some pictures of your night as proof that you actually went.

Number 1. Go to the annual blacklight party ✓

The next morning, you were woken up by your phone going off. You groaned at the noise and the headache it brought with it. You were angry with yourself for setting up an alarm after a night out when you had nothing planned. Until you saw that it was not an alarm.

An unknown number was calling you and you groaned even harder at this. Why would someone, someone you didn’t know at that, ever call you. You barely ever used your phone, it’s primary use being social media. Anyone you spend any amount of time with would be able to tell you were the worst text responder ever.

Deciding you were not in the mood for talking, you hung up. The person would have to wait until after you found painkillers and some coffee.

Only you weren’t so lucky. Almost immediately after you hung up, your phone went off again. You got a bit worried when you saw it was the same number calling you. What if it was an emergency. You has no idea why anyone would put you as an emergency contact but you still picked up just in case.

“Hello?” was all you said. Your tone was laced with worry that you could hear even over the hoarseness. You should’ve went to look for water first.

“Oh you picked up, I almost thought you were ignoring me.”

It took you a minute to recognize the voice and when you did, you closed your eyes in annoyance. How the hell did Tyson sound so chipper when you felt like your throat was a desert. He’d had way more drinks than you had.

The groan you let out caused Tyson to start laughing just like he did last night. Somehow the sound of his laugh made your conversation come back to your mind.

“Tyson” you all but whined, “Can we just forget about it please? I’m really not in the mood for it today.”

“Will you be in the mood tomorrow?”

“I’ll be in the mood never.”

“Oh come on, it’s not even that bad. There’s no time like the present!”

The fact that he was so happy about this was a mystery to you. But then again, this would sound like a fun idea if half of the things on the list weren’t designed specifically to taunt you.

It wasn’t all bad. You’d been wanting to volunteer somewhere for the longest time, you just hadn’t found the time for it and you would love to adopt a dog. You could still remember you begging your parents for a dog every single day when you were young. They kept insisting that a pet didn’t fit in the family and thus you had abandoned that idea a long time ago. There was no way they were going to let you adopt one even now.

“Just let me make myself at least a little presentable and then I’ll be ready to go.”

All you got in return was a cheer too loud for your hungover self and it made you throw the phone on your bed. The last thing you heard before you hung up was Tyson asking you to text him your address.

You were going to do that. After you had your coffee. Pulling yourself out of bed was way harder than it should have been. Normally you were pretty good with your alcohol but you assumed the month of sobriety while you were studying for your exams had something to do with it.

After thanking the heavens your parents weren’t home to witness you in this state, finding the nearest painkillers and quickly taking a shower, you were finally ready to face Tyson. You had a passing moment of stress while you thought about the fact you were going to send him your address. He was still a stranger after all. still, somehow you felt like you could trust him.

So you sent him your address accompanied by an invitation to your house in thirty minutes. If you thought you were lucky for your parents not being home to see your hangover, you just got a whole lot luckier now. If they saw you with a boy in the house, they were never going to let you hear the end of it.

True to his promise, Tyson arrived at your house exactly thirty minutes after you send him the text. You didn’t know if it was planned or if it was just a coincidence, but you were impressed.

“So where do you want to start?” he asked almost immediately when you arrived in the kitchen. You knew there was no need for small talk but you didn’t expect him to just go for it straight away.

“I was thinking we could do something easy first. You know, to get into it.”

“So tree then?”

“I told you that’s not easy.” You said it with a laugh and Tyson giggled right with you.

“You’re going to have to do it someday and we’re already at your house. I’m curious about this enormous tree that you have in your backyard.”

“The only reason I told you that story is because I was convinced you were too drunk to remember it in the morning. The fact that you do still remember is killing my vibe right now.”

You were surprised at how easy it was to go along with his teasing. From the first moment, you could already tell that Tyson was a very friendly person and it was plain to see that he could get anyone to talk to him. Still, you were known to be a little cold when you first met new people so the fact that you felt comfortable around him meant something.

“Nah I wasn’t drunk. I can handle my alcohol. Unlike you apparently.”

Your expression turned into one of fake offense at his words. He was right of course, but he didn’t need to say it.

“I let you into my house for what? To get bullied? You should know that I’m in reach of the cookbooks and I will not hesitate to hit you.”

“Okay Okay I’m sorry please don’t hit me.” He knew you weren’t being serious, the smile on his face was a good indication of that.

“Do you really want to do the tree today? I need to work up to that one.”

“So what do you suggest?”

You stayed quiet.

“Tree it is then.” he said, the smirk on his face noticeable even if you weren’t looking at him. You could tell by his voice that he was really enjoying this situation.

Without saying much else, you went to put on your shoes and moved in the direction of your backyard. The tree in question was situated in a field behind your house. Looking at it now, you wouldn’t say it was a particularly large tree, but there were still nerves bubbling inside of you.

Sighing loudly and a bit too dramatically to show Tyson that you really weren’t happy, you took a while to study the tree. There were a few low hanging branches that you could use to push yourself up on. The leaves at the top constructed your view.

“I just go for it?”

You were nervous. And your voice showed that. It was at that moment that Tyson realized you were legitimately scared.

“Do you want me to do it first? To test if the branches are safe?”

“No I think I want to do it now. I don’t need to know exactly how high this tree is.”

“Well good luck.”

And with that you were off. After giving your phone to Tyson to take a picture of you in the tree, you took your first cautious steps forward. Figuring the best way to do it was to not think about it too much, you placed your left foot on the lowest branch you could find.

Before long, you were already a third of the way to the top and it was alright. You felt your nerves turning into excitement. Wondering why you had been afraid all those years, you let your confidence take over and looked down at Tyson.

“Long how high I am.”

“Yes you are. Can you go a little farther so I can take a picture?”

Your newfound confidence allowed you to go even faster than before and you got to the top in record time. If people saw you right now, they’d believe you did this for a hobby.

When you got to the top, you quickly posed for a picture. Ava would not believe the smile on your face.

But then came the hard part. Getting down. It’s not that you were scared of heights, but you didn’t need to be reminded that there was about 4 meters of nothing between you and the ground. The confidence you had climbing up, dwindled slightly.

While you made your way back to the ground, albeit a lot slower, Tyson shouted words of encouragement at you. You could faintly hear them in the background but were to focused to make out any specific words.

You swore the moment your feet made contact with the ground was the best moment of your life and you let out a little shout of excitement to go along with your thoughts. That was your fault for putting this off for literal years.

“You did it!”

“I did it! Oh my god that’s crazy. I’m so proud of myself.”

Without thinking about it, you pulled Tyson into a hug. It didn’t last long as you separated from him to continue jumping around for a little bit. In the corner of your eye, you could see Tyson laughing at you but you didn’t have it in you to care.

“Look at all the energy you have, we could go cliff jumping right now.”

“Yeah no, I’ll need at least a day to calm down my heart rate enough to do anything else.”

You were ready to go inside again and take a nap. You felt like you had just ran a marathon and you didn’t know if it was because of the adrenaline or your hangover.

As you got inside the first thing you did was text Ava the picture Tyson had taken. Turns out, he took a whole collection of photos. There were at least 20 pictures all taken at different times and you got higher in the tree as the pictures progressed. At the end of the series, there was a video. You were slightly scared to open it as you had no idea what to expect.

The image was the same as the picture. It was just you climbing the tree. Only it was accompanied by Tyson speaking over it like he was presenting a nature documentary. The video was really blurry as he was all the way zoomed in on you and it ended with a shot of his own face filling up the camera.

You burst out laughing at this. Tyson didn’t even need to see your phone to know what had caused your laughter and a smile took over his face.

“What is this Tyson.” Your words were barely intelligible as that were spoken in between breaths.

Tyson just shrugged in response. You decided to sent both a picture and the video to Ava. She wanted you to have fun and this video was proof that you had.

You waited for a little bit to see if she would respond and when she didn’t, you opened up the list again to see if there was anything else you could do.

Most of the items took a bit of planning to pull off and you were not in the mood to actually go out. This left number 13 as your only option.

“Are you allergic to grass Tyson?” you asked seemingly out of the blue.

Tyson was looking at his own phone and didn’t immediately register what you had asked him. He thought about it for a while and eventually shook his head no.

“Then how would you feel about lying in a field for an hour?”

“I’d rather go quad driving but I mean yeah let’s do it.”

You rolled your eyes at this. There was no way you were going to break your arms on a quad bike. Still Tyson didn’t let go of the idea. The whole way to the field was spend bickering about if you would of would not go quad driving and skinny dipping. His argument was that as it was now a joined list, he should have some say in the activities. You just questioned why he wanted to go skinny dipping so bad.

After a short walk, you did arrive at the field in question. You picked this one because if was filled with pretty flowers in seemingly every colour and would make for the best picture. A picture that you would be taking this time, not Tyson. You couldn’t say you enjoyed his photography skills as much as you enjoyed his company.

“Are you ready?” you asked Tyson.

Instead of answering you, he walked a little further into the field and lay down on his back. You decided to do the same thing only a little more graceful. While Tyson basically threw himself on the ground, you sat down first. Before you put your head down, you set your alarm to go off in exactly one hour.

After about 3 minutes of laying in the field in dead silence, you still didn’t really feel like a main character. You let out a deep sigh at alert Tyson that you were bored.

“Are we allowed to talk?”

You turned to face him.

“I think so yes.”

“Okay good because I don’t think I could lay here bored for an hour.”

“Same.”

And after that it was quiet again. It occurred to you that you hadn’t really talked to Tyson. You had no idea how to strike up a conversation. Every time you guys had talked, there had always been a reason, but now laying in the field you would have to fill the silence with small talk and that was not your forte.

Instead you busied yourself with watching Tyson. He was more attractive now then he was under the lights at the party but he still had his curly hair.

“Are you going to cut your hair?” it was the only thing you could come up with that wasn’t hey how has your summer been so far?

“Are you saying I should?”

He said it in a teasing way and you were glad he didn’t take it the wrong way. Looking back, it definitely couldn’t been taken as an insult.

“No. I like it. it’s just something.”

“Wow that doesn’t sound good at all.”

“No stop I didn’t mean it like that, I actually like it.”

But it was too late. Tyson was already laughing too hard to hear what you just said. You wanted to reach out and run your fingers through his curls but decided that that would be really weird so you kept your hands to your sides and just laughed along with him.

When you’d both calmed down, silence overcame you again. This time though, it wasn’t uncomfortable. You didn’t feel the pressure of trying to fill a void like you did the fist time.

“We should talk about our schedule for the list.”

It was a good idea. You had another 12 days to complete all of it and that didn’t leave you much room to rest. Tyson told you he had to go to the gym basically every morning and laughed once again at your shocked expression. I’ll show you my muscles when we go swimming don’t worry. Though it was clearly meant as a joke, his statement still made you blush.

You decided that you would take the next day off to just relax and would move on from there. You also agreed to volunteer at the local animal adoption centre where you would take a look at the dogs. Even if actually adopting one would most likely out of the question.

After that, the conversation moved beyond the list. You learned that Tyson lived in Denver and was just here for a couple of weeks with his friends. Friends who apparently were very excited to meet you after learning that you met at the party.

You didn’t know if you were flattered or scared that they already knew who you were but you didn’t give it much thought figuring that you would meet them eventually.

You were just about to ask another question when Tyson gasped beside you. thinking there was a bug or something you whipped your head to the side only to find Tyson looking at the sky in wonder.

“You scared me.”

“Dude look! It’s a bird.”

“Birds fly in the sky?”

“No dummy, it a cloud in the shape of a bird.”

You whispered a rude under your breath before turning to look in the direction he was pointing. Right above you was indeed a fluffy bird cloud.

“There’s a heart next to it.”

“Oh, I didn’t see that before. That’s cute.”

You went back and forth like that for a while. The shapes were slowly becoming less and less recognizable. As time went on Tyson was just shouting every word that came into his head while you were dying laughing next to him.

You were laughing so hard that you almost didn’t hear your alarm going off. But you did. And it brought you back to reality.

“That was an hour?” Tyson asked.

“Yeah it seemed way less.”

“Well I don’t know about you but I definitely feel like a main character.”

“You already were a main character you dork, you play sports professionally.”

“I thank you.”

He held out his hands for you to take and pulled you up without much effort. Walking back to your house was filled with more jokes and Tyson acting ridiculous. You kind of wished you picked a spot further from your house so you could spend more time with him but you knew that you still had two weeks with him.

As you approached your house you didn’t really know what to say anymore. You had no idea how you should go about saying goodbye, not knowing if he was a hugger or not.

It seemed like Tyson had the same problem. You were just standing across each other in your driveway without saying anything. Figuring you needed to at least say something before you let him walk away, you took a breath and began.

“Tyson?”

He lifted up his head to look up at you with questioning eyes, not saying anything to give you the room to speak.

“Um thank you, for helping me. I don’t think I would’ve enjoyed spending time in a field by myself so thanks.”

“It’s no problem really, I enjoyed today.”

The way he said it, you could tell that he really meant it and it made you happy. Even though he invited himself into your little adventure, you still wanted him to have a good time.

As you said goodbye to Tyson one last time and went back inside, the ping of your phone caught your attention. Your screen lit up with a text from Ava.

Getting a hot boyfriend was not on the bucket list ma’am ;)

Number 8. Climb a tree ✓

Number 13. Lay in a flower field for one hour (to feel like the main character) ✓

#Tyson jost #Tyson #Tyson jost imagine #Nhl imagine #Things I write #Tyson jost x reader #Colorado avalanche imagine

94 notes · View notes

skullsandwineglasses · 3 years

Text

The Rebel Princess - Final Review (SPOILERS)

I tend to be quite critical right after I watch the finale of a drama since emotions are high, so my review might be a little harsh. My feelings might simmer over the next few days while I digest things, but for now, I’ll break down my impressions into 3 parts: The “Good”, The “Didn’t Make Sense”, and The “Could Have Been Better”.

The “Good”

The final scene. That’s the first immediate good thing that comes to mind. That’s probably the only good thing tbh. To be clear, these last 5 episodes weren’t bad. Everyone got their comeuppance, our leads live happily ever after, and Wang Su finally sees the light and goes against Daddy Wang by saving baby Jing’er. But, there were quite a number of things that frustrated me while watching.

I will note one other good thing, which is that we got to see our favourite OTP act out a show to misdirect the rebels in hiding and lure them out. We finally get to see our leads collaborating and putting their smarts together! But, this meant that they had to separate again for the millionth time in this drama. And even though it was just an act, the fake confrontation scene between them still stung. As a trashy romantic, I wish we got to see more scenes of them together, especially towards the end of the drama.

The “Didn’t Make Sense”

But because we finally get to see them work together, I wished we got to see more scenes with them plotting together. This is the first time that they’re working together to uncover a political plot, and yet it’s only relegated to one short conversation scene between them after Awu returns from meeting with her brother who refuses to tell her who’s behind the scenes pulling the ropes.

ALSO, the drama never really addressed how Xiao Qi kind of handwaved Zitan’s involvement in the Neem Yu Shan plot. How did Xiao Qi go from “I need to have vengeance for my betrayed fallen soldiers” to “I need to help uncover the plot against the crown”. It’s kind of implied that Awu might have already told Xiao Qi about the truth before Song Huaien does, but the drama never makes that clear because we never see that scene if there was one. If Xiao Qi learns about the truth from Song Huaien first, does he then talk about to Awu? Again, we don’t know because it’s never shown to us. Instead, right after we see him learn about it from Huaien, it then immediately cuts to the confrontation scene with Awu. BUT, since this confrontation scene was revealed to be planned by them, it means that they’ve already discussed the Zitan problem in private beforehand, and Xiao Qi already knows that Awu knows, but we never see this conversation. It’s also revealed that they’ve long been suspicious of Huaien, but when did this suspicion start? Again, we don’t see this conversation. We just have to guess.

This is just one example of how these last 5 episodes made it VERY obvious where scenes were deleted. A lot of scenes were cut abruptly where one scene would suddenly cut to the next, and you kind of had to infer what happened between those scenes. Things still made sense and you could still follow along, but you could tell that they cut out scenes that would have helped flesh things out and make the transitions smoother.

Villains: Nearly every villain in the drama (Jin’er, Zitan, and Song Huaien) turned back into their “good” old selves again during their downfall. And because of this, it made the finale of the drama pretty underwhelming. Jin’er expressed how she misses the old days to Awu and calls Awu one of the most important people in her life, Zitan sees the light and promises to yield the throne to his nephew and face punishment for his actions, and Song Huaien uses his last dying breath to ask Xiao Qi to take him back to Ning Shuo and how he doesn’t want to be in the capital anymore (when he literally has an arrow to the heart while sitting on the throne he just stole). These characters take an abrupt 180 degree turn when they’ve been blind with envy and hatred for most of the drama. Just moments ago they were shooting daggers out of their eyes, and then suddenly they regret everything they’ve done. Their downfall felt too easy, and their redemption felt even easier and unearned. And Awu forgives all of them (as expected). When she pitied Zitan, I was like, girl, he doesn’t deserve your pity. I get that she needs him to sober up in order to discourage the rebels, but still. He had his own brother killed and tried to have her husband killed. Instead she consoles him like a lost puppy. I know that Awu’s a saintly character, and I’ve talked about the virtues of her character before, but sometimes I wish she’d be a little less saintly.

I think Daddy Wang’s final scene fit most well with his character. He’s defeated, but doesn’t entirely express regret for his actions. Which makes sense for his character. He’s never doubted his decisions all throughout the drama, so why would he start now. Even when Awu asks him if he ever loved her mother, he doesn’t answer her. Instead, he deflects the question back to her to ask if she loves Xiao Qi or Zitan, which is such a laughable question. How is Zitan even still considered a potential love interest for Awu at this point? In response, Awu tells him “此愛非彼愛”. Which I’m still trying to interpret?? To directly translate it, it would translate to “this love is not (comparable to?) love”. I’m having trouble interpreting 非彼. 非彼 means “not comparable to”. Is Awu saying that this love isn’t comparable to another love? Is she saying that this love isn’t considered love? Love for whom? Is she taking about her love for Xiao Qi and how it’s not considered “love”. Does she mean what she feels for him is more than love, or different from love? Or, does she mean her past love for Zitan isn’t love? Why is her response so vague? Her dad asks her if she loves Xiao Qi or Zitan, and she instead gives him such a dense, poetic response. Maybe my mandarin isn’t up to par to translate these historical dialogues, so I’ll be curious to see how the subs translate this line. Anyway, in the end, Awu asks her father if he would agree to being buried next to her mother, and after ignoring the question for a bit, he finally says that he wants to be buried next to her.

The treatment of women: The Elder Princess and Yu Xiu both sacrificed themselves in hopes of getting their loved ones to stop rebelling. And then Awu pulls the same move with her father in order to remind him what her mother had done in hopes of stopping him. And this was after we see Hu Yao and Nanny Xu needlessly die in the previous episodes. So all these female deaths and sacrifices made it feel like the female characters in the drama are disposable and can be easily killed off by the writers. It just didn’t really sit well with me that on 3 instances in this drama, a female character tries to use herself as leverage against a male character who’s about to commit treason. I’m also still not over Hu Yao’s death at the hands of Song Huaien, and we never get to see a proper burial for her because she’s a minor character, so the drama couldn’t be bothered to show it. The Dowager Empress also had a very anticlimactic end. She was such a major player pre-episode 50, and then suddenly she was bedridden and only heard about palace news from her maid and wasn’t able to exert much influence over the court. It was a little disappointing that we don’t get to see her wield any of her old power again after episode 50.

The “Could Have Been Better”

This might be unpopular opinion but, I think Awu and Xiao Qi kind of lost their spark in the last couple of episodes, or at least, it’s more subtle now. Probably because the plot was focused on bigger things, which I understand. These are the final episodes after all. They’re also a long-married couple now, they don’t need to constantly reaffirm their love to us. And the final scene was sweet, so I shouldn’t be complaining, but I wish we got more scenes of them alone together. I said this in a reply on another post, but their sexual tension peaked during the early episodes of the drama. It’s too bad we don’t see that level of chemistry again.

Something that I found funny was how we see Awu stand next to Zitan by the throne twice to protect him. The setup was almost exactly the same between the two scenes where Awu stands to his right. It was like the writers couldn’t figure out a new configuration for how to block the scene. The first time was during the “pretend confrontation” with Xiao Qi, and the second time was against Huaien. I just felt the the repeat setup of this scene was kind of boring and uncreative to watch. It was like the writers couldn’t come up with another way to stage a potential rebellion, so we’ll just have Zitan be cornered around on the throne twice.

Also, Huaien wanting to suddenly take the throne and also Awu as his Empress? First of all, I don’t understand why people, who don’t have the approval of the masses, always want to become Emperor. Do they not realize that by forcibly seizing power, you’re going to lose it just as quickly because no one likes you and they’ll try to take you down? I have the same criticism for Daddy Wang and Zitan. But does Huaien think that he has enough military power to become Emperor? And unlike Daddy Wang, Huaien doesn’t have any significant political impact over the lords. Also, does he think that Xiao Qi would just never come back? Second, him asking Awu to become his wife? We don’t really see him feeling tortured over his affection for Awu again since his wedding with Yu Xiu, and now suddenly, years later, it’s revealed that he still yearns for her? And he declares his love right after stabbing her dad? I mean, writers, please. I know you want to create drama, but it has to make sense.

To be honest, I’ve always found Huaien’s character arc a little hard to believe. He’s such a noble character for the first third of the drama, and then it’s revealed that he’s always secretly harboured a greedy side. A side that craves status and recognition. He then downward spirals into this monster who kills nannies and female comrades and wants to be emperor. We see small hints of his desire for the throne, like when he eyes Daddy Wang’s tailor-made royal robes. But this desire is not fleshed out enough. Huaien’s arc could have worked, but because the drama didn’t focus enough on his internal struggle at the beginning since he isn’t the main character, the change felt abrupt. I don’t know how the book handled it, so I can’t speak to that.

Things just escalate so quickly in this drama. I can now see AvenueX’s criticisms about the political plot of this drama and how it looks like it could have be written by a 10 year old. The writers seem to want to make things as surprising as possible, while also using a lot of old tropes that it becomes predictable. It’s very unrealistic. And the villains’ motivations and ambitions seem limitless. It felt like anyone could lay claim to the throne.

The political scheming in this drama has never impressed me, so I suppose that I shouldn’t be surprised that these last few episodes were just as lukewarm. The problem with the political plot of this drama is that there were no smart characters except Daddy Wang. It’s just a bunch of drama queens(TM) who want power, but do a poor job of thinking things through.

The highlight of the drama was the romance, which was a huge surprise since I didn’t start watching this drama for the romance. And yet, despite the romance being the highlight, the OTP is constantly being separated, and we barely got to see them together in the last few episodes. And the scenes that they did have together in these last few episodes weren’t memorable. If anything, their chemistry kind of fell apart during these episodes because we barely see them communicate directly with each other.

Final Thoughts

Overall, I’d still recommend this drama just for the leads alone. You don’t see that kind of chemistry in idol dramas, and I don’t know when we’ll be able to see this level of acting between two well-matched actors in dramas again. Watching them is almost like a once-in-a-life-timeline thing. However, I think the average viewer might become frustrated with Awu halfway through. The drama’s also very bingeable (in fact it should be binged, instead of dragged on for almost 2 months). I think I would have enjoyed more if I watched all the episodes at once, instead of waiting for episodes as they came out every week, which meant that while waiting, I started to pick apart little issues that I had with the drama.

#monarch industry #the rebel princess #上阳赋 #cdrama #cdrama review #zhang ziyi #rant #cdrama impressions #i wish i could watch Awu and Xiao Qi fall in love again for the first time #sigh #i only watch like 3 dramas a year #so i guess imma be dramaless for the next 6 months

33 notes · View notes

script-nef · 4 years

Text

Busted | Tsukishima Kei

Request: Hello!! Can I please request a scenario/short fic where Tsukishima has to go pick up his girlfriend from “Girl’s Night” at the karaoke bar? When he gets there his gf is drunk, dur, BUT turns out she can sing like really really good. For a moment he’s utterly speechless but he takes really good care of her and asks about her singing the next day? Maybe she can play dumb about it saying she really can’t but too late he knows the power she holds. Sorry if that was a weird req but tysm in advance!!

Okay so first things first, this is a very cute request and not weird at all! Second thing is that I actually have no idea what a karaoke bar is so I searched it up. And it turns out to be a regular bar with like a little stage so people to sing on? Like that scene from The Good Place? I don’t know if you meant that one but I wrote it based on that, hope that’s fine! :) Third, uhhhh you asked for a short fic and I uh well it’s not really all that short so sorry about that.

Category: crack, fluff

1.4k words; Tsukishima never knew you could sing so well

Tsukishima doesn’t really like it when you go out for “Girls’ Night”s all that much. He’s glad you have quality time with your friends and burn off the stress from your work, but he often wonders if bars are the best place.

It’s probably because of his aversion to alcohol. And drunk people. If you also add in the fact that your favourite venue just so happens to be a karaoke bar, of all things, he would never fathom the idea of stepping a foot into it unless his life was on the line.

And yet, here he is, slipping into the godforsaken place at 11:30 pm on a work night.

His brows immediately crease as a drunk couple makes out right next to the entrance and expertly swerves past them. The place is filled with groups and couples in similar positions, just climbing over each other in their inebriated states without a care for others’ gazes. It’s amazing what alcohol can do and he sincerely hopes you’re being smart about your intake for the night.

That hope is swiftly crushed as you teeter onto the small karaoke stage with the melody of your favourite song blaring in the background. Your face is what could only be described as crimson to the point he can’t tell where your dress ends and your skin starts. You sway a bit on stage like you’re trying to balance yourself on a ship while there’s a tidal wave happening and Tsukishima can practically predict what’s going to happen next.

So he makes his way to you as fast as he can so that you won’t have an embarrassing memory to wake up to tomorrow morning. He doesn’t even understand why you insist on this karaoke bar when there’s a very high chance of you getting drunk and singing in front of literal strangers—and some friends—when you don’t even like singing in front of him. You occasionally hum while lazing around the house but never sang, claiming that your voice was horrible and also unfortunately tone-deaf. There was a stare-down when you said that because if you were actually tone-deaf, then you wouldn’t be nailing every note in your hums. But he let it go because you turned red and pattered off.

He’s just about there when you finally open your mouth to start singing, and he can’t help to freeze completely on the spot.

Your voice is beyond amazing.

It rings out loud and clear throughout the room, forcing everyone to direct their attention to you. It’s like they’re entranced at the performance, and they have a very good reason to. It sounds like you’re pouring your heart and soul into this one song, determined to broadcast it to the best of your abilities. And the quality of it means you’ve practised this before. A lot.

He stands there, speechless and dumbstruck, eyes trained on you until the song slowly fades away. The room explodes with cheers and applauds, and someone chants for an encore. You give a shaky bow with a bright smile and stumble off the stage right into Tsukishima’s awaiting arms. You mutter an apology and try to free yourself from his grasp, but stop struggling as soon as you see his face.

“Tsukki! Wha… watchu you doin’ here? You have the—the thing with the weird bones tomorrow!”

“Yes, I have my work with my museum tomorrow and yet I’m here for you. Come on, let’s go home.”

“Home! Yes, yes, fwoof. Pushy bed. It’s going to eat me!”

“I have literally no idea what you’re saying but I hope you remember this tomorrow so I can have something to embarrass you with. Say goodbye to your friends.” Your arms sway pathetically in the air as you mumble out something which sounds like but is dubiously related to “Bye now! The beddie are waiting me!” You never make sense when you’re drunk.

He holds you steady while you walk back home, careful of your stumbling steps. Just as he’s about to question you about the singing and why you’ve never sung in front of him, you slump onto his side, eyes closed and off to dreamland. Tsukishima sighs in soft exasperation and carries you home, glad that the venue is relatively close to your shared house.

Regaining some semblance of consciousness when he’s unlocking the house, you flail out of his grip and stomp into the house. It seems like you’re going straight to bed but he stops you to remind you of your shoes, makeup, clothes, brushing your teeth and drinking at least five cups of water to avoid a hangover. Thankfully you finish the first four, not without pouting and whispering nonsense the entire time, but tap out after 2 glasses.

Once in bed, you poke your head out from the blanket burrito you constructed yourself and give him a peck on the lips. “Thank you… pointy-nose. I have the bestest giraffe in the world. Nighty night Mr Moon.”

“Yes well, I wish I can say the same if my girlfriend wasn’t drunk half out of her mind, calling me weird nicknames and keeping things from me. Why didn’t you tell me you could sing so well?” You would normally have blushed and squeaked out an explanation, but you’re knocked out again. Tsukishima sighs once more and cages you in his arm, filing the interrogation away in his head for tomorrow morning. He assumes the headache of combined with the embarrassing memories of this night will make it easy for you to tell the truth.

“My head hurts…” This is the first thing that greets Tsukishima when he wakes up. A small whining voice from his chest squiggling around and complaining. “Tsukki… ‘m dying…”

“Humans don’t die that easily. You’re annoyingly tenacious.” That earns a weak slap on the arm. “Fine, let’s wake up. You need to drink some more water and eat something.” You don’t budge at all, so he has to carry you again to the kitchen while you whine about being stolen from warmth and comfort.

After forcing two cups of water and a banana down your throat, Tsukishima focuses on making himself a breakfast at the ungodly time of 5 am. Another annoying habit you have is waking up early after a drink-fest even though literally every other drunk sleeps in.

“Mmm… Thanks. You’re the best…” You mumble out while chewing on another banana, eyes drooping down like you’re about to fall asleep again. “I won’t ever drink that much again, I promise…”

“Oh no, but then how will you gain the confidence to sing in front of strangers when you haven’t ever sung in front of me, your boyfriend? Under the pretence of a ‘bad voice’?” You’re the one that freezes now, like a deer caught in headlights. Your eyes are wide and quaking slightly, to his intense amusement, no doubt trying to remember the events of last night.

He stares right back, an eyebrow raised as if to say “what kind of an excuse are you going to give?” but in the most unimpressed way possible. Your eyes bounce around to corners of the house while expertly avoiding him, until you finally settle on a decision.

Silence takes over the house. The chair you were sitting on makes a horrible screeching noise as you bolt out of it, hightailing to the bedroom in order to find a hole to crawl into and die in. Just as you’re about to enter, an arm slams right in front of you and effectively cuts you off from escaping this situation.

Tsukishima traps you in his arms, head leaning down to lightly bump his forehead against yours. “Why didn’t you tell me you could sing so well?” This position is the best when trying to pry information out of you because apparently, being surrounded by his form makes you weak and susceptible. Sure enough, red takes over your face again and stutters spill out.

“I just— I’m just really embarrassed singing in front of you because you told me you don’t like it when people sing along to songs and I— I thought it would bother you! It’s not like I was hiding the fact, it’s more li—” Your further ramblings are cut off as Tsukishima presses his lips to yours for a quick peck.

“It’s fine if it’s you. At least you don’t sound like a monkey howling in the dead of the night, unlike some people.” That earns a laugh out of you and he pulls you back into the kitchen. “Now, let’s see what else you’ve been keeping a secret from me.”

#tsukishima x reader #tsukishima imagine #tsukishima kei x reader #tsukishima kei imagine #haikyuu x reader #haikyuu!! x reader #haikyuu imagine #haikyuu!! imagine #haikyuu one shot #haikyuu!! one shot #haikyuu #haikyuu!!#tsukishima #tsukishima kei #crack #fluff #request #female reader

113 notes · View notes

itsonlystrange · 3 years

Text

It’s late and I feel like talking about ST characters trauma

I feel like most people only focus on Will’s or El’s (which both are very valid ! ) but I think we both need to remember that:

1: characters exist outside of their trauma. If you believe that all a single character is is their trauma, and that they deserve no further character depth, you’re psycho

And 2: all characters in this fking show are traumatized. All. Of. Them. At this rate, I think Lucas is the most unscathed mentally, yet he ALSO has so much trauma! Which nobody ever talks about!

I love Will and El, however I feel like other characters (especially the females) deserve more expansion on the sh!t they’ve been through.

I WANT TO ALSO SAY:

This isn’t me narrowing down characters with the “most trauma” as I simply cannot put every character in this post and go on a full analysis rn as its 4:00 am. And also, trauma isn’t a competition. I am sick of people saying “so and so is more traumatized than so and so.” Or “so and so is the most/less traumatized.”

All trauma is valid.

People will trauma of any kind know that it doesn’t matter if someone lost 2 legs and half their brain, but you only broke your foot. That’s still gonna be painful! Mentally and physically! It isn’t a race. I don’t want to see ANY of that anymore. It’s disgusting and undermining other characters traumas to benefit others. All characters trauma is V A L I D. It all is! There is no “well so and so is the most traumatized so the others don’t get to complain.” NO! NO NO NO! That’s not how it works! This isn’t a game!! And don’t ever feel bad about not having gone through as much as your friend, your trauma is yours and all experiences are valid.

ALSO REMINDER: characters exist outside of their trauma and ab*se and I know that! This isn’t me belittling or shrinking down people to only a component to their trauma. It’s me pointing out their trauma rather than having their trauma he their whole character. I just think we need more people to talk about other ST characters, especially right now.

Now, without further a do:

MAX:

Max’s dad left fairly early on from what we’ve seen, however she still had some contact with him for at least a few more years as she seems to remember him and miss him quite a lot. We don’t know much about Mr. Mayfield, but we do know Max mises him a great deal. We also know that she has most likely witnessed a lot of physical and verbal ab*se from her stepfather. It’s never stated if Max is a handle to this ab*se either, but she’s definitely witnessed it. Which is why I believe she pushes people away, she’s afraid to get latched on. Because If she does she’ll start to care, and then they’ll just leave like almost everyone else, like her old friends and her father. She puts up walls and feign strength and a somewhat high ego to keep up the hallucination that she doesn’t care about what others think, when she really does. Not to mention she literally witnessed Billy die right before her eyes. Do you know how traumatizing that is? She’s also seen multiple others die aswell, making it worse. Now with Billy gone, Max will most likely be the center of Neil’s ab*se, and Will distance herself from everyone, and will probably spiral into a severe depression. She acts all tough on the outside when in reality she just wants to be loved and accepted, by her friends and family. She gets critiqued quite a lot, especially for being a girl, and you can tell she definitely has gotten the short end of the stick most her life.

KALI:

Do I even need to explain this one? She was literally ABDUCTED AS A CHILD, then adopted, then her adoptive family DITCHED HER, she was forced to see others get hurt or to hurt others for experiments, she’s seen multiple people d!e, and she feels like the only way for life to get better is by k!lling people. Although she’ll never show it, she feels so alone in the world. With no real family, and only her friends, she has nobody to turn to. Kali was so hated upon, which in a way, I understand. I don’t entirely agree with her morally but I do see where her intentions lay and I don’t think she’s as bad as a person as everyone says she is. She’s just a broken girl that deserves to be loved. And she’s so distant from love because she’s afraid of getting hurt. But she deserves happiness, and I wish the Duffers would allow her that happiness, too.

JOYCE:

Nobody EVER talks about Joyce’s trauma as much as they talk about Will’s or El’s (which I’m not invalidating either of theirs I’m just pointing out Joyce’s)

Joyce is said to deal with frequent panic attacks and anxiety. She was verbally and probably physically ab*see by her husband leaving her with severe trust issues. For awhile the whole town thought she was crazy, and we’ve seen her be treated like an outcast. She doesn’t fit in. Back in the 80’s, single moms were looke down upon. Will is constantly referred to as “Lonnie’s Boy”, because that’s what people see him as, even when Lonnie ditched Will and hurt him more than Joyce ever could. Joyce works/worked multiple jobs, and had to keep up her family of two boys. It got so bad even Jonathan had to get one or two jobs just to keep a roof over their heads.

Joyce really deserves happiness. She’s always alert now and her anxiety has only gotten worse. She’s constantly looking for things that aren’t there and although she may have been right about the magnets, it’s worrying that she saw a pattern there, anyways. Her life has given her the short end of the stick multiple times. She’s seen multiple people d!e, her son get possessed, her son get exorcised and be in so much pain, the love of her life (Bob) die right in front of her, the other love of her life (Hopper) die right infront of her, she’s been losing herself since season one, and knowing it’ll only get worse in season 4 scares me so much. She deserves to settle down and find a happy family. She deserves love and support and therapy. And she deserves support system that will listen to her and be there for her. Joyce is so strong in so many ways, she has always percerviered through the thick and thin, and life has ever gone in her direction yet she stays there, for her boys, and doesn’t give up. She is so kind and loyal, she took El under her wing, she was there countless nights when Lonnie was screaming, protecting Will. She was there, staying up all night to make sure Will went to bed safely. She worked two jobs and has tried to get enough money for Jonathan to go to college, and yet life has never given her anything back. This woman has been through hell, she deserves to be loved with no consequences. She deserves to be happy without it backfiring. Joyce is such a dimensional character. She’s had her ups and downs, and she’s somehow always found ways to keep on pushing forward past where most people would break. THATS Queen shit

NANCY:

Now, it looks like Nancy had a fairly peaceful upbringing. While I don’t think she has as much trauma as Mike, I feel like a lot of people over look her and her existence and immediately write her off as “selfish” or a “brat”. And while I do agree that she does have some selfish or self centered moments, she’s always grown from those. Character development, people!

Nancy, the oldest of 3, definitely got the most love from her mother. I don’t think her home life has ever been bad. Although Karen and Ted aren’t the perfect happy couple, they don’t seem to fight much, and they seem pretty peaceful. So I don’t think Nancy’s home life is bad necessarily, and from the outside it could almost be described as “perfect”.

However, there is so much beneath that.

Nancy was stuck in a loveless relationship for about a year. She did the best she could at school to fit in or “be popular”. She wanted to stay with Steve because that seemed like the most logical option. He was popular, rich, he’d be the perfect guy to settle down with. But her heart was telling her to go else where. Jonathan was poor, unpopular, and isn’t necessarily the perfect guy to settle down with financially. Her parents put pressure on her to be the perfect housewife (more so her dad, I don’t think karen did as much.) so when Nancy falls for someone the exact opposite of what she should be going for, she’s in denial. She’s torn between the two. She had a perfect life ahead of her. Great friends, popularity, a loving boyfriend, but she didn’t want that. She didn’t want to settle down and living a boring life just like her parents.

Besides all that, she’s been pulled into an alternate dimension, she’s seen multiple people d!e, she’s nearly been k!led MULTIPLE times. She’s had to k!ll people for her own safety. She’s had to watch her boyfriends brother get excorcised, and also stab her boyfriends brother with a flaming hot rod. She’s had to live with the guilt of Barbara, her best friend, dying while she was sleeping with Steve. She feels so much guilt, survivors guilt, for not doing anything that night. She’s had to live with the fact that her bestfriend since she was little passed on right outside where Nancy was, and Nancy could’ve done something about it, which is the worse part. She’s been harassed by misogynistic coworkers for the fact that she’s a female, lowering her self esteem. And it seems that whenever she does something good in the world it always backfires. She feels like an outcast even though she has so many “friends”, or so it seems. She has the perfect house at the end of a culdesac. What can she possibly be sad over? Her life seems seamless. Yet there is a lot buried under there. She seems like she’s in denial over a lot of things, and constantly in a stage of grief. Nancy deserves to not feel ridiculed. She deserves to be a winner, and to prove those misogynistic @ssholes wrong. She shouldn’t have to fit this cookie cutter ideal. She’s a badass. She’s experienced way more than I feel like most people realize, and has been put in the center of absolute insanity yet still was able to come out of it intact. She deserves to live the life she wants to live, without Survivors Guilt, without the feeling of being an outcast, without low self esteem. Nancy is such a strong young woman in more ways than one, and I feel like so many people hate on her solely because she isn’t doing what most of these girl next door characters usually do. She subverted her own trope. And most people are angry that she isn’t this cookie cutter girl the way she’s “supposed to be”. She gets overlooked, and most people prefer the men of the cast, over her. And yes, everyone is entitled to their opinion, however I’ve seen people hate on Nancy for stupid misogynistic things, which isn’t a valid reason to dislike a character. And most people assume she’s just a spoiled, self obsorbed, ditzie girl, but she really is just someone trapped inside a box trying to get out. Nancy is a baddie. She’s always defended her friends. She’s always defended her brother, and has fought interdimensonal demons before. SHE IS SUCH A BADASS! She learned how to use a gun at the age of 16, despite most woman in the 80’s not even slowing themselves to touch a gun. She grew independent and learned to work for herself and not for others. She cracked a major story at the Hawkins Post, and even when people didn’t believe her, she still pursued it, and was right! She doesn’t give up, and people should be looking up to her and aspiring to be her. She literally beat up someone with a fire hydrant while playing a game of Marco Polo. Why does nobody talk about that! She will kick your ass into the next dimension. THATS Queen shit.

That’s all for now. I will touch back up on this later with some more characters traumas (probably Mike’s, Dustin’s, Lucas’s, and more.) but this is it for now. I really think we should pay more attention to the woman in the ST cast and their characters. A lot of focus is usually on the boys, which is understandable, but I wanted to point out how strong all these girls are and how much I admire them. I love Will and el as well, but I’ve already made several posts talking about them and how badass they are, lol. I wanted to shine light on more people that usually don’t take the spotlight very often. I’ll be back with more, later! As I said above, I’ll totally touch on some more people’s trauma as well, as there’s a lot beneath the surface I feel like most people don’t pay attention to.

SORRY FOR SUPER LONG POST

PS: I began writing that at 4:44am, then fell asleep. It’s 11:45 am now.

#stranger things #stranger things 4 #st4 #nancy wheeler #joyce byers #kali prasad #max mayfield

46 notes · View notes