#inspirations in the replies - this is based on a manga cover too | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

revoleotion · 4 months

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Sometimes I think about the fact that one of the .5 chapters in the manga it seems like shamrock woke up just turned in the team M base, so that means that Tsubaki carried him from where the fight was back to his home and that image makes me feel things lol

:))) this inspired me. so. (drops this and runs)

content warnings: references to canonical suicide (attempted)

He wakes up in a bed.

It's comfortable, more so than what he is used to from the C3 quarters, and this really confirms his suspicions that this wasn't all a dream – nobody came back for him either. For a few seconds, he remains in this position, unmoving, eyes closed, savoring the feeling of not having to react to this, of not having to figure out what happened, why he isn't dead, why he was reduced to nothing but a pawn to sacrifice.

Betrayal. He's going to have to confront it.

He didn't want to. He wanted to die. He wanted to die so he'd never have to think about how his closest friend left him to die.

And now he's...

He opens his eyes.

The world looks different. Brighter. Like he had been blindfolded all his life and now someone freed him from that. The angles are off; there's a bandage covering one eye, but the single one that remains is better than both of them combined used to be. His other senses are sharper too. Everything is louder. The smells are more intense.

A hotel room. The scent of cleaning supplies. Voices, muffled. Music, somewhere.

And then it's all gone, replaced by a feeling so intense that it hits him like a physical punch: hunger.

He gasps out loud, the sound in the otherwise quiet room startling him. It's the first breath he's taken ever since he woke up.

And of course he knows. He knows what happened to him. He knows because he shot himself in the head and he's somehow not dead. Or perhaps he is. Perhaps he died and was dragged back, against his will, because his enemy – unlike his allies – refused to abandon him.

The hunger is spreading. His limbs are trembling but he's not terrified; perhaps he should be but death destroyed this part of him – he's not human anymore, he's a monster, or perhaps something in between.

Footsteps. A knock.

"Can I come in?"

(He can't remember the last time anyone did that for him. Knocking. Giving him the opportunity to refuse.)

The enemy. The enemy. His body tenses and trembles but he's a monster now, so does that make him the enemy? Did he become the enemy the second his people abandoned him?

"Show yourself," he replies.

The door opens.

Tsubaki, camellia, looks almost... normal. He can be neither, known for his extremes, his unpredictability, but right now, he is calm. He's smiling. The sunglasses are sitting on top of his head, so his red, vampiric eyes are looking straight at him. Unfiltered. Genuine.

The hunger recedes a little, calmed by the presence of another person to distract him from it.

"I don’t expect your forgiveness," Tsubaki says. "Not now. Not ever. But I couldn’t let you do that."

He steps closer, extending a hand to him.

(He did that on the battlefield too. Vampire to vampire hunter. Except now it's master to spawn. Servamp to subclass. Vampire to vampire.)

Tsubaki continues, "You died, and were born again for a second chance. For that, you deserve a new name, Shamrock."

It goes through him like a shock wave; he knows all about the importance of names, especially for a Servamp. Tsubaki is changing the rules, just like he did on the battlefield, when he turned from an enemy to a friend, when he offered him mercy where his friends only offered betrayal.

Shamrock accepts the hand offered to him.

Tsubaki pulls him up from the bed and once he is standing, puts both hands on his shoulders, his gaze not once leaving him.

"This can be a home. If you wish," Tsubaki says. "But it doesn’t have to be. I will provide you with blood and then you are free to go wherever you want. Just know that I will always be there for you. I won't abandon you. I won't betray you. I would rather let you kill me instead."

Shamrock takes a deep breath, not that he has to. It feels right to perform this act of gathering oneself, as human as it may be.

He says, "I'm yours. You have me, my loyalty, all I can give."

Tsubaki's eyes grow... pained. Like he didn't expect it, like the concept of mutual devotion is entirely foreign to him.

"I don't demand this from you," he finally responds after a few seconds.

"I know," Shamrock says.

Tsubaki lets go of him. His fingers reach up to his sunglasses; he pulls them down and adjusts them until they're covering his eyes.

"Let's get you fed," he mumbles, almost distractedly. "You will change your mind afterwards.

Shamrock thinks, You don't consider yourself part of it all, do you? You expect to be used. You expect to be left behind.

You expect me to do to you what was done to me by my friends.

He dreams of it sometimes. Death. The hazy hours in between, before waking up reborn. He dreams of Tsubaki's hands picking him up, the metallic taste of blood on his tongue. Being carried home, a little like a child being carried to bed by a parent.

This can be a home, if you wish, Tsubaki said.

But he didn't mean it. Or rather, he didn't believe it.

Later, Shamrock will think that the hotel was chosen deliberately – nobody stays forever.

Watch me, he will think in his more fierce moments. Just watch me. This will be a home. You will be a home.

i just love them ok also this was written on a train with half a braincell, no guarantees for accuracy or correct grammar/spelling

#servamp #servamp Shamrock #servamp tsubaki

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bluesylveon2 · 3 years

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My My, I Could Never Let You Go

Summary: Sasha Zoe just wants her dad to walk her down the aisle. There is only one problem: she doesn't know which one is her father. What could possibly go wrong?

Pairings: Levi x Hange, Sasha x Niccolo, and other background relationships

Disclaimer: This is a Levihan Mamma Mia au. This fanfic is inspired by Mamma Mia which is directed by Phyllida Loyd, written by Catherine Johnson, and uses music from the pop group ABBA. Attack on Titan is a manga/anime series written by Hajime Isayama and published by Kondasha

Author’s Note: Happy Valentine's Day! This chapter focuses more on Sasha's friends (more of a Galentine's tbh). I did add some scenes from the movie, but you'll find it towards the end. This is the last chapter where I go deep into everyone's backstory. Future chapters would briefly touch on it, but I won't go into too much details. Please note that I have only had 1 bf and the relationship was short, so my knowledge on love is purely based on fanfic and the media.

Speaking of looks, the dresses are the same as the movie. I usually don't add clothing descriptions unless it is necessary. I find it so random to write although you need it to build a scene 😅

Need to catch up? Catch up here!

Ch 2: Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

“Sasha, who else knows about your fathers coming to your wedding?”

Sasha turned to her left to face Historia. Sasha, Mikasa, and Historia were laying on Sasha’s bed waiting for the rest of the bridal party to arrive with their dresses. Sasha was in the middle, Mikasa was on her right, and Historia was on her left.

“It’s just the girls in the group. I didn’t tell any of the guys.” Sasha replies

Mikasa sat up from Sasha’s right. She looks at Sasha and raises an eyebrow.

“Did you at least tell Niccolo?” Mikasa asks

Sasha paused for a long time before letting out a quiet no. She knew she should tell her fiance, but she wanted all of it to be a surprise for everyone at the wedding (minus the people who already knew). She could tell by looking at Mikasa’s face that she was ready to start interrogating her. Luckily, Sasha was saved by someone knocking and opening the door to her room.

“Knock knock” their friend, Hitch, enters Sasha’s room followed by the rest of the bridal party: Annie, Hanami, and Mina. All three girls were carrying dress bags (minus Sasha’s wedding dress because she got it yesterday) for the wedding. Mikasa and Historia stood up from the bed to help set the dresses down on Sasha’s bed. They proceeded to hug all of their friends after they finished.

Sasha met Annie and Hitch while in high school. Both girls were friends before joining the group (although it initially looked one-sided. Annie wasn’t good at expressing her feelings yet).

Annie Leonhart is Sasha’s Russian friend with blonde hair and ice-blue eyes and loves eating sweets. She dreams of becoming a patissier one day but did not pursue it because of her father. Her father wanted Annie to learn MMA and go pro. Annie’s dad sent Annie to Greece to learn pankration (a form of MMA), but Annie ran off to Kalokairi instead. She never contacted her father, and both had a falling out. Annie was found by Hitch’s parents who let her live in their home. Both girls grew close, and Hitch was the one who encouraged Annie to contact her father after years of silence. Annie eventually forgives her father after he apologizes for everything. Now Annie can pursue her dreams and stay in Kalokairi with Hitch’s parent’s permission. Now Annie attends L’Ecole Ducasse in France to be a patissier and is currently dating Armin Arlet.

Hitch Dreyse was born in Kalokairi after her parents moved from the Netherlands. Hitch has an easygoing personality and loves teasing her friends, especially Annie. She is also Annie’s first friend as she was the one who was determined to be Annie’s friend after Annie moved to Kalokairi. Hitch also had several admirers in high school, one of them being her current boyfriend, Marlow. Marlow has always had a crush on Hitch for a long time, and they started dating after Marlow finished his first semester at King’s College in London. Marlow would tell Hitch his dreams of working as a politician and Hitch is always his number 1 supporter despite not telling him that explicitly. Hitch attends AAS College for Fashion Product and Promotion (she asks Historia to model for her when possible). Sasha remembers when Hitch’s visits, she would catch Hitch looking out the window as if expecting Marlow to appear. Hitch realized how much she missed Marlow because she cares for him deeply. Hitch knew she needed to tell him her feelings the day his ferry arrived.

Hitch walks up to Sasha laying in her bed “Look who I found after my trip with Marlo?” She then turned to the rest of the girls who were hugging Mikasa and Historia. It has been years since they have seen one another. All of the girls (minus Sasha) decided to go their separate ways after graduating high school. Hitch was the only one who stayed within the country. She would visit Sasha every now and then during her free time. Sasha decided to stay in Kalokairi to take care of her mom.

Sasha’s friend group started out with her, Connie (who moved to Kalokairi from Wales), and Marco. Jean joined the group because Marco is his best friend. Jean moved to Kalokairi with Marco and his parents from France. Jean and Marco now own their own house they currently use for visits. Eren, Mikasa, and Armin (who is orphaned and lives with Eren) joined next because Mikasa started hanging out with Sasha after Sasha constantly begged Mikasa to help her study. Eren and Armin followed Mikasa naturally. Annie joined next, followed by Hitch and Marlow after Sasha invited Annie to eat some sweets together at the hotel. Hitch was surprised Annie started making more friends, and Marlow followed because of his crush on Hitch. Hanami joined the group because she helped Sasha out in school. Hanami also covers for her in many situations (any situations involving food and sneaking). Niccolo joined the group after their first meeting and when he surprised Sasha in Kalokairi. He also grew close to Jean and Connie before visiting, and they came up with the idea. Mina is the recent friend to join the group. Marco went to Brown University in America to study education. Marco met Mina one day on campus, and the two often had classes together. The two eventually begin dating, and Marco often brings Mina on his visits to Kalokairi to meet his friends and go sightseeing.

Sasha looks at the group near the door. She was curious how Hitch convinced Annie to come since she should be on her date with Armin.

“I was having a nice date with Armin until Hitch” Annie glares at Hitch “decided to end it and dragged me here.”

Hitch laughs and waves a hand in the air “I told you this morning we were meeting with the others at 10. It was 9:50 when I came by, and you were still eating breakfast with Armin. You left the hotel at 8:30. No one takes an hour and twenty minutes to eat breakfast.” Hitch turns to Annie with a mischievous smile on her face “Besides, Armin is not alone, and he’s very understanding with me stealing you. He has Marlow, and I’m sure they are preparing for the wedding as we speak.”

Sasha turns to Mina and Hanami wanting to hear their explanations. Hanami spoke first “I left Jean so he could work on his Best Man duties. I ran into Mina and Marco on my way to the dress shop. Marco insisted for her to help me, and we ran into Hitch who already had Annie.” Sasha turns to Hitch and Annie. Annie was trying to defend herself while Hitch was laughing at Annie’s embarrassed face. Armin and Annie must have gone sightseeing or something and lost track of time.

“Anyways” Hanami interrupts the two while Mina goes to Annie and holds her arm for Hitch’s safety. “We need to try on our dresses, and I already got them altered. I want to see if I need to make any more last-minute changes before the wedding.” She then walked over to the bag with her name on it and motioned for the others (minus Sasha) to follow and get changed.

“I’m so excited about the wedding! I really like the color of the dresses you picked Sasha” Mina says as Sasha helps her with her dress. She turns to Sasha and gives her a sweet smile.

Sasha was glad to have someone like Mina in her friend group. She’s going to have to thank Marco for encouraging Mina to join later.

“I agree,” Hitch says as she puts on her dress “the guys haven’t seen what we look like either. We are going to blow them away for sure” Hitch tossed her hair a bit for an effect and laughed. She turned to Annie with another mischievous smile.

“I know Armin would be over the moon after seeing you in your dress, Annie. You could accidentally spill some wine on your dress, and Armin would still think you’re beautiful” Annie’s face turned red and she jumped a bit because of Hitch’s words. Luckily, she didn’t move around too much or Sasha would have accidentally caught Annie’s skin when she was zipping up her dress. She finished zipping up Annie’s dress before moving towards Historia to help her with her dress.

“Isn’t over the moon a bit much?” Annie sputters, her face was still red “I’m sure Marlow would be speechless after seeing you in your dress, Hitch. You haven’t seen each other for a while and only started dating recently. I wouldn’t be surprised if he faints after seeing you.” Annie says with a serious face

Hitch gushes and hugs Annie “You always know what to say” she cries. Annie only rolls her eyes while awkwardly patting Hitch on the back. Annie may not look like it, but she actually cares about Hitch.

Meanwhile, the other girls had their dresses on and were busy taking mirror selfies with Sasha’s mirror to send to their significant others (Mikasa and Hanami also took part; although they are both single). Hitch notices and lets go of Annie. She puts her hand on Annie’s back and pushes her to the rest of the girls to join in.

“Ymir is going to love this,” Historia praises herself after Annie joins the group and takes more mirror selfies. She switches the camera to the front camera and raises her arm to take a few group selfies. “And send” Historia sends the pictures to Ymir and then to the rest of the girls to keep for themselves.

“I wonder what Armin is gonna think?” Hitch says out loud and nudges Annie on the side. Annie rolls her eyes but still smiles because of Hitch. Hitch then looks up to find Sasha and Mina texting their significant others. She looks over to find Hanami walking around the room to check on the dresses. Mikasa is silently staring at the photos. She looked like she was in an internal conflict with herself to pick which one she would send to the receiving end. Hitch has a 99.9% guess it was Eren. It looks like Hitch is going to play matchmaker again. If it worked for Annie, then it would work for Mikasa. Sadly, Hitch is missing her partner in crime, Ymir, for this.

“Hey, Mikasa. Are you thinking of sending those photos to I don’t know, a certain someone, perhaps? I don’t know. Eren? Hitch asks with a cat-like grin and wiggles her eyebrows. “You’re one of the only girls in the group who is still single, and everyone knows about your crush on Eren, except for Eren himself!”

All the girls in the room sighed. Eren cares about his friends and family, but he is also pretty oblivious about Mikasa’s feelings. Eren is so focused on passing med school to be a doctor like his father that everyone thought he would stay single forever. Nevertheless, Mikasa still fell for how passionate Eren is to achieve his goal.

Mikasa flushes with embarrassment. Hopefully, no one noticed the old scarf with her stuff. Mikasa likes to keep the scarf with her because Eren was her first friend after moving to Kalokairi. She chooses not to wear it now because of the heat.

Mikasa quickly scans at the other girls in the room and spots Hitch’s next target. At least there’s someone who is also single to get Hitch off her chest.

“Say, Hanami, do you have any potential boyfriends in mind?” Mikasa asks casually to divert Hitch’s attention away from her. She doesn’t want Hitch to pull an Armin and Annie with her and Eren. She prefers not to have others meddle with her love life. Mikasa prefers for it to happen naturally (who knows how long that would take?)

Hitch gasps and runs over to Hanami while she is smoothening out her dress. Hitch grabs Hanami’s shoulders and starts shaking her back and forth. “Well, do you?” Hitch asks while shaking her. Hanami is the only other girl in the group (other than Mikasa) who is currently single.

“Nope. Definitely not me” she laughs and lightly pushes Hitch off of her “I’ve been busy too preparing for Sasha’s wedding and college. I mean I have talked to a few guys since I came back, but I was only flirting with them.” She pats Hitch’s shoulder and sits down on Sasha’s bed. She pulls her phone out of her bag and starts texting someone. Hanami occasionally flirts with guys every now and then. Dating would be nice, but it is not her biggest priority. Besides, she's been busy working alongside Jean for the wedding.

Hitch only hums and decides to not press her further (for now). She walks towards Historia who is sitting on a chest near the door while texting Ymir. Hitch had a plan in mind, and she needed someone to help. She calls her to Historia quietly and leans down to subtly whisper to her ear. She didn’t need Hanami or Mikasa to hear what she had to say.

Historia raises her eyebrow to let Hitch know she is listening.

“Normally I would ask Ymir to help me, but you’re my next best hope Historia” Hitch whispers to Historia. Hitch looks over the room and her eyes on the others to make sure they weren’t eavesdropping on their conversation.

Historia laughs quietly “I agree. What do you have in mind?”

“Well,” Hitch begins and looks at Mikasa who is now looking at herself in the mirror with Sasha and Mina. “We all know Mikasa and Eren should get together. It’s pretty obvious, and I’m positive I saw that old scarf sticking out of Mikasa’s luggage earlier.”

She turns her attention towards Hanami who joins the other girls. “Now as for Hanami, she’s a different case. She may or may not have accidentally spilled a few secrets to me when we went drinking with the girls one night. Now I know the perfect guy for her, but she’s too focused on Maid of Honor duties to notice. We just have to give them both a nudge if you know what I mean?”

Historia knew exactly what Hitch was implying and who the guy was. She had a suspicion about the two since high school, but she never pursued the idea. She leaned slightly towards Hitch while watching the others with her.

“If my guesses are correct. I’m going to assume it’s him right?”

“I think we are on the same page, Historia.” Hitch smirks “We just can tell either him or Hanami. You in?”

Historia holds out her hand for Hitch to shake. “Alright. I'm in.” They shake hands to confirm their agreement. It looks like this trip is going to get a lot more interesting than before.

Meanwhile, during Hitch and Historia’s secret conversation, Sasha stood behind Mikasa, Mina, and Hanami as they looked at themselves in the mirror. They were in their own little bubble admiring themselves in the mirror while ignoring the upcoming plan on the other side of the room.

“You did so well with these dresses, Sasha” Mina compliments Sasha for the second time that morning.

“We’re gonna look fabulous tomorrow,” Hanami says joyfully. Both Hanami and Mina caused Sasha to blush.

“Thank you. I just want the perfect wedding and I want my father to give me away.” Sasha leans down and lays her cheek on Mina’s head

“I hope you got yourself a wide aisle, Sasha” Mikasa smirks, causing Mina and Hanami to laugh. Sasha playfully slaps Mikasa’s back “I will know my father as soon as I see him.”

A knock interrupted the girls, and Niccolo enters the room. All of the girls turn to him.

“Niccolo!” the girls (minus Annie and Mikasa) scream as they open their arms for a group hug. Hitch and Historia came up with an idea and pulled the group to fall on Sasha’s bed with Niccolo

“Hey put me down” Niccolo laughs as he falls “I’m about to get married tomorrow. Can someone help me?” Annie and Mikasa help loosen the girls' grip on Niccolo and help him stand back up. Meanwhile, Sasha was laughing at her friend’s silliness. The rest of the girls stand up from the bed and move to stand in front of Niccolo

“So what do you think about the dresses?” Historia asks

“Niccolo, tell Annie that Armin is going to faint after he sees her in this dress!” Hitch complains and points at Annie

Annie lightly slaps Hitch on the head. “Knock it off, Hitch,” she says with a red face. The others were laughing at their antics.

“You all look beautiful” Niccolo laughs and compliments the girls “I’m sure Armin will faint after seeing you, Annie.”

“See! At least Niccolo agrees with me!” Hitch walks over to Niccolo and hugs him. She doesn’t care if the pins on her dress poke her body. At least someone agreed with her statement. She knows Annie well enough to consider herself as Annie’s best friend.

There was another knock on Sasha’s door and it opened again to reveal Jean and Eren.

“Eren! Jean!” Historia screams and runs to Jean’s arms. Mikasa smiles and walks to Eren.

“Hey Historia” Jean smiles and turns to Mikasa

“Hey Mikasa” Mikasa turn to him in Eren’s arm and smiles at him as well

Jean coughs lightly into his fist. He also had a small red tint on his face. “The guys missed you all”

“I was wondering what was taking you so long, Niccolo,” Eren states after hugging Mikasa. He noticed how her face was red, but didn’t want to push her by asking when everyone else is in the room.

“Sorry, Eren. I was busy talking to the other girls. Can you grab some of the stuff for me?” Niccolo lets go of Hitch and walks towards Sasha. He walks behind her and hugs her from behind. He kisses her cheek and the other girls gush on how cute he and Sasha are.

“Sure, Niccolo. Eren looks down at Mikasa in his arms “Can you help me, Mikasa? Who knows how much Jean would get done?” Eren rolls his eyes and smirks. Mikasa glances at Eren. ‘Maybe he knows something?’ She thought and plans to ask Eren about it later.

Niccolo looks down at Sasha “You have a good eye with the dress choice. bet you’ll look even more gorgeous in your wedding dress.”

“Well, I had Hitch help me too.” Sasha laughs “It’s nice to hear coming from the man who is also baking the wedding cake. I heard you let Annie help you as practice, right?” Sasha asks and raises an eyebrow

“She insisted on helping as practice for patisserie school. She wanted it to be a surprise, but someone (most likely Hitch) told you too early. I’m sorry about that” Niccolo raises an arm and scratches the back of his neck. He had a nervous face too.

Sasha loops her arms around Niccolo’s neck and leans up to peck on the lips. She looked into Niccolo’s hazel eyes as she spoke, “What did I ever do to deserve you? I’m glad you are okay with letting my friends play bigger roles than just bridesmaids. I can tell how happy they are to help.”

Niccolo grins like a boy in love “It helps us save money to go travel, and after-” Niccolo’s face contours to love “we can open a restaurant together”

Sasha smiles “Here?” she inquires

Niccolo kisses Sasha’s forehead and looks down at her “Wherever you want, Sasha. I love you too much that I would follow you to the ends of the Earth if you tell me too”

Now Sasha is smiling like a girl in love “I love you too, Niccolo.”

Meanwhile, Jean picks up a cowboy hat after hugging Historia. He walks to Niccolo and Sasha (while they are in their little bubble) and places the hat on Niccolo’s head. Jean then walks over to Sasha’s bed where Hanami is standing while she is busy typing on her phone. She didn’t notice Jean heading her way. Most of the people in the room were too busy with their own thing to notice. Historia and Hitch were the only two people to notice.

Jean stands next to Hanami and proceeds to rest his arm on top of her head. He slightly leans down to look at her, but he doesn’t look at her phone. Jean knows better than to look at someone’s business.

“Jean, knock it off. Go do that to someone else like Mikasa” Hanami says with an irritated tone in her voice and a red face. She swats her arm up in an attempt to remove Jean’s arm off her head. Jean put his arm back no matter how many times Hanami tried to take it off.

“Hmmm, I’d rather not. You’re short enough for me to be a good armrest ” Jean teases Hanami and puts his arm on her head again. The 11-inch difference is a fun thing for Jean to mess with Hanami with. It’s not his fault he had a huge growth spurt in high school.

“There are girls here who are shorter than me!” Hanami grumbles and gives up after a few more failed attempts. She is still red from embarrassment. She didn’t understand why he didn’t do that to Mina and Historia (Annie is out of the question unless you want to end up on the floor). Hanami just crosses her arms instead and frowns as Jean instructs Eren to pick up what’s left for the bachelor party. Hanami didn’t notice Historia and Hitch laughing to themselves after watching the whole thing going on. Mina slightly breaks off her conversation with Annie and turns to Historia and Hitch. Looks like someone noticed after all.

‘We’ll tell you about it later’ Historia whispers to Mina

“I got everything we need for the bachelor party Niccolo. We can go now.” Eren tells Niccolo and holds up the box of stuff. Sasha perks up and turns around in Niccolo’s arms to face him “Yes, you need to go. Us girls are very busy at the moment.”

Sasha proceeds to push Niccolo towards the doors. Jean (finally) takes his arm off of Hanami’s head and is still smirking at her irritated face as he leaves. Eren follows the two but turns around before heading out

“You look beautiful in that dress, Mikasa.” Eren compliments and gives the girls a two-finger salute before leaving. Mikasa blushes at his statement, and Sasha closes the door after all of the guys have left. The girls stood there, and their mouths were open with shock.

Hitch claps her hands to get everyone’s attention. “Ok, now that we know how great Mikasa looks in these dresses, thanks to Eren, let’s change so we can go to the beach later.” Hitch turned to Mikasa and Historia. “You brought your swimsuits, right?”

“Yes,” Historia says cheerfully. Mikasa was not as cheerful because she was still blushing after Eren’s compliment. Speaking of Eren, she is not letting Sasha run out without answering her question.

“Sasha, you did not answer my question from last time. Did you tell Niccolo about your fathers?” Mikasa asks as she begins taking off her dress. The other girls, except Historia, look at each other while helping each other get out of their dresses. It seems like they already knew the answer.

Sasha puts her hands on her hips. “No, because Niccolo would tell me to tell my mom.”

Mikasa was not going to let it down. “Hange is going to kill you when she finds out” she argues.

“I doubt Hange would pull a Levi on her only daughter. The worse she could do is break a table with a kick” Hanami chimes in while putting her clothes back on.

Of course, she must have read Hange’s journal too because she also found it with Sasha. All of the girls nodded in agreement. Hange loves Sasha too much to actually hurt her.

“Well it will be too late when Mom finds out,” Sasha says confidently and with a smile on her face

The others were already done changing, and they stared at Sasha again. They all had a worried look on their faces. Who knows what chaos would ensue when Sasha’s fathers arrive on the island?

Sasha, noticing the worry on her friend's faces, moves from her spot near the door and sits down on her bed. The others move to stand in front of Sasha. She looks up to her friends with a hopeful look on her face.

“All my life, I felt like something was missing, and when I finally met my father-” Sasha smiles at the thought of finally reuniting with her father. Sasha has never had an actual father in her life. The only person she can name who counts as a father-figure is Moblit, her mom’s assistant. He helped her Mom run the hotel and take care of Sasha since she was 2. Now, Sasha is going to finally meet her actual father “-everything will fall into place.”

Yes, I'm aware the title is not a song by ABBA. I plan on using older songs like 'Girls Just Wanna Have Fun' to chapters scenes where no one is singing in the movie. I hope you enjoyed this week's chapter! The plot will actually move in the next one, I promise. I may or may not have been smiling like an idiot when I wrote the Nicosasha scene lol. I kinda based it on how I want my future bf to be like. A girl can dream haha.

I’ve had that head as armrest thing happen to me before. I find it odd because I’m considered average height lol.

Mikasa’s great aunt I mentioned last chapter is Kiyoomi. I never said her name because I didn’t want to spoil anything

I remember an ask from @fanmoose12 blog asking about Jeankasa. The question is, is it endgame? 😏

Again, I hope y'all had a good Valentine's day. I hope you stay safe (if you are experiencing the winter storm)

Thank you so much for reading!

#levihan #levi x hange #levihan fanfiction #nicosasha #erwin x hange #mike x hange #aruani #hitch x marlow #mikenana #marco x mina #pokkopikku #snk #attack on titan

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obeyme-kaidii-writes · 3 years

Text

Confession

Leviathan x gn!MC

Words - 2,333

Content Warnings - just fluff. slight angst, but lots of cuddles

Prompt/Inspiration - Based on the in game chat “Whispers of Love”

Summary - Levi finally works up the courage to confess to you and immediately regrets it.

AO3

Levi was pacing his room. He had just sent you a message, finally proclaiming his love to you. The manga he had been reading had really inspired him, and he really related to the main character.

But this was stupid. He made a bad decision. Why did he have to be so impulsive? He shouldn’t have read that stupid manga. Why did you have to recommend it to him? No, it wasn’t the manga’s fault. It was his. He was the failure. He was the one that took it too far. He was the one that couldn’t separate his fantasy from reality.

He tumbled into his tub with a groan and buried his face into his body pillow. Stupid, stupid, stupid, he thought.

“Oh! Wait! Maybe it’s not too late? Maybe they haven’t seen it yet? Yeah that’s it. I’ll just sneak into their room and….”

DING

His stomach lurched. That was your ringtone. He was too late. You had seen the message. And not only that you had replied.

Hesitantly he reached out for his DDD and flicked the screen on. After taking a few deep breaths, Levi slowly opened one eye and read your response.

“Thanks!” was all you had said.

Whatever hope had remained within him crumbled. That was not the response he was looking for. He almost wished you had just laughed at him and played it off as a joke. But no, you just thanked him with a smile.

Before he knew what was happening, tears had started streaming down his cheeks, dripping onto his DDD.

“Dammit!” he growled. He did not have time for this. Why did he have to be so emotional? That’s probably something you didn’t like about him, he guessed. Who would want to be around someone so sensitive and dramatic? Why would you spend time with a person that always took things personally and got defensive?

How was he ever going to face you now?

Levi rubbed at his eyes with the heels of his palms, desperate to make the tears stop. As he struggled to regain his composure, a thought occurred to him.

“What if I just played it off? I’ll...I’ll say it was a joke. Someone else sent the message. That’ll work. Yeah that’ll work,” Levi had started rambling out loud, trying to psyche himself up and convince himself that his plan would indeed work and that he could save at least a scrap of his dignity.

“Aarghh! That’s not what I meant! That was Belphie! He ran off with my phone!”

And sent, he thought to himself, proudly.

“Yeah, that’ll work. They’ll never know it was me now. It’ll be ok. We will just laugh it off and everything will go back to normal. We can have our game night again and watch that new anime I found. And everything will be okay. It doesn’t have to change.”

DING

You had replied again, “I took a screenshot of it!” you teased.

Levi groaned once more and threw himself back down into his nest of blankets and pillows in his tub. This was awful. He could practically hear your laughter in his head. As he cocooned himself with his favorite Ruri-chan blanket, he closed his eyes tightly and tried to take some deep breaths.

It’ll be ok. You were just being your normal self. You didn’t suspect anything. He’ll stay in his room for a couple days, and when he emerges everything will be the same. You’ll be the same.

But no matter how much he tried to soothe himself, the tears had started to flow again. His mind was consumed with thoughts of his own failures and shortcomings. He was such a loser. He was so awkward. And weird. And gross. You deserved someone better. It’s a miracle you were even friends with him. He should be happy with that. He should be happy you even bothered to smile at him at all.

Before long, Levi found himself drifting off to sleep, hoping his dreams would at least be more pleasant than his joke of a life.

——————

“That was Belphie! He ran off with my phone!”

You looked down from your DDD to the mop of shaggy black hair in your lap, belonging to the sleepy demon. Belphegor had joined you in your room a while ago to watch a movie together and, predictably, fallen asleep at some point. His arms were wrapped around your legs as his head rested on your thighs, while he slept peacefully next to you.

Does this mean Levi’s confession was real? You had been uncertain at first, since it was so unexpected and seemed out of character for the shy, introverted demon. But he was definitely trying to backtrack and save himself from embarrassment now. And clearly he was panicking if he couldn’t even have been bothered to at least check with Belphie to make sure he’d cover for him.

Anticipation had started to build in your chest. You had never imagined that Levi would be the one to confess to you. You had played out this scenario time and time again in your own head and it had always involved you confessing to him. A smile had soon spread across your face, and your imagination had already jumped ahead to your first kiss, your first intimate moment...

But first, you just couldn’t resist teasing your poor otaku.

“I took a screenshot of it!” you replied.

You started laughing to yourself, struggling to remain quiet as you were overcome with gleeful giggling. You eagerly waited for Levi’s response to come.

And waited.

After about 10 minutes you realized something had to have been wrong. Oh no, you thought. I must have taken it too far. Your heart squeezed in your chest as you wondered what he could be doing right now. If you knew one thing about him, it was the fact that he had the tendency to overthink things and go off on dark, twisted spirals before checking the facts.

As the silence stretched on, you were certain this was one of those times.

“Hey Belphie. I need you to let me up,” you ran your fingers through his hair, trying to gently wake him. He only tightened his grip around your legs and nuzzled his cheek on your thigh.

You gave a sigh, and started to pry his arms off of you, “Come on. I know you’re awake now. Let me go.”

“You’re no fun,” he groaned as he rolled over and curled up on the other side of your bed.

“How long have you been awake anyways?”

“Since around the time you started giggling like a little school girl. It’s hard to sleep when your pillow keeps shaking.”

“Sorry Belphie,” you smiled, getting up from your bed and heading towards the door, “I don’t think I’ll be back tonight, so just turn the TV off if you leave.”

“Oh?” he turned slightly, so he could see you over his shoulder, “Where are you running off to?”

“Just checking on Levi,” you shrugged. As much as you wanted to tell the world that he had in fact confessed to you, you knew this wasn’t the time. And Belphegor was certainly not the demon to confide in when it came to his brother’s insecurities.

Belphie smirked at you before rolling back over, “Tell him congratulations on finally becoming a man.”

“Oh shut up you. That’s not what’s going on and you know it!” you chucked a small pillow that had fallen to the floor at him as he laughed, thoroughly enjoying how flustered he made you.

——————

“Levi? Are you there? I’m coming in.”

Before he even had time to react, you had opened the door to his bedroom. He was absolutely not ready to face you yet, so he decided the only course of action was to pretend he was asleep. That worked in his manga, right? He closed his eyes tightly and tried to curl up as small as possible to conceal his face. He’d be fine so long as you didn’t look at him too closely.

The first thing you noticed upon entering Levi’s room was that all the lights were off. Not even the glow of the computer monitor or the television was present. The only source of light in fact, came from the huge aquarium that ran the length of one of the bedroom walls.

You couldn’t help but think how odd that was. You had spent a lot of time in Levi’s room after all, and never once was it this dark. There was almost always some screen on somewhere, playing a movie or game or even just music. But everything was dark and silent now.

Closing the door gently behind you, you carefully scanned the room in search of Levi. Maybe he wasn’t here after all? But finally your eyes settled on the bundle of blankets in his tub that seemed to shift occasionally.

You sighed, a soft smile playing at your lips. Yeah, you had definitely taken things too far.

“Hey, Levi,” you said, keeping your voice down and speaking gently, “I know you’re there.”

You crouched down next to the tub, resting your arms on the side. A tuft of purplish blue was peaking out beneath the blankets and you carefully reached out to brush it away, revealing Leviathan’s eyes.

“You ok?”

He pulled the blankets even tighter around himself, wanting so badly to disappear and have the floor swallow him up.

“Yep, just fine. Trying to get some sleep,” he turned his head and squeezed his eyes shut.

“That’s good,” you said, stroking his hair again. Unconsciously he leaned into your touch, “I was watching a new movie earlier, you know,” you paused, Levi opened one eye to look at you and examine the expression on your face. Maybe he had been worried for nothing. Maybe you were just going to let him pretend this didn’t happen. Maybe….

“With Belphegor,” you continued.

Levi’s eyes went wide as the color drained from his face. He stiffened. Oh shit. He didn’t even think about that. He was such an idiot. Of course you were with Belphie! He should have known that. You had even told him about the movie and asked if he wanted to join. But he hadn’t been interested and wanted to catch up on some animes he had missed. Stupid stupid stupid.

“Belphie didn’t send that message, did he?” you asked, smiling.

“.....no,” Levi managed to squeak out. He could feel the tears building in his eyes again. This was worse then he could possibly imagine. You had caught him in his lie. And now you were going to reject him face to face. And that would be it. It would be all over. He’d never see his Henry again.

“And did you mean it? What you said the first time?”

“Yeah,” his voice cracked. He might as well answer you honestly now. It wasn’t like things could have gotten worse.

Levi heard you moving, and he chanced a look at the edge of the tub only to find that you were no longer there. He figured you must have decided to leave, and he let out the breath he had been holding, as his tears finally flowed freely.

But what he did not expect was the movement he now felt behind him as you climbed carefully into the tub and wrapped your arms around his chest.

“Wh wh wh what are you doing?!”

“Hmm, I appear to be cuddling with you,” you said, pulling him closer.

“I know that!” He was irritated now. Why were you still teasing him? Couldn’t you tell he had had enough and wanted to be alone?

You pulled the blanket down to his shoulders, allowing you a clear view of his head and neck. You could tell even from this angle that he been crying, and it made you feel incredibly guilty. You hadn’t meant for him to get this upset.

You leaned forward and rested your head on his, placing a small kiss on his hair, “I love you, too,” you whispered into his ear.

Before you had a chance to react, Levi had whipped around and was now facing you. His tears had stopped from pure shock and he just stared, mouth hanging open. You gave him another smile, as you cupped his cheek and brushed away the remaining tears with your thumb.

“Do you mean that?” His eyes looked so hopeful. He was trying his best not to get his hopes up, but it was a battle he was clearly losing. You could hear the fear and hesitation in his voice.

“Yeah, I do,” you leaned forward again and pressed another kiss to his forehead this time, taking a moment to breathe in his scent before pulling away slightly so you could wrap your arms around him again. He didn’t need much encouragement to return the gesture and bury his face in your chest. Before long he was clinging to you desperately, as tightly as possible, afraid this was all a dream and he’d soon wake up and you’d be gone.

“I’m sorry for teasing you,” you cooed, running your fingers through his hair, “I should have said something earlier but I was kinda nervous too.” You kissed the top of his head again before resting your cheek against him, “I’m really sorry. And I really do love you, Levi. I have for a long time now.”

His arms tightened around you once more, and he turned his head slightly to speak. He wanted to make sure you could hear him clearly and that it wasn’t muffled by your shirt. He was starting to calm down now, and the adrenaline that had previously given him the courage to turn to face you was fading. He did not want to repeat himself, and he did not know when he was going to be able to say this again....

“I love you too.”

#gn!mc #obey me #obey me shall we date #obey me levi #levi x mc #obey me fanfic #obey me fluff #levi fanfiction #levi fluff

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thedeliverygod · 3 years

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2020 Anime Rec List

side note that these animes didn’t necessarily come out in 2020 (though some did) its just the year that I watched them.

FOR FANS OF NORAGAMI

Toilet Bound Hanako Kun

Based off the popular legend in Japan of Hanako-san, a ghost who haunts the girl’s bathroom. However, this Hanako is a mischievous boy who happens to be the leader of the school’s Seven Wonders. The heroine Nene comes to Hanako with a wish of making her senpai notice her and chaos ensues from there as the near shore and the far shore intertwine. You’ll see a lot of obvious comparisons between this and Noragami and the manga is also extremely worth it. I would say Hanako-kun is a little bit heavier on the comedy, but by the same token it can also be dark af :]

Kakuriyo

All of her life, Aoi has been able to see ayakashi; one even saved her from a near death experience when she was a small child. But after her grandfather passes away, she’s met by an ogre king who says that because of a debt her grandfather owes him, she must come to the hidden realm and be his bride. Aoi refuses and asks to instead work off her debt at the inn that he owns. With the help of Ginji, a kind fox ayakashi, Aoi starts her own restaurant and grows many friendships with the various workers of the inn, including the ogre king himself. This one is definitely not as action based as Noragami or Hanako-kun but it’s a very spiritual and fun show. If you’re into cooking/food, there’s definitely a lot of that too.

Fantasy

A Lull in the Sea

In this world, certain humans have been blessed by the gods with ena; a special skin covering that allows them to live and breathe underwater. For generations, there has been tensions between humans who live on land and humans who live in the sea. The show begins with a group of friends who for the first time are required to go to school up on land. While most are open to the idea, the main character, Hikari, is very hesitant and very resistant towards befriending land-dwellers. Over time, the friends grow to realize people in the sea and people on land are not so different after all and do their best to bring the two worlds together. This is honestly simplifying the plot a lot, but it’s a beautiful series. The amount of characters could honestly get a little overwhelming at times but I still highly recommend it.

ReLIFE

Arata for all intents and purposes is known as a “NEET”. So when an opportunity arises for him to become 17 again and ‘restart’ life, he takes it. I’ll be real, this anime was not at all what I was expecting. Arata’s reasons for being a “NEET” are very deep and relatable rather than the results of poor life style choices. Honestly, I think most people who are in their twenties right now can relate to at least one or more parts of his story as the anime goes more into detail. By going back to high school, it teaches him how to connect with people on a real level and how to appreciate life for what it is and take in every single little moment.

Slice of Life

Kakushigoto

Kakushi Goto is a successful manga artist. But not just any manga artist, one who makes his living with lewd drawings and jokes. The catch? He has a small oh so innocent daughter that absolutely must NEVER know what he does for living. This anime is so sweet, heartwarming, and hilarious. Honestly the reason I watched it is because the main character is the same voice as Yato lmao. So if you want to pretend, it’s like Yato has a little girl.

My Roommate is a Cat

Subaru is a recluse novelist and has been stuck in writer’s block for quite a while. After finding a kitten and bringing it home, Subaru finds new inspiration for both his writing and ways of seeing the world. A really cute & slow-paced slice of life.

Tonikawa

On his way home from school, Nasa sees a beautiful girl across the street. Without thinking, he walks across and finds himself being hit by a truck. Luckily, the girl jumped in to protect him and saved his life. Though she miraculously only had a few cuts, Nasa suffered some broken bones and was told to wait for an ambulance while she walked off. Not wanting to lose a chance to see her again, Nasa chases after her and asks her about going on a date. Tsukasa replied that she would date him only if they got married first. Without hesitation, Nasa says yes before he soon passes out from the pain. Years pass and Nasa can’t forget the girl who saved his life. But just when he’s about to give up, she appears again and this time she’s got the marriage papers. This anime is really cute and hilarious! I thought the characters were younger than they actually are due to their cutesy design which is why I held off on watching it but I promise it’s not children getting married haha. Although Tsukasa says she’s 17 it seems to be implied she’s older (like, Yato old). I haven’t read the manga so I don’t know this for sure but there’s been a few moments in the anime that seem to hint at this. Plus, you know, the fact that she was hit by a truck and was fine.

#anime recs

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ryqoshay · 3 years

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Tri-Arame: Sleepover Night

Primary Pairing Trio: YuuAyuSetsu Words: ~3k Rating: G Time Frame: During their 2nd year in high school Story Arc: Stand Alone

----------

Author’s Note: My µ’s muse is rebelling against the drama I’m trying to write for my PTX set. So here’s some more fluff.

Summary: Setsuna took a rain check on watching the anime series that inspired her Koppe Pan order back in Ne, Wanna Bite? Now it’s time to cash in.

----------

“Uhm, Okaasan?” Nana asked trying to keep the nervousness out of her voice.

Why had she waited until the last possible minute to ask permission? What if she was denied? She’d have to cancel the plans to which she had looked forward all week.

“Yes, Nana?” Mrs. Nakagawa replied, looking up from her paperwork.

“Would it be alright if I stayed at a friend’s place tonight?”

“Oh? Someone from the student council?”

“No, a friend associated with the student council who is assisting with a project.” Nana explained. “There is a lot of preparation work that still needs to be done and I wasn’t the only one busy with tests this week.”

It wasn’t a complete lie. Ayumu had indeed helped her with student council work several times. So had Yuu, for that matter, as well as several other members of the idol club. Usually, their aid was reasoned away by them simply wishing to assist a friend, as well as allow her to more easily participate in club activities. This often led to her wondering if they knew how much their help was truly appreciated.

As for the mentioned project… Well, the club did have a Live coming up. And a member of the student council was participating. Granted that member was her, but…

“I see.” Mrs. Nakagawa nodded. “Very well then.”

Excitement bubbled up within Nana, but she quashed most of it, offering only a polite smile. “Thank you, Okaasan.”

Her mother offered a similar smile in return. “Have fun tonight.”

“I will.” Nana said before turning and heading to her room to pack.

----------

Setsuna was giddy with excitement as she undid her braids on the train. Her first sleepover with friends!

It wasn’t her first time visiting a friend’s home, but she hadn’t even done that in years. She had lost track of her childhood friends over the years, due in no small part to increasing expectations from her parents as she advanced in grades. The ban on her favored pastimes had been the final blow as she had to sneak around to continue to indulge, and that was best done alone.

Then she joined the student council and managed to become its president. Suddenly she had an excuse to stay out later or even just be out on weekends. She hated having to lie to her parents and did strive to be as truthful as possible, though she knew full well that a lie by omission was still a lie. But that had become her only way to become a school idol, to join the new club, to shop for manga and doujin and to hang out with friends.

And to spend time with those two.

Ayumu and Yuu had quickly become her closest friends after she joined the idol club. They had graciously given her an outlet through which to focus much of her enthusiasm for her hobbies. And this weekend they had agreed to marathon one of her favorite anime series with her. For the second time, Setsuna would be able have an actual conversation with friends about a beloved story, instead of just a one-sided explanation; the first being earlier that week as the three hung out together and purchased the latest book of Heavenly Life.

And she couldn’t wait.

Honestly, the train couldn’t arrive at the station quickly enough. And Setsuna knew she would have to resist the urge to run to the apartment complex where Ayumu and Yuu lived. For the sooner she arrived, the sooner they could start watching. And the sooner they finished the series, the sooner they could start talking about it.

----------

“Ah, Nakagawa-san.” Mrs. Uehara said upon opening the door. “Welcome. My daughters said you would be coming.”

“Daughters?” Setsuna couldn’t help repeating. Did Ayumu have a sister?

Mrs. Uehara chuckled. “I’m sorry.” She said shaking her head. “It’s a bit of a habit of mine. But Yuu is over here so often that she’s pretty much family at this point.”

A tiny flash of envy shot through Setsuna. How nice to be so close to someone. And not just them, but their family as well. Perhaps someday she could be that close to someone, or someones…? as well.

“Ah, pardon me.” Ayumu’s mother said after a slightly awkward moment. “Come in. Come in.” She opened the door fully and ushered Setsuna inside, introducing herself along the way. “Forgive my asking, but do you prefer to go by Nakagawa-san or Yuki-san?”

“Oh, uhm, actually,” She calls Yuu-san by her name, so maybe “Setsuna is fine.”

Mrs. Uehara smiled. “Setsuna it is then. I’ll go tell my daughters you’re here.” She laughed lightly again at her joke before taking a couple steps toward the hall. “Ayumu! Yuu! Setsuna is here!”

Before Setsuna could even finish removing her shoes, a twintailed girl was scampering around the corner.

“Setsuna-chan!” Yuu greeting joyously.

“I’m glad you could make it, Setsuna-chan.” Ayumu added, following at a more modest pace.

“I’ll have dinner ready soon.” Mrs. Uehara said, moving toward the kitchen. “I’ll send your father to fetch you once he’s home from work, Ayumu.”

“Thank you, Mama.” Ayumu replied.

“Thanks, Ayumama!” Yuu added, earning a blush from Ayumu and a chuckle from Mrs. Uehara. “C’mon, let’s go.” Yuu then said, grabbing both Ayumu and Setsuna’s hands before leading them down the hall.

Yuu opened a door, pulled the other two inside and…

Pink.

That was the first thought that came to Setsuna’s mind upon entering Ayumu’s room. The walls were pink. The clock and lamp on the headboard were pink. Pink curtains framed the balcony door, pink cloth decorated the shelves on the wall and a pink blanket covered something under said shelves. And what wasn’t pink was still some other light, fluffy pastel color. It was all… very Ayumu. Yes, that was the best description Setsuna could think up based on what she knew about her friend.

But beyond the cute colors, it was also very comfy, soft and warm. And welcoming. Setsuna immediately felt at home in the room.

Then her eye caught something. Or rather, a lot of somethings.

“They’re so cute…” She said, finding herself drawn to a display of plush animals.

“I know, right?” Yuu was the one to respond. “Ayumu wanted to pack them away because she thought they were too childish.”

“Y-Yuu-chan…” Ayumu protested.

“I should show you my collection sometime.” Setsuna said, resisting the urge to grab several animals and hug them, as she did not yet have such permission. “I have Kirara, Kyubey, Tamago Onsen, Dera Michimazzi, Kuroneko-sama, Sakamoto, Taroumaru, Ryo-Ohki…

Yuu started to chuckle. “Aren’t those all anime animals?”

“Yes.” Setsuna affirmed with a nod.

“I thought your parents forbid anime? I mean that’s why we’re having the marathon here, right?”

“Oh, uhm… my parents… don’t know they’re all from anime…” Setsuna admitted. “I haven’t told them, and they don’t seem to have looked into things online or anything. Posters, figures, and the like would be too obvious, so they’re the only merchandise I can display openly; I can pass them off as just being cute plushies.”

“Ah, I see.”

“And they’re not all from anime. I have Toothless as well.”

Yuu grinned. “A good choice.” She declared.

“Anyway, these are really cute too, Ayumu-san.” Setsuna turned her attention to the redhead.

“Thank you.” Ayumu replied. “You can touch them if you want, Setsuna-chan.” She added with an amused tone in her voice.

Was my desire that obvious? Setsuna wondered to herself. How embarrassing…

Setsuna swallowed down a blush and offered a smile instead. “Thank you.” She said, reaching for a pink rabbit to inspect. A pink bear had also caught her eye, but the rabbit seemed so Ayumu-like that she couldn’t help picking it over the others. It really was very cute, and she could easily tell why Ayumu liked it.

I wonder if there is one like Yuu-san here… Setsuna thought to herself as she continued to investigate the display.

“So, should we get a couple episodes in before dinner?” Yuu suggested.

“Yes.” Setsuna agreed enthusiastically, her attention reverting back to the original reason she was visiting.

“What site is the show on?” The twintailed girl asked as she sat down on a green pillow and opening what Setsuna assumed to be Ayumu’s laptop. “My parents have several accounts, so if its on one of them, I can sign in to it.”

“Actually, the series is old enough to be on the free sites.” Setsuna explained, choosing the blue pillow, and leaving the pink one for Ayumu.

“Oh, alright, uhm… here.” Yuu slid the computer over.

Setsuna started typing in the address, though as she did, she noticed both Yuu and Ayumu moving their pillows to either side of her. “Hm?” She hummed quizzically as they sat down.

“Since this is one of Setsuna-chan’s favorite series, she should have the best view of the screen.” Yuu answered before she could actually give voice to her question.

“But I’ve already seen it…” Setsuna rebutted.

“Setsuna-chan is also our guest and should have the best seat.” Ayumu added.

“Oh, uhm… alright.” Setsuna conceded. “Will we all fit?” She noted the tiny table did not have room on any one side for three people.

“It’s fine if we do this.” Yuu scooted in until her shoulder touched Setsuna’s.

So close… Eh? As Setsuna’s focus was on Yuu, Ayumu slid in from the other side, though not quite close enough to touch like Yuu. Setsuna wondered how red her face was as she quickly typed the title of the anime and found the first episode.

Setsuna was very much not used to watching anime like this. For so long she had watched alone, hiding from her parents and anyone she worried might not keep her secret. But this was simultaneously comforting and distracting.

Distractingly comfortable… Was that even a thing? While most of Setsuna wanted to pay attention to the anime on screen as the opening title began, there was no denying the part that wanted to focus on the surprisingly soothing warmth radiating from her two friends. She had only sat this way with her parents as a child, and the frequency had decreased dramatically as she grew older and her parents became busier with work.

As Setsuna felt her heartrate start to return to normal and the heat dissipate from her cheeks, she started to settle into the idea that this was a nice arrangement. She could get used to watching anime like this. She could probably even get used to Ayumu leaning in closer.

Yuu giggled, bringing Setsuna’s attention back to reality.

Ah yes, the protagonist’s introduction. Definitely a humorous moment, but there were funnier scenes yet to come, even in the first episode. What would Yuu think of those? Well, they did intend to talk about everything afterward, so perhaps she should just enjoy the show for now.

Setsuna relaxed and turned the entirety of her focus on the anime.

----------

Setsuna startled at the sound of knocking on the door. She turned her head to see said door open and a man she assumed to be Ayumu’s father poked his head into the room.

“Ayumu?” Mr. Uehara spoke. “Your mother sent me to say that dinner is ready.”

“Thank you, Papa.” Ayumu responded, starting to get up.

The man’s gaze shifted. “Hey, Yuu.” He greeted with a smile. “And… Setsuna, was it?”

“Yes.” Setsuna replied, getting up as well before bowing. “It is a pleasure to meet you. Thank you for having me tonight.”

“The pleasure is ours.” Mr. Uehara’s smile grew. “Ayumu and Yuu have told us a lot about you. It is nice to finally meet you.”

Ayumu-san and Yuu-san talked about me? Setsuna hoped it had been at least more good than bad, though judging by both Ayumu’s parents’ actions towards her thus far, that had been the case. And that realization caused warmth to spread through Setsuna’s chest.

Setsuna couldn’t help smiling as well as she followed the other three out to the Uehara dining room.

----------

The notification chime sounded on Setsuna’s phone as she got out of the bathtub. She padded one hand dry on her towel and unlocked the screen to find a message from Rina. The first-year was inviting the school idol club second-years to join a game she was playing. Well, except Ai, though Setsuna assumed she was already playing. She tapped the link so the app could download as she dried off, deciding the game might make for a fun activity to pass the time while Yuu and Ayumu took their turns bathing.

A few minutes later, Setsuna padded down the hall back to Ayumu’s room, already fully engrossed in the game’s tutorial.

“Yuu-san, Ayumu-san, this game… oh…” Setsuna cut off as the other two girls looked up from their own devices.

“It’s fun, isn’t it?” Yuu grinned as she set down her phone and stood before heading toward the door.

Ayumu had also put down her phone and traded it for a hair drier. “Come have a seat, Setsuna-chan.” She motioned to the pillow she was in the process of vacating before kneeling behind it. “I’ll dry your hair for you.”

“Oh, I can do that myself.” Setsuna declined. “Thank you for the offer though, Ayumu-san.”

“Are you sure?” Ayumu seemed confused and… disappointed? “I’d be happy to do it for you, Setsuna-chan.

“Ayumu just wants an excuse to play with your hair, Setsuna-chan.” Yuu chuckled.

Setsuna startled. She hadn’t realized Yuu was still in the room, apparently having stopped to watch. In response to the teasing, Ayumu’s cheeks flushed and Setsuna imagined her own were close to matching.

Although, why was she declining anyway? Memories of the braided bun lesson from earlier that week were still fresh in Setsuna’s mind had certainly caused her to want to accept, and yet she hadn’t. But accepting wasn’t forcing those desires on Ayumu or inconveniencing her or the like. Ayumu had made the offer.

“A-Alright…” Setsuna said after an awkward moment before taking a seat in front of Ayumu.

“Back in a few.” Yuu tossed over her shoulder as she left to head to the bath.

Ayumu flipped on the hairdryer and began running her fingers through Setsuna’s hair to spread out the strands for easier drying.

For her part, Setsuna was just about to relax into the session, when her phone pinged. She checked the screen to find Rina had sent an in-game gift. She accepted excitedly and began to play again.

“Uhm… Setsuna-chan.” Ayumu said after a moment. “I don’t mind if you play, but can you stop moving around while you do?”

“Oh… uhm… Sorry, Ayumu-san…” Setsuna replied, chastising herself for being rude while her host provided a wonderful service. Still, it would also be rude not to use Rina’s gift to the fullest, so she resumed her game, but made sure to remain still for Ayumu.

----------

Setsuna stared up at the ceiling, laying on her back on one of Ayumu’s guest futons. As sleepy as she felt, she was still buzzing a bit with lingering excitement from the events of the night. The three of them had successfully powered through the entire season with a few breaks for snacks and stretching before spending the next couple hours talking about the story. It was well past midnight, but it was the weekend so they could sleep in late in the morning before having a late breakfast, or early lunch, before Setsuna would head home to study.

Or perhaps… maybe she could study here? She had brought her books, even though she didn’t really expect to use them. And she really liked the welcoming atmosphere of Ayumu’s room, though really her apartment and family as a whole, if she was being honest. However, she didn’t want to impose by overstaying her welcome, and she certainly wasn’t going to just invite herself to stay. Still, it was a nice idea. Perhaps someday…

“Yuu-chan?” Setsuna heard Ayumu murmur, distracting her from her thoughts.

She heard the mattress shift and turned her head to see Yuu’s silhouette sliding under the duvet. She couldn’t quite understand Yuu’s response, but both girls in the bed fell silent after.

Strange. While it didn’t surprise Setsuna that a dating couple would share a bed, she couldn’t help wondering why Ayumu would bother setting out a guest futon for Yuu. Or question Yuu joining her.

Perhaps they were hiding the fact that they were dating and setting out the futon was a visual prop to convince Ayumu’s parents? No, that didn’t seem right. Neither Ayumu nor Yuu seemed the type to hide much, if anything, from their parents. Unlike Setsuna herself… Also, if Yuu’s parents were anything like Ayumu’s, Setsuna believed they wouldn’t have much of an issue with their daughters dating. The Ueharas already considered Yuu part of their family after all.

Were they, perhaps, not actually dating? That would explain Ayumu’s protest. And knowing Yuu’s casual approach to personal space, it wouldn’t surprise Setsuna in the least if she just did as she pleased. And Ayumu would let her. Still, that didn’t seem quite right either. Setsuna was fairly certain they were a couple. Their close bond was obvious to anyone who spent more than five minutes with them.

In any case, whether they were dating or not really wasn’t any of Setsuna’s business. So perhaps pondering the possibilities was inappropriate.

What was far more worth her mental energy was focusing on memories of how much fun she had this evening. For the first time, she had been able to not only watch anime together with friends, but also talk about it with them. All in person. Not over the internet. She had shared a meal with her friends’ family and gotten to know them a little. Setsuna couldn’t remember the last time she had gone to bed feeling so welcomed, accepted and… loved? Was that the right word?

Surely, she didn’t mean to imply that she went to bed at home feeling unloved. She knew her parents loved her, even if their way of showing that love was apparently very different than Ayumu’s parents. But even having only been in the Uehara home for not even half a day, she felt loved here. They were all so kind and Setsuna hoped she could come back and experience it all again.

Setsuna closed her eyes, allowing her mind to begin yet another replay of the day. Sleep would come eventually, but right now she was content just being this happy.

----------

Author’s Notes Continued in Followup Post

#YuuAyuSetsu #Takasaki Yuu #Yuki Setsuna #Uehara Ayumu #Tri-Arame #Love Live Nijigasaki #fanfic

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yattsugare · 6 years

Text

Kill ‘em With Kindness - Chapter Two

By Yattsu

Read Chapter One here.

! SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS for plot points in the manga (after chapter 38) ! Akutagawa x female!reader ! Trigger warning for PTSD/Night Terrors ! Cultural notes after the chapter

Chapter Two

Darkness, again, and the terror of voices laughing into your ear from the middle of a dead silence. You clawed at your hair, attempting anything in your panic to keep whatever they were away, or at least to create noise that would drown them out.

Then there was grey light, and a shadow leaning over you as it held both your hands by the wrists.

“Are you awake? Finally.”

Akutagawa let go of your wrists and sat back down next to your bed. You lay as you had woken up, arms splayed around your head, covers rumpled and dignity shaken. “I—”

“You cry a lot.” Akutagawa pulled your bedding back up to cover you and sat back, arms folded. “Who were you running away from?”

Your gut dropped at his question. Had you been talking in your sleep again? It had been a while since anyone was around to tell you whether or not you’d kicked that habit. What had Akutagawa been privy to? You wiped your eyes with your forearm. You did cry easily, but it was just how you were wired; why did he or anyone else need to judge you based on that? How nice for him to be in a position to not understand why anyone might be prone to tears, especially in a situation that was out of your control.

As if reading your mind, he closed his eyes, replying “It’s fine. I won’t repeat anything.” He picked up one of your coverings that had slipped, a thin length of freezer gel pack. “Put this back on your hip.”

You shifted to your side and put the freezer pack back in place. You realized how much you ached; it was certain that you were black and blue under the white sleeping yukata you now wore.

You sat up, very quickly.

“How did my clothes get changed?” There was a little bit too much desperation in your voice, but that seemed to suit the shock of realizing someone here had seen you without most of your clothes.

Akutagawa only sighed. “There is a female doctor here who treated you.” He opened his eyes to glare at you. “You think I would just—”

“No. Sorry…” To be honest, you weren’t sure of anything to do with this man, least of all the likelihood of him enjoying playing Barbie doll with an unconscious victim. Given the circumstances, though, it was probably best to just acquiesce to his assertions and avoid pissing him off. You instead chose to gaze around at your surroundings; you didn’t remember much beyond being carried out of the park.

The bed was a hospital cot with the rails up on the side opposite Akutagawa, and a small tray table with water, a cup, some towels, and a small basin. Most of the room lay beyond the curtain enclosing you; Akutagawa sat in the only chair nearby. He was standing now, pulling the curtain open a few feet to reveal a small room lined with a stainless-steel counter, some shelves, and tiled floors. There were collections of cotton swabs, soap and a sink, medical paraphernalia lined up neatly on the shelves, and a rolling stool near the counter. A small table by the far wall held an electric kettle, several small mugs, a small tea pot, a tea canister, and some random packets of instant coffee. You noticed, blinking under the fluorescent lighting, that there were no windows.

You looked at Akutagawa, who had started to fill the kettle with water. “Where is this?”

He was about to answer when you heard a door open, beyond the edge of the curtain. A voice you recognized as Dazai’s was chattering away, cheerfully, as his and Atsushi’s shoes stepped into the room. Dazai paused mid-sentence. “…is she awake?”

Akutagawa nodded, saying nothing. He went to start the kettle and set out two mugs. Dazai’s voice rejoined his body as he peeked around the curtain at you. “Good morning, beautiful! How are you feeling?”

“Sore…but it would have been worse if you hadn’t helped me.” You ran one hand through your hair, trying to smooth it.

“We didn’t really save you; it was Akutagawa-kun who stopped the men who came after you.” Dazai sat on the stool and scooted up to your bedside. “Did you have to ask him to make you tea?”

“No. Hm?” Was it for you he was doing that? You had thought he was preparing it for Dazai and Atsushi. You watched Akutagawa’s back as he measured tea leaves into the tea pot’s mesh inner basket.

“Good boy.” Dazai beamed. “I wanted some anyway,” muttered Akutagawa.

Atsushi had also appeared, holding a plastic bag. You noticed that he waited until Akutagawa had moved away from the sink to approach the counter and set it down. Nothing of his hesitation was betrayed on his face, though, as he turned to approach you.

“I’m glad you’re awake… we decided to go get some food when it looked like you’d still be out for a little while this morning.” You saw him cast a sidelong glance at Akutagawa and wondered how much Dazai had had to cajole Atsushi to get him to come along and leave you with his rival.

Akutagawa had poured out green tea into the two mugs, alternating pours between them to balance the tea’s strength in each. He carried them over to his chair, and held one out to you, saying nothing and staring somewhere between your nose and chin.

“Thank you…” You took the steaming mug and cupped it in both hands. It smelled like heaven.

Akutagawa made a low sound somewhat akin to clearing his throat.

“’You’re welcome, my dearest heart’ is what that was supposed to be,” Dazai giggled, leaning his cheek on his palm. You didn’t dare look at Akutagawa to see his reaction, but you felt your own cheeks warm a little at Dazai’s teasing. How was it that he endured Dazai’s crap like this?

“Now,” Dazai began as Atsushi handed around an assortment of onigiri and coffee in chilled cans. “I bet you’re wondering what the hell you’re doing here with three strange guys who hang out in the park at night. …Atsushi-kun?”

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

Atsushi leaned against the counter, opening a plastic bottle of cold barley tea. “Well… it’s kind of my fault that you’re here, but mostly not... I’ll explain.” He took a quick drink, setting the bottle down and crossing his arms. “About four months ago, I made an agreement of sorts with Akutagawa… that is, …we don’t get along that well, you see…”

You found this so incredibly obvious that you were surprised that Atsushi seemed to wait for you to react to this revelation. You didn’t, and he hesitatingly continued.

“Well… you see, we had a confrontation—he’s not part of the detective agency—and he has this tendency to …kill people…as part of his job,” Atsushi paused, glaring at Akutagawa. Akutagawa didn’t flinch, eyes lowered to his mug as he sipped from it.

To say you were shocked at this piece of information was an understatement; although a tiny voice in the back corner of your brain was quick to remind you that Akutagawa had seemed suspicious from the beginning, the entire situation was quite sketchy, and you had forgotten all of your prior reservations while being hauled on his back. You stared at him now. “Is that true?”

He lifted his eyes to look back at you. “Yes. Although, not lately…”

“Which is where that agreement comes in,” Atsushi continued. “Akutagawa used to be mentored by Dazai-san, but since Dazai-san has moved on from him, Akutagawa wants nothing more than to fight and defeat me in battle, to prove to his mentor that he’s stronger than me.”

Dazai nodded. “Akutagawa-kun is quite persistent on that point, you see… but Atsushi-kun had an idea that has forced our Ryuunosuke to grow a bit stronger in ways he hasn’t thought of.”

“If he can go six months without killing anyone, I will face him in battle,” Atsushi spat. “So far he’s managed; I can’t know for sure without following him everywhere, but he isn’t the type to lie.”

“I don’t need to lie, since I’m not trying to get out of any challenge you throw at me, Weretiger.”

Dazai helped himself to another onigiri. “Imagine how excited I was for Ryuu-kun when I found out about this! Atsushi-kun inspired me to sweeten the pot, so to speak. You see, Akutagawa-kun had a rough upbringing; he kind of dwells in the lower levels of Maslow’s Pyramid, if you know what I mean…”

Akutagawa coughed. “She doesn’t need to hear all of that.”

“And so,” Dazai continued, “I decided to offer Akutagawa-kun a challenge of my own and simultaneously give him something in return for when he has cooperated with Atsushi-kun.” He leaned towards you and whispered, conspiratorially. “We’re going to help him become………..human.”

“Dazai-san, for you of all people to put it that way,” Atsushi chuckled.

You didn’t find out what he meant, as Dazai was going on with his explanation. “While Atsushi-kun is still holding him to his promise not to kill, I decided to give Akutagawa-kun a challenge that could be much, much harder for him. You see, he’s not used to looking at his life in color; he sees everything as just situations in which he can either survive, or can’t.” Dazai paused to sigh, seeing something in his mind that the rest of the room wasn’t privy to. “Our connections to others are what make us alive.”

You looked at Dazai’s face, stunned by his turn towards seriousness. Your eyes traveled to Akutagawa, who was now facing straight ahead, but with his eyes trained on Dazai. “Then you’re suggesting that he—?”

Dazai shook his head. “He has a younger sister, but that’s it. There were others, but..” He trailed off. He sat up and started again. “Akutagawa-kun doesn’t trust anyone who wasn’t there at the beginning.”

Akutagawa broke his silence. “Dazai-san, you’ve always had my trust.”

Dazai looked across your bed at him, a sad smile on his lips. “Kid, that’s not trust, that’s desperation.”

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

You felt some impatience, spurred on by the anxiety of not knowing your role in this tale. You leaned forward. “What does this have to do with me?”

Dazai laced his fingers together and rested his elbows on your bed. “You, gorgeous, are going to play the most important part.” He rested his chin on his fingers, glowing at you. “He’s going to get sooo frustrated; I can see it now!”

Akutagawa stood and stalked to the sink to rinse his mug. Atsushi flailed, leaping out of his way.

“Dazai-san?” You pondered throwing your mug at his head and then looking inside his cracked skull yourself to finally find the whole explanation.

Dazai smiled at Akutagawa’s back. “My challenge for him is to build trust with someone he doesn’t know from the ground up, like normal people, and for that relationship to be based not on violence or fear, but in kindness…if he can do this, he would, in my eyes, have surpassed even himself, and I have assured him that both Atsushi-kun and I would acknowledge his success.” Dazai looked back at you, the smile taking on an edge of mischief. “After two months of work, you will report back to me on how he did. You’ll be sharing a living space, of course, and keeping me posted on his progress.”

Your eyes widened as his words began to sink in. You’d be sharing WHAT?

Dazai didn’t acknowledge your panicked expression, opting to clap his hands together with pleasure. “This is going to be amazing, ne, Akutagawa-kun?”

Akutagawa was still facing the sink. “Yes, Dazai-san. I won’t let you down.”

Wait, what was happening?

“Ara, you are already, ignoring what this girl is agreeing to help you with!”

Agreeing? Who agreed?

Akutagawa exhaled and turned from the sink, ducking his chin slightly as his eyes locked onto yours. “Yoroshiku onegai itashimasu. I can make more tea if you’d like some.”

…Was everybody here crazy??

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

END Chapter Two Stay tuned…

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Cultural notes:

Yukata: A thin cotton kimono, traditionally used for sleeping (uncommonly nowadays), summer kimono wear, and at hot springs resorts.

Onigiri: Rice balls; popular types include salmon- or tuna-filled, or with seaweed flakes. Ubiquitous as a form of Japanese “fast food,” and available in every convenience store and supermarket (or you make your own).

Barley tea: Mugi-cha, another common kind of tea; it’s especially popular in summer.

Yoroshiku onegai itashimasu: A very formal phrase that communicates the desire to accomplish a given task without conflict or issue with someone else; the literal translation is “I humbly request your kindness.” It doesn’t have a true equivalent in English.

#bungou stray dogs #bungo stray dogs #Akutagawa #akutagawa x reader #akutagawa ryuunosuke #bsd imagines #killemwithkindess #he accepts it so easily #dazai is a do-S #no longer a ningen

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jonathanvik · 3 years

Text

Starlight Dream - Chapter 7

“Okay, what should we watch first?” Seina’s friend, Aiko, placed a collection of DVDs on the bed.

Takako sat in her pajamas on the other side of the bed they shared, arms crossed. She wondered how Seina even convinced her into participating in this ridiculous slumber party. Her eyes scanned the room, noticing the enormous stuffed animal collection her enemy had accumulated. Many were in rough shape, but Seina had put considerable effort into restoring them. Some were even of her own creation. While crude, the girl constructed them with a considerable amount of love. Takako spotted a sewing machine sitting in the corner.

“Let’s see.” Seina’s eyes scanned the random assortment of titles. Some were anime. While others were foreign films translated into Japanese. Seina’s eyes avoided anything that was horror-based, which Takako noted for later.

After scanning the titles twice, Seina nodded, picking one from the pile. “This looks super cute!” It showed a young girl with an umbrella standing next to a weird giant cat thing.

“No way! What’s with your obsession with cute things? How childish.” Takako said, unable to withhold her opinion any further. She picked a different title from the pile. It showed a picture of two scary-looking monsters fighting each other.

“What’s wrong with liking cute things?” Seina puffed out her chest.

Takako only rolled her eyes at such a childish opinion, but Colten, Seina’s fairy partner, looked thoughtful. “I suppose that isn’t surprising considering your past.”

“Her past?” Takako replied, blinking in confusion.

Seina’s expression turned painful. “Yeah, the vampire running my group enjoyed making our lives miserable, destroying anything he considered cute or beautiful. He once had me whipped for making a doll.”

“What?” Takako’s breath caught in her throat, unable to believe what she’d just heard.

“Yeah, ten lashes,” Seina replied, nodding. “It hurt so much I couldn’t sleep for days.”

Takako gaped at the girl, unable to push such a horrible image out of her mind. That’s what the ex-vampire lords did to people?

Her magical girl rival’s expressions quickly shifted into a forced smile. “But that’s ancient history! We’ve beaten the vampires for good! Besides, I actually got off easy. He could have executed me.” Seina said with shocking casualness.

Aiko smirked. “The poor idiot. He doomed his entire species!” Seina, Colten, and Aiko shared a laugh about this.

“The taskmaster of my group was a real jerk, too. He enjoyed randomly depriving us of food rations. We wondered every day whether we’d even get fed.” Aiko looked towards Takako, studying her. “I’m surprised this shocks you so much. It was pretty standard from what I understand. Did you have a nicer taskmaster or something, Maeko?”

“No! Mine was a real jerk as well!” Takako said a bit too quickly. “I’d rather not talk about it. It wasn’t great.” Much to Takako’s relief, the two girls nodded. They didn’t press their new friend further on her fake history.

“I understand,” Seina replied, putting a comforting hand on Takako’s own. “But if you ever want to talk about it, we’re here. I find speaking about it helps.”

Takako forced her own smile. “Right.” Still, she couldn’t suppress her horror. She hated the haunted look in Seina’s eyes. How much horror had this ten-year-old girl suffered through?

And I’m working with those people. Her mind flashed back to the vampire queen bragging about returning her kind to their former glory. Takako shook her head, considering such thoughts foolish for a magical girl. Such sentimentality was a weakness! Besides, Takako was a bad girl, completely heartless. Caring about such nonsense was beyond her.

She coughed, eager to change the subject, grabbing the DVD Seina had picked. “On second thought, let’s watch it! It looks good.”

“Yes!” Seina beamed, placing the disc into the DVD player, forgetting their previous conversation, much to Takako’s relief.

Despite herself, Takako found herself charmed by the movie. Unfortunately, the disc had some serious scratches, stopping midway. Aiko declared she’d use her contacts to find another copy, so they could finish the final twenty minutes.

“Contacts?” Takako asked, bewildered. Wasn’t she a ten-year-old? Why would she have anything like that?

Aiko’s eyes glinted with triumph and mischief. “You underestimate my power. In this world, you can’t achieve anything unless you’re well connected. Besides, I have to support Seina somehow. I’m not strong, but I still have her back.”

“Right,” Takako replied, uncertain if the girl was making this up. “Anyway, how about this movie?” The cover depicted a woman in a white gown whose long stringy hair completely masked her face. A giant white ring surrounded her.

“Must we?” Seina’s voice became weak. “I don't like scary things.”

“You fight actual monsters!” Takako replied, incredulous.

“I know, it’s stupid. But, the characters in those movies don’t have my abilities. I don’t like watching them get hurt.” Seina’s voice trailed off.

Colten flipped in the air. “You’re so nice, Seina.”

Strange girl. Still, Takako hid a secret smile, glad she’d already discerned several of Seina’s weaknesses.

“That’s fine. I wasn’t in the mood for another movie, anyway.” Aiko turned her attention towards Takako. “Maeko? You haven’t suggested anything yet. You’ve been going along with whatever we’ve wanted.”

“Maeko?” Seina asked, getting Takako’s full attention.

“Right! I suppose that’s true!” Takako coughed in her fist, pretending she’d been spacing out. In reality, her fake name was still unfamiliar to her. If she wasn’t careful, they might get suspicious.

What do I want to do? Usually, she enjoyed curling up on a couch, reading manga in her spare time. Takako wasn’t a social creature, enjoying being alone. Other people were so lame. It’d been centuries since she’d hung out with anyone other than Nier. Much to her horror, Takako realized she looked like a deer caught in headlights, paralyzed by this simple question.

“Talk, I guess?” Takako faked a smile, hating her lame half-hearted answer.

“Oh, sure!” Seina said, nodding.

Aiko yawned. “Yeah, it’s getting late, anyway.”

“You know, Maeko,” Seina said, her eyes eager. “You have spoken little about yourself.”

Takako smirked. They’d prepared for this. The vampires had forced her to spend hours memorizing this backstory. That effort was about to pay off. With her expert acting skills, no one would ever suspect a thing.

“I’m no one special,” Takako replied. “I’m originally from Tokyo until we moved here. My father was a clerk before the vampire uprising. My mom was a housewife. They had us working in food processing before you defeated them all. My father got a job in Osaka, and we moved here. Tokyo is still in rough shape. My parents thought it would be safer living here. Like I said, not that exciting.”

Aiko nodded. “So that’s why you have a Tokyo accent. I was wondering about that.”

While powerful, Shinobu’s illusions couldn’t disguise Takako’s natural voice. Any attempt to fake an accent failed miserably. But with a slight shift in pitch, it changed her voice enough to sound different. It was an impressive feat even for her.

“So, why are you so acrobatic?” Seina asked. “I can’t imagine food processing would need such a high level of athleticism.”

“Yeah!” Aiko said, enthused. “I’ve seen nothing like it!”

“Well.” Takako faltered. While they’d devised many fake stories for her past, none of them covered something like this. Her mind raced as her audience watched her expectantly, eager to hear her answer.

“Well, you know. I’m just that good!” Takako replied, her voice smug. “I’m just very talented.” Try questioning that!

“So, you’ve been training on the side?” Seina asked, trying to understand her new friend’s response. “Food processing must have better hours. After the usual 78-hour workweek, I barely had enough energy to sleep.”

Aiko nodded. “Wow, Seina, you must have had a particularly cruel taskmaster. Mine only made me work 76!”

“Really?! I’m so jealous!” Seina replied. “Only 76? Boggles the mind.”

Takako waited for the girls to smile and tell her they were joking. Much to her horror, she realized they were serious. Even the hardest-pushed salarymen didn’t work that many hours. The vampires made ten-year-olds work those hours?

She examined the two girls closer, horrified by what she saw. Both looked dangerously thin and unhealthy, with pale skin and bags under their eyes. Two weeks of better food and freedom had only slightly improved their condition. Takako recoiled in disgust. Her mind returned to the other citizenry she’d seen, recalling their similarly poor condition.

“How about you, Maeko? How many hours did you work?” Aiko asked, returning her attention back towards Takako.

Takako found herself lost for words for several moments. What was wrong with her? After a deep breath, she regained her confidence. Takako Kodama was a magical girl of the highest caliber, unshakable and evil to the core.

“70. Such long hours weren't necessary in food processing.” A light flashed into her head, providing inspiration. “I’m so athletic because the higher-ups enjoyed some entertainment. If I performed well for them, they provided us with extra food rations.”

“Wow, lucky!” Both girls cooed in amazement.

“I guess some vampires have half of a heart after all?” Colten said.

Takako coughed. “It’s getting late. How about we get to bed? Don’t we need to wake up at 6 this morning?” She had no desire to hear more about their horrible life before Seina became a magical girl.

Seina sighed and yawned. “That’s true. I’m still not used to these 8 hour nights.”

“I know, right!” Aiko replied, nodding.

“Night!” Takako quickly switched off the room’s light. Why was everything in Seina’s old life so horrible? The girl didn’t even mind waking up before dawn. It was beyond inhuman!

Takako facepalmed, realizing she’d agreed to wake that early too. I really hate this assignment. I should be back in Starlight Dream playing video games!

“Night!” Seina said, snuggling up with Colten next to Takako.

“Night!” Aiko said from the bed’s far end.

“Night,” Takako replied with little enthusiasm.

The other two girls fell asleep almost instantly, leaving a wide-eyed, restless Takako alone with her thoughts. She replayed the conversion in her head, realizing she’d learned more about her foe than she ever desired. The girl was too open about her past. Didn’t she realize how uncool that was? She couldn’t help but remark how different from the other magical girls Seina was. Not just her kindness, she also radiated a light the others didn’t.

What are you, Seina Kamiyama? Terrible past aside, you’re just an ordinary girl. You have no training or skill, yet power radiates from you, bursting at the seams. These questions troubled Takako deep into the night.

---

Maeko snorted, proud of herself, reaching the finish line first. “Is that all you’ve got, Seina?”

“This isn’t a competition, Maeko,” Seina replied, panting as she met the stopping point.

Besides martial arts, Mr. Kiyojiro had ordered other physical training. The bodyguard wanted to give them more well-rounded physical capabilities. Seina hated every moment. Maeko, however, seemed to relish in it, especially whenever she beat her so-called rival. Her friend couldn’t help but gloat whenever she won. Despite herself, Seina resisted the urge to transform and humble the proud girl. No, that wouldn’t be fair. She’d win through her own efforts.

“Ugh, so close!” Colten said.

Mr. Kiyojiro looked at his stopwatch and nodded. “You’re doing much better, Seina. Good work.”

“Indeed, give it a few years, and you’ll be capable of matching me,” Maeko said.

What’s with this girl, anyway? Still, despite Maeko’s over-competitiveness, Seina had enjoyed the girl’s company the last few days. They had more in common than Seina had expected. She enjoyed reading the manga her new friend brought her. They shared a surprising interest in sports manga. Seina particularly enjoyed the one about the boy playing basketball. She found it endearing how hard he worked to earn his crush’s affections by learning the sport. She just hoped the oblivious girl would notice and appreciate his efforts. Love was complicated. Hopefully, her future romantic prospects would be easier.

Oh, it won’t be. Seina’s mood plummeted, remembering, as a magical girl, she didn’t age. It was something she avoided thinking about. It was probably easier for the evil magical girls. But Seina was an ordinary girl with actual aspirations for her life. What would her future be like? Fighting monsters forever alone with no one else, friends or boyfriend? Some future.

No, don’t think like that! You’re a smart girl! You figure out some solution to your not aging problem. Besides, love was never off the table! Seina laughed to herself, glad she’d resolved that particular issue.

“Again.” Mr. Kiyojiro said, thankfully pulling her away from her dark thoughts. For once, she welcomed the hard physical labor, providing an excellent distraction.

---

“You really seem to enjoy this Maeko,” Aiko said as they exited the dojo.

“What can I say? When you’re good, you’re good.” Takako smirked. While she had a reputation as a lazy layabout amongst the magical girls, she worked hard when motivated.

“Sure, sure.” Seina rolled her eyes. “See you tomorrow.”

“Night.” She waved goodbye, heading back towards Lilha’s apartment. It was a dump, and Takako hated living in the cramped place. While tempted to ask for another sleepover, she decided against it, considering it too presumptuous. She couldn’t allow her rival to become suspicious. Besides, it would give the impression of a clingy girl with no other friends.

“How’d the training go?” Nier asked as Takako entered the apartment, slinging herself onto the couch. “You look tired.”

“Yeah, Mr. Kiyojiro pushes us super hard. He’s serious about preparing her to fight against the other magical girls.” Her fairy companion became thoughtful.

“What’s the matter?” Takako asked.

“Can she be a threat, though? Her magical skills are a joke, but her physical power still makes her dangerous.” Neir paced for several moments before returning his attention to his partner. “What am I worried about? Without magic, she can’t beat any magical girls above your level. Their special abilities would make quick work of her.”

Takako placed her feet on the couch’s leg. “True enough. She’s still bothersome though.” She knew a magical girl capable of reversing vectors, any vectors. Seina’s mighty strength would be useless against her.

“Still though. It’s baffling that she’s so powerful.” Takako said. “It’s worth investigating. I doubt it’s Seina herself. She’s too ordinary to be anything special.”

“I know right,” Neir said. “Watch the fort for a while. I’m returning to Starlight Dream for some research. There’s an old archive no one really uses anymore. And I’ll talk with the other fairies to see if they’ve noticed any anomalies in their partners. It would be bad if someone more magically competent gained Seina’s strength.”

“So lame. You’re leaving me all alone.” For some reason, being separated from her fairy partner irked Takako’s stomach.

“It won’t be forever,” Nier replied, rolling his eyes. “But my gut tells me this is important.”

Takako waved a dismissive hand. “Go on. Good luck.” With a nod, Neir created a tiny portal in the air and vanished through it.

Fantastic. Until her fairy friend returned, Takako couldn’t leave this universe. Only fairies had the power to transport through the cracks between universes. She shrugged and tried to push aside her anxiety before opening the latest issue of Shonen Hop.

“Where’s your fairy friend?” Lilha asked, entering the living room still wearing her work clothes.

“Magical girl business.” The vampire queen waited for further explanation, but received none.

“Fine, this won’t interfere with your powers?” Lilha asked through clenched teeth.

“No.”

“Good, we’re accelerating the plan. Shinobu found an excellent location for our ambush. I’ve also found some extra muscle.” Lilha gestured to the muscular beast of a man behind her. “This name is Jertin. He’s the leader of the band of vampires I found in Ginza.”

“That magical girl has underestimated us.” Jertin clinched his enormous fist. “We will show her what true power is!”

Lilha giggled. “Yes, we will finally return to our perfect world!”

Takako’s mind returned to Seina’s description of the world ruled by vampires. The haunted look on the girl’s face returned unbidden.

Forget about it, Takako. You’re a magical girl. You exist to bring horror and despair! Takako lost her appetite to read her manga, placing it aside.

“Now be a useful girl and find Shinobu,” Lilha said. “We need him to stay with Jertin and his band for a few days. He needs to create a disguise to mask their presence. We can’t afford for Seina to catch wind of them.”

“Do it yourself. I don’t do errands.”

Lilha’s face twisted in hate in frustration. The queen had hated her from the day they first met. “Useless girl! Play your part! I worked too hard for the plan to fail now. You do nothing but read manga and lie around!”

She’s finally lashing out? That’s new. “I’m the only reason this plan will work,” Takako replied, reasonably. “Besides, I am working hard. I’m training with Seina, remember?”

“Yes, but we need to work together. What I’m asking isn’t tough.” While calmer, the vampire queen’s hostility still hadn’t vanished.

“You should obey the queen.” Jentin’s tone was acidic. “You’re not the only one training hard, little girl.”

“I’m going out.” Takako rose from her seat. The apartment’s atmosphere had become sour. Besides, with Neir gone, she had no reason to stay here. She’d never liked the vampires, anyway.

“What?!” Lilha said, outraged at being dismissed so easily. Takako disappeared out the door before she could utter another word.

What I’m I doing here? Takako stood in front of the Prime Minister’s apartment building. Two guards watched the entrance, but they gave her warm smiles, happy to see her.

“May I help you, Maeko?” A guard asked. “Did you forget something?”

“Um, no. I was wondering if Seina was interested in an impromptu sleepover!” Takako replied, inwardly wincing at how lame she sounded.

“I’ll go ask her.” The guard smiled and nodded, not finding this strange in the slightest, vanishing inside.

A moment later, Seina appeared alongside him with Colten on her shoulder. “Hey! You said something about a sleepover.”

“Yeah, things are lame back home. I was wondering if I could stay at your place,” Takako replied.

Seina studied her for several moments before nodding. “Sure. You’re always welcome!”

“Really?” Takako said, astonished. That was too easy.

“Sure. We’re friends, aren’t we? I’ll ask Mr. Kiyojiro if he can find us some ice cream!”

What is with this girl? But she didn’t protest as Seina took her by the arm, pulling her along inside. Takako wore a slight grin on her face.

#starlight dream #fiction #humor #magical girl #comedy #slice of life #anime #anime stories #parody

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yourkeeperoftherunners · 6 years

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Gentle Monster Ch. 2 (EXO Hybrid AU)

Plot: AU All he wanted was a home, but it seemed like he was never going to get one. You wanted a friend who would keep you company. Upon stepping into the mystical pet shop tucked in the back alleys of a tourist area of town, you had no idea what you were getting into when you signed the paperwork.

Rating: PG-13 (Language, mention of relationship abuse, minor stalking, animal/human shifting, pet bathing)

Characters: Dog Hybrid!Chanyeol x Female Reader, Magic Pet Store Owner!Kris, Dog Hybrid!Baekhyun, and mentions of other OT12 hybrids and owners

Notes: This is part of @oh-beyond‘s hybrid series – she gave me her blessing to write one for Chanyeol. The premise is slightly inspired by the manga Pet Shop of Horrors with differences (Ex. Chanyeol’s human form is only visible to the reader and Kris in private and Kris matches pets with appropriate owners versus Count D who used the animals to teach owners a lesson.) Chanyeol’s breed is a Great Dane Doberman mix (called a Doberdane), which is inspired by the writer’s own dog. The title was inspired by a real life experience when a young girl (same height as my dog) rounded the corner in a shop and saw my dog for the first time. (She dubbed my dog “a monster dog” when she ran to tell her dad because she had never encountered a dog as big as her.)

Banner created by me. Absolutely no reposting anywhere else as your own!

Ch. 1 | Ch. 3

“Hi did you forget to tell me something?” you answered once you accepted the call.

Kris sighed on the other end and shook his head. He knew it was going to happen – how soon, he couldn’t tell. Typically all of the animals he adopted out to owners would eventually reveal their other form to their owners but that varied, based on how quickly the owners and pets bonded with one another. No one other than him and the owner would ever see the human form – all others would simply see the animal form. Mr. Oh would probably not witness Suho’s other form yet but you...

“He’s human right now, isn’t he?” he asked after a few moments.

Chanyeol perked up and tilted his head. “Is that Kris-hyung? Did I do something bad?”

“Yeah he’s human – I swear I’m sober right now and I’m not imagining this,” you replied as you glanced back at Chanyeol for a few seconds. You began to pace back and forth as you waited for the pet shop owner to explain himself.

“As you have probably figured out, none of the animals in that shop are, ahem, normal,” Kris sighed. “Now, this isn’t my doing but it’s the nature of the family business we’ll say. If a new pet bonds quickly with their owner, they’ll reveal their other form to you as a sign of trust. I would not recommend trying to explain this to any of your friends or family, as they’ll only see a large mixed breed dog whenever they see him.”

“Even if I can see he’s human?”

“Yes especially that,” Kris replied. “I uh, didn’t mention this because it doesn’t sound real until you see it for yourself. ...I understand if the shock is too much and if you want him to come back.”

You looked back at the tall young man perched on your bed who was looking at you with a confused expression. He was trying to overhear your conversation and immediately lowered his head when you locked eyes with him. He mumbled an apology for trying to eavesdrop on your conversation and part of you couldn’t help but smile at how adorably awkward he was as a human.

“I’m not that heartless, believe me,” you replied as you leaned against the wall. “You said he’s been at the shop for a long time?”

“Um...yeeeeaaah I’d say a few months shy of a year,” Kris recalled. “He did have a friend that was adopted before him and he’s been a bit lonely ever since. Granted, he tried being friendly with the other animals but some weren’t receptive to the idea of befriending a big dog.”

“Was his friend also –?” you asked.

“Oh no it was a small corgi,” Kris laughed as he messed up his hair. “Also hyper but for some reason, small and hyper was considered okay for his owner.”

“Baekhyun-ah,” Chanyeol whispered as he remembered his friend.

“Like I said, if you want me to take him back, I’ll –”

“I’m not giving up on him,” you found yourself saying. “You saw that I was in a dark place and he’s giving me hope again. I mean, it’s going to be um, interesting, but I don’t see why I can’t give this arrangement a try. Okay dumb question, what can I feed him when he’s human?”

You blinked when you felt arms wrap around your waist and Chanyeol pressed his nose against your back.

“Really? Mistress is okay with my human form?” he asked.

“Um pretty much anything but maybe go light on the sweets and normal foods considered poisonous to dogs,” Kris suggested. “I’ll be honest, I tended to feed him fish, chicken, beef...maybe some rice? Oh and no spicy food – I came back one time after lunch to discover that he had gotten into the wasabi leftover from my sushi by mistake and was freaking out.”

“Okay that makes sense,” you said. You bit back at laugh imagining the poor pup, tongue hanging out, and begging for water or really anything to alleviate the burn. “Anything else I need to know?”

“For now I think that’s it, but you can call the shop at any time if you have questions,” Kris replied. “Sorry to call this early in the morning but I had a feeling that you might have questions come up. Call it instinct.”

“Or psychic,” you joked. “Thank you Kris. Have a good one.” You hung up and looked back at Chanyeol, who was kneeling on the floor, arms still wrapped around your waist. He looked up at you and blinked.

“Mistress you’re really okay with this human body?” he asked.

“Bab–Chan,” you corrected yourself, realizing he was not an awkward fur ball anymore, “please call me Y/N, not ‘Mistress’ – it doesn’t feel right.”

“Okay Y/N,“ he replied with a firm nod.

You took one of his large hands in yours and helped him stand. He towered over you and he shyly rubbed the back of his neck as he stared at your smaller hands holding his. “What now?”

“We try to get some sleep,” you replied. You began walking back over to your bed and he stayed rooted where he was standing.

“Do you want me to sleep on the floor? I’ve done that before when I was with Kris-hyung.”

“Um...” you trailed off, trying to figure out the best solution that was the least awkward one for both of you. Making the poor guy sleep on the floor seemed unfair but now that he was human, it was a little forward to have him cuddle up against you. You bit your lip as you thought about it, eventually concluding that he could have the couch in your living room.

“I’m allowed on here?” Chanyeol asked as he pointed to the couch.

You nodded as you put down a pillow and blanket for him to use, indicating he could stretch out across the entire length of the couch to sleep. Chanyeol took the blanket and draped it over his head before swinging his legs up and onto the couch. You resisted the urge to giggle at his actions, watching him flop his chin on the pillow.

“Good night Mis–Y/N,” he murmured as he closed his eyes.

You smiled down at him and reached out, hand hovering over his soft brown locks. It was tempting to scratch his head like you did when he was in dog form, but you settled for a simple pat on the head.

“Good night.”

You slept in, only to sit up abruptly when you smelled something burning in the kitchen. Immediately, you threw back the covers and dashed into the kitchen, skidding to a stop when you saw Chanyeol frowning as he stood over the stove, holding a pan with charred remains of what looked like pancakes.

“Were you –?”

“Sorry I thought I could make you breakfast,” Chanyeol mumbled as he ducked his head. “I used to watch Kyungsoo-yah cook after Kris-hyung went home and he was very talented. Except...I kind of forgot how long he cooked the pancakes for. I would ask him for help, but I don’t know where he lives now.”

“Oh Chan it’s okay!” you reassured him as you took the pan from him and dumped it into the sink. “I’ll just run out to the store and grab something for us. So um, what was Kyungsoo?”

“An owl,” Chanyeol answered. “Kris left sushi out by mistake and Kyungsoo smelled it one night while passing by. He tried to fly in to grab it, but hit the door, cause of his bad eye sight. Kris found him outside and nursed him back to health.”

“Did he leave on his own afterwards?”

“No, he stayed until someone adopted him too,” Chanyeol replied. “Kris gave him something to improve his vision. I think he had trouble finding friends and the idea of being adopted sounded nice. He would sometimes cook late at night after the shop closed because some of us would get hungry – me and Baekhyun-ah mostly. Sometimes Zitao, but he’d claim he was watching his weight.”

“Was that the cat that I met yesterday?” you asked as you turned off the stove.

Chanyeol nodded and shook his head with a small smile. “Zitao really wants a home too but he wants to have an expensive life. Or at least someone who will spoil him with attention and presents.”

“That’s not me,” you chuckled as you leaned against the counter. “I mean, I’m doing okay for the most part, but like I said to him, I’m allergic to cat fur and that wouldn’t work.” You began turning on the taps and added soap to the pan, slipping on rubber gloves before you tried to nudge and scrape out the leftover charred remains.

“I’ll be a few minutes Chan but I’ll throw clothes on and run some place to buy us breakfast,” you promised as you dumped out the soapy, burned pieces of pancake into the garbage disposal.

Chanyeol nodded before walking out of the kitchen, making a beeline for the bathroom. “I’m going to use it then comb my hair, okay?” he called over his shoulder.

You raised a brow and he glanced back at you. “Y/N, I know a few things – yes Kris-hyung would take some of us for walks but other times, we figured out how to do human things like cooking and using the bathroom.”

You lowered your head, feeling stupid for thinking he didn’t know what to do. He was right – if Kris said the other animals could do this human shifting thing too, then they could probably figure out basic actions like cooking, using the bathroom indoors, and whatnot.

“AHHH Y/N I think I did something wrong! HA-glub-LP!”

You were drying your hands when you heard Chanyeol yelling from the bathroom. You panicked and dashed over, turning the knob and yanking the door open.

Your dog turned human was standing in your bathtub with the showerhead on and he was trying to use his hands to block the water spraying out. His oversized t-shirt he wore was soaked, along with his face and hair. You had to resist the urge to laugh at the poor pup and you quickly reached into the shower to shut the water off.

“What were you doing in there?” you asked with an amused look.

“I thought, maybe I should take a bath so I’m clean,” Chanyeol explained. “Hyung did this a couple times – I’d sit in a tub and he’d help me get my hair clean. Only, when I turned that knob, water came out up there and I panicked!”

You shook your head at him and reached for a towel to dry his hair and face off. He closed his eyes as you fluffed his hair with the towel and you smiled.

“It is set for the shower right now,” you explained as you gestured to the showerhead. “If you press this down, it will change the water to come out here.” You gestured to the slender pin-like knob on top of the tub faucet and pushed it down. You briefly turned the knob again and water came out, making Chanyeol jump slightly as it hit his feet. You laughed at his cute reactions before turning off the water and putting the towel down.

Chanyeol watched you demonstrate how to change from shower to bath and he nodded once he understood. He bowed his head slightly and thanked you.

“I think I can take it from here, but I might need help with my hair – would you please help?” he asked, tilting his head.

You swallowed hard after hearing his question, your ears feeling warm. Chanyeol was already peeling the oversized t-shirt off, fumbling as the arms got stuck to his skin, courtesy of the water. As he busied himself with the shirt, your eyes landed on his toned abdomen and strong, muscled arms. It was tempting to reach over and run your fingers along those sculpted areas.

Stop it – he’s your dog and it’s wrong to eye him like that, you scolded yourself as you held your hand out for his shirt.

He passed it off to you and worked to remove his pants and underwear while you averted your eyes, saying that you were going to throw his shirt into the dryer.

“Y/N, would you please dry these too?” he asked as he held out his pants and underwear.

You nodded as you accepted the two garments without meeting his eyes and hurried off to the closet where your washer and dryer were stored. You opened the door to the dryer and tossed all three garments in, adding a dryer sheet behind them. You heard the tub being turned on again and guessed that Chan was filling up the tub with water now. You programed the dryer for his clothes and closed the door, waiting for the machine to kick in.

“I’ve got the tub ready but would please help with my hair?” Chanyeol called out.

“Sure...”

“This is sooo good!” Chanyeol blurted out as he tore into the breakfast sandwich you bought. “Thank you so much!”

You smiled and nodded as you took a sip from your favorite morning beverage, watching as the pup devoured the remaining half with gusto. The rest of Chanyeol’s bath wasn’t too bad – he remained seated with his knees drawn up, due to his size, and you used the detachable showerhead to wash his hair with. He made cute little pleased sounds when you lathered up his hair which made your heart melt a little. Once he got all cleaned up, you had to avert your eyes as he stood up and reached for the towel you left out. When it came time for you to clean up, you had to politely kick him out.

“Y/N, you do not need help?” he asked as he held the door.

“Chan, I’m fine – you just get dressed and wait for me,” you told him.

He pouted and whined that it didn’t seem fair that you helped him while he couldn’t help you. You reassured him you could handle showering alone before closing the door and showering quickly. He had lingered outside the door until you finished before getting dressed outside of the bathroom.

Now you were out and about, eating breakfast at your favorite cafe a few blocks away, which was known for their gourmet breakfast sandwiches and avocado toast. True to Kris’s words, everyone saw a large dog with a leash trotting alongside of you, while you saw the lanky young man sporting a collar and leash. Some commented on his size while others mentioned he was pretty. He had to wait outside for you while you grabbed breakfast and pouted, watching as you walked up to the counter, ordered two breakfast sandwiches to go, and your favorite beverage. After the order was ready, you grabbed Chan and took him to the nearby dog park, sitting down to munch on your breakfast.

“See any dogs you recognize?” you asked.

“No they’re all unfamiliar,” Chanyeol replied as he wiped his mouth.

“Who else did you have at the pet shop as a friend?” you asked.

“Hum, well Baekhyun was my best friend,” Chanyeol mused as he thought about it. “Kyungsoo-yah, oh there was a small bunny named Suho – he was such a mother hen to us, and um a cat named Chen. Chen tried to sing to a bunch of birds once and they got upset. He had a beautiful voice but to the birds, he was too scary and they thought his smile meant bad things.”

You laughed at the thought of a cat hybrid human singing a song to some birds and the latter flying away in horror.

“Why did he try?”

“I think he had a crush on one bird because she was the prettiest of them – warm smile, long hair as a human,” Chanyeol recalled. “But they were all a little shy and tended to think cats were going to eat them.” He balled up his trash and you accepted it from him, standing up to toss it into the nearby trash can.

Chanyeol sat up straighter as he caught a whiff of something. “I must be imagining things – it smells like Baekhyun-ah but...?”

“Where?” you asked as you looked around for a corgi. You scanned the park area and blinked when you spotted a young man with jet black hair being tugged along by a shorter young man with copper brown hair that flopped in his eyes, giving him a boyish look. Like Chanyeol, this young man had a collar around his neck and a leash attached to it, his dark-haired owner on the other end of it.

“You see him too, don’t you? He looks human to you, right?” Chanyeol asked as he glanced over at you.

You nodded dumbly as you watched the pair make their way over to you, the owner huffing as he leaned over to catch his breath. “Baekhyun-ah,” the young man wheezed, “I can’t run anymore, please tell me you’ll let me take a break...”

“Oh um, sorry Yixing,” the young man apologized as he glanced back at his owner. “But I saw my old friend and he has a pretty new owner! Chanyeol!!!” The shorter young man lunged toward Chan and squeezed him tightly in a big hug. Chanyeol returned the hug and sniffled, trying to fight back tears of joy at seeing his old friend again.

You scooted over on the bench to make room for Baekhyun’s owner, who thanked you before plopping down beside you. He messed up his hair and sighed.

“Kris?” he asked as he caught his breath.

You nodded and gestured to Chanyeol. The two dog hybrids were too busy reacquainting themselves to notice their owners were chatting away.

“Baekhyun-ah was hoping I could take his friend too, but my building said one dog is permitted or two cats,” the young man explained. “I’m glad he found a home though. Yixing by the way.”

“Y/N,” you introduced yourself. “So when did you see his...?”

“Ah um, about five days later,” Yixing replied. He shook his head and laughed, recalling how shocked he was to find the hyperactive puppy he adopted was capable of assuming a human form. He had spent a long time on the phone with Kris trying to understand all of this happening. “I liked his energy and he made me happy when I felt a little down about life. Plus I’ve been trying to exercise more so he’s been keeping me in shape, which I appreciate.”

“I can echo that statement about getting me out of a funk,” you replied as you watched Chanyeol go play with Baekhyun. “Except I found out about the human form less than 24 hours of adopting him.”

“I’m guessing he must really like you then,” Yixing deduced. “It hurt me to break up their friendship but I really can’t violate the rules of my complex. They’re very strict.”

“I’m guessing you don’t live far from here?”

“No I’d say a few blocks away from this dog park,” he replied. “You?”

“Not far,” you replied. “Maybe...hey if you’re okay with this, maybe we could try to have them meet up on a regular basis. I’m sure they’d love it.”

“Oh that’s a great idea!” Yixing replied with a brilliant smile. He checked his watch and sighed, murmuring that he needed to head back to take a call from work. “If I keep them waiting any longer, that could be bad.”

“No it’s fine, go take your call,” you replied as you watched Yixing call Baekhyun over, fixing his leash.

“Aww wae? Must we go?” Baekhyun whined.

“Chan and I don’t live far from here – maybe we can work out another day to meet up,” you told them.

Baekhyun perked up at that statement and happily bounded over to you, wrapping you in a big hug. “Really?! Oho thank you! Please take good care of Chanyeol-ah, yes?”

“I will.”

“Today was perfect,” Chanyeol sighed with a smile as you settled in for the night. “I appreciate the food – it was all so yummy! I didn’t think I’d see Baekhyun-ah again but he lives so close and that makes me happy!” He leaned over and planted a sweet, gentle kiss to your cheek. “Thank you Y/N.”

“You’re welcome Chan,” you replied as you shredded some junk mail you received. You slit open an envelope and froze when you saw pictures of you at the cafe spill out and you shakily scrambled to pick them up. All of it went into a drawer and you made a mental note to share these with police.

“Y/N you made the same face last night – what is wrong? Have I done something bad? Who took those pictures?” Chanyeol walked over and peered at the envelope you were shoving into the drawer.

“Someone I’m avoiding,” you explained. “Chan, he was tutoring me in a subject at university a few years ago and took an interest in me. We went on one date then nothing else happened – another girl came into his life and I moved on and graduated. We ran into each other about a few months ago at the grocery store and he wanted to try again. We did a few more dates but I realized he wasn’t a good fit and I broke it off. He’s not taken it well though.”

Chanyeol frowned when he heard that and he pointed to the drawer. “Please tell me you’re going to report this, right?”

You nodded and began guiding him to the couch. You watched as he got acquainted and patted his head.

“I’ll do it after work tomorrow,” you told him. “So I’m going to be gone from about 8-4:30 tomorrow but I’ll come home afterwards. Can you promise me to not make a mess in my apartment while I’m gone?”

He lifted his chin from the pillow and nodded, eyes staring deeply into yours. You smiled as you pet him again before turning off the lights.

“Good night Chanyeol.”

#EXO AU #EXO Chanyeol #Park Chanyeol imagine #Chanyeol imagine #EXO Baekhyun #EXO Lay #Gentle Monster #EXO Suho #EXO Sehun #EXO Tao #EXO Kris #EXO Luhan #EXO Xiumin #EXO Chen #EXO Kai #EXO D.O.#yourkeeperoftherunners original #number 2175

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fanfictionhopper · 3 years

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Okay so I think my bad habit is kinda never introducing myself like- in any of the socmeds so- bcs I've embarrassed myself and creeped ppl out in twitter alr, I'm just gonna introduce myself here.

So- I'm a she/her, 22, honestly I would use my usual alias but apparently that name got busted irl and my irl friends call me that sometimes so to avoid any risk, feel free to call me as shura or rozen or hopper, eh. I don't usually stay in one fandom for long bcs of my half-assedness but apparently kuroo manages to rig me here for quite some time now. Let's see how long it'll last.

To take my half-assedness one step further, i'm an half-assed anime lover, lololol. I prefer reading manga to anime, i no longer even follow the recent animes. The last anime i completed was Violet Evergarden and that's it. Ye, I didn't even watch hq, i got roped in here because of kuroo, stayed for like... 200-ish chapters of the manga bcs for him and the rest- i just kinda figure it out by wikis and ppl's fics and posts and ig posts of hq that are starting to fill my explore page. That's why i'm kinda reluctant to join the fandom bcs i do things halfway okay. I don't have a big enough heart to love and adore all the characters but i kinda wish to meet some fellow kuroo simps. /cries/

Most animes I watched and finished, even through mutiple seasons are only stuffs like Mushishi and Aria (amano kozue's) bcs i'm weak to those kind of soft and slice of life stuffs YwY clamp's works are so frickin' ✨ too. I read random manga that catches my eye but i totally love manga like kusuriya no hitorigoto or manga that teaches you random stuffs of life, really. There were also two mangas about bartenders, one was a male bartender while the other was a female and I discovered the term 'bar hopper' where ppl just basically hops from one bar to the other in a night to taste these bars' gin and tonic and that's exactly where i got my inspiration as a reader of fanfictions :)))

I did have favorite bois before but i think it's limited to one per anime- i prefer ootoya in utapri, sebas in black butler, mikazuki in touranbu, i did like izaya before switching to masaomi in drrr, kaito in vocaloid was one of my main bois (i was as obsessed as right now to the point of downloading his music and covers from youtube as audio, wrote one or two of his fic during ff net yo vocaloid was fun times bcs i draw inspiration from songs and their song stories were SO GOOD back then), saru of k project (that boi straight up having THREE kings' power and i got weak spots for pretty bois with messed up pasts YwY saru bby main boi too, straight up wrote his fic with misaki, mikoto and reishi in one chapter lololol), ray in tpn (god i love it so much when norman and emma are baby-ing him dem this boy needs to chill ugh), and now- kuroo :")))) and i love my bois as bottom don't ask why i don't even know myself it's pure torture sometimes especially during sebastian's phase

Bbc's merlin was a wild phase to be in too tho, the fanfics are straight up on all kind of universe and deep plots on varying degrees, fun times

I draw or write or watch anime straight up based on my will and even with the story ideas, i have yet in the mood to write stories so it's mostly just collecting notes in my phone. Kinda leaning more to drawing nowadays. Reading manga / webtoon is an always.

I'm into the isekai genre too but i totally love them when other characters are developed too, kinda like shield hero and my current love, omniscient reader (still can't read their novel tho, i'm not good with novels, i'll patiently wait for the webtoon), solo leveling is no good for me even of my friends' hype, too focused on the MC YwY it's good, ye, but it's preference i guess.

I frequent MRM for yaoi mangas and dem bro i got recs up my sleeves if you ever want some but i'm most definitely into 'black-haired' bottom and most i saved bcs of their fluff and wholesomeness if you're interested- anyways. This is long enough, I'm sorry YwY.

And anyways, I've got AO3 and twitter if y'all interested, same profpic, fanfiction swinger in AO3 and shura_rozen in twitter. I'm not active much bcs i don't know what to post lololol mostly just on these socmeds for fun and discover gorgeous kuroo's art and i intend to make a thread for my favorite fics and pixiv artists so-

Feel free to drop a message or a hi, I'm putting this introduction here bcs i'm not the best at initiating introductions like do i just reply to their posts casually and go from there (bcs ig artists lately are really friendly they reply to story replies) or do i specifically dm ppl but i'm always afraid that i'm imposing on my kuroo simpness. I don't want ppl to hate kuroo bcs they think a kuroo fan (aka me) is toxic- i- but anyways, ye. YwY

#introduction

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arriyire · 7 years

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Learn to Fly - A Fairy Tail Fic Ch. 5

Summary: The world is split into two realms - the mortal and the spirit. In this world, demons attack humans and the winged protect them. When Levy gets shoved headfirst into the spirit realm, she will have to adjust her whole way of living and learn to deal with a moody dragon winged Gajeel. AU vaguely based on the manga plot.

Rated: T

Chapter 5

It took about two hours before Gajeel smelt them and another half an hour before he saw them. In the distance looked to be about five sets of wings heading his way. Lilly would almost be back at the guild by now; he had time, but he would have to be cautious. Last thing he needed was his cover being blown.

The demons slowed moving carefully after seeing Gajeel on the roof. Standing firm with his arms crossed, looking intimidating as all hell and then some. One brave soul landed in front of him and gave a curt nod to the rest to hang back, which they did without any hesitation. No demon was going to take a hit for another.

Gajeel quirked a studded brow at what he assumed was the leader of the group; a silent demand to know ‘what the fuck they were doing there’.

"Greetings Kurogane." The leader formally greeted with the respect that the man in front of him demanded; maintaining eye contact with the iron dragon slayer despite the fact it was clear the demon was scared. Gajeel growled in response. Good. This would be much easier if they feared him.

"Get outta here, before I beat you outta here." The threat made the demon flinch, his lacking demeanour cracking even more. Gajeel kept his glare as hard as his element, his impressive wings opened just enough to show he was bigger, better and stronger. It worked. The lesser demon faltered completely.

"We have orders!" He blurted out. "There's someone of interest to Master Jose! We're here to take them!" His voice sounds pathetic, desperately already trying to justify himself in front of Gajeel. The dragon couldn’t believe the amateur group before him, surely Jose would send better minions than this lot.

"Don't care. Leave." Gajeel wasted no words, he was certain now that this group wasn't Jose's main force – this was a group hoping to earn a favour or two by getting here first.

While their leader looked ready to run, the four behind him had already formed a plan of attack. Betting on their number advantage they planned to take Gajeel by surprise while he was intimidating their front runner. As they darted forward in a pincer attack from both sides their plan seemed to of worked. However Gajeel was ready, his wings coated in iron scales blocked all four attacks. His eyes never left the leader, but a sadistic grin grew on his face.

The fight or flight instinct kicked in and the leader darted forward hoping to land a hit; safe to say that the hope lasted all of a microsecond. Gajeel's hand caught his fist absorbing all impact and all hope. With the grin developed in full force, Gajeel span round knocking the four back before throwing the fifth back with them, as he came back round to face them Gajeel resumed his initial stance.

"Don't make me repeat myself, you're barely a snack." The words came with a snarl, his wings were fully flared out, fangs bared and piercing eyes locked on the enemy. He looked more demonic then the devil. When they didn't immediately hightail it out of his sight, Gajeel let out an inhuman roar. That was the final nail in the coffin as five sets wings took off. The roar died slowly into the night and was replaced by a slow, sarcastic clap.

"A dragon's roar is worse than the bite, Non?" A sickly thick French accent echoed on the roof, Gajeel cringed. So Jose had sent the big guns.

"Sol." Gajeel stated as he looked at the Frenchman who had appeared on the roof, or rather through the roof. The man was two thirds formed out of the floor, he wore his usual brown suit his wings connected his arms to his back, similar to a gliding squirrel, and were a much darker shade compared to the rest of the man.

"Monsieur Sol!" The green haired wacko corrected him. God how this man irritated Gajeel.

"Yea, yea. Get lost." Gajeel turned his back on the member of Jose's elite force – the Element 4; unfortunately the earthman simply phased through the roof, reappearing in front of Gajeel.

"Non, Non, Non! Three non's and I have a job to do, as do you." Sol quipped; clearly he wasn't going to be as easy to scare off.

"Gah! My job is to gain the trust of the fairies, if I let you waltz around killing humans they ain’t gonna trust me now are they!?" Gajeel really hated this guy; he used words he didn't understand, and never stayed in one place.

"Hm? But if I capture the cible, you would be free to come back to Phantom Lord, Non?" Sol was now grinning. "Perhaps Gajeel-sama has grown soft with the fairies; you seem to dragging out your mission a lot, hm?" Gajeel grit his teeth, no not now, he couldn't be found out now.

Gajeel relaxed and sighed, he gave his best fanged grin and looked back at Sol. "Fuck off; like I could hang around that bunch of weaklings permanently.” Gajeel scoffed. “Besides if it weren’t for me there master would have winged all over this place. Couse you noticed the fairies are patrolling far away from your precious key here.” He motioned to the building below them; truth was that it was complete coincidence that the other patrols were elsewhere. He just hoped his bluff worked.

"Oh?" Sol paused for a moment taking in Gajeel before grinning manically. "Master Jose was right! The fairies are stupid, tres bon!" Gajeel released the breath he didn't know he was holding and grinned back. "But." Sol continued while Gajeel kept his face straight "I still need to retrieve the cible, non?" Damnit the demon was right; Gajeel racked his brain to keep the human away from Sol. The man was cruel and wouldn’t hesitate to take her out tonight, probably in a rather painful way too.

"I'll do it, I'll make it look like an accident then you can drag the soul to Jose." He proposed trying to end the conversation as quickly as possible. Gajeel much preferred a fight with his fights; this verbal dance was quickly wearing on him.

After a quick consideration Sol clapped his hands together happily; “Very well! I shall tell Jose! Bonsoir!" Sol immediately disappeared into the ground leaving a rather confused looking Gajeel in his wake.

Almost as fast as he was gone; Sol was back, startling Gajeel. Couldn’t this man just fuck off! "Oh, and Gajeel-sama? Ivan looks forward to your return." The animosity in the man's voice was not wasted on Gajeel, as he watched for the second time the man sink into the concrete and to who knows where.

Gajeel tried to ignore the words, but they held more weight than he was comfortable with over him – He didn’t know much about Ivan, or Hades for that matter, only that this was all connected to the two largest demons known. Though to what end goal, he couldn't tell. Feeling deflated, Gajeel tried to relax.

Again he wished his could have just beaten the man senseless at least he’d feel better; as it stood Gajeel felt he had settled for a tie when he knew he should be tasting victory. The man wasn’t one of moping in any case; Gajeel scanned the sky for any more attacks and caught sight of Panther Lilly as he returned. How the time had passed so quickly Gajeel had no idea. Gajeel somewhat panicked for a moment as Sol could still be lurking in the walls; waiting for Gajeel to slip up and give away vital information.

"Still standing I see?" Lilly greeted the dragon slayer, ignorant to the danger words had currently.

"Yea vanquished a few demons that came prowling. Don't think they will be attacking tonight. We should get some rest." Gajeel hoped the Exceed would pick up on the blunt reply to stop the conversation; they couldn't risk Sol reporting back their plans for protecting the humans they were targeting. Fortunately Lilly could read Gajeel better than anyone and just nodded in agreement. The two lent up against the convenient wall on the roof and settled in for an uncomfortable night.

Full fic here - I own nothing except a vague plot, feel free to review/ask/be inspired and share with me anything you find :)

#chapter 5 #fairy tail #fairytail #FT #Gajeel Redfox #Levy McGarden #Learn to Fly #winged #winged!au #arryire #arriyire

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bluesylveon2 · 3 years

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My My, I Could Never Let You Go

Summary: Sasha Zoe just wants her dad to walk her down the aisle. There is only one problem: she doesn’t know who her dad is! Sasha invites 3 men in hopes of finding out which one is her father. What could possibly go wrong?

Pairings: Levi x Hange, Sasha x Niccolo, and other background relationships

A/N: Another chapter y'all! I was supposed to publish this yesterday with ch 10, but I needed to edit it. Also, there's a thunderstorm happening rn in my area so I’ll update this on AO3 later. Enjoy!

TW: mentions of a panic attack

Need to catch up? Catch up here!

Chapter 11: Voulez-Vous pt. 2

Annie can not believe what she was seeing.

One minute, she was sneaking away to the bar despite the awkward interaction with Erwin earlier. The next minute, Hitch (no surprise) drags Annie to the courtyard. Now here she is, watching Niccolo's bachelor party looking at Sasha's bachelorette party like prey while said party screams their butt off.

She really needs a drink after this.

Annie watches as the girl's screams increases as the males swing down to the courtyard. She watches Mina and Hitch magically make their way to their respective partners based on their squeals and jumps of excitement.

She watches her friends pair up, unaware of the male landing behind her. She feels someone tap her shoulder and her instincts kicked in.

Annie immediately turns and kicks the male's side hard, causing him to fall to the ground.

She moves in a defensive stance, ready to strike again when the male removes his mask—Annie gasps in shock.

"Armin?!"

"Hey, Annie," he replies weakly and groans with pain.

She leans forward to pick up her boyfriend off the ground. "I am so sorry, Armin! I did not know." she apologizes and blushes with embarrassment.

Armin laughs and waves her off. His face winces slightly. "Hey, it's ok, Annie. It's my fault for surprising you like that."

He extends an arm out for her to take. "You can pay me back by dancing with me."

Annie smiles, forgetting her initial plan to let loose and have fun. "Of course."

---

Mikasa stares at the male in front of her. She is too focused on paying attention to her friends pairing up and beginning to dance around her. She knew who he was even before he took off the mask covering his emerald green eyes.

She runs into his open arms.

"Eren!" She says gleefully as she jumps into his hug.

Eren chuckles and spins her around, careful enough to not have Mikasa accidentally hit anyone nearby.

"Mikasa!" He sets her down and looks down at her with admiration.

"What are you doing here?" she asks with shock. First, Sasha's dads appear and now Niccolo's bachelor party! Today is just full of surprises.

Eren laughs at the look on Mikasa's face. He admires her surprised look and everything about her. Of course, Eren had a crush on Mikasa ever since they first met.

She is so cute

"Well, this was all Niccolo's idea. Everyone else joined in to prank the girls, but I wanted to see you again." He confesses bashfully and rubs the back of his neck in embarrassment.

Mikasa grins at Eren's bashfulness.

He is so cute

"I'm glad to see you, too."

This causes Eren to blush and look away from Mikasa's eyes. It was then when he realizes what he needs to do next. He extends his arm out to Mikasa and bows slightly.

"Do you want to dance, my lady?" he grins boyishly and with a terrible British accent.

Mikasa laughs and places one hand on top of his. "With pleasure."

Eren grins as he leads Mikasa to the dancefloor.

---

"Rico is not here at the moment. Sorry about that lover boy, you're stuck with me." Hanami glances around the dancefloor in search of Rico. She should have been out now, so Jean can dance with her.

"Hey, it's ok." Jean smiles and takes off his mask. It's a good thing Hanami didn't freak out and recognized him immediately. It was probably from his facial hair.

(It was actually from their height difference)

"Let's dance for a bit, ok?"

Hanami smiles. "Ok."

She starts by twirling first, followed by Jean. They both place one hand on the other's shoulders and the other on the other's waist. Both of them move their hips to the beat.

"You're not as stiff as before. You have improved." Jean compliments Hanami's dancing.

She chuckles and winks at him. "That's because I had a good teacher."

They continue dancing until Hanami notices Hange and her friends enter the scene. She excitedly grabs Jean's shoulders, causing the both of them to stop dancing. She points to where Rico was.

"Jean, look!. Rico is here! Now is your chance to go speak to her!" she says with excitement in her eyes and starts pushing him in Rico's direction.

However, Jean did not share the same sentiment. He does not move and looks at her worryingly instead.

"What about you?"

Hanami stops and frowns a bit. "What about me? I appreciate your worry but worry about yourself right now. Your plan is almost done, Jean!"

She searches his face to see if he was convinced. He is not.

She sighs. "Look, I got this under control. Go and have some fun with Rico." She places a hand on his shoulder reassuringly and looks into his golden-brown eyes.

"I'll be fine. I already talked to Colt earlier, so I'll have a dance partner."

Jean sighs, finally giving in. "Ok. I trust you, Hanami." Hanami chuchles in relief.

"Thank you. Now go have some fun." Hanami grins, and Jean smiles as well.

He leaves Hanami to go search for Rico. It is part of the plan, after all. He only turns around once to find Hanami getting swept away Colt and back to the dancefloor.

---

Rico watches everyone while Hange and Nanaba go their separate ways. She watches like a hawk watching its prey. She is searching for one man ever since the big revelation from Hange.

Her eyes scan for Erwin since she last saw him in the crowd. Her eyes widen when she spots his disheveled blonde hair and the woman laughing next to him.

Does she know who she is sitting with?

Does she not recognize him?

Rico laughs to herself and crosses her arms across her chest. Of course, Marie does not notice who Erwin is. The Marie she knew back in university would go guy hunting with Rico, but it seems she grew out of it now. She does not keep up with the "Most Handsomest" magazines anymore.

She smiles at Erwin and Marie's interactions. She is happy for her, really. Although, Rico wants to talk to Erwin at least once during this trip.

"Ahem."

Rico turns to the source to find the same male from earlier at the bar. Ah, it's Jean.

"Hey," he says nervously.

"Hey to you too," Rico smirks and uncrosses her arms.

Jean shuffles nervously in his spot, causing Rico to laugh. She places one hand on her hip.

"Are you inviting me to dance with you?" she points her nose to the courtyard where everyone is dancing.

Jean rubs the nape of his neck and nods his head. He then extends a hand out for Rico to take.

"Yeah, so do you want to?"

Rico smiles. She will let Jean entertain her for a bit.

"Of course."

She takes Jean's hand and lets him lead her back to the dancefloor. The two get into position and begin moving to the beat.

"You're an excellent dancer, Jean," Rico compliments after he twirls her.

Jean chuckles. "Learning and teaching dance can do a thing or two for someone."

Little did Jean know about the two pairs of eyes; briefly look at him in shock as he laughs with Rico. The two did not notice a third pair watching the other two with suspicion on her face.

---

Nanaba excitedly leaves Hange's side in search of one man, Mike. She knows Rico would scold her for even looking for him. She just wanted to catch up with him.

Yeah, catch up.

Mike is Nanaba's first love. It was more than love at first sight or the face that Mike owned a yacht. She fell for his personality, charm, and his quirks. He was the ideal man in Nanaba’s eyes. She never told him her feelings since her eyes were focused on Hange. She's not mad about that, though.

Luckily for her, it does not take her long to find him. He was heading in her direction (Hange is a few feet behind her).

"Mike!" she calls out and waves her arm to get his attention. It breaks Mike out of whatever he was in earlier to look at Nanaba. His eyes widen with recognition as he walks up to her.

"Nanaba. I didn't expect to run into you." He chuckles. He notes how she still smells the same as before.

Nanaba laughs and looks up at Mike.

"I see you're still tall as always." Her eyes scan the rest of Mike's body. His clothes looked slightly wrinkled compared to when she saw him earlier.

"Did you get jumped while I was away?" she teases him and places her hands on her hips. She leans forward a bit to examine him.

"More or less." Mike and Nanaba laugh.

Both of them turn to the crowd where everyone dances. Mike turns to Nanaba and notices how she watches the group with a longing look. He extends a hand out to her.

"Do you want to dance? Miss Best Selling Author?" he smirks, and Nanaba looks at him with shock.

"I didn't know you knew about that," she blushes and places a hand on top of his waiting one.

"Of course I know. You’re pretty famous and your books always sell out before I can get my hands on a copy." He and Nanaba get into position and begin dancing with everyone else.

"I'm proud of you." he quietly adds for only Nanaba to hear. Everyone else is too busy dancing to even listen to what Mike said.

Nanaba swears that moment was the moment where she could not stop blushing. She also prays that Mike could not hear her heart pounding in her chest.

---

"Sasha!" Everyone yells as Sasha faints from all the pressure.

Hange pushes the nearest person away and runs towards her daughter. Luckily for her, Niccolo was fast enough to catch Sasha before she hurt herself. Hange sighs in relief, but she still had a frantic look on her face.

"Everyone, make some space," she calls and turns to Niccolo.

"Niccolo, check to see if Sasha is breathing or look for a pulse."

She turns to Sasha's friend's nearby and points to the males first.

"You, prepare Sasha's room and get a lot of water and some food for her. Niccolo, you go with them too."

Niccolo nods and sets Sasha down with Historia, who sat next to him. He follows the rest of the group back into the hotel.

She points to the females next. "You all can reposition Sasha and check on her breathing to make sure she is ok. You do know what to do, right?"

The girls nod in understanding.

"Good."

The girls run off to do their duties. Hange stands up and turns to the crowd, who was watching in silence.

"The party is officially over. I want everyone to go back home and rest for the big day tomorrow."

She turns to Rico and Nanaba, who is standing nearby. "Go escort everyone out of the hotel safely."

Rico and Nanaba nod along and head off to their respective station.

Hange turns to her ex-lovers with an angry face. The aura around her changed from tense to cold. She points to them, causing the men to flinch.

"I want to talk to you three. Alone," Hange says in a calm but chilling tone. The men shiver in fear.

She walks away from the trio and starts heading out to a private area. Hange stops and turns around when she notices that the men were not following her.

"C'mon. I don't have all day."

She gestures for them to move, and so they did. Mike gulps in fear. Levi sighs and guides Erwin along. He has experienced Hange's anger before, and Erwin is too drunk to make any comments.

The group walks away from the crowd, unaware of the pair of eyes watching them worryingly.

---

"WHAT WERE YOU THINKING" Hange yells, shocking Erwin and Mike. Hange had stopped walking once they were far away from the party. She let out her anger the moment she decided she walked far enough.

"Could you three not tell that my daughter was stressed. I don't know your goal, but stop being selfish and open your eyes for once! She was fine before you three decided to show up!"

Hange huffs from her yelling, and a moment of silence pass between all of them. The trio was too intimidated by Hange to say a word. She begins pacing around and running her fingers through her hair, making her hair even messier than before.

Erwin, being a brave soul, decides to speak up first.

"Hange, We're sorry for-"

Hange's head shoots up and glares at Erwin. Levi notices the stress and the tears threatening to fall down on her face. Levi steps in and grabs Erwin's shoulder before Hange decides to yell at them again.

"Erwin. I think it is time for us to take our leave."

Erwin and Mike look at Levi with astonishment. Why is Levi trying to stop them? Meanwhile, Hange taps her foot anxiously, waiting for Levi's response.

"But Levi. We should at least apologize to her."

Levi nods in agreement. "I agree, but trust me. Hange is in distress right now, and we should not be selfish. Besides-"

He points to Moblit, standing off to the side watching the scene. Moblit flinches from Levi, noticing him, and he moves his stance to show that he is ready to intervene.

"Hange is in good hands."

Erwin moves his mouth to argue but stops after seeing the look in Levi's eyes. Levi looks down at the ground with sadness and defeat. Erwin understands what Levi was dealing with.

"Ok." he nods. "Let's go."

Erwin and Mike begin heading back to the yacht, with Levi following a few feet behind. His head was down, and his bangs cover his eyes. Yet, Erwin and Mike make no move to ask. They both understood with one look.

Moblit immediately jumps in and checks up on Hange, asking if she is ok or needs anything. Hange nods and begins heading back to the hotel.

Levi stops and turns to watch Hange's figure get smaller and smaller, his heart aching from sadness, guilt, and defeat.

---

Erwin, Mike, and Levi walk back to the yacht in silence. They were almost at the dock but stop when they hear the sound of footsteps running their way.

"Erwin! Stop!"

Erwin knew that voice from anywhere. "Marie?"

Levi and Mike stop and look at Erwin in shock.

"You know her?" Mike asks.

Erwin nods, his shock never leaving his eyes.

"We met at the party." He says. His eyes never leaving Marie's figure, getting closer to them every second.

Marie stops running once she is in front of the trio. She stops to catch her breath before speaking.

"I saw you all leaving with Hange. You don't have to tell me what happened, but I want you three to listen to me."

The three nod their heads, and Marie smiles. Suddenly, her happy demeanor changes to a stern one.

"I don't know what you guys did to make Hange mad, but you guys better not think about leaving this island with your tails tucked between your legs."

She walks up to Erwin and looks at him deep in his blue eyes.

"Apologize to Hange, separately." She jabs a finger on Erwin's chest

"If she ends up the same way as Sasha earlier-"

She brings her finger in front of one side of her neck and quickly moves it to the other side as if she is cutting something: the trio, especially Erwin, shivers in fear.

"I will not hesitate to make your trips end terribly. Do you understand?"

The trio nod in agreement, and Marie smiles. She stands up straight and sighs in relief.

"Anyways, I am parched from all of this running. Can I get some water before I head back to my hotel room?"

Mike and Levi look at her in shock. To them, Marie was like a rollercoaster. She started off sweet, then went to threatening them, and now she is back to being sweet. They look up at Erwin to see if they share the same opinion. Apparently, Erwin did not. He looks at Marie like she is Aphrodite herself.

Erwin clears his throat and gains back his composure.

"Of course. We have some on the yacht. I can also walk you back to your hotel room after." Erwin smiles at Marie with his charm that impresses both Mike and Levi. Erwin extends a hand out for her to take.

"I can take you there now."

Marie looks at Erwin's hand and then back at Erwin. She smiles and nods in agreement.

"I would like that," she says as she grabs his hand. Erwin leads her back to the yacht, and Levi can swear she can see a pink cloud forming around their bodies.

Mike chuckles at the potential new couple walking away. Levi watches them leave while silently wishing it was him and Hange in their place.

"Look at Erwin growing up. Earlier this morning, he was hesitant to take risks, and now look at him. He is now becoming more spontaneous every hour."

Mike grins like a proud dad and turns to Levi. He notices an imaginary storm cloud forming on the tip of Levi's head. An idea forms in his head, and he elbows Levi.

"How much do you want to bet that Erwin is getting laid tonight?"

Levi looks up at Mike with disgust. "Get your mind out of the gutter, Mike. Let's call it a night before I have to clean you as well."

Levi begins walking back, and Mike laughs instead. "You never answered my question, Levi. Do you want to put in 100? 500? 1000?"

Mike continues to list numbers while Levi continues his trek back to the yacht. The couple is now long gone to hear Mike's antics. In reality, Levi is ready to jump or push Mike into the sea. Either one works for him. At least it slightly suppressed his depression from earlier.

Yet, Levi can still hear Hange's words and see Sasha fall replay over and over in his head.

I originally intended for Nanaba to stop the trio, but it would not make sense so I switched her for Marie.

I added the Annie part to give a realistic POV of what would happen if some guys randomly crashed a party.

The plot will move quicker next chapter! We will even get to see Pieck and Porco!

#levihan #levi x hange #levihan fanfiction #nicosasha #erwin x hange #erwin x marie #mike x hange #mikenana #aruani #hitch x marlow #marco x mina #eremika #pokkopikku #snk #aot

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bentchcreates · 7 years

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Promdi Heart by #romanceclass Goddesses (heehee)

This came in a wonderful time as I had been having bad bouts of homesickness and what better way to travel the Philippines on a budget than to read stories set in them!

While I consider all six authors to be #romanceclass superstars, two of them I’ve had the chance to read only for the first time in this anthology collection. Because the stories are short (I want them all to be longerrrr!), I’ll be reviewing the stories on their own first, and then the whole collection after. Here we go!

1. Only the Beginning – C.P. Santi

I love the use of Visayan words in the narration and dialogue. (probably because this this the only Filipino dialect I can understand aside from the national language! XD)

As with other CPSanti books, the inclusion of architectural details/jargon is wonderfully done, it doesn’t take away from the romance.

Alon is my spirit animal! Especially that part where he tells Andi, “Dai, don’t you think it’s a sign?”

Scooter-riding MC + Dimpled LI = <3

Text/Chat parts (plus THAT joke! XD). I was a bit wary when a chapter started doing this because it’s too “youth-speak” for me (not that I’m that old!), and past experiences with this type of story-telling tended to get too corny and cringe-y for me. This, however, was okay for me, especially when Martin started the knock-knock joke (to which, I imagined Andi rolling her eyes as she replied) and ended with Andi’s own joke! It made both of them more endearing to me.

This quote: “Happiness is a choice. Happiness is something that doesn’t just happen. It’s something that you grab on to with both hands.” I forget this sometimes, and this is probably why I need to read romance often, so I’m reminded that I have a choice.

2. Letters to a Boy – Ines Bautista-Yao

90’s old-school snail mail got me so bad! It inspired me to send mail to friends I still knew addresses of.

This story perfectly reflected how relationships could work despite the constraints of space and time. And I’m talking about both Tin-tin and Annette’s friendship and Tin-tin and Nicolas’ romance. ;)

Horseback riding is <3!

Parents! I will forever love characters that take care of their parents!

Biggest turn-on for me is this story’s depiction of MC’s affection’s unrequited beginnings but when the tide turns, Tin-tin doesn’t foolishly fall head-on to the man he’d been pining for. She makes him work for it, and work for it he does!

Tin-tin and Nicolas’ years-long slow-burn love story set the solid foundation for the HEA towards the end!

P.S. the mention of Carrie, the white girl, inadvertently reminded me of that totally unrelated other girl who burned her entire school gym and killed hundreds of people when she was bathed in pig’s blood. Ehe.

3. Drummer Boy – Chris Mariano

Tall, muscly musicians are my weakness. Argh

The brother’s bestfriend trope is not that unfamiliar to me, but this took me on a wild ride especially at that part where the big brother actually landed a deserving punch to his best friend somewhere along the way.

I love that Reina is a woman of agency, not just in what she wants her guy to be/to do, but in all aspects of her life, as well. She acknowledges how uncomfortable her relationship with Ben might be for her Kuya, but she doesn’t let that get in the way of what her heart is telling her.

I live for the grand gesture in this one!

Chris’ descriptions of all the festivities cemented Ati-Atihan on my list of “Things to Experience Before I turn 40”!

4. One Certain Day – Jay E. Tria

Very relatable and nostalgic for me because our family’s big on All Saints’/All Souls’ Day celebrations. It never turned as romantic as this, though. Sayang. Heehee.

I also relate to finding old classmates recently and noting how everyone looks different, yet not-so-different, at the same time.

I love that bit about naming children ‘as if with a purpose’

‘Kiligs’ everytime Son comes back to Hagonoy, especially that part where he hands Alice an unfinished song! Eeeeee!

I also love that Alice took charge of her destiny at some point. No more waiting for the guy who’s taking forever to make a move, my god.

There is heartbreak somewhere in here, but it’s done in a mature and realistic way, and it doesn’t ruin anything for me. It makes it even more special, tbh.

5. Once Upon A Bully – Georgette S. Gonzales

Homecoming stories are near and dear my heart, especially since I’ve been away from home for too long!

Hunky-dunky LI! <3

The Vigan experience here is special because the characters reminisce the Vigan they grew up in and the Vigan now. It perfectly captured one’s love for home that many of us take for granted.

Bridgette’s “the more you hate…” trope is on point!

Bagnettttttttttt!!!!!

6. Back to the Stars – Agay Llanera

Another homecoming story! YASS!

The scene where Wency’s mother mentions “biskwit” tugged several heartstrings for me. I always feel for remembering the places you grew up in, but I feel MOAR for the people you grew up with!

Wency is sweet AF! His full name is funny to me, but the meaning behind it, and his sisters’ names, makes it extra special.

Leah’s changed attitude after being a City Girl for so long is dealt with realistically. It’s not a bad thing for me, it’s normal. But a sort of redemption in the end made me super happt for her. :)

I ship Leah + Wency so harddd! I mean, Leah Gurl, andami mong choices! Haha!

So there, my review for the individual stories. Hehe. For the whole anthology, my only request is for the authors to expand these stories! I’m very invested in all the characters at this point and I don’t want to part with them just yet! Haha!

Congrats, ladies! And thank you for doing this. My love for the Philippines had been reinforced with these stories and I hope other readers would find our wonderful side of the world as romantic as it is. :)

5 of 5 Stars.

Blurb:

Take a quick tour of the Philippines with six hometown love stories. Visit Jimenez, Misamis Occidental where a priest might just set you up with a man whose dimples are to die for. Visit Silay, Negros Occidental and get on a horse alongside hunky, hazel-eyed Negrense royalty. Visit Kalibo, Aklan and find yourself in the arms of a cute drummer boy who just happens to be your kuya's BFF. Visit Hagonoy, Bulacan and spend All Saint's Day next to a distracting boy who promises to write you a song. Visit Vigan, Ilocos Sur and meet the hot man you used to bully when he was a shy, scrawny boy. Visit Pundaquit, Zambales and find love in a bronzed fisherman whose eyes hold depths you'll want to explore.

Buy Links:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Promdi-Heart-Hometown-Love-Stories-ebook/dp/B06XY73Q4T/

Print Book Order Form (PH Only): http://bit.ly/promdiheartbook

About the Authors:

C. P. Santi is a Filipina author based in Tokyo, Japan. She is a wife to an engineer / indie songwriter and a full-time mom to two energetic boys. She loves cooking and baking, and enjoys feeding people, gorging on chocolate, watching J-doramas, belting it out in the karaoke box, and running around the house playing tickle tag. She also loves dreaming up stories about the people she meets.

In another life, she is also an architect and academic.

Ines Bautista-Yao is the former editor-in-chief of Candy and K-Zone magazines and a former high school and college English and Literature teacher. She is also a wife and mom and blogs about the many challenges and joys of motherhood at theeverydayprojectblog.com. She also posts story spirals on her author blog: http://theeverydayprojectblog.com/inesbautistayao-author/ You can find her on Instagram and Twitter: @inesbyao, through email: [email protected], her website: inesbautistayao.com, or Facebook: www.facebook.com/inesbautistayao

Cover (Story) Girl is Chris Mariano's first published romance work, but her speculative fiction and poetry have appeared in Fully Booked's Philippine Graphic/Fiction Awards Prose Anthology, Philippine Speculative Fiction Volume 7, TAYO Literary Magazine, and Ideomancer. When she's not writing, she supports Eskritoryo Pilipinas, an organization that encourages kids to appreciate Filipino literature and culture. She divides her time between Manila and Aklan.

Jay E. Tria is inspired by daydreams, celebrity crushes, a childhood fascination of Japanese drama and manga, and an incessant itch to travel. She writes contemporary young adult and new adult romance. Sometimes, paranormal fantasy too. Visit her website www.jayetria.com. Email: [email protected] Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Wattpad: jayetria

Georgette S. Gonzales began writing novels as romance author Edith Joaquin of My Special Valentine Tagalog (Filipino) Romance pocketbooks, published by Bookware Publishing Corp. She started writing in English and self-pubbing works in the middle of 2015. Gette works best at night, is also an editor, a public/media relations consultant, loves to cook pasta dishes and to eat caramel cake.

Agay Llanera is a freelance writer for television and video, and a published writer of children's books based in Manila, Philippines. Get in touch with her through the following: http://agayisagirl.blogspot.com https://www.facebook.com/AgayLlanera https://twitter.com/agayskee

#bookish #bentcreates #bookreview #promdiheart #romanceclass #support local

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