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rexx-lapis · 3 years

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Sensei // Gojo Satoru x Reader

-> Satoru and you haven’t seen each other since you graduated from the academy. But somehow he never really left your mind. What happens now that you are a strong and confident exorcist and that your sensei finally notice you ?

Tags: Takes place during the school tournament but is canon divergent, Smut, age gap but the reader is in their early 20s, gender neutral reader and use of the pronouns they/them, voyeurism, sex without protection, Use of the word slut, SENSEI KINK, mention of fight, murder and injuries, the reader wears an eyepatch cause it’s cool, Gojo POV, mutual pinning.

Satoru liked his life as it was. His job as a teacher was great, not too complicated and allowed him to stay close to the higher ups. In the end, it was not too demanding and in the exception of watching over Itadori just to make Sukuna wasn’t wilding out, it was pretty chill. He liked that. Since his graduation he had chose to live his life without worrying too much. There was not a lot of things that could hurt him, he knew how powerful he was, so all he had to worry about was literally insignificant. He was just being his real playful self, most people deemed him childish, and he kinda was. In the end everyone kept in their mind that he was the most powerful sorcerer out there. It wasn’t ego, he was just being self aware. Even in more trivial thing, nature had made it easy for him. Women were often falling into his arms without him doing anything. His easy going personality was just a bonus. He was just having fun, not wanting to engage in any type of serious relationship that was obviously not compatible with his lifestyle. He wasn’t an idiot, having a significant other meant exposing himself to pain and offering to his enemies a way of pressure. It was already difficult enough with his students, he was not sure he’ll be able to protect someone else at all time. And there was no way he would let go of his job. In the end even for his good looks, not a lot of people would be willing to risk their life. Or maybe it was just the fact that he had the reputation of being a player and that no one was willing to be used. This morning he woke up tired, the night before he has been forced to go on a special mission before the beginning of the tournament between Tokyo’s college and Kyoto’s one. The students were all here now, and ready to begin. Several teacher were sitting in front of the screens that would allow them to follow the different students. He recognized everyone, even the old Yoshinobu Gakuganji, that he preferred to see in the same room. He didn’t trust the old men and he already knew he was up to something. He settled down looking around him waiting for the beginning of the first trial.Until he saw you. You were entering the room, looking in front of you. Your face was familiar but he couldn’t really tell where he knew you from. You were wearing a black uniform characteristic of the jujutsu sorcerer. You stoped in front of Iori, greeting her. The woman seemed to know you as she simply smiled and offered you a sit next to her. You looked around, your eyes falling on him, and you simply nodded your head in his direction.

“Hello Gojo sensei”

This voice. Yeah he definitely knew you.

“ Well hello -

-Y/n Y/l/n”

Yeah he remembered you now. You went to Tokyo’s academy, but you were a few years younger than him. He had already graduated a few years before and was starting to be a teacher when you integrated the school. You were so young back then, sixteen maybe, now you looked so mature. Beautiful truly. Even with the eye patch hiding your left eye, he could see how beautiful you were. He simply smiled, nodding.

“Long time no see Y/n.

- Indeed”

You did not say anything else simply sitting down, Iori was looking angry, and started grumbling at you, probably asking where you knew him from. You simply looked at her, not having the time to say anything as the screens light up. Satoru did not realized right away, but turning around he saw the old Gakuganji looking at you, a dark look in his eyes. You did not even look in his direction. Something was up between you two for sure. The trials began and soon Satoru realized something was wrong. That old sneaky bastard had definitely ask his student to kill Itadori. He sighed, frustrated but not surprised. You on the other hand seemed way more bothered by the idea.

“ Why does it feel like a set up to me?”

Iori tensed next to you but no one answered. You didn’t say anything else. Satoru couldn’t help but wonder why you came here. Indeed the tournament was an interesting thing to watch but you were not a teacher, or at least not that he knew of. What were you doing here, sweet, innocent y/n. You couldn’t possibly be one of the guard dog of the higher ups.

“Megumi is for sure very impressive.

-You know him? asked Iori

-I worked with his dad once. They don’t seem to have much in common at first but...

-You know Toji Fushiguro ?”asked Gojo suddenly sitting up straight on his chair

“I met him once, I wish I did not tho

-He tends to do this to people”

Your conversation was cut off by a noise and a flash of smoke. The red parchment that were stuck on the wall had caught on fire.

“What’s happening?

-The trials are already over?

-No, something is wrong.

-Apparently, some curses came uninvited”

You stood up, visibly not phased by this. What were you hiding?

“ We should go, at least rescue the students. If the curses are too powerful they won’t stand a chance.”

They split in several groups, and they started to run, hopefully joining their students before it was too late. Sadly nothing happened like Satoru imagined. First, a sort of black veiled recovered the place of the tournament. The more frustrating was that everyone seemed to be able to cross it except for him. Satoru find himself stuck outside unable to do anything. Behind his smile, he was worried. Was he really going to send Iori and the old man in this situation alone. And you. What about you. You did not seemed phased one bit by the situation, but he couldn’t help but wonder if you were not going to be more of a burden. After all you still were young. But he couldn’t tell you to stay back, and if you were here it was because you were qualified to do your job. The three of you disappeared behind the veil. It wasn’t often he felt helpless but right now he definitely did. After several minutes later he saw Panda come from behind the veil, Megumi in one arm, and Maki in the other. They were both severely injured but their life was not threatened now that they were being taken care of. Soon after Nishimiya carrying Noriyoshi and Inumaki flied through the veil, almost crashing on the ground. Being the only one still conscious, Nishimiya told him how she saw Itadori and Todo fighting a grade s curse when she was flying away. The more Satoru was thinking about it the more it sounded fishy. But he didn’t even had the time to thing this through before the veil disappeared. The old man was standing there with what seemed to be the corpse of man.

“They ran to see if they could find the two other brats. Go and see how they are doing.”

Satoru didn’t even wait for him to finish his sentence and started running. He felt a burst of cursed energy and decided he should check it out. He arrived to see Itadori and Todo hurt, Iori trying to help them stand up.

“Where is the curse ?”

Iori gasped, face suddenly tensed. She looked scared. She simply pointed at the empty air. It has been dealt with apparently. But you weren’t here.

“Where is Y/n?

-They left. They ran in this direction.

-Everyone is already out” he threw his phone at her, “call the old man or one of your student so they can help you with those two.”

He had to find you. He took him a couple of minutes to catch up on you, you had not got that far. You seemed completely normal, not even a micro injury. The only thing was that your right sleeve had been torned exposing your arm. You turned around facing him. You did not say anything just walking toward him. There was no trace of another curse. He was going to ask you what happened when you lifted your arm silencing him. Your phone buzzed in you pocket.

“Hello sir.”

He could not hear what was being said on the other side. But he could easily guessed it was one of your superior.

“The curse has been eliminated. It was a grade s. The students are safe, and the ones that are injured will be okay. Very well.”

You marked a pause, your eyes darting on his face, wondering if you could keep talking even though he was still here. He had no intention of going anywhere though.

“ Yes, Mahito escaped...”

You expression hardened.

“ I know... next time...”

You simply hanged up, finally turning to face Satoru.

“We can go, there’s nothing left here. They’re gone.”

He simply nodded.

“ I knew it was weird. Why would you even bother to come all this way to witness the tournament. I mean, it can be quite enjoyable but, you seem rather occupied.”

You didn’t say anything. You changed so much, what happened to joyful, cute Y/n, he wondered.

“ You were using the tournament as a way to attract Mahito ?

-No. I just knew he was gonna be here eventually.

-Why are you looking for him.

-Who isn’t looking for him at this point.

-Hmm, no, I feel like it’s personal.”

You clenched your jaw.

“He killed my team mates. Three months ago.”

Oh, that explained the dark energy coming out of you.

“So it is personal.

-You could say that”

You didn’t say a word, the weight of what you saw like a failure heavy on your shoulders. Satoru knew that better than anyone. The tournament was canceled and rescheduled. And weirdly enough, you did not left the academy at the same time as the Kyoto staff. You said your farewell to Iori and the students, returning later to your now assigned room. Satoru knew that if you were still here, it was because you had been assigned a new mission.

“You are still tagging along?”

You turned around, stopping your writing almost instantly. You might have been distracted because you did not hear him come in.

“Entering a someone’s room without authorization, sensei, it’s not reasonable.”

He couldn’t tell if you were serious or not. He couldn’t help if your room was next to his. He was curious.

“You are still calling me sensei? I am not your sensei anymore though.

-Officially no, but I am still learning while being here. But I can call you by your name if you prefer”

He actually liked when you called him sensei. He didn’t answer but you caught up pretty quick.

“Let’s stick with sensei then.”

He looked at you over his glasses, scanning your body. You weren’t wearing your uniform but a simple casual outfit. You looked cute. Your face scrunched in an adorable expression as you were concentrating on what you were writing.

“ What are you writing? A love letter to your boyfriend?”

He could almost hear you sight. He smiled, getting comfortable on your bed.

“ I am writing a report.

-About what?

-What happened during the tournament.

-Mahito?

-You could say that.

-Y/n. Could you do something for me?

-Depends.

-If you could not mention in your report what happened between the Kyoto college and Itadori, it would really be nice.

-I don’t understand why you would not want the higher ups to not know that people of our organization are trying to kill a sixteen year old.

-It’s because you are still naive Y/n”

You turned around, visibly angry.

“I am not stupid. I know what they would do to Itadori if they could. I didn’t mentioned the incident in my report.”

He smiled, getting up, getting closer to you.

“ Good” he almost whispered in your ear. He could see your face heat up, but you stayed calm.

“Are you done? Or do you doubt me so much, you want to read my report too.

-I think about you a lot, but not once I’ve doubt you. I don’t know what you did to that curse in front of Itadori but he won’t even talk to me about it”

You smirked.

“Good.”

Satoru’s head was just full of you now. He just couldn’t help it. You were basically living together at this point. Even if he was busy training the first year and mostly Itadori, he was still seeing you from the corner of his eyes. You seemed interested in Itadori’s training, maybe secretly hoping for Sukuna to manifest. You did not seem to care though. You weren’t avoiding him, but you paid him no mind. He saw you multiple times laughing with Itadori, Nobara or Megumi. He even saw you leave with Nanami one evening. You came back late at night, drunk.

“Do you even have the required age to drink?”he asked a disapproving tone in his voice.

“Yes I do... How old do you think I am....

-You’re younger than Nanami, so what were you even doing outside with him”

You pouted, your arm crossing over your chest. Fuck, you were so cute. And you looked so pretty like this. Your hair were kinda messy, your visible eye gleaming. Your lips, fuck, it was kinda hard not to stare at them. Maybe he should be the one going outside, he seemed to need it.

“He just took me out to drink nothing else. And you shouldn’t even talk. That so hypocritical.

-What have I done ?

-You slept with at least three of my friend from graduation”

Ah.

“So I don’t want to here anything else from you”

You sounded kinda angry now. But he couldn’t take you seriously right now. Not when you looked like a angry little kitten.

“I’m going to sleep”

He watched you go, your steps uncertain.

“Y/n, love, your room is the other way.”

You stoped in your track, looking at him, lost.

“I know. I was just playing”

Yes, so cute. He chuckled, deciding to escort you to your room just to make sure.

“Is this because of your friends that you are avoiding me love.

-Yes.

-Why? I didn’t do anything wrong to them? Did I?

-No, but I don’t want to end up sleeping with you”

Ouch, okay.

“After, you’re gonna break my heart and ghost me. No way.”

You arrived in front of your room.

“I would never do that to you love, so, would you go out with me?

-No

-You’re just being a brat right now”

You laughed at him before opening your door.

“Good night Gojo Sensei”

This night signed the beginning of a real nightmare for him. You did not mentioned anything from this night to him after it happened. But fuck he wanted you so much. He felt bad about it, you being so young, he felt like he was going to corrupt you or something. He did not felt like this with any of your friend or his previous one night stands. So why with you? Maybe because he knew you since you were young. You weren’t especially close, you were often with people your age and he was on his side with the other teachers. But now you were an adult, and for what seemed a very strong sorcerer. Sometimes, he was wondering what was happening in his head, when he was taking decisions. Like when he chose to invite a girl over, while you where here, when all he could think about was you. He was doing this to provoke you, or maybe he was just dumb. Fucking her against the wall that was just next to yours was maybe a bit too much, but he still did it somehow. He was sick for this. You on the other side, you wanted to cry and throw yourself through the window. Fuck you could even hear him groan behind all the sound the girl was doing. How thin were those walls? You grabbed your earphones, trying to cancel the noises, but your mind was still full of Satoru. For years you had promise yourself that you won’t be like every other person that had met him. You would never fall in love with him, or want to sleep with him. So why was your heart aching because he was currently fucking someone else. And why you could feel arousal pooling in your belly, your thighs rubbing against one another. You would never do that. Touch yourself. Like this. No. You were better than that.

“Ah fuck...” you heard him moan from the other side.

In the end you were just a weak little human. And soon your hand find the way of your underwear, finally touching the most sensitive place of your body. You were just imagining him in top of you, he would fuck you so good, so full. You could almost feel his weight on your body, his skin against yours. You wished you could say it was the first time you had imagine something like this. But it really wasn’t. Satoru has been haunting your darkest fantasy for a while now, fed now by all the story you’ve heard from your friends.

“Ah fuck, love, do you hear me?”

You stopped breathing, your fingers stopping what they were doing.

“ Fuck love, you look so fucking pretty, spread yourself more for me”

You were so dumb for doing this but you still did, spreading your legs wider, giving yourself a better access.

“ I’m sure you taste so sweet, fuck, if only I could taste you.”

Your fingers were becoming more erratic, pleasure and tension building up between your legs.

“Are you gonna cum love?

-Yes” you cried, your face burning from embarrassment.

You prayed all the gods above that they couldn’t hear you.

“Yeah you’re gonna come for me. So fucking pretty, ah-”

You cried out, the coil in your stomach snapping, your juice flooding out.

“Gojo sensei” you moaned, maybe a bit too loud.

You hear him moan from the other side of the wall, probably reaching his end too. The only thing left of you was exhaustion, sadness and a bit of disgust. You just wanted to sleep. The next day Satoru woke up a bitter sweet taste in his mouth. What happened during the night, he could not explain it. But fuck, he heard you, and he knew you heard him. He hope you knew that every words he said were meant for you. That it was your face that flashed through his mind when he came that night. He find you in the common room, speaking to Itadori, the boy looking a bit down.

“Are you really leaving us soon?

-Yes I already overstepped my boundaries with staying that long. Obviously Mahito is not going to come back any time soon.

-We’ll miss you Y/n!”

You were leaving? It was logical after all. You could not stay here forever. Why did it make him a little bit sad then?

“Leaving already?”

You turned you head toward him, soon avoiding his gaze. He smiled.

“I have to go back to the headquarters as soon as I can. I am leaving for the south tomorrow.

-I see”

You next told everyone that you will go to Tokyo this afternoon because you wanted to buy some stuff before leaving. The first year almost jumped you, begging you to take them with you. Or at least Itadori and Nobara did.

“Kids, Y/n probably wants to spend time alone.

-No it’s fine they can come with me.

-It won’t bother you if I come too then”

Your head lowered, visibly embarrassed. But you didn’t say anything about it. You left to get ready, changing your uniform for some casual clothes, and Satoru thanked all the gods for this. You looked adorable. Your black eyepatch was replaced by a white simpler one, you were wearing a cute outfit, suddenly you were looking more your age.

“Let’s go then”

You stayed silent for most of the trip. Itadori and Nobara were so happy to go out you almost lost them twice in the crowd. Megumi was walking calmly behind them, looking after the two. You stoped a few times to look at some street food, and Satoru couldn’t help but think of this as a kind of date. If only he could hold your hand in his while you strolled through harajuku.

“They look good, don’t they?

Hm, they do, the one with strawberries look really tasty”

He got closer from, his tall form hovering your body. Your back was pressed against his torso and he could feel you tense a bit. He smirked, getting closer, pressing himself against your ass even more. You gasped.

“We’ll take two of the strawberry ones please!” He said smiling, your head shooting up to look at him.

“Sensei...

-Come on Y/n, let me spoil you a bit”

You didn’t say anything else, just pouting looking away from him.

“Their whip cream tastes so good.

-Yes this place is great. There is a mochi place not far away, it’s great too!

-Do you have a sweet tooth sensei?

-I always loved what was sweet”

You snickered a bit not saying anything. You all kept walking for a bit finally deciding to go back to the academy. You were laughing and the mood had obviously lighten up even if you were still distant.

“Did you have a good time ?

-Yes thank you. I’m happy I could have a little break before going back to mission.

-Where are they sending you?

-In China. Mahito is only the tip of the iceberg. Me and several other shaman are sent to hopefully learn some things about the curses there.

-Seems risky.

-It definitely is. I don’t want to be paranoid but I have a feeling they want to maybe silence some of us.

-Oh so you are aware of that.

-I’ve been working for them since I was seventeen. I am well aware of their methods. Mahito might have killed most of my team mates, but we were not supposed to face someone as powerful. At least not when I wasn’t here.

-They got you separated from the group for a while?

-Basically yeah, when I came back most of them were dead, the other quite the job.

-And you still are going to follow their orders?

-I don’t really have a choice. I don’t feel like becoming a target of their wrath” you turned around to face him, “I am not like you”

He took off his blindfold, his eyes falling on your soft face. You gasped a little, almost dropping your ice cream. He came closer, bending his neck a little to look into your eyes.

“Don’t die.

-I don’t plan to.

-Good”

If you ended up dying, maybe he would go and have a little discussion with the so called higher ups of the sorcerer society. He knew you were strong, stronger than most, the way you got rid of the s class curse was still a mystery to him, but he knew that those bastards had very efficient way to get rid of people they deemed too dangerous. If only you could stay here.

“ But you know, if I end up dying there, could you do something for me before.”

He quirked an eyebrow, suspicious.

“Sensei”

His breathing became a little bit more rigged.

“Sensei, could you help me with something?

-Yes, of course”

He didn’t even need to know what you were asking him. He would basically do anything for you at this point. Really everything. You grabbed his shirt, asking him to bend over, his face coming at your level.

“ Sensei, I didn’t even tell you what I wanted yet...

-And what do you want?

-I want you”

He almost chocked on air. He could definitely give this to you.

“You can have me whenever you want love, fuck, you don’t even have to ask.”

He almost ran through the wall while returning to your room. It was empty when he came in. You really were going to leave. He did not have time to think more about it before you jump in his arm, your legs wrapped around his waist.

“ I caught you baby”, he chuckled, “Now, what do you want me to do?”

Your mouth was so close from his, you breath hitting his lips.

“ Tell me sensei, do you like being teased?

-Not really baby

-Me either, but last time, a guy I liked thought it was a good idea to make me know he was fucking someone else.

-This guy is a meanie

-He really is. I was waiting in my room, if he wanted he could have take me. Because I was waiting for him you know

-Oh really?”

You little minx, you were playing with him.

“I had to touch myself all alone in my room you know”

Yeah he was definitely hard now. He dropped you a little lower, your ass pressing against his clothed cock.

“ Sensei, I said no teasing...

-You’re right, no more teasing.”

He let you fall into the bed, laughing a little at your surprised expression. If you didn’t like being teased he wasn’t gonna waste more time. He grabbed your chin firmly in his hand squeezing your cheeks. You looked at him, your hands hesitantly reaching for his blindfold .

“Do it”

You hooked your thumbs under the fabric, slowly taking it off. He saw you eyes widen a little, lips parting slightly. You had already seen him without his blindfold but it seemed so much more intimate now. His beautiful white hair fell on his forehead, azure eyes opening to stare directly into your own.

“My turn”

His hand slide along your cheek, taking of your eye patch. A little scar was crossing your eyelid.

“So pretty” he said smirking, his lips hovering over yours.

You obviously weren’t very patient. The moment he was getting closer, you bite his lower lip, sucking it gently. He could feel your teeth sink into his flesh. You were going to be the death of him. He grabbed your hair firmly, capturing your lips in a feverish kiss. Your thighs were parted, his slander hips placed perfectly between them. You tasted so sweet, the taste of ice cream still lingering on your tongue. His favorite dessert truly. He could have kept kissing you forever if he didn’t felt you moving under him, your hips rolling against his crotch. He could feel how much you wanted this. He grabbed your wrist pinning your arms to the mattress. He had no doubt that you were a strong sorcerer but what could you even do against him.

“You want this so bad, you’re starting to behave like a slut.

-I can’t wait anymore. I’ve wait for this for so long.

-Did you?

-Yeah” you moaned shamelessly when he rocked his hips forward. You cried out his name, eyebrows furrowing. He had all the intentions in the world of driving you crazy, teasing you to no ends. But seeing you like this. His poor baby. He wasn’t going to be cruel. Not a lot that is. He let his hands caress your body, watching how you seem to squirm under his touch. You looked so sensitive.

“I’m gonna be nice with you love, but you have to be honest with me.

-W-what? I’d do anything....

-Of course you would.”

He bit your skin near your hip, leaving a mark there. Trailing his way down until he reaches your underwear. He was almost salivating at the view. If your mouth has tasted sweet, he couldn’t wait to taste you more. He spread your legs wider, holding your thighs firmly. His tongue darted out of his mouth, finally touching your flesh. You were so wet, your smell so much stronger there. He saw your hands clapping against your mouth, a little noise escaping you.

“Now you’re gonna have to tell me the truth baby. Do you want me?

-So much! I really want you sensei!

-Since when have you think of me like this?” You looked up to him, your eyes widened in shock and embarrassment.

“Since... We met maybe....

-So fucking naughty... Tell me more....

-Sensei... I wanted you so much back then but you weren’t even looking at me, fuck it feels so good...” He had started sucking at your flesh, toying with the most sensitive part of your body. You were squirming against his touch, but the little noises you were letting out were so sinful.

“I did so many things so you would notice me, haaa, but you didn’t... I know I had to become stronger.

-And now here you are baby, you’ve become so strong, and so good at pretending you don’t want me. I almost believed you in the beginning.”

Knowing that you had fantasied about this since you met him was having an effect on him he should be ashamed of. Your silly little crush on him, and all the thing you probably had thought about in your young mind full of hormones, it was really all he needed to lose all control. His fingers were now trusting deep and fast inside you. You were crying incoherent things, mixes of his name and pleads for more. He was addicted to you, he could stay like this, his mouth and fingers buried deep in your dripping hole, forever. Watching you cum for the second or third time as he laughed at you. He almost forgot how hard it had made him.

“Satoru...

-No more sensei?” he slapped you ass, “don’t be rude with your superior Y/n.

-Please just, more...

-Use your words baby”He was smirking, so cocky about the mess he had made of you.

“Your cock please....”

You didn’t even had to ask him twice. He probably would have made you beg for it if he wasn’t so drunk in you. He unzipped his pants, freeing his member. He was so hard, it was painful. He was so caught up in his thoughts he did not see your hand coming closer. He jolted, tensing, a little growl almost escaping his mouth, when you took his cock in your hand.

“Fuck, Y/n, don’t sneak on me like that...

-You’re so hard sensei...

-Yeah baby, it’s because of you, you made sensei like this...

-Can I taste you, I want you in my mouth”, you proceed to stick your tongue out, a bit of saliva dripping from it. You were gonna kill him. He wanted nothing more than to fuck your face. But right now all his thoughts were on your slutty little hole. Definitely later. He grabbed your legs, making you fell back into the mattress. He bent your legs, your upper thighs pressed against your chest. You were so exposed. He couldn’t wait any longer, his hips rocking forward, his cock entering you mercilessly. You gasped, air leaving your lungs. He felt so big inside you, so hard and heavy.

“You’re literally creaming around me already, are you gonna cum?”

He was smiling, but inside he was screaming . Why were you still so tight. So fucking warm, your slimy walls were sucking him in. He knew now, that he could stay buried balls deep inside you forever. He pressed his hips even more against you, his hips trusting hard against you. The noise of your juices and skin clapping against one another was obscene, but so addictive. He was hitting so deep, from this angle, rubbing against your walls. He grabbed your arms, letting your legs go. You were now sitting on his lap, chest pressed against his. The change of angle had made you moan even louder. It felt so much more intimate for some reason. His grip on your ass forcing you to impale yourself on his member. You were going to cum. You felt it, deep inside.

“Cum for me baby.”

You didn’t need anything else, as you press your forehead on his neck, moaning his name your body trembling against his. You felt him tense against you, his pace getting quicker and deeper. You were crying from overstimulation when he finally cum inside you, growling in you ear. You fell limb in his arms, empty of your energy. Satoru kissed you before laying you down on your bed. You grabbed his hand, bringing it to your mouth. You kissed his knuckles gently. His heart swell at that, not wanting to leave your side. That was how he find himself staying all night with you. You woke him up again a few hours later, you were looking all hot and bothered again. How could he say no to his baby. You spent the night like this, between cuddling and sleeping.

That’s why he was so surprised to see you weren’t there when he woke up. He had forgot you were supposed to leave early in the morning. He stood up, understanding how empty the room now felt. He walked toward the desk where his clothes had been folded. He took the little piece of paper, realizing you probably had left it here for him. He laughed, reading it. He knew you were strong. He just had to wait a little bit for you to come back. He knew you would.

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twisted-imagines · 4 years

Note

Heyo! May I request headcanons for how Leona and Azul would react to their respective SO being unassumingly strong? Like they look like they possess average strength but they are able to carry a lot of heavy things (easily the dorm leaders) or hold their own in a physical fight. I hope this makes sense 😅😅😅

Unbelievable, I'm back! With a request, nonetheless💖 I wonder if you missed me, hehe? Man, did I miss you all and my precious boys~ It's shorter than usually and I got hit with a writer's block, but it'll try to pick up my pace from now on >:3

But for now, please, enjoy💗

Unassumingly strong S/O

Leona Kingscholar 🦁

Rays of sunset gently caressing his face woke Leona up from his post-lunch nap. Still groggy from his sleep he rose up just to look at the clock. Almost evening, the last classes in college ended at least two hours ago. But that wasn't important to Leona. What really bothered him, was the absence of one customary part of his sleeping routine: your warm form beside his. To have you curled up into his side or just sitting near him telling about your day always made his dreams more pleasant and now that he got used to it, not having you beside him rubbed him the wrong way. You should have already been there, so where were you? The lion didn't want to think about the worst, but only the most alarming conclusions came to his mind. The bed shifted beneath him when he got up, but before he could even take a step a loud stomping resonating in the hallway drew his attention. Ruggie was at his doorstep, disheveled, and clearly agitated.

"Leona-san! You need to see this, come. Quick!"

Leona could finally let out the breath he took when Ruggie rushed him out of his room and to the common room. Several students were running to-and-fro around the other three beat-up Savanaclaw residents. The dorm leader stopped at the door, relieved to not had seen you there. And why would you be there, though? Nonsense. But it was really the only thing he was worried about since the sight before him was all too common for Leona at that point. He was about to turn to Ruggie and ask what all that fuss was about until a conversation between couch occupant and the students treating him reached his ears.

"Ouch! That hurts, man! Ugh, if not that piece of-!"

"Don't even think about ending that sentence. You're lucky that it wasn't the dorm leader who got his hands on you."

"Yes, dumbass, can you even imagine what would have happened to you three if he found out you fought his mate- Wha? Huh?! Leona-san? Since when did you-"

Leona crossed the room in a few powerful strides only to pick the unfortunate student by his collar. An unbridled fury grimaced his face.

"What's about [Y/n]? Tell me, your puny life depends on it!“

"Nishishishi, what can he even tell? That he and his thick-headed friends got completely obliterated by a single, small human?"

"Listen, I'm very sorry about it, but it was just self-defense!"

Leona dropped the scared, shaking from fear student to the floor in favor of rushing to your self, who too entered the room. He swiftly checked you for any injury and let out a relieved sigh. From what he could see you were completely fine, while those who harassed you were very much not, trembling and holding each other, bruised and humiliated. Kingscholar could only look bewildered at them, and then at you, at them, at you.

"Leona, I'm really sorry, I didn't want to hurt them so bad."

Your ramble became faster the more your boyfriend looked at you with a blank look, not even saying a word to you.

"...so if there's some disciplinary punishment or otherwise or will take it, I-"

A snicker interrupted your speech. You looked at the man before you stunned. Before you could utter even another word he erupted in a fit of roaring laughter, it resonating in a completely silent dorm.

• Ah, Leona can't genuinely remember when was the last time he laughed that hard. The whole situation is so amusing to him, there isn't't a boring day with you, is there?

• Of course, you'll face no punishment, vice versa, you'll be celebrated. His darling, his kitten, was actually a mighty carnivore all along. He's going to mark the day, when he finally found out about that.

• Never would he think, not a snowballs chance in hell, that you had any physical strength in you, but you managed to prove him wrong. Yes, he was very close to destroying poor souls who tried to harass you, but if not for them taunting you and being beat up in the process, he wouldn't have such a discovery to laugh at. They're getting away with it, a living example of why exactly one ought to not touch dorm leader's lover. They're not dining with everybody that evening though, no matter how much tasty food there is.

• He doesn't think a lot about this discovery at first, that's just another gimmick of yours and he loves it, he loves you, but does it turn his world upside down, both figuratively and literally, when you, fed up with him lazing around the greenhouse and trying to make you lie down with him, swing him over your shoulder and carry him out. His pupils are just two saucers. He hangs speechless from your shoulder and until he feels ground under his legs he doesn't register what happened.

• Congratulations, now you have Leona Kingscholar living in your arms. He'll just use you as a personal carriage and how can you deny him, when he's so cutely snuggling up to you. Oh, he knows what he does to you and isn't ashamed to take advantage of it.

• He's quite pleased to know that you can hold your own in a physical fight, even in a magical world they're still too common. He even starts to watch himself, especially when he thinks he went too far with his teasing since you do have a strength to turn it on him. Well, he doesn't really protest. A bit of roughhousing and a tickle fight never harmed anybody, it amuses Leona when you start them.

• He admires you more than anybody else at this point. You're badass and you know it, and he couldn't be more proud. He sleeps soundly, knowing that you can stand up for yourself if the situation calls for it. He still much prefers to have you safe in his arms, or vice versa, so don't leave him for longer, than you should.

• One time he just casually asked you, if you could wield any weapon with a very unsettling glint in his eyes. He told you that a lot of people in Afterglow Savannah were proficient in some war art, it was a very respected tradition, and some of the masters could teach you, if you visited his homeland with him. He left the question open, but sometimes you still wonder what did he actually mean?

Azul Ashengrotto 🐙

Night Raven College was in a state of emergency. All students were to follow their seniors to a safe location, while teachers and student council were dealing with the threat. The reason for such a panic was a single creature. Highly dangerous at its full potential and untamable, college's Chimera was much less imposing than it's wild nature sisters, but still a difficult opponent for students at their Magic Defense classes. Apparently this time it decided to give a special lesson to everybody.

"The beast ran in that direction, don't let it get away once again, surround and subdue it!"

Azul's order rang in the hallway, spurring every present student to action. At the state of total disarray, the youth was the only one who reacted fast enough to rally his fellow students and direct them properly. But to say the hunt was going awfully is to say nothing. The students, so much for them being skilled at magic, had no idea of command work. Ashengrotto had already regretted sending Leech twins away with Octavinelle juniors, it would have ended so much faster if they were present. But alas, after running around the campus for more than half an hour, Azul could finally hope they would catch the damned beast at last.

"It's running away, catch it! Why are you standing still?"

"Can you not complain for five seconds, pretty boy? Want me to fix your make up with my fists for you?"

"The Chimera is resisting magical attacks, somebody please sacrifice yourself for the greater good. We need to neutralize it!"

No, they were hopeless. Azul could only observe the people he saw daily at college lose all respect he had for them in less than an hour. Azul was genuinely contemplating to just give up and let the teachers, who got lost halfway too somehow, handle it. At that point he wasn't even chasing it, disappointedly watching how it was running away into the sunset.

Until it suddenly didn't. Chimera crashed with a loud thud, falling to the floor completely motionless. And the one who was standing above it with a bright red crowbar was none other than you. Shocked, he slowly approached you and the unconscious animal.

"Um... [Name]?"

"Sup' Azul! You were late for our date so I returned to check up on you. This Chimera is so big! It's the first time I've seen it. Where should we carry it?"

"Yes, yes...You'll still meet it at your Magic Defense classes later the semester. To the classroom on the third floor, let me-"

Before Azul could lift it with magic you had already hoisted it on your shoulder and awaited for his lead.

Well, it was certainly a dream so he didn't have to freak out, right? His dear significant other couldn't possibly knock out a huge beast in one punch?

• Wrong. You did. You also had enough strength to carry it to its cage. You could do even more than that. The more Azul was coming to the understanding of it, the more he was freaking out. Until he completely stopped responding to you. The date had to be canceled, unfortunately. You led him to his dorm, while he was having an identity crisis.

• When he finally snaps out of his state you're so going to be bombarded with questions. They won't stop, and you're not even sure he addresses them to you. How did you hide it and why? Or was he just oblivious? But you look so demure, look at Jack for example and look at you! How?

"Well, I'm pretty soft, but here touch - there muscles underneath!"

He's now more lost than before, after making contact with your bare skin.

• It's going to take him time to come to terms with your actual strength. Lack of magic not equating to being powerless didn't register in his brain, and he thought it was actually very ignorant of him. He respected you before, but now he's in awe. His significant other is very strong and Azul thinks it's beautiful.

• When he has too much work and is stubborn about cramming it all into one day, even though he's already drooling on his notes and slips down his chair, you just lift him from his seat and parade through Monstro Lounge to his room with Azul blushing madly in your arms. Leech twins think it's the most hilarious thing they've ever seen. Azul is very embarrassed, but it also feels so good to be carried around by you, he feels the most special man in the world. He politely asks you to not handle him like that ever again, while he clings to you like a baby koala. It's obvious where he wants to be.

• He has a love-hate attitude to manhandling. It certainly feels exciting when you tug him on your lap if he's passing by, or envelop him in a hug if you're happy, but he's also quite shy about it, especially if there're people around you. Sometimes he wants just to find a pot big enough to hide.

• He likes your way of solving problems. You don't have to choose the best spells that would give you an advantage against a certain opponent, neither do you have to worry about things like mana and blot. You can only rely on yourself in a fight. He wheezed when you suggested, that Floyd wouldn't be a dangerous opponent to you since his unique magic wouldn't deflect a punch to the face. Floyd wasn't impressed with that logic, but he kept quiet.

• Azul is quite pacifistic, if he can mitigate the conflict and reach a consensus that would benefit every party, mostly him, he will try to avoid a fight. But when even he can't do this, you enter the picture. You know that those jerks are too arrogant and they should be prescribed a nice, educating blow to a face. Azul is mortified, when you escalate things, for he usually doesn't see such scenes, Floyd or even sometimes Jade leave them offstage. He quickly comes to his senses though and helps you out. Best believe you're going to get away with it, and even will be treated as a victim. Who in their right mind will think that you, of all people, can deal any serious damage to anybody?

• He feels a bit weird when you're the one carrying his shopping bags, or screwing the jars open, but he learns to roll with it, even starts to enjoy it. And his face when he sees you carrying a huge table all on your own, because he just so mentioned, that he didn't like how it stood in the Lounge? Priceless.

• No matter how much time passes he'll still react surprised when he sees you displaying your power, but it's also one of the qualities he loves about you. Azul treats your unusual strength as your special appeal and couldn't be more proud to be your lover.

• He's ecstatic that he can just casually mention to anybody picking on him, that "his significant other can and will snap you in half". Maybe you can, maybe you can not, but you just let him have his fun. The truth is that you will do your best at any given time to protect your boyfriend.

#twisted wonderland #twisted wonderland x reader #twst #twst imagines #twst x reader #leona kingscholar #twst leona #leona kingscholar x reader #azul ashengrotto #azul ashengrotto x reader #mel writes

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justcallmenikki7 · 5 years

Text

BTS Reaction To: Them Crying (Mafia!Au)

Summary: you threaten to leave and they begin to cry for the first time in front of you.

Warnings: angst, crying, cursing

Notes: jin’s, yoongi’s, and namjoon’s plot was stuck in my head, so i did theirs before everyone else’s. I’ll have the others up hopefully soon!

*Jin, Yoongi, Namjoon*

*******************************************************

Jin:

You couldn’t stand it anymore.

You couldn’t stand your boyfriend always treating you differently when his gang members were around and how he treated you when they were. He treated you as if you weren’t his girlfriend. It made you feel like complete and utter crap. You haven’t told him yet because every time that you do go and tell him you get nervous that a fight might break out and you hate fights.

But this time is different.

You had tears streaming down your face as you packed your bags quickly. This time Jin stepped over the line for you and you have had enough of it.

“Babe? What are you doing?” Jin asked you, his voice sounded panicked.

“I am done with you treating me as if I am nothing to you. Every time that gang is around, you treat me like crap and i am done. I’m leaving, Jin.” You told him, not giving a second glance towards his direction.

“No, please don’t leave. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for you to feel like that, i do that so they don’t know my weakness which is you. I love you Y/N, please don’t leave.” Jin begged, tears beginning to form in his eyes.

“How am i suppose to believe that you love me when you treat me the complete opposite in front of your gang? It’s pretty fucking hard.”

Next thing you knew was a pair of strong arms wrapping around your hips and a face being pressed into your back. The sound of Jin’s loud sobs was sounded throughout the room.

“Baby, please don’t go, I’m begging you. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make you feel like that. I was only trying to protect you, not hurt you. You’re the most important thing to me. I’ll stop it, please don’t leave me.” He begged, tightening his grip on your hips.

“Jinnie, calm down.” You try to say in the most calming voice that you could make.

“N-no! I treated you poorly out of stupidity when I should’ve been treating you like a Queen in front of my men! I drove you away when I should’ve been pulling you closer. I am so fucking stupid. I made it easier for you to get hurt when i should’ve been making it harder for them to hurt you.” He wailed out, not calming down the slightest bit.

“Jin listen to me.” You demanded, “I’m not going to leave you, I promise. Please calm down, baby.”

You know that you both have more to discuss about, but you both needed to calm down and rest. You felt Jin nod against your back, his body shaking. The sound of him trying to even out his breathing was evident due to his loud intakes of breath.

Yoongi:

You always knew that Yoongi was cold and was hard at expressing emotions, but sometimes it really hurt you.

It sometimes it felt like he didn’t even love you. You prayed that it would change but it hasn’t and you have came to conclusion that you shouldn’t be in a relationship like this anymore. Even though his inner men’s girlfriends tried to tell you that he does love you and that you’re wrong on this, you still stuck with leaving. You couldn’t see it at all.

Now, here you are stuck in a crappy motel a few towns over from where you use to live with Yoongi.

You couldn’t stop crying because it felt as if your heart was ripped out of your chest. Yes, Yoongi was basically emotionless, you still loved him with all of your heart.

A loud banging came from the rooms door, causing you to jump. Getting up, you walked to the door and opened it, greeted with Yoongi,

For a while, you both stared at each other, taking in one another’s appearance. You were shocked with how disheveled he looked. He had bloodshot eyes, messy unkempt hair and his suit was wrinkled.

A deep sigh of relief came from him and next thing you knew you were in his arms.

“Thank fucking God you’re okay.” He mumbled, “What the hell were you thinking? I thought i fucking lost you.” You felt a tear hit your shoulder and you couldn’t believe that Min Yoongi - the most cold hearted, feared man was crying in your arms. “I’m so fucking sorry,” he croaked out, hugging you tighter, the sound of his heaving filling the room.

“Yoongi, please calm down. Please calm down.” You told him, running your fingers through his hair.

Once he calmed down, he still wouldn’t let you go.

“I know that I am not good with expressing emotions, but Y/N, i do love you. You’re the best thing that has ever happened to me.” He whispered into your ear, “Please don’t give up on me. I should’ve done better on showing you my love. I’m trying my hardest, please don’t leave me.”

“Okay, I’m sorry, Yoongi.” You apologized.

“You have no reason to be sorry. Let’s go home. I am never letting this mistake to happen again.”

And he didn’t let it happen.

Namjoon:

“I’m leaving!” You yelled, turning around to storm out of your boyfriends office.

You didn’t get far before you felt his gentle grip on your forearm.

“No you’re not.” He protested, “You’re not leaving me.”

“Yes I am!” You stated, “I cannot fucking deal with this anymore! You’re never here with me. You’re never living up to your promises. You’re always coming up with excuses on why you couldn’t make it to the date or just anything that we have planned. I am done with empty promises from you. I want a boyfriend that makes it to the date or is a few minutes late, a boyfriend who keeps his promises. I love you Namjoon, but i am sick of being let down all of the time by you.” You told him honestly.

Namjoon was quiet. His face was neutral, but his eyes betrayed him like they always did. His eyes were tearing up and his right eye was twitching which meant that he was really upset. You began to feel the hand that was holding onto you shake violently.

“No, no, no.” He whispered, voice cracking. His neutral expression broke, now showing his true emotions - heartbreak and fear.

Dropping to his knees, he wrapped his arms around your stomach, pressing his face into you. Loud sobs raked over him, his whole body now beginning to shake. Never in your life would you imagine Kim Namjoon, leader of the number one most feared Korean Mafia leader, on his knees crying.

“Please don’t leave me,” he cried, voice muffled. “I’ll get better, I’ll be better! I’ll cancel everything just for you! But, please, please don’t leave me.” He stated, “I love you so fucking much, please don’t leave me.” He begged, looking up at you with the most heartbroken expression you’ve ever seen.

Nodding, “Okay, I am not leaving.” You promised him. “But keep your promise, Namjoon. Please don’t break this promise, or else I am truly leaving.”

And he never broke his promise.

#bts imagine #bts reactions #bts mafia reaction #bts mafia imagine #bts mafia au #namjoon imagine #jin imagine #yoongi imagine #bts hyung line #bts hyung line reaction #bts hyung line mafia au!#bts x reader #bts x you #bts angst #jimin #taehyung #jungkook #hoseok

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lightsandlostbells · 6 years

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Skam Italia season 2, episode 1 reaction

Hello, how’s everybody doing? We survived the first week of a S3 remake. I wrote a little (a lot) about it.

Just to be clear: I completely understand if people just want to hang on and enjoy the ride because it’s S3 again, we love it, it’s an important story for many people! But so far there are aspects of Skam Italia S2 that I am positive about, and there are areas where I have criticisms. Don’t read if you don’t want to hear some comments that are not 100% enthusiasm. For real, I’m not trying to be a buzz kill, like I’m fine with posting these to crickets, lmao, because it’s a fun exercise for me to analyze the remakes even if I’m essentially talking to myself.

Thank you so much to everyone translating this show! Imagine if no one was translating this season. The fandom would lose its goddamn mind. You are literally saving the planet from destruction, thank you for your service.

At the risk of sounding pretentious, I’m going to put additional disclaimers here, because people have strong feelings about Skam S3, and people also have strong feelings about Skam Italia, and there is already drama when those feelings bump up against each other:

The reason why I started doing reactions to the remakes was to compare the versions of Skam and analyze what worked and what didn’t in the adaptation process. This was a clever change to fit this culture, this was awkward and didn’t work, etc. While I do want to judge S2 of Skam Italia on its own merits, I’m not going to leave the original series out of it and look at this season as something that exists in a Skamless void, because that’s not my aim with these recaps. So if you are really not interested in comparisons to the original show (positive, negative, or neutral) then perhaps don’t read further.

I’m also taking into account this is a different culture than the original show and noting how that might affect this story, and that it’s a big deal to have an LGBT Italian lead in a series and Italian fans are very excited. So I’m keeping that in mind! But I also think that, should Skam Italia bungle something, it’s okay to call it out, it doesn’t get a free pass. We criticized parts of the original series while praising it where it succeeded. Sana’s season, for example, is extremely progressive as a concept (a Muslim girl lead is extremely rare) but had numerous aspects where it stumbled, and as a fandom there was no shortage of criticism. This goes for both the social justice and educational aspects of Skam as well as writing, directing, acting, and other basic storytelling stuff.

Okay? Okay.

Episode 1

Clip 1 - GET OUT OF THE FUCKING TUB, LOSERS

Right away, I loved the voicemails. They sound like real accounts of homophobia, and I don’t know if these are actors recreating them or real people sharing their own experiences, but it was a powerful intro to the season.

I also like zooming in over the city while these voicemails played, over all these dark apartment buildings, because it felt like those voices could be coming from anywhere. They were anonymous. Your neighbor could be gay, the woman who lives downstairs could be a lesbian, and you might never know because they’re in the closet. You might never know how much they’d suffered due to homophobia. But they’re also everywhere. Despite their treatment in society, LGBT people aren’t “the other” but can be anyone you know. That’s why it zooms into the party, to link these anonymous voices to a face that we we do know.

I saw some people suggesting that maybe these have to do with Martino’s involvement in the radio station, and that this will be some part of a project that he does, and while I think it’d be awesome if the radio station came into play with his personal development, I’m ehhhhh about these turning out to be part of Martino’s project all along because it doesn’t seem like it goes with the real time format, and IDK, it seems too literal. But I’d be OK with it these were more of a thematic device and Martino has a literal confession along these lines later on.

Rainbow logo 🌈🌈🌈

...who’s that blue-haired girl?

I feel like Edoardo being immediately on screen was to reassure any OG Skam viewers and Incantava fans who hadn’t yet gotten the message that EDOARDO IS DEFINITELY NOT GOING ANYWHERE THIS SEASON DO NOT PANIC.

Silvia is watching some girls dance and for a hot second I hoped they were finally hinting at the lesbian Vilde story we deserve, but it seems like she is watching them because of their slim figures, because she reconsiders the piece of cake she was going to eat. Silvia, no.

Silvia is very upset about the hotties at the party and Sana says there only would have been four people there and reassures her that she’s beautiful, awwww. But Silvia is upset about some Argentinean girl, who I assume is an apex hottie that she fears will outshine her, perhaps?

Silvia waves at Edoardo, who ignores her. You know, Edoardo’s apology to Silvia would feel more genuine if he acted like a baseline decent human being toward her instead of refraining from basic politeness because OH NO he has to shake her off his back (except when he can exploit her interest for his own gain).

It’s Italian Eskild! He says that Edoardo’s hair is indeed shit, suggesting Eleonora has told him all about it (something for the Incantava shippers) and I mean, I support him giving Silvia a boost, and I support any dragging of Edoardo, except Edoardo’s hair is like the one thing about him that is not shit.

He takes Silvia to dance and comments about checking her boobs to see if she is a virgin, so this is filling in for S2’s “It’s Britney bitch” moment. I guess they’re going to incorporate some Skam S2 material into this season in order to accommodate for the switch in storylines.

Hey, you know what I could have strongly done without? Filippo grabbing Silvia’s tit out of nowhere. There’s sometimes a tendency for gay men to grope women and get away with it because it’s obviously not sexual, so what’s the problem? Except the problem is that men, no matter what their sexuality, feel like they have unfettered access to women’s bodies. I’m not saying HE’S CANCELED or anything, but it irritated me that they threw in such a small moment that wasn’t needed, especially because this is our introduction to this character. Thanks, I want casual groping to be my initial impression of this guy. (Just to be clear, this dialogue happens in the original, but there is no unauthorized tit-grabbing from Eskild.)

And the fact that this moment went so unremarked upon is a sign of how normalized this behavior is, frankly. But they played it off as a funny moment so it’s okay!! Lol Filippo, you’re supposed to be gay!!!

Incantava shippers get a morsel before Eleonora leaves for London as she and Edoardo share a ~glance.

So Filo is Eleonora’s brother, which is a good way to incorporate his character considering it’s unlikely for Martino or Eleonora to live with a random roommate instead of their families, and they hadn’t set up the Filo character in S2 so his appearance in Martino’s life is going to need to be established quickly. So that makes both the Eleonora-Filo and Martino-Filo relationships more plausible in this culture.

Although lmao, imagine some of Eskild’s S2 scenes now that he and the Noora character are related. I’m sure Eleonora will need to bleach her eyeballs if she walks in on her brother getting his dick sucked to Circle of Life.

Eva catches up to Martino in the kitchen, and the flirtatious vibes are there right away, you know this isn’t going anywhere good. She tries to kiss him, so this is basically that scene from S2 where Eva tries to make out with Isak at a party, except way more awkward because this Eva actually manages to get a few kisses on Martino. Yikes.

Of course he’s not into it, and she’s just like yeah, go to your friends. Go find Gio. She knows where his real interests like.

Martino answering some random landline is pretty endearing, especially when he has cans of beer he needs to balance to do so.

Him being like “I am not the owner.” Lmao, he’s a sweetie. I suppose this was maybe a neighbor or someone wondering about the noise level and activity at the party, and that was why the police show up later? But I like to imagine that they were filming in this building, the phone rang randomly, and they were like, eh, throw it in.

So now we’re moving into the OG S3 content, with Martino entering the bathroom and sitting in the tub with his friends drinking and getting high.

Elia is the second person to mention the Argentinean girl, so I guess she must be a stone cold babe. Are we ever going to see her? Or will her hotness exist only in legends?

They do the whole song and dance where Martino pretends like these girls aren’t hot enough for him, while the other dudes are not having it. Well, to be fair, he really isn’t into them. I’m not sure what to make of his reactions, because Isak was very performative, and Martino just seems indifferent.

The boys claim to have gotten Fede a present, I wonder what it was? Probably just booze or something?

Lmao I was wondering why this girl would use this random out-of-the-way bathroom, but apparently two dudes are fucking in the other one (what are the odds it’s Filo).

What assholes, get out of the fucking tub for two minutes and let the girl pee in peace! I guess they’re just lazy and stoned, but JFC.

Instead of saying the girl looks like Eleven from Stranger Things, Martino tells her she looks like a frog… I kind of see it? But she’s also a babe, soooo.

Not gonna lie, I really did not like how they adapted this scene. “We’ll leave you alone to pee but you have to hook up with one of us” is not … cute … like it takes it out of negging teenage asshole territory and gets creepy. Maybe because of the hellscape that has been RL politics for the past few weeks, but I’m not in the mood for any of this boys-will-be-boys shit.

We know that one new dude must be Magnus because he is instantly rejected.

Martino gives the boys the thumbs up once Italian Emma starts making out with him and they’re leaving.

Martino didn’t actually do anything to win over this girl, really? With Isak it was a performance: Emma came in and he made a determined effort to flirt with her, he negged her, he complimented her, he got out of the tub and was more active in his pursuit. All of that was because he was trying to seem straight in front of his friends. Martino, on the other hand, was far more passive. He made the frog comment but that seems less like negging when all four of them are sitting there being dicks to this girl, rather than him alone, and she just happened to choose him out of the four. Isak was putting some effort into it and pretending to be interested until the boys left and things got steamier, but Martino just plain is not trying. He ain’t feeling it.

This is one of the disadvantages of writing recaps episode by episode as they air and not when you can look at the full season, though. Because on the one hand, making Martino more of a passive participant in his fake heterosexuality is fine, but on the other hand, if that’s not their intent - if they’re more or less going to follow Isak’s character arc for him - then I think they missed a big point of this scene in not making Martino pursue this girl more actively. But we don’t know exactly if this is a thoughtful, deliberate choice or an oversight. (For example, in S1 of Skam Italia, several of Eva’s key moments of “who are you?” were eliminated, Gio’s skate park speech was rewritten with a different focus, etc. which made me wonder about her character arc. It could have worked if they had intentionally made these changes to arrive at a different conclusion, but in the end Eva’s final speech to Gio is the same, the arc is supposed to be the same even though crucial points have been left out, and it didn’t feel as strong. So it’s hard to say whether Martino’s character is supposed to be written with subtle differences that change his characterization, or if they don’t realize how small edits can affect the perception of this character.)

I am a little alarmed that the girl goes for the blowjob like immediately after choosing Martino? Isak was hardcore flirting with Emma so it made more sense she was trying to do that with him. With this girl, she’s just trying to pee and some random guy’s like “Hook up with one of us and we’ll leave you be” and she’s like, “Sounds like a plan!” Damn girl, didn’t you need to really use the toilet? But you’re going to stop to blow him? Okay.

Eva is stumped by seeing that Martino was in the bathroom with a girl, probably moreso because he just rejected her upstairs. Well, this girl isn’t his best friend’s ex, sooooo it makes a smidge more sense, Martino’s sexuality aside.

Incantava moment: Edoardo brings up the deal with the apology to Silvia, so that made it into this remake. Part of the deal was to erase the wall of conquests - smart of Eleonora - and I guess Edo did that, hopefully, but he also reminds her that she agreed to a date.

What a power move of Eleonora to go to England to avoid this date.

At least Edo was not pursuing her prior to this, apparently. It would be a shame if they suddenly had him pressure her into a date in Eleonora’s season.

Okay, I realize that Martino didn’t appear to have the best options to hide his weed, but he’s really just gonna put it in a box on the railing where it could easily get knocked over the balcony or blown away or something? Lmao.

The scene of the boys running away from the cops was cute and had that “reckless youth enjoying the night” vibe.

So Martino clearly still has Giovanni feelings, and Giovanni is going to be crashing at his place tonight. Look at that hand on Martino’s shoulder, probably burning through his shirt. I like perhaps acknowledging the idea that all this casual affection between guys in this culture can take on a hidden toll for a closeted gay kid.

Martino mentions that his mom is freaking out, so they’re openly acknowledging Martino’s mom situation in front of the other guys (when Isak was less open about it) and Giovanni gives him a hug that fucks Martino up. It seemed like Martino didn’t want Giovanni to come over, probably both because of his crush and because of his mom situation.

Clip 2 - Sad boy slumber party

Martino wakes up and stares at Giovanni, who’s still sleeping. Martino is not on the bed, but on the floor, ostensibly because Giovanni threw him off the bed but really because he doesn’t want to be so close to Giovanni. He pointedly turns down Giovanni’s invitation to get back in the bed. This is a really delicate situation; this is such a casual thing for Giovanni that he doesn’t even think about it, but for Martino it’s this extremely loaded scenario that comes with dangers, so better not risk it.

Eva calls and wants to talk to Martino, but he can’t since he’s with Giovanni. Giovanni says that he’s been trying to get back together with Eva, and making a fool out of himself, so Martino is certainly not enjoying about this reminder that Giovanni likes girls, Giovanni loved (loves?) Eva, it will never be Giovanni and Martino in the way he wants. Also, awkward of course because Eva tried to kiss Martino, which says a lot about how she thinks of Giovanni - probably not keen to get back with him if she can make a move on his best friend, even when drunk.

Okay, I have a deeply unpopular opinion and that is: while Skam Italia’s cinematography is often visually impressive, at times it does not work with the material it’s supposed to be conveying. It’s not style over substance, but style against substance. There are several examples, but to go into one now: why the fuck is the lighting so dark in certain moments. Whyyyyyy.

And before you tell me, I do know why the director is perhaps doing this. It’s supposed to reflect Martino’s state of mind, it’s supposed to make things seem bleak, it’s supposed to contrast with the sunnier scenes such as later in the episode with Niccolò, etc. etc. The problem is that I do not think it is effective for the format of this show. Here’s the thing: we are supposed to be in Martino’s POV for a reason. His reactions should not be hidden from us, this audience, and to me the lighting is a barrier from getting closer to him and getting fully into his mindset. Like, the camera should be eating this shit up! Give me all the microexpressions! Federico Cesari is doing a nice job of acting so far and it bugs me that the lighting is obscuring some of his facial expressions. Now it makes sense for ambiguity on the part of say, Niccolò, who will be keeping secrets for most of the season (based on Even’s role) but this is Martino’s season, and we as the audience should be deep into his head every step of the way. This is supposed to be an immersive experience. There is zero reason to obscure Martino’s reactions from the audience. Martino may have a barrier between him and his friends, his family, his schoolmates, society at large - but not us, the viewers. (And not just the lighting, but for example, that his face is shot in profile for part of this scene, which again doesn’t give us a full range of Martino’s reactions, or the amount of distance between the camera and Martino at times. Even if you can assume what Martino is thinking and feeling enough that you don’t need really clear reaction shots, it’s like there’s a gap and we’re not supposed to get too close.)

Like obviously this cinematography is working for people, and if it is for you, great! If this were a different show, I could be fine with it. But not with a series that is supposed to put me fully into this character’s head, not keep me at a distance.

Covitti is the girl from the bathroom? She’s followed Martino on IG. I feel like, if they’re doing a repeat of Emma’s involvement, then it doesn’t work as well as to why she’d suddenly be interested in Martino. With Isak, there was something karmic about it, because he blatantly pursued when he met her, and it’s like he reaped what he sowed, you know? Don’t get me wrong, he absolutely did not deserve the much later repercussions with Emma outing him, but the immediate aftermath of him flirting with Emma showed that his actions had consequences. He couldn’t just make out with this girl for the benefit of an audience and then drop her. With Martino, he was so much more passive with Covitti, that it feels less earned. I mean he’s very cute, but him being doggedly pursued by her doesn’t have as much to do with his characterization, unless the point is that he refuses to put his foot down and reject her. (A valid characterization choice! But hopefully an intentional one.)

We get to see Martino’s mom and on the one hand, it’s pretty cool that she’s around in this version, but on the other hand, goddamn am I apprehensive about how they will depict her.

Martino really does not want to eat lunch with her. Apparently they have chicken and potatoes four times a week. Credit to Giovanni, he acts normal and is polite to Martino’s mom and is eager to eat with her.

Eva apologizes for trying to kiss Martino. So Giovanni is trying to get back with Eva and Eva made a move on Martino. Awkward! Eva is also probably dying to bring up the topic of that girl in the bathroom with Martino, let’s be real.

Giovanni chides Martino for being an asshole and says if he didn’t treat his mom like shit, maybe he would help her! Hey, no offense, Giovanni, but fuck off. I agree that Martino was not nice to his mom, I agree that he should treat her better. But Giovanni is a visitor. He is a guest in this household. He doesn’t know shit about what it’s like to live there or what’s the best course of action. No, actually it’s not as easy being kind to someone and it’ll fix their mental illness.

If I sound weirdly pissed about this, it’s because I am speaking as someone who has been a caretaker to a mentally ill parent. One of the most frustrating things was when people who were completely outside of my situation told me how to deal with it. It’s fucking easy to think you have the answers when you don’t live in this situation, when you have the freedom to go back to your own home when shit gets really rough. When you likely haven’t seen a loved one at their worst.

To clarify, this isn’t necessarily a flaw of the show, just an area where I think a character is flawed. But I would hate for Giovanni’s POV to be validated. Of course Martino should not treat his mother poorly, but he needs to do that on his own, not because some outsider who has no idea what is going on in this house thinks so.

Anyway. Shut the fuck up, Gio.

Eva also doesn’t want Martino to tell Gio, so you know Gio is going to find out at some point. Here’s the thing: if this drama is more along the lines of ~ooo Eva kissed Martino and he didn’t tell Gio and Gio feels BETRAYED when he finds out~ then it sounds tedious and exactly the kind of drama I don’t want. It’s not necessary, it’s honestly a very low-stakes situation. However, if it’s more of a lead-in to S1’s drama being revealed, and Gio learns about what happened with Martino ratting out Eva, that would be interesting. I’d be very interested in seeing where it goes. I think the writers have to know that this would be the most compelling aspect, so here’s hoping.

Not gonna lie, one thing I liked about S3 was the lack of heterosexual relationship drama (other than what directly serviced Isak and Even’s relationship), and I don’t want this season to stray too far into Eva/Gio stuff. Though I realize that by switching S2 and S3, they probably feel like they have to account for their relationship.

In S2 of the original, we saw the remnants of Eva/Jonas more on Eva’s side, through Noora’s eyes. Eva told herself she was over Jonas and they were just friends, but we could see that wasn’t totally true. With this season, though, we’ll probably see Eva/Giovanni more through Giovanni’s eyes, because even if Martino is Eva’s friend, he’s Giovanni’s best friend.

Clip 3 - The Phantom Clitoris

Lmao, Luca being like “Guess what happened to me” and Gio being like “Did you put an egg in the microwave again?” (I mean, you can cook eggs in a microwave even if it’s not the best way!)

Luca hooked up with a girl! If we believe him. She didn’t have a clitoris! Except he didn’t know what it was called. I don’t know whether to think that if it he didn’t know what it was called, he probably didn’t know how to look for one, or that he’s straight up lying. But this is interesting because Jonas was the one who went down on girls in the original and had this dialogue, and then Magnus was the virgin seeking wisdom from Isak, and here apparently Luca is already banging girls? Or he’s pretending to.

Martino sees Niccolò for the first time! Niccolò is adorable. He’s got the Even denim jacket and a nice smile. Sana and Silvia are shown going up to him while he’s talking to another dude.

Luca is like, I watched a 20-minute porn tutorial of how to eat a girl out. No offense bro, but I doubt you were in a very studious mindset during that. Or maybe he was! Maybe he made flashcards.

Martino gets a text from his dad about having dinner “with us” and I’m guessing that his dad has a new girlfriend or something, because it’s kinda weird to text your kid “have dinner with us?” about both his parents when his dad left his mom.

Silvia and Sana come up, Elia brings up the girl with no clitoris to them (why was that the first thing out of your mouth, dude), and Silvia mentions that she and Sana are now in charge of the radio. So this is our kosegruppa! I wonder if the radio itself will have more plot relevance for the season.

The guys are conveniently too busy to help on Thursday! But Sana thinks they’ll be helping soon enough.

For a moment I thought Luca was frightened by Silvia and saw that as a point toward Luca/Silvia happening, since it would be in line with Magnus’ sado-Vilde dreams, but then I was like, oh right, he probably means Sana, lol. (Silvia is way less intimidating than Vilde. Silvia is cheerful, Vilde was sugar layered over a core of menace when she pitched kosegruppa to the guys.)

Martino checks out Niccolò again, because who wouldn’t, and Niccolò is talking to the other guy … maybe Niccolò is flirting with that guy?

The boys suggest smoking a joint but Martino didn’t get the weed back yet, so the boys are bummed, but Gio keeps his disappointment restrained to a few jovial throttles of Martino’s neck. Martino dies inside and tries not to develop a choking kink.

Niccolò did not look at Martino in this clip, there’s no evidence he saw him in this scene, and he was in fact preoccupied with conversation with another dude. So ... has Niccolo seen Martino yet? In an “I saw you the first day of school” way? Because with that knowledge in mind, in the original we could look back at Even’s first appearance in the cafeteria and see that he had obviously grabbed a seat with a good view of Isak and was sitting there alone, possibly sketching him. I guess you could say that Niccolò was standing there to get Martino’s attention, maybe even trying to make him jealous by talking to another guy, but that seems .... really convoluted. If they do include the “I saw you the first day of school” line, they should have had Niccolò look at Martino for even a brief moment. It didn’t even need to be eye contact! Like you could show Niccolò looking toward Martino when he’s out of focus, as a background event, a little Easter egg for the eagle-eyed viewer.

This is one of those original clip comparisons, so hold on to your butts. In the original clip, the way the scene is shot and acted combines multiple details to demonstrate Isak’s alienation from the other boys. Tarjei’s acting shows that he is disconnected from this conversation - he’s picking at his sandwich, checking his phone, he’s not really engaged with the cat tongue/clitoris talk. He has a few mild smiles but his facial expressions and body language show he’s checked out. He doesn't participate in that conversation at all, actually, other than a look or two. There’s no dialogue from him. And the camera contributes to this impression that he’s withdrawn: it’s often just on Isak with the conversation coming from off screen, rather than showing him in the shots with the guys. It shows him alone instead of showing him connected to the group. When it does show him with the group, he’s not reacting to them much. So when he hears a boy's laugh, it seems plausible that it would get attention as the boys’ conversation is not holding his interest.

With this clip, Martino might make a comment like "Oh no, don't tell us your dirty story" but he is otherwise very engaged in this conversation. He leans into it, he's listening, his face makes him seem eager. He's frequently shown in the shot with the other guys, part of the group rather than isolated. Gio repeatedly looks back at him and shares looks with him so there’s something reciprocal happening. Martino speaks to Luca and he high fives him. He's just a definite participant in this conversation, so there isn't much of a feel of alienation here. I mean, we know he's gay, and maybe we can assume that his participation in this conversation is forced or half-hearted, but that's not coming through in how it's portrayed. And I like Federico, I think he's one of the better actors on the show, but I also think he's playing it too comfortably, though I blame Bessegatto more for that since his direction is what guides the performance. It seems like Martino's a nice guy with some friends, who doesn't seem too detached this conversation and who seems totally fine with looking at a cute guy over there. Not much of an internal struggle. Not much of an external struggle either, really.

It felt like there were missed opportunities. For example, when Martino says he doesn’t want Luca’s TMI, and Gio is like, “Yes we do, don’t listen to him,” we don’t even get a reaction shot from Martino to see how that affects him? We could have seen him annoyed, or exasperated, or uninterested in this conversation. We could have seen him drifting and doing something with his body language to indicate he’s not comfortable, and then THAT is when he sees Niccolò, because his mind is already wandering. Not when he’s engaged in this conversation. Or keep in Luca asking Martino about going girls and wanting to know how Martino finds the clitoris, and Martino having to struggle to answer that when the boys are all looking at him.

I mean, again, it makes me wonder what they’re going to do with Martino’s characterization because they’re playing up his struggles with his attraction to Gio, but he does not seem to be struggling as much with the public performance of liking girls. Or even perhaps the internal conflict of liking boys. And that would be fine except it seems like it should be. Martino was the one who introduced the idea of liking Eva back in S1, before Eva had even suggested it herself. He was definitely on the defense then, so what’s going on now?

Also, Isak glanced at Even and Even looked back, which made Isak look away. Julie pointedly did not show Even again in that clip because Isak was clamping down on his attraction and forcing himself not to look. Martino allows himself a second glance. It frames the scene way more comfortably.

Clip 4 - Fede almost had it all

12:12 ...it begins...

Martino sees Fede and Sana, so he approaches them. He calls them “rays of sunshine,” which is cute! Though he’s totally doing it to butter them up so he gets his stash back.

LMAO I love the part where Federica is like, I found a drill, who brings a drill to a party? (Someone you pray to God remains sober.)

He asks if he can come over and Federica chokes on her drink. She’s really cute in this scene. Honestly, she didn’t make a ton of impression on me in S1 compared to other girl Chrises from the remakes, but I enjoyed her here a lot, she’s sweet.

They can “study” together in the living room because Fede’s parents are gone. Oh babe, I think you’ll be disappointed at the amount of actual learnin’ that would take place were such a study session to take place.

Sana sits there texting Martino that she has his weed while he’s right there next to her. I guess Fede was just really excited by the prospect of having Martino in her house, but did she really not notice that Sana was texting and Martino just so happened to receive a text at the same time?

Sana saying that it’s “a friend of her brother’s” who has Martino’s “necklace.” Is that an actual nod toward Niccolò or just a coincidence? If she means Niccolò, then why is she bringing him up?

Like I know people like this theory, but I don’t think it makes sense that Sana was trying to hook up Isak and Even all along (or Martino and Niccolò if the circumstances are the same), because how does that explain her reactions to being asked about Islam’s view of homosexuality, or to Isak being outed? Of course they could be going for a diferent approach in this remake.

Federica is really adorable freaking out over how she ALMOST had Martino within her grasp. Poor girl, I’m sorry to tell you that your day is never coming. (Lmao, I guess one day a remake could swap out Emma for Isak hooking up with the Chris character? I mean Chris >>>>> Emma, but then I’d feel so bad for her.)

Clip 5 - Here we gooooooooo

So the carrot cake (made by Silvia) suuuuucks. Martino’s disgusted face is pretty good.

The girl squad is trying to Skype with Eleonora. Meanwhile Martino sits there by himself, not having a great time. As a contrast to the girl squad who are laughing and having fun, Martino is on his own because his dumbass friends ditched him.

Sana wants Martino to let them use his Internet connection to continue the Skype call, he’s like lmao, she’s ditching you guys on purpose. Gonna go out on a limb and say that he’s projecting.

Tbh I do think it’s odd that they wrote out Eleonora so much if they didn’t need to. Like I know people think they switched S2 and S3 for dramatic, important reasons, but I get the feeling it was just a matter of actor availability. I could be wrong!

That random curly-haired dude at the meeting is the true star of this clip. He was INTO everything that was happening.

SIlvia says it took forever to make her cake. And it still sucks, apparently. Good thing that the girls never seemed to get her pineapple cake from S1? Was Silvia behind the Jell-O disaster, too?

She doesn’t want another piece, which might be another hint at her ED, but the cake is garbage soooo maybe she just has taste buds and a self-preservation instinct, IDK.

It’s actually intriguing that Silvia seems to be baking cakes for people and yet she monitors her own eating so closely.

Lmao at there being dead noise when Martino sees Niccolò enter the room. Everything fades except this smiley hottie. (For a second I was like “is he flat-lining?”)

Niccolò walked in with some other people, including Covetti. He sits on the table beside Martino. Martino keeps glancing at him but Niccolò will NOT glance at Martino. Again, if they’re going to go with “I saw you the first day of school,” I don’t think they set it up that well. It’s fine if they don’t, but there are really no fun “extras” you get from these scenes with that reveal. In both of his scenes Niccolò has been hanging out with other people, he’s not glancing at Martino. There’s no foreshadowing. You can be like oh, Niccolò positioned himself outside the school for Martino to see, he DELIBERATELY didn’t look at Martino for reasons! But that’s not very enjoyable on a rewatch.

The way Martino begrudgingly greets that Uglydoll or whatever is the best part of the episode.

Covitti notices Martino looking over at Niccolo, by the way.

Okay, WHO IS THAT BLUE-HAIRED GIRL. Like it seems as if she would make a good Sonja, she reminds me a little of Theresa.

Covitti whispers something to Martino but we don’t know what.

“Bad story about Chicco Rodi” Who was that? I vaguely remember the name from S1? Oh wait, was he the guy who got the award for worst attendance? I hope that “tutorial” is foreshadowing for Martino and Niccolò breaking into the school at some point.

Silvia comes across as positively chill compared to Vilde. It must be Osvaldo’s influence.

Why is Covitti even there, since she’s not interested in what Silvia’s saying? To stalk Martino? How did she know he would be there? Emma knew Isak was going to be there because of signups, were there signups for this? (This is nitpicky and I’m sure that’s what they meant, it’s just that they’re skipping over some parts where her motivations become clear.)

Martino: Sorry I have to take this totally real and not at all imaginary call!!!!!

Wow, no finesse, just like our man Isak.

Martino’s fake phone call is pretty funny, like he lets it go on way longer than necessary.

He plops down in a chair in the radio room and then he starts talking to himself and pretending to be on the radio. I really do like the idea of Martino finding his voice through the radio, literally and metaphorically. And actually, when he starts speaking by himself, he sounds pretty good to me! Confident, composed, his voice sounds good, the words come easy. So maybe this is a move from him being passive to speaking up for himself.

That shot of Martino, fractured in the glass, when Niccolò turns on the light is fabulous. Showing how Niccolò’s introduction is going to break apart Martino’s sense of self. And Niccolò‘s image is clear and whole so Martino perhaps sees him as this cool, confident dude who’s got his shit together. So he thinks. (Plus Niccolò literally turns on the light on and all.)

Niccolò says it’s a shame Martino stopped talking, basically, and they laugh about Silvia’s dry-ass cake.

Niccolò has a shitty ancient phone? Would that play into his avoidance of social media because of his manic episode? Since you can’t post to IG/FB/any apps from one of those. Or is he just a hipster who hates technology? Or something else?

Lol, I didn’t have to wait long before the “breaking into the school” prophecy was fulfilled. They end up climbing into a part of the school that’s closed.

Beautiful view on the roof, obviously. I guess for O Helga Natt, Martino is going to run and find Niccolò here, maybe? And then he’ll be in the radio room instead? Will they stare at each other from behind the glass?

Niccolò asks if Martino knows Silvia, and he says no, she’s a friend of a friend. Niccolò asks which one, so he’s probably wondering if Martino is good pals with Sana.

Niccolò notes that Martino doesn’t seem happy to be there, and neither does Niccolò. Taking him at his word, he’s doing this as part of school-work interchange. So I guess he didn’t show up just to meet Martino? Again, I have no problem with that changing that (I loved it with Evak but I’m fine with them not repeating it), I just want them to do a good job of foreshadowing if they do go with that.

We get the conversation about Niccolò being from a different school, but there’s no line (as in the original) where Isak notes with some incredulity that he transferred during his last year, so there isn’t as much of a hint that something happened to Niccolò, provided they are still keeping in his backstory. (I think he’s still in his final year?)

The camera gets very close up in the boys’ faces as they talk about more personal topics, THANK GOD. Like I do think the coldness and distance in other clips is intentional, I just don’t think it works with this show, but at least we can get warmer, closer scenes when necessary.

Covitti (whose first name is Emma, by the way) shows up and literally comes between them. They do the whole thing where Martino “introduces” Niccolò to Emma, except they’re not trying to pretend they’re already partners to avoid her.

“Fares” means horseman or knight in Arabic, so I guess Niccolò is going to be Martino’s knight in shining armor? Or fight for him? That would explain his flipbook in the trailer with stick figure Niccotino on a horse.

Covitti isn’t very awkward as a person. She and Niccolò have a polite, maybe even flirty conversation when filtered through certain jealous ears; it’s Martino who suddenly feels like a third wheel. Covitti is still making eyes at Martino, though. Niccolò says he and Martino will stay back and smoke, which pleases Martino, but she invites herself to smoke with them. It’s awkward but way less so that with Isak, Even, and Emma, in my opinion, maybe because Covitti seems like she’s enjoying herself even if the boys aren’t.

The poppy indie song at the end of the clip feels out of place. Like if they wanted to emphasize the awkwardness, they should have just ended in a stranger song or complete silence to drive home how Martino did not want her there. If they wanted to use this song to emphasize Martino’s crush, show closeups of Martino glancing at Niccolò with the sunlight bouncing off his face without including Covitti in there.

Oh god. Don’t kill me for this. Okay. So we have Niccolò’s introduction in this clip, obviously, and I like him in the sense that he's a friendly guy with an utterly beautiful smile. But I felt like they made him just like ... a really nice, smiley guy, in a way that was one-note. And I’m NOT criticizing the actor’s abilities, because I’ve seen his acting clips from other projects and I think he could do justice to the character. This is more about directorial decisions.

Part of the reason I love Even is because he’s fucking strange. Sure, he’s Isak’s dream boy with his denim jacket and styled hair, and he’s got a smile like the sun, and he just feels cool, but he’s also a bouncy, twitchy weirdo coursing with energy. In his first clip he makes a HELL of an impression and it’s by pulling a bizarre stunt in the bathroom with paper towels and then by making a blowjob joke as one of his first lines to Isak. Now I don’t think every Even of the remakes need to do that, not at all, but Even felt like a really specific character to me, someone who was weird and strongly himself and presented in a way that made us fall for him piece by piece. And one fear I have about the remakes is that they’ll remove some of his weirdness to make him more of a general artsy hipster type who gets along with the Isak. (Or maybe him an artsy hipster asshole, but that’s another story.)

I feel bad because I do actually want to love Niccolò I think the actor is tremendously adorable and enthusiastic about is role, and I think he can make Niccolò into someone specific and memorable. But the way this scene was directed and performed, it felt like Bessegatto told Rocco to be charming by smiling a lot. And I mean, he DOES have a great smile, but Niccolò has the same amused, benign friendliness the whooooole clip, and my gut feeling was that they were trying too hard to make us like him and eliminating anything that might make the character off-putting, which is unfortunately some of what makes the character compelling, especially this early on as he should be something of a mystery both for Martino and the audience.

Where this approach would have worked more for me is if Niccolò was this unstoppable force of sunshine against Martino’s constant grumpy iciness, and he couldn’t help but melt in the face of it. But the thing is, Martino isn’t a constant grump who’s freezing people out. He’s actually pretty friendly to people. So it was like radiant sunshine against slightly less radiant sunshine, and there wasn’t a lot like I felt I could mull over, IDK.

And yes yes I know this is only the first clip. Niccolò has tons of time to make himself into a distinctive, memorable character. I’m aware of that. But I don’t want to lie about my reaction.

General Comments/Social Media:

Continuing with Martino’s crush on Giovanni makes sense considering only a few months have passed. Though it should be said that I never thought Isak getting over Jonas from S1 to S3 without any elaboration was like .. a flaw of the show? It depends on how deep you think Isak’s feelings were. Personally I never saw him as in love with Jonas, I saw it as an intense crush, compounded by Isak’s bad home life so that Jonas, his best friend who was always there for him, was someone who really made his life better at the time, and whose attention he craved.

There was almost a year between the end of S1 and the start of S3, and during that time, Isak had seen Jonas go from Eva to other girls, so I’m sure it sunk in that Jonas wasn’t suddenly going to go for him just because Eva was out of the picture. And Isak had moved out of his parents’ home so there was less of an immediately chaotic situation where he was more dependent on Jonas for support. I mean he’s clearly not in a great place at the start of S3, but he was able to get some independence and distance from his parents. I think his life was more stable on a day-to-day basis. So it’s not hard to see how Isak’s crush would have faded with those factors in mind. Martino, on the other hand, has had less time to get over Giovanni, Giovanni perhaps has not moved on to other girls since he’s still trying to get with Eva, and Martino is still probably depending on him for more emotional support since he has to deal with a more directly stressful environment at home.

In the texts, Giovanni refers to Sana as “Sana Escobar” in reference to her taking the weed. Pablo Escobar is obviously extremely well-known on his own, but I do think it’s a nod to all the Narcos/Escobar mentions in Isak’s season. Or at least they took inspiration there.

Elia is apparently one hell of a dumbass according to an essay he wrote that showed up on IG.

I wonder if they’re going to swap out the Grindr clip with Eskild for the first meeting with Filippo. I really do wonder how that relationship will come across, because I know people are excited about seeing them meet (and I am too) but the thing is, a big part of what made Isak and Eskild’s relationship in S3 meaningful was that they had months of trust to be established between them. Eskild saw Isak repressing his sexuality for months, and when Isak finally came out to him, there was pride in seeing this kid’s long journey to acceptance. We also got plenty of little scenes between them so the dynamic wasn’t just a big dramatic thing, we saw the casual side of their relationship. So I’m not sure how they can replicate that with a relationship that cannot help but have less buildup.

Niccolò is a pianist and there’s a video of him playing on YouTube! I’m really glad they incorporated the actor’s talents into the character and gave him his own artistic skill to make him a little different from Even. I assume that Martino will find the piano video and watch that endlessly. And it’ll be fun if Martino is all convinced Niccolò is a serious classical music snob but then Niccolò is like, “YES, this is my JAM” over a cheesy pop song.

One big problem I have is that it feels like a lot of potential for conflict or tension (both internal and external) is being minimized across various relationships, in multiple situations. It just feels safer for Martino despite him still going through some major problems that Isak was not at this point, and so it really shouldn’t. And that makes it harder to get involved in his POV or to immerse ourselves in his struggles. For example:

The boy squad isn't angry or annoyed with Martino for losing the weed, they're just kind of like lol, get it back.

Sana and Martino don't clash with as much tension, and does Sana even explain why she’s holding onto Martino’s weed instead of giving it back? Sana B. was disgusted that Isak left the weed in Eva’s house where Eva could get in trouble if it was found; Sana A. is just doing it to be sassy, so far? Knowing that she found Isak’s actions distasteful upped the animosity of the Sana-Isak relationship, whereas Sana-Martino doesn’t have that element. I mean it’s certainly a reasonable inference that Sana is mad at him for potentially getting Fede in trouble, but it’s not a clear motivation. Martino doesn’t know why she’s randomly holding on to his weed. Does he think she’s doing it because she’s Muslim and disapproves? Because she wants it for herself? Just to torment him?

Italian Emma comes across way more of a chill, tolerable girl than Nowegian Emma and less of a persistent nuisance causing him stress just by existing.

Martino is less alienated and uncomfortable and more like a chill dude who likes to look at guys. The boys talking about going down on girls doesn’t make him uninterested and detached from the situation, he just mildly protests about TMI but continues to engage. He can look at Niccolò without having to make himself look away. He puts up less of a show to perform heterosexuality than Isak.

Martino doesn’t want to get involved in the radio show, except when he’s left alone he starts talking into a mic and pretending he’s on the radio, suggesting that it is of interest to him even if he’s not into Silvia’s leadership or whatever (as opposed to Isak who just didn’t want to deal with kosegruppa).

Even the Martino and Niccolò meeting had them bantering right away, practically as soon as they spoke, rather than encountering any moments of uncertainty or confusion, no time where they had to find their groove. And people are going to be like “They got along right away when Isak and Even didn’t!” when the reason Isak and Even were a little awkward at first was not because they clashed but because they were attracted to each other. Isak was shy about talking to a cute boy and taken aback by Even’s approach; Even was overwhelmed about talking to the boy he’d liked for weeks. It’s also a mark of how genuine Isak’s interest was: with Emma he was all slick and insincere, with Even he was real and tongue-tied. I mean, think about episode 2 and what a great moment it is when Isak runs into Even on the tram and they fumble for words at first. It’s so good! It’s human and real. It’s vulnerable, especially from Isak’s POV since we know how hard he has been pining over the last week, but also from Even’s POV especially when you know he’s liked Isak for a long time. The thing with Martino and Niccolò is that they settle into conversation so instantly, without any bumps, that I don’t think I would buy a moment like that happening. It’s not like I expect them to immediately become best friends but it would feel strange after this scene. And personally, it’s not like this relationship needs to develop the same as Isak/Even, but it’s good to leave some room for build-up from a narrative perspective. That’s why it’s so satisfying when Isak goes from barely being able to speak to Even to getting so comfortable with him that he can joke around and laugh with him. Like, let Martino say the wrong thing, or not know what to say, or make a mistake, so he can earn that more comfortable place with Niccolò, or so we can savor the moments that show him as vulnerable. (I mean, did people not enjoy Isak and Even being shy around each other? Because the awkwardness, the long silent pauses, the fumbling for what to say ... I ate that shit up. I loved it.)

Now on their own, it’s not wrong for any of these plot threads or scenes to go more smoothly. But do you see how cumulatively, they don’t contribute that much to creating a stressful internal and external climate for Martino? He’s just so much milder about everything, and the people around him are milder to him, and from a dramatic perspective it’s not as engaging.

I mean fandom does this thing where it’s like “These characters get along better! Things are Softer! Cinnamon rolls!! It’s an improvement!!!” but that’s not ... actually great from a narrative standpoint. We’re at the beginning of Martino’s story and it makes more sense to emphasize what a shit place he’s in so we can build him up over the season.

The conflict that IS there, and felt like it had more of a presence on screen when it was addressed, is Martino still having feelings for Giovanni and Martino’s issues with his parents. I’m not sure how much farther they’ll take Martino’s crush on Gio, since now Niccolò is in the picture, but they’ll likely have Martino keeping secrets from Giovanni that are Eva-related. And we have Martino living with his mother and dealing with her problems, but I felt like that should have been more emphasized in this premiere episode and not just one clip, since it’s really fucking huge. It’s not a problem he can kind of repress like Isak because Isak can just ignore his mom’s texts. Martino has to go home and deal with it every day. (Like I would have put the radio/weed stuff for episode 1 and kick off with Martino’s parental problems and meeting Filippo, since that should set sooo much of the stage for this season, emotionally.)

I’ve also seen the idea that this season will focus more on Martino dealing with external homophobia than internalized homophobia, and that’s certainly a good idea, but then they really should have hit the ground running with that theme. Show the boy squad making casually homophobic comments, show him fearing what his mom will say. Show some random assholes making gay jokes about Filippo at the party and Martino overhears.

I think they’re doing the meeting with Filippo in episode 2, so hopefully we get more meat to Martino’s conflicts.

I sound like I’m being negative, probably, but I’m aware this is only episode 1, and there’s plenty more to come. There are things that I do like, such as Filippo being Eleonora’s brother and the introduction of the radio. I think those could be really cool for the season. And I’m still intrigued by everything else, because this is S3 and of course I’m wondering how they’ll adapt it!

Please feel free to correct me if I missed or misinterpreted anything!

If you got this far, thank you for reading! Especially if you disagreed with me, lol.

#skamit reactions #skam italia reactions

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winchesterprincessbride · 7 years

Text

Poor Little Rich Girl-Chapter 1

This is an A/B/O AU

Your father Lucifer, is the Alpha of your pack and he rules your town with an iron fist. He is forcing you to marry the son and heir of a rival pack. It is 3 weeks before your wedding when you find out Sam Winchester is back. Sam was your first love at 17, and when your father found out, he forced his family to leave town. You haven’t spoken to him since. What will happen when you see him again?

Characters: Alpha! Sam Winchester, Beta! Dean Winchester, Omega!Castiel Novak, Omega! Mary Winchester, Reader, Alpha! (Nick) Lucifer, Beta! Michael, Beta! Gabriel, Beta! Stephanie (OC), Alpha Eric (OC) Chuck (mentioned)

Master List

Introduction (all parts are linked)

The last thing I wanted was a bachelorette party. I had no desire to run around town with my drunken bridesmaids and pretend that I was having fun and this was a normal wedding. My father could make me marry Eric, but he couldn’t make me happy about it.

So that was why Steph, Eric’s sister Kerry, and my two other bridesmaids Natalie and Morgan were drinking margaritas at Costello’s on a Friday night. Costello’s was a popular hangout in the center of town, and I know Kerry picked it because everyone was sure to see us there. My Dad’s idea I’m sure.

So here I sat dressed in a ridiculous plastic tiara and cheap veil, with a huge pin on my chest that said, “Bride-to-Be.” Steph as Maid of Honor had been in charge of planning this night, and it had taken FOREVER for us to come up with a night that fit everyone’s schedule.

Steph, Nat, Morgan, and Kerry were each several drinks in and were now on the dance floor getting down. I’d had several and was pretty drunk, but all the drinks had done was make me depressed. I felt like a death row inmate being slowly marched to her execution. And the chair was getting closer and closer……

I turned from the bar to head for the bathroom and immediately plowed into someone’s chest so hard it almost knocked me to the floor. A pair of well-muscled arms grabbed me to keep me from falling. I started to thank the person, but when I caught a whiff of his scent, my voice died on my lips.

My body immediately reacted. Even after 10 years, I would know his scent anywhere. I would never forget it as long as I lived. It took every ounce of willpower I had to remain calm and not run in the other direction.

“I always knew you’d make a beautiful bride,” Sam said with a smirk.

I grabbed the cheesy tiara and yanked it off my head. “”Shut up! I look ridiculous and you know it! They forced me to wear this. I didn’t want any of this.” When I finally was able to look him in the eye, I saw his kaleidoscope eyes were burning as he looked at me. He was in full Alpha mode.

“So who is the lucky guy?” He asked.

I sighed. I so did not want to have this conversation with him. “His name is Eric. His father is Alpha of the Whitehall Pack.”

“Oh really?” Sam said in a neutral voice. How convenient. So you marrying this Eric will surely help your Dad keep peace with the Whitehall pack. There’s been bad blood between the packs for years, hasn’t there?”

“I shouldn’t be talking to you about this,” I said quietly. I looked over at the dance floor. The girls were still dancing. “I shouldn’t be talking to you at all.”

“Why not?” Sam asked eyebrow raised. “We’re old friends. Can’t I buy you a drink to celebrate your impending nuptials?”

“Old friends, is that what we are?” I snorted.

“It’s simpler than “The guy who your father ran out of town”, isn’t it?” Sam said mockingly. “Now, how about that drink?” He said.

“I guess so. One drink. I have to be careful.” I said cautiously.

“Of what?” He asked curiously.

“I don’t want word to get back to my father or uncle that I was with you,” I said nervously.

“Still letting Daddy run your life, I see,” Sam commented as he drank his beer.

“Why did you come back, Sam?” I asked tersely.

I got a job in the DA’s office. I bought the old Fitzgerald house with my brother. He’s a cop now, a detective.”

“You could have gotten a job anywhere. But why here? Why now?” I said irritably.

Sam didn’t say anything for a moment, just looked at me, his hot gaze burning into me until I began to squirm uncomfortably. He smelled so good it was making my mouth water.

He answered my question with a question. “Do you love him, Y/N?”

I couldn’t seem to tear my eyes away from his. “Of course not. My father is making me marry him.”

“So then there’s still time,” Sam whispered.

“Time for what?” I asked.

“Time for me to show you that you should be mine.”

I looked at him in astonishment. “Are you insane? I am getting married in 3 weeks! My father will KILL you if you try anything. Thanks for the drink, Sam. It was good to see you.” I picked up my tiara from the chair and headed off in search of my friends.

I joined my friends on the dance floor, pretending all the while that I didn’t feel Sam’s eyes watching every move I made.

Steph and I went to the bathroom together, and once she made sure we were alone, she whispered to me, “Alright, spill it! I saw you talking to Sam Winchester. Do you have a death wish, Y/N? You had better hope that Kerry didn’t see it, you know she will go running right to Eric.”

“I literally ran into him, Steph. It wasn’t planned.”

“What did he say?” She persisted.

“He asked me if I loved Eric,”I whispered sadly.

“He did NOT! What did you say?” she demanded.

“I told him the truth. You know I am a terrible liar. Then He said I should be his.” A tear trickled down my cheek when I said this.

Steph looked shocked. “Oh, honey! What are you going to do?

“I don’t know,” I admitted weakly.

Kerry hadn’t said anything, so I assumed she didn’t see me talking to Sam and I breathed a sigh of relief. The next evening I was eating dinner with Dad and Uncle Michael when Dad said out of the blue. “So I hear that Sam Winchester and his brother have moved back to town. They bought the old Fitzgerald place.”

“Really,” I said vaguely.

“How was your bachelorette party, Y/N? It was at Costello’s, right?” He asked.

“Yes. It was fun.”

“I had lunch with Mike Costello today. He mentioned that he saw you and Sam Winchester talking at the bar during your party.” He said nonchalantly.

Dammit! My father had spies everywhere in this stupid town! I rolled my eyes dramatically. “Yes, Dad. I did talk to Sam. He’s an old friend. He bought me a drink to congratulate me on my wedding. We haven’t seen each other in ten years. That was it! Can we please be done with the third degree?”

My Dad nodded and turned to Uncle Michael. “I think we should extend an invitation to both Winchesters to join the pack. A strong Alpha and a lawyer to boot? He would be an asset. We could help him get settled. Help him find a mate. Show him there are no hard feelings.”

Uncle Michael looked from me to my father, the smallest ghost of a smile on his face. “Okay, Luci. I’ll take care of it.”

On the surface, my father sounded kind and civilized, but I could read between the lines. He was really saying, “I’m watching every move that he makes, little Omega, and I won’t hesitate to eliminate him if he interferes with my plans in the slightest.

I had been warned. For Sam’s own safety, I needed to warn him to stay away.

I had plans after dinner to go over to Steph’s to talk about wedding stuff. I just had to make a pitstop first. Dad was in his office with Uncle Michael when I breezed in with my wedding binder, stacks of wedding magazines, and tuxedo catalogs. “Don’t forget you two, your fittings are Tuesday. You CANNOT cancel, Dad. I MEAN it.”

“Sounds like she has your number, Luci.” Michael said with a grin.

“Bossy little ‘mega, isn’t she?” Your father teased. “Tell Stephanie not to spend all my money.”

“Bye Dad. Bye Uncle Michael.”

I parked a few houses away from the Fitzgerald house and walked just to be safe. It was all lit up so I knew they were home. I knocked on the door timidly.

The door opened, and a gorgeous guy with startling green eyes stood in the doorway. One sniff told me he was a Beta. A strong Beta but a Beta nonetheless.

Well, Hello. Please tell me your our neighbor coming to visit?“ He said with a hopeful look.

“Nope, sorry. I’m Y/N, Y/L/N. I’m here to see Sam. Is he here?” I could help smiling at his crestfallen look.

He looked surprised. “YOUR Y/N? I didn’t recognize you. Damn you grew up! Figures, hot girl at the door and She’s here to see Sam.”

Hey Dean. Nice to see you again.“

Dean turned and yelled up the stairs. “Hey Sammy. You have company.”

When Sam saw it was me, he smiled. “Send her up, Dean.”

I headed upstairs to where Sam was unpacking boxes. He was wearing jeans and a t-shirt which stretched tightly across his broad chest. My mouth went dry at the sight of him as his scent overwhelmed my senses.

“It took me much longer to get you into my room when you were 17,” Sam commented, arms crossed as he watched me.

“You were helping me with my homework, smart-ass,” I said dryly.

“Homework was the last thing on my mind. I may have only been 19, but I knew what I wanted, even back then.” He said, eyes locked with mine.

“Why are you here, Y/N?” Sam asked quietly.

“My father has spies everywhere. One of them saw us talking at the bar. I came to warn you, Sam. My father is watching you. Please stay away from me. I would never forgive myself if something happened to you.”

“I’m not a kid anymore. I’m not afraid of your Father. He forced me to leave you once, I won’t let him do it again!” “I didn’t have much to offer you when you were 17, but that’s not the case now. If he wants to fight, I’m ready.“

Please…..don’t.” I said weakly as his long fingers grabbed my chin and forced me to look into his eyes.

“Tell me you don’t want me as much as I want you and I’ll stop. Just tell me.”

He saw the answer reflected in my eyes and with a groan his lips captured mine. I let myself fall into his arms for a moment, relishing the feel of his powerful arms around me.

For a brief moment, it didn’t matter that I was about to marry someone else. I could pretend we were teenagers again, young and in love, with our whole lives ahead of us.

I tore my lips away and rested my forehead against his, trying to calm my racing heart. “I need to go, Sam. And you need to stay away. Dad’s thinking of asking you and Dean to join the pack. Then he would have 24-7 access to you. You would answer to him for everything. Don’t do it.” I pleaded,

“There is much more pleasant begging I want to hear coming from that pretty mouth of yours, Omega.” Sam said gruffly.

I stamped my foot, I was so frustrated at his cavalier attitude. “I have to go. I’m in too deep already.”

I turned to walk away, but Sam reached out a long arm and pulled me against him and whispered, “When I’m buried balls-deep inside you, then it will be deep enough.“ I twisted free, cheeks flaming.

I flew down the steps past a surprised Dean, Sam’s mocking laugh following me out the door.

Part 2

@skybinx-blog @percywinchester27 @a-sea-of-fandoms @dorky-and-i-know-it@fangirl1802 @pinknerdpanda @atc74@jayankles @notnaturalanahi @midnightjazzmine @moonlitskinwalker @we-are-band-sexuals @winchestergirl-love @gecko9596 @ronnie248-blog@essie1876 @bohowitch@just-another-busy-fangirl @kittenofdoomage @oriona75 @jotink78 @captainradicalpassion @keelzythe2nd @disneymarina @mrswhozeewhatsis @frankiea1998 @akshi8278 @valynsia@laurenisnot@maddieburcham1@bohowitch@supernaturaldean67@canadianjelly @dr-dean@theoutlinez@muliermalefici @imweirdandobsessed

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allyinthekeyofx · 7 years

Text

Dreamcatcher - Chapters 10 & 11

Prologue & Chapter 1 Chapters 2 & 3 Chapters 4 & 5 Chapters 6 & 7

Chapters 8 & 9

Coroner's Office, Cleveland, Ohio May 4th 10:45 am

Scully settled her gaze on the chipped, pitted surface of the wooden table top, trying to ignore the way the ridge of the cheap plastic chair dug into her aching back.

The Cleveland Coroner's office wasn't big enough to house an employee dining area as such, but this jumble of mismatched furniture surrounded by wall-mounted vending machines seemed to do the job pretty well. It was tucked away in a far corner of the building, and they had been ushered here by a worried looking lab assistant in response to Scully's absolute insistence that she was fine.

She was aware of Mulder's eyes on her, even from his position behind her she could feel them, boring into her back like twin lasers.

He wasn't happy, and she frowned, recalling the pitch of his voice as he had, on her insistence, cancelled his call for the EMTs.

She had recovered quickly, and could see little point in having a paramedic tell her what she already knew - a combination of a raging headache, too little sleep and no food for twenty-four hours had been the main contributory factors to her fainting, and no amount of argument from her partner was going to change that.

But he had been angry, possibly angrier at her than she had ever seen, and despite being fully aware that much of that anger stemmed from the fact he was concerned, she hadn't liked it one bit.

It was amazing, Scully reflected ruefully, how quickly the curious onlookers had melted away when she and Mulder had started shouting at each other, leaving only the young lab guy to show them to this room. Even then, he had turned on his heel and practically run down the corridor to escape. No doubt she and Mulder would be the topic of hushed whispers for a few days to come.

Nothing new there.

"Here. Drink this."

Mulder set a steaming cup of something in front of Scully. She wasn't sure, but suspected the greyish, anaemic-looking liquid might be tea. Corporate vending machines weren't generally known for their differentiating skills where drinks were concerned, and usually it was impossible to identify a beverage by sight alone. The last thing she felt like doing right now though was to sit here under Mulders scrutiny playing a game of guess the drink. Nevertheless she dutifully brought the cup to her lips, wincing as she got a first taste of the liquid.

Yep, it was tea all right, or some version thereof. It was hard to tell beneath the sweetness.

She set the cup down.

"Mulder, there's sugar in this. I don’t take sugar in drinks. You know that."

He shrugged, his face almost devoid of emotion as he struggled to keep his anger in check. But his neutral expression didn't fool Scully. Too much time spent around this man when he was wrestling with his emotions had taught her that an emotionless face usually meant anything but.

"I figured you could use the carbohydrates."

Scully narrowed her eyes.

Was he purposely baiting her? Trying to provoke another argument?

She sighed wearily, knowing she was being a little unfair because if anything, he sounded more worried than angry, and besides, another screaming match would achieve absolutely nothing. Each as stubborn as the other, neither one would be prepared to back down.

Scully insisting she was fine.

Mulder insisted equally as vehemently that she patently wasn't.

A no-win situation.

They'd been there before.

"Thank you," she murmured quietly and forced herself to take another sip of the burning liquid.

The silence stretched uncomfortably between them as Mulder drummed his fingers on the hard surface. Finally, he rocked back in his chair and folded his arms across his chest.

"Dreamcatcher?"

Scully frowned.

"What?"

“Dreamcatcher. It's what you said to me before you fainted. I wondered why."

Dreamcatcher? She'd said that?

Scully dragged her mind back.

She remembered being in the autopsy bay, remembered looking down at the remains of Elizabeth Armstrong. Suddenly feeling as though the world had tilted on its axis, and then...

Nothing.

Just a blank space until she had opened her eyes in response to her partner's voice as he cradled her in his arms, both of them on the floor. She assumed he'd laid her down there when she lost consciousness.

Dreamcatcher?

She shook her head slightly, the confusion all too evident on her face.

"I have no idea. No clue as to why I might have said that."

By the look on Mulders face, it was obvious he wasn’t surprised because he plainly didn't understand it either.

"Why?" she prompted. "Do you think it means something?"

Mulder almost smiled at her earnestness. There was a time when Scully wouldn't even have asked him that question. So rigidly had she been bound by the constraints of science that to even entertain the notion that the word might have some significance to the case wouldn't have even entered her mind.

But things changed. Dana Scully had changed.

Slowly but surely, he had seen her loosen her grip on the hope that everything could be explained rationally, within the realm of the tangible. And while he never expected or wanted her to totally let go of her pragmatic approach altogether, it was heartening to see the way her mind had opened as a result of all they had seen over the past six years.

Dreamcatcher.

He rolled the word lazily around his mind.

Tested it.

Made it his.

Certainly, he was intrigued, although at the same time he knew that it could just be a random coincidence. A reaction to the case? To what they had seen? To the legend he had lulled her to sleep with the night before?

To all those things?

Even so. It was strange.

"I don't know," he admitted eventually, glancing at his watch as he did so. "But one thing's for certain. We aren't getting anything answered by just sitting here."

Scully nodded, and drained the last of the tea, attempting not to grimace in disgust as the sugary dregs passed over her tongue. Mulder watched her, satisfied for now that she had at least backed down enough to do as he had asked.

If only everything were as simple as persuading her to take sugar in her drinks.

But it was a start.

"Better?"

She nodded.

"Much. And Mulder?"

"Yeah?"

Dropping her eyes, she reached across the table and briefly grasped his fingers, squeezing gently before releasing them again.

"Thanks. I'm sorry I went off at you. I'm just a little tired, I guess."

Mulder blinked stupidly.

An admission?

From Scully?

Jeez, this day was going to go down in history, and for a second he wished he had a tape recorder so he might capture the moment forever. Just for all the future instances when he would ask her how she was and she would reply without really thinking about it. Just so he could depress the playback button to remind her that sometimes it was okay to admit she felt like crap.

"You sure you're feeling alright now?" he repeated, almost laughing out loud at the answer that automatically fell from her lips.

"I'm fine."

XXXX

Brackenhurst Learning Facility for Extraordinary Children, Cleveland, Ohio 11:41am

Leaving his partner to continue with her aborted attempts to analyze Elizabeth Armstrong's remains, Mulder had taken a quick side trip back to the motel before piloting the rental car the thirty-minute drive to the school.

An idea had been formulating in his mind, nothing specific, just random threads, teasing his senses, reaching out to him to be heard.

Dreamcatcher.

It had taken him a few minutes to locate the charm, Scully's room still being in a minor state of disarray from the events of the previous night. But after a few minutes of hurried searching, he had found what he was looking for.

The Dreamcatcher had lain, half concealed between the edge of the bed and the discarded comforter, probably in the same place it had fallen when Scully had tumbled out of bed in the grip of the nightmare the night before.

And in all honesty, he had almost forgotten that it existed at all.

Until an hour ago in the autopsy bay when his frightened partner had reminded him.

Hearing the single word spill from her lips before she had collapsed against him had made him recoil slightly. And even then, he hadn't really made any substantive connection.

But now, as his mind had settled once again on the case at hand, he had time to re-evaluate his earlier dismissal.

He wasn't sure what, if anything, he was hoping to discover by making a return trip to the school, but he had a strong hunch that there was more to all this than met the eye.

Having spoken to Skinner just a scant few minutes before, he had been uncomfortably aware that he had nothing of any significance to report to his superior and hadn't missed the terseness directed at him, because while Skinner, on the whole, was a sympathetic ally toward their work he still expected results. Results that right now, Mulder was aware that he wasn't even halfway to providing.

Turning his attention back to the here and now, Mulder rolled the car to a halt in front of the impressive building. The bright sunshine did little to lessen its air of importance and, if anything, it seemed even more of a looming presence than it had last night.

The tasselled bell pull swung gently in the breeze, as if issuing an invitation to him and never one to stand on ceremony, Mulder grasped it firmly. Unlike last night, however, no smiling child was there to greet him; instead he found himself confronted with the pinched, white face of Julia Brackenhurst.

"Agent Mulder...I'm sorry, I wasn't expecting..."

She trailed off wearily and stood aside for him to enter.

The large, opulent vestibule seemed hushed. Empty somehow.

Last night he had not been surprised by the silence, given the relative lateness of the hour. But today he had expected to see evidence of the school's unique teaching system at work.

Julia caught his look and sighed heavily.

"I had the students' parents pick them up this morning. After what happened last night, they didn't need much persuading."

She sounded defeated. Used up. The voice of a woman who has seen her dreams crumble to dust before her eyes. And although Mulder could understand her reasoning in trying to protect her young charges, her news was neither welcomed nor expected.

"They're gone? All of them?"

Julia shook her head slightly.

"No, not all. Most, but not all. As I explained to you and Agent Scully yesterday, some of the students here have had their share of problems. Not all of them have parents to go back to. This is their home. They have nowhere else to go."

Mulder breathed again.

Okay, so he wasn't exactly batting a thousand here, but it was a start.

"Would it be possible to have a few minutes with each of them? I need to ask them a few questions, if you have no objections."

"Questions? Agent Mulder, they're just children. Extraordinary children, intelligent children. But just children nonetheless. What could you possibly hope to learn from them?"

Mulder shrugged and attempted to answer her as best he could.

"I don't know. But in my experience, children sometimes have far more to tell us than we realize."

He watched the woman closely as she sized him up. Clearly disturbed by the notion that any of her young charges might be able to shed any light on the horrific occurrences of the last week, she was not yet prepared to dismiss his request out of hand.

Eventually, her expression cleared slightly even if her tone of voice was full of doubt.

"Okay. Wait in the sitting room. I'll go and round them up for you."

XXXX

A little over an hour later, Mulder was almost ready to admit defeat.

One after the other, the children had been summoned into the sitting room to perch opposite him on the edge of a large, overstuffed leather sofa.

He had questioned them carefully, quietly, ever conscious of Julia's hovering presence. He had tried hard not to make direct references to the Dreamcatcher he held in his hand, not wanting to lead them in any way.

But even when his frustration had gotten the better of him and he brought their attention to it, all he got in return was a series of blank expressions.

Ranging in ages from six to thirteen, the half dozen girls he had spoken to were charming, polite, and precocious. But of no help to him whatsoever.

He rubbed a hand across his face wearily.

Only one child left.

He wasn't holding out much hope that she would be any different from the others and he wondered briefly whether Scully was having any more luck back at the morgue. She had promised to call him as soon as the results were back on the tissue samples she had collected. He didn't expect to hear from her anytime soon. Even with all the might and fury of the FBI behind her, it was unlikely she would be able to get the wheels turning in her favour much before mid afternoon at the earliest.

Mid afternoon.

Christ. Another wasted day.

One child dead, another two unaccounted for, and he and Scully were no closer to even beginning to explain it.

Frustrated?

Mulder didn't even want to go there.

He dropped his hand back down to rest loosely in his lap as Julia guided the last child in to the room. She seemed younger than any of the others. Julia's hands on her shoulders almost covered them completely.

Less self-assured than the other girls, she regarded him shyly, huge blue eyes peeping out from behind a fringe of windswept red curls as she scrambled up onto the sofa.

He couldn't help but smile.

She looked like a miniature version of Scully - or at least how Mulder imagined she had looked when she was a kid. Of course, Scully probably wouldn't be sitting demurely before him. She would have been dragged kicking and screaming from the garden still clutching onto a recently dissected worm, tracking mud through the house.

He had no doubts whatsoever that his partner had been a tomboy.

The smile still playing across his lips, he leaned forward slightly.

"Hi. My name's Mulder. You wanna tell me who you are?"

The child before him began to twirl a few strands of hair around her fingers, as though attempting to make it even curlier, regarding him for long moments before answering.

"I'm Caitlin Megan Briony Stevens. I'm six and a quarter. How old are you, Mulder? What's your real name? Are you really called Mulder?"

Okay, so maybe shy had been a little off the mark, Mulder decided ruefully before answering.

"I'm thirty-eight. My full name is Fox William Mulder, but I like to be called Mulder."

"Why? Don't you like your real name? Fox is a nice name. I like foxes."

Mulder laughed, the irony not lost on him that he was answering a hell of a lot more questions than he was asking right now.

"No Caitlin, I don't much like my real name, so everyone just calls me Mulder."

Caitlin sighed theatrically.

"I suppose it is kind of a stupid name," she observed solemnly. "I mean I like horses but I wouldn't want to be called Horse."

"Caitlin!"

Mulder held up a hand in response to Julia's rebuke. He liked this kid already. She reminded him more and more of Scully.

"It's okay," he assured her before directing his attention back towards the child. "So, Caitlin, may I ask you some questions?"

She nodded, noticing the Dreamcatcher for the first time.

"Are you going to ask me about that?"

"Do you know what it is?"

Caitlin laughed, rolling her eyes as she did so.

"Of course I know what it is. It belongs to Fliss..."

Julia stepped up closer, kneeling down so she was on a level with the child.

"Fliss's? Caitlin honey I don't think so..."

Caitlin ignored her and kept her gaze riveted on Mulder.

"It's Fliss's.” She insisted.

“She says it keeps us safe from the dark place. She gave it to Lilly when she got trapped there."

Mulder's stomach seemed to roll lazily at her words.

Don't lead her. Just let it happen.

"Dark place? Where's the dark place? Have you been there?"

The room was silent, the atmosphere almost crackling with the kind of anticipation he had come to recognize when he was on the verge of breaking through a difficult case.

So many pieces falling together at once, jostling for position in his sharp mind.

Leading him.

Telling him where to go.

And he watched transfixed as Caitlin bestowed a dazzling smile on him.

"Of course. We all have. Most times it's nice. There are flowers there. It's pretty. I don't remember it much...only when it goes dark..."

The smile died on her face. As quickly as it appeared it vanished, dark storm clouds covering the sunshine of her pretty features and she scowled suddenly.

"...then I always remember...”

XXXXXXX

Chapter Eleven

Frank's Diner. Cleveland, Ohio May 4th 3:58 pm

Scully paused, the french fry halfway to her lips, which were now twisted in an expression of incredulity so pronounced, Mulder could swear he heard the words a split second before she uttered them.

"You've got to be kidding, right?"

They were seated opposite each other in a corner booth, far enough away so that the restaurant's other diners couldn't overhear their conversation.

Mulder had picked Scully up from the coroner's office, and quashing any arguments with a determined guiding hand at the small of her back, had swept her out of the building and into the gloomy depths of the 60's style diner.

You need to eat.

Okay, so the fact that she had spent the last thirty minutes filling up on calorie- laden junk was a moot point. She realized Mulder had been right earlier when he had suggested she needed the carbohydrates. Besides, it was delicious, and her partner had offered to pay.

After hearing his story, she knew why because honestly, if he had expected to listen to that and have her pay for her own food she would in all likelihood have calmly pulled out her gun and shot him. Twice.

Wagging the wilting piece of fried potato in his direction accusingly, she shook her head.

"Mulder, that's insane. And you're basing this theory on the word of a six-year-old kid?"

"Six and a quarter, Scully."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I mean why didn't you say so to begin with?”

She rolled her eyes.

"C'mon, Mulder! I mean, you have to admit that this is pretty wild even for you."

Mulder's only response was to capture the errant fry between his fingers. Stealing it easily, he regarded it thoughtfully.

"Be careful where you point that thing, Agent Scully."

She felt herself redden slightly, the sudden heat she felt spreading across her cheeks told her that yet again, her partner had got one over on her. Usually she found it kind of amusing. This verbal sparring that was all a part of the unique relationship they shared, and most times she enjoyed the challenge it presented. Right now though, it just annoyed the hell out of her.

Deep breaths, Dana.

"Mulder, I'm trying to be serious here."

Scully's words had the desired effect, and he sobered abruptly, dropping the fry on to the table where it lay in a small pool of ketchup, congealing greasily.

He had expected this kind of reaction from her. Hell, after six years of having her punch holes in his theories he expected nothing less, and even though he was aware that his theory sounded implausible, much of what he spoke of had come directly from the mouth of Caitlin Stevens, and despite what his partner may or may not think, he had believed her because no kid's imagination was that good. He didn't care how high her damn IQ might be.

"I know you are, Scully. But I'm serious too and I believe that something is taking these kids as they sleep."

"Mulder, c'mon..."

He held up his hand to silence her.

"Hear me out, Scully, please. Caitlin Stevens told me about a place she had visited. That they had all visited. Felicia Slabbert, Debbie Hollis, Gina Robuk...all of them. She talked of a place full of sunshine and trees and flowers and butterflies. Every little girl's paradise. The way she described it...she couldn't have made it up."

"Look, Mulder, I'm not suggesting she was lying to you, but this child is six years old...sorry, six and a quarter if you insist...and I'm not refuting that she believes in what she was saying. Hell, at six years old I believed that fairies lived at the bottom of the garden. But that didn't make them real"

Mulder raised his eyebrow.

"Didn't it? How do you know that, Scully? Did you stop believing in fairies because you wanted to? Or because someone told you you should?"

"That's irrelevant, Mulder. I stopped believing in fairies because I got older and good common sense told me they couldn't possibly exist. Obviously a phase you skipped."

She picked up a rapidly cooling fry and bit down hard on it. She hated these kinds of conversations. Hated the way her partner could twist her words to suit his every argument, hated the way her she fell back on sarcasm in an attempt to get her point across.

Mulder, however, parried her sarcasm effortlessly.

"I never believed in fairies Scully, little green men were my kick, you know that. Look, all I'm saying is that this kid would have to have a hell of an imagination to come up with all that stuff. I mean, okay, let's say for a minute that she is yanking my chain. Where would she get it all from?"

Scully shrugged helplessly.

"Mulder, you're asking me questions I can't possibly hope to answer. If it was just about flowers and trees and butterflies I'd take a guess that we're talking about a child with overexposure to The Wizard of Oz."

"Okay, I'll buy that theory, Agent Scully. Now explain the giant spiders, the darkness, the man with no face who chases them down never ending tunnels, screaming out their names?"

His voice began to rise. He wasn't even aware of it.

"Explain to me how this innocent six-year-old cherubic child could give me a graphic description of what it looks like for Elizabeth Armstrong to have the fluid literally sucked out of her body?"

Scully remained silent, not knowing how to respond to his sudden anger without resorting to similar tactics. Mulder, on the other hand continued with his tirade, to the bemusement of the handful of other patrons seated at the diner's nearby tables. Once on a roll, there was usually no stopping him. He didn't much care who heard him or what their opinions might be.

"Give me your Goddamn scientific evaluation as to how she could describe the sound of bones being ground together until they resembled nothing more than pulp? "

"Maybe she's disturbed Mulder. Disturbed about what she's heard about the murder. Kids pick up on things, and what their conscious mind doesn't necessarily understand, their subconscious fills in the gaps.........where the hell are you going?"

She watched as her partner savagely grabbed at his jacket which he had casually draped over the chair back. It was rare she saw him this riled by a case. Usually, even in the face of the most horrific events, he remained detached, professional, balanced.

Usually.

But not right now.

And deep down she wondered just how much she had contributed to his state of mind. The events of the morning were still a gaping wound between them. In the heat of the moment they had both said things they probably wished they could take back.

Scully closed her eyes as she remembered the look on his face when he had tried to persuade her to let the paramedics check her over. She'd just wanted him to back off. To stop trying to damn well protect her all the time.

The biting, hurtful words had left her mouth before she could stop them forming.

Don't presume you can tell me what I can or can't do, Mulder. You're not my fucking Father.......and you don’t own me.

Surly he had to know that they were just that?

Meaningless angry words.

Why did they seem to wind up arguing about everything lately? She was almost afraid to delve too deep. Afraid she wouldn't like the answer.

"Mulder..."

He ignored her.

Casually waving his hand in her direction he headed for the door without a backward glance.

"Finish your food. I'm going to the hospital."

Scully swallowed heavily. A combination of tiredness and frustration over her inability to tell him what he needed to hear had provoked a sudden onrush of tears to form behind her closed eyes.

For Christ's sake, Dana. Just stop with the emotional crap.

The sudden sharp trilling of her cell phone made her jump visibly in her seat, and she cursed softly as she fumbled around in her coat pocket, finally locating the phone and savagely depressing the Send button to silence it.

"Scully."

Had Mulder still been seated opposite he would have had no trouble reading the subtle change in her expression as she listened to the voice on the other end of the phone.

In the space of a heartbeat, a myriad of questions flittered across her face, her features finally settling on an expression of abject disbelief.

"Can you repeat that, please. I'm not sure I caught it."

Again the young, male voice recounting the results of the toxicological analysis on Elizabeth Armstrong's ravaged tissue for the second time.

Grabbing a wrinkled napkin from where she had thrown it earlier, Scully rapidly transferred his findings onto it.

Even as she automatically thanked him for the speed at which they had gotten the results to her, she was searching her mind for a possible explanation.

There had to be some mistake here. This isn't possible.

But, like exclamation points, the four words stared accusingly back at her.

Toxin.

Proteases.

Lipases.

Amylases.

In simple terms, the four main enzymes used in the breaking down of cellular material.

Found, as the young lab tech had helpfully supplied, mainly in the venom of certain insects and arachnids.

Spider venom.

Scully began to shake.

Continued Chapter Twelve

#dreamcatcher #my fic

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piperchu · 7 years

Text

Two Shades of Green (unfinished)

Finally, here it is! What I have of Two Shades of Green, the fourth chapter of my Day of the Departed rewrite. I think this is probably my favorite one, and the one I enjoyed writing the most. It’s actually the first completely original chapter in my DotD rewrite, and I’m quite proud of it. Go ahead and read!

Episode 4

Two Shades of Green

Morro and Lloyd were finding it very hard to live in the same establishment. Sometimes they would acknowledge one another’s presence, sometimes they would completely ignore each other. And other times they would be at each other’s throats.

It was three days after Morro joined, and he and Lloyd hadn’t fought all morning, which was a record. They basically ignored each other at breakfast, though.

After everyone finished eating, Sensei stood up. “I am going out to get a few bags of tea. I trust you all to be good while I am gone. Try to work in some training.”

“Yes Sensei,” everyone responded.

About a half an hour later, after Sensei had left, the Ninja went out onto the deck to train. They didn’t use their powers, deciding to give them a rest for today. Instead, they practiced with weapons. When they split into groups though, Kai and Nya were quick to pair up. The same happened with Jay and Zane.

Which left Lloyd with Morro. Neither of the two seemed very happy about this.

As training went on, Lloyd quickly learned that Morro had a very agressive fighting style. His moves with his sword were quick and seemed like they were driven more by anger.

“Morro, this is only training,” Lloyd reminded the ghost.

“Spoken like your father,” Morro scoffed.

Lloyd stopped fighting and took a step back. He narrowed his eyes at his new teammate. “Exactly what is that supposed to mean, Morro?”

The other Ninja paused their training. All eyes turned toward the the former enemies. They could almost feel the tension of the past few days coming to a climax.

“What do you think it means, Lloyd?” Morro snapped back.

For a moment, Lloyd did nothing but look at Morro with a neutral face. Then, all of a sudden, it twisted into a snarl. “I’m tired of taking your crap! This ends now!” he shouted. The green ninja created two balls of energy in his hands and threw them at Morro in pure fury. The ghost dodged the attack and summoned a gust of wind that knocked Lloyd down.

“Lloyd! Morro!” Zane tried to intervene. “Sensei wouldn’t want-”

“STAY OUT OF THIS!” the two ninja screamed at the nindroid. With that, the fight began.

Morro made the first move. He turned the breeze in the air into a powerful gale and sent it in Lloyd’s direction. Lloyd plunged his sword into the deck and held onto it in order stay standing. When the wind stopped, Lloyd took out the sword and pointed it at Morro.

“You came back saying you’ve changed. That you’d no longer be chasing after being the green ninja. But I haven’t seen a single change in you!” he accused Morro, and their two swords clashed and clanged.

“I’m tired of you all playing favorites!” Morro shot back. “Of you excluding me! You never trust me! I’m sick of it!”

“We don’t trust you because you haven’t given us a reason to!” Both ninja turned into their spinjitzu tornados, Lloyd’s a bright shade of green and Morro’s a darker one. The twisters crashed into each other and merged, forming a new tornado twice as large, and such a dark green it was almost black. The other ninja watched in terror as it began to rip up the boards on the deck. The sky darkened, and the Bounty groaned.

It may have gotten worse if Sensei had not returned at that very moment atop his dragon, looking furious.

“STOP!” he cried. Lloyd and Morro fell out of the destructive tornado and onto the deck. Sensei’s dragon roared and breathed out a mist that repaired the ship. The sky lightened again. All returned to normal. Sensei then canceled his dragon and approached the two ninja who were responsible. “Lloyd, I need you in my room, now,” he ordered.

“But Sensei, Morro-” Lloyd protested.

“Now.”

Lloyd fell silent and followed Sensei inside, but gave Morro a look as he passed the wind ninja.

Morro walked down the hall to Sensei’s room, where he’d been told by Kai to go. He slid open the door and saw the teacher sitting on the floor with some tea, waiting for him, but he was surprised to see a scowling Lloyd in there too.

“What’s he doing here?!” Morro burst.

“I’m glad you were able to make it, Morro,” Wu said calmly. “Please sit down.”

“I thought this was supposed to be a private talk!” the ghost continued to protest.

“You were mistaken. It is time for the two of you to settle your debts. Sit, please.”

Even though he was tempted to run out of the room, Morro slowly sulked over to a spot on the floor and sat down, making sure he was a good distance from the green ninja. Lloyd narrowed his eyes at him. He glared back.

If Sensei had noticed the silent exchange, he didn’t show it. “Now, my students,” he addressed them both, “Do you know what a Tornado of Chaos is?”

Both students were silent. Sensei took that as a sign for him to continue. “It is a spinjitzu tornado that is essentially the opposite of the Tornado of Creation. Instead of being driven by teamwork and trust, it is fueled by separation and hate. If it is strong enough, it can tear apart a whole building.” He took a sip of tea. “The Tornado of Chaos the two of you created by combining your spinjitzu wasn’t strong enough to do that, but it did some damage. Now, I want to hear what exactly happened between you two to create such a forbidden martial art. One at a time, please. Lloyd, you first.”

“Sure, Lloyd’s always first,” Morro grumbled.

Lloyd stood up. “Okay, I’ve had enough of your smart-”

“Lloyd,” Wu interrupted. His tone was still calm, but the sternness was there.

“Sorry, Sensei.” The green ninja sat back down.

“I know you two hate each other,” the teacher acknowledged, “but that cannot change the fact that you are now brothers. You must realize the fact that you must find peace with each other. You two have more in common than you think.”

“In common? What do we have in common?” Morro asked with disbelief.

“You both are strong-willed. You hold your values close to heart. You have strong opinions. And although your goals may be very different, you will work very hard towards them. Apart, you are capable of creating chaos. But united, your potential for greatness will be unlimited.”

Both Morro and Lloyd were silent for a moment. Finally Lloyd said, “Sensei, I’m not so sure about that. How can we be ‘great’ when sometimes we can’t stand being in the same room?”

“Have you tried working together on something, nephew?”

“Well… no.”

“Then how can you be so sure that you can never get along?” Lloyd remained silent. Wu took a sip of tea. “I am not asking you two to become best friends. I am asking you to find peace with one another. Lloyd, I want you to accept that Morro is now your brother. Morro, I want you to accept that Lloyd is your brother. I know you two can do it. You are both very capable students.” He took another sip of tea. “Which is why I am sending you two as a team to fight Pythor.”

“WHAT?!” both students cried in shock.

“Perhaps I wasn’t clear enough. The two of you will be fighting Pythor together. I have complete faith in you. You are dismissed.”

“But Sensei! He possessed me!”

“He’ll be unbearable!”

“ENOUGH!” Sensei shouted. The two students winced and fell silent. They’d pushed Sensei past his breaking point. “This rivalry between you two must stop! It has gone on for too long! Find a way to work together or the two of you will be training all day, every day for a month! Do I make myself clear?”

“Yes, Sensei.”

It was nighttime by the time Lloyd and Morro had flown all the way to the Mountain of a Million Steps. The two canceled their dragons and landed at the mouth of the hole that served as the entrance to the caves. When they had lowered themselves down the rope and landed on the stone platform below, they removed their masks and looked around.

“Seems quiet,” Morro observed. “Do you think they left?”

“Not likely,” Lloyd answered. “The reports said that Pythor and the snakes he managed to convert were spotted coming here and hadn’t been seen leaving. They’ve got to be here.”

“This is an empty room! Where would they be?” Morro shot back impatiently as Lloyd just walked over to one of the paintings on the wall. “Are you even listening to me?”

Lloyd just looked back at Morro with a flat expression, then pressed a spot on the wall behind him with his elbow. Immediately a door slid open in the wall. Lloyd smirked at the ghost. “Having been dragged around Ninjago by the snakes when I was a kid, I kinda know a thing or two about all of their lairs. Let’s go.” With that, Lloyd led the way down the tunnel, with Morro sulking behind.

They eventually came to a large room that had steps leading down to the bottom. The two ninja peered over the edge at the snakes down below. Lloyd spotted Pythor and pointed him out to Morro.

“I know Lloyd well,” Pythor was telling his cronies. “He will surely come here to confront me.”

“I’m not ssssso sssssure, Pythor,” the other snake fretted. “He hassssssn’t come yet. It’sssss been three dayssssss and ssssstill we’ve got no sssssssign of him.”

“He will come!” Pythor shouted back and banged his staff against the ground. The other snake cowered in fear. “Now if you know what’s good for you, you’ll go back to your post now!” The minion yelped and fled to another part of the cavern.

“So they’re expecting us,” Morro whispered. “You think we should turn around and try again another time?”

“No, we’re already here!” Lloyd refused. “We might as well give it a shot!”

“But what if something goes wrong? We’re far outnumbered. And Pythor seems like he really wants to kill you.”

Lloyd gave Morro a meaningful glare. “You know very well that I’ve been in worse situations than death, Morro.”

“You think what I did to you was worse than death?! Come on!”

“When you’ve been through as much as I have, sometimes you wonder how it might feel to finally be away from all the pain for good.”

“You’re not the only one whose life has been less than pleasant.”

The two were quiet for a moment before Lloyd broke the silence. “Let’s just get this over with,” he muttered. “Now isn’t the time for this conversation.”

“Wait a second, where’d Pythor go?” Morro had just noticed that the white snake was gone. In fact, it seemed that while they were talking, the room had suddenly become empty.

“Crap, did they see us?” Lloyd whispered. He took out his sword and started quietly down the steps. Suddenly there was a rumbling sound beneath their feet.

Then the snakes appeared. It happened so fast, Morro was unable to help. One second, Lloyd was surrounded by constrictai, the next second they were all gone, having burrowed back into the floor with Lloyd.

“Hey! Stop!” Morro shouted down the hole, but he couldn’t see them anymore. At first Morro was too stunned to think. Then dread settled in. He couldn’t follow those snakes, so there was no chance of getting Lloyd back. If he came back to the Bounty without Lloyd, the others would blame him and he’d never be able to make it up. On the other hand, Morro had no idea where the snakes were taking Lloyd. The computer at the Bounty would probably be of help, but again, there was no way he could go back without the green ninja. For the first time in a long time, Morro had no idea what to do.

Well, staying here won’t do any good, he thought, and with a bit of guilt, he left back down the tunnel where they’d come. Once he was in the first room, he sat down on the platform to think. The only thing Morro could think of doing was calling the other ninja on his radio. They’d still blame him, but at least he wouldn’t have to face them yet. He took a deep breath and called in. “Morro to Destiny’s Bounty, do you copy?”

At first there was no answer. Then he heard Kai’s voice. Great. Of all the people to answer him, it had to be the one who was going to be the most upset.

“We hear you Morro. Did you capture Pythor?”

Morro hesitated. How was he supposed to say this? “No, we didn’t,” he began. Then he braced himself. “And, they took Lloyd.”

“WHAAAAT?!”

Morro pulled back from the device as Kai roared through the line. “How could you let this happen Morro? You two were supposed to work together!”

“I wasn’t trying to lose him!”

“Morro, what happened?” Great. Now Sensei was there.

“He lost Lloyd!” Kai yelled.

“Stay where you are, Morro. We’ll pick you up and begin searching for Lloyd.”

Great. That was exactly what Morro didn’t want to happen. “No, Sensei. It’s my fault he’s gone. I’m going to find him, alone.”

“Morro! No! Don’t-” But Morro turned the device off. He had a ninja to find. And since it was the snakes who took him, he might know where to look...

This felt like the one hundredth time Lloyd had been locked up. At this point it was ridiculous. Why in Ninjago was it ALWAYS him who got captured? Sure, he’s the green Ninja, but you’d think the bad guys would have a different target at least once. This time, he was in a cell in Ourobouris, chained to the wall with vengestone chains. No point trying to break them with his powers.

Suddenly two Constrictai henchmen opened the door and unlocked his chains. Immediately they took hold of both his arms with iron grips. “Don’t try anything, greenie,” one warned, as he snapped vengestone cuffs on his wrists. With that, he was led out of the cell.

He was led through many dark hallways until they reached a doorway. When they went through it, Lloyd found himself outside in the arena. It was dusk. As soon as he was out in the open, there were cheers from the Serpentine henchmen in the stands. In the center of the arena was Pythor, who was looking particularly pleased with the situation. The Constrictai let him go and quickly left for the stands. As soon as they were gone, Lloyd made a break for it, but just before he reached the edge of the arena, spikes rose out of the ground up to the height of his chest, blocking his escape.

“You’re not leaving, Lloyd,” Pythor called over to him. “Tonight you and I battle for the last time! A Slither Pit fight for the ages!”

“Then let’s make it a fair fight!” Lloyd yelled back, turning to face his enemy. “Take off these chains!”

“Maybe you never knew this, but there are no rules in the Slither Pit. We don’t have to fight fair!” Pythor explained. The crowd laughed at Lloyd’s cluelessness. Lloyd narrowed his eyes. If Pythor wasn’t going to fight fair, fine. But the green ninja had an iron will and determination to match. He wasn’t backing down.

“Now let the fight begin!” Pythor announced.

Lloyd knew he had to get rid of the chains, fast. He looked around and saw the spikes. He pressed the links against the other side and pulled hard. Thankfully the link wasn’t very strong, and snapped in half. Now he could fight with both hands.

“Clever,” Pythor mused, “but the cuffs are still on you. No powers!”

“Then I’ll just have to do without them!” With that, Lloyd ran at Pythor. The anacondrai disappeared. Lloyd stopped and closed his eyes, trying to rely on his other senses. He thought he could hear something to the right. He gave a mighty kick in that direction, and his foot met the invisible snake. Pythor howled and abandoned that strategy. They continued to fight with their fists, until suddenly the Departed Serpentine staff was thrown to Pythor from the crowd. The anacondrai caught it.

“Oh dear, what shall you do now?” he sneered.

This was a turn in the tide. Pythor now had a weapon, and Lloyd was unarmed. The green ninja was forced to resort to dodging the swinging staff.

“Just think, Lloyd,” Pythor said, continuing his attacks, “at least you’ll get to see your father again, once this is over!”

“I don’t intend to see him for a while, Pythor,” Lloyd shot back, ducking a particularly powerful swing. He knew he couldn’t go on like this forever, though. He was beginning to get tired. Even worse, Pythor seemed to notice. His attacks became more vicious. Finally, Pythor succeeded in hitting Lloyd on the head.

The green ninja fell to the ground, clutching his head. The serpentine crowd cheered. Pythor approached the fallen ninja with a look of triumph. “You know,” he said, “If you had never released me, none of this would have happened in the first place. When you see your father, do tell him I said hello.”

But just as Pythor held the staff above his head for the killing blow, the wind suddenly picked up. It gained speed, and began to howl. Many snakes in the crowd lost balance and fell.

“What’s going on?” Pythor shouted. Just as he finished his question, the wind knocked the staff out of his hands. It flew through the air - and was caught by Morro.

“Guess I’m late for the party!” he snarked, pulling out his sword.

“You!” Pythor shouted above the gales. “I thought you were an enemy of the Ninja too!”

“Let’s just say I’m well known for my acting skills. Now back away from the green ninja, or you will wish you had.”

“Get him!” Pythor commanded.

Snakes flooded into the arena. Morro thought fast. He needed to cut Lloyd free from those cuffs. What was strong enough to break them?

Constrictai.

Morro turned to one of the black snakes and dove inside it. The snake shuddered as the ghost took control. Once Morro had adjusted himself to the body, he ran at the green Ninja. Lloyd tried to fend him off, apparently thinking he was just another snake. “Easy, Lloyd, It’s me!” Morro told him. Lloyd’s eyes widened as Morro grabbed the vengestone cuffs and squeezed them. Under the stong pressure, the cuffs broke.

“I would have preferred you to go about that in a different way,” Lloyd said pointedly as Morro left the snake, who immediately ran away screaming.

“Good to see you too,” Morro responded in a disgruntled tone. “Now let’s beat these snakes.”

Note: A battle was supposed to ensue here, in the middle of which Lloyd gets hit with modified Venomari venom. This makes him think that he is Fritz Donnagan, and Morro is Commander Kiplin. After Morro and Lloyd win the battle, antics ensue, in which Lloyd is bumbling around hallucinating, exasperating Morro. Morro calls the Bounty and they are rescued by the other Ninja. We now pick up with Lloyd and Morro arriving back on the ship.

“Lloyd!” All the other Ninja ran toward the green ninja and hugged him.

“Ah, my crew! What have I missed?” Lloyd asked loudly.

Everyone looked at Lloyd, clearly confused by the green ninja’s behavior, and Morro realized he hadn’t told them about Lloyd’s state. “He was hit with a special Venomari venom and now he thinks he’s someone called Fritz Donnagan,” the ghost explained. “Any of you know who that is?”

Suddenly Jay’s eyes widened with understanding. He stepped forward and put an arm around Lloyd’s shoulders. “Captain! It’s great to see you’re back!”

“Thank you! Uh... what’s your name again?” Lloyd asked.

“I’m Doctor Stecks, remember?”

“Ah! Doctor!”

“Listen, Captain, you look a bit pale. Why don’t you rest for a bit? I’ll take you to your quarters.”

“Thank you, Doctor. I do feel a bit tired, now that I think of it.”

“Right then. Let’s go, Captain.” And with that, Jay led Lloyd back inside the ship, leaving most of the other Ninja staring after them with extremely confused looks. Only Nya seemed to look like she knew what had just taken place.

“Uh, Nya?” Kai asked. “What just happened?”

“Comic book nerdiness,” she answered, shrugging like it was no big deal. “Come on, it’s late and I’m tired too.” With that, Zane, Nya, and Kai walked back inside.

Morro was stunned. Then his eyebrows furrowed. His fists clenched. He’d just brought back their favorite ninja, and hadn’t even gotten a single ‘thank you.’ Was he invisible or something? Couldn’t they at least acknowledge the fact that he was there?

“Thank you, Morro.”

Morro jumped at the sudden voice. He turned and saw Sensei sipping tea behind him. “Sorry, Sensei, I didn’t see you,” he apologized.

“That is quite alright, Morro. Did you learn something from this mission? Something about teamwork, perhaps?”

Morro lowered his head. “Yes, Sensei. You were right. I can’t do things alone. And Lloyd and I weren’t that bad working together. We have our differences, but when we actually looked past them and worked as a team, some pretty good action came out of it.”

“I am glad you have decided to move on, Morro. Thank you for bringing back Lloyd. I see you are taking this second chance seriously.”

“What about the others? They didn’t seem very grateful.”

“They were caught up in the moment. I will make sure that they thank you, though. I believe you have taken a great step toward gaining their trust.”

“Thank you, Sensei.”

It had been two days since Lloyd had recovered from the Venomari venom. Morro still hadn’t gotten a thank you, and he was getting kind of salty about that. He opened the bedroom door, in search of his sword for training. He thought he might have left it under his bed. But as he made his way over to the bed, he saw something lying on top of the covers. It was a box wrapped in green paper. There was an envelope lying on top of it. Written on it in green ink were three words.

Read this first.

Curious though he was as to what the box contained, he resisted the temptation to open the package and instead opened the envelope. He began to read.

I owe you for getting me out of Orobouris. My thank you present is in the box. I know you probably really want to open it, but hear me out first. Sensei once told me that there is no black and white, only many different shades of gray. I didn’t really know what he meant until now. We shouldn’t be thinking that one of us is right and the other one is wrong. We should instead focus on understanding each other.

I know you wanted to be the green ninja. I think you still do. I wish I could help you there. But I can’t just give you the title.

But there is something I can give you. You don’t have an official gi like us yet, and I doubt you want to keep wearing that ripped up one. Here’s one I thought you might like. I don’t use it anymore. It was my first one.

-Lloyd

Morro almost turned to open the box when he stopped and looked at the note again. He read the last line more carefully.

It was my first one.

His first one...

His first one?

No…

It couldn’t be…

Morro carefully unwrapped the box. Slowly he opened up the lid. His jaw dropped. His hunch was right.

Folded neatly inside the box was his childhood dream. It was just like when he first saw it. The whole suit was emerald green. The chest was covered with silver and black stars. The center was parted to reveal the white undershirt. The belt was a darker green with a silver buckle. Morro blinked a few times to ensure he wasn’t dreaming. He wasn’t.

Lloyd had given him the original green ninja suit.

Morro lifted the gi out of the box. He held it out in front of him to get a good look at the whole thing, but something fell out of it. He laid the gi carefully down on the bed beside him and bent down to pick it up. It was a small piece of paper with one last message.

There’s more than just one shade of green. You’re welcome.

#tbh I am so proud of the last line #i love it #so much #DotD rewrite #my fanfiction #my writing #ninjago

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