Tumgik
#please be proud of your specialist little guys
troutlawyer · 2 years
Text
I’ve been seeing a lot of misandrist biphobia around tiktok the internet and as a raging lesbian I just wanted to let every bisexual woman and, hell, every queer person attracted to men know that I would rather see horny posts about Man Tits absolutely DOMINATING my dashboard than see even ONE remark about how you are soooo Unfortunate to be Cursed with Man-Liker Disease.
51 notes · View notes
Text
And now, the Singular Voice's specialist little boy
Tumblr media
I love Neptune so fucking much and I've been meaning to draw him infected like this for SO LONG, so I FINALLY did it. I'm genuinely so proud of the results, the shading is phenomenal, their expression is On Point, and the blue shit looks weirdly yummy for some reason.
WHICH IS WHY YOU GUYS SHOULD REBLOG MY ART EVEN IF IT ISN'T FUCKING CANON CHARACTERS I WORKED JUST AS HARD ON THIS AS I DO MY USUAL ART PIECES FOR THE LOVE OF FUCKING GOD PLEASE AT LEAST HUMOUR ME FOR ONE FUCKING SECOND
Tumblr media
If you guys like my art, feel free to check out my commissions! Also, I have a Ko-Fi store, where I sell cool pins and stickers designed by yours truly.
73 notes · View notes
gallivantingheart · 2 years
Photo
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
Me, a Princess? Shut Up!
masterlist | previous | next
⏮️ chapter 10: merida ⏭️
who?: jihoon/woozi x (f)reader
word count: 1778
genre/s: fluff, humour, social media!au
warnings: some course language
synopsis: Life’s pretty good for y/n. Easy, even. Until someone claiming to be her grandmother says she is the queen of a small island country - and y/n, a princess.
a/n: oi @wonwooslibrary​ told you :p
**please ignore the timestamps - they are not accurate**
TAGLIST: @strykiss, @karrotkarrotkarrot, @3sriracha, @minkwans, @annakemi, @chaseyui, @noniesgirl, @gyubagebin
don’t hesitate to send an ask or dm to be added!
Tumblr media
The phone call to Mingyu is a tough one, the lead up spent pacing your room far too late at night. You even wrote out points of contention like some public relations specialist. Your grandmother would be proud.
The notes sit on your desk, ripped from a notebook. Mingyu picks up after the third ring and your stomach drops so quickly you have to take a seat at the edge of your bed.
“Hey.” He says slow and guarded.
Damn. You don’t get that reception often and it hurts, like an icicle stab right between your ribs.
“Uh hi. Thanks for picking up.” You say quickly, your words running over each other and colliding in your mouth.
“Sure.”
He knows why you’re calling. Duh. And knowingly lets you pull your shit together and apologise.
“‘Gyu, I’m sorry for getting your family mixed up in this so badly. You know I never meant to. I - It’s gotten all so complicated. And the stakes are so high. I should have been more careful and considerate of others despite my own insecurities. And I will be. Anything I can do to remedy this and I will. I’ll be having the same chat with Jihoon about this as well. You will not be in any royal shitshow any longer - no one. Again, I’m sorry.” You exhale heavily, empty and deflated - you’ve said your piece now, the ball’s in Mingyu’s court now.
There’s a brief, dry chuckle. “Wow. Who are you and what have you done with y/n, my walking meltdown? Those princess lessons really have done something. Of course I forgive you. Thank you for apologising.”
You smile and perk up. “Really? Like actually? Grandma is putting out a press statement tomorrow morning to dispel all of this as well. The Queen’s word is final, after all. I just…”
You hesitate to divulge your grand plan. Would it be worth it to say anything? Your hasty pipe dream? Fuck it, this is Mingyu we’re talking about! Best friend and level head number one (of two) You stand up and scrunch your notes up, shooting and missing the bin.
“What is it?” Mingyu says gently, cutting through your thoughts.
He eases the truth from you as if coaxing a kitten out from under the bed. Seeing as you’ve grown up together, it shouldn’t be hard.
“I’m going to try and find a way to get out of this. The whole being a princess thing. Too much has happened for this to be worth it or continue. The Queen cannot be trusted with you guys - my friends. My life.” You chew on your lip. “I just have to do it lawfully. Without, y’know, destroying a whole country.”
You laugh thinly, a thread of hysteria weaved in it. Mingyu goes quiet for a long while after a mild hum of acknowledgement. You flop back on the bed, staring up at the ceiling and the harsh light. You need to clean out your lightbulb cover, you note idly as you wait for your best friend to process this.
“Wow. No pressure then.” He says finally.
You groan, loud and dramatic. “As if I need more homework.” You roll over then, pulling your phone away to check the time. 1am. “Shit, yikes. I better let you go. It only took me all night to get a damn grip and call you.”
He laughs harder this time, loud and proper before ringing off. Now you can rest a little easier. One down, too many to go.
From now on you work furiously on your royal studies, spending a little more time to understand the matriarchal system that underpins Amaide. Anything to get the answers you were so desperately looking for. So it’s a dream come true when the queen decides a new lesson is in order. Amaide Embassy Archives.
“There is a temperature controlled archive beneath the embassy. There is a far more extensive collection in the catacombs underneath Amaide’s parliament, of course. These you will certainly see once you are crowned and go on royal tour. House minutes for the last 670 years and every law declaration ever made. There are also personal documents such as royal diaries and marriage certificates. Riveting, I assure you.”
Goodness and she sounded serious about that too. You groan internally as you follow her down the end of the east wing to an alcove. Behind a floor to ceiling tapestry of a lemon tree, turned family tree is a door. Fairly modern compared to anything else you’d seen architecturally in the embassy.
It’s a dry cold as you descend a tightly winding staircase, cool white light running along either side of the flooring. Soonhee’s heels click mutely over the stone. It breaks out into a little foyer, a table to the right with a logbook of sorts and sets of fabric gloves. In front is a frosted glass wall with a glass door. All the frames are heavily reinforced and there is a key pad on the door frame. You are pleased with yourself that you forgot to put your notebook and pen aside before leaving the tea room. Grandma signs the book and gestures for you to do the same. Your juvenile handwriting still puts you off next to hers. Certainly the type of woman to have a pen license. Gloves are handed to you and she punches in a key code, the door automatically sliding open. It appeared to be a long cellar with high ceilings, metal shelving holding documents and artefacts running the length of the space.
“Familiarise yourself with the history of our illustrious country.” She says simply.
You’re pretty much foaming at the mouth with excitement. You’re glad you forgot to leave your notebook upstairs as you squeeze it tightly.
“Do you have any Royal  - Court? Law? I would like to learn more regarding court protocol.”
She blinks and rears back at your forwardness, gesturing to a shelf with a set of numbers on the end. Probably some kind of Dewey decimal kind of system.
“Start on 1746 Coronation Procession - The first Coronation to include Korea as guests. Be careful. These are very fragile documents.” She snaps at you.
You whirl to sneer at her, unable to hide your irritation. Screw respect. “I understand. I am a history major, Grandmother.”
You settle into the desk by the glass wall, unfurling the first pile of documents. The language is old and some of the Hangul is unrecognisable to you, but it’s not too difficult to piece it together.
This is about your great-great-great grandmother, Jang-Geum. Young, beautiful, betrothed to the son of a lord. She seems to make everything look easy. At least on paper. Conversing with the Korean consort she’s calm and mature, staining promises for better relations with their mother country. But this information is professional and official. And Korean.
“Grandma, do we have any personal accounts or diaries of former queens? I feel like I might be able to better understand and benefit with a personal touch.” 
The queen makes way back out from the stacks, her hees still clicking over stone. Her eyebrows seem to be stuck permanently up in her fringe, seeing as you keep surprising her today.
“I - not on site, no. But I will send for some, immediately. I find Queen Soonhee II particularly helpful.” She says briskly.
Of course it had to be the monarch with the same name as her. You raise a brow.
“So what number Soonhee does that make you, again?” You say.
She shoots me a look. “You should know better than to ask that. Have you not memorised our family tree? Soonyoung assured me that you had.”
Shit. You gape for a moment, not unlike a fish. “I - well, sometimes you take on new names, right? I haven't seen any of those, only heard about them. So were you born Soonhee or changed to it?”
Soonhee smirks. “Born. So I am Soonhee IV.” You relax and she has the gall to laugh at you. “Come along. I think that is enough being amongst these dusty stacks. Time for tea, I think.”
You bite your lip to stifle a laugh - always tea time.
Tumblr media
You shift from foot to foot outside the arts building, Mingyu hot on your tail. Minghao had his sculpture tutorial so he wasn’t trailing after you today. Hype party of one.
“What are you waiting for?” He nags, leaning over your shoulder.
His large frame shelters you from the icy wind. Back to being your number one cheerleader then. You turn to glare up at him, an expression so severe it makes him take a step back. You sigh and soften your gaze - obviously your grandmother was rubbing off on you.
“Well, I haven’t really properly spoken with him since this whole tabloid drama. Sure, I messaged him to let him know what was going on and I apologised that way. And he said it was okay, but…is it? Really? What if I’ve ruined everything and now he won’t want to speak to me again? Shit, then you’ll have to choose and of course you’ll choose family I mean you should and -”
“Shut up!” Mingyu cuts your snowballing off and you wither. “He’s not like that. He holds a grudge for a little bit, but you did everything right. You gave him time and told him the truth. And you apologised. This is the next step. You want him to come, right?”
You hum and nod. “Of course. If I don’t figure this out, I want you guys there with me every step of the way anyway. And, well, who doesn’t want to go to a good party?”
Mingyu chuckles and squeezes your shoulder. “Exactly. So, go up there, say hi and invite him to your big old party. And after I will reward you with my famous seaweed soup - and beer.”
Mingyu? Cooking? Just for you? That is a prize. You perk up at the thought only to sag and shake your head. 
“Can’t - I’ve got a dress fitting tonight.” You mutter.
Mingyu does a wiggly little dance in the sun. “Dress fitting! Like Royal Coronation dress fitting?”
You groan and nod. “Of course, ‘Gyu. It’s one of many. And before you ask - no pictures! This one needs to be a surprise.”
He pouts and comes back in to lean on your shoulder. “Okay, okay. Tomorrow?”
“Yeah, I can swing tomorrow.” You smile warmly - you missed this. “I’ll see you later. Wish me luck!!”
He whistles and cheers as you walk in the building, leaving you keeled over laughing in the lift. You needed this, always.
Tumblr media
27 notes · View notes
mandajiu · 1 year
Text
Tumblr media
Wu Lian Ren 无脸人
I am very proud to be an international 鸟蛋 for the most part。We fly our colors in private and don't go dancing to people's official accounts. Now, having see the US election, I'm still not convinced that there are that many real people dancing on 30's wb. I mean it just screams bot to me, but it is a giant country and that cpfandom is well over 400,000. Please level-headed cpfans of all colors, self-enclosure is best. Bothering the artist implies one-sided love, so if you really love 30, stop the occupation.
FATED LOVE - The Faceless Man
*There could be some things lost in Google translation. I camped out in Station B, D, and even KS to watch video, read comments, and translate everything I could for you. I am not posting links, but I will provide key words you can search in Mandarin on Staion B (Bilibili).
Bird Eggs are the most romantic folx in my opinion. When I said there are many posts on station B that make you believe in this cp's destiny, I'm talking about dozens of posts and threads. If you are coming here, you probably have seen the video detailing some of the history of 88 and 30's acquaintance in the C-entertainment circle. While it is perfectly okay for young people to like older people; older people liking younger people and acting on it is another thing when they are not of age. Getting to know each other is not a big deal. Eventually 30 comes (sort of) of age - which he announced in an awards speech - at age 18. From that point, I can start seeing him more as a man. He was more or less a man at this point and 20 when filming TLB, so for me I only look seriously at the time of filming TLB. Most Bird Eggs think 2021 summer showed a transition in the cp from curiosity to potentially a ship. Please note the age a person can marry in China is 22, so Chinese ideas of maturity might differ from your home country. AGAIN, this is pure speculation and born of the fantasy that is the Bird Egg cp.
I will share the speculations and creations of Bird Eggs that really spoke to me and are not easy to find in English.
Fateful Coincidence 1: The Faceless Man
Some time ago, 88 was on her second variety show semi-permanent resident stint with a bunch of kind older boys. As far as I know there were no controversies, please correct me if I'm wrong. They did a lot of rather personal probing in the show and featured a "specialist" "expert" - dubious this guy - who interviewed all the people on the show about the stress in their life, past experiences, and things that they would like to happen in the future. Honestly, it was so irresponsible as you never know who has a trauma history which is why you gather much more information about a client before even starting a therapy. So, he makes 88 draw a scene and he does what every bad psychologist does: makes an assumption. Here, she must want a protector in her life.
The photo above is a well-known character from Spirited Away that she drew to protect the little girl (presumably 88) from stormy weather. The Mandarin translation of the character's name is 无脸男 wu2lian3nan4 (The Faceless Man). The first two characters Wu Lian even have the same tones as 30! So, to hear her talk about this protector Wu Lian is really touching and romantic at first, but I beg everyone to be reasonable.
I am of the mind that 88 does not think she needs a protector (you can see it in a glance from the way she eschews male hands trying to help her up staircases in awards shows); however, I believe firmly that every person deserves security and 88 indicated 30 provides a sense of safety in the famous sweeping of the building. Here is the thing. If, and I believe this to be true, you have two highly gifted young people together with very good EQ they will understand that the Wu Lian Nan that protects the girl does not have to be a MAN! A person can feel safe secure ON THEIR OWN through their own strength and confidence. Yes, an added bonus if you can rest in the love of someone even if they are not there, but the whole point is SELF LOVE & CONFIDENCE! That to me is where you want an exercise like this to go as certified parent coach I know this guy is being unethical. Our job with the client is not to make assumption and it is definitely NOT to encourage co-dependency, rather it is to help the client understand that quality is ALREADY THERE INSIDE. This guy is a quack and could have an actual degree and still be a quack because you do not want a client set up with this idea of finding a knight in shining f'ing armor! This is a social disease.
So, as much as I appreciate the commentary of 30 being a protector, I believe the beauty of a guy like 30 is he knows the score and 88 does too. They are the type that will protect each other, but they are already fortified by this industry and by all the Black fans/Water Armies that have taught them lesson after lesson which they survived, and this goes particularly for 88 as a woman, ethnic minority, very good-looking person, and capable businesswoman and constantly learning actress. This is why I so firmly support the union of these two as they stand, be it just the studios talking or whatever. They get it. You see they get it. That's rare. They are strong on their own and united they really are formidable to a degree. We still have to keep in mind how vulnerable they are in this blood-thirsty industry which can cancel people at will. IF the fantasy of 3088 is true, then the job of the Bird Egg is to be the Wu Lian Ren.
Be that as it may, how cute is it that the protector she drew (which I hope she realizes is already inside her) is almost the same pronunciation as 30's name. Coincidences continue growing. I still don't believe in fate, but if there was any duo out there that seem destined despite a 7 or so year age gap, it would be them.
Evidence: If you are looking for reasons to see if your cp is real, then the fact that these coincidences continue well past the show is your number one clue something may be up. For me, it is the the things that are personal that are the most revealing. When 30 wore 88's favorite character Maruko-chan mask or dressed in a black outfit that reminded me of the Faceless Man, it was much more surprising then some brand alignment with shoes or hats. Colors can be shared as we all know. Numbers can be cooked up for publicity/marketing; however, these types of coincidences seem very intentional shared sugar that just leaks onto the knowing eyes of a select few. They show a level of attention and affection that is quite adorable. What little things have you noticed that show 88's care and attention towards 30 or vice versa?
CP is fantasy. Please let us not bow to the real. Let us not leave the enclosure. We wait for the flowers to bloom and hope an announcement is made, but it is NOT real folx until it gets REAL! All of this is pure conjecture until then. And if they are with someone else, we love and trust their choices and support if we can, let ourselves cry, then move and watch all their works. Let's be Wu Lian Ren together - they are going to need us if the fantasy is indeed true!
0 notes
primofate · 3 years
Text
Genshin x fem!reader [Volleyball Team AU - Inspired by Haikyuu!] You cheer something embarrassing + The rival team comments about it
Note: My fixation on this AU continues... I just think there’s so many scenarios to explore. 
Scenario: Your friend has dared you to cheer something embarrassing for your boyfriend. Everyone hears it, including the rivalling team...
Warnings: not proofread, some swearing and profanity, slight sexual innuendo if you squint (Tartaglia’s)
Other works in the Volleyball Team AU Series: Click Here
#1 Zhongli (Captain/Wing Spiker/Ace)
Zhongli is pretty well-known among Aces.
He knows you’re up there on the stands and for him that’s good enough. Is not the type to keep looking up there to check if you’re watching. He’d rather be focused on the game.
So when you shout out his name just as they’re about to start, his head snaps towards you and you can see surprise on his face.
“Zhongli!!!” literally all eyes are on you now, the coaches, the managers, the other team. “Y-You’re--”
Your friend nudges and whispers at you “Louder you moron! He won’t hear you if you stutter!”
“YOU’RE THE CAPTAIN OF MY HEART!” 
You cringe and just bury your face in your hands, your friend is laughing uncontrollably
There’s silence in the court, BUT THEN HIS TEAM GOES WILD “CAPTAIN ARE YOU BLUSHING?!” “QUICK SOMEONE TAKE A PHOTO” “HE’S MALFUNCTIONED!” 
Zhongli has a blush on his cheeks but gets his team in order “ROUND UP!” but they’re all silently snickering or giggling.
They form a circle and put their hands in together. Zhongli shouts “FIGHT!” a lot louder than usual.
His team grins. Their captain is fired up, so they’re fired up too. 
Just before he’s about to take first serve he makes it a point to look your way, and give you a firm nod.
Then the captain of the opposite team comments about your cheering. “Wah! I wish I had someone cheering me on like that,” is looking at you with heart eyes.
Zhongli exudes a dark aura and everyone covers their head in fear of getting hit by the ball “Eyes over here,” he grumbles towards the other captain who just smirks.
#2 Diluc (Vice Captain/Wing Spiker/Defense Specialist)
“Diluc! THE ONLY THING STRONGER THAN YOUR SPIKE IS MY LOVE FOR YOU!”
Oh yea gurl. Even your friend is embarrassed and ducks behind the railings to hide her face.
“That’s kinda...cheesy...” Kaeya mutters under his breath and scratches his cheek.
Childe is glittering all over, “It’s so cheesy but I’m kinda jealous,” They both turn to Diluc.
Yea he’s gone. From neck to hairline he’s red all over and steam is coming off from his ears.
His teammates crack up.
He’s so out of it the rest of the team needs to clap and hit his back to get him back into the real world.
“Oi, get yourself together, your girlfriend’s watching!” He snaps out of it at that and puts on his game face.
The other team comments, “She’ll find out my spike is stronger!” 
Diluc is livid that they’re trying to outshine your cheers and spikes like never before.
#3 Kaeya (Middle Blocker)
“KAEYA! YOU CAN BLOCK SPIKES BUT YOU CAN NEVER BLOCK MY HEART!”
has a shit-eating grin the moment he hears it. 
Cups his hands around his mouth and shouts back. “YOU CAN’T BLOCK MINE EITHER!!! I LOVE YOU!!!”
The whole team is just...what in the world is this cringey-ness unfolding in front of them...?
Team doesn’t know whether to be motivated or to puke.
But Kaeya is there to the rescue. He’s so hyped that there are flowers hovering around his peaceful face. “Come on, come on, we gotta show Y/N who the kings of the courts are here, don’t let me down,”
Half-way through the game one of the opponents ask him, “Hey, that your girl up there? She’s kinda cute,”
KAEYA ISN’T EVEN FAZED Y’ALL “She is, isn’t she?!” Probs will show you off more, to his team’s displeasure. 
After the game (which they obiviously won) he bear hugs you and is proud of how much you cheered for him.
#4 Albedo (Setter)
“Bedo!!! YOU SET MY HEART ON FIRE!”
You say this just as the ball touches his fingertips, he slips up a bit at the embarrassing cheer and they end up losing that point.
“Oh crap,” you mutter under your breath and duck under the rails to hide while your friend laughs, pointing at your hidden form when Albedo looks up to the stands.
“Don’t mind, don’t mind!” his teammates slap his back to reassure him that they can get the lost point back.
Tartaglia is the one that zooms in on Albedo’s face, “How are you not making any reactions at all?”
Albedo stares at him for a moment. “...Because she merely stated the truth,” 
Kazuha laughs at how logical their setter is but adds, “He slipped up, I think that’s enough of a reaction,”
Albedo pouts a little but continues with the game. 
A little later on the setter of the other team tries to provoke him. “Hey, you didn’t even give your girlfriend any reaction. Watch out, I’m pretty sure I can give better ones,” 
Albedo is so pissed he actually spikes the next ball with his eyes on that bastard.
#5 Tartaglia (Middle Blocker/Wing Spiker)
“TARTAGLIA!!! YOUR SPIKES MAKE ME WEAK IN THE KNEES!” 
Another one who has a shit-eating grin on his face.
Shouts back at you “THAT’S NOT THE ONLY THING OF MINE THAT MAKES YOU WEA--” is FREAKIN slapped by Zhongli at the back of his head.
You kind of thank his captain that he wasn’t able to finish that sentence but damn it’s still embarrassing.
Kaeya and Tohma is snorting with laughter
Xiao and Albedo does not get it.
Someone from the other team begrudgingly comments, “Dude you don’t have to flex her that hard,” 
Tartaglia is the type to take the bait, a dark look on his face while looking at the opponent. “That’s right, be jealous, no one’s cheering for you huh?”
Whacked by Zhongli the second time and pushes his head down and apologizes for this man-Childe
#6 Kazuha (Decoy/Middle Blocker/Wing Spiker)
“KAZUUU!!! YOU JUMP JUST LIKE MY HEART DOES WHEN I HUG YOU!”
Laughs aloud sheepishly but waves his hand at the stands where you are. 
Is secretly stoked and fueled.
But his other teammates are still teasing him about it. “Wow she must be having some kind of heart attack whenever she hugs you then,” “Come on Kazuha! Show us how far you can jump!”
Laughs sheepishly again and waves his hands at his teammates, “Okay, alright, that’s enough,”
But man is FLYING during the game, literally. The team is kinda scared about how high he’s jumping today and wonders if you’ve cast some type of magic spell.
They’re all thinking ‘...if I get a girlfriend will I perform better too?’ with these glum looks on their faces.
The opposing team’s member remarks, just speaking out loud. “She’s right he really does jump high for someone so small...”
Kazuha smirks at them, although there’s still a friendly smile on his face. “Y/N knows me best,”
#7 Xiao (Libero)
“XIAO! RECEIVE THAT BALL THE WAY YOU RECEIVE ME IN YOUR ARMS!”
low-key the other teammates start to add-on to the teasing. “Wow, how DO you receive her in your arms, Xiao?” “You like cuddles or what?” “So do YOU initiate the cuddles or does she?”
“ENOUGH!” he’s a blushing mess and pushes away his team members to try and focus on the game. 
He shoots you a half-glare while you’re over at the stands but later on he’s prolly gunna give you cuddles the way he likes it.
Every time they’re on time out or break the terrible two (Kaeya and Tartaglia) tease him by wrapping their arms around Xiao and repeating what you said “Receive that ball the way you receive me in your arms!!” “Hug me Xiaoooooo!”
Xiao just punches the both of them on the head.
Albedo deadpans the terrible two and says “That’s a very good way of showing that you’re jealous no one is cheering for you,”
They both sulk on the side of the court.
The other team’s spiker comments, enough for Xiao to hear. “Gee she’s kinda cute,”
Xiao doesn’t even hold back, with fire in his eyes, points at that guy. “You! You won’t get any ball past me!” 
#8 Tohma (Pinch Server/Middle Blocker)
“TOHMA! YOU CAN SERVE THAT BALL BUT I CAN SERVE YOU SOME LOVE!!!”
Tohma laughs heartily and turns to his teammates, “Hear that guys? Guess it’s time for me to go and get served some love,” 
He’s literally just in seventh heaven and is about to nope it out of there to meet you at the stands but Diluc grabs the collar of his shirt and drags him back. “The game isn’t over...”
Deadass pouts the rest of the game, but is so motivated to finish that most of his serves are unstoppable.
And then in the middle of the game, someone from the other team waves back at you. “I CAN SERVE YOU SOME LOVE TOO!”
Tohma serves that ball straight at the guys head, his eye is twitching in annoyance.
Is possibly the happiest that you came to his game and swings you around when he meets you. “Thanks for cheering babe!”
Taglist: @softlybeloved @bobaducky @normalisthenewnorm @how-simpy @atasi-luna @berryqueue @hallohun @milkypompon
Hello Hello! Technically this could be counted as fluff, but I understand that not everyone is fond of AUs, so, if you don’t mind being tagged to something like this, please fill in the survey again (I’ve added AU as an option, just click that one if you’ve signed up for the others before!)
https://forms.gle/VZmJXQssHcv7YzQc6
Please do consider supporting me at my ko-fi! I’ve fixed the payment link so I think you can love me more now <3 (haha jk, it’s optional, but it would greatly help and make me happy!)
https://ko-fi.com/primofate
Masterlist
https://primofate.tumblr.com/post/653296890583154688/masterlist-for-mobile-version-main-links
2K notes · View notes
wherethewordsare · 3 years
Text
Birds of a Feather
For @notsafeformurphy who was having a day of it the other day and we got to talking and.... oops this happened. This honestly started out as a nature docu au and ended up a coffee shop au? Idk man.... Anyway, Shay I hope you enjoy this! 
Also tagging @herostag since it was requested. and @jaskierswolf cause I think they’re gonna start yelling at me if i keep forgetting. Going to try to get my tag list back together if anyone is interested. <3 <3 <3 Hope yall enjoy Jaskier huffed as he flopped over again, his body refusing to just relax down into his mattress and let him sleep. It had been a stressful day and to make matters worse, it had been the third night in a row where he was simply unable to sleep. 
Giving up, he reached for his phone, scrolling through youtube for a moment, looking for something that he could just zone out to for a little while. Usually he would put on music or white noise but even that didn’t seem like it would be helpful. He had to find something extremely dull and maybe a bit pretty. 
He scrolled past a thumbnail of three large men in park uniforms. Two of them looked like they were at least somewhat interested in being there while one tall man with near white hair simply scowled at the camera. 
Wild Wednesdays with the Rivia Nature Reserve the title read. 
“Okay, I’ll bite,” Jaskier huffed as he rolled onto his stomach. He pulled the kickstand of his phone case out and set it up before pressing play and curling his arms around his pillow. 
“This week, we’ll be talking to Geralt Rivia, our resident raptor specialist about what goes into rehabilitation efforts when it comes to conservation,” someone said off camera, cheerily. When the camera panned to Geralt Rivia however, he did not seem to share the narrator’s same upbeat tone. 
For a few minutes, the narrator off camera seemed to try to ask Geralt about himself, only getting stilted answers and that same scowl that had been in the thumbnail. Jaskier snorted with a smirk. 
“You’re not having any of this, are you? You’re gorgeous though,” he chuckled. He felt his back relax as he yawned, snuggling closer into his pillow. 
And then it happened. From off camera, someone handed Geralt a leather glove that he put on easily before taking a cord. He clicked a bit and the scowl he had moments ago melted into a fond smile. 
“And who is this?” the narrator asked. They clearly had picked up on the shift in Geralt’s demeanor as a small falcon took up perch on his forearm. 
He actually cooed at the bird for a moment before holding it up for the camera. “This is Roach. She’s one of our recent rescues.” He smiled, a barely there tilt of his lips and his honey colored eyes softened. Jaskier got the impression on anyone else, it would have been a full grin. 
“Oh, I like that look,” Jaskier murmured, feeling his cheeks heat up. 
“And what is Roach?” the person asked off camera. 
Geralt took a step back, turning his arm slightly, causing the bird to flap agitatedly at him as she kept her balance. “Yes, I know, but I have to show off how pretty you are,” he said to the bird, fond and warm. 
“Oh no,” Jaskier whispered into his pillow. “He’s soft and hot.” 
“Roach here is a red-tailed hawk. They’re pretty common through North America,” he explained, pointing out the red-brown of her tail. The hawk nipped at him as he got her to open her wings for the camera and he only chuckled. “She’s about six, the same age as my daughter actually. And,” he leaned in conspiratorially, “I’ll be honest with you, I’m not sure which one is less well behaved.” 
Roach must have understood a bit of that because she gave a cry before nipping at Geralt’s hair, clearly annoyed. 
“Listen, if you weren’t so hornery, I wouldn’t say it,” he said to Roach, pulling another scowl but there was clearly no heat in it. 
This was not the same man from the thumbnail or the same man that barely gave answers about himself at the beginning of the clip. When that bird sat on his arm, he lit up and Jaskier was weak. 
Geralt answered a few other questions about hawks and about the reserves program for rehabbing hawks, his voice deep and gravely. He would have sounded gruff if not for how much he clearly loved what he did. 
Geralt looked at Roach a little sadly. “Unfortunately for our little lady here, she won’t be able to return to the wild. Due to her injuries when she came to us, she won’t be able to hunt on her own,” he gave her a soft smile before he petted down her neck gently. 
Jaskier’s eyes were starting to feel heavy. He had turned into the pillow, letting Geralt’s voice wash over him with simple facts about red-tail hawks as he drifted off to sleep. It hadn’t been dull at all but there was something about the way Geralt spoke that just melted him into his mattress. 
When he woke, his phone was dead, probably from being set to autoplay. As it charged, he looked at the videos that had played while he was asleep, most of them from the Rivia Nature Reserve. There were a few specials with other team members but Jaskier picked out the ones that mentioned Geralt Rivia directly. 
It had become a near routine and soon, Jaskier found that he just slept better after watching those nature clips. Sometimes, Geralt wasn’t even on camera, simply walking through the process of population counting for the reserve as the camera panned around to different birds up in the trees. There were other videos featuring Roach the red-tailed hawk as well and it was clear that she was a favorite, not only of Geralt’s but the viewers as well. 
Within three weeks, Jaskier had made his way through nearly the whole catalog of the reserve’s videos. He knew he would move on from tall, silver and brooding and find his next sleep fix but for now he simply enjoyed it. 
~
He should have said no, he should have mentioned that he simply did not do morning shifts, and there was a reason for that, but Essi had been persistent, almost feral about him taking her shift. 
“Please, Jask. I promise, you won’t regret it!” She grinned at him and there was something in her eyes that sent up a dozen red flags. 
“What are you plotting?” He asked flatly, squinting at her over his glass of wine. 
“Not a thing, darling, just trust me on this,” she giggled, sipping her own wine neatly. 
~
It hadn’t been a terrible morning, though Jaskier was barely managing to stay upright by the the coffee grinder. He was used to staying up long nights and it hadn’t changed anything when he knew he would have to open. 
His phone buzzed in his pocket. 
I know you mentioned he had a kid, but he’s single. You’re gonna want to put a blueberry muffin in right now. 
He blinked at his phone, squinting as he tried to decode just what the fuck Essi was saying. 
What?
But he put in the blueberry muffin, his phone on the counter as he watched the three little dots dance where Essi was texting back. 
You still owe me a no questions.
“What the fuck is she even-” Jaskier heard the bell above the door just as he set the timer for the oven. 
“-and so I tell him that if he isn’t going to at least make an attempt to clear out the back trails, we’re going to find a new contractor.” Came a voice behind him. 
Jaskier froze, his hand on his phone. He nearly threw it in a panic. He recognized that voice. He’d recognize that voice in the dark, though to be fair, he usually listened to it in the dark. 
He glanced over his shoulder and sure enough, Geralt Rivia was standing at his counter with two others from the nature reserve. 
“Be with you in just a minute!” he tried for cheery and landed firmly in panicked. He ducked behind the large coffee machine and shot a text back to Essi. 
I haven’t decided on whether or not I love you more than anything or if I’m ever going to
speak to you again!
Have fun! ;)
That bitch. It had been a setup! He adored her, the meddling little sneak. He schooled his face the best he could, knowing full well that his ears were still the color of the strawberry frap they served. 
“Morning, what can I get you guys?” He asked as he wet his lips, trying not to stare right into Geralt’s gorgeous face. 
“Three coffees, a blueberry muffin warmed up and a plain bagel, untoasted,” Geralt said offhandedly as he looked around. “No Essi today?” 
“Uh, no. I’m filing in this morning. Jaskier, at your service.” As he dipped his head in a mock bow he internally cursed himself. One day, one normal day, that was all he asked for. “Hope the bagel isn’t for Roach. I’m not sure she’d like it. How is she? We haven’t seen her much recently?” He shot off without thinking as he started to pour the coffees. He froze again as his brain caught up with his mouth. 
Behind Geralt, both of the men snorted. “Looks like you’ve got a fan, pretty boy,” the darker haired one jostled Geralt’s shoulder with a smirk.
Geralt only stood there, tilting his head slightly as though he wasn’t sure what had just happened. 
“Ah, I mean…” Jaskier fumbled, nearly spilling one of the coffees down his own front. 
“She’s doing fine actually,” there was a soft smile on his face, the same he wore when he got to handle the birds directly and Jaskier could feel himself melt on the spot. “Naughty as ever. Learned a new trick to take a swipe at Lambert here if he’s holding the feed bucket,” there was a low rumble of a chuckle. 
The dark haired one behind Geralt stopped laughing abruptly. “She’s a menace.” He growled, picking up his own coffee from the counter. 
Behind Jaskier, the oven dinged. “Oh and your muffin!” He turned, letting himself have the moment his back was to them to silently scream. He had been tricked! He had been set up! He was going to try to get this man’s number and he would never hear the end of it. 
“You already had it in?” Geralt asked, that smile still in place. 
“What can I say, we make sure to take care of our favorite customers.” He was almost proud of himself at how smoothly that had come out as he turned to look back at Geralt. He should have been paying attention to the muffin as it dropped, missing the bag completely and splatting on the floor. 
“Fuck,” Jaskier nearly cried. “I am so sorry. Give me, just a moment, I’ll get another one in for you.” 
He watched as Geralt ducked his head, smirking. “Would you like to meet her?” He gave another tilt of his head, his eyes clearly looking Jaskier up and down. 
He was sure he had died. This wasn’t real. This was the good place. Or the bad place. Either way, this place was the place his soul had clearly left his body. He stood there, cold muffin in hand as he gaped at Geralt. 
“Uh-”
“You don’t,” Geralt cleared his throat, “I was just wondering since you seemed… to be a… fan.” His face slipped into a scowl and no. No that wouldn’t do at all. 
“I would love to, yeah. I’m off at three?” 
“Oh! Jaskier! Thank you for coming in to open. I can take it from here,” Essi slipped in beside him, taking the muffin from his hand. “Morning, Dr. Rivia,” she nearly sang, her face smug. 
“Dead. You’re very very dead when I see you again,” Jaskier whispered to her though he couldn’t stop grinning. 
“So you were saying?” Geralt asked, leaning against the counter. 
“Turns out, I’m free as a bird, you’d say.” Jaskier chuckled as he slipped his apron off and made his way around the counter. 
Geralt snorted and rolled his eyes but took his coffee and muffin from Essi. “You know that phrase ‘eat like a bird’ is really not that good of a way of saying that someone doesn’t eat much?” 
Behind them, Lambert scoffed. “Here we fucking go again. I said I was sorry for bringing it up!” 
Later that afternoon he found himself wearing a glove similar to the one he had first seen Geralt in, a small tawny owl bobbing on his arm as he looked on in wonder. He had met Roach and she had nipped at his hair and shirt, screeching when food wasn’t produced. 
“Hmm, let’s get Scorpion. He won’t tear you to shreds,” Geralt gave Roach a fond little tap on her wing with the back of his fingers. 
By the end of the day he left with a few knicks in his fingers and a phone number. He had never slept better.
169 notes · View notes
gilly-bj · 3 years
Text
Why the “Eremika kiss” doesn’t affect Rivamika at all
In the new chapter, we saw for the first time something that we didn’t expect to happen in the manga: a kiss, between Mikasa and (dead)Eren, probably not like we all imagined. This kiss hit everyone hard, also the Eremika shippers, who weren’t very happy with the fact that Eren was already dead when Mikasa kissed him. Eremikas unfortunately weren’t the only ones sad, also lots of Rivamikas had this feeling and, I was one of them.
When the chapter came out and I saw Mikasa kissing Eren, I literally crashed (windows.exe stopped working); my whole body stopped working and the only sensible thought I could elaborate was: “Wait, WTF!”. After I scraped together that quantity of calm that could make me, at least, sit down, I started to write posts that I’ve already eliminated, so don’t look for them because I made them disappear, because my opinions changed radically.
Quick note for you guys from your G: in these cases, don’t write immediately what you’re thinking in that exact moment. I was incredibly frustrated, so the posts I wrote were full of complaints. I didn’t analyzed the kiss from other prospectives, because for me it was only the “eremika kiss”. Remember to wait at least the traduction of the chapter, official or not; you’ll have enough time to reflect on it and elaborate opinions lucidly.
Anyway, in this post I’ll talk about three things:
Eremika’s conversation and Mikasa’s dream
The kiss and why it doesn’t affect Rivamika
Final considerations about RM
The subheadings are written in their own special colour, so if you’re not interested in one of them, it will be easier to find the other.
Let’s start!
• Eremika’s conversation and Mikasa’s dream.
Mikasa has an headache and she wake up in her ideal world, where she lives with Eren in a isolated cabin in the woods. This chapter is from Mikasa’s pov, and note that her perfect image of home is again showed, probably for the last time. I think that Mikasa’s feelings for Eren were kinda obvious, apart from the fact that I never liked or supported them, they are here and we can’t do anything against them.
But I’ve never imagined to see that kind of selfish dream from Mikasa; she is the girl who always cares for everyone, the one who is ready to sacrifice herself for the well-being of her friends, the one who loves them and support them independently from the situation. To be honest, it hurts to see that in her dream, Armin isn’t with them; if there wasn’t Levi, my shipper heart would have hurt but I’d understand, they aren’t so close yet, but Armin, they’ve grown together.
But I’m not mad at Mikasa, each of us has a selfish dream deep inside, where we’d rather sacrifice others to save our special person; it doesn’t mean that we don’t love them, it’s just, if we’d have to choose, we’d prefer to keep safe only him or her. Let me explain better my point with an example: imagine a man who lives in a country at war; he has the possibility to save just two people and he has to choose between his wife and daughter or his parents. He would probably save his wife and daughter, but it doesn’t mean that he doesn’t love his parents. Choosing between the people we love is the most painful thing in the world, but sometimes we just have to do it, and in Mikasa’s case, she’d choose Eren.
Anyway, before talking about the conversation, I want to analyze a little detail: during her all dream, Mikasa and Eren are in their teen form, why? Well, my interpretation is that Mikasa is still in love with the old Eren and she can’t understand the new one, indeed, one she said: “I’ll bring the old Eren back”. Even if she doesn’t completely understand him, she still loves him, and that’s why I adore Mikasa.
Anyway, let’s analyze better their conversation:
Eren wakes Mika up and he states their situation in that moment, how they ran away leaving the others to their cruel destiny. Now, do we all agree how that doesn’t fit Eren’s character, at all. His most famous line is “Fight if you want to win”, which it shows how brave he is; if he’d run away with Mikasa, he would act like a coward, and he can’t accept cowardice.
Tumblr media
And here, Mikasa’s biggest regret: the answer she gave to Eren; remeber when she said: “If only I gave him another answer”, and in her dream she probably did: thanks to Eren’s words, we can assume that Mikasa told him to run away with her, to leave everything, probably what she wanted to answer in the reality. I interpreted that scene from chapter 123 like a Mikasa who couldn’t answer because taken by surprise, and then came up with a thing she didn’t mean who is still harassing her.
Let’s say that the Eren in the previous panels was Mikasa’s idealized version, but then something changes. Look at Eren’s face:
Tumblr media
The marks. And why did they appear casually? Because, this is the true Eren, the one they are going to kill, the one who wanted to give his probably last message to Mikasa, and in fact the most important part of the conversation: “Please...Mikasa, forget about me”. At this point, I really don’t understand what the Eremika shippers found romantic in this chapter, the fact that the last thing Eren said to Mikasa is “forget about me” made things clear enough. We can notice that Eren entered her dream by the falcon here, funny that Mikasa is actually flying on Falco right now.
I really started to appreciate Mikasa and Eren’s relationship thanks to this chapter; even if I wasn’t, and I am not, a big fan of the Eremika ship, thinking about their relationship made me a bit sad. Anyway, I love the fact that Eren wanted to tell this to Mikasa, I think he deeply want her to live a life without him, because he’s already understood that they have different life goals, different way of thinking, different natures.
Before skipping to the next point, I noticed that many Rivamika shippers’ve already talked about the similarity between Eren and Levi in some of the panels, I’m not going to dwell because I‘ll write a different post about it, but I wanted to say that it can’t be just a coincidence, Levi and Eren’s haircuts are very different and there’s no way to confuse them. I don’t know why Isayama did this; maybe it’s a foreshadowing, or maybe he just wanted to trol us (it’s always him), I’ll just wait patiently April to see if my assumptions are right 😌
• The kiss and why it doesn’t affect Rivamika at all
Ah this kiss, this damn kiss. Uff, let me sit down and let’s talk about it.
So, Mikasa decides to kill Eren and she enters his mouth thanks to Levi’s help. The first thing she sees is Eren’s head, and I think we should already stop and analyze better this moment.
Tumblr media
Look at his expression: he seems kinda... happy and, maybe also proud. Why? Because Mikasa finally decided to do the right thing, she chose Humanity, she sacrificed him, the person she loves the most, for the others. That’s her development. Even if she’ll never forget him, she chose to be selfless over selfish, and I’m glad she decided to remember Eren; it’s awful to forget to ones we loved in the past, we shouldn’t forget them, after all, they made us feel beautiful things, thanks to them we gained fantastic memories, why should we completely remove them from our life? Feelings can change, they will change, and Mikasa will change her romantic feelings towards Eren, it’s simply natural, but asking her to forget him is cruel; Levi won’t forget his dead friends, Armin won’t forget his grandfather, Eren won’t forget his mum, and it’s beautiful this way.
Now, let’s get into the spicy of this post: the kiss. Let me the transform in a love specialist (I’m nobody XD). I really don’t see anything romantic in it. Really, is probably the most tragic and sad among Eremika’s interactions because it shows how Mikasa’s feelings have never been reciprocated; she already tried to kiss him, in season 2, and he “rejected” her (that wasn’t a explicit reject but, if I’m not wrong, he didn’t try the Coordinate before so he didn’t know if it worked, he preferred to risk his life instead of kissing her. Actually, that’s also Eren’s personality), and now, yeah she managed to kiss him, but he was dead, he couldn’t kiss her back, couldn’t say anything, couldn’t reject her. I think that at this point, Mikasa already knew Eren wasn’t in love with her, she isn’t stupid, and she saw that kiss as a way to set herself free completely, to close a chapter of her life.
Another thing: I really don’t understand how can EM shippers say that Eremika is canon just because they kissed, sorry, Mikasa kissed him?? A simple kiss doesn’t make a couple canon, you have to analyze the feelings behind it. Why many of them can’t simply analyze a bit the story? Just, a bit...
• Final considerations and Rivamika
When I saw many Rivamika shippers being so happy about this chapter I really couldn’t understand, like “why are they happy if Mikasa literally kissed Eren?”. Well, at first I was very confused, the posts I read made me feel relieved, but... I wasn’t 100% convinced yet, because I was listening only to what the others said, I didn’t have my own opinion. I could see only the kiss (as a negative thing), and not all the foreshadowings we got in this chapter.
I have a certain theory but I will write a separated post about it, here, let’s discuss why that kiss isn’t a problem for us RM shippers. So, my biggest fear was that Mikasa’d live her all life mourning Eren and wouldn’t open herself to someone new, not necessarily Levi lying. Anyway, like I said before, please don’t stress yourself with rushed considerations, it’s just useless. I think that the kiss acted like as a springboard for Rivamika; like I said before, I interpreted it as a way to set herself free completely, to not have regrets because obviously, it was a thing that Mika wanted to do. Levi’s extreme care for her in this chapter, his determination when he saw that she ready to do this such painful thing made me... fly. They fought together until the end showing for the last time their chemistry and fantastic dynamic. Their interactions in this chapter were really special and I hope that there’ll be more in the future, maybe not only as a team;)
In conclusion, I loved this chapter so much, I can consider it as my favorite because, it gave me chills, for real.
I’ll start to work on my theory so yeah, this post isn’t ended yet lol. Stay tuned because there, I’ll talk only about RM so it will be... maybe more interesting from a shipper’s view. Tell me what you think about this in the comments 💜!
158 notes · View notes
stillwinchester · 3 years
Text
Destiel AU - toddler!jack, mechanic!dean
“Good morning, sir!”
Dean looked up from his newspaper straight at the kid with a teddy bear. He had no idea where it came from. He was just sipping his coffee and reading the news, when some stranger toddler appeared on the seat in front of him.
“Umm, mornin'?” he greeted him, still confused.
“I have a birthday today,” said kid and grinned. Dean looked around, but nobody seemed to bother with his situation.
“Congratulations, but you shouldn't be alone here. Where's your mom?”
“In Heaven. She's watching over me, like an angel,” kid explained, and after that kicked him accidentally under the table. Dean dusted his knee off.
“And what about your dad?”
“There!” he pointed to the counter, where was standing a dark hair man in the trench coat. “He's buying birthday's milkshakes. Strawberry!”
“Yeah?” Dean relaxed a little bit, good that kid wasn't alone here. “And how old are you?”
“Four! It's more than three,” he said cheerfully. “Look, I have The Marvelous Marvin. He can talk!”
Kid showed him a teddy bear and pressed his belly. A plushie toy said: 'Hello!', his father turned around immediately and came quickly to Dean's table. He picked the kid up and spoke to him:
“Jack, I told you, don't harass people.” And then to Dean: “My apologies.”
“Nothing happened... He's a great kiddo.”
The man tried to smile, but he was too much embarrassed, so it lookes more like a grimace. Jack, on the other hand, seemed not to care about anything, playing with his teddy bear.
Dean pulled something out from his pocket and asked: “Hey, Jack, do you like stickers?”
“Yeah!”
“So, I have something for you. Happy birthday, buddy!”
It was a commercial sticker with a big text "Singer Auto Repair Shop", but there was also a picture of Chevy Impala which was what Jack noticed first.
“A car!” exclaimed Jack, putting a sticker on his teddy bear at once.
“Jack, what do you say?” reminded him his father.
“Thank you, sir!”
“You're welcome!”
The man put Jack on the seat at the next table and went back to Dean.
“I'm sorry once again, he's a little too much excited,” he excused for his son.
“Sure, nothing happened.” Dean shrugged. “I'm Dean, by the way.”
“Castiel.” They shook their hands, and Dean smiled at him.
“It's nice to meet you.”
“You too.” Cas smiled back. “I'm not gonna take more of your time. Have a nice day.”
Cas sat across of his son. The waitress had brought their milkshakes already. The kid started drinking, but a few seconds later he was talking again.
“Dad, can I try yours?”
Dean heared a chuckle, he looked at Cas and caught how he was rolling his eyes.
“They're the same, Jack.”
“Please... I have a birthday,” begged the kid with a sweet voice.
“All right.” Cas gasped, but changed their milkshakes.
“Yours is better,” admitted Jack, and Cas laughed once again.
Dean finished his coffee and walked away a few minutes later, one more time looking at them. The family picture, a lovely and cute view...
*
Cas knew shit about cars, but he was certainly sure his truck shouldn't make so weird noises.
“Crap,” he murmured. Did he say it loud? Crap! He turned to the back seats where Jack was sitting in the child chair. “You didn't hear anything, Jack.”
“That's not true! You said: crap!” said excited Jack. “Crap, crap! Crap, crap!”
Great! Now his kid expanded his vocabulary.
“I think grocery needs to wait. Somebody needs to check our car.”
“Maybe Marvin? He's a mechanic. He has a badge.” Jack pointed at the sticker on his teddy bear.
“Oh, honeybee, I think we need the other specialist, but thank Marvin for his service.”
Cas pulled out the phone to find some Auto Repair Shop on the internet when he realized that actually Marvin could help. He gave a quick look at the sticker and read an address.
*
“I have no idea how to fix a car. Sometimes I even forget to refuel it,” explained Cas to the old man with a baseball cap. He had found out earlier it’s Bobby Singer, owner of this Auto Shop. For a moment, he felt disappointment because deeply in his heart he had hoped he was going to see Dean from the milk bar again.
“I’ll call my best mechanic. We can handle it,” Bobby assured him, and after that he turned around and yelled: “Dean, we have a client, can you come here?”
Dean got out from under one of the cars. He was wearing work clothes, and his face was dirty from grease, but Cas recognized him at once. Jack, who was standing next to him, was too busy with his teddy bear to notice him.
“Oh, Cas. Hi,” said Dean, frowning with confusion. Probably he didn’t expect to see him again.
“Hello, Dean.”
“And how are you, Jack?” he asked a toddler.
“Good! Marvin took us here!”
“Yeah, so let’s see what’s wrong with a car.”
Dean opened the hood and checked the car. It didn’t take him a lot of time before he found cause of trouble.
“It's the engine...” explained Dean.
“Crap!” said Jack, and Dean looked at him surprised.
“Whoa, isn't it a big word for so little guy?”
“I'm big now! And dad taught me that!”
Cas’ cheeks turned red at once, and he mumbled: “No, I... I didn't.”
“You did, daddy. Don't you remember? Truck was broken.”
Dean chuckled, but he was not going to torture him any longer.
“Okay, I need at least half an hour. You can wait there if you want.” He pointed to a bench near a big tree.
“All right, thank you.”
Dean started working, but his eyes were heading to Cas and Jack all the time. He saw how they were talking and playing with a teddy bear, laughing all the time. They looked so happy, and Dean found himself jealous of what they had.
When he finished, he called them and Bobby. Cas paid for the repair and thanked him for help. They didn't go at once, so Dean used an opportunity to talk with him a little longer.
“He's similar to you, like Mini-Cas,” said Dean, and Cas smiled with proud.
“Actually, he's not my biological son... His mother was my very good friend, but she died in childbirth, so I took care of him,” he explained.
“What about his biological father?”
“It's my brother, but I don't know where he is. He ran away when he found out Kelly was pregnant.”
“This one,” started Bobby and patted Dean on the arm. “I kinda adopted him and his brother. And they're good men. I think I did no bad job raising them.”
“Yeah, you were always a better father to me than John.”
Bobby squeezed Dean’s shoulder, and walked away to talk with Jack. Cas looked at his son with love in his eyes.
“It must be hard, huh? Be a lonely father with a toddler?”
“Sometimes. But I've never regretted this. He's my whole life.”
After a long minute of silence, Dean decided to go one step further. He scratched a back of his neck and cleared the throat.
“Listen, Cas, I'll give you my private number...” he started, but then added quickly: “You know if something would be wrong with a car, just call me.”
Shit! It wasn't supposed to look like this... He chickened out.
“Umm, thank you,” said Cas, putting the card with his number in his coat's pocket. “Dean, one more.”
“Yeah?”
“Would it be okay if I call you on another matter?”
“Which means?”
“If I want to, for example, invite you for a milkshake?”
Dean's face brightened with a smile. So, it wasn't like he was the only one who was interested.
“Yeah... it would be okay, Cas.”
“So, I think I'll call you.”
“I will be waiting.”
Cas gave him a huge smile one more time before he went to Jack.
“Jack, we need to come home. Let's go!” He took him on his arms.
“Okay, daddy!” Jack raised his hand and waved with it. “Bye, bye, Dean!”
“See you later, buddy! Oh, and I have another sticker for you,” said Dean.
“It's like a doctor, but without needles.”
“Yeah, I'm a car doctor.”
“Cool!”
They drove away, this time without a noisy engine, and Cas thought it's a very good day.
*
Cas put Jack to bed, read him the bedtime stories and kissed his forehead. He turned the light off, but stayed there a few minutes more, just to look at his sleeping kid.
Yes, like he said before, being a single father wasn't always easy, but he would never change his life. At least not in this area. Because, of course, he would like to find somebody who could love Jack like their own son, and somebody who could love him...
Sometimes, especially in the nights like this, he felt lonely, it wasn't like he has a lot of time to meet new people, not to mention dates. That's why he went to the kitchen to make a call.
“Yeah?” asked Dean, and Cas couldn't help smile, hearing his voice.
“Hello, Dean. It's Cas. I hope I don't call too late.”
Answer came almost immediately.
“No. It's never too late.”
Part 2
89 notes · View notes
imkylotrash · 3 years
Text
Meeting The Folks
Pairing: Saul Silva x reader
Requests: Student!reader x Silva, where her friends, her roommates find out and help her get him, like help her dress, sneak around and everything? Anonymous And Student!reader x Silva, about how they tell her parents that they are together? It would be even better if her father or mother was like "wait, Silva? Saul Silva? This Saul Silva that...". Anonymous
Tagging list: @grey-girl​​ @anreeixcobra​​ @kingunder221b​​ @lflores2008​​ @alexiapayne12​​ @quuenofblacks​​ @quarterback-5​​ @bitchwhytho​​
Tumblr media
It’s not easy hiding a relationship from the girls. Especially not when you’re dating the head of the army but you manage to do so for almost 8 months before they discover the truth. It happens one morning when Terra is about to go to the green house. You’d never imagine someone being up at 6am on a Saturday so you don’t do your normal check before leaving Saul’s quarters. Unfortunately, the way to the green house leads straight past there so you practically walk right into Terra. 
“Was that-” You hush her checking to see if anyone else has decided to take a morning stroll. She looks like she’s about to burst from excitement but stays quiet until you’re satisfied that she’s the only one here. 
“Did you just leave Mr. Silva’s room?” she whisper-yells and you’re hoping that Saul won’t come out. The last thing you need is him panicking over the fact that someone knows. 
“It’s a secret. You can’t tell anyone. It would be really bad if the wrong people found out,” you warn her hoping she understands that this isn’t one of those things she can just blabber to everyone. 
“How long?” she asks. Going against your gut feeling, you tell her a brief summary of how you and Saul found yourselves falling in love. 
“Remember when I got promoted to be his assistant? It meant a lot of late nights and difficult discussions. We didn’t plan for this. It just happened along the way. But if Farah found out, I might get kicked out of Alfea. And Saul would definitely be banned from here.” You can’t believe that you managed to keep this a secret for so long and just days before graduation someone finds out. 
“I won’t tell. Promise.” She pretends to lock her lips and throws the key away. This definitely won’t a secret tomorrow. You spend the day worrying about Terra and you don’t relax until she’s back in the suite with the other Winx girls. When she sees you, she gives you a not-so-secretive wink making you facepalm yourself. 
“Did you guys want to get some dinner?” you ask looking around at the girls. You’d been their mentor when they first arrived to the school but the friendship stayed even after they’d settled in to Alfea. 
“Aren’t you having dinner with Sa-”
“Terra!” you yell and she immediately covers her mouth. 
“I’m so sorry, it slipped out.” But the damage is done. 
“Who is she talking about?” Stella smirks starting to list names of the boys in your year. The only who stays quiet is Musa. When you lock eyes with her, you realise why. 
“Don’t,” you mouth to her hoping she’ll understand and she gives you the slightest nod. She must’ve felt your anxiety at Terra almost saying his name and put two and two together. You have no doubt that she knows Terra was about to say Saul. 
“There’s also Sander,” Stella says still listing the names of boys not realising she’s looking for the name of a man. Specifically, a man older than any of the students. 
“It’s Saul!” you exclaim bending under pressure. You’ve wanted to tell them for so long and now that two of the girls already know, you may as well you say it. You want to be able to talk about him to someone that isn’t him. 
“Have you been sneaking around with Mr. Silva?” Bloom asks making you sigh. 
“Please just call him Saul,” you say but they all refuse. 
“We’re not the ones sharing a bed with him. I’ll stick to Mr. Silva,” Aisha laughs and the rest of the girls nod in agreement. 
“I can’t believe that you’ve robbed me of helping you with your outfits for dates, creating little meet cutes between the two of you. We could’ve helped come up with ideas for dates,” Stella pouts adding, “I’m not mad. Just disappointed.” Over the next couple of days, Stella makes it her mission to make up for lost time. She plans all of your outfits, arranged cute little moments for you and Saul all while making sure no one interrupts you. It baffles you just how good she is at this. Saul takes the news of the girls finding out surprisingly well. 
“Now that we’re so close to graduation, I don’t see how it’ll make much a difference.” You’re happy he’s okay with them knowing because that makes it so much easier for you to suggest telling your parents. 
“You want to what?” he asks almost choking in his food. 
“I want to tell my parents. You said it yourself, it doesn’t make that much of a difference now.” You’ve always been close with your parents and it’s been killing you to have to hide this from them. He can’t argue against his own logic so the day after graduation you find yourself on the road preparing to introduce your parents to Saul. 
“Are you sure it’s a good idea? Maybe we should wait.” You’ve never seen Saul nervous before and you quickly decide it’s the cutest thing you’ve ever seen. 
“They will love you. Almost as much as I do,” you smile hoping you’re telling the truth, “but maybe you should wait outside and let me test the waters first.” He agrees clutching your hand in his. Seeing your parents fill you with happiness even with the knowledge of what you have to tell them. 
“We are so proud of you!” your mother exclaims congratulating you on finally graduating. They’re both hold very important positions in your realm meaning they couldn’t get time off to travel all the way to Alfea but they demand to get all the details now that you’re here. 
“Well, I do actually have something to tell you.” To buy yourself some time, you grab one of the cookies that your mother has put out on the table and take a few bites. They have enough common sense to let you work up the courage on your own rather than push you. 
“I’m seeing someone,” you start and are quickly interrupted by your mother’s cheers. 
“We have to meet them! Do you have a picture of them? Or maybe they came with you?” She’s so caught up in the fact that you’re dating someone, she doesn’t wait to hear who it is. 
“Mom, I’m happy that you’re happy but you may want to wait until I tell you who it is.” You take a deep breath to calm yourself. 
“I’m dating Saul Silva.” 
“Saul Silva?” Your mother sits down looking a little pale. 
“Wait, Saul Silva? As in Head of the Army Saul Silva? The man who’s killed 13 Burned Ones?” It’s the first time your father chimes in and you can see the confusion on his face. Of course, they both know who Saul is but they definitely didn’t expect you to be dating him. 
“The Saul Silva who’s not only Headmaster for the specialists but also the fencing instructor on Alfea?” 
“That’s the one,” you say trying to figure out if now is the time to bring him in. He’s probably trying to eavesdrop by the door. 
“I can bring him in if you’d like,” you offer to which your mother springs up from her chair and grabbing the fancy platters. 
“Why didn’t you tell us you were dating such fine company. The table is all wrong.” That’s your mother in a nutshell. She runs around using her magic to redecorate and move around furniture. Your father remains seated apparently in shock so you figure now is as good a time as any. 
“Saul,” you call after opening the door. Immediately, he’s by your side his eyes asking if everyone is okay. 
“I think you may be their favourite,” you laugh taking his hand to lead him inside. 
“What an honour to have you,” your mother says shaking his hand. Your dad gets up to do the same but he doesn’t let go of Saul’s hand. There’s a little bit of a challenge in your father’s eyes and Saul accepts it. The testosterone is heavy in the air as they try to crack each other’s hands. 
“That’s enough,” your mother says signalling for all of you to sit down by the table. They spend the next three hours questioning Saul and his intentions for you. At no point do they mention his age - the one thing you were worried they’d be upset about. It seems that all they really want is for you to be happy. 
“Don’t be a stranger now,” your mother says standing in the doorway as you’re about to head home. You wave goodbye one last time before getting in the car. 
“That went well,” Saul says acting as if he wasn’t worried to begin with. You roll your eyes but smile nonetheless. 
“Just take me home,” you say with closed eyes. Your hand comes to rest on his thigh, a habit you’ve created after driving with him many times. 
“Yes, ma’am.” 
186 notes · View notes
thebookwormfairy · 3 years
Text
Maribat Winx Club Part 3
Part 1
Part 2
Masterlist
Marinette *panicing*: This doesn't make any sense. How can we be family? I was born on Earth! My parents were born on Earth! I'm an Earthling!
Damian gently grabbing Marinette by the shoulder: Angel I know this is a difficult time for you right now, but we need to focus of the mission right now, okay? Let's grab the miraculous and get back to Alfea, then we can all freak out about you and Jason being related there. Okay, Angel?
Marinette: Okay
Jason: Okay! We can have a big freak out party together with your parents, Bruce, and Alfred. Can't forget the brothers and our friends either! We can all have a mental breakdown together!
Marinette: Sounds fun!
Jason went over the the chest and opens it revealing a pair of red and black Polk a dot earrings
Jason: It looks like the Ladybug earrings. Let's head home guys.
As the fairies and specialists press the buttons to head home they all had one thought in their minds
If Marinette and Jason were family what did that mean for their quest for the Miraculous?
After a nice long freak out session between everybody over the apparent relation between Jason and Marinette they gathered in Ms. Faragonda's office to tell her what they had learned on Miracul
Faragonda: Then it seems what I feared has come to pass. I must call Bruce, Alfred, and the rest of the old Miraculous holders
Jason: Wait why?
Marinette: You used to be a Miraculous holder?
Faragonda: all questions will be answered in due time once everybody is here
Faragonda sent out the call to the surviving ex miraculous holders who came right away
Alfred, Fu, and Mariam gathered in Faragonda's office along with Bruce and Jon's dad Clark who was in charge of the Justice League, a group that formed to keep peace in the magix dimensions after the fall of Miracul
Faragonda: Thank you for joining us. As you know the Miraculous have resurfaced and with them the Dark Coven
Fu: We have heard of the attacks we have also heard of the brave students who are working the gather them. *Fu gestures the the young fairies and specialists* I assume these are those brave students
Dick raising his hand: I'm actually a teacher
Alfred: Yes Master Dick and we're all very proud of you
Dick now resembles and happy golden retriever
Faragonda: Yes these are the young people who have been gathering the Miraculous. So far they've found 5 Miraculous, the Fox, the Turtle, the Rabbit, the Mouse, and most importantly the Ladybug
Mariam: That's wonderful! If only we had the Black Cat and a member of the royal family then we could use them to pull the rest of the Miraculous to them
Faragonda: We might have 2 members of the royal family with us in this room. Jason and Marinette can you please stand up here with me
Jason and Marinette stood side by side in front of the crowd of adults
Faragonda: We've been working under the assumption that Jason was just a lucky citizen of Miracul that was able to escape it's destruction, but the Miraculous call out to him. And Marinette gained her Enchantix by saving Jason's life that means their family. I've had this feeling for a long time. Look closely at these two, who do they remind you of?
Alfred was nodding his head looking at the two as if he's seeing them in a new light
Miriam gasped, covering her mouth and tears weld up in her eyes
Fu was the one to put everybody thoughts into words
Fu: They look so much like Queen Clarisse and King Roland
Faragonda: We've been living under the assumption that the Dark Ones were smart enough to get rid of the royal heirs before the attack, but what if they weren't. What if young Prince Jason took his sister Princess Marinette to the portal room and was able to escape the planet but got separated along the way. One ending up in Gotham the other on Earth.
Alfred: That would explain a lot. When Master Jason first joined us at the Manor he use to have terrible nightmares about failing to protect somebody
Fu: To bad we don't also have the ring of the Black Cat then they could call forth the rest of the Miraculous using the Miraculous box
Miriam: But the box was lost along with Miracul
Faragonda: But we might be able to find it if we also had the Black Cat
Marinette: Is the Ring of of Black Cat black with a green paw print on it?
Fu: Yes it is. How did you know that Marinette?
Marinette was hesitant, but the voice inside her head said it was alright to show them the ring
Marinette reaching into her pocket: Last year during our final exam I was assigned Miracul as the dead planet I had to bring back. During the test i head a voice call me into a cave where I found this. The voice told me to keep it hidden and not to let anybody know that I had it
Marinette pulled out the ring from her pocket showing it to the people in the room
Fu: That is indeed the Black Cat Miraculous
Jason: Why didn't you tell us about it soon Marinette?
Marinette: I was scared what it meant if the Miraculous was really calling to me as well. If that means my parents weren't really my parents. If that somehow changed my relationship with them.
Fu walked over to the girl that reminded him so much of his dear friends and put a hand on her shoulder
Fu: Marinette I may not know you or your family, but if your parents took you in and raised you for the last 16 years then you finding out that you are adopted will have no change on the relationship you have with them. Unless you let it effect it
Faragonda: It is time for you two to claim you birthright as the wielders of the Ladybug and Black Cat Miraculous
Jason and Marinette stared at eachother thinking over what Faragonda had just said
Marinette: But what if you're wrong? Didn't you say that anybody who wasn't the royal family or the Dark Coven would die if they but on the Miraculous
Faragonda: I'm not wrong. I've already seen you use the power of the Black Cat once before during the Scarecrow's attack on the school
Jason grabbing the Ladybug earrings: I'm in if you are Pixie Pop
Marinette tightened her grip on the ring: Let's do it or die trying
Adrien: Wow wow wow, there is no reason for either of you to die
Damian: Yeah I have to agree with Agreste let's try to not kill my girlfriend, Todd.
Jason with one earring already in: Yeah yeah yeah, don't worry Demon Spawn. I'm not going to lose my sister again.
As Jason slipped the last earring onto his ear and Marinette place the ring on her finger to balls of light came put of the jewelry and floated in front of the reunited siblings
The one in front of Jason formed into a ladybug looking creature and the one in front of Marinette formed into what looked like a small cat
Plagg stretching: Aahg finally! You know kid you could have put my miraculous on a long time ago. Your my kitten you got to get a little bit more curious then that
Marinette: Oh I'm sorry...
Plagg: Plagg Kwami of Destruction you got any cheese?
Marinette: Not on me but I'm sure we can go to the kitchen after this
Plagg: It'll have to do
Plagg flew over Marinette and landing on her head and looked every bit like an old house cat lounging on their owner
While this was happening Jason was meeting his own Kwami
Tikki: Hello Jason! I'm Tikki the kwami of creation! I remember you when you were just a little boy! You used to love chasing us around!
Jason: I remember you! You were my mom's kwami!
Tikki: Clarisse was a great Ladybug, but I know you'll do her proud!
Bruce didn't want to interrupt the found family's moment but they need to get this meeting back on track
Bruce: Since Jason and Marinette can wield the Miraculous does that mean they can summon the rest of the Miraculous right now
Fu shook his head: They would need the Miraculous box to do that and sadly we know for certain is in the hands of the Dark Coven
Marinette: But we can choose new wielders of the Miraculous right?
Alfred: That is correct
Jason: But we don't have enough Miraculous for everyone
Alya: Don't worry about that!
Rose: Yeah we all have Enchantix
Alix: This Dark Coven members have no chance against us in those forms
Juleka nodded her head in agreement
Marinette: Then let's give them to the Specialists. I love you guys but you don't have the same protections as the fairies. You'll be safer with the Miraculous
Jon: You guys don't have to worry about us we're Specialist. We are train to go into dangerous situations like this
The other boys go to agree with Jon, but Jason interrupts them
Jason: She's right boys, but we'll need to find 1 more so each of you can get one
Fu: If you two transform using the miraculous you'll be able to focus on a certain Miraculous and track it. I suggest the Dragon Miraculous it's one of the most powerful, besides the Cat and Ladybug
Jason: Let's do this Marinette
Marinette: Let's find that Miraculous
Tikki: Great! Jason all you have to do is say Spots On
Plagg: Kitten all you have to say is claws out
Jason: Tikki Spots On!
Marinette: Plagg Claws Out!
Jason now work what looked like the classic prince outfit with a red and black color scheme
While Marinette wore a tea length Princess Dress with a Black and Green color scheme with black cat ears on top of her head and black lace fingerless gloves covering her palms
Damian stared at his stunning girlfriend
Adrien was watching him with a smug smile
Adrien: Damian you might want to wipe that dwell off your chin
Damian quickly wiped his face only to find no dwell
Damian glaring at Adrien: Shut Up!
Jon: Don't tell him to shut up
Adrien: Yeah don't tell me to shut up
Marinette: I got it! It's like I can see the Miraculous itself!
Jason: Yeah it's on Salerios hidden in the royal garden
Clark: The League will call a head to the King and get him to allow us access
Bruce: We leave in an hour
And before the day was up the fairies and the Specialists had the Dragon Miraculous in their hands
Jason: Awesome with the Miraculous we have and you fairies' Enchantix the Dark Coven ont stand a chance
Tikki: And if you get the rest of the Miraculous and the Miraculous Box we can restore Miracul to it's former glory
Adrien: That'll mean you'll be a real life princess Marinette
Alya: With all the responsibilities that comes with it!
Alix: Like meetings with royals fron other planets and-
As her friends discussed Marinette's future everything really hit Marinette
It finally sunk in that her whole life was a lie
What if she wouldn't be able to see her parents any more
What if she couldn't be with Damian any more
What if she destroyed her planet like the Dark Coven did
Marinette: Hey guys I'm going to turn in for the day
Damian frowning: Are you okay Angel?
Marinette: Yeah I just need some rest after this hectic day
Jason: Are you sure Pixie Pop?
Marinette: Yeah I'm sure Goodnight
When Marinette went to her room she didn't feel any better
She knew what she had to do so she wrote a note to let her friends knew she was okay and headed to the portal room
Marinette stood in front of her parents backery gathering courage for what she was about to do
Tom and Sabine was closing for the night when their daughter rushed into the store
Tom: Marinette?
Sabine: What are you doing here sweetheart
Marinette couldn't help it and blurted out what she had learned
Marinette: I know I'm adopted!
Tumblr media
@t1dwarrior-of-earth @clumsy-owl-4178 @vgirl-10123 @aestheticnpoetic @toodaloo-kangaroo @animegirlweeb @k-poplunardreams @our-preciousss @razzledazzle247 @justafanwarrior @kanamexzeroyaoifangirl @eve-v0lution @fusser90 @dast218
132 notes · View notes
alpacaparkaseok · 3 years
Text
Lost & Found - 16
Pairing: Park Jimin x soulmate (oc)
Warnings: fluff, me feeling sad because THIS IS THE EEEEND
Word Count: 3.9k
a/n: there will be an epilogue coming out on Friday, (FROM CHRISTINA’S POV!!) however other than that, this is the end of Lost & Found everyone! I just wanted to say THANK YOU to all of you that have been so involved with this story. I feel like I’ve gotten to see so much of you guys interacting with this story and loving it just as much as I do. I’ve loved your theories and seeing your reactions (lol, some of them were hilarious). This story is...I don’t even know how to explain it. I put a little bit of myself into every story I write, but this is one of those that really made me do some digging. It still is. It was hard to write most of the time. But it was so, so worth it. 
I would LOVE (as always) to hear from you about your thoughts. Who your fav characters were, favorite parts, thoughts on the ending, thoughts on side ships (lol Christina and Tae!) and of course, I’m more than happy to answer any questions! Thank you again for reading, and enjoy!
Tumblr media
Chapter 16. I’m Proud of You
series masterlist
The sound of rain battering on the roof of the shop creates a false sense of security. The ambience created by the repeated sound against the tin out in the alleyway lulls me into a dreamlike state.
           Jimin appears to be in a similar mindset, leaning against the worktable and watching with glazed eyes as I knead the dough to a rhythm I pick out in the rainfall.
           “What’s the next question?”
           Jimin inhales deeply, eyes drifting to the appear hanging loosely in his hands. “Um…how do you plan on coping with a life in the spotlight?”
           Jimin and I have been at the sweet-bread shop for the past couple of hours, trying to make up for all the days I missed from work. Yuri allowed for us to come in today much later than normal due to Jimin’s schedule in the morning.
           Last night I’d glanced through the lengthy list of questions with Jimin and Chung-hei. I’d nearly cried from relief when I found out that she would also be joining in on the interview. Apparently Bighit thought that selling the idea of two close friends at the soulmates for two of their idols might prove to be comforting for the fans.
           “I plan on baking a lot of bread,” I respond with a smirk, spreading the dough in a pan and heading toward the large oven on the far side of the room. On the way I prop the back door open just a crack, allowing a bit of air in now that the back will be heating up with baking bread. The sound of rain grows louder, the strong smell flooding the kitchen.
           Jimin chuckles, nodding along. “And texting your friend Jaemin?”
           “Obviously.” Once everything looks good to go, I set a timer and check the time. It’s pushing eight in the evening, and the rain has yet to let up at all. “Ok, that’ll bake for thirty minutes.” I go to join Jimin beside the worktable, beginning to wipe it down.
           “Next…something that’s surprised you so far?”
           The thread now extends nearly twenty feet, which the soulmate specialist we met with last night predicted would happen. “At this rate,” he’d said, “Everything should be back to normal within five days or so.”
           Normal.
           What does that even mean anymore?
           “You.” I keep my eyes on the table, trying to scoop up as much flour as I can. “You’ve been the biggest surprise so far.”
           Jimin lowers the paper, watching my movements as I dispose of the flour before spraying some disinfectant and continuing to clean.
           “Explain that, please.” Jimin effortlessly assumes the role of interviewer. I chew on my cheek, grinning when Jimin takes up a spot on the opposite side of the table and motions for the cloth.
           I slide it toward him, watching as he begins to clean the other side. “Well… I think we’re becoming friends. Good friends.” My absentminded smile grows as I recall the events of last night.
           By the time we’d finished the meeting with Bang PD, we’d barely had enough time to breathe before launching ourselves into another flurry of meetings. All designed to prepare me for the possible pitfalls of this sudden interview.
           When we’d finally made it back to the house, Elle was cranky at not seeing either of us all day and I was bordering on a mental breakdown.
           In the quiet of the living room, Jimin had sat on the edge of my couch-turned-bed and tucked me in.
           “Take your pick,” he’d whispered, unfolding the blanket. “Burrito or lasagna.”
           My startled laugh sounded loud in the quiet house. “What’s the difference?”
           With some sort of reverenced adoration, I listened to my soulmate explain the lasagna method (piling several layers of blankets on top of the victim/person), versus the burrito method (one blanket, snugly tucked in).
           Laid there on the couch, gazing up at Jimin, I understood why I hadn’t fought against the interview.
           I cared. It was a devastatingly simple and perhaps a little lackluster revelation, but I cared about him.
           Jimin looks up at me now from the opposite end of the worktable with a crooked smile. “Are you friend-zoning me?”
           My eyes fall to that smile, wondering what it might feel like to reach out and trace the little divots it creates in his cheeks.
           “…no.”
           After his marvelous explanation of the difference in the lasagna and burrito methods, I’d chosen burrito.
           Jimin had leapt up off the couch and draped the blanket over my body. I laughed when it covered my face, and Jimin chuckled nervously when he pulled it down.
           “Sorry,” he mumbled. “This is a hazardous line of work at times.”
           Beginning at my toes and working his way up, Jimin had meticulously tucked me in. I’d stifled a laugh when he brushed up against my sides, a knowing smile gracing his lips before he quietly instructed, “Arms up.”
           Rather than finishing the job quickly, Jimin took his time. Gently straightening the hem of the blanket and taking my hands in his before guiding them to rest atop the blanket.
           He took a moment to study me, the only source of light coming from the kitchen. A little light had been left on above the stove, but I didn’t mind; not when it illuminated the way he was looking at me.
           Resting on the edge of the couch, Jimin looked like an ordinary man.
           His black t-shirt looked a little wrinkled, and his eyes were tired. He ran a hand through his hair, looking at the other couch.
           “I’m proud of you.”
           Despite the utter silence in the room, I wondered if I heard him correctly. “Hm?”
           His lips turned down in a frown of concentration as Jimin swam in his thoughts. “I think you deserve to hear it.”
           I stared at him like he had suddenly transformed into a werewolf. “I…I don’t think…”
           At my tone of doubt, Jimin returned his focus on me, surprised to see that I didn’t believe him.
           Maybe you aren’t proud of yourself,” he whispered quietly, as though sharing a secret. “But for now, I hope that this is enough.” He reached out to wipe a stray tear from my cheek, quickly followed by another. “You’ve been so brave, and I’m so proud of you.”
           For unknown minutes after, all was silent. Jimin stayed, fingers caressing my cheeks as the tears continued to flow. I had clung to his wrist, unable to verbally convey what was caught in my throat as he continued to look at me with so much pride.
           I don’t deserve you.
           But I will do my best to love you in the way you deserve.
           The rain lets up not long after the bread comes out of the oven, although Jimin is nowhere near the end of the questions. He continues asking them as he and Jolie head out to the car waiting for them, Sunmi greeting them with a cheery wave.
           He watches with a forgotten smile as his soulmate interacts with her friend. Jolie laughs at something Sunmi says, her eyes alight with some sort bittersweet emotion. Jimin is beginning to understand what that look means.
           Last night, he’d seen the way she was doubting herself. If he was honest, he’d been doubting himself, as well. This interview was going to be high pressure. He didn’t want to admit it, but this interview would largely decide how people viewed his soulmate.
           Yet, Jolie didn’t complain. She didn’t say a single thing expressing her doubt or worry. Instead, he watched on with amazement and admiration as she powered through the meetings. Steeling herself against the worst.
           There had been a moment, as Jimin tucked his soulmate in after explaining the different methods (he’d come up with the lasagna method on the spot, but she didn’t need to know that), that he realized why he’d been feeling so odd all day. Like something about Jolie was so familiar, allowing him to fall into an easy rhythm with someone who should have been one of the last he would trust so readily.
           She reminded him of, well…himself.
           Jolie was cut from the same cloth that he was. That younger Jimin of the trainee days, trying so hard to be brave but still quick to make rash decisions that he later came to regret with his whole being. Quick to doubt, quick to love.
           Somehow, that’s who Jimin saw as he sat perched on the edge of the couch. And after a moment of reflection, he felt like he knew what he had needed to hear back in those early days. What Jolie needed to hear as she embarked on this new adventure.
           “I’m proud of you.”
           It was true. It still is, less than a day later as Jolie sits beside Jimin in the backseat and chatters freely with Sunmi. Explaining some of the silly answers she came up with to the possible interview questions, making a bet on some random phrase that Chung-hei will probably say at some point.
           That pride bubbles up until it has Jimin reaching across the seat to grab Jolie’s hand in his, lovingly running his thumb over her knuckles. He grins at the way she stumbles mid-sentence, eyes flashing to him.
           He sees the way she looks doubtful for a moment, and he knows that she’s internally rejecting the notion that he cares as deeply for her as his actions say he does. He just squeezes her hand a little tighter and silently promises to prove it to her.
           Again and again, if need be.
           “You’ll do great,” Sunmi is reassuring as she pulls into a familiar neighborhood. They’ve arrived back to the apartment at last. “I’ll be watching.”
           “That sounds a little creepy,” Jolie teases, glancing over at Jimin as she opens up the door and slides out. “Thanks, Sunmi.”
           Sunmi nods, smiling in the rear view. “I’ll see you guys in the morning!”
           Once they’ve said their goodbyes, Jimin and Jolie head up to the apartment. They can already hear some of the people inside, and Jolie can’t hide her smile as she hears Christina’s voice.
           “Kim Seokjin, I already told you that I’m in charge of the zucchini, now leave it alone.”  
           Jolie wiggles her eyebrows at Jimin. “Don’t tell me she’s moved on to Jin.”
           “Oh, no. Her and Tae and are pining over each other every chance they get,” he quietly confirms. The way Jolie snorts has him smiling at her fondly. “She’s probably just trying to make him jealous by hanging out with Jin.”
           The two of them head inside, stepping into a warzone. People are scattered everywhere, jumping to and fro in an effort to prepare a suitable dinner for all those present. It’s a rare sight to see in the house, it’s not often that they cook at home. Due to their busy schedules, they either cook for themselves or eat out.
           “What’s going on?” Jolie asks with a hint of amusement as she glances at Taehyung. He’s the only stationary being in the entire house, leaning up against the doorway to the kitchen and staring at Christina with furrowed brows. Almost like he’s confused, but he doesn’t quite understand why.
           Jimin comes up behind him, clapping him on the shoulder. “How’s it going?”
           Taehyung shrugs, a little lost in thought. “Oh, fine. Fine.”
           Winking at Jolie, Jimin attempts to sidle into the kitchen. “Anybody need help in here?” There’s a round of applause from Jin, who begs Jimin to come and help him with something. Taking up a station beside his oldest hyung, Jimin gets to work to prepare family dinner.
           “So,” I drawl, posting up on the opposite end of the doorframe from Taehyung. “Whatcha thinking about?”
           Taehyung’s frown deepens, his eyes flitting over to mine before sloping back to where Christina chops vegetables at the counter. “Dinner.”
           “Mhmm.”
           Again, his eyes flash over to me, an accusing look on his face. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
           I shrug, enjoying the role reversal. To think, it wasn’t that long ago before I was quaking before Taehyung at work. “You just look a little distracted, that’s all.”
           Taehyung chews on his bottom lip, and I don’t miss the way his eyes flit back and forth between Christina, her severed thread, and his own thread which leads out the door and beyond. Connecting him to his soulmate, wherever they may be.
           “I feel a little…strange.” He admits quietly enough for no one else to hear.
           “In a good way, or…?”
           He shrugs, watching as Christina picks her way across the kitchen to where Seokjin clears a space for her to slip the cut vegetables into a steaming pot. “Sometimes good, sometimes bad.”
           “And do you…plan to do anything about these strange feelings?”
           Christina steps out of the room, and the second she disappears from sight it’s like Taehyung woke up from a long dream. He blinks, looking around for a second before looking back at me. “I think it’s more of a question of if I should do something about it. If that’s even plausible.” Again, his eyes drift to his thread, and I mull over this odd situation.
           In the end, it only leads to heartbreak. It just depends on who it will be that gets their heart broken.
           Before I can respond, Yoongi is calling everyone to come to dinner. It takes a few minutes for us to all gather around, and I can’t help but notice the way that Taehyung doesn’t even think twice before settling down next to Christina. The moment he notices what he’s done, however, that same tormented expression from earlier reappears. I offer him a bolstering smile from down the table, which he hastily returns.
           We all dig into the food, everyone expressing appreciation for different dishes and sharing all around. Jimin blows on his bulgogi before extending it to me with a grin, which I quickly take.
           Toward the end of the meal, Hoseok holds up a glass and a hush falls over the table. “I’d like to propose a toast!”
           Jungkook whispers something to Jin, who tries and fails to hide his laughter. A glare from Hobi has the two shutting up in an instant.
           “To more family dinners like this,” he says with a smile. “And to all our new additions.” He pauses, thinking for a moment longer. “Some of you arrived in more…unconventional ways than others. But I will say this: you make my friends happy, and that’s all I want for them. Please continue to make them smile as often as you can.”
           I can toast to that.
           These lights are making me sweat, but then again, that could also be from the way the interviewer is staring me down with a hawk-like glare.
           There’s no studio audience, no this is something to be broadcasted in about a month from now. For now, I sit beside Chung-hei and try not to fidget in my seat.
           At first, there were plenty of generic questions. A few directed toward Chung-hei or I that were easy enough to tackle; questions like: “What’s your line of work?” or “How does it feel to be in an interview?”
           Now, though, we’re reaching the end and the interviewer seems to sense this. They begin to lean into the more difficult questions. Anything to keep ratings going, I suppose.
           “Jolie, I have one final question for you,” they grab their card before crossing their legs and smiling at me. There’s no kindness in that smile, but I try to pretend like there is. “If you could go back in time to before you met Jimin, what would you tell yourself?”
           I blink. Everyone looks to me expectantly, and I find that I’m suddenly sweating much more than before.
           This wasn’t in the list of questions.
           Refraining from chewing on my lip, I glance at Chung-hei. My friend smiles encouragingly at me, and I allow myself to go back to a previous time I saw that same smile.
           I’m standing beside Chung-hei, grinning wide enough that my cheeks hurt as the intro music begins to play.
           “They’re about to come out!” Hei screams despite standing right by me. I laugh at her excitement, even though I know I look just as crazed as she does.
           The entire arena floods with music, the bass making my very bones vibrate. All around me people lift up their army bombs and cheer. Smoke floods the stage, creating a mysterious aura before the lights drop and everything is plunged into darkness.
           And then, light. Two huge spotlights illuminate seven figures who seemingly appeared from thin air in the middle of the stage. Less than a second later, the already deafening arena picks up in sound.
           In a burst of energy, the seven boys begin their routine. I find that I am absolutely mesmerized as my eyes fall on one person in particular.  
           Park Jimin glides across the stage as though he owns it; which, with some quick negotiating and a bit of cash, he probably could. His flowy white shirt makes me understand why he’s so often referred to as an angel. However, it’s when he smiles that I find myself adopting the nickname to use for future reference.
           For a moment, I am blissfully ignorant to all that awaits me. To all that awaits us, as I still have yet to notice the way my thread shifts whenever Jimin moves across the stage.
           What would I tell myself in that moment?
           The answer comes surprisingly quickly. “If I could go back…I think I’d just tell her that I’m proud of her.” I smile softly at the interviewer, who listens to my every word as though waiting for some sort of slip up to cling to. “For all that she’s gone through, I’m proud. And that there’s light up ahead.”
           Right on cue, the producer signals to wrap it up from behind the camera. I spy Jimin’s smile, making me smile in return.
           The interview is wrapped up within the next couple of minutes, and before I know it we’re being herded backstage before slipping into our different cars to head to the Bighit building.
           Jimin and I sit in the back seat as Sunmi drives, listening to her rant about how well we did. I just shrug, explaining that it’s too soon to congratulate us. The real challenge will come when the broadcast airs.
           “You did well,” Jimin quietly affirms. He takes my hand in his like he did yesterday, and it’s a feeling that I can certainly tell I’ll be more than happy with for the rest of my life. “How are you feeling?”
           I shrug. “Alright, I think. Just nervous for what comes next.”
           Once we make it to the Bighit building, Jimin pulls me aside before entering the doors. Once he’s ascertained that there isn’t anyone eavesdropping, he pulls me in close to his embrace.
           I nearly melt in his arms, instantly relaxing as I take in the citrusy scent of his shampoo. It’s the same that I’ve been using over the past couple of days.
           “Let me tell you what comes next,” he whispers before pulling back to see my face. “First off, you quit trying to friend-zone me.”
           I laugh, trying to shove him away but failing as he keeps a tight grip around me. “I’m not! You’re just being overdramatic!”
           He feigns offense, gasping loudly. “I can’t believe you’d attack me like this. It hurts, jagiya. It really does.”
           “Yah, just get on with it.”
           “Ok, ok. You’re so impatient.” His easy smile proves that he doesn’t mean me any harm. “ Secondly, I have a question for you.”
           “And what’s that?”
           Releasing his grip around my waist just long enough to push some of his hair back, he raises an eyebrow. “Do you want to date me?”
           I blink, unsure of whether to laugh or question his health. “I- yeah. Of course I do.”
           “Ah, so you want to date me.” Jimin smirks, and suddenly I realize that I may have just gotten myself into a lot of trouble. “Alright, I guess I’ll allow it. But I do have some conditions for you if you want to be my girlfriend.”
           I scoff. “Woah, technically you’re the one that asked-”
           “And you answered that yes, you want to date me. Will you hear out my conditions?” I nod impatiently. “Good. First, you must allow me to tuck you in burrito style whenever you sleep over.” I chuckle, nodding along vigorously while trying to memorize the way he’s looking at me right now. “Second, you quit texting that Jaemin guy. I’m the jealous type, and he seems sketchy.”
           Now I can’t hold back my shoulder-shaking laughter. “You realize how contradictory that is, right?”
           Completely ignoring my call on his judgement, Jimin continues. “You let me send you chocolates without complaining about getting fat. I get joint custody of Elle. You teach me how to bake bread, your mother’s recipe.”
           His soft tone makes me smile softly. “And?”
           He holds up his left hand, the red thread shining in the afternoon sun. “When this thing starts working properly again, you don’t run away from me. Let me- let me be your best friend.”
           There’s a lump in my throat now as Jimin’s eyes glisten with unshed tears. “And?” I whisper.
           “And when the rest of the world is pressing in on you, let me remind you how much you are loved.”
           His grip tightens just a cinch as I let out a shaky breath before mumbling out, “How do you plan to do that?”
           Jimin’s eyes slowly drop to my lips, head tilting to the side as he smiles softly. “I have something of an idea.”
           The sound of the gate opening to let another car in – surely one of the other boys – alerts me to our ending privacy. Before Jimin can change his mind, I throw my arms around his neck and pull him in close.
           The first clash of our lips is a bit sloppy, but soon Jimin is leaning in impossibly closer to better capture my lips. It’s unknown and hurried, and full of promise for the future. The only thing on my mind is the feeling of Jimin’s hands digging into my waist before finding themselves at the small of my back, making me stumble forward a step. He catches me, lips parting in a crooked grin a single second before a black SUV pulls up.
           Jimin’s cheeks are dusted light pink in the afternoon sun, but soon I’m going cross eyed as he leans in and delivers Eskimo kisses. “I knew it was a good idea.”
           “Oi! Don’t tell me you two were just making out in broad daylight,” Jin groans as he exits the SUV followed by a disgusted looking Namjoon.
           “I- no, we were…uh, I…” Jimin sputters, looking to me for help. I laugh, saying nothing as I head for the doors.
           “Namjoon, you can’t even act like you’re disgusted!” Jimin protests, hurrying after me to avoid a collision with the door like he has in previous experiences.  “Don’t pretend like I haven’t seen you and Chung-hei making out like teenagers on the couch-”
           All three boys trail after me as I stride down the hallway toward the elevator. They don’t stop their bickering as we enter the elevator and Jin pushes the fifth floor button, red in the face as he scolds the other two for their behavior.
           Leaning up against the wall, I close my eyes and smile, listening to the accusations flying around the small elevator.
           It’s good to be home.
Previous - Epilogue
main masterlist || Help support me? ko-fi
taglist: @secretlycrazyhummingbird @marianeamine @hqtetsurou@protontippens @baepsaetay @dreamcatcherjiah @kookie-vuitton@thecaffeinatedscribbles @moon-write @fangirl125reader@heishichoulevi @knjkitten @sacha-cff @vik7797  @eusticenatalie@hesmyphenominiall @miriamxsworld @kayahay @onewoneman@preciouschimine @missseoulite@somewhereinthestarss@chubsjmin @daydreamerwestwood @010op10 @4evahevah​@mawwnsterr​ @hikka-light @biasnation@eusticenatalie@betysotelo18 @fangirl125reader @coolestcat123456789 @channiespup @loudnecktrashrascal@bluehairedotakugem
104 notes · View notes
tossawary · 3 years
Text
Chapter 28: “A Growing Family” of “pride is not the word I’m looking for” quotes and commentary. Not a full list of favorite quotes or full commentary.
-
The fact that Shen Qingqiu is waiting for them, just outside of Yue Qingyuan’s office, really doesn’t help the dread that Shang Qinghua is feeling here.
A stocky young woman is standing attentively beside the seated Peak Lord. This is that Fu Qiang character, one of Binghe’s favorite shijies on Qing Jing Peak, here to whisk Peerless Cucumber away for a one-to-one chat on the other transmigrator’s potential relationship to the House of Rejuvenation. Or maybe to give the kid a tutoring session on recovering memories from trauma or something! Shang Qinghua doesn’t know exactly, not having been invited to sit in.
“Shidi,” Shen Qingqiu greets coolly.
“Greetings, Shen-Shixiong,” Shang Qinghua returns, feeling sweaty already, but also weirdly giddy. He’s tempted to wink, but he’s pretty sure that would get him killed. “How are you? You look very well! Aha, how did those ‘other engagements’ go the other day? Meet with anyone? Have a good time?”
Over the top of his elegant fan, Shen Qingqiu immediately gives him a look that could probably kill a lesser man - or maybe a greater one, like someone who has more dignity and shame and whatever than Shang Qinghua does. Shang Qinghua doesn’t flinch. He assumes that the meeting with Yue Qingyuan went well! Which is great! Super great! If it had gone badly, he’s pretty sure that Shen Qingqiu wouldn’t even be setting foot on Qiong Ding Peak now - or at least would have been projecting “I’ll kill to get out of here and I’m mentally picking all my victims” hard enough to send all the Qiong Ding Peak disciples and cultivators off like panicked chickens.
“I don’t know what you mean,” Shen Qingqiu says, downright frosty now. “Shang-Shidi must have been paying too much attention to nonsense gossip again.”
“Ah, of course! Of course! My mistake, Shen-Shixiong! Please forgive me!”
Shang Qinghua looks to his fellow transmigrator next, to reintroduce them, only to find Shen Yuan making a very strange expression. Shen Yuan is looking between Shang Qinghua and Shen Qingqiu kind of like he’s never seen them before. His mouth is even a little open and everything. It takes the kid a few seconds to realize that he has two Peak Lords staring at him and to swallow the strange expression.
AN: Shen Yuan knows that 1) SQQ came to meet SQH personally immediately after their mission was over, 2) SQH stayed in bed the following day for a LONG time, and 3) SQH had a hickey on his neck. 
So when Shang Qinghua makes a reference to the meeting that SQQ had with Yue Qingyuan, almost flirtatiously asking if Shen Qingqiu “met with anyone” and “had a good time”, Shen Yuan is going to draw his own conclusions. 
Namely, that Shang Qinghua and Shen Qingqiu might be sleeping together. 
After all, Shen Yuan doesn’t know about the YQY and SQQ backstory! Shen Yuan only knows that Shang Qinghua is weirdly friendly with PIDW’s most famous scum villain and that Shen Qingqiu apparently likes SQH enough not to be an asshole to Luo Binghe. Shang Qinghua kind of talks like they’re friend, so what if they’re... more than friends?! 
Meanwhile, Shang Qinghua cannot fathom anyone EVER considering that he and SHEN QINGQIU might be lovers. It’s not an idea that he is in a position to have because what the fuck?! 
I was tickled pink when I realized that things were in position to have the disciples think that Shangjiu is a thing. I was already planning on having them notice Shang Qinghua’s brand-new-relationship good mood. Shen Yuan may not notice when people are in love with HIM, but he did still read a twenty-million-word stallion web-novel, so he’s totally prepared to assume that secret affairs are happening for OTHER PEOPLE. 
His fellow transmigrator hastily performs the appropriate greeting. Shen Qingqiu doesn’t reply beyond inclining his head, instead sweeping his eyes over Shen Yuan, who stands hilariously still like he’s facing down a predator, except for how the kid squints back a little at the Lord of Qing Jing Peak. Ha! That’s pretty fearless coming from someone still so unnerved by the man who would have Proud Immortal Demon Way’s most famous scum villain.
“Fu Qiang,” Shen Qingqiu says finally. “I have instructed Assistant Ma to set aside a private room for your discussion. You may take Disciple Shen there now.”
“Yes, Shizun.”
The other disciple gestures for Shen Yuan to follow and the other transmigrator hastily takes her up on that. As the disciples disappear, Shen Qingqiu rises and, without a word, leads Shang Qinghua into Yue Qingyuan’s office.
AN: It’s tempting to try and make Shen Qingqiu and Shen Yuan actually develop more of a relationship than “passing acquaintance”, but the thing is that I can’t see either of them really going for it without being forced or without a very serious push. They’re both so prickly. 
Yue Qingyuan greets him in a friendly manner, like he’s genuinely pleased to see Shang Qinghua and happy to help. Shang Qinghua greets the man in the same way. It’s nice! It also kind of feels like they’re both pretending the past few months of awkwardness, resentment, and avoidance never happened.
AN: It felt a little more true to life and to the characters to have Shang Qinghua and Yue Qingyuan just... move forward instead of getting into their issues with each other and what apologies may be due. 
It’s kind of like a mutual: “What if we didn’t talk about it?” 
And they’re both like, “Oh, thank fuck.” 
I think that if they both brew on it a bit more, they may eventually decide to try to assuage their respective anger or guilt by saying something, but right now they’re feeling raw and/or embarrassed, and don’t want to accidentally get into it again. So they’ll talk about work! They always have work to talk about! Work is more important than personal matters, so they’re just going to pretend everything is fine! 
It’s not just the System who won’t let the Immortal Alliance Conference not happen! But, ahhh, Shang Qinghua can still dream of them actually managing to convince Zhao Hua Temple Sect and everyone else to call the whole thing off. He can dream!
Yue Qingyuan has this pained expression that says, “You’re not wrong, but I wish you were.” This guy knows what Shang Qinghua is talking about!
Shen Qingqiu has this expression that says something like, “I can only critique the accuracy of your assessment on the grounds that you may be giving our fellow cultivators too much credit in terms of common sense and cooperation. This annoys me immensely.”
“You have put a great deal of thought into this,” Yue Qingyuan says finally. “You received this news… when exactly… again?”
“Ah, yesterday morning?” Shang Qinghua answers.
 “While in bed with a demon lord,” he doesn’t elaborate. Nope! Not elaborating!
“I know it’s not- I’ll try to get more information, but everyone is still in the planning stages, and it’s not easy getting any information!” Shang Qinghua says defensively. “But, even with that, I thought, ‘Ah, my shixiongs will probably want to know right away!’ Someone will need to tell Zhao Hua to take precautions, at least?”
Yue Qingyuan visibly regathers himself and says, “It is better to know these things as soon as possible. Thank you, Qinghua, for this forewarning.”
“He’s very good at knowing these things,” Shen Qingqiu agrees, but the man’s gaze is like a very sharp pin and Shang Qinghua is but a lowly insect under it. “When might you be expected to know more about this?”
“Ah, I’ll have to get in contact with… ah, some people I know.”
AN: Of course YQY and SQQ want to know more about where SQH is getting this information, but for all they know he might just have gotten a tip-off from one of his merchant contacts or someone in the black market. This has been brewing for a while between these demon lords and the cultivation sects. It’s really bad news, but it’s also not really that surprising. 
According to the Airplane Extras, when MBJ and SQH meet, Airplane offhandedly mentions that Mobei-Jun’s clan and Huan Hua Palace Sect have a serious grudge from a conflict at a previous Immortal Alliance Conference. In PINTWILF, this conference is why the IACs got cancelled and had to be recently “revived”. The coming IAC is the 3rd since this revival.  
Shang Qinghua has proven himself reliable enough by this point that YQY and SQQ will let him keep his informants close to his chest. Between SQH’s years of improved services (helped by actually getting his personal disciples to help him) and SQH’s interference in their personal issues, they do actually trust him. 
So, yeah, they think he’s a squirmy little rat man. 
But he’s THEIR squirmy little rat man who has come through in times of need. Also, SQQ, for all his glaring, might stab YQY if he started giving SQH a hard time about this. Sometimes a shidi just wants you to back the fuck off, YQY! Let him have his secrets! Even though SQQ absolutely wants to know SQH’s secrets and is on the verge of dying of curiosity. 
I am VERY MUCH looking forward to them finding out that Shang Qinghua has a demon prince for a boyfriend. That’s going to be fun. 
“I have also been… considering the advantages of lessons and between Peaks to encourage both cooperation and… survival skills,” Shen Qingqiu says next. “Rarely does one become a master of all disciplines - the Twelve Peaks allow for many of our sect to become specialists, masters of one art - but it seems unwise not to be learned in the basics of as many life-saving arts as one is able.”
“A diversity of learning can be very beneficial,” Yue Qingyuan agrees immediately.
“My disciple, Fu Qiang, has become a very adept medic over the years, though this was in the hopes of avoiding visiting Qian Cao Peak. The head disciples of An Ding, as I understand it, have sought to take special lessons from Qian Cao and Xian Shu to improve themselves."
 “Ah, that explains how Hongpeng spied on Peerless Cucumber back when the little bro was still in Mu Qingfang’s clutches,” Shang Qinghua thinks. “And, ah, Shen Bro, I don’t know how to tell you this, but Wenjiao goes to Xian Shu Peak mostly to moon over pretty girls, especially my little sister-in-law.”
"There is also the example of Qi-Shimei’s most frustrating disciple, who must be routinely dragged away from Bai Zhan, but who has also apparently helped to improve her fellow Xian Shu disciples’ martial abilities.”
 "Ah, that's one of putting Qi Qingqi letting Luo Fanli and Liu Mingyan fight each other in order to hopefully wear them both out," Shang Qinghua thinks.
“Even if demons should not attack, though only a limited number of our disciples will be attending the Immortal Alliance Conference, it would nevertheless be beneficial to ensure that all disciples across the sect are well-equipped to keep themselves alive until the specialists arrive,” Shen Qingqiu finishes. “Shang-Shidi, as one of the most well-connected leading members of our sect, the organization of such an initiative would be best left in your hands.”
AN: Okay, so I know that this is kind of a weird thing to be coming from Shen Qingqiu, but he’s grown a bit over the course of this fic! AND he’s totally coming at it from the perspective of: “I don’t have to cooperate or get along with anyone beyond what I’m doing now.” 
So SQQ is like, “My disciples are stupid. We should have more field medics.” 
And he’s like, “Some people’s disciples can’t fight for shit and we should make sure they know more self-defense.” 
And he’s like, “Liu Qingge’s disciples are animals. Someone at least teach them how to protect other disciples and how to not bleed to death, because he won’t. That man doesn’t teach them anything.” 
And he’s like, “Shang Qinghua, you do that. I don’t want to.” 
Peerless Cucumber’s conversation with Shen Qingqiu’s disciple is long over, but apparently his fellow transmigrator didn’t just leave afterwards. Yue Qingyuan’s youngest assistant intercepts to politely point Shang Qinghua towards their waiting room. Shen Yuan is asleep in a chair, with one of his cultivation manuals open in his lap. Judging by his pose, Shang Qinghua is going to guess that the kid was trying some kind of meditation and ended up taking a nap by accident.
It happens to the best of them sometimes! Or at least to Shang Qinghua!
“Ah, I told you not to wait on me. Come on, bro, I don’t want to have to carry you back,” Shang Qinghua says, while jostling the kid awake. “You’re too big for that. My nephew is too big for that these days. Just because it would be nostalgic for me and just because I can doesn’t mean that I want to be carrying you around like a sack of vegetables.”
AN: If Shang Qinghua can haul Mobei-Jun around, then he could pick up Shen Yuan no problem. Also, this is the bit where I was like, “Wow, I have very much made SQH into SY’s dad here.” 
Even SVSSS SQH gives me Uncle Vibes, to be honest. The man wants to pop into Bingqiu’s life, ask some nosy questions, be treated to a free meal (who doesn’t), tell some bad jokes, offer some terrible advice, complain about his workload, and then flounce off again with his boyfriend. SVSSS SQH seems to like being useful and appreciated and part of the group, but in a way where he’s not directly attached to anyone, you know? Give SVSSS SQH the benefits, but none of the responsibilities! 
Shang Qinghua is kind of sick of this roundabout conversation and decides to bring out the big guns: a move taught to him by his extremely powerful sister-in-law, who has effortlessly defeated their resident War God. He knows the effectiveness of this technique personally, because Luo Jiahui has used it to defeat him many times. He puts on the best concerned face he has.
“Yuan,” he says seriously, looking the kid directly in the eye. “I’m not making jokes here about not skipping out on cultivating. It’s not always going to be fun - a lot of the time, it’s going to be pretty embarrassing and a little painful. Bro, I was an adult stuck in a teenage body, regularly getting my ass handed to me by actual teenagers. That was awful. But I really need you to keep doing it, even if you don’t become the next War God ready to challenge the protagonist, because I don’t want you to die. This shitty world isn’t safe. And if you want to be involved in these missions, then I need you to be able to carry yourself, or we’re both going to get trampled by some OP monster wandering out of an advanced chapter early instead of fixing anything here.”
Shen Yuan is having difficulty meeting his eyes. He keeps trying to force himself to look at Shang Qinghua and then looking away again automatically.
Shang Qinghua employs another of his sister-in-law’s immensely powerful techniques: he reaches out and puts a hand on the kid’s shoulder. “I will tell you stuff when I have stuff to tell you and when I can tell it to you. You’ve been super helpful, I’m going to need your help in the future, but I need you to be a little patient right now too.”
Shen Yuan nods. “...Fine.”
-
AN: Shang Qinghua: “I can’t believe that I’m tricking this person into thinking I’m a good person by being nice to them and looking after them and doing good things. I have learned this behavior for TRICKING PURPOSES only and have NOT accidentally adopted yet another kid.” 
Shang Qinghua can’t answer the question right now! Leave a message!
He’s too busy replaying all the times he’s seen his nephew and his fellow transmigrator interact. Binghe did ask after Shen Yuan every time that he and Shang Qinghua talked, while the other transmigrator was on Qian Cao and after he came to An Ding, but… Shang Qinghua just thought his nephew was being polite and curious? Peerless Cucumber stands out! Binghe didn’t act too weirdly about it!
Luo Binghe is supposed to be a stallion protagonist with 600 wives!
Although… Shang Qinghua’s nephew has never really shown any interest in that kind of thing. Which Shang Qinghua has been pretty glad about! He doesn’t want to have 600 nieces-in-law! He also doesn’t want that for his nephew!
The protagonist of Proud Immortal Demon Way ’s harem was basically a snake pit of drama and desperation and decaying fantasies. For everyone who could read between the lines of empty papapa to see Airplane Shooting Towards The Sky’s tragic story of resentment and revenge, it wouldn’t be inaccurate to say the tyrannical, broken protagonist was like a black hole, dragging everyone else into orbit around this man who couldn’t really love anyone! You can take a blackened protagonist out of the Eternal Abyss, but you can’t take that abyss out of the blackened protagonist, right?
The original Luo Binghe didn’t take wives because he was in love. He took wives because he could! Because they were beautiful or powerful or useful! Because he pitied them! Because he liked being their savior! Because he didn't want anyone else to have them! Because he liked being an object of envy and desire and love! Because it was expected of him, as the man all the readers wanted to be, who was supposed to have everything a man could ever want!
 “...Ah, there are… some implications there,” Airplane Shooting Towards The Sky realizes, remembering just how half-hearted most of that harem bullshit was. “Maybe a bent man wrote a kind of bent protagonist by accident? Who knows?”
“Da-Ge?” Fanli says. “Da-Ge, didn’t you know?”
AN: I’ve said this before, but there’s a meta argument to be made in regards to Luo Binghe and obligatory heterosexuality. 
Also, from what I remember, Airplane didn’t actually seem to care too much about Luo Binghe being interested in Shen Yuan. In the Airplane Extras, Airplane says that in the original version of PIDW that he never got to write, Luo Binghe actually ended up totally alone at the end of the story. He was apparently planning a pretty downer ending for Luo Binghe. But Luo Binghe ended up getting a huge harem instead because that’s what the readers wanted! 
So, my impression is, that when SVSSS Airplane first realizes that LBH is into men (and into SQQ specifically), he does a little bit of self-reflection and also reflection on PIDW, then just goes, “Huh. That makes... sense.” 
“Though, aha, I can’t remember Shen-Shixiong ever really not being kind of angry at me and I’m not dead yet. I had to talk really fast sometimes, but I lived! Now go away.”
When Shang Qinghua looks up, all of his disciples are staring at him. They all look surprised, except for Shen Yuan, who looks embarrassed. Shang Qinghua would guess that someone cracked a dirty joke, but that doesn’t seem right.
"What?"
“...Shifu, how long have you known Shen-Shibo?” Chen Xuan asks.
“Since we were disciples? Ah, I think he hated me at first sight.”
“But you’re close now?” Lin Wenjiao blurts out.
“Closer, ” Shang Qinghua agrees warily. “Aha, don’t think that any of you can ask me for favors to do with Shen Qingqiu or Qing Jing Peak too! That’s not happening! Disciple Luo, Shen, get out of here before you give my disciples any more weird ideas.”
AN: Okay, so what happened is that as soon as Luo Fanli and Shang Qinghua left the room, Shen Yuan was like, “...Shang Qinghua and Shen Qingqiu are... very close? Are they...?” 
And SQH’s disciples are like, “Holy shit, are you asking if SQH and SQQ are romantically involved?!” And SQH’s disciples laugh in SY’s face because that’s RIDICULOUS. Which makes SY really embarrassed and defensive! SQH’s disciples ask why he would EVER think a thing like that. 
SY provides the evidence. It’s a reasonable conclusion! 
And then SQH’s disciples are like, “...Holy shit?!” 
And then SY is like, “Wait, maybe I shouldn’t have mentioned that.” 
But it’s too late. SQH’s disciples are already putting all the evidence together and there is SO MUCH EVIDENCE of something going on there. 
I know I refer to this ship as “Shangjiu”, but that’s mostly just to specify which Shen Qingqiu and I doubt that anyone in Cang Qiong Mountain Sect dares to call SQQ “Jiu” besides YQY. They’d probably actually end up calling it something along the lines of “The Premise” like original Star Trek: The Original Series Kirk/Spock shippers. (See Fanlore or something for more info on that.) 
Again, SQH cannot... CONCEIVE of them conceiving this idea. 
-
By the time that Mobei-Jun shows up at his Leisure House, Shang Qinghua is a little on the edge! Honestly, he’s kind of off the edge, dangling from a very thin branch just underneath the cliff’s edge, and that thin branch is making some very concerning noises! Sure, at least the demon lord isn’t late, but Shang Qinghua is suddenly reminded of just how intimidating Mobei-Jun looks! Also, he’s cleaned up his house and knows his sister-in-law knows he’s kind of a slob sometimes, but he’s so sure that she’s still going to judge his cleaning job! What if she blames Mobei-Jun for it? (She’d be right to blame him a little! The man can be kind of lazy and messy sometimes too!)
A cool hand at Shang Qinghua’s hip prevents him from walking around in circles, repositioning disobedient cushions and offending tables. Shang Qinghua looks up at Mobei-Jun, who moves his hand to where Shang Qinghua’s neck meets shoulder.
“Stop it,” Mobei-Jun says.
AN: It’s really funny thinking about how all of Mobei-Jun’s gentle and affectionate behaviors towards SQH are totally learned. This does not come naturally to the man. If SQH was having a panic attack, Mobei-Jun’s first (panicked) instinct would be to bark at him to stop it. 
“It’s just… Jiahui is… it didn’t have to be this way for us? I would have just helped her get to safety and left her to live her life without me, but she didn’t let that happen, even though her family wasn’t any good either, so why would she want another one?” Shang Qinghua tries to explain. “She chose me? She looked out for me. She helped me understand a lot of things. Even though she probably could have picked anyone else. I don’t really know where I’d be right now if she didn’t? Ah, probably… not talking to or trusting anyone ever? You remember what things used to be like.”
“Yes.”
“I’ve never really liked any of the sisters I’ve had before very much,” Shang Qinghua admits. “Ah, but they didn’t like me either, so it worked. Anyway! It’s… important to me that things work out now because…”
 “I don’t want to choose,” Shang Qinghua doesn’t say.
He clears his throat instead.
“Qinghua.”
Shang Qinghua forces himself to look up from his hands on Mobei-Jun’s collar.
“I am glad that you were not without someone to trust,” Mobei-Jun says, though it sounds like it takes effort. “Your sister has nothing to fear from me.”
Mobei-Jun has already made this promise, but it’s good to hear it again.
“Thank you, my king. I’ll, ah- I should go get her now.”
-
AN: Mobei-Jun is jealous. He is very, VERY jealous. 
BUT Mobei-Jun can also see some parallels here. Luo Jiahui is to Shang Qinghua in many ways what Shang Qinghua is to him. Mobei-Jun understands the importance of this relationship and of this person. He understands that Jiahui and SQH’s relationship is not romantic, of course, and understands her to be the “head of the family”, so he has to force himself not to act on his jealousy. 
I think that a part of Mobei-Jun might see jealousy as something very negative? Thinking about what I said about Mobei-Jun’s hang-ups surrounding consent and possessiveness possibly originating with his father being a wife-stealer, Mobei-Jun can’t act on his jealousy for the same reasons that he needs Shang Qinghua to make the first explicit moves. He wants Shang Qinghua to choose him and to choose him of his own free will. 
So, he’s jealous when he hears about how LJH chose SQH and SQH chose LJH, but he can’t act on it because 1) he loves SQH and 2) he’s (possibly unconsciously) terrified of becoming his father and creating resentment that will ripple out into his family potentially for generations. 
It’s so, so weird to see his human sister-in-law sitting across from a demon lord. Luo Jiahui is not a tall woman and her cultivation is very good these days, but she’s not a warrior. Seeing the height and width differences side-by-side make them really obvious! Mobei-Jun is at least twice Shang Qinghua’s sister-in-law’s size! He has to be easily twice her weight!
When Luo Jiahui puts food in front of Mobei-Jun, Shang Qinghua gets huge “I dare you to not eat my food” messages! It took a really long time before Mobei-Jun seemed to accept that Shang Qinghua really wouldn’t take every available opportunity to hand him poison. Thankfully, however, Mobei-Jun has eaten Luo Jiahui’s food before! Shang Qinghua has shared his sister-in-law's food with the demon lord! Shang Qinghua also communicated beforehand that Mobei-Jun has to eat the food. No matter what!
So, Mobei-Jun eats the food and Shang Qinghua breathes a sigh of relief. Mobei-Jun even goes so far as to tell Luo Jiahui that she’s a good cook (above and beyond social interaction! Also delivered kind of awkwardly!), which his sister-in-law accepts with thanks (and also maybe just a little bit as her rightful due).
Luo Jiahui already knows the basics of Mobei-Jun: that he’s an ice demon, the son of the Northern Demon King, and he’s going to be the next Northern Demon King. She already knows that he’s a warrior and that his time is mostly spent tending to his duties, usually on his father’s behalf. She even knows that demon families can be kind of violently competitive and that Mobei-Jun’s family is no exception.
So, when she finally decides to speak seriously, she says, “My brother is very important to me. I have told him that if he is happy, then I’m happy for him. He has told me that you are very important to him.”
AN: Mobei-Jun is going to hold that revelation close to his chest for WEEKS. Shang Qinghua said that Mobei-Jun is very important to him! 
Juggling the tension of this scene was weird. 
Because, like, Mobei-Jun is not a kind or a gentle or a good person. He’s disdainful of humanity. It’s kind of a mindfuck for him to be having a meal with a strange human who is not of the things he has been raised to respect. 
Meanwhile, Luo Jiahui is fucking terrified of Mobei-Jun, dislikes him, and doesn’t want to like him. He’s a stranger who could destroy her family. He looks kind of monstrous. He acts strangely. 
But they HAVE TO BE CIVIL to each other for Shang Qinghua’s sake. 
So they are. 
Mobei-Jun tries not to make any scary moves around the soft human. 
Luo Jiahui tries to act like MBJ is a normal person and to be polite. 
They are both very out of their depth. 
“...Shang Qinghua saved my life,” Mobei-Jun says, which is the first time he’s spoken without someone else speaking to him first. “Many times, he has done this.”
Luo Jiahui sets down her teacup, listening expectantly.
“Even when I did not trust him, and he did not trust me, Qinghua has always provided shelter and safety,” Mobei-Jun says slowly, solemnly. “Medicine, when I have been injured. Direction, when I have been lost. Company and loyalty. This is rare.”
“Yes,” Luo Jiahui agrees.
“The trust I have put in him has never been betrayed.”
Shang Qinghua kind of feels like he’s overheating here - like maybe his heart is melting! Mobei-Jun as a character has always prized loyalty above all! “I had no fucking clue,” he thinks. “Honestly, how the FUCK did I have no fucking clue?! Hindsight is incredible!”
“I would not betray him,” Mobei-Jun says, looking to Shang Qinghua directly. “My life has been his since the day we met.”
Shang Qinghua tries not to melt even more. Mobei-Jun is supposed to be an ice demon! What the hell is this?! It’s unfair! It’s embarrassing! It’s too much!
“...Good,” Luo Jiahui says, determinedly. “I’m happy to hear that. My hard-working brother needs someone to appreciate and cherish him.”
“Yes.”
AN: Mobei-Jun is like, “Humans use words. I need to use words. I need to be direct about this because humans are bad at understanding things.” 
And Luo Jiahui is like, “Oh my, you are very intense. Okay.” 
Mobei-Jun nods. “I did not think a human would ever care for a demon child.”
Luo Jiahui frowns a little. “Oh?”
“I admire this,” Mobei-Jun amends, frowning back. “I do not know how humans are raised. It is good that your child has never had to doubt his safety here.”
“...Of course.”
“It is clear that your child is loved beyond his bloodline.”
“Of course,” Luo Jiahui insists, with an offended note in her voice. “When I found Binghe in that river, I didn’t know he was part demon, but I would have taken him in anyway! Whoever the parent is, whatever the parent has done, it’s never the baby’s fault. Even if a parent has done something wrong, then babies shouldn’t suffer for it. All children should be cherished.”
Luo Jiahui’s voice breaks a little, her eyes turning wet. Shang Qinghua fumbles for a handkerchief to offer his sister-in-law, which she accepts gratefully.
He wonders if she’s thinking about her stillborn baby. She doesn’t talk about her other baby very often, but she does sometimes. She told him once that she observes that day. It’s something that she insists on doing alone.
“...I was left in the human world as a young child,” Mobei-Jun says.
Shang Qinghua’s head snaps up. He knows that, but that’s because he wrote that. He has never, ever heard Mobei-Jun talk about it before.
“Oh, no,” Luo Jiahui says.
“I was nearly killed by humans,” Mobei-Jun informs them.
“Oh, I’m so sorry,” Luo Jiahui says.
“It was my uncle’s doing. He wishes to see me dead.” Mobei-Jun says this like it’s just another fact of life, not even an upsetting one, which kind of makes it one of the saddest fucking things that Shang Qinghua has ever heard the man say.
“That’s terrible,” Luo Jiahui says vehemently. “How rotten.”
Mobei-Jun blinks at her. His expression is still solemn, but the pause seems surprised.
Shang Qinghua almost wants to shrug. Yep, his sister-in-law is just like this!
“I have promised Qinghua that I will protect your son,” Mobei-Jun says to her. “I make you the same promise now.”
“...Thank you.”
AN: Mobei-Jun is like, “I understand you to be one of the rare humans who is not a piece of shit and who would have saved me as a child. I respect this. I don’t fucking understand it, but I understand you should be protected and that your child should be protected. I am doing this for Shang Qinghua and not because I have any personal issues surrounding the endangerment of demon children.” 
Luo Jiahui is like, “Oh, he’s soft inside! He’ll protect my Binghe. Okay, I like him now. I didn’t want to, but anyone who basically professes to be willing to die for my child and my brother has my reluctant approval.” 
Shang Qinghua can’t help it. The energy in here is so weird! He laughs.
“My king, have you had that all this time?”
Mobei-Jun doesn’t say anything, he just frowns.
“Clearly he was waiting to return it in person, Houhua,” Luo Jiahui admonishes. “It’s not his fault that you took so long introducing us or surely he would have returned it sooner. Don’t make it out to be impolite.”
Mobei-Jun gives Shang Qinghua’s sister-in-law an approving look.
AN: Mobei-Jun is like, “Oh, she’s smarter than Qinghua. Good. (Not that my Shang Qinghua isn’t very clever, but he’s an idiot.)” 
And sometimes it’s just nice to take a minute to sit back, relax, and see his disciples daring their shidi, his fellow transmigrator, to chug the spiciest soup on the menu.
“Ah, kids,” Shang Qinghua says to Luo Jiahui.
Luo Jiahui is making a very concerned expression as her sisters, Shang Qinghua’s head disciples, and even Liu Mingyan chant: “Chug! Chug! Chug!” Yeah, he should probably stop them! But why would he? If anyone throws up from this, he’ll just appear out of nowhere to scare the shit out of all of them and then make them clean it up. It’s fine. He says as much to Luo Jiahui.
“They’re old enough to know better,” she says, but she looks fond now. “Their shifu should have taught them better manners, hm?”
“Hey! Only… four of those are mine.”
AN: Friends for Shen Yuan! Friends for Shen Yuan! 
Also SQH being like, “Oh, fuck, I really have too many kids.” 
Luo Jiahui sighs wistfully. “It is nice having children in here again, even big ones who are supposed to be adults now. I’m so proud of how Binghe has grown, but I miss when he was little. I miss when I could pick him up and carry him around. Uncle Han’s daughter brought her new baby in yesterday. He was so cute!”
“Aha, don’t steal a baby to fill the empty nest, please!”
Luo Jiahui swats him. “I wouldn’t do something like that!” she insists, cheeks flushing pink.
AN: Baby?! Baby for Luo Jiahui and Liu Qingge?! Maybe! 
63 notes · View notes
monstersandmaw · 3 years
Text
Male vampire x male character - Part Two (nsfw) (Halloween ‘surprise’ Patreon story).
Edit which I’m including in all my works after plagiarism and theft has taken place: I do not give my consent for my works to be used, copied, published, or posted anywhere. They are copyrighted and belong to me.
I'm really pleased that you and my Patrons enjoyed the first part, and that folks were keen for more. I’ve had more interaction with this post on Patreon than many of the others, which is surprising given how mlm stories are usually much less in demand than m/f ones. Thanks for that!
Anyway, here's more of our favourite oblivious dork Alec and his obviously-not-a-vampire crush... Part Three is on the way too (tomorrow), despite this having been planned as a quick porn-without-plot one-shot, as it were. Oh well?!
Hope you enjoy.
Part One
Tumblr media
After his initial - admittedly strange - meetings with Sebastien, Alec didn’t see him on campus at all for the rest of the week, and he wasn’t quite sure how he felt about that. Yes, the guy had been a bit of a pompous arsehole in the library, but he’d made up for it by coming to the art room and apologising, engaging him in conversation — even if that conversation had been slightly… odd? — and being so god-damn-fucking beautiful too.  
He overheard his students gossiping about ‘Dr. Dulac’ earlier that afternoon while they all carved the pumpkins he’d bought for them at the local supermarket, and it seemed that the general consensus was that Sebastien was single, unfailingly polite (even in the face of Janette Hilton, the English Department’s longest-serving and least sympathetic lecturers), hotter than any celebrity you cared to name, and a specialist in the poets of the First World War like Sassoon and Brooke, among other more esoteric interests.  
After an hour of clock-watching in his tiny little office in the Art Department on Friday, he abandoned all hope of concentrating on his last few bits of admin, and shut down his laptop. After clearing up yet more pumpkin seeds that he’d somehow missed on the last two sweeps he’d done of the studio, he stepped outside, never wanting to see another bloody thing again. Too bad he had a whole bloody cardboard box of them waiting to go into the boot of Kay’s car for her party that night. Still, he was almost sinfully proud of the carvings he’d done on them. One was decorated the whole way around with the foliate style engravings usually reserved for the steel on antique guns, with different depths to create the highlights and shadows, and another particularly spherical one had been cut away in squares to resemble the Death Star.  
The October air outside bit into his lungs as he drew a deep breath - the spicy, fragrantly damp scents of autumn filling his nose - and his eye was drawn to the twinkling lights of the little coffee cart that still lingered in the park, selling tea, coffee, and hot chocolate to chilly students leaving the university campus for the night. With a black coffee for himself in one hand, he made his way to the Engineering Department, warily holding another frothy concoction in his other. It was apparently called a ‘London fog’ and it smelled of earl grey tea and lavender. He thought it sounded (and smelled) disgusting, but Kay perked right up when he deposited it on her desk five minutes later.  
“Bless you, Alec Twayblade,” she grinned, taking the plastic lid off and inhaling it like it was the best thing she’d ever smelled. “Oh my god. How can you not like this?” she said after taking a huge gulp and moaning obscenely.  
Alec didn’t bother to reply, his eye-roll speaking volumes anyway. They’d had this discussion so many times that they were both probably playing it out silently in their heads right that second. When Kay glanced up and saw that he certainly was, she snorted and grinned. “I love you, Alec,” she laughed. “You’re still coming tonight?”
“Against my better judgement,” he growled, leaning his weight on her desk and folding his arms across his battered, blue cable knit sweater. He had a huge daub of yellow paint on one elbow from that morning, and a small burn hole in the bottom from a failed attempt at pyrography a few years ago. It was the most comfortable jumper he owned, and he would probably wear it until it unravelled around him.  
“You’re still not going to wear a costume, are you?” she added as she stood, pouting.  
He shook his head. “I draw the line at that.”
“But you’d be so good making one!” she countered. “You helped me with that bat costume when we were at high school… Don’t you remember how fucking awesome it was?”
“I do,” he chuckled. “But I’m not going to wear one myself.”
She sighed, shoulders slumping. “Too much attention, huh?” she said softly. “Well, you know you’ll stand out more if you’re not wearing one tonight…?”
He shrugged. Honestly, he just couldn’t be bothered to dress up. Halloween had rather lost its shine for him anyway. “Not if I hide in the kitchen all night and make too-strong cocktails for everyone,” he said, flashing her his most roguish grin. “Plus, I spent much of today carving pumpkins with nattering eighteen year olds who are far too old to be carving pumpkins on academic time, but —”
“— you’re an awesome teacher who understands the need to let off some steam on the holidays,” she interjected. “Plus, it’s good practice anyway… working with a new medium…”
He allowed his lips to pinch upwards into a tiny smirk and let her have that one. “It’s nice to see them having fun,” was all he said.  
An hour or so later, just as he arranged the last of the pumpkins down the garden path of Kay's Victorian semi-detached house, a voice murmured from behind him, “I can see the hand of a master at work in these carvings.”
Not having heard anyone approaching, Alec jumped, cursed, and dropped the pumpkin - thankfully with the candle still unlit. It rolled in a semicircle until a black boot gently stopped it, and a familiar face dipped into view as the owner of the boot bent to pick it up. To his surprise, it was Sebastien, and he was in costume. Probably anyway. Hopefully? Fuck. Alec’s brain stalled at the sight of him.  
His eyes raked up Sebastien’s body and his jaw went quite literally slack.  
The slender man was wearing thigh-high boots and leather pants so tight they had to have been spray-painted on, into which was tucked a loose, old-fashioned, white shirt with a good bit of flounce at the collar. “Holy shit,” he whispered, and Sebastien chuckled softly, a low, amused sound in the back of his throat.  
“You recognise the costume?” he asked, seeming innocently amused. The long, dark coat, accented with gold brocade and bright gold buttons, opened briefly in a soft gust of wind that made the lit pumpkins flicker and lifted his loose, silver-white hair back for a breath as well.  
“I…” he swallowed. “Uh, you’re Alucard,” he croaked. “From the Castlevania games…” A wry incline of Sebastien’s head told him he was correct, and then Alec blurted stupidly, “Shouldn’t you be shirtless though?”
Sebastien’s smile grew from pleased to deeply amused, his eyes glittering, and it was only then that Alec noticed the contacts burning a bright gold in his eyes and, as his lips peeled back and Sebastien began to laugh, he saw long, tapering, white canines befitting a vampire costume. “It’s a little cold for that, don’t you think?” Sebastien asked, still laughing quietly as Alec flushed crimson.  
“Sorry,” he blurted. “I know. I just… forget it.”
“Where do you want it?” Sebastien asked, and Alec’s poor brain went blank.  
“What?”
“The pumpkin,” Sebastien deadpanned and Alec’s poor, blank brain melted out of his ears with embarrassment.  
“Uh… there’s fine,” he said, pointing at the little wrought-iron garden gate.  
Sebastien placed the pumpkin down on the flagstone path so that the carved graveyard scene glimmered and flickered with appropriate spookiness, visible to anyone approaching along the quiet, suburban street. Enormous London plane trees stood sentry every few paces, heaving up the tarmac pavement with their roots, like a sleeper shifting a blanket with a restless turn, and sheltering the cars snuggled and parked beneath them. A carpet of leaves clung to the gutter in a long, golden line, melting into nothing in places in the glittering puddles. It would have been beautiful, had Alec not been faced with quite literally the most beautiful thing in the entire universe.  
“Am I early then?” Sebastien asked, dusting off his palms and turning back to face Alec, who had barely managed to make his legs work long enough to stand up straight again.  
He shook his head. “No. Henry’s inside already,” he said, running his fingers through his scruffy black hair. “With Rachel and Alison. I just forgot to put the pumpkins out earlier.”
“No costume?”  
With a roll of his eyes, he shook his head. “Nope.”
“Too bad,” Sebastien said, eyeing the front door. The contacts were really creepy, shifting in the light that spilled down the stairs as the front door suddenly opened and Kay stepped out before he could worry that he’d been the only one to dress up. He could probably brush it off anyway, Alec supposed, and tried not to envy the man’s quiet confidence.
Silhouetted starkly against the hall light, with her high ‘Dracula’ collar on prominent display, Kay shrieked with glee and clapped her hands when she saw Sebastien. Apparently the two of them had been getting along rather well, while Alec had sequestered himself away in the Art Department like an ascetic.  
“Bastien! You look amazing oh my god!” she blurted, rushing forwards a step or two before halting abruptly. “Wait, does that make me your father for the evening?” she cackled. “Wow, your teeth are really good! Mine wouldn't stay in for more than a few minutes…”
Sebastien’s gold eyes flickered sideways to Alec but it happened so briefly that he almost missed it. “Custom made a long time ago,” was all he said. “Shall we go inside? It’s freezing out here.”
“Yes, of course, come on in,” she said, waving them all inside, Sebastien first. As Alec passed her last, she slapped him hard on the backside in rebuke and hissed, “Told you you should have worn a costume! You look like a big dumbo!”
“No different from any other night,” he quipped back, and she growled something indistinct at him. Perhaps a werewolf costume would have suited her better. “You could have told me you’d invited Dulac…”
“Why?” she retorted. “So you could suddenly decide that an evening moping alone with your PS4 playing Rocket League with strangers was more appealing? No fucking chance. Get inside. Sebastien’s right; I’m freezing my tits off.”
The distant murmur of voices in the living room made him veer off instinctively into the kitchen, and while they began to watch some old Hammer horror film, he made drinks. That, at least, he was good at.  
Entering a while later, he found that Sebastien was seated on the sofa beside Henry, who wore an enormously fluffy wolfman costume - mostly a repurposed Chewbacca onesie with a latex wolf mask. He’d pushed the mask up onto his head in order to eat the Halloween themed nibbles on the coffee table, and the effect rendered him entirely ridiculous. Another reason not to wear a costume: it’s impractical, and gets in the way, and washing ketchup out of matted fake fur is a nightmare. Alison and Rachel sat practically in each other’s laps, one a zombie and the other a ghost, both squeezed into one groaning old armchair.  
After half an hour of Christopher Lee’s admittedly creepy Dracula, Alec slid from his seat at the periphery, and ducked out again into the kitchen. Straightening from fishing a beer from the back of the fridge, he heard the soft click of the door and turned to find Sebastien standing there.  
“Get bored with late 1950’s horror too?” Alec asked. “Beer?”
Sebastien inclined his head in a way that said he wasn’t a beer drinker and held up his almost-empty wineglass as an excuse as he moved a little closer. “If you don’t like cheesy horror films, and you don’t seem to like Halloween either, I wonder why you came at all tonight?”
“For Kay,” he said, as if it was the most obvious answer in the world. “She loves this shit.”
At that, Sebastien paused, a delicate smile on his face. In the soft glow of the under-cupboard lighting, his tanned skin seemed to shimmer, and Alec wondered fleetingly if he’d put some kind of glittery body powder on. Next, he wondered what on earth Sebastien was doing in here with him, looking at him like that.  
“You are a good friend,” Sebastien said quietly, seeming perhaps a little sad around the edges.  
“She’s done more than her fair share of looking after me,” Alec sighed knowingly. “Not that I’m doing it because I owe her,” he added, twisting the cap off the bottle and leaning back against the counter to drink deeply from it. As the malty froth washed over his tongue, he felt eyes on him and looked over at the other man.  
Sebastien tilted his head slightly to the side, the false golden light in his eyes making him look like a cat in the dark. “You said she was trying to set you up with someone…”
Alec snorted, nearly shooting beer out of his nose. “Yeah. Well, she seems to think a good fuck will sort my mood out.”
“But you think otherwise?”
“You offering?” he asked bitterly, taking another swig and feeling uncharacteristically bold, though absolutely not expecting the answer he got.  
“Perhaps.”
His eyebrows shot up and this time he did cough a little. “You can’t be serious.”
“You think someone who looks like me is entirely straight?” he asked with a wry smile, and Alec had to hand it to him. Not many men he knew could pull of long, luscious, white-blond hair like that, or would have the confidence to wear fucking thigh-high boots and whisper-tight leather pants…
“Still… you don’t really know me… That’s all I meant…”
“Doesn't mean one couldn’t engage in — how did you call it? — ‘a good fuck’. Not that I’m averse to getting to know you better, before or after.”
Alec swallowed another enormous gulp of frothing beer and blinked. “You’re serious?”
With a melodramatic smile that revealed his vampire teeth clearly, ‘Alucard’ purred, “Deadly.”
And Alec burst out laughing. The spell was shattered and the two men shared the remnants of their drinks and their laughter together before Alec sighed. “Your place or mine?”
At that, Sebastien seemed to falter, as if he hadn’t thought through to that point. After a moment’s hesitation, he said, “I assume yours would be alright?”
Alec shrugged. “Sure, if you don’t mind smacking your head on the ceiling and being able to touch two opposite walls at the same time…”
Sebastien’s lips hitched into another wry smile. “I’ve fucked in tighter spaces, I’m sure.”
“You know what?” Alec said as he rinsed out the beer bottle at the sink and half-turned to look at the other man over his shoulder. “You’re absolutely not what I expected.”
“Nor were you,” he shot back, still smirking. “And it’s been a while since I was assaulted by someone in a library.”
“Bring back happy memories, did it?” he snorted.  
“Not exactly,” Sebastien murmured, and Alec realised he hadn’t actually been joking. “But I must confess that — despite my behaviour — I was pleasantly surprised by the sight of you when you rounded that bookshelf…”
Turning, Alec approached him cautiously. If he was genuinely serious about his proposal, Alec would find out now. “Pleased enough to seek me out afterwards…” he said, raising his eyebrows. He couldn’t do that ‘one brow at a time’ thing that Sebastien could, but it seemed to get his tone across all the same.
Unusually for Alec, Sebastien had an inch or two on him in height, and as Alec paused in front of him, close enough to catch the faintest hint of a woody cologne, the man angled his face just perfectly for the light to dance along his high cheekbones. Fuck, he was exquisite. The urge to kiss him rose in Alec; to feel his lips against his own, to have those elegant hands scrunch his hair…  
As if reading his mind, Sebastien slowly, carefully, raised his right hand and brought his index finger to Alec’s chin, tilting it upwards just a fraction with the lightest pressure. The intensity in his eyes was almost too much, and it left Alec breathless. Again. Panting slightly, he parted his lips and then swallowed thickly.  
Sebastien’s eyes darted instantly to the motion of his throat and for a second, Alec could have sworn he saw a vibrant red light reflected in his eyes. Sensing his moment of hesitation, of tension, Sebastian frowned. “What?”
“Nothing,” Alec breathed. “I thought your eyes went red but it must have been a car on the street outside or something.”  
“Indeed,” he murmured, but then blinked rapidly. “Do you still wish to continue this?”
“Yes,” he whispered. Don't stop now. His whole body was thrumming in a way it hadn’t ever before with casual encounters. He felt alive for the first time in months.  
Sebastien stepped back, turning his face away a little more. “Should we make our excuses…?”
Alec shook his head. “Nah, Kay will know what’s going on anyway, and I don’t want to face her smug looks until tomorrow at the least.”
With a softly amused chuckle, Sebastien stepped back and allowed Alec to leave the room first. The hair on the back of his neck prickled as the other man followed behind, but he didn't turn around or look at him until they were outside on the main street.  
“It’s a bit of a walk…” Alec said, only realising then how long the walk would be. “I’m way over on the other side of town by the station…”
The continuing intensity of Sebastien’s scrutiny was beginning to shift from a turn-on to just marginally unnerving, but he told himself that an esteemed professor at one of the country’s finest universities, with more letters after his name than anyone his age had a right to possess, was unlikely to be truly dangerous for a one-night stand… right? There was something about the way he stared at Alec — an unmistakable hunger in his eyes — that made his skin prickle and his heartbeat jump instinctively. Like a deer before the gaze of a tiger, he was entranced.  
Unexpectedly, Sebastien’s easy stride slowed at the brick gateway to a small, gravel park that sat between an old church and a chemist, the latter closed at this time of night. “May I kiss you?” he breathed, still gazing at him unblinkingly, as though Alec were the pretty one in this equation, not him.  
Alec couldn’t help grinning. The way Sebastien’s eyes bored into him then drove all thought of threat and fear from his mind, and he nodded.  
The man’s hands were chilly from the night air, but the moment they cupped his jaw and drew Alec toward him, he forgot about that. He forgot about everything at the meeting of their lips. Sebastien began tentatively, merely brushing their lips together, but when his golden eyes fluttered closed, he deepened the gesture, tongue just begging entrance, teasing him before withdrawing, retreating and returning.  
Searing want shot down Alec’s spine and he arched into Sebastien’s taller body, hips seeking contact through his jeans. He moaned, deep and guttural, and it seemed to awaken something in Sebastien, because the man grabbed hold of the back of Alec’s hair and pulled his head slightly to one side to begin to kiss along his jawline, down to wards his neck. For a heartbeat, Sebastien froze there, nose pressed to his rabbiting pulse point, his teeth just grazing skin, before he exhaled harshly and stepped back. “We shouldn’t get carried away,” was all he whispered, stepping slightly out of Alec’s dazed field of view. “My place is nearer though.”
“Ok,” Alec said, still reeling. “Sure.”
When they reached the apartment building, his steps faltered in amazement. “You live… here?”
A slight flush seemed to warm Sebastien’s cheeks as he stepped up to the main doorway, only to have it opened from the other side by a man in livery. “Good evening, Monsieur Dulac,” said the friendly doorman instantly.  
“Good evening,” he replied. “This is my friend, Alec Twayblade.”
It was impossible for the doorman not to realise that his ‘friend, Alec Twayblade’ was going to be a little more than that for the night, but he never let a flicker of judgement pass across his face. From the concierge desk - Sebastien’s building had a fucking concierge desk too - another man looked up and wished them both a good evening as they headed for the lifts.  
“Does the English department also sell diamonds or drugs or something? How the fuck can you afford a place like this on a lecturer’s salary?” but even as he said it and the doors closed with a soft chime, he realised the truth of it. Sebastien’s aristocratic features and bearing were not merely a persona. They were truth. He stared up at him while Sebastien turned a key in the lift panel.
“Are you secretly royalty or something?” he whispered, only half joking.  
The man shot him an amused look and shook his head, silk-white hair whispering against the rougher wool of his costume coat. “No, of course not, but I do have some inherited wealth.”
Some? “So you don’t actually have to work at the university at all then?”
He made a so-so motion of his head and said, “No, not really, but I genuinely enjoy teaching.”
“Your students certainly seem to enjoy you…”
“You don’t enjoy teaching?” he asked as the numbers on the dial climbed and climbed.  
Please don’t say you live in the fucking penthouse too, Alec thought, already suspecting it might be true from the whole ‘special access key’. He glanced at the number pad and saw that the button labelled ‘PH’ was illuminated. Fuck. “Most days I enjoy it,” he admitted. “But I kind of fell into it a while back and just sort of…” he shrugged, “Stuck with it.”
Sebastien asked no more, and the lift finally stopped on the top floor. The doors drew back to reveal an apartment beyond that Alec could only gawp at. It was like something from the set of an Architectural Digest photo shoot. Nothing was out of place in the hardwood floor paradise, with clean, crisp lines and white marble counter tops in the kitchen off to his left, while a comfortable, and yet still clinically modern, sitting area sat to their right. Deep, fluffy rugs dotted that part of the penthouse, and a wide balcony stretched out over the city beyond, complete with a little table and chairs for warmer evenings.  
“This place is incredible,” Alec breathed, the reason for his even being here completely forgotten.  
Clearly sensing that, Sebastien smiled bashfully and said, “Would you like something to drink?”
Alec cleared his throat and hoped he wasn’t going to be faced with a choice between very expensive wines that he’d never heard of. “Sure… thanks.”
“White, red, beer, or whisky?” he asked, walking towards the kitchen and dumping his ‘Alucard’ coat over the back of a white sofa as he went. Alec’s mouth went dry as he watched the point where his narrow hips met the flowing material of the white shirt. Dear god, an arse like that shouldn’t be… well, it just shouldn’t be. And yet there it was. Clad in leather and looking positively delectable. “Or a soft drink?” he added when Alec remained silent.  
Aware of where his gaze had landed, Sebastien halted and looked back over his shoulder, long, loose, naturally straight hair already losing the curls that had been worked into it for the Alucard costume. Definitely not straight, if he owned hair curlers.  
“Uh…” Alec said, unsure what the question had even been now.  
“I’m going to pour myself a whisky, if that helps…?”
“Yeah, sure.”
Sebastien smiled, looking almost endeared by Alec’s inept stuttering. Surely he couldn’t be unused to such a reaction? “Make yourself at home then.”
With a smoky, peat-tinged whisky in a wide, heavy-bottomed tumbler set on his glass coffee table, Alec watched Sebastien turn the gas fire on, and, to his surprise, he came to a halt directly in front of him. Setting his own whisky down on the table with a deliberate, and yet delicate, clunk, Sebastien turned back to him and raked his eyes down Alec’s body in a way that made him flush hot all over. His cock twitched with interest and he tried not to preen under that gaze.  
Sebastien’s eyes and teeth were back to normal now, with no hint of the golden contacts or the vampire fangs, and Alec fleetingly assumed that he must have removed them at some point between getting the whisky and appearing in front of him looking like he was about to ravish him. Oh dear god, please let him be about to ravish me, he thought with a big, dumb grin spreading across his face.  
Seeing his reaction, Sebastien reached down and knelt facing him on the sofa, running his palm over the already-growing bulge in Alec’s jeans. Alec let out a deep grunt and rocked his hips up into the contact, throwing his head back against the soft, open weave of the white fabric. “Oh fuck,” he hissed.  
Sebastien’s fingers found the button of his jeans and deftly undid it, but he paused. “May I?” he asked, and Alec found himself nodding before he’d even worked out what Sebastien wanted.  
He found out a moment later, when his jeans were around his ankles and Sebastien was kneeling on the floor between his knees and licking a long stripe up the length of his rapidly hardening cock.  
“Oh god,” he panted as the wet heat of Sebastien’s mouth engulfed half of his length and then drew back to leave his wet tip exposed to the slight chill of the apartment air. The contrast stole his breath for a heartbeat, but Sebastien returned his attentions to his cock, gently sucking and working him to full hardness in a matter of minutes.  
Pleasure sparked through Alec’s whole body and he strained not to thrust back into Sebastien’s mouth, even as Sebastien took him right to the back of his throat, the tip of Alec’s cock nudging against the silky resistance of his throat.  
“Fuck, fuck, fuck…” he chanted as Sebastien’s fingertips just teased and caressed the underside of his balls too, and Sebastien hollowed his cheeks and sucked a little more insistently. “Oh fuck…” Really fucking eloquent here, Alec, he thought vaguely, but one look down at the vision kneeling between his legs and sucking him off drove even that thought from his brain.  
The suck and slide of Sebastien’s mouth was incredible, and while he had no idea quite how much time passed, it felt like mere seconds as the heat stoked in him until he could feel the orgasm threatening to crash through him. “I’m… I’m really close…” he gasped as Sebastien moaned against his cock, sending little vibrations thrumming through him and tipping him even closer. The sharp prick of his teeth every now and again was a perfect counterpoint to the slick heat of his mouth, and it was never enough to hurt. Normally Alec wasn’t one for including teeth in this, but with Sebastien, it felt perfect.  
Sebastien pulled back just as Alec felt himself beginning to coil up, his lips swollen and glistening from the exertion of bringing him that close, and he smiled. He looked radiant, and Alec’s cock twitched enthusiastically in his hands as he let out a soft whimper. The air was cold and his tip beaded pre-come freely, which Sebastien thumbed away with a surprisingly tender gesture, only to watch as more pearled immediately at his slit. Using just the tip of his tongue, Sebastien lapped at it delicately and Alec’s whole body shuddered.  
His thighs shook at the tiny, intense stimulation, with Sebastien's fingers gripping the base of his cock in a tight circle, and he gasped, chest heaving. It was too much and not enough, and as he found his perineum teased as well, he bellowed and trembled. He was half a heartbeat away from coming harder than he could ever remember coming in his life, and Sebastien wasn’t going to let him have it. He roared and ground his teeth, bucking his hips, which made Sebastien laugh softly.  
“Alright,” he heard him murmur, before he swallowed him down to the back of his throat again, and Alec shattered with a yell.
When he finally blinked his eyes open, he found that Sebastien had risen and was sitting on the small sofa beside him, whisky in hand, staring openly at him. He didn’t look smug exactly, but there was a quiet satisfaction to his brown eyes that made Alec flush, at which Sebastien’s beautiful lips drew back into a smile. He noted again those slightly larger canines, but they were nothing like the vampire teeth he had worn earlier.  
“What do you want?” Alec asked, voice hoarse. God, he sounded wrecked. Had he really shouted so hard he’d made his throat sore?
Sebastien’s dolorous, dark eyes crinkled slightly at the corners. “What do you want?”
“To watch you come,” he said immediately.  
“And how would you like me to come?” Sebastien replied, sipping nonchalantly at the golden liquor as if the were discussing what Alec would like Sebastien to wear. As it was, his leather pants were constricting his obvious hard-on in a way that had to be painful for him, and his shirt was open at the neck to reveal delicate collarbones and a glimpse of his beautiful olive skinned chest.  
He was an absolute vision. “Fuck, you’re so beautiful,” he blurted in a whisper before he could stop himself, and to his surprise, Sebastien laughed. The sound was bright, delighted, and oddly self-conscious, as if he hadn’t been expecting a compliment like that. “Sorry,” he added, looking away. “Look… if you’ve got condoms, I’m… I’m good to… you know…”
“You want me to fuck you?” Sebastien asked, his gaze sharpening again.  
“Yes?”  
“’Yes?’ Or ‘yes’…?” Sebastien asked, seeking clarification.  
“Yes. But I don't understand your question.”
“Look at me,” Sebastien said.  
“Hard not to…” Alec quipped back, still feeling utterly wrung out.  
“Most people assume I’m going to be the one taking it…”
Alec’s eyebrows rose as realisation settled. “Oh. And, what, I look like a top?”
Sebastien’s lips twitched. “Conventionally more so than I do, with your rugged looks and the rough shadow around your jaw…”
“So… do you want me to… you know…? Or…” Fuck, he felt like a teenager again, struggling to articulate himself and not get his sentences in a tangle while this breathtaking creature just sat there and watched him make an idiot out of himself.
“I very much want to fuck you,” Sebastien said at last. “If you’d like that as well.”
“Yes,” he said instantly.  
Sebastien set down his glass and rose in a single, elegant motion, and then held his hand out to Alec.
His skin was still cool, especially next to Alec’s searing body, and his hold was steady as Alec heaved himself to his feet and allowed himself to be alternately tugged and kissed into the bedroom. 
___
Part Three
Behold, plot has appeared to go with the Halloween porn I had planned. Alec’s family will come up in the next chapter.
___
I really hope you folks enjoyed this one! Don’t forget to let me  know if you did enjoy it by leaving a like and/or reblogging it!
__
| Masterlist | Patreon | Ko-fi | Writing Commissions |
224 notes · View notes
kira-7 · 3 years
Note
mAn i bloody love Musa and Riven. I loved their relationship in the show as a kid mostly because they weren't perfect. Whilst the other relationships were pretty much and they made me cringe far more, even as a kid. Though their relationship was a little toxic when they were both developed as characters they had a really good relationship. From what I heard about s8 they made Riven regress back to his old jealous stubborn self which is annoying seeing how much he developed as a character
Hi anon!
I love these two! They're my OTP 😍 I still remember exactly the moment I fell in love with them
Tumblr media
Ok, maybe not exactly this moment 😅 but of course this episode, exactly when Riven came into the light with Musa in his arms 😍 from that moment on, I started to follow them, and rec every moment of their love story 😂
I love them, too, because they were more realistic than the other couples, both of Musa and Riven were stubborn, proud, they found hard to talk openly about their feelings (see when Musa denied to Stella, in season 1, that she had a crush on Riven), and easily irritable, just like Flora said in this other episode, from Season 2
Tumblr media
In Italian, Flora said something like "Incredible, those two are identical!", and I still think that she was right.
Season 2 was something incredible for them, Jared, Musa's concert, the way Musa gained her charmix (trusting Riven), and the end! The EEEEND!
Tumblr media
I squeaked in this exact moment, because in Italian Riven said (after "come back to me") "I love you!" FINALLY THIS STUBBORN AND PROUD GUY SAID WHAT HE REAL FEEEEEELT!!! YEEEEEEEESSSS!!! 🎊🎊🎊🎊 (ok, I have to calm down 😅 I can't, I become 14 again 😭😭😭😭), then Riven saved Musa from a Lord Darkar's attack, risking his life, their kiss, THE AAAAAANGSTTTTT! 😭😭😭😭 And when, after Bloom healed every one, Musa went away from Riven shily (awwww 😍 how cute! 😍), at the end, they happily danced
Tumblr media
(and I really "thanked" Aisha/Layla for this moment 😁)
Then, there is season 3, and I think there is another beautiful moment, even if we started to see how much they argued, like in an episode where specialists teached winx how to drive a motorbike (I didn't remember its real name, sorryyyyy 😭)... But here's a thing that makes me think about...
On one hand, in Red Fountain, specialists, expecially Helia (a saint!) made Riven reason just saying to him that if this fuchsia head continued with his attitude, he would lost Musa! (literally: "Be a better person if you truly love her and we all know you do!")
Instead, at the other hand, Musa confided with Aisha her problems with Riven... Aisha was, of course, a good person, but at this moment, in my opinion, she was the least person to give Musa advises, because she was in a big problem herself, an incoming arranged marriage, with someone she didn't know and, most of all, she didn't love... If I remember well, that was the dialogue between Musa and Aisha:
M: "How can you be together with a person who doesn't understand/believe/trust you?"
A: "Simple, you aren't together!"
Like... What?!
I mean, don't misunderstand me, anon, please, I'm the first person who thinks that, if you are with such a person, it would be a good idea to leave them and search someone better, but I also think that it would be worth considering talking, trying to understand what went wrong and trying to be a better person (don't change yourself, just improve yourself, just like Helia said!)... Then, if things don't change, the couple decides to take two separate ways... But Aisha didn't consider this option, and so neither Musa did (I'm sure if there was Flora, for example, instead of Aisha, perhaps musa would have received that advice too, like Riven)
Tumblr media
Then, Nabu arrived, the man in the wrong place at the wrong time... And we see Riven's jealousy, thanks to a little mistake that Flora innocently did: she took a video with her phone and rec Musa's back who stayed with this stranger. So, who can stay calm when you "see" your partner "kisses" someone else, while you're trying to be better? I'll be honest: personally, I can't, like, hell, "I'm trying to improve myself, here, and this handsome hunk wooing my girlfriend?"
Totally a misunderstanding, but a comprehensible one, in my opinion. Finally, after understand what real happened, those two stubborn ones are on the same page, Riven learnt to be more sweet (?) and less proud (?), and it's a really big improvement, remembering the guy he was in season 1! Musa, on the contrary, learnt that if two people doesn't get well in the first months, for example, it's over! Let's change! Next please!
Tumblr media
I take into analysis the first movie, where there are two kisses between these two, one in Riven's memories, and the other really, after the specialist states that he understood what was worth fighting for, Musa, and awwww 😍😍😍😍
(can't find their kiss in the movie, unfortunately 😔)
From here, I believe, a slow but steady descent began: from the fourth season I remember Musa falling in love with Jeremy... Jason... I don't remember his name, the music producer, jealous Riven, other squabbles between the two of them, this time Nabu tries to make Riven reason (another saint!), and eventually making peace at the end...
From here I gave up on seeing the episodes completely, I followed the scenes dedicated to them on youtube: Musa gets jealous of a blonde, but it was all because Riven wanted to surprise Musa by dedicating her a song... The sixth was a tragedy, with the two of them leaving permanently because the specialist doesn't feel satisfied and cannot pay attention to Musa... Obviously, I have not seen the seventh (you can imagine why 😅)... The eight I know they did a big improvement as a couple, there's someone, here on tumblr, that tells everything in two episodes all dedicated to Musa and Riven's relationship 😍
💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖
At the end, was their relationship toxic? Yes and No? No, because if they decided to speak properly about their feelings, even with someone's help, they could work perfectly well together (just read what that person wrote about season 8, anon, you can find them on "Musa x Riven" tag here on tumblr); yes, because they received different advises... Both of parts have to work on themselves to be a healthy couple, according to me, not just one of them... Just my personal pov, you are free to say that I'm wrong: even if everyone in this world wants a wonderful relationship with someone, most of the time we have to improve ourselves, together, sometimes just accepting other's defects, sometimes helping them to work on their insecurities, to listen them, to be near them... In my opinion, Musa and Riven could give a strong message to children, they could teach that if both of you truly love each other just like the perfect couples do (like Bloom/Sky, Stella/Brandon, Flora/Helia, Tecna/Timmy, Aisha/Nabu (I don't take Lex because I don't know his character)) both of you have to work hard, together, don't stand firm in your beliefs, because that would be the most wrong thing. The writers, on the other hand, decided not to give the couple this chance... Alas, it could have been interesting...
I just hope, if the live action will do a second season or more, and they will make Musa/Riven real, they will fix this... I'm not sure they will do, but hope never dies 😁
Tumblr media
I'm terribly sorry for the novel, anon 😅 I got carried away 😂 I'm sorry even if there could be typos here or there, I tried to write as perfectly as I could, but Idk how "perfect" it really is 😂😂😂
Thank you for the ask and have a good day 💖
76 notes · View notes
emachinescat · 3 years
Text
Tumblr media
I've decided to watch MacGyver from the beginning (again), and I'm live tweeting the experience with every tweet tagged with #savemacgyver. I thought it would be fun to share my collected thoughts from the episodes on here as well.
My Thoughts on S1E1, "The Rising"
Good old Lake Como.
"How do I look?" Always amazing, Mac, though here you are so bebby. Gosh, tiny Lucas is tiny.
Ugggh, Nikki. My least favorite story arc in the show. Even with her redemption arc, even her face makes me mad.
I am soooo glad this awkward flirting is only in this episode. Mac and Nikki have never vibed with me.
JACK DALTON
"Who loves ya, baby?" We all do, Jack.
I always wished they would have played more into the original Mac's reason for not carrying a weapon - not just so he doesn't get caught but because he doesn't like them. That was actually one reason I used to be so upset at the reboot when it first came out. I still feel like Mac's character was off for this first episode - a little too cocky, not super developed. But still lovable, and with so much potential!
It's so cool to see how much Lucas has grown into this character over the years, really making it his own while still holding on to its essence.
Lol "serious bad-assery" - Nikki thinks she's so cool. (Spoiler: she's not.)
Lololol Nikki is the Walmart brand of Riley.
Mac in glasses. Adorbs.
Man, I'm already so ready for Matty. Patti is the off brand version of her.
I always love watching Mac rifle through stuff to find his improvisation supplies!
First MacSplaining session! Electromagnets!
"Is this George Clooney's house?" I miss Jack so freaking much.
Tumblr media
Mac kind of looks like a penguin with that waiter outfit on and I'm living for it.
The second Mac hack is so Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew.
"Why don't you ever flirt with me like that?" Um, Jack, do you want your partner's girlfriend flirting with you, daddy fixation or not?
There are two kinds of oops, accordng to Jack Dalton: Oops - I just stubbed my toe / Ooooooops - Zombie apocalypse initiated.
Mac's hair is so shaggy.
"START THE DAMN BOAT!" Classic.
"Hold this and get out of my way." Dang, Mac.
The bad guy is the dude from Galavant hahaha. I know this guy has been in so many things, but he will always be Gareth to me. (That's his name, right? Gareth?)
W H U M P
I actually love the consistency of Mac always having that scar even seasons into the series (except for the last time, in the river). Overall great attention to detail!
That is a LOT of blood in the water.
Lol I'm pretty sure Grandpa Harry didn't say that in so many words, Mac.
Poor traumatized bebby. What am I saying? I live for this stuff.
Tumblr media
Awww, lil Bozer. So smol. So pure. And now I want waffles.
"Eat your waffles." Three words I will never say no to.
"Give me Wang." -Bozer, 2016
Am I the only one who finds these intimate scenes between Mac and Nikki hella awkward?
QUARANTINE, sounds familiar.
Lol "cyberteam." Once Riley Davis comes along, they will be obsolete.
Jack just wants a hug.
I always hated the clinical white room in the pilot. Can't wait for the War Room.
I love the interactions between Jack and Riley.
Mac and Riley EYE CONTACT.
"You two are on timeout from now on." 😂😂😂
THE MOMENT WHERE HE GRABS HER HANDS
Lol, thanks for telling me that's a paperclip. I was so confused.
Tumblr media
"Riley has so much hair!!! ❤️❤️❤️❤️
I love how Riley takes charge. Her confidence is 🔥🔥🔥
"You know what, never mind, I'd be pissed at you too." 🤣
Jack's so proud of his daughter. 💕
"Is that real?" Bless Jack's heart. He's such an old man.
Patti is a square. Pretty, competent, but boring. I miss Matty.
"My man never jokes about tin foil."
Ooooo Nikki is alive. Poor Mac. His whole world keeps getting turned on its head.
Jack can be scary when he wants to be.
Poor, poor, Mac. When he faces Nikki, he looks like a kicked golden retriever. (Also, NEVER kick a dog.)
I'm just eating up all this angst.
Mr. Wizard lololol
Mac hanging from a plane is soooo iconic.
"Don't get cocky. You're the only other one here." Haha, the SASS on this girl.
"Go ahead, you aready had me killed once." Also, oof. Undercover or not, Nikki is cold. I can't stand her.
Excuse me, Patricia, but I would consider running over your neighbor's dog (or any dog) a damn catastrophe, too.
"Sometimes a purge is necessary to fix what's broken." Codex, anyone?
Love this whole chase/fight sequence so much. The music, action, everything... perfect.
The sweat on Mac's forehead when dangling out of the 🚁 - such a great detail!
"YOU GO KABOOM, I GO KABOOM"
Kind of weird to me that Mac seems to be using so much guesswork with this bomb, especially when we know that he's one of the best specialists out there.
That fight scene in the back of the vehicle is one of my all time favorites. The whump is excellent.
Okay, but when does MacGyver ever do anything the way Jack has in mind?
DIY or die. Still so lame, lol. The parachute is awesome, though.
Oof. That landing looks painful and the whumper in me loves it. Even more, I can't get over how worried Jack is as he rushes to Mac's side. ❤️❤️❤️
That break in his voice when he asks if Mac's okay is just... AYSKTUFYIFUYliIIGUOG
Mac burning Nikki's pics like that old Taylor Swift song.
Bozer calling Jack his bestie is so weird and funny to me.
I am so ready for Bozer to get over Riley. They are so much better as friends.
Lol "Those fries won't cook themselves." The crack of a whip, man.
Jack calling Riley a little rascal and then gently asking Mac if he's doing all right there, pal ... taking care of his kids, and I am DYING.
The Three Amigos... come on, Jack. You can do better than that.
Is it bad that I'm actually a little surprised that Jack knows what a Phoenix is? Just seems like something he wouldn't care to learn, especially since he's a sci fi junkie but I never really hear him talk about fantasy.
Oooooooo Nikki's on the loose. Gotta end with suspense, to hook those viewers and make them want more. Well, I want more of this show, but not because of her.
Well, awesome re-watch of episode 1. Definitely not my favorite by a long shot, but so iconic and with some amazing moments! It just makes me that much more excited to get to see the show and the characters grow!
If anyone wants to join me in my re-watching and tweeting adventure, please do! It's my way to take about an hour a day in my busy, busy life to commit to the #savemacgyver movement. (And to enjoy my favorite show yet again!) If you do tweet as you watch, make sure to tag EVERY tweet with ONLY #savemacgyver so we can keep that hashtag trending! :)
Thanks for letting me share my (numerous) thoughts on this episode. This was really fun, and I hope it's something you all enjoy, too. I'll probably go ahead and post episode 2 tonight since I just watched it. I'd love to know what you all think of the episode in the comments! ❤️
24 notes · View notes
glassbxttless · 3 years
Note
I would be interested in a fic like that about Gio! Thanks again.
Well, please enjoy this fic of how baby Ilaria was conceived!
Tumblr media
Giovanni (bk joe guy) Moretti x Reader
Word Count: 1,046
Warnings: male infertility, tried again at some angst, sperm donor, pregnancy, swearing
Giovanni’s 29 when your two take your vows and Giovanni’s 30 when he brings up starting a family. You knew Gio wanted a big family, much like his own parents. Ten people were living in their home when Gio was a baby— he remembers always having his sisters to play with. His brother took him out for gelato and to the beach when he could.
But now Gio’s 32 and you’ve been trying for your baby every cycle since you two first brought it up, a little over two years ago now. And that’s when you make your appointment with the fertility specialist. And you and Giovanni sit in a room after your exams, nervously picking at your fingernails. Gio’s quick to reassure you that everything’s fine, that you two just aren’t getting timing right. And Gio’s heart breaks the second they tell him it’s essentially his fault you two can’t conceive.
You sit there and hold his hand as your clinician explains that Giovanni’s sperm count is severely low. He asks how long you two have been trying and you have to answer the question. Gio’s too lost in his own mind to respond to anything. But the clinician reminds him it isn’t impossible to conceive, just really hard. And when Gio drives the two of you home, he doesn’t say a word. And it’s like that for the next few days. He wakes up, works at his desk, and sits silently at dinner, until it’s time for bed. And while he’s stripping down to his boxers, looking over at your resting silhouette, you sigh deeply.
“Gio.” You say quietly, lifting yourself up to a sitting position. “We should talk about this…”
“What is there to talk about?” He asks softly. “You heard them. I’m probably not going to get you pregnant, we probably won’t have kids.”
“We have options, babe.” You say quietly. “We just have to discuss them… and we can’t discuss them if you keep ignoring the conversation.”
He’s lifting the blanket and sliding into bed next to you, “what are our options?” He asks quietly and leans up on his arm, a hand resting against your thigh.
“Well… can look into adoption… donor sperm… anything really.” You say softly and tuck a bit of his hair back, fixing his gold chain so the clasp is at the back. “We’ll have a baby, Giovanni. Don’t worry about that okay?”
“You know how much I love hearing you say my name?” He asks softly, grinning ear to ear as he leans forward to capture your lips in a kiss. “Gonna keep trying to fuck a baby into you.” He whispers as he moves his body over you. “And we’ll look more into those options in the morning.”
And that’s how you and Gio end up in the consultation room at a fancy sperm bank in Milan a month after, flipping through page after page of descriptions of handsome men, not quite meeting everything Gio had to offer. Until he stops on a page, “Donor 617.” He mumbles quietly, reading through physical traits and accomplishments. “Sounds like he looks like me.” He says softly and shrugs.
“Is that the one then?” You ask quietly, reading over the description. They’re smart, sound handsome, and the eyes sell it. You wanted someone with Gio’s brown eyes. His fun and goofy personality. And as you two look over the baby photos of Donor 617 that were provided, he comments that it sorta looks like him as a baby. And Giovanni just nods a little and smiles.
And it’s a lot of money, having two insemination attempts in your first cycle. And it costs even more for the two insemination attempts in your next cycle. And the one after that they inform you there isn’t any more of Donor 617 left and if this didn’t work, you’d have to try again with a different sample. And Gio is hoping and praying. Something you haven’t ever seen him do. His rosary even makes an appearance in the kitchen again, hanging on the hook right above the hutch. And three weeks after that insemination— you get your positive pregnancy test.
And Giovanni is elated. “Is it really positive? Take another one, please.” He says softly as he holds the one test, with very faint lines, in his hands.
“I’ll take another… but it’s a positive, baby.” You say softly as you press a kiss into his hair and hug him tightly where he sits. He wraps an arm around your thighs, tearing up at the sight of the plus.
“We’re gonna be parents, Cuore Mio. We’re really doing this.” He says softly and smiles at you. You wipe away his tears with your thumbs, tucking back his hair. “We did it this time.”
“You’ve been such a champ, Gio. I’m so proud of you.” You whisper quietly. You know it probably wasn’t easy for him to sit back and have to choose another man’s sperm for you two. And you know it probably won’t be easy for him to watch you grow someone else’s biological child. “I love you so much.”
“I love you too.” He whispers and nuzzles his nose against your belly, closing his eyes. “And I love you, little one.” He whispers so softly, you barely hear it. You run your fingers through his hair and then pull it back into a small bun, banding it off.
“I’ll make the appointment for us. Okay?” She smiles softly. “I’ve got a good feeling about this time.”
Giovanni just smiles and nods, “I know we did it. This is gonna be our perfect little baby. The one we’ve been waiting all this time for.” He pats his lap and wraps his arms around you once you sit. “I can’t believe it.” He says quietly and nuzzles your shoulder.
He wants to tell his mama, but he bites his tongue. Waits until he can. Waits until it’s safe. And he’s so fucking happy. He’s so proud. He wants this as much as any one of his siblings wanted their children. And he’s hoping that his child will understand the way that they were conceived one day. That he’s sorry that he couldn’t fix it. But that he’d love them regardless.
Tumblr media
*
*
Tumblr media
@tashastrange89 @daughterofaries @mrs-zimmerman @cornmousequeen
31 notes · View notes