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ray-ray-writings · 3 years

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Tightrope-Dream

This is a self indulgent Dream x gn!reader in the dreamsmp that I was going to post a while ago but got to insecure about it to post. But now that I haven’t posted in a few days and I don’t know when I’ll get to write again, I decided to say f*** it and post it. So I hope you enjoy hahaha.

Based off of this song. Song lyrics are in bold.

Masterlist here

Y/N and Dream have been together for what feels like forever. But when Dream says that he cares about nothing anymore, Y/N takes a moment to evaluate the tightrope walk they call their relationship.

Y/N’s POV

“I don’t give a fuck, okay?” I heard Dream spit from behind an obsidian wall. “I do not give a fuck about Spirit. I don’t give a fuck about anything actually! All I care about is your discs. I care MORE about your discs than you do. That’s the only thing I care about on the server...” His words hit me like a brick. Dream didn’t care about anything. That means he doesn’t care about me… That can’t be true, right? We’ve been together since the beginning… Before the beginning! I was by his side when we made this server. I fought beside him in every single war, no matter how in the wrong I thought he was… When I would tell him what I thought he would simply brush me off. We used to make every decision together but lately it seems that I was just another obstacle in his way. Or maybe just another pawn in his game.

I came out of my daze to hear the end of Dream’s speech, maybe this part he’ll fix his wording… “Don’t try and threaten me. I don’t care. I have lost all care for anything on the server…” Well there goes that hope. I couldn’t help the sobs that fell from my mouth at his words. He doesn’t care for anything on the server… I’m on the server. George, Sapnap, Punz, Bad, all his friends were on the server. He doesn’t care about us.

Suddenly it was very quiet, I knew they had heard me. I took this opportunity to step out from behind the wall I was hiding behind. All eyes softened at the sight of me, Dream’s eyes softening the most. “Y/N” he tried, taking a few steps forward but I held out a hand to stop him, “Don’t. You don’t care about anything on this server… Remember?” I hissed, marching away from him, not even turning around when he called my name once more.

I was at a lost as to where to go. I couldn’t go home. Dream would be there soon enough. I couldn’t go to the community house, too many memories. I knew he would find me at a friend’s house. Besides I needed to be alone. I needed to be somewhere where I could look down and think about everything. Then it hit me and I couldn’t stop the laugh that made it past the tears. “The reverse coaster.”

When Tommy first built this contraption, everyone, myself included, called him crazy. Who would want to climb all the way up to the top of a track just to go down it again. Now I couldn’t help but be thankful that he had made this. The journey to the top took fifteen minutes, but it was worth it. I could see everything from here. It was beautiful. Walking the thin line while looking at the ground really made me think of a tightrope… A perfect analogy for my relationship with Dream right now. Dream…

Some people long for a life, simple and planned

Tied with a ribbon

Some people won't sail the sea 'cause they're safer on land, to follow what's written

But I'd follow you to the great unknown

Off to a world we call our own

I was with Dream when he began the server. He had gotten tired living under someone else’s rule and wanted a place we could call our own. He convinced me… although it didn’t take much convincing, I would follow him anywhere. So one night we packed up what little we could carry and we left. We left into the unknown, not knowing where we were going. But we knew everything would be alright as long as we had each other.

Hand in my hand and we promised to never let go

We're walking a tightrope

High in the sky. We can see the whole world down below.

We're walking a tightrope

Never sure, never know how far we could fall

But it's all an adventure that comes with a breathtaking view

Walking a tightrope, with you

Through everything. I had always been Dream and I. For the longest time, you would never find one without the other. Our hands always seemed to interlocked. I guess it wasn’t until the first L’Manberg war when things started pulling us apart. We would stand on the obsidian walls that Dream and Sapnap had built around L’Manberg, just observing. Dream would constantly be making battle plans in his head and I was just there for moral support, I guess. We spent countless hours just watching the ‘hot dog stand’ waiting for someone to come out and make a move.

There were some nights where the scene was almost breathtaking. The walls were pretty high up, we could see a lot of the server. Everything was lit up beautifully. Building shined brightly and everything was warm and welcoming. It was perfect. I would try and get Dream to dance with me. The first few times he would agree and we would slow dance around the walls. But as battle drew nearer and nearer, we danced less and less until it stopped all together.

Mountains and valleys, and all that will come in between. Desert and ocean.

You pulled me in and together we're lost in a dream. Always in motion.

So I risk it all just to be with you

And I risk it all for this life we choose

Dream and I had fights. What couple didn’t? Dream would do something stupid and I would grill him about it but we always made up. We never went to bed angry. I never would let him leave home on adventure without a hug and a kiss goodbye. No matter how far he would travel, I always knew he would come home to me and that we loved each other. Being with Dream was… well a dream. We loved each other endlessly. There was nothing I wouldn’t do for him and I knew the feeling was mutual.

I would risk everything to be with him. Leaving the safety of one server to begin another? No problem. Fight in a war where he was on the ‘bad side’? Anything for my baby. I would give my life if it meant Dream lived. I used to know the feeling was mutual…

Hand in my hand and you promised to never let go

We're walking a tightrope

High in the sky. We can see the whole world down below

We're walking a tightrope

Never sure, will you catch me if I should fall?

I never had to worry. I knew that Dream was right there beside me. Always one step ahead. Filling in cracks and gaps in Prime Path so I wouldn’t trip and fall. Checking in on my mental health so I wouldn’t fall into a panic attack or into a depression. I always knew he would catch me, physically, mentally, and emotionally. I could trust him to be there for me. Now I’m not so sure.

Well, it's all an adventure

That comes with a breathtaking view

Walking a tightrope

With you

Loving Dream. Being with Dream. Giving everything to Dream was and always has been an adventure. Many times it took me to new heights. Let me see things I had never seen before, leaving me breathless. I was balancing on a tightrope and he was right behind me, making sure I was okay, that I was safe. He would make sure I knew how much he cared for me. How much he loved me.

These thoughts just swirled in my head. I sat down, my legs dangling over the cobblestone as I stared at the ground. What do I do from here? Dream says he doesn’t care about me anymore. For as long as I could remember, my whole life had revolved around Dream. Doing whatever he needed, being who he needed me to be. Given, he did the same thing for me. Where do I go from here?

“Y/N!” A voice shouted from below, breaking me from my concentration. My eyes scanned the ground to find that familiar green hoodie. “What are you doing up there?” I rolled my eyes in annoyance, “Why do you care?” I shouted back. There was a moment of silence before he responded, “Come down! I want to talk,” Dream called. I watched as he placed a water bucket and motioned for me to jump down. I hesitated for a moment… Did I trust him? There’s only one way to find out.

I took a deep breath before allowing myself to fall from the top of the reverse coaster. I couldn’t help but let out a giggle as the water cradled me securing me a safe landing. I quickly realized why I had jumped down in the first place and stood up to face Dream, looking down at the ground. “I’m here… What do you want?” I questioned harshly. “I wanted to talk to you. I wanted to apologize and explain myself,” He answered, trying to get me to look at him. I refused and remained silent, motioning for him to go on.

“I didn’t mean what I said. Of course I didn’t. I care about you so much Y/N. Tommy just gets me so worked up sometimes and I just speak without thinking. I love you and care for you. You know that!” Dream exclaimed, reaching out to try and grab my hands. I quickly pulled them away and snapped my eyes to his, “Do I?” I barked, causing Dream to flinch at my tone. “Do I know that you love me? That you care for me? Do I? Because lately it sure as hell doesn’t feel like it,” I snapped, all my feelings radiating off of me. “We used to do everything together. Make every decision together. We would walk the tightrope together, but lately it just feels like you’ve let me hung out to dry.”

Dream gaped at me, “I didn’t know you felt this way,” He murmured, moving toward me once more. And once again, I moved and scoffed, “That’s because you’ve been too caught up in your big scheme Dream. You’ve been using me as another pawn.” Dream began to protest but I held up a finger to cut him off, “Don’t even try to deny it. You come to me and ask me for something and once I do it, you toss me aside, only coming back when you need something. And I’m sick of it, Dream.”

Dream was silent as he thought about everything. “You’re right,” He spoke after a few moments of silence. “You are absolutely right. I’ve been horrible to you. I’ve been horrible to everyone… I’m so sorry.” Tears began to leak from Dream’s face as he spoke. “Please, give me another chance. I promise, I’ll do better. I’ll be better. I’ll be the man that you want, the one you need. Please.” He begged, reaching out to grab my hands. This time I let him grab a hold of them and hang on.

“It’s going to take some time. The damage you’ve done it too great to fix with a simple apology. You’re going to have to work hard to prove to me that you’ve changed,” I explained, looking deep into Dream’s beautiful green eyes. He nodded quickly, “I will. As long as it takes.” Dream leaned forward and wrapped his arms around me in a tight hug. “I love you so much Y/N” He murmured into my ear. “I love you too Dream. Always have, always will.”

Hope you enjoyed. If so be sure to leave a like, maybe even a reply or a reblog. Like I said I’m pretty insecure about this piece so I would love to know what you think.

#mcyt #mcyt imagine #ray-ray-writings #mcyt x reader #mcyt one shot #dream smp #dreamsmp #dream #dream one shot #dream x reader #dreamwastaken imagine #dreamwastaken #dreamwastaken x reader #dream imagine #self indulgent #tightrope

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imaginesntingz · 3 years

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Imagine Gaara comforting you when the depression and anxiety hit

Trigger Warnings: Depression, Anxiety, Swearing(?)

A/N: Hey y’all! This is my first post on this blog. I hope you all enjoy it <3 Please don’t copy any of my works. It’s all originally written and I put a lot of time and effort into my pieces. Please ask me before reposting.

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You were curled up in bed staring into nothingness. The past week or two you’ve tried to keep it at bay, but you felt the ever lingering depression creeping its way in. Nothing in particular happened. It was just always there. There wasn’t a time you could remember it not being there. Sometimes it was muffled like background noise and other times the volume was turned up so loud it was the only thing you could hear. It was your constant companion following you like a shadow. And to top it all off, anxiety was right behind it. You thought about overthinking and overthought about thinking. Racing thoughts kept you up sometimes until the sun shone through the blinds.

Everyone wondered why you were so quiet at times, but they couldn’t hear the ass beating you were getting from your own mind that made it almost impossible to be in the present moment. Nor could you find the energy, the language, nor a fuck to give to even begin to explain the war going on inside you. Temari invited you out to what you thought would be a small kickback yesterday that ended up being a full blown party. Gaara, who was supposed to go with you, was inevitably called in for village business. You ended up socially tapped after just a few hours in. Although Temari was with you and you met up with some chill friends . . Although you were surrounded by people, you still felt completely alone. Although you heard the words coming out of their mouths, you couldn’t keep up with what they were saying. Although you were physically there, you weren’t there. You wanted so badly to just enjoy yourself like everyone else, but it was what it was. After pleading with your sister in law, you finally went home only to find that Gaara was still in the office. One final push that sent you

Spiraling

down

And there you were exhausted but painfully awake in the darkness of your shared room. You didn’t know how long you were lying there. There was no time, only the bottomless ocean that swallowed anything and everything you tried to drop into it. No amount of journaling, affirmations, meditation, prayer, movement, walking, entertainment, pet cuddling, food, water, medication, vitamins, herbs, epsom salt baths, incense, face masks or any of the methods you’ve tried felt tangible to you in that moment. What was the point when you didn’t even have the will to move? How could you think of going on a mission next week when you couldn’t guarantee you’d attempt to leave your room tomorrow? How were you going to take care of your hair if you couldn’t even braid, twist or put it up for the night? How could you call yourself a caring friend when you’re thinking about canceling the dinner you’ve already rescheduled twice?

“My love? Why are you still awake?”

Your husband’s soothing voice jolted you out of your inner dialogue. You hadn’t even heard him come in, too lost in the wall in front of you.

“ . . . Can’t sleep.”

You heard the sound of the door closing and hushed shuffling as he moved around the room. A few moments later, you felt his weight dip the mattress beside you. A warm arm wrapped around your middle, gently pulling you to his chest. His hand moved to intertwine with yours as he spooned you from behind.

“How did it go with Temari? Again I’m sorry I wasn’t able to go with you. I hope you had a good time.”

“It’s fine. It was fine.” you replied flatly.

Gaara caressed the back of your thumb with his own as silence filled the space between you. His lips met the skin of your shoulder and you felt your body gradually relax into his embrace. He was never one to push you when you weren’t ready to talk and always made you feel grounded back to earth with his very presence. Even amidst his many responsibilities as Kazekage, he always made sure to check in on you and provide whatever you may want or need. He would do anything for you if it meant you would feel loved, safe, balanced and happy. Gaara, sweet Gaara, was the love of your lifetimes and you, his. He knew you better than he knew himself and picked up on every detail. Your likes and dislikes. How you took your tea in the morning. Your sensitivities. Every expression. Your body language. The tone in your voice. The slightest change in your eyes. So it was no surprise that he picked up on the shift in your mood right away.

“(y/n) . . . Sweetheart, It’s alright if you don’t want to talk about it right now, but please know that I am here. I love you more than words can express. I am here to listen and support you in any way that I can. I always will be. You know that, right?”

And with that, you couldn’t stop the tears from flowing. Your body trembled as he maneuvered you to face him. He wrapped his arms firmly around you, cocooning you into the safety of his hold. You buried your face into his chest and the calming scent of earth and cinnamon enveloped your senses. Your tears and running nose wetted the shirt he wore, but he didn’t care. Soft kisses were pressed to the crown of your head as his fingers trailed up and down the length of your spine, occasionally drawing soothing circles. You turned your head to listen to the steady rhythm of his heart pressed against you before finally catching your breath to speak.

“I-I’m just so tired of fighting just to be okay all the time. I’ve been taking steps to take care of my mental health, but it still feels like it isn’t enough. It’s like one day I’m fine and a couple days later it feels like I’m back at square one. I just want to exist sometimes. No expectations. I don’t want to think. I don’t want to feel. I don’t want to do anything. I don’t want to be anything. I just want to be.”

He squeezed you gently at your words, pausing thoughtfully before responding.

“You once told me that your dream is to become the peace within and despite the chaos inside of you. The chaos all around us. You said that you wish to heal yourself and pass on healing to others. I know it is easy to lose sight of it when you’re in the midst of what feels like a never ending battle, but I wanted to remind you of it because I never want you to lose hope.”

Your eyes widened in shock and turned glassy as he continued on.

“You have brought me out of the depths of the greatest despair and have played a huge role in supporting me in healing from my past. Your love is medicine to my heart. There were times when I was lost that you reminded me to never lose sight of my dream. To never lose sight of what truly matters. Even in the most difficult times, you have always found hope where others have felt hopeless. That is one of the many reasons I love you. I am your husband, so let me be your strength when you are tired and feel you can’t go on because you are my strength, dear wife. We can get through this together. Remember that healing is a lifelong journey, not a destination. So take it one day at a time. Hour by hour or minute by minute if that’s what it takes. You’re so hard on yourself sometimes, but look how far you’ve come to be here. Right now. How much you’ve grown. I want you to know that I am so proud of you, sweetheart. I hope that you can come to be proud of your accomplishments too.”

A fresh wave of tears came over you, but for a completely different reason this time. You practically tackled your poor mans onto his back and your lips met in an intense yet equally loving kiss. His hands worshipped the expanse of your hips and time fell away. Vibrations hummed throughout your body as you pulled back to look into those seafoam green eyes. His red hair and pale complexion highlighted by the light of the moon peeking through the window. He was ethereal.

“I love you, Gaara. So much. I am so happy that you exist. Honestly when you speak so openly and directly like that I feel like my heart is gonna burst through my chest . . . fuckkkk. In a good way though! But seriously, thank you for being you. I never thought I’d be able to say this to someone without fear, but . . when I am with you, I know that I am home. You are my home, love. ”

His eyes softened before a huge grin spread across his now blushing features. Gaara didn’t smile often, but when he did it was a sight to behold. It was like feeling the warmth of a sunrise for the first time. An all encompassing glow.

He sat up and cupped both of your cheeks in his hands, tears now mirroring your own. “I couldn’t have put it better myself. Do you know how beautiful you are? Truly? Your beauty radiates from the inside out. Honestly, what have I done to deserve you?”

“Sir, have you taken a good look at yourself lately? That’s my line. Fight me. Right now.” you deadpanned playfully.

A look of genuine concern crossed over his face. His hands settled on your waist and his posture noticeably drooped.

“(y/n), I would never fight you.”

“ . . . Gaara, I was just joking. I know you wouldn’t.”

“Sarcasm?”

“Mhm.”

“ . . . Right. I should have known. I’ll do better next time.” he sighed dejectedly.

Your body shook with laughter at your man’s adorably serious face. He’s always trying his best. Only Gaara could go from holding space through your tears of sadness, to making you cry from happiness, to having you doubled over with laughter within a matter of moments just by being authentically himself.

“I love you so fucking much, my sweet Gaara.”

“And I, you. My beautiful (y/n).”

You both slept soundly that night in a tangle of limbs, not knowing where one ended or the other began. Two, who together, are one.

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dramioneasks · 3 years

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HP FESTS: For The Love of Fests (Part 1)

Love at Second Sight January 2021:

Second Time's the Charm by floorcoaster - T, one-shot - The first time Hermione sees Draco Malfoy again, she's in for a surprise.

Influence by Misdemeanor1331 - G, one-shot - Draco and Hermione bump into each other at Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes. Draco thinks it’s a chance encounter. Hermione knows it’s anything but.

The Love Boat by Seakays - T, one-shot - Hermione Granger and her two best friends are embarking on a week long "Divorced Magicals" Cruise. Hermione took advantage of the Cruise's pre cruise chat room, where she met Scorly1203. After six months of texting, she has agreed to meet him on the first day of the cruise. Could she really find a second chance at love on the Lido Deck?

Second Time Lucky by rennaissance_woman - not rated, one-shot - During a trip to Weasley Wizard Wheezes, what do you do when presented with a second chance?

In Vino Veritas by beautyberry - M, one-shot - "Granger?" he asked disbelievingly. "Malfoy?" she asked, "What are you doing here?" Rated M for mentions of sex.

The Art of Second Chances by Blessedindeed - not rated, one-shot - A chance encounter at the museum brings up unresolved feelings

What Lies Beyond the Light by SlytherinHermione - M, one-shot - The thing about prisons is that it tends to change a you. The person you were when you went in, will not be the person that comes out. Sometimes for the better, oftentimes for the worst. For Draco Malfoy, the scales were tipped when a certain lawyer forced themselves onto his case with the start of one letter. A letter that turned into the type of correspondence where you end up baring your soul to a stranger. A stranger that ends up knowing every little part of you, from the darkest corners, to the sunniest fields - while barely knowing you at all. But then again, Hermione Granger was never really a stranger to begin with.

Silly Love Songs February 2021:

This Beauty By My Side by Amarillis39 - M, one-shot - My entry to the Silly Love Songs Fest. ____ "But as he watched her glide through the crowd, he decided he would take every second she would give him. Worthy or not, he was still a selfish git." ___ It's another stuffy gala at the Ministry and Draco is overcome with conflicting feelings as he watches Hermione in her element.

The Light That You Shine by SlytherinHermione - M, one-shot - Draco was adrift. All around him was an endless, unforgiving ocean, dull and grey in colour. The waves kept crashing in on him. Back and forth, back and forth. Sometimes he felt like he’d been cursed to remain like a graying tower, alone on the sea. This all changed on a random cold winter day and a bright light. Because what followed the light was as unexplainable as the feeling of calm that suddenly enveloped him. He felt a twinge of something that he couldn’t explain. On the other side of the sidewalk stood Hermione Granger, more beautiful than he could remember, locking eyes with him for a second, as if she herself was caught with him inside of this time bubble filled with light and large, fluffy snowflakes. And with a blink of an eye, she walked the other way, as if this was just another Monday. As if she hadn’t just turned Draco's world up-side down. The tumultuous oceans that surrounded his untethered soul were full of waves, but now of a different kind.

Discord by Lostinthenightrain - T, one-shot - “I’ve seen your darkest, and it doesn’t scare me. You’ve become something so much more.” She placed a gentle kiss on his jaw. “I love you, dark and all.”

Time to Spare by Willowfairy - M, one-shot - Draco gets drunk enough to finally tell Hermione how he really feels, and once he starts talking he finds it impossible to stop.

Sometimes When We Touch by sodamnrad - T, one-shot - What if Hermione and Draco were dating when he took the Dark Mark? Submission for the Silly Loves Songs Mini-Fest One shot | Draco's POV | Sixth Year

To Be With You by Blessedindeed - not rated, one-shot - Her ability to show forgiveness intrigues him. Draco finds he has a soft spot for Hermione.

Masquerade March 2021:

Punch Line by tygermine - E, one-shot - Hermione seems to hide behind multiple masks.Draco wants to remove them all.

A Deadly Dance by MykEsprit - T, one-shot - An unexpected guest arrives at the ball. Dramione.

Ask it of Me by WritingFicariously - T, one-shot - Hermione has always had the ability to chase away demons, the darkness that twists his mind into believing he is not good, never enough. She sees and knows every part of him. But Draco has always kept one thing from her, one secret that he never dared say aloud. Until he did.

A Masquerade of Body and Soul by Annav94 - M, one-shot - She’s here to escape the reality, to break the rules. She is here to break the rules because all rules have only given her, is false hope. She turns her head and her eyes meet his. He’s there for the catch of the night. And while he finds himself smirking, smiling at the unforeseen turn of event, he wonders if truly Hermione Granger is flirting in a room full of witnesses with none other than himself - the infamous Draco Malfoy.

Imbolc by CosmicCthulhu - G, one-shot - Hermione celebrates the beginning of spring for the first time, years after the war. She's not the only one who wants a fresh start.

Suit Up by calico_kitten - M, 2 chapters - Gawain Robards has cooked up a new idea for the Departmental Hallowe'en Ball: comic book hero disguises!

This Mask I Wear by SlytherinHermione - T, one-shot - This mask I wear feels cool on my skin. I slip it on, and the act is ready to begin.Safety. Protection. Freedom.

Lover of Fiction April 2021:

3 Words, 8 Letters by sodamnrad - T, 2 chapters - “Do you like me?” Draco’s flitty looks, his tart remarks about her feelings for Blaise, the way he’s following her around instead of chasing an eligible witch who isn’t pining over his friend is extremely telling.“Define like.”Her mouth unhinges. No effing way. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”“How do you think I feel?” He glares at her. “I haven’t slept. I feel sick like there’s something in my stomach, fluttering.” He presses a hand against his belly, as if he’s experiencing the sensation at this very moment.“Butterflies?” she deadpans. “No. No, no, no this cannot be happening.”“No one is more surprised or ashamed than I am.” He gestures to himself, lifting his chin tersely.“Draco, you know that I adore all of Earth’s creatures and the metaphors that they inspire,” she says as her hand forms a crushing fist, “but the butterflies have got to be murdered.”---Draco & Hermione: Their Story (2000s TV Drama Style)Dual POV | 2 Shot | Idiots in Love

The Ambition by In_Dreams - M, one-shot - After ten years at sea, Captain Hermione Granger has a ship and a crew of her own. But one of her new crew mates is a blacksmith from her past. Dramione Pirates AU.

Jitters by TheMourningMadam - M, one-shot - This was written for the Lovers of Fiction mini fest for April. Thank you to QuinTalon for being a gracious host in this fest.My prompt was Jamie and Claire Fraser from Outlander. If you have never seen Outlander, why not? You at least need to watch their first time to see some hot and bewildered Jamie. This is a tiny snapshot into what would be a much larger story, so please take it at face value.Also, I finished this story right at the wire, so didn't have time for a beta. All mistakes are obviously my own and I apologize. Bold sentences are word for word from the tv show.

I Meant Something Like That by CharliPetidei - M, WIP - “You know what’s funny?” said Hermione, crossing her ankles and leaning forwards on the slightly peeling leather sofa. “When I first saw your advert online… I thought you were Hufflepuffs.” The three men opposite her exchanged glances, and then the tall, platinum blond one (it had to be dyed, right?) with the funny name leaned forward, narrowing his eyes. Draco, that was it. “You thought we were what?” A New Girl Dramione AU.

The One Where Everyone Finds Out - Dramione Edition by Annav94 - T, WIP - Don’t we all know what happened when Phoebe finds out about Monica and Chandler in season 5 of Friends? Well, what would then happen if it was Draco and Hermione to be discovered by Pansy? Would then Theo try to calm her down, in the hope that she would stop screaming so his boyfriend (Harry bloody Potter, of all people) would be prevented from finding out about them is such crude way? And would Blaise go along with the scheme the two Slytherins would come up with to push the new couple to expose itself or will he be done with all the ‘pretending’ of not knowing, when he knew all along?Stay with me on this journey called: ‘The One Where Everyone Finds Out - Dramione Edition’.

The Dragon's Moving Castle by SlytherinHermione - T, WIP - Hermione Granger had accepted that her life wasn't going to be a great big adventure.She wasn't particularly beautiful, or interesting, and she hadn't been born with magic like her sisters. Really, she was just as plain as could be.One day though, a castle was seen rolling around the hills near her town.Not long after, she met a strange, handsome, and mysterious man.And she was cursed by the Wicked Witch of the Wasteland.Perhaps life was an adventure after all.

Lanky Brunettes with Wicked Jaws by Lostinthenightrain - M, one-shot - “You’ve got types?”“Only you darling.” He put his hand under her chin and brought her around to face him. He pulled her close with his arm held tight against her. His head to the side of her own, he grinned. “Lanky brunettes with wicked jaws.” A gentle kiss placed against her jaw. She smiled, a blush prettying her cheeks as she pulled back.

Reader, I Married Him by Lostinthenightrain - T, one-shot - “Why must you?” he questioned as he pulled himself forward, using the rough pads of his fingers he gently touched under her chin, dragging her gaze to his own. “You know why!” She wrenched her chin from his grasp. “You are to be married, Malfoy.”

This fest is ongoing.

#fests/exchanges/challenges #for the love of fests

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thesimperiuscurse · 3 years

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08.04

It’s The Kingston Legacy’s sixth anniversary, so here’s a throwback post to celebrate! Last month I forced myself to reread the entire legacy, and while I stopped, clicked off the tab, and emitted a soundless scream of pure cringe numerous times (I wish I was kidding)—the past generations are actually not as terrible as I remember. I think enough time has passed for me to detach myself from the childish storytelling and look back in nostalgia.

Thank you to my fellow Wordpress writers who have come along the journey, some for many years now, through every high and low. It’s astounding how much has changed in the legacy from when I was 15, and 21. Follow me down the (very) long memory lane, as I reminiscence about each story and my perspective on them now ❤

Generation 1 — Fern (2015)

To my shock, I found myself genuinely enjoying Fern’s story. I think this was because the first generation was purely me commentating on gameplay, and not trying to write a story (that’s when the cringe began). I was inspired by one of the original stories, Alice and Kev, to make a homeless sim and document her struggle for a better life: Fern, a snobby aspiring writer. Reading this, a huge wave of nostalgia hit me, and it reminded me of how wonderful Sims 3 gameplay is. Although I’m long past it now, there’s real heart and life in the design. I think it speaks about the rich personalities and quirks that I could write a whole life story off it. It was super fun making Fern camp out at Old Pier Beach, stealing from townie picnics and roasting apples on the fire, finding little ways to scrounge money, giving her a makeover in the salon, watching the townie dramas unfold around her. Although she faced homelessness two times and a shitty first husband (yeah, fuck off, Xander), Fern grew into a strong and independent yet sweet and gentle character, in love with the ocean like her great-granddaughter comes to be.

I never actually addressed this, but she (and her love Christopher) passed away in the story between the end of Gen 3 and start of Gen 4. It just felt weird to make it a big deal because they never died in game—still ‘alive’ and well, scattered across different backup saves and the bin.

Generation 2 — Briar (2015)

Briar’s story was strange, because it was half gameplay and half story, which meant that there were things that just did not... make... sense. She was quite an ‘unreliable’ character to follow because of her Insane trait. The plot revolved around her as a fresh detective, investigating supernatural phenomena in Sunset Valley. Her character arc was almost the opposite to her mother’s: a naive, optimistic, silly girl hardening through trauma into a cold and ruthless police chief. Ash’s death was the one moment I felt true sadness in this legacy, because he did really die. Imagine me actually getting emotional over my characters, lmao. Wild.

Also, Max is OP. To this day he is one of the best male characters in my legacy, a healthy and supportive best friend (to husband) in stark contrast to the following generation.

Fallen Angels — Cherry (2016-2019)

Yes. It’s this generation. Square the fuck up, Cherry. I will fight her any day. Old readers will know of my pure hatred for this story. It’s been about two years since it thankfully ended. My verdict now?

It’s not quite as horrifically shitty, Gabriel and Lilith being a lot nicer than I remembered (Gabriel’s only a bit of a dick at the start), but it still has glaring problems, such as the pacing and clumsy handling of sensitive topics. The story would have been far nicer if it focused less on Cherry and Luc’s relationship and their respective issues, more on the found family and her relationship with Gabriel (which was rushed due to me despising the story by that point). During the first chapters, I was cringing spectacularly at the combination of Luc’s initial jackass behaviour and Cherry’s whining. Toxic as FUCK. I had to skip 3.8 and 3.9 entirely. These two (because of my own shameful mistake) tainted the generation in my eyes, and even though all of the characters grew from their toxicity, I can’t really see past that guilt to the better parts of the story.

Jade has been telling me for years that this story isn’t all bad, and upon forcing myself to reread, I can see what you mean. I’m sorry LOL. Something that pleasantly surprised me was the writing quality (just the prose, not the actual story mechanics... lmfao), and Raphael, who made me smile every time he appeared. Every single careless, sarcastic line of his was a banger. The pictures are something else I like, too. Many of them stand up to the best ones in En Pointe—the fiery, gritty, industrial tones of Bridgeport just hits different. The world was rich and immersive, which is missing at the moment in En Pointe because of me being too lazy to build a proper Los Angeles world, but Act III is set in Boroughsburg so I’m excited to get back into the city scenes. 17 year old me wasn’t mature enough to tackle dark themes, but at least the visuals for them were nice, I guess. The atmosphere of the story I really enjoy. It’s just the toxic characters and way-too-angsty moments that ruin the whole thing for me.

En Pointe — Evangeline (2019-)

And here we are now! The early chapters are kinda painful to read because 1) Mako looked so ugly and 2) the dialogue was so clumsy and generic. I sighed in relief when Chapter 5 came around, because it was then both of those aspects really began to improve. Eva’s voice was simple, with her punchy remarks, much less romantic and descriptive than Cherry, so it was interesting to see her voice becoming more complex and layered as I more understood her character. Also, me visibly struggling with the natural lighting and only getting a handle on it 7 chapters later has me shaking my head.

I’m already beginning to identify issues with the story, mostly with character arcs and pacing. It’s a strange combination of fast pacing (spanning half a year in 8 chapters) and Eva becoming surprisingly comfortable with Mako’s touch due to their unusual pas de deux circumstances. It’s curious how real life time actually played into the pacing of the story—because of the slow publishing schedule, less time has passed in the story as real life, so it’s almost as if the time jumps were made up by real life time, making the jumps feel not too strange. Reading consecutively, however, Evako’s relationship growth doesn’t feel slow burn... a little underdeveloped, in a way, despite their lengthy conversations. I think that’s because of Mako being such a reserved and mysterious character, and that I’ve unconsciously come to rely on Tumblr to give more depth to the characters/relationships. Luckily, pretty much everyone who comments on the story also follows me here, so this dual-platform storytelling is okay, I suppose. I want to post more of #Mishako since there just isn’t enough time to explore their bromance in the story!

At the moment I’m not happy with the story, but it’s fine. I’m learning. There’s more than half the story to go, which means plenty of time to reflect upon the issues and improve. I’m really looking forward to Eva and Mako’s character arcs in Act III. At the moment their relationship is based on their natural chemistry and respect for each other, and since they are yet to face trials their bond isn’t super deep, but Evako are still my favourite couple in the legacy thus far, and feel much more real than any character I’ve written before. It’s been very interesting for my aro ass (and being way more logical than emotional) to figure out a dynamic that is actually compelling to me, because most of the time when I look at romance I’m just like 😐🤨 I’m liking it so far but we shall see how everything unfolds, because I have barely any idea what’s going to happen beyond Act II, lmfao.

That’s it for my incredibly long throwback! I hope it was at least nice for the OG readers, and interesting for anyone else who managed to battle through this essay, haha. This family has been an integral part of me growing up, as a person and writer and artist (what I’ve developed in visuals I apply to architecture), learning a great deal of awareness about real life through story research, which is pretty cool now that I think about it. I’m aiming to finish En Pointe by the end of 2022. I’m excited for what unexpected changes are to come!

#wordpress is being annoying like tumblr right now #they're trying to sneakily integrate the new site design into the old #pretty sure a lot of people don't like the new one #why can't i view media by month #now i have to scroll through a million pictures to find old ones #why is it selecting several when i just want to open one pic #fuck youuu #anyway #very busy week #lilaremonn #thesimperiuscurse

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starr-fall-knight-rise · 3 years

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HASO “The Best Outcome.”

Just wrapping up a few loose ends from the past few months stories. I hope you all like it. And feel free to give me some ideas on what you want to see, or who you want to see more of. I will try to do my best :)

Breaking News tonight from the Apollo 11 memorial landing site as Admiral Adam Vr and Captains Warren Richarards and Mary Chavez were rescued from the Pacific Ocean following a journey that was supposed to be historical, turned harrowing. Amy Grey comes to us this morning with the story.

Thank you Julie, it was only a week ago here on the historic Cape Canaveral launch site, that the reconstructed Saturn V rocket was launched by the UNSC International Space and Aeronautics Division on the two thousand and fifty first anniversary of the original Apollo 11 mission. On board The reconstructed rocket were astronauts Fleet Admiral Adam Vir head of the UNSC deep space exploration division, Captain Warren Richards five year veteran and historical aeronautics expert, and Mary Chavez six year shuttle pilot veteran, and communications specialist.

The reconstructed Saturn V rocket took off thirty minutes behind schedule at 10:03 GMTJuly 16 after delays attributed to engineering standbys. However, reports by UNSC investigation early this morning indicate that the delays were called for by engineering head Jade Clein who noticed something strange during her final checks of the Saturn V recreated rocket. In an interview early today, flight director, Aaliyah Seif of the Apollo re-creation mission informed outlets that there was evidence of attempted tampering on the hull of the Saturn V rocket. The tampering case in the shape of these small silver tape strips covering loosened bolts along one of the Saturn V side panels. Engineers stated that the tape was not heat resistant and would have burned off in time to rattle the bolts loose and, likely, cause a devastating spin that would destroy the rocket.

While this attempted tampering was thwarted, the mission would only become more dire. A sudden and shocking report by Mericanda News 5 showed an uncut image of an unknown alien hybrid woman claiming that the UN President had ordered th attempted assassination of Admiral Vir, in conjuncton with an audio recording by Admiral Colter Massie, Head of the Galactic intelligence division an known isolationist, that admitted to the attempted assasination of Admiral Vir, and the acquisition of twenty thunderhawks which were used to harry the Satern V on it’s way to the moon. Admiral Kelly, long time friend of Admiral Vir, corroborated the story, saying she caught General Massie just after he ordered the deployment of the twenty thunderhawks. During their conversion he attempted to kill her before being detained by two members of Admiral Vir’s crew, and was later seen being escorted into custody by Military Police.

Indeed footage has been captured from the hull of the Saturn V showing approximately twenty thunderhawks attempting to destroy the rocket while Rundi remote piloted drones and an unknown group of what appear to be racing jets, fought back to delay the attack while word was sent to the UNSC to deploy F-90 darkfire pilots to assist. This all after communications between Houston and the rocket were sabotaged shortly after leaving orbit. The F-90 darkfire pilots were able to arrive on time to rescue the rocket, though a hole was reportedly torn in the hull sucking Admiral Vir out into space, though he was later recovered and returned to his ship without any injuries. Patch teams were then able to repair the torn hull and the astronauts completed their mission landing to crowds on the moon and returning to earth on time on time landing in the Pacific ocean only nine miles away from the waiting ship.

All three astronauts were recovered and are reported to be in good health.

The investigation into the UN president’s involvement is still ongoing at this time, however preliminary reports from the Global Bureau of Investigation suggest evidence is both staggering and damning to the current UN president, who earlier today, attempted to cut all ties to the sabotage efforts saying she was framed. Political experts report that, even assuming her innocence, she will likely not last to the end of her term.

International News Network was able to interview Admiral Vir shortly after his landing while still on board the rescuing ship UNSS Victory.

Here is what the Admiral had to say.

“I find it…. Really very disheartening that someone we all trusted, and someone that we all should have looked up to could do something like this. It really is a heinous demonstration of what political corruption can lead people to do.”

“And how do you feel, personally about all of this.”

“Personally, I…. well to be honest I am hurt and appalled. Not to mention that I fear for the safety of my family and my friends. Every day I wonder if my involvement with them is going to get someone I love killed…. The thought haunts me, but I hope after all of this is over I… and all of us can breathe a little easier.”

“Were you scared?”

“I don’t think that even needs to be a question. Of course I was scared, getting sucked out of your spaceship isn’t ideal.”

“What do you hope will happen now?”

“I hope that justice can be upheld to those who deserve it.”

“What do you have to say to the UN president.”

…

“I have nothing to say. Wouldn’t want to waste the air.

****

What followed would be one of the largest scandals in recent political history. At some point an unknown number of classified government documents was leaked onto the internet, and after that it was all over for the Presidency. Thousands of enterprising humans, and aliens alike, viewed the documents to discover all the underhanded and dirty things which had been going on in the UN governmental body over the past few years. Forensic accounting experts (mostly Tesrtaki) uncovered plenty of fiscal tampering which shed light on plenty of isolationist related projects and bank accounts. There was even evidence that they had something to do with the original assassination attempt against Admiral Vir so many months ago. The drama had even managed to capture the attention of Rundi political experts and Vrul computer science geniuses, and together they unearthed a world of unfathomable, but not unexpected corruption. The process to remove the UN president from office was probably one of the fastest movements of human government ever seen by UN congressional leaders, who were likely trying their very best tro distance themselves from association with the president, who despite not being the only one involved, had become the political scapegoat for everyone else that had a supposed link with isolationism.

Even the VP fell under suspicion and was watched closely for the rest of his term.

Admiral Massie and the UN President were placed under arrest and set up for court dates in the nearing future, though everyone saw a long and arduous litigation process ahead. Even Ramirez’s family had filed for damages against the government after the news came to light confirming that their son had been shot as collateral in one of the UN presidents plans to assassinate Admiral Vir. They settled out of court to the tune of an unknown, but impressive sum of money.

No one really knew how much, but a couple months later Ramirez’s younger sister was seen training at one of the most prestigious olympic academies on earth.

Ramirez himself was suddenly able to afford housing on the moon in a condo just next door to his best friend, though no one else inquired further.

The Rundi chairwoman came forward with her own investigation admitting to being suspicious for a long time though she feared accusations without proper proof. Admiral Vir was seen having lunch with her not so many months after the events took place, suggesting that the trust between the two of them had not been completely dissolved. With much of the isolationist element gone from government, public policy began to lean heavily towards integration with the alliance. The occasional isolationist demonstration or protest was held, but none of them managed to gain traction.

Admiral Vir was finding himself more important than ever, though it was to his chagrin that his ship was grounded for the intervening months while the investigation continued.

No one was entirely sure what the future held.

***

Admiral Vir stepped into Admiral Kelly’s office. The last time he had actually visited her here had been over a few years ago before his promotion to captain of the Harbinger. It seemed so distant now, and he never expected to walk into her office with a star on his shoulder. She stood as he entered, and the two of them shook hands, ignoring all the stuffy formalities that usually come with the meeting of two military officers.

The wall behind her was decorated with a myriad of metals and awards she had received over her career, and he couldn't help but note the slight tinge of grey he could see forming in her hair. He knew that feeling, he was going prematurely white much to his chagrin. She stood and the two of them shook hands.

“Vir.”

“Kelly.”

She motioned him to sit and he sat sighing lightly as he had been on his feet all day consulting with political figures and other members of the UNSC.

“A strange couple months wouldn’t you say.”

“Tell me about it.”{

Kelly reached under her desk and withdrew an amber bottle which she placed between them, “I always forget; Do you drink?”

“On occasion.”

“Well consider this an occasion.” She said popping off the top and pouring two glasses for them. She handed his across the desk and he leaned back in his seat cupping the cool glass in both hands.

She swirled the amber liquid around in her glass, “So what are your plans after all this.”

He took a sip of water warmed by the burning liquid, “Hoping things will go back to normal and I can go back to traveling the galaxy.”

Kelly grunted, “A simple man with simple motivations.”

He laughed , “Sometimes I think a stupid man with simple motivations.”

She chuckled then grew serious, “A lot of people make the mistake of assuming simple people don’[t have the intelligence to match. Some people assume that trusting means gullible means dumb. Just because we are trusting and expect others to do the right thing is not necessarily a fault. I believe there is a kind of beauty in assuming the fundamental goodness of humanity.”

\Admiral Vir shook his head, “How can you after seeing what we have seen.”

“How can you not?” She shrugged, “We always knew that politicians were corrupt, but think about everything else we have seen.”

Admiral Vir nodded slowly, “The enthusiasm for the Apollo 11 recreation mission, the people who flew up to help us. All of those people who went digging through years of information just to uncover the truth.”

SHe raised her glass, “Precisely. Goodness in humanity is all around us, but we tend to overlook the good in favor of the bad.” She placed her hat on the desk and sighed, “It is up to good people to keep their goodness going even when it might seem easier to give into the bad. I I have and will always believe in the fundamental good of humanity. Some may call it naeve, or even stupid. Others have said I have a romanticized view of a species that is fundamentally broken.” She turned her head to look out the window a contemplative expression on her face before turning back to look at Adam.

“You understand me, I think.”

He nodded slowly.

“People need to be believed in. You tell someone for long enough that they are fundamentally bad at their core and they will begin to believe you. For thousands of years pessimists have gotten it into our heads that we are no better than animals, worse even since animals don’t fight in wars. But I believe that is wrong, I have seen people, I have met people, and I have interacted with people who prove to me that humanity cannot just be fundamentally bad or else these people wouldn’t exist.” She tapped her nails against the glass, “I think it is easier to corrupt purity than wash away a stain,”

He listened quietly as she continued.

“Humans are born good, Adam, and life stains us. We aren’t born stained while some of us are wiped clean. “ She shook her head, “Doesn't make sense to me.” She caught him with a look pinning him to the spot with her intense stare, “People like you convince me of this every day.”

“Me….”

She held up a hand. “Adam Vir, I am convinced that the best outcome this universe ever had, was when a happy go lucky science fiction freak was lucky enough to be the first man to meet aliens. Any other way things would have gone horribly wrong.” She leaned across her desk, “The universe needs men and women like you, and not only that but the universe needs people who are going to support men and women like you.” She sat back, “Which is why I have made a decision.”

He raised an eyebrow in curiosity not entirely sure where this could be going.

She smiled, “I have decided to run for President.”

He nearly spit his mouthful of expensive scotch onto the table but managed to choke it mostly down.

Eyes wide he set his glass down, “Are you serious.”

She smiled, “Seriously serious.”

“Well shit, you have my vote for sure.” He raised his glass to her, “I couldn’t think of a better outcome.”

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flowerwrites06 · 3 years

Text

jeweled sea I — kth

Plot: A princess without a kingdom ends up in a pirate ship

Pairing(s): Pirate!Taehyung x Princess!OC (Name: Angel)

Rating: G | PG | M | R 18+

Type: Drabble | Oneshot | Two Parter | Series

Word Count: 5k+

Genre: Pirates/Fantasy | Fluff/Angst/Smut

Tags & Warnings: drinking, mentions of trading people, explicit smut (in the next part), tiny bit of angst.

Authors Note: another requested repost and one of my personal favourites!

Endless horizons across the blue sea where all Taehyung could notice were the tiny islands perched in the midst of endless water and all he could taste were the salty winds. A whole year passed and every memory involved being on his favourite ship going who knows where. Their bellies full, pockets thick with gold but their bodies grew tired of the constant journeys. Which is why every year, pirate crews travelled to a remote island open to only them. Lawless, dirty, loud and full of scoundrels. But it was as home as it could be for the likes of them.

Taehyung stood at the quarter deck, eyes squinting a little in the sunny light beaming down on them, hot but a refreshing mixture with the coolness from the ocean. “How long till we reach the Severed Tail?” He asked his first mate, Namjoon who was manning the steer for the time being.

“We’ll be passing some secure waters.” Namjoon stared up at the sky for a moment. “It’ll take about a couple more days until we can reach there without any fights.”

The captain let out a deep sigh, looking over at his crew. It took no expert to realize that each member moved slower than before. Travelling for so long even for active souls like theirs took a toll on their energy and health at some point. “Alright. They’re strong. They can take a couple more days.” He patted Namjoons’ shoulder.

Walking over the deck side, he rested on his palms against the rough wood. A few cracks around the corners and he spotted a few barnacles growing on the sides but nothing that couldn’t be fixed. As the ship passed a small island, Taehyung could notice a grey cloud smoke exuding from a land hours from them.

“Must’ve been a terrible fire.” Namjoon spoke also noticing the thick smoke.

“I didn’t know fires could be seen from this far away.” Taehyungs’ brows furrowed, attempting to make out any kind of familiarity of the place but he never explored any corners past the Mermaids’ passage. Like Namjoon said, the waters were always full of security. Except this passage strictly belonged to the Pirate Guild so they kept their distance when they needed to. “Looks like a whole city burned down.”

His first mate hummed in response, focusing back in front of him again before smoothly turning right to keep following the passage. Pirates a couple of decades prior to them taking their own sails, created markers in the water made from the crushed scales of already deceased mermaids. It shimmered green in the daylight and glowed pink in the night. The trick was that only pirates with the Ocean Engraving on their hand could see it to ensure maximum security for their island sanctuary.

At the thought, Taehyung absentmindedly brushed over his. A simple mark of a fin given to only trusted captains and first mates.

“Captain!” One of the crew members, Jimin, called out to jolt his attention back. “There’s a person in the water!”

Taehyung glanced at Jimin for a second before his eyes caught something just near his ship. A figure adorned in white clothing stuck to their wet skin, floating away on a piece of dark wood. “Stop the ship.” He waved the order to Namjoon before rushing down to the main deck.

Holding onto one of the ropes, the captain climbed down the ladder off the side of the ship. Carefully he placed a foot on the piece of wood trying to pull it towards him. The sea decided to be calm today which made the ordeal a whole lot easier. Taehyung grabbed onto the figures’ arm noticing her long hair matted to her face. He picked the form up so he could at least wrap his arm tightly around her waist.

Throbbing ache on his arm, he gripped onto the handles of the ladder tightly attempting to climb with the extra while the crew members tried to pull them from the rope. Once at the top Taehyung pushed the figure up before him and Jimin immediately grabbed onto her so the weight could be lifted.

Once the figure was in the ship, Taehyung easily jumped in himself. The entire crew seemed to crowd around the unconscious figure while Jimin had his ear on her chest.

“She’s still breathing.” The corner of his lips curled up before he placed one hand over the other in the middle of the womans’ chest.

After a few pumps, the figure convulsed in a fit of coughs, water sputtering out of the mouth before heaving in a breath. Body inflating and deflating from her breathing, reddened eyes flickered up. At the very sight of the crew, she jumped back almost hitting her head against the deck.

“It’s alright, it’s okay.” Jimin raised his hands. “You’re safe now.”

“Sa—” The woman hardly looked convinced as the crew members continued closing in on her. Her arms immediately wrapped around her shivering body. “Where—where am I?”

“You’re on board the Serpent.” Taehyung answered, hands placed on his hips as he examined the form. “And it seems we caught ourselves a little mermaid.” A few of the crew members chortled except Jimin nor the woman didn’t look impressed. Noticing their reactions, Taehyung immediately faced the other men. “Alright, all of you back to work!” He growled and almost instantly everyone moved back to their positions.

Jimin glanced at the captain apprehensively before helping the woman get up. “What’s your name?” He muttered.

“Angel.” The woman breathed out.

“Well, Angel—welcome board.” Taehyung smiled giving her a little bow. “You can be in the captains’ cabin so none of these idiots try something funny.” He gestured to the closed door just under the quarter deck behind him.

Angel stared at the pirate before nodding until Jimin led her towards the door so she could fully regain herself.

“You know, I heard somewhere it’s incredibly lucky to find a woman lost at sea!” Namjoon spoke up, leaning against the railing of the quarter deck.

Taehyung looked over his shoulder to his first mate. “Is it now?”

“Apparently it means you’re going to be offered something by royalty.”

“I’ve been offered a lot of things by royalty. Haven’t been good things.” The captain chuckled, glancing over at the closed door of his cabin. “Let’s move out!

Stomach swayed along with the back and forth of the large ship. It didn’t help that Angel opted to sit near the windows, watching how the majestic waves engulfed the bottom for a moment almost mimicking memories of her drowning. Then it flowed back to show her the horizon again. The sky still stood clear and bright as ever. Clothes began to dry uncomfortably against her parched skin, hair clumped together while a thick blanket wrapped around her chilled body.

The pirate Jimin expressed the utmost kindness by giving her some warmth while he rushed off to look for some new clothes for her to wear. Angel should have been grateful for being rescued but her chest still cramped. Constant explosions still booming in her ears, children screaming for their mothers, her own parents telling her to run as fast as she could to save herself.

Everything she ever knew. Gone.

Angel pulled out of her thoughts when the door of the cabin creaked open. Getting away from the window, she stood in the center expecting Jimin. Instead she saw a tanned male padded into the room with something in his hand.

Taehyung slowed his actions down as he saw the woman watching him. Door closed, he turned to face her, plump lips pursed. “Bit tricky to find clean clothes but Jimin managed to grab some of his from his trunk.” He handed the pile to Angel. “It might be a little big.”

“It’s okay.” Angel muttered, accepting the neatly organized pile with everything she needed from a soft shirt to some comfortable pants. “Thank you.”

“It wouldn’t be nice of me to let you drown.” Taehyung stated like it was obvious. “Is there a place I can drop you off? A house?”

Her heart sank at the mention of a house as she hugged the clothes to her chest. “My house was attacked.” Voice resorted to a meek tone.

“Oh.” He remembered the thick smoke radiating from the island. “How did it happen?”

As the woman took a breath to speak, she quickly stopped to mull over her words. They did help her from getting lost away at sea but pirates were never pegged as the most trustworthy of groups. “I lived in a small kingdom. There was an army marching in while I was sleeping so my—my parents told me to run away to save myself.” Her heart pounded a little but it technically wasn’t a complete lie.

Taehyung nodded, the severity of the smoke making a whole lot more sense. If it weren’t for their break, broken kingdoms were the first place to go. Vulnerable and ripe for the taking while the politicians argued for their power and the citizens were too worried about a revolution. “Do you have any relatives?”

Angel shook her head. None of her relatives would take her in after the territories was divided into separate kingdoms. She would be an unnecessary hassle probably married off the second she stepped foot into the palace. “I don’t know.”

“Right.” Taehyung averted his gaze in thought. “Well no reason to strand you back into sea. You can be a part of the crew.” He could already imagine the wandering gazes of his loyal but wild crew at the new member but it wouldn’t be too hard to put them in their place.

“Are you sure?”

He shrugged nonchalantly. “It’s no trouble. Besides my first mate says finding a woman at sea is good luck.” Taehyung smirked.

Angel couldn’t help but smile in return. She shrugged off the thick blanket, feeling a rush of chilly air cloud around her already shivering body.

Taehyung flicked off the naughty piece of hair flying over his red bandana. From the corner of his eye, he noticed how wonderfully transparent the white fabric was especially after being ruined in the sea. If he focused a little, the oil lamp light from the cabin could illuminate her curves. He watched her shrug off the thin robe leaving her a short sleeved dress. But then she stopped forcing his breath to catch in his throat.

Gaze flickered up to Taehyung who still had a close eye on her almost without blinking. “Uhm—I need to—change.” Angel murmured purposely unable to meet his curious orbs.

Taehyung quizzically looked over at the woman, glancing at the pile of clothes and her. Eventually his expression softened into one of realization, lips parting. “Oh—right…” He chuckled nervously. “I’ll leave you to it.” Backing away to the door, he curled the knob and created enough gap for him to slither through. “And uh—you can sleep here.” He gestured to the bed.

Truth be told, the woman was a little taken aback by the hospitality. Though she reminded herself to stay vigilant for her own protection, she still adorned a smile. “Thank you…captain.”

Taehyung hummed with a smile before closing the door and leaving her to her privacy.

Outside of the cabin, the moonlight cast down a silvery hue meshed with deep black blue creating a ghostly atmosphere to his beloved ship. As Taehyung turned around he immediately saw Jimin with a concerned expression. “She’s fine.” He reassured. “Go get some rest.”

Still the other male stood, plump lips parted and twitching as if desperate to ask more questions. “Where is she going to sleep?”

“In the cabin.”

“Where are you going to sleep?”

“Apparently not in the cabin with the way you’re staring at me.” Taehyung tilted his head.

Jimin pressed his lips together, trying to avert his gaze even though it was mostly forced. He knew the captain was a good man with strong principles. Subtle but they were present if one looked hard enough through the mischievious exterior. That didn’t mean he still didn’t worry for the womans’ safety.

The captain then sighed noticing Jimins’ apprehension. “You can keep an eye on the door if you’d like.”

Eyes immediately lit up at Taehyung’s words, forcing down a wider grin and breath of relief. “Thank you, captain.”

“Yeah, yeah…” He waved it off walking to the side to the stairs leading to the quarter deck. “Been doing everyone favors today.”

Finally her lungs could expand and take in the wide fresh air without having to gasp for water after hours of constant thirst. It was hot. New clothes stuck to Angels’ dampened skin except it was lot more pleasant than yesterday. Hat on her head made the sun less harsh on her eyes while she scrubbed away at the deck railings. Admittedly, the woman didn’t get flustered often. She was always trained not to be, in fact as it never looked elegant.

Though the burning gaze of each of the crew members almost piercing through her backside created a slight hint of discomfort.

For a while, Angel was able to ignore it and continue doing the tiny chore Taehyung set out during the morning. Except then the gazes turned to interactions. Or if one could call it that.

One of the members with an eye-patch and missing front teeth padded towards her, pretending that they were fixing ropes before awkwardly leaning on the deck. “Hats look nice on you.” He chuckled.

Angel gave a polite smile continuing on with the scrubbing. “Thank you.”

“I like hats. You know, my mum makes hats.” He breathed out.

“That’s very nice.” She grinned down at her working hand.

“I like your pants too.” His eye widened staring down at the womans’ bottoms.

Angel nodded in acknowledgement. “They belong to Jimin.”

“They look better on you.” He let out a small laugh. “It brings out the…” Hands raised make a gesture down her back. “…globe shape.”

“Man, I don’t pay you to let your one eye wander.” Taehyung announced a loud enough voice for the entire ship to momentarily stop what they were doing. “Get back to work.”

Angel couldn’t control the grin stretching out her lips watching how wide eyed the crew member had gotten from being called out. She watched him bow quickly and walk away to his original post. Though she could still feel a body padding closer to her until something brushed against her shoulder.

“Maybe you should come to the quarter deck.” The captains’ voice rung in her ears a lot closer than she expected.

Turning to meet his gaze, Angel nodded following up the stairs towards the quarter deck. A gust of cold wind flowed against her clothes and skin bringing the most refreshing wave of alertness. One of the advantages of being at sea is that no matter how hot the day is, the water bodes cool breeze. As opposed to standing on still land and almost dying in her corset due to lack of blood circulation.

“Have you been at sea before?” Taehyung broke through her calm silence. Though he absentmindedly watched the way her lips curled up at the feeling of the breeze.

“Few times.” Angel spoke in an almost dream-like tone. “My father owned a couple of ships and used to sail them out to look at whales.”

“Just look at them?” His brows furrowed.

“Mhm—he never liked hunting. Especially water creatures because my mother was always against it.” She had the strongest urge to hold her hands out and truly feel the wind brush across her entire body but she kept control.

“Ocean creatures are not one to harm without care.” Taehyung spoke almost in a solemn tone. So many pirates grew too confident, pretending they ruled the seas because they sailed a top it. They were always brutally reminded that the true Kings and Queens lay deep beneath the recesses of the ocean ready to teach anyone who had the gall to disrespect them.

Angel hummed in amusement. “That’s what my mother used to say.” Her mothers’ voice replayed in her head as she spoke, coaxing a small twinge in her chest. How she smiled through her tears before sending her off. How she saw her usually lively and bright body laying limp in a pool of blood.

“Hey…” Taehyung murmured under his breath, seeing the way her body deflated and eyes twitched. He reached out to touch her arm gently. It was difficult to realize from the way the woman held herself that she just came out of a traumatic experience. Losing one’s home forcefully and having nowhere to go. “Have you ever driven a ship?”

She looked over at the captain with a puzzled expression before shaking her head. “Why do you ask?”

Taehyung glanced behind him at Jimin who had been manning the wheel for the morning. “Come here.” He softly wrapped his fingers around her forearm, leading her towards the other male. “Take a break, Park.” He patted Jimins’ shoulder.

Jimin hummed in response giving a friendly smile to Angel before walking over to the deck to keep himself busy.

Angel eyed the captain curiously as he carefully pulled to stand in front of the wheel. “Are you sure about this?” She chuckled lightly.

“It’s not that hard.” He smiled, standing behind her. Taehyung could still smell tiny remnants of salt in the womans’ hair. “Our destination is only straight ahead.”

“You mean that trail?” She gestured in front of the ship. Two shimmery green lines to create a path in the ocean and disappearing a little into the horizon.

His stomach jumped hearing her mention the passage, turning his head to face her but the womans’ expression was casual. “You can see the trail?”

Angel looked back at him, a little confused. “Yeah—it’s the green path, isn’t it?”

“Yeah—yeah it is.” Taehyung didn’t know whether to smile in joy or peer further into her expression in suspicion. How would she see it? There was no mark at the back of her hands. Maybe it was somewhere else. Shaking himself out of a momentary daze, he focused back in front of him. “Yes, just follow the trail.”

Wrapping her hands around the wheel, Angel felt a heaviness to move against the smooth waves of the ocean. Thankfully the green passage was quite straight without any intense turns otherwise this would have been embarrassing encounter. A few moments passed before she saw his tanned hand rest over hers when a bend in the path came about.

“Try to move along with the waves while you steer.” Taehyung instructed in a soft voice with their lack of distance.

She could feel his hot breath cascade down her hair making it utterly difficult to concentrate on his instructions. But Angel heard enough to smoothly steer to the right following the bend of the shimmery green trail, looking magical under the shining sun. The ship almost peacefully moved like it was meant to welcome a straighter path as a stronger cold wind brushed her hair across her face.

Before Angel could fix it, Taehyung reached out and gently brushed the tresses away from her vision before lining it behind her again. The length went right down flowing to her lower back. He undid a small red cloth wrapped around his wrist before placing it behind her hair and tying a gentle knot to keep most of her hair pulled back.

Angel hummed, smiling while keeping her gaze on the passage. “Thank you.”

Taehyung smirked in response. He glanced over at the trail again to check if everything was in order before his eyes trailed down her long hair, unintentionally pausing just below the ends. “The pants do suit you.” He muttered before padding over to the side of the quarter deck.

Angel couldn’t help but let out the soft chuckle under her breath. Not the kind of pirate captain she expected. Though she’d happily tolerate this one over the others.

Another night fell and the Serpents’ crew finally saw the flickering lights of land civilization closing in on them. Angel stood at the deck, already hearing the loud laughter and cheering along with glass shattering mixed with the amazingly strong stench of rum. Even the crew members murmured amongst each other in excitement.

The ship docked with ease and a board immediately dropped for the crew to almost run out and greet still land again. She watched them already mingling in with the women dressed in frills, laughing in excited shrieks as they were grabbed by the hips. Eyes flickered over to the men singing in slurred voice near the docks, some sneaking under womens’ skirts but they only giggled before chugging from a bottle.

Every moment Angel caught, her feet planted harder onto the surface of the ship. Stomach twisting a little as she saw a few of the drunkards look her way and whisper to each other like mischievous bullies.

“We don’t have to go.” Jimins’ comforting voice rung in her ears. “I’ll stay with you here.”

Angel looked over at the male, grateful that he would sacrifice his time to rest on land for her. Except before she could protest Taehyung chipped in.

“Nonsense. You’re both going to enjoy the finest atmosphere of the Severed Tail.” Taehyung slapped Jimins’ shoulder playfully before flickering his gaze to Angel. “You’ll be by my side the whole time, little mermaid.” He held out his arm for her. “Come on.” He tilted his head towards the noisy dock.

Apprehension crawled down her spine, giving another glance towards the group of men who were murmuring but they seemed to disappear somewhere else. Angel let out a sigh and hooked her arm with his.

“That’s a good girl.” Taehyung muttered. “You’ll have a good time, I promise.”

The two had very different definitions of a good time. Considering hers did not involve this much noise and alcohol. Arm in arm, they walked through the thief infested streets of the Severed Tail, buildings ragged with obscene drawings, people exuding the most putrid of scents and eyes progressively fixating on her. It’s as if they could smell an outsider entering their place of lawless paradise.

She gripped onto Taehyungs’ shirt tightly, worried that someone might pull her away from him and the man would be too excited to notice. Angel saw the way he watched this place. Eyes lighting up in glee, a faint smile gracing his lips only getting wider as they approached an establishment. A tavern.

“Crown Jewel.” Taehyung muttered more to himself than anyone else as the most of the crew seemed to squeeze through the door. “Best rum known to man.”

Angel merely hummed in response unable to focus on anything with all the distractions creating havoc around them. Although at this point, it didn’t seem like they were creating havoc more so relishing in it like a walk in the neighborhood.

Walking into the tavern was no different. Except this time she heard more glass clinking and shattering, women dressed in just a thin cloth as a makeshift dress pulling a few men to an area behind the bar. Taehyung led her followed by the rest of the crew towards the private corner, as if emptied just for them.

The pair sat next to each other while the entire crew slumped on a few of the vacant chairs. In only minutes, a few girls came up and served them their goblets filled to the brim with a strong smelling liquid. The table kept shaking causing the liquid to fall over the cup. Angel rested her hands on her lap.

Almost immediately everyone went to drinking except for her. Taehyung chugged down his first glass like it was water and he had been suffering from thirst for days.

Looking around the crew, Namjoon took more careful but generous sips while Jimin took one sip and placed it back on the table.

She tucked her hair behind her ear, staring down at her hands. Now more than ever Angel wished she was just curled up in a bed and reading a book in peace rather than here. Perhaps it was a pretentious side of her. The people in the establishment looked happy, cheering and laughing along despite their antics looking utterly despicable.

Though the Serpents’ crew weren’t completely that way. Most of them were drinking and chatting along normally at the tables, Jimin was just as quiet as she was. Taehyung accepted another drink. She noticed around two empty goblets already with one full at the brim still.

“Drink something, mermaid.” Taehyung spoke, a slight slur developing in his tone. He pushed a goblet full of bronze liquid toward her side.

Angel gently pushed it away before shaking her head. “I’d like to be clear headed. Thank you.”

“This is not the place for clear heads.” He joked but left the goblet where it stood without bothering her further.

“Not the place for decency either.” Her eyes darted over to the men whistling her way, making inappropriate gestures. Angel shifted uncomfortably where she sat.

“Pay no mind to them, love.” He did not spare a glance at the scoundrels at the table a few feet in front of them. “They do those things from afar because they’re afraid.”

“Would you prefer them to come closer?”

Taehyung eyed the woman, only now noticing how she played with her shaking fingers and unsure of where to look. Severed Tail was not a place for delicate hearts and soft stomachs. It may be a safe haven for pirates but that meant not having laws in the first place to ensure that safety. Which meant who live within the law could not be granted that same safety.

“I’m going back to the ship.” Angel murmured, standing up from the chair and walking away from the group.

“Angel—” He saw Jimin from the corner of his eye trying to get up but not wanting to disrupt the relaxing atmosphere around them.

She tried to rush out of the tavern and to the safety of the ship as quickly as she could. But before even reaching the door, someone bumped against her shoulder causing her to stumble back. “Careful.” Angel murmured under her breath. No intention of the person hearing them but apparently she bumped into some kind of bloodhound.

The figure turned to meet her gaze. His clothed chest still glimmering with badges of all kinds but his face reddened and eyes bloodshot from the excessive alcohol. “You—”

“Sorry?” Angels’ brow furrowed as the male raised his pointer finger at her.

“I know you.” He padded closer to the woman until all her nostrils could catch was his rum infused breath. “You’re…your face.” He hiccupped. Then his eyes widened. “Your Highness.”

Her heart dropped to a pit, attempting to take a step but the man kept towering over her.

“You’re alive.”

“Leave me alone.” Angel turned on her heel to walk off but her arm was grabbed roughly to pull her back. Just as she looked back to protest, his grip clipped off her. Her line of vision now blocked with another figures’ back.

“The lady told you something, mate.” The captains’ deep voice vibrated through the rowdy air. In seconds, the tavern faded into a silence almost matching that for a royal banquet with a couple of people muttering to one another.

Now all eyes were on them and Angel wanted nothing more than to curl up into a ball and hope she magically transported back to the ship. “Taehyung, it’s fine. Don’t cause trouble.”

“I’m not the one who caused trouble.” Taehyung eyes’ pieced into the other male.

Angel held onto his arm gently, walking closer to him until her nose almost touched his shoulder. “Please don’t.” She whispered. “They’re staring, I just want to go back to the ship.”

Taehyung kept his deathly gaze on the officer who tried to his make believe pride while being unable to stand straight. “You’re lucky she’s nice.”

The officer scoffed.

Reluctantly the captain backed away and let the drunkard stumble to the side. He turned on his heel to face her now. Their distance had been closed off so much that Taehyung had to lower his head significantly to meet her eyes again. “I’ll come with you. I think it’s we take our supply to the ship.” He looked behind him and the crew members excitedly got up to walk to the bartender.

“I thought you liked it here.” Angel attempted to take a step back but something seemed to stop her from moving a muscle.

“I like what they sell.” Taehyung shrugged, glancing over at the bar. “We could take it anywhere.”

“Oh captain!” One of the barely dressed girls squealed their way, standing near the bars. “Are you taking us with you too?! Like old times?!” The entire group surrounding her giggled so loud it could surpass the chortles of the men in the corner behind her.

Angel raised a brow gazing over at Taehyung who stammered a little. “You like what they sell.”

“Not tonight, girls.” He chuckled nervously, clearing his throat. Taehyung leaned in closer to mutter near her ear. “They’re for the crew.”

“Right.” Angel rolled her eyes. She turned on her heel to finally walk out of the tavern while Taehyungs’ men carried heavy barrels of that poison on their backs.

Despite not drinking a single drop of rum, Angel felt a headache slowly pounding through her skull. When she reached the captains’ cabin the woman opted to grab one of the books on the right shelves. Mostly history but it was enough. Sitting down on the bed with the wall rested on her back, her legs hung over the side a little before she curled them in.

It was difficult with men whistling, laughing and singing consistently but at some point the girl had been able to tune them out. Fully focused on the books’ contents as she read about the daring adventures of a pirate queen. Aside from the constant drinking and playing around with prostitutes, the life of a pirate was an accelerating one. The travels, the action, the adventure and the freedom beyond the horizon. It was everything a princess barely had.

She trained to defend herself but always living inside the walls of the palace. She went to sailing trips with her father but only in their territory. They were always left to observe the horizon rather than go beyond it. Here, on this ship, the world seemed to be endless. Vast with so many islands no one had even explored yet.

The burst of the door opening broke Angel out of her daze, head shooting up to see Taehyung laughing like an idiot. Adorable but still an idiot. As soon as the male caught eyes with her however he stopped quickly looking behind him with a pointer finger pressed to his lips, shushing the crew loudly.

Door closed gently, Taehyung padded closer and stumbled to sit next to her. “What’re you reading?” He rasped.

Rum infested her personal space causing her to wince lightly. “It’s a history book about a pirate queen…couple decades before.”

“Ah—Meifeng. One of the first members of the Pirate Guild.” He slurred through all his words but at least they were intelligible. “Lucky enough to meet her—week before she passed away.”

“What was she like?” The book obviously spoke of one side of the queen. Meeting her in person must have a different effect.

“Withered.” Taehyung chuckled. “Rum and crime for twenty years takes a toll on you.”

“I can imagine.” Angels’ eyes flicked up and down his form.

“Excuse me but I’ll have you know—” He hiccupped before raising a pointer finger at the woman. “I’m known to–the most handsome pirateinthesevenseas…”

Angel hummed, smirking down at the book despite losing where she was. While she focused back on the writing, Taehyung quietened down significantly. Though the girl expected with all that alcohol he must have passed out. After a few minutes, she felt something tickle against her temple. Glancing to the side she saw Taehyung brushing the hair away from her face. Despite the pleased tingle in her belly at his touch, she still had no intention of getting pulled in when his mind was literally drowning in poison. “Stop it.” She murmured shifting away from him a little.

Lips parted, Taehyung noticed how she immediately closed herself at his sudden touch. “I’m sorry.” He whispered. “Are you scared of me?”

“Am I concerned being next to a drunken man who can physically overpower me?” She met his gaze. “What do you think?”

The captain nodded in acknowledgement. A ship full of drunken men didn’t exactly scream safety for women. Relaxing back against the wall, he let out a deep sigh. “If it’s worth anything, I’d prefer to see you like and enjoy what I do to you.”

Angel scoffed in amusement. “You say that like it’s actually going to happen.”

“Is it not?” Taehyung raised a brow, leaning in closer. “Two young people sitting alone…no one to bother us…one bed…sitting so close together.” His nose nudged against her shoulder.

Angel let out a huff, trying to push herself off the bed as Taehyung chuckled.

“I’m joking, love. You are beautiful though.”

“I’m flattered.”

“Beautiful and intelligent.” He tapped on the book. “Almost like a princess.”

It was a vague statement but it still caused a jolt in Angels’ heart. She couldn’t hold off the information for too long. Especially since it didn’t seem like she was going to leave the ship anytime soon. “Taehyung, there’s something I need to tell you.”

Taehyung hummed, signaling for her to go on as he laid on his side. “What is it?”

“My home…is a kingdom—it’s called Owuhan.”

The captain laughed lazily shifting on the bed. “So you are a princess.”

“Yes—” Angel closed the book. “My father was betrayed and someone tried to take over the throne. They asked me to run to the docks where a canoe was while they took care of the problem but—” She absentmindedly scratched at the surface of the book, a burning behind her eyes. “I sailed out alone and the canoe caught a storm—and then you—” When she turned to face the male, his eyes were completely closed.

Light snored vibrated through his nose and his lips parted, a part of bandana covering one of his eyes.

The woman sighed, standing up and placing the book on the table. She turned to the male and reached out to pull off his boots from his feet causing a whine to pass Taehyungs’ lips. Placing them on the side, Angel moved to gently take off the bandana so his head wasn’t restricted. Grabbing the thin blanket from the end of the bed, she pulled it over his body and tucked it just over his shoulders. “Stupid, drunken pirate.” Angel spoke with a grin tugging at her lips.

NEXT CHAPTER >>

#taehyung #bts fanfic #thebtswritersclub #taehyung fanfic #taehyung fanfiction #bts fanfiction #bts pirate au #taehyung pirate au

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mackeydoodledoo · 3 years

Text

Family History

Pairing: Agatha Harkness x Cassia Beryl (Fem!Demigod) [Non-romantic]

Summary: You were finally ready to talk to Agatha about her Father. However, you had to leave Wanda, you pained to leave her. But Wanda reassured you she'd be fine for a couple of days alone and that it was time for you to make some amends. So you make your solo journey to visit Agatha.

Warning(s): Daddy Issues, Past Trauma, slight SMUT (Agatha’s memories)

A/N: This is after Promises. Where Cassia visits Agatha (before the events of Multiverse of Madness) and is finally comfortable enough for her godly parent history. Btw, Cassia and Wanda are now dating :)

----------------------------------- You emerge from a puddle in Agnes' driveway. You could feel your heart in your ears and your breaths caught in your throat.

"Cass, I think it's time for you to make amends with your father," Wanda suggests, "Go see Agatha and see what your father's history is all about."

"But. But Wanda I'm not going to-"

"Love, I'm going to be fine," she says as she kisses your cheek, "It's been months now. I think it's time."

You sigh. You could feel Wanda's fingers curl against your cheek, you lean into her touch and hold her hand.

"I.. I don't know if I can leave you again," you sigh, "I can't."

"I can survive a few days without you breathing down my neck Cass," Wanda replies calmly, "Go. I'll be fine."

And now you're here... Back in that hell hole. However, you shook off your nerves and began walking toward Agnes' door, now donning a more blendable outfit.

"Hiya hon," Agnes says after she opens the door

"Agath- I mean Agnes right?" You ask, trying to sound unsuspicious

"That’s me hon," she smiles, "why don't you come in?"

Nervous, you walk in and seat yourself right across from Agnes.

"Have we met before hon?" She asks, giving you that creepy smile

"Yes and no," you say, "Well, when I used to live here we were neighbors. Then I moved out for awhile and I think you don’t remember me."

"Non-sense hon I remember everyone that comes and goes." She says, "Now let me get a look at you hot stuff."

You nearly blush however, getting the vile Wanda gave you before you left.

"Here's some of my magic to mix with your water abilities to get Agatha to remember her true self," Wanda holds out the vile to you

"Oh, thanks," you say, "I could easily do it myself you know

"Yeah, but my magic has a good hold on her, so your water memory won't work as well," she says, "now get out of here."

You give her a short but sweet kiss and then run into the water set out in front of you.

In a heartbeat, mixing your water "magic" with Wanda's, you toss it at Agnes, Agatha coming back through.

"Oh... What are you doing here?" She asks, monotonous

"Okay, listen, I know I tricked you before, but this time; no tricks, nothing up my sleeve, no escape plan," you say, "Just me. I know when I told you then I wanted to know about your history with my father... And when I told you I'd come back around when I'm ready to talk about it? Well, this is the moment I'm ready. So start talking."

Agatha sits back into her chair as she looks up at the ceiling, wondering where to start. She then used her magic to take the two of you back into her memories.

"It started when I was in a trial with my coven," she begins

[Seven Witches begin chanting in Latin]

"I can't control it!" Young Agatha pleas, "If only you would teach me! Mother please!"

Their hands began glowing blue; flowing with magic. However, before they could make use of said magic, they hear the water beginning to run louder and louder. They all turn to see the commotion. A vortex forming; then a figure flying out of it. Shards of ice begin forming at the figures' will and then pierces each sister, however, the supposed leader of the coven destroys it before it reaches her. The figure lands in front of Agatha.

"You shouldn't be having such trials near my home. Finding bodies in the ocean isn't fun," the figure says

"He was... Handsome, god he was just... dazzling," Agatha says, breathlessly

"Yeah, well they're always dazzling," you scoff, your attention back onto the memory

The man and the witch fight however, the witch gaining he upper hand. But, Agatha manages to break free from the magical binds and shoots purple colored magic at her.

"You have betrayed your coven!" The witch yells

"Yet you are trying to kill your own daughter?" Agatha spits back

The old witch stood again, this time, a faint blue crown forming along her forehead. She chants in Latin and throws the same blue magic at Agatha. The man watches in agony as the beautiful woman he saved is in pain. But, the purple magic Agatha possesses, begins over powering the blue magic, the man looks over to the old witch and notices that their life-force is being drained. Once the old witch collapsed, the young witch walks over to her and takes something off of the now dead witch.

"You saved my life?" She asks

"That I did," he says, standing up, "a woman as beautiful as you shouldn't go through this."

Time skips to a month later and you see the man; Poseidon emerging from the water and running over to a cottage. You watch as your father knocks on the door; Agatha opens it and let's him in. Another time skip to a couple months later and you see them sitting next to one another on the single bed.

"I've never met anyone like you, as extraordinary as you are," he says as he gently takes hold of the young witch's hand

"Oh fun that’s where I got the fascination for magical beings from," you groan

"And I've never fell in love with a god before," she says, leaning closer to him

He closes the gap between them and His fingers running into her hair. She climbs into his lap as his other arm coils around her waist. Her hands cup his cheeks as she deepens the kiss. He strips off his shirt, revealing his toned body. He pushes Agatha back onto the bed. However, she stops him before then and she stands up, with her back towards him. In an instant he knew what she wanted him to do, he stands up and unbuttoned her dress. He watches it fall down her luscious figure as she slowly turns around to face him.

"You're really making me watch this?" You lean over to the present Agatha as you watch the young Agatha and your father get intimate

"We don't have to if you don’t wanna watch," present Agatha groans as she snaps her fingers, slightly time skipping to the morning

Young Agatha turns over and smiles when she sees your father was still there. But, he stirs and opens his eyes. Looking down at her.

"Good morning," she yawns

"Morning," he says, with a raspy yet attractive low tone

Another time skip to when Agatha and Cassia's Father are near the ocean.

"Do you have to go?" Agatha asks, sorrowfully

"I must," he says, tucking hair behind Agatha's ear, "But I'm certain we can see each other again somewhere in the future."

The both of them look down to Agatha's belly... Pregnant...

"Tell our child of how proud I am of him," he says

He turns from Agatha and leaps into the water, disappearing.

You and Present Agatha return to her home, seemingly still in the same seat.

"So... I had a step-cousin?" You ask, "Where are they now?"

"Dead," Agatha answers, "He grew old like most humans."

"I see..." you sigh, "Did my father ever come to visit you?"

"Not really," she sniffles, "I want to, more than anything..."

I'm about to regret this decision... "Come with me," you say, standing up

"What?" She asks

"We're going on a trip," you say, monotonous, "Come on..."

She stands up and begins following you towards the front door. You hold onto her hand as you begin creating water and making a portal.

"Things in the last five years really gets you learning things." You sigh as you let Agatha step through first

You hop in after her and close the portal. The both of you end up at a beach; leading towards the ocean. You turn to Agatha.

"Open your mouth," you say, calmly

On command she does. In an instant you flick water into her face, some she ingested.

"What was that for?!" She asks

"It’ll enable you to withstand water pressure," you say, taking her hand again, "Come on."

You break into a run when you hit the water only until the water it up close to your waist you dive in, Agatha following suit. You break into a superhuman swim, Agatha nearly holding onto you for dear life.

"You need to put this pillar over there and-"

Before Poseidon could finish, he hears the grand doors opening and to reveal you and Agatha.

"Cassia?" He calls

"Don’t even try to talk to me I've brought your old lover," you say as you push Agatha toward his direction and step out

Poseidon orders his men to do the same as he gets up from his throne.

"Agatha?" He calls

"It's me love," she smiles

He walks over to her and breaks into a run and hugs her tightly.

"I'm so sorry," he says

"I'm here," she whispers

"I wanted to see you But-but Zeus wouldn't let me," he explains, "I-"

Before he continued on, you walk in, "please tell me it was the same story for mom."

Agatha looks at you and then to him.

"You know, a god like my father comes and goes relationship wise," you sigh

You actually felt bad for Agatha. Someone who wanted to not be alone again, realizes her lover was with someone else.

"That was way after I met you," he begins explaining, "She was dying."

"She was dying huh?" You chuckle sarcastically, "What about when mom actually died? Did you even visit her at all?! I had to listen to her continuously ask where you were! I had to LIE to her and say you were on a business trip that's way too far off grid!! Where was your goodbye to her?!z"

You felt tears running down your eyes as Agatha is stunned. She pulls away from him and begins comforting you. For the first time in your life, you felt safe when your father was looking at you.

"I think we're done here," Agatha says, coldly, leading you out

"Aggie-" he says

"WE'RE DONE," Agatha leads you out

You drag her back up to the surface as she comforts you.

"So all of a sudden you care about me now?" You ask, pulling out of her embrace

"I don't like seeing children sad," she says, "I may be a witch but I would never let that happen."

You sigh as you lean into Agatha's touch. The nicest feeling you felt in a long time. Since your mother's last embrace.

"I think I need to get back to Wanda," you say, "I can get you back to Westview. I know how you want to understand Wanda. I'll come back if there's anything I need your help with."

She nods as you open up a portal to her home. You watch her off before plopping yourself into the sea once more to return home.

"Wanda honey! I'm home!" You announce, however, you didn't feel her presence

"Wanda?" You call again, no response

You run into the room to see if she was in bed.... Nothing.... Oh no.... AGATHA!! Agatha can you hear me?!

I hear you loud and clear.

Wanda's gone, I'm coming back to you, I need your help.

Okay.

You run back out, now donning your hero costume and leap into the ocean... Not again Wanda....

#agatha harkness x reader #agatha x reader #wanda maximoff #agatha harkness #marvel #wandavision #wandavison spoilers

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astrovian · 4 years

Audio

Richard Armitage interview on BBC Radio London for Uncle Vanya (25/10/20)

Full transcript under cut

Just a couple of days ago I was lucky enough to chat to Richard Armitage. He’s best known of course for roles in The Hobbit, Ocean’s 8, Hannibal, and of course, I was obsessed, absolutely obsessed on Netflix with The Stranger. Well, he’s about to star in the multi- Olivier-nominated play - in fact that’s tonight! We’ll find out if they win. Uncle Vanya – it’s filmed at the Harold Pinter Theatre during the pandemic, and uh, it’s incredible, it’s an incredible piece of theatre, and we’re all going to be able to watch it, which is a joy. And this is what we chatted about.

—

What a pleasure to speak to you for a number of reasons, because we can actually talk about how to bring theatre back to people’s lives, ‘cause I’m missing it desperately, but also talk about The Stranger. Let’s talk about Uncle Vanya first-

Yes.

-if we may.

Yes, of course.

Wow. What an incredible thing to do. Thank you for doing this, actually.

Yeah, I mean it was uh, kind of heart-breaking when we had to y’know, end our run six weeks early, and uh, the play was taking on so many kind of resonances of what we were living through, unexpectedly really. I, we thought the play was about, y’know, a man losing his livelihood, and then y’know, as, as the virus started to come into our lives and uh, the play started to change course really. So, and then, to sort of live through lockdown as well did and then come back to the play realising that’s exactly what these people have been doing, they’ve been stuck in a house together from summer through to the winter and going out of their heads. It again, it took on a whole other sort of energy, so a real privilege to be able to do that.

I mean, it is extraordinary when these old stories feel so relevant, and something a lot of people know, for people who don’t know something about it, we should explain a little bit about the story, but it feels like you’re talking about a story from today.

Well, it does. I mean, the fact is that Uncle Vanya, he’s the caretaker of this old estate and uh, he’s worked his entire life, um, supporting a property that’s not his, and then y’know, the owner who’s raised his daughter, Vanya’s raised his daughter for him, comes and says “right, I’m selling the estate for my retirement, um, and you’re all, you’re all out”. And it’s this devastating realisation that everything that he’s worked for is being snatched away from him. At the same time, y’know, my character is a doctor who is living through, trying to save patients during an epidemic, and uh, not handling it very well and turning to drink. And he’s also trying to save his little corner of the world that, y’know, is being deforested, so he’s planting trees and realising that the environment has such an impact on our health, um, *laugh* so it literally could’ve been written yesterday, um, and this was over a hundred and twenty years ago, so y’know, they knew. There was a huge movement in Russia at that time about, um y’know, how to, how to survive, and how to deal with the environment, and we seem not to have heeded any, any advice, really.

We, we never do though, do we? We seem never to.

Not really.

Well, many people don’t seem to. As you said, it just feels so relevant today. So when you, it must have been heart-breaking being in the show, the buzz was extraordinary, it was impossible to get tickets for. This way, I have to say, all the people who couldn’t get tickets, now we can all see it. I’m one of those people who couldn’t get tickets, as you can gather from what I’ve just said. Um, friends of mine went and said, “You’ve GOT to go!” but this is an incredible way to bring theatre to people who, like me are missing it desperately, and many other people who might not have gone to the theatre, who don’t live in London, who couldn’t have seen a show like this, so there is a plus side. I’m always looking for the plus side, I think. *Laugh*

Me too. I mean, I’ve always said that when a play is coming to the end of its run, putting together a film of it, and even a, a sort of audio recording of the play, I think is like an exit package. It’s worth doing for-

Yes.

-like you say, people that can’t go to the theatre, or maybe wouldn’t go the theatre because it’s like, y’know, it might be too expensive for them, and a cinema ticket’s a bit cheaper, they might be able to watch it on telly at some point. But y’know, hopefully they might watch it and think, ‘Oh God, that, that looked really good in the room, maybe I’ll go the theatre when it’s back’. But uh, either way, it’s still just great story-telling, and y’know right now I think everybody sort of wants to disappear into a, into a tale, and uh, hopefully, hopefully they’ll feel brave enough to go and see it in the cinema.

What does it feel like? I mean you’ve, obviously you’ve been in so many award-winning shows, what does it feel like when you’re, you’re waiting to hear? I mean they’ve all, there’s a number of Olivier awards that it’s up for, everyone was talking about this. Once again you were in something that everyone was talking about. Do you, do you feel slightly one step removed? I mean, The Hobbit, and obviously The Stranger, as you can tell I’ve got to go there because I LOVED it, I devoured it.

*Laugh*

Um, what does it feel like being on the outside of everybody talking about something that’s so - that’s such a part of you?

Um, to be honest, with – at the time that it’s happening, I, I sort of close my ears to all of that-

Oh, I love that. *Laugh*

-and try to live in it, rather than outside of it. That, that’s none of my business. But I do, I do pay attention after it’s over, and I love – y’know, I prefer hearing other people’s opinion of it, rather than reading about it myself, so, so I do enjoy the feedback. But when you’re in it, you’re in it. And to be honest with, with Uncle Vanya, we could tell that we were doing okay because the audience would let us know, and y’know that, the very, very first preview was such a kind of electric performance, and the audience were, were kind of laughing all the way through, which we hadn’t had in a rehearsal room. So that feeling is, is very, very precious, and uh, it continued like that through the run. But uh yeah, I tend not to sort of uh, pay too much attention while it’s happening, if you know what I mean.

Yeah, don’t read – everybody was saying-

No, I don’t read the reviews. *Laugh*

Do you REALLY not?! I bet you do sneakily sometimes.

I really don’t. I, I did it once, and it was – I y’know, I read one tiny miniscule negative thing about myself, and it was the only thing I remembered. And so I thought, ‘that’s a good lesson’. Don’t read the good stuff, don’t read the bad stuff. Read it at a later date, but at the time it does not help me.

Okay, alright. Well, I’ll tell you, they were all fabulous. Congratulations. All the reviews, absolutely incredible.

*Laugh* Thanks.

*Laugh* I cannot wait to see this. Now let’s talk about, if we may, The Stranger. I might have mentioned it a few times already in the past few minutes-

*Laugh*

-but it was one of those things I actually, I couldn’t stop. I loved it, I devoured it. And I sort of became slightly obsessed with it, it was BRILLIANT. Did you feel that when you were making it?

Yeah, and you know, again I, I was sort of in the middle of it, so I’m sort of focusing on the character’s journey, but Harlan Coben’s writing is very much in that vein – if you’ve ever read one of his books-

Yes, I have.

-you, you literally can’t put it down, and you can’t wait for, for bedtime so that you can pick it up again, and sometimes you, you get to the last chapter and you sort of, you think, ‘I’ve gotta space this out, ‘cause I’m just gonna devour the whole thing’-

Yes!

-so his writing matches that kind of uh, television format brilliantly. But I love it, and I, I loved what uh, Danny Brocklehurst did with that script. Y’know, he, he sort of elevated the book, and made it a kind of, much more kind of woven drama. So yeah, I love working on that kind of thing. And that is the type of TV that I will, I will watch on a personal taste level.

You’re happy to watch yourself?

No, I- *laugh*, I never watch myself, but I-

I like that, no please say that-

No, I- *laugh*, I never watch myself-

-I know that’s not what you meant, but that, it just sounded lovely that you’re happy to watch yourself in that one.

It, ugh, I haven’t yet, but I-

*laugh*

-I will eventually, *laugh*, um but it’s the kind of TV that I do, I do love watching. But no, again I’m, I’m not a good judge of myself, and ageing on screen is a REALLY hard thing to do.

You can watch that one, I promise you. Um-

Can I?

-may we go back to a part of your past that is, I’m fascinated by, that you – it was about music and musical theatre.

Mmm, yes.

And then you suddenly thought that that wasn’t enough for you, was that right?

Yeah, I mean I – it was at a time when there were, y’know, all of the big musicals were happening in the West End, and I, I saw kind of peers that would kind of move between Les Misérables, and then they’d go into Miss Saigon, and then they’d go into Phantom of the Opera, and I felt like I didn’t really want to, to follow that path. And I just felt that I wasn’t good enough, a good enough practitioner of either dance or song to, to feel that it was gonna be a sort of, that it was gonna have longevity for me, so I was already studying at the actor’s centre, and then I thought, y’know, I’ve gotta just y’know, go back to drama school and start again and do a classical training. ‘Cause that was the thing that was really exciting me. Um, and I’m glad I did it, but y’know, I still feel like in the future I might y’know, pick up that old hat again.

YES!

Yup.

That’s what I was going to ask! ‘Cause I’m a – I love theatre, hugely, as the way you can probably gather from the way I was talking at the beginning, um, but musical theatre is, I think, a very magical thing. And I think it’s possibly something that we all need as well, right now.

I agree.

So if you could – imagine – I’ve got a magic wand, okay?

Yeah? *Laugh*

And I am a magical music theatre fairy.

Yeah.

I could actually sing this bit, ‘cause I love musicals – *singing* “now you can do a theatre show”-

*Laugh*

No, I won’t sing it. Um, so you can do any theatre show on the planet-

Yup.

-any musical theatre. Which one is it, Richard?

Okay, so when we were doing our little warm-up before Uncle Vanya, Aimee Lou Wood and I used to sort of joke and fantasize about maybe doing Cabaret.

*gasp* Oh, yes!

Shall we, shall we send that out to the gods of the universe of theatre, to Aimee Lou Wood as Sally Bowles-

Oh, you can practice, practice, do a little bit-

-she’s got a GREAT voice.

Go on, just do us a little bit.

*Laugh* I can’t.

Oh, he’s not gonna do it, are you?

*Laugh*

I’ve made you – I can tell you’re blushing, which is great because I’m at one end of the computer and you’re at the other end of a computer-

You could do it, you sound great!

No, no, no, no.

Do you sing?

No, I’ve done it. Yeah, no, no. But musical theatre is a magical, magical thing, and I just – I, I love the fact that you’re open to all of that.

Definitely.

Now, let’s go to New Zealand on our next bit of travels. Um, what an incredible place to be for such an extraordinary film. I mean, The Hobbit, and everything that entailed, changing – I mean, for other people I’ve spoken to who were in any of The Hobbits, they all say that they felt it was such a MASSIVE part of their life, and they learnt so much doing it.

Yeah, I mean I never dreamed in a million years that I, I would get an opportunity to work on a project like that. And to work, y’know – I was a huge Tolkien fan for a start, and then when I saw Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings, I was just, I was obsessed with it. And it’s not one of the reasons I pursued it, it kind of came to me, and I felt like ‘Gosh, why does he want me to play a dwarf?’ but um, getting the chance to go that country for so long, and work with that cast and him, and be completely kind of, sort of disappear into a, into a sort of a world and a character. And to be taken in a helicopter to the top of a mountain and, and y’know, shoot in places where human feet haven’t trodden – you know, it was, it was life-changing, it really was. And apart from the success of the films, which was a whole other thing, the actual experience of doing it was, it was unbelievable.

Aw, well, listen Richard, thank you. It’s such a pleasure to talk to you, I could talk to you for ages. And I can’t wait to come and see you in Cabaret. And congratulations-

*Laugh*

-on Uncle Vanya. Pleasure to speak to you.

Thank you very much.

#RICHARD IN CABARET #fuck can you imagine #i can't wait for a future musical theatre production ft. RA #richard armitage

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bleachanimefan1 · 3 years

Text

King And Queen Of The Pirates

Chapter Sixteen, A Promise To Be Made?!

It has been three days after everyone had left Syrup village. The going merry was quietly sailing along in the sea. Small waves crashed and rocked against the ship while clouds slowly drifted above in the starry night sky. The newly made jolly roger flag, painted by Usopp, was waving high on the mast as a gentle breeze of wind blew the ship on it's journey. The flag had a skull, wearing Luffy's straw hat, and crossbones on it. Eventually, everyone agreed to be called the Strawhat Pirates as the official name for the pirate crew. Luffy, Usopp, Aya were sleeping together in the crew cabin. Zoro was was on lookout duty on the crow's nest, watching for any signs of trouble. But, he eventually fell asleep as well, snoring very loudly. Nami chose to sleep in a separate room with a bed. Suddenly, Luffy accidentally kicked Aya in the head, painfully, waking her up. She sat up, as she glared at the straw hat captain who was still fast asleep.

"Dang it, Luffy!" Aya growled as she thought to herself as she rubbed her head. She was about to punch him right on the top of his head, but she was too tired to do so. She tried to go back to sleep as she laid down but couldn't get comfortable as she tossed and turned. Aya sighed and got up. She looked over at Luffy and Usopp to see the two sleeping together. Aya had to admit it, she and Luffy had grown closer to Usopp over the past couple of days. He was more than just a member of the crew. Usopp was practically their brother. She felt the same for Zoro and surprisingly for Nami, whom she had some fun girl talk with, considering being the only two girls on the ship. Aya smiled then turned around, and quietly walked up the stairs. However, as she did, Usopp had woken up hearing Aya leave and quietly followed after her, leaving Luffy alone sleeping in the crew's cabin, snoring loudly.

As Aya walked on the ship, she noticed that it was night time, probably in the middle of the night. She looked up at the crows nest.

"Zoro? You see anything?" She called out. She got her answer when she heard loud snoring coming from Zoro. Aya chuckled softly shaking her head.

"You bonehead," She murmured. "Sleeping on the job." Looks like she was on lookout duty for now. Aya walked over to the side of the ship seeing the waves crash against the boat and stars reflected in the water as the ship sailed. Then Aya heard someone call out to her, hearing their footsteps as they walked over to her. Aya turned around to see Usopp until stopped, now standing right beside her.

"Hey, what are you doing up?" Usopp asked.

"Couldn't sleep." She answered Usopp. "Why are you up?"

"Oh yeah, that reminds me..." Usopp rummaged in the pocket of his overalls and pulled out Aya's necklace holding it out in front of her. Aya stared at it, surprised. The broken chain was now fixed.

"My necklace?!" She exclaimed, happily, taking it from him. "You fixed it!" Usopp smiled.

"Yeah, it was no problem! It was nothing that I couldn't fix!" Usopp jumped, startled, when Aya suddenly hugged him.

"Thank you, Usopp! You don't know how much this means to me! I could just kiss you!" Usopp blushed and Aya released him him stepping back. She froze, blushing as well realizing what she had just said. Neither said a word for a while, listening to the waves. Aya slowly shifted her gaze over to Usopp, seeing him still looking at the sea. The more Aya thought the more she couldn't get the image of her head. Of how Usopp jumped himself in front of Kuro's attack taking the blow that was meant to be for her. He could have died.

"Can I ask you something? It's been kind of bothering me for a while now." Aya asked, not looking at him, gazing out towards the ocean.

"Sure, what is it?" Usopp asked.

"Why did you risk your life for me back on your island?"

Usopp's eyes widened. "Are you kidding me? I just couldn't let you get hurt." He said. Aya bit her bottom lip, playing with hands. She couldn't do this. She can't get close to anyone. As much as she wanted to, to experience love for the first time, to have a boyfriend, to have a first kiss, she can't. It would only hurt more. It would only hurt them more. She wasn't going to put anyone through that.

"Usopp, can you promise me something?" She asked.

"Yeah, sure what is it?" He asked, confused.

"If somewhere down in the future, I'm unable to fight or in danger, don't risk your life for me, like you just did."

"A-Aya, what are saying? I can't promise something like that!" Usopp sputtered, shocked. "Why would you ask me to do something like that?"

"I'm dying." Usopp froze, staring at her. He stared her confused. Aya was dying?

"What are you talking about?" He asked.

"I have an unknown disease that's incurable and I will eventually die. It's not contagious if you're worried about that," she explained. "It damages my lungs and eventually my body will eventually fail. Soon, I won't be able to walk, that's what the doctors told me. They gave these pills to help slow it down, for now." She finished telling him, then made a small laugh. Why was she telling him this? She shouldn't...She promised herself that she wouldn't get close to anyone. Aya continued. "You know what the funny thing is. They gave me five months to live...that was four months ago. Guess that goes to show, that not all doctors really know everything."

"Does Luffy or anyone else know?" Usopp asked.

"Zorro knows a little of what I've told him. Nami, is starting to know something's up. She's very observant. But, she hadn't said anything." she told him. "Luffy... He knows that I'm sick. But, he doesn't know that I'm dying. He can't know. It would devastate him if he found out. You are the only one who fully knows what's wrong with me."

The sun began to rise out from the horizon, starting a new day. Aya turned walking away from Usopp, and started heading towards the kitchen.

"I'm going to make some breakfast for everyone. Considering, we don't have a cook yet. I'll call when it's ready."

Usopp was still standing where he was trying to process everything that Aya had just told him.

Promise of not, he was going to help her with whatever he can. If it didn't involve himself dying of course. He would rather avoid fighting all together, if possible. But, for Aya, if she was in any danger, he would try. Usopp found himself shocked to think that. Why did he care so much for her? He did see Aya practically as a long lost sister, the same goes for Luffy. But, Aya also made him feel the same as he did with Kaya.

Then, it clicked in his brain and Usopp eventually figured it out....

He was in love with her, as well.

#one piece #monky d luffy #one piece usopp #nami #pirate hunter zoro #Fanfiction #one piece fandom #one piece oc #pirates #read more

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karajaynetoday · 4 years

Text

everybody's got their demons, even wide awake or dreaming | part one

Photo credit: Jess Gleeson

Hello friends! Hope you’re having a lovely day wherever you are in the world. Thank you to everyone who voted in my little Google form thing on what they’d like to see me write next. Here’s Part One of my 5SOS x music journalist story. It’s a little angsty, and as the first chapter this is a lot of introduction to the OC and her story, but I hope you like it! It’s the first time I’ve written an OC into a fic, so I’d love to know your thoughts and if you’re interested in reading more about Lizzie and her adventures interviewing 5SOS.

Shout outs to @wheniminouterspace and @calumrose for helping me sense-check this concept, and @spicycal for giving me feedback on it in its draft stages. You’re all gems!

Word count: 5.1k

Warnings: Fem!OC, minor swearing

More writing here | send thoughts/feedback/suggestions here | if you’d like to be on my taglist go here

Lizzie Lawson was having a bit of a day. Her train had been late, she dropped her coffee moments after receiving it from the cute barista downstairs (and broke her favourite keep cup in the process), and her work computer had decided to run updates the moment she sat down at her desk. Maybe she shouldn’t have bothered to get out of bed this morning.

Her colleagues were tapping away at their keyboards, answering phone calls, and discussing upcoming story ideas with each other - the usual tasks, especially for a Monday morning. Lizzie, computerless and caffeine deprived, had to settle for a cup of instant coffee from the kitchenette, and had taken to tidying up her desk while her computer was restarting over and over again but still somehow not ready for use. She was on the floor, sorting through the snacks in her bottom desk drawer (crackers that were two months’ past their expiry date, some gummy worms, and what seemed like hundreds of cans of tuna) when James, the music editor, stuck his head out of his office and called for her.

“Lawson! Where are you?” James sounded confused. He could’ve sworn he’d seen Lizzie at her desk moments ago, and then suddenly she popped her head up like a meerkat.

“Jimbo! Here. What’s crack-a-lackin?” Lizzie responded, standing up and brushing herself off as she headed towards where James was standing in his office doorway.

“Got a pitch for ya. Step into my office, if you’re finished with your spring clean.” James chuckled as he stepped back inside and sat down on the couch opposite his desk.

A number of journalism awards were displayed on the shelf above the couch, and the floor to ceiling window overlooked Sydney’s CBD and its tall, grey buildings, with a glimpse of the harbour ocean in the distance. Lizzie had to admit she’d imagined herself in James’ desk chair more than a few times; the music editor of one of Australia’s leading youth and pop culture publishing companies, regularly travelling the world to interview award-winning artists, and assigning and guiding well-crafted investigative pieces on the entertainment industry and those within in.

But, in reality, Lizzie had only recently worked her way up to being in the music department, after a couple of years on the news desk and a series of casual internships at different publications around the place. But music journalism, and the passion she had for live performances and watching artists grow and develop their sounds and aesthetics over their careers, was where Lizzie had always wanted her career to go. She was grateful to James for having her on the team, but she also knew that he didn’t recruit just anyone - so her writing must’ve been strong enough to get her here. James was a good boss, salt of the earth, always had his team’s back, but he was also a little mysterious, and this morning’s meeting was one of those where his face was giving absolutely nothing away as Lizzie joined him on the couch in the office.

“So, what’s up?” Lizzie said, trying to hide the nervousness in her voice.

“Well, Lawson. You’ve only been on deck for a few months, but turns out my gut instinct about you has paid off. That profile you did on the 1975 last month has gotten some good feedback and traction out and about.” James spoke in a measured tone, pulling his laptop off the coffee table and opening it.

“Oh! Well, that’s… good, right?” Lizzie still couldn’t figure out exactly why she was in James’ office. Or why she was so nervous.

“Correct, it is good. It’s been great to see you come into your own a little bit, and develop your interview style. I also really appreciated you stepping in to cover the Matt Corby interview for Hannah the other day, when she had that stomach bug.” James continued, seemingly searching for an email or something on his laptop as he spoke.

“No worries! Hannah’s notes were really thorough, plus I definitely had a Matt Corby phase when he was on Australian Idol back in 2006! Oof, that fringe, you know?” Lizzie cringed internally when she heard herself starting to babble.

James snorted, before clearing his throat. “I’m sure Matt was glad the 2006 hairstyle didn’t take up too many words in the final profile piece. He was pretty happy with it though, and his management were too, according to the label. So happy, in fact, that they’re requested you to profile another one of their artists.”

James had Lizzie’s full attention now, and she still couldn’t read his expression. “Really? Me? Who’s the artist?” She asked, trying not to get too excited too soon.

“Yes, indeed, you. 5 Seconds of Summer, or 5SOS. They’ve got a new album due out in a month or so, and their publicist is keen to fly you out to LA for a few weeks to follow them around while they wrap things up in the studio, and do a profile piece on their journey to date. Are you familiar with their stuff? They’re offering us an exclusive, something about the album being linked to their homeland or something, so they wanted to go with an Australian media outlet first.” James set his laptop back down on the coffee table and angled it so Lizzie could see an email on the screen that had a few lines of text and a photo of a band onstage.

5SOS. Was Lizzie familiar? Oh yes, she was familiar. Lizzie Lawson hailed from the western suburbs, and 5SOS was the area’s biggest success story. Aussie boys made good, with millions of albums sold, billions of song streams, thousands of concerts played all around the world, that was their career to date. But for Lizzie, 5SOS were always a bit closer to home. She’d attended the same high school as three of the band members, and Michael Clifford was someone she called her best friend, once upon a time. Ashton had also befriended Lizzie’s older brother Lachlan when they’d worked together at KFC. That was years ago now, and they’d all fallen out of touch, because sometimes that’s just the way the universe works. You grow up and you move on and you don’t keep the same friends, because sometimes they move to the other side of the world and get super famous as successful musicians. Or something like that. Even if they know your deepest secrets, or biggest fears, or hopes and dreams, or you trust them more than anything, sometimes they still leave you.

Lizzie’s previous state of intrigue quickly became panic, because what if she wasn’t actually being chosen based on the merit of her work? What if the 5SOS team knew about her connection to the band, and were going to use it to manipulate her writing in some way? What if it was all a ploy to get her and Michael in the same room so he could finally call her out on what had gone down between them all those years ago? What if -

“Lawson! You on planet earth still, or wait?” James snapped his fingers in front of Lizzie’s face to get her attention. She shook her head to clear it, and wrung her hands together in her lap.

“Yep, I’m familiar with their work. A little fuzzy on the most recent work, but I have a bit of knowledge on a lot of their early stuff. And Youngblood, of course. Everyone knows Youngblood. ARIA song of the year, a billion streams, etc etc.” Lizzie spoke, meeting James’ gaze as he cocked his head at her curiously. He knew Lizzie had a tendency to get a little nervous when she was put on the spot, but there was something about her right now that was a little more unsettled than usual that he couldn’t quite put his finger on.

“Good. Well, if you’re down, the label will cover three weeks accommodation in Los Angeles. Labels don’t usually do that kind of thing, but their manager is super keen for you to get enough quality time with the band to build up a solid profile piece. We’ll cover your daily expenses, I’ll send you instructions for the claiming app, and then we just need your passport to get the flights booked. Sound okay?”

“Y-yep. Yes. Okay. Right. When would I be leaving?” Lizzie pinched her thigh through her jeans to double check that she wasn’t dreaming, and that yes, this was actually happening.

“Friday midday. We’ll put some feelers out in LA, and see if there’s any other interviews you can do while you’re there, but your focus will be on 5SOS because they’re picking up the bill for your stay. But that being said, don’t let that sway what you write. They’ve requested you because they like your deep, detailed, open style of profiling, so don’t be afraid to ask some curly questions to get the answers that will craft the right piece, you know?” James spoke firmly, looking pointedly at Lizzie who quickly nodded in response.

“Right, well, I’ll cc you into this email chain with their publicist and manager, and we’ll go from there. You can hand over your other pieces to Hannah, you’ll need to spend the next few days prepping for LA and doing whatever research you need to feel ready. You’ve got this, Lizzie. I know you can do a great job.” James was trying to be encouraging, as he stood up and opened the door to his office, but Lizzie’s heart was pounding with nerves and she barely hear his words.

She walked back to her desk in a daze, and Hannah had to literally poke Lizzie in her side to get her attention and ask what James had said in the meeting. A few excited squeals and a bear hug later, Hannah was off and running talking about lists of things Lizzie needed to organise before her international adventure was due to begin in a few days’ time. Lizzie, on the other hand, still couldn’t believe it. What the fuck was happening?

The next few days flew by in a haze of emails, life admin, last minute shopping trips and a lot of deep breathing on Lizzie’s part, and before she knew it, she was wrangling her suitcase out of an Uber and into the international terminal at Sydney Airport. Lizzie, as a generally anxious person, had arrived the full three hours early for her flight, but her parents had treated her to a flight lounge guest pass (because they wanted her to know they were proud), so she was able to deal with her nerves by eating far too many complimentary croissants and hash browns.

Soon enough, the time to board the plane arrived, and Lizzie was grateful that she ended up in an empty row of seats, by some miracle. Praise be to the airline gods, or whichever higher power had decided she’d be able to at least try and get some sleep in the next fourteen hours. She’d set her phone and watch forward to Los Angeles time, so she could try and adjust her body clock accordingly, which meant that she’d have to stay up for a few hours at least.

Lizzie tried to be productive, and tapped away at her research notes on her laptop for a little while, before she found herself opening up the band’s instagram page in her browser. The four men staring back at Lizzie through the screen seemed a million miles away from the gangly, excitable teenagers she’d known all those years ago. There was an interesting intensity about them in the photograph, steely gazes and defined bodies under carefully selected clothing, but there was also a peacefulness in their poses beside one another. Like being together, in this moment captured minutes before heading onstage, was the most natural thing in the world. Lizzie found her eyes drawn towards Michael; his dirty blonde hair swept across his forehead (not dissimilar to the style he’d had in their high school days, to be honest), and it was accompanied by some scruffy facial hair and a dangly cross earring in one ear. His grey-green eyes seemed to peer right into her soul, and Lizzie involuntarily shivered at the thought of seeing him again in person in a day or so.

She was still anxious about whether or not this entire thing was a scam, but nonetheless, she was going to try her darndest to be a consummate professional, and write the best profile story of her life. In her research, Lizzie had reviewed some previous 5SOS interviews, and she’d cringed her way through their Rolling Stone interview from many years prior. She remembered reading it at the time it was published, unable to believe some of the words attributed to the boys she’d once called her friends, and the intense aftermath that followed. Understandably, they’d avoided in-depth profile interviews since, so Lizzie was incredibly curious as to why they’d changed their mind. Why now? Why her? She closed her laptop and drifted into sleep, curled up across three airplane seats and tucked under a thin blanket.

Lizzie’s shoulders and neck were stiff when she awoke, an hour or so before her flight was due to land. She used the in-flight wifi to check her emails quickly, and noted a new one from 5SOS’s publicist Danielle, which welcomed Lizzie to Los Angeles and explained that she should catch a taxi to her accommodation at the address listed, and that she should give her a call once she was checked in. Right. That seemed straight forward enough.

LAX customs were intimidating as ever (god, Lizzie was so nervous), but Lizzie made it through without incident and was able to quickly make her way into a cab with a driver who seemed familiar with her accommodation address. They drove her to a boutique-looking hotel, and when Lizzie checked in and made her way up to her room, she was pleasantly surprised at how nice it was. A queen-sized bed, a good desk for working at, a nice view from her balcony of the Hollywood Hills, a small kitchenette with a fridge and microwave, and a glorious bathroom that had a very enticing bath tub in it (Lizzie’s shoulders and neck were already thankful for the idea of being able to soak in some nice hot water for a while).

After checking the room for serial killers (better to be safe than sorry, right?) Lizzie had a quick shower and changed out of her travel trackies and oversized hoodie into a pair of jeans, a clean shirt and a blazer, before opening up her phone and scrolling down to Danielle’s contact. A few deep breaths were required before Lizzie built up the courage to press “call”.

“This is Danielle!” A cheery American accent answered on the other end of the line.

“H-hi Danielle, this is Lizzie, from Junkee Australia. You said in my email I should give you a call once I was all checked in, and I am, so…” Lizzie found herself giggling nervously and facepalmed.

“Lizzie, of course! How was your flight? Long and boring?”

“Yep, that about sums it up!” Danielle’s enthusiasm made Lizzie feel like she had to perk herself up a bit in conversation.

“Well, I’m sure you’re gagging for a nap, but we’ve got to get you adjusted to the timezone so we can make the most of your time here. I’m just finishing up something in the office, but I can swing by your hotel in about 45 minutes, and we can go over your story pitch and the band schedule for the next few weeks, and figure out your interview time slots and other things you can go along to observe, if that works for you?” Lizzie could hear Danielle’s keyboard clacking as she spoke.

“Sure, well, you have my number now, so just text me when you get here. I’ll try my best not to nap in the meantime.” Lizzie’s somewhat dry response got a laugh out of Danielle, who agreed and bid her farewell, ending the call.

Placing her phone down on the bedside table, Lizzie looked around the hotel room that was set to be her home away from home for the better part of the next month, and spotted a coffee machine on top of the mini fridge. If she was really going to keep her no-nap promise, caffeine was definitely in order.

True to her word, Danielle arrived at the hotel within the hour, and soon Lizzie found herself sat beside Danielle on a fancy couch tucked in a corner of the hotel lobby. Danielle had opened up her laptop, and also pulled a plastic folder of documents out of her tote bag.

“Okay, so… I’m sure you’ve done your own research, but here’s a few hard copies of the band bio, album press release, and a few other tidbits from the label, along with a hard copy of the band schedule. It’s all confidential and coded, the electronic version I’ve emailed you will have the proper locations for everything, but I thought a print out might be handy anyway. The boys are recording some stuff at the studio Calum has at his house tomorrow, so I figured we could introduce you there and then after that figure out what else you’d like to get done. There’s an industry showcase for some of the new songs at the end of the week, and then they’re doing various promo and album prep things, finalising mixes, photoshoots, etc, so there’s a bit of variety for you. Any initial thoughts on how you want to do the interviews for your profile?” Danielle rattled off, gazing at Lizzie expectantly when she finished speaking.

Lizzie blinked at her a few times before collecting herself. “In my research, I found it really interesting to hear the band and some of the fans talking about how 5SOS has evolved into the collective effort of four individual artists, not just the band as one artistic music entity, so I was hoping, if possible, to interview them individually, as well as observing them as a group. Would.. Would that be okay, do you think?”

Danielle pursed her lips, before breaking out into a smile.

“I think that sounds exactly like something the band would be willing to do. Damn, Matt Emsell was right - you do know your stuff.” She chuckled, handing the folder of documents over to Lizzie and pulling out the schedule that was on top.

“So studio at Calum’s tomorrow from 10am, I’ll swing by and collect you so we can do introductions, I’ll stick around for a bit just to make sure you’re all good but otherwise I’m just going to let you do your thing. The band have been doing this for long enough now, they don’t need their publicist hovering.”

The curiosity was killing Lizzie. She couldn’t not ask.

“Danielle, I’ve got to ask this, sorry. Do the band… know me? Know that I’m the one coming to interview them?” Lizzie managed to get out, avoiding eye contact.

“What do you mean?” Danielle cocked her head to one side, clearly confused at the question. “I sent them the Matt Corby piece you did, and they liked that, so that was one of the reasons we asked you out here. So they’re familiar with your work, if that’s what you’re asking?”

“No, um… oh god, I’ve made this super awkward now.” Lizzie laughed dryly, wringing her hands together. “I mean, I know them. Personally. Or at least I used to. I’m from Sydney, and I went to school with Luke, and Calum, and… Michael. So I was just wondering, um, if they realised that it was me and that was part of why I was asked to come to LA for this…Not really sure why that would make them choose me, but I just wanted to make sure we were all on the same page before tomorrow.” Lizzie finally dared to look up at Danielle, whose expression was unreadable.

“Hmm, well, that is interesting. As far as I know, that wasn’t a factor at all. We all genuinely liked your writing style, so whether or not the boys made the connection, I have no idea. They’re not super keen on any irrelevant personal life stuff making it into this piece though, so if this is going to be a problem for you, we should deal with it now.” Her tone was slightly less warm than before, and Lizzie could sense the protective publicist side of Danielle kicking in.

“Definitely not a problem. I entirely intend to be fully professional, and like you said, my writing will speak for itself. Just wanted to put it all out there. Not a problem for me.” Lizzie spoke up, willing herself to sound more confident than she felt.

“Good. We have no problems here then. I’ve got to run, but text me with any questions, otherwise I’ll see you at 9.30am tomorrow for the drive to Calum’s!” Danielle’s tone was nice and bright again, as she shut her laptop and gathered her belongings, patting Lizzie’s shoulder in what she assumed was some sort of attempt at calming her nerves.

It didn’t work though. Not a problem for Lizzie? Bullshit. Not a problem for 5SOS, and Michael in particular? Seemed unlikely.

Lizzie was worried she’d have a restless night’s sleep because of her overwhelming anxiety about the next day’s reunion, but the exhaustion from her travelling overtook her and she almost slept through her alarm. A quick shower and a shot of espresso later and Lizzie was downstairs waiting for Danielle to pick her up to head over to meet the band.

“Morning! How’d you sleep?” Danielle chirped as she rolled into the car park, her car window down.

“Very deeply, thank you! The room is really comfortable. Thanks again for organising.” Lizzie mentally urged herself to keep up the small talk as a way of hiding her nerves.

The car ride over was mostly quiet, but when they pulled up outside of what Lizzie assumed was Calum’s house, she definitely felt like she was about to vomit.

“Just so you know, I flagged our conversation last night with the band. About your pitch around the individual interviews, and also about your little… connection to them. Ashton didn’t seem to think it was a problem, so it should all be fine.” Danielle mused, as she opened her car door and hopped out. All Lizzie could do was nod, because her throat was dry and she was starting to panic. She blindly followed Danielle through the front gate and around the side of the house to a building in the backyard, Lizzie strained to hear what sounded like raised, male voices floating towards them as they approached. She couldn’t make out what they were saying, but it didn’t entirely sound positive.

Danielle knocked loudly on the door and shot Lizzie a reassuring smile, before the shouting subsided and it swung open. Calum Hood stood in the doorway, and Lizzie sucked in a breath. It’d been eight years, maybe more since she’d last seen Calum, and even then, had they spoken? She couldn’t remember.

Calum smiled at Danielle, and then his eyes flickered over to Lizzie, not quite carrying the same happiness, but not entirely losing it either.

“Morning, ladies. Welcome to casa di Calum, come on in.” He spoke with that scratchy, deep voice of his that Lizzie had reacquainted herself with when watching hours of interviews during her research.

Danielle stepped passed Calum into the room, and she indicated for Lizzie to follow, which she did. Lizzie could feel Calum’s gaze on her as she brushed past him, but the minute she stepped inside, any sense of warmth or welcome she’d felt before vanished.

Luke and Ashton were standing over by the sound recording panel, turning to look at Lizzie and Danielle as they entered. Lizzie thought she saw a hint of a smile on Luke’s face (they had survived Year 8 Maths together, after all… that had to count for something, right?), but Ashton was unreadable.

Entirely obvious, though, was the look of bitter disdain on Michael Clifford’s face when Lizzie finally spotted him hunched over on the couch along the wall. Those grey-green eyes were staring her down with a harsh glare. It had familiarity about it, Lizzie realised, but not in a good way.

Danielle cleared her throat in the silence, and turned to Lizzie.

“Well, I believe introductions might not be required, but in the interest of professionalism and courtesy - “ Lizzie didn’t miss Danielle’s pointed glance towards Michael, who was still scowling silently towards everyone - “Lizzie Lawson from Junkee, I would like you to meet Calum Hood, Ashton Irwin, Luke Hemmings and Michael Clifford, also collectively known as 5 Seconds of Summer or 5SOS.”

Lizzie waved, and then immediately cursed herself for being so goddamn awkward. She received a nod of recognition from Ashton, and small smiles from Luke and Calum. From Michael, more scowling. This was going to be a long three weeks.

“So, Lizzie, why don’t you go through the pitch for the profile that we discussed yesterday? The boys already have a bit of an idea, but I’m sure they’d love to hear it from you.” Danielle was being overly encouraging, but it worked, and Lizzie took a deep breath before speaking.

“Thanks, Danielle. And thank you to you guys, honestly. I know this is a little strange for all of us -”

“Fucking oath it is.” Lizzie heard Michael mutter under his breath, but she continued, undeterred.

“But, I’m really excited to have the opportunity to interview you and pull together this story. Especially on behalf of the Australian music media. I know they haven’t always given you the recognition you deserve, but I think this piece is a chance to overcome that. Anyway, the specific pitch I’d love to go with is reflective of you as individual artists, as well as the collective band group. If it’s suitable, it’d be great to have the chance to speak to each of you one-on-one as well as a group, to give a holistic view of your journeys as people and as musicians and what you’re trying to achieve with this album. So… yeah…” Lizzie trailed off nervously, clenching her hands at her sides.

“I love it. We’re happy you’re here, Lizzie. I really loved the Matt Corby piece Danielle sent us, and like you said, it was really important for us to have the perspective of an Australian journalist for this story and where we’re at right now.” Ashton’s calm voice broke the silence, as he nodded at Lizzie in agreeance. Luke and Calum nodded too, and Lizzie tried not to look towards Michael because no doubt he was still glaring at her.

“Great! Everyone’s on the same page. I have to dash off to a meeting, but Lizzie has my number if she needs it, otherwise all of you please behave and don’t scare her off, nor say anything that means I’ll have to destroy her tape recorder. Sound good? Good!” Danielle rattled off quickly, moving out the door and shutting it behind her.

The tension in the air was thick, and it was all seething from Michael’s direction towards Lizzie. She closed her eyes for a moment, before reaching into her bag and pulling out her phone, notebook and pen. She spotted a chair behind her, and turned back towards Luke and Ashton.

“Well, where do you want to start? A group sit down, some general thoughts on the journey so far and what the album experience has been like?” Lizzie offered, trying to make herself sound enthusiastic, but also in control and like she knew what she was doing.

Luke, Calum and Ashton all murmured in agreeance, and moved themselves over to sit by Michael on the couch, while Lizzie dragged the chair she’d spotted over to sit facing them.

“Right. All good if I audio record this?” She asked, hitting record on her voicenotes app after three heads nodded at her.

“So, the album. Where did it begin? Did anyone or anything influence or kick off the sonic direction or the start of the exploratory process?”

The conversation was flowing quite well, Lizzie though. Ashton dominated most of the responses to her questions, but Luke and Calum chipped in their perspectives throughout. Michael didn’t say a word, even when Calum poked him in the side, and instead of glaring at Lizzie he was now staring blankly at the wall over her shoulder. An improvement, sort of, but still not ideal from a journalist and interviewee perspective, let alone when the interviewee was someone who used to be Lizzie’s best friend.

Before she knew it, an hour had past, and Ashton stood, remembering a meeting they had scheduled with the label and their management team, and bringing the interview to a close.

As Lizzie was packing up her equipment, she cautiously brought up the topic of the one on one interviews.

“So, does anyone in particular have free time in the next few days, so I can start on the individual profiling part of the story?” Lizzie asked, her tone hopeful.

Michael’s response was to push straight past her and walk out of the studio, muttering to himself and slamming the door as he went. The loud noise made Lizzie flinch, and she realised her heart was racing and her hands were a little shaky.

“I’ve got time, LL Cool J. I’ll meet you at Joan’s on Third for lunch, say 1pm?” Lizzie smiled at the pld nickname Calum slipped into his quiet response to her question.

“Works for me, C Dizzle Swizzle. Thanks again for your time today, I really appreciate it. Not to sound like a broken record, but I’m really excited for this piece and the chance to tell your story.” Lizzie found herself grinning like an idiot as she met Calum’s warm gaze, and noted that Ashton and Luke were also smiling at her.

“We’re excited too, Lizzie. Even if… some of us might not quite be as enthusiastic as they should be. But, don’t worry. He’ll come round.” It was Luke that spoke this time, his striking blue eyes somehow staring straight into Lizzie’s soul as he looked at her.

“Here’s hoping.” Lizzie tried not to sound too dull in her response, but it was a challenge.

Because honestly, how the fuck was she going to do a profile on all four members of 5 Seconds of Summer, if one of them could barely stand being in the same room as her?

Time will tell, Lizzie thought to herself as she walked out of the door to Calum’s studio and into the warm California sunlight. Time will tell.

Taglist: @suchalonelysunflower @blackbutterfliescal @redrattlers @loveroflrh @spicycal @notinthesameguey @metalandboybands

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#5sos imagine #5sos fanfiction #my writing #ashton irwin imagine #luke hemmings imagine #calum hood imagine #michael clifford imagine #5sos blurb #ashton irwin fanfiction #luke hemmings fanfiction #calum hood fanfiction #michael clifford fanfiction #whew this is the longest thing i've written so far #hope you like it #it's fine if you don't tho #the posting anxiety is REAL omg

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caxsthetic · 4 years

Text

Agape

Iwaizumi Hajime x F!Reader

(n.) the highest form of love. Selfless, sacrificial, and unconditional love; persist no matter the circumstances. Always giving and devotes total commitment to seek the highest and the best.

─── ･｡ﾟ☆: *. 500 MASTERLIST .* :☆ﾟ. ───

The venue bathed in brilliant summer sunlight as the season changed. Spring had gone, replaced by summer that rolled into the world, giving warm tingle to everyone’s soul. Today the sky was painted blue, not even a glimpse of clouds could be seen on the horizon right now.

In the countryside, two families gathered together to celebrate this special day. The day when two different families moulded into one to create an endless linkage. The day when two souls become one, to begin an everlasting journey with each other by their sides.

The celebration would be held in a property with a private beach. It was tricky, knowing that too much wind could wreck the entire venue. But the couple took the risk anyway. It was a day that would happen once in their lives, and they wanted it to be special.

At one of the buildings where the groom prepared themselves, a couple of lovebirds could be heard through the entire room. It was soothing and rare to find those birds near the sea. Maybe, it was a sign, hopefully a sign for something greater.

Yellow light from the sun illuminated one of the rooms. A large mirror with gold intrication planted on the creamy wall. The room was filled with clothes, beverages, and some flowers that would be put in the suit pocket later on.

He stood there with a suit wrapped around his figure. The suit was chosen by his best friend, something that he was actually afraid to do since he knew how bad the fashion sense that his best friend had.

But he just had to do it, he cherished the friendship that has been going on for years between him and the professional volleyball player. And right now, he was actually satisfied with how well the suit complimented him. He was muscular, and it was hard to find a suit that was just right. So it made him feel grateful to find one that could glorify his figure perfectly.

Sweat started to form in his forehead even though the air conditioner filled the room he was in at the moment. Another man with soft chocolate hair stood there while humming a tone, the best friend that he cared so much.

“You are too tense, Iwa-chan~” Oikawa sang sung while once again styled his hair to the back, “Everything would run smoothly, I am sure of it!”

“Tch, don’t jinx it, Trashykawa.” Even though his words were malice, the intonation that followed didn’t scream annoyance at all, “I couldn’t believe you actually came, you know.”

The brunette stopped his doing and turned to look at his best friend, the man who was always there for him, even at his darkest time.

“You are my best friend, Iwa.” It was rare to hear the brunette called him without any honorific, knowing well his whole life he had to hear his name with a chan every single day.

The two men just looked at each other, a small smile plastered on their faces like they thought about the same thing, “Even though I am broke as hell to fly here and back to Argentina next week, it was worth it.”

The spiky haired man chuckled to hear the remark. He didn’t actually expect his best friend to accept the invitation, knowing that the professional volleyball player still had another year in Argentina.

But then, this is just a glimpse to show how powerful the friendship that he had. Once upon a time, the brunette even left the chance to go to an elite school because he didn’t get accepted there. It was still imprinted on his heart, to have a friend who would do anything to just stick together. Even though the said school could bring the brunette to a more promising future, his best friend didn’t care.

“Well, I want to be in the same court as you,” It was raining, the two high school boys walked side by side with umbrellas in their hands, “Not as foe, but as a friend, as teammates.”

Oikawa Tooru was someone that rarely showed his real facade. But when he was just with the ace, that’s when his real nature appeared without filter, knowing well that he couldn’t be hurt with the spiky haired boy by his side.

“You are so sappy,” Iwaizumi punched the brunette’s arms playfully, but it ended up more powerful than he thought, making the poor setter winched, “But thank you, Oikawa.” A little smile plastered on his face, “That means a lot to me.”

The brunette was dumbstruck. He really wanted to just take a picture since it was rare to see a gentle smile on his best friend’s face. But then he smiled too, knowing well it was a friendship that would last forever.

“You are always welcome, Iwa.”

The little knock from the door woke them up from the little memories that were running at the back of their head. The groom immediately looked at the grandfather clock at the corner of the room, only to find that it was time.

It was time to finally make you his, the woman that captured his heart in a blink of an eye.

“Ready, Iwa?” His best friend pocketed his hands while looking at him with a playful yet reassuring gaze, “If you are not ready, I don’t mind to be the one who stood at the end of the altar, you know.”

“You are a trash,” That remark annoyed him and he just walked past the cackling man who would never get tired teasing him, “Come on, or Mattsun will take your place as the best man if you didn’t stop laughing.”

The brunette snickered at the threat and followed his best friend outside. Once their feet touched the outdoor pathway, ocean breeze immediately caressed their skin. And for Iwaizumi, it felt like the ocean itself telling him that everything would work out perfectly.

The sun was now seated quietly at the west side of the horizon, lightening up the mood to be warm. Everything it touches would turn into a golden array of sun, enchanted the whole venue like nature gave a blessing already to the event that would unfold in minutes.

He stood in the middle of the aisle, family and friends started to sit in their arranged place. It was a wedding with some rustic touches, flowers embroidered on each of the wooden seats, complimenting nature with each other's superiority.

Slowly but sure, he walked towards the wedding ceremony arch. The wood was simple, painted white to make it look pure. A cordon of lanterns set on each side, lighten up the pathway around the arch. Flowers once again adorned the top of the arch to match the entire venue, some fell to the ground as the wind blew.

“It’s your day,” He jolted a little when he heard his best friend by his side, “I can’t believe you would be the first one who got married.” The brunne pouted. Even though he knew he didn’t think about marriage at the moment, it made him wish he had someone too.

“Well, not my fault you choose only sex and not the love.” Iwaizumi smirked, making the poor man pout even harder, “But thank you for being a trash sometimes,” A smile emerged on his face as he remembered the first time he met you.

“What?” The brunette was at loss, confused by the genuine confession, “Oh!” But then he remembered, he remembered at one point he decided to get early to the gym, leaving the ace behind.

“Trashykawa, crappykawa,” The wing spiker muttered under his breath as he walked alone to the school while rain pouring down from the sky, “I am going to throw some volleyball at him, I-”

Then he stopped all of a sudden when his eyes lain on you. It was raining, and you didn’t look like you had an umbrella or anything to save you from the merciless rain.

You stood on the sideways, body’s shivering with how the weather turned dark all of a sudden. The sun was out when you were out of your house, but luck decided to test you all of a sudden, turning the sunny day to be melancholic.

The fact that you hate getting wet didn’t help you at all. So you decided to just wait until the rain was gone. But after minutes, the sky was still dark, making you let out a long sigh, knowing for sure that you would get stuck here a little bit longer.

“You are Aobajohsai’s student, right?” You yelped when you could feel a hot breath on your neck. It made you shivered more than the freezing temperature, “I didn’t mean to scare you,”

When you were calmed down, that’s when you realised who the boy was. It was Iwaizumi Hajime, the ace of your school volleyball’s team, the boy that with his every movement could make your heart flutter.

You are too starstruck as you look at him, hearts thummering like crazy. You always found the man fascinating. How he cared for his teammates, the respect that he gave towards his opponent, all the little gestures from him was amusing.

And you couldn’t help to just stare at him as you absorbed the warm that he radiated with how close the two of you were at the moment. He was muscular for a high school student, you could see it even when the uniform didn’t do his figure justice.

“Are you alright?” He was genuinely worried with how red you looked right now, “Are you sick? Do you want me to accompany you back home?” The question caught you off guard. Who in their right mind would escort a stranger while they basically were late for school.

“N-No!” You cursed at yourself for stuttering, “I-I am fine, Iwaizumi-san.” He widened his eyes, wondering how he could never see you before. And he felt guilty for not knowing your name right now, “You should go ahead, the bell would ring in a few minutes.”

You fiddled your fingers, staring at him as you tried to usher him away. It’s not that you hate the company, and it would be a shame if the two of you didn’t end up as an acquaintance. But he was a student too, just like you, and you didn’t want to be the reason for his lateness.

“Then let’s go.” He pushed his umbrella to hover on your figure a little, “My umbrella may not be big, but at least it could prevent us from being soaked completely.”

“But, you still get soaked either way!” You tried to protest, “I don’t want you to be sick, you have a game this weekend and I need you- I mean, we need you to be healthy.”

He let out a long sigh when he realised that he just met a stubborn girl. Though he’s not going to lie, your little scold that you threw before made him feel warm inside.

“I am not going anywhere if you didn’t come with me.” But you were not the only stubborn human here, he was too, could be stubborn some of the time, “I will wait here until you agree to come to the school with me.”

You frowned, but in his eyes, it makes you look like an angry kitten instead. And he couldn’t help but blush a little, sadly, it went unnoticed by you.

“Alright, alright. But I want you to be under the umbrella completely.” You stood next to him, keeping some distance, “Come on, then.”

He was thinking of a way to make the two of you completely safe from the rain. Something appeared on his mind, a sight that he had once seen when Oikawa walked with his ex-girlfriend in the rain.

“Can I wrap my arms around you?” The question that he uttered made you lose your composure completely. Imminence blush crept on your face, jaw dropped and mind not functioning, “I am sorry, but I have to.”

Without waiting for your answer, he wrapped his right hand around your torso, making your body to flushed with his. He started to walk, occasionally glanced at you to see if you were soaked or not.

“W-Why are you doing this…” He could hear your little voice as you mumbled under your breath, “You didn’t even know me…”

He was too, didn’t know why he had the urge to just protect you from any harm when you showed how care you were towards him. And he was for the first time, proud for being an ace, making you realise his existence.

But it was just something inside you that was pulling his heart every time you talked. It was still there, tugging inside him as you were now in his embrace. The second he pulled you towards his arms, he felt something that he never had before.

Your body that was flushed with him didn’t only warm his body. But his heart too, started to feel the unfamiliar warm. And right now, he wanted to feel more, he wanted to know more.

He wanted to unfold the feelings that he had right now, and he wanted to do it with you,

“Then let’s change that.” He stated, looking down at you as you looked up, eyes locked with each other, “My name Iwaizumi Hajime, what’s yours?”

You knew you had a crush at the man. But right now, at this moment, you felt more than just a mere crush as the two of you walked under the same umbrella. It was something more powerful, you know what it was.

And you wanted to unfold the feelings that you had right now, and you wanted to do it with him,

“My name is (L/n) (F/n),” You gave him a little smile, realising that your embarrassment started to dissipate as the two of you walked, “But you can just call me (Y/n).”

A chant of violin filled his ears, notify the whole venue that the bride was ready. One by one, family and friends started to stand, eyes focusing at where you were standing right now.

Your hands gripped at your father, tightened when you could feel everyone’s eyes in the room. To say that you were nervous was an understatement of the century. You didn’t dare to look up, eyes focusing on the heel that you wear.

Since morning, you were a nervous wreck, afraid that you would trip even though you wouldn’t wear a stiletto. Your shoes were just a five centimeter heel, nothing that you couldn’t handle in your daily life.

Your father tried to reassure you that it would be alright, but his sweet whisper couldn’t dissipate the anxiousness that was tugging inside your heart.

“Sweetheart, please look up.” The two of you started to walk down the aisle, “Look up, I promise you didn’t want to miss this.”

Taking one last deep breath, you brave yourself to release your gaze and trust your father completely. And right now, you felt like you walked down towards an angel.

He stood there with a warm smile plastered on his face. His spiky hair caressed by the ocean breeze, making him look like he was a star in some kind of romantic movie.

Everything moves like a slow motion as you noted all the little details that unfolded in front of you. He was the first person that could make your heart feel like this, he was the one who could make you live, not just exist.

From the time he shared his umbrella with you, you knew for sure you wanted the event to be replayed for the rest of your life. You wanted to be in his embrace, falling to the deep love that his body conjured.

Your eyes never leave his figure, too transfixed by the magnificent human being that you proudly called your lovers. Slowly, your father gave your hand to him, to be cherished, protected, and loved, forever until the end of time.

And when your hand fell on his, you felt like some kind of power struck inside you, spreading all over your body as it strengthening you. His other hand helped you to arrange the lace on your dress that was unruly due to the wind that blew.

Once the two of you stood on a perfect stance, the wedding officiant cleared his throat, gathering the attention of all family and friends. You looked deep into his eyes, olive green eyes gazed into your soul, suffocating you with immense love.

“To (L/n) (F/n), the angel from the rain,” He called out to you, wanting you to hear every syllables that was out from his lips as he shared his vows, “From the day I met you, I know there was a foreign feeling inside my heart, tugging me to made me come back to you,”

Tears started to appear at the corner of your eyes, and he gently wiped it all away with his thumb, “You have always be there on every step that I took, boosting my confidence, reminding me endlessly that I am loved, even on my worst days,”

At this moment, he really wanted to just smash his lips into yours, but he held himself back, knowing the wait would be worth it, “So, I promise to support you during good times and bad times and to never let this world break your kind, loving spirit.”

He said every syllable with so much passion, letting it roll out from his tongue like it was the words that he had been chanting since he was born. Every word and every promise seeped into your heart, proud to call the man in front of you as your husband.

Being loved by him was like he was the last of your kind. As if he speaks the same language as you that no one could be able to. To be around him was like finally not being alone as when he pulled you to his embrace, it felt like you were strolling in summer meadow.

How was that he was so much more than sunshine? How did he breathe life for you when no other can? Why was that he became your medicine? And by time, no one could love you like he does. So you promised this to him- while you breathe, you would become his in mind, body, and soul.

And when the officiant allowed him to kiss you, he took his time. He cupped your face, caressing your tear-stained cheek with his thumb as he tried to imprint the sight in front of him into his heart.

Because your love was so whole, his missing pieces appeared. Because your touch carried such passion, what was scarred became soft once more. Because you were steady and patient, his open wounds have time to seal and vanish.

Perhaps that is why they say love was such magic, a gift from the universe, a sweet addiction to the someone he was born to find. For with his twin soul, you, the only other born in the same flame as him, the two of you were able to bathe one other in warmth and light as easily as you and him breathe, immune and oblivious to darkness.

And the love that you radiated was sealed, by the first kiss that you shared with him as husband and wife in the middle of the ocean breeze. The kiss that started your journey together, not as you and him, but together, as one soul.

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ༶•┈┈⛧┈♛ ♛┈⛧┈┈•༶ *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

Tagged Lovelies:

@letmeshouyou @nitricflame @vventure @heccingdead @muffins-puffins @miyulovestowrite @nanashinanashi @vlovers-world @proplayer-kenma @kashika @cuddlyasahi @blacckdiamondposts @muffngw @baby-boy-taichi @of-heroes-and-dreams @for-ests @giyuwu-san @oli-imagines @lordeofthunder @miyatsunami @benewol @allywritesimagines @tendoustan @iwaixiumi @hihiq @gulfwanq @the-fandom-ness

#iwaizumi haijime #iwaizumi hajime x reader #iwaizumi #iwaizumi x reader #iwaizumi hajime imagine #iwaizumi hajime drabble #iwaizumi hajime scenario #iwaizumi fluff #aobajohsai #iwaizumi hajime fluff #iwaizumi wedding scenario #wedding scenario #haikyuu iwaizumi #haikyuu x reader #haikyuu fluff #haikyuu aobajohsai #haikyuu imagine #haikyuu scenario #haikyuu drabble

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katdvs · 4 years

Photo

When Riley Matthews was in high school her life changed, now as a professional dancer she’s got a new challenge when she’s paired with professional football player Lucas Friar on the latest season. Can they win the season, or will their past get in the way?

Cross Posted to FFN & AO3

Chapter One |

Author Note: Hi, how is everyone? I’m glad to be back. I’m writing this as I go, I know where I want it to go, but let’s hope that’s where we end up. Thanks for all the reviews on the first chapter. XOXO

Chapter Two:

“Eyes on me.” Riley reminded Lucas as she paused the music that they would dance to on live television tomorrow night. This season the network had decided to keep everything secret, except with Pros were returning They figured it would keep people guessing and have them tune in to see who made it.

Lucas nodded, “Okay.” He got into the hold he needed to be in for the dance, following her lead, the cues she had taught him over the last couple of weeks.

Riley felt Lucas lead her around the dance floor, feeling like they were as ready as they could be for the live show. Whatever happened out on the dance floor tomorrow night, live in front of all of America, was what was meant to be.

“We’ve got this Riley.” Lucas told her with a smile as he broke away to grab his water bottle.

“I certainly hope so.” She couldn’t recall the last time she was this nervous before the dress rehearsal. She was just thankful she hadn’t had to do most of the pre-show press that they normally had,

Lucas watched her, amazed he could notice something so subtle, “You’re nervous, aren’t you?”

“Yeah I am.” She confessed, feeling the cameras zooming in on her. Never in all her years on the show had she admitted it, no one had called her out on it.

He took a few steps towards her, “We’re going to be fine.” He saw the shadow of something cross her eyes, and he realized what she was more nervous about, once the world knew that he was on the show, that they’re partners, it would take them from the bubble of this studio.

“I’m glad you have confidence.” She went to grab her water bottle.

Lucas stopped her, “I do have confidence because you have confidence. Don’t let it fade. We’re gonna win this.”

Riley cocked an eyebrow at him, “You realize this is more then one night right, we hopefully have weeks of this.”

“I know, and I know that next week we’ll crush it and we will each week, because you’re my teacher, my partner, and I believe in you.”

Damn they made great TV, Riley knew right now the executives watching the feeds and later the dailies would love this stuff. “Grab your stuff, we’ve got to get to the studio for the final dress rehearsal.”

“Whatever you say, you’re the boss.” He smirked.

***

Riley hated the costumes that had been picked for them this week. The song choice had been bad enough, but she was literally here in a cheerleader shirt and top, with fringe. Lucas was in a sparkly varsity jacket, and to make it even worse it just happened to be their high school colors.

She was on the stage right now, the lights out as they crew set up during what would’ve been a commercial break. She could hear the banter between the hosts and then the start of the package. She glanced at the monitor, their was for the whole world to see, her falling into his arms. Then of course clips of them dancing over the last few weeks, teaching him the moves, and what had to be a last-minute edit, the two of them just a few hours ago.

She shook it off as the music swelled and she made her moves towards Lucas as everything started to fall into place on the stage. He kept his eyes on her during the entire dance, though he lost his footing on the final move, and stumbled a little bit.

“It’s only a rehearsal, you got it out of the way.” Riley told him afterwards, as they pretended to get scores from Judges that weren’t present.

As they moved off stage Lucas leaned in close, “Did you suggest these costumes in these colors?”

“Nope, I don’t know why they decided on these, but I’m just going along with it until the waltz next week.” She stood tall as she stopped at the monitor to watch Zay and his partner dance. “That’s what we need to be worried about.”

Lucas watched as Zay danced with Connie Patrick, a sitcom star that Lucas had run into occasionally at charity events. She also came with a major social media following.

“They’re good.” Lucas admitted.

“Yeah, Zay has won several times, he could win again.”

“Not this season, we’re going to win.” He told her and he moved towards the dressing trailers.

“Riley, Lucas!” Sheryl was rushing towards them, “Tomorrow night you’re going on last.”

Riley froze, “What?”

“Yeah, you’ll be our final dancers of the night.” She smiled, “America is going to fall in love with the two of you tomorrow night.”

“Is that good or bad?” Lucas wondered.

Riley looked at her first love, “Well, you won’t be able to go off the grid until after the show ends.”

***

Riley sat on her bed, replaying everything that happened today. She knew the storyline that the show was going for. They saw the chemistry between Riley and Lucas. They would be fools not to play into it.

She would just have to get through the next night, and then at least the first week would be behind them. They would move on to the next dance, the next song. Another week of grueling rehearsals during the day, at night she was plotting the choreography for the next network musical, she had one more number to do and in a few weeks, rehearsals would start for that. When they did, she would be beyond busy if Lucas didn’t get eliminated.

Picking up her phone she began scrolling through social media. A lot of guesses about who her dance partner would be this season, none of them correct. A few of the names were on the show this season, but no one she saw was mentioning Lucas. Probably a good thing.

As she moved through her feed on Instagram she stopped when she saw a picture of Maya, her former best friend. She was showing off a ring. She realized it was a picture that Farkle had posted, and tagged Lucas in.

She felt her stomach sink as she read the caption, “#SheSaidYes to my good buddy @LucasFriar. She’s so excited for their journey together, she insisted I buy her champagne.”

If Lucas were involved with Maya, when did he propose, he’d been here in LA for the last few weeks in the bedroom next to hers.

“My only comment is that I am not engaged to Maya Hart.” Lucas’ voice carried from his balcony, “I’m not dating her. I didn’t propose. What picture are you talking about?”

Riley opened her door and saw him pacing as he spoke on the phone.

“Jerry, you know I’m in LA. The show is tomorrow night. I don’t know what game Maya is playing this time, maybe her sales are slow again, I don’t know.”

Riley attempted to wave to get his attention when he turned around in his pacing, she waved her cell phone at him and he leaned as close as the edge of the balcony would allow.

“I’m calling Farkle and finding out why this is happening, okay. I have no idea where she got that ring, but I didn’t give it to her. I have never dated Maya Hart. I will never date Maya Hart, she can keep trying to make it happen, but it hasn’t worked since middle school, it’s time for a new game.” Lucas growled before ending the call.

“I take it you’re not actually engaged to Maya.” Riley enlarged the photo, something about the ring was familiar, but how different were gaudy giant diamonds from one another?

“I would rather get trampled by a bull.” He sighed as he scrolled through his phone, “She keeps doing this, anytime she can she uses my name to get hers out there. Farkle keeps going along with her on this, I don’t know why, I’m not sure I want to know why.”

Riley pretended to understand, she wasn’t sure she understood the dynamic of her former friends. “I was confused when I saw the post, it’s the kind of thing you probably would’ve mentioned.”

“Yeah, if it were true.” He sighed looking out to the ocean, the moonlight reflecting on the waves. “You two were best friends at one point, but once you and Zay went on tour, she changed. It was like whatever anchored her was gone. But at the same time, no one could ever expect you to spend your entire life being the good angel on her shoulder.”

Riley hadn’t realized just how much she needed to hear that; years of guilt washed away from her. “I’ve always felt like I abandoned her, but Zay and me, we had to do this.” She smiled, “Do I wish somethings had worked out a little differently, maybe, but I love my life, I love my job, I could never really be Riley if I spent my life keeping Maya out of trouble. I lost part of myself doing that once, I couldn’t imagine still doing that now.”

“I’m glad you found something that makes you happy.” Lucas confessed, catching the moonlight reflecting off her messy bun as he looked over to her.

“Are you happy, playing football? I always thought you would be a baseball star.”

Lucas sighed, “Football paid for college, and then I got drafted. I’ve made good money; I get to do stuff for the community. Is it the path I expected to take, not at all? Did I ever expect to be dancing with my first love on national TV, no.”

“Goes for me as well.” She chuckled, “You know once it’s revealed that we’re partners, how long do you think before our past is revealed?”

“Depends on who tweets during the show. If someone who remembers us as together from high school, maybe ten minutes. If not, maybe a day, if we’re lucky.”

“Well hopefully we’re lucky.” Riley breathed in the ocean air one last time, “You, bed.”

“Oh Riley, I thought you’d never ask.” He teased, watching her roll her eyes, “I get it, I need to sleep. I should call Farkle and get the picture taken down.”

“Let it stay up. Maya is probably selling a story about how you proposed right, the date, the restaurant, all of that, when you and I dance together tomorrow night, she’ll be scrambling, and you can get the truth out.”

“You think?”

“Yeah.” Riley told him as she clutched her cell phone in her hand. “Good night Lucas. We’ve got a big day tomorrow. America is either going to love us or hate us.”

“How could America not love you Riley?”

She shrugged as she went back into her room, “sweet dreams.” She called out before looking at the picture again. She pinched it open to enlarge the ring, exactly as she suspected. She looked back to make sure her door was closed before she dialed the number, she’d saved for years but hadn’t used since high school.

“The number you’re calling using a screening service, please say who you are and why you’re calling.”

“Riley Matthews for Farkle Minkus, I was just wondering why Maya was wearing his mothers ring in the photo announcing her engagement to Lucas.” She felt her stomach knot as she waited to see if the call connected, it didn’t.

She turned her ringer off, putting her phone on the charger before she went to take a shower.

***

Farkle Minkus often wondered why he went along with Maya’s schemes, her little teasers to the press. Lucas rarely spoke to him anymore because of them, and he had a feeling he wouldn’t speak to him anytime soon after the latest one.

How had Maya even figured out his Instagram login? Farkle hadn’t used it for anything more then charity promotions in ages. For a genius, he sure could be a dum-dum at times.

He was sitting on the balcony of his New York penthouse, the city alive below him while an odd sense of serenity surrounded him. No stars visible in the night sky, but he knew exactly where certain constellations were at any moment.

He was waiting for Lucas to call, asking for him to take the picture down. At least then he could explain he hadn’t willingly posted it. This was Maya looking for attention.

Lucas had stopped giving into these whims in college, perhaps being across the country had mad it easier. Maybe Farkle gave in because Maya was the only friend, he really had left. Riley and Zay had long gone so many years ago, Lucas became a big football star, Maya held on to him, while Smackle found her way to a new Biodome project in the south west.

When his phone rang from an unknown number, he tapped the screen call option. As the message came in, he couldn’t believe it. He sat in shock, holding his bourbon close to his lips but not drinking it, frozen and missing a chance to take the call.

His eyes scanned the transcription. Riley called him. She reached out because she knew Maya was lying.

Maybe it was possible these games would end. If Riley could tell from an Instagram picture, then the world had to know that Maya and Lucas weren’t a couple. Perhaps there was a light at the end of the proverbial tunnel.

He finally took a sip of his drink, starting to feel that perhaps a weight was being lifted off his shoulders he never intended to carry.

***

Lucas was oddly energized as he’d spent the last half an hour pacing in his trailer, waiting to be called to set to be ready to dance live on television. He’d ignored his phone all day after his morning call with his mother, it was the only way he could focus.

He stood backstage now, waiting for the cue, watching Zay dance on the monitor. His friend was amazing, he’d always known that. He had always had an idea that this might just be where Zay ended up, and he’d been right. Lucas had never anticipated Riley would be with him, not until the night he watched them dance at the talent show.

He shook away the memory as he watched Zay and Connie get their scores a six, seven, and another six. Not bad at all for the first night from what Zay had explained to him the other day. Lucas could only hope he and Riley did that well, but he believed they could.

The introduction package played as he and Riley took the stage, the lights down as the video showed their “first meeting” and the pep-talk he’d given her the day before.

“Lucas Friar and Riley!” The announcer declared before the music filled the soundstage, the lights went up and Lucas did every step Riley had taught him as best he could as they moved to the music. Each step she had drilled into him, his eyes on her as they danced to a song about love, while dressed in ridiculous high school themed costumes.

As the dance ended, he didn’t stumble this time, they twirled together before ending with a dip.

The audience applauded, at the very least they had impressed them. That was a good start. His heart was racing as they got feedback from the judges. Riley had told him to expect exactly what they were saying. She knew what his weakness was, and already zeroing in on it.

The scores came in, seven, seven, seven, the highest score of the night. Riley was hugging him as the hosts asked for viewers to cast their votes online.

“You did amazing Lucas, I’m proud of you. Tomorrow, we waltz!” She told him as they made their way off stage.

“Riley Matthews.” Sheryl was right behind them, her tone let Riley knew she had to stop.

“Yes, boss?”

“Why didn’t you tell me the two of you went to high school together?”

“We didn’t think it mattered to the show. We haven’t seen each other since Riley and Zay started touring.” Lucas answered.

“Besides, aren’t surprises more fun?” Riley chewed her lower lip.

Sheryl looked at the two of them, “And you didn’t want me to exploit that you were high school sweethearts, huh?”

“No comment.” Riley told her as they walked towards the dressing trailers, “Hey Sheryl, hope we’ve got good music next week.”

“I make no promises.” Sherly laughed as she watched them walk away, setting her eyes on Zay. If anyone knew the story, it would be him.

#Rucas Fanfic #Riley and Lucas #Riley Matthews #Lucas Friar #Girl Meets World #Girl Meets World Fanfic

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pridesobright · 4 years

Note

If you’re up for it, what artist or painting do each of the boys remind you of?

disclaimer: art is subjective, so are people’s opinions, and my choices are based on my perception of the boys’ personalities. you may not agree with me, therefore the paintings might not correspond to what you had imagined… still, i tried to shed a light on my own thoughts, which is something i rarely do on tumblr — i tried to remain as objective and positive as possible!

+ louis —

louis is so fiercely good! supportive, loyal, brave… i’ve never seen someone so witty and intelligent, caring and sensitive. louis shines, louis sparkles!!

but he also tells stories like no else. it is truly fascinating how louis can turn the smallest life experiences into masterpieces!! the raw emotions he’s able to convey in just a sentence: we’re sleeping on our problems like we’ll solve them in our dreams…. it’s easy getting lost into louis’ ocean blue eyes but it’s even easier falling for his talent — through storytelling, louis always shares a positive message and i’m in awe of the way he goes through life despite everything that’s been thrown at him. passionate and driven, louis is authentic and unapologetically himself!

i decided to associate louis with gustav klimt — the artist received a conservative and classical training and began his career painting churches and theaters, following the traditional and historical style popular at the time. quite similar to louis’ mindset at the start of his solo career, klimt focused on what the upper class expected of him! however, he kept developing a more meaningful personal style. one that relied on symbolism and the extensive use of the ornamental gold leaf. his paintings were highly decorative and it is the aesthetic of klimt’s work that made the connection so easy ♡

gustav klimt painted many women in erotic positions, embracing their nudity and a celebration of sexuality, which was controversial at the time. but more than that, the artist depicted loving embraces, abandonment and passion. tenderness. and by coating his paintings in golden powder, klimt created a warm cocoon around his subjects! 1. adele bloch-bauer I - 2. judith I (details) - 3. le baiser (details)

louis is so often associated with the color yellow and it’s easy to understand why — yellow is the most luminous color and is the symbol of happiness, optimism and enlightenment. as a warm color, yellow represents light and creates a sense of hope: it is radiant! gold shares many of the same attributes. it is bright, cheerful and is often associated with love, courage and passion. gold illuminates our world and so does louis!

+ zayn —

zayn is very creative, expressive and imaginative. i’d say he’s cautious and overall very intelligent about his privacy! society will often describe quiet people as mysterious, and it romanticizes anxiety in a way that makes my blood boils… it’s a dangerous culture where people with mental disorders are seen as edgy or cool when in reality they are deeply misunderstood. at times defensive, i believe zayn is strong-willed and values his freedom more than anything!

associating zayn with street art was a given. is there anything more liberating than leaving your trace into the world, anonymously and illegally, without knowing if your work will be painted over in the next few days or a couple of years?

artists such as roa, bansky, kobra, invader or shepard fairey have now made a huge impact, and street art has been popularized. many paintings are known worldwide but before then, you had the travel the world to seek out the artists’ works!

and even if some murals can be seen from afar, they draw you in no matter what. like an invisible pull, some are forcing you to cross the street or climb a few stairs to get closer — zayn draws you in! whether people are affected by his quiet personality, his looks or the sheer quality of his voice, you can’t help but want to learn more about him!

i chose behind the curtain by martin whatson for that very reason! at first cold and unreachable, zayn is full of qualities and life experiences deserving to be uncovered.

martin whatson is a stencil artist working in oslo. looking for beauty in decayed and abandoned urban spaces, he developed his style using grey tones as a basis and adding vibrant colours to bring a splash of life. i also love pull back and behind the wall ♡

+ niall —

to me, niall is the type of person who’s enjoying life as best as he can, and fully appreciating everything there is to offer. whether it be passion, irritation, love, fun or distress. mainly because of his cheerful and bubbly personality, he’s seemingly going through life as if it was a big fest! but don’t be fooled, he knows heartbreak too and there’s more to him!!

niall’s albums feel warm, nostalgic and intimate. we’re being let in into a part of him without any flourishes. a melody strummed on his guitar and here we are, transported into the past and reminiscing about an old lover. niall definitely is a romantic! listening to heartbreak weather, there is so much tenderness into his songs…

this painting is called manège de cochons by robert delaunay — it is part of a series devoted to modern urban life and popular shows. carried away by a whirlwind of vibrant colors, it recreates the lively atmosphere of the fairgrounds.

it definitely represents niall and his complex mind. the colors, so vibrant, are an ode to his cheerfulness. for delaunay, primary colors and their complements exalt each other by contrast. and the same tone can be perceived differently depending on its intensity or its arrangement!

at first, only the vibrancy and the warmth shine through but just like everyone else’s, niall’s mind is intricate. his emotions are raw and he puts his pain into songs, as if to compartmentalize everything. as if to tame those feelings and memories, maybe too loud at times! the colors aren’t just splash of nuances scattered across the canvas, they are deliberate. with purpose, they tell a story…

+ liam —

liam is good! and he always goes out of his way to do something good. he often tries to be more mindful of his actions. he’s constantly learning and just like everyone else liam makes mistakes, but he actively grows from them!!

liam is extremely talented, funny and charismatic, yet i feel like he’s not easily understood. he’s a very sensitive, sincere and sweet person, and despite everything liam went through, he remains cheerful, generous and courageous!

he is also passionate and pursues many hobbies — be it fashion, art, cooking or comics: he is well-versed in many topics and it’s a real pleasure to now follow him on youtube!!

robert rauschenberg was passionate about many mediums himself, and he incorporated newspapers, photographs and even some objects (undershirt, parasol parts) onto the canvas before adding broad strokes of paint! he kept exploring the boundaries of art and closely followed the current events of the time, using images of space flight and NASA’s photographs into his work — space (tribute 21) is a personal favorite ♡

i actually picked a selection of artworks to match liam’s personality: 1. untitled (red painting) - 2. untitled (red painting) - 3. red interior. i particularly love that last one, as the far-right stripe reminds me of liam’s chevron tattoo!!

for many years now, liam has been associated with red and it’s no surprise at all — red is the color of passionate love, seduction and adventure. strength, vitality and ambition. it used to be seen as the color of fire, a primal life force. to the greeks, red symbolized super-human heroism. liam is a force of nature, strong both physically and mentally. he is hard-working and energetic!

+ harry —

forget about the way harry has been portrayed ever since he was a sixteen-year-old boy. forget about the curls and the dimples. simply observe the person harry is today. take a closer look at what he decides to share with us. pay attention to the way he’s presenting himself.

fine line (the album) takes us on an introspective journey into his deepest emotions — whether it be torment or happiness. and i think it’s fascinating how well-executed his songs are! even in a catchy and happy song such as golden, harry managed to address quite a raw and painful concept: i’m hopeless, broken, so you wait for me in the sky / i don’t want to be alone — it’s heartbreaking, yet you almost wished you could feel it too!

through various allegories and metaphors, harry makes you question yourself. he interrogates you and talks about a reality you didn’t know existed or could relate to. harry is magnetic.

this painting is called composition XI by vassily kandinsky — and i can’t help but compare both harry and vassily. kandinsky was a painter, professor, poet and art theorist, generally credited as the pioneer of abstract art! he spent years creating sensorially rich paintings, and was fascinated by musicians who could evoke images in listeners’ minds. he strove to work with forms and colors that alluded to sounds and emotions!!

in songs like fine line, the music swells and deflates as if it was a beating heart. each track conveys a different emotion and translates a distinct concept! through his melodies, harry aims to make us feel joy, melancholy, determination or bitterness, even when the lyrics are anything but. his albums leave us speechless and wondering, just like abstract art!

+ overall, this is what art is meant to make you feel! it’s supposed to challenge you. art is meant to make you rethink your boundaries and open up your mind. it’s meant to question you and leave you wanting for more! you are meant to listen to a song several times to fully understand its meaning, and meant to stand in front of a painting for hours to start grasping the artist’s thought process…

yet art remains subjective! depending on your own life experiences and upbringing. art is free for you to interpret as you wish and so is music! i hope you enjoyed this post, thank you for reading it ♡

#have i spent way too much time on this? YES #did i turn the ask into an essay?? YES #i hope at least a few people will be interested in this #and as i said in the disclaimer: those are MY opinions #i hope you're still around there anon ♡#jess parle à la lune #jess répond

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pkmnjesus · 4 years

Text

The 2010s Decade of PokéAni (An overview - Part 2 of 2)

← Continuing on from the first half of this PokéAni 2010s overview....

2015: Serena cuts her hair to chase a dream

February 12, 2015 Serena’s character arc had a rocky start with her not really sure what to do after becoming a Pokémon trainer meeting her Fennekin for the first time. I was really excited when her character was first announced, but I wanted to like her more than just being “that pretty girl who has a crush on Ash”. Maybe it’s because I’m not that shippy of a person, nor a romantic type of guy whatsoever but I didn’t want a main character to just be defined as a potential love interest. With her development slowly leaning towards a clear goal on wanting to become a top Pokémon Performer, I was happy she was finally carving her own path. However it was this specific episode that marked a major turning point for her ambitions, and made me truly invest in the new and improved Serena.

It was finally Serena’s debut as a Pokémon performer competing in her first Pokémon Showcase in Coumarine City, along with her friend, rival, and fellow-performer, Shauna. The performers in this showcase are divided into groups, and only one from each group gets to move on to the next round. Going into the first round, Serena was nervous yet confident. It was a Pokémon styling contest, and Serena put a lot of care and effort into making Fennekin look as cute and gorgeous as possible. But maybe it was a bit too much...

As they walk down the runway showcasing Fennekin’s fashion, everything went well and both were having a great experience in their first showcase...until something terribly went wrong. Fennekin accidentally trips over its ribbon while walking the runway which ends up scattering all the decorations Serena had styled over her. She made a crucial mistake in making the ends of the ribbon too long, thus costing them the round and ultimately eliminated her from the competition. Shauna was able to advance from her her group easily, and all Serena could do now was watch the rest of the competition from the stands. Shauna ended up winning the Showcase and her first Princess Key. It was devastating defeat going into your first performance having to lose like that. On the outside, she tried to put up a good face for her friends comforting Fennekin and even congratulating Shauna on her first victory.

But in the inside, she was grieving and blames herself for not realizing the error she made while styling Fennekin. Even Ash knew that she would be alright all along knowing her strength. The following early morning when no once was watching her besides her Pokémon, she decides to let it all out and break down in front of the ocean. It really broke my heart seeing her crying like that knowing that she really did care about pursuing a performer career. Fennekin and Pancham immediately try and cheer her up as they engaged in a lovely group hug. After understanding the disappointment in defeat, she knew that this was a part of every dream. You can’t be successful without making a couple of mistakes and that it’s okay to cry sometimes to let the bad stress out. No one is perfect, and that same goes for some of Ash’s gym battles or what happened to some of May and Dawn’s contests in the past. It was all part of the process of chasing her newly found dream and Serena finally realized that. It was just the beginning, and she wants to keep going until she gets to Aria. She decides that going forward in this new chapter, there needs to be a change. She got her big scissors out and starts trimming her own hair (for her to do that on the spot without a mirror, she was pretty darn impressive to properly cut her hair like wow lol) as Palermo watches in the distance from her limo. She knew that was the same performer with the tripping Fennekin. It’s possible she saw potential in her that early. Serena rejoins her friends and surprises them with a new look!

If you ask me, I like this new outfit of hers way better (and I think girls with shorter hair cuter ^///^). Also you can’t forget about the blue ribbon Ash gave her prior to this, it was a really cute touch knowing that he helped her get stronger through her personal journey as a trainer. Now that’s fitting ;) You know even though it was spoiled early on that she was going to have a redesign, I’m really happy on how they did it and it wasn’t just random day where Serena decides she wanted to cut her hair. I’m no girl, but apparently (I researched this) when a woman cuts her hair shorter, it symbolizes a change or a major life event that has happened. To Serena, it was a major shift in her character after the embarrassing loss. She eventually went on to win future performances evolving her Braxien, and even got to be friends with Aria! Remember, Serena is MORE than just AmourShipping...she is our Kalos Queen <3

Honorable mentions from this year: There’s a lot to talk about when it comes to 2015 PokéAni. Ash had 4 gym battles that year, including his battle with Clemont which I was very hyped about. To the point of him temporarily leaving the group to prepare himself at the Lumiose gym, that’s how much he cared about being in the best battling shape for Ash. There was that infamous “date” episode that Ash & Serena had, Meowth & Bonnie being stuck together, Cosplay Pikachu everywhere, Trevor trying to get a picture of a Moltres, and the debut of Sawyer, the Treeko trainer who was fascinated by Ash. One of my personal favorites too was when Bonnie wanted to ‘keep’ a Tyrunt/Tyrantrum (matched her pajamas too :3) she helped and befriended but unfortunately already had a trainer </3 It was a year of a couple of catches like Ash’s Noibat, Serena’s Eevee, Clemont reminiscing the time he caught a Bunnelby, and of course the lost Goomy. Within months after Ash caring for the Goomy, he was able to evolve it to a Goodra but had to leave it behind when they finally found its homeland it had to watch over with a Floette. We got two more Mega Evolution Specials before it merges with the main anime the following year, but we did get start of the XY&Z arc where Ash’s (then) Frogadier would fulfill a prophecy to save Kalos from a great danger. When they met up with Sanpei in the Ninja Village, Frogadier would finally evolve into Greninja. It would be the year when Team Flare would initiate their plans, attempting to capture all the Zygarde cores. There was one specific Zygarde core that Bonnie was able to befriend and bring it along with them naming it Squishy/Puni-chan. If you thought 2015 was awesome, wait until what PokéAni does in 2016!

2016: Gym Leaders assemble - the last line of defense

September 15, 2016 The fallout following the Kalos League took a dark turn when Lysandre broadcasts Team Flare’s manifesto to create a new world order, where only the “chosen ones” will join them. Alain, feeling betrayed with Lysandre’s true nature, decides to team up with Ash and the others to take down Team Flare. Lysandre’s gone mad, and even Malva thinks that this is too much. On other side of the story, Mairin with Serena, Professor Sycamore, and Hoenn League Champion Steven, rescued Chespie/Hari-san from Lysandre Labs.

While all the chaos is going on outside, Clemont reclaims the Lumiose Gym from Xerosic at the cost of terminating his good ol’ Clembot/Citroid assistant he invented for the Gym. I can’t remember how sad I was on robot’s death and nearly cried on it...they really made this scene heartbreaking for Clemont to push that shut down button. You can see the bot’s loyalty towards him volunteering to sacrifice himself for the greater good. But thanks to their bravery, Team Flare no longer controls one of their Zygarde (Z2). Squishy was also able to show its true form (50% so far) when it called upon the other Zygarde cells under Team Flare’s control, but thanks to Bonnie’s bond with it, she was able to breakthrough that mind control by singing Puni-chan’s song (don’t think the dub has an actual name for their version) she often sings when they’re together. The development Bonnie had with Squishy throughout this whole arc was fantastic, because it gave her more responsibility and sense of friendship even after Squishy was under the control of Team Flare destroying every thing. This was her own trial to prepare her for what’s to come when she eventually becomes an official Pokémon trainer and own an overpowered Zygarde in the future xD. Squishy also trusted Bonnie as a human it can rely on.

With Team Flare looking to be defeated, there was one more threat looming over Kalos. What was that threat? A ROCK. But no ordinary rock, it was The Giant Rock (Meaglith) that Lysandre created based off Primal energy form a beast like creature similar to Zygarde’s 50% forme. It was his last ditch effort in creating a new world, and we have never seen anything this catastrophic from an evil boss since probably Cryus. The Zygarde-like rock beast even absorbed Mairin’s Chespie which makes it even more difficult for them to stop it. It’s destination was the Anistar City Sundial to trigger a massive explosion that could destroy Kalos and the world! Everyone joins up to stop this calamity from happening, but is their strength with Mega Evolution enough to bring it down?

Then, the epic back-up finally arrives! The whole Kalos crew is here with Champion Diantha uniting all the Gym Leaders (minus Clemont/Clembot) within the region. They even got their own solo introductions. This never happened in the previous regions of the anime, where the Gym Leader would just appear once battling with Ash, but in here they interjected themselves to the Zygarde’s story arc. This really reminded me of what happened during the climax of the Black & White games, where the Gym Leaders joined forces to stop Team Plasma. But this isn’t Unova, this is Kalos, and this is their last line of heavy defense against Lysandre! With 2 League Champions, a Blaziken Mask, Ash-Greninja, Z2′s army of cores, and 7 Gym Leaders, this Giant Rock wont stand a chance! When Zygrade finally reached its 100% forme, it uses Core Enforcer to end Lysandre’s evil plot once and for all (RIP him btw). From Steven Stone’s assistance, to Clembot’s sacrifice, to Team Rocket’s aide, and Diantha leading the region’s top gym leaders, this was an epic way to end the XY&Z saga with. For them saving Chespie, and bring back peace to Kalos.

Honorable mentions from this year: The closing year for the Kalos ended in epic fashion before taking flight to Alola. Who could forget the episode where Serena wore or should I say cosplayed as Ash? She even almost got to a dance with him during Monsieur Pierre’s party. She wasn’t able to, but at least got to evolve her Eevee into a Sylveon! Clemont also had a new bride that Bonnie wasn’t too fond of (despite her asking multiple ladies to ‘keep’ for him) when her jealousy kicks in. Ash’s Noibat also evolved into Noivern, and briefly reunited with Goodra. Serena got all her Princess Keys needed to compete in the Pokémon Showcase Master Class, and even went head to head with Kalos Queen Aria for her title! She was unsuccessful, but it still won’t stop her from getting better. It was also the official birth of Ash-Greninja when he had a battle with the Kalos Champion, Diantha! Ash finally meets our Mega Evolution protagonist Alain and gained a new rival for the League. Before the Kalos League, he struggled a bit with getting his final badge from Wulfric eventually perfecting Ash-Greninja. In the Kalos League, he had a great battle with Sawyer (who can now use Mega Evolution), but came up short against Alain in the finals. It was a loss everybody was bummed about, and it would take another 3 years for him to compete in another league...we’ll get to that :> But the farewells were unforgettable. Greninja had to be let go in order to destroy the reappearing roots with Squishy and Z2 protecting Kalos from further calamity. And I know y’all can’t forget about the ‘kiss’ heard around the world when Serena leaned in for her parting gift to Ash <3 Him and Clemont have one final battle (just like how the XY series started) before heading back to Pallet Town...”And to our own way”. But 2016 had to end on a happy note, where we see Ash finding a new home in Alola enrolling in their Pokémon School program. Upon arriving, he was blessed with a Z-ring from Tapu Koko, an Alola deity, because he saw something in our boy. Through his class he made 5 new friends, got a Rotom Dex, a little Rowlet birb chilling in his backpack, and meeting a feisty Litten. WHAT. A. YEAR. !!!

2017: Stoutland’s final days with Litten

April 6, 2017 In possibly one of the most depressing and emotional episodes the Pokémon anime has to offer, the wild Litten that always stole Ash’s food finally gets to be apart of his team. But what made this little kitty finally gave Ash a chance to train it after escaping him so many times when he tried to reach out to it?

Ash tried to help the loyal Stoutland Litten was living with after following it from stealing his groceries, but due to Stoutland’s old age and declining health, there wasn’t much Nurse Joy could do. The tree shots with the falling leaves throughout the episode pretty symbolize the time Stoutland has left.

Litten, bringing back his mentor to their old spot after spending the night at the Pokémon Center, still wanted to spend as much time with Stoutland and master the Fire Fang move it was trying to learn. Then the leaves were out, and the finals days of this Stoutland were up. Litten slept with his friend one last time, and even had a dream of Stoutland attempting to chase after it going off in the distance. This symbolizes Stoutland’s departure from being under its care.

It wasn’t directly shown, nor mentioned, but it is clear to me that the Stoudland had passed away. *sobs* The gloomy rainy weather, and the dark tone shown during this part of the episode signifies the sadness and mourning every character that was involved during Litten’s struggle to find help for its good ol’ friend, not immediately realizing that Stoutland was gone for good. Meowth tried to communicate with his fellow feline to understand what it was feeling, while Ash even spends the entire duration of the rainfall with Litten even though it refused his food offer many times and didn’t want his help. This definitely took me into a feels trip because it is rare for this anime to even do an episode about a death of a Pokémon, even though it was indirect with how they presented it. Not mention, every time I was on my Stoutland ride Pokémon when playing Pokémon Moon (to help detect hidden items), ridding the big doggo always made me think about this particular episode. ;_;

Eventually the rain stopped, and a rainbow bloomed in a distance that made Litten feel better remembering the good memories it had with Stoutland. Finally, Litten decides to give Ash a chance, but didn’t want his pity over what happened. Litten was a tough little cat and wanted Ash to earn its respect through battle. Litten finally joins Ash’s team after battling with Pikachu and successfully catching it. Ash was also able to feed Litten after accepting it as its trainer. This was probably what Stoutland would have wanted for Litten.

Stoutland knew what kind of trainer he was and wanted Litten to go with Ash to finish the training they started. Besides mastering Fire Fang, they did a lot more in the future to come. When Litten saw the rainbow and familiar cloud formation, both smiled in peace. Stoutland knew that Litten was in very good hands. The memories learning and training with Stoutland are never forgotten, as Litten embarks on a new journey with brand new friends and a caring trainer.

Honorable mentions from this year: The first fully fledge year of Alola! Ash owning the first discovered Dusk Lycanroc in the anime verse, Lana getting her own Z-ring and how can I not forget Brock and Misty’s (especially MISTY) big return to the anime when the class went to Kanto! We had new Pokémon caught added to the main cast such as the birth of Lillie’s Snowy/Shiron, James’s touchy Mareanie and Kiawe’s Alolan Marowak. It was Gladion’s debut year becoming Ash’s new rival. Ash’s Z-Crystal collection kept on growing bigger through his adventures in Melemele and Akala Islands, and even clears its respective grand trials. We were also introduced to a little Cosmog turned Solgaleo, Nebby. The bad guy in Faba to steals Nebby however to summon, an Ultra Beast (Nihilego) that would eventually consume Lusamine (just like in the games, only she is less obsessed here). Thus, a Z-Powered ganbaLilie was born to save her mom! With the help of her brother and friends of course. We had family matters like Sophocles thought he was moving a way for good, and fun little fillers like the pancake and Charjabug races, or raving with an Alolan Dugtrio blonde wig. A personal favorite of mine was when Rowlet, Litten, and Popplio had mini-adventure of their own, and outsmarted Team Rocket nasty schemes. Speaking of Team Rocket, we got a short glimpse of them versus a trio of Team Skull members. Kukui’s class activities like the baseball teams, camping outdoors, switching Pokémon partners with fellow classmates for the weekend, and sleeping over at the professor’s house were awesome too! Their field trip seeing the beautiful white-colored Aether Paradise, and traveling through the mysterious Ultra Space were treat as well. We got to see the development of Kukui and Burnet’s pre-married relationship, which wasn’t featured in the games…AND WE GOT A PROPOSAL AND WEDDING OUT OF IT! There’s a reason for the animation change, and to be honest I’m happy that they did! The art style definitely fits the tone and theme of the jolly Alola region. In conclusion, 2017 was a pretty cool year if you ask me!

2018: The People of Alola vs. Necrozma

September 13, 2018 The conclusion to the Poipole/Necrozma arc is probably the biggest highlight for this year. In Japan, this marked a major end of an era because this was also the final episode on a Thursday night (for 20 years!) since the series was officially moving to Sundays starting with the episode after this (~pika ;3).

From Gladion joining the Ultra Guardians, to Team Rocket’s Matori Matrix attempting catch a fused Necrozma, to Nebby returning to assist with the mission, to rescuing and healing a weakened Lunala, to visiting Poipole’s home world and hear a Naganadel talk in their minds…I’m at the edge of my seat! The Masked Royal’s identity was first exposed here too when Faba fought alongside Kukui to ward off the Matori Matrix. Luckily Faba can keep a secret. The whole time this arc felt like it could be one Pokémon movie. This should probably make-up for why there really isn’t an Alola region based Pokémon movie for this series specifically. But going back on topic, the entire region of Alola was still in crisis as Necrozma absorbs all the Z-Power the Ultra Guardians tried to strike back with. At this point, Nebby was already fused with the Necrozma and they knew that they had to separate them just like what happened with Lunala. So what does everyone do in a time like this? UNITE! Not just the Guardian deities, not just the Ultra Guardians, not just the Aether Foundation, not just the Kahunas participating in the Manalo Festival, but Alola as a whole teamed up in various locations where citizens swarmed together and gave their “light” by doing Tapu Koko’s pose to bring Necrozma back to its original form, The Blinding/Radiant One! Nebby has been freed, and rejoins the Ultra Guardians.

In one last Ultra stand, Nebby (with Ash holding Solganium Z) and Lunala (with Gladion holding Lunalium Z) gave one final blow to Necrozma with some Ultra Aura. After unleashing the combination of Z-moves, Ultra Necrozma rises from the light and uses its power to restore all the damage that has been done to Alola, thus ending the chaos ensuing in the region. The Matori Matrix did try to go to Ultra Space when an Ultra Wormhole opened, but Tapu Koko was like “not so fast!” eventually forcing this Team Rocket unit to retreat.

Not only did they save Alola, but also brings back light to the Poipole home world. Of course the most emotional thing out of all this was saying goodbye to our little sticky Poipole friend who had remain in its home world. It left its home world to find a better home, and it did when Ash gave Poipole a spot in his team and is even an official member of the Ultra Guardians squad. Now that the home world has been restored, Poipole knew it needed to stay and protect its original home from further threats. As the Ultra Wormhole closes with Nebby and Lunala accompanying the Ultra Guardians back to Alola, Poipole painted Ash & Pikachu’s face as a sweet goodbye gesture. The flashback scenes, and the music in the end was absolutely magnificent to top it all off! This teary goodbye even had me tears. We’ll forever “like, like, love” you, Poipole <3 Maybe Ash will see it again one day...oh who am I kidding xD If you’re up to date with the anime, you know already what happens in the future ;]

Honorable mentions from this year: The year of Ultra Guardians! They’ve had multiple missions in bringing back the Ultra Beasts to where they came from. Anime debuts of Ilima, Mina, and the long-awaited Hau make their respective appearances. We also got to see James “fighting” a Toxapex, Lana & Mallow’s childhood past, Lillie getting her first Z-Crystal and even Rotom Dex joining the set of Detective Laki. There were significant evolutions like Ash’s Litten evolving to Torracat starting its rivalry with Masked Royal’s Incineroar (while Burnet fangirls over them) and Mallow’s Steenee evolving to a Tsareena. And how can I forget Sandy/Nagisa? Those Eevee mini-specials ultimately led it to Alola for our great Lana to catch! The Ula’ula trials were highly significant too when Ash trained with Acerola and tested his strength against Kahuna Nanu. Specials include Mallow’s big brother visiting home, and the 2-parter with Dia and his Zeraora in the mysterious Ultra Ruin. For Team Rocket, they temporarily get an Alolan Meowth, but got a permanent family member with a Stufful later on (Bewear’s child!). I’ve gotta mention the fun ones too like Ash dressing up as a female nurse the class helping Nurse Joy at the Pokémon Center, the class making their own school play, and Faba accidentally shrinking Ash, Lillie & Sophocles. Finally, in another emotional themed episode, Molayne showed everyone the beauty and sad reality of the Minior Pokémon at the Hokulani Observatory. Such a strong theme of having precious memories with a sad outcome due to the nature of that certain Pokémon :( Just look at the variety! I could still go on, but in summary was 2018 one heck of an ULTRA year!

2019: Ash wins the Alola Pokémon League 🏆

September 15, 2019 In the last highlight of this 2010s decade, it may probably be the biggest one. Ash vs. Gladion. Pokémon League finals to determine the first ever champion of Alola. I’ve already made several posts about this (maybe one too many) in my blog, so let me quickly reiterate the significance of this special event one last time. First thing I have to mention, is that Ash’s rivalry with Gladion has been amazing from the get-go. From their first meeting at the beach by Kukui’s place with a feisty Rockruff that wanted to battle, to the Manalo Stadium battling for a prestigious championship title with Ash’s Lycanroc fully controlled over its rage with dirt. It wasn’t a traditional full 6-on-6 battle, but the 3-on-3 showdown still gave us one heck of battle! It may not be considered the best battle of all time, but it was still an amazing and fun match between two trainers who promised each other to meet in the finals of the big stage since the start of the League.

The laugh they shared, the flashbacks that was shown to us (with the awesome Type: Wild! music playing in the background), and their storytelling on who wants the W more makes you invested, and cheering for Ash all the way to finally win a major Pokémon League. Ash’s newly evolved Melmetal showcased it’s new strength but still wasn’t able to beat Gladion’s Silvally. Then, when Zoroark and Pikachu knocked each other out, it was the 1v1 Lycanroc battle that really put this friendly and competitive rivalry full circle.

Ash has NEVER defeated Gladion…until this moment. He’s been training for this, and it finally paid off. The two Lycanroc’s took no prisoners and went back and forth with one another. In the final blow of that match, Gladion’s Lycanroc used Counter against Ash’s Lycanroc that was charging towards it, but then our big brained hero fights back with their own Counter attack.

Never have I heard of countering a Counter in the Pokémon universe, but using it in this one moment nobody expected, was a perfect opportunity to swerve fans with Ash almost losing the match but ultimately gave the hypest and sickest counterattack ever that would knock out Gladion’s Lycanroc to the wall. And for the first time since the Orange League, Ash is a Champion. Only this time it is a way bigger deal! Mostly because this is a game-based series which has more meaning when it comes to the Pokémon League. He proved non-believers wrong thinking that the Kalos League was the closest he’ll ever get to victory, but I always knew he would win this one since this League started. If you look at my Twitter, I predicted it since last July and this is speaking from a person that DIDN’T believe he would have won at Kalos (I must be good at League predictions then lol). But even Ash himself couldn’t believe it. The moment his named was announced the victor and everyone cheering him, it took a moment for him to process it all until he realized he won the whole shabang. Old fans, new fans, and casual viewers a like were buzzing within 24 hours after this episode released in Japan that caught mainstream media attention. People who have never seen a Pokémon anime episode in their life (or a subbed episode for that matter) past the original series, wanted to see how this episode went down to see a childhood hero achieve a major trophy.

This is how big of a pop-culture icon Ash & Pikachu was among many generations of fans since the show’s launch internationally. To me personally, it was the reason why I’ve always watched this anime for years since 1998 as a kid and NEVER stopped watching (took a few breaks here and there growing up but still have been consistent and up to date! Never grew out of it whatsoever ...why would I even made this decade post?). I was waiting all that time for him to win the big one and he finally did it in 2019. The long journey was worth watching all those episodes (NEVER skipped a “filler”). I doubted at times, but deep down I know I always believed. I grew up with Ash and he feels like an imaginary brother. Seeing him hold that trophy felt like my childhood had closure. He became the FIRST EVER champion in the Alola anime-verse and no one can take that away from him. BUT, the journey isn’t over yet. Remember, his dream is to become Pokémon MASTER, NOT a CHAMPION which people often treat the two as the same. He probably still wants to go to more places, so he can get stronger and be friends with even more Pokémon. Finally, I’m glad that it was Gladion who was Ash’s opponent in order to get the title. The boys and the doggos shake hands in the end as sign of respect for one another. Unfortunately, Guzzlord had to ruin the closing ceremony afterparty…but our Alola Champion and his friends were able to take care of that properly :)

Honorable mentions from this year: Another marked an end of an era, but a start of a new one too! From overcoming his final Grand Trial and gathering his Z-Crystals, Ash was ready for the League. If you ask me, this was one of the best Pokémon Leagues ever because of how much importance each competitor played a role in that tournament, and the match-ups were good. It wasn’t just filler characters or last minute rivals. Alola had a lot of great characters! I couldn’t stress that enough. But besides the historic Alola League, we also saw the continuation of Brock & Misty’s trip to Alola, the class’ crash-course golf lessons with none other than Kahili! Ash catching a rare Meltan that appeared out of nowhere, Guzma’s debut that EVERYONE was excited about, Ash challenging Ryuki’s Kantonian Gym, Lana’s fully evolving Primarina (thanks to hooking a Kyogre mind you!), Mallow’s meal for Tapu Koko, and Matori’s unexpected visit to the Team Rocket base in Alola. Ash even time-traveled to the past and met Kukui when he was little. It would ultimately build up to the actual final full 6-on-6 battle between Ash faces Kukui (just like in the original Sun & Moon games), and it was a 5-STAR BATTLE in my book for this 5-PARTER battle. Seriously, they didn’t had to make an exhibition match that good but they did, and Ash WON that too! Ash’s Incineroar evolved and Pikachu finally defeats Tapu Koko in a battle. For the feels portion of this year, Mallow briefly reunited with her mom and getting a Shaymin to care for in the process. The whole side-arc with Lillie, Magearna and a missing Mohn had a huge impact on our young miss. She got a Z-Ring out of it, just like everyone else in the class with their respective focus. And, the final episode of Sun & Moon was probably the most emotional farewell episodes in the anime’s history similar (or even greater) than Brock & Misty’s goodbye in Johto for you nostalgia fans out there. Everyone in the Alola crew knew what to do post-League, but for Ash, he wanted to explore the Pokémon world more, which transitions to the new on-going series today. 2019 of the Pokémon anime will never be forgotten!

LET’S GO to the 2020s and beyond!

We already got a taste of what the new series brought us late 2019, from Pikachu’s pre-series background story to our newly appointed research fellows, Ash & Go. It is was Lugia brought these two together, and are now living under the same roof. And with Go having his newly caught Scorbunny by his side after that Gigantamax Snorlax incident, it shows us a little taste of the cool new adventures await them when traveling in the Galar region. It’s also refreshing to see updated animation within Kanto where they’re home base is at, and I absolutely cannot wait for them to go back to other past regions with this fresh new art style. With Go’s goal to catch every Pokémon there is for him to index, he’s bound to meet Mew again one day! He’s literally every Pokémon games’ protagonist and I’m glad we have a main character like him who actually focuses on catching them all. As for Ash, he’s still our Ash carving his own unique path on his continuing journey to become a Pokémon Master because it’s more than being the strongest trainer and more than just catching Pokémon.

Some people may not be invested in this series yet, but it’s okay as it is still new! Everyone has that “pacing is slow” excuse from EVERY anime series, or it may not just be your cup of tea. But, I’m sure it will definitely pick up the pace sooner or later especially with the upcoming episodes announced (as of this posting) getting a Koharu-focus episode and the debut of Galar Champion Leon facing off against another League Champion...the return of Lance! Now that’s hype...and that’s what I’m looking forward to in this series more returns and cameo appearances hopefully. They gotta make it special of course and not just some fan-service to please series-specific fans. Oh, and Ash competing in the Galar gym challenge too of course! In addition to that, we can look forward to the new movies in the 2020s! We already got a preview of the 23rd PokéAni film, Pokémon the Movie - Coco...so we Tarzan now?! and it looks like they’re still continuing the AU-verse Ash instead of using the canon series’ universe. I mean if The Power of Us was great, you gotta give this movie a watch too! This is what I love about the anime because it separates itself from their game counterparts. The anime is doing its own thing with their original stories to tell.

WOW! What a decade. I’ve put in a lot of time reminiscing my experience watching the anime this past decade on these 2-part posts, and I had a lot of fun. From being a high school student all the way to being a full-time working adult...time truly flies by quickly. If you’ve read everything I had to say (I’m sure there are a few typos I probably missed), then thank you for your time (and sorry for the dash spam lol)! Feel free share your own favorite PokéAni moment decade in the replies if you choose to do so. Also, check out the strawpolls I made for what you think the best Pokémon anime battle and movie is in the 2010s. Now, it’s time for us to GO to 2020 and the next decade of PokéAni to witness multiple generations of new Pokémon series to come (hopefully they’ll still be making them by the end of 2029...and your boy P J will still be watching as a 30+ year old adult, heh). Alrighty, let’s have some fun! ϞϞ(๑⚈ ․̫ ⚈๑)∩

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