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perictione00 · 6 months

Text

Oops!...I Did It Again

Ch 3: Hopeless

Pairing: Nanami Kento x reader

Warnings: MDNI, smut, unprotected sex, choking, sort of angry sex, use of curse words, manipulation.

Synopsis: When life was throwing you uncountable curveballs, an unexpected reunion with your high school friend helped you dodge every single one of them. Coping mechanisms leave you both in a complicated situationship. So what happens when one of you ends up catching feelings? The cliche or the unexpected?

Jujutsu Kaisen Masterlist

Ch 2

It was two years ago that you found out through a cancelled meeting that your dear old classmate was the general manager of the marketing department. And within the same two years, with so much hard work, he climbed up to the position of senior consultant while you kept arranging the schedule of a dickhead who made you work overtime on Fridays.

Once in a while, whenever your intrusive thoughts would take over, you would compare yourself to Nanami Kento. Both of you studied at the same school and had the same college degrees, yet he was doing what he was meant to. You, on the other hand, were not. Years of hard work, and all you're left with is a huge debt and the fear of a low credit score.

In the two years that you spent working your ass off, the only good thing that occurred was your drunken mistake with Kento. Let's just say Nanami Kento has a fat cock, and he knows damn well how to dick you down. It was all you needed. All you needed to forget how pitifully messed up you had become. You wanted to avoid your emotions and keep them at bay, and he was just the right tool to continue procrastinating for as long as possible. It was easier than facing the baggage that you carried; that's what you told yourself. So here you were, spending the weekend at his house yet again.

Another great thing about Kento is that he knows how to cook and is not just a necessity cook but a Gordan Ramsey cook. He was a 10. A proper husband material guy. With a few changes in his social skills, he'd probably have more fans at the office than he already does. You've seen the way his coworkers stare at him, especially the new interns. The way that cute coffee shop worker ogles at his hands and his chest, literally undressing him shamelessly, but you wouldn't blame her because who in their right minds wouldn't? A rich, depressed bachelor with a bomb bod was literally everyone's fantasy. It was also one of the reasons why you got yourself involved with him sexually.

"Here, try this." Kento said as he offered you a plate full of birria tacos. After spending a whole lot of time with him, you've come to know that making food for someone is his way of comforting them. You remember how he used to cook for you after your parents' deaths. He would come by your house every day and make something brilliant out of the left-overs. There were days when he would load your refrigerator with groceries using his pocket money. It was his desperate attempt at saving you, maybe because he couldn't save Haibara. He was afraid that one day he would come to your house only to find you hanging from the ceiling, like he did Haibara.

"Ooooooohh...it goes so well with the chilly oil." You said, closing your eyes, relishing the taste.

There were not many things that gave Nanami a sense of satisfaction, but when you appreciated his food truthfully, his heart would rejoice. For as long as he could remember, he wanted to be a chef. However, like every child, he grew up, and life happened. More like, adulthood exposed him to the nightmare that his daydreams prevented. It was not easy. There was so much competition, and the art itself was very expensive to learn. So it was easier for him to let go of what he once thought was his life than to dream about it. Two roads diverged in a wood, and he simply took the one more traveled by.

Dinner time was always peaceful. The two of you would discuss work or any series that piqued your interest. Sometimes there would be silence. You would clean up later. Nanami cooked, and you cleaned. And while you did the dishes, he would go through Netflix to find something to watch. Having him by your side felt good. He was always there. Just there, when you needed him. You knew his secrets, which were very much similar to yours, but there was no gain in delving deeper into them. As long as another cute coffee shop worker who happens to have a crush on him doesn't pop up, you're fine. It's not hard to keep him to yourself anyway. All it takes is a white lie to turn an interested fish away from the bait.

One moment you were watching a movie holding hands, then slowly grinding your clothed crotch against his in the very next. You were tugging on his hair while he had his head buried in your chest as his hands gripped onto the plush flesh of your hips. You were straining yourself against the urge to gain more friction than the zipper of his pants was already providing. You couldn't help but moan when he started sucking marks on your exposed chest as his hands trailed under your top to unhook your bra. Taking off your top, you pulled him into a suffocating kiss. His tongue rolled around yours as he got rid of his shirt swiftly.

Now, Nanami was the kind to take things slowly. However, the way you kept biting your lips with such desperation and the obvious dampness in his pants had him ripping your shorts apart. Unbuckling his belt quickly, he pushed his pants enough to free his cock, and before he could think, you slid down his length, causing him to groan loudly. He was dazed. Drunk on you, so much so that his mind didn't register that your hands were no longer clutching onto his shoulders but instead your nails were sinking into them. He started thrusting on instinct, each stroke turning more urgent than the last.

You had intended to ride the shit out of him, but you loved it when he took control. The way he latched onto your breasts and teased your clit all the while he continued rutting into you. The way his head dips into your neck, sucking harshly at the skin, fiddling with your nipples, pinching them, or the way he would look down to admire the sticky web he created. He looks so fulfilled when he makes love fucks you.

But the thing is, it's not fulfilling for him. Nanami knows what he signed up for. The relationship is supposed to be strictly sexual; however, his heart longs for more. He wants more of the domesticity you share with him. The simple moments where you spend time with each other, watch things, and experience things together. He wants to express his love for you through his actions, but you are just so blind to his feelings. You never let him in. It's not like he's too stupid to understand your state. He knows that you don't like sharing anymore, that you prioritize money over your health, that you are too proud for your own good, that you will never let anyone see your vulnerable self, that you will never ask for help, that living feels like a burden to you, and that after the incident, you became more like him, hopeless.

Suddenly, these thoughts infuriated him. Why was he incapable of feeling this way for someone else? Why was he peaceful only when he was with you? Why were you the only one who could ignite extreme sparks of emotion in him? Why did he easily fall into this trap—this aching relationship? Why was he looking for you in every person he came across for all these years? Why was it so damn painful to love you?

"Fuck this." His tongue slipped into your mouth as his fingers held your jaw firmly. Lifting your leg with his other hand to stroke deeper and faster, he felt your body arch out of pleasure. Your breath became shaky as a string of gibberish left your mouth. You were squeezing around his cock, grinding on him to meet his thrusts. Wrapping his hand around your neck, he pushed your head into the pillow and started shoveling his dick into you intensely. Your sinful moans, along with your clenching pussy encouraged him to go harder on you.

You felt suffocated in the best way. Writhing under him, you kept pressing your clit hard unrelentingly, demanding more pleasure. You were about to come, but you craved more. "Hah-...come inside, Kento, pl-please, please come inside."

Nanami’s eyes widened; he was close to losing it. His dick twitched at the urgency in your voice as you begged for him to breed you. He went feral, pounding relentlessly into your cunt, eliciting sweet mewls out of you. You pulled him into a kiss as you came. Nanami did not take long to follow after you, filling your pussy to the brim. You clenched around nothing as his cum slowly dripped out of your glistening folds.

"Didn't know you were into choking." You said catching your breath.

Feeling apologetic, Nanami immediately inspected the marks on your neck. "I'm sorry, I should have-"

"Should have what? Ask for my permission?", you chuckled. "I liked this Kento. I like it when you use me, you know. I like it when you fuck me like you hate me."

Ch 4

Series Masterlist

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dinodontwait · 3 months

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Between the Lines

Pairing: Kim Mingyu x fem!reader

Genre: office au, office romance, angst, strangers(?) to lovers, C-workers to Lovers, fluff towards the end

Summary: Y/n faces unexpected turmoil as she discovers that her new collaboration partner in the office is none other than Kim Mingyu, a figure from her college past associated with painful rumors. As they navigate their professional collaboration, Mingyu's persistent attempts to break through Y/n's guarded demeanor unravel a history of misunderstandings and hurtful rumors.

Warnings: slow burn-ish, reader is bullied in college, puckering of lips against each other, let me know if I missed anything

Word Count: ~3k

A/N: Happy Carat's Day! This is my first ever fic and I am not sure how this will go. This story is just an idea that has been in my drafts for ages. I hope you like it!

The harsh hum of the photocopier and the distant murmur of office life formed the backdrop as I stared at my screen, which had just received a notification of an email. The subject line sent a ripple of anticipation through me: "Collaboration Partner Assignment."

Opening the email, my eyes quickly scanned the details. I braced myself for the revelation, but nothing could have prepared me for the name that leaped off the screen – Kim Mingyu. My stomach churned, though I couldn't pinpoint why. Maybe it was the mounting pressure of the project or the unfamiliarity of working with someone from another company. A wave of discomfort washed over me as memories of college days resurfaced, memories I had long buried because of the same name! But it couldn’t be him, right?

I had hoped to leave the shadows of the past behind, but fate had different plans. Mingyu, a name that had once been sY/nonymous with popularity and my own insecurities, was now set to become an integral part of my professional life.

Navigating the familiar hallways towards the designated meeting room, my steps carried the weight of unspoken history. The door creaked open, revealing Mingyu already seated, his eyes lifting from a set of project documents to meet mine. A knowing smile played on his lips, oblivious to the turmoil brewing within me. It was him, Kim Mingyu!

"Y/n, right?" he said, extending a hand in greeting. "I'm Mingyu. Looks like we're going to be partners on this project."

I hesitated for a moment before accepting the handshake. "Yes, Y/n. Nice to meet you."

The sterile hum of the office's fluorescent lights set the stage for a reunion neither of us had anticipated. Mingyu, a name echoing through the corridors of my past, now sat across from me in a conference room. His smile seemed to mock my silent discomfort, reminiscent of college days where he effortlessly commanded popularity, and I existed on the fringes.

"Ready to dive into this project together?" Mingyu's voice snapped me back to the present, his expression oblivious to the tumult of memories that threatened to overwhelm me.

"Sure," I replied, my voice masking the unease within. The corporate battleground was familiar, but the arrival of Mingyu resurrected a dormant storm.

As we settled into the collaborative routine, Mingyu's attempts to get to know me became increasingly apparent. In team meetings, he'd throw casual questions my way, trying to unearth the person behind the professional facade.

"So, Y/n, any exciting plans for the weekend?" he'd ask, a playful twinkle in his eye.

"Same as always," I'd reply, nonchalant. I wasn't one to divulge personal details easily.

But Mingyu was persistent, undeterred by my guarded responses. "Come on, Y/n, there must be something you enjoy doing outside of work. Hobbies? Interests?"

His inquiry probed deeper than the surface, seeking to unravel the layers I had meticulously wrapped around myself. "Not really," I'd brush off, maintaining a stoic demeanour.

In the break room, he'd invite me to join him for a coffee, hoping to chip away at the walls I'd built. "Coffee break, Y/n? It's on me," he'd offer, a friendly smile playing on his lips.

"Thanks, but I prefer working through breaks," I'd decline, my gaze fixed on the computer screen.

Mingyu, always the optimist, remained undeterred by my cool demeanour. "Alright, next time then," he'd say, masking any disappointment that might have lingered beneath the surface.

Our interactions, or lack thereof, became a dance of casual questions met with guarded replies. It wasn't that I didn't notice Mingyu's efforts – I did. The truth was, I had carefully crafted my isolation, and I wasn't eager to let anyone in.

One day, as we reviewed project details, Mingyu tried a different approach. "Y/n, we make a good team, you know? But it would be even better if we understood each other a bit more. What do you say?"

His words held a sincerity that caught me off guard. Maybe it was the vulnerability in his eyes or the genuine desire to bridge the gap. I sighed, relenting just a bit. "Look, Mingyu, it's nothing personal. I'm just here to get the job done."

He nodded, understanding but undeterred. "Fair enough, Y/n. I respect that. Just know, I'm here if you ever want to talk."

The unspoken hurt lingered beneath the surface, but Mingyu never let it show. His attempts to befriend me continued, even if they were met with my persistent nonchalance.

In another attempt to connect, he invited me to a team dinner. "Y/n, we've been working together for a while now. Let's celebrate our progress. What do you say?"

I hesitated, then finally relented, "Fine, but just for a little while."

As the evening unfolded, I found myself in an unexpected situation – Mingyu's infectious charm gradually wearing down my defences. We laughed, shared stories, and for a brief moment, the professional barriers faded.

In the midst of the camaraderie, Mingyu leaned in and said, "See, Y/n? We're not that different after all."

I couldn't help but smile, the walls I had so carefully constructed showing signs of cracking. Mingyu's efforts were slowly paying off, breaking through the layers that shielded me from the world.

As we left the restaurant that night, I couldn't deny the shift in dynamics. Mingyu, once an unwelcome intruder from the past, had become a persistent presence in my present – a presence I was starting to appreciate, even if I wasn't quite ready to admit it.

The echoes of our team dinner lingered in the air as Mingyu and I left the restaurant. Laughter and camaraderie had briefly bridged the gap, but as we stepped back into the office building, I retreated into my familiar shell. The nonchalant exterior was my armour, and I wore it with practised ease.

Days passed, and Mingyu's efforts to break through my walls persisted, but my responses remained unchanged – short, guarded, and distant. The unspoken hurt beneath his eyes grew more evident with each interaction, until one day, frustration etched across his face.

As I sat at my desk, engrossed in my work, Mingyu approached, a determined expression on his face. "Y/n, we need to talk. Meet me in the meeting room in fifteen minutes," he said, his voice carrying a firmness I hadn't heard before.

I raised an eyebrow, caught off guard by the sudden shift in his demeanour. "Sure, whatever," I replied, my tone as indifferent as ever.

The meeting room, a neutral ground for professional discussions, now became the stage for an unexpected confrontation. As I entered, Mingyu was already there, his arms crossed, and a look of frustration etched across his features.

"What's your deal, Y/n?" he began, his voice tinged with a mix of anger and hurt. "I've been trying to get to know you, to be a good teammate, but every attempt is met with this... this wall you've built. What are you so afraid of?"

I sighed, my nonchalant facade momentarily faltering. "Mingyu, I'm not afraid of anything. I'm just here to work, not make friends."

His frustration bubbled to the surface. "You don't have to make it so difficult, Y/n. We're part of the same team, working towards the same goal. Why can't we at least get along?"

I leaned back in my chair, the familiar defences back in place. "Getting along is not a requirement for getting the job done."

Mingyu's eyes flashed with a mix of anger and disappointment. "It's not just about the job, Y/n. We spend a significant portion of our lives working together. Why make it miserable for both of us?"

His words struck a chord, a brief pang of guilt flickering within me. But I couldn't let him see it. "Mingyu, I have my reasons for keeping things professional. Let's just focus on the project and leave it at that."

He leaned in, his frustration giving way to a determination that mirrored the spark in his eyes. "Fine, Y/n. If that's how you want it, we'll keep it strictly professional. But know that it doesn't have to be this way."

Mingyu's proposal hung in the air, and for a moment, I considered the possibility of a truce – a ceasefire in the silent war that had defined our collaboration. The weight of his words pressed upon me, and I decided to break the stoic facade, if only for a moment.

"Fine," I responded, my tone betraying a hint of resignation. "Let's keep it professional."

As the days passed, our interactions adhered to the newfound agreement. Work discussions unfolded without the previous tension, and the strained atmosphere began to ease. However, beneath the surface, the unspoken distance lingered, a reminder of the unresolved history that bound us.

Late one evening, as the office lights flickered in the waning hours, Mingyu and I found ourselves alone in the workspace. The hum of computers and distant traffic outside seemed to amplify the silence between us. Mingyu broke the quiet, his voice softer than before.

"Y/n, there's something I need to know. The tension between us... is it just about work, or is there something more?" His gaze bore into mine, a silent plea for honesty.

I hesitated, contemplating whether to unravel the layers that guarded my past. In that moment, I decided to breach the unspoken barrier. "It's not just about work, Mingyu. There's history – a rumour that tainted my college years, and I believed you were behind it."

His eyes widened, a mix of surprise and realisation flickering across his features. "Rumour? What rumour are you talking about?"

College, a realm of possibilities, unfolded before me. Amid vibrant campus life, I preferred solitude, finding solace in the quiet corners of the library. My routine, a sanctuary, was disrupted when a rumor about me and Mingyu, the campus heartthrob, began to circulate.

Whispers painted a false picture – a rejected proposal, a scornful comment. The rumor, like wildfire, labeled me as the girl who dared to confess, only to face ridicule. My once-unnoticed existence transformed into isolation as judgmental gazes and hurtful labels became my companions.

The most painful aspect was the misunderstanding – the lie that branded me a loner, rejected and ridiculed. The library, my refuge, now felt like a glass house, the rumor exposing me to the harsh scrutiny of others.

Mingyu, oblivious to the storm, continued his life, while I bore the weight of fabricated rejection. The rumor, a dark shadow, cast a long-lasting mark on my college experience. The isolation, self-imposed or not, became my reality.

"The one where it was said I proposed to you in college, and you rejected me, saying you'd never date a loner like me," I confessed, my voice holding the weight of years of perceived betrayal.

Mingyu's expression shifted from surprise to understanding, a furrow forming on his brow. "Y/n, I never spread that rumor. In fact, I had no idea it existed until now. In fact, I wanted to be friends with you back then and expressed it to some of my friends!"

My defenses faltered as the revelation sank in. The narrative I had carried for years, the resentment that fueled our strained collaboration, crumbled like a fragile facade. "But... why would someone spread such a thing?"

Mingyu's eyes softened with sincerity. "I don't know, Y/n. But I promise you, it wasn't me. I regret that you went through that, and I wish I could've been there to clarify things."

The weight of the misunderstanding hung heavy in the room. Mingyu's admission brought forth a vulnerability I hadn't expected, and the unspoken tension that defined our collaboration began to unravel. As we navigate the murky waters of our shared history, the silence transformed into a hesitant dialogue.

"Maybe," he began, choosing his words carefully, "we can move past this together. Start anew, without the burden of misunderstandings."

In the quiet office, Mingyu and I shared a moment where words seemed unnecessary. His hand found mine, a gentle intertwining of fingers that spoke volumes. Leaning in, he kissed me with a tenderness that felt like an unspoken apology.

The kiss was slow, each movement deliberate, as if time itself had slowed down. Mingyu's lips met mine in a dance of connection, a soft exploration that conveyed a shared understanding. It wasn't just a kiss; it was a promise – a promise to let go of the past and embrace the possibility of something new.

As our lips lingered in the gentle exchange, the weight of misunderstandings lifted. Mingyu's touch, comforting and sincere, became a bridge that spanned the distance between us.

The air shifted after the shared kiss, the unspoken tension replaced by a newfound understanding. Mingyu, eyes reflecting a mixture of vulnerability and sincerity, gently pulled away, creating a space for words to bridge the lingering gap.

"Y/n," he began, his voice carrying the weight of unspoken sentiments, "there's something I'd like to propose."

I met his gaze, a silent invitation to continue.

"How about we take a step into the present? Leave the office behind for a while, just you and me. What do you say to a dinner? A date, maybe?" Mingyu's words hung in the air, a simple yet profound invitation.

The corners of my lips twitched into a hesitant smile, the remnants of the emotional whirlwind we had just weathered. "A date?" I echoed, the word carrying a hint of both surprise and curiosity.

Mingyu nodded, his eyes holding a hopeful gleam. "Yes, a date. No work, no misunderstandings – just two people sharing a meal and getting to know each other beyond the confines of the office."

The idea, once foreign, now seemed like a welcome proposition. A chance to rewrite the script, explore the uncharted territories of this evolving connection. "I suppose a dinner sounds nice," I conceded, the tension replaced by a sense of openness.

His face broke into a radiant smile, the lines of relief and excitement mingling. "Great! How about tomorrow night? I know a place not far from here. Casual, nothing too fancy. What do you think?"

Tomorrow night – a prospect that carried the promise of a fresh beginning. I found myself nodding, the corners of my own lips forming a genuine smile. "Tomorrow night sounds good."

Mingyu's joy was palpable, and as he pulled out his phone to exchange details, the office surroundings seemed to fade into the background. In the quiet aftermath of a shared kiss, the invitation extended marked a turning point – a step away from the weight of the past and into the possibilities of the present.

As we finalised the plans, Mingyu's gaze held a promise – a promise of a date that transcended the ordinary, a date that hinted at the potential for something more. The unspoken tension that had defined our collaboration was replaced by the anticipation of a shared meal, laughter, and the uncharted journey that lay ahead.

#svt x reader #svt angst #svt series #seventeen x reader #seventeen fanfic #seventeen #mingyu x reader #mingyu x you #seventeen imagines #svt fic #svt imagines #svt fluff #seventeen scenarios #mingyu fluff #kim mingyu #writing #seventeen x y/n

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steveshairychest · 1 year

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previous anon! :D

child actors steve and eddie who worked on a movie together and developed crushes on each other. after the movie, they dont see each other again until eddie is playing music at this fancy party. he recognizes steve immediately because steve became a famous model. it takes steve a second to recognize eddie, but steve knows it's eddie because of his eyes. they have a reunion and kiss. 💅🏼

oh this is delightful! Child actors steddie has got my brain worms spinning around.

The first and only movie they ever did together became quite a hit. Steve and Eddie both played the love interest for the other young girl in the movie, but the reason the movie became so popular is because of the amazing chemistry between the supposed rival characters that Steve and Eddie played.

They spent a lot of time together on set. Eddie was 14, Steve was 13, so they got in quite a bit of trouble for causing mischief on set, as was to be expected of teen boys. They also rehearsed their lines together and when no one was looking, Eddie would lean in close and kiss Steve's cheek just like he had to do with the girl. "I've got to practice!" He'd say.

Steve never denied him. Not even when he accidentally misjudged and planted a kiss right on Steve's lips.

That was Steve's first kiss. Eddie's too.

"Look at her, not at Steve!" The director would scold Eddie while he was giving his lines. He never looked at Steve on purpose, he just found his eyes wandered while giving the sweet lines.

It was just a coincidence that his eyes always found Steve while delivering the line, "I think I love you."

After the movie and all the press was over, the boys went their separate ways and very rarely saw each other.

Eddie sometimes saw Steve's face plastered on billboards while he walked the streets because Steve had abandoned acting and chosen to model. If he stopped and stared for an obscenely long time, well that was his own business. Eddie always used to tell Steve he was pretty.

Acting didn't work out for Eddie either. He got enough money from the one gig to set him up but now he spent most of his time making music and performing at other famous people's parties. It's not the type of stage he wanted to perform on but it was better than nothing.

He was performing at his old co-stars party that night, the girl from the movie, he barely remembered her name. The only thing he remembered from back then was Steve. He still knew that Steve's favourite colour was sunflower yellow and that he liked 3 sugars in his coffee. They used to drink so much coffee at that age to stay awake.

Sometimes he wondered if Steve would even remember him. Would he stop and say hi if he saw Eddie on the street or would he keep walking? Would he add him back if Eddie was man enough to follow him on instagram? Probably not.

Eddie had changed since they were kids. Lots of tattoos and piercings and long hair instead of a buzz cut made him nearly unrecognizable. Steve had barely changed. Eddie could still see the young boy he'd had a crush on in the handsome face that stared at him from billboards.

He's tuning his guitar while the party guests meander into the crazy huge mansion when he spots a familiar face in the crowd. A face that caused him to stop and just stare, his eyes unable to look away from Steve Harrington. He watched Steve glide through the crowd, his smile bright and friendly as he hugged and greeted people, some he kissed on the cheek which made Eddie remember the first time he kissed Steve's cheek.

Steve didn't see him at first, his focus on the people around him, but then Eddie bumped into the mic and caused a feedback screech to echo around the building. "Sorry." He laughed into the mic.

And then Steve's eyes meet his and Eddie could see no hint of recognition in them at all. He smiled up at Eddie as if to say, 'It's ok', but then something changed. His smile dropped and his mouth fell open into a surprised little oh.

Eddie could see Steve mouth his name, could see the realization wash over him as he took in Eddie on the stage.

"Hi." Eddie said into the mic, both to the audience and to Steve, who was walking slowly towards the stage.

"Hi." Steve mouthed the words to him.

Eddie was glad that he took this gig, was glad that he took the time to put on his best outfit and brush his hair.

But most of all he was glad that Steve remembered him.

#HI ITS SO HOT HERE IM MELTING I KINDA RUSHED THIS #BUT THANKS ANON I LOVED THIS #steddie #stranger things #eddie munson #steve harrington

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suddencolds · 5 months

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The Worst Timing | [1/?]

hello!! I've been wanting to write a longer h/c fic for awhile. This is the exposition/first installment to that (4.8k words).

this is an OC fic - here is a list of everything I've written for these two!

Summary: Yves invites Vincent to a wedding, in France, where the rest of his family will be in attendance. It's a very important wedding, so he's definitely not going to let anything—much less the flu—ruin it. (ft. fake dating, an international trip, downplaying illness, sharing a hotel room)

—

“A wedding,” Vincent repeats.

“Yes,” Yves says. “A wedding.”

It’s his cousin Aimee’s wedding—she’s four years older than he is. Back when he’d gone with his family back to France over the summers, she’d been one of the people he’d grown quickly to look up to—someone who knew the ins and outs, it seemed, to every stage of life he was in the process of stumbling through.

Yves has always been used to being looked up to—one of the natural consequences, perhaps, of being the eldest in his immediate family—and he likes to think that he’s good at giving off the impression that he has things figured out. But he’d grown close to Aimee at their family reunions precisely because she was everything he tried to be: strong-willed and resilient, self-sufficient even in the face of hardship.

Aimee’s getting married to Genevieve—someone who Yves has only met a couple times, but who manages to be one of the sweetest people he’s ever met. All in all, it’s a wedding he wouldn’t miss under any circumstances.

Leon, his brother, and Victoire, his sister, will be there, along with Aimee’s friends and the rest of his extended family. The problem is that Leon keeps in touch with Mikhail. Mikhail let slip that Yves has been seeing Vincent. Leon told Victoire, who told Aimee. And now Aimee is offering to pay for Vincent’s plane ticket to their wedding in France in the spring—a bit of a last minute arrangement, but she’d sounded so excited at the prospect that Yves was finally seeing someone new (“I’d love to meet him,” she’d said over the phone, “would it be too much to ask him to take a couple days off work? Oh my gosh, please give me his contact details, I’ll send him an invitation,” and she’d sounded so excited about it that he hadn’t had it in him to turn her down).

“It’s very last minute,” he says, “but my cousin’s getting married, and she really wants to meet you. It’ll be some time in early March, in Provence. She says she’ll pay for your flight, if you want to go, but you’d probably have to take a couple days off.”

“Oh,” Vincent says, blinking at him. “And you want me to be there?”

“Of course I do,” Yves says. “I think it’s more a question of whether you want to be there.”

Vincent looks back at him, his expression carefully blank. “Are you sure you want to introduce me to your family? That doesn’t seem like the kind of thing that you’d take lightly.”

“They want to meet you,” Yves says. “And I wouldn’t mind introducing you. I think they would really like you.”

“It would be a waste of your time,” Vincent says, quietly, “to introduce me as someone you’re serious about if we’re just planning to break things off.”

Yves is well aware of the fact. This arrangement with Vincent—the trust he places in Vincent; the practiced familiarity, the feigned intimacy—has an expiration date. The fact that he doesn’t know when the expiration date is doesn’t change the fact that it will, inevitably, end—when Erika gets the point, or fades from Yves’s life entirely; when Vincent finds someone he considers worthy of pursuing in actuality; when either of them become interested in dating again. Whatever it is that ends up ending things, Yves knows: what he has with Vincent right now is strictly temporary.

Perhaps it would be disingenuous to lie to his family about who exactly Vincent is to him. But then again, Yves thinks it isn’t much worse than any other relationship, with all of its ups and downs, all its hopes and uncertainties. It’s not like he can ever guarantee that a relationship is certain to work out, no matter how serious he feels about it in the moment. So is there really any harm to introducing Vincent as his current partner—as someone he feels certain about now, but maybe not always—and to leave it at that?

“It’s not really going to be my day, in the first place,” Yves says. “My relationship status is more of a conversation starter than anything. And even if you go by the timeline we told Erika, we haven’t even been together for a year. I don’t think my family will think much of it other than, like, a small and noncommittal window into what I’ve been up to. So it’s really up to you.”

“I think it would be fun,” Vincent says, “though only if you’re sure about having me there.”

“Great. I’m sure,” Yves says. “Everyone will love you.” He does think it’s true. Something about Vincent tends to have that effect, he thinks.

—

The fact that he and Vincent are traveling together is not exactly a secret.

Vincent agrees it’s best shared on a need-to-know basis—they won’t be the ones to bring it up, but if someone asks about it, they’ll answer honestly. It would be more work, Yves thinks, to have to coordinate lies about this.

But he runs into trouble not even two weeks later.

“So you and Vincent are taking the week off,” Cara says to him carefully, over lunch.

“Yes,” Yves says.

“Any plans?”

“I’m actually flying to France,” Yves tells her, uncertain about whether or not he should mention Vincent’s involvement—if Vincent has talked to Cara about this already, there’s no point in hiding anything, but he should be careful with the information he discloses otherwise. “One of my cousins is getting married there.”

“Oh,” Cara says, all too knowingly. “What a coincidence. Vincent told me he’s also planning on going to France.”

“I… heard,” Yves says, slowly. “He’s told me as much.”

“I didn’t realize France was such a popular tourist destination for march,” Cara says, smiling at him. “I thought most people went over the summer.”

“You know what they say,” Yves says. “France’s beauty knows no seasons.”

“You should ask Vincent which part of France he’s visiting,” Cara says, with a smirk. “Maybe you guys can book a hotel together.”

Yves is positive he’s being laughed at. “It’s the third largest country in Europe,” he says. “I’m sure the chance of us ending up in the same region is statistically very low.”

“I think Cara knows we’re fake dating,” he laments to Vincent later, in the break room. “I mean, the dating part, not the fake part.”

Vincent blinks at him. “Did you tell her?”

“No,” Yves says. He doesn’t think they’ve been that obvious about it. “I just told her I was going to France. She made some undue assumptions.”

“Oh,” Vincent says. “I told her I was attending a wedding there.”

An impromptu trip to France, over the same week at the tail end of busy season, to attend a wedding. Separately. Yves is starting to understand where Cara's suspicions might’ve come from.

“That would do it,” he says.

Perhaps they really need to coordinate what a need-to-know basis means. Cara is, thankfully, not the type of person to gossip, from what Yves has gathered, but if their coworkers know, that could complicate things. “I don’t think she’ll say anything,” he says. “But I’m sorry. I didn’t think she’d assume.”

Vincent seems to consider this. “It’s fine,” he says. “Though it might prove troublesome when we decide to end things.”

“We can figure that out when it happens,” Yves says.

At some point in the foreseeable future, everything will go back to how it’s always been. Yves had been fine on his own for a long time before he’d met Erika. He’s sure he’ll be prepared for it when it happens.

—

The entire drive to the airport feels surreal.

Mikhail drives them. They leave at the crack of dawn—4am, on the dot. Victoire’s in the passenger seat, dozing off, and Leon, Vincent, and Yves are crammed into the backseat.

Yves sits in the middle—there’s not much leg room to go around in the first place, but he tries to take up as little space as possible, mostly for Vincent’s sake. He and Leon have been crammed into far smaller cars on far longer road trips.

Leon says, “This is the earliest in the morning I’ve ever third wheeled.”

Victoire, who has her eyes shut, says, “It’s very nice to meet you, Vincent.”

“Likewise,” Vincent says.

“Yves has told us all about you,” Leon says.

“Oh,” Vincent says, blinking. “What has he said about me?”

“Mostly that you’re super hot,” Leon says. Yves, who is in a perfect position to elbow him, elbows him for that.

“You make me sound so shallow,” Yves says.

“But also that you’re really good at your job,” Leon continues, patting Yves on the leg. “Did you know Yves likes people who he’s slightly intimidated by?”

“I never said that,” Yves says.

“It’s pretty obvious,” Mikhail says.

“You guys are conspiring against me,” Yves says, and Vincent laughs.

Leon launches into a series of questions—about how they met, about who asked who out first, about what it’s like at work, about what kinds of things Vincent does for fun.

“No wonder Yves is totally whipped,” Leon says, after Vincent finishes telling a story about how he’d given a presentation at a conference in place of his then-boss, who had—due to unforeseen flight delays—found out last minute that she wouldn’t have been able to make it on time. Yves hasn’t heard this story before, but it doesn’t surprise him that Vincent would be able to pull that sort of thing off, even with such paralyzingly short notice. “You’re exactly his type.”

Just great. If anyone could dig a nice, fitting grave for him over the span of one conversation, Yves thinks, it would be younger brother.

“I can’t believe he hasn’t invited you over for dinner yet,” Victoire says, her eyes still closed. How much of this conversation she’s actually been awake for, Yves can’t say.

She makes Yves promise that, after their trip to France, Vincent will be over for dinner. (“Sure,” Vincent says. “Just tell me the date in advance. I’ll clear my schedule.” Yves will have to apologize to him after this—for some reason, Vincent has an uncanny talent for ending up invited to half the things Yves is personally involved in.)

Yves is awake enough to hold a conversation, but he finds himself yawning mid-sentence on more than a few occasions. Vincent doesn’t so much as yawn at all over the entirety of the car ride. Yves has no idea if he’s always up this early, or if he’s just naturally immune to tiredness—another signature of his good genetics, next to the fact that he looks like he’s just stepped out of a photoshoot, or the fact that he manages to look good in everything he wears. Some people just win the genetic lottery, Yves supposes.

For some reason, he finds he feels a little more tired than usual. Waking up early is never easy, but usually he’d be distinctly more alert by now. There’s a strange, uncharacteristic heaviness to his limbs—it’s the kind of grogginess he only experiences when he hasn’t been getting enough sleep for awhile.

It’s fine. They have an eight hour flight ahead of them—they’ll be flying into Marseille, and then being driven up to Provence, where the wedding will be taking place. He can catch up on sleep over the flight.

As they’re unloading the suitcases from the back trunk, Vincent says, “Your family’s nice.”

Yves laughs. “I’m relieved they haven’t scared you off yet. Sorry for the… well, interrogation, by the way.”

“I can tell you’re close to them,” Vincent says, a little more quietly.

When Yves looks over, something about Vincent’s smile looks almost wistful. Yves wonders, briefly, how well Vincent has kept up with his own family. If he’d ever been packed into the backseat of a small car, back when he’d lived in Korea; if over some long road trip, he’d ever had to come up with increasingly inventive ways to pass the time. If his relatives ever teased him, then, about the crushes he’d had when he was younger, or anything else. If the ocean that was suddenly between them came with another, less tangible kind of distance, the kind that even phone calls and international flights can never quite bridge.

Yves doesn’t know. He doesn’t even know how he’d go about asking if he wanted to know. How is it that sometimes, he feels like he knows so much about Vincent, but other times, he feels like he knows almost nothing at all?

—

Aimee has booked him a seat next to Vincent.

They’re a few rows away from the others—I wanted to seat everyone together, Aimee had texted him a few weeks back, but when I was booking Vincent’s ticket, the seats up front were all sold out, so I just moved you so you’d be sitting next to him.

Now, he watches as Vincent pushes his briefcase gingerly into the overhead compartment.

“You must not be new to flying,” he says.

Vincent nods. “I’m not.”

“Eight more hours,” Yves says, taking the middle seat so that Vincent doesn’t have to. “It’ll be over in no time, especially if you take a nap.”

“I have some work to get done,” Vincent says. “Only after the plane takes off, though.”

Right—no electronics larger than a cell phone until they’re 30,000 feet in the air. “I thought this was supposed to be your week off.”

“It is,” Vincent says. “I just want to make sure everything’s still in one piece by the time I get back.”

Yves has never quite been comfortable on planes. It’s not that he’s afraid of flying, or that the turbulence bothers him—it’s more just the cramped space, the noise, the anticipation, the discomfort—all of it compounds. It’s usually difficult to get to sleep, but he’s so tired right now that maybe this flight will be an exception.

There’s just one problem: whoever is in charge of the air conditioning in the airplane cabin really hates him. Compared to Provence, New York’s climate is generally more extreme—colder in the winters, hotter in the summers—so all he has on him right now is a thin jacket. It’d be perfectly reasonable attire in most situations, except for the fact that this airplane in particular is unusually frigid. It’s definitely cold enough to be distinctly uncomfortable, especially considering that he’s just sitting in place. Yves crosses his arms, suppressing a shiver.

“Do you think Aimee will be convinced?” Vincent asks.

“Convinced?”

“That we’re together.”

“I’m sure she has better things to do than play detective over the state of my relationships,” Yves says, with a laugh. “You don’t have to worry about that.”

“It’s why you invited me,” Vincent says, “is it not?”

“Pardon?”

“To show the rest of your family that you’re not still hung up over Erika.”

“I invited you for a lot of reasons,” Yves says. “For one, you’re good company.”

“So are all your friends.”

“I thought we could both use a week off,” Yves adds. “It’s France, in the springtime. What could be better?”

Vincent says, “I need you to tell me what to do.”

“What?”

“Your cousin paid for my flight,” he lists, counting off his fingers. “Your family is paying for the hotel. Your best friend drove me to the airport.” He says these things as if he’s listing off all the ways in which he’s indebted to them. “It’d be easiest for both of us if you told me how to make a good impression. That’s what I’m here for, right?”

Yves blinks. “I don’t think you’d need my help to make a good impression.”

“You could’ve taken anyone with you, but you’re taking me,” Vincent presses. “There has to be something you need me for.”

If there was nothing, you wouldn’t have invited me. The sentiment hangs between them, unspoken. But Yves can see it in Vincent’s expression.

“My favorite cousin is getting married,” Yves says, fervently. “To her fiancee—who is also super cool, by the way. My whole family is going to be there. Do you think I’d choose to endure an eight hour plane ride sitting next to someone I didn’t like?”

“Maybe,” Vincent says.

Yves shakes his head. “It’s true that my family wants to meet you. But if I didn’t want you to come to France with me, I could’ve come up with an excuse.”

He twists around in his seat so that he’s facing Vincent directly. Narrowly resists the urge to reach out and grab Vincent’s hand. “I like spending time with you. I wouldn’t have invited you if I didn’t. You don’t have to do anything out of the ordinary—if you have fun on this trip, that’s more than enough.”

Vincent stares back at him, his eyes wide.

Yves has a feeling he’s said too much. It isn’t Vincent’s fault for assuming this is all just for show, considering everything that’s come before. Part of it is, but another part of him just really wants Vincent to have fun—to take in the sights at the gorgeous venue Aimee’s sent him pictures of, to have a week off in one of the most picturesque countrysides in the world (Yves may be slightly biased, but still) and not have to think too hard about impressing everyone.

“Is that… okay with you?” Yves asks.

“Yes,” Vincent says. “It’s just unexpected.”

“Which part?”

“All of it.”

“Oh. Well. I’m sorry if I misled you, or anything.”

“You didn’t.” This time, Vincent really does smile—a sly, quicksilver thing. “For the record, I am very excited to go to your cousin’s wedding.”

“Thank god,” Yves says. “That’s good. I was beginning to think I was holding you hostage.”

He leans back into his seat, suppressing another shiver. Something about the changing pressure in the airplane cabin is making his head start to ache. It’s probably the elevation. Perhaps he should try to sleep just so that he doesn’t have to sit for eight hours with a headache brewing.

He shuts his eyes and tries. It’s no use. He’s tired, and the cabin is quiet enough, but it’s too cold to get to sleep—it feels impossible to get comfortable like this.

So he picks up a novel he’d been meaning to get to—something suspenseful, to offset the monotony of the flight.

When the seatbelt sign flickers off, Vincent unclips his seatbelt so that he can retrieve his briefcase from one of the overhead compartments, and spends the next half hour paging through multiple documents and leaving notes in the margins at a dizzying pace. Yves slinks down lower into his seat, trying hard not to shiver.

“Is it just me, or is it kind of cold in here?”

Vincent frowns at him in a concerned way that seems to suggest that it really is just him. Then again, Vincent is unfazed by New York’s cold winters, so Yves isn’t sure he’s the best point of reference.

“Do you need my jacket?” he asks.

“No,” Yves says quickly. “It’s not that bad.”

“Okay,” Vincent says. “If you’re certain.”

He turns his attention back to the screen, and Yves resigns himself to reading—or, more accurately, trying and failing to read. It’s mercilessly cold, and his head hurts enough to make focusing on any one thing an uncomfortable task. He gets through another couple chapters, finds himself rereading the same passage over and over again, and—finally, defeated—dog-ears the page and slides the book into the pocket attached to the seat in front of him.

The next time the flight attendants come around, Vincent says something to one of them Yves can’t quite make out. Yves asks for orange juice—it’s not supposed to be symbolic, or anything, but on the off-chance that this headache ends up being a precursor to something more unpleasant, he thinks it might be wise.

The flight attendant pours him the orange juice he’s asked for—no ice (right now, something ice cold is the last thing he needs)—and sets it down on the tray table in front of him. Yves stares down at it, blinking. He hasn’t eaten all day, but strangely, he doesn’t have much of an appetite.

He doesn’t register the flight attendant from before—the one Vincent talked to—is back until he hears Vincent’s quiet “thanks” to his left.

Something brushes against his arm.

He looks up. It’s one of those travel blankets they sometimes carry, neatly folded, though this flight hadn’t given them out to everyone at the start. They must be reserved—given only upon request, maybe.

“You said you were cold,” Vincent—who’s holding out the blanket for him—says, by way of explanation.

Yves blinks at him. He’s about to reassure Vincent, instinctively, that it’s not that cold—that he would’ve been fine without the blanket, that Vincent didn’t have to go out of his way to ask for one.

But his head hurts. He hasn’t been warm all flight. To say that the blanket is a relief would be a massive understatement.

“Thanks,” he says, taking it. “This is perfect. I won’t be cold with this.”

He ends up wrapping the blanket around his shoulders, pulling it tightly around him—like a cloak, or like the jacket that he might have brought with him if he’d had the foresight to anticipate feeling this cold on a commercial flight.

It’s nice. He’s still a little cold, with the blanket, but it’s enough to keep him from openly shivering.

He should really try to get some sleep, he thinks. It’s going to be evening in France when they land. A seat away from him, the window shutters are pulled up, but he can see, from the crevices around the window, that it’s light out.

“I’m going to try to nap,” he tells Vincent. “But wake me up if I need anything—elbow me if you have to. I’m not usually a heavy sleeper.”

“Okay,” Vincent says. “I’ll try not to wake you.”

“You can wake me whenever,” Yves says, muffling a yawn into his hand. “Don’t work too hard.”

Vincent smiles at him, the kind of smile that implies he thinks he’s working exactly as hard as he should be. “No promises.”

It’s not easy to get to sleep, despite his exhaustion. He lays there for a while, his eyes shut—it’s certainly warmer with the blanket, but for some reason, he feels strangely restless. Maybe it’s the adrenaline of being here, with his family, with Vincent—on the way to see one of the most important people in his life get married. Maybe it’s the cup of black coffee he’d downed this morning to be awake enough to help Mikhail navigate and, subsequently, awake enough to actually be useful at the airport.

In the end, he falls asleep to the static hum of the aircraft, to the sound of Vincent hammering away at his keyboard next to him, incessant and comforting.

—

Yves wakes to someone tapping him on the shoulder.

“Sorry,” he says. “I’m up.”

“A ‘light sleeper,’ you said,” Vincent says. “We just landed.”

Yves says, “I’m wide awake.” The yawn that he hides behind one hand is apparently not subtle enough, because when Vincent looks away from him in favor of staring straight ahead, it looks like he’s trying not to laugh.

Vincent’s stowed away his laptop already—Yves hopes that’s a sign that he’s done with work for the duration of this trip, but more likely he just had to put it away for landing.

“How was the flight for you?” Yves says.

Vincent looks at him. “Uneventful,” he says, at last.

“Not enthralled by all the financial records you had to go through?”

“They were very enthralling. How was your nap?”

“Good,” Yves says, even though he doesn’t feel particularly rested. He’s just groggy, probably, and the headache is just as bad as it was, if not worse. He’s sure once he gets off the plane and gets some fresh air, he’ll feel much better. “I probably needed it.” His breath hitches, unexpectedly, he turns to the side, raising his arm to his face to shield the oncoming—

“hH-’IZscHH’iew!”

The sneeze is loud, embarrassingly, and it scrapes unpleasantly against his throat, which feels… off.

“Bless you,” Vincent says, frowning. He looks more concerned than he has any right to be.

Yves flashes Vincent a distracted smile. “Thanks.”

Everything—from the moment they step off the plane—is exhaustingly hectic.

The hotel in Provence is more than an hour away from the airport they’ve landed at. They have a bus to catch, which means that after they regroup with the others, it’s international customs, baggage claim, and then they’re headed, maneuvering multiple suitcases each, onto the bus. He sits next to Vincent, though on the aisle side, so that he can lean over and interject whenever Leon and Victoire say something that’s worth commenting on.

Other than that, he talks with Vincent, mostly—about Aimee, about how she’s been in his life for longer than he’s known how to write his name, back when his parents would take him back to France once or twice a year. (“She was practically an older sister to me,” he says, “except we never fought,” to which Vincent says, “You make it sound like not getting along is a requirement to be siblings,” to which Yves says, “It definitely is.”)

His parents flew into France yesterday, so they should be settled in already—they’ll catch up with them at the hotel tonight, if it’s not too late. He probably won’t see Aimee and Genevieve until tomorrow morning, at breakfast—and even then, that depends on how busy they are with the various wedding preparations Aimee’s been telling him about.

The roads nearing the hotel are uneven and winding. Halfway through the drive, Yves registers, faintly, that he isn’t really feeling any better from before. His head is still hurting from the flight, and when he swallows, he finds his throat feels perhaps the slightest bit sore.

He’s cold, too, in the sort of uncomfortable, persistent way that’s difficult to alleviate, even with extra layers or with a warm drink. He’s starting to suspect that maybe the airplane cabin hadn’t been the problem after all.

None of that is particularly visible to any of the others—that is, until he finds himself tensing up halfway through a sentence, burying his head into the crook of his elbow as his eyes squeeze shut—

“God, sorry, I— hh-! hHehh’iiZZSCHh’iiEW!”

“Bless you,” Vincent, Victoire, and Leon say to him, all at once.

“You’d better not be getting sick,” Leon says, turning to him, with the sort of tone that implies that he’s joking. “That would really be the worst timing.”

“I’m not,” Yves says, swallowing against the soreness in his throat. “I promise.” Or, perhaps more accurately—he can’t be.

It will be the perfect wedding, he thinks. Aimee has planned it out meticulously, and she’s one of the most thorough people he knows. The weather forecast says this week will be sunny and temperate. He’s here, in France. Tomorrow, he’ll be surrounded by his extended family, and in the afternoon he and Vincent will head off to the welcome party, and he’ll get to give Aimee the gifts he’s gotten for her and introduce Vincent to everyone formally. Everything will go as planned—the welcome party, the wedding rehearsal, the rehearsal dinner, and on Saturday, the wedding and the vows.

It will be perfect, because it has to be. Yves will be present, and attentive, and he’ll give the speech he has prepared at Aimee’s wedding, and they’ll all remember this week fondly. Even considering the small, almost negligible chance that he’s coming down with something, there are more important things he has to worry about right now, which is to say: Yves is going to do this right.

He’s going to make sure of it.

[ Part 2 ]

#sneeze fic #snz fic #sneeze kink #snz kink #snz #i'm sorry if this exposition is like #comparatively uneventful 😭😭😭#this entire fic was written with the intent of giving people-pleaser yves the worst time possible #so i promise that is to come... in the future (if i have the time and bandwidth to write more and if people want to read more)#yvverse #my fic #fun fact - i used to refuse to write characters with anything worse than a cold (the flu included) just as principle #clearly that changed over the years haha

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zehiiro · 1 month

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I over analysed the new TBOC Teaser and Sneak Peek

There's so much to cover here, and I'm so happy right now because of all the content we've gotten today! I'm going to focus the analysis on the new things we see in the teaser and trailer since many of the things shown today have already been discussed on here many times.

So please grab yourself a cup of tea or your morning coffee and bear with me through this post. It might be a little long, but I'd love to hear your takes on my timeline theory at the end. ♡

The Teaser

I'm starting with the teaser because that's what I got to see first.

Firstly, we see in the below photo that Daryl has finally gotten himself some arrows, which means we're finally going to see him with a bow (excluding that one time he used a crossbow in twd:dd 01x02). These definitely don't look like crossbow bolts, which implies that this shot is pre-reunion.

I also want to break down the dialog here:

Isabell: Tell me a story Daryl: There was this guy, he left home looking for something, and he couldn't get back.

I'm focusing on the part where he said "he couldn't get back" because he didn't say "he didn't go back" or "he didn't want to go back"; he said he couldn't; he's not there by choice.

~~~~~~

Secondly, we have this shot of Carol and her crew on a mountaintop. What stands out here is that it's not just her (on the right) and Ash (on the left); there are two other people there with them (middle).

Making notes of who these people are, here's a breakdown of what we can see about them.

There are two people.

First one: seems shorter with longer brown/black hair and wearing a beige coat.

Second one: seems taller, shorter auburn hair and wearing a black coat with a faux fur collar.

Unlike Carol and Ash, neither of them is visibly holding a weapon.

Also unlike Carol and Ash, they both seem to have bags/supplies.

They must trust each other at this moment because Carol and Ash don't seem to have their weapons drawn or their guards up.

The last three points make me think that the two in the middle might be locals from wherever they've landed in France and are helping them find their way. Additionally, to the local's guess, there's no way that the plane (image/model below) C/A flew in could have fit more than 2 people.

Beechcraft S35 Bonanza:

~~~~~~

Next, we see Carol (looking amazing as always) holding/shooting the crossbow, killing the walker we see below.

What's interesting here is that this walker is covered in moss and what looks like fungus growing out of it, which would happen to walkers who have been around water and/or in humid environments. The walker is also wearing winter clothing, which aligns with the snowy mountains in the background.

The only other place I remember seeing a walker like this, in France, was on the way to Normandy Beach, where Daryl looked over at the walker that had similar moss on it with trees growing through it; however, if I had to guess I'd say that's not relevant to the location of this new scene.

If the filming location accurately reflects the actual location of Carol/Crew, based on the surroundings and lake in the above shots, my best guess is that they are near the French Alps, somewhere around the area highlighted in red, OR the Spanish Alps highlighted in blue, since the rest of France is relatively flat and does not feature any large mountain scapes like we see in the photos.

It is also possible that these photos of Carol and Ash in the mountains are pre-France, set in the US while they were planning their departure via plane, with the only reason being that I don't think I've seen any photos of Carol or Daryl with the crossbow in France (that we know for sure were set in France). However, I'm still leaning towards it being in France because I don't see why Carol couldn't have taken the crossbow with her if they managed to take the rifle along.

Carol is later seen in a clip at Chantier Naval de la Passagère (purple mark on map), placing her right next to Daryl/Crew at Mont Saint-Michel (green mark on map).

~~~~~~

The Sneak Peek

The first thing to note with the sneak peek is that it looks like these images from the first teaser (below)...

are not at the same location as Daryl/Crew fighting in the sneak peak (below).

Another thing to note that's different is the people present with Daryl during each fight, which brings me to the next thing I've noticed.

~~~~~~

When the back of the truck is opened in the sneak peek, we see three people sitting in the back. After playing with the image a little bit, it becomes a little easier to guess who we're looking at.

To me, it appears that it's Fallou and Emile on the right, and the guy on the left resembles the man highlighted in the image below (from the first teaser).

All of this leads me to believe that somehow/somewhere, Fallou, Emile, and the ??? Man are taken by Genet and her people. This would explain Daryl's desperation during the sneak peek fight to stop Genet/Crew and get to whatever/whoever is in the back of the truck.

However, it gets a little complicated with how the timeline of these two fights relates to the below scene with Carol/Fallou/Codron.

I have two theories about how the timeline can go, but for now I'm just going to break down the one I think is the most feasible.

Firstly, we know that Fallou and Emile leave Daryl/Crew in 01x06, potentially heading back to Paris. On their way, they run into Codron, who's been badly hurt/tortured by Genet, along with Carol, who has tracked Daryl to Paris at this point.

From here, after resting, resupplying, and with the new information that Codron and Fallou gave her about Daryl's whereabouts and what he's been going through to try and get back to her, Carol leaves the Paris group and heads out to resume her search for him.

Sometime after Carol leaves Paris, the Paris group/base could have been attached, leading to Fallou, Emille, and ??? Man being captured.

This leads us to the fight we see in the sneak peek between Daryl/Crew and Genet/Crew, which results in Fallou/Emile/??? Man being rescued and joining up with Daryl and the Nest Crew again.

Here's where I think it gets interesting: Now that Fallout is back with Daryl, he tells him everything he knows about Carol, how they ran into her, how she's been looking for him, and how, right before the attack on that Paris base, she left to resume her search for him.

This would light a fire under Daryl, realising how much danger she could be in because the areas between Paris and Mont Saint-Michel are swarming with Genet's men, and Carol could very likely be unknowingly walking into an ambush that wasn't meant for her.

Knowing that Carol is somewhere between Paris and Mont Saint-Michel, Daryl can now easily track her to Maison Mere, where she happens to be trapped in a car with Ash, surrounded by walkers (image below).

This leads us to the scene from the first teaser, where we see Daryl, Fallou, Isabell,??? Man, and a few others from the Nest, are searching through what we've said appears to be Maison Mere.

In the first teaser, We see the walkers surrounding Carol's car get killed by something/someone that's not visible to us, other than the lone hand we see on the back of the windshield, which we have all agreed strongly resembles Daryl's (image below).

Leading us to our long-awaited life-changing reunion!!

Thank you so much for sticking with me and getting through this post ♡. I really hope reading it made sense like it did in my head.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on any of the above and specially on things that I've missed.

I'm so happy we'll have Caryl back in a few short months!!! Our wait is almost over ♡♡♡

#daryl dixon #carol peletier #caryl #tboc #the book of carol #caryl positivity #twd #the walking dead #my gifs #twd spoilers #spoilers #CarylArchives

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ishipthis · 10 months

Text

Igo all in - A reunion oneshot you never knew you needed.

“As we go on, we remember all the-“

“Carly, I swear to God if you sing ‘Graduation’ by Vitamin C one more time I’m going to graduate myself right back into the car.” He’s smiling as he says it, the same goofy smile that she’s been looking at for years, though now instead of just being the comforting familiar smile of her partner in crime, it’s the smile that has her knees wanting to buckle and her cheeks turning red. “Besides,” Freddie continues, smile widening as he wiggles his eyebrows at her. “It doesn’t even make sense, we’re not even graduat—“

She ignores him, a taunting smile covering her lips as she chooses to sing louder. “All the time we, had together!” This is her graduation and reunion all rolled into one damn it, and if that means making up for lost time by singing ridiculously nostalgic 2000’s pop, then she’s going to do it.

“I didn’t get to graduate with everyone, remember? You got your big moment, you got to wear the cap and gown and say goodbye to all your friends and I got-“

“Italy?” he cuts her off, smirk planted firmly on his lips.

“Shut up, you know it’s not the same, dummy. If I want to make up for lost time by singing the ultimate farewell to high school song, then I will.”

He laughs, his hand reaching down to take hold of hers, intertwining their fingers as he brings their joint hands up to his lips.

“Fine, go ahead, sing it then, babe. Tonight is your moment, you’ve earned it.”

Except it isn’t. The minute they walk through the double doors it becomes increasingly clear, the night is most definitely not her moment, not even close.

“Freddie! You’re here!” It’s the third person that’s come up to him in all of five minutes and while it’s amazing to see him in his element, it’s also disheartening the way everyone seems to glance past her like she’s just his plus one. She’s icarly, Carly Shay, she has 650 000 followers on Instagram and was the host of Italian QVC, surely she deserves more than a ‘I forgot you went here’, and then vague apathy.

“Hey Man, long time no see!” Freddie responds, greeting his newest long-lost pal with a secret handshake she’s never seen before.

He’s different here. Lapping up the attention in a way she’s never seen before. Still perfect, humble Freddie, but there’s something else there too, a sense of pride and twinkle in his eye she rarely sees aside from when he’s watching Millicent, or… Her. It’s interesting is all. He’s the same boy she’s known all her life; nothing’s changed, walking through those double doors didn’t alter reality, at least she doesn’t think so, but he’s also all together a different one entirely. Confident in a way he never was, electric in a way she’s never seen, and pulling people in as if he has some kind of gravitational pull that she never was informed he had.

It sit’s uncomfortably in her stomach. Discomfort that she has to share him, discomfort that he never shared this with her, and discomfort that at the bottom of all of this mixture of thoughts was a jealously she had no right to have. She was happy he was getting attention; she was happy he was being recognised for all the things she always knew him to be, wasn’t she?

“Wow, that’s some handshake” she volunteers lamely, because she’s not sure what else to say when she feels so out of place. 10 years ago she would have walked in here and been the one people flocked to, it would have been her gym, her friends, her secret handshakes that people looked enviously on. Now here she was an outsider practically hiding behind Freddie, which again, what? -like she no longer had a place in the room at all. It was as if the 11 years she’d spent with these people was all but wiped out when she decided to go to Italy. After the chat with Freddie the other day it just felt like another part of the move that was back to bite her in the ass.

Wait, was Freddie talking to “Rip off Rodney?” The words fall from her mouth before she can suck them back in, and the look on his face in response is again, interesting.

“I just go by Rodney now” He says, giving her a tight smile. “But man am I glad Mr Popular here decided to make an appearance tonight” Again, it’s back to Freddie and she’s fine about that, really she is fine.

Freddie laughs and it’s enough to make her knees wobble, because darn him and his cute little crooked smile. He seems so genuinely proud of himself, and it’s beautiful and guilt inflicting all at the same time. How had it taken her so long to realise how attractive he was? The way he nervously rocked back on his heels when embarrassed, the way he instantly looked to her to see her reaction. Was it always like this? How did she spend all these years seeing it, seeing him, and yet completely missing him all the same time.

“I didn’t know Chris Hemsworth transferred to Ridgeway?” she grins, interjecting herself back in the conversation as she looks around the room comically. “Where is he? If I’d known he was here, I might not have gone to Italy.”

Freddie laughs, his hand finding hers at the same time Rodney speaks. “Hemsworth? Nah, Benson over here had the school eating out of the palm of his hand senior year.”

And there it is, that beam again, that proud look that usually is saved just for her, except now apparently, it’s also held for senior year and whatever that entailed. “Freddie?” She says out loud, because she can’t stop herself and needs to clarify, because what? “This Freddie? Freddie Benson? Be real, how much did he pay you to say that?”

Rodney laughs and she watches as the expression on Freddie's face changes from pride to hurt then pride again as he hears her call him 'Her Freddie'. Has he always been this expressive, she wonders? Is this another thing she missed. Was this what it was like in Italy? He had said that he faked that emergency, and that he'd been heart broken, and yet she'd been there and not even noticed. He had got the text, given her an excuse, and literally run the other way and she had let him, which makes it worse. Surely it must have been obvious, right now she could read his micro expressions a mile away, and yet back then she'd not even known the difference when his smile didn't reach his eyes. What kind of friend was she? Even if at that point she’d be denying her feelings, she’d failed him. He was right.

She snaps back out of her thoughts and into the conversation at the sight of Freddie looking increasingly more uncomfortable by the second, which mean’s she’s clearly missed something. She may not have read the room back then, but right now it’s clear as day that he’s both embarrassed and internally panicking, a far cry from the pride he was showing mere moments ago. "Not a cent! Last dime I got from him was when he bribed me not to tell Principal Franklin he'd snuck out with Zoe, let's just say he wasn’t your Freddie in senior year that's for sure, he was Veronica's and Ashley's and Moni- oww!"

Freddie freezes, his hand reaching down to pick up Carly's again having skilfully socked Rodney in the gut. It's meant to be reassuring she knows, but right now all she can think about is the thought of Freddie with someone else. Veronica or Ashley or Monica-someone's who most definitely are not her. She thinks back. Sam had admitted to her years ago that she and Freddie had hooked up while she was away, but that was it. There was no mention of another girl, let alone three.

She looks at Freddie, her brow furrowing as he uncomfortably scratches the back of his neck with his free hand, a tell he’s both uncomfortable and guilty. Well that’s just great.

"Wow" she mutters, still trying to clear the mental imagine from her mind. "I sure missed a lot here!" And she did, clearly, she missed a lot.

She looks to Freddie, fingers untangling from his as they start to feel clammy. He visibly flinches, worry covering his features as he brings his hand to rest on her back instead. It’s a oh no you don’t, if ever there was one, the don’t run from me unspoken.

"As much as I'm sure Carly is loving this little walk down memory lane, I think I hear someone calling our name, but we'll catch up soon, yeah?" he says not waiting to hear the answer before gently manoeuvring her towards the direction of the wine. "He's exaggerating, I promise. " But she's not so sure. Ever since they walked through those doors it had been the Freddie show, and she’s seen enough movies to know that if someone is quote unquote popular, girls will follow. Besides, you don’t get two ex-wives without being somewhat of a ladies man, right? If she was being honest, she didn’t know what to think. What she did know though, she needed a glass of that wine, stat.

The night isn’t going to get any better. This was evident when she was stuck hearing another story about a Freddie she never got the chance to know from another mystery best friend, and it’s even more evident now as she stands with Rebecca Berkowitz talking about towels. TOWELS. If she knew endorsing a self drying towel would leave her stuck in this stupid conversation, she would have told the endorsement deal where to shove it. A life of post shower chills surely isn’t worth the pain of this conversation.

“So my little sister is obsessed right? So of course she has to have the Carly towel and I tried to explain to her you’re just paid to talk about them, but she just doesn’t understand how us influencers work, it’s -“ her voice becomes completely muffled as Carly zones out again, scanning the room for Freddie while trying not to laugh at the idea of Rebecca being an influencer. The only thing she was influencing right now, was a headache. Where was Freddie?

"I’m actually surprised you came to this thing” Rebecca continues, because clearly she is not getting the hint. “Even more surprised who you came with, but I guess it’s nice you came to support him at his reunion, you guys were always such cute little friends.” Carly shudders. Friends. While it was true, they had always been just friends and only recently started transitioning to more, the way Rebecca says it sounds kind of pathetic. ‘Cute little friends’-it’s pointed as if it’s insignificant and she wonders not for the first time if that’s how she used to make Freddie feel; small and childish. And wait, what did she mean Freddie’s reunion?

She’s about to respond when Rebecca cuts her off again, hip bumping her in the process, which is annoying, because they are not at a hip bumping level of friendship, not even close. “Now tell me, girl to girl, it’s just for the views, right? That set up of the webcam was totally gold, Carly, but I know a good PR move when I see one. I assume it’s only a matter of time before the breakup is going to happen? The big fight on camera for the viewers, the controversy. It’s rating’s gold. I’ll give you that!”

Wait, what? what the hell was any of that supposed to mean.

Carly flinches, her cheeks tinting a nice shade of red as she feels a wave of genuine anger roll over her. 1. This is her freaking reunion, and 2. Nobody talks about her man like that. She had realised the second point was an especially tense one since just a few weeks prior, when Neville targeted her sweet, defenceless man with a deep fake, and- no, just no! She was pretty good at playing nice, but apparently insulting the love of her life is where she draws the line.

“Firstly, girl.” She repeats, a frustrated tone slipping from her mouth. “It’s not a PR move. I’m not sure where you got that idea, but he’s my… Freddie, and there will be no break-up. I adore him, nay, love him, not that any of that is any of your business anyway. And secondly, this is my reunion too. Did you not forget that I went here for from grades K through 11? Seriously, we had classes together, why is that so hard to remember?!” The second point comes out more pointed than the first and she’s not sure why it matters so much that people realise she belongs, but it does, it just does.

She’s missed out on so much, all of the fun senior year experiences, senior ditch day, senior prank day, the parties.. And worst of all, she missed out on Freddie. If she’d been there maybe there wouldn’t have been a Veronica or Ashley or Monica, it would have just been…

“Carly” Rebecca is still there. An annoyed look now etched on her face as she looks Carly up and down, and wow okay, she’s got this mean girl thing down pat. “You’re giving off a lot of negative energy right now, like your aura is not good, but it’s okay, I get it, if I hadn’t graduated because I failed gym, I’d feel a little pathetic being here too”

“I don’t feel pathetic” Carly cuts in before she can register the rest of Rebecca’s words.

“Wait, what did you just say?”

“Oh my gosh, you don’t know, do you?”

It feels like the room is suddenly dead silent, the only noise audible the creak of the gym door swinging open. Of course she graduated gym? She’d gone to a little bit of college, you can’t go to a little bit of college if you haven’t graduated high school, that’s like impossible, right? Right?

“I. Went. To. College” she states, a bite to her tone as she brings her hands to rest on her hips. “So you’re clearly mistaken. Girl.”

“Babe? You good?” She feels the arm wrapping around her waist before she sees him. Freddie. Sweet, beautiful, Freddie. His brow is furrowed, a nervous look etched on his face as he looks between them a few times before resting back on her. ‘You okay?’ he mouths silently, tightening his squeeze on her waist.

“She’s fine, Freddie, I was just telling Carly here about the unfortunate mix up with the office senior year and from the looks of things, I don’t think she’s taking it very well.”

He’s confused. Heck, she’s confused. None of this makes any sense. Did Freddie know something she didn’t?

“Mix up?” he responds, the question evident in his voice. And nope, phew.

“Mmm” she hums, a smirk planted on her lips. “Remember when we all got in trouble for bringing vodka into the pep rally that one time?” He nods. And seriously? Carly thinks, What the heck kind of senior year did they have? And in what world would Freddie sneak alcohol into anything. His mother was obsessive at the best of times, there is no way he could have snuck anything by her.

“Well, it was my second offence or whatever, so they made me do community service for the school” She rolls her eyes “I was stuck helping out in the office, and I just happened to hear that one of the temps signed off on your credits, without actually checking, because like, who fails gym? Anyway, apparently you do.” Rebecca laughs like it’s a funny story, like she’s telling the punchline to a joke and she guesses it is, because from the minute Carly walked through those doors, it’s been evident that the only punchline happening tonight, is at her expense.

“That’s…?” Freddie starts, a confused look reflected on his face before he looks over to her to assess where she’s at. He doesn’t like what he sees, that’s the only explanation for the next words out of his mouth.

“That’s quite a story, Rebecca. If you’ll excuse us, I think it’s time for a refill, but please do say hi to your 25 followers for me. Great seeing you.” Who is this Freddie and why does the sight of him going all grizzly bear on her behalf leave her wanting to drag him out of here and into their own kind of cave?

“So what you’re telling me” Freddie asks, clarifying again for the third time since they’d walked up to principal Franklin “Is that Carly never graduated? Like never?”

“That’s what I said”

“But..”

“We sent letters, Miss Shay” Principal franklin says addressing her again as he ignores Freddie, who currently is tightening his hand against her waist as if grounding her to the conversation and to him. “We even emailed, but when we got no response, I suppose it just never got followed up?”

“Followed up?” She spits out, anger evident in her voice “My future and my eligibility to viably enter college was just something that you never followed up?” How? How did she never find out? And more importantly, what does that even mean? Did she even graduate any of her classes at college? Was everything for nothing. Was she a high school dropout, oh god she was a high school drop out!

“IT’S ALMOST PHOTO TIME PEOPLE!”

The announcement is made over the speakers and damn if it doesn’t just put the soul-crushing cherry on top of the already rotting cake. This was not supposed to be the night. None of this was supposed to happen. Now, not only was she a high school drop-out, but she was a high school drop-out that would forever be forgotten because her face would never be included in the class photo, nor her name. Okay so maybe she was being a little melodramatic, maybe it wasn’t all that big of a deal to be in a simple photo, but to her it was more than a picture. It meant something. Especially if she was next to him in it. It was like righting a wrong maybe.

“Freddie, we’re having some issues with getting the camera working properly, you think the former captain of the photography club would be happy to come and give us a hand?”

Freddie looks at her, doubt clouding his features as he takes her in. “I’d love to guys but-“

“But nothing” Carly cuts him off. “He’ll be right over.”

It’s not what he wants to hear, she can tell, but this is his night, these are his people and apparently this is his memory to make, so who is she to step in the way of that? “it’s fine, sweety” she says, plastering a smile she knows he can see is lacking as best. “I’ll sort things out here with principal Franklin, and you go do what you do best, the nerdy tech stuff, then when you come back, we’ll take the picture and I’ll give you that dance I owe you after all those years of the friendzone.” She wiggles her eyebrows as a small smile plays on her lips, not quite reaching her eyes. If anything has come from pretending she didn’t have feelings for Freddie for the past few months, it’s the ability to make a jokes in tense situations and evade the truth. “

You sure?” he asks her once again, before finally dropping her side. She nods. “Totally, get out of here.” “You’re the best babe, I’ll be right over there, back before you know it” he kisses her cheek, and she shivers as the familiar feeling of butterflies comes over her. Even when she feels like drowning, he makes her knees want to buckle. But he’s always been saving her, long before she realised it.

“I’m sorry, Carly” Principal Franklin cuts in again, and she’s pulled back instantly into the feeling of chaos. Into swirling feelings and confusion and regret and… Freddie. “If it’s any consolation, you’re a smart and successful girl who’s made something of yourself, I wouldn’t be too concerned over what a piece of paper says.” And she’s not. That’s not the problem, she thinks. The problem is that without that piece of paper, she can’t make it right. She can’t give Freddie back the only thing he ever wanted in highschool, her heart. She’s failed him again.

“I- Thank you” she stutters, a wave of emotion that’s been laying dormant suddenly coming alive inside. “I- I’ve got to excuse myself, I’m sorry.”

“I thought I might find you here.” Freddie says gently as he walks toward her, his brow furrowing as he takes in the sight of her folded figure against the lockers they’d spent the better part of their teens stumbling around, and It’s fitting, she thinks, that they would end up back here again, back at the place where for all intents and purposes, they kind of began. She doesn’t even know how she got here, not really anyway. It’s not like she intentionally chose to run to his old locker, in all honesty it wasn’t a decision at all, more muscle memory, her legs taking her to the one place where she felt like she could breathe. And isn’t that ironic? The one place that feels like freedom, is the one place that reminds her of him? It’s not the first time this evening that she finds herself wondering if it has always been that way. Just another thing she was too blind to see.

“Am I that predictable?” she asks him, voice muffled by the fabric of her shirt as she hugs her knees tighter to her chest.

This was not how the night was supposed to go. The night was supposed to be about her getting to rewrite history, getting to take back the time she lost. They were meant to walk through those double doors hand in hand and she was meant to make the wrong of walking out of that school without him, right. She was meant to give him what he always wanted. Freddie had said at the start of the night that it was hers for the taking, but she had realised as the night went on that it wasn’t, not really, it should have been theirs; and now it felt like just another moment she’d inadvertently stolen from them.

“Only to me” Freddie says with a smile, bending down to sit next to her, his body mirroring hers as he rests his head back against the lockers.

It’s her first real smile of the night, his words wrapping around her heart like a reassuring hug, I know you, they whisper, it’s me and you, always. She’s silent for a few moments when he continues. “Are we spiralling?”

“A bit” she admits, resting her head back against the metal door as she blows out a breath.

“Okay” he nods, like her answer is the most simple thing in the world, and maybe to him it is? There has never been a moment where he hasn’t been there for her, and as he slips his hand under her arm so he can entwine their fingers together, she realises there probably will never be one.

“I shouldn’t have gone to Italy” she blurts out, instant relief at the feeling of finally- finally getting it off her chest. It’s a feeling she’s been renumerating on ever since they found their way together a few weeks ago, and coming here, hearing the stories, seeing him in his element and knowing she missed all that, it just makes the feeling more intense. Living with her dad, getting to spend the time they’d lost was the right choice, it was the only choice back then, but the feeling of regret that came up every time she thought about what she’d missed out on, that made it feel like maybe there had been another one.

“Babe-“ he begins, but she cuts him off as a wave of anxiety rolls over her.

“It’s not fair.”

He squeezes her hand three times, a code they’d created days earlier as a way to say I love you without having to worry about Millicent, Spencer or Harper gagging. I. Love. You.

She squeezes back four times. I. Love. You. More.

“Is this about what Rodney said?” She shakes her head. “No. Well maybe, but no, not only that”

“Because he was exaggerating. I didn’t like-, I wasn’t a sexual deviant or anything. He really did make it sound worse than it was.”

She cracks, a smile spreading across her lips as she dares to look up at him for the first time since they started the conversation. He’s smiling too, a lightness in his eyes that instantly makes her feel safe. “The last thing I would ever think is that you could be a sexual deviant”.

“Hey!” He grins, bringing her hand up to his lips to kiss her knuckles. “I might surprise you, I had moves.”

She shakes her head laughing but then the picture of him making ‘moves’ on one of those girls plays in her mind and her smile drops and she looks away.

“Where’d you go” he asks, in tune with her in a way she never realised he could be.

“I’m not mad you kissed them, I know that you had a life outside of me, you had a whole world that I was not part of, that’s never been a problem before.”

“is it now?” She hears the unspoken question in his words. Is my past too much? He’d asked her a similar question a few weeks ago, fearing his baggage was going to scare her off.

“No” she whispers reassuringly. “Never, I’m all in. -I just feel like I missed out. Like maybe if I hadn’t left, It would have been us, these would have been our memories, it wouldn’t feel like my place in your life was erased.”

“Carly, look at me” His voice is sure and steady, reassuring as he coaxes her to really listen.

“You were not erased.” She bites her lip.

“You’re missing the photo, we can do this later, you should go back.”

“Babe.” He says again before emphasing every word. “You. Were. Not. Erased.” She shudders. “If you think there was ever a day where I didn’t miss you, or wish you were by my side, then you’ve got it all wrong. And if you think that I care about a photo, or a reunion, or-“ He lifts her hand again, pulling it over to rest against the cotton of his shirt right over his heart. “-or I can about swapping stories about moments where I was missing a piece of my soul because it was half way across the world in Italy, well then you don’t understand how much this, you, us, means to me. You were the best part of my high school experience, Carly. No one will ever erase that.”

She buckles, or at least she mentally buckles as her body turns to jelly. His words, his reassurance, the look in his eyes, it’s all completely overwhelming and heart stopping in the most wonderful way. He loves me, she thinks, and even though he’s said it before and she’s known it, each time they have these moments where he reassures her, it becomes something she not only knows, but something that she knows. She wants to bring her walls down, she wants to give him all of it, all of the worries and doubts and love, the overwhelming all-encompassing love that she has, that she’s probably always had but never been able to verbalise or understand, not until now.

“I love you” she whispers to him, picking up his hand and bringing it to rest over her heart much the same way he has hers. “I love you so much that it feels like I’m going to burst with it sometimes, and I-“ she takes a breath, choking on a sob she didn’t know was there. “I’ve never felt it in my bones, I never thought I could. It’s new to me… This is new to me.”

He takes a breath swallowing heavily and she feels his hand slightly trembling against her chest. Hers is too, she is sure. “It’s new to me too” He admits, his voice cracking. “I haven’t felt this either. Which is just, yeah”

It’s unspoken the rest of his sentence, but she gets it. She gets the words that he doesn’t speak. Just because you marry someone doesn’t mean you give them your heart, much the same way running from someone doesn’t mean they don’t have yours. It had taken them years, but they were finally here, they finally had it. The 'it' that could not be erased.

She slides her hand from his chest around to the back of his neck threading her fingers through his hair as she pulls him forward, her lips delicately brushing over his. “All in” she whispers.

“All in” he repeats before pulling away from her lips with a grin .”Wait, I’ve got an idea!”

She blushes, unable to wipe the smile off of her face as he reaches into his pocket pulling out his phone.

“We’re not live streaming again are we?”

He smirks. “Not a chance. I just thought maybe we could take a photo of the only moment here I’m going to want to spend the next 10 years reminiscing on.“

“100” she cuts in.

“100?”

“Yeah. All in, remember?” He grins.

“Okay, the next 100 years looking at.”

He swipes on his phone pulling up the camera app before positioning his hand in a way that the shot captures not only them, but the locker behind them as well. “Full circle” he explains while smiling at the camera and she follows suit, unable to stop herself from beaming.

Click.

Before he can stop her, she tilts his chin catching his lips with her own.

Click.

“There you are!” Rodney yells from the top of the hallway. “I’ve been looking for you guys for five minutes. Are you coming to take the photo or what?”

“Photo?” Carly says, a confused expression etched on her face.

“Oh, crap” Freddie says sheepishly. “Did I forget to tell you I talked them into signing over your gym credits?”

“You what? How?” And really, how?

“I may have agreed on Spencer’s behalf to make a generous donation to Principal Franklins retirement fund”

“You bribed him?!”

“All in, baby”

FIN.

#creddie #icarly #carly x freddie #carly shay #freddie benson #carly and freddie #otp: you're everything i've ever wanted #otp: you're still my hero #fanfic #oneshot #drabble #fluff #light angst

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madd-devil · 1 year

Text

Forget me Not

This is the part 2 of this first imagine :3 I hope you will all like it! Please tell me if you did!

@retrointhenow @athenalive

Summary: As people celebrates the return of Henry, you happen to catch a familiar face amongst the crowd but who is he?

Living with Rumpletilskin hasn't been easy on you.

First of all, he was, most of the time, speaking in ridiculous riddles and you never really understood him when he spoke. Second of all, he was a mean one. You had seen him killing someone for almost nothing, because he felt like it or wanted to show off. And finally, he always included you in his plans. That’s how you found yourself in an unknown town, with unknown people and with unknown features. People never called you by your real name but used one that never was yours. In this life, you weren’t (Y/N) the former pirate turned house slave for Rumpletilksin but Anne Gold, the adopted daughter of the town’s pawn shop owner.

After a blond woman named Emma came into town, you had suddenly regained your memories from being a maid or rather castle keeper of the Dark One. He seemed to also gain his back and immediately went back to “work” as he called it. It was strange, to pretend not to remember anything. It also seemed you were tied directly to his mind or spirit or magic, that could explain why you also remembered your life before that curse. Of course, you were forbidden from speaking about this to anybody, he made sure to threaten you very well and you also didn’t want to be locked up in the creepy psych ward of Storybrooke’s hospital.

Of course, it never was easy. Emma seemed to have taken an interest or liking to you and always walked by the shop when “mister Gold” was not present to talk with you. She even invited to a girl’s night with Mary Margaret aka Snow White and her mother if you had followed what Rumpletilskin explained to you. You knew you couldn’t agree to join them so you had to decline, and surprisingly it made you sad. Emma didn’t have any ill intentions toward you but she seemed comprehensive and gave you her personal number.

Thanks to Emma and her son Henry, (who was also the adopted son of the mayor… The whole family tree gave you a headache!), everyone now had regained their memories. Moving around the city was no longer easy: everyone saw you as the partner in crime of the Dark One. True, you had killed some people for him and did some crimes but to your defense, you couldn’t just not obey him. He had insisted a few times he could do whatever he wanted to you and could use his magic to make you his puppet. You preferred to use whatever free will you got instead of becoming more of a mindless slave. Also, Rumpletilskin was getting infuriated with that princess Belle, who also became his maid in their previous lives. Seeing them together made you gag so now he was falling more and more for her, you had a lot of free time.

Everyone celebrated when Hook’s ship, the Jolly Roger, appeared and accosted on the port. With Belle and Ruby the werewolf, you approached the giant boat, feeling uneasy. You didn’t know what could happen with the pirate captain, Hook. If your memory was well, he had thrown you out, in the face of danger. You had avoided him all the time he was in Storybrooke so you hoped the reunion will be quick. You wanted to go home.

Watching as everyone left the boat, which was a considerable amount of people, you caught a familiar face in the crowd. It was odd. Ruby seemed to sense your interest in that certain person and smirked.

“Already have a crush? I didn’t know you were the type.”

“No, I… I saw him before. I know him.” You stuttered out as you followed him with your eyes.

You knew him. It was the young man from your dreams. You had never attempted to draw him, but you had a clear image on how he looked and that tall boy looked exactly the same as he did. Maybe… Maybe you both indeed knew each other before your life as a pirate?

“What do you mean, you know him?” Ruby asked, confused at your statement.

“I have to speak to him, can you please keep the others at bay?” You begged her, knowing she won’t refuse it. She smiled and nodded. “Thank you.”

You jogged up to the young man who stood apart from the crowd. He looked quite angry at his predicament and was judging everyone his eyes wandered by. You hoped he would talk to you, he did seem not enjoying what was happening. However, his eyes noticed you and you saw some kind of sparkles in them, he was lighting up at your mere repsence. You didn’t udnerstand why but it meant you two definitely knew each other.

“(Y/N)! I thought I lost you forever.” He spoke first, his hands reaching for you but you stepped back, a bit worried. How did he know your name? Why did he sound concerned and happy? “Is something wrong? I mean, I know I told you were allowed to forget me but-”

“I am sorry I have no idea what you are talking about. How do you know my name?”

“You… You don’t remember?” He stuttered out, visibly horrified, his eyes wide opened. You tried to understand his reaction but you couldn't. "Are you… are you joking? After everything we went through?"

"I'm really sorry, I don't even know your name."

"It's Felix. But I thought-"

"Stay away from her, you dirty flea-ridden dog!" Rumpletilskin roughly pushed the lost boy, Felix, out of the way and he glared at him. "Don't torment her."

"I am not her tormentor! What did you do to her?! What happened to the deal?"

Wait, what deal?" You then questioned Rumpletilskin but you got no reply. Turning to Felix, you noticed how angry and furious he looked, reaching for something inside his sleeves. Your eyes widened: it was a dagger. What was he going to do?

"You fucking liar!"

"You didn’t know what you signed for, dearie." The Dark One replied with a condescending tone. "I wouldn't expect a lost boy to know how to read. No need to jam that thing into me, it won't work."

You were completely ignored by the two. The tension was running high and the others quickly ran over after they heard the screaming and the arguing. Felix was soon taken away and he trashed as he dragged, yelling to you he was going to explain himself.

“So… you know me, right?” You asked, hoping he wasn’t scared to tell you the eventual truth. Or were you scared of the truth yourself? “From before?”

“ I know you, and pretty well if you ask me.” He replied with a cheeky smile, it was so odd to see him that calm and… joyous. He approached the jail’s bars and seemed to regret it was separating both of you. You were still wary of him, especially after what Rumpletilskin told you the night before. “You have nothing to fear from me.” Oh, so he noticed how frightened you seemed.

“He said you tried to use me against Hook.”

“Ah, so he told you this? Well, actually, you were the one trying to use me to help Hook. It didn’t end very well.” He recalled with a soft hum. He looked angrier at Hook and the Dark One. “ You fell in love with me.” He eventually admitted, eying your reaction.

“I did? So fast?” You said, with almost disgust.

“I am glad you have the same reaction as before about that.” He laughed at your reaction before telling you his side of the story: you trying to use him, warning him against the pirates that were getting ready to attack the lost boy’s camp, the fight, you getting locked up into the trapdoor and him rescuing you… In a way, it made sense. Your memories were still hazy but somehow, you found yourself trusting and believing Felix more than the Dark One. His story made more sense, but then why couldn’t you remember?

“I am sorry.”

“Why are you? Nothing is your fault. It’s rather mine.” The blond young man sighed and sat on the metal and uncomfortable bed. “ I was so focused on your safety that I completely forgot or foolishly believed the Dark One would not harm you. I mean, he didn’t, but he blocked your memories and faked some. It’s… horrible.”

“ I would like to be the person you describe.” Your eyes met his and for a moment, you found yourself thinking about Neverland and how beautiful and dangerous it was… Did that mean you were recovering your memories? “ They say True Love Kiss can break any curse, perhaps it could break Rumple’s hold on me? I am linked to him.”

“You want me to kiss you?” He shyly asked, his cheeks a little red. It was cute.

“ Well… you did say we were very close and in love, haven’t we kissed yet?”

“ Erm… We did way more than kissing.” Oh. Now it was your time to blush. “ But it’s worth the try, if you are okay with this. I wouldn’t want to make you uncomfortable.”

Oddly enough, you were very comfortable with him. That boy had just showed up yesterday and you found yourself immediately drawn to him. That’s why you believed the lost boy than the rest. Approaching the bars, you fiddled with a magic key that took the form of any lock. Was it betrayal? You somewhat didn’t really care, what mattered was to discover the truth. The door opened without a sound, someone must have finally greased it.

He seemed very nervous to kiss you. He kept asking if you wanted to do this

“ I haven’t kissed anyone in years. I may be rusty. And how do you know this kiss will be a True Love’s one?”

“We will know, don’t worry.”

“I worry.”

You chuckled and decided to take the helm. Standing on your tiptoes, you watched as he hesitantly leant him and your lips met. However, nothing happened. But that didn’t stop you from pushing the taller boy against the wall and to continue kissing. You felt at your place in his arms, like he was your home and that you have been away for such a long time. And now, you were back.

Felix gently nudged you and you hugged him. He went tense for a little moment then hugged you back. He seemed relieved you were able to do physical things with him.

“What the heck is going on?!”

You yelped and broke away, to your dismay, from Felix. He didn’t say anything but instantly grew worried for his fate as an furious Emma walked toward you and yanked your arm.

“You, out!” You never thought she would be that angry at you and violent with you. She always seemed to be happy around you, and you had hoped to have a friend in her. Obviously, when it came to villains except the ones she spent time with, she seemed alright but when it came to the others…

“We weren’t doing anything bad.” You spat, frustrated at her anger. Felix was not a threat. He didn’t do anything wrong, and he certainly was not a villain like Regina or Rumpletilskin were.

“ We need to have a talk together.” The woman groaned and closed the door with a frown on her face. “Right now!”

“I will see you later, I promise!” You called out to the lost boy who just nodded, eying Emma with an equally furious glare.

Emma was mad at you for kissing him. She wouldn’t even let you explain yourself as she drove her awful car back to the pawnshop. But you didn’t want to enter the shop. You wanted to go back to Felix and his warm skin. Finally, you snapped and forced Emma to stay in the car. She was your friend, she was supposed to understand your actions, and while she may not support it, you just wanted to tell her how you felt.

“ I feel like he is the only one who isn’t lying to me. I just wanted to break away from everything and everyone. Rumple has been lying and using me, Hook did too. I just… Felix makes me feel normal and like I don’t have to walk on eggs all the time.” You blurted out as she was about to open her car’s door.

“What do you mean? Rumple told us-”

“He says a lot of things but not the truth.” You hissed, and glared at the door from the shop. You wished to set it on fire.

“Why did you kiss him?”

“ I wanted to see if a True Love kiss would break me from my link with Rumpletilskin.” You answered honestly and she seemed to soften at the mention. “ I just want to be normal. To be the old me.”

Emma stayed quiet. You stared nervously at her and then looked down at your knees. What if she didn’t believe you? What if she found your ideas silly?

“Fine.” She groaned and sighed, looking defeated.

“Fine what?”

“ I will not let you down, believe it or not, I care about you.” Emma started her car again and left the small parking lot. You smiled brightly as you recognized the road that led to Storybrooke’s police station. “ Let’s get your lost boy prince out and figure out what we can do to recover your memories.”

To prevent any blood feud, she decided to let Felix stay in the police station. It was still not confortable for your stands for him but you couldn’t possibly let him inside your home or Emma’s. You were sitting on a spinning chair and Felix on a desk, eying the chair with a confused look. He seemed at loss for words about it. Emma was pacing in front of you, trying to understand what Felix had told her.

“ Let me get this straight again: you and her were together, she betrayed Hook, she ran away and you made a deal with the Dark One.” She then looked at you and pointed her finger at you. “But you got your memories falsified and erased but you dreamt of your old life. So, now you are trying to find a way to break your link with Rumple.”

“ You got everything right. » Felix chimed in, swinging his legs back and forth. « And True Love’s kiss didn’t help.”

“Maybe we need to destroy the deal or… or force Rumpletilskin to let you go.”

“He will refuse. I know it.” You said, thinking about it. If you were honest, you were absolutely terrified of him. He may look like a sweet limping grandpa but… deep down he was very scary and frightening. All the events you had witnessed with him had led to the conclusion that he was overprotective and somewhat of a psychopath. He will try to kill or hurt Felix without any doubt. “Even with puppy eyes.”

“Then what do we do?” Felix groaned, his tone showing how discouraged he was. “It feels hopeless.”

“ Let’s not lose hope yet. There is always a solution.” Emma tried to cheer both of you up but it didn’t really work. It felt like she wasn’t believing it as well. “ So, Felix, are you okay staying here for the night? I can make the place more comfortable. We will find a housing solution tomorrow. And no, you can’t stay.” She stared at you with a small smile. “You have to dine at your house.”

“It’s not fair.” You muttered under your breath as Emma chuckled.

“Nothing is fair in life, kid.”

Dinner at your household was… chaotic. Usually, you wouldn’t even eat with them, but for the evening, you had been forced to do so. Neal or Baelfire (you never knew which name to use) was at the table, enjoying Belle’s cooking. For once, Rumpletilskin looked happy or was it just a facade? You kept thinking about everything that happened earlier that day: meeting Felix again had been the happiest and the most confused moment of your life. You were sad you couldn’t remember anything about the past and you secretly hoped to regain your memories quickly so you could run away with the lost boy. After all, wasn’t it your first wish at the time?

As you were getting distracted by your thoughts, you were soon forced to intereact with Neal and the others, to your dismay. You weren’t a part of the family, so why did they insist on speaking to you? You groaned some answers out as Belle talked to you and then, Neal went on to ask a question:

“So… How did you come to my father’s service?”

“He tricked my lover into making me his errand girl.” You answered, not even thinking twice about calling Felix your lover, which was nothing but the truth. But you secretly enjoyed the Dark One’s furious face at the mention of the story. “And he erased some of my memories.”

“You can do better than this low life snake.” The older man stated as he glared at you, which you did too. Belle tried to calm things down but it was not working. “Maybe I should have brought you back to Hook.”

“What’s wrong with Felix? Not as evil as you are?”

“Okay, erm, Belle, can I take another slice? This pie is delicious.” Neal tried to change the topic but it was too late: you were in the middle of jousting with the Dark One, and you didn’t like being interrupted.

“He is my father’s second in command, of course I was dying to hurt him. You are just collateral damage. Besides, I treated you well, didn’t I?!” Rumpletilskin roared, the room shaking a bit.

“You are a monster! That’s what you are!” You screamed back, standing up so fast and abruptly that your chair fell to the ground. You couldn’t help but feel repulsed by him and you couldn’t stand being in the same room as the deal maker. “No wonder everyone hates you, and should, you even abandoned your son! You are just like your father!”

It took all his might to not blow you up, you were certain of this. Storming out of the dining room, you stumbled into the shop and miraculously found a strange ruby which was beating inside a glass cage on a table, in a dark and dusty. Something was attracting you to the jewel and you didn’t hear all the commotion in the other room. As you realized the Dark One was shouting and was after you, you knocked the glass cage out (and it broke as soon as it touched the ground) and grasped the ruby.

You ran away in the dark of the night without even a jacket on. Groaning and warming your hands by rubbing them together, you pushed the door of your destination: Storybrooke’s police station. At this hour, no one was here, except for Felix. You hoped to not wake him up as you arrived. Taking out the ruby from your pocket, you inspected it closer: it reminded you of a little heart. Kind of cute, you thought. It was pulsing between your fingers as you looked at it. It truly was beautiful.

“Who’s there?” Someone called from inside the station.

“It’s me.” You said simply as you approached. “Can I turn the light on?” Felix agreed and he winced when the lights went on. He shielded his eyes for a little bit as you made your way toward him. “I found something.”

“Shouldn't you be with your family?” He questioned, concern in his voice. He truly looked like he was worried about you. You weren’t used to it but it felt nice to have someone who looked ready to walk through hell for you.

“They’re not my family!” You snapped and apologized for the outburst. You sat down at his level on the air mattress and extended your hand, with the ruby in your palm. “I couldn’t help but steal it.”

“It’s…” Felix started to speak but stopped as his eyes landed on the beautiful gem.

“Is something wrong?” You asked, worried. He looked frozen. He turned his attention to you and pointed to the jewel.

“Do you know what that is?”

“Yes, a ruby. I mean, a strange one, it is moving, like a heart. It’s probably magical, I stole it from the shop.” You replied honestly, not understanding why Felix was so worked up about this. He looked on the verge of crying.

“It is the piece of heart I gave to seal the deal with Rumpletilskin.” He revealed and softly and delicately took it between his fingers, inspecting it like you did. “He never used it.” He whispered, not believing it.

Watching Felix, you realized how much the second in command must have loved you. Making a deal with the Dark One was almost suicidal, not a lot of people could meet his incredible demands. But Felix did. He gave a piece of his heart, for you, for your safety. Romance was not dead, you joked internally. This was the greatest proof that he had cared deeply about you. You took his other hand and held it to your mouth, kissing his knuckles softly.

“He will kill you for taking it.” Felix suddenly seemed to realize you had stolen from the Dark One, but you didn’t care about him at all. Rumpletilskin could rot in hell. He deserved it.

“It’s yours. He should be the one dying.” You replied as you wondered how to place this little piece into Felix’s heart. You guessed it was not like a puzzle, and you couldn’t possibly sew it back to its place. Another mystery to solve. “We will find a solution.”

“Of course we will.”

You and Felix had bundled up on the air mattress. He had fallen fast asleep, snoring from time to time, but not very loud. You remembered how you had shared a room with someone once and they were snoring so loudly and badly that it made the walls shake and you ended up sleeping in the bathtub, not a very pleasant experience in your opinion. Laying there and looking at him, you wondered if you truly would regain your memories. You felt sad that you couldn’t remember your time with him. He was a sweet boy (at least toward you).

Someone was nudging you in the middle of a dream. Groaning, your eyes opened to a very concerned Emma. Felix was already sitting up in bed, his hair more tangled than ever. His eyes traveled to you and the older woman in the room. You rubbed your eyes and yawned. What time was it?

“What?”

“Rumple knows you are here and he wants to speak to you.”

“No. Tell him to go fuck himself.” You replied as you laid back onto the mattress. Felix was still silent, he must have felt he was not needed in the conversation.

“(Y/N)!” She sighed, exasperated. You understood why she looked so tired, especially of your behaviour, but she had to understand too: you had just learnt he manipulated you, fabricated and erased memories. It was not something you wanted to slide. He had done wrong again and again, this was his punishment. “Just do it. He is ready to… talk. To mend things. This is an unique opportunity.”

“I think you should do it.” Felix surprisingly told you and touched your hair softly. “Maybe you will get him to help with my heart.”

“What are you both talking about?”

“Nothing, don’t worry. I will go.” You didn’t want to leave Felix. What if Rumpletilskin wanted just to hurt you more? But he was right: he held the key to helping the second in command.

He was waiting outside, on a bench. Emma didn’t walk with you, she instead stayed at the entrance of the police station. The heart’s piece was in Felix’s hands and you trusted him more than anything. But why did you feel bad as you approached the older man? He looked a bit gloomy and desperate. He perked up when you arrived and stood up with the help of his cane.

“(Y/N).” He acknowledged with a nod. “I am happy you decided to come meet me. I wasn’t sure…”

“Get to the point.” You sternly interrupted and he sat back on the bench. You didn’t buy his sad puppy act. He did it with Belle when he messed up and she always forgave him, but it was not going to work with you.

“I know that you are very angry that I lied to you. I understand. I am not the only one to blame in this situation.”

“You erased my memories. You took that away from me! And you also used Felix.” You then accused, the way you saw it, he was the only one responsible.

“Just let me talk and you get to insult me after. I understand why you are worked up about this. Believe it or not, I grew to care and love you. That’s why I decided to let you go and destroy the deal from loverboy.” He blurted out.

You were at loss for words. Rumpletilksin never did that in the past, he never… never destroyed a deal? This was a trick. Surely it must be one. He was watching you like a hawk, awaiting your reaction. What should you do? What should you say? It was not your deal, it was Felix’s but… but you didn’t know to say or think.

“So?”

“I… Are you serious?” You took a seat next to him, observing his demeanor. “I don’t understand. You had never done that. Why would you-?”

“Get your old memories back and get the piece that you stole back into your lover’s heart?” The Dark One cut you off with a genuine and rare smile. “That’s because I care, like I said. I do care about you. I want you to be happy. That’s what differentiate me from that smelly captain.”

You were feeling bad about judging Rumpletilskin so fast. Maybe he indeed changed. Maybe spending time with Belle had made him soft but in the right way. You still couldn’t believe what he had just told you.

“Thank you. I don’t know how to repay you.” You babbled out as he stood up and you followed him back to the police station.

“You can’t repay me. I feel… sad that I have to let you go. But I can’t keep you forever. You will have to leave the nest one day. And I am sure you will be well protected by this… gorilla.” He talked as he quietened down since Emma was listening.

“Don’t call him that.”

Anxiously, you watched as Felix stood tall, trying to make himself bigger as he faced the Dark One. As you understood well, the two had an unpleasant history together, which was linked to Peter Pan. And considering Rumpletilskin had already fooled him, you understood why your lover was on edge. Luckily (or not) Emma was present, making herself the referee. She waited like you, her arms crossed over her chest.

Rumplestiltskin had Felix’s heart’s piece in his hand. He was looking at it, seeming regretful. Maybe he was disappointed he didn’t use this piece for a powerful magic spell or curse. You couldn’t wait until it was finished. You were so eager to gain your former memories back. You wanted to remember all your time with Felix.

He snapped his fingers together abruptly, a parchment appearing out of thin air. It held a choppy and childlike signature at the end. You couldn’t read everything on it as a fire burnt it down, the ashes falling to the ground. As it did, you felt a swirl of emotions and something else in the pit of your stomach, as if you were about to throw up from nausea. Then, it was your turn to fall into Emma’s arms.

When you awoke, you weren’t inside the police station anymore but rather on a very comfortable sofa, with a blanket over your body. You slowly sat up and looked around, remembering now it was Snow and Emma’s place. How did you end up there? And what happened? Your head was hurting so bad, it felt like a morning after drinking too much. You were feeling like you had been put in the washing machine and then the dryer.

The events came back to you quickly as well. You remembered everything, including your erased memories. You smiled a little, thinking about your first meeting with the second in command or when he saved you from Hook. It meant it worked. Rumpletilskin had set you free. You felt relieved and thankful toward the Dark One. He had honored his part of the deal or rather… his promise. Hoping he had put back Felix’s heart together, you slowly stood up as you heard people speaking. Everyone stopped once they realized you were up.

“Hey kid. Had a nice nap?” David joked as he handed you a cup of coffee.

“Did it work? You have all your memories?” Emma questioned, looking a little concerned for your wellbeing.

“Yeah, I do. Where’s Felix? Is he okay?” It was your turn to be worried, he wasn’t present. Your eyes scanned their faces and they didn’t seem to share a dreadful face or your thoughts.

“He’s fine, he is getting new clothes and probably a haircut… and a bath. Belle is handling everything.” David replied, seeming grateful he wasn’t the one to do that.

They went back to talking about anything. Since you were bored, you sat on a stool and drank your coffee quietly, not caring about the world around you. What now? Rumpletilskin had kind of kicked you out by now, since you weren’t his slave anymore. It felt weird to have freedom. And what could you do with Felix? Stay in Storybrooke, working and having your own place together? It sounded like a dream, but it wasn’t exactly the life you wished for. You were still hungry for adventure and exploration. But you didn’t know if Felix felt the same. You wanted to know about his intentions.

“Do you love him?” Emma asked suddenly with a serious tone after the others left. You had been sitting in the kitchen for so long your ass started to hurt.

“I do.” You replied sincerely and stared into her eyes. “I can’t live without him. He gave his heart for me, if he wasn’t in love with me… He wouldn’t have done that.”

“And you wouldn’t have stolen his heart’s piece from Rumple if you didn’t care.” The blond woman sighed with a sad and small smile. She seemed to have an internal debate with herself before approaching you and giving you something. “Open it.”

You did as you were told cautiously. You gasped at the sight of a magic bean, just waiting to be used. Your eyes met Emma’s and you couldn’t even form a simple sentence. You had so many questions: how did she acquire this? Why is she giving it to you? Why was she helping?

“It’s Neal’s, he also found it in the shop and wanted you to have it.”

“Why?” You whispered. Why would Rumple’s son help you? You barely knew each other!

“He said, and I agree with him, that you and Felix won’t be happy staying in Storybrooke. You need to write your own story elsewhere, go on adventures, be young and careless, this kind of stuff.” She continued, and you could see tears pearling in her eyes. She seemed very serious about letting you go and she had considered you like a little sister. “I am fine, don’t worry about me.”

“Thank you so much Emma.”

“Go. Be free.” She hugged you. Was this what freedom tasted like?

Packing hadn’t been easy. You had bought a ton of things as if you were going hiking. Of course, you brought weapons: guns, ammunitions, swords, a crossbow for Felix… And food. You put on the hiking back on your shoulders, wincing a bit when you nearly fell on the ground because of the weight. It didn’t matter. Felix knew how to hunt and fish, you were sure he was great at it, and you had brought some magical items in case something went wrong. You intended on exploring realms with him. You contemplated yourself in your small bedroom’s mirror, you only had the bare necessities in your whole life. Maybe you could have everything you wanted now? It felt strange, to think you had your destiny and faith in your own hands.

You wondered if Felix was alright with this. You were so happy about leaving or being able to do what you wanted that you forgot what he may want. Perhaps he wanted to stay here? He had been living on a dangerous island for centuries, maybe he would like to live in Storybrooke, where life was quieter but with its share of adventures and dangers? Feeling bad, you put the bag down on the ground and sat down with a sad sigh on the bed. You needed his opinion. You snorted, thinking about how this was the first step to being a good and healthy couple.

Speaking of the devil, Felix knocked softly on your open door and stepped in with a smile. His hair wasn’t cut but still wet, and you thought about poor Belle who must have dragged him to a hairdresser. She had told you it was her intention, but seeing his hair hasn’t changed… Well, she must have lost to the fierce lost boy. He sat down next to you and gestured to the bags on the ground.

“What’s all this?”

“Well… I thought that we could go on adventures, just the two of us in another world.” You said with a silly smile, it felt unnatural to do it but at the same time… with him, it felt normal. “I mean… I don’t know if you want to do it. What you feel matters too. I will be willing to stay.”

“Stay? Here? With all those fucking heroes trying to tame me?” Felix replied, putting a hand on his chest, looking scandalized. At least he was funny. “No way. Sharing a home with you, yes, but not here. Not with them.”

“So you are okay with me taking the lead?”

“I will give you my heart if I can.” He spoke sincerely and kissed your nose softly.

“Technically you did.”

#ouat #ouat felix #ouat felix x reader #ouat peter pan #ouat neverland imagine #once upon a time felix #imagine felix ouat #ouat felix imagine

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puraiuddo · 2 years

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Sunstreaker & Sideswipe Fic Recs!!

Since my post begging the fandom to help me find a fic on ffn based off its plot got so many notes (because people were interested, but had no idea what I was talking about) here’s some fics whose names I do know! (with additional plot info from me)

Us Against the World by Toe of Sauron (Chapters: 28 - Words: 33,946)

Or, 28 Twins. IDW-AU. Sideswipe: gung-ho prankster. Sunstreaker: ego-centric sociopath. Inseparable. Unstoppable. Loyal to the end. Or, at least, that’s what everyone thought. Pre-Earth.

Decepticon Sunstreaker!!

Disjointed ficlets about Sideswipe and Sunstreaker before/during/after Sunstreaker joined the cons and then switched sides

Uses IDW characterization so there’s some tension between them

Includes grievously injured Sunstreaker and Sides going somewhat feral which is always A+

Through Another's Eyes by Toe of Sauron (Chapters: 1 - Words: 3,683)

IDW-AU. "You touch their sparks together and they blow up and they die!" Us Against the World tie-in.

Falls between chapters 20 & 21 of Us Against The World

Is technically unfinished, but only in that it was meant to be a bunch of one-shots and is just instead only 1 one-shot

Follows Ratchet, First Aid, & Ironhide as they do exactly what the summary says to Sunny & Sides

Ariadne's Thread by Toe of Sauron (Chapters: 24 - Words: 110,882)

IDW-AU. They told Sideswipe it was the only way; they had to abandon Sunstreaker to fight the Decepticons, to preserve the greater good. So what is he supposed to do now, when the greater good isn't good enough? Sequel to Us Against the World.

Set a little while after the last chapter of Us Against The World

Follows Sideswipe after he goes awol upon learning that Sunstreaker went missing (fell victim to the headmasters, but he doesn’t know that) and the autobots gave up on finding him

Sides teams up with IDW!Hunter (and eventually Bayverse!Simmons), but the humans are not annoying like they usually are

Involves grievously injured Sides & Sunny & epic fight scenes

Involves Sides just loving the hell out of Sunny and being willing to do anything for him

+ Sunny/Sides reunion!!!

Split by Sincere Nonsense (Now on ao3!) (Chapters:4 - Words: 19,897)

The twins were always together, right?

Even though it’s on ao3 now, I had to include it b/c it is my fav sparkling!twins fics

Separately follows Sunstreaker/Sideswipe as 6-10yro equivalents

Sunstreaker is at an orphanage

Sideswipe is with their creators

Both of them have mystery health issues, but why would that be????

Sunny’s story is kinda absolutely heart-wrenching

Includes Sunny/Sides reunion obv

Transformers: Juxtaposition by Vaeru (Chapters: 40 - Words: 123,067)

Sparkbearer Saga: Part I. G1-based AU. A car wreck on a rainy night leads to the oddest partnership imaginable. A disembodied voice, possessed cars, alien robots, kidnapping, rescue, abduction, sparks, keys, and tomato sandwiches... Read if you dare.

Ordinarily, I hate OC-centric fics, but the main gal in this is actually pretty chill

Follows her sharing headspace with Sideswipe, but how did that happen??

Sideswipe can occasionally take over her body which is funny

Sunstreaker shows up and essentially says “you’re coming with me to the ark whether you like it or not, b/c you stole my brother and i want him back”

Something that stuck with me is that it’s probably the best fic I’ve read at portraying that sheer scale of both transformers and their lifespans/slow living pace

I don’t remember a lot of plot points, b/c I haven’t read it in a hot second, but I do remember it’s good

All About Us by Juzu (Chapters: 15 - Words: 44,818)

A collection of drabbles and oneshots featuring Sunstreaker, Sideswipe, and the mechs and femmes they come in contact with. Topics from fanfic100 table. Mainly G1, but will probably have some movieverse thrown in.

All of it’s good, but in particular I love chapters 6 thru 8

Bayverse & follows Sideswipe slowly dying/fading away b/c Sunstreaker is “dead”

Low and behold, an injured Sunstreaker breaks atmo in the middle of a storm & Sides goes awol to find him

Everyone freaks out b/c they think Sideswipe is nuts and went off to die

Reunion!

Fluff & cuteness between them and also platonic Ratchet

The Lost by The Starhorse (Chapters: 6 - Words: 80,408)

A series of lifechanging events involving Sideswipe and Sunstreaker, told from different points of view. Written in 2002, long before it would become painfully obvious that I could have chosen a better title...

This fic is sooooo //makes incomprehensible noises & flailing hand gestures

I think I may have read (at least one chapter of) this story more than any other Sunny & Sides fic

The first chapter is?? in first person from Bluestreaker perspective??? for some reason??? The rest of the story is... not like it at all??? Please read past it.

Follows a snippet of time following Sideswipe taking a huge hit for Sunstreaker and nearly getting himself killed

A perfect storm of events immediately afterwards leaves Sunstreaker in a bad way mentally...

which results in him doing a bad thing...

and other autobots doing a bad thing to retaliate...

which doesn’t actually lead Sunstreaker to retaliate, but Sideswipe...

who gets completely fucking diabolical

I love all of it. Read it.

Discontinued, but still 100000% worth reading:

Double Trouble in Red and Yellow by Katea-Nui (Chapters: 6 - Words: 44,926)

One of Wheeljack's secret weapons goes awry, and the Seekers find themselves in a situation they never quite expected... Parenthood. Rating may change, but probably not.

Newly sparklingified twins end up kidnapped mid-battle by the command trine

Sorta hilarious, b/c the command trine is very much aware of who Sunny & Sides are but nabbed them anyways & still intend to keep them

Interesting take is that Sunny/Sides are not mind-wiped infants like usual, they’re like 4-6yrs -ish equivalent and have memories of their lives up to that point

Sorta revolves around the trine beginning to love the sparkling twins

ends much too soon

Little Brother by Meiza (Chapters: 9 - Words: 64,542)

Prowl is infamous for being a logical, nigh emotionless thinker who's better at battle calculations than interpersonal relationships. How he was roped into taking care of the last survivor of Praxus is anyone's guess.

Obv revolves around Prowl w/ baby Blue which is always adorable and done very well, but that’s not what we’re here for

Sparkling!twins show up chapter 5 and are hilarious

Ends on a cliffhanger //shakes fist

Re:Start by plenoptic (Chapters: 13 - Words: 67,631)

Sideswipe and Sunstreaker never had a family. They thought they would never escape Kaon's gladiatorial pits, that cannon fodder was all they would ever be. And they were wrong. Twins!centric, OptimusxElita. Giftfic!

Optimus & Elita One rescue and adopt gladiator 7-8yro equivalent twins

Follows the twins losing the rough edges and letting themselves be kids

Tragic stuff has to happen though, of course

Also ends on a cliffhanger //shakes fist harder

Surface of the Sun by Hearts of Eternity (Chapters: 34 - Words: 229,063)

A look into the lives of the infamous Twins, Sideswipe and Sunstreaker, as they go through the evolution that will take them from younglinghood to the gladiatorial circuit, up to the moment that marked them as Autobots for the rest of their lives.

Part of the Hearts of Eternity’s War Eternal series which is fantastic and which they list the contents/reading order of in their bio

It’s tragic when any fic is discontinued, but this one especially kills me b/c it’s a prequel and so you know where they eventually end up, but the story discontinues before the major plot points so you don’t know how they get where they end up (unless you ask the author and get the inside scoop like me)

Super interesting take on the rarity/novelty of the split-spark phenomenon

Super unique take on the backstory of Sunny/Sides... (ie they grow up in a circus??)

Super interesting subplot of the original 13 primes (all OCs, but well done OCs) meddling in mortal affairs for their own (good or bad) reasons and they have a particular interest in Sunny & Sides

Real dark at times

As We Come Together by Hearts of Eternity (Chapters: 54 - Words: 485,586)

While the surviving Autobots begin to flock to Earth in response to Optimus' call, trying to find a new home on the strange organic planet called Earth, some unfortunate bots are beginning to realize the price of war may have been too high. Sequel to Time

I said Surface of the Sun discontinuing was tragic, but this one is... worse.... the cliffhanger where it ends destroys me... but I asked the author how it ends and am willing to share the info if you want to know

Not Sunny/Sides-centric, but I love them when they show up and I love the rest of the story b/c this is one of those fanfics which could really be its own novel b/c of all the dope original ideas. Can’t say enough about the author’s creativity and effort.

(fyi Time refers to Time We Have Left which is a bunch of character-centric ficlets that you don’t really need to read to understand this one)

Anywho the Sunny/Sides part of the story first follows them flying with Prowl, Chromia, and G1-Arcee to earth. There’s some drama & tragedy, of course.

We get little snippets into Sunstreaker’s backstory that Surface of the Sun didn’t get to cover

They land, more drama and tragedy

Does involve mentions of pre-Sunny/OC which isn’t ideal, but //shrugs

Soooo much Sunstreaker & Sunny/Sides angst, but also character growth

The... the cliffhanger...

And that’s all for now, folks.

#maccadam #sunstreaker #tf sunstreaker #tf sideswipe #sideswipe tf #sunstreaker tf #autobot sunstreaker #autobot sideswipe #transformers #transformers fic recs #purs post

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marithlizard · 1 year

Text

I liked “Exes and Ohs” much better than “Seeing Stars”, even though I have a few complaints about the plot; it feels like season two is starting to hit its stride. We needed to put Stolas and his relationship with Blitzo on the back burner for a bit and get some time with the imps.

Live reaction-notes:

- The backgrounds of the IMP office raise so many questions. Blitzo why did you make a transphobic horse OC? How did you get a bust of yourself made?

(Immediate theory: A sinner who was a sculptor in life offered to make it as part of their payment. It makes sense that IMP would accept barter because sinners don't always have a lot of cash, especially when they're new. That would explain why we see new art around the office all the time.)

- Moxxie. My dude. MOXXIE. Loona does not think you are fat. She just knows it upsets you. There is no way you can logically disprove her bullying. Do not let her stress you into an eating disorder or keep you from enjoying food.

- Millie WTF? Did a human beat you in combat? That hasn't happened since back in episode 1. I want to know what has you so mad but I'm also now invested in the relationship drama going on over on that whiteboard. King Slut is going to get what's coming to him and Blue Cheese needs better taste in side hoes.

- Wouldn't it be funny if Millie's ex was - Nahhhh.

- What are those photos spilling out of the filing cabinet? Does IMP have a sideline in PI-style snooping? Is that...normal for furry cosplay sex?

-Oh, it's just Blitzo's porn stash. I'm sure Stolas would be into using those costumes and quite possibly they have, but I don't really wanna imagine it. But I do want to imagine M&M trying to alphabetize the collection.

- As most of us guessed, IMP was a regular hell-side hitman outfit before they got the book. It's interesting that Blitzo doesn't seem interested in taking local jobs anymore. Surely they could use the money.

- C for Crimson on the driver's cap, but no recognition on Moxxie's face yet. And we're goin' back to the Greed ring! (Moxxie said he was raised in Wrath, though, I thought. So he lies about his past.)

- Blitzo is still obsessing about M&M, but he's gone several episodes now without a single abusive rant at Moxxie. He is seriously trying to do better after "Truth Seekers".

- Loona really doesn't belong at this company, does she. Nobody acknowledged her existence except Moxxie this whole episode. I hope we see her find a place that suits her better soon.

- "Elevator Hangar 03". So even flights between Rings take the elevators. That suggests helicopters are what gets used, rather than planes that can't hover.

- Fizzarolli's adult clown look was modeled after Mammon, wasn't it?

- Uhh..is that demonstrative violence, or is it actually pretty hard to permanently kill an imp? Hmmmmmmm.

- You might wanna ask questions when the guy who was raised here has an immediate panic attack and starts yelling "No no no" as soon as you arrive, guys? Blitzo, how have you lived this long being this vulnerable to flattery and this unable to recognize danger signals?

- All the trophies on the walls reminding us of the murder family. (Are those little hearts between the succubus wings the ends of their tails?) Blitzo's "please do not ask me details about my lucrative circus career" expression.

- WHAT? CALLED IT I CALLED IT OMG wow he's an idiot he's just stepped in the door and I want him dead already. Did you just say "two big sex reunions"? Excuse me those claws do not look practical even if most demons are into pain play. If you were really a sex god you’d have a couple of them trimmed all the way down.

- Blitzo erupting in jealousy. Yes, there's someone who's fucked both of them and it was not you. At least you haven't also slept with Chaz (although I am putting that down to chance and not any kind of good taste on your part).

- Huge-eyed baby Moxxie! Mom in shadow, what is she holding? flowers? Blitzo how can you possibly be this slow on the uptake?

- I am distracted from the cute grenade moment by the aesthetic atrocity that is Chaz's tail. What. How do you put on pants. It does seem to have been an actual relationship, though, or at least a fling. Moxxie get that nostalgic smile off your face oh my GOD that wasn't nostalgia.

- "Draw me like one of your French imps", huh? oh. Oh dear. Millie is 1000% better than this dirtbag in every possible way, why are you regretting him at all?

- HI BLITZO! Huh, they let him keep his boots in jail. Loona surely does not have a babysitter. Was he that overprotective? Or was he bullshitting? If so, it worked, you can see Moxxie’s face change at the idea of this guy as a loving dad. (Which he is! It just...works better if people imagine Loona is a young kid.)

- I thought that might be what Moxxie sees in Blitzo. Someone who gave him a way out of his old life, someone who's proven trustworthy despite his flaws. Not quite sure how to interpret Blitzo's expression on hearing this. A mixture of touched and regretful?

- Yeah, you fuck him up, MillWHOA that is a level of rage I did not expect. What did Chaz do to HER?

- PFFT Blitzo reverses it because "horseless friendfucker" is what Chaz is as far as he's concerned.

- Is Blitzo thinking: I don't talk about my dick like that. Do I? Please tell me I'm not this fucking obnoxious. Oh god keep this guy FAR away from Stolas.

- What the FUCK, Crimson. Homophobia, contempt, abuse, you're clearly the whole package, but you redecorated with neon dicks to insult your son?

- At least someone's happy.

- We're consistently not seeing mom's face and it is weirding me out. ohno. Not hard to tell where this is going. oh NO.

- Moxxie's tenderheartedness in "Murder Family" isn't so funny anymore is it. Burn the fucking mansion down, Moxxie. Millie will help and I doubt Blitzo will be opposed. I didn't see them confiscate your phones, so text them.

- Chaz you are making Blitzo look modest and tasteful.

- I completely forgot we hadn't had a musical number yet. Can we - can we skip it this once?

- BLITZO

- Did he just say "chill the fuck out?" Is he not having fun over there because I really hope he is not. I hope this is the worst lay of your life, Blitzo.

- Well, he doesn't look like he had fun. At all. Was this a ploy? No, he’s just an opportunistic chaos gremlin.

- Uh. Moxxie I admire your spine here, but not your brains. How are you going to keep him from cutting bits off Millie until you give in? I certainly hope you did something useful with that phone earlier. (Spoiler: He did not.)

- Oh! Blitzo's feet are just shaped like heeled boots. Wacky.

- Now THAT'S more the musical number I wanted.

- Millie. 10/10 no notes. Perfection. I'm not even gonna ask how they had enough time to repaint the banner and retrieve Blitzo's clothes (you know he'll be back in his own coat next episode).

#helluva boss #helluva boss spoilers #helluva boss s2e3

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msmargaretmurry · 6 months

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Hello hello, I am intrigued by this vampire Leon idea (what are Mtkachuk's slutty ripped shirts and bitable neck for if not sinking teeth into, hmm?) and I was wondering if there were any other ideas re: vampire Leon or other Matthew/Leon plot bunnies or WIPs you felt comfortable sharing! Also, are there any other characters/ships that have grabbed your attention and you are thinking of writing about (or just thinking about?) After HAW I am of course having oblivious disaster Brady/mournful Quinn (why does he always look Like That, like he's a trusting kitten someone abandoned in a rainstorm who has had to learn far too quickly that the world is a cruel and heartless place) feels, and now we have Drouin/MacKinnon reunion, and Matthew/the rest of the NHL b/c he is also Like That, Brock Boeser/joy, etc etc etc and I would love to hear who's been occupying your thoughts lately!

hello anon!! thank you for this nice message! in case you missed it, i have now posted some vampire leon thoughts here and here, i hope you enjoy them ❤❤

i started grad school this fall so i have tragically not had the time/energy to write much, but i have done a LOT of rotating ideas and concepts on the hot dog roller of my mind. the main matthew'leon one i have right now is a futurefic set at the very ends of their careers (because sometimes it takes that long for it to be the right place and the right time). i am really interested in the very complicated feelings that come with a professional sports career coming to an end, not entirely on your own terms, and facing down the scary reality of the next phase of life, so i hope that i can eventually do something with that. the other, less serious one is a fantasy au based loosely on robin hobb's farseer trilogy — not really following the plot of it or anything but stealing the worldbuilding and magic system and some of the court intrigue concepts to put my guys into situations. it is quite silly but it's fun for telling myself bedtime stories.

other than them, i am at all times feeling brady/quinn feelings. obviously there is the brady/quinn HAW sequel, with poor pining quintin and oblivious brady finally figuring their shit out after only 5–8 business years. and i have my eldest daughter quinn hughes cisswap fic, which i know isn't everyone's cup of tea but i am having so much fun with it and that's the important thing. (eldest daughter quinn hughes anon, i see your follow-up message and i will reply soon!)

mackinnon/drouin reunion — absolutely living for it. deeply deeply want multiple people to write long angsty feelingsly second chance romance fics. would prefer for those people to not be me because i have enough on my plate already 😂

matthew/the rest of the nhl — look, i am a not an OTP kind of girl no matter how much i love a ship, i will ship widely and voraciously. love thinking about a nice long slow burn with matthew and sasha falling in love over the course of matthew's first season in florida, from matthew signing all the way through the stanley cup final. LOVE thinking about matthew/quinn concepts because who doesn't love a story about sneaking around with your best friend's hot older brother. honestly would love to hear about other people's matthew ships OR leon ships. i love to contain multitudes.

brock boeser/joy — my sweet boy 😭😭😭 he deserves a great season so much. i'm so happy for him and proud of him. way back on the backburner i do actually have a brock/petey futurefic idea that i really love, and also in general love pondering concepts involving any pairings or moresomes from the canucks polycule (brock, petey, quinn, thatcher, and i guess beau is kind of in there now too, or at least as much as he can be while mourning his lost long island love).

honestly this is all pretty much where my head is right now! other than thinking about the dark comedy that has been the start to the caps season (bless their hearts) and the absolute clownshow that is the nhl (welcome back pride tape!). thank you for the ask though, this was fun to reply to! ❤

#ask #idek what to tag this really....... so much going on here #hockey for ts

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3rddimension · 8 months

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So someone wrote up a cute lil fanfic about S accidentally calling C baby for the first time and it's cute, but I giggle a little

I don't think he'd feel that weird calling his gf pet names, so much so that he'd do it for the first time subconsciously because he can't face being vulnerable. They probably got over the babe/baby initial awkwardness thing super naturally and long ago lets be real. I like the fic, this isnt about the fic it's about how people portray S as a partner when we literally have no clue. And ultimately I think some poeple took S saying he's not comfortable with pda and apply it to the way he might be as a partner. But everytime he plays a character he has no problem immediately calling his love interests baby in fact it's his go-to even in unscripted content with Bryce and Brianna or Family Guy Reunion for example (he does it every other sentence). Anyways I know many people who aren't gushy or overly affectionate in a professional setting but are super mushy in private, but all the fanfics make s out to be super emotionally unavailable tough guy when he isn't, he's just private with his affection as he's stated previously. Also reminder, c didn't agree with him saying he's not good at pda and audibly went "no?!" when he said it meaning she doesn't feel like he's lacking in that department, he's just too hard on himself

that one is actually from @notmik ! Love all of their recent fics!

I think it's more of that we never get to see Shayne express his affection. Which is why we like to think that Court and other co-worker would be surprise when he does it in front of other people. I have no doubt that he's always a softie and Court definitely know it very well.

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aworldforastage · 11 months

Text

my first danmei playlist -- part 4: "I like these voice actors about a normal amount"

[see more in this series are under the tag #my first danmei playlist]

Every song in this post is recorded by the voice actors (or at least such a version exists but cannot be streamed for free).

There's always something special about the actors' versions. Maybe it's hearing the music in the character's own voices, or maybe it's their enunciation and delivery that really helps make the lyrics and emotions stand out. There are obvious repeating names on this play list. If I say I only like them a normal amount, is it remotely believable?

Whisper by 文森, from FOG, Season 1

"You whisper in my life"

"You whisper in my life" may not be grammatically sound in English, but you know exactly what it means in this quiet song, through a bittersweet journey of separation and reunion, coming back together for the love and dreams they never stopped believing in.

玫瑰星云/"Rosette Nebula" by 大C, from 我只喜欢你的人设/Rose and Renaissance

为你点燃星辉 / 拨开夜的黑 For you I can light up the stars, to push away the darkness of night

Sweeping, dramatic, but uplifting: this is one of my favorite romantic ballads of all time. Sometimes it's just nice to believe in love that feels like starlight. (Cast version is performed by 文森/Wen Sen.)

溺/"Drowning" by 饭卡 , from恶性依赖/Morbid Addiction

是我饮鸩止渴溺毙你的温柔相撞一刻将我枯竭灵魂掏空 I drank poison to quench my thirst, and drowned in your tenderness The moment of our collision emptied out my parched soul

The CV version is unfortunately not free on Mao'er, but it's one of my favorite cast performances. The lyrics shed light on the perspective of the laconic and stoic love interest who often does not express his feelings clearly. 文森/Wen Sen's delivery really makes the words pop, and it hits differently in the character's voice.

七百个日夜/"Seven hundred days and nights" by 奇然, 大C , from FOG, Season 2

是无双星火是热血永恒他是我爱的最终 He is unmatched starlight, is eternal passion He is my love in its ultimate form

The Season 2 theme for FOG is still about their rekindled love for each other, but with emphasis on their fiery energy and competitive spirit as teammates gunning to become future world champions, together. Kind of like a "Shonen Anime Opening Theme." (Cast version is performed by 文森/Wen Sen and 马正阳/Ma Zhengyang)

人间有灵/"Spirits in the Human Realm" by 文森, 马正阳, from 我开动物园那些年/The Years When I Operated a Zoo, Season 1

是幼稚的任性的小小伎俩是敏感的欲盖弥彰是柔软的真挚的热切渴望是圆满的人间世上 They are childish, stubborn little tricks And poor attempts to hide sensitive feelings They are gentle and sincere passionate desires That completes this perfect human realm

This song perfectly captures the essence of one of my favorite novels, which is mostly a series of funny anecdotes with no real villains or arguably even a plot. The tone is silly and funny, but the romance that blossoms from these chaos and antics is both hilarious and seriously sincere.

你替世界吻我/"Kiss me on the world's behalf" by 胡良伟, 马正阳 from 到了30岁还是童贞的话，好像就会变成魔法使/Cherry Magic

想鼓起勇气牵一次你的手，让世界借我向你袒露温柔。 Want to have the courage to take your hand, so the world can show you some kindness through me.

One more entry in the happy pop love song category! I remember the original TV drama taking the BL fandom by storm in 2021 because it's so sweet, and soft, and comforting. The AD doesn't feel quite as complete as the drama, but like this song, still has those soft and sweet vibes!

#my first danmei playlist #我只喜欢你的人设 #我开动物园那些年 #恶性依赖 #exyl #cherry magic audiodrama #cv fandom thoughts #wen sen #ma zhengyang #song rec #fog电竞 #wzxhndrs #danmei music

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period-dramallama · 2 years

Text

My review of episode 666 of Becoming Elizabeth literally the day before the next episode 💀

+Henry Grey makes a good point about Tommy S accidentally inspiring rebels by not being punished

+"I would like to see some justice" that line delivery was hilarious. Leo Bill almost always plays loser characters so he's underrated as an actor

+the falcon ripping probably never happened IRL but at least the foreshadowing paid off

+Tommy S refusing to talk until his trial- very realistic

+Oliver Zetterstrom continues to be awesome

+there's an extra in the background with a French hood headband and no veil. She literally walks through the shot and you can see her lack of veil from behind

+and another one!

+"Jesus what a day" that line is cheesy but he ALMOST made it work

+"what rogue?" WHAT ROGUE DO YOU THINK

+"sir two eyes" I see what you did there 👁 👁

+where are Elizabeth's demands for Kat Ashley back??

+music in the elizabeth/Robert scene was very teen drama mostly they've avoided teen drama. It's a nice track but it is giving 2000s teen drama vibes

+"I wish to take my c***ing bath" I can't stop laughing. GOD SAVE THE KING!

+GOD if she tries to save Tommy S...

+john heffernan slaying this episode

+"you might have stayed with me at Framlingham and avoided all of this" I really really really don't like this being treated by the narrative like it's an option elizabeth could take with 0 downsides at all. Set aside the religion issue, Elizabeth would look to Edward like she's picking sides

+"brave little Arrow" that's the dog's name?? The good boy gets a name?? I love it. Excellent choice of name.

+Mary saying elizabeth is headstrong... but rich coming from Mary

+elizabeth saying Tommy S should die good thank u show

+Amy robsart being strong willed and interested in current affairs I like it

+"actually YOU'RE cain!" 10/10 sibling dialogue

+"you win because you always do" mmm yes

+foreshadowing for Mary imprisoning elizabeth???

+I wish we got barnaby fitzpatrick

+I don't mind Ed saying Edward was named after him bc a) maybe he's making it up to look cool b) maybe Jane told him that to make him happy but told Henry Edward was named after Edward iv/Edward the confessor

+Tommy S's servant deserved better

+holding Tommy S's head down BISH NO WATCH YOUR FINGERS

+Kat Ashley has been absolutely useless all season so the reunion just fell absolutely flat. (I'm not saying the real Kat was 100% competent but she was better than show!Kat) That should be an emotional moment! But it just flops.

All in all... this show continues to yoyo on quality in a way that's just disorienting.

#becoming elizabeth

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turtleations · 1 year

Text

Interview with TOSHI (summarized)

Published in the hide BIBLE (by Akemi Oshima) 2008

Note 1: This is not a translation. The interview is eight pages long, in rather small characters, and printed on bright pink paper, which is stylish but not easy on the eyes. My Japanese is simply not good enough to give a word-by-word translation of this text, or even to generally understand all of it. So I just read it and will now make a list of the things I learned from it. (I did my best and I will skip the parts that I am really unsure about, but there is no guarantee that this is actually accurate. Read at your own risk.)

If anyone who understand Japanese and knows this interview reads this and recognized something I am totally wrong about, please let me know so I can fix it!

Note 2: You may wonder why I am starting with Toshi rather than Yoshiki for this project. The reason is simply because I will not cover Yoshiki’s interview at all. And the reason for that is that he did not give one. Instead, he contributed a two page essay on hide and their time together, which was sweet in places (like how hide was like a mother to him, of all things, and losing him was like losing family) but offered little that you cannot find in plenty of other sources. The most interesting part for me were the additional details on the story about how he tried to get hide to join X, covered here.

Note 3: They talked about other things a bit, but I will focus on the parts relevant to hide. Also, this interview was made in 2008, when TOSHI was still under the influence of the cult, so some of the things he says have to be taken with a grain of salt. Most of those parts were not really related to hide though, and are not included here anyway.

Reccomended reading: Toshi's post-cult book "Brainwash" which offers a similar but more detailed and less under-the-influence-of look at some of the moments described here. A very good English translation can be found here.

Things Toshi tells us:

- During concerts, he used to use the sound of hide's guitar as guidance for his vocals. He didn't need to see him for that. During the reunion-concerts he also heard hide's guitar so it was like he was still around.

- Toshi did know about the song “Without You” before meeting with Yoshiki again, but had never heard it and didn’t know it had been written for hide. When he learned about that, he thought, “Ah, that’s why it’s so good.”

Even though the song was written in the midst of despair, he felt like it had a powerful, life-affirming message.

- hide always took care of people and supported Toshi during the Last Live, which was really hard for him. He was like a good older brother to Toshi and used to give him advice, and directions on how to act on stage when Toshi didn’t know how to rock star.

- hide was good at observing and reading people.

- Toshi first saw hide when he and Yoshiki went to a SAVER TIGER performance. Yoshiki thought that hide was very weird. Toshi thought that Yoshiki lacked self-awareness.

- Toshi was impressed with SAVER TIGER’s / hide’s music, performance, style etc.. Yoshiki invited hide for a drink and immediately tried to recruit him for X. Toshi was with them in the beginning but left halfway through.

- While Yoshiki had his individual hairstyle already, Toshi was just an ordinary guy without a particularly special look. hide was the one who came up with Toshi’s hairstyle, and Pata’s as well. He was generally in charge of their visuals, and also of the band’s sound/arrangements.

- hide rescued the song “Kurenai” from the pile of discarded creations by giving it a new arrangement. The original version was too melodious for rock, so the metal crowd made fun of it and even Yoshiki didn’t want to play it anymore.

- Unrelated to hide: Toshi’s misadventures with bleached hair during the pre-hide-X days (“Just leave it in overnight, it’ll be fine! Oh, now it’s white, my bad!”). Having to go to his classes (he was the best student in his class) at piano-tuning school like that. They has weird clothes and styling for their first performance at a club, and the same day Toshi had his final at piano tuning school. He could't get onto the train because of the giant outfit he was carrying, then slipped and got his foot stuck in the gab between train and platform and kept it from moving and everyone kind of hated him. Then he wasn't allowed to ride the train. Then he lost his shoe. And he came too late to his final exam and was not allowed into the classroom, because his teacher claimed not to recognize him. (He made it in eventually and passed.)

- Toshi doesn’t really remember when he first talked to hide. Probably when they went to see SAVER TIGER for the first time.

- At that time, Toshi was really impressed with hide’s energy on stage and really wanted to perform with him. He thought that hide was the only musician who could match X and be a good fit for them.

- Toshi and Taiji hand-made their outfits in the early days. Taiji was very skilled at that and also brought the materials. Toshi didn't have any knowledge in these things so he just assisted Taiji where he could.

- A friend made Toshi's leather jacket. They did everything by trial and error and had no money.

- They got night-packs for the rehearsal studios, because it was cheapest from midnight to 6 a.m., and met for rehearsals three times a week. Between the drum set and the uneccessarily large amplifyiers there was no room in the small studio for the vocalist and Toshi had to sing from the corner behind the amplifyers and was completely inaudible over the instuments even though he learned how to scream his vocals.

- Yoshiki and hide were the only ones who already had a driver’s license, but Yoshiki rarely drove. hide was the one who did most of the driving, something he was used to from his SAVER TIGER days. Toshi was always in the back seat.

- hide came as a full package with not only a license, but also a van, various know-how, and a lesson in how to best transport their equipment.

- Looking back, Toshi thinks that X really started those days.

- hide was X’s leader in terms of fashion. He has always been like that, wearing big hats and his gandmother's sari.

- He was always very original and forward-thinking in regard to music as well, just like Yoshiki. People did not always understand their ideas.

- Recording with hide was very fun. With Yoshiki, not so much.

- They would record the songs hide had written (Miscast, Joker, Drain etc.) in hide’s studio in his apartment in Los Angeles. They also did the pre-production at hide’s place in Japan. Toshi has many memories of going to hide's to sing.

[Note: According to I.N.A.’s book "Kimi No Inai Sekai" as well as hide’s own interviews, and his mother’s, he did not actually have a real recording studio in either of his apartments in L.A., nor in Japan. He just had extra rooms that were filled with recording equipment. They weren’t soundproof, tough, and they were in constant trouble with the neighbours, who were creating their own noise and were bothered by theirs.]

- hide was the judge of Toshi’s vocals in those cases.

- When Yoshiki recorded songs, he had Toshi sing the lines over and over and over and went through all the recordings to pick out the best bits from each and edit them together. hide focused more on the rhythm of the song and placed great importance on fitting the vocals in with the instruments and fit everything into a 16-beat-groove. It sounded increasingly cool as the finer details were added and just really felt like rock music.

- Toshi has no sense of rhythm.

- Recording with Yoshiki was famously terrible.

- Yoshiki recorded every song very carefully. hide was more like, “Let’s just go with the mood.” He didn’t mind if Toshi’s voice turned in the middle of the song and still considered it good, and everything turned out cool in the end.

- When they were getting drunk, they had a rule that said, “Don’t touch hide’s hat!”, as he tended to flip out if it was missing and destroy the hotel.

- Toshi doesn’t drink much. He rarely joined them for private drinking, was only there for the after-show parties. They had a lot of those in the early days, though.

- Both hide and Yoshiki tended to get angry and violent when drunk. Yoshiki would pick some outsider and start a fight.

- Toshi doesn’t understand the thoughts and feelings of drunk people.

- When hide flipped out, Yoshiki would calm him down, and when Yoshiki went on a rampage, hide would stop him. When they both lost it at the same time, they would also fight each other. Meanwhile, Pata would keep drinking at his own pace, completely chill.

- Once things started to get too wild, Toshi would simply go home.

- Nevertheless, despite the fights and the violence, he still enjoyed those days.

- After X JAPAN broke up, hide called Toshi one day, angry about things that had been in the media about him without his knowledge or intention. Toshi gave a lot of explanation, talked for a long time about his feelings regarding quitting the band, various troubles etc, as this was the first time they had spoken to each other after Toshi left X JAPAN. hide was the only one he ever talked to about this. By the time he was done, hide had calmed down and suggested they should meet for a drink and talk about everything, before hanging up. It was the last time Toshi really talked to him.

- In the beginning of their conversation, hide had been angry with him, by the end of it, he openly expressed his affection. That was just like hide, though. Toshi is happy that hide listened to his story like that, and that he gave him understanding and encouragement.

- hide called him when he was angry rather than seething silently. He was confrontational like that and in turn was able to express his affection just as openly. Since Toshi was not confrontational at all, hide came to him, which enabled Toshi to open his heart. That was just one of hide’s good points.

- hide was the only member of the band who ever contacted Toshi after he quit.

- Toshi blamed this lack of communication on his own inability to open up.

- By the time of the interview, he was able to talk to Yoshiki and the other members again.

- Toshi liked hide’s solo music and thought that he had a great sense for pop, skill for song writing and amazing, deep lyrics.

- hide came to see Toshi perform in the Hamlet rock-opera and was surprised by how different Toshi the actor was from Toshi the rock musician. It was the first time he saw Toshi as a spectator rather than a companion on stage. He was impressed. Toshi says he looked weird but hide praised his looks none the less.

- hide played the guitar on Toshi's first solo album "Made in Heaven". hide, as well as Pata and Heath, supported Toshi during his first solo tour as guest musicians. He also praised Toshi's third album, "Grace".

- When it came to his own solo work and doing vocals, hide called Toshi his master and joked that he was a genius. He thought that doing MC stuff and getting the audience heated up were among the hardest part of being a vocalist.

- Toshi didn’t really give hide advice when it came to vocals, but he introduced him to his own vocal coach, Michiko, who helped him master his singing.

- If hide were still alive, Toshi is convinced that he would be at the forefront of the time, with his originality in both music and fashion. He would probably do a lot of other things, too, but since he was so inventive and ahead of everyone, Toshi can’t actually imagine what. He just knows it would be great.

- hide would be happy about X JAPAN’s reunion. He probably wished for it more than anyone and was talking about being with everyone again one day. Besides, he was the one who took on the role of creating a connection between Toshi and Yoshiki while remaining the most neutral person around, and Toshi thinks that in a way he contributed to the reuinon as well.

#Toshi #x japan #interview #summary #hide #hide Bible #I hope one day I will go through this and correct all the things I was totally wrong about #'hope' because that would mean by that point my Japanese would be much better

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