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#this takes place in season 3 so no worries about spoilers
yunyin · 1 year
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A commission for Musica's fic A Ring for a Lady, where Adrien finds out his father's identity... and runs.
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rashomonss · 5 months
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your Learning to Adapt hc was amazing, i loved it sm!!!
that being said, i need a dateables ver., i crave the sweet succulent angst (ㅅ´ ˘ `)♡
a/n: ahh thank you! I’m so glad you and so many others liked it omg!! I got a bunch of comments and asks for a pt 2, so due to popular demand here is a dateables + luke version of learning to adapt! hope you enjoy!
warnings: there will be some small spoilers concerning seasons 3 and 4 of the og! obey me, it’s nothing major though
readjusting | learning to adapt pt 1.
it’s not the same without you
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Diavolo is left with remnants of you all around him. All the belongings you left at the Demon Lord's castle remain in the same spots they were placed in by you. None of them are touched, he can’t bring himself to.
A part of him feels as if he failed you somehow, he's supposed to be the demon prince yet he couldn’t even protect the person he cherished the most.
Whenever he eats dinner it always happens to be a human world dish. One of your favorites, for some odd reason he hasn’t wanted much Devildom food since you’ve left.
Diavolo goes through many stages of grief during this time.
At first he drowns himself in his responsibilities, so much so Barbatos questions if he is receiving enough rest.
However once you get him into bed he can never seem to get out, instead he stares at the pillow case next to him and sighs. Only a few months ago you were laying there next to him smiling as you both talked late into the night about anything and everything.
He loved talking to you. If anything he misses your voice the most. That reassuring voice always seemed to brighten his day as well as others around him. That lovely voice that would put him to sleep at night when he claimed to have trouble sleeping.
If Diavolo was honest he’d give anything to hear you call his name once again.
Barbatos finds himself lonely for one of the first times in his existence.
More often than not he’s gotten used to you being alongside him as he cooks or cleans around the castle. With that in mind he’ll turn over his shoulder to ask you something but then realize you're not there. Often times when this happens he’ll make a face then silently continue cleaning.
The numerous little D’s around the castle tend to worry for him because he’s always on edge lately. Especially after a certain trip to the market he made alone.
It was a morning like any other and Barbatos set off for one of his favorite outdoor markets. Diavolo requested a human realm dish and this place was the perfect place for acquiring human realm food.
You often went with him, explaining your favorite foods and what not to him when you got the chance. He loved leaning more about you at any given chance, especially if you were alone with him.
As he stepped into the market and gathered a few goods here and there he began to pay the shop owner and then man made a remark of him missing his other half. Barbatos knew that he was referring to you and with that he payed the shop owner quickly and then left.
Ever since then he’s stopping visiting that stall.
If he’s being honest he’s not fond of making your favorite dishes for Diavolo while you’re not here. However he’ll never mention that to anyone.
Simeon wishes to be an angel again, this was the first and only time he wished that.
If he was then…maybe he could possibly aid with your safe return. That’s what he tells himself anyway. Simeon can’t help but blame himself for whatever reason for your disappearance.
While you're gone he takes this time to comfort Luke as well as the brothers. If he’s able to keep a level head then it should make others less anxious.
He also takes up cleaning most of Purgatory Hall as well as the House of Lamentation when the brothers lock themselves away for certain periods of time.
Simeon tries his hardest to remain calm and distract himself with other hobbies he likes; however each little thing he does reminds him of you.
When he picks up a pen he thinks of how you adored his work, praised it even, as you laid on his bed while he told you numerous different story plots and tales he had for upcoming chapters. When he passes a store and sees only his reflection a pang is felt in his chest. Just a few months ago both of you shared a smiling reflection in a store window as you walked hand in hand with him.
He doesn't know how much more of this he can take, but he’ll never let anyone know that.
Luke bakes himself into exhaustion. Oftentimes he bakes recipes the two of you would make when you spent the night at Purgatory Hall. Recently however, Simeon has had to stop him because the countertops are overflowing with sweets as Luke puts a new cake into the oven.
Luke likes to carry out activities you both would do together, such as watching the same shows you liked to watch with him, or visiting the same places you would take him too when you weren’t with the brothers.
Luke misses you so much but he knows you're okay, Simeon told him so. Still that doesn’t calm his emotions any less. Because of this Luke continues to pray for your safety and will bless your belongings.
This has caused some issues with the brothers because they become unable to touch that item for a while.
Just like the others he sometimes will visit your room and just sit silently in there wishing and praying for your safe return.
Bonus characters
Mephisto finds himself ignoring the desk you use while you spent time in the newspaper club room.
Sure all of your belongings are there and in the same place as well as all the pictures of the brothers and your other friends. Even him. But he doesn’t care.
It’s not as if he dusts off your desk at the end of every week and does weekly checks on your camera to make sure it’s up to date and still has all of the saved pictures you took.
It’s not as if he hasn’t downloaded a copy of the photos on your camera to is own personal laptop and scrolls through the ones you took of you and him when he feels lonely.
Of course he doesn’t miss the human who invaded his club room and made it lively like they do to every part of the school they reside in.
He doesn’t even realize that he gets the same drink every afternoon from the vending machine. It’s not as if you brought it to him every time you showed up. He just drinks it because it’s good.
And no he doesn’t glance at the door every hour or so hoping you’d barge in. Thats ludicrous. But currently its only a hope in his mind.
Thirteen sighs as she looks across the Devildom. Usually you both would be sharing this beautiful sight together, however she’s alone today. Like always.
She deems it fine. But maybe company would be nice, maybe. She’s grown found of your voice, your company, and even the atmosphere you bring to a conversation. She could sit and listen to you for hours.
She still wears the friendship bracelet you made her. It’s never been taken off once. And since she’s had a bit of spare time while you’ve been away she made you a few. Maybe some to even wear in your next life.
Since she can’t give it to you currently she put it around the base of your candle, that she watches daily; hourly even.
For her favorite human to disappear out of the blue like this made her very protective of your soul. At times she finds herself blabbing to your candle when she’s had an interesting day, or if she has a new trap idea.
To her it’s nice talking to the candle, but she really wishes to talk to the owner of it more.
At first Raphael didn’t feel completely lonely like the others. He had a decent relationship with you but it wasn’t nearly as close as Simeon’s or Luke’s for that matter.
However a part of him can’t help but try to comfort the beings around him during this time. He does truly care for the brothers so he does whatever he can to help them as well as Simeon.
At the end of the day he does find himself missing you. The conversations you would have with him were interesting and he loved the sparkle your eye would hold when he talked about his days in the celestial realm when the brothers were still angels.
He promised to take you to the celestial realm a while ago and show off in depth how beautiful it was. You smiled at his promise and he always remember that.
Sighing to himself, he currently wished to walk with you through a celestial realm garden to ease his mind.
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oliviajdjarin · 1 year
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Joel Miller: Why Can't I Breathe?
Pairing: Joel Miller x fem!reader (afab; she/her)
Excerpt:
"You were a woman--a woman with a body, feelings, heart, and intellect way beyond his caliber. You were fiercely loyal to him, almost to a fault, never hesitating to stick both your neck and trusted knife out for him, but at the same time, you were kind. You had been so good to him, too good to him, and all the while looking like that.
As you ducked under the water once again, fully scrubbing your body of grime, he realized that you were nothing less than a belle, a seductress, a venus flytrap set just for him to fly into and crush into a million pieces, and he wanted it. He wanted you.
You were so goddamn beautiful, and you had been his this whole time, he was just too dumb and slow to realize it."
Warnings: minor finale spoilers, Joel gets harddd, bathing, references to nudity, guns, Ellie makes a cameo, descriptions of alcoholism, blood, knives, and Joel doesn't know what a feeling is.
A/N: Happy end of The Last of Us! Who can't wait for Season Two!? *salutes before falling backwards off bridge.* But seriously, thank you for all the love on Joel. I can't explain how much it means to me.
If you'd like to leave a like, ask, comment, or reblog, it would be very appreciated <3
Word Count: 1.5k
Pedro Masterlist
(gif credit to owner I cannot find your account for the life of me).
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The first thing that hit the forest floor was your boots, bouncing off the swollen grass loud enough for him to hear. The next thing was your socks, based off of the slight grunt you gave when one got caught. Next was your jeans, indicated by the metal pull on the zipper of your crotch clanking down swiftly. You then paused with a huff.
"Are you sure about this?" you said from behind him.
He sighed. "Yes, for fuck's sake. You were just sayin' how badly you wanted a bath."
"Yeah but--" you sighed, frustrated. "What if somebody--or, something--comes along?"
He raised his riffle over his head in reply before settling it back in his lap, his fingers curved firmly around it, screaming try me. He was sitting on a rock, yes, but he was ready. His body always seemed to settle when he guarded you anyway. He tried not to think about that.
"You know what I mean, Joel," you replied. "My hearin' ain't what it used to be."
He hated the smirk that always managed to wriggle its way onto his face when you mocked the depth of his voice and the thickness of his accent, but in reality, it had been the first time he had smiled in a while. All he could do was shake his head in reply, his typical indicator of you win this round.
You sighed again, the running water of the stream behind you filling the air, before saying, "I'm just worried about her."
It didn't take a genius to figure out that the girl curled up in the cave ten feet away from him was the "her" you were referring to. She had been different, distant, quiet. Adjectives that had never suited her before, but after whatever the hell went down after Joel woke up, they all seemed to describe her perfectly. Her chest rose up and down in an even rhythm, indicating to Joel that she was long gone, but he understood you nonetheless.
"I know," he said in reply, a drop of unease in his voice, "but I've got her."
You took a deep breath, inhaling through your nose and out your mouth, before the scratch of cloth a shirt makes when it's removed filled his ears instead. "I'll be quick. Get me if she needs me."
"I will," he responded, "but take your time. Please."
He knew why he was delaying bringing her to the Fireflies, and he knew that you knew why he was delaying bringing her to the Fireflies, but like many things between the two of you, it remained unspoken.
"Alright," you said, and dropped two more pieces of cloth onto your pile before stepping away, down into the stream. Joel had never seen one quite like it. All the water flowed from a great waterfall at the end, the perfect place to rinse off after miles of hiking in a humid forest, and Joel saw in your eye how badly you wanted to wash it all away. He stopped the three of you and proposed an early dinner--rabbit, water, and chef boyardee--and Ellie passed out soon after, leaving Joel here, keeping watch for the both of you.
He would never admit how much he likes it--watching you both, keeping you safe, protecting his girls. It was something primal, but also something broken, desperate to be glued back together again.
You could recognize that in him, that need, but you weren't much different from him. Twenty years in an apocalypse, constantly watching your six, always on edge. You two were one in the same in that regard, so when your need for control would bubble up to your irises, he would gladly take the night to rest.
Unspoken, yet so not.
He didn't know when the two of you got so good at it, reading each other. Maybe it was back in Boston, the night you two made your first job together, or the night he blacked out from too much booze, only to find himself in bed under a blanket the next morning. He still didn't know how you managed that one. Maybe it was when he got cut clean through the knee, or when you got one through the shoulder, or when he finally explained what the scar on his face was from, or who the scar on his heart was from, or--
Suddenly, the whoosh of a large splash hit his ear, along with the gurgle of air bubbles, and modesty be damned, he turned around. His riffle was immediately pointed down at the water, ready to fire at will, or he would dive the hell down there.
Except, what exited the water was no infected, no raider, no hunter, and no slaver. No, it was you. Hair flattened by the stream, back dripping with droplets of water, tracing the line your spine made down your back. Your head tilted back in relief, free from the prison of sweat and heat, and your shoulders flexed downward, highlighting that fucking line down your back once again. The setting sun illuminated you, basking you in an aura of orange, as you walked underneath the waterfall. The water soaked through your hair and down your body, causing you to lift up your arms to work your hair away from your face and massage your jaw with your nails. Your waist was that much more accentuated, your throat was revealed just so, and the outline of your breasts taunted him against the stone of the stream.
He could feel his eyes dilate, his jaw go slightly slack, his gun practically slip through his fingers, and buttons on the crotch of his jeans pull slightly tauter than they were a few seconds ago.
He couldn't feel his face, he couldn't hear the water flowing, and he couldn't fucking breathe.
Why can't I breathe?
You had always been a looker, he had no doubt about that--constantly getting looks from men on the streets, offered drinks at bars, and invitations for more than that--but he never viewed you that way.
At least, that's what he told himself when he woke up from dreams about you, covered in sweat.
He liked to think that he admired you, respected you. He knew how little of that you got in Boston, and in his own fucked up ways, he tried to show you that you deserved to be. You were more than just tits and eyes, you were capable, honorable, and a fucking badass when you wanted to be. You went through with a hell of a lot more jobs than he did, coming home with stacks of ration cards higher than the expanse of his hands, only to bring them home to his sorry ass. You could make a clean kill, barely batting an eye, and mere seconds later, help Ellie to her feet, and tell her she was okay. You were beautiful, yes, but he thought he saw that more as admiration, respect, and caring for the woman who had always stuck by his side.
But it was more than that. It had always been more than that.
You were a woman--a woman with a body, feelings, heart, and intellect way beyond his caliber. You were fiercely loyal to him, almost to a fault, never hesitating to stick both your neck and trusted knife out for him, but at the same time, you were kind. You had been so good to him, too good to him, and all the while looking like that.
As you ducked under the water once again, fully scrubbing your body of grime, he realized that you were nothing less than a belle, a seductress, a venus flytrap set just for him to fly into and crush into a million pieces, and he wanted it. He wanted you.
You were so goddamn beautiful, and you had been his this whole time, he was just too dumb and slow to realize it.
The smirk that had formed from earlier had slowly become a smile as he let his eyes slide up and down your body, filled to the brim with emotion and longing, and just as he felt a tear begin to dribble down his cheek at the sight of the woman before him, you turned around, and Joel's stomach instantly fell out of his ass.
He turned on his heel faster than he ever had in his life, wiping at his eye and sniffling, and standing straighter than a soldier.
Of course, you noticed.
"Everything alright?" you shouted from the water below, and with as much dignity as he could muster, Joel responded with a cracked, "yep."
Nothing was, yet everything was.
"I'm almost done," you responded, ducking under the water. You let your mask crack underneath the waves--the smile on your face, the squeal of excitement, and the happiness in your heart.
He was looking at you.
Once again, your mutual understanding remained unspoken, only this time, you had a feeling it wouldn't be for long.
Tag list:
@leahkenobi @untitledarea @avengersfan25 @lexloon​ @aninnai @darling-murdock
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artists-ally · 6 months
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I think Harvey would be thw type of person who makes love specially when he’s feeling sad. Like he needs comfort and to be as close to his s/o as possible, fingers intertwined and all that nice shit. How do you think reader would comfort him after he had a discussion with someone of his family?
{Oh, My Human Heart} Harvey Specter x Reader
So my mind went to [SEASON 8 EPISODE 5 SPOILER WARNING] where Harvey went up to Boston to defend his brother against his wife's divorce. That shit crushed my soul man, so this is based on that! Enjoy!! Title is a lyric from this song.
Word Count: 3,191
Warnings: fluff, hurt/comfort, angst, smut, Season 8 Episode 5 Spoilers
Summary: When Harvey returned home from visiting his brother unexpectedly, there is an obvious weight to his shoulders as he slumps inside. And it’s your mission to find out what it is and wipe it from his memory.
Tagging: @kjbg-fantasymoon (your request is next babes <3)
~~~~~~~
The door slammed. Hard. Concerningly hard. 
“Harvey?” You shouted out into the kitchen, taking off the towel from your shoulder and set it on the counter. No one responded. Worry coursed through you, and you grabbed the knife from the cutting board. Just in case. 
Your husband rounded the corner and you jumped, but let the fear drain from your held breath and set the knife down. “Jesus Harvy, you could’ve… hey, what are you doing back here?”
Harvey looked indecipherably pissed. He had hard creases in his face and his lips pressed in that flat line that meant someone was about to see that side of him that meant he was gonna raise hell. He opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out, and he let his hands fall to his sides. 
“Okay, okay come sit, love,” You reached for him and guided him to the island. “Do you want to talk about it? A distraction? To be left the hell alone?”
That communication strategy had worked wonders when Harvey came home from a lethal case. All the details you knew about this one involved his brother and a divorce from his wife. It had already shattered Harvey’s heart to hear they were splitting up, but this was… this was rage. Raw fury. 
“I am going to open my mouth and let the floodgates go with it, and I just need you to try and make sense of it. Because for reasons only known by Jesus-fucking-Christ himself can this be possible.”
You just nodded, letting Harvey take some deep breaths. You noticed his hands were shaking. He was shaking. What the fuck happened in Boston?
“Marcus called me up there to represent him for his divorce,” Harvey started, thumbs in his eyes. “He told me that it was because she had an affair. I was ready to go kick down her door and take their kids away myself. Turns out, he lied to me. She was divorcing him because he started gambling again and he told Haley not to tell Katie.”
Your blood ran cold, all remorse leaving your body for Marcus. How could he fucking do that? 
“So, tell me this Yn. Why would my own god damn brother, who I spent my money on to build him a dream restaurant, lie to my fucking face? Not once. Not twice. Four times. Four opportunities he had to tell me and he waited till the last fucking second. I-I can’t even begin to describe how sick it makes me feel to have Haley be put in that position.”
“It is wildly unfair for her, and for their son,” you felt awful for them. They were the sweetest kids and didn’t deserve to have that weight on their shoulders. 
“I mean, was he not apart of the fucking family when mom did that to me? Did he suddenly just show up on our doorstep one night looking for a place to sleep like a stray cat? No, he didn’t. He’s my fucking brother. He was there when mom did it to me. And he saw what it did to our family. What it did to me. He was the one trying to fix our fucking fucked up family. To piece it together after the fall out and he expects me to do the same when he did the one thing worse than practically fucking cheating on her.”
“Harvey I think that's a little-”
“Now he’s destroying his own life. No, not even destroying, destroyed. He has ruined all chances of working things out between him and Katie and honestly, I can’t be fucking bothered to watch it crumble to the ground. And the worst part of it is he had the audacity to ask me to win this case. He doesn’t deserve to win let alone ask me. What a selfish, lying son of a bitch-”
“Harvey,” you placed a hand on his shoulder to keep him from walking away. He had been moving around animatedly, now up out of his seat and waving around. “Take a deep breath. Please.”
He did.
“Good,” You smiled softly. 
He took another. And another. “Sorry… just- sorry.”
“It’s okay,” You came and stood in front of him, hands flat on his chest. “Let’s go and get you changed and we can keep talking through it. If you’d like.”
Though Harvey’s eyes were harsh, that anger wasn’t directed at you. You’ve dealt with him like this on more than one occasion, and you’ve learned to recognize the difference. He didn’t dare look at you the way he is now.
After taking his hand and leading him up stairs, you took your time undressing him so he could be more comfortable. Once upon a time he had told you that the feeling of your hands on him could make him forget anything and everything. It was only in your best interest to do that for him now. To calm him so he could see the full picture.
Starting with his tie, you walked to the closet and hung it up in the empty space from where you picked it out this morning. Much the same with the jacket, tossing his still crisp white-shirt in the laundry. He handed you his belt and shoes, and while you put them away, he took off his dress pants and put on sweats by the time you came back. 
“Better?” You asked, placing his hands across your middle. 
He smiled, “Better.” 
Harvey was still sitting, but he rested his forehead against your stomach, just breathing. With calm hands you massaged his scalp and neck, his shoulders and arms. It was important to give Harvey his space at times like this, letting him speak when he wanted. Otherwise he’d just get defensive and shut down. That was not beneficial to either of you.
“I’m so fucking mad at Marcus, Yn.”
“I know, my love. I know,” You spoke softly, kissing the top of his head. “So am I.”
“I just don’t understand how he could do that after what mom did to me. I thought- I thought we were brothers again.” 
His voice cracked, and you could feel the first tear drops soak through your shirt and cool your skin. Your stomach clenched and dropped. You know Harvey and Marcus have been rocky for decades, but since he forgave his mom and started rebuilding their relationship, things naturally got better with Marcus. 
So much for all that hard work. And you had been so proud of him for taking those steps. And you knew the toll it took on him. Now it was all back at square one. 
“I am so sorry, Harvey.”
“What the fuck do I do?”
You paused for a long while. “I don’t know.”
When he looked up at you, eyes all red and bleary, you wanted to fly to Boston and smack Marcus yourself for putting Harvey right back where he was when he was sixteen. He may not have been the one asked to keep a secret this time, but he knows what it’s like to be in that situation. To feel so pinned and powerless. The looming decision of whether he should betray his mom or dad, a constant threat, and either outcome will ruin the family. 
“Are you up for listening to my ideas or do you still need to get things off your chest?” All you got was a shrug and a few spilled tears. “Okay, there’s no rush.”
“I just don’t know what to do, Yn. I have no fucking clue what I’m supposed to do. I want to beat him into the dirt the most. I want to hold Haley and tell her that none of this was ever her fault and she is not the one to blame. Goddamn do I want to hug Haley right now…”
You had to close your eyes. You didn’t want to see Harvey in this position, especially because you knew what this did to him. It stirred up all those memories and emotions from decades ago. Now they were all at the surface, controlling every one of his thoughts. And there isn’t a whole lot that you can do to get them to stop.
“I think you’re angry.”
“You’re goddamn right I’m angry,” Harvey huffed, making you let out a weak chuckle. 
“And I also think that I know you when you’re angry. And that you don’t think clearly when you are. So, how about we distract you for a while and then we get some sleep. Then, maybe in the morning, we lay it all out again and go over what we know. Look at all the facts and whatnot. Because, despite your very much warranted anger towards Marcus, he is still your brother. And family means more than anything to you, Harvey. I can’t let you spend the next thirty years in regret for not trying. You owe that to yourself. Not anyone else.”
“I don’t even know where to start with all this bullshit.”
“That’s where I come in,” You smiled, sitting in his lap with one leg on each side of his. “Look Harvey, you have every single right to be upset. I am pissed at Marcus for doing that to Haley. But I will not let this drive another cavern between you and him. The two of you have been through enough. He fucked up, and he knows it because you’re Harvey goddamn Specter and you told him he did. But you forgave him once. And you forgave your mom. It is worth a shot to hear him out, and I’m not saying it has to be right away either. Just eventually.”
Harvey’s brown eyes darted around your face, that tight line still on his lips. When you tilted your head and batted your lashes, he sighed out, nodding. “Okay, okay fine you’re right.”
“Of course I am,” your smile made him finally unclench the space between his brows. “It’s because I’m really good at knowing who you are, and knowing how to approach a situation. You’re good at being a kick-ass lawyer and I’m good at taming that kick-ass lawyer.” “You love it when I let that animal out of the cage,” he smirked, hands stroking down your thighs. 
“If you refer to yourself as an animal in a cage again I will walk out that door and spend the night at Donna’s.”
“Okay okay,” he grinned ear to ear, pressing kisses on your cheek, then down your neck. “I’m sorry for being so… hostile. Thank you, Yn. For calming me down.”
“You’re welcome, my love.”
“I don’t know what it is that you do, but you make it all disappear.”
“It’s my secret,” you whispered, kissing his lips. “And I won’t ever tell.”
“I bet I could make you tell me,” Harvey winked and grabbed around your waist, taking you with him when he leaned back. 
“Oh, is that a fact?” “No, but it is a challenge.” 
He tangled his hand in your hair, bringing your mouth to his. He tasted like whatever cheap whiskey he had on the plane and mint. You let your body form to his and didn’t mind the way his tongue found yours. Harvey’s hands were gentle as they peeled away the cardigan on your shoulders, tossing it away to be picked up later. 
He took his time, slowly stripping you and easing you on your back. You wrapped your legs around his waist and needed to have his mouth on yours again. He was such a good kisser. So thorough and precise with what he wanted to do to you. 
And he was always very thorough. 
Harvey placed kisses down your chest, down your stomach and to each hip.
“Babe-”
“Shh,” he hushed. “Just let me do what I want. You just lay back and look pretty. Fuck do you look pretty, my love.”
Your heart melted. Normally he had a wicked, dirty tongue but tonight was obviously different. He wanted something to focus on, and if that was going to be you, then so be it. You surely weren’t going to stop him from spreading your knees and tucking his head to your core. 
If Harvey could do one thing for the rest of his life, he’d sure have a hard time picking between you and the law. While he loved his work, your mind and body were two things even the high of winning couldn’t compare to. Harvey loved you. Ferociously. With every part of his body he loved you. 
His tongue circled your clit, and your hand went in his hair to keep him there. The laugh that tumbled from him was nothing short of star-seeing. One thing about Harvey is if you weren’t satisfied and thensome, neither was he. He loved making you cum on his tongue, loved how you tasted. 
It wasn’t long before you warned him you were close, and he just hummed into you, vibrations making you arch up off the bed, tugging equally as hard on his hair as you did the sheets beside you. 
“I will never get sick of making you feel good, Yn. I love that I am the one who gets to spend these moments with you.”
“Harvey,” you swooned, cupping his face to bring him back up so you could kiss him. Your scent was strong on his lips and made you only need him that much more. All it took was a few impatient grabs at his shirt to make him take it off so you could finally get your hands on that body of his. 
All that time in the boxing gym surely paid off. 
Harvey brough your knee up and pushed it flat on the bed, pulling the other one around his hip. He pushed in, chest to chest with you as he sat still for a few moments. 
“I love you so much, Yn,” Harvey whispered, thumb training down your cheek, your neck. He slid it all the way down your arm and laced your fingers together, kissing them as he pulled back. He wouldn’t leave your lips alone, not that you wanted that in the slightest. He was all soft words and pleas of desperation. Telling you how good you felt.
It was like your wedding night all over again. When the two of you met, it had been in a fury of hands and tongues. All fast because there wasn’t a second to waste when it finally happened. But on your big day, he laid you down, just like this, and worshiped you all night long. 
Every word from his mouth was just him telling you how much you meant to him, his body seconding that omission. He was so dedicated to you, to making you feel good. It was all long, smooth strokes of his body inside yours, the warmth of your combined breaths. Swallowing each other's noises of pleasure.
“I am so in love with you,” Harvey smiled. “I am so fucking in love with you.”
You couldn’t hide your smile if you tried. It wasn’t rare that Harvey was affectionate– per say– but this was an illusive moment. He wine and dined you whenever you asked, you were always his plus one anywhere in the world. But it was these small, yet enormous moments of intimacy that you cherished the most. This was a side of Harvey that took a very long time to bring to the surface. And he too realized the weight of just taking his time and being soft with you. 
“I love you too, Harvey,” you whispered against his face, his mouth now busy with the side of your neck. Harvey couldn’t keep his hips slow for long, and they snapped to yours. Air pushed out of your mouth and right into his ear, right where it drove him crazy to hear what he did to you. 
“Fuck, my love, if you keep making those sounds this isn’t exactly going to be how I-”
“Now it’s my turn to take care of you,” you responded, locking your ankles together behind his back.
A shiver ran through his shoulders and he dropped to his elbows, hips driving into you faster and faster. Harder. It didn’t take him long to reach his high, fucking you through it. His heart pounded underneath his skin so hard you could feel it. A slight sweat at the back of his head where hair met skin. 
When he lifted his head, his eyes looked less… weighted. He looked much more himself. Muc more like Harvey and a little less like Mr. Specter. 
You mentally patted yourself on the back. 
There wasn’t anything you could do to convince him to not drag you into the shower down the hall. The warmth of the water, the heaviness in your body only made his fingers on your scalp that much better. He kissed all over, giving your ass a loving smack when getting out before wrapping a big towel around the both of you. 
“Promise in the morning that we can do this all again and then I can make you a big breakfast?”
“Only if you promise that there will be sausage and bacon,” your eyes were droopy, but the smile reached them anyway. 
“Good thing Postmates will go to the grocery store nowadays,” Harvey slipped one of his shirts over your head, straightening it out over your body. “You look so adorable in my clothes.”
“I know, why do you think I wear them when you’re gone?” “You wear my clothes when I’m gone?” You pff’ed out some air, “Don’t act like you don’t notice the suspiciously large pile of your laundry in the hamper when you come back.”
“I don’t think you know how happy that makes me, Yn,” Harvey’s smile was nothing short of pure adoration. He was never short on pure adoration when it came to you. 
“Yes I do,” You smiled, wrapping your arms around his neck. “Why do you think I do it?”
“Because you know me. Really really well.”
“That I do.”
Harvey breathed out, shaking his head. “Thank you.”
“You don’t need to thank me for something anyone would do for their husband.”
“Well, in my experience, most wives aren’t nearly as observant or as dedicated as you are, Yn. And I want you to know how much I appreciate you and everything you help me through when I don’t know how to help myself.”
Your eyes melted, much like your heart when he hugged you. Nice and tight and just how you liked them. You always felt impossibly safe with him, and his hugs were impossibly your favorite thing in the world. 
Harvey would listen better in the morning. Especially after a good night's sleep. You just hope that all your efforts will lead him in the right direction. And that direction isn’t the clearest right now, and that’s okay. Both of you know it’s okay to not make a decision as big as something like this.
But you know Harvey will try. And that is all you can ask of him.
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notjoelmiller · 1 year
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see you on the other side
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MDNI
joel miller x reader summary: You're drifting from Joel, but you promise him you won't leave Boston. Even as things get worse. wordcount: 3k warnings: smut (p-in-v, m-receiving oral), angst, death (non-major characters), violence, injury, mention of alcohol and painkiller consumption a/n: no spoilers as long as you've seen ep1. hope you enjoy <3
Joel never liked Boston. He visited as a boy then again with Sarah. Both times he came to the same conclusion: Texas was home.
Now Boston’s home. Not by choice, certainly. Tommy wanted security and community. He had a pipe dream about a sense of normalcy like before and somehow convinced Joel that a quarantine zone would be worth the trouble.
It was, like Joel predicted, not worth it. 
Add on top of it the chilly winters and gray skies, Joel wanted to up and leave.
You moved in a year after them, in the next door unit in the designated “childless” apartment building– more like a barracks. 
Tommy tried flirting with you the moment he laid eyes on you. Joel was there– standing behind him and rolling his eyes so hard that he nearly missed the way your eyes flickered to his figure in curiosity. Dejected by your rejection, Tommy slips into Joel’s place too soon to notice the bashful smiles you two exchange.
Within a month, a picture of you and him sits on Joel’s fridge.
****
Tommy joins the Fireflies a year after you move in with Joel. Joel can’t understand why. He spends the better part of that winter tormented by migraines as he tries to understand where he went wrong. He hasn’t spoken to his brother in the better part of the season.
He worries for Tommy. He convinces himself that his brother has gone off on a suicide mission. He chest tightens with each step into the town square, convinced his brother’s body will be hanging. Dread of the possibility that he’s spoken his last words to Tommy looms over Joel’s head.
You’re less worried than Joel. You actually talk to Tommy, truly listen to his side of the story without letting rage take over. You become Tommy’s advocate. The Miller’s middleman.
He’s not stupid Joel. You know that.
Try sayin’ that when he gets his neck snapped by FEDRA.
Joel handles his anger– his premature grief –better than most people these days. He talks to you when things get bad, vents until he runs out of energy to talk. It’s usually those nights, when he’s loosened by frustration (and some whiskey), that you have your longest, most heartfelt conversations with the man. It’s during those conversations that your relationship progresses the most, albeit baby steps. They include the nights when he asked you to move in, first told you he cares about you, and told you about his daughter.
You distract him. He spends less time draining his decanter in favor of drowning his woes into you. He wakes you up at night, when the thoughts get too much for him, with a hand trailing up your side and his mouth on your neck.
He takes it slow those nights, on your sides and him behind you. He whispers to you, words emphasized by the slow pistoning of his hips. He thanks you, praises you. He begs you not to leave.
Afterwards, with his seed drying on your skin, his arm tossed over your still-clothed chest, you always tell him you love him. He never says it back.
****
The first time you sneak out, you confess immediately afterwards. Tommy needed help with a job, not for the Fireflies, but one he didn’t trust Joel to act hospitable enough for. You leave in the blanket of night and return before curfew ends, unscathed, but with a look of guilt in your eyes.
The next time you sneak out, you spare the details. Tommy had a job, you say. There’s less guilt in your eyes, especially when you tuck a thick pile of ration cards into the stash.
After the third night you sneak out, Joel accepts it as a routine. He knows not to question a good thing. Ration cards are a blessing, and your work with Tommy keeps the food coming in when Joel’s smuggling falls short.
Things turn after that. The Fireflies pull a stunt. They line up half of a dozen off-duty FEDRA workers in the square and beat them to death. Their blood flows down the street the next morning, leading crowds to the scene. Their bodies are marred, sitting in a pile underneath a messy Firefly, painted on an old brick wall.
They post their manifesto all around town, and for the first and only time in a year, the Miller brothers reunite.
You stand between them, staring down at the bodies collecting flies. The scent of cadaver fills the air, the spread of the scent expedited by the summer sun.
Tommy’s shocked.
Joel tells him, “It’s what you signed up for.” They’re his parting words.
FEDRA leaves the bodies on the street for the day, letting the people of the quarantine zone watch wives and children publicly grieve. It was their way of garnering support, of encouraging compliance. Every sob that echoes through the city is a question.
A mother cries for her son. Is this what you want?
A brother falls to his knees. Does freedom require such violence?
A child learns that their father won’t come home. Shouldn’t the Fireflies pay for what they’ve done?
The Fireflies fail, and their manifesto is ignored. FEDRA increases security within the zone. They crack down on illegal activity, not just the Fireflies. Jobs with Tommy become more risky. More hours go into planning, and execution takes twice the time.
Joel’s smuggling ring comes up with a code, something with decades of music. He refuses to share the details with you. He spends hours at a time sitting at the radio, scouring its stations for any sign of whatever. Some days he completely disappears into it, songs you haven't heard in years filling the apartment as incoming and outgoing signals.
Joel worries. You worry. 
There are hangings in the streets almost every day. It used to just be Fireflies. Now it’s everyone: kids sneaking out past curfew, the elderly pocketing extra ration cards, just about anybody they can deal an infraction to.
One night, when it’s too dark for him to read the vulnerability evident on your face, you tell Joel the truth.
“Tommy’s thinking of leaving.”
Joel scoffs. “That’s a stupid thing to do”
“It’s dangerous here.”
“It’s dangerous out there.”
“Maybe.”
“You’re not thinking of leaving.” 
You’re not thinking of leaving. It’s a statement, so presumptuous it makes you dizzy. But it shouldn’t. He’s right. You’re not thinking of leaving. You couldn’t leave Joel. He’s become a part of you. Leaving him would splinter some vital part of your very soul. It would shatter the pipe-dream of love in this world that you’ve somehow made true.
“I wouldn’t leave you, Joel.”
I can’t leave you, Joel. Not now.
****
He’s awake when you shuffle through the door. You don’t turn on the lights, just stumble through the apartment to the bed. You keep your right leg straight as you lower yourself next to him. Your pants are off already, shucked off by the door, he assumes. A bloody bandage wraps around your knee. It seems to stare back at Joel.
It’s blizzarding out. It’s one of the things he hates most about Boston. The bone-chilling storms that never seem to let up. He wonders if that’s why you’re back so late.
“Rough night?” He asks. You don’t answer.
You speak less these days. He doesn’t raise a fuss because when you do speak, you’re arguing. The two of you dance around each other, pretending like there isn’t an invisible wedge driving itself between you. Intimacy evades you, and your features come to harden more and more each time you sneak in past curfew. There are still peeks though, of that woman who smiled so bashfully at him: the way you smile when he greets you with a kiss, laugh at his dry humor, sigh as he sinks himself into you.
“Been two days,” he says. 
You hum in what Joel assumes is your attempt at a response. Your eyes are closed, that he can make out from the moonlight streaming through the window. You’re breathing heavily, either from frustration or pain from your leg. He selfishly hopes it's the latter.
“You should have left a note.”
“If I knew it’d be long, I would have.” Not an apology.
“You didn’t know?”
You sigh, and for a moment Joel thinks you’re going to ignore him, just turn on your side and fall asleep. But you push back, a warning lilt to your voice, “Things went wrong.” He can hear it between your words, I don’t want to do this right now, Joel.
He wants to stop, roll over and pull you into his arms and pretend like your lives aren’t on the line, like everything’s okay. But he’s worried. “Tommy’s gonna get you killed.”
You sit up, so fast Joel thinks you’re going to knock him off of the bed. There’s a sparkle– no, simmering –in your eyes. “Joel–” You stop yourself, a hand coming to pinch the bridge of your nose.
Silence returns to the apartment. You look older in the low lighting, stress pulling unfavorably on your features. 
Joel knows he should apologize for his roughness, but remorse isn’t something he can find within himself. Apologies come hard these days. He lets his anger, fear, and hurt control him, afraid apologizing would let all those feelings melt away, and leave him with an emptiness and need to face his cruel reality.
“Can we not do this?” You whisper, “Not tonight, please.”
Joel purses his lips, pulling you into his side. You let him hold you, feeling the pulsing of his heart beneath his ribcage.
Your hand slips from his shoulder. Lower– to his ribs. Lower– to the softness of his waist. Lower– to the band of the jeans he fell asleep in. He knows what you want. What you need. Most of your arguments end the same way. One of you stops it early, before things get nasty. There’s no resolution, just anger and hate and energy sitting in the air. It needs to be spent somehow.
But he’s tired. You’ve been gone since yesterday morning, longer than you’ve ever been out. And he was awake, waiting for you to walk through the door, weighing when and where he needed to storm off to find you. Adrenaline has come and gone and turned Joel to a husk.
“Tired, baby,” he mutters, placing his hand over yours.
“No, no,” you whisper, though you stall your movements. “Don’t worry about me, baby. Just let me take care of you.” You look at him expectantly, begging silently.
Joel nods and you send him the most honest-to-god beaming smile he’s ever seen as your hands unbutton his jeans. He’s– shamefully –half-hard by the time you work him out of his jeans, and the way you take his tip into his mouth, hands working the rest of his length, has him solid so fast he’s dizzy.
It’s unceremonious and awkward. You lean over your lap to fit him in your mouth. Your bad leg rests on the ground, straight at the knee. He wants to stop you, tell you to move into a more comfortable position, but then his tip hits the back of his throat and all bets are off. His hands knot in your hair as he groans. 
His length pulses in the wet heat of your mouth. He bites back a curse along with the carnal need to take control, hold your head and just thrust. You’d let him, too. That was the worst part of it. You’d let him just take control and abuse your throat. You’d look up at him with wide eyes, tears building up, maybe they’d spill over. 
You’d let all that happen because you were just so fucking good to him. So he stops you, pulling you off of his length with the hand fisted in your hair. You mewl, looking back at him with confused eyes.
The hand in your hair comes to your chin, bringing your face to him. “Lay back down, baby,” he mutters against your lips.
He doesn’t take off your underwear, just pushes it to the side as he presses a finger to your clit in a languid circling. Your hips chase his touch as best you can, mindful of bandages that seem to have just gotten bloodier over time. 
“Careful,” he tuts, though he allows two fingers to slip into your heat. Soaked.
Joel rolls himself on top of you, and your good leg comes to wrap around him, hugging him close. He wastes no time in sinking into you, starting with a brutal pace.
You entangle yourself in him, reaching to get as much of Joel into your arms as you can. You tangle your hands in your hair, trace the line of his jaw, put a hand to his mouth while he plants a kiss on your palm– you’re trying to get close to him, as much as you can without making the pain in your legs scream even more. 
He wants to tell you he missed you, that he’s worried, but then you flex around him, squeezing around his length. He’s reminded of how positively debauched this all is. The morning. He promises himself he’ll tell you in the morning.
His thrusts get sloppier, its staccato less rhythmic as he reaches his peak. You worked wonders on him with your mouth, and it’s biting him in the ass. The lingering of your touch and sensation of being close to you, after so long, has him fighting the urge to let go.
“Where?” He gasps, hips unrelenting in their assault. Your hands fist in his shirt, nails digging to bite at his skin through the fabric.
“Inside,” you rasp, and he almost finishes at the thought of his cum dripping from your cunt. You’d keep it in, 
“So fucking good to me, baby,” he grunts.
He’s close. You’re close. You’ve given up on biting back your moans– your neighbors be damned. You’ve begun murmuring beneath him, words of admiration he can’t hear with his bad ear, yet you mutter them all the same. You take advantage of these moments to share the most intimate parts of yourself without fear of his cold judgment. The same intimacy he’s never reciprocated.
He spits in his hand and slips it back down to your clit. He circles it once, twice, and you melt. The sensations are too much for you, the drag of his cock, the wetness of him swirling at your clit, his choked moans in your ears– they’re all cruel and make your vision go white.
Your orgasm pushes him over the edge. He curses, a rare sound in your ear, but continues his drilling into your cunt.
“So. Damn. Good.” He punctuates each word with a thrust, pushing his spend deeper into you. You clench around him, a vice-grip emphasizing the way he just fills you.
His cock twitches one last time before he draws himself out. A pear of your mixed release slips out with him. You watch his face as his eyes fix on the drip, as he contemplates it before scooping it up and back into your abused cunt.
He lowers himself unceremoniously back down on the bed. Your eyes aren’t on him anymore. They occupy themselves with the ceiling, glazed over with something akin to coldness. You reach for his hand, though, taking it in yours and pulling it to your chest. He leans into you. The arm over your chest pulls you close, while a thick leg traps you beneath him. His head nuzzles into your neck, breathing in your heady scent.
“I need you,” he mummers into your skin.
“I love you,” you say.
He doesn’t say it back.
Drifting to sleep, Joel hears a sniffle, muffled into the fabric covering his chest. It’s just the cold, he tells himself. You’re sniffling because of the cold.
****
He wakes up alone, head pounding with the beginning aches of a migraine. Not now, please. The last of the painkillers were traded to pay for winter heating in the apartment. The chill still finds its way in the crumbling walls of the building, though. Most days it’s bearable, when he can pull your body up against his. But you’re not here.
It’s dark out, still. There’s no way curfew was up. How much sleep did you even get last night? Did you even sleep?
He calls your name. His voice fills the space. When the sound echoes back to him, something in his stomach curls.
Your boots and bag are gone. In fact, your sneakers are missing from the small line of shoes by the door. 
He takes a moment to ground himself, breathing deeply before the pang in his stomach comes to consume him. Emotions aren’t easy to regulate, not when they come to you. Especially not when you’re out in a blizzard. Injured. And tired.
He goes about his day after that, anxious at your absence, but there was business he needed to tend to. It’s not until dinnertime, when the emptiness in his stomach is too much to ignore, that he discovers it.
The photo on the fridge has been his favorite. Tommy took it with an old polaroid. You’re tucked under Joel’s arm, beaming as he plants a kiss on your cheek. When you’re gone, and Joel’s feeling lonely, it keeps him company. It reminds him of an easier time, when FEDRA wasn’t on your tails. When being together was easier.
The picture is gone, and in its place is a note, scribbled on a single, crumpled piece of paper.
He can’t read the letter– refuses to put himself through loss like that again, even at the cost of closure– but his thumb traces the last line of the note. It’s written in bigger, messier text. He still recognizes it as your own. Perhaps it was an afterthought. Perhaps you didn’t want to be presumptuous, just to disappoint.
See you on the other side.
For the first time since you smiled at him in that hallway, Joel Miller feels alone.
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carigm · 4 days
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A BREAKDOWN OF THE POTENTIAL S5 EPISODE TITLES!!
Okay, so today entertainment journalist Jeff Sneider shared some alleged insider info about S5 of ST, mainly directors and titles of the first 6 episodes.
Here’s a screenshot
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It’s important to keep in mind that this guy isn’t always the most reliable, and considering he also said he believes S5 could come out before the end of this year, let’s not take any of this too seriously. (Many cast members have mentioned they’re filming until December of this year so that’s literally impossible). The information about the possible directors I believe is correct, because it’s been circulating around from other sources too.
The episode titles I’m less convinced about because it’s also possible the Duffers could’ve put out fake episode titles in case they leaked. I remember for S2 all the episodes titles they announced were changed later on lol. But for the sake of fun, here’s an analysis of all of them:
1. The crawl (only confirmed title) is a very broad, open title. It personally makes me think of the UD and vines, or maybe even the idea of Vecna crawling back to life. Could also be an allusion to the military.
2. The Vanishing of ___ Wheeler is arguably the most insane one. The journalist said he wasn’t revealing the actual name of the person because it’s a spoiler ofc. My gut tells me it’s gonna be Holly, mainly because of the recast and her supposedly being involved in the hospital plot, which we have guessed takes place in episode 2. Could explain why she’s suddenly “more important” this season, especially if she’s used as a plot device of sorts. Could also tie into what Ted’s actor said in a podcast back in February about the first episodes being a rollercoaster of emotions, and that comment he made about Ted having a soft spot for Holly. It would be a perfect tie in for Karen to find out about the UD as well. The implications of naming the episode the same as the first episode, which is so intrinsically tied to Will, is very interesting. It’s also a new connection/tie between the Byers/Wheelers that I assume will bring the families closer together. I don’t think it’s about Mike because I doubt he’ll go missing in ep.2, or be dragged to the UD just like Will was. It would be an interesting concept but I doubt it. I also don’t think Nancy’s gonna go missing. Karen could be interesting but I doubt it as well. Ted would be an incredibly funny choice. Imagine he just goes missing while at the house 😭 Nonetheless, I think Holly is the clear choice here, and I do very much worry for her if she goes missing. Mainly because while Will survived this, I’m not sure they’ll do the same for Holly :(
It also ties into Vecna’s threat to Nancy against her and her family.
Here’s an interesting leak from the same anon that leaked the hospital stuff (which seems to be correct)
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I think this could be the very same scene Holly goes missing.
3. Turbow Trap 😭 This one is utter nonsense. I have no idea what a Turbow is, so I assume it’s gonna be a code or nickname for something. Absolutely clueless here.
4. Sorcerer is incredibly interesting, and imo a clear allusion to Will. His D&D character being a cleric, basically a wizard. Could also be a reference to Vecna imo. Or both 😉
5. Shock Jock is clearly tied to the radio station plotline. Imo the title could be a reference to Steve, Jonathan, or even Murray (he fits that eccentric, somewhat annoying personality quite well) In case you guys don’t know a shock jock is like a very eccentric radio host.
6. Escape from Camazotz is another crazy title. He’s a figure from Mayan mythology who’s a bat spirit. That immediately makes me think of Eddie, but also Steve ofc. However, camazotz has a larger meaning that goes beyond “bat spirit”, it’s also a representation of death and night. So the title seems to be alluding to someone escaping from death or a perilous situation.
Even more interesting perhaps is that kamazotz is a name of a planet in A Wrinkle Time. It’s the planet where IT resides, the mind controlling antagonist of the narrative. So I guess in this comparison Kamazotz is the UD, and IT is Henry.
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ferrstappen · 1 year
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LONG LIVE l Esteban Ocon
(a/n): omg the first installment of the Taylor Swift Collection. I'll admit this one was a bit of a stretch but I just had this idea and needed to get it out! I hope you enjoy it and would love to have your feedback <3
disclaimer: in this au, the reader plays the role Zendaya plays in the franchise.
summary: Esteban Ocon (aka the biggest Spiderman fan, according to himself) tried to bribe his girlfriend, gave her the silent treatment, he called her out during race weekends, but Marvel was just too good keeping their secrets. (actress!reader).
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i) I said “remember this moment” in the back of my mind.
July 2018
When Esteban told his friend Lance that after months of liking every post and Instagram story of the actress playing Michelle Jones on the new Spider Man movies, he slid on her DMs in hopes she would answer, Lance laughed.
No, he didn’t laugh, he cackled.
It was July 2017, the first Spider-Man movie in the hands of Marvel Studios had just dropped and was a complete success, and of course Esteban had his team request a copy to the studios so he could host a viewing on his home theatre. 
He had avoided spoilers and even movie trailers in order to be surprised, most of his friends teased him about it, but he couldn’t careless, even dedicating that entire night to follow and stalk every cast member on Instagram. 
That’s when he noticed the gorgeous actress who played MJ, mysterious and intelligent on screen, and that’s when everything started for him. 
He googled her age, visited her Wikipedia page to see her accolades and projects, he even checked her dating history and the rumors surrounding her relationship with Tom Holland, the actor who played Spider-Man. 
His life went on, months went by where he silently liked her posts, just as another fan of the series and sequels of his favorite superhero, then he was focusing on the 2018 F1 Season, even as things turned ugly with not only having to worry about performing, but also with trying to keep his seat. 
Maybe his Instagram algorithm knew him a little too well when a Marvel fanpage showed on his timeline, announcing filming for the second movie of the Spider-Man sequel was taking place in London and Italy, and between the stress of training, press breathing on his shoulder about his future in Formula 1, he decided to take a risk.
Which takes him to his Canadian friend laughing at him. 
He made his way towards the Williams trailer where Lance was getting ready, not really caring that chances were he was going to take his seat at Racing Point, they were friends. That’s why Lance felt so comfortable staring at his friend in disbelief as he couldn’t stop the giggles that just kept coming. 
“Esteban, why would you subject yourself to being ignored? She’s from Hollywood, there’s no way she even knows who you are.” Lance tried to reason with his French friend, but Esteban shrugged. 
“It doesn’t matter, I know she’s probably not going to see it, but I have nothing to lose. It doesn’t even count as humiliation because we’ll probably never going to meet each other.”
Lance squinted his eyes at his friend. “You can’t have that attitude, dude!”
“But you just laughed on my face!” Esteban argued.
“Yes, because it’s my job as your friend, but at the same time I have to hype you up, you know?” Lance told him, but Esteban suspected he was just being too Canadian. “What did you tell her?”
Esteban sighed and scratched the back of his neck: “If she wanted to attend the British GP since they’re filming there.”
Lance let out a sound of approval. “You know? I think it could work out. Maybe you should find ways to drop how much of a fan of Spider-Man you are during press, you know? Just find a way, and then people will start ‘Oh, this Formula 1 driver is so adorable, he’s such a fanboy’.” The Canadian suggested. 
“How did you even think of that?” Esteban asked, but was interrupted by his iPhone going off, his engineer asking him where he was.
He didn’t get to talk with Lance again, just throwing himself on the hotel bed while his eyes were already closing due to stress and jetlag. Forcing himself off the bed to take a shower and then going to bed, checking his phone for one last time. 
His verified account worked in a weird way he still wasn’t able to fully grasp, only notifying him when other verified accounts messaged him or followed him.
And that’s what happened. 
Hey Esteban! I’m so sorry it’s taken so long to answer but ive been a bit busy. 
Attending Silverstone would actually be such a great time, is the invite still up? 
In case it is, this is my agent’s email so your people can give him the details ;)
The French read and reread the message at least ten times, not knowing if his mind was playing tricks with him, but when he read this notification, he gasped and dialed Lance. 
“LANCE!”
@(YNLN) started following you. 
ii) I was screaming “long live that look on your face”
(Y/N) thinks that Esteban exaggerated how much of a Spider-Man fan he was. They were officially dating now, so she figured it would eventually play down. 
God, was she wrong…
With the 2018 season finally over and Esteban not having a seat for 2019, he leaned heavily on her, even if he knew he was going to be under the wing of Mercedes for the time being, it wasn’t easy. 
She saw he was kind of down and with more free time than usual, plus they were still living the sweet first months of their relationship, so she surprised him with a guest pass and paper bracelet to allow him in the premises and set, leaving in on the table of her apartment while waiting for him to arrive for their movie date.
“Bebé, what is this?” He asked once he stepped inside your apartment, an envelope with his name written and an official Marvel stamp on it. He didn’t know what it was, but a grin was already starting to form. 
“Hello, Este. How are you? Did you miss me? Because I really missed you.” The actress placed her arms around his waist, shaking as his body trembled with a laugh before he leaned down to leave a caste kiss on her lips. 
“Of course I missed you, MJ.” He said and she playfully laughed at his nickname. “So, what is this?” He picked up the envelope. 
“It has your name on it, doesn’t it?” 
Esteban carefully moved from the embrace of his girlfriend and opened his gift, not even trying to hide the gasp that escaped his lips once he realized what was inside, carefully reading the letter inviting him to set, signed by Kevin Feige and Jon Watts, the director. 
“No, bebé… Is this for real?” He said with his accent getting thicker with excitement. 
“I think so.” She smiled before he kissed her, literally sweeping her off her feet. 
He knew he’d have to keep a low profile, the public not knowing yet about their relationship, the only one he had confided in was Lance, and now people in Mercedes knew, so it wouldn’t be long before the cat was out of the bag, but he was waiting for his girlfriend to feel comfortable to break the little comfy bubble they’d created.
They were in Venice when a black Mercedes picked them up at 4 AM, but he didn’t care. The street was closed and cameras were being placed, people walking all around as if it wasn’t the middle of the night and freezing. 
He knew it was cheesy, but the set lit up when she walked in. People greeted her all around, dozens of people and she stopped for each one of them, asking for their families and how was the hotel they were staying at. And the fact that he got to walk hand in hand with her, carefully carrying one of her bags, he was on cloud nine. 
But it got better. 
A British accent called (Y/N)’s name as they were approaching the luxury trailers parked not so far away from the set installed on the Italian streets. Of course Esteban recognized the accent, holding his girlfriend’s hand a little tighter. 
“Tom, this is Esteban, the guy you’ve been hearing so much about.” She said with a playful roll of her eyes, earning a chuckle from the brit as he extended his hand. 
“Pleasure to meet you, mate. I saw you during the Austin circuit, it looked sick!”
“I’m a big fan of your work, you’re the best Spider-Man,” Esteban said and his girlfriend just started to realize that maybe it wasn’t a play, he really was a huge fan. “And you’re always welcome on the paddock, just let me know.” Esteban said and Tom thanked him before being called to his trailer, telling the couple that they should go with the rest of the cast and other friends to have dinner.
“So… You’ve been talking a lot about me?” Esteban asked (Y/N), playfully raising his eyebrows and leaving a kiss on her hair. 
ACTION!
Esteban eyes followed as Peter Parker walked around the wrecked set, everything was wet and upside down, and he was in awe as he noticed (Y/N) making her way into the scene, questioning her friend if he was fine. 
Even if he couldn’t fully comprehend the dialogues or what was happening, his eyes were fixated on her, as she gave his co-star the same caring and sweet eyes that she gave him in real life, and he felt like the luckiest man on earth. 
The day was so great that they ignored the few tabloids that picked up the Instagram post of the Holland siblings, the happy couple, and other members of the cast when they went to dinner to a nice small restaurant. 
“Are Spider-Man star and F1’s star Esteban Ocon dating? We have the details from inside sources!”
 iii) When they gave us our trophies, and we held them up for our town.
Hungaroring, 2021
Every reporter went crazy when they saw (Y/N) driving a Land Rover with Esteban Ocon as her co-pilot, smiles on their faces as they pretended to ignore the hundreds of flashes capturing their faces through the tinted windows. 
They’d been dating for almost two years, but still hadn’t confirmed anything. Of course people knew; everyone involved in F1 and Marvel knew they were official since 2019, and of course their fans were aware they were together after seeing pictures of them together all the time, but no one has managed to capture even the slightest form of PDA between them, which made people still think they were friends… Very close friends. 
But there was something about this weekend that made them act more carefree, holding hands when they got out of the car, not caring if paparazzi got low-quality, grainy photos of the showing the tiniest bit of affection. 
The actress pecked his lips before he went to his driver’s room to get ready, engineers rapidly approaching him to talk a few things over. 
Time flew by and soon she was giving him one last hug and good luck kiss before he got in the car. 
“You know, this is pretty dangerous…” Esteban dramatically said, earning a grin from his girlfriend. 
“Estie, no.”
“But… I’m your boyfriend. You can trust me!” 
“It’s a secret, only a couple more months to go and you’ll watch it. Trust me, you’ll enjoy it more not knowing what’s gonna happen… Plus, I know you’re going to tell Lance whatever I tell you.”
“Is the multiverse theory true?” She was tempted to tell him something, but she always chose against it, having signed too many NDAs.
Just as she was going to answer, Esteban was called to get in the car before the race. 
“I love you, Este. Drive safely, okay?” (Y/N) got on her tiptoes and kissed him softly, like it was just the two of them. 
“Je t’aime beaucoup, bebé.” 
She became accustomed to the roaring of motors, the smell of gasoline and the rush of a pit stop, but that didn’t mean the worried butterflies on her stomach calmed down, she still bit her nails while listening to his radio and watching him overtake his rivals. His parents were the same, eyes not moving from the screen.
But today, it was a different kind of anxiety. She was on the edge of her seat, the fresh coat of nail polish chipped as everyone in the garage started realizing that they were going to win. The first for the team and for Esteban. 
She couldn’t stay seated during the last four laps, completely aware that F1 cameras were paying more attention to the Alpine garage, wanting to get the best reactions, and obviously she was there, but she couldn’t care less. 
It became real during the last lap, mechanics and engineers running to greet their driver on their maiden win.
Esteban parked the car and got out, jumping right into the awaiting arms of everyone involved, his face was one of pure disbelief, his eyes glassy with unshed tears and shaky hands.
She was holding your phone as his mom and dad went to hug him and congratulate him, wanting to immortalize the moment after so many years and sacrifices. Of course she loved his parents, but she wanted the moment to be over to hug him and congratulate him.
And that’s what happened when he noticed her. He noticed that he didn’t really know how to approach her, knowing cameras were filming their every movement and being broadcasted.
That’s why she took the matters in her own hands. Her hand went to cup his face, his arms found their home on her waist as he lifted her and kissed her. It wasn’t a pretty kiss, they were trying to pour every feeling, knowing words wouldn’t do it justice.
“Babe, I’m so proud of you, congratulations. Shit, I don’t even know what to say!” They laughed and went for another short kiss, people around them cheering. 
“You know what a great prize would be?” He asked her, gently placing her back on the ground. 
“Not a chance, Estie.”
(YNLN) just posted.
(YNLN): GP winner/king of my heart/love of my life @estebanocon
iv) Long live the walls we crashed through, how the kingdom lights shined just for me and you. 
Sadly, Esteban wasn’t afraid to admit he pleaded his girlfriend to show him the new Spider-Man script. He tried to bribe her with silly gifts, gave her the silent treatment. His last resort was to call her out during race weekends. 
“Esteban, we are living the last races of the 2021 season and you seem alone, did you girlfriend leave you for Peter Parker yet?” The interviewer asked him laughing, making Esteban smile. 
“Yes, she is in the middle of her press tour for the latest movie.”
“I don’t remember many movies creating this level of hype and mystery, do you have any inside details?”
“Don’t even get me started,” Esteban answered, his accent getting thicker. “I don’t know anything, she has kept everything a secret. I’ve pleaded, I even spoke with her co-stars and they told me (Y/N) warned them to not tell me anything! Not even after I offered full-access paddock passes!” Esteban was  shooting his last shot to get any information, even if it meant exposing his girlfriend. 
“Interesting, Marvel is that good keeping secrets, huh? We hope to see you on the red carpet. Good luck on the race! Esteban Ocon, everybody!” 
“You are shameless!” That was the first thing Esteban heard after he picked up the FaceTime call from his girlfriend. 
“Oh, you saw it?” He asked her nonchalantly, like it wasn’t a big deal. 
“You just have to hang on a couple of weeks and you’ll see it. Babe, I have to be back with the interviews soon, but I was told you can bring a plus one to the premier.”
“Am I not your plus one?” Esteban asked confused. 
“Nah, people like you too much now. We can walk the red carpet together, though!”
Esteban smiled at the sight of her perfectly dressed girlfriend. “No, it’s your moment, wouldn’t want to steal it with my perfect height and handsome looks.” He joked, earning a loud laugh from her, his favorite sound. 
She was right, time flew by. Now Esteban was admiring as people worked on her dress and makeup. Someone was fixing his hair for one last time before they left the fancy hotel room. 
Paparazzi were already lining up outside the hotel, waiting for them. They smiled before the valet got the car. She gave him a weird look, seeing a sports car, very similar to his Alpine car, with no one inside. 
“You didn’t think I was going to let someone else drive you, right?” He offered his arm and opened the door for her, helping her with the dress and leaving a kiss on her hand before walking towards the pilot seat. 
She couldn’t stop smiling, resting her hand on Esteban’s thigh during the short ride as he expertly drove, eyes not leaving the road to interlace their fingers. 
“Chérie… You have one last chance.”
“Esteban!” She stared at him in disbelief. 
“Can’t blame a fan for trying.”
Esteban would never tell her, but it was completely worth it in the end. His eyes couldn’t leave the screen for a second, too enthralled by the story being played in front of him, not even noticing the nervous eyes of his girlfriend, she wanted him to enjoy it because, as she found out during the time loving him, he was not exaggerating how much of a fan he was.
She noticed how he didn’t even try to hide the tears and the gasps during the movie, he probably didn’t notice how his grip on her hand got tighter every time a twist happened. Tears were falling freely as he watched his girlfriend on screen, playing what he thought was the saddest scene on modern cinema. 
He was the first one on his feet to start the stand-up ovation in the movie theatre. He didn’t care about anything when the lights were turned on, his only worry being softly kissing her lips while people around them were still cheering. 
“Shit, I still can’t believe he pulled it off…” 
That was Lance, shaking his head and taking a picture with his iPhone to show it at their wedding, knowing that Esteban and (YN) were endgame, even if he made fun of Esteban.
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rimunagenius · 1 year
Text
You Scared Me
pairing: DARYL x fem!READER
summary: When Rick makes a plan to deter a herd of walkers away from Alexandria, he didn't know that a dangerous group massacres everyone back home. When the herd is drawn back home, Daryl needs to get back home to you to confess.
era: season 6 !!!SPOILERS!!! (especially s6e2)
A/N: This is the first imagine i've written on here, so please be nice.
words: a LOT (super sorry)…..not rlly ;)
warnings: angst and fluff
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———
"Come by around 3:00.” Carl turned around and kept pushing the stroller ahead of the both of you as you and him walked the calm streets of Alexandria.
Walking Judith was yours and Carls favorite past time ever since this community opened their welcoming arms to you and the group. You guys were out there surviving on the road far too long. It was only a matter of time. This was the perfect change and chance for the whole group.
Judith was clapping her hands as you looked over at the girl, big grin covering both your faces as you neared them Grimes home. "Do you think it's a bad idea?
“Y’know, teaching Gabriel? After everything he did to get us kicked out of here?" Carl looked at your face, confusion and denial written all over.
"Nah. I think it's good that your still being kind to the man. Regardless of his ulterior motives against us. Shows a lot about your character Carl Grimes. Your father taught you well." You just smiled at the boy, tipping his hat down covering his eyes. Although you weren't necessarily pleased and friendly with the man yourself, you admired the teens welcoming nature that came to him naturally. You loved him and Judith dearly, they could never do wrong in your eyes. They were a breath of fresh air and a reminder that the world wasn't just a cruel place with heartless asshats wondering around.
“I think it's time Judith takes a-" You we're cut off by the screams of a woman followed by rounds of gunfire. Her shrieks piercing your ears, and the sound of semi-automatics leaving a ringing sensation. The newfound mayhem caused you to instinctively push Carl, who was now holding Judith in his arms, further behind you into the house.
Immediately locking the front door, you moved as fast as you could to the nearest window locking it shut. "Carl! Lock the windows now, and grab the gun your dad has in the closet!" Carl looked at you, worry ridden in his big blue eyes as he set his sister down and helped with the windows. As he grabbed his fathers assault rifle, you grabbed another that was placed right next to it. Checking for your knife that you always managed to keep on your right hip, you sprinted to the back door of the home, the Grimes boy following suit.
"Where are you going?!"
"Carl, keep Judith safe. I gotta see what's going on, do not unlock the doors, and stay in this damn house. You do not leave til i come back, understand?" The boy gave her a blank stare, wasting the time you had to help. "Carl! Do you understand me?! Keep your sister safe, i'll be right back. Lock this door behind me, I love you!" You had to let the boy know that you admired and cared for him, had to let him know that he was loved by you, his dads bestfriend, if it was his last time seeing you.
Running down the street behind the house, assault rifle strapped to your shoulder, you ran into a woman lying on the ground. Unconscious, blood covering her abdomen, you knew she was dead so you took your knife and slid it through her temple. Your gaze shot upwards as the back door she was lying infront of swung open, a scruff, heavy built man, 'w' carved into his forehead, approached you quickly. Swinging his knife close to your own abdomen, you threw yourself backwards avoiding the blade completely. He tried again, coming from the opposite direction this time, succeeding. He slashed a shallow line across your stomach. Oh Daryl is not going to let this go. Kicking the man's knee inverted, the man doubled over screaming in agony at his broken knee, as you took this opportunity to stab him from under his chin. You dropped the body and moved on.
As you killed two more people, a big truck crashed through the gates of Alexandria and straight into the south wall of the community, it's horn relentlessly blaring as it came to an abrupt stop. You hoped that the your family wasn’t close, the herd could be headed back this way if the horn didn't stop. Running towards the truck, you met Spencer, as he was the one who shot the driver from the tower. Hopping inside, the driver who had already turned lunged for you as you intercepted his arms and stabbed him in his temple.
You flipped the switch to horn back down, shutting it off entirely. You jumped back out of the truck, shooting down a man roaming the streets with his knife raised, as he approached a kid you knew as Ron.
———
Daryl's job was to just drive slowly infront if the herd, give them something to look at, and lead the away. Everything seemed to work out but then a loud horn began to echo through the woods. Looking behind him, he saw most of the herd break off and follow the noise.
He grabbed the walkie clipped to his vest and tried to radio Rick and Glenn. "Rick!"
"Im here."
"What's going on back there?" Daryl wasn't the guy to get worried about anyone. If that person didn't hold a special place in his heart or if that person wasn't as important to him as she was..he didn't give a flying fuck what they went through because other people always have it harder. Although he necessarily wasn't the type of man to worry, he started to worry.
The sound was close and so was he from Alexandria. He was out far, but not too far that the herd wouldn't make its way back towards home.
This is what he feared. He feared that the group would get to the community and they'd let their guard down. He was afraid that if he was out here, you'd worry if he was safe, slowly driving yourself insane; but him being out here and the herd heading your way...he couldn't help but worry about if you were still safe. He hoped that they wouldn't head home. Not to you. Not to his girl.
“They broke off. They're headed towards Alexandria!" Ricks voice came in static through the walkie and came in like distant echoes to Daryl's ears.
"Imma gas it up, turn back.” Daryl suggested through the walkie talkie. "We have it. You keep going." Rick asserted back to the archer as his growing nerves didn't settle. Daryl was scared. He only ever was when it came to you. "They're gonna need our help! Y/N, Carol, Rosita, and Maggie are the only ones tha' know what the hell they're doing! If it's bad man, i'm turning around. I can't leave 'er there." Daryl screamed to Rick.
"Gotta keep the herd moving!"
"Not if they're going down, we don't."
Granted you never made it official with the archer. You both had an unspoken relationship. You'd flirt, steal glances at one another, and left lingering touches, but neither of you ever made a move. He regretted it. He regretted not being able to express how he felt because human bonds and emotions weren't his fortier. You both just never had the time to appreciate eachother the way you both wanted to, they way he felt you deserved to, and the way you felt he deserved to.
Not knowing if you were ok was eating him alive, he needed to make it back home to you. He needed you to know that he was madly inlove with you and wouldn't even entertain the thought of his life without you in it and he'd be damned if you or him died before he told you that he'd follow you forever. That he'd follow you to ends of the earth if you asked.
Replaying every moment you two ever shared, not forgetting one because they all meant the world to him, Daryl kept riding. He then played every horrible scenario, praying for it to never come true as he kept pushing his will to keep going.
As he was frightened that he'd lose you, the horn stopped. The loud noise left a ringing in his ears as the phantom noise of it started to dissapte. He'd only hoped that the horn stopping was a good thing.
———
Approaching the main gate once again, Morgan startled you and you turned around quickly as you rose your gun level within the center of his forehead. Dropping it immediately you hugged the man, grateful that he was safe.
Your happiness was short lived as you were then surrounded by another group of the vigilantes massacring your people. "You two. You live here?" A very dirty man asked. Morgan maneuvered his staff, creating swift and smooth motions as you raised your gun at them. Back to back, you and Morgan were ready. “Leave." The man behind you warned them.
A girl making a move on Morgan, him beating her with his staff and stopping her quick movements. The man infront you raised his gun at you but you were faster, killing him. You didn't want to but he was here, threatening your people and putting the kids in danger, and that, that you couldn't have. 'When im not there, do whatever it takes to keep you safe so I can get back to ya,' so I can still see my pretty girl, alright? Ya' here me sunshine?' You remembered the night Daryl had told you that. You remembered the look of seriousness and thoughtfulness in his eyes as he held you face in his hands. He always worried about you, even before whatever you two had going on became whatever it was.
Trying to justify you murdering a man wasn't a good thing, but if it meant that you could see Carl and Judith happy and safe, your family safe and sound behind these walls, see Daryl smile the smiles he only reserved for you, it was worth it. You had to.
After the mans body hit the floor, his friends wasted no time in coming at you and Morgan. One swung her knife to your face, again grazing your skin ever so slightly, leaving a small gash on your cheekbone.'
"You bitch." You seethed as you landed a strong, hard, blow to her face, smacking the butt of the assault rifle into her face, knocking her out. This tall lanky guy wrapped his arms around your neck, tightly squeezing but you played an already used card. Kicking his right knee as hard as you could, he hunched his body as you unsheathed your knife, jabbing it into his side. You slid underneath his grip and turned around quickly raise your knee into the bridge of his nose. Out cold. Once his other friend saw you and what you did to his friends, he cowered away, backing away from you slowly. Approaching you grabbed your knife, tossing it in seamless circles in between your fingers. You stabbed him in a part of his shoulder that you knew wouldn't cause any harm, and looked him dead in the eyes.
"Sorry, but…it's unfair that your friends got the short end of the stick and you didn't." Sliding your blade out quickly, elbowing the man in his temple, knocking him out cold. "Nevermind. Im not really sorry"
You and Morgan dragged them back outside the gates, or what was left of them, leaving them there. This is was probably cruel and you don't kill the living but that was before the living tried to kill you.
"Im going to do a quick check, make sure i didn't miss anybody" Morgan looked at you turning heel. "I'll join you" you replied following him as you walked through the streets. Stopping infront of a house with the door wide open, you and Morgan shared a look. Him stepping in first, you waited outside by the door totally disregarding your surroundings. You didn't hear what was behind you before it was too late. A gunshot rang out and you looked down. Your once white tank top, had a small hole in the center of your belly, a ring of red slowly spreading bigger and bigger as you touched your own blood. Your hand shaking as you lifted your hand to see your blood coating your fingers, Morgan was quick to shoot the man behind you.
"Oh shit." Was all you could muster out as another gunshot rang from two doors down. Oh no. Carl. Judith. Weakly running to the house with all the strength you could muster, you ran for the back door, twisting the knob to find that it was unlocked. He never locked it behind you. Goddamit. Running to the front room, wincing with each step you took, drawing more blood from your already weak body. You saw a man standing at gun point, Carl behind the gun, hand hovering over the trigger. Looking for Judith as you didn't see her anywhere in the living room, you looked at the man once again, this tim noticing that he looked to be holding something in his arms. Judith.
Moving next to Carl, you pointed your gun at the man asking for Judith. "Give me the baby and nobody has to die." Your eyes never leaving the man's grey ones, you prayed that he would hand her over, no scratch on her. He stared at you blankly, silently refusing to hand her over. "Give me the goddamn baby or so help me God, me and this boy will blow your brains out all over this damn living room." The man hesitated, considering all his possible options before coming to his conclusion. He handed her over to you, and it wasn't long before Carl shot the man dead regardless. Bullet between his eyes.
"Y/N, your bleeding." Carl took Judith from your arms as you looked down at your wound seeing significantly more blood than before. Your head spinning as you saw so much blood now covering the lower half of your shirt and waistband of your jeans. Your legs finally giving out you fell against the wall and slid down, clamping both hands to your stomach trying to slow the relentless stream of red. You needed to stay awake for Carl and Judith just incase. "Y/N!" Carl set Judith down as he rushed to your side, and held you by your shoulders.
"Hey Sheriff," you let out a breathless laugh as you looked the boy you'd grown so fond of in the eyes as he held you in your probable final moments. "Can you do me a favor?" The boy next to you just gave a simple head nod as he managed to hide the tears staining the corners of his eyes. "Tell Daryl that I love him." Carl knew that you and Daryl were complicated. He knew how big of a step this was for you as you weren’t exactly a couple who exchanged such powerful words. He was the person you told first being he was your best ‘kid’ friend, and you just wanted to pry him about Enid. He wouldn’t tell you unless you exchanged details about Daryl. He looked wise for his age and was always willing to listen. You'd always admired that about him. You had always admired Ricks kids. You’d die for them, and it seems like you were going to do just that as your vision blurred from the blood loss. Black spots clouding your vision as you looked at Judith, a small smile creeping as you locked eyes with the beautiful girl. You took a bullet trying to keep their new home safe and you’d do it ten times over.
"Tell him yourself." As if on cue, the familiar sound of a revving engine of a vehicle you had grown to love because of him, rolled through the gates. You managed to keep your eyes open for five more minutes before Rick, Glenn, and Michonne bursted through the back door. They all stopped and took in the sight of you. They looked horrified at the sight of you bleeding out in the embrace of Carl.
"Daryl! She's in here! Hurry! We need to get her to the infirmary!" Rick shouted before the all too familiar thump of boots ran into the home and to your side before you closed your eyes.
"Y/N, stay with me! You hear me?! Stay with me. Open your eyes, pretty girl. C’mon hang on just a little longer sunshine." Daryl lovingly tucked your fallen bangs that curtained your perfect face just as perfect behind your ear. Daryls words of encouragement was all you heard as you felt like you were being lifted off the ground and into the arms that had held you in secret ever so often in the dark of your room. You always loved his strong, veined, lean arms. The touch. His touch. That's all you could think of when everything went black.
———
The muffled noise of feet and soft voices was all you heard, still struggling to open your eyes. Your body refusing to wake up.
Every nerve in your body longed for the rest your fatal wound had provided you. You lacked the sleep you always chased. Peaceful nights, eight hours of well restful sleep was very hard to come by nowadays. It didn’t help that your group had spent months and months on the road after terminus, after everyone had rejoiced at the reunions that took place. You never got sleep out in the road, especially after Terminus. All the bad people who survived, just seemed to have it out for you guys, always causing problems your group didn’t need. Stealing the food you didn’t even have. You spent most rationing your rations for the kids and Daryl, you spent most nights not sleeping because the night, when no one was awake, was the only time you got with Daryl. Alone. You’d be damned if you spent those precious seconds, minutes, hours sleeping.
Your body fought the state of wake that your brain had already succumbed to. Your body was finally taking advantage of the best chnace it’d have at a good rest.
“Daryl, I think it’s time you head on home. Y’know shower, change, sleep.” Daryl had refused to leave the infirmary after he had carried you the whole way. He stayed there all night long in the most uncomfortable green chair. He refused to leave to eat, to sleep, he refused to leave your side. Just like always. The gravitational pull his body and his soul has with your own was one he would never disrupt. He enjoyed your company, your smile, your everything. He wanted to stay beside you so you could know exactly that.
You brain internally smiled as your body couldn’t wake up just yet, but your brain still processing and hearing everything any one said around you. Smiling even wider when you heard his voice.
“Nah, l gotta stay here. I wanna be the first face she sees when she wakes up. Imma stay for ‘er. Not leavin’ until she open those pretty eyes of hers.” Daryl had no shame in what he admitted to his brother Rick. Rick had known how he truly felt about you since before you both knew yourselves. He encouraged him to talk it out with you to actually make a label for yourselves. ‘Stop bein’ a kiss ass, and and tell er’ how you feel’ Daryl replayed those words all the damn time. He just never grew the balls to actually tell you.
When you woke up that’s what he planned to do. No more waiting. No more near death experiences to make him say that he wanted to spend the rest of whatever was left of his life, with the prettiest person he’s layed eyes on—you.
“Alright.” Rick left with a simple head nod to the archer as he walked out the infirmary, leaving Daryl with your resting body across from him. He’d wait as long as it took til you woke up.
After about another hour or two, Daryl’s eyes grew heavier by the second resting his head on his crossed arms close to your upper body, level with your hands that rested over your bandaged stomach. He had finally closed his eyes, his view of anything was blocked from the pitch black his thick arms created, even if his eyes were open he would be enclosed in darkness. Falling asleep, you had opened your eyes, looking around the quiet, empty room, your eyes landing on the sleeping man resting at your hip. He looked so beautiful like this. Peaceful.
Moving your left hand, you had touched his hair. His soft yet nappy hair. You loved it so much. He was finally back and you got to worship him silently in his glory.
Playing and lightly massaging his scalp, he groaned quietly at the sudden movement on his head. It took him a while to register what had been actually going on where he actually was. He lifted his head to look at you.
“Hi.” His hoarse, sleep ridden voice carried in the room. A smirk pulled at the corner of his mouth and you couldn’t fight the urge to let your eyes fall to his lips and let a smile form on your own lips as his smile was very contagious. Regardless if it was a small smirk or smile, he was always so beautifully pretty. He was so pretty, it hurt. He could definitely say the same about you.
“Hi.” Your smile growing bigger the longer your eyes lingered on his tired face and figure. Had he really stayed with you til you woke up? Of course he had. He’d wait for you no matter how long it takes. He just hoped you would do the same for him. You definitely would. “Im glad your okay.” You spoke softly as he moved from his chair to sit on your bed, moving closer to your upper body so he could be closer to the beauty that adorned your face.
“Me? Ya’ damn near almost died, and yer’ worried ‘bout me? What’d I do to deserve someone like you.” He scoffed at the thought that even when you almost died, your one and only thought had been the well being of him. Some no good white trash. You laughed but quickly faltered as you felt the pain of your addressed gunshot wound. He felt guilty that he hadn’t been there. That he wasn’t there to keep you safe. That’s all he ever wanted to do. “You scared me, sunshine.”
Dropping his head lightly to hide the frown that covered his face, you immediately reached up. Lifting his chin with your fore fingers, your expression shifted to a stern yet calming gaze. “Don’t. Don’t do that—you could’ve never known what would’ve have happened when you left. Im not going to let you blame yourself when I was the one who wasn’t paying attention to my surroundings. This isn’t on you. My carelessness isn’t your failure, Daryl.” You smiled at him, never breaking eye contact with the beautiful shade of blue that you found even prettier compared to the sky itself. “Plus, your too pretty to worry about me, Dixon. Your gonna get frown lines.” Shooting him a wink at the end of your statement. He already had frown lines, it was just the nature of his face regardless. He always had a scowl formed to his face and he got frown lines in the process. Not that they were unattractive because God—anything that man did was attractive. You worshipped the ground he walked on and nothing ever deterred you from him. Plus, it’s not the first time you’ve told him that.
He laughed, his favorite smile of yours, again..only ever reserved for you, taking up his features. “Shut up. I aint pretty. An’ im never gonna not worry about ya’.” A blush creeping on both of your cheeks, both of you getting shy around eachother. You flirted, touched eachother a little too long, and almost kissed a handful of times and you weren’t shy then, why would you be now?
“Did you stay here all night?” You looked concerned that the man was probably uncomfortable sleeping in the chair next to your bed, a blanket draped over back rest.
“Uh— Didn’t want ta’ leave yer’ pretty face in a frown when ya’ woke up to no one bein’ around. You’d give yourself frown lines.” He smiled at you as you erupted into a short laughter, your wound still being sore.
“Shut up, Dixon,” you lightly slapped his arm, trying your hardest not to smile as you didn’t want to burst the stiches on your cheek. “I adore you, you know that?” Your beaming smile warming his chest the longer he looked. He felt he might combust if you continued to be as beautiful as you are. Hell, in his opinion, it definitely wasn’t the worst way to go.
“I love ya’, ya’ know that?” He didn’t mean to be foward. He wanted to tell you slowly, affectionately, and in a more loving way than that but whenever he thought of you, no word ever came as close to describing the feeling he got whenever you were around, or whenever you were in his thoughts—all the time—better than ‘I love you.’
Your eyes never became so small, but you smiled so wide that your eyes couldn’t take the average size. Your stitches becoming stretched and super sore, but you didn’t care anymore. Looking at him was so worth it. You loved this man with your whole being and he with you. Not in a million years did you think that the end of the world would bring you such a kind, loving, gentle man like Daryl—but you couldn’t be more grateful.
“I love you, Daryl.” Daryl held your hand as you forgot the pain in your body, your senses and body being overwhelmed by his touch. A smirk playing at his lips, he opened his mouth the speak again.
“I wanna spend forever loving you. The way ya’ deserve. I wanna be the reason ya’ get up in the mornin’ because your my reason. I ain’t ever felt like this about anyone but with you it’s different. And I’on wanna spend another moment in this infirmary wishin’ I wouldve said it sooner. No more us almost dyin’ before one of us says anything. So, I wanna be your reason, your forever, and i wanna spend our forever lovin’ ya,’ til my last breath if you’ll have me.” Daryl grew embarassed and bashful that he just poured his whole heart out to you, but his embarrassment and bashfulness dissapeared when he heard you speak.
“It’s about damn time, Dixon. I was starting to think that you were only playing and joking around with me all this time.” You laughed a little, bringing him out of his shell. “I’ll have you—I want you. Forever. All of you. I’ll spend the rest of my life loving you the best I can because you, Daryl, are worthy of all the love this universe has to offer.” Lifting his hand to your mouth to place a kiss against his knuckles, you both look into eachothers eyes, finding your home, wishing for it to never disappear.
Reaching for his face, your right hand cradled his cheek, and your left hand cradled the other. You knew he knew where you were going with this, but it never hurt to ask if it was still okay. “Can I?” You whisper to the godly man infront of you, not getting an answer in return because his lips crashed into yours as you both melted into the tender and sweet kiss.
Kissing him was something that was soon going to become your favorite thing. Everything about him you loved and favorited, but nothing—nothing—could beat this. This is all you’ve ever wanted to do. Now the both of you just don’t have to hide it.
Breaking the kiss, giggling softly, he furrowed his brows. “What?”
“We should get married.” You beamed as he rolled his eyes.
“Les’ not get ahead of ourselves here, woman.” He whispered against your lips before pulling you into another kiss.
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mrsstarkey1 · 1 year
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this is me trying - rafe cameron
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SUMMARY: based on 'this is me trying' by taylor swift. takes place after the events of season three.
WORD COUNT: 1.2k
WARNINGS: season 3 spoilers
A/N: you cannot tell me this song doesn't portray rafe cameron perfectly like ??? it's insane. also check out my most recent rafe fic
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i've been having a hard time adjusting
i had the shiniest wheels, now they're rusting
rafe couldn't remember a time before the gold, before the cross, before his dad became obsessed, before he let his dad drag him down with him, before his dad was dead.
rafe's entire life, he made decisions with one thing in mind; his dad. then suddenly, he was gone. it was as if in one singular instant, rafe's life became meaningless. his purpose - gone. his reasoning for every terrible thing he's ever done - gone.
he wanted to be angry, to blame someone. he wanted to not believe the story that sarah told him. but something inside him wouldn't let himself blame anyone but himself.
as rafe wandered the streets of whatever city he ended up in running from his problems, he found remembering glimpses of his life before everything got complicated. he used to have money that didn't come from gold; he used to have friends; he used to have the possibility of a future; he used to be happy. he missed that. and he could finally admit it.
i didn't know if you'd care if i came back
i have a lot of regrets about that
rafe left the outer banks without saying a word to anyone the same day that sarah told him about his father. he didn’t even say anything to you, but he wished that he did.
now it’d been so long, he was so worried that even if he came back to you, and God knows he wanted to, that you'd never forgive him.
he told himself that you probably wouldn't even care if he came back. in reality, he was just terrified that if he faced you and you felt how he thought you did, he'd lose the one thing he was still living for.
if he lost the idea of you; the possibility that maybe one day he could hold you in his arms again, then he'd have nothing. he couldn't bare the thought of that.
pulled the car off the road to the lookout
could've followed my fears all the way down
rafe twisted the key out of the ignition, tossing it onto the passengers seat. he opened the car door with a shaky hand before he could talk himself out of it.
he dragged his feet along the ground, dirt kicking up as he walked. breathing in the mountain air, he looked down, kicking a rock over the edge. he estimated about it was about 300 feet until the first ledge.
rafe lifted his eyes up, blinking the tears away that he hadn’t realized had formed. he took in the view along with a deep breath. his head was level with the clouds, and he’d never seen something so beautiful; so calming - the fresh air, the mountain view, the feeling he got. taking it all in, rafe finally felt at peace. which made sense, given what he’d pulled over the car to do.
almost every part of him was ready. every part of him except for the part that still loved you; the part of him that wanted to make things right.
he was still terrified of facing you, even more so now since it had been almost a year. and now he had a choice to make. he could take one more step forward and chase that fear all the way to bottom; take the easy way out. or he could turn around, and follow his fear back home.
and maybe i don’t quite know what to say
but i’m here in your doorway
i just wanted you to know
that this is me trying
rafe could barely keep his eyes open by the time he’d pulled into your driveway. a twelve hour drive running on no sleep and no food, it was a miracle he hadn’t wrapped his car around a tree.
rafe’s heartbeat quickened when his eyes met your car parked on the side of the street. you were inside. a part of him had been hoping you wouldn’t be home, and he’d have a little longer to decide what to say. he’d thought 12 hours would have been enough, but his shaking hands suggested otherwise.
he gripped the steering wheel, closing his eyes and forcing in a deep breath. this is why he was still alive, for this very moment.
he pushed open the car door as soon as he’d psyched himself up enough. within a couple seconds, he was at your front door, fist held up inches from the wood. this is when he finally realized what he was doing.
you were never going to forgive him, what was he doing? his heart beated against his chest like a drum, and he suddenly felt like he couldn’t breathe. his body went completely weak, and he practically crashed into the front door.
it was the footsteps on the other side of the door that brought him out of his weakened state, and he realized what had just happened. you were coming to the door. he was going to be face to face with you in less than a minute. he stepped back from the door, glancing back at his car, weighing his options.
the door swung open so quickly, rafe jumped out of his skin, for a lack of better words. he opened his mouth to say something, but not even a breath came out.
there you were. you looked even more beautiful than he remembered. your hair was lighter and a lot longer, reminding him that it had been an entire year since he’d seen you.
“rafe,” he’d barely heard you say, still trying to believe that you were within his reach. you took a step closer, eyes scanning over his entire body. “you-you’re here,” you breathed out.
your eyes asked a million questions, and all he wanted to do was answer them. but every time he opened his mouth to say something, only silence followed. before he knew it, your arms were wrapped around him and hands tangled in his hair. your hugs still felt the exact same after a year, and the second he breathed in the scent of you, it felt like he’d gone back in time.
his eyes fluttered shut and his arms closed tightly around you, hanging on for dear life.
the embrace didn’t last nearly as long as he wanted, which was forever. you pulled away, keeping your hands on his arms. “where the hell have you been, rafe?” you asked, eyes scanning his face. he wanted to tell you everything, he needed to, but his throat was closed shut. all he could do was stare into your eyes. “talk to me, baby. you’ve been gone for a year. no contact, no nothing. i understand why you left, okay? you lost your father, and i know how much me meant to you. but you’ve got to tell me what’s going on. please, rafe, just talk to me.”
“i-” he started, a pathetic feeling engulfing him when his voice broke after one word and he looked at the ground. you moved closer, hands slipping from his arms and up to the sides of his face. you trained your eyes on his, silently begging him to talk. rafe took a shaky breath, “i’m trying,” he let out weakly.
you nodded your head intently, “i know you are.” you saw it in his eyes, the broken part of him. you leaned in, resting your forehead on his, “i know you’re trying.”
rafe nodded, a sigh of relief escaping him. twelve hours ago, he was standing on the edge between life and death. looking into your eyes now, he knew that he would spend the rest of his days trying to pay you back for being the reason he chose life.
at least i'm trying
taglist (message me to be added): @withbeautyandrage @willowpains
REQUESTS OPEN !!
check out my obx masterlist || taylor swift song inspired fics
if u follow me & reblog my posts i'll do the same for u !!
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jommycham · 27 days
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Spirit Hunter NG Radio Drama Bonus CD [Ultra Rough Translation]
[Spirit Doctor Yashiki Kazuo's Consultation Room]
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An honest attempt at a translation of the bonus drama CD that came with the purchase of NG: Extreme Kaidanchi. Beware of some minor spoilers if you have not played through all the Spirit Hunter games.
Note: Only did this for fun, and I am not fluent in Japanese, so inaccuracies are expected.
Disclaimers:
This bonus CD is an edited version of Yashiki's Consultation Room that was originally broadcasted on the EXP channel. Some questions sent in by viewers have been altered. What occurs in the Consultation Room should be treated as a parallel universe to the main storyline— therefore all comments made in these sessions are NOT canon.
(btw, Yashiki's title here is "Kai Ika" (怪医家)— or literally "Strange Doctor," which is probably where the "Spirit Doctor" came from.)
✄--------------------------------------------
I did my best with my (admittedly) shoddy translation, and cleaned it up a bit to have it sound more coherent. Again, I do not speak or understand much Japanese, so despite my best attempts, portions can be wrong (though most of it should be reasonably correct). I will highlight those unsure sections accordingly. There are also very small parts I've omitted, either due to it being too difficult to understand (for me) or to smooth the flow of the translation. 🙇‍♀️Thank you very much for your understanding and putting up with my impulsive DM brain rot.
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This CD features Yashiki and Mashita answering the audience's concerns/worries. Yashiki receives these burning questions through occult magazines. This time, however, Yashiki specifically calls Mashita in due to a request from OOPArts, much to Mashita's chagrin.
☕︎ Late for School Reader: This question is basically taken from EXP 4th Season #3 Voice Drama (where it's Yashiki, Moe, and Mashita) regarding the viewer who couldn't get up early.
Yashiki: Moe has answered this before, and I suggest rather than buying a cat, to take supplements, don't accumulate stress, go to bed early, get plenty of sleep, and have yourself plenty of coffee and sugar as soon as you wake up.
Mashita: Well, I guess that's the sort of advice you'd give. At my previous job, I'd take a shower or wash my face with cold water.
Yashiki: Even if someone else wakes me up, I still have to put in majority of the effort through the rest of the process.
➥The answers to this question are a lot more fleshed out in the actual livestream VD, such as the cat thing, the supplements being part of Mashita's answer, and Saya mention for the "someone else."
☕︎ Bug Hater Reader: Also a question taken from the above mentioned Voice Drama about a reader asking about how to handle cleaning the house while bugs are roaming during the summer.
Mashita: You're the type of person who doesn't hesitate to pick things up and put it in your bag. You (the reader) can also try hiring someone or contacting a cleaning company.
[Yashiki is concerned that Mashita also doesn't really like touching gross things and asks if he's okay.]
[Mashita explains that both of them are basically in the same line of work, so it's not like he hesitates either to touch things.]
Yashiki: That's true.
☕︎ Summer vacation is almost over, but my eldest daughter hasn't finished her homework. What should I do, Mr. Yashiki? What did you do with your homework during summer vacation?
Yashiki: The Kujo Family already finished their homework early into summer vacation. How about you, Mashita?
Mashita: Well, it's kind of a hassle, so I tried to finish it early. But I always remember not being able to finish my literature essay/book review until the last moment. It was the only part I didn't fully understand.
*TERROR SOUND EFFECT*
Yashiki: I loved reading books and I don't remember having difficulties with them. Shou doesn't do his in the first place. Moe and Tsukasa seem to be the types who get it done first thing. Suzu seems like she'd get it done unexpectedly early. Eita probably does it early, too. Ai seems the type to get it done and put the rest of her energy into her hobbies.
Mashita: If your parents are willing to help you, it might not be a bad idea to plan your hobbies and leisure activities for the latter half of your summer vacation and finish the homework by then.
Yashiki: And if you don't finish your homework...
*dramatic sound effect*
Yashiki: ... you'll die at dawn. Well, if you can imagine a curse like that/wouldn't be surprising if there was a curse like that.
Mashita: Tch, I wouldn't want that.
➥ The term Mashita uses here is "Dokusho Kanshoubun," and I am not familiar with the specifics of what summer homework consists of, so the closest thing I went with was a book review of sorts.
➥ I got kind of lost on his descriptions, so I honestly wasn't sure who was being described, so the details may be mixed up.
☕︎ I'm waking up in the middle of the night with the need to go to the bathroom. But there are times where I get scared and don't want to go. What should I do in times like these? If you have any tips or advice, please let me know!
Yashiki: Actually, come to think of it...
Mashita: Wait. Just turn on the lights, that's the answer.
Yashiki: What's the hurry, Mashita? I was just trying to...
Mashita: I'm trying to keep you from making an ill-advised comment.
Yashiki: Was it going to be that terrible?
Mashita: No doubt. With this, we're done with the question.
Mashita: Tch, who was the one who chose this question? Maybe they were half-asleep at the time. Well, off to the next one.
➥ I could not tell if Yashiki was asking if his answer was going to be that awful or he was saying "that's terrible (coming from Mashita)." I went with the former to be safe.
☕︎ One afternoon, I was taking the bus to the hospital, and the bus stopped at a bus stop. It was on a main street with only cars and a few pedestrians passing by, making it look quite deserted. The bus driver opened the doors and stared outside. I watched from the back seat as the driver repeatedly, with an impatient tone, asked someone if they were getting on or not. The driver gave up on asking and started driving off. As the bus drove away, I kept looking outside, but didn't see anyone at the bus stop or on the sidewalk of the main street. I wondered who the driver was talking to, or if he had talked to anyone in the first place.
I suddenly remembered this recently— what exactly happened, and how would you interpret it, Mr. Yashiki?
There's a section where Mashita goes into a short explanation in regards to this particular question. I am not sure if he is talking about the reader's question or their reply— but basically either this question has been submitted before (didn't make it into the actual Consultation segment) or it has been replied to, but the reply was not published. Therefore, the editorial department has requested this question be submitted/replied to again.
Yashiki: I remember this question. My original reply was that since it was the driver's actions, it's technically not a paranormal phenomenon.
Mashita: Well, if we can't be sure, we still need to interpret it from that angle (?). What do you think about the situation?
Yashiki: I think it might be someone from the future who came to your rescue, and thanks to them delaying the bus' departure, a major accident was avoided.
Mashita: You're still naive as ever, but worse. No matter who that person was, in the end, you're the one who created that anxiety. You shouldn't willingly go with their plans.
Yashiki: By interpreting the situation in a way that doesn't make me anxious, it allows me to avoid getting swallowed up by fear.
➥ The specific phrase Mashita uses is "お花畑," or "ohanabatake," which means a field of flowers. It seems to be used to describe someone who is carefree or blind.
➥ The answer sort of starts leaning into the more philosophical side towards the end? At least on the basis where my interpretation of "that person" is the imagined time traveler of Yashiki's explanation. If not, I'm terribly sorry.
☕︎ At my previous workplace, there was a tree (?) that always made a ringing noise at night. It was close to a residential area, with an apartment building and a small community center in its parking lot. For some reason, it doesn't bother me on my way to work, and I only hear it on the way home. It also doesn't bother me during early shifts, so I assume the noise only occurs at night. The sound is different every time, ranging from the metallic sound like that of gold or a sandstorm. On bad days the ringing in my ears causes headaches and anemia. I had heard from a friend that the place was haunted/visited by spirits; so I started wondering if it was a paranormal experience.
Yashiki: I answered this question at the time it was originally submitted, but it remains the same. I can't deny the possibility [of it being a paranormal event]. I'm pretty sure the advice given to you was to sing a song. There's also the option of keeping an omamori and listening to your favorite music through earphones. I don't know how effective it is, but as I have said previously— try to avoid feeling anxious as much as possible.
☕︎ I'm an idol who loves the occult, and I love reading about them. I want to consult Mr. Yashiki, as there have been many instances of paranormal sightings in H City. There are also rumors of new sightings circulating on message boards as of late. I'm a bit nervous about investigating it by myself, so can you please help me out? I wonder if the rumors are true or not...
Yashiki: I don't recommend investigating it, because there's a chance you could die.
Mashita: But I guess they can't just leave it be.
Yashiki: This is a difficult question...
Mashita: In any case, I would like to have some more information so I can do some research on this.
Yashiki: I'm sorry, but I'd appreciate it if you could send what you know to the editorial department. I recommend you never investigate matters like these alone.
Afterword
Yashiki: Alright.
Mashita: I think this is enough, about 10 minutes.
Yashiki: I’ll hand the audio recording to Moe later today.
Mashita: I'll leave it to you.
Yashiki: I hope this helps someone with their troubles.
Mashita: Perhaps.
Yashiki: Will you be willing to help out next time?
[Pause]
Mashita: ... Tch. Hm.
Yashiki: Please look after me./Thank you in advance.
➥ The phrase is "yoroshiku tanomu yo," which I've seen can be translated into "please look after —" or just used generally for requesting a favor. I was debating using "I'm counting on you" since it sort of made better sense in this context, but Yashiki ended it with "よ" which is much more casual/polite than "ぜ." I ended up opting for a more... gentler way of phrasing this? I genuinely didn’t know how to write it in a way that conveys how he spoke other than this ( ´_ゝ`).
Spirit Doctor Yashiki's Consultation Room: In addition to our regular consultations, we are also accepting everyday troubles. Please contact us here.
Thank you very much for sticking til the end here. ヾ(´ー`)ノ゛ I've been going through some pretty severe rot and this helped to alleviate it somewhat (despite how piss poor my efforts are). It's interesting to see different sides to characters even if it's not entirely canon.
As a lil bonus, I want to show those of you who haven't watched Nezuka Ryo's voice over for the entirety of DM1— Kawabata Yoshiaki's (Mashita's VA) introduction! The gap is... actually really cute in a way???
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the-words-we-sung · 1 month
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Season 3 ending
So... It's been almost a week since the last episode, almost a week trying to wrap my head around the end of the show, trying to manage my feelings about it all.
It's hard to end up feeling the complete opposite of nearly everyone on my dash but I've come to terms with the fact that I didn't love the ending. I didn't love this last episode. (I shouldn't feel ashamed or weird for saying so but you guys loved it so much that I feel a bit like an outsider right now 😓)
I haven't been a fan of the show for as long as most of you, but it means so much to me. These characters carved a place in my heart and in my head, and they've made me happy for months now. They helped me get through some stuff, made me discover some amazing artists, meet even more amazing people through this fandom. And I loved the story. Even in its darkest, saddest parts, I loved it. I was invested.
I love Wilhelm and Simon, together and separately. They mean so much to me. And I loved season 1 and 2. It made me happy, and sad, and frustrated, and exalted. But overall, I trusted the show and I was not disappointed.
Season 3 was a lot. I liked the first 5 episodes. I can't say that I loved everything about them: I was not expecting things to get so hard for Simon, with no reprieve in sight. I was not worried about Wilmon being endgame (I know it was a big stress for the fandom but honestly I never doubted that they were endgame), but I was wondering how the show would go about tying all the knots it made (I should even say all the knots it added during this last season).
(Under a read more because it's a bit long and I don't want to bother those who don't wanna read more of my frustrated thoughts ^^')
And unfortunately the last episode was a huge let down for me. Yes, it's partly because nothing I was hoping for actually happened, but mostly, it's because the choices they made did not feel very satisfying to me: ⁕ Simon was barely there. We went from him being bullied online/offline non stop for 5 episodes to almost nothing. It makes 0 sense to me. ⁕ Kristina suddenly feeling better: she was having break down upon break down for an entire season, could barely look at her son or even just talk normally and all of a sudden she's back, smiling and agreeing to everything Wilhelm says? I'm sorry but I don't buy it? Where did this Kristina hid during the entire show? ⁕ Wilhelm deciding to not be king, talking for 3min to his parents about it, them agreeing and him running into the sunset with Simon. I'm sorry, what?? I love that they end up together of course, but it makes very little sense to me? It won't change any of the issues they had this season? They're still gonna be famous? And bullied online/offline? (Probably even more so now?). I'm not obviously saying that Wilhelm staying in line to become king was the only or the best solution, but I wanted more from this storyline. I wanted to believe it. And right now, what we got? It feels a bit cheap (and I feel bad for saying that because the ending was cute and romantic and all, but it felt too disconnected from the rest of the show for me ><)
And apart from these few points, the big issue I had with this episode was: The Angst. So that might be a me-problem, but it was too much for my poor little heart (I haven't rewatched the episode yet, and I'm not sure I'll be able to anytime soon ><). I spent like 40min of the episode with a huge knot in the stomach because the heartbreak between Simon and Wilhelm was too much to handle for me. I can see how it was beautifully made, that having lots of throwbacks to the previous seasons, the Wille song, all of that was great cinematography. But it was just too much for me. I got in the season spoiler-free but for this episode? During the lake scene I had to take a break and check online if they were actually endgame because it was starting to actually give me a stomachache. So yeah, this part might be me being too sensitive but I did not like that they made me see them fight for each other for 2 seasons and 5 episodes, but then just giving up for 40min before finally running back to each other during the last 10min. It was just too much sadness for me ><
So yeah, maybe my expectations were too high? But I feel sad, and kinda cheated. Too many things are left wide opened. Too many things make zero sense to me. And of course I'm happy we got our Wilmon endgame, but I'm less happy about how it happened.
It's a bit hard being on Tumblr right now and seeing everyone who thought it was the perfect episode >< And I don't want to "yuck anyone's yum" (as the saying goes), but I still wanna be able to share my thoughts! I probably won't write super angry/unhappy/complaining posts about the season/the finale, but I still wanna be able to chat about it. I did see some posts on my dash from people not being entirely satisfied with this ending so it's a bit comforting. And I hope we can share some nice headcanons, or just discussions about different plot points.
But yeah, I guess that's why I haven't really been active this week! Trying to get over the double heartbreak of the end of the show + being disappointed with the ending! I'm gonna come back though! I miss hanging out here, I just need to strengthen my heart a little bit more :p Gonna get back to writing about my thoughts episode by episode for this season (I can't promise I can rewatch the last one though 😖 It might take me a bit of time to get there). And I want to continue my song analysis of the show!! I'm not even done with season 2 yet, I have some work to do there ^^
So see you back here very soon 😘
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crystal-lillies · 2 months
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General thoughts after watching Season 1 of Netflix's Avatar: The Last Airbender (spoilers may be present)
It's not bad. It's weird, but it's not bad.
No one asked for this.
No one asked, but we got it anyway. So what did we get?
It's not a 1:1 remake. I don't think, despite everything people have worried and griped about before the show's release, anyone wanted that either. It doesn't retain the same character arcs for everyone. Not just Sokka, but everyone.
At the same time, they still have arcs.
They're weird, they feel weird, because this show does what the Shyamalan movie doesn't, and makes an honest effort to capture the essence of the animated show, of the characters, of the world, and there is respect in its efforts.
There are musical motifs from the original. The set designs are out of the original. Many scenes are shot exactly like the original as homages.
And yet, storylines are merged together, elements from later seasons are introduced earlier, character interactions happen differently, character motivations are presented differently, and that feels weird.
We know the motions but when we the audience try to follow them, the show changes its direction and pulls a weird flex out of left field.
I won't say I agree with every major and minor change made, but I'm not enraged or disappointed in the same way as I was (and many of us were) after seeing the movie.
Instead, I'm more inclined to see where these new threads intend to go, and how the story we all know and love can be told in a different way.
Roku had barely a presence in this season, whereas in the original, he was more or less Aang's spiritual teacher. Instead, we've felt more from Kyoshi and Kuruk and Yangchen, and Aang has felt lost in his spiritual journey as well as his physical one.
Ozai, who was just a shadowy one-dimensional nightmare for most of the original first book, is now a more fleshed out figure, but one of confusing motivations. It's not the tonal whiplash of the movie, of the Ozai who legitimately worried and cared about Zuko's well being while also having still scarred and banished him, but one who is playing a 4-D chess game with his kids as the pieces and doesn't care who wins so long as one does.
I don't think it was the right call to have Zuko fight back in the Agni Kai before getting burned, but it gives a different dynamic to Zuko and Ozai's relationship that he's not the towering, shadowy Mark Hamill terror Zuko cowers before.
This Zuko seems legitimately convinced Ozai cares about him and all it takes is the Avatar to win his full love back, whereas there's still bitterness in the OG Zuko of book one. He knows Ozai favors Azula over him, he knows he's had to struggle well before being banished.
I also think not casting Dee Bradley Baker was a mistake. But they have time to correct that mistake.
All the kid actors, being green, of course do not stand up to expressive and gorgeous animation with brilliant voice acting. But they are all giving it their best, and I think they have what it takes to grow into the Book 3 Team Avatar if they get the chance.
The music got to me a number of times, particularly the instrumental renditions of "Leaves From the Vine."
Do we need this show? No absolutely not.
We have the original ATLA, and we always will. It's a timeless classic of our generation. Nothing could ever compete with it or ruin it.
However, I do feel like this adaptation is worth giving a chance to stand on its own. It may be far from perfect, but after watching it through, I legitimately want to see where it goes from here. I want to see this cast grow and change in their own ways. I want to see Toph in live action. I want to see Ba Sing Se. I want to see the new directions this story chooses to take to end up in the same place at Sozin's Comet.
But that might not happen if Netflix decides to cancel it, and I think that would be a shame.
I really do think it's worth seeing this show through, for better or worse.
Overall, as a show, I would give it a modest 7/10. (With individual elements skewing higher or lower throughout)
I don't like that it's only 8 episodes, but that's been a trend of other streaming shows also, across platforms, so I cannot fault NATLA alone for that.
You don't NEED to have seen the original to understand what's happening or get key details (unlike SOME adaptations have been doing recently). You can get a complete picture with just this. Is it as pretty or vibrant as the original? No. But it is still a whole picture (or, could be, with all three seasons).
It has great effects, sets, props, choreography, good music. It has SUKI. And JET. and JUNE. And THE Cabbage Man!
AND OMA/SHU ARE LESBIANS! I mean, I see that as an absolute win.
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pirateprincessjess · 5 months
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hi jess! as someone who has never seen a godzilla film, where would you suggest i start to get into the franchise? sorry if this question has been asked a lot, if so then feel free to use this as an excuse to gush about the franchise :3
I think there are some very good places to start with Godzilla. I’m gonna give met recommended starting points here, and then I’ll elaborate under the “view more”
So, my list of Godzilla starting points in no particular order.
Godzilla (2014) - this is a reboot and it’s the beginning of the monsterverse series
Godzilla (1984) - this is a reboot and it’s the beginning of the Hesei era Godzilla series that runs until 1995
Shin Godzilla - a stand alone movie. No sequels to prequels
Godzilla (1954) - it’s the original Godzilla story and it’s good, but I also understand that older movies can be intimidating for newer viewers
Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla - Not to be confused with Godzilla vs Mecha Godzilla, this millennium era Godzilla movie is part of a self contained duology that I personally really enjoy
Now, I’ll explain why I recommend these as staring points bellow:
Godzilla 2014 and Monsterverse
Godzilla (2014) is probably my favorite place to start new fans of Godzilla, even if it’s not my favorite Godzilla movie.
G2014 is the first movie in the Monsterverse series, and there are still Monsterverse projects coming out today. Godzilla X Kong the New Empire is coming soon, and Monarch season 1 is releasing right now. It’s fun to watch something and be a part of something while it’s new and coming out.
I think you will probably enjoy all of the Monsterverse movies, but pay attention to which one you like the most, because it will act as a good indicator of which Godzilla movies to watch next because the Monsterverse movies do a really good job of capturing the tone and feel of different eras of Godzilla movies. It’s like watching through a sampler platter of the entire franchise. G2014 is a beautifully shot cinematic movie that holds its own when compared to the best Godzilla films, while Godzilla King of the Monsters is an action packed monster melee reminiscent of the Hesei era films. Godzilla vs Kong is a campy monster movie that feels like the Showa era films, and Monarch is shaping up to be an introspective look at society that feels in line with the more recent Godzilla projects (shin Godzilla, Singular point, Minus 1).
The monsterverse franchise feels like a love letter to the entire Godzilla franchise, and it makes it the perfect starting point.
Godzilla 1984, and the Heisei continuity
My favorite Godzilla movies are the ones from the Heisei era. Godzilla 1984 was made as a reboot of the franchise, and it’s the start of a solid continuity that lasts until 1995s Godzilla vs Destoroyah. These movies have incredible practical effects and have aged very very well. There are tons of cool monsters and they are just fun. To me this era of Godzilla movies will always be the best, but I also understand that it’s not for everyone.
Shin Godzilla and the Reiwa era
I like Shin Godzilla a lot. It feels like a new philosophical direction for Godzilla as a franchise, while still being respectful of the series roots, but it’s also a hard movie to talk about without spoiling the film. (Don’t worry no spoilers here). Shin Godzilla and its success opened the door for some very interesting projects (like Godzilla singular point, G vs G, Godzilla Minus One and Godzilla earth). I have mixed feelings about some of the Reiwa era Godzilla projects, but I appreciate that they are taking risks with the franchise.
Godzilla 1954 the original
Obviously the original movie was going to be on this list. I think it’s a movie that everyone should see, but I actually don’t think it needs to be the first movie you see. It’s an excellent starting point but I also understand not being in the mood to watch a 70 year old movie. That being said, when you are in the mood for an older movie, you should watch it.
Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla and the millennium era.
After the Heisei Godzilla movies ended they rebooted the franchise again, but instead of starting a new continuity they created a series of stand alone movies that were each in their own continuities. The only exception to this is the two part story of Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla, and Godzilla Tokyo SOS.
You could watch any of the movies from this era without having seen any other Godzilla films, I just happen to like Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla the best. (Godzilla 2000 is a close second).
These are in my opinion the best places to start, but In actuality you can start anywhere. Even the movies with the most continuity around them are pretty stand alone and self contained, so if none of these movies appeal to you then just find one that looks fun and start there
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callmerainman · 7 months
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𝐍𝐨𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐍𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐘𝐨𝐮 | 𝐑𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐞𝐧 𝐀𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐚 𝐱 𝐟𝐞𝐦!𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫
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fandom. Mob Psycho 100 by ONE
spoilers!. unspecific spoilers about season’s 3 finale in the beginning, otherwise spoiler free
plot. Reigen Arataka is not only your boss at your part-time job, but your former high school best friend and unrequited love. After a kiss happens between you two, you worry that maybe Reigen is drifting away from you another time. You are devastated, and decide to discuss it while sharing a cigarette at your place.
word count. 4,836k
prompts. fem!Reader, reader is a model, childhood friends, not actually unrequited love, love confessions, fluff, light angst, smoking, late night conversations, kissing, teen crush, childhood memories, hurt and comfort, getting together, making out, emotional sex, naked cuddling, love making, getting together
tw. mild sexual content, sex is here but not graphic or either specifically described
notes. this fanfiction can be considered as a sequel to my other work “Still Into You”. It’s not mandatory to read, but it gives some more insight into reader’s work as a photo model and when Reigen realizes he’s in love with her. Enjoy :)
“I care for you still and I will forever”
There was a kiss.
With Reigen's hands plunged in your hair. Your eyes squeezed shut until they hurt. The sound of his breathing going out of his nostrils. Your hands holding his face.
It happened when Mob lost control of his powers, spreading chaos throughout Seasoning City. You could go with Reigen only for a brief part of your road towards the perturbation, as Serizawa protected the three of you with his umbrella. Reigen insisted on trying to meet Mob halfway, despite your protests.
"It's just Mob, I'll be okay and I'll be back"
He said all of this before taking off his shoes and running in the middle of all the debris that was flying around in the sky. Your legs couldn't move anymore than that, and you just put a hand on your mouth, trying to suppress the urge to scream at him to stop. As Reigen tried to reach Mob, you waited for him while leaning on Serizawa's shoulder, his umbrella protecting you two. Then, the storm stopped. And Reigen emerged under the sunsetting sky, his shirt ripped, blood pouring down his temple. As soon as you saw him, you stood up on your feet, beginning to run towards his direction as he did the same.
"Reigen!"
In a matter of just a few seconds you find yourselves in the arms of one another. It wasn't clear who started it first, but you began kissing. And why? For the care. For the passion. For the happiness of being alive. For love? You felt Reigen's lips moving on yours with resolution, while he ran his hands in your hair. He tasted like smoke, and vaguely of blood. It was a warm kiss just like you imagined it happening between you two. Your heart was beating so hard that you were sure that he was feeling it from your chest to his, from your heart to his. It wasn't the first kiss with Reigen that you expected, but it was the one you wished for. You were so lost in yourselves, that at some point Dimple had to call you two out.
"Geez, get a room"
Only then you regained the necessary awareness to separate. A nervous laugh escaped your lips, and slowly the hands that held you two close started to drift away from your skin. The moment you realized that not only Dimple was still alive, but that Mob was also okay, you ran up to both to hug them tight, even if it was difficult to do so with the green spirit. About the kiss, you didn't exactly know how to feel.
You don't even know it now that things between you and Reigen became weird. It has been two weeks since the kiss and neither one of you talked about an "us". Even after a kiss like that it was still just Reigen and (Y/N). But childhood friends don't kiss like that, and neither do co-workers or people who don't really love each other. That day, maybe for the first time, you had no doubt about his intentions. Reigen really did want to kiss you. It was written in his hands in your hair, in him pressing his body against yours, in the trembling breaths he took at any given occasion. But now you are tormented by doubts. The tone of your conversations was the same for the two weeks following the kiss. Always with the desire to talk about it on the tip of your tongues, but never with the courage to do it. You blame yourself too, it's the responsibility of both you and Reigen to consider your actions, what you two do to each other. But every time you see each other in the office there's that silent agreement: today the kiss will not be discussed.
This afternoon in the office is no different. Reigen has his appointments, Serizawa prepares some tea before heading out for an exorcism, while you on your desk do some paperwork. The looks you and Reigen exchange from time to time, full of unsaid things that are pushing to get outside the heart. In the beginning you could take it. The majority of time spent in the office was with Serizawa or Mob, and it wasn't the case to talk about the kiss in front of them. But after two weeks the excuses were running out. Even today. Not when Serizawa has been out for hours to get an exorcism done and neither you or Reigen decide to talk. Your eyes are slowly starting to sting, as you are scribbling down some practices. You think about how you and Reigen were best friends in middle school and high school. You told each other everything, even the things you were afraid to say to yourselves. You fell in love with him as you grew together, and hopelessly. You gazed at him from a distance at any given occasion, when you couldn't be close to him. Then you distanced yourself when you understood that your feelings couldn't be reciprocated. He just didn't love you that way. Your parents gave you the opportunity to move from Seasoning City and you took it. You and Reigen had promised each other to stay in touch but, over time, your paths were divided. You both started university, found a job and made a new life. Texts and calls became colder, more rare. This until you didn't even wish happy birthday to each other anymore. Then, after ten years apart, you came back and reunited with him after accidentally bumping into each other in the same office you are working now. You just walked in because you thought that your backache was orchestrated by an evil spirit. You didn't read the sign outside and when you came face to face with Reigen, your world changed again. Even if ten years went by, Reigen still reached out to you to help you find a part-time job while you tried to pursue your career as a photo model when you talked to him about your problems. And like that, you were together again.But now, because of a kiss and again because of your feelings, you feel Reigen slip away from your hands. Your eyes start to water at the idea, your writing on paper becomes more sloppy.
Why can't you hold Reigen close to you? A single hiccup escapes from you, and you immediately try to shut it by smashing your hand on your mouth. Finally, after an entire evening with his eyes on his laptop, Reigen flashes his head upwards. He looks at you, and he understands immediately that something's wrong. His lips part, his eyebrows curve upwards.
"(Y/N), are you okay?"
Your eyes bolt up, watered, and your cheeks start to get hot.
"I'm sorry"
You get up and quickly get out of the room, your hand still on your mouth. While you're in the bathroom shedding your tears and your frustration alone, Reigen has his hands planted on his face and his fingers pulling his hair. He lets out a low and muffled groan against his palms, and he curses himself. Seeing you cry makes him crumble completely. And it's not the first time he sees you like this. In high school you were not afraid to cry in front of him, because you knew that you could afford to do that with him. Reigen always listened to you religiously, he always knew what to say to make you feel better and understood. But there were times when you were impossible to comfort.
One of those times, you showed up in front of Reigen's front door without any notice. You were still dressed in your high school uniforms, and it was a spring night. When he opened the door, he immediately asked what happened to you. You planted your hands on his shoulders. Then you got close to his face, your lips parted. And at last, you burst out crying, pressing your forehead against his shoulder. You began crying so hard that Reigen, fearing for your privacy being invaded by neighbours, pulled you inside and shut the door quickly. You two were alone, just you and Reigen in that empty and liminal space as you cried against his shoulder.
"(Y/N), don't cry, please" Reigen said, concern in his voice.
You didn't say anything, too overwhelmed. So Reigen decided to take you upstairs, in his room where you spent so many afternoons. He made you sit down on his futon, then he rested his hands on your shoulders, caressing them.
"What happened?" he asked, gently.
You shook your head.
"(Y/N), please, talk to me"
Breaking your sighs, you finally managed to say "Taka, I just can't tell you"
Reigen, although confused, understood you. With all the respect for your feelings, he accepted that he just couldn't know what was making you cry like that. So he took you in his arms and laid both of you down on the floor. You were so close in that embrace, your legs intertwined, your face in his neck, his hand on the back of your head and his breath on your trembling lips. Two teens in their last year of high school inside a little bedroom on a spring night. One of them cried until her eyes shut from fatigue, and the other fell asleep after making sure that the crying stopped.They fell asleep in their school clothes, all over each other, until the sun came to wake them up. And Reigen never knew why it happened that night that, although so sad, he would always remember with romantic nostalgia.
Today in the office you feel like you are living that night again. But this time he can't cheer you up and he knows exactly why you're crying. Inside the restroom, as you shed tears, you watch your reflection in the mirror. Your shoulders are hunched forward, your hands pressing on the sink. You look in the mirror as you say to yourself "you and Reigen won't ever be the friends you were before". It hurts you more than the idea of him not loving you. When you come back from the restroom, Serizawa is in the office again. He says hello to you with a smile, and you reciprocate, he doesn't notice your red and swollen eyes, but it's not his fault. He's the first to leave the office, closing the door behind him. You silently start to help Reigen close the office for the night. It's dark outside and way past the lunch hour, which you both skipped in order to wait for Serizawa to come back. You feel Reigen looking at you from time to time and your cheeks are hot from embarrassment and frustration.
"Okay, everything's closed" Reigen says, walking towards the door "you ready?"
"Yeah" you say, with half your voice.
Before you can reach for the door knob, Reigen blocks your way with his body. You look at him, confused.
"Today I came with my car, I can give you a ride home" he says "if you want to of course”
You feel your stomach tightening. With an unsure sigh you say "It's really dark outside, are you sure?"
Reigen's driving experience was really limited, but he nods convincingly "I'm sure"
You take a deep breath and nod "Okay then, lead the way"
You walk out the office, making small talk as you go down the stairs. It's more comfortable than your silences. Years ago your silences were relaxing and intimate, beautiful. You can't afford that luxury now. You chat about your day in the dark and empty parking lot behind the office. Reigen was used to escort you to your car when you finished work late, just to make sure that you were safe. You arrive in front of his grey car, the one that you had to drive when he got too drunk at a wedding party. That same wedding where you pretended to be a couple to avoid people's prejudices. You slow danced and smiled together. Maybe you haven't had such an intimate moment with him since high school. The chatting ends inside the car, replaced with commercial music on the radio. Reigen keeps the volume low to not get distracted as he drives through the city night lights. Your elbow is pressing against the inside of the car door, your gaze fixed outside the window as you rest your chin on your hand. At red lights, Reigen takes some seconds to look at you.
He would kiss you right now if he could.
After ten minutes of driving in the night streets, the car slows down. Reigen's foot hits the brake, stopping it completely. You don't move from your position, and he looks at you with apprehension.
"Wanna smoke a cigarette?" he asks.
Finally you turn around and look at him, and you give him a melancholic smile.
"Yes, why not?"
Reigen nods and opens the door. He takes a few steps outside and then he lays on the car hood as he waits for you. You stay in the car, looking at him. Your heart steadily beats against your chest. Then, you get out and walk close to Reigen at a determined pace.
"Do you wanna go inside?"
Reigen, a cigarette hanging from the corner of his mouth, widens his eyes a bit in surprise.
"If that's okay for you" he replies.
"Of course it's okay"
You smile. It costs you some effort but not because you don't mean it. Reigen reciprocates. It's maybe the first sincere smile you exchanged since you kissed. Reigen starts to follow you up the stairs of your condo. You guide him, and from another perspective that walk up the stairs looks like a chase. It's not that far from reality. In front of your door you shove your hand inside your purse, frantically looking for the keys. You take them out with a chiming sound and then you turn them around in the keyhole. Reigen thinks that your apartment smells just like you. Like the perfume you always put on, vaguely like your lips of which the taste is carved in his mind forever. And it had that same pleasant air of your former house during summer afternoons when you were teens, when you used to sit on the floor in a star position. The fan always on, ice cream sticks thrown away in a corner, sweat running down your temples and your hair sticking onto your skin.
"We can smoke on the balcony" you say, gesturing him to follow you.
"It's your own apartment but it smells like your old bedroom" Reigen adds.
"And the mess is still here"
As you walk towards the balcony, you shove some clothes behind a sofa with your foot.
You slide the big door-window open. You both get out, and a cold breeze hits you unexpectedly, making his grey jacket and the hem of your skirt flow. Then, you close the door behind you and go towards the balcony railing. You lay against it on your back, it's cold and rough. You start searching for a pack of cigarettes. It's new and fresh, the smell of tobacco mixture faintly tastes like chocolate. You take one cig and put it between your lips. You gesture towards Reigen's lighter with your finger, since yours died.
"Wait" he says, and he makes you come closer.
You obey, and he makes the tips of your cigarettes touch, his is already lit up. Inhaling deep from the filter, even yours lights up with a magmatic color. You look at Reigen and your faces are really close as you exchange a cigarette kiss. Then you separate and you both blow the smoke out in sync.
"It's funny" you say, exhaling smoke "the first time I saw you smoking after we met again I was surprised because I thought you dropped the habit"
"Yeah, but since Mob started working for me I smoke way less" Reigen takes the cigarette between his lips, but then his eyes widen and he looks at you "wait, what do you mean by habit?”
You chuckle "You thought I was that stupid in high school?"
"I dunno what you're talking about"
You smile with nostalgia "I knew that your bathroom breaks during class were just excuses to go behind the school and smoke"
Reigen presses the filter between his lips and inhales. Meanwhile, he puts his hands up to resign, and he exhales a puff of smoke.
"You got me" he says, an amused grin "I didn't want you to think badly of me"
Now Reigen's elbows are pressing against the railing, his clasped hands hanging down. Your apartment is not in the heart of Seasoning City, and during the night the balcony is plunged into nothing but darkness and starry skies. Both you and Reigen puff some clouds of smoke that start to dissipate between stars. You don't see them because you are laying on the back, opposite to Reigen who is hunched forward. Your head slightly swings back and cold hair hits your naked neck.
"You've always been like this, Arataka" you whisper.
"Like what?" he asks.
"Ahead of me"
Reigen frowns his eyebrows and takes another hit. He seems concerned. You copy him and you let the smoke roll on your tongue.
"During middle school, high school..." you continue and blow smoke out "you were always so ahead of me. Everytime I looked at you, I couldn't help but feel like you were always a hundred steps ahead of me. Not in a bad way, but not in a good one either. It was just like that"
Reigen puts the cigarette out, throwing it out the balcony. He looks at the last cloud of white smoke disappear in the starry sky, dissipating forever. With a nervous chuckle he says.
"That's not true"
You look at him. Reigen's eyes are somewhere else, very distant, maybe in another reality. He talks again.
"I mean, you were the prettiest girl in both middle school and high school. Perfect grades, in a lot of clubs and groups, with students asking you out almost on a daily basis. Maybe if I didn't hang out with you I would have been bullied or something like that"
You shake your head.
"That doesn't mean anything, Arataka"
For some reason, the soft and tender tone of voice you used made Reigen want more. He gets close to you, who just stepped on the butt of the cigarette with the tip of your shoe. Almost without noticing, Reigen's arms encage you between his body and the railing, his fingers wrapping tightly around it. He looks at you deeply as you look at him through your lashes.
"The truth is that I couldn't even reach your ankles. I was nowhere near you," you say, slowly "because I loved you but you didn't love me.
Reigen's eyes widen and his fingers squeeze the iron railing more. His heart skipped way more than just a beat. You don't move beneath him, because you're so tired of not talking and running away. Your eyes are fixed on one another, pupils dilated.
"The beautiful and intelligent girl you talk about actually spent the night crying between your arms ten years ago because she couldn't be yours. I never told you, but that night I cried for you and not just that. I even cried because I thought that if I couldn't get you then I couldn't get anything. I moved from Seasoning City because of this. I felt small at that time and I feel small now, because I don't know my future in the modeling career and I'm still here chasing you. Because I still love you, Reigen. Maybe I never stopped in ten years. And I know that you don't feel the same but I wanted to tell you anyway"
"But I do love you" Reigen says "I really do"
It's a really quiet night. It's made of stars, cold air, smoke and words that are finally said. Made of (Y/N) and Reigen, his eyes in yours, his arms that create a space that is all between you two, his hands that are shaking around the railing. And it's made of your (e/c) eyes that fill up with intent, and your irregular breathing, and your mouth opening.
"And I'm not saying it just because you became this super hot model who poses for famous perfume brands. I say it because I loved you everytime we smoked a cigarette together, or when you wished me good morning in the office with a smile. And I love the way you never judge me even if I always do so with myself. I feel small in the world too, and with this anguished feeling that I've never accomplished anything in this life"
Reigen takes a deep breath, just a few inches from your face, and his voice breaks slightly.
"But I rather feel small in the world with you than being alone"
Reigen gets close to you and kisses you. Your mouth smothers the shaking in his voice. You reciprocate the kiss immediately, closing your eyes. It's happening again. You missed his mouth as if you had kissed it a thousand times already. Without notice, his body pins you against the railing, and when he does it you relax. You feel the airy noise of his breathing blowing out of his nostrils, and his heart beating against his chest. When you were in high school you spent a lot of time thinking about how kissing Reigen would be and feel like. Maybe it would happen in class when it was you two's turn to clean it, or at your home when he visited you to read manga together on the floor, or maybe in the back of your car after you took your driving license. Now this kiss feels right as it is, just like the first. When you separate you look at each other with astonishment, the eyes before and the lips after.
"Stay here tonight" you say, in a whisper.
"Yes" Reigen says.
This time you kiss with more urgency, your hands in the bristly base of his honey hair, his arms around your waist. Reigen moves you from the balcony railing and you begin to walk inside. Sometimes you stumble on your feet or bump your teeth against each other. Both of you chuckle and whisper some sorry's. Once inside, you close the glass door and take his hand, guiding him towards the bedroom. You take a second to switch up the lampshade and then you begin to take your clothes off. Your skirt first, then your shirt, and even your underwear, until Reigen sees you completely naked under the dim and orange light of the lamp. He gets close to you, removing his jacket, and he looks at you up and down.
"You're so beautiful (Y/N), you've always been" he says, calmly.
You, on the other hand, cup his face in your hands and kiss him again, and you feel him pushing you lightly towards your bed. You fall down on the mattress, a cloud of pristine blankets moving under your body like waves, your hair contrasting with them and scattered all across the bed as if you were underwater. You look at Reigen with hypnotized eyes as he gets on top of you and takes his shirt off, then you help him unbutton his pants. Only his boxers are on now.
"Can I?" he asks, he's sweet and his hands encapsulate your knees.
"Yes, please" you blurt out in a hurry.
Reigen opens your naked legs and slides his boxers down his thighs. He kicks them off with his feet and positions himself between your legs. You stroke his cheeks and his bangs with the tip of your fingers.
"I find you as beautiful as I thought you were in high school"
You smile to each other slowly, drowning in your gazes. Then, Reigen enters you and you both emit low groans.
Reigen starts making love to you with infinite delicacy, always looking at you in the face. Your lips relax.
"I waited so long..." you whisper.
Reigen arches his eyebrows upwards as he speeds up his thrusts. He feels your legs intertwine around his waist so you can feel him deeper. Your bedroom, in which you always slept without company, is now full of the sound of skin against skin, of the sweet nothings you whispered to tell each other that you were doing good. A lot of praises too. Sometimes you stop to kiss, with Reigen caressing you everywhere, and you squeezing around him even more because you want to be closer. Two bodies under a soft light and with the night out the window. After a while, the rhythm of Reigen's thrust gets more erratic like the creaking of the bed, you know he's close and you are too. You come first, then Reigen follows you. Your mouths are wide open to catch air. Then, Reigen collapses on top of you, plunging his face in your neck. In your skin, he whispers
"Maybe I didn't love you then, but I love you now I swear"
You close your eyes and hold Reigen close as you feel him slide outside of you. You brush your face on his shoulder.
"I know you mean it, you never lie to me"
Reigen rolls on his back, his diaphragm moving up and down irregularly. He looks up at the ceiling as he takes you in his arms and makes you rest on his naked chest.
"I wish I loved you ten years ago, so I would have never lost you"
You shake your head and look up in his eyes.
"Arataka, it was all my fault. You didn't owe me your feelings, not ten years ago and not now, I was just selfish in moving from Seasoning City because I couldn't handle the heartache. We were best friends before lovers, and it wasn't right to just run away without telling you why"
"I could have done more to hold you close, maybe writing you more, calling you, insist to know what was going on"
Reigen shields his sweaty forehead with his hand, covering his eyes in frustration.
"C'mon, stop. We are here now, and we are together"
You pull Reigen's hand away from his face and he rests it on your back, tracing circles on your naked skin with the tip of his fingers. Then, he cups your cheek with his free hand and closes the distance between you and him, kissing you deeply. He moves you on top of his body. Then, you reach for the lampshade switch and turn it off.
"We were good today, we did good to each other" Reigen says, holding you close.
You nod, your hair tickling his chest.
"And tomorrow morning I'll make you breakfast in bed, have sex again if you want and then I'll take you out to eat ramen"
In the darkness it's possible to distinguish only the outline of your bodies, which looked like an individual identity. The motion of your laugh and Reigen stroking your hair can be seen.
"You are every girl's dream. Well, mine in particular. Thank god that after ten years it's still me and you"
You both fall asleep all over each other.
In the morning you wake up to the sunlight shining through the open windows. It floods the room with a warm natural light that makes the white sheets of the bed shine, and even your naked skin. You open your eyes, fluttering them a couple of times. You start to slowly roll on your side, sheets sliding down your body. During the night, Reigen inadvertently scooted away from you and laid on his stomach. He's still sleeping, it's dictated by the slow movement of his back going up and down. The scar he got from his first fight against The Claw is clearly visible, a deep cut running from the top to the bottom of his back. His face is directed towards the window, you can't see the expression he has on his face. But you are more than happy to just settle with looking at his honey colored hair that play with sunlight. You smile full of the awareness that you love Reigen, and Reigen loves you.
I'm sure we're taller in another dimension, you say we’re small and not worth the mention
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butterflydm · 6 months
Text
Forsaken thoughts for s3
Nothing firm, nothing concrete, just thinking out some thoughts.
I am trying to keep spoilers to around A Crown of Swords or so, but I am talking about the Forsaken, so it's possible that a late-series spoiler has slipped into without me realizing it.
We have three Forsaken all-but confirmed for season 3, I would say:
Definitely getting Moghedien
Definitely getting Lanfear
Despite Reddit's constant worries that he's been cut, I genuinely have zero doubt that we will be getting Asmodean but I think the show is going to obscure his identity (just like the books did); which has already been implied by Rafe in an interview (seriously, though a. we had that guitar-holding statue in the s1 Forsaken figurines; b. we're doing a 'close' adaptation of TSR - how is that even possible without Asmo? he's the climax of Rand's storyline!; c. Asmo is PRIME material for the more complicated look at Why People Are Darkfriends that the show has been doing)
So the question is... are we going to see any of the others in s3 or will they be held for s4+.
It depends on a few factors, I think:
a. Are we going to be getting the Forsaken meetings in TAR? One of the ways that Hopper trained Perrin in the early books was secretly taking him to a Forsaken meeting (if I recall, Hopper was able make it so that Perrin not only saw the meeting but also saw Moghedien spying on the meeting). otoh, they may not want to cast actors for the other Forsaken until they have a bigger role to play.
b. How much did they shoot in Caemlyn? It sounds like Caemlyn may have been a location shoot rather than a studio set, which might mean that they only will be using it for a couple of episodes rather than going back to it over the course of the season.
c. They've name-dropped Sammael and Graendal -- does that mean that we're going to see them in s3? I do like @markantonys's idea that Graendal is taking the place of Rahvin in infiltrating Caemlyn, because her MO and Rahvin's are pretty similar (heavy heavy Compulsion). I also like the idea of Sammael maybe starting in Tear, being driven out by Rand, and fleeing to Illian and setting up shop again.
d. I do think either Moghedien or Lanfear is going to take over Mesaana's White Tower plotlines and I'm leaning towards Moghedien, because that makes her even more of an antagonist that's focused on the Wondergirls/Nynaeve.
e. If Rahvin does exist in the show, then he's likely going to be the first Forsaken to Die For Real when Rand balefires him out of existence (in s4?).
f. If Demandred exists, will we be getting the Sharan storyline or would we be getting Taimandred? I would personally find Taimandred a lot more interesting (especially since Dashiva does not exist in this version of the story, or at least doesn't exist as a Forsaken, since Aginor and Balthamel were definitely cut).
Someone on reddit did a good post about how eliminating the "men are always stronger than women in the One Power" differential would actually affect the rankings of the Forsaken and our main characters (the comments are mostly not worth reading but the post itself is good) and how that would effect the 'power rankings' but I also think that the show doesn't consider itself forcibly locked to the power ranking system either (which I feel is a good thing but reddit, of course, thinks is an abomination; how dare we not talk on-screen about how Lanfear is 1(+12) in the Power even though the books never talked about it either and it was all in supplementary material lol).
Tumblr is Weird about links to outside posts but the reddit post is here: https://www.reddit[dot]com/r/WoTshow/comments/17oc10a/ok_i_keep_seeing_people_talk_about_the_power/
So instead of Lanfear being six whole levels below Ishamael and Rand because being 'the strongest female channeler alive' still makes you considerably weaker than literally any of the male Forsaken, she's much closer to being on their level (and it's also possible that the show has made it so that Rand is flat-out actually going to be stronger than Ishamael and Ishy and Lanfear are the same, since they've referenced the Dragon being the strongest channeler ever a couple of times). It would also mean that Semirhage (if included) would be a lot closer to Rand's power level as well, making her an even greater threat.
Our final two slots remain a competition between Demandred, Rahvin, and Semirhage, I would say, and who gets what slot probably depends in part on which stories they plan to focus on. If Rahvin doesn't exist, then I'm uncertain who the first Dead For Real Forsaken is going to be in the show.
a. Asmodean, killed by one of the others?
b. Sammael?
Those two seem the most likely. The others kinda all have stories going on later in the series.
I do think that having Rahvin make it in so that he can get killed off by Rand would serve as a good reason why the other Forsaken act more wary of going near Rand in later parts of the series, so that does remain a possibility for me. Demandred and Sammael do kinda occupy the same space in the 'jealous of Lews Therin' ecosystem, so Sammael being included might mean that Demandred is bumped out, and they could then have Rahvin killed off in s4 or s5.
If Semirhage and Demandred both make it in, we might see their 'strange alliance' together, which could make an interesting contrast against the cutthroat in-fighting of the rest of the Forsaken (in the books, Mesaana is part of that alliance too, but I do think she's just straight-up cut).
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mikasa-imadebiscults · 10 months
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“Hope You’ll Make It Through This Alive”
Hange Zoë x FEM! Reader
(Warning: Takes place on that ship in season 4 pt 2, tiny bit of spoilers for season 4 pt 3, swearing, smut, public sex, fingering)
Scenario- You and Hange are stressed about all the things that are going to happen, so you two decided to do something to relieve the stress but better be quiet or else someone might hear you two
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You silently stand next to Hange as they just told Annie that we can’t make it to her hometown in time to save her father. You feel bad for the young blonde woman as she dropped down to the floor, losing all will to fight.
You desperately needed a break from all this stress and feelings of hopelessness, so you walked out the door and went to the edge of the ship where no one was at, leaning on the railing, looking at the sea as the wind softly blew through your hair.
After a few long minutes you hear soft footsteps coming your way. You didn’t think much of it until you felt two familiar hands on your shoulders.
“You’re stressed, aren’t you?” Your partner spoke as they massaged the tension out of your shoulders.
“You know, I remember the first day I met you..we instantly connected with each other. You would be talking my ear off about all the things you did that day and would tell me about all your experiments. The light in your eyes was so bright that it was almost blinding.. but now over the years I saw that same light die out slowly.” You say as memories flood your brain.
Hange doesn’t say anything and is unsure on what to say, they unknowingly stop moving their hands.
“Dammit I’m sorry, I must’ve made you feel bad. Don’t you worry, I still love you very deeply I can assure you that hasn’t changed one bit” You turn around to face Hange, wrapping your arms around their waist and pecking their lips.
“What I’m saying is that it hurts me that you went through so much pain, and you don’t even deserve any bit of it.” You say as tears start to form in your eyes.
Hange pulls you into a tight hug, “It’s okay darling, I’ll be alright. You don’t need to cry anymore, wanna know why? It’s because both of us are gonna make it out alive, no matter what happens.” They say even though they’re uncertain about the outcome of the battle that’s about to come.
Why does Hange always do this? They always act like they’re okay when you know damn well they aren’t. You want to take all the stress away from them, even if it’s only temporarily.
You pull away from the warm hug to look at them. “Hange, if you allow me, let me make you feel better. I know it won’t relieve the stress permanently but at least you’ll be relax temporarily.”
“I know what you’re getting at and I appreciate the offer but I think you’re the one that needs it right now.” They say with a wide smirk on their face as they saw your eyes avoid their own.
Before you could even answer they turned you around and bent you over the railing. Leaning forward on your back and place soft kisses on your neck.
“H-hange what if someone catches us, everyone is already close by.”
“It’s fine darling, just be extra quiet to ensure that nobody hears your sweet voice except for me.” Hange whispered in your ear, sending shivers through your body.
Their right hand slowly moved down your body and into your pants, two fingers teasing your sensitive clit, making soft and quiet moans slip from your mouth. The noises soon became muffled as Hange covered your mouth with their left hand.
“What did I just say my dear?” Hange says as they shove their middle and ring fingers inside you.
They move their face to kiss your shoulders and back. Fingers curling inside of you, as they still have their hand over your mouth firmly but making sure that they don’t hurt you.
Hange was always good at this, they were always good at pleasuring you no matter what the situation you were in.
Hange thrusted their fingers in and out in a speed that can rival anyone, making it hard to keep your voice down thank god for the hand over your mouth. You are starting to think that they get turned on by the idea of someone catching you two.
At the pace they were thrusting, you quickly came all over their fingers. Hange waited a moment so that you could calm down from your high and they removed their hand from your mouth. They pulled their fingers out and tasted you.
You were hunched over the railing with dazed eyes as Hange wrapped one arm around your waist and the other on your chest to bring you up a bit so you won’t fall and they leaned forward to rest their chin on your shoulder.
“I hope you’ll make it through this alive, even if I’m not there by your side anymore.” Hange thinks to themselves as they turned their face to kiss your cheek.
If only you knew that was going to be the last time you and Hange ever got intimate..
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Masterlist
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