#welcome to lily’s nonsensical posts
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fuck sir i am just an object.
#welcome to lily’s nonsensical posts#aaron taylor johnson#glen powell#miles teller#chris evans#ben barnes#billy skarsgård#jay ellis#michael fassbender#james mcavoy#val kilmer#tom hiddleston#andrew garfield#sam claflin#idris elba#thomas brodie sangster#tom hardy#logan lerman#dylan o'brien#welcome to lily’s thirsting era
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𝐅𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐝𝐨 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞
Pairing: Damian Wayne x Florists!Fem!Reader
Word count: 570
Warning: Damian and reader are in their twenties, mentions of flowers and their opposite meanings(hatred,Stupidly, etc) this post was on Pinterest that was taken from tumblr but lost it and now I can’t find OG creator. If you know the OG creator of if this looks familiar please let me know so I can tag them. Mentions of the word skank.
A/n: i never realize how horrible 2000s magazines were until I read some my mom kept😭 Also this is all Bs. I’m sure all of these are not right bc I looked them up.
the flower shop was quiet today, it was nice but boring. When the shop was running slow time I’m the place slows down too. And you hated it. You were stuck making sure the flowers were perfect even if they were and you were just trying to make your shift go faster. But none of that seemed to work.
You somehow find yourself reading old magazines from the two-thousands you found in the back of the shop. Your elbows are rested up against the top of the displaced case, flipping through the reach page as you read every box and bubble carefully.
“What makes a girl a skank? Huh?” Your eyebrows are furrowed as you flip the page “Two thousands magazines are something else”
(and trust me they are).
The sound of the bell ringing makes you perk up, indicating someone entered the store. You close the magazine before you walk around the display case to face the customer who entered. You stand there surprised, eyes coming in context with green ones that you recognize from pictures and the news—also ones you see everyday when you go to sleep and when you wake up in the morning.
Damian Wayne stands in front of you and he doesn’t look happy. You smiled at him, welcoming him in. You bring him in a small short hug before pulling apart. Your lips lock for a short second before pulling away again.
“Hey. It’s a surprise seeing you here today. Do you need something?”
He gives you a nod “Do you have anything—flowers, that are symbolic of hatred? Maybe stupidity?” You were taken aback by the question.
Not that many people come in asking for flowers with bad meaning towards them—normally they come in asking for flowers that mean love.
You cleared your throat. “I believe I do, follow me”
You take him further down the shop. In the back laid different kinds of flowers, separated by name and by color.
“There’s a couple I know by heart that have both good and bad meanings to them” You start off eyeing every flower carefully as you try and remember the bad. You point up at the orange butterfly weeds, and Damian follows your finger “Those are very beautiful ones but no one gets them because they literally mean ‘be warned’. Which is shameful because they always die out here”
“Is that why you have so many back at home?” Damian asked softly, placing a firm hand behind your back.
You hum “or orange lilies maybe? They mean hatred and other rough emotions. There are also carnations, which mean disappointment. You can also get black roses. Those work too. What do you think?” You look up at your lover waiting for a response as he looks over the flowers.
He pulls out his wallet “How about all that you just named?” You give him a grin. Collecting the flowers and putting them together to make a beautiful bouquet.
You ring him up. “Are these for your wife Mr.Wayne?” You tease playfully.
“Nonsense, my wife deserves better flowers that do not mean hatred” he scuffs as he plays along.
“She’s a lucky girl”
“Yes, she is” he smiles down at you lovingly. He hands you a fifty dollar bill for a bouquet that cost thirty-five and seventeen in change. He refuses the extra amount left over.
“Keep it. Use it to bye more butterfly weeds” you sigh.
When Damian made up his mind he’s too stubborn to change it.
“Who are they for anyway?” You asked. Tilting you head as you put the rest of the money away.
“Tim was being idiotic during patrol and landed himself in the hospital”
“Oh”
#damian al ghul#damian wayne#damian wayne x reader#damian al ghul x reader#damian x reader#robin x reader#damian wayne x female reader#damian wayne one shot#damian wayne fanfiction
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AFTER 8 MONTHS OF WRITING AND NONSENSE AND WRITING- I PRESENT 'LA VIE EN ROSE' PART 1
ASULILI NATION MAKE SOME NOISEEEE | thanks to @scalproie , @headlessstar , @pettyeti for your encouragement and feedback
Summary:
'The Seventh Iron Fist Tournament has ended. In its aftermath under the Mishima-G Corp conflicts, the world lays fractured into ravaged wastelands and pockets of civilization under a facade of normalcy. Asuka Kazama returns home, reminded there is no ground she can stand on untouched. And with persistent Lili sticking like a bad itch, their entwined fates form her a lone island.'
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20k words per part from here on. Three parts total. I will be building the events between Tekken 7's ending for Asuka and Lili into just before Tekken 8 would start. I will be using canon, Harada's statements, and my two essays I recommend reading as guides.
Asuka Essay | Lili Essay
PLAYLIST GO BRRRRRRR
EDIT: I decided to also just dump the entire part 1 on tumblr then decide how I wanna share the rest moving forward
NEW: PART 2 POST
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1
SE BATTRE C'EST TOUS
She held her breath and the numbers came. One, two, three, four, five…she could still smell the roses piled in the training hall. Sighing she opened her eyes and paced, arms crossed, around and around the doorway until she tripped over a shoe. Asuka threw out her hands, let herself collapse then slide down the wall into a slump. Tightness gripped her chest as she chewed her bottom lip. First had been the roses, roses of every color, size, and shape she’d never attempt counting. Everything was polished blinding like the sun and all things broken were now shiny replacements; Asuka still had no idea which button on the new microwave simply heated her leftovers.
Next had been coming home, standing in their kitchen, to watch Dad’s face worn and lined face split with a grin. The pile of bills that used to sit on the table had vanished, becoming a single check he’d waved like it’d disappear. Then of course Lili didn’t even bother showing up with her for any of it; creating yet another mess before pulling out of reach. The confused silences punctuating arguments between them over the flight home were broken when they’d landed at the airport. ‘Return ahead of me Asuka Kazama. I need a day to arrange my things.’ Lili had said, wearing a smirk before flipping her hair and strutting away. The once in a lifetime thrill at hot meals and extending seats aboard first class had evaporated. How the hell did you respond to that? So she’d braced herself and crossed the threshold of her house, alone.
Now she was crouched here, her mind in knots. Dad would probably be halfway done shopping for the huge welcome party dinner he’d bragged about. They needed to thank Lili properly, of course, his eyes seeming to go right through Asuka when he said so. To the end no matter how she protested or hovered over his limping strolls from point A to point B, he gave her a glare. Said that he’d taken her coddling for too long; the doctors had discharged him for a reason. Her hand curled a fist but stopped short of hitting the wall. No point in ruining what was indeed fixed, even if it could be fixed again. No way would she create another reason for Lili to call her a brute. Then the rumble and crunch of a car tire beyond the door perked up her ears; snapping her from her stillness.
Asuka looked through the peephole.
The white off Lili’s limo flashed orange into her eyes under the setting sun. The thing blocked off their courtyard as the driver’s side opened; out came a wrinkled old man hustling in his tailed suit for the passenger’s side door. She turned away. She’d hold out on looking at her until that final, final second it became unavoidable. Instead she could imagine Lili’s self-satisfied smirk, the confident strut as she dragged her suitcase worth a hundred little hole in the wall houses, the haughty air in her laugh that’d come whenever Asuka so much as stared. She hummed in concentration imagining her perfect hair, perfect poise, flawless as she claimed her prize. No! The brave thing would be looking that dumbass right in her stupid eyes. ‘You don’t get control of everythin’ you want!’
Suddenly the doorbell rang making her jolt and yelp. She opened the door and there stood Queen Dumbass, lifting pink tinted aviator shades that covered her face. A silver rope necklace glinted around the collar of an outfit Asuka didn’t attempt guessing the price for. The limo was gone. Lili clicked her tongue; somehow her long blonde hair remained flawless. But there was, if only for an instant, tiredness beneath her stare. She leaned over her tall and wiry enough to block the door. Like so many times before Asuka’s words died on her tongue.
“Good day Asuka Kazama. Have you recovered from our flight? We have much to do if I’m going to train, and I can’t have you slacking.”
Stand tall, now.
“I’m fine. Don’t go expecting a summer camp here you ass. Might be your name on the deed these days but I was born here, right in the living room.”
Her thick Osakan drawl dragged and cut the words of her temper by their syllables. Lili stood unfazed, cocking her head in that blurred line between annoyance and amusement Asuka never understood.
“Well then you’ll know which room I’ll be staying in, how many meals I’ll eat, and exactly what our regimen will be already. I am the only student after all. Or are my expectations too high for one as knowledgeable as you? Perhaps you will find some other way to meddle and fuss during my stay. Father’s wealth is why we can stand where we are.”
Lili flicked Asuka’s forehead, swaggering inside and rolling her luggage behind her. A duffle hung from her shoulders, jostling Asuka as she passed. She scowled jostling her right back.
“Wha’ was that for?!”
“For being so very you. Now, my room if you’d please?”
“Yeah, yeah upstairs follow me.”
Upstairs meant passing several floorboards whose every creak made her heart lighter. Some things stayed the same. Asuka carried the suitcase as they climbed, and after a pause realized another floral scent was flooding her senses. It grew stronger each step she watched Lili climb forward.
‘Perfume? Damn it smells good.’
She bit her lip. Give them a week and she doubted this girl would keep primping herself up like a show dog. The gears in her mind whirled rearranging tomorrow’s plan as they reached the top.
“It’s on the left, close to the stairs for any going back an’ forth. I’ll put your things down so you don’t knock nothin’ over.”
“How rude! Don’t treat me like some monkey; I’m capable of minding my surroundings!”
“As capable as those fancy kicks of yours leave you wide open in a fight, sure.”
“Asuka Kazama you insufferable little…”
Growling Lili spun around setting upon her, pride wounded. She spotted the way her body drew back a second too long and rushed forward. ‘You still have that habit?’ One step sideways slid her out the way letting Lili pitch into air. Asuka lunged. It came an instant too late. Grappling and tussling each other had them tripping through the doorway, until forgetting the weight of her duffle saw Lili topple to the floor. Asuka planted her feet on instinct and pulled Queen Dumbass up as if it were reflex. The force thrust Lili clinging against her chest; for an instant she stood close enough to feel her gasp.
Asuka felt her body freeze, her face fixed in confusion finding Lili’s doe eyed expression. Then it was gone when she watched her glance around. Shelves covered in books, photos, and trophies lined the north most wall above a computer desk. The curtains were white around an opened window above a single bed. A dresser with a mirror and CD player hugged the western wall. Several spare bicycle parts were piled in a corner peeking out of a full trunk. At their feet a futon sat atop a plush rug.
“Are we…in your room?”
Asuka let go of her and stacked the luggage aside, crossing her arms.
“This ain’t a five star hotel; there wasn’t no other place to put you. It’s my room, my rules. Don’t go gettin’ ideas. You’re sleeping on the floor.”
She expected protest, an insult, any kind of resistance. Instead Lili nodded and gave the futon a once over. She spent greater time standing in awe like this were a museum exhibit she’d paid a personal tour for. Asuka’s skin flushed, but before her temper spilled Dad’s voice called from downstairs.
“Girls? Asuka? Is our guest home yet or can you help me with the cooking?”
“Cooking? Did he say cooking?”
“Yeah it’s for your moving in an’ all. Just stay here and look pretty. I doubt you’ve ever cooked in your life.”
She stuck her head out and yelled back.
“I’m comin’ Dad! She’s here in my room don’t worry.”
From behind her came the sounds of bags being unzipped. When she turned around Lili knelt knee deep in stacks of clothes for every occasion, dresses included. There were several tailored bags some of them spilling makeup tools next to bottles she couldn’t see the labels of. She watched her lean back and forth from bag to bag; it was like a cat pawing at yarn. Asuka swallowed a laugh. Lili didn’t notice. Instead she shooed her with a wave of the hand.
“Go on then. I need to make myself presentable. Where is your bathroom?”
“Last door on the right down the hall.”
“Don’t sound so dejected. You are killing the mood.”
She didn’t look at her as she spoke. A suck of her teeth felt reply enough. When she walked away she heard a confident ‘Thank you as always.’ Her chest tightened. A breeze followed her wake down the stairs.
Dad limped around the kitchen pulling out pots and setting oil to heat on their best skillets. Meat, vegetables, seasonings, a fruit platter, tiny cakes, even the takoyaki fryer- her mind grew fuzzy just counting everything. For a pause her eyes followed him, the tightness lingered.
“Oh there you are girl. Come and cut the lettuce for me.”
She gave him a once over from his strong and sweaty lined brow down to his quietly bent leg. He must be straining just standing there. Without thinking she set about washing her hands, placing things within his reach before he knew he needed them; then came prepping. Her face felt stiffer than her chopping once they settled into a rhythm. From the corner of her eye she watched him drag his steps a breath too long; at times when she passed on one prepped ingredient, he stood slumped over the counter. Asuka set down her knife.
“Dad. Why?”
Takoyaki sizzled.
“Why what?”
“Selling the house…not chasing after that bastard who crushed the dojo an’ gave you your wounds. Your coma. We could’ve figured it out ourselves.”
“…We talked about this.”
“And it makes no sense to me!” She shouted, slamming her palms and rattling the cutting board with a thud.
He glared dead at her straight backed, cold eyed, impassable. His lips were pursed with the unsaid that no longer bore repeating. Immediately she recoiled and the fire that twisted her face in anger began wavering. Goosebumps shot across her skin. When he spoke it was deep, rough as gravel; resigned but not bitter.
“Asuka, Asuka I won’t say this again. We’ve gotta survive. That’s all there is to it. They can bust me up, they can drive our students away, but there’s always a way out if you’re alive. You don’t spit on a helping hand.”
“I’m your daughter; it’s my job to be the helping hand. I just need to double my training and some time. There’s no point begging from anyone, much less the asshole that keeps picking fights with me! This is another one of her shams Dad; you should kick her to the curb and let me protect us!”
“Keeping my family does not mean I’ve lost!”
His nose flared and eyes shot wide with ferocity, with pain, as if she’d pressed fingers into an open gash. She recoiled, shuddering in silence. There remained nothing left to say. Slowly, slowly her breath returned; her blood warmed again. Then someone cleared their throat behind her. Asuka turned, rushing the break of the spell hanging over the air, to find Lili stood like a deer in headlights. Thinly applied blush and the sheen of lip gloss colored her face. Dad’s stare felt as if it kept burning holes through the back of her head. Whatever kept Lili stunned broke when she gave them a graceful bow. ‘You’re lovin’ this aren’t you.’
Yet the look Lili wore made her chest ache.
“Good Evening Mr. Kazama, sir. I apologize for any disturbances my presence has caused; a pleasure to meet you face to face.”
“Yes, please come in make yourself at home. Help yourself to as much as you’d like.” Dad said softly, ignoring Asuka’s bent, pleading expression as he wiped his hands on his apron.
Only a few finishing touches remained for the dishes. As she worked Lili sat waiting lost in thought each time she glanced a different spot. Sometimes, for the barest instant, she felt her stare linger a second too long. But whenever she glanced back Lili had moved on. When they plated the okonomiyaki, takoyaki, udon, oshizushi, and more around the hot pot center piece- that made her balk.
It’d been Dad’s idea to offer her everything Osakan and the kitchen sink if need be; Lili accepted bite after bite with firm grace. With turns of phrase she joked, listened, chatted as if Dad were an old friend. Asuka sat mute unless asking for seconds or giving a clipped word or two, or three. Her glares seemed to deter nothing. She watched one of Lili’s smiles, oshizushi stuffed in her mouth. For whatever reason Lili didn’t focus on her, didn’t pry the fresh cuts she’d overheard. ‘I think I used too much broth in the hot pot…’
Steeping in the bath after a wash, Asuka watched the moon hang obscured by clouds. Heart pounding, she rolled back her head. The ceiling was blank.
Night was giving way to blue dawn when her alarm blared. Fumbling she flipped her phone open to shut it off, eyes squinting as half of her read the time- the other half still dreamed of darkness. The screen blasted full on her face. Five thirty in the morning; time to get up. Various bottles, makeup tools, and pouches littered the surface of her dresser. Hairclips, brushes, ties, and ribbons (one set for the hair another to pin at the chest) were scattered in the space between. A handful of mirrors in a ridiculous range of sizes threatened toppling when she rummaged for clothes; she sucked her teeth. Even her things were starting to smell expensive.
Her closet had been overtaken until the hangars were bursting, and the most enormous or excess dresses that couldn’t fit hung from wall hooks. What had been hers with its white and aqua walls, bike posters, and her parts box now became something cheaply soundproofed by lace. Lace buried even the flutter she once enjoyed from her white curtains. Everything was pink or silver or both or cream and red and grey and purple and she swallowed a scream. The last drops of sleep evaporated under her anger as she kneeled. Lili slept piled under the futon straight backed; a velvet mask embroidered with flowers over her eyes. A neat collection of stuffed animals ringed her body. Her breaths were so quiet she could pass for dead. Asuka considered it for a split second. She poked her cheek.
“Hey wake up. Training starts before school.”
Nothing, she poked her harder.
“C’mon you can hear me can’t you?”
A sudden mumble then jerk, but still she slept. Asuka groaned into a growl, leaning right into her face.
“Wake the hell up dumbass!”
“AAAUGH!”
Lili shot upright slamming them together, a breeze from the impact shifting Asuka and sending her rolling across the floor. Pain exploded, purple spots flashed her vision then were gone.
‘Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck-‘
“Fuuuckk!”
“My god what’s wrong with you?”
“You! You and your forehead nearly killed me.”
“What did you expect yelling so close like that? You’re not even bleeding. I thought someone came to kill me! Or rob us, or both.”
Asuka grumbled then settled into a scowl. She felt her face tenderly; Lili was right. Her head throbbed but hadn’t caught a scratch.
“Whatever. Keep your voice down or Dad might wake up. Sorry.”
Lili grimaced as she pulled off her eye mask, tossing it over a shoulder as she stood and yawned.
“Why are we up before the sun anyway? My beauty sleep will be ruined.”
Asuka sighed.
“Training.”
By the time they’d each had their turn fishing in the dresser true dawn dappled through the windows. Thankfully Lili matched her careful pace and save for their footfalls the house laid blanketed between quiet and nature’s white noise. Asuka glanced at her from the corner of her eye. Lili wore her hair pinned in a bun with an upturned tail, a headband cupping her bangs; both were paired by a compression tank top that hugged everything, and flowy sweatpants. From the midriff down were stitched roses and sharp curving vines. It wasn’t bad, and that made her bite her lip.
Her nose twitched when she could smell the training hall before they entered it. The rainbow of roses was now wilted; their grey brittle shells crunching under her feet. Musk of decay mixed with rancid sweetness filled her mouth. Behind her she heard coughing followed by a dry gag. Lili threw a hand over her lips; her eyes startled wide.
“My poor things…”
She watched her shift forward and Asuka threw out an arm to stop her, gently. Lili’s body had a softness to it, but to her surprise she felt muscle only practice produced. A jolt like a warm electric shock raced up her arm. She replied firm like it could restrain a tinge of regret.
“I saved the ones I could but they were already half dead when I came home. Then the ones I threw into vases died a little while after too.”
“You tried.”
Lili whispered absentmindedly, a hint of disbelief. Asuka sucked her teeth. Did she come off heartless to this girl? It was completely unfair, after all-
“None of them had to die if you hadn’t thought to leave a bunch of flowers without water. That’s so wasteful and stupid.”
“Making things beautiful is not stupid; you lack refined tastes. Being an uncouth boor seems to better suit you.”
“Yeah well, whatever that means, at least I have sense.”
They stomped at one another, their faces drawn close enough to feel the heat rising after every word. Asuka bit her lip; her jaw tightened into a scowl. Then, rather than argue and scrunch further, Lili ‘Hmph’d’ and turned away.
“We’re wasting time if we’re going to get any practice done before school.”
“No. I will be practicing forms. You can clean this up; it’s your mess. I’m not showing you squat for however long that takes.”
Before Lili could bark another complaint from her twitching mouth Asuka pointed a finger.
“Look up.”
Above the doorway rested the outline of bright untouched wood versus the rest of the dark wall polished by age. Its straight lines and angles formed the shape of a missing rectangle. Lili cocked her head, her expression stilled.
“What was there?”
“Dad hung our school’s motto on a plaque before I was born. It was nailed right in that spot, until that Kempo bastard snapped it like a twig when he trashed the place.”
Every syllable saw her blood boil, every word guiding the drum of her heart pounding in her ears. The hairs on her nape stood not stiff in fear as it was rage howling for release. In her vision there rested only the naked wall, nothing else.
“I need to get stronger, hunt him, and then I’m taking our school sign back. That one he stole like it was nothin’ but some cheap trophy. When he’s begging mercy at my feet, it won’t be over till he’s pissing, shitting, and eating through tubes!”
Spittle flew through the bite of her last word. Her heart turned to roaring in her ears; not her heart entirely but the rush of air, she realized, when she heard a gasp beyond it. Lili stood, that doe eyed stare returned now bordering on panic as she trembled softly. Glancing at the floor Asuka found her own fists had clenched. Since when? Her body had grown tight, pain beginning to throb in deeper knots along her limbs, her back. She breathed in then out. Her voice became stifled.
“Whenever we’re here we have to bow at the sign, got it? That’s all.”
She did so, half in demonstration and half in fervor; a perfect tilt neither too high nor too in the middle. When she walked away roses parted at the force on her heels. Lili said nothing, but she heard faint shuffling, a pause, followed by more movement fuzzing at the edge of her awareness. Forms, she needed to concentrate on her forms now. Bending down in the middle of the hall she cleared a circle then straightened into position. Breathe in then out.
First came arm stretches followed by meaty pops from both shoulders, she shivered into a sigh at those. Then she bent over feeling the burn in her hamstrings before it fizzled out. Slowly she stretched out one leg at a time for her sitting hamstring work, then ankle flexes. The routine loosening each limb emptied her mind, honed her focus into a single razor point.
There was a nagging presence circling the edge of her awareness, she launched into White Heron Dance. Its sequence was familiar, her roundhouse kicks spinning her with whirlwind momentum into a sucker punch that curved the air in passing. Moon Scent would be next. She threw herself downward, bouncing from a handstand as she speared her legs into an upward arc. Like a looping bird she let gravity carry her backflip, fluid as water. Her stomp boomed when she landed upright again. She caught her breath, readying to jab when the presence danced across her skin, refusing now to hide.
Asuka glanced at Lili, wrinkling her brow in confusion when the girl kept staring as if mesmerized. She scoffed. A rich girl had probably never seen anyone who worked for their skills, much less the sturdy muscle years of technique carved along Asuka’s body. Even other girls during P.E. class at school were prissy about it- until she’d once sent a few flying. None of them had ever turned as red as Lili now was though.
“What? Quit grilling me unless you’ve got something to say.”
Lili turned away and swept the roses slower. The flush on her face reached her fingertips.
“Sh-Shut your mouth.” Was all Asuka heard her grumble.
She adjusted her crop top and shifted her shorts. The modest room seemed to shrink the longer neither moved. Then just like that Lili went back to sweeping as she jabbed the first steps of Basho’s Dance.
Together they faced the walk to school. One glance at the battered frame and missing bolts of Asuka’s bike had her tugging Lili along before a word could shoot out her mouth. It was left leaning against the house; her stomach sank at Lili having seen it at all. Then she was under a barrage.
First the streets were nice to walk but crowded easily yet it was better than Monaco. The weather was too cold at a slight breeze despite it being May. They were too far away to smell the ocean. There were no gull calls floating readily through the air in their neighborhood. Despite this the buildings were beautiful, quaint, and street signs were a splendid rainbow. Asuka’s uniform, though handsome with a popped collar and short sleeves, was too typical. Nothing could change it being a sweater vest over a dress shirt and a skirt, how very dull. It lacked the refined precision of a superior tailor- Lili had a dozen points proving as much. And that was why she’d had hers custom ordered to her measurements in a green complimenting her as well as the hand sown cuffs. Her butler, Sebastian, had arranged paying off their principal so she could keep it on. She had something to say after every other block; it took only three before Asuka wished she’d shut the fuck up. Instead she rested her bag over her shoulder, her chin held high, and humored her anyway.
Homeroom finally divided them by school year, and even if she whined about it and rolled her eyes, Lili relented. Teachers shooed her away toward the Second Years by the time Asuka sat her ass in the Third Year class she rightfully belonged with. Everyone else clustered around their circles of the room, chatting about gossip she didn’t understand. Understanding hadn’t been a privilege she’d held since her first time storming back, that Kempo bastard having been nowhere she could reach. It would be almost a year ago since she’d flung desks out the window when one boy joked ‘At least you got to be a tourist while the rest of us took exams!’ The suspension afterwards marred her student record, yet when she’d been yelled at in the faculty office she’d felt nothing. There’d been only the off white of the florescent lights, fury killing the pain into numbness.
Their homeroom teacher whose name she couldn’t remember called everyone’s attention. The pockets of gossip went back to their rank and file seats for roll call and bowing. Waiting for her name to be called she stood, a handful of glances finding her staring at the wall clock. Behind her more gazes merged and bore upon her shoulders. Whispers tickled her ears buzzing like gnats, silenced when their tired teacher asked,
“Asuka Kazama?”
“Here.”
She sat down when he passed her over and leaned back in her chair, arms crossed, brow narrowed. It was every day with this shit. When the lecture started she pulled out her notebooks in silence. Half of her listened; reason kept her anger lidded to a simmer.
History was today’s first subject. It was something about the Sengoku Era picking up off yesterday’s lesson. She hadn’t kept track since chasing Lili at the seventh Iron Fist Tournament; with the bombings, cities in rubble, and armies mowing each other down on the news, studying felt as much a moot point. Her hand clenched in her hair absentmindedly as she took notes on Nobunaga Oda’s last stand at Honnō-ji. His own men had turned and cornered him like a rat. In the crowd around her some jeering or nervous faces turned away when she returned their stares. Many had been weak little squirts running to her covered in bruises when they were in elementary school. She’d charged their bullies and taken blows she’d showed off to Dad wearing a toothy grin. Her enemies were left groaning on the pavement, worthless against the latest technique she’d trained. Asuka’s eyes stuck to her paper, gritting her teeth.
Math came next. An equation that stretched a good width of the chalkboard had her cocking her head, a brow raised incredulously. Then the worst possible thing happened as she squinted in frustration- the teacher locked eyes with her.
“Ms. Kazama, can you tell us the correct answer?”
Two people snickered. She stood and crossed her arms. It was algebra she recognized but never exceled at. If she multiplied, subtracted, carried the one and divided she’d get…
“Er, uh, is it four?”
Pain swatted against her forehead flashing purple spots in her vision. Something clattered at her feet and when she crunched it underfoot she found chalk dust.
“Perhaps you’d know if you took your education seriously. Next.”
She balled her hands at her sides growling into a scowl. Not caring for surrender she flopped back down into her seat and stared into her notes. Then came more whispers,
“Kazama struggles with math worse than I do…”
“Of course she does all she cares about is fighting.”
“Don’t let her hear you or she’ll turn into Violent Kazama!”
Literature class left her tongue tied and head swimming in muddy metaphors. One book’s story could contain a million answers and counter answers, and then there was the view teachers wanted you to have. She wasn’t picked for a read aloud, sighing in relief at that. Still, she tried looking as neutral as her face could tolerate. Her fists clenched on her desk.
‘How the hell am I supposed to know what some author’s going through? Nothing’s going right with me!’
She didn’t even want to attempt English. The straight and curved squiggles of letters on the board were jumbled nonsense. Her notes tapered into messy lines. The borders of her page became busy with scribbles. In one she trampled that Kempo bastard underfoot, holding her dojo’s sign above her head, triumphant. In another Dad practiced his form grinning ear to ear. Then without thinking she drew curve after curve until Lili’s arrogant eyes and unknowable smile framed in a detailed portrait stared up at her. She sucked her teeth quietly.
Lunch came without fanfare when everyone again went in their little corners eating together. Some people scraped their chairs loudly when they moved seats; when she looked around she sat alone. Even the bullied loner kids had made a camp of their own. They shot her nervous, pitiful glances. Tch. She scowled into a sigh. Her lunch amounted to a protein shake and the bento she normally made slapped together without order. The rice, unshaped and seaweed scattered, half buried her sliced sausage. The pickled radishes, lettuce, and sliced carrots spilled over the rectangle cut omelets and nearly the rest of the box. Her hamburger steak felt fucking pathetic squished at the center of it all. The nonsense that morning, and Lili’s cluelessness doing anything herself made Asuka rush in the kitchen. Before she could wallow her stomach growled.
Whispers beat against her as she ate.
“Stupid.”
“Nosey.”
“Thug.”
“Didn’t you hear? What if she’s related to that Jin Kazama, the terrorist…?”
“Enough people end up in the hospital ‘cuz of her. Even if they’re mostly punks…”
She gritted her teeth and glared like she could punch using her eyes. Her name went quiet after that. After the final bell for the day she checked the chalkboard and breathed a sigh of relief. She wasn’t on cleaning duty this time, and that made her steps ten times lighter out the door. Her bag went on her shoulder, swaggering even as the tips of her ears flushed. A pair of girls walking toward her staggered and speed walked away at one glance. Asuka growled and the weight in her steps thud off the walls like trampling hooves. She turned the corner to find them opening their shoe lockers. They gasped, bug eyed as they gaped like the idiots they were, fumbling to get their loafers on. The taller one fell against the lockers and yelped letting her lackey drag her away. She dashed forward and yelled after them,
“Go ahead and fuck off! That’s right! I hate you too!”
She sucked her teeth kicking off her school slippers, angry enough to never care again. When she opened her locker a presence hovered by her left-
“These people are largely lacking in the social graces, it seems. How awful.”
The hairs on her nape stood and her grip grabbing her shoes turned her knuckles white. Her jaw clenched, for a breath she stared ahead utterly still. When she slammed her locker shut Lili jolted but recovered as if not a hair were out of place. She threw her shoes to the ground and shoved into them one foot at a time. She didn’t bother looking at her until there were no options left. The heat rose like steam off her skin; her face scrunched into a glare that made Lili cock her head. Asuka stared her up and down. Lili stood rod straight holding her bag in front of her with both hands; a picture perfect schoolgirl waiting poised like some cliché out of an old drama. Like a cat sitting in a high place it didn’t belong; ignorant to any wrong it’d done.
She leaned up right in her face. The air wrapped around them hot, stale, bristling.
“You made it worse.” The words practically spat out her mouth.
“I beg your pardon?”
“First I had to go chase my Dad’s enemy halfway across the world; people gave me shit for ‘overreacting’. People started doubting what I’ve done for them. They think I just want to fight. Then you came along pulling me into whatever this petty bullshit grudge you have is. You made me show up to the Iron Fist Tournament on live TV missing more school, and what do I find when I meet you? You’re not making any sense talking about my family, what fucked up bloodlines I belong to; the drama that’s destroying the world could come after me. Buying my house, moving in! Now they think I’m like the idiots I clean up on the streets and treat me even worse!”
Finally Lili’s brow pinched.
“Petty? You think what I do is petty?”
“What else is this shit supposed to be? I’ve only met you three times and you’re already ruining my life.”
“Ruining- I can’t believe this. Our rematch outside this school was for my honor after you trounced me at our first meeting. Everything since however has been for your benefit-“
“Don’t you dare say that-“
“I just don’t understand your anger over something practical-“
“THIS IS YOUR FAULT!”
A gale roared flinging Lili’s hair wild as a shaking tree; she stumbled then froze in terror. Asuka felt nothing but the stinging of her blood, a burning on her skin. Then she followed Lili’s stare. Her right fist trembled, raised mid punch, her twitching muscle all that leashed it as if it were a tugging dog. Her ears were ringing. Her tongue felt like pins and needles. Blood trickled down her knuckles from a few tiny cuts. It was so strange; she could see the heat haze rising off her wounds. Her mind went blank.
“Asuka…”
Her tendons flexed as she forced her arm down. The thud of her bag hitting the floor came muffled to her. To breathe shook her body one wheeze after another. Behind her long shadows smothered all warmth from the room.
Her voice was ice.
“Fuck you.”
She took off sprinting outside not caring what direction took her so long as she flew anywhere else. Far, far, and far away; anywhere else. The streets blurred past into denser and denser blocks lined with bright neon or metal signs. Lanes and corners went from mostly empty to small crowds parting at her wrath.
‘Where…where’s some punks…where?!’
The soles on her shoes squeaked as she dipped into an alley. She heard voices pop into existence and her ears perked.
“Got a problem asshole? This is our turf.”
“Not last week it wasn’t, you assholes keep pushin’ your way in here. You got no respect!”
“What’d you say fuckin’ tough guy?”
“Eat shit and give it up!”
Ahead of her figures lunged together until they became two big guys locked in each other’s grip. She flung herself high, tucked in, then thrust out both legs.
“Hold it right there!”
Instantly her heels bashed against their skulls crashing them together; she flipped and rolled safely off their domes. When she stood up there were no exits, just two gangs bunched shoulder to shoulder. At least twelve boys her age now circled her gawking and silent. She got up slowly, catching a deep breath then stopped.
Stand tall, now.
The pair she’d crashed into rolled and groaned clutching themselves before going dead still. They were blacked out. Good. She liked these odds. A guy wearing a jumpsuit stitched with catchphrases and his hair slicked back pointed at her.
“Who the fuck are you?”
She dusted off her hands then put one on her hip and smirked.
“Nothing belongs to either of you; the least you can do is not fight where everyone can see. You’re disturbing the peace. Go knock each other out in private, got it?”
Taking a step forward she stabbed her finger on the flashy guy’s chest.
“That’s me telling you as the Gang Mediator of Osaka, Asuka Kazama!”
A heavy silence passed where only a breeze whistled through. Then roaring laughter burst into her ears without buildup. She scowled but before she could react the guy grabbed her wrist.
“You’re so full of it, look there’s blood on her knuckles and she’s talking about ‘disturbing the peace’ gyahahahaha!”
‘Shit.’
Then something deeper hummed, it liked these odds.
“What’re you gonna do arrest us? Where’s your badge?”
“We can handle cunts like you!”
She tried snatching her hand away but he gripped it tight; his eyes narrowed like he’d stepped in fresh shit. She sighed.
“Put the turf on hold let’s get this bitch.”
As he grinned she gripped him by the hand he held and yanked them together. One of her legs swept his left shin; the instant he stumbled her fist slammed into his jaw. Woozy, he started crumpling when her kick flew into his nose. The next guy hurled a right cross she dodged, seizing his arm and flipping him to let momentum do the rest. He hit the ground with a smack, her heel stomping his throat. More goons scrambled to corner her from every side; thinking fast she chopped one’s windpipe and shoved another with both palms. She dashed between the gaps he left as he fell into the others, toppling some into a groaning pile.
The guys left standing chased her into the alley she’d come from, not bothering to look around until she readied herself. By then their mistake sealed them into a single file row but still they raged.
‘Now ya really asked for it!’
She went low planting her hands on the ground before kicking in a perfect arc on her backflip. The rubber of her soles bounced knocking a guy’s chin backwards. A few teeth clattered to the pavement. She caught her breath and ran as more trampled him underfoot. It was a few meters until she could see the sign lined street peeking ahead. She booked it, narrowly emerging in time to sidestep a grab for her hair. Again she ducked sweeping the guy’s ankle; bashing his shin, and then sprung into a one two punch. In an instant his head knocked around harder than a jiggling water balloon. With a roar she thrust a kick forward booting him easy as a door. They cried and shouted under another pile up. One avoided the spill and charged; two punches whipped together was her answer.
“Somebody hit her already!”
“Stop pushing!”
“Who stepped on my new sneakers?”
“This bitch is stronger than a fucking gorilla!”
Again some lunged after her but she was shorter, faster, and nimble as the wind she sent them falling in a row. Then pain slammed her from behind shooting lightning across her spine. Crying out she stumbled but didn’t slump. Not wasting precious seconds she felt her neck rock sideways as she turned; the boy’s punch glanced her and even half its power crashed like a waterfall.
‘Fuck…’
“I got her!”
Roaring, Asuka pivoted into a back turn throwing herself behind her right shoulder; he slammed against a building, bouncing off the wall. His body dropped useless as a sack of meat. Everything went quiet; every eye had traced the arc of his flight. She gathered her breath, huffing and slinking back into stance. Her hands waited, palms slicked with sweat the same as her hair sticking to her forehead. Her clothes were getting damp; this had to end soon, Dad’s voice chided echoing in her mind. A grimace shut him out. Carefully she watched them and planted her feet. Anger cinched her into one piece, one feeling that demanded nothing but to sit beside her. Whether it was bravery, stubbornness, or still being pissed the boys started getting up.
She shook her head, grinned, and was gone in the fray.
Darkness filled the gaps of the sign lights curving over twelve sprawled bodies. She huffed, bent and holding her knees to stand. Everything from hair to socks stuck against her skin as if she’d spent hours rolling in cement. Her muscles pooled heat in knots. Tenderly she prodded her face; a swell around her left eye would definitely bruise by morning. Blood had long dried just under her left temple too, she wasn’t worried about that. When she tugged her sweater and checked for stains, she groaned finding streaks of it. Swaying she managed getting herself upright. The world wobbled the way your balance tipped lifting a heavy block. Her throat was sandpaper she couldn’t swallow enough to wet.
Someone moaned stirring painfully slow near the edge of the sprawl. Asuka gnashed her teeth into a growl and limped toward him. Winding a kick she slammed his head planting him on his back. Then finally she was alone. She roared into the sky,
“Next time listen to me you dumbasses! No fighting!”
She spat at them and kept going down the cleared street. The fighting must have shooed everyone when she’d been busy. It wasn’t even a long walk, she knew this area the more she looked around, but each step was lead. The streets could have stretched a few meters or several kilometers, time lessened nothing. At least she had her vision, scanning for the familiar signs and lanes that would turn into home. Like an idiot she’d left her phone in her school bag, and she’d never gotten into watches despite Dad swearing by them. Whenever it was she guessed the trains still ran with as many people crossing intersections as there were. That made it late enough though that she’d probably missed dinner. People quickly turned not daring to look her in the eyes. Or they gasped, froze in place, and then scurried off. She sighed softly but never once rested.
When she turned a familiar intersection her chest tightened; another punk crowd lounged outside a Lawson’s. They laughed, pretended to fight, and ate snacks loud enough to set her head aching halfway down the block. She sucked her teeth. To her left opened up another tight alley; if she could just limp across, if she could just stay low then-
“Ms. Asuka? Izzat you?”
“What’s she doing out this late?”
“Yeah that’s her look, look!”
Their sneakers hit the pavement thundering closer and closer. Growling she pulled herself up, readying her hands. Their eyes glinted under the streetlights bouncing from surprise to shock. She squinted and studied their faces, their casual dress. For once her relief seemed like it could melt her pain away. She’d broken these guys in months ago. Their fussing was music to her ears, and when the leader insisted two people help her stand while they walked her home, she didn’t resist. Everyone rained down questions scrambling her thoughts until she swore she might explode. So instead, urging them to shut up for a second, she gave them the rundown start to finish. Lili however, of course, was none of their business.
They ooh’d and ahh’d and that got a snicker out of her. Twelve guys at once, they kept passing it around as if the words were something they could touch. Someone slapped her shoulder. Another offered her an energy drink she gulped greedily. As it dribbled down her chin she asked them if they’d been making nice around town. Silence fumbled in the darkness but when her eyes narrowed they nodded and reassured her. Yesterday they hadn’t even fought anyone, helping a granny cross the street instead. Exhaustion drowned her will to question. They chatted until she had nothing but listening to their jokes.
She said goodbye waving off their good cheer two blocks from home and felt lighter. A dog barked somewhere when she leaned against her courtyard’s fence; her head throbbed. Huffing for breaths she looked up. Lili sat on the front step head in hand and scrolling her phone. Seconds passed and when she blinked they were staring. Out came her next breath and Lili ran toward her; Asuka had never seen her move so fast. She found herself in her arms and managed a protesting groan but didn’t pull away. Lili’s fingers tenderly grazed her black eye.
“My god where the hell have you been, what happened?! Do you have any idea how late it is? You idiot running off like that without even taking your things…”
Asuka’s temper smoldered, fizzled into ash.
“I’m fine, go get my Dad he knows about patching me up. And quit hugging me you’re not making this hurt any less! You’re the idiot.”
“Stop talking or I shall drop you where you stand so you may crawl inside.”
“Damnnit.”
Dad wove the gauze tight between her knuckles. She hissed then shuddered when he glared back. With a sigh she put her chin in her other hand. She couldn’t tell if he read her regret; the ice pack taped to her face blocked half her vision. Her shoulders sagged pathetically. A cold jolt prickled along the cut beneath her eye; on reflex she hissed and instantly the pain began dulling. Lili had a steady hand applying a second thin streak of ointment.
“At least warn me when you’re gonna do that.”
“Hush, there’s no time to waste keeping these from ballooning overnight.”
“Listen to her Asuka. It’s you who went looking for trouble when unfocused in the first place.”
She swallowed hard then huffed quietly.
“Lift your head and hold still, I’m applying your bandage.” Lili said.
Asuka obeyed; this time she could feel their body heat hovering close. Lili’s touch worked so softly on her skin, Asuka couldn’t find it in her to feign annoyance. It didn’t hurt at all like it should. A low gentle hum rumbled in her throat when Lili’s thumb smoothed the bandage, the white noise of an absent mind filled the space. Then Dad cleared his throat breaking the spell; her eyes widened driving that weird calm away like someone throwing stones after a fleeing dog. She rubbed her head and scoffed, crossing her arms in silence. Lili humph’d and did the same.
“So, what started this?”
Dad looked dead at her. Anger rolled when she flexed her tense shoulders, fogging as it curled her voice.
“My classmates avoid me and talk crap about what we’re going through at school. It’s nothing I can’t handle so don’t worry yourself.”
“You’re the one coming home like this. Defending yourself or someone is what I encouraged you to do, not chase idiots proving how tough you are. What have I kept telling you-“
“Fight with a clear head.” She sighed.
“That’s right.”
“If I might add Mr. Kazama…”
She turned expecting Lili stone faced or cocky. Instead a frown wrinkled her mouth, her eyes narrowed just enough. It was like she’d seen this before; daughters at odds with fathers.
“I saw some of the bullying myself. Anyone would have found it insulting, and though I didn’t mean to contribute, some misunderstandings between us worsened everything. I suppose I played a part in her rage.”
“Played a part, you are-“
“Asuka. I understand Lili and I appreciate you admitting fault. But in the end she is responsible for her behavior.”
He leaned back stretching his sinewy legs, worn into silence. Then he sighed and she saw even his shoulders deflate.
“Just go Lili. Thank you for your help.”
Without a word she watched her bow her head, give her an unreadable glance, then she was gone. Gently Asuka pressed the ice pack closer against her skin. Immediately her body winced, saving her from looking him in the eye.
“Times like these make me not know what to do with you girl.”
“What else am I supposed to do? It’s between this and the world going to shit, I...”
He leaned forward taking her hand with both of his. His face softened. Asuka’s heart seized up her throat.
“I know what happened while I was…getting better. I wouldn’t wish the burden you had on my worst enemy. Watching while what our family built gets sold off piece by piece. The bills. Not a single old student asking what we, what you needed. Whole thing haunts me waking or dreaming.”
Her muscles locked; she hung her head before her lip began quivering. A cry choked and died inside. She felt hot tears dripping into her bangs. Dad smoothed her hair, tucking parts behind her ears. Asuka cried.
“My poor girl.”
“…I’m confused Dad. I’m so confused.”
He kept petting her hair, each new pass making her weightless.
“What’s confusing, which part? Tell me what it is.”
“She just, that girl never tells me what she wants! And if she does it’s wrapped up so fast I can’t keep track. Nothing makes sense anymore and she wants to make that worse. She’s so fucking cocky about driving me in circles.”
He sighed.
“Well, if I know you the way I do, did you press her to talk straight- or did you feel lost and get fed up when you weren’t hearing what you wanted?”
She snapped up glaring, pointed as a knife. He chuckled like he knew something she didn’t.
“You want me sitting there and taking stupid crap?” She growled into a sniffle.
“No. I’m saying sometimes you gotta find out as much as you can before you hold grudges. Can’t punch your way through life kiddo.”
Again her lip quivered, no longer pained. He leaned close. He put on his firm voice.
“Someone like that never wears their heart on their sleeve. Not usually.”
He clapped her forearm and shuffled toward the fridge. She sat there, blinking. Her knuckles stung flexing her hand. Spots of blood seeped into the bandage; the red pinpricks tightening her chest when she couldn’t help counting them.
“Dad.”
“Yeah kid?”
“When…when I got mad and shouted at Lili…my arm moved on its own. I didn’t even feel pain or my skin tearing. I was just making a fist…and the wind went crazy. It blew; around me. I blinked and it shot out everywhere.”
His spine went ridged, lamp post straight. His eyes fixed something hard and tighter than his discipline at training.
“I didn’t mean to!”
“The heat of the moment got to you. I know your temper; you let it blind your mind. You’ll get pissed enough and forget about stopping yourself. And you’ve been stressed. Yes I could tell don’t look at me like that. Rest is what you need.”
He said it matter-of-factly erasing any questions. Not entertaining a single one even if she got them out. Her stomach bundled a knot she felt pinch her breath. She nodded and glanced toward the wall. There was nothing more to say. Already she cast it down her lake of memory, where it sank with a sword’s weight.
Burying under her thin summer covers she stared at the ceiling. A plate of dinner had been saved for her, setting her stomach near bursting now. Only their breathing filled the night, Lili having taken her place among her stuffed animals. Slowly Asuka sat up, squinting to make out her silhouette; the girl was fast asleep. She had no idea how. It never seemed she did much all day save for homework and experimenting ridiculous skin routines. Unless they crossed paths or ate dinner Asuka kept to herself. Though sometimes, without meaning it, she’d overhear soft conversations; phone calls reassuring Sebastian, and other things she was sure. Words slid back down like watery noodles. She lay flat again on her doubled pillows, until her throbbing head lulled her away.
When she dragged herself out the bath the next morning her wobbling steps wanted nothing more than to crawl back into bed. She yawned gripping the towel around her neck; the tips of her wet hair kept passing out at bay. As she stood drying off, a distant thump echoed almost as if it were right beside her. Fumbling into a shitty stance she nearly tripped over the towel, scrambling to snatch it before it might hit the floor. Another thump echoed to match the first. Then a third, faster stomp followed, scared to miss the rhythm of what came before it. Her feet moved toward the training hall; not a thought in her mind giving voice to the goosebumps climbing her arms.
She poked her head through the entrance; Lili landed a perfect backflip. There came a calculated pause for catching her breath, before she pivoted into a roundhouse kick. Its arc spread a bit too wide but that didn’t lessen how it snapped the air. Her back was turned to Asuka as she wiped her face with a handkerchief. From wall to wall the floors were spotless. A grin touched her. Quiet and gingerly she leaned against the doorway.
Tucking the handkerchief into a pocket, Lili huffed, hands on her hips. Asuka blinked, and she threw another roundhouse. This one snapped sharp, corrected into something sleek. She watched her throw out five more never resting save for the turn from one to another. Groaning, Lili launched into a somersault; when their eyes met she tumbled out her landing. Asuka laughed so hard her towel shook free crumpling at her feet.
“Nique ta mère!” Lili shouted.
Asuka slid down wiping tears, twitching when her laughs grew louder. She slapped her thighs nearly tipping sideways. Lili slammed her fist, tried to stand, then tripped over herself. In a few steps she towered over her, and offered a hand. It was met with a glare. She cocked her head and shrugged, but Lili grabbed it as she pulled away. Asuka stood her up slow; the girl dusted her hands off, her thanks amounting to a simple ‘Hmph’.
“I could have done without your sneaking around, but what did you think?”
“About the practice or you eating shit on the floor?”
“That tongue of yours should be traded for some manners.” Lili’s dry tone pinched her expression.
Asuka snorted a tiny laugh into her fist.
“At least I can see you’re not lazy, even when you get sloppy. I remember a few students used to quit after barely starting. Just ‘cuz they thought they’d be action heroes in a day. Then when it turned out they didn’t get it perfect in a second, poof.”
Lili smirked.
“Yes well, I do not intend on going ‘Poof’; I intend to win.”
“Against me?”
Lili’s expression hardened sensing wariness.
“Against whatever stands in my way.”
Then she smiled flipping her bangs. She was being a dumbass again.
“And that may include you, or it may not. Time will tell. Now let us ready for school.”
“…You’re so damn annoying.”
Lili curtseyed and walked past with a spring in her step. When she disappeared silence lingered for how long Asuka didn’t count until she heard birds singing outside. The world was waking up. She took in the empty hall. Crisp air cleansed her lungs; everything spotless. A smile came without thinking. Her satisfied chuckle warmed like a cloudless summer. She looked it over one last time, and then left the pull of childhood behind.
Lunch at school was no longer the hard won lesser evil she could tolerate. The left side of her face formed a minor swell beneath bandages and one of several fresh ice cubes in plastic baggies Dad had tossed in a thermal bag. Fixing it to her head had her fumble an entire roll of gauze. Every bite of food brought tiny hammers down on her jaw. The whispers had outright ballooned into normal chatter.
“Whoa look at that! It’s a blue black plum!”
“Did she seriously go look for a fight right after school? So typical.”
“How dangerous…oh my god she glared at me.”
From the side of the room a door slid open. Asuka didn’t bother checking to see until suddenly she heard no sound. Lili flipped her hair as she swaggered in, sitting right beside her and smirking. She watched her place her briefcase and take out her own boxed lunch like this were some prissy café and dozens weren’t gawking. Several pounding heartbeats passed for anyone to find the mind to speak.
“How the hell did you find my class?” Asuka whispered.
“It’s called asking around don’t be stupid.”
A few people crowded them, walling Lili off before others got the chance for five seconds of her presence. Keeping the utmost poise, she gave them not a single glance as she opened her food. They may as well have not existed when she began setting the table. It was impressive. A wide faced girl at the front who Asuka recognized as the Third Year gossip bitch grew antsy, tugging the hem of her skirt. Her flunkies flanked her mimicking the shy act better than a clone. The whole thing gave Asuka chills.
“Wow are you the new transfer girl? Hiii, my name’s Ayako and-“
“What appointment did you schedule to interrupt me?”
Asuka watched Ayako freeze in her tracks; the plastic smile now stiff and twitching at the corners. Her robot wiring had short circuited. The circle of her little goons threw their hands over their mouths. They glanced from their leader to Lili and back again.
“…Sorry, we just thought you’d want to eat with better company. Among people who can show you all kinds of things so you’re not lost. Your hair is sooo pretty by the way. What’s the secret?”
Lili unfolded a napkin onto her lap and started cutting the filleted swordfish beside her salad of tomatoes, olives, and bell peppers. All things she had insisted on bringing to Japan in a cooler, of course. Ayako leaned forward sticking her hands on the desk mere centimeters from Lili’s arm.
“Just so you know, for your own good you know, that girl next to you…she puts people in the hospital. She’s sooo unsafe, you know?”
Neatly Lili set down her knife and fork, dabbing the napkin at her mouth. Asuka made a choked sound watching her stand and push past them. Without warning she planted her ass right in front of Asuka’s lunch and crossed her legs. Her hands folded on her knees while Asuka sputtered for the right words. She never found them when Lili cocked her head and bore polite, surgical venom.
“Who told you to wear that cheap makeup and slouch like a slob when talking?”
“Excuse me?! What’s your problem?”
“Oh, nothing. I simply cannot recall when I requested a small minded cow offer their opinion. Much less dictate anything toward me, of all people. Perhaps being so comfortable brown nosing, there’s another ass you should be licking.”
Chopsticks fell from Asuka’s grip clattering into her rice. She stared at her wide eyed and mouth gaping. Ayako burned so red she could be a dynamite stick that sparked itself. All at once the flunkies clung to each other rubbing Ayako’s arms and shoulders. They showered her in nasally compliments, but that didn’t stop her shoving them aside, balling her fists.
“B-Bitch!” She shrieked.
“I must get back to eating, if you’ll excuse me.”
She threw herself to her feet giving them a dismissive wave. Bumping them out her way she set everything as it’d been, and dug into lunch. Ayako moved to snatch Lili’s knife; Lili plucked her wrist mid thrust and twisted it in reverse. She bent it at an angle taking a bite off the fork while the girl sank to her knees, screaming breathlessly.
“Ah ah ah I would not flail if I were you. Run along now. Adieu.”
She gave Ayako’s wrist a jerk then released her. Wheezing and shaking Ayako scooted on her ass, crawling and tripping over the floor. Together her goons pulled her up. Wobbling they stumbled into the corner they came from. Asuka who stood ready on reflex found herself reduced to a dumb stare.
“Better?”
Lili asked, smiling, eyes studying. Slinking down in her chair Asuka pinched her brow and held her head in her hands. Gripping her chin couldn’t conceal a tiny smile.
From then on she never ate alone. Each day Lili announced her arrival by striking some model pose or with a hair flip. Then she’d park her ass beside Asuka surrounded by everyone pretending they weren’t scared. At least Asuka no longer heard her name in gossip. For a day someone tried slipping Lili’s name within earshot. No one said so, but the immediate silence could only have been under Ayako’s orders. For her part Lili didn’t seem to give a shit; in fact she’d never seen her so self-assured. At first she felt her skin crawl, that ugly nervousness she hated even imagining. But not a week passed before she started grinning too.
Each day her eye got lighter, the bruise centimeters smaller, and soon she better recognized her reflection. Once, when Dad was out on an errand, she brought it up over tea. Without Sebastian there, Lili kept trying to brew the way he knew she liked. After Asuka showed her how water boiling worked obviously. So far there’d been no success.
“I haven’t forgotten about the other day you know.”
Lili stopped stirring sugar into her tea. Her tone had a way of looking at Asuka even if she herself wasn’t.
“Then you remember what I said.”
“Yeah I do. Don’t be an idiot.”
A silence passed. A hesitation. She got a tight lipped smile for a reply.
‘Playing the long game huh? I can do that too. I’ll figure you out.’
As long as her head kept pounding she never stepped foot in the training hall; instead she’d park herself at the door, watching Lili move. Each morning brought something new. Tighter swings, jumps and flips that belonged at the Olympics, Asuka chuckled remembering knocking Lili out the air for those. She refused to abandon the most ridiculous nonsense in the name of ‘aesthetics’.
“You need techniques that won’t leave you wide open!”
She couldn’t help but blurt it out while watching her fling herself around. Her nerves grinded like pepper through a shaker the longer she’d watched. Lili landed on her feet this time, wiping sweat as it touched her skin.
“What do you suggest that won’t rob me of my grace? Or will I be rolling across all manner of ground as you’d prefer.”
“Nuh uh, keep that attitude and I’m leavin’.”
Lili stopped running her handkerchief along her nape. Her eyes softened and for once she stood waiting patiently. Asuka grunted, satisfied. Stepping in slowly she bowed at the old sign spot then positioned herself behind Lili.
“I’m gonna have to touch you to explain.”
“Do as you must.”
“Ok so first, you tend to put your front foot a bit too forward in stance. That’s why I’ve never had much trouble sweeping it.”
“This can be done without reminding me of-“
Asuka planted a hand on Lili’s left thigh, guiding it until both legs were shoulder width apart. Against her warmth Lili shivered. But her body didn’t tense, staying loose when Asuka realized they were practically stuck together. An electric feeling coursed through twisting her gut. For a few seconds sounds were sharper, her touch sensitive; she thought she even tasted her. She pulled back just enough. Glancing up, the faintest blush painted Lili pink, even her eyes might’ve blushed if they could.
“I’m not gonna touch anything if that’s what yer’ worried about! I used this kinda stuff to help our students when we had ‘em.”
“No…do more of that. I didn’t imagine you’d be so bold about it is all.”
“Shaddup you’re makin’ me sound like a pervert!”
“When did I say that? I am not. Are we continuing, or have your suggestions been cut short?”
“Tch. Keep your feet shoulder width apart. And your back should be straighter it’ll keep you balanced.”
Gentle yet firm she pressed the small of Lili’s back easing her into place. Their bodies drew close enough without hugging this time. Asuka felt Lili’s heart pound through the touch of her palm. It couldn’t explain why hers started racing too. Not a single movement was forced. Her tongue tied when Lili gave another unreadable glance and a smile. Like Asuka had once again played into her schemes. Another electric feeling rode under her skin.
“What next?” The smile hiked into a grin.
“Movement; you dodge well but you over rely on it because your moves come out slowly. Don’t just hurl those complicated flips at an enemy. Make them want to come to you.”
Asuka barely kept her words together; everything had grown too hot. Finding strength she pulled her hands away. Lili smirked.
“My, you’ve studied me with an interest I’d never have imagined.”
“…I fight…any good fighter knows about paying attention.”
“Certainly. But after having fought only three encounters? I’m beginning to think you’re fonder than you let on.”
Immediately Asuka jabbed a finger at Lili’s chest. It was soft to the touch.
“I dunno what ‘fond’ means but we’re not friends! Don’t go actin’ like you know me for me.”
She huffed and stormed off without her heart in it. Her hopes were it read as ‘Screw You!’, but instead it fizzled into ‘Whatever’. Sucking her teeth she left Lili standing there; burying how she’d made her body sing a new song under silence.
That night they sat at the kitchen table, notebooks and worksheets piled between their dinners. Asuka had eyes on her homework and ears for her pencil scribbling. The swell around her eye had shrunk from a plum to a cherry tomato. The long form equation taunting her from the page met her glare. She scratched her head in frustration. A groan died in her throat when Lili beat her to it.
“These damned dates! I cannot believe anyone memorizes so many periods by heart.”
“History?”
“…Yes.”
Asuka snorted.
“That’s easy ‘cuz it’s all copying stuff down. Nobody’s asking you solve their problems that make no sense.”
Lili looked up at her, pencil butt pressed under her chin.
“Math?”
“Yeah…”
“Simple. Give it here and I shall explain, slowly.”
“Fuck off.”
She paused.
“You mean you can do stupid numbers and variable crap, but can’t read a few paragraphs?”
Lili leaned forward, a scowl splitting her mouth.
“And you are a year older than me but can’t do better than counting.”
Asuka’s grip squeezed a groan from the table when she leaned in too. They glared at each other; neither budged. Her brow quirked but Lili kept a straight face; who would break first? Time stopped. Then they each grabbed the other’s work sighing as they swapped.
“I’ll have you know I received top marks at home for this ‘number crap’. Numbers matter in business. And I’d hate seeing Daddy-Father, keel over from worry.”
“Daddy? Are you five?”
“Quiet! You must have your reasons as I do mine.”
She slouched thumbing the pages.
“History tells us what’s happened so we’ll be less stupid. It’s like tradition; you learn what to do and stuff. And why you should do it. That way you’re not confused.”
One glance and she found Lili staring into her eyes.
“And it can be rewritten too.”
Asuka’s face pinched. She looked at the notes.
“Whatever.”
Lili’s handwriting was neat and clear, highlighting chunks in a rainbow of inks, some glittery. Her brow rose. From the corner of her eye she spied Dad washing dishes. He smiled to himself.
The next time she saw her math teacher swagger in she slid a second notebook under the first. Terms and equations decorated its pages in lists. She’d copied them down herself with a pencil, much to Lili’s annoyance at how colorless that was. But she got through class without any chalk or suspicion hurled her way. A full picture stayed out of reach yet now she no longer drowned among the waves, sputtering for answers. When he left she slumped over her books with a relieved sigh. The notebook bent tight in her embrace.
Lunch came and went; Lili only gave her another unreadable smile when Asuka asked about history. She’d shrugged, eating with a silence between them she didn’t mind. Though she swore at some point, if this weren’t her imagination eating away her sense, Lili had shifted her seat closer. Now Asuka reached for her shoes; aching for the walk home, dinner, and beating numbers to a pulp. She saw blonde hair the instant her locker clattered shut. She jumped crying out,
“What the hell? At least say something moron.”
“Since we cannot train thanks to your eye, I insist you show me your city.”
“Ah, not listenin’ to me again. Alright.”
“Please…”
Asuka gnashed her teeth before turning to find a sight so pathetic she giggled. Lili stood pouting. Her hands balled at her sides not as if she wanted a fight, but like a kid about to stomp their foot. The hopeful glimmer clouding her eyes spilled over. It was a plea. Asuka’s breath hitched realizing this girl was at her full mercy. She grinned. She could do something with this.
“You can ask nicer than that.”
“Well, may I please ask you show me the rest of your beautiful home?”
Asuka kicked off her school slippers for her shoes. She held a hum as she put her heels in one at a time, thinking nothing. When she was done Lili was still pouting, slouched in a kicked puppy way. She crossed her arms and rubbed her chin.
“Hmmm…I dunno how much I buy it. Doesn’t sound sincere enough.”
She knew that Lili knew. It was plain on her face. The girl was too clever not to know, too stubborn for-
Lili turned around placing her bag at her feet. Carefully she smoothed her hair, tucking whatever came loose. Her cuffs, blazer, and skirt were straightened. From her pockets came a compact with a round mirror. She checked her face. Asuka saw resolve in the briefest glimpse of her reflection. Finally ready, she tucked it away and picked up her bag, facing her again.
“Asuka Kazama. This is my first venture into Osaka. I would like your perspective as a native; to see what you feel it offers.”
“…Well…since you put it that way, maybe I will. C’mon.”
She slung her bag over her shoulder and walked off before Lili could react. Not a few seconds passed when she heard footsteps hurrying behind her. If they were going together, then so was Lili’s wallet. Quickly she flipped her phone open.
[To: Dad]
[ Hanging around with Lili after school; do you need anything from the market? ]
Lili caught up just as she hit send. Asuka smirked flipping the phone closed.
“What? Do you have somewhere in mind?”
“Yeah. Of course I do.”
The catlike grin Lili wore vanished the moment they met the swell of Dotonbori. People packed the bridge end to end bringing their bags, their noise, and each other. Open aired boats trucked beneath the underpass, carrying gawking tourists and their readied cameras. Neon signs dotted every billboard and restaurant woven between those lit by paper lanterns. Though their light was dim in the afternoon sun it grew by the second. They had few hours left before the nightlife stirred and nothing would be left for anyone their age. The entire city loved to come crawling out when the sun kissed it goodnight.
She found Lili frozen stiff in place, gripping her bag. A man passed her sending her recoiling against Asuka’s side. More people walked around them, two boulders diverting the stream. Still Lili’s eyes refused to shrink smaller than saucers of wonder as much as uncertainty. Asuka elbowed her gently. Lili stuck closer to her.
“What’s your problem? Changed your mind?”
“I’d seen pictures and heard rumors from Father’s business trips but, these are your streets? Is there nowhere…private?”
“It’s the street princess; didn’t you walk anywhere back home?”
Lili turned her head, mumbling.
“Seriously? No way-“
“Sebastian drives me around! It’s what we pay him to do…and he insisted anyway. And Father gave me my limo so…”
With a roar Asuka burst out laughing and slapped her leg not caring who stared.
“Stop that! Shut up! Idiot! So what if it’s my first time? You should be nicer about it.”
“I can’t, I can’t. I’m gonna pass out.” Asuka wheezed, gripping Lili’s forearm for balance and clutching her mouth. Her hand couldn’t contain another laugh from bending her over.
“Asshole. But you did call me princess so, I suppose, it isn’t all terrible.”
“Eh?”
When she looked up Lili wouldn’t look at her, but her skin turned a furious pink. Asuka huffed. Her heart kept racing.
“Weirdo. Let’s go already.”
She grabbed her hand and parted the crowds. Wave after wave would press them close until a break appeared, then it grew packed again. Not once did she feel their hands slip. When she slowed down descending the bridge stairs, Lili practically tipped them over. Asuka planted them against the handrail and let her right herself. The rest of the city flowed, some people throwing glares at having to step around them. She forgot about their hands feeling Lili’s breaths, her warmth, watching the flutter of her eyelashes. Her face felt hot; sweat started beading her clothes. Lili didn’t notice, instead scanning for their opening to move. Asuka licked her lips and tugged her along.
The street thinned out beside the river. They stopped beneath a flashy yellow sign with a giant statue depicting Ebisu sitting above that. Don Quijote’s. She grinned.
“Is that a built in ferris wheel?” Lili blurted out, craning her neck toward Ebisu with awe. The lights on the carriages framing him were off.
“If it’s running every damn tourist and their family will want to ride it. It’d be dark by the time we left.”
Lili flashed her puppy dog eyes. Asuka quickly looked at the display shelves.
“What’s more important is the discount store! We need a new frying pan and I wanna check the deals.”
Something smooth swiped across her fingers. She saw Lili’s thumb retreat; they were still holding hands. Sucking her teeth Asuka let go. Taking her coy smile and bottomless poise with her Lili went ahead. It took strength to swallow and straighten her collar. Her phone beeped like a nagging little bird; tension fled her for sweet relief. Flipping it open, Dad’s message was a button away.
[ Be home before 19:00. Get a few instant udon, eggs, milk, and some instant curry. If I think of more I’ll text; have fun. ]
[ Thanks. ]
“What is this, a lineup of counterfeits? And so much candy and liquor…”
‘Ah shit.’
“Don’t go touchin’ anything we don’t need. I’m not trying to buy the place-“
She moved beside her with the halfhearted worry of an owner letting their dog free roam. Her words fell on deaf ears. Lili stood checking the bag display; her judging reflected off the glass case.
“This is a ‘discount store’ as you said no? Designer names truly do go places.”
“Those are second hand or something I dunno; can’t afford and don’t care about that crap.”
“Neither do I; most are hideous and after a dozen or so from Father, simply boring.”
Asuka gawked.
“What? They’re only a few thousand euros it’s nothing. It’s unlike here, where everything could be worth one but together bring such variety. For instance,”
She reached for something colorful off a shelf and thrust it at Asuka.
“What am I holding?”
“A water bottle.”
Lili grabbed another item. Asuka’s eyes narrowed, confused yet compelled to answer.
“House slippers.”
Another.
“Hair dryer.”
Another.
“Candy box.”
“See? Isn’t it interesting?”
“I don’t see your point. You’re just being weird.”
Lili’s expression soured.
“No. I’m demonstrating how you can gain so much at once for relatively little. There’s so much in fact you may be accustomed viewing it not as it is, but for what it does. And I find that fascinating.”
All her focus stretched and stretched then snapped wire thin. Asuka scratched her head absentmindedly. No matter how she tried there came nothing to say. Lili sighed, gesturing toward the row after row of displays, shelves, and cases boxing them in.
“Though I suppose, in the end, what value is there to anything unless it is beautiful.”
Their eyes met. There was a conviction, sincerity so keen from Lili, the feeling pierced Asuka warm as a sunbeam. She talked not through her but at her. Nothing hurt, and everything seemed a bit brighter. Fumbling for words took too long; Lili moved on checking the next thing over. Asuka spied kitchenware to her left. She wandered rather than move with purpose, winding her way without worry. Rifling through the pans she grabbed what called to her.
She spun a wide set thing whose steel mirrored her pondering in its pan. The handle was basic, sturdy, good. It carried a plain grace, a thing that knew what it was. She smiled. Looking around, there were a few grandmas downwind of her. Carefully she gave it a few swings; balanced weight too. Playful laughter burned her ears; the grannies had glanced her way. Her face flushed and she scurried to find Lili, setting free a giggle at herself.
When they finally left she found herself loaded with their bags. Really, both were almost entirely for Lili. The frying pan she’d picked was drowned in a bright candy sea. Never in her entire life had she imagined becoming a spectacle at a cash register. Lili’s self-assuredness grew to confidence; embarrassment wasn’t in her dictionary. Asuka stood pretending they didn’t know each other when the clerk rang them up, trying to keep cool. But not a minute later she felt a squeeze on her arm, Lili gesturing toward the bags, wearing a winner’s smile. ‘We must agree you possess…a strength I do not.’ She’d said. Asuka sighed and found she couldn’t resist. It didn’t stop her grumbling and shoving at least one in Lili’s hand though.
She set their steady pace crossing the bridge again. This time Lili wasn’t all but on top of her ass, yet she didn’t stray. Asuka glanced up putting out an arm to stop her. Rainbow lights flashed then danced across their faces.
“I pass by this guy whenever I’m out y’know. Sometimes I tell myself his smile looks goofy but, the colors are beautiful. Then I might smile too.”
The Glico Man posed arms raised in triumph mid running stride. Behind his thick bold lines a sunny day at the track curving into Osaka’s skyline framed a massive rectangle. She stepped back, watching. Lili stared at him, holding her chin, studying. She didn’t look at Asuka as she cocked her head. The curves and angles of her face were outlined in a glow that softened the shadows.
“I suppose I do see why. There’s an aesthetic bringing every element together.”
Asuka’s stare lingered gently, foolishly, opening a smile holding an ember of her heart. She drank her in, unnoticed with nothing to rip them away. A feeling washed over her the way mist in summer snapped sleep from one’s eyes. Again she took Lili’s hand guiding her across the bridge.
“Hey! I was still looking.”
“We can come back whenever. There’s more around before the adult places open up.”
She tried not looking at her, and hoped the heat from her hands would be mistaken for the weather. They wandered keeping off the alleys and anywhere crowd thick. Every once in a while Lili’s nerves made them huddle under an awning. Asuka’s grip slid to her fingers, squeezing gently whenever the street thinned enough. She wanted an answer, tried guessing why she bothered as they walked. Why not let her go untethered? In the end she had nothing. The thought of leaving her helpless just felt wrong. If there was anything Asuka was ever gonna do, it’d be not sinking lower. Dad had taught her better. And such a fact meant she was more considerate. For some reason Lili never pulled away either.
She watched her so busy taking in whatever they saw that for once Lili wanted answers from her. They found a rhythm. They’d walk silently until Asuka felt her arm tugged. Then she’d nod enduring the waterfall of precise questions and give a matter-of-fact answer. If they passed a food stall they didn’t leave till they each got something. If it went with sauces, Lili wasn’t satisfied unless she asked to try them one by one. More than a few cooks threw Asuka a glare or surprised stare. She’d smile her apology and pretended nothing mattered except eating as much as possible. Whenever they slapped a wad of bills from Lili’s designer wallet, all was forgiven. The more they went on the longer she gave her tour speech bite sized memories or rumors. A place could never stay a place- it was a feeling understood. Still, there were too many people around for Lili’s nervousness to go away.
“C’mon I’ll get us outta here.”
She brought them to the arcade she’d stuck herself in before the Kempo bastard appeared. Every other day after school Asuka would sink a few hundred yen trying anything new before falling back on her favorites. Whenever she wasn’t scheduled for teaching at the dojo, time meant nothing unless Dad showed up and dragged her home. Then she’d get an earful. She grinned. It’d been worth it anyway. The neon sign stood small as ever. Most of the posters plastering the entrance walls were alien to her. Some she remembered by shape only; as forgettable now as they were for the girl who’d once made a home here. The white walls and checkerboard linoleum floor tricked people into thinking the rows of glittering cabinets were infinite. Half the customers were kids their age or younger. Planted at the fighting games like dried gum under a desk were the same grown men she remembered practically living there. She closed her eyes, and breathed in, at ease.
“What is this?”
“Not even an arcade? This is starting to feel like a joke. You play video or claw type games here. This place’s my favorite but I haven’t come in a while.”
The words were barely out her mouth before Lili dragged them along. A huge neon lit pad on the floor for a dancing game lay at their feet. Techno music banging from the cabinet thumped her chest as a tutorial played itself on the screen. She cocked her head.
“Really?”
Lili brushed back her bangs and cleared her throat.
“Asuka Kazama. I challenge you at a duel of dance!”
“Pft. You’re ridiculous. Don’t cry when you lose!”
They piled their bags against the wall; Asuka rolled her short sleeves further back. She started stretching against the rail fencing in the game cabinet and Lili joined her.
“Father sent me to ballet lessons I’ll have you know.”
“Is everything you have always because of ‘Daddy’?” Asuka taunted.
Lili rushed the stage, punching in a song and readying herself. She stood hands on hips as the bass started pulsing. Asuka snorted, crossing her arms. Then she watched her move.
Her body all but glided, twirling from direction arrow to direction arrow effortlessly. Her long legs couldn’t take an instant off her speed; Asuka’s brow rose hearing the stage creak. Sometimes, when studying for weaknesses, a flash of Lili’s thigh might catch her eye. Or she’d linger on the flutter as her freed hair spun. Above all else was her face; the shit eating grin wiped from existence. And in its place the hard set of her jaw, a knit brow, and intense gaze. She found the rhythm and matched it, outpaced it before it might outpace her. What Lili would call grace wrapped her in pure determination.
When the last note faded Lili wiped her neck with a handkerchief. She turned smiling that little self-assured smile; Asuka hummed. Then she made herself scoff, they weren’t alike.
“Do your worst.” Lili chirped.
“Shaddup.”
Asuka jostled her and straightened her shirt. She glanced at the screen; a new high score. She sucked her teeth. Breathe. Picking a song was easy, something fast but steady. Just right to make her heart race through her skin. A guitar strummed; the world narrowed to this moment. One step at a time, that’s all she needed. The notes rushed forward for her to stomp and chase. Sweat prickled her nape but she didn’t lose breath. Guitar riffs wailed rushing her as the arrows raced into each other. Her limbs became a storm; the wind curved softening her blows. She threw herself harder, hit each note faster.
Then her foot slammed through one of the pads like a hammer through a paper screen. Behind or in front she heard a crash. Though it slowed her the wind couldn’t keep her from falling- she felt herself grabbed. She glanced down. A centimeter or two right and her ankle would be finished. Lili sighed in what felt weird calling relief as she pulled her up.
“I suppose we shall call a draw.”
One fat stack of cash later and the owner whistled on his way to calling a repairman. Her head still rang from panic and insults. They stood on the street, nothing but the summer heat to fog their embarrassment.
“This sucks.”
“You Kazamas and your sheer strength.” Lili sighed.
Asuka turned her head slowly, glaring.
“Don’t lump me in with that stupid dickhead.”
“Never. I find that insulting.” Lili scoffed, all softness gone.
Asuka’s face widened in surprise, her smile was gentle.
“Thanks.”
“…Ahem…You are welcome.”
She watched her move to fix her hair but Asuka’s hand got there faster. Carefully she tucked loose strands behind Lili’s right ear. The stunned blush on Lili’s face made her stomach flip.
“Dad asked me to get some groceries before we’re home.”
“Perhaps this time you’ll save us both the spectacle of collapsing property.”
Lili laughed, full of mockery and teasing that came up short at the edges. It felt as if laughing would paint over her blush with anything else.
“Will you drop it?! This is why you’re annoying.”
“What does a market look like by the way?”
“Arrrghh!”
Passing under the Kuromon banner Asuka stood just to breathe it in. Fried food, flowers, loud signs, fruits, seafood, store clerks, people- this was Osaka. Her city. This time Lili glanced around and went ahead, strutting like a swan. Asuka cocked her head.
“Let us be on our way. Unless you’d prefer going hungry tonight I presume.”
“I don’t think so…” Asuka smirked.
They fell into another pattern at her lead; she’d hover around what she wanted, working over to the most expensive cut. After a few minutes Lili would find her and question what made that one special, did Asuka get it often, and on and on. She’d sigh or pretend getting lost in her thoughts. Then she’d throw in a version of “We’ve been too broke for that; wanna try it with me?” or “Duh! Get it all the time, never had it before huh?” reminding her Dad must’ve shortchanged her allowance. Lili would pull out her wallet gasping and crying “That won’t do!” then buy whatever Asuka picked.
In this way, remembering they’d each have to carry a bag home, they bought everything off the top shelf. When they made it home she grinned until her face hurt and Dad stood stunned silent. He gave her ear a twist behind Lili’s back as she shared ‘their wonderful adventure’, stopping when Asuka winced.
“Don’t trick people.” He grumbled, whispering.
Then he saw the premium tuna cuts and marbled beef.
“Well, it can be harmless here and there.”
Asuka snickered into her wrist. Lili read it as a muffled cough, insisting they serve a hearty stew at dinner to ‘keep from feeling ill’. That night and many nights after they ate like kings.
She gripped the ends and tightened her headband. Her hakama was cinched just right as she checked the ties one last time. She straightened her gi collar, it’d picked up the laundry smell from her closet since she’d quit teaching; breathe in then out. Behind her Lili finished stretching, smirking. Her catlike stare couldn’t fog the pure clarity of Asuka’s mind. Strength surged filling her out as it coursed through her muscles, barely held by her smile. Her body had healed. Out of habit she rolled her right shoulder as they stood five paces apart.
“Are you prepared to be humiliated Asuka Kazama?”
“Just show me what you’ve got. I won’t make it hurt too bad.”
“You’ve made me wait long enough.”
Her heart jumped seeing that smile widen. It toyed with her. Her face went hot.
‘Exciting…’
“Let’s go, moron.”
They readied, the quiet held itself tight.
Lili’s kick was slapped away as Asuka closed distance, striking her with a left punch. To her surprise Lili turned with the blow, but even when it glanced, Asuka leaned into a right. That one connected and she wasn’t about to let her breathe; lunging threw her elbow forward, aiming for the jaw. In the move to dodge Lili narrowly escaped but glanced again on her scalp as she ducked low. A yelp cut her ears. She felt her balance waver in the feedback. Asuka stepped into her weight, bringing down her elbow at the blink of an eye. A certain hit- she met empty air.
Barely, just barely, Lili had rolled out the way. A streak of blood stained the back of her hand as Lili wiped her lips. Her already pale face almost dazzled all sweaty as she was. Asuka watched her panting, bent on one knee and big eyed. She watched her and washed in nothing but the clarity of this moment reset her stance.
“Et merde…” Lili sighed.
Asuka didn’t move.
‘That’s right you’re coming to me.’
She knew, and Lili knew she knew. Those glaring eyes calculated, hating how every option ran toward the same end. The distance begged to be closed or they’d get nowhere. Still a grin split Lili’s mouth flashing crimson teeth like a dog tasting raw meat. She felt her heart race. One heartbeat and she saw her launch from a cartwheel into the flight of slamming her heel on Asuka’s nose. No time to think! She sidestepped, grabbing Lili’s shin and tossing her behind. Riding that momentum into another roll, she recovered raining a waterfall of strikes. Most of them Asuka slapped away or dodged but soon her sides stung. Knocking Lili’s fist aside with her forearm she twisted and spun sending a back heeled kick flying up.
Her foot crashed missing Lili’s temple by centimeters. The impact shook her bones; it was enough to send Lili tumbling down. She crumpled on her side, groaning loud enough to wake the dead. Asuka felt herself huffing and shut her eyes. A good pause forced her to center again. The hairs on her nape relaxed.
Grunting and stirring Lili came back to life one limb twitch at a time. Somehow she found the strength to wobble into standing. A gleam shined under her disheveled blonde hair, an animal instinct. Their eyes met in an instant. Asuka leaned back; the strike scraped the tip of her chin. On reflex she shoved Lili aside with both palms flat against her chest. Deflated, Lili lay sprawled on the floor, a heap of sweat, loose hair, hard breathing, and biting shame. Frozen, it took a chill up her spine for Asuka to unclench. Several beats passed silently. She laughed; lightning storming through her veins. An adrenaline rampage withered, hollowing her into a drum pounding thunder in her chest to keep her standing. It was a thrill. It was joy. It was the world. Her laugher roared, bursting like playful rain.
Coughing and wincing Lili flipped herself onto her stomach. She curled inside the shape of Asuka’s towering shadow. She crouched and Lili’s stare followed. Reaching over she tilted Lili’s chin.
“You lost ‘cuz you think too much.”
She chuckled at her squinting eyes.
“Laugh at my failure would you…”
Asuka gave her an amused smirk. She pulled her hand away. The world felt so light and airy with another whirlwind behind them.
“It’s my win but you can come at me any time.”
Again Lili sighed and rolled on her back. She started to pout but the longer it went the more it fizzled. Instead her brow scrunched. ‘Why are you better than me?’ it asked. And she pressed her answers in her mouth. She stood, reaching for her water bottle on the sidelines.
“Where…where did I overthink?”
“Better question is where you didn’t.” The water was still cold, liquid smooth.
Silence. She pressed.
“You waited before dodging, weighing where to go. You hesitated planning your approach when I gave you room. You were so focused on how you’d overwhelm me with your hits that you forgot paying attention to my tells.”
Lili draped her arm over her face. From under it Asuka saw her lips purse.
“…You almost got my chin though. It’s obvious you can move faster than before. And you can lean into a punch now.”
More silence. She started wiping off with her towel even if she didn’t need it as much. When she finished on her hairline Lili was staring at her. Those blue grey eyes were hard; the way a river stone is hard and smooth, anchoring itself against touch. Reassuring but muddied; it left a tingle in Asuka’s brain.
“The Mishimas could come take you whenever they please. Your records are child’s play for them to trace, for Jin Kazama.”
Asuka went stiff; her brow narrowed as if it were a gear turning through rust. Her cold gaze betrayed a drop of fear. She clenched her fist in place of a steady heart.
“He is blood related to you. And his mother Jun is alive, though I have no way of knowing if he’s realized. I’m not sure your father knows either. If Ms. Jun has plans I believe she will track down her son. Depending on his thirst for war and schemes he may learn about you and grab you to prevent her from asking your help. He can turn you into a bargaining piece. Perhaps Kazuya Mishima will come to a similar conclusion and take you first instead. He was looking into the Kazama Clan after all. It wouldn’t be wrong to assume he knows of your family’s…innate gifts.”
‘Gifts?’
Asuka couldn’t feel her clenched fingers anymore. Her knuckles were fit to split the skin.
“…That fucking moron…and you think I’d just let him take me?”
“Don’t be ridiculous.” Lili snorted.
“Then what do you get out of it? Why are you here?”
Lili sighed crossing her arms over her forehead. She stared into the ceiling.
“It’d be awful if you faced that devil alone, no?”
“…What?”
She backpedaled when Lili sprung to her feet.
“Now I’m afraid I must retire and bathe before this filth turns my stomach.”
“Hey wait, wait tell me more!”
But her long legs carried her from Asuka’s reach before her brain understood the weight of what sat on it. This was as far as she’d get today. Sucking her teeth, every hair on her body stood. Alone and aching she stomped around; a vicious cracking yell scattered her frustration. Then as she caught her breath, its echo faded in the hollow of her chest. She felt exhausted. Her will formed rods that kept her legs from sinking.
When she gathered her things she stopped suddenly. Leaning against the exit, she gripped the towel slung around her neck. Her eyes widened.
‘Does she like me?’
Every morning after they met for practice, took turns in the bath, ate a simple breakfast while making lunch, then they were off to school. Her bike still sat battered in the yard and Lili gave her the peace of not mentioning it. But now, sometimes, Asuka found herself giving it a glance. One tire pump here, a new chain, new brakes, some replaced bolts, and it’d be ready for new paint. She should probably replace the rubber on the grips too, or trim where it frayed. There were a million, million ideas.
At lunch the day they’d sparred, people of course noticed the split on Lili’s lip. Despite how Asuka had made her stay still to press some ice and rub a bit of petroleum jelly, the red and purple mark read as bright as a road work sign. Of course Asuka had apologized, scratching her lowered head and looking her in the eye. Lili chuckled at her. As if it had been a game or nothing at all. ‘Now we’ve each landed a blow on the other haven’t we?’
Asuka couldn’t claim to understand that girl, but it made a sort of sense. They were finally even at something.
She learned many things day by day. While not a genius Lili was a fast learner, diligent as much as she was disciplined. Whatever she did was finished almost as quick as it started with calculated execution. Lateness cut into time for ‘the simple pleasures.’ Asuka had never seen one person drink tea like it replaced water. Despite appearances she wasn’t well read, only keeping up enough to, ‘please my Father’s expectations.’ Yet those put her ahead of most people, and she thought nothing was worse than falling behind, or the idea she might.
At training her moves were explosive when left to herself. There was always more to perfect, another river to cross until her muscle memory submitted. When given a form for practice, she talked of strategies as she shuffled it into her arsenal. No matter the situation, she’d pull some technique or the theory of one out her ass. She had to be motivated with more praise than even the mildest critique or else she turned moody at best, bitchy otherwise. The longer she spent encouraging Lili (at times making Asuka tear at her own hair) the faster something dawned on her.
Maybe it wasn’t that Lili enjoyed toying with people so much as she wanted to never stop moving. There had to be another problem to solve, another scheme, another fun thing to start- enough so that they were never bogged down sharing their feelings. She weaved between teasing, sass, or halfhearted sulking. Anything more earned silence. And the unreadable wall formed in her expressions. Well, even when it made Asuka gnash her teeth this was about patience. Like Dad said.
It wasn’t that Lili couldn’t remember moves or plan either; she just couldn’t get out her own head when faced with being hit. The possibility didn’t scare her she’d said, and for once Asuka agreed. She could counter Lili again and again, bruise her by occasional accident. Lili would trip over herself if that’s what it took to attack. Nothing dented whatever instinct drove that craving to win. She knew that’s what it was; a person couldn’t abandon themselves unless the rest of the world fell away. Few things matched the living lightning found in a fight.
They were sat on a day off school sipping water and drenched in the sweat of another practice.
“Unacceptable. Absolutely unacceptable! I should have gotten you when I went from low high jabbing to Matterhorn kick. It was the perfect cover.”
“The ‘unacceptable’ thing is you’re still using that. You’re wide open before anything lands.”
“Hush! I gave it a tremendous level of style. Who expects a rising kick with both legs from the ground? There’s an element of surprise worth the effort.”
Asuka squinted then shrugged. Their session replayed in her mind. This time there’d been no cartwheels or insane flips. There’d been jabs, lots of jabs from every direction pushing Asuka’s reflex but never breaking it; the kicks she answered with her own as they missed each other by a hair. If she couldn’t dodge, she made sure Lili collided against the hardest bones. Her knees and elbows were wearing off from numbing pins and needles. Lili was fast; if only her battle sense could match pace. Even a sweep kick forced her to adapt on the fly if it didn’t toss her outright. She took a long sip. Whenever Asuka had an answer for one method that moron fell back on what she best knew worked. That routine made her predictable.
Wait…predicable?
“Hey, how long have you been fighting again?”
“Why does that matter?”
Asuka flicked her forehead. Lili yelped and scowled.
“You want help then answer me.”
“…A year, if you must know.”
Instantly Asuka’s water sprayed from her mouth mid drink.
“A year?! And you ran to fight in two tournaments. Is your head on right?!”
“I fail at seeing the problem here. I can guard, I can attack, I train rigorously- there’s no reason I should be denied a test of my skills the same as anyone else.”
“That’s not even…you…I can’t believe this.”
“How many years do you have under your belt?” Lili snapped.
She stared at her in disbelief, gripping her water bottle to make sure this was real. The look on Lili’s face fell and a blush like a wave rose in its place. Neither said anything as they stared into space hugging their knees. Loud traffic revved through the walls. Another beat of gathered silence.
Asuka giggled.
“Don’t laugh.”
She laughed. Her mouth quivered as she set the bottle down. She laughed so hard her chest felt ready to cave in. Asuka tipped over collapsing at Lili’s side, pedal kicking her feet as she clutched her stomach.
“I’m not an idiot! Stop that!”
Softly, playfully, Lili whacked her everywhere demanding Asuka stay still. But not a minute passed before they were piled together roaring with laughter. She sat up.
“No wonder then why you keep being an easy read. You aren’t confident in your style!”
Again Lili scowled.
“You’re suggesting I lack experience.”
A loaded statement already, a question; Asuka groaned. Saying yes would have them bickering until the point ran away.
“What I mean is no one’s a master so quickly. Right now what I’d expect is someone comfortable in the basics. They’ve only started putting a foundation together for what they know and how they’ll use it. What school are you studying under?”
“I’m self-taught of course.” Lili said flipping her bangs and smirking.
Asuka buried her face in her hands.
“Forget feeling comfortable in the basics; you’re stuck at making shit up!”
“Such an accusation is ridiculous-“
“We’re doing you over. From the beginning.”
“This is unfair-“
“You can keep your crazy style. But since you wanna learn my school we do things my way when I think we should. Otherwise you’re not gonna learn a damn thing. You’ll never get any better.”
A growl rumbled her words as she took her hands off Lili’s cheeks, leaning over her. She was stared at as if she’d shot her; being stunned was the best way of getting through the concrete wall Lili had in place of a skull. They stared each other down. Asuka refused to budge her scowl a centimeter. Finally, Lili ‘Hmph’d and looked at the floor.
On their off days they started jogging around the block, staying in the quiet parts. After a rest when that was done they switched to spotting each other’s workouts and stretching. Each week Asuka would ask Lili to demonstrate a move from her flashy toolkit. That became the assignment she worked on until the next week. Lili would show the result of her drills by combining it with last week’s move; only then would Asuka teach her a complimenting Kazama technique.
At class Asuka never said so, but Lili’s notes started covering whatever went over her head. She never missed homework again; getting a test back now meant she got to wear her own smug grin. Not one teacher kept from throwing her a confused glare. Most kept their mouths shut. In their study sessions, Asuka either understood within Lili’s schedule, or else it got carried over to next time and not a second earlier. Even so, there always came a tease if she needed more than one explanation. Lili knew her way around cocky smirks and looking down her nose. It’d piss Asuka off more than it always had, if this time she didn’t need what the cat dragged in. Nothing could disturb Lili’s bubble baths, which she insisted on and Dad allowed so long as she used the tub last. She insisted on writing with fountain pens because ‘they’re mature don’t you agree?’ and easily color coded everything. Once, flipping through a notebook Lili lent her, she stopped dead at the table.
Page after page lay covered in sketches from top to bottom. The scenes included nature, random household objects, and an alley here and there. But those were just the scrap pages. Every picture before and after them showed Asuka. Some were labeled as ‘Her smile’ or ‘After today’s training’. Some were close ups of different expressions paired with figure studies in everyday poses. Did Asuka really look tough and handsome this much? There were the hard angles of her just before she got mad, the obvious confusion and wonder when she had to think. The carefree joy or satisfaction in her smiles, smirks, and grins. The cocky pride whenever she felt in control. The aimless frustration when she showed sadness. That one made her wince.
Each detail touched her greater than the last. Her heartbeats made a home in her throat when she saw their hands holding one another. She froze in her seat.
“Put that down this instant!”
She didn’t fight it when in a heartbeat Lili leapt up and snatched the book. Asuka chuckled nervously, no not nervous, she didn’t know why. She didn’t know what she was saying.
“If you keep drawing like that people will think you’re gay.”
Lili slammed the book closed, glaring. Then Asuka gasped softly; Lili’s lips were trembling, the entirety of her face grappling against bursting into tears. She watched her swallow. Then without a word she gathered all her stuff and stormed off. Asuka wanted to give chase, to throw any excuses but that’s exactly what they’d be, excuses. The air felt thick; a sand pit that’d drown her if she struggled. So she sat there, suddenly very small.
When Dad came home that night after visiting a friend, she told him Lili was too tired for dinner. She didn’t think of it as a lie; anger and sadness knew about killing anything that made you alive.
“You’ve been working her hard like you’ve always done when I needed you teaching. I’ll fix her a plate and you take it up, alright.”
“I guess…” She stirred her miso broth absentmindedly.
Asuka found her room door opened a crack with only her lamp light on. She balanced the food and went to knock- Lili started speaking, soft and hoarse. She must’ve been crying. Maybe Asuka shouldn’t have, but she stood, listening.
“I won’t be returning home Sebastian…of course I thought about it. No, a De Rochefort is not a coward! Spare me the thought…I’d rather die if so. No I don’t need you staying with me. Not yet at least. This is no pain or challenge I cannot handle. Oh but, well, thank you for your words. Yes, good night.”
She heard the thump of a phone on cloth. Lili spoke louder to herself, voice cracked.
“Why God, of all the people in the world why this one?”
Well she wasn’t gonna let her talk like Asuka wasn’t there. She gave the door a push with her foot.
“Yo, brought ya something.”
Lili stayed face down in the futon; her face lost in her pillow and under her hair. She groaned.
“Oh leave me alone you brute.”
“I’m sorry. It wasn’t serious.”
“…If it isn’t serious then why are you apologizing?”
Again Asuka went numbed. She had nothing but her fists when someone stuck their fingers in her own wounds. What was she supposed to do here, hit her? Over what, being mad at Asuka getting her to cry? It was stupid. She was stupid. But she wasn’t, she’d done a stupid thing. She didn’t go around living so that everyone else got inconvenienced. Saying nothing she cleared space and set dinner on her desk.
Her body tingled, restless, her blood vibrating her veins. The shapes of her room didn’t register. She kept herself together as she stepped out and down the stairs. Her mind was blank. She stepped inside the dojo not caring about having her pajamas on. She rushed past the wall sign stopping at the center of the hall. And she trained. The forms were muscle memory, all routine. Safe. They didn’t ask anything except that her body keeps up. In the middle of stumbling some lift kicks she saw Dad watching. He looked more patient with her than she deserved.
“Everything alright?”
“I can handle myself.”
“Sure you can, kicking off center like that.”
She narrowed her eyes. He shrugged and made his way over.
“I’ll observe. Take it from the top.”
A crack called gratitude broke her frenzy.
Lili wouldn’t speak to her. Day after day they still met for morning practice, but did their work in separate corners. Dinner was spent taking turns talking to Dad as they ate in a race to not finish together. He threw Asuka a look sometimes in between but held whatever he could’ve said. She read an understanding on his face. This was their problem. Breakfast was cold silence without him; a performance where they tried everything stupid or practical to not make eye contact. The study sessions stopped. She tried giving a sign to ask about it. Lili pretended she didn’t exist.
The next week she got back a failed test, a red thirty two took up a huge corner so anyone could see. Her math teacher adjusted his glasses, condescending down to his walk. He let her stew in failure as she curled against her desk. Her failure, again. The rumor flies picked her clean with the feel of their stares.
At lunch Lili did stay near her, but ‘near’ became moving her desk six meters apart facing away. Not really sitting with anyone else and not a message she couldn’t read either. It made her collar itch. Try as she might there’d be no way she could approach without causing a scene. Burying herself in her food and keeping quiet became the new routine. Once after a few days of this, Ayako and her goons saw opportunity. Lili glared at them as if she were a knife, like she might snap them as easy as a twig. It gave Asuka hope.
Hope? Why was she letting this matter the way it did? If Lili, the nail sticking her ass whenever she appeared, finally stopped annoying her then how was this bad? It was stupid.
‘I did a stupid thing.’
That was the reason; it had to be.
‘I hurt someone just because.’
The truth, then, cut sharper than everyone else’s lies.
On their off days Asuka started solo training, putting wherever her sulking half was out of mind. The basics were forever there. Shadow fights imagining opponents carried a real challenge. There was always more to try, more to perfect, a feeling of faster or stronger. She started with one random punk then added them in twos. She dodged; swept their legs, whipped their momentum around until they opened for punches. Kicks were a whirlwind leaving rippling winds in her wake, force whistling as it cleaved the air. Her foot bounced whenever she launched herself high; her body rocketing along the flight she’d set herself. As if she switched from floating into a pebble flying from a slingshot. The tip of her nose brushed the ceiling. A jolt of panic fried her; she killed it and tucked into a roll as she fell.
What the hell was this?
Her skin turned hot where the wind had touched it. Not a burn or ripping of blood; this time it passed over her like hands of sunlight. Under the summer heat it breathed into her as if the first clear day of spring. She lifted her head, standing, comforted by its embrace. All her worries blew, carried on the breeze. Then being the wind it passed and settled faster than it arrived. Every part of her felt light. Clenching her fist, she smirked. Whatever this was, it seemed ready to help. And that meant…
‘Time for a test!’
“I’m headin’ out!”
“Be back before nightfall.” Dad called as she slipped on her shoes.
“I know.”
Lili came down the stairs minding her business. Had Asuka left a second earlier she would have missed the slightest curious glance thrown at her. But that was it before Lili disappeared into the kitchen. Her chest jumped. Whatever, she could think about that later.
The sky stretched clear forever with the sun hanging gold smack in the center. People were a guarantee. Today she didn’t run, stuffing her hands in the pockets of her shorts and drinking in the day. People started crowding as she hit the main avenues; no one paid her any attention. Even if someone did, they’d see a friendly smile not the hunger leashed in her eyes. She kept her ears sharp ignoring any chatter; she wanted shouting. She wanted action. Asuka waited and walked and waited. Then she crossed into Shinsekai. A wolfish grin twisted her mouth.
In the middle of a shopping square some boys were in each other’s faces, seven altogether by her count. Lined up and shouting enough to spit they’d clash at the drop of a hat. Immediately she broke into a run. Someone at the front raised his fist; she jumped, flipped, and tucked in the air.
“Hold it right there!”
Scattering like bugs they yelled in surprise and cleared some space. Her effortless, cool landing left them speechless. When she stood she gave them a smile; camera, lights, action! Justice!
“Who the hell- oh not you again!”
“Ms. Asuka? Crap, crap, crap!”
Dusting off her hands Asuka shook her head. One gang she recognized not as the guys who helped her home, but a separate group she’d left in pieces before them. The others made her right eye twitch to remember. They’d get theirs as many times as it took till they learned their lesson.
“I’m disappointed. Haven’t I already told ya off? No fighting! No fighting where people are either. What if you dragged some grandma into your mess or busted down a shop? You can’t go around doing that.”
The boys who she thought knew better bowed their heads; someone she assumed was a new member had his head forced down by a senior.
“We’re deeply sorry Ms. Asuka. For sure, for sure we won’t lift a finger!”
“Don’t apologize to me. Just play nice like I ask.”
The leader guy with slicked back hair, his nose had healed crooked after its visit with her fist, got right in her face.
“I’m not like these pussies you little bitch. Try harder. We can go right now.”
Asuka sighed. His gang glanced at each other, afraid, backing him up anyway.
“If that’s true you wouldn’t bother talking. But you brought me on yourself!”
Roaring he threw out punches she knocked away, lunging himself in pursuit until she glanced the wobble of his left leg. Now! She went low sweeping him so fast it wasn’t a question of waiting for his fall, he just hit the ground. One moment he was a body under gravity, then the shutter on a camera, and he laid a groaning wreck. Her kicks would’ve gone off course as she reined them in within an instant. Her rhythm needed a new tempo. Her limbs were free and her muscles flowy, like how paper streamers became part of a breeze.
‘Amazing!’
Leader boy stumbled up as she flung her knee into his stomach. The wind wheezed from his lungs; her elbow drop swiveled his head with a thud. In that same second she wheeled around and with a single kick slammed him into the pavement. His gang threw themselves out the way. A tailwind curled from the force of her leg, cracking the concrete of a building behind them. The crash vibrated for longest blip in their lives.
At her feet leader boy made no sound. She saw the shallow rise and fall of his back; at least he was still alive. His friends took a look at him, then back to her, and back to him. Without build up their screams exploded; each one bundled into shrieking fear. They sprint away white as ghosts, clinging to any value they saw left in living.
She breathed in. She exhaled, giddy. Her mind blanked.
Asuka turned around and found the remaining boys gawking. Stunned until not only had they forgotten words, their eyeballs were gonna pop out their sockets. Her movement carried more energy than she knew what to do with. She could fly around the sky till the Earth itself was just a blue ball. Say something, anything to come down again!
“So, like I was saying! If you guys wanna be good then make nice with each other. Cuz’ if you don’t…”
She rested her foot on leader boy. Finally he groaned.
The boys watched, their mouths hanging open. Someone cried out,
“If we behave enough can we feel your boobs?”
Sailing in midair, everyone placed bets on how long till he came down.
Another morning at training she finished early and watched Lili work. Bit by bit she started leaving the simple behind. She weaved in and out of jabs and kicks, and backflips into stomps. She threw herself twisting into a cartwheel that became a flip. Down went her foot preparing a heel drop; Asuka remembered the hawks diving for fish on one of Dad’s favorite nature shows. Lili landed safe doing a split. Her sweaty face turned red steadying her breathing. A picture of focus came to Asuka’s mind.
She sat cross legged and watched, resting her chin on her hand as Lili got up. Then the routine reset. The forceful flurry of Sunrise Sunset’s striking twirled into a somersault that brought Lili low against the floor. When Asuka asked her about the silly name Lili had scoffed, ‘because I’m hitting high then low obviously.’ Of course, she angled herself, sticking her legs together and launching high into Matterhorn. Sweat splattered off Lili’s brow; her grimace carried the strain holding her muscles in place. Practicing or on the street under chaos, they earned the same effort. Tired, Lili finally flopped on her back.
“You’re not so bad at this, y’know.”
No response. Lili stared at the ceiling catching her breath. Reaching to undo the bun her blonde hair spilled around her slender neck. Her heart shaped face looked outlined by a gold brush. Her pink bow shape lips parted for sweet air, not pursed or confusing Asuka like she knew everything in the universe. Lili was so, normal. Normally pretty. Asuka tried imagining her real smile.
“I’m sorry, Lili.”
The spell broke; they stared into each other’s eyes. And for the first time, joy and joy alone bloomed open across all Lili was.
‘Wait a minute. This is my first time saying her name!’
Lili giggled playfully, honestly, waking herself from a bad dream and relieved. She sat up.
“My, you’re in agony after trampling a beautiful flower.”
“Don’t push it.”
Lili chuckled.
The next day off Asuka stepped out the bank. She walked smiling for herself alone. It was time to fix her bike.
#tekken#asulili#asuka kazama#lili de rochefort#i'm so happy to be done with this shit but also so happy to start and share it#my writing
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ramblingsfromthymind~
exactly what the name suggests..
hi! my name is manishika sahoo, but i prefer to be called mithi.
i am a 15 year old living in bangalore, karnataka, india currently in my summer vacation. i am waiting for my 10th board results (expecting around 80-82% which is... severely disappointing for me). i am going to start my 11th grade in the end of may (pcmb or pcb+psych, not sure yet) continuing in cbse board. new school (yikes!) and i'm probably gonna have like no close freinds because of my social anxiety.. ah the woes of a shy introvert (not in a cute way)!!
i am an intj. a libra.
for my fellow marauders fans- i am a remus and lily kinnie. my fav characters are mary, lily and sirius (in that order).
for my fellow percy jackson fans- i am a hades kid who would join the hunters of artemis if i had the chance. currently reading trials of apollo but by percy jackson and the olympians and heroes of olympus my favorite characters are reyna(icon honestly), nico, piper(overhated queen), annabeth and hazel (in that order).
i was born in october 2008, in farmington hills, michigan, usa.
i love literature, music & film (the holy trinity fr). i love reading, writing, dancing, singing, ranting in comment sections lol, plants, art, maximalism, girls (what's not to love honestly), chocolate, paneer (my life fr), coffee, platonic love (underrated), pinterest (hands down best social media app), aesthetically pleasing college vlogs on youtube (very specific but they own my heart. channel recs- mia aston, alicia jade, carys rachel, dakota warren, dobochobo, dustin vuong, grace garagan, linh truong, moya mawhinney, romney ellen, via li).
my dream uni is nyu (been stuck on it since 9th grade)
i want to be a successful writer, singer-songwriter, actress and youtuber in my future. my fall-back plan is to study psychology and enter academia.
i post a lot of varied content on this blog but most of the common themes include content related to feminism, being queer (i am a lesbian), writing, the marauders fandom, etc. i currently have two series of posts on here - 'extract(s) from my journal' and 'shitty poetry'. i try to be open with my thoughts here and want to create a safe space for all (unless you're a dramione/jegulus/tomarry/drarry/bellamione/any other nonsensical ship/darkalina shipper or a terf or a homophobe or a transphobe or just a hateful person in general, then you're not welcome here).
my youtube channel: @heyy.im_mithi
my (other actual non-tumblr) blog: mithisramblings.blogspot.com (name: ramblings of thy truly)
my ao3 account (i plan to solely write sapphic marauders content because we are starved of it. recently started a marylily fic!): heyy_im_mithi
my pinterest (it's on private until i turn 16 unfortunately): @heyy.im_mithi
#life#writing#aesthetic#feminism#marauders#poetry#poem#blog#writers on tumblr#poets on tumblr#journalling#tumblr blog#percy jackson#pjo#percy jackon and the olympians#heroes of olympus#harry potter#anti jegulus#anti drarry#anti dramione#anti tomarry#pinterest#mithi#youtube#youtuber#youtube channel#small youtuber#blogger#girl blogger#lgbtq
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Hi hey welcome!
Call me Lily! I'm a queer nonbinary person in my 30s with a number of chronic illnesses and this is side blog but it's probably the one I use most often. It is run on a queue. You'll find things like:
Queer/LGBTQIA+ discourse and memes
Disability discourse and memes
Neurodivergence discourse and memes
Mental health tips and tricks and positivity
General positivity posts and some cute animals
some USAmerican political bullshit (and memes)
some political shit and awareness posts for other places
Tumblr Heritage Posts and other shitpost hilarity
I try to tag for common triggers but I do not always remember - if you have something specific you would like me to Always tag, send me an ask or a DM and I can add it to my list and I will do my best (ex: mushrooms)
I'm an adult and I don't curate this blog with minors in mind, but besides the gratuitous use of the word "fuck" and the occasional political vent post with an empty death threat, there won't really be anything here that would merit an R rating (except in Florida which doesn't want to admit that queer people Exist). So if you're a minor you're welcome to follow, but I probably won't follow you back.
For everyone I do follow back, it will be under my main blog: @lily-leaves
FAQ & tag explanation beneath the cut
Yes that's my real face in the icon
My pronouns are she/her or they/them or any of the neutral neopronouns.
Current diagnoses are: POTS, chronic migraines, myoclonus, autism, adhd, generalized anxiety disorder
If you don't want to see USAmerican bullshit block the tag: "usian bullshit" or block "politics" if you don't want to see any politics (incl international) but would like to still see other cursed americana
No I'm not go to stop using the word queer for myself and the rest of the queer community; if you don't like the word you're not in the community and that's why I have two tags, kthanks.
Other Tags:
Ask Lily: my asks
C'est Moi: selfie tag
Personal: self explanatory
Lore Drop: personal nonsense in the tags or on reblogs
Bun Chronicles: pictures and tales of my rabbits
Get Therapized Nerd: me vaguing about being in therapy again
Frens: mutuals and rl friends
Hellsite (affectionate): Tumblr community stuff and heritage posts
Tumblr bullshit: when staff is being awful
Positivity: peep this tag if you need a pick-me-up
Indigenous Issues: this stuff rarely gets tagged "usian bullshit" or "politics" because it's bigger than that
#personal#lore drop#ask lily#hellsite (affectionate)#positivity#bun chronicles#c'est moi#frens#a chuisle mo chroi#la mia fiamma#selfie
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Dani’s Fic List
As promised for my 300 followers celebration, a list of all my active fics on Quotev! I think this is comprehensive. If there’s a fic that’s left off, that’s by accident. All of these are on my “published” list on Quotev.
For this story list, I’ll start with ones that already have links posted on here, then move to other lesser-known ones (below the cut). These are listed in no particular order at all.
@auradon-bore-a-don Since you asked to be tagged, here it is! Like 95% of this is all Descendants-related. It’s been my hyperfixation since the first book came out back in early summer 2015 and it’s stuck...
Behold, a bunch of nonsense that comes from an overactive imagination and no social life!
-
Title + link: Sophronia
Fandoms: Disney Descendants
Basic plot: Sequel “A” to Good to be Bad: A Disney Descendants Twisted Tale, this story focuses on Ben and Audrey’s adopted daughter, Sophie. When the terrible Horned King escapes the Isle of the Lost, Sophie sets out to protect her kingdom from any evil, no matter who it is.
Title + link: Nightshade Rose
Fandoms: Disney Descendants
Basic plot: Sequel “B” and a sort of “What if?” take on Good to be Bad: A Disney Descendants Twisted Tale, this story is focused on Princess Nightshade, a Princess of Auradon who lives unaware that her parents are the Rulers of Evil who threaten her land.
Title + link: Never Enough
Fandoms: Disney Descendants
Basic plot: The sequel to Rewrite the Stars; Ben follows Lia to her home planet of Solasar as Lia prepares to marry her fiancé and become Queen. However, there’s more happening on Solaar than they could ever expect.
Title + link: The True Defender
Fandoms: Disney’s Descendants (mostly), Treasure Planet
Basic plot: A D2- and D3-based AU featuring Lia. Will also go on to cover an AU of Good to be Bad: A Disney Descendants Twisted Tale.
Title + link: Love from the Stars
Fandoms: Disney Descendants; contains elements from the world of Treasure Planet
Basic plot: Ben and Mal’s wedding is derailed by the arrival of space pirates who abduct Ben, but he’s rescued by an Etherial, one of the most powerful creatures in the galaxies.
Title + link: A Wondrous Place
Fandoms: Disney Descendants
Basic plot: Essentially an AU of Descendants, just with BenJay as the endgame instead of Bal.
Title + link: Come Alive
Fandoms: Disney ZOMBIES
Basic plot: Zeraphina is a Zombrid – half-human and half-Zombie – forced to hide her hair color and fit in. But now that Zombies are welcome at Seabrook High, she’s hoping to start on a new chapter of her life, one where she doesn’t have to hide who she is.
Title + link: Darkness Falling
Fandoms: Disney Descendants
Basic plot: Book 2 (of 3) in my Dark Haven series; Bianca, Princess of Dark Haven and daughter of the Rulers of All Evil, returns to the kingdom of Auradon to help Mal, Evie, Jay, and Carlos destroy the talismans (from Rise of the Isle of the Lost.) But there’s a more dangerous threat that none of them know of… (This fic is completed and this link currently acts as a placeholder for this series, until the sequel is published.)
Title + link: Fate and Fairy Tales
Fandoms: Disney Descendants
Basic plot: Carly is looking forward to a happily-ever-after with her fiancé Chad Charming, as Carlos looks forward to a future without their mother around. But the sudden and unexpected arrival of their father, the malevolent king of a magical race, complicates everything. (This fic is dedicated to Cameron Boyce, who passed shortly before its publishing.)
Title + link: Blue Fire
Fandoms: Sky High and Disney’s Descendants (crossover)
Basic plot: Haley is just your average, everyday super-powered teenager attending Sky High. It just so happens that her hair turns into blue fire and she has no idea where she comes from, or who her father really is.
Title + link: The Crown and the Sea
Fandoms: Disney Descendants
Basic plot: a crossover between me and my girlfriend @megamultifandomtrashposts featuring our characters Bianca and Sophia. Bianca is with Mal, Evie, Jay, and Carlos as they return to the Isle of the Lost (from May Evil Reign), but the reign of Ursula’s daughter, Sophia, over the Isle complicates things...
Title + link: An Untold Story: Tales of Auradon
Fandoms: Once Upon a Time and Disney’s Descendants (crossover)
Basic plot: The second of three books in my An Untold Story crossover between OUaT and Descendants, this book takes place between Season 3A and Season 3B of OUaT. Instead of going to the Land Without Magic, Emma and Henry come to Auradon to stay with King Adam, Rose, and the rest of their adoptive family. This book includes an adaptation of Rise of the Isle of the Lost and the first Descendants movie.
Title + link: Heroes and Villains
Fandoms: Disney Descendants
Basic plot: This four-part story encompasses the first Isle of the Lost book, the first Descendants movie, and the Return to the Isle of the Lost book, before departing into an OG fourth part. This is the story of Royal, Mal’s half-sister, in a version of Auradon where the Isle of the Lost wasn’t the first solution for working with the villains and history is a bit different.
Title + link: Spells Were Made to be Broken
Fandoms: Disney Descendants
Basic plot: Basically a crossover between Heroes and Villains and the world of Descendants 3 post-D3, Royal, Chloe, and Skalja, the Princess Trio, are tasked to save the kingdom from an unexpected enemy.
Title + link: The Return
Fandoms: Disney Descendants and MCU (crossover, kinda?)
Basic plot: An adaptation of Return to the Isle of the Lost, featuring my OCs Lily and Balthazar, the children of Loki (from the MCU.) This isn’t an active story exactly, but it is the latest in the series while I’m planning out the next and final book.
Title + link: More than Flesh and Bone
Fandoms: Disney Descendants and Disney ZOMBIES (crossover)
Basic plot: Gwyn, a cheerleader in Seabrook, has mysterious ties to a certain Werewolf pack, ties that originate from her mother on the faraway Isle of the Lost.
Title + link: The Dragon That Cannot Fly
Fandoms: Disney Descendants
Basic plot: In the third and final book of her series, Nara, the adopted daughter of Queen Narissa, must team up with Naros, her brother from an alternate and almost-identical world, in order to put a permanent end to Queen Narissa’s evil.
Title + link: The Believers
Fandoms: Disney Descendants
Basic plot: In an OUAT-inspired story that combines OCs from various different stories, Ben awakens from a coma and discovers that his memories of Auradon were nothing but dreams. However, he soon learns that the world he’s in, Auradon City, is really his kingdom placed under a curse and controlled by Maleficent.
Title + link: Not All Treasure is Silver and Gold
Fandoms: Disney Descendants and Pirates of the Caribbean series (crossover, sorta)
Basic plot: Jackie is the daughter of Captain Jack Sparrow and Angelica. When she goes to Auradon, she finds a little adventure and a little romance with an old friend and a new one. (No love triangle, just polyamory.)
Title + link: Fathoms Below
Fandoms: Disney Descendants
Basic plot: In the final book of Selina’s series, Selina must confront and defeat Morveren, the first evil Sea Witch and the originator of her lineage, in order to protect her family and her kingdom. With fewer allies than ever before, this is quite a daunting task.
Title + link: The Unusual Kingdom Keeper
Fandoms: Disney Descendants and the Kingdom Keepers book series
Basic plot: Aria, the twin sister of Audrey, unexpectedly finds herself in the Magic Kingdom. In this world, Disney Characters are made real through the power of children’s belief in them, heroes and villains alike. And the villains are just as evil as ever.
Title + link: The Thieves in the Shadows
Fandoms: Disney Descendants
Basic plot: The second book featuring Jay and Aza, the two of them try to track down a mysterious rash of thefts throughout Agrabah. Unfortunately, they uncover a plot launched by Jay’s mother, the sorceress Azirah, to take over all the lands.
Title + link: The Rebel Descendant
Fandoms: Disney Descendants and Ever After High
Basic plot: Reign is Raven Queen’s adopted sister, and a Rebel to the core. But there’s more to Reign’s story than just a Rebel. She comes from somewhere else, somewhere that doesn’t need a Storybook of Legends.
Title + link: Maddie Baylor and the Second Titanomachy
Fandoms: Percy Jackson and the Olympians
Basic plot: Maddie is a friend of Percy Jackson, the son of Poseidon, and she’s no stranger to the world of gods and monsters; after all, she’s a daughter of Dionysus, herself. When it becomes clear that the Titans plan to rise again and defeat the Olympians once and for all, she’ll fight by Percy’s side in quest after quest to save the world.
Title + link: The Sorcerer’s Apprentice
Fandoms: Disney in general, I guess?
Basic plot: Belladonna Valaise is an apprentice studying in Sorcerer’s Town in a hidden, magical dimension. When an unusually mouse-like apprentice from another place arrives, seeking help to recover his master’s Animating Pen, Belladonna decides to seek out a little adventure and help.
Title + link: Bringer of Spring
Fandoms: Dreamworks’ Rise of the Guardians
Basic plot: Embla Springbringer has a very important job: each year, on Groundhogs Day, she battles the Frost Giant Rasgol to end winter and allow spring to come to her small Norwegian fjord. Embla has been doing this job even since the Man in the Moon called on her to do so. Now, the Man in the Moon has a very different job for her: becoming a Guardian to help defend the world’s children against Pitch Black.
Title + link: The Heroes of Tomorrow: The Next Trickster
Fandoms: Next Avengers: Heroes of Tomorrow
Basic plot: An AU and then some of the movie Next Avengers: Heroes of Tomorrow featuring my OC, Lokabrenna, daughter of Loki.
Title + link: Frost and Flame
Fandoms: Sky High and the Marvel Cinematic Universe
Basic plot: When Muspels, the Flame Giant enemies of Frost Giants, begin to come after Cassia for her half-Jotun heritage, Cassia is forced to turn to the last people she would like to help her: the Avengers.
~
Shared stories! These stories are shared/co-authored/inspired by @thetimelordbatgirl and her stories.
Title + link: The Daughters of the Trickster
Fandoms: Disney Descendants, MCU, and Marvel’s Descendants
Basic plot: In our very first crossover, our OCs Lily and Locket meet for the first time and have to navigate the realization of alternate worlds and alternate families while battling Mariana, Lily’s mother.
Title + link: The Trickster’s Daughters Return
Fandoms: Disney Descendants, MCU, and Marvel’s Descendants
Basic plot: In the second team-up, Lily and Locket return to join forces. They must face Mariana again, but this time the stakes are higher, with the impending freedom of the demonic Chernabogs.
Title + link: Sisters of Fire
Fandoms: Disney Descendants, Sky High, and Marvel’s Descendants (crossover)
Basic plot: An AU of Haley’s story, Blue Fire. Haley is not the only inexplicably fire-powered child at Whitefield Foster House. She has a foster-sister named Jayla, a powerful girl with golden eyes who can transform into a magnificent and fearsome dragon.
Title + link: Devil’s Due
Fandoms: Disney Descendants and Marvel’s Descendants
Basic plot: An AU of the above story. What if Haley was never kidnapped? What if she stayed on the Isle with her father? And what if Jayla had still found her way to this family? They’re quite the unexpected family, that’s for sure.
Title + link: Ties to Evil
Fandoms: Disney Descendants
Basic plot: A future AU on Heroes and Villains, inspired by the Family Business series. The second in the series featuring my OCs such as Adam (son of Royal) and Beryl (daughter of Beast and Belle.)
Title + link: The Dragon’s Son
Fandoms: Disney Descendants
Basic plot: A future AU on Nara’s series, inspired by the Family Business series. In which Fairen is the son of both Evie and Nara, he reluctantly leaves his mothers behind on the Isle when Prince Alexander chooses him to come to Auradon in his proclamation. While in Auradon, Fairen learns of Nara’s unlikely connection to Auradon, and the kidnapped Princess Roseleta.
Title + link: Heirs of Agrabah
Fandoms: Disney Descendants
Basic plot: A future AU on Aza’s story, inspired by the Family Business series. Ben’s proclamation never happened, but now his son Alexander chooses some children to leave the Isle of the Lost. One of these children is Jayra, daughter of Jay, who makes a unique and unexpected connection to Aza.
Congrats! You’ve reached the end of my list of masterpieces and nonsense.
#new drinking game: take a shot for each of these fics related to descendants#no don't do that you'll give yourself alcohol poisoning
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Oh shoot I almost forgot mint debate Monday!!! Anyway, welcome back to mint debate Monday, I'm your host Magnus, and today we'll be going over some minty takes after a word from our sponsor! I forgot to ask her if she was ok with it, so sorry if you're not Lily!!! /Gen |Anyway! Now for today's sponsor @lilywily143 (she/her) she's an amazing person first of all, and she's always really kind! Now for the contents of her blog! She makes amazing drawings, and has really cool content overall! She also has an age regression blog!You should check that out as well, she posts a lot of cool drawings of characters from black bomber if I'm correct! Anyway, go check her out! | Now for our minty take! I think that mint is actually more yellow then green, it just feels like mint should be yellow. Also, it is way to over hyped for just being spicy leaf -⭐
i second this!! everyone go check out lily's blog rn <3
mint is green??? what're you even saying atp? nonsense. blasphemy. i refuse to listen to such terrible takes.
#⭐anon#i once was poison ivy but now i'm your daisy; xenie gets asks!#mint is underrated#the mint debate#xeniverse
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Happy Birthday Xiao!
It was Xiao’s birthday, and his childhood friends Lumine and Venti go about celebrating it using very different methods. All Xiao really wants is to spend time with Lumine, but he ends up with more than he bargained for.
(Yes I know it’s late and I’m posting this less 30 minutes before his birthday is over. Let me live I’m trying my best here lmao.)
“Happy birthday Xiao!” Lumine exclaimed while holding a wrapped box.
“Lumine? What are you doing here?” Xiao asked as he closed the door to his shared dorm.
“Venti lent me his keys to tell me he was going to be a bit late getting back. So I took the opportunity to surprise you for your birthday! Do you like it?” The dorm was cleaned, while he wasn’t the messiest (unlike his roommate), he didn’t vacuum or dust the dorm as often as he should have. Neither Xiao or Venti cared too much but it was a refreshing surprise to see the room cleaner than it had been in months.
“You didn’t have to do this much, just being with you is enough.”
“But I wanted to! You do so much for me, it’s the least I could do on your special day. Here! I got you a gift too!” She hands over a neatly wrapped present. When he opened it, inside was a handmade cardigan. It was dark green and had a pattern of glaze lilies and qingxin flowers clumsily embroidered onto the edges. On the right side next to the buttons, a small yaksha mask was also embroidered on it.
“I had Xinyan teach me how to sew and embroider. I’m not very good but I hope you like it! It’s a bit late in the season but spring can get a little chilly and I noticed the the jacket you always wear was a bit warm for spring.”
Xiao took off his jacket and put on the cardigan. It was comfortable and smelled like Lumine. “Thank you, I like it.”
“I’m glad! There’s some almond tofu in the fridge, I used the same recipe Verr Goldet used when we were kids so hopefully it tastes just as good. I’m going to go use the communal kitchen to make you some dinner. I’ll be right ba-“
Xiao suddenly grabs her wrist as she turns around to leave. “Wait. I’ve been meaning to give you this, close your eyes and hold still.��� She does so and Xiao reaches to grab something in his desk’s drawer. Lumine is tempted to peak when she feels Xiao doing something with her hair but decided to wait.
“There. You can look now.” Lumine opens her eyes and looks at herself with the camera of Xiao’s phone. Xiao had put a beautiful crystal butterfly hair clip in her hair. It was light blue and white in color and looked like the rare crystalflies she saw in a documentary she watched and talked to Xiao about not too long ago.
“It’s beautiful Xiao! Thank you!” Her smile was bright and Xiao blushed. He turned to face away from her to hide his blush.
“It’s nothing. I just saw it and remembered you talking about crystalflies so I bought it.”
Lumine kissed his cheek on impulse and Xiao’s face grew even redder. He turned his head back to look at her, eyes wide in surprise. Realizing what she did, she blushed too and panicked.
“I’m- I’m sorry! I’ll uh- I’ll get on that dinner! Venti should be back soon so I’ll make some for him too.” And speak of the devil Venti opened the door to see the two flustered friends “Ah Venti! Good timing! I was just about to go downstairs to make dinner! I’ll be back later with food!” With that, she rushed past an amused Venti and went downstairs.
“Sooooooo, Xiao, mind telling me the story? Did you finally confess to her?” Venti teased. Xiao was still recovering from shock.
“She kissed my cheek...” Venti could practically see the hearts in his eyes, his friend was truly hopeless.
“So did you?”
“Huh? Did what?”
Venti sighed “Did you tell her how you feel?”
Xiao scowled a little. “No, and I don’t plan on it. She deserves someone better.”
Venti wanted to slam his head against the wall. “I’ve been TELLING you she feels the same way towards you! Isn’t that proof enough that you’re good enough for her? Archons, I’ve known you and Lumine since we were in diapers and I’m tired of seeing you two go at this nonsense! Ugh! Anyway, happy birthday Xiao. Here, had to pick this up so that’s why I’m late. He hands Xiao a bottle of wine, because of course he did. Xiao raised an eyebrow and Venti chuckled. “I’m joking! Here’s your real present, open it later when you’re alone, trust me.”
Xiao, in that moment, did not trust Venti one bit.
“What’s inside?” Xiao raised his eyebrow again.
“Relax, you’ll enjoy it. It’s not going to be like last year.” The previous year he had almost gotten them kicked out of the dorm with a gift he made with a kid named Klee who he occasionally help babysit. The present was a bomb that blew up and set the entire floor on fire. Had one of the heads of the student council, Jean, not recognized the particular pattern the bomb made and told the university where the bomb came from they definitely would have gotten expelled or at least kicked out of the dorm.
“Fine, I’ll trust you.”
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Lumine later came back and served them dinner, she had to go back to her room soon after. The next morning Venti was gone and Xiao was alone. He opened the present and froze when he saw what was inside.
It was a bra, and knowing Venti it was probably Lumine’s, as well as a note reading ‘you’re welcome!’
Venti was dead the next time he saw him.
#happy birthday xiao#xiao x lumine#lumine x xiao#xiaolumi#genshin impact xiao#genshin xiao#xiao#gi xiao#genshin impact lumine#genshin lumine#lumine#gi lumine#genshin impact venti#genshin venti#venti#gi venti#modern au#college au
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Unfolding
New Story! FFN and AO3
Lily and James make a life for themselves and their family after the war is won, and Hogwarts is going to end up calling them right back home. A little TheyLiveAU for you to hide from cannon on this Halloween, requested by the wonderful @thisismegz, thank you darling! Jily. TheyLiveAU. One-shot. Fluff. Family. Happy ending.
One last Jilytober story! @thisismegz sent me a Tumblr post that was too cute not to write! You can see @suspiciousnargles original post here. Enjoy a happy they live au where the Potter family gets the happy ending we all wish they did. =)
Unfolding
"This feels weird," Lily looked at James as they unpacked another box.
"Well, it is sort of strange to be in the Potion Master's private stores and not be worried about being caught.
"I can't believe Slughorn's retiring." Lily sighed and put another of her books up on the shelf.
"I can," James gave a short bark of a laugh. "The war took its toll on all of us. His nerves aren't what they used to be. At his age, I wouldn't want to deal with these hellions either after all that."
"Just you wait," Lily grinned over at him, "As soon as the Transfiguration position opens up, I'm putting in your name."
"I'd be a lousy professor, Lils, and McGonagall won't ever retire," James shook his head before snagging Harry around the middle and turning him away from the box of glass vials.
"That's exactly what I said when I told you they'd offered me this position," Lily smirked at him.
"Yes, and the difference is that I'm right," James smirked at her from the box of dried potion ingredients he was unpacking. "Besides, if I taught here too, what would we do with the house?"
"We'd live in it." Lily laughed. "We've talked about this; I'm coming home every night."
"Yes, with a stack of papers that need grading that's so high it won't fit in the chimney when you floo out." James' smirk was wide across his face and his eyes were full of mischief.
Lily turned to Harry, "You see how mean your daddy is to your poor mummy?"
Harry laughed and toddled over to her side, arms high to be picked up. Lily reached down and put him on her hip before kissing his cheek.
"I'm going to miss being home with you all day, though."
"Don't you worry about that," James came over and wrapped her and Harry in his arms. "We'll be underfoot now and again."
Lily found out as the school year progressed that James and her had very different definitions of the term "now and again."
It felt like every spare moment, James and Harry would come tumbling out of the floo in her office and Harry would run on little legs to hop up into her lap.
"Mummy!" Harry came barreling at her, cookie tin in hand. "We bing you cookies!"
"You brought me cookies?"
"Yes! Because it's Haoween! And Haoween needs treats!" He pushed the tin into her stomach as he tried to climb onto her lap.
"And because it's just about time for you to set all this work aside and enjoy yourself." James came and sat on her desk.
Lily looked at the still five-inch-tall stack of papers on her desk.
"Come on, you know you'll finish these up with no problem tomorrow, and I happen to know that you are all set on your lesson plans for the next year."
Lily looked down at sweet Harry in her lap as he tried to open up the cookie tin, and then she looked up at James. "Alright, but tomorrow I have to finish these."
"Bring them with you," James jumped up and pulled Harry from her lap, still trying to get his little fingers to open the cookie tin. "You're not coming back to work until Monday."
"You think so?" She asked, even as she waved the papers into her bag.
James came up and wrapped his free arm firmly around her waist and brought his mouth to whisper in her ear.
"I think I can make it worth your while to let work stay at the office for most of the weekend."
"Daddy, what are you saying to Mummy?" Harry stuck his head between them.
"Don't you worry your little ears over it, mate." James chuckled.
"Let's go, you two crazies," Lily laughed and summoned her bag. "I'm ready for some Halloween treats."
"Cookies!" Harry cheered and hosted the now open run over his head.
It was a few weeks later that Lily sent James a Patronus to come to her office just as soon as he could drop Harry with Sirius and Marlene. He was there within five minutes.
"What's wrong?" James came out of the floo so fast that he had to run to catch himself before falling flat on his face.
Lily bit her lip and tried to keep her nerves at bay.
"James, you remember Halloween?"
James' look of concern morphed into confusion.
"Sure, we had a good time."
"Did you remember to cast the spell, before we...?"
James frowned, "I don't know, but you're on the potion, so I guess I haven't been as concerned about it."
"I apparently have not been remembering to take it like I'm supposed to…" Lily trailed off.
James' face went from confused to a look of pure joy and excitement.
"Lily, Lily are you saying?"
She swallowed hard and nodded.
James cheered as he rushed to take her in his arms and spin her around in circles as he kissed her.
"What are we going to do?" Lily struggled with the emotions warring within her.
"What are you talking about?" James kissed her again. "We're going to have another baby!"
"What about this job?"
"Lils, it's going to be fine. Women have careers and children, isn't that what you tell me a bunch of the fuss I see on the Muggle telly is about? You're going to be fine, and we'll work through whatever you need. I'll even come be your substitute when you need it."
Lily laughed as the excitement finally started to win out over her anxieties.
"We're having another baby!"
"Merlin, Lily! We're having another baby!" James spun her again and kissed her, a much more serious kiss than the sloppy excited one had been when she first told him.
"James…"
"You don't have class for another hour." He murmured against her. "It'll be just like when we were Head Boy and Head Girl."
Lily smirked against him. "I hope not, you're much better at it now than you were then."
James laughed and swept her up in his arms.
"I'll get you for that."
While James had been certain they'd be able to work through it all, Lily found being pregnant and being a professor to be a fair side more frustrating than even she had anticipated. She had a fair amount of potion brewing going on to combat the morning sickness and the drowsiness and the forgetfulness. When the end of the year finally rolled around Lily thought she might faint from the relief.
"I can't believe I still have nearly two more months of this." Lily fell back into a chair as James translocated the things she wanted back home over the summer with her.
"Harry and I will do our best to keep you pampered. Besides, I think it being a girl is draining you more than when you were carrying Harry."
"All I know is that the end of July cannot get here fast enough." Lily smiled as James came over to kiss her.
"Let's get you home. There's a bed with your name on it."
"That sounds heavenly."
The last eight weeks of her pregnancy with Grace were trying, but holding her little girl in her arms was the kind of experience that left Lily speechless and on the verge of tears. The tears came when Marlene brought Harry into the room and he sat next to her on the bed, stroking his baby sister's sparse hair.
The tears came again when it was time to leave Harry and Grace at the start of the next term. Even with having left for a couple of hours here and there for faculty meetings and for the feast the night before, Lily still felt her eyes watering as she said goodbye to go teach the first day of term.
"Lils," James set little Grace down in her bassinet.
"I'm fine," Lily angrily swiped at her eyes. "I'm fine."
James gave her one of his critical stares before nodding. "Alright, we'll see you tonight. Have a good first day of term."
Lily pulled herself erect and fixed a smile on her face. "Thank you, love."
The day wore on and even as Lily lost herself in teaching, her mind kept wandering towards how her baby was doing. She'd been spoiled with Harry, forced to spend every moment with him. Not that she viewed it as some great thing at the time, she was more worried about all of them staying alive than the novelty of being with Harry all day every day. But now she could feel the difference, and while she didn't want to stop teaching, she definitely felt her body reacting to not being with her baby.
She'd just sat down to eat lunch in her office when her fireplace burned green and out toppled Harry, followed more cautiously by James holding baby Grace close to his chest.
"Mummy!" Harry came running up to her lap. "We've brought lunch so you won't be lonely because eating by yourself is lonely. Daddy says so."
Lily nearly cried all over again, but getting to hold Grace in her arms and Harry on her lap while she chatted with James about how her morning had been was exactly what she needed.
"Same time tomorrow then?" James asked as she handed Grace back over.
"Do you have time for that? I know you and Sirius are trying to get all those newfangled inventions off the ground."
James laughed and kissed her. "Sirius is not going to complain about being sent home to Marlene at lunch."
"Fair point."
It was those family lunch dates that really made a name for Lily among the student body. A student came to her office during lunch to ask a question about an assignment to find the Potter's all gathered around Lily's desk.
"Oh, er, sorry Professor, I didn't mean to interrupt…"
"Nonsense," James picked up Grace from Lily's arms. "Come and ask away, Professor Potter always has time to help a student."
Lily smiled warmly at the little first year. "What can I do for you?"
Tentatively they asked their question and after they understood the answer, Harry pulled on their school robe.
"Are you going to eat lunch with us too?"
The student looked up at Lily with wide eyes and Lily laughed.
"You're welcome to a sandwich if you'd like one."
"Here," James pulled out his wand and transfigured a napkin into a chair.
The student gawked, "That was wicked, sir!"
James chuckled and looked at Lily, "Sir, has a nice ring to it, don't you agree?"
From then on Lily found that at least once a week a student would manage to come have lunch with her family. To begin with, it was only first-years who needed that feeling of family being close, but by the time prep for exams was beginning to push hard, older students would come by just to ask for the chance to sit and laugh and play with Harry and Grace.
"Are you coming to the final match, Professor?" Gryffindor's Quidditch captain asked about a week before the match.
"I hadn't thought about it." She snagged Grace around the middle before the little girl could pull James' wand from the table.
"Can we go, Mummy?" Harry jumped up to stand on his chair. Lily and James both went to steady him.
"It could be fun," James smiled at her. "We haven't been to a match since I was the one leading the team."
"You were a Quidditch captain?"
James nodded, "Gryffindor took the cup the year I captained the team."
"Would you look at my plays? I bet between you and me Gryffindor can have the cup in the bag!"
Lily laughed as the mischief bloomed in James' eyes. She turned to Harry as she helped him to sit.
"I think we're going to the Quidditch match."
"Wahoo!" Harry cried out, Grace mimicking her brother's excitement.
Lily had worked very hard not to show any favoritism among the students, especially based on their houses. But James didn't feel that way at all. Lily had decided to go in early and get a few more exams graded before the match and James was going to bring the kids just a few minutes before everything started so they could walk to the pitch. When he stepped from the grate, both kids in his arms, Harry's face was painted red and gold, as was James', and all of them had shirts on with lions' heads in the act of roaring.
"James," Lily groaned.
"It's all in good fun, Lils," James grinned. "Besides, how cute does Harry look in all of Gryffindor's splendor?"
Lily couldn't help but smile as Harry roared.
"I'm a Gryffindor!"
"Did you take a picture?" She laughed.
"Of course," James set Harry down and took his hand. "Come on, mate, let's go watch Gryffindor win!"
Harry roared again in response and tried to walk on all fours out of her office to the pitch. James handed Grace over to Lily and swung Harry up onto his shoulders.
Lily didn't hear the end of it from the Gryffindor students for the rest of the term. No one questioned who the Potter's were siding with. Lily managed to keep her cheering polite and for both teams for most of the match, but she did show her house loyalty rather loudly when Gryffindor won.
Her family became something of a fixture in her teaching after that. James would often bring the kids to just be in the castle and visit McGonagall or show them the grounds and the giant squid. They set up the sleeping quarters so that they could have weekend sleepovers at the castle as a special treat for Harry and Grace. Students who were regulars for lunch would ask how the kids were doing when they came in for class. Harry adored the attention in the halls from students giving him high-fives or hugs. Hogwarts came to know that Professor Potter, Mr. Potter, and their kids were somewhat of a package deal.
Which meant they probably should have seen the next thing coming, but Lily was so content with their life, that she honestly didn't.
They were having lunch around her desk when McGonagall knocked and stepped into the room.
"Minnie!" James smiled. "Pull up a chair and have some lunch with us!"
"Mimi!" Grace toddled over to her and hugged her legs.
McGonagall smirked at James, "I hope you realize that these sweet babies of yours are the only reason I don't turn you into a frog for calling me that."
"Why would you turn Daddy into a frog, Minnie?" Harry frowned and looked up from his soup.
"Oh, I won't turn your daddy into a frog, my dear. I need him to do something important." McGonagall sat down and pulled Grace into her lap.
"And what's that, dearest Minnie?" James gave her one of his winning smiles and Lily laughed at all the memories it pulled forward.
"Replace me."
James nearly choked on the butter of bread he'd just taken.
"Replace you?" Lily stared. "What on Earth do you mean?"
"Dumbledore has decided to retire and go traveling, see the world, that sort of thing. And the governors have named me the new Headmistress. Therefore, I get to select the new transfiguration professor. My choice is James."
The Potter's sat speechless and wide-eyed for several seconds before McGonagall looked down at Grace and chuckled.
"I think I may have broken them."
Grace giggled and snuggled close into McGonagall's chest. That was about when Lily regained control of her brain.
"Would you mind giving us some time to discuss this, Headmistress? I'm sure you understand it's a lot for us to work out."
"Of course," McGonagall kissed the top of Grace's head before handing her over to Lily. "I'll need a response in two weeks though. I'd like for the new teacher to be introduced at the end of year feast and if you decide this isn't right for your family, I'll want the extra time to find the next best thing."
"Yes, we'll not keep waiting any longer than necessary." Lily smiled as James nodded absently. McGonagall smiled at them and slipped back into the classroom and out to the corridor.
"Well?" Lily looked at James.
"Lily," James' hand shot to his hair. "How would we handle the kids? And my work with Sirius?"
"You can tell her it won't work." Lily gently pulled his hand from his hair. "You don't have to do this."
James was silent for a long moment.
"But what if I want to?"
"Then we make it work." Lily squeezed his hand. "We can figure it out."
James sighed and looked up at the clock on her wall. "You have a class in five minutes. Let me talk this through with Sirius and then we can talk it out tonight."
Lily leant in and kissed him.
"Don't worry, there are no wrong decisions here. It's just what we think is best for you and our family."
They didn't get it figured out that night, or the next, but after a week of hashing through it all and determining the best options for all the scenarios, the little Potter family met McGonagall in her office, and James gave no warm-up to their conversation.
"So, when do I get to take over?"
McGonagall almost cried out in excitement before jumping up from her chair to embrace them.
It wasn't easy, change rarely is, but their little family adapted to their new life. Old friends from the Order pitched in to help with the kids. Molly Weasley really loved having Harry and Grace around to play with her youngest two. And the Professors Potter became a new sort of institution at the castle. If you couldn't track down the Potions Master you checked the Transfiguration classroom. And if you couldn't find the Transfiguration Professor, he was likely to be in the dungeons. They only showed their colors while cheering Gryffindor's Quidditch team, but even James couldn't stop himself from pulling the Slytherin captain aside after a poor match and explaining where their team could improve and how to train for it. Hogwarts and the Potter's were something of a package deal.
And when Harry and Grace were old enough to come to Hogwarts, it already felt like home, because in a very real sense, it was.
#jily#theyliveau#happy ending#jily fanfiction#jily fanfic#jily parenting#jilytober#jilytober 2020#james x lily#james potter x lily evans#james potter#lily evans#fluff#romance#family#from a prompt#little harry#harry potter fanfiction
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Honestly more things are pointing to a permanent separation for SH. No indications of any reconciliation sadly. And it makes it even harder without the confirmation. I guess when they start to get papped with their new SOs will be the day that it is confirmed they are done. And I hope it is soon. This push and pull with them is exhausting
Good day, anon, and welcome to hell. Screams for help will not save you, alas, because when it comes to a topic in which I am 99, 9% sure, I have no equals. I'm sorry you probably got the wrong address, but it's too late. I am merciless and bloodthirsty with anyone who tries to contradict my faith, tries to correct my point of view and convince me of their own, although I did not give it a reason. Because it's my fucking blog where I for x-billionth time has already expressed my exact points and agreed with some people which think and proved the exact opposite to all that you are saying. So be prepared to be slowly but surely tortured by my long ass post.
So, let's start with what I said about my blog: only good vibes here. I am not interested/concerned about other opposite/negative feedings. I just don't want to make a big deal about it. Here, in my blog, we support Lili Pauline Reinhart and Cole Mitchell Sprouse in any case as couple as well as individuals.
This means that under no circumstances do we talk about them, their relationships, their projects, their family, or their decisions in a negative way. Yes, we may disagree with something they do, where they do it, and how they do it (what they post, what they like/don't like, write or repost, who they meet, with whom they decide to be, live and communicate with, what they archive/unarchive, and so on), but we do not have the right to judge them or decide how to act. We also can't control it and it's none of our business.
I repent if I once made the appearance of a person condemning one of them or their family for their actions and possible causes of the separation, it was only my objective external disagreement, points and thoughts aloud, nothing more rude, involved and inappropriate. And I think with many of my words said earlier (or the words of those I follow and reblog their posts) about the behavior of family/friends of Lili, Cole, and so on, people with brains and common sense could agree. Remember this, or write it on your forehead, so that the next time you write to me, you will see these words.
Moving on, taking into account all of the above, I would like to tell you that it probably won't be enough for one blog to explain to you point by point all my beliefs and points of view on this subject, to prove to you that every fucking word you say is illogical shit and the most real nonsense. It feels like you're an alien who fell from another planet and decided to crawl into our hole with your impressions of a newborn baby who doesn't understand much about the world and its creators. Although in this case, I'm more of the opinion that you are a little asshole, in which the vein of hatred is boiling and you like to come to this and some other blogs to tell us your agenda although we have no idea where you have such rash thoughts, perhaps you have an extra chromosome? Dude, treat your paranoia.
Further, given that I don't have much time and desire to describe all my points of view point by point, which, unlike your random set of words, really makes sense for hundreds or even thousands of people who have the gray matter to be able to think, I will attach my long - standing post, indicating all the facts at that time proving the opposite to yours. Although, I will try to supplement everything else as much as I can.
While, we all ( I hope) already realized and accepted that for many reasons, during this quarantine, Lili and Cole had some problems, were distant and ended up apart for a certain period of time, immediately after the end point of the explosion and informing us of all these public actions on social media (I hope you understand), then after a few weeks, they were already confidently moving towards resolution and recovery and that's why:
https://babysprousehart.tumblr.com/post/618026656780648448/hello-i-hope-this-doesnt-come-off-negatively
This was written long before, but still has many valid points and I just want to widen some of them.
Take a sit and follow me word by word.
I shall start my addition of evidence, based on all the guesses and great opinions of others, as well as hints from the Lili and Cole themselves. I would like to start with a significant event and the day when Lili posted a photo from the Antelope Valley on April 28th, well, or 27th, depending on where you are.
Perhaps we lose some missing pieces in this puzzle and forget about something that was done earlier, but I just want to start counting from this moment.
A few facts about this photo/photos:
1) It was posted exactly 3 years later from their famous photoshoot, when very, very, very many people, mostly in media, began to suspect that there is something between them in a romantic way. It was exactly in the same place, exactly with the same style, exactly in a similar image (waving curly hair, light flying dress, black and white effect) and even without a capture. The picture marked the anniversary and is very important for the two of them. An undeniable fact, beat me.
2) That photo was definitely taken by Cole. Why?
Here are a couple more facts in addition to the first:
They have the quality of captured on professional camera.
You can see, that Lili did not tag the photographer and said jokingly that the photo was taken by Milo, why would she lie, or hide that it was anyone else, because clearly she just hid that because it was Cole.
You may have noticed that Austin, when asked who took the photo, whether she took it and whether she is a good photographer, says no and her reaction with a grin and laugh is priceless. She also didn't tag nor the photographer, neither Lili in her photos from there.
You can watch the vlog in the Colleen blog and see there are very similar figures to Cole, Lili and Milo walking along the valley, because, duh, they were there.
You can view her post, where you can see Cole from the back (notice his dark clothing, the same as on one of his post in the profile, which he has already deleted, as well as his position from which the photo of Lili was supposedly taken and it is just in the same place).
You can observe his style of photography and how similar the theme is to the photos from 2017.
You can see the same poppy behind his ear in one of the past stories.
You may have noticed that the photo of Lili is processed with the same effect as several photos in Cole's profile, and I can tell you as an amateur photo editor that it is very identical.
Question: why arrange such a significant photoshoot with your ex after a few weeks of separation? Why is Cole smiling in a photo (black and white one with a mustache and black clothes) probably taken there? Why is everything so secretive if they broke up? Why even post a photo that your ex-boyfriend definitely took? How can you calmly go to this place, which reminds you of your joint travels with your former lover? Therefore, this photo and later another one from there were the first iron arguments in confirming the improvement of things.
I would like to continue with another ironclad proof.
Lili in early may very fiercely, after a few weeks of Cole's statements about slander and threats, which she did not respond to so clearly at the time, defended Cole and pointed out the private relationship and literally said that people should stop it and even though should hurt and bully her, but not him.
Question: did she defend her ex so publicly? Would Lili talk about a private relationship if that was the way her past relationship was most often? Would she have written anything at all if she didn't care about him and didn't feel something towards him? I don't think so, so it's gibberish to say so (about the break up) when it's the second unquestionable argument.
Next, we need to talk about the general activity of Cole and Lili in social media. I just want to list some observations, in different order, but it seems like everything we have now:
If earlier it was visible in the posts of Lili that it was clearly a show off, then over time and after the published photos, she began to behave more sincerely and tenderly, began to publish Milo less, began to say that there was only the two of them less, has stopped showing how good she is without certain someone, as if for Cole showing that she could cope without him, which was visible in the posts and stories, she began to talk more about improving her mental health as a result of training, spoke about how later she was feeling better and that she was grateful for those who were with her and difficult times and in light moments, that you just need to live and enjoy.
Additionally, I can say how she shone with each photo, and it was a natural glow of happiness and settling down. She no longer sang sad songs or posted sad songs, on the contrary, posted sexy, funny and relaxed ones. She appeared more in photos taken by paparazzi. She posted sexy, energetic, romantic movies, funny cartoons, watched funny clips, was excited about her project, laughed, danced with her dog, played with a dog with macaroni, cosplayed Willy Wonka (we all have a feeling it’s Cole’s thing, no?), playing with sand, puzzles, posted funny memes in story, which unfortunately coolly accepted as the opposite, posted a poem with a typo and funny answered to a fan who corrected it, told more about poems and attached a photo with a fragment of a poem about love from her upcoming book. She liked some photos from the anniversary of the last episode of the series, where we remember there was a hot scene of her and Cole's character, she liked a Bughead drawing. Yesterday, she actually posted one of the sexiest videos that will not be posted, being single and lonely, we saw that she actually spent more personal time with Cole (I am not saying they weren’t doing t back then), which was investigated thanks to many amazing people here, and even if they don't live together yet, they are more likely to meet and have met with each other, and more hints on sexy times (because, come one, maybe Milo was the one who left a hickey on her neck, huh?), which is undeniable, just compare the fact that she is no longer in the old rental, and he is not in Kj's house, she then posted a photo from some place, which is very similar to where Cole shot a video with Jimmy Fallon.
He also began to be more active in social networks, exactly after she started posting photos of the Antelope Valley, he posted a series of photos of the kissing couple, even if it was a gay drawings, they were filled with love, there was a photo of him with cattle with the sarcastic caption, then the photo about porn bots, with funny ask to leave him alone and saying it’s not allowed to be horny on quarantine, again a photo of himself with heart eyes that I talked about above, he posted a very funny video recently. There were more photos from the paparazzi after some time when Lili's usually flashed, and then it stopped, then his humorous photo in the washing machine appeared, which she probably had taken, and why so I explained in the attached post, he posted a photo from the walk, which was also probably taken with her, because again, she had a similar location, then he jokingly called Tommy ‘the’ muse, maybe roasting fans, but he didn’t use ‘my’, so, indicating he still has his own muse, then we saw him at that damn party, which caused people's panic, although he is an ordinary person and has the right to relax, and by the way at this party he was very happy and frisky, but nothing bad or shameful happened and he is innocent, then we even saw Cole, after Lili, delete many of the photos, although he had also unarchived some of them several times, as she had, which means that he did not delete them completely, but just removed many of them, leaving the most tender photo after or before the kiss at the famous moment when Lili wanted a toast and eggs at 1 am, or many photos reflecting her body, which also marks not a bad phenomenon, but a simple trolling from them. Proof of this trolling and unarchiving is on the vastness of other blogs and on Twitter, thanks to that girl's video.
The way their condition and activity on social networks have changed is very noticeable and is also third undeniable fact of denial of the break up. You can compare photos of Cole taken by Alex, where he is clearly very sad and depressed, because it was taken somewhere in the interval of their real breakup. And compare this with his smiling and playful state during the interview with Jimmy, where he also sparkled with happiness and fun, constantly smiling and seemed to be aroused about something (or someone). I think even a newcomer will notice a change in their mood and attitude. You will see the difference. And this does not happen when going through the break up after 4 years of deeply imbued with love relationships. Please understand, damn it.
I have listed alas not everything that speaks so vividly about things going in the right positive direction and is evidence that everything is getting better again, there will be only more I assure you and you will kiss my ass, as Cole said.
Execution cannot be pardoned.
You have one attempt to put a comma and decide your fate, but I think you’ll fail because you are a total sucker anyway.
Bye!
#cole sprouse#lili reinhart#sprousehart#sprousehart positivity#sh positivity#bughead#only good vibes here#positivity#anon hate#anon ask#ask#cole and lili#relationship#break up#not a break up#shut up dumbass
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LGBTQ Manga Series Review - Kiss and White Lily for My Dearest Girl
The tenth and final volume of Kiss and White Lily for My Dearest Girl is finally out in English, and honestly, I expected this moment to feel more climatic. This long-running series debuted in 2013 and quickly became one of the most consistently popular Yuri works in the current era. However, perhaps because of its relative longevity, it always felt like the background; The consistently safe and trope-filled home I could return to after exploring new and exciting Yuri works. There is often something comforting about home, and many of the cute kisses and relationships featured are joyful and entertaining.
Kiss and White Lily for My Dearest Girl is a Yuri manga series by Canno. It follows numerous couples at Seiran Academy, a fictional middle and high school with a sister university. The common themes and tropes of the Yuri genre riddle the work. Some are seen in individual couple’s stories, while others, such as the all-girls school, style of uniforms, and repeated girl meets girl then love narrative. While these tropes are by no means a negative, being a fan of this genre would be impossible if they were, they are such old hat for Yurijin that they become dull, and Kiss and White Lily does little to forward or subvert them. In this way, the series feels like a showcase of the genre, a series I can thrust at people and say, “you want to learn about Yuri? Then read this” (an honor I usually reserve for Whispered Words). In short, the series is enjoyable but tiring and predictable.
Before I get into the spoiler-filled breakdown of each couple, there are a few overarching elements to note. It is achingly sweet, not in a heartwarming way, but an “I just a bit down on cake and have a cavity” way. Nothing in the first few volumes has any real consequence or impact; it is just cute and stupid. Now I like cute and stupid, but it has to be fun and enjoyable to read, and at first, this is not. Many characters lack chemistry, and often, the drama is caused by their own nonsensical choices rather than from the complications that come with relationships or friendships. If I do not like these characters together, I do not want to see them hugging and kissing and being cute.
You may have noticed that I spoke of how I enjoyed the series but then went on a rant about how weak the plot is. Fortunately, as the series goes on, the writing improves drastically. Characters who are in or are moving towards relationships, mostly, have compatible traits, and with stakes grounded in some form of reality. The What’s Behind the Story!? Sections, single pages devoted to the perspectives of random other characters and couples, are another welcome addition. Here, the lack of consequence or chemistry works, as each is given only a few moments to give a one-liner or snapshot of service.
The artwork in Kiss and White Lily suffers from a similar problem as the plot. It is too adorable for the sake of being adorable. Kurosawa reacts with a huge smile and sudden anthropomorphic ears far too often in the early volumes. There are other inconsistencies also, mainly in tone. For example, in the first volume, there is a moment where one character is being introspective and dramatic, when suddenly, in a moment of metaphoric imagery, another is holding a gun to her head. This scene is awkward and unnecessary. No other moment uses such visual tricks to illustrate emotional conflict, and it is completely removed from the rest of the work. Finally, the artwork is cluttered. Almost every panel has so much crammed into it feels overwhelming.
However, just as the problems with art and story are similar, so are the solutions, time. As Canno continues, the art drastically improves. It takes on a more consistent tone, relies less on visual tricks, and quickly becomes one of the series’ highlights. Seeing the characters be gentle and affectionate will put a smile on all but the most begrudged reader’s face, especially with the more likable characters. Canno also makes frequent use of beautiful double-page spreads, many of which I have bookmarked so I can refer to them when I need a smile.
Now that I have gotten those points out of the way, I can get down into the meat of Kiss and White Lily for My Dearest Girl, the couples. There is an explosive plethora of pairings in this series, and I love it. Each feels unique, has a compelling story (mostly), and a satisfying conclusion. Every reader will easily find their favorites or see their own life reflected in one of these cute couples.
Ayaka Shiramine and Yurine Kurosawa are the principal couple of Kiss and White Lily, and their courtship spans all ten volumes. Unfortunately, they start out as one of the weaker couples in the story. Shiramine is the model student, working hard, helping out at the school, and getting high grades. However, she is consistently ranked second in all tests (teacher’s side note here, publicly posting student’s grades has been shown in research to be horrible for student achievement by multiple studies) behind Kurosawa. However, unlike Shiramine, Kurosawa does not try at all; she usually sleeps through class and does not participate in school activities, and succeeds only by her “genius.” Kurosawa’s effortless achievements anger Shiramine, and she confronts her about it. However, Kurosawa is pleased by the notion of Shiramine beating her and begins to aggressively pursue a relationship (the aggressive gay woman is the worst trope. Consent and enthusiasm are a central part of romance).
In what seems to be a running theme for this series, Shiramine and Kurosawa’s relationships improve as the books go on. First, Shiramine becomes less of a stereotypical tsundere character, as her motivation for being the best is revealed, a cold and frankly awful mother who scoffs at her daughter’s achievements. Likewise, Kurosawa, who starts incredibly inconsistent, moving from peppy to cruel to bored within the span of a few pages, settles down into a more calm character, with her enthusiastic love for Shiramine intact.
The beginning of their romance was weak, mainly due to their personalities and lack of chemistry, but the end conclusion was incredibly satisfying. Kurosawa realizes that she came to love Shiramine because she thought the perfect student could beat her and make her a normal girl, not a genius. However, in the end, she realizes that it was not their grades, but the ways Shiramine drew her out of her shell and THE FRIENDS SHE MADE ALONG THE WAY that made her a better person. Shiramine changes too, becoming more courageous and finally standing up to her horrid mother, thus breaking the spell the woman had over her and freeing Shiramine of her burdens.
In the final volume, Shiramine realizes that she likes being with Kurosawa and that their rivalry was her favorite part of the school. These feelings are all admitted in a fantastic speech she gives to the incoming students. I was smiling throughout the whole second half of Volume 10 as their relationships reached its inevitable conclusion, and for that, I offer praise.
Mizuki Senoo is the star of the track team where Moe Nikaidou, her longtime friend, is the manager. These two are one of my favorite couples, but they also have the most problems of any. Both girls are entirely captivated by and devoted to each other, so much so that they become codependent. However, the way they address this codependency is horrible. Moe suddenly stops talking to Mizuki, which severely distresses the athlete and leads to poorly written angst. There is no logic, only nonsense choices made for the sake of plot. Of course, they resolve the issue, everything is happy and pleasant, and they decide to be together forever. And then (and this is my favorite part) they graduate and go to university and live together! This action is perhaps the one time that Kiss and White Lily manages to forgo the conventions of the genre and begins to approach queer representation. Mizuki and Moa are no longer bound by the walls of the high school, the confines of Catholic school style uniforms, the tropes of Yuri, but they are free adults who love each other and are together. It is a perfect ending, which does not excuse the atrocious middle.
Volume 2 introduces to Chiharu Kusakabe and her roommates Maya Hoshino and Ai Uehara. These three are close and live together perfectly. However, as Maya is older than Ai and Chiharu, she will be graduating soon and leaving them behind. Chiharu struggles with her conflicted feelings for her senpai, with whom she has fallen in love. On the one hand, Chiharu wants Maya to be happy and go to a good university; on the other, she selfishly wants her to stay close. Chiharu begins to close herself off, but then she meets the stubborn (idiot) Izumi Akizuki.
The two girls start a sort of reluctant friendship, where Chiharu waits outside the school each morning to chastise Izumi for riding her bike, which is against school rules. However, Izumi does not stop riding her bike, and Chiharu never reports her. They grow closer, and Izumi helps Chiharu reconcile her relationship with Maya. Eventually, they start dating. It is all cute and wholesome. As these two get together early in the series, the reader has lots of time to enjoy them being together as they appear frequently. The conflicts in their relationships are grounded in reality, and working through them together has a clear positive effect on the character. The only complaint I have is that after they start dating, they mostly keep it a secret for no reason.
Towako Mita and Yukina Ooshiro are one of the worst couples in the manga. They are the only members of the gardening club, although they eventually recruit Kurosawa. As the club is so small, it is always on the edge of dismantlement, as the student council wants to move resources elsewhere. While Ooshiro works to save it, Towako is actively working behind her back to end the club. Her reasoning, she does not want things to change. That’s it, full stop, it is complete nonsense. Of course, they make up and decide to be together with an equally illogical apology. If characters are going to hurt others and then be forgiven there must be effort, reason, and care put into them, traits all lacking in this story. It is all awful.
The fourth volume is a mix: containing some of the series best moments and its worst, by which I mean, most boring. Moe and Mizuki’s romance reaches the spectacular crescendo previously referenced. But, half the volume is spent depicting Kaoru Machida, Kohagi Inoue, and Momiji Shikama. The relationship between these three is focused more on friendship than sexual or romantic desire (cough cough S). Actually, I do not mind this at all, but they. Are. So. Boring. I honestly forgot they existed in the first draft of this review and had to reread Volume 4 to remind myself of them. The fact that I am writing about this process instead of the actual characters says a lot about their lack of appeal.
Sawa Itoh and Itsuki Nishikawa are equally forgettable. They are easily the most mundane romantic couple in the series. The two knew each other long ago, but Sawa forgot about their friendship, much to Itsuki’s disappointment. However, they bond again as high school students and vow to make up for the lost time. Their story ends with Itsuki confessing her feelings for Sawa. Sawa returns those feelings in kind FIVE VOLUMES LATER. That is far too long to wait for a dull ending. NEXT!
Ryou Hiramu, Nina Yuunagi, and Amane Asakura make up Kiss and White Lily’s only three-person relationships and is one of the best. Polyamory is not everyone’s cup of tea. Still, in the context of fiction, their relationship works well and develops excitingly, complete with a healthy dose of melodrama. Hiramu begins to grow close to Asakura, much to the anger of Asakura’s roommate Yuunagi. Yuunagi wants Asakura all to herself, a point made abundantly clear to Hiramu. However, things get more complicated when Hiramu realizes that Yuunagi is an online friend of hers.
Yuunagi feels incredibly lonely, and her only real friend is Asakura. But, when Hiramu shows her kindness, Yuunagi begins to fall for Hiramu. Yuunagi feels incredible guilt over this, swearing that she should only need Amane and not wanting to compete for Hiramu’s affection. Their tale ends when a distraught Yuunagi runs away before being confronted by Hiramu and Asakura. There, in a tearful confession, she released her jealousy, her guilt, and her confusion. Despite being overblown, it is one of the most relatable and truthful emotional moments in the manga. The solution, Yuunagi does not have to choose; she can have more loves. It is a mature answer that, while not ideal for most, makes sense here and is healthy for all the characters.
The next volume focuses on Haine Aoi and her close in age aunt Aika Yukimura (who is more like her sister). Before anyone breaks out the pitchforks or plants this volume next to Citrus on their bookshelf, the relationship is not sexual. This intention is explicitly shown in a scene where Aika contemplates kissing her sleeping niece (creepy) but decides against it, saying, “I don’t actually want to kiss her.” This moment deliberately and awkwardly setting the parameters of their relationships as not sexual. However, there are clear romantic implications. As the two struggle with the idea of drifting apart as most “sisters” do, they decide that this will not happen to them, and they will only grow stronger together. Ultimately, they declared themselves to be soulmates, albeit platonic ones.
This relationship is the most divisive of the series. There will be some, such as myself, who can acknowledge the apparent class s ties and the familial relationship yet can still enjoy the wholesome and grounded story. However, many others will understandably have difficulty overlooking these aspects of the narrative. I invite readers to give this volume a look and decide for themselves. Even if it turns out that Haine and Aika’s storyline is not for you, Shiramine and Kurosawa are at their best here and will save the volume for you. However, whether or not you like this couple, can we all agree that the decision to feature a major story act about a piano player (Haine) and NOT include a piano duet is INSANE!! Canno is not at all coy with Yuri tropes in this series, and this exclusion will not stand!
Nagisa Tatsumi and Hikari Torayama are rivals, opponents in the student council president election, and secretly roommates. The two live together by necessity, with their adorable kitten. Neither one can stand the other. However, when given the opportunity to separate, they decide they would prefer to continue living together. There is not much here. Even though one is labeled as “nice” and the other “mean,” Nagisa and Hikari have the same personality. The other “tsundere” type character in Kiss and White Lily, Shiramine, works because she is given time to grow and develop as a complicated character and because she is paired with someone different than here. Unfortunately, aside from some cute trope-filled moments like an accidental kiss, these two are insignificant. But. perhaps I am too hard on them, as I am conditioned to expect Yuri featuring characters named Nagisa and Hikari to be far more dramatic, grandiose, and interesting
Asuka Sakurada and Mikaze Hagimoto are the final couple introduced, as the next and final volume is only concerned with wrapping up previously established relationships. A shame, as they are the single most problematic and dysfunctional couple presented. Sakurada and Hagimoto are both cosplayers, which is how they meet, and the younger Hagimoto quickly asks Sakurada out. Sakurada is awful. She is cruel, detached, and rude to almost everyone. After an injury forced her to repeat her final year at Seiran Academy, causing her to be somewhat jaded, to say the least. What little the reader sees of their romance, which last all of a dozen pages, is appalling. Sakurada is mean and unaffectionate, and Hagimoto attempts to force her into activities she does not want to do. They break up quickly, and the rest of the volume plays out like a tragic love story, as Hagimoto pines for her senpai, and Sakurada says dramatic lines about how she “can never go back.” Of course, by the end, they have made up and are together again.
Not only are we giving this vile relationship, but excellent moments of emotional distress are wasted on them. For example, Hagimoto delivers a tearful and moving speech on a train platform. There is also a rare moment of clarity from Hagimoto, where she realizes that she did nothing to make the relationship work, followed by an admittance from Hagimoto that she just wanted to be more like Sakurada. Now, characters realizing their mistakes and faults to move forward and become better, as individuals and a couple is incredible; however, there needs to be a solid foundation. The unfortunate truth is that such tragic and dramatic relationships take time and investment. The reader needs to want to see these characters get better and make up, something notably lacking here. This awful partnership tarnishes the beautiful scenes present.
Fortunately, Volume 9 is not a total loss, far from it. Shiramine and Kurosawa complete their personal arcs described previously in this review, thus clearing the way for Volume 10 to finally have them get together, perform a quick survey of the other characters, and tie up any dangling story threads in a bow covered with cute kisses and gentle service.
Kiss and White Lily for My Dearest Girl is an incredibly mixed bag of a series. It gives a wide variety of couples and tropes for the reader to enjoy, but many of the relationships suffer significantly from weak characters or uninteresting storylines. Its mediocre start does not help the series. Early outings are noticeably lacking in all categories from plot to artwork, which provides a difficult barrier for entry. However, there is a lot to love here. It is a spectacular showcase of Yuri and an absolute classic of the genre’s current era. Kiss and White Lily is THE YURI MANGA, a title that bears both the great and terrible of the genre.
This series concluding publication feels appropriate for the genre’s centennial. The tropes it features, which have paraded the genre for the past hundred years, will not go away. But, the conclusion of Kiss and White Lily feels, at least for the moment, like their last hurrah before stepping back to let a new century’s worth of newer and queerer works make their mark in the genre.
Ratings:
Story – 6
Characters – 4
Art – 7
LGBTQ – 8
Sexual Content – 2
Final – 5
Kiss and White Lily for My Dearest Girl, Vol. 10 review copy provided by Yen Press ( @yenpress )
You can get the series digitally and in print today: Kiss and White Lily for My Dearest Girl, Vol. 10 - https://amzn.to/34k8sAj
#yuri#reviews#kiss and white lily for my dearest girl#lgbt#lgbtq#lgbtq+#girls love#gl#wlw#gay#manga#anime#literature#books#queer
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hi can I get 3 and 11 for Sirius from the physical prompts?
Mac&Cheese: Sirius Black x GenderNeutral!Reader Drabble
Words: 483 (really short like me)
Warnings: Okay so I really struggled to come with a roundabout idea of what to do, so it’s just fluff and nonsense. Reader eats meat and cheese, sorry if you are vegetarian, vegan or don’t like/eat meat and/or dairy.
A/N: Of course anon! “smiling into a kiss” and “back hugs” coming right up! I imagined this with a younger Sirius, around 1978-1980 which is post Hogwarts but pre-Godric’s Hollow scenario. You didn’t specify the gender so I’ll try to make a neutral reader, using they as pronouns, sorry if it looks messy, I’m not used to writing with ‘they’. Hope you enjoy!
It had been peaceful when they were at Hogwarts, they knew a war was escalating outside the safe walls of the school, but they were kids that had other things to think about like Quidditch or N.E.W.T.S. As soon as they graduated, however, The Marauders including Lily and (Y/N), were recruited to resist the rising evil threatening everyone.
The first year after Hogwarts was okay, everyone was safe and they even celebrated Lily's and James' wedding. It was a fun night, where they could enjoy themselves like they did before at school. They danced, drank and ate happily.
The second year however, it was much more dangerous, they had to be really wary of other wizards, they couldn't trust everyone and those who they trusted could be counted with the fingers of the hand. That didn't stop Sirius and (Y/N) from moving together and although they felt bad admitting this, the small flat was their little heaven, their safe spot. It was where they could be calm, where they could dance and relax, where they could cuddle, where they could kiss with no fear of a Death Eater cursing them.
So it happens that Sirius was cooking, nothing fancy but he managed with a little bit of magic. (Y/N) would be arriving soon from a long mission for the Order and they would be really tired. Sirius smiled when he heard the door unlocking and a distant ‘I’m home’. He continued to supervise the food when he felt arms wrapping around his middle. “Welcome home, my love.” He could feel the weight of their head on his back.
“What are you cooking? It smells really good.” Sirius smiled turning off the stove. He turned around, cupping (Y/N)’s cheeks, kissing their forehead.
“How was it called? Mac and cheese, I think?” (Y/N) gasped.
“With minced meat? So it’s like a cheddar burger?” they asked excitedly, mouth watering. Sirius chuckled, pecking them on the lips.
“Yes, darling, just the way you like it.” (Y/N) wrapped their arms around Sirius’ neck, looking at him lovingly, a sweet smile on their face. They kissed him properly, stopping for a moment to tell him “I love you”, which made Sirius smile while kissing them again. Nothing made him happier and safer than (Y/N) telling him that they loved him, even when it was just because he made them their favorite comfort food.
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We Who See Thestrals
a post-canon Harry Potter fic
This is one of my oldest, dearest headcanon ideas finally written out. It came to me right after I read Deathly Hallows, soon after it was published, so it’s been a private thought for a long time. But I thought it might make some good pandemic relaxation reading--it certainly made great pandemic stress-writing.
This series is 10k and finished. Even beta-read! Incredible.
1: Luna Lovegood Gets a Joke-Shop Job
1924 words/10k
"Look," said Ron, "I don't think she'll last here long, either, but with The Quibbler and everything Luna doesn't need money. She just needs something to do. Hermione should be the one asking, but she said she was delegating it to me. So pretend this was a super-persuasive pitch on why an old friend should be given a chance."
George cocked an eyebrow at his brother, more to make him squirm than because he was particularly interested in arguing. Ron was a decent shop clerk and a better trainer, since he liked to get out of doing things but didn't like to see them done wrong. Until their youngest was old enough to go away to school, Ron was the home parent which meant he only could work the slowest hours of the day. George also knew it was good to let his people show some initiative, even if the person was Ron.
They had a lot of young people come and go, since the job wasn't all playing with the products, and George had the bad habit of moving anyone with potential up to R&D (Recreation & Development) or to pop-up sites. Which often turned into managing new stores. Dennis Creevey had been their biggest success so far, though the Hogsmeade location was a no-brainer. Dennis wasn't much of an innovator himself, but he sold all their newest products with the passion of a very small child and the tenacity of a survivor.
They all were survivors, their generation of Hogwarts students. Some of them, like George, had decided that the best thing to create in the world was a time of innocence they couldn't even enter. And that's why so many parents bought so much delightful nonsense from Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes.
"I don't mind having you hire and train her," he said, as if having wrestled with himself, "as long as you make sure she doesn't blow up my shop in vengeance for what you did to her house."
He left Ron sputtering an unformed rebuttal, and went through his vanishing cabinet to the lab.
Luna started the next week. That day George was too busy trying to get the topiary algae to form itself with a longer nose to go down to the shop for niceties. When he heard a whump all the way through the door, through the other vanishing cabinet about five miles away, he decided it was time to check in on the new hire. He carefully finished his notes, told Neville he'd call him back and took out the prototype earplugs he'd made, improving the extendible ears beyond all recognition. They really helped when he needed to trouble-shoot things like recalcitrant botany with friends, so he'd given sets to several of the usual suspects and occasionally owled his spare pairs to others. He took off his slimy gloves and went down to the shop.
There was a glittering purple cloud of smoke pluming into an onion shape in the middle of the floor, with a blast-radius of knocked-over toys about five feet in diameter. Ron had taken cover behind the counter, while a white-blonde head was half-obscured in the cloud. There was no doubting this witch, in purple robes with appliques of cabbages dotted around them, was Luna Lovegood.
"Hallo Looney," said George, "I thought that must be you making a bang. My hearing isn't what it used to be, but I heard it clear in my flat down the road."
"Hello, George," said Luna, unperturbed and sliding out of the cloud sideways, as if it were something she had to sneak away from. "The good news is there are no Snorkaks in your shop. If there were, that is, they'd be dead now."
"Good to know. Ron, stop mentally rehearsing your plea to not be fired and clear up this cloud. A simple scouring should take care of it--not using any dark charms, are you, Luna?"
"I don't think so," she said.
"Yes, Scourgify will be fine. Has Ron given you the tour yet?"
George knew himself to be a bit of a ladies' man, so he was mostly unsurprised to find himself grinning winsomely at Luna.
"I believe he was trying," said Luna. "But I'm not always the best at paying attention."
"I see he wasn't giving you the tour properly, then. You don't have to pay attention, just play with everything you think looks fun. Neverstop Pop?"
"Thank you," said Luna, at last looking apprehensive. She glanced at Ron, who didn't even pause in his vanishing wand-waves to say, "You'll taste banana for about six hours, but otherwise harmless."
"Oh, banana!" she said, and took the lolly. Its purple and green swirl of candy was innocent enough, but the stick it was on began smoking a blue color as soon as her tongue touched it.
"I would have pegged you for pink smoke," George noted. "Intriguing."
He showed her around the shop properly. He had really gotten the knack of sales in the early shop days and now around holidays would work the floor himself to keep his hand in. He kept a keen eye on where her eyes fell, and they tested out all the products that he saw some interest in.
Luna may not have been great at paying attention to workplace tours, but she actually had an unusual knack for toys and games. She had blown enough Self-Shaping Bubble Shot to discover that you could somewhat steer the shape by focusing on one of the forms it took, and produced a steady stream of rabbits that were more robust than any bubbles George had seen anyone but Ginny's girl Lily make. He had to gently steer her away to see the sweets area and puzzles. Most adults had disappointingly short attention spans for play, he had found.
But Luna was an adult. Of all his sister's classmates she was the one who had always struck him as a little more childlike than her age, but possibly this was more a determined positivity and self-expression than thoughtless innocence. After all, none of them had gotten this far untouched. Luna had put the Quibbler on the map as the most outspoken political news of the wizarding world, soliciting articles about the need for reform in the Ministry, magical education, and species equity. She had to be made of a springy sort of steel to have done that. It still ran controversial creature features and terrible celebrity gossip, and the tone of the articles was inflammatory in a way that made George think of Rita Skeeter's flair for drama, but it was read.
"Why are you looking for a job?" he asked, only realizing after a second that this was an abrupt question, coming rather late.
"I am not really suited for teaching or ministry work," she answered, unperturbed. "So I need to look around a bit for what to do with my life. My mum was a charms inventor and my dad started a magazine, but I never was very good at keeping track of details the way you do with either of those professions."
"You did good work writing with the Quibbler--why did you retire?"
"I think I did the Quibbler stuff for my friends," she said, gently brushing one of the Pygmy Puffs. "But once I nudged it in the right direction, I found that there were other people who wanted to do it really badly and I just thought it was all right. I was thinking of going out on some research trips to write some articles."
"Yeah? Anything stopping you?"
"Just that I don't particularly want to. Not by myself, anyway."
He tasted blood, for just a second, heard a shrill sound cut in half.
"I don't blame you," he said, trying to blink back the memory.
The light from the high windows was hitting her silver-blonde hair so it glowed, and he noted a very small patch of magenta cloud still caught in her curls. Her lips pursed over the pygmy puff, a soft pink interruption in her somewhat sharp, white face.
"George, I'm going out for a smoke since you're here," said Ron.
George hadn't realized he was having a moment until he felt an instantaneous desire to strangle his younger brother.
"Fine," he said. "We don't need you, anyway."
"I literally just finished cleaning up after Luna," Ron snorted, and stalked away. "You're both welcome!"
Anyway, George had no business noticing the light on his newest employee's hair. He showed her how they fed the pygmy puffs and cleaned the cage, before retreating into his lab the second Ron seemed to be coming back in.
But later that afternoon when Ron had left he went down to see how Luna was faring training with Rhodendra, a cousin of Lee Jordan's who was fresh from Hogwarts and a whiz with the calcu-labe. He foresaw losing her to Gringotts or a newer financial firm. These were making an appearance in the wizard economy as it flourished after the rebuilding. He had seeded money into one of them himself.
School had let out for the day, and some London-local wizarding children had come through The Leaky Cauldron to hang around and play with some of the toys. Luna apparently was getting on with Rhodendra just fine. The two of them were seated on the floor surrounded by these children, playing a fierce round of Incendiary Snap, which was a brilliant idea Ginny had started by accident. It was particularly brilliant because it didn't just add an extra edge to Exploding Snap, with the very real if child-safe fire, but it also eventually charred the cards to the point where they had to be replaced.
The Snap happened. As Rhodendra shrieked, batting away the illusionary fire, Luna Lovegood summoned a Shield Charm with deceptive ease.
"Did I win that round?" she said, mildly surprised.
"Oh, please," said Rhodendra. "You've won every round. My cards are getting too hot to hold."
"Can we play now?" asked one of the nine or ten-year-olds.
"Sure," said Rhodendra, getting up. Luna followed her example, and they handed the "demo" pack over to the kids. During the school year, their main clientele besides parents were the children too young for Hogwarts, especially the ones with parents who didn’t let them play magical games until they were of age.
Rhodendra noticed George observing and hurried to the counter where she began doing inventory busy-work. Luna instead went to the Muggle tricks display where she seemed to be doing a deep study of the card-tricks brochure. He went back up to his lab, satisfied no personality clashes were forming.
He didn't go down into the shop later than noon for the rest of the week. Instead, if he finished work early he went to the pub to make some winning bets on the qualification rounds of the Quidditch World Cup, as everyone listened on the radio. (Occasionally he dreamed of bringing a wizarding form of television to Quidditch fans, but abandoned it. Someone would do it eventually but he preferred to live a little longer in the charmingly medieval world of wizarding technology a little longer.)
He had all but forgotten his new hire when Ron came bursting in from the cabinet.
"George, you have to come see this. I think we should keep Luna on after all!"
George was intrigued, though a bit puzzled. He hadn't realized Luna's status was probationary, though this was very Ron of Ron. Ron had hired himself on probation.
Go to Chapter 2
Graphic’s George image from the @renissance moodboard I posted https://seagod.co.vu/post/168723892062/
#We Who See Thestrals#Luna Lovegood x George Weasley#Harry Potter#fanfiction#Luna Lovegood#George Weasley#Ron Weasley#weasleys wizard wheezes
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Memento (one-shot Pandora Hearts fanfic)
Summary: How should one advance onward, when one’s preferred reality was the past?
A/N: So, this is my first Pandora Hearts fanfic posted on tumblr (and it’s my worst one yet 🙂). I tried to convey something sad and something light-hearted at the same time and I don’t know how you guys would take it.
*This fic is also on FF.net and Quotev.
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“Break?”
Ah. Right.
He was gone.
Forever.
Sharon sighed, it appears she had to do her hair herself today.
A week had passed already. And her habits still refused to be changed. He had always been the first person she’d greet in the morning, and the one she’d count on to arrange everything for her, and the one she’d bid goodnight to right before she slept.
15 years had been such a long time. Sharon couldn’t even begin to imagine what her life would have been like if she hadn’t found him that day.
But she reckoned that forever was a time longer than anything she could conceive of.
It had barely been a week, and she was already missing him so, so much that it felt as if her heart could shatter into a thousand fragments with the slightest touch.
How was she going to live with the knowledge that he was gone forever?
From time to time, the sensation of his head resting on her shoulder still remained. It plagued her to no ends.
His exhausted, raspy voice. His pale complexion. His skin losing its temperature. All of it…
…had felt so surreal.
They all knew Break was going to die one of these days. Besides, he had had just about a million near-death occasions due to his one-man show persona, this really shouldn’t come as a surprise.
But it didn’t feel right at all.
It didn’t feel right talking about him in past tense when she delivered the eulogy, he had always been the liveliest creature in the room.
It didn’t feel right seeing him being placed in a coffin and buried underground, left to rot and perish and decompose, alone.
It didn’t feel right placing little flowers there, those flowers belonged in his once beautiful long, silver hair, not on that dreary, grey tombstone.
It didn’t feel right not being able to watch over him as he rests while calling out his name, pleading him to wake up. That was what always happen when he had used too much of Mad Hatter’s power. It was always terrifying, but at least she’d see his weak breath and his slight movements, at least she’d be by his bedside, clutching his hand, praying.
She had been allowed to hope every time he had collapsed. But she had smelled the sweet aroma of candy when he had breathed his last on her shoulder, and that had crushed every glimmer of it.
Setting down her hairbrush, she felt a churn in her stomach. The truth had been so abrupt, so nonsensical, so uncomfortable, it made her feel sick how her life seemed to be unchanged still.
It was almost repulsive to her. How dare the Earth continue to orbit when he was gone?!
She clutched her head, messing up her hair again. She should not think this way — Break would not want her to think like this.
If Break were here, he’d…
“Sharon-sama?” Reim’s voice came with a few knocks on the door.
“Oh, come in,” she called out, forced to regain her composure.
How rare, Reim was in a casual suit instead of Pandora’s uniform. She tried to remember if today was some special occasion.
Reim saw her assessing his getup, he sighed, “Today is the tea party, Sharon-sama, have you forgotten?”
“Tea party…?” she murmured, and then practically jumped up when the memory hit her, “Oh dear! I did forget! Ahhhhh…! How careless of me! Why did Break not… remind… me……?” She slowed down on the last few words as Reim’s brows furrowed instantly.
“I…” she stuttered, faking an apologetic smile, “Please… pay it no mind, Reim-san. I have yet gotten used to daily life without a valet is all. It’s noth—“
“If you do not wish to go,” Reim said, “if it’s too painful to bear, I shall inform Gilbert-sama of your predicament so that he would not expect you.”
“No. No, I’m fine. Truly.” Honestly, she thought she didn’t really have a reason not to go. Almost everyone who would be there lost someone precious. Leo lost Elliot. The Baskerville lost at least half of their comrades and Fang. Ada lost her family. And even Gilbert, the one who insisted on organising this tea party Oz proposed, lost his master, and a dear friend, and someone who he had almost treated as his own uncle.
Gilbert probably learnt that if sorrow and grief were kept locked away in the darkest depths of a person’s heart, that person would never see the light and might do something foolish they’d end up regretting, mostly because of Vincent’s case. As such, he wanted to do something for everyone, he wanted everyone to get along and try to be happy, even for just a brief hour or so.
Sharon understood Gilbert’s intention, and she did not want his efforts to go to waste.
“I will go.”
Though she doubted his efforts would be of any help to her.
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“Glad you both came, Sharon, Reim,” Gilbert welcomed the two of them as they stepped out of the coach.
“Good morning, Sharon-chan,” Sheryl was already there with Rufus.
“Good morning, grandmother. Good morning to you too, Duke Barma,” Sharon curtsied, and went along to greet other people she knew.
The Baskervilles were surprisingly friendly, it was actually nice to hang out with them and to know that they weren’t sworn enemies anymore. Lottie even complimented her dress, and she complimented her hair in return.
But it was no use. Her mind refused to let go of her precious Xerx-niisan for even a second.
She was constantly picturing him standing right beside her, glancing at the scrumptious-looking desserts in front of her over her shoulder. Or him sitting on a table and laughing at the most ridiculous thing ever. Or him bickering with Vincent with an apparent hint of bloodlust behind those sweet smiles of theirs.
Her surroundings felt eerily empty when he wasn’t in it.
A child’s voice pulled her back from her trance, “Hey, Eques… I mean, Sharon.”
She turned to see Lily tugging at her skirt to get her attention.
“Hello, Lily-san,” she immediately put on a smile, as any proper lady would to appear polite, “You look very cute today.”
“Thanks,” Lily looked at her feet like a child found guilty of shattering her mother’s favourite vase.
“Is something the matter?”
“Well, not exactly~~” Lily drawled, “I just really~~ wanted to apologise for what I said and did back… when the Hatter… died. It must’ve scared you, when you were in that state of mind.”
“I…”
“I’m sorry! Tell me how to make it up to you, I’ll do anything I can~~”
“It’s… it’s all water under the bridge now,” Sharon quickly said, half-genuine, half only wanting to drop the topic, “Besides, you and Bandersnatch protected us afterwards, no? I’d say we are even.”
“Eh?” Lily snapped her head up at once, eyes sparkling with joy, “So you’ll forgive me?”
“Of course.”
“Yay~~! Since you and Reim seem to be really close, I thought we might as well be friends too!” she flashed Sharon an innocent smile.
“Friends… that sounds… very nice,” taken aback by the little girl’s proposition, she stuttered, but at least she was genuine this time, “I would… love to be your friend too.”
“Yay~~~!” Lily jumped to hug her, “Oh, I almost forgot~~” She landed back on her feet and delved into a little pouch she was carrying, “I have to give something to you~~”
“To me?”
“Yup! Lottie found it back then~~” she whipped it out and placed it in Sharon’s hands, “Here!”
Sharon’s eyes shot open, gasping, “E… E… E…mi…ly…” Her hands trembled violently, dropping Emily on the ground, herself dropping to her knees along with the doll, tears spilling out uncontrollably, blended with screams.
Reim and Ada both rushed to her side, worried, trying their best to calm her down.
“Lily, what did you do?” Lottie and Leo interrogated the little girl.
“Eh…? I… I don’t know!” Lily was also freaking out, unable to comprehend Sharon’s extreme response.
“No… I…” Sharon defended her, “It was my… fault… When I… saw… Emily… I just…”
She picked up Emily again, held it close to her chest, and continued crying.
At that, Ada also couldn’t help but start weeping along.
“Ada-sama…” Vincent placed a hand on her shoulder.
“I… I am sorry… My mind… starts thinking… about Onii-chan and Uncle Oscar again…”
“No fair…” Lily pouted, “I wanna cry too…! You’re not… the only ones… who lost people you loved…!”
“Lily…” Lottie embraced the child tenderly.
“Fang~~~~~~~~!” Lily bawled, yanking on Lottie’s arms.
“Sharon-sama…” Reim knelt in front of Sharon, not that he knew what to do, he was about as scared as Break had been when Sharon cried.
“Sharon-chan…” Sheryl clearly yearned to take it upon herself to comfort her granddaughter, but Rufus didn’t move her wheelchair.
“The grief of the bereaved could only be fathomed by those who bear the same heartache, ‘tis best to allow them the liberty to manage the situation by themselves,” he said.
Sheryl was about to retort. In her eyes, the scene was full of depressed and confused children, unable to pull themselves together in the midst of woe.
But those very children proved her wrong.
Gilbert trod to Sharon wordlessly and placed a hand on her head.
“Master Gilbert?” Reim questioned.
Gilbert took Emily and strained his voice to sound like how Emily usually sounded, “ShARon, yOU cRyBABy! KeKEkEkE!”
He continued in his normal voice, “It’s a lame quip, I know. But I had the feeling that Break would’ve tried to cheer you up with some distasteful jokes of his if he were here.”
More tears trickled down Sharon’s cheeks when he said that, but she nodded with certainty.
Gilbert joined his brother and Ada next. “Ada-sama, if Oz were here,” he gave Ada a quick embrace, “he would surely allow you to weep on his chest like this.”
“And if Oscar-sama were here,” Vincent added, stroking Ada’s short hair and wiping her tears away tenderly with his thumb, “he would have done this.”
Gilbert turned his focus to Vincent.
“I’m fine, nii-san, Noise… Echo did well. I’m proud of her.”
“Leo… Master,” Gilbert continued.
“I already know what he’d do, Gilbert,” Leo gave a small smile and glanced at a book he brought, “He would’ve punched me playfully and quoted from Holy Knight volume 11, when Edwin taught the readers how to cope with such grief.”
Gilbert reciprocated the smile and moved on to Lily, the (physically) youngest of them all. Lottie seemed to be at her wits’ end as well, for Lily hadn’t had the chance to go on a rampage like this to mourn for Fang before.
“I… don’t know much about Fang, Lily, I’m sorry. But…” he scooped her up and placed her on his shoulders, “but I know how much you loved the piggyback rides he gave you.”
Lily bawled even louder and bashed him on the head, “Gil, you idiot~~~~! Your piggyback ride is NOWHERE NEAR AS GOOD AS FANG’S!!!!!! I want Fang’s piggyback rides! I WANT FANG TO BE HERE~~~~!!!!”
Lottie couldn’t help but let out a whimper at that too and Doug clasped her shoulder in comfort.
“And I’m sure that,” Gilbert declared to everyone, “if Stupid Rabbit… Alice were here, she would’ve offer to bite everyone’s cheeks.”
Some managed to laugh at that, which proved Gilbert’s attempt fairly successful.
“I cannot speak for everyone,” he returned Lily to her companions and continued to announce, “I understand that everyone deals with grief differently, and that it may be painful for some to remember the past where your loved ones were by your side, only to be pulled back to the present, where they are not. But for me…
“For me, as painful as it is to remember, these wonderful memories also brought me solace. I had cried like you all, I had screamed like you all, but when I cry and scream, they faces would always come to mind. They are not gone, they are and will always be living here in our hearts, forever.” He averted his eyes from everyone, “That is… what I think Oz would’ve said to cheer everyone up.”
“But… But I don’t want Fang to be in my mind~~~!” Lily bursted out, “I want him to be HERE!!!!!”
Surprisingly, it was Sharon who approached the little girl and hugged her tightly.
“Eques…?” Lily sobbed.
“I… understand you, Lily-san…” Sharon spoke with her still trembling voice, “Break… was like a caring elder brother to me too… just like… Fang-san was to you… And I… I do not think I can bear… with the knowledge… that he can only be… in my mind from now on… either…
“But remember… Fang-san must’ve… left the stage… while pursuing the path he had believed in,” she looked Lily in the eye, her cranberry-coloured one’s about as teary as Lily’s light blue ones, “If we… halted in our steps now… they would surely be… disappointed… would they not? For they… had created our paths… one way or another…”
The memory of the blade protruding from Fang’s back instead of her own, the image of his body crumbling to dust, the terror and the fury and the sorrow all recurred to her now. She leant into Sharon’s chest and shrieked madly.
“We must… advance… on their behalf,” Sharon wasn’t very sure whether she was saying this for herself or Lily anymore, “We must… carry their courage… and their will on our shoulders… and move forward…”
If Break were here, he’d surely have implored them to do so. He’d surely have ushered them on the path to that sunlit finale he never managed to reach.
A pair of arms wrapped around the both of them and caressed their heads softly. It was Reim, dutifully holding back his tears even now.
“That’s right,” Gilbert nodded in agreement to Sharon’s words. He spoke with the decorum befitting a proud (adopted) son of the Nightray House, “We stand here today, thanks to our loved ones who had instilled in us the strength to live. Let us commemorate their courage, perseverance and love; and let us remember their fears and mistakes, so that we learn from them.”
Lily looked up at Reim and Sharon, and forced a smile, “Thank… you… I’m happy… to have become friends… with you~~”
Gilbert raised his teacup, “Let us celebrate, today, the wondrous memories they had etched in our hearts, and the lives they had relayed onto us.”
“Happy unbirthday!” everyone cheered, on behalf of those who had cheered alongside them the last time.
And the morning sun shone upon the hopeful paths of those who had overcome the tears and would continue to advance on.
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The End
#pandora hearts#pandora hearts fanfiction#lily baskerville#sharon rainsworth#reim lunettes#paindora hurts
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Oh, How the Mighty Fall [In Love] CHAPTER TWO (Ben Hardy x OC)
CHAPTER ONE
Lily Anne Mercury is brought in to help with Bohemian Rhapsody at the request of her Uncle Bri and Uncle Rog, and along the way, she might meet someone to share her life with. The only problem with this is that while their friends and the world can see that they’re perfect for each other, they’re going to be fully blind to this for a while.
DISCLAIMER: I’m fully aware that it would’ve been physically impossible for Jim and Freddie to have a child even with this method during the time they were alive, but the idea of Freddie as a dad and the idea of how his child would turn out to be was just too sweet for me to not write. I’m also aware that I have 2 more fics in progress and I must make a masterlist, but as I’ve previously stated in other fic disclaimers, I am technologically challenged and quite overwhelmed at the moment. I apologize for this, because you all deserve the best from me, and it may take me a while to get to a place where I feel comfortable enough with the quality of everything to produce it. I do have a problem with being a perfectionist when it comes to my work, but I’m working on making that better.
TRIGGER WARNINGS: mentions of alcohol abuse, drug abuse, suicidal thoughts, etc.
This chapter is fairly heavy. It deals with very intense emotions.
I’m so thankful at the positive response I got to my post discussing how I was putting a pause on my other two fics to focus on this one, and I can’t even begin to explain how much your support means to me. I’m going through a lot right now, and it helps my mental health to write. In a lot of ways, it helps me to process my own emotions. Now, I’ve never OD’ed or lost a parent, but I have deeply hurt people who love me dearly, and I’m working on mending my relationship with both them and myself. I need to be kinder to myself, and not blame myself so harshly for everything. I had a lot of repressed hurt from a long time ago, and now it’s finally coming out, and I’m trying to figure out how to deal with it. It’s a process, but I think eventually I’ll get to a place where I’m much nicer to myself.
Lily Anne pulls into her driveway, parking her car next to her orange Thunderbird, and unlocking the door. She exits with Ben and Joe, and collects the luggage from the trunk. Gwilym pulls into the gravel driveway as she closes the garage door, and smiles as the man gets out with his co-stars and they grab their bags.
Lily Anne smiles at the new post-it notes dedicated to her father that cover the brick wall, and pushes some flowers out of the way of the green door, unlocking it and leading her friends into a garden path.
“Welcome to Garden Lodge, darlings. Feel free to walk around the gardens when you come here, and if you see a flower that looks particularly beautiful, you can pick it and bring it inside. In the foyer, I have a vase you can put it in,” Lily tells them, watching them as they look around the garden, amazed by the sheer amount of greenery and the large house that they’re approaching.
“Lily, this is beautiful. I can’t even believe I’m here at Freddie’s old home,” Lucy gushes, smiling and picking a large sunflower to put in the vase. “I’ve never seen so many different kinds of flowers in my life.”
“Thank you! I take a lot of time out of my day to garden, and when I’m not home to do so, Mary does it for me,” Lily explains before opening the main door for the house.
The group quietly gasps as they enter the white marble foyer with a round, wood table in the middle, a vase of many different kinds of flowers planted in the very center of the room. Lucy places the sunflower in the vase, and as they continue into the house, a bell jingling and tiny barks echo through the hallway.
“Come here, Reykja! Come here, my darling!” Lily Anne puts on a baby voice and gets down on her knees, dropping the sage and letting her tiny Icelandic Sheepdog puppy run into her arms, cuddling her.
Ben gasps at the sight of the puppy, and feels a pang of sadness as he misses his little fur baby named Frankie. “She’s so cute! Hello, love!” He leans down and the dog squirms out of her mom’s arms, bolting into his and licking his face.
Lily Anne is so happy that her puppy likes Ben, since Reykja isn’t usually that excited about strangers and doesn’t usually run towards new people that quickly when she meets them.
“Reykja isn’t usually so comfortable with strangers. She’s never acted like that before, not even with my bandmates, and she sees them almost every day,” Lily comments, smiling and standing up.
Ben stands and grins, holding the happy puppy in his arms. “I’m honored that this adorable puppy loves me. I can’t be mad about the Nando’s fight when I’m blessed with the presence of this little girl.”
Aaron is looking at pictures of Lily Anne and Jim that she has surrounding the vase. Lily Anne instructs her new friends to go upstairs and choose bedrooms to sleep in, and get settled before turning to see that Aaron hasn’t moved, still fixated on a photo of Lily Anne as a newborn, in Jim’s and Freddie’s arms.
She walks over and smiles at the photo softly, standing next to Aaron.
“That’s one of my favorites,” she says, and Aaron looks up, putting the photo down.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to intrude, but I just saw the photos and got to thinking about how I can’t mess this up, for you, and for Freddie,” he apologizes, explaining why he was distracted by the photo.
Lily Anne puts a hand on his arm, squeezing it fondly. “Hey, Aaron, it’s okay. Don’t worry, you’re not intruding. I’m glad you’re taking the role so seriously, despite the fact that so many people choose to ignore and discredit Jim’s importance in my Papa’s life.”
He sighs, looking down at her. “I’m just very stressed out. I’m starting to doubt whether I can do him justice in the small amount of screentime I get.”
She shakes her head. “Aaron, I’m the one who had the final say in choosing you for this role. I have faith in your acting abilities, and the resemblance is as close as it can be.” She smiles at him, tearing up. “I saw you backstage during the filming and for a moment, I thought I was looking at my father. Then when you spoke, I got chills.”
Aaron hands her a tissue and smiles gratefully. “That means so much to me, Lily. I can’t even begin to explain how much your faith in me is appreciated.”
She sniffles and laughs, nodding. “I-I’m sorry, I just get emotional about this kind of stuff sometimes.” She wipes away the tears and takes a deep breath, regaining her composure.
Aaron shakes his head, gently holding her shoulders. “No, don’t apologize. He was your father. You loved him very much. You have every right to get emotional about being reminded of him.”
Lily nods and hugs Aaron, smiling. “You’re going to do so well. I’ll be here for you every step of the way to help make sure everything is as accurate as it should be.”
Aaron hugs her back, and they separate when Joe calls her name from the top of the stairs.
“Lily? If you don’t mind me asking, what’s in the room with the vault door?” Joe yells, his voice echoing down the stairs.
Lily walks over with Aaron following behind her, heading up the stairs. He walks over to a spare room, and Lily looks over to see the rest of her guests standing at the vault door at the end of the hall. Ben is still holding Reykja in his arms, petting her behind her ears.
“This is actually my favorite room in the house. You’ll see why I have a vault door for it when you see what’s inside,” she explains, punching in a code and twisting the big doorknob.
She opens the door to reveal rows and rows of Freddie’s old outfits, with mannequins in the center of the room wearing the harlequin leotard and the Wembley Stadium outfit, minus the yellow jacket Jim sold. The cast enters the room, and Aaron and Allen enter the room last, looking around.
“If I’m ever feeling a little down, I just come in here and play dress up,” Lily Anne explains, smiling. “You can touch everything in here, just close the closet doors when you’re done. That’s how the outfits stay in such good shape.”
Gwilym and Ben head over to the rack with Freddie’s early 1970’s outfits, and Joe and Lucy look at the outfits from the 80’s. Rami is still in awe, looking around the room with a facial expression Lily can’t quite read.
“Are you alright, Rami?” Lily Anne frowns, walking over to the man.
“I’m just… wow. This is so amazing, Lily, it really is. All these iconic clothes… I don’t feel worthy, really,” he explains, shaking his head.
Lily nods, sighing. “It’s a large role to fill. You’ve been tasked with a lot of responsibility, doing his memory justice. I know you can do it, and so do Brian and Roger, but I feel like you should have something of Freddie’s to help you out.”
Rami shakes his head, beginning to freak out. “I couldn’t possibly, all the stuff in here is priceless. I would mess it up.”
Lily Anne waves dismissively, shaking her head. “Nonsense! Darling, Freddie would want you to have something of his. He was a generous man, and I’m sure he’s so grateful that you’re the one portraying him,” she continues, looking through the shelves for something that she feels is perfect for Rami. She finally finds it, and takes a black military jacket with silver tassels out of its case.
“Put it on,” she says, handing him the jacket.
Hesitantly, Rami puts on the jacket, which fits him perfectly, and looks in the mirror. Lily Anne is shocked at how good the fit is, and grins at Rami.
Joe turns around and looks at Rami in the jacket and smiles widely. “Rami, that fits perfectly!”
Lucy looks over and puts a hand over her mouth before walking to Rami and examining the jacket. “That looks…”
“Perfect,” Rami finishes, beginning to smile. “It feels good. I really like this, Lily.”
She shrugs and gestures to the jacket. “It’s an amazing jacket. Subtlety won’t be possible in this look, but that’s not the point of it.” She smiles at Rami. “You should keep it. Freddie would want you to have it.”
Rami looks in the mirror again, and Ben comes over with Allen and Aaron.
“It looks really good, mate,” Ben comments, looking impressed at the fit of the jacket.
Lily squints and shakes her head. “It needs something…” She snaps her fingers when she figures it out and pulls down Freddie’s crown from a special case.
Rami puts on the crown and looks in the mirror. “Wow… this is all surprisingly comfortable. I feel better in this than I did before.”
She shrugs. “It’s Freddie’s energy. He’s got your back, you know.”
Rami smiles, his eyes lighting up. Lucy is right by his side, one hand playing with the shoulder tassels. They’ve got chemistry, and everyone can see it. The two break apart and blush after a moment, and after the group leaves the room, they finally order their Nando’s.
--
“It’s okay to admit defeat, Ben.”
“Shut up, Lily.”
“Denial is the first stage of grief.”
“Don’t be a wanker, Lil.”
“Anger is the second.”
Ben and Lily Anne are back at it again with the Nando’s argument, anxiously awaiting Joe and Rami’s opinions on what is better: the chicken burger with Portuguese rice, or the chicken wrap with potato mash. This is all very intense, and there is palpable tension in the air.
Joe swallows and thinks for a second before continuing to eat his chicken burger. Rami does the same right afterwards, and Lily grins, leaning back on the couch triumphantly.
“The chicken wrap is still very good!” Ben insists, looking at Lily Anne and shaking his finger, defiantly clenching his jaw.
“Bargaining comes next,” she taunts in a sing-song voice, leaning in and smirking.
He huffs and eats his chicken wrap, slumped over slightly. Lily Anne grins and continues eating.
“Did the depression kick in yet, Hardy?”
“Shut it, Mercury,” he retorts, mumbling with a mouth full of food.
“I see we’ve made it to acceptance,” Lily Anne laughs before hearing something shuffle on a shelf and frowning.
The whole room goes quiet, and Lily Anne looks up to see that her Papa’s ashes are… wobbling back and forth, as if they’re getting pushed around by two people. Her eyes widen and she presses her lips into a thin line, taking a deep breath through her nostrils.
“...is that normal, Lily?” Gwil quietly says, raising a brow.
“I… well… the cats don’t usually mess with that particular piece,” she tries to reason, even though she’s hearing Jim’s dying words in her head.
“I’ll knock over your Papa’s ashes when we find the man for you.”
This is strange. Why are they just wobbling? Shouldn’t they fall? That’s what Jim said would happen. Unless he and Freddie aren’t in agreement yet over the man in question. Clearly the shaking is due to the blonde next to her.
That confuses her even further, because one, she’s just met Ben, two, she’s not even sure if she’s truly in love or just being thirsty, and three, a lasting marriage requires a reciprocated affection for one another, and she can’t just assume that Ben likes her.
“Should I get more sage?” Ben asks, putting down his wrap.
“Uh-- yeah. More sage would be good,” Lily Anne says, trying to ignore her racing thoughts. “It’s um, in the kitchen. In a cabinet with some pictures pasted onto it.”
Ben nods, standing up and moving to go to the kitchen. “It’s across the hall and to the right, correct?”
Lily Anne nods, still staring at the urn. She wants to scream when the urn stops moving just as Ben exits the room. Her fathers are making it very clear what they want, but Lily Anne is mortified that they did it in front of people she wants to be friends with, opening up the possibility of scaring away her newfound companions.
The room is filled with a thick tension as the urn stays still for a few moments, at least until Joe finds a way to break the tension in the room by pointing out something he likes.
“Oh my god, is that a Wii?” Joe asks, pointing to a tall, white rectangle on the T.V. stand, underneath the mounted flat screen.
“Yeah, I do! I’m wonderful at Mario Kart,” she says, grinning at Joe. A part of her wants to cry because she’s so happy that he cut the tension.
“Which character do you play as?” he asks, munching on his burger and looking at her with childlike excitement.
“Baby Peach, duh,” she responds, scoffing. “She’s adorable and she gets a bullet bike.”
He groans, wringing his hands. “I hate her! I always play as Yoshi, and fucking Princess Bitch always beats me. Always.”
Lily Anne raises a brow and puts her burger on the coffee table, leaning against the couch. “Princess Bitch? It’s not her fault that you can’t handle her in all her royal glory, and curse her out because of your own ineptitude as a player.”
Joe’s mouth falls open, and he nods, putting his food down as well. “It’s not my fault that the game is fucking rigged so that the computer always wins, Lily. I am amazing at Mario Kart, and that is a fact. No matter how well I play, I always lose to her.”
Lily Anne stands up and moves to the T.V. stand, pulling out two Wii remotes and tossing one to Joe, who catches it and sits up on the couch. She puts the disc in the Wii and starts up the T.V., grinning.
“Let’s test this theory of yours out, Joe. Let’s see if we get beat by Princess Peach when we’re doing Coconut Mall,” she challenges him, crossing her arms.
“Oh, you’re on, Mercury,” Joe responds.
“Bring it, Dinosaur Boy,” she taunts back.
The rest of the cast laughs, watching all this go down. Joe crosses his arms at the nickname.
“Dinosaur Boy. Real original, Lily Anne,” he says, playfully mocking her jab. “I don’t know you well enough to come up with a nickname for you just yet, but when I do come up with one, it will be amazing.”
“I can’t wait to hear it, Dinosaur Boy. Are you ready to get proven wrong?” Lily Anne smirks, twirling the controller.
“Who wants to place bets on who will win? My money’s on Lily Anne,” Lucy suggests, grinning at the other woman in the room.
Joe shakes his head. “You’re only saying that because she’s the only other woman here. I know that women should support each other, but that doesn’t mean they always have to support each other.”
Lucy shrugs, “Regardless, my opinion isn’t going to change. I think she’s correct.”
Lily Anne picks up another controller and tosses it to Lucy, smiling. “Screw just placing the bet, let’s both test out this theory. You can be baby Daisy, and together we can kick Yoshi’s ass.”
Lucy grins back at her, nodding. “Let’s do it.”
The cast lets out an exclamation of excited anticipation as Joe turns to Lily, shaking his head.
“Well that isn’t fair!” He shakes his head. “If you get to have Lucy on your team, I get to have Ben on mine!” He points to the man who just walked back into the room with Reykja following him.
Ben frowns, putting down the sage and picking up the puppy. “I was gone for five minutes. What’s this all about?”
Gwilym looks up at Ben from his place on the couch with a look of barely contained amusement. “It all started when Joe pointed out that Lily Anne has a Wii, and she told him that she’s very good at Mario Kart. Then, when he asked which character she played as--”
“Baby Peach,” Lily Anne interjects.
“--Joe said that he hates playing against Peach because the game is apparently rigged to make sure the computer always wins,” Gwil continues.
Ben nods slowly, trying to piece together the situation. “So all of that ended up creating some sort of contest to see who’s correct, and Joe wants me to help him prove Lily Anne wrong.”
Gwil nods. “Yes, that’s exactly what happened. Do you want to help Joe?”
Joe pouts up at Ben, clasping his hands together under his chin. “Please, Ben? You’re my only hope at exposing the truth behind Nintendo’s cruel business practices.”
Rami snorts, beginning to laugh quietly into his hand. Gwil bites his lip to avoid doing the same, but Aaron and Allen lose it, looking at each other and letting out loud barks of laughter. Ben sighs, putting Reykja down on the ground, where she runs to her plush dog bed, curling up and knawing on a Chewy Vuitton plush toy.
“Alright, buddy. I’ll help you out,” he says, and Joe grins, raising his hands in a thankful gesture.
“Yes! Thank you, Ben! I’ve never loved you more than I do now,” he says, gaining a tired but amused reaction from Ben.
Lily Anne passes Ben the fourth remote, smirking. “Ready to be proven wrong again, Hardy?”
Ben takes the remote, his hand brushing hers. “Don’t get your hopes up, Lil.”
She shrugs, and sits next to Lucy. “Alright. Whatever you say, darling.”
Ben sits next to Joe, and the game begins.
“Hah! Take that, Mercury!” Joe exclaims as he unleashes a blue shell.
“You wanker!” Lily exclaims, watching as Baby Peach goes spinning out of control. “Lucy, take the lead! I’ll catch up!”
“You’ve got it, Lily!” she responds, zooming ahead to be in first place.
Ben bangs his cart into Lily’s and she smirks, shaking her head as she receives three bananas from a blue box. “Oh, love. You made a mistake.” She unleases all three in rapid succession, causing Ben’s baby Mario to spin out of control.
“Jesus Christ, Lil, the hell was that for? I only hit you once!” he yells back at her, trying to speed up once more.
She grins. “Even once was too much for this match, darling!” She gets a bullet, and speeds through the finish line at first place, and as the victorious music plays, her and Lucy scream happily, hugging each other and laughing.
Joe and Ben lean back, defeated. Gwil and Rami pat their backs as the triumphant women flaunt their victory, and Lily Anne tosses her controller to the ground in front of Joe’s feet.
“Fuck yeah! Suck my fat cock, Mazzello! Hah!” She high fives Lucy, and grins.
“We should celebrate our victory! Champagne sounds appropriate to me, don’t you think, Lily Anne?” Lucy says, grinning at her new friend.
Lily Anne smiles and shrugs after a brief moment of freezing up. “Sorry, love. I can’t personally drink alcohol, but I do have some that the rest of you can partake in if they’d like.”
The rest of the cast perks up and collectively agrees to drink, and Lily Anne heads to the kitchen to get Moet Chandon and Smirnoff from her alcohol cabinet. She hears frantic knocking at the kitchen door and turns to see Ezichi, looking impatiently into the glass window.
Lily Anne opens the door and lets her bandmate inside, frowning. “What’s wrong, Ezichi? I thought you were going to be on a date tonight.”
The tall Nigerian woman huffs, taking off her vintage paisley overcoat. “Jesus, Lily, I’ve been knocking for ten minutes! What took you so long? I even texted and called you. The guy had a fetish for dark-skinned ladies and the second he referred to me as an African princess, I left.”
Lily Anne shakes her head, collecting the bottles and some champagne flutes in her arms. “I’m sorry, Zichi! That’s gross. I have guests over and we were playing a very intense round of Mario Kart, so I wasn’t checking my phone. Now, since me and Lucy won, I’m getting something for everyone to drink.”
Ezichi takes some of the shot glasses and the bottle of vodka before commenting, “You better not be consuming any of this shit, alright? You know I already don’t like that you carry it in your house.”
Lily Anne sighs tiredly, closing her eyes. “You know I won’t drink ever again, Ezichi. Not after what happened.”
March 13th, 2010
Ezichi watches Lily Anne through the glass window into her hospital room, where she has an I.V. in her wrist giving her fluids and nutrients and is having her heart rate monitored. She feels absolutely terrible about abandoning her friend throughout her time of need, but Lily Anne just wouldn’t listen to her when she tried to help her find healthier ways of coping with losing her father.
Everyone in Room 301 felt Jim’s loss intensely, especially since he had always been there for them. He went to every gig he possibly could, and it was always comforting to look out into the audience and see his smiling face and cozy woolen sweater. Even when he got sicker, he tried to make all the gigs he could, and at one point, his nurse, Laura, was accompanying him to the shitty pubs the band played at.
It was even worse for Bronwyn and Madigan, since once they came out to their parents, they were not allowed to stay in their homes, and were disowned from their families. Jim took them in and let them live with him and Lily Anne at Garden Lodge. He had such compassion for them, especially since he knew the struggles they were going through. All of them came to see Jim as a second father to them and went to him with their problems, which he would help them through with wise advice, a pot of tea, and some shortbread cookies.
After Jim passed on, Lily Anne became more distant, and began to drink excessively. They couldn’t perform because she was always blacked out during the weekends, never made it to rehearsals, and even drank in the mornings. She took some time off from school after the trauma and lived alone in a small flat in downtown London, which quickly became a cesspool of empty vodka bottles, garbage everywhere, and dirty laundry.
Bronwyn and Madigan were so mad at her that they decided to distance themselves from her right away, but Ezichi was bound and determined to get her friend back, and reunite the band. But after a month of advice fell on deaf ears, she too left Lily Anne to her own devices.
Oh, how she regretted that decision.
About a month later, she was contacted by Brian and informed that Lily Anne had been admitted to the hospital for alcohol poisoning, and nearly died alone in her flat. As soon as she got to the hospital and had her stomach pumped, Lily Anne had a generalized tonic-clonic seizure.
For three minutes, Lily Anne’s body shook uncontrollably, and then she slept for twenty hours straight afterward. Brian was the first to see her after everything and told Ezichi that Lily Anne would appreciate her company, even though she was far from fully recovered.
With a deep breath, Ezichi blinks away her tears and wipes her eyes before entering the room. Lily opens her bloodshot eyes and looks at her friend, gulping.
Ezichi looks at her bedside table, where there is a vase with flowers and a note from Brian, and on the floor, unopened, is a letter from Roger. She takes in the sight of the I.V. and Lily’s greasy hair limp around her shoulders, and the dark circles under the girl’s eyes.
“I know,” Lily hoarsely says. “You don’t have to say anything nice, Zichi. I know how horrible this whole scene is.”
Ezichi nods, sitting beside Lily in an uncomfortable chair, pointing to the envelope on the floor. “You didn’t open Roger’s note.”
Lily shakes her head. “He could barely look at me, Zichi. He didn’t speak a word to me, either. He’s so disappointed. I don’t want to read what’s in that envelope.”
Ezichi picks up the note and hands it to Lily, placing it gently in her shaking, clammy fingers. “At least put it next to Brian’s note, okay? So they don’t accidentally throw it out.”
Lily blinks back tears, and when she tries to move, her hand shakes so badly that she drops the card back on the floor. “I-I can’t…” she whispers, a single tear escaping her left eye.
Ezichi gets up and does it for her, letting out a sniffle. It hurts to see her best friend so weak. Lily Anne lets out a tiny whimper, and bites her lip to contain a sob, but Ezichi can see that there is so much she’s holding back.
She holds her hand when she sits back down, wiping away a tear. “Let it out, Lily.”
Lily shakes her head defiantly, her body betraying her by letting out fat tears that smear the remainders of her mascara from two days ago down her cheeks.
“I’m not going to judge you, Lily. You’ve gone through hell and back, and you need a good cry.”
Lily squeezes Ezichi’s hand and her whole body trembles with the urge to let out the tears.
“Before you can get better, you need to let that shit go first, alright?” Ezichi gently coaxes her friend along, and that’s when Lily Anne breaks, releasing a heart-wrenching sob.
“I-I’m so sorry, Ezichi. I’m so fucking-- god, I’ve been an awful friend! I’ve hated not being with the band, I-I’ve hated myself for acting so badly, and I’ve hated the world for taking Jim away from me. I’ve never been this horrible in my life! None of you deserve this! Absolutely none of you.” Lily takes a heaving breath. “But the worst part about all this isn’t the overdose, or the seizure, but…” She sobs. “But putting everyone who’s ever loved or cared about me through emotional hell! I’ve been so blessed to have s-so many people who love and c-care about me, a-and what did I do with that blessing? I wasted it, Ezichi! I’ve ruined the band, I’ve pushed away my uncles, and all they wanted to do was take care of me, and I nearly--” She curls up into a ball, shaking her head.
Ezichi rubs her shoulder, squeezing it gently. “I know.” She’s beginning to cry as well. “You don’t need to say it, Lily, I know what almost happened.”
Lily peaks her head out from her arms, eyes red and puffy and lips cracked and quivering. “I-I thought that if I joined my Papa and Daddy, everything would be better. But it only made everything worse, because I failed.”
Ezichi shakes her head, sobbing. “Lily… we failed you as well. We all abandoned you when you needed our help.”
Lily shifts to be closer to Ezichi. “No, no, nonononono, please don’t blame my selfish actions on yourselves. I was being so horrible. I deserved to be left to my own devices.”
Ezichi swipes at her eyes aggressively and looks Lily in the eye. “Don’t you fucking dare say that ever again, Lily. You were begging for help, and we ignored you because we were being selfish and doing what was in our best interests.”
“But--”
“If I hear another ‘but’ out of you I will tape your fucking mouth shut, do I make myself clear?”
Lily nods, still shaking.
“You have never been without emotional baggage, Lily. Between having one father who passed away before you could even really get the chance to remember him, and another one who was already living on limited time when nobody could tell how much was left, death has always been a part of your life. Your own mortality was a subject that came up far sooner than it should have, and even though you were sheltered partly from it, it was inescapable. You were always bullied for having a gay father, and the fact that your other one died from AIDS has always been shoved in your face by wankers who don’t understand how impossible it was to prevent from happening. Your racial identity made it hard for you to fit in anywhere, because you’re not Indian enough for Indians to consider you one of their own, and you’re not Irish enough for the Irish to take you in either. You’ve never had a designated space where you belong. You’re incredibly talented, but you’re always going to be compared to your father, who’s considered to be an untouchable musical icon. The standards you’ve had to live up to have been so high! No wonder you didn’t feel like you could show any vulnerability when you’ve been made to feel less than your entire life! You were afraid of judgment so you pushed everyone away, because that’s what you’ve always been taught to do by experience.” Ezichi is crying as she speaks, wiping away her tears. “You’re damn right that you were selfish, Lily. Nobody can deny that. But we ignored the reasons why you were acting out in the manner that you were, and didn’t do enough to help you.”
Lily Anne has gone quiet and is now sitting back, contemplating what her friend has told her. She still feels guilty, that much hasn’t changed, but perhaps not all is lost. “Can you all forgive me?” Her voice is quiet and weak, and she’s hoping that it is possible to regain what she’s lost.
Ezichi nods, sniffling. “Of course, you idiot. We love you so much, and I for one don’t want to live without my best friend and frontwoman.”
Lily holds out her arms for a hug and Ezichi holds her tightly, both girls sobbing.
“I love you so much, Ezichi.”
“I love you too, Lily.”
Lily Anne walks into the living room with the champagne and Ezichi follows her inside.
“Everyone, this is my bandmate and best friend, Ezichi Adebayo. Ezichi, this is the cast of Bohemian Rhapsody.”
Everyone introduces themselves, and Ezichi smiles at them, putting down the bottle of vodka and the shot glasses.
“It’s nice to meet you all! I’ve heard great things about the project from Roger and Brian, and I can’t wait to see how it all turns out.”
Ezichi helps the cast fill up their champagne flutes and Lily Anne puts some bottled water into a flute as well to participate.
“To Freddie,” Lily Anne says, and everyone toasts, repeating the statement.
After some time is spent getting to know each other, Ezichi pulls out a sheet of paper from her purse and hands it to Lily, who sips her water and frowns.
“What is this, Zichi?” she asks, unfolding it.
“The reason I came here. It’s a new song I just finished penning the lyrics to, and I would love to hear what kind of melody you have in mind for it,” she explains. “It’s going to be nine years since we lost Jim, and I was thinking about him, and I wrote this. I was thinking it could be some kind of ballad, but we can experiment with the sound.”
Lily Anne nods, smiling. “That sounds fun!” She looks at the cast. “Do all of you want to hear it? We could use some fresh ears, since a lot of the time we just go to Brian and Roger for help.”
Gwilym nods, smiling. “That sounds great! I’d love to help out.”
Rami agrees, and adds, “It means a lot to us that you’d trust us to help you with your music.”
Ben grins, and after taking a sip of his champagne, he says, “I try to write my own stuff all the time, so I’m glad we can work with real musicians.”
Ezichi smiles at Ben and raises a brow. “What does your stuff end up sounding like, if you don’t mind me asking?”
He shrugs, “It depends. Usually, it’s more rock n’ roll, but there are some softer songs as well.”
Joe shrugs and looks at his friend. “So basically, what Room 301 does.”
Ben nods, finishing off his glass and putting it down.
Lily smiles. “That sounds great. I’d love to hear your stuff, Ben. Is everyone ready to read through this?”
There are nods and smiles, and forty minutes later, the cast and the band members have created a ballad that sounds unlike anything Room 301 has ever produced before.
After finishing the song, Ezichi packs up her guitar and wipes away stray eraser markings on the paper, and as shots of vodka are poured, she is approached by Gwilym.
“Ezichi? If you don’t mind, could I ask for a favor?” he asks politely, acting fairly calm amidst the group of high energy actors on the couch drinking.
She turns around and looks up at him-- and being almost six feet tall, that’s quite the statement-- smiling. “Sure thing, Gwil, what is it?”
He sighs and rubs the back of his neck, shaking his head. “I have to do the Bohemian Rhapsody guitar solo, and even though they’re going to play a recording of it in the background, I just really want to actually perform it. I’m pretty good at mimicking the guitar playing that Brian does, but I just want it to be more genuine. Could you teach me how to really play guitar? I’ve heard that Brian trained you himself, and I must admit, your playing tonight was incredibly impressive. The song was even moreso.”
He’s tall, handsome, charming, and professional. Ezichi was already initially attracted to this man, but the genuinely heartfelt comment about her playing makes her blush.
“Of course, Gwil! Thank you so much for those comments. That’s one of the kindest things anyone has ever told me.” She smiles and picks up her guitar case. “There’s a studio downstairs with a guitar similar to Brian’s Red Special, and we’ll be able to talk without loud, tipsy actors in the background. Want to go there?”
He nods, smiling in relief. “I’d love that. Thank you so much.” He grins, gesturing back towards his fellow actors. “Want to take a few shots before we do that, though?”
She nods, laughing. “Of course! I can always do one more shot.”
Lily Anne walks out of her house and into the garden, sitting down in a rocking bench by the koi pond and lighting a cigarette. She may not drink anymore, but she still has her bad habits. As she begins to rock back and forth and looks up at the dark sky, she hears a door closing and footsteps coming closer, and turns around to see Ben walking out of the house.
“Was it getting too crazy in there?” she asks, and he turns to face her.
He walks over and sits next to her on the bench, pulling out a pack of Marlboros. They have the same bad habit, apparently.
“Not really. Joe is getting loud and Rami is getting silly, but otherwise, it’s the same friendly chaos as always,” he says dismissively as he pulls out a cigarette and puts it in between his lips.
The sight is far more attractive that Lily Anne would like to admit, and she’s glad it’s dark, because she’s certain she’s already blushing, but the sweating is about to start soon.
He frowns when he feels his pocket for a lighter and can’t find one. Lily Anne lights hers and holds it out so he can light the cigarette, and he mumbles a thank you to her.
They sit in silence, listening to the koi splash around in the water and the creaking of the bench.
“Lily, do you mind me asking something sort of serious to you?” he asks, letting out a breath of smoke.
She turns to face him and shakes her head, releasing the smoke from her nostrils. “Not at all. Ask away.”
He takes a moment to collect his thoughts before saying, “When Lucy mentioned champagne, and you said that you don’t drink alcohol, I just noticed you kind of stiffen up, and seem a bit uncomfortable for a moment. Do you mind me asking why you don’t drink?”
“I don’t mind. Thank you for asking about it in such a kind way, instead of rudely demanding answers like the paparazzi and the press do.” She nods and looks at the koi pond. “Well… on January 1st, 2010, my dad died. I was 20 years old. It was very, very hard for me to cope with. I pushed everyone who ever loved me away from me and went down a very dark path. I lost control over my life. A large part of that path was me abusing alcohol and making very selfish decisions.” She takes a deep breath and blinks, leaning back against the bench.
She feels a warm hand on her own, and turns to look at Ben, who gently squeezes her hand. “You don’t need to elaborate if it’s too painful. I can guess what happened, and I’m so sorry it did.”
She smiles fondly at him and shakes her head. “That’s very sweet, but I’ll be fine.” She takes a drag before continuing her story. “On March 11th of the same year, about two months after my dad died, I was admitted to the hospital because I overdosed on alcohol. I don’t remember the ride over, or the clonic-tonic seizure I had a day later, but I do remember waking up in a hospital bed, feeling like utter garbage, unable to move without shaking like a leaf.”
Ben’s hand holds onto hers more tightly, and she blinks back tears. “I do remember-- shit, I’m sorry for crying.” She wipes her eyes on the sleeve of her turtleneck, and he shakes his head.
“Don’t be sorry. Like I said, if you want to stop--”
“No. I need to tell the story. I need to get it off my chest.” She takes another deep breath. “I remember Brian crying in the hospital, holding me like a lifeline because he thought I was surely going to die. I remember Roger not being able to look at me or talk to me, and leaving a note on my side table that I didn’t open for three months because it was too painful for me to do. I remember Ezichi crying, apologizing for the fact that they didn’t know how to help me in the moment, and telling me that it wasn’t all my fault.” She wipes her eyes again, sniffling. “I remember the day I finally got back in contact with Bronwyn and Madigan, and how good it felt to know that they forgave and loved me, regardless of how badly I fucked up.” She shakes her head as Ben moves closer to her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. “Most of all, I remember the moment where I truly dedicated myself to getting my shit together after being admitted to a rehab center for cocaine addiction.”
February, 2013
Lily Anne stays curled up in her bed as a nurse walks into her room in the rehab facility for her daily checkup.
“Hello, dear. How are you feeling today?” the nurse asks Lily Anne, sitting at the foot of her bed.
“Like fucking shit,” she responds, not bothering to lift her head from the pillow.
The nurse, who’s been taking care of Lily Anne since she got here a month ago, sighs and scribbles onto her clipboard notepad. “Got it. Same as always. On a scale of one to ten, how much motivation--”
“Zero,” Lily Anne responds, cutting the nurse off.
“Alright, same as yesterday, I see,” she comments, tiredly writing more down. “Emotionally, are you doing any better? You haven’t come to any of the group therapy sessions yet,” she asks, straying from the narrative.
Lily Anne shakes her head. “Emotionally, I’ve been fucked raw in my ass by a cactus. I’m just tired of emotions at this point.” She scoffs. “What good will the group therapy do? Everyone else will judge me, ‘cause I’m a rich girl who didn’t appreciate all my blessings, and because it got too stressful earning fuck tons of money to add to my already thriving bank account, I decided to ingest copious amounts of cocaine.”
The nurse pinches her brows together and shakes her head, trying to remain calm. “Group therapy is a safe--”
“Don’t start with your ‘safe space’ bullshit. All that means is that people silently judge you instead of just fucking admitting that they think you’re an awful, pathetic cunt of a person,” Lily responds, angrily spitting back at the nurse.
With a resigned sigh and a final scribble, the nurse stands up and moves to leave. “Should I turn on the radio before I go?”
Lily shrugs. “Whatever. I don’t care.”
The nurse turns on the radio before leaving the room, shutting the door behind her.
Lily Anne is sick of rehab trying to get her to do these garbage activities that are supposed to make people feel better. Meditation is ancient horseshit that just allows her time to think more deeply about what a fuck up she is, gardening reminds her too much of home and how Jim is rolling in his grave at the thought of his daughter fucking up her life with drugs for a second time, painting just gets her comfy sweatpants dirty, and animal time just makes her think of how the cats were better children to Jim and Freddie than she ever will be.
The radio is playing some bullshit song about going clubbing and getting fucked up, so Lily Anne closes her eyes and tries to sleep. As she’s nodding off, the radio gets filled with static and switches to another station, and she’s awake again.
She sits up as the song begins playing, and instantly tears fill her eyes at the sound of her father’s voice.
Sammy was low
Just watching the show
Over and over again
Knew it was time
He’d made up his mind
To leave his dead life behind
His boss said to him
“Boy you’d better begin
To get those crazy notions right out of your head
Sammy who do you think that you are
You should’ve been sweeping up the Emerald bar”
“Shut up, shut up, please, shut the fuck up!” she shakes her head, curling up under her covers. “Go back to that shitty station from before, please!”
The music doesn’t stop, and the chorus makes her cry even harder.
So honey spread your wings and fly away
Fly away far away
Spread your little wings and fly away
Fly away far away
PULL YOURSELF TOGETHER
‘CAUSE YOU KNOW YOU SHOULD DO BETTER
The last lines are blasted louder than the rest, and it’s as if her father is yelling at her, which makes her cry so hard she shakes.
“I-I’m sorry! Please, just… I can’t! I get it, Papa! I fucked up. Again. Do you think I haven’t been beating myself up about this? If you’ve really been watching over me like Daddy said you were, you’d know that already!” She practically spits at the radio before grabbing her hair in her fists. “I can’t live like this anymore! I’ve always tried to live up to some impossible legacy, do what would make you proud, and instead, I’ve disappointed you. Twice. Sure, I’ve sold some records, won some awards, made some money. Maybe if I bared it all to the world and wrote songs that air all of my fucking feelings like you did, I’d actually make you proud!”
The music stops suddenly, and the radio turns itself off. Lily Anne presses her fingers to her lips, blinking back tears. So that’s what her father wants her to do… face her fears of being completely open in her music, and just throw caution to the wind.
Suddenly, her mind is clear. She knows what she needs to do.
Lily Anne stands up and pulls one of Jim’s sweaters over her tee-shirt, and shuffling down the hallway in the fuzzy slippers Sarina gifted her, she walks to the art room and takes a pile of lined paper and a pack of Sharpies.
She’s going to write, dammit, and she’s going to write the most brutally honest songs the world has ever heard.
She finishes her story, taking a deep breath and wiping her eyes. “That felt good, actually. I’ve never really talked to anyone about all of it, other than the band.”
Ben takes a moment, holding the stub of his finished cigarette and trying to think of what to say.
Lily lets out a laugh and looks over at him, placing a hand on his arm. “You don’t have to say anything, I know it’s a lot. I’m a lot. When it comes to me, everything is just… a lot.”
He takes a moment before shaking his head. “That’s… I mean… you’ve been through hell and back, and you’re still standing here, stronger than ever.”
She puts her cigarette butt in the ashtray she has rested on a pedestal next to the bench and turns red, rubbing the back of her neck. “I mean, yeah, I’ve been through a lot, but it could’ve been worse.”
Ben turns to her, confused. “Could’ve been worse? Are you fucking kidding me? Not much is worse than overdosing two times, losing both your fathers, constantly being berated by the press about sensitive subjects when you’ve already explained what you wanted to say in your music, and having those experiences devalidated because of the amount of money in your bank account. You’ve got to be one of the strongest people I’ve ever met.”
Lily Anne is smiling, but she tries to hide her face. “Ben, stop it. I’m all flushed.”
Ben raises his hands in surrender. “Alright. I’m done. But if you ever need a pep talk, I’m here.”
She nods and squeezes his hand. “I appreciate it.”
They sit in silence before noticing that the sun is almost coming up. Lily Anne is extremely confused.
“How long have we been out here?” Ben asks, frowning.
She shrugs. “Well, we came out here at eleven and-- what the fuck?” She stares at her watch. “It’s two in the morning!”
Ben looks at the watch as well in disbelief.
“Jesus, we spent four hours just talking about me! I’m so sorry, I must seem incredibly narcissistic right now,” Lily Anne says, feeling incredibly embarrassed.
Ben shakes his head. “Don’t be sorry. This gave me a better idea of who you are. I’m grateful that you trusted me enough to tell me all this.” He smiles at her. “I understand you so much better now, and I’m glad this all happened.”
She nods, turning even redder before yawning and standing up.
“Let’s get some sleep. Next time, we can spend four hours talking about you,” she says, walking inside.
Lily dreams she’s in the garden and hears singing coming from the bench her and Ben were sitting on. She walks over and sees Freddie there in a yellow sweatsuit, petting Delilah and smoking a cigarette. It’s not the first time she’s dreamed of her parents, but somehow this feels more real than her other dreams of them have.
“Papa?” she calls out quietly, smiling at him.
Freddie turns to look at his daughter and smiles widely, patting the seat next to him. “Sit down, sit down, darling! We have something very important to discuss.”
She does as she’s told, and frowns. “How do you know that we have to discuss something? This is just a dream, Papa. You’re not really here. It’s all my imagination.”
Freddie raises a brow. “Darling, opportunities like this don’t come often, and may never happen for people who don’t have a close connection to the dead. You, however, have been on the brink of death twice. It’s easier for us to communicate with you because of that.”
She nods, choosing to focus on petting Delilah when she moves to her lap, purring. “Okay. What do you need to talk about, Papa?”
Jim comes out of the house, carrying three cups of tea on a tray. He smiles fondly at his daughter and kisses her forehead.
“Hello, love,” he says, handing her a cup of tea.
“Hello, Dad,” she responds, sipping her tea.
Freddie takes his cup and smiles at Jim before turning his attention back to Lily Anne.
“So… why am I here?” she asks again, looking at her fathers.
“First of all, the song Ezichi has written is absolutely lovely, so be sure to tell her that,” Jim says. “It was very touching. I miss her very much.”
“We miss you too, Dad. Every day,” Lily says, smiling back at her father.
“Yes, it was beautiful. I loved it as well. But we are really here for something much more important,” Freddie says. “Remember the urn earlier today?”
Lily nods, sighing. “Yes, of course. You nearly scared my new friends away.”
Freddie holds the hand that isn’t holding a cup of tea, looking intently into Lily’s eyes. “Lily Anne Mercury, if you don’t hold on tightly to that lovely man who spent four hours talking to you in this very garden, you will never find anyone to spend the rest of your life with,” he insists, and Jim places a hand on his husband’s shoulder.
“I kept Freddie from throwing the urn because you just met him, but please keep him around. I like the boy,” Jim explains, being much more rational.
“Okay… I mean he’s very pretty--”
“He looks like a Greek god, darling!”
“--and very kind--”
“He spent four hours listening to you air out your emotions, woman! Kind is an understatement!”
“Papa, stop!” Lily raises a hand and Delilah runs back inside the house to escape the Mercurys’ conversation. “I just met him.”
“Love at first sight is very real, darling,” Freddie insists, looking incredibly seriously at his daughter. “He may not realize it yet, but he loves you.”
Lily Anne rolls her eyes, and Jim cuts in.
“I think he’s a very good option--” Jim begins.
“He’s the only option, Jim!” Freddie says, looking at his husband with intensity. “They’re perfect for each other, and I cannot wait to see the gorgeous grandchildren they’d produce!”
“Papa!” Lily turns red and covers her face. “You can’t just say stuff like that!”
“But am I wrong, darling?” he asks, raising a brow.
“No! No, you’re not! We’d have lovely mixed-race children with dark hair, tan skin, and green eyes, and they would be out of this world gorgeous!” Lily exclaims before sinking down in the bench and chugging the rest of her tea. She puts down the cup and sighs. “If I start thinking about these things… no. It sets up my expectations too high, and when has anything in my life ever gone as perfectly as I’ve planned them?”
Freddie wraps an arm around her and she leans into him, closing her eyes. “I know, darling. But this… this, I know will work out.”
Jim comes around her other side and does the same, smiling at his daughter. “I trust your judgment, my love. Give me a little more time and I’ll answer your questions, okay?”
Lily nods, gulping back tears. “I know you will. I just wish you were both actually there.”
Freddie holds her close, smiling sadly. “We wish so too, darling. But when you need us, we’re here.”
Jim kisses his daughter’s cheek, smiling. “We have to go, love. Do what you feel is right.”
Lily nods. “Alright. I love you both very much.”
In the dream, she closes her eyes, and when she wakes up, Reykja is licking her face and wagging her tail. As she gets up to give the dog breakfast, she can’t help but think about the fact that her Papa might be right.
TAGLIST: @andtheytoldustotellyouhello @plethora-of-things @borhap-socials @everybodyplaythegame @i-the-fangirl @deakydeakydeaky @shisterfackisback @samanthadegaro @lv7867 @fatbottomedcurls @hystericallyqueen @haisimsim @peterparkeroos @teenwolflover28 @queenficarchive
#starry writes#ben hardy x reader#borhap imagine#ben hardy#joe mazzello#gwilym lee#rami malek#lucy boynton#allen leech#aaron mccusker#bohemian rhapsody movie
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Mission: Improbable-A Sirius Black Imagine
A/N: The time is finally here, y’all! I have been working on this series for quite some time now and I’m still plotting out some of the chapters to get the kinks out but I figured that Sirius’ birthday was a good date to start this series! I’m super excited for it as it is definitely out of my comfort zone. Having to navigate canon and write the characters post-Hogwarts has been a challenge to say the least (just ask my beta lol)! I hope you guys like this series and get ready because it is going to be another long one. This first chapter is a bit short but don’t worry, it will pick up steam.... eventually. :) But enough of my blabbering, enjoy!
You glanced around at the people in the room. It looked innocent enough: the lone girl sitting at the bar, just watching. In a way that is what you were doing. You were sneaking a glimpse into the lives of these people around you.
A woman laughed to your left, her friends all cheering beside her after she took her first shot of the night. Her face is relaxed, a grin adorning her face that seems as if it is almost real. She probably had been convinced by her friends to come out tonight; her first night out after a break up if her friends chorus of “finally!” and “screw him, honey!” were anything to go by. As she laughed again you noticed her smile become more genuine.
A man walked up to a smaller group of girls. His charming smile and confident stature told volumes to how he thought the interaction would pan out. As the three girls merely giggled and rolled their eyes you couldn’t help but feel for the bloke. You watched as his mouth moved as if he was sputtering some sort of nonsense at the quick turnaround that was unfolding before him. His brain scrambling to catch up, he cleared his throat and smiled again, this time a bit sheepishly. Eventually one of the girls, the one who looked the most kind in your opinion, motioned for him to sit.
Scanning your eyes further upon the room, you noticed a woman in her late twenties squeal and fling herself into the arms of a man. The group she was sitting with merely smiled before offering their own excited welcoming to the newcomer. A group of reuniting friends. Their obvious tones of surprise and yet easy demeanor made it easy to discern.
Lastly, you noted a couple sat towards the back of the bar, leaned in close to one another. A table separated them and yet it seemed as if there wasn’t an inch between them. If you had to guess, they were probably still in the honeymoon phase of their relationship. Giggles and hushed words passed between them as they slowly nursed whatever drinks they decided to have tonight. For a brief moment, you lingered on them. It seemed almost intimate to watch; their bright eyes and equally happy smiles were surprisingly heartwarming to look at. You imagined a whole story for them and hoped that you would have a happy ending like the one they looked to be living right in front of you.
“Stare long enough an’ someone’s going to think you’re a bit of a voyeur, you know,” a low voice came from beside you. Rolling your eyes, you took in a deep breath and shook your head from their wandering thoughts. You didn’t have time to think of romance; you had to stay sharp. No room for distractions.
“People could say the same thing about you staring at me,” you replied with a knowing smirk. You watched his momentary look of surprise before it was replaced with a grin.
“Hard not to look at the prettiest bird in the room,” he admitted and you couldn’t help the snort that fell past your lips.
“Cut the shite,” you said with a wave of dismissal. Taking one more glance across the room of the pub, you sipped at your muggle beer slowly. It was an acquired taste, definitely—one you didn’t know how you felt about yet. “You’re not supposed to be over here. You’re covering the exit, remember?”
Flashing your pearly whites at the all too familiar “stranger” sitting next to you, you waited for his response. Sirius merely dignified another shit-eating grin and chuckled lowly. “Well, now, aren’t we a wee bit conceited, yeah? I’m just here for another pint.”
You watched as Sirius made a signal to the bartender, who nodded back in a silent response and went to pour him another beer. Furrowing your brows lightly, you noticed the way neither of them had said a word to one another. What is it with men and their lack of communication?
Before you could make comment on it, Sirius had already had his refill in hand and was pulling it to his lips. You tried your hardest not to watch the way his adam’s apple bobbed alluringly as he drank or the delicious shine of his lips after he licked them clean. It was people watching, you told yourself. It always made you more observant.
Once again, he brought you from your drifting thoughts when he said, “tonight seems like it’s going to be a bust. Pub’s only open for another half hour.”
Humming in agreement, you glanced back over the crowd, hoping you’d see something more than just a room of muggles this time around. Sadly, you saw nothing. Glancing back down the neck of your bottle, you spoke quietly, “another half hour before we head back to base.”
“Aye, aye, cap’n,” Sirius replied under his breath before turning and walking back to his post. Your eyes slowly began their position of people watching again, looking cool and content, and hoped you wouldn’t look too approachable. The last hour at the bar usually meant that the stragglers made their final moves before getting kicked out and sent home for the night. This was a magnet for all creeps to come try and chat you up so you schooled your aloof look.
Yet, your eyes wandered back over to the couple you had been watching just a few minutes earlier to see them gone. A pang of disappointment shot through your chest at the sight of the vacant table; a pretty accurate analogy as to how your own love life had been fairing recently. Since Hogwarts you hadn’t so much as looked at a bloke in that way. You told yourself that once the war was over you would open yourself up to the idea of being with someone. It was far too dangerous for you to do that now; you saw how every mission would eat away at Lily, even if she wouldn’t admit it. You weren’t going to let yourself worry like that. It just wasn’t the right time—no matter how badly you may have wanted someone.
Glancing back towards the direction of the exit, you watched as Sirius slowly sipped at his last pint. His body was relaxed, leaned back and spread out in his seat like he owned the place. Even without realizing it he was dripping confidence. The man oozed attractiveness seemingly without trying. You swore that he could make anything look good, a thought that bothered you a lot less than you cared to admit.
The look on his face was almost bored, yet his eyes were sharp as they flitted across each dwindling group in the bar. If you hadn’t known him, Sirius would have looked like he was enjoying a pint, fully wound down after a long day. Yet, you did and you noticed the slight tension in his grip on his beer, the look in his eyes bordering frustration as another night of stake outs for Death Eaters came up empty. Sirius was a man of action and he hated waiting. Most people thought it to be a hot-headed and stupid quality; and while that was true, it was also one that came from a good heart. He wanted this war to be over. No matter how good of a soldier he could be while in duels, you could tell that all of this waiting and hiding and lying low was eating away at him. He wanted, perhaps even needed, some sort of win in order to gain control.
Yet, the Order was already grasping at straws.
By the time you noticed that you were staring at Sirius, the bartender was nudging you in your seat across from him. Blinking once, then twice, you cleared your throat and tried not to blush at being caught staring at the gorgeous man you were supposed to not know.
“Last call, kid,” he said.
You simply shook your head with a smile and lifted your bottle to your lips to take a swig, only to realize that it was pretty much empty. The last of its warmth made its way down your throat and pooled in your stomach until you felt a soft buzz flow through you. Blimey, you should probably have a bit fewer beers next time.
Standing up, you dug around in your pocket before producing a few notes and left them on the table. “Thanks, mate. ‘Have a good one,” you called to the bartender and turned to head towards the exit. There was no point in staying inside until the pub closed, so you made your way to the back alley so you could at least try and get some fresh air.
On your way to the door, you locked eyes with Sirius and gave him a small nod. Nodding in return, he knew to stay until the last people had left. You would wait for him further down in the alley, making sure that nobody was lurking in the shadows like they had in the past. This was pretty much your routine during stakeouts at this point, having been on the last few in muggle neighborhoods. While Sirius had not been the one with the most experience in the non-magical world, he was the one with most discretion. You, not tied down by anything like many of the others in the Order were, were the perfect partner to Sirius’ long and often times dangerous missions. Neither of you really had anything to lose.
When Sirius finally emerged, you waited for him to search you out in the alley.
“So we bloody well wasted our time,” Sirius bit out harshly once you were in earshot.
Huffing lightly, you pushed off the wall and walked out into the dim alley light, ignoring the slight rush that came from your still buzzed state. Even the cool night air had done little to alleviate the way your head spun if you moved too quickly. “Not a waste; we still got something out of tonight.”
“Another night of your amazing company from across a pub?”
“Ha, sure. I’m sure you also scored a few numbers. I could even teach you how to use one of the muggle phones if you’d like, yeah?”
Rolling his eyes, Sirius managed an only slightly bitter laugh. “I know how to use a phone; don’t patronize me. ‘Not in the mood.”
“Come off it, Sirius. You know just as well as I do that there was something meaningful to be gained from tonight,” you sighed, crossing your arms over your chest. Great, now Sirius was ruining your buzz too.
“I didn’t see a single wizard in that place the whole night! Dumbledore had said it was crawling with them.”
“And has his intel ever been wrong before?”
“No, but—”
“Exactly,” you said, leaning closer to him. Sirius always spoke a bit too loudly when he was agitated and you needed to remind him to keep his voice down. “Which means that they must have seen us before we walked in or…”
“Or they knew we were coming,” Sirius finished upon realization. “Damnit!”
You blinked in surprise when you heard just how aggravated he truly was. His jaw was clenched in a way that made it much more defined and his hands were balled into fists as he crossed them over his chest. Softening your gaze, your brow knit in concern. “Hey, this means we’re getting closer, Sirius.”
“We should have had them,” he said and his jaw ticked in irritation.
“We will.” Before you could think about it, your hand reached out and grasped Sirius’ forearm gently. Giving it a little squeeze, you tried to offer a reassuring smile as he looked down at you.
After a few moments, his gaze wandered down to where you had rested your hand on him and you quickly retracted it. Cheeks warmed against the cool night air and you tried your hardest to look as unaffected as possible. Merlin, you definitely should have a few less beers next time. The way your heart pounded in your chest at his piercing gaze was not normal and you knew it must be the alcohol that was clouding your judgement.
“I—” Sirius started before stopping, words still on the tip of his tongue. You licked your lips as you waited for his answer, trying to clear your mind of the way you were just caught in a surprisingly intimate moment. “I have to piss.”
Heaving a sigh, you rolled your eyes and dropped your hovering hand limply back to your side. “Well, let’s head back so we can—”
“You know I don’t like apparating on a full bladder, sweetheart,” Sirius suddenly smiled, which caused you to scrunch your nose in mild disgust.
“Gross, Pads!” you whined and heard his full, hearty laugh beside you. “Fine, just make it quick.”
The next few moments were quiet, apart from the sound of a belt being unbuckled, a zipper pulled and then the steady stream of Sirius’ behind the rubbish bin of the building you both had just sat at for the past few hours. Eventually, Sirius zipped back up and made his way back over to you.
“Real classy,” you grumbled, nose still wrinkled in annoyance.
“If you prefer the chance of me losing control of my body while we disapparate then be my guest—”
“Let’s just go!” Grabbing onto the crook of his elbow, you heard the sound of Sirius’ laugh, quickly cut off by a loud crack and then the alley went silent.
Tag List: (please let me know if you’d like to be tagged!)
@obscurilicious // @mgc-its-easy-as-123 // @whompingwillowy // @mischief-siriusly-managed
#sirius x reader#sirius black imagine#mission: improbable#marauders imagine#harry potter imagine#sirius black x reader#sirius imagine
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