#//If he has friends on the staff; he WILL start playful rivalries

[redxriiot]

in the teacher verse, Ei's absolute favorite school days are Parents Day and the Sports Fest day

[lenaariewrld]

C.33 — make good choices (w)

ON THE AIR — childe x reader smau

| SYNOPSIS;; Teyvat University’s popular radio personality, Y/n L/n, has only one gripe with her life. Her classmate, neighbour, and all-around nuisance in her life, Tartaglia. Their rivalry extends just past academics and, to her horror, into her work. He becomes the music director and co-host for her radio show, working alongside her most nights and forcing himself even deeper into her life. But is he really trying to just be friends, or is there an ulterior motive to his actions?

| WC: 2.3k

previous! ~ masterlist ! ~ next!

With the holidays coming to an end, you know that your stint with Diluc and his family– your family –is nearly over. You’re always grateful to be with your childhood friend during these holidays. Grateful to forget how lonely it was before you were disowned, all because he brought you into the warmth of his family and life, a welcome you never expected. They all treat you like you always belonged there, showering you with affection and bringing you into their traditions without any hiccups. Diluc’s father has even made a few jokes about how your grumpy disposition on early mornings is a ‘family trait’. You’re like blood to them, not just an addition.

It warms your heart, and it heals a lonely part that you’d started developing every time you leave this estate. It makes you forget that creeping sadness in your gut, if only temporarily.

Diluc helps you pack on your last day, after pretending to be bothered by your request (that you didn’t even ask of him, technically) first. He neatly tucked away all the gifts you’d received. Mostly, it had been practical things like new socks or gift cards, though Crepus had thrown in a few necklaces and bracelets to this year’s rotation despite your insistence on them not spending exorbitant amounts of money for you.

He follows your instructions to roll up the clothes to conserve space and places them tightly in your bags. And when, inevitably, your three bags prove to be insufficient, he shakes his head with a playful sigh and lets you take one of his extra suitcases. “You’re hopeless, you didn’t even wear half of these,” The man chastises with a soft smile. You can tell by the fondness in his eyes that he finds your tendency to overpack as amusing as you do.

“This is a better record than my first time, though.” You proudly remind him. He nods in agreement, chuckling as he grabs the last few shirts of yours to fold and put away. “And besides, I still have a second leg of this trip.” You add. When the folding was finished, you zipped up the last suitcase and clapped your hands together.

Diluc looks over the room one last time before waving his hands for you to head downstairs. He, and Adelinde as well, help you carry everything downstairs. You thank the woman and other staff profusely as they help load up your friend’s family car. “Go say goodbye to Dad before he chases us down to the airport,” Your friend reminds, closing the boot with a final thud. You laugh at his dramatic statement but turn on your heels and duck inside. Quickly, you find Crepus already coming to the foyer to send you off, pulling you into a hug.

“Thank you,” you whisper as the older man squeezes you in a tight bear hug. It feels like he knows how much you felt like you were breaking apart, and his hug pushes those pieces a little more together. Smooths out a few of the cracks and aches in your heart. A glue that helps you.

You’re so lucky. You realise that everytime he racks you back and forth slightly, patting your back. “Of course,” His voice comes from the top of your head. “We’d be remiss if we let you stay by yourself during this time,” he pulls away a little to look at you, holding you by your shoulders. There’s a look in his eyes that tells you he knows the pain you’ve felt the past month and a half. “And if you ever have another problem with a boy, you promise to tell me and I’ll make sure to deal with ‘em,” He nods firmly, his face completely serious despite the jovial tune of his voice.

You can’t help but laugh at the ridiculous notion, squeezing him tighter. “Promise,” You whisper against his shoulder. A fond chuckle rumbles through him, vibrating in your ribcage. When the hug ends, he ushers you off with a deep sigh.

“I’m proud of you, Y/n.” He calls as you descend the front stairs and make your way to the car. “Make good choices!” He adds when you skip up to the passenger door.

“Okay, okay! I love you!” You wave him off with a dramatic flailing of your arm.

“Love you too, you rascal.” He shakes his head, his arms crossed over his chest. You steal one last look at the sprawling mansion, taking in the view, and duck into Diluc’s car. The man starts the engine as soon as you're seated and drives the vehicle towards the airport.

As he dutifully follows the roads, he asks you questions about the remainder of your trip. You tell him everything you know, like the fact that Keqing had scheduled the flights and itinerary, and that none of them had told you your exact destination yet in order for it to be a surprise.

“Y/nnie…” He gives you an exasperated look, briefly glancing away from the road. You shrug, brushing it off.

“I trust them! You should too, they’re your friends as well,” You lean your cheek against your hand, looking at the icy roads passing by the car. “Besides, I would’ve chosen a bad place if I was in charge of that part of the trip,” You add, not leaving much more room for him to argue. He seems a little less tense about the fact that you trusted everyone else. You knew he got along with them and they were his friends as much as yours, but sometimes it felt like he saw them through you only.

You wondered if he had other friends.

Before you could wonder about that much longer, Diluc was asking about the schedule of your flights. You tell him that your first flight has a layover where you’ll meet up with Cyno, and the two of you will meet Ganyu and Keqing at your final destination. You also tell him that the total flight time was no more than 14 hours, hence why you had so much shit packed. The man relaxes further knowing you’ll be with another friend soon.

The rest of the ride, which is relatively short, is filled with your random anecdotes. You try to fill the silence by talking about your New year’s plans and outfits you’re looking forward to wearing. Mostly because you know if you’re left with your own thoughts too long, you’ll fall back. You will spiral with curiosities and questions, constantly wondering what you did to be in the situations you ended up in this past semester. You’ll question every moment with Childe, every sweet utterance and personal detail the man shared with you. And you’ll feel stupid all over again for the way that your heart constricts in your chest at the thought of him.

You reach the airport soon after and Diluc parks in order to help you check in your bags and such. He walks with you as far as security will allow him, handing off your carry on for you to hold. He gives you one last hug, a tight and suffocating grip similar to his dad. “Keep me updated,” He asks, kissing the crown of your head fondly before sending you on your way.

With a promise to text him with every update, even mundane things, you navigate to your designated gate and wait to board. You find a seat and pull out your phone, scrolling mindlessly on whatever social app or puzzle game you occupied yourself with at the current moment.

After thirty or so minutes of waiting, you board, find a seat, and plug in your headphones to promptly sleep through your flight. You text Diluc before closing your eyes, settling in as comfortably as you can manage and letting sleep take hold…

—

You’re awoken by an attendant with a sweet smile, the gentle tapping of her nails on your shoulder jostling you from your dreams. You bow your head and apologise for not being awake, quickly gathering your things. The plane is mostly empty as you step off, put together just enough to head to your next gate and wait for the rest of your flight.

Off to the side, you lean against your suitcase and shoot a text to Cyno to let him know you’ve landed, as well as updating Diluc once again. Your white-haired friend responds a minute later telling you he’s sitting at the nearby McDonald’s, a picture of the view of where he’s sitting attached. You look around until you spot the location and find him soon after. He sticks out like a sore thumb with his bright hair and muscle tank, compared to all the beanie and jacket-clad folks sitting around. You walk up behind him, greeting him with a gentle kick to his calf as you drop down beside him.

“How was your flight?” Cyno asks, tucking his headphones down the front of his shirt. You shrug, rubbing at your eyes.

“I slept through most of it,”

“I can tell,” He laughs as he looks at you yawning and slouching against the table. The man dodges your weak attempt to swat at the back of his head, ruffling your hair. “Here, I downloaded some movies for the flight if you want to pick one,” He shows you his phone, giving you something to distract your brain with until another round of boarding commences.

The both of you chat absently while you wait, and you end up getting a quick breakfast when Diluc finally texts you back with a simple reminder to eat as that’s a very important thing to do.

When all is said and done, the hours have passed and your flights caught in time, your friend group of four reunite at the baggage claim. Cyno holds onto your arm as he facetimes Keqing, cursing in Arabic as he struggles to get through the crowd of other people trying to navigate through the busy airport. “How fucking hard is it to find a baggage claim area?” He huffs, glancing at Keqing on his screen.

“Cy, it’s the third one on the left as soon as you come out of the gates.” Keqing says, glancing away to look around for the two of you, who are terribly lost in the enormous building. You follow her example as you crane your head around, standing on your tiptoes while Cyno keeps trucking along.

You spot a familiar head of blue and pull your arm to catch your friend’s attention. “I think I see Ganyu!” You point in the direction, the both of you peeling through the crowd towards the pair. Cyno hangs up as soon as you’re both close enough to recognise that it is indeed your own friends. A squeal escapes you as you throw your arms around Ganyu in greeting, the two of you skipping around and squishing cheeks.

Keqing watches fondly as she greets Cyno with a hug as well, the four of you taking turns before focusing on getting all of your bags. As soon as you all have everything in hand and manage to secure a car big enough to comfortably fit you all, Keqing drives you to the hotel.

Now, by no means is Keqing rich, but as you’ve known her, you’ve observed that she’s very good at knowing how to work her money for whatever she’s using it for, and her family is comfortable enough to help her out on occasion. You have no doubt that she’s planned a good trip because of this, regardless of expenses, and you feel any apprehensions slowly melt away. Cyno connecting his phone to the aux– and playing songs that you all can scream your lungs out to– helped, as well.

You all reach the hotel and wait for Keqing to check in while you and Ganyu play rock paper scissors over who gets the last piece of gum. She returns with four key cards, holding out three of them. “So, I got two rooms, which means we need to ‘partner’ up who to share with,” She informs. She barely finishes her sentence before Cyno is already pulling you closer to him.

“Why don’t you and Ganyu take a room and me and Y/n take one?” He asks. You giggle and wrap your arm around his shoulders.

“Hey, why don’t you want to partner up with me?” Ganyu places her hands on her hips and pretends to be offended.

“Because you two already want to be in a room together, anyway,” You retort with a shit-eating grin. You and Cyno could almost be mistaken for twins with the matching mischievous looks on your faces. Keqing raises her brow while Ganyu splutters, her cheeks getting a brighter pink with every second. “It’s settled, then!” You kiss her cheek and take the two keycards for a room from your friend, handing one of the Cyno.

The two women recover while you and Cyno head towards the elevator. You all bring in your luggage and unpack just a bit, agreeing to get dinner that night after a quick nap to recover from any jet lag. You change into an appropriate outfit before flopping on top of the sheets with Cyno, the two of you conking out for a few hours.

You had a couple days of vacation before New Years, and you were ready to use it all to celebrate. You desperately needed an energy boost and a way to get out all your pent up knots. And what better way than consuming substances that were wildly bad for you in the name of a ‘good night’?

All you knew, and all you cared about, was getting a fresh start. Once and for all, you would throw away the misfortune of your life. You would truly and unashamedly face things as they came, and you wouldn’t run away. And this time, you meant it..

———

A/Ns: by now yk my routine: likes/reblogs/comments are always appreciated, and don't forget to stay hydrated <33

TAGLIST: @popiizpops @scaradooche @yourfavoritefreakyhan @neversore @monocerosei @dontmindtheevie @kittywagun @yumidepain @kazumiku @hanilessa @nrviine @wren-art @state-of-grac3 @definitely-not-leena @crimxeorcremeexistspeacefully @tikitsune @hwngti @trulylee @basicsofdying @starriylover @sweetkyojuro @duhsies @kitchenscissorbangs @love-loveyy

[sandbees]

Yuu and the House of Mouse; The...Great Seven?

It’s been three weeks since Yuu has worked at the House of Mouse.

Headmaster Crowley decided that going would be a great experience! He graciously gave you permission to work there! (Just don’t forget to do your homework and get a good rest after; he doesn’t want you to be lagging behind your classes after all!)

At the House of Mouse, you eventually learned the ins and outs; and you’ve gained everyone’s attention. They like you a lot! You have this, “If I talk to you about my problems you’ll listen kindly and either give me advice or continue to let me vent out my feelings” vibe.

Being a (sort of) therapist must have helped, huh?

You yourself have a few favorite guests that you can always look forward to seeing;

Tiana and Naveen: You hit it off when you first met. Something about their dynamic and allowing you to vent about back at Twisted Wonderland gave you good vibes about them. They’re polite guests, and they have given you advice on how to improve your work. Tiana has (once) invited you to work for them if you wanted to work at another job, but you tell them that you have school. They’re immediately concerned, because someone going to school working at a job with very demanding and colorful characters? You assure them that you’ve manage to balance school and work, however they seem less than convinced. Though nothing big changed, they occasionally remind you to take breaks and to have fun watching the cartoons on screen when you’re not busy waiting tables. (They also give you candy from their time! Butterfingers, anyone?)

Hades: He’s a frequent guest at the House of Mouse. You had lent an ear to his complaints, and then again, and then again, and soon enough you’re his personal therapist. You’re the go-to waiter whenever Hades shows up; much to the delight of the staff (The penguin waiters are...a little scared of Hades). It’s surprising how little he seems to reflect Ignihyde. He’s like a shut in extrovert. However, when you tell Hades this, he becomes very interested in your world. He’ll let you ramble about what you know about Twisted Wonderland, and he’s going to make smug comments about it. After that encounter, Hades starts conversations with you that isn’t just complaining about his siblings. In fact, he’s one of your pep talkers when you’re feeling stressed or down.

The Darling Siblings: If you don’t recognize them, they’re the siblings from Peter Pan! (Wendy, John, and Michael) When you first met them, they acted very polite. And they gave “children, protect them” vibes. As you continue to work, you discover that the children had a more playful side to them. You could easily joke with them and in exchange Wendy would tell you stories or John and Michael would tell you about their recent adventures.

Scrooge McDuck: Donald introduced him to you, actually. He mentioned, “Since you sound like you’ve been on a lot of adventures, I think you might like to share stories.” How right he was. Scrooge’s stories were captivating and enchanting, you’d always be on the edge of your seat hearing them. Whenever he swung by and you were on break, you two would be swapping stories of your lives. He was most interested in your first day story; about the magical chandelier specifically. You always look forward to a new story he would have.

Of course there were others, but the ones listed above were the people you loved seeing.

Today was a typical night in the House of Mouse, though everyone seemed...a little agitated?

You ask Mickey, and he explains that there was a reservation for a villain get together...and last time, it went poorly.

You offer to serve them as a waiter, since you’re sure that you can handle it.

“Are you sure?” “I’ve dealt with worse characters...I think. By the way, can I get the list of who’s going?”

You find out Hades was the one who reserved it (oh thank goodness, someone you’re already familiar with. And he likes you)

He’s also bringing - “I’m sorry, can you repeat that?” “The Queen of Hearts, Scar, Ursula, Jafar, The Evil Queen, and Maleficent.” “I-“

Imagine your shock when you find out Hades is bringing all of the Great Seven. You’ve already met Maleficent, but someone like the Queen of Hearts, or the Beautiful Queen??? You’re ready to walk to your doom right now.

When the doors open, you go about your night as usual, though your on edge as you anxiously wait for the Great Seven to arrive. This would be the first time you would be interacting with most of them.

When they arrive, you greet them and take them to their table, doing normal procedure.

However, things go south when Hades asks Yuu to come and have a chat with them when they go on break.

“yeAH suuurrreee-“ “Great! They have a lot of questions and I think they’d like to hear what you have to say!”

Yuu is making high pitch dying screams when she gets to the kitchen.

“Oohhhh my god, they want to talk to me. What if I mess up? What if they dislike me and then try to kill me? Oh no oh no-“

Yuu is trying not to scream in excitement and stress as Mickey excuses her to talk with the Great Seven.

The meeting? It goes well.

When they ask about their world, Yuu describes their time at NRC, and how the villains were praised as good people, and were known as the “Great Seven”.

They were very intrigued about this, and would always puff up when Yuu praised them. They also ask questions about Yuu as well!

What? They’re villains, but they’re not rude.

They listen to your tales, and are sympathetic to the idiots that you surround yourself with. They get it, they are also surrounded by idiotic, self centered heroes who think they’re in the right- (projecting much?)

The Queen of Hearts is a lot more than you expected; she’s strict, but she also has good humor (as long as you don’t mock her). When you ask what kind of tarts she likes, she responded with “Any kind of tart, however jam filled tarts are one of my favorites.”. You wonder if she’d like the tarts Trey would make.

Scar...isn’t talkative, though he seems very pleased when you talk about what NRC thinks of him. He’s actually kinder to you - you’ve heard stories from Goofy and the penguins waiters that Scar is hard to please.

Ursula is what you would call a sweet talker. Kind of like Hades, but you can tell that she wants something. You indulge her, answering any questions about your world. She seems particularly interested in the rivalry between NCR and RSA, however.

Jafar wants to know everything about Scarabia. From it’s current standing to it’s history. You try your best to explain as much as you know about the dorm; but you mention that your information is limited since it wasn’t your dorm. He’s satisfied with what you give, but Jafar tells you that next time, he’d like to know more. You better go study up on Scarabia now :) (Or ask Kalim or Jamil about Scarabia)

The Beautiful (Evil?) Queen acts smug, and she seems relaxed around your presence. Maybe it’s because you told her that she’s known as the Beautiful Queen? She wants to know who is housed in her dorm, and like Jafar, she wants to know everything about Pomfiore. When she heard about the VDC, she asks multiple questions about it. (“When the VDC comes around, maybe I shall grace everyone with my presence...hmm, or should I help NRC’s team? I mean, they would represent me, of course.”

I’ve actually mentioned that you have met Hades and Maleficent in this ask

Hades and Maleficent consider you as friends (maybe not close friends, but friends nonetheless)

The rest of the Great Seven also have positive opinions on you; and they try their best to live up to your expectations! They can’t have you turn your back on them after you openly praise them!

You’re dragged away from your job - instead you focus on entertaining the Great Seven! (Which was fine, Pete was at it again by trying to drive out the guests; you kept the Great Seven in so they could still run the show!)

As the night went on, you felt yourself getting less and less nervous about being with the Great Seven. You had loads of fun!

Of course the show ended sooner than you liked; and it was closing time.

“It was really wonderful to meet you! Maybe we’ll see each other again when the House of Mouse opens again?”

“Why would we wait for nighttime? I have a magic portal to travel to Twisted Wonderland whenever we’d like.”

“I’m sorry, what?”

Turns out Maleficent had an easier way to travel to Twisted Wonderland; but she gave you a sparkling gem. She told you that when she gave everyone (The Great Seven) a way to travel to Twisted Wonderland, they’d surely visit you. With the gem, it will sparkle and shine a certain color when they do.

The color? Well, of course it would be the dorm colors! It would be easier that way, would it not?

So, in the near future, the Great Seven would be able to visit you.

What do you think? You’re not against the idea; but the idea of one of them showing up during class is going to be a nightmare.

Oh well, future you will worry about that.

You thank Maleficent and go about returning to your world.

Before you get to the mirror, Mickey stops you.

“Hey, I just wanted to thank you for making sure the villains stay, it was a lifesaver and you saved our show.” “No...problem?” “Haha, our club would’ve been toast if they left! Thank you again!” “...Your welcome?”

And then you departed from the House of Mouse, immediately crashing onto your bed. Lazily, you take a glance at your mirror, wondering when you’ll see the Great Seven.

Then you promptly fall asleep.

[fanpom-imagines]

Being Spider-woman and being part of the Titans whilst also having a rivalry with Jason.

Masterlist

Fandom: Titans

Words: 2192

Warnings: like two cuss words

(Female Reader)

I swung my legs back and forth as I sat on one of the many billboards in the city. With my mask pulled up just up to my nose I took another bite of the burger I was eating. Looking across the streets I gave out a happy sigh and took another bite. As I was about to take another I stopped as I felt my senses tingle.

“Enjoying the food?” Came a voice from behind me.

Turning around a spot a man in a black and blue suit covering him head to shoulders with his eyes covered with a domino mask. I finally mask eye contact with the stranger and take another bite of my burger and hold eye contact with him as I finish chewing and swallow.

“Who are you?” I ask him as I bring my hands down, with the burger, to rest in my lap.

“Nightwing.”

“Spider-woman,” I said before turning back my eyes to the view and picking up my milkshake, taking another sip from it.

“I’ve seen what you do, and what you can do with your abilities,” Nightwing started as he came to sit down next to me, “and I’ve gotta say I’m impressed.”

“Thank you, I guess,” I told him as I gave him a sceptical side eye.

“Look I’m not here to fight you or anything, I’m actually here with an offer.” My ears perked up at that and I looked over to him encouraging him to continue.

“I have this team, of sorts, a lot of times they’re more like family to be honest, but anyways they have abilities, like you. And I’m guessing that you know that society and people with abilities that seem to defy logic don’t really mix well,” I have out a small puff of air at that and took another sip of my shake, “and so I help them. Not just with their abilities, but to have a better life than the one they’re living and to give them a chance to help people.”

“You asking me to join?” I ask him, looking at him once again.

“Yeah, I am,” Nightwing said as we made eye contact. Well more eye contact on my side as you couldn’t make out my eyes through my mask.

I pondered over the offer for a second as I broke eye contact and looked forward staring off. Still feeling Nightwing’s eyes on me my thoughts start to run. Thinking of the benefits of having a team, and the downsides rushing in and out creating a tally system.

“If it doesn’t work out can I leave?” I asked him after a few minutes of contemplation.

“Door will always be open for you to leave or join,” he said simply.

“Ok,” I said, “I’ll take your one week free trial.”

“Good to hear,” he said getting up and making his way to the edge of the billboard. Not getting up I still keep sitting and finishing my meal. Realizing this Nightwing turns around to look at me.

“Aren’t you coming?”

“Let me finish my food first.”

~~~~~~~~~~

“Guys, this is (F/N) (L/N) a.k.a. Spider-woman,” Nightwing, or Dick Grayson, as he later introduced himself told the rest of his team.

“Hello,” I gave a slight wave to the group of four standing in front of me.

In front of me stood four other teens or young adults. One was a boy probably in his late teens or early twenty giving me an awkward, friendly grin as he gave me a slight wave. He also had green hair which oddly did not seem dyed or look like a wig. There was a pale girl standing next to him who also had the same hair situation, but hers was purple. There was also this red gem in the middle of her forehead, but she also seemed kind as she gave a kind smile. Next came a boy who seemed to be in his early twenties with brown hair sticking out in different directions and his arms crossed over his chest as his eyes studied me, as if trying to analyze my weaknesses. Then last was another boy who also seemed to be the same age as the other two, he was the tallest of the four and hand a red Superman symbol on the chest of his black shirt, but other than that he seemed to be normal. To be fair tho I don’t look out of the ordinary either and I can stick to walls.

“Oh my God, I’ve seen you on YouTube!” The green haired male said in excitement as he took a few steps to stand in front of me and greet me. “Hi I’m Garfield, but just call me Gar,” he greeted as he gave out his arm for me to shake it which I gladly did.

“Hi Gar,” I reply.

“That’s Rachel,” He turns to point at the girl.

“Gar I can introduce myself,” the girl says playfully rolling her eyes as she comes up to me and shakes hands with me. “Hey, (Y/N), I’m Rachel, good to finally have another girl on the team. The testosterone levels were getting too high in this place,” she jokes as I chuckle a bit.

“How do we know we can trust her?” Came the voice of the one with the brown hair as he still didn’t take his eyes off me.

“Jason, I know that what happened with Rose may make this hard, but we need to learn to accept others onto our team. We can’t let one bad experience automatically disqualify anyone new from joining,” Dick replied as Jason scoffed and left the room.

“That’s Jason, there was a girl who joined our team awhile back who ended up-“ Rachel was cut off by Dick.

“Rachel,” Dick told her in warning.

“Anyways,” Gar continued as he motioned for the boy with the Superman symbols to come closer. “That’s Conner, but he’s like a newborn...kinda,” Gar trailed off trying to look for the right words.

“What?” I asked as I looked from Conner to Gar in confusion.

“We’ll explain later,” Rachel said as she grabbed onto my arm and rugged me out of the room. “Now come on let me give you a tour.”

“Let us give you a tour,” Gar said as him and Conner followed.

“Yeah, whatever,” Rachel replies.

~~~~~~~~~~

It’s been almost a year of being part of the Titans, and honestly it was amazing. I have been looking for a place to live to finally move out of Aunt May’s, though she says I can live with her as long as she wants. I wanted to relieve her of having to take care of two rather than just herself. So now having the opportunity to live in this place with the rest of my team who also double as my roommates is a pretty good deal, plus it’s not too far away from home. So I’ve been able to sling by Aunt May’s a couple of times for a visit.

Being with the Titans has been great. Dick’s been like a father always looking out for me and the rest of the Titans. He also cooks for us a lot which is honestly great because all I can really make are eggs.

Rachel has been like a sister slash best friend. Her and I have hung out a lot and I could see she was glad to finally have someone who was a little more alike to her, not just in gender, but in experience. As both of us struggled at controlling our abilities at first and both have negatively affected our family members, though hers is a bit more extreme than mine.

Gar and I have been binge playing video games staying late up just smashing away at buttons. Good thing I brought over my Xbox as ten two of us played online with each other as we screamed into the microphone at one another.

Conner was sweet and I learned that he was actually a clone, a fucking clone! Honestly to me that was super cool which he didn’t seem to understand, but appreciated nonetheless and I’ve enjoyed showing and teaching him new things.

Jason on the other hand, well he had to warm up to me. Apparently the last new recruit actually ended up betraying them and Jason had a thing for her, so his slight hostility and distrust in me was completely understandable. Yet, overtime as we became closer he warmed up to me and we became friends of sorts. Although, him and I have this playful rivalry going. We literally made everything between each other into a competition. Who can take down the most bad guys? Challenge accepted. Who can get back to the tower the fastest? Challenge accepted. Who can do more pull ups? Challenge accepted. Who can fold their laundry faster? Challenge ducking accepted. But with this friendly competitive relationship between the two of us also came some attraction towards the newest Robin, and honestly I don’t really know how to deal with it so I’ve just been keeping my emotions on lock down till by some miracle he reciprocated.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

I grinned to myself as I crawled on the ceiling looking down at Jason. Slowly I made my way closer and closer to where he was training with his metal staff as he swung again as he let out another breath. As he faces away from me giving me time to jump down silently onto the ground behind him and jab at his right knee pit causing his leg to bend and for him to fall forward.

“What the hell?” Jason yells as he ends up falling into a kneeling position as he has one hand on the floor. He uses it to push himself back up and turn around to swing at me.

Blocking one of Jason’s blows with my hand I move to jab my fist into his abdomen to push him onto the mat. Not expecting it, the new Robin fell to the floor with a loud thud. I gasped out thinking I may have used my super strength to knock him back and made my way to him to make sure he was okay. However, in a sudden movement Jason took the staff and put it behind my neck to trap me to the mat with him.

“Where are your Spidey senses now?” He grinned up at me as he flipped us over on the floor with him on top with both hands still wrapped around the cool metal of the staff.

“Shut up,” I groaned, punching his side lightly. He chuckled at my “attempt” of getting out of his hold.

“You know you’ve been getting the upper hand in this rivalry of ours at every corner, but it seems like for once I’ve got the upper hand. I think I deserve a reward,” he grinned down at me cheekily.

“Oh, and what would your reward be?” I questioned him with a raised brow.

“This,” right as the words left his lips he leaned down to capture his lips with mine. My eyes widened for a millisecond before I smiled into the kiss and closed my eyes whilst pushing my lips back on his. Jason let go of the metal staff and instead led his hands up my throat to hold my face as he deepened the kiss. Biting my bottom lip he swiped his tongue on it right afterwards and I groaned in response before opening my mouth to allow him entrance with his tongue. I in turn had my arms trail from his side one fisting his shirt to pull him closer while the other going up into his hair to slightly tug at it, eliciting a groan from him.

“Are you two serious?” We heard a voice coming from my right and his left. The two of us pull apart, me panting on the floor and him sitting up straddling me whilst also trying to catch his breath, and we both whip our heads to the voice to see Gar standing there with his arms crossed. “Jason you literally asked me to come and train with you.”

“Whoops,” Jason said as he looked back at him giving me a wink before standing up and offering me his hand. Gladly accepting it I grab onto his hand and he pulls me up. “Sorry Gar, kinda loses track of time,” Jason told him, not even taking his eyes off of me.

“I’m sorry ‘bout this Gar,” I said turning to the green haired boy and giving him an apologetic smile. “I’ll see you guys later then,” I told the two before walking out of the entrance opposite of where Garfield entered from.

“Really dude? Why did you have to come in? It was just getting good,” I heard Jason complain at his friend before hearing him pick up the staff and take a whack at Gar which in turn solicited a yelp from the other boy.

“Ow, what the hell, Jason?” I heard from Gar followed by another whacking sound and another yelp from Gar.

[fonzura]

Voice Actress Carnelian - Aika Kobayashi Interview

The moment we finish shooting, Aika Kobayashi beams at the staff and exclaims “that was so much fun!” She continues, “of course I’m glad to be on the cover of this magazine, but what made me even happier was that I got to try on so many outfits” - it’s clear that she’s a fashion-lover through and through.

I knew I had to wear that red off-shoulder outfit. The colour is just beautiful and the black and white dotted dress has this retro feel about it. I love it! But what I want people to notice the most is the shoes. They piqued my interest during the fitting session and I wanted them so badly that I bought them (laughs). Getting to wear cute shoes all the time is enough to get me hyped! The hat from the second outfit is so adorable too. There are eyes on my forehead! (laughs) There’s also this netting on the hat, which I think gives it an autumn-y feel. I have to say that the third outfit was very dressy. I hardly get a chance to wear clothes like those either for work or in my personal time, so it was a fresh experience for me. It has a girly vibe to it, but if you look closely, it has this playful American comic pattern on it. The gap between those aspects makes it so fascinating.

“Once I get started talking about fashion, I can’t stop”, she giggles. But it’s all too clear that there’s no falsehood in her words. As she picks out outfits for the shoot with her stylist, Kobayashi is asked what her trick is for choosing clothes. She answers simply: “intuition!”

Previously, I was really concerned about the price of clothes, so I stuck to the method of buying cheap and cute clothes at places like outlet malls. Nowadays, though, I don’t have much time to shop so I’ll buy the pieces I find that happen to speak to me: only the ones that I fall in love with at first sight. If I hesitate even slightly, I won’t buy it…. Or so I say, but end up telling myself that this is fate and just buy it anyway. (laughs dryly) Of course, some of them end up being misses, but depending on how I coordinate them with other clothes and accessories, I can try for a new look, or there are cases where my tastes change over time, so I don’t think that any of my purchases go to waste.

Fashion plays an integral part in Kobayashi’s life. Tracing her passion for fashion back in time, she reveals “I’ve been fascinated by it for as long as I can remember.”

I was the sort of kid who would mess around painting her nails. Sometimes I would sneakily put on my mother’s lipstick when she wasn’t looking. After that, I’d show it off to her shouting “Look at me! Look at me!” so it ended up not being sneaky at all (laughs). In elementary school, I loved inviting a bunch of friends to my house and putting on a fashion show: we would have so much fun dressing each other up. It was around that time I started to be so picky about fashion that I would pick my own clothes when I went shopping with my family. I would throw a bit of a tantrum every time I was forced to try on clothes my mother had bought that I didn’t fancy.

Naturally, her dream as a child was to be a designer or model… or perhaps something more?

Of course I did have those aspirations. But I also loved to sing and dance, so I also dreamed of being a singer. I enjoyed taking care of little children too, and was always the one looking after the younger kids around me ever since my kindergarten days. I hoped that one of those dreams would come true.

Kobayashi’s philosophy is to “have as many dreams as you can”. This has allowed her to always have multiple aspirations and come to terms with each of them.

I wanted to learn more about children, so I went to a technical college and earned my qualification as a kindergarten teacher. Even now, I hope to work with children sometime in some form or another. In terms of fashion, I’ve been given chances like this to wear so many different outfits, so I’m just overjoyed that I was able to make that dream come true.

As for song and dance, one needs look no further than her current work. This raises the question: what made her interested in song and dance in the first place?

I love Namie Amuro, who was one of my biggest influences as a child. I’d imitate her singing and choreography. Seeing me do that prompted my mother to put me through voice training and dance school. I learned dance for the first time at five years old: I still remember how to do the dance we performed at our recital and the basic techniques. Later, I started learning hip-hop dance when I was in third grade. I would have a blast singing and dancing with the friends I met there. I continued to attend dance classes in middle school. Looking back on it, that was when I danced the most. And seeing my friends get better than me ignited this burning rivalry inside me, which spurred me on to give my all. It was a place where people who shared the same dream could gather and encourage each other to improve. That’s why I didn’t give up half way through. I really count myself as blessed.

When asked about her personality as a child, she smiles wryly and answers “I couldn’t stand losing…” That hasn’t changed to this very day. But, her dislike of losing is what has enabled her to realise her dreams.

Definitely. I wanted to have my cake and eat it too, if I could! (laughs) To phrase it in the negative, there was never a time when I’d shrink back and think “this is impossible.” In elementary school, there were times in class where we’d write about our dreams for the future. I used to dream so big that I’d be embarrassed of what I wrote down. My friends would all write something down to earth, so I felt like I was the only one with my head in the clouds (laughs). Sure, becoming a singer or dancer was a realistic dream to me, but there was one time I wrote down something different. That was the one time I took my eyes off reality. At all other times, I’ve had a strong belief that I should never give up on my dreams.

Her ambition bore fruit and Kobayashi fulfilled her dream, debuting as a singer during her high school years. It was thanks to her meeting with the CEO of her current agency.

He approached me at a competition that I entered during middle school. That led to me making my debut as an artist. I was over the moon. My family was so happy for me too.  I couldn’t stop thinking about how one of my dreams had come true. During my first recording, I felt more enjoyment than pressure. I’ve never felt very nervous when it comes to singing, and that time, I was completely fearless. (laughs) I think the recording staff tried to be considerate of me and let me do my own thing, but that day I just emptied my mind and sang. Now, having experienced so much as an adult means that the experience is a good deal more frightening than it used to be. It’s kind of unfair to the people around you when you’re the only one who knows nothing! (laughs)

There was another source of joy for Kobayashi upon making her debut as an artist: being able to receive feedback directly from her fans.

The 2011 Touhoku earthquake and tsunami happened not long after I made my debut. That was when I received tweets from people saying that listening to my song gave them courage. I felt like having someone say that to me was the reason I’d gone through all that effort. Of course, there was also the joy that I felt from experiencing my first recording and seeing my CD on store shelves and thinking “I’ve really made it.” Those things are all well and good, but I never had the opportunity to hear what people thought of my singing: it was just a one way street. So reading those tweets was the first time I realised that my singing was able to encourage someone. The happiness of knowing that left a lasting impression on me, so even now, I take care to read the letters I receive from my fans.

While continuing her work as a singer, Kobayashi encountered another unexpected turning point: that was beginning her journey as a voice actress.

The CEO of my agency recommended that I give it a try, but I was reluctant at first. I did watch a lot of anime but I wasn’t overly enthusiastic about it. I also didn’t have any acting experience and wasn’t confident in my voice. That was why I turned down the opportunity a number of times at first. But one day, I experienced a shift in my mindset that made me think that I should give it a try. Although I was still singing, I hadn’t made any major breakthroughs, which caused me to go through a lot of anxiety at the time. At the root of it was this hunger for an opportunity to change myself. In the midst of that, I took the audition which ended up giving me the role of Yoshiko Tsushima. I was shocked. I couldn’t believe that I’d scored a role in Love Live! Sunshine!!, a franchise that I loved so much.

It so happened that her time as a voice actress would be full of surprises.

Firstly, it felt odd to me to be in the world of anime. I’d been involved with anime in other ways, like singing an ending theme for a series, but I didn’t think the day would come when I would be playing a role in an anime. (laughs) There was a moment when I felt all of the possibilities in my life open up before me and I thought to myself “I didn’t know I could be involved with an anime like this.” (laughs) In that sense, I do hope that my experiences will be a source of courage for people out there who are thinking of pursuing something new. And, well, since I’ve started to receive letters from my fans, I’ve found that many of them are requests for advice along the lines of “I’m not sure if it’s OK to follow my dreams now that I’ve started my career.” My personal opinion is that it’s definitely never too late to start something new. I mean, I am where I am now because I had the unexpected opportunity to pursue voice acting. What’s most important is not time or experience, but how badly you want to follow your dreams. That’s the message that I want to send.

Of course, not everything went smoothly for her.

Acting and singing are the same in the sense that you use both to express something. But, when you consider the technical aspects and all, acting really is a completely different beast. Tweaking the tiniest nuance can change the personality of the character you play. For example, there are times where you might try to add some individuality to your character by giving her an accent, but you overthink things so that everything she says ends up sounding the same. You learn something new every time. Watching anime or dubbed movies, I’ve never felt that the voice acting was unnatural, but I suppose that’s testament to how naturally professional voice actors and actresses can perform. When it came time for me to be the one doing the acting, I found out what a difficult and amazing feat it is.

Kobayashi says that “now, I prioritise feeling more than technique in my acting.”

When you try to get into your character’s head and empathise with their feelings, there are things you can learn about the way they think.

We learn that she has always had an active imagination.

I have a habit of letting my imagination go wild. (laughs) I like to imagine how particular characters would sound like when they laugh, or how they would express themselves if they were angry. I started to notice that if I can imagine that, my voice will change naturally. At first, I only paid attention to the vocal aspect of voice acting work: I would record myself acting and listen to the recording, reflecting on what I did well and what I did poorly. But nowadays, once I get a script I'll read it and let my imagination go wild. I'll make a bunch of notes in the script about the characters' emotions, or write comments like "my character is sweating bullets in this scene". (laughs) I'll tend to do that even when I read the manga or novel. The characters will keep on acting out their lines inside my head - and all in my voice. (laughs) As I read, I'll ponder on the meaning of the illustration pages in novels or the individual panels of manga, so it takes me ages to get through it. (laughs)

Kobayashi never imagined that she would be a voice actress, but she says that it's now among the most enjoyable work she's done. She exudes that enthusiasm through every sentence she speaks, explaining the joy of acting.

All of my roles are very stimulating for me. I mean, it's fantastic that I get to become someone or something other than myself just by using my voice. I could change my appearance or age, my gender, or I could even become something other than a human being. Every time I act I get to step into someone else's shoes for a while and because of that, I've learned to see things from a variety of perspectives. My own life has been pretty packed with experiences up until this point, and to think that I could get to experience even more makes me excited at the prospect of what the future holds. (laughs) Also, it's not like I'm in the business of making anime by myself: it's a collaborative work with my fellow cast members and staff. That makes it so much fun. Before, I used to feel pressured not to be a burden on the people around me, but one day a sound director gave me this advice: "voice acting is something that you neither learn nor study: you just have to experience it." Since then, I've made it a point to absorb all sorts of things from the people around me. Even so, I've still only just begun. For me right now, the words that make me the happiest are when the sound director says "alright, that's a wrap!" (laughs) I'll do my best to get the director's approval in as few takes as possible.

This year marks three years since Aika Kobayashi debuted as a voice actress. It is still only September, but we took an early look back on what kind of year 2018 was for her.

Every month, week and day felt so long, yet it's all gone by so quickly. It's weird. I have no idea what happened. (laughs) I've never felt like this before. But, what I can say for sure is that it's been fulfilling. I think the most fitting word to describe the way time went by is "youth". When I'm with my friends and workmates, I laugh so loudly that it makes me wonder if the people around me think I'm a nuisance. But at the same time, I also feel like that’s what being young is all about. (laughs) I think in essence, it’s about having a lot to learn, a lot of things to absorb and experience for the first time and taking on the challenge with everything you’ve got. Lately, I have a lot of fun even just sleeping! (laughs)

Amusing… but what does that mean?

For example, five years ago I used to feel a sense of impatience about so many different things when I went to bed, but now I can go to sleep with a sense of confidence. Every day is so jam packed and fulfilling and sleep is there for me to recover from the tiredness built up from that day. That makes me so happy.

It’s been a busy 2018 for Kobayashi indeed. But among the busyness, one of her long held dreams came true: working in fashion.

I produced my own parka and was able to get it manufactured. I was of course happy that they made it the way I wanted, but I know there were also a lot of people who were looking forward to wearing it, and I’m sure that it brings joy to a lot of people when they wear it now. It allowed me to experience the emotions that creators feel in a new way. The ways that I approach singing, dancing, acting and designing clothes are all different, but you can see a certain Aika Kobayashi-ness in all of them. It made me happy that I was able to give that to people.

It’s still some ways off, but we ask her about her resolutions for 2019…

I’ll be 25! Wow. Just, wow. The way I used to imagine life at 25 is so different to how my life looks now – I’m at a loss for words. (laughs) I mean I thought I would have settled down, gotten married and maybe even had a child. I never thought I’d be laughing so loudly with friends and thinking to myself “this is what youth is like!” (laughs dryly) When I said “wow” earlier, I didn’t mean it in a negative way: I don’t think that this kind of life as a 25 year old is bad at all. When people get older, I feel like they start to step on the brakes a little: they’ll give up on things and taking a new step forward becomes that much harder. But I want to keep taking on new challenges no matter how old I get. In that sense, I suppose I am still a little bit childish.

When asked about her ambitions outside of voice acting, Kobayashi answers that she’d like to start a fashion brand.

I want to start a brand that caters to a variety of fashion styles: not just parkas. I’m studying design bit by bit in order to achieve that. I’ll do things like researching how to use colour, or taking down notes immediately when I find something cute. I think that I might even want to try making clothes myself, not just designing them. But I’m not too handy so I think I might actually pass on that. (laughs dryly) Before I made a puppet to be the mascot for my Nico Nico Douga livestream (Aika Kobayashi’s Open Rehearsal) – I’m good at making little things like that. But clothes tend to come out a little bit rough around the edges, so I leave that to someone who’s an expert in sewing. (laughs)

Kobayashi is making her dreams come true, while still setting new goals and progressing towards them as well. This resonates with her words from the beginning of this interview: “have as many dreams as you can.”

I have a lot of small dreams. As I fulfil those bit by bit, the bigger dreams change. So I think it’s a never-ending process. But making even the small dreams come true is a confidence booster. I feel that always having that confidence will lead to a positive life.

We can’t help but be interested in the life she’ll be living after she turns 25.

I don’t think I’ll be any different! (laughs) I’ll probably find some new dreams and take them on as well. It’d be awesome if I could say to myself “I’ve never felt younger in my life!”

Thanks to Picup (@eiyuupicup) for proof reading this translation.

The scans in this article are my own. Please do not repost or reproduce without permission.

[cartoonfangirl1218]

Juan Ramon and Ramon Family headcanons

Juan Vicente Ramon was the sole heir of the Ramon family line that had been ruling Córdoba for centuries. Though the line had been fraught with family infighting and rivalries, by the time Juan was born it had petered out to a general rule of firstborn gets to be king or queen, no exceptions. But in order to be careful, Juan’s parents, Valero and Soledad only tried for one child and never wished to give him siblings.

Being the sole heir, Juan was trained from a very young age to focus on his duties as prince and eventually king. It was a bit of a Victorian upbringing where Juan was taught to repress any “excessive” emotion like panic or anger in order to appear as a perfectly placid royal and being forced to memorize countless protacles, etiquette rules, cities, noble titles, all the works. There was a bonus that unlike Avalor, Juan also had an extensive knowledge of Córdoba’s culture including magical creatures that reside in the kingdom and the benefits/dangers they present.

Despite this rigorous schooling and high expectations, Juan still grew up to possess a natural optimism and charm towards life, always looking on the bright side of things and actually taking satisfaction in doing a job well done. However, he also suffered from emotional isolation, bearing the burden of the crown all by himself. He felt like he couldn’t confide to anyone in his fears, and stresses because then it would appear like he didn’t know what he was doing. So after classes with his tutors, Juan would often lock himself in his room, dwelling on his flaws and his insecurities for hours at a time.

Come his teen years, Juan grew a bit rebellious. Going behind his parent’s back to hang out with the sons of the horse groomers and other palace staff. They would do such “unseemly” activities like chariot races and competitions on who could pick up the most girls. Juan almost always won these competitions because no one could beat his stellar pick-up line, “Hello, I’m Prince Juan, your future King. Would you like to be my queen?”  

So in case you were wondering. Yes. Alonso did get some of flirtatious personality from his father.

Unfortunately those friendships came to an end when his parents found out. His parents firmly believed in the class divide and that Juan associating with these “lower beings” would only corrupt his fine breeding. They lectured him on how he almost put the whole kingdom in danger because of his selfish need to have friends. That disappointment and forced shame was like a dagger into Juan’s psyche. He felt like a failure, this only served to further plunge Juan into emotional isolation. He resigned himself to the idea that to best serve his kingdom that he must become unfeeling and distant, then he could be neutral and objective about every duty he had to take on.

Luckily, life threw him a curveball before he could follow through on that vow. Juan couldn’t quite break that love for racing chariots and still eagerly participated in daily races, reasoning to his parents that he was boosting morale in the subjects and showing off his athletic skill. So the race he went to following his vow, he had won for the fourth time in a row. A young duchess came up to his carriage and asked what type it was and where she could buy one like it.

That duchess was Alejandra García, nicknamed Alé, a woman who was the complete opposite of everything he had been raised to be. She revealed in having fun, she participated in plays as part of a troupe that traveled around Cordoba and some of the surrounding kingdoms. She was the highlight of comedy clubs. She seemed to have no care in the world and always lived in the moment. She was wild and Juan wanted to follow wherever she led.

Being an accomplished actress, Alejandra acted like a timid, well-bred duchess in front of his parents but once they were away from the king and queen’s critical eyes, Alejandra would drag Juan all over the kingdom. Juan loved being in her presence, she made him laugh and feel bold. But more importantly, she was always there to listen when Juan was stressed. The first time he admitted that he sat out tango dances at balls because he wasn’t good at them, he expected her to scold him for his failure. Instead she simply laughed and offered to teach him. Alejandra was the one person that Juan didn’t feel judged by and that was a rare thing in his world. Bit by bit, Juan let himself feel a full range of emotion in front of her insteading of suppressing it. He cried, he laughed, yelled, everything and Alejandra was always there.

Juan was also a good influence on her too. Alejandra could be accused of being flaky and insensitive to others- never thinking about her actions having consequences. Since Juan started becoming a bigger part of her life, Alejandra soon had to learn how to work, and work hard by his side. She had been impatient and annoyed by such tedious things such as paperwork and long diplomatic speeches but she also suffered through it because she loved the bright look in Juan’s eyes when the job was successfully completed. Over time, Alejandra learned to exercise patience and restraint, knowing that the eyes of the kingdom were on her.

The two got married just as King Valero grew sick and old, so they could prepare for a new era as rulers. This new era involved them to be more part of the subject’s lives. Alejandra openly mingled in the via mercado, shopping for herself and Juan never expressed the same disdain for his servants and lower classes as his parents had done. He even hired his old comrades and began to start a new, un-interfered with, friendship. They believed in actions defining who they were and tried to uphold an image of benevolence and golden-age wisdom to their peoples.

Unfortunately with Alejandra’s death from pneumonia, Juan lost his greatest companion and Alonso lost his mother. Alonso was only 5-6 at the time and Juan was at a complete loss on how to raise a rambunctious little boy by himself. He tried not to fall into old habits of closing himself off but he did. Juan thought he could remedy the situation by remarrying but found that he could only compare the ladies to his Alé while Alonso was left to his nannies and maids.

Juan changed his tune one day when he had to take care of Alonso during the nanny’s day off. Alonso was 8 a the time and had the same similar energy and light-heartedness as his mother. The two spent the whole day together, playing in the park. Juan made him lunch and they just had fun. It made Juan realize that maybe he can parent all on his own. He may not be able to replace Alejandra as a mother, but he is still able to be supportive and playful with his son. So Juan arranged more time for just Alonso and him, but he was still away from Alonso a lot because of kingly duties. Juan didn’t want to have Alonso trained like he was and also indulged a lot of Alonso’s carefree nature because it was so much like Alejandra. Which led to Alonso becoming the reforming but still lazy and egotistical guy we know today.

Ramon Family Headcanons

Alonso’s birth was a huge occasion. All the kingdoms from Satu to Enchancia were invited for his christening, and no forgotten invitations a la Sleeping Beauty were committed. It was their first big celebration as a “whole” family and there was a rare reversal of roles. Alejandra was the one who wanted everything to be just perfect while Juan was more about enjoying the day. There were no big incidents except for the chocolate fight between the Avalora and Paraiso ambassadors, renewing the old feud over whose chocolate was better. The walls smelt like chocolate for months afterwards. Alejandra loves to retell that story to Alonso for his bedtime playing out the parts of the two ambassadors with comically exaggerated accents and fake mustaches.

Stories at bedtime were a big thing. It was mainly Alejandra’s domain because she was the “actress” of the family while Alonso and Juan were the enthralled audiences. But Juan would join in on the play-acting fun too and show off his suit of armor. For the longest time Alonso thought his father was an actual knight and not the king.

Juan has a special love and hobby-interest in chariots and their father-son time includes repairing and buying all kinds of chariots. They have quite a collection of vintage and new ones.

Going off on the chariots, the two would take Alonso in chariot rides. Only they had a argument over whose driving was worse. Alejandra loved to go as fast as she could on scenic drives while Juan was a much safer driver, but chose routes filled with so many hills and valleys that it felt like a roller coaster even if he wasn’t driving that fast.

Their favorite game to play was hide and seek in the palace which inevitably led to the couple losing their child among the many rooms. The two would panic, send out a search party and then find him sneaking food from the kitchen pantry or peeking at the royal jewels. Then while the rest of the palace staff is still in search for the missing prince, the three would sit together, eating the stolen food or letting him dress up in all the glittering jewels.

Alonso was the couple’s wake up call in the morning. In contrast to his Let-me-stay-in- bed- for-a-few-more-hours whining teen years, young Alonso was always up early, ready to get into adventures of a brand new day. Juan and alejandra would always wake up to the sound of Alonso’s little feet running to the room and launching himself on top of them, jumping up and down until they got up.

I picture Alejandra to look like Lily James 

[im-not-a-what]

The Witch Doctor on Main Street, Ch. 5

Title: The Witch Doctor on Main Street

Summary: Mr. Gold runs Storybrooke’s herbal shop. He sells remedies that some people consider miraculous, although he’s earned suspicion from florist Moe French and distrust from professionals like Dr. Whale. When Moe’s daughter Belle moves into town, she gets caught up in the rivalries and mysteries surrounding Gold’s line of work. Little do any of them know the true power of Gold’s “magic touch.” But a warlock making herbal medicine may not be the only extraordinary secret hiding in Storybrooke.

Rating: G

Genre: Friendship, drama, modern-day with magic AU

Chapter: Mystery and Medicine [1] [2] [3] [4]

AO3 link

As a balmy wind fluffed her skirt and hair, and Belle was forced to push the spirited tresses out of her face, her eye was drawn across the street. The sign from Mr. Gold’s shop winked with the morning sun. The morning beginning her second week in Storybrooke, and she’d yet to properly visit. Wisdom had begged her to give the Golds space after the awkward aftermath of the school fight. Her instincts had pinched and kicked her for not taking steps to offer friendship, especially after something like that.

You barely know him, wisdom reminded her. You don’t really know him at all!

That itch in her gut, the one that inspired her to run toward the first sign of something strange and exciting, gave a staunch retort: All the more reason to learn more about him. He’s your work neighbor. He could be your new boss. You better check out his shop to make sure it’s on the up and up. If the voice had a face, it would’ve winked.

Belle gave little credence to the notion that Mr. Gold was anything besides the owner of an herbal shop and the father of a smart, sensitive, loyal teenage boy. But both individuals had become fixed figures of interest since her arrival in town, and she’d resolved to get to know them bit by bit. Well, she’d held off for a whole week. That was plenty of restraint. Perhaps too much.

All that said, action had to wait a little longer. She still had a library to help run. So in she went, leaving the playful breeze and the twinkling shop sign behind.

Michael Prentice had gradually ceded the physical duties of library maintenance to Belle throughout the week. Today, he remained nestled in the staff office organizing paperwork. Since the library had plenty of quiet troughs in attendance, Belle gladly occupied herself with not just shelving books and refining the online catalogue, but familiarizing herself with the library’s layout. She wanted to know it as well as herself. It would facilitate directing visitors to any desired section and subsection. She wanted that knowledge for her own leisurely browsing, too. She also wanted to know why the library had an elevator. Yes, there was a second floor; it housed a loft that Michael once occupied, but he’d moved out when he could afford his own house. Now it was an empty cluster of rooms right under the clock tower—a beacon of cosmic orderliness. The library kept knowledge, the clock kept time. A cozy partnership.

But there was a third facet of this building Belle could not reach and fit like a puzzle piece into the library’s arrangement. The elevator had a button for ‘2’, the floor with the apartment, and a button for ‘B’, surely the basement. When she hit it, though, the button stayed unlit. The elevator failed to budge. Her agitated gray cells insisted that another entrance to the basement existed. She hunted along the walls of the library for a door to a staircase heading below ground. None turned up. One stairwell granted access to the upper levels, none down. That was a bit barmy, wasn’t it?

The mystery nearly distracted her from the self-appointed visit to the herbal shop until lunchtime came. On her way to the staff office to ask Michael about the basement, she checked her wristwatch. It was almost 12:30. If she wanted to make the trip to both Gold’s shop and Granny’s diner, she had to head out now!

After a short, indecisive dance between the staff office and the library entrance, Belle hustled out the door and tucked away the basement question.

She had enough sense, despite her haste, to check both ways before crossing the street. Her heart giddily jumped at the OPEN sign and the sight through the window of the herbal shop’s door. It was a shadowy space, illuminated more by shards of sunlight than the two table lamps and the one overhead light. Half the windows had closed blinds. As soon as she opened the door, a bell rang above her and the mixed aromas of herbs, scented wax, yarn, and something faint, smoky and acrid seeped into her nose. A little hesitation reined her first steps thanks to the absence of the shop owner. The OPEN sign was facing out, so Belle deemed it acceptable to go in. Maybe Mr. Gold had popped out for lunch. Maybe she should’ve gone to Granny’s first, after all.

She seized the private opportunity to imbibe the setting. Even in minimal light, she could observe the full shelves. One side was designated for the kinds of bottles someone would see at a pharmacy. She recognized maybe a third of the brands. In fact, most of the bottles didn’t have a brand name or symbol at all. The labels looked professional, though. She selected a brown bottle at random and turned it a complete 360. Its label had a golden shine with black, engraved printing. The list of ingredients was meticulously honest (one would hope so), so the only mystery was where it came from. Then Belle noticed in the upper left-hand corner, almost hiding thanks to its slightly darker shade of gold, a small silhouette of a spinning wheel. She turned to the table and shelves displaying knitting and crochet kits, along with scarves, hats, socks. A closer inspection of the table and shelves revealed sewing kits, equipped with bobbins of the most handsome-looking thread she’d ever seen. She had no expertise in thread or yarn quality, but their beauty brushed away the idea of knitting and mending clothes as menial activities. They were like a set of paints and brushes waiting for someone to pick them up and make art.

Distant footsteps overlaid her own high-heel taps as she returned to the room’s center. The steps came from behind a curtain at the back of the showroom. The russet, paisley fabric fluttered, then was pushed aside. Hence emerged the previously elusive Mr. Gold.

“Miss French,” he drawled in what she hazily guessed to be a Scottish accent, “I didn’t expect it to be you.”

For a panicked moment, Belle felt like an intruder. A silly response to entering a store. She blamed his dark suit, the casual calm with which he moved into the room, and the trace of surprise in his face and voice. They impressed on her the sense that this was his special domain, more personal to him than his own home, and that her visit had not been anticipated. Again, quite silly. He’d offered her a job. Had he doubted her interest? Maybe she’d waited too long to talk to him.

“No?” Belle bucked up against bashfulness. “I hope you don’t feel I’ve been avoiding you.”

“Not at all. I imagine you’ve been preoccupied. How’ve you been settling in?”

“Quite well. The library has been slow. That’s made getting the hang of it easy.” The basement question poked its head from the “ask later” pocket of her mind. Belle pushed it back—as if Mr. Gold could answer it. “How’s Neal?”

“He’s enjoying a little spell of grounding.” Gold’s lips pulled up in a wry slant.

“Oh dear. Is he suffering horribly? Waxing your car? Scrubbing the shop floors?”

“Scrubbing, no. I’m picking him up in a couple hours so he can sweep and dust.”

Belle laughed sympathetically. “Poor boy.”

Gold shook his head. “He practically begged for a punishment. He berated himself over the fight.”

Her face kindly scrunched as she reflected with compassionate interest. “If he was protecting his friend, I can understand why he felt compelled to act. But I shouldn’t be advocating violence. At least, not where teenage boys are concerned.”

He shrugged, his smile warmer even in the dim light. “You can advocate it if you wish. Neal will do what he sees as right. That’s how he is.”

Belle’s smile pushed up her cheeks so that her eyes sweetly squinted. “You’re quite lucky.”

“That I am.” Gold carefully slid out from behind the counter, cane in hand. “Is that why you’re here? To congratulate me? Or are you here about the job?”

“I could do both.” Belle rushed another glimpse around the shop. “You’re sure you need someone to clean? It looks well kept.”

“That’s because Neal already started his punishment. Just for a week. After that, he’ll be back to spending quality time with friends instead of his old man.”

“So, if I work for you, I’d take over Neal’s temporary duties.”

“Essentially. Have you made a decision?”

It felt like a “looking a gift horse in the mouth” moment. There was no guarantee she’d find another job in short order. Moreover, working for Mr. Gold could help her forge a stronger relationship with her mysterious rescuer and his endearing son. By presumed extension, she’d also get to know more people in town, such as Gold’s clients and acquaintances. Sure, Magdalene Vincent looked imposing, and Lily wasn’t an extraverted butterfly of a girl. Those were feeble reasons not to try befriending them as well.

The one condition that barred an immediate acceptance was informed consent. Belle wanted to know as much as could be reasonably expected about the man and what kind of boss he would be.

“Well,” she said, drawing out the word, “I’d need an idea of what’s in the shop, since I might move things around while I’m cleaning. I don’t want to misplace any merchandise.”

A narrow, knowing edge in his gaze, Gold stepped closer. “Is that all? Or did your father tell you some tall tales about my wares?”

Belle puckered her lips. The question came out slick, almost joking, yet with a sardonic aftertaste. “He hasn’t told me much about anyone or their wares. He might think working as a cleaner is beneath me after all the money we sank into my education. When I last mentioned it, he got terse.”

The suggestion behind Gold’s question brought up a worthy concern. Belle held her spot while minding how much space there was between her and him. “Is there something I should know about you and my father?”

“Only that your father doesn’t like me, which hasn’t elevated my opinion of him.”

“Why would he tell ‘tall tales’ about your shop?”

Gold waved his hand toward the shelves upon shelves of medicinal jars and bottles. “This is not exactly your convention apothecary. You’ll meet more people who deem my business suspect. Medical professionals, mostly. If that’s why you’re hesitant about the job, I understand.”

Belle, put at transient ease, drifted to the shelves and retrieved the bottle--iron supplements—she’d examined earlier. The same bottle where she noticed the spinning wheel label. “I can see why people would prefer buying from the pharmacy. The pharmacy has to sell FDA-approved products.” After another eyeful of the bottle, she looked at Gold. “What is your policy on refunds?”

“I offer them, of course, if the purchase has unexpected negative side-effects. However, if you ask my regular clients about their experiences, you’ll hear little dissatisfaction. Among my detractors who’ve never set foot in here, it’s a different story.”

“Oh? I hope I’ll know who’s a trustworthy source.” Straight away she scolded herself. Not the best attitude to have when talking to a potential employer. It wasn’t going to be part of her cleaning duties to understand his health products. But working for him would mean condoning his business practices, right? She had to keep her own accountability in mind.

Gold scoffed. “Don’t expect many to sing my praises. I have several remedies for conditions that could cause embarrassment if they became public knowledge. But clients keep coming back. If my products were faulty, I’d have gone out of business long ago.”

Belle placed the bottle in its assigned spot. Facing him, she put a consciously friendly spin on the next question. This wasn’t supposed to be an interrogation. “How long have you been in business?”

“I inherited the shop from my aunt,” he said.

“Oh! A family business!” That couldn’t assuage all her concerns. But surely the shop’s longevity partly certified its value to the community. “Will Neal inherit it someday?”

“No idea. I’d like him to. He might want to see more of the world before tying himself down.”

“I was the same way at his age. I still am a little.” She covered the somber note in the remark by leaning a hand on the lowest shelf and cocking her head in a prying and inviting manner. “Is there anything you want to ask about me?”

Gold angled his head, not as acutely or coyly. “You mentioned studying nursing before you switched to library sciences. Why the change?”

Belle folded in her lips. Her downturned eyes hid behind lowered eyelids. Then she gathered a breath of courage. “I wanted a career where I knew I would be helping people day to day, and one where I would be mentally stimulated. Nursing sounded perfect. I didn’t expect it to overwhelm me the way it did. Sleepless nights studying for exams, clinic hours that worked my nerves raw. A lot of people warned me that I had to numb myself to a point, or I’d have a nervous breakdown. I could handle the work load on a part-time basis, but the long term? I don’t think I could’ve been happy or been the best caretaker I had the potential to be. I wish it’d been different. What better way to make a real difference in people’s lives? But I couldn’t make it work. I had to make a switch for my own health.”

Every word was a scratch from sandpaper. By the end of her confession, she felt a bit sore and exposed. She even rubbed one of her arms to chase off the irritated sensation, achieving no relief. Her gaze had lifted off the floor to a shelf across the room and fixed on that while she spoke. Now, her words spent, she had to look at Mr. Gold.

He veiled any feelings with professional composure. However, Belle dared to interpret the gentle line of his mouth, the small furrow in his brow, and the glance at his shoes as signs of understanding, perhaps empathy.

“It is an immense responsibility,” he half-said, half-whispered, “having other people’s lives in your hands. It’s nothing to take lightly. You did what you had to do.”

The words didn’t coddle, which Belle appreciated. Their honesty didn’t just concern her history and career choices, either.

She looked behind and next to her at the pill bottles, lotions, soaps, candles, teas, then across the way at the knitted clothing, yarns and threads. A new light fell on them.

“You really try to help people,” she said.

Gold blinked and breathed slowly. “I do what I can.”

Belle nodded. “Then I’d like to help you help people.”

She hadn’t expected the abrupt puzzlement that seized his face. It faded quickly enough, giving room to a hesitant smile and an extended hand. “Then we have an arrangement, Miss French.”

Her own smile growing, she took his hand. “That we do, Mr. Gold.”