#Except for literature because some girl who just so happens to be the most beautiful women he’s ever seen is beating him

[redstreetsahead]

Damirae academic rivals. that’s its that’s the post.

[bvidzsoo]

Grease and Oil

⨳Mechanic!Mingi⨳

TW: cursing, smut wrap it before you tap it

Word count: 5,6k

A/N: I don't think I'll ever let go of bleached spikey haired Mingi. It changed something in me, I'll never be the same. I have nothing to say except...why did I even write this? Song Mingi stop haunting me, thank you. It's not the best, but the best I can write lol. Feedback is very much appreciated!

            The smell of grease, oil, and gasoline weren’t something unfamiliar to me, nor were they nauseating. It was something I was used to. These were familiar scents; scents which I have started associating with home. Cars, too, were something I associated with a feeling of familiarity, of something dear to me. Walking inside my father’s car service was like a second home, a place I knew like the back of my hand. I wasn’t huge on fixing cars, but I knew a few things here and there. Despite my father’s attempts at making me a great mechanic one day, I struggled to understand the in-depth parts and mechanism of a car, therefore I settled on appreciating their beauty. Can’t say my father was too happy about it, but his concerns faded away when I found a path for myself. I applied to a college, choosing to study literature as I struggled finding anything else I liked. Perhaps creative writing was a subjected I happened to enjoy too, but I had no idea where my degree would take me one day. I had no intentions of teaching English literature, the children these days were awful and very disrespectful. My short temper would’ve surely gotten the worst of me if placed in a situation where I had to deal with rude kids. And so, I settled on reading my books and pouring my feelings out into short poems when I wasn’t at college. Or by wasting my time away at my father’s car service. It’s not like I had anything better to do—I actually did, but procrastination is my best friend. Besides, most of his employees are above the age of thirty-five, and two of them I have known since I was a little girl, they could be really fun to hang around…and it’s not like I would often stop by because my father has an employee who is barely a few years older than myself. And it’s definitely not because he is the hottest man alive I have ever seen. He’s a tall and lean guy, his posture immaculate with his shoulders always pulled back, his long legs worth envying and shoulders so broad you could hide behind them and nobody would see you. In the summer, he usually wears tight tank tops, showing off his humble muscles, biceps finer than most guy’s of his age. And his pants, which are fireproof, cling onto his body, showing off his narrow waist. This guy was a sight for sore eyes and I couldn’t blame the few ladies who would occasionally stop by, completely taken aback by this guy’s visuals. It wasn’t fair that he had a perfect body, especially when his face was good-looking too. God sometimes had favorites and Song Mingi definitely was one of them with his long nose, sharp eyes and cherry red lips, a singular mole underneath his left eye decorating his flawless skin. His personality also made him desirable and that just made him a dangerously charming and handsome human being. Perhaps my frequent visits to the service during the summer were sort of his merit too, not just the want to spend some quality time with my father as he spent little time at home. I knew he was busy; I couldn’t blame him. His service was one of the best in our little town and money didn’t just magically appear, you had to work hard for it and that’s what he did, he worked his ass off all the time. The fact that he has employed Song Mingi was just the cherry on top, the little motivation I needed to perhaps learn more about cars.

I was settled on top of my father’s working desk, tools pushed to the side, feet dangling as I watched him work on a car’s engine, getting more and more furious by the second as he couldn’t find one missing screw. I watched quietly as his phone rang again, making him sigh loudly before he straightened himself up and took the call, eyebrows furrowed. It was a hot summer day, the AC did little to nothing inside the hot service, and the use of different electrical tools only created more heat inside the spacious room. I had started fanning myself, overhearing my father make an appointment as an obnoxiously loud engine whirled past the entrance to the service, making my heart skip an excited beat. It was lunch break, and Mingi had just returned from eating his meal. He was gone by the time I had arrived; I was rather lazy this morning and thus didn’t bother getting out of bed before 12 pm. My father turned towards me as he finished his call, looking rather irritated. It wasn’t directed at me; however, I still knew a lecturing would follow because I sat on his tool desk…again.

“Get off, Y/N, I asked you so many times not to sit there,” He sighed tiredly as he headed for the exit, “I have to examine a car, are you coming to the front?”

Certainly not before I have seen Mingi, “I’ll wash my hands first, they feel slimy, meet you at the reception, dad.”

He nodded once and hurried outside, phone already ringing once again. Summer seasons were always busy, work pilling up quickly. I started fanning myself with my hands as another heatwave hit me, making me sigh. Not even a tank top and shorts were enough to stop me from sweating buckets. I pushed my hair behind my shoulders and gripped the table, about to jump off it, when the man I stayed behind for finally showed up. He walked through the open garage door, having to duck as it wasn’t raised enough for his towering height. He had his back to me as he walked inside, carrying two boxes, muscles of his arms bulging as a few guys greeted him, instructing him where to place the boxes. However, nothing could’ve prepared me for the wave of shook which rooted me to my spot. My mouth hung open as my eyes remained trained on Mingi, and I could only hope nobody noticed my shameless gaping. Three days ago, when I have stopped by last, the man’s hair reached his shoulders almost and was a faded light brown. Now, his hair was completely bleached blonde and stood up in all places, spikey. A hairstyle definitely shouldn’t have made my tummy do flips, yet I had nothing to swallow as I watched Mingi laugh with a fellow mechanic, explaining something to him animatedly. His black tank top was tucked inside his beige pants, a black belt holding it against his hips securely. A black bandana was tied to his left bicep and I licked my lips as my eyes ran over his frame, stopping for a second too long on his ass. Perhaps crawling onto the wall sounded like the most normal thing to do right now. Just as I was about to look away, the man he was talking to briefly glanced at me and Mingi suddenly turned his head, eyes falling on me. Looking away right now would mean admitting that I had been staring at him, so I forced myself to smile nonchalantly at him and blame the flush on my cheeks on the extremely hot weather—which combined with Mingi’s presence only made my body heat up even more. I didn’t want to admit it to myself, but I’d do anything to get railed by Mingi while he wore his working clothes with grease smeared on his cheek. My heart skipped a beat as a lazy smirk appeared on his lips as he took off towards me, making me gulp in panic as I straightened my posture.

“Hello, princess.” He called once he was close enough and I rolled my eyes at the nickname, acting as if I totally hated it. It did bother me at the beginning when he started calling me that, but I didn’t mind anymore. And it certainly shouldn’t have made me blush.

“Hi, Mingi.” I greeted him back, smiling as I crossed my legs and leaned forward, holding myself up by my hands. My knuckles hurt from the grip I had on the table, but I ignored that.

“What brings you here today?” He asked nonchalantly, crossing his arms in front of his chest. I didn’t want to look, but his biceps were bulging and I’m just a simple woman, “Thought you washed your car when you stopped by last time.”

Ah, yes, the good old excuse of washing my car when it didn’t need washing yet. To be fair, I had a cleaning problem so that was the main reason why I washed my car so often, Mingi being here was just another thing to motivate me to stop by more frequently.

“I did, I’m not here for that.” I admitted, clearing my throat as Mingi’s sharp eyes narrowed slightly, mischievous glint appearing in his eyes. He hummed shortly, the sound deep in his throat, reminding me how hot I found his raspy and deep voice. He had once whispered in my ear as he snuck up on me, wanting to scare me, and I swear to God, I almost reached Heaven that day.

“Are you here for me then?” The cute pout of his lips and the finger he pushed against his cheek definitely didn’t match the sultriness of his words and the look in his eyes. It made me take a deep breath as I forced myself to roll my eyes, embarrassed that he had a feeling I was only here to see him. I mean…I did wear my favorite off-shoulder top just because I knew we would see each other.

“Why the sudden change of hairstyle?” I decided to change the subject, but it only made Mingi smirk as he looked at me almost victorious, almost as if he knew I didn’t answer him because he was right. Mingi ruffled his already spikey hair with a shrug of his shoulders.

“Just wanted something new,” He answered, “besides, it’s so hot these days, my long locks only made me sweat more. I feel like a new man right now. What do you think, do I look nice?”

Nice was little said, I would’ve described him more like: hot, sexy, attractive, gorgeous, mouth-watering, “Yeah, you look nice. It suits you.”

Mingi smiled happily and bowed lightly before his phone beeped. I didn’t understand how a man like him could be so cute while looking like a Greek God. My eyebrows slightly furrowed as I watched Mingi chuckle and smile down at his phone, quickly typing something on it. Perhaps he was seeing someone? Of course, why would a man like him be single? It shouldn’t come as a surprise; I should have thought about that sooner. But then again, he never mentioned a significant other. With a sigh, I jumped off the table and dusted off my shorts, running my hands through my hair. Mingi paused, looking up at me through his long lashes. I forced a smile on my face, suddenly discouraged by my own thoughts, as I grabbed my phone off the table.

“Got to go, dad’s waiting for me.” I mumbled as Mingi’s eyes slightly narrowed, eyes swiftly running over my body. He nodded wordlessly and I turned around, taking off towards the exit.

“That top looks really nice on you.” My steps halted for a second as I looked back at him and chuckled before exiting the garage, walking towards the reception, ignoring the butterflies in my stomach at the simple compliment. I should probably download a dating app and find someone available to obsess over.

            The blaring music and blinding disco lights in the living room were becoming too much as my tipsy head swirled around like a disco ball, throat parched up and dry from the lack of water. Certainly the amount of alcohol I have had was enough for the night as I pushed people out of my way, slightly wobbling as I headed for the kitchen, desperately needing water. A super rich guy from college threw a huge ass party and invited some guys over from our college, one of them being one of my close friends. I wasn’t one to turn down a good party, and when the alcohol was free, I would certainly attend it. Seonghwa and I had teamed up and played beer-pong together, kicking Wooyoung and San’s asses, but losing to Hongjoong and Yunho. We should have known better not to challenge those two competitive monsters. All in all, the night was fun and after having lost Sooyoung to some hot guy, I hit the dancefloor with Wooyoung and San, the three of us dancing our hearts out to every song. After a while, I grew concerned and started calling Sooyoung, making my two dancing companions almost take my phone away after six missed calls. But it didn’t take long for Sooyoung to finally text me, telling me she was upstairs with a Yeosang named guy smoking some weed, and that she’d be down in no time. I rolled my eyes at the text, huffing as I handed Wooyoung my phone to take care of. My skirt had no pockets and I forgot to bring a fanny-pack, I have grown tired of holding my phone, Wooyoung’s back pocket would do the trick until Sooyoung returned and I could give my phone for her to put in her little purse. The music wasn’t as loud in the kitchen as it was in the living room and it was also less packed, which made me grateful as I walked over to the window and pushed it open, smiling contently at the cool air which hit my face. I certainly needed to cool down. I grabbed a red cup which looked relatively unused and filled it with tap water, downing it in mere seconds only to fill it up again and again until I felt satiated. I threw the cup away and leaned against the counter, holding my thumping head in my hands as I closed my eyes for a second, thinking it would help. But it only made me more nauseous and I quickly opened my eyes as I massaged my forehead, still leaning slightly over. Somebody next to me asked if I was okay and I quickly nodded, telling them that I just needed a moment to regain composure again, and I’ll be off dancing once again. However, a weirdly familiar deep voice suddenly filled the kitchen, some high-pitched giggle following straight after the ridiculous joke the guy told. My nose scrunched up at the very cheesy pickup line which followed and I snorted, unintentionally catching their attention as they didn’t stand too far away.

“Y/N?” The deep voice asked surprised and my eyebrows furrowed as I finally raised my head, smoothing down my hair as it fell in my face.

“Oh, Mingi.” I muttered just a little surprised by his presence here. I wondered how he knew about the party, however, the black-haired girl by his side was a tell-tale. She was a student at my college and she was pretty as fuck. I sighed, and unintentionally glared at her, unimpressed by her presence next to Mingi. It’s not like I knew her well to form an opinion about her, but personally, I didn’t like her that much. Especially since Mingi seemed to be here with her. My eyes fall back onto him and my brain blanched for a second, never having seen him outside of the car service up until now. Him not wearing his tight-fitting clothes was something new and I couldn’t help but let my eyes run all over his body, taking in the sight in front of me. He wore a loose-fitting white t-shirt, the front slightly tucked inside his grey ripped jeans which were baggy. He wore a black pair of convers, and a black fanny-pack was pushed around to his backside to not bother him. However, what made me take a second to process what I was seeing were his accessories. His necklaces were layered as he wore a red braided like material which sat snugly against the base of his neck, then a silver chain followed, and a silver cross which reached just bellow his collarbones. His wrists were decorated with silver chain bracelets, matching the chain around his neck and he wore various rings, some bigger than the other, his right-hand sporting four meanwhile his left three. If all of that combined with his hair wasn’t enough, his fingernails were also painted black, albeit already coming off in some spots, but still painted black. He was a sight for sore eyes and it took everything in me to not grip his arm and walk us upstairs, completely disregarding the girl he was here with.

And she just had to speak up, “Oh, you two know each other?”

“Yeah, her dad’s my boss.” Mingi answered before I could and I raised an eyebrow as the girl took me in, unexpectedly smiling at me as she placed an arm around Mingi’s shoulders. My jaw tensed subconsciously and I licked my lips as I leaned back against the counter, crossing my arms in front of my chest.

“We go to the same college,” She told Mingi, offering her hand to me, “I don’t think we’ve ever really introduced each other, though. My name is Jennie, I’m Mingi’s cousin.”

“Cousin?” My eyebrows raised as I shook Jennie’s hand, “I’m Y/N, by the way.”

“Unfortunately, yes.” Mingi playfully pushed Jennie off himself as he answered my question and Jennie just rolled her eyes.

“Whatever, giant, if I leave you alone with Y/N, will you behave?” She raised her eyebrows threateningly at Mingi and he just chuckled, raising his hands in surrender.

“I always behave.” He defended himself quickly, but sounded like he didn’t mean it at all.

“No, you don’t.” Jennie rolled her eyes then looked back at me, “I have to find my boyfriend, he’s somewhere here around, probably drunk off his ass. If Mingi bothers you, just knee him in the stomach really hard and come and find me, I’ll kick his ass for you—”

“I’m right here, you know.” Mingi rolled his eyes and ruffled Jennie’s hair, “Get lost before I chase you away.”

Jennie scoffed but walked away after she waved at me, leaving me alone with Mingi. My hostile behavior slightly dropped, but I couldn’t help look at Mingi with narrowed eyes. I knew what I heard while I was fighting the urge of throwing up. Why would anyone flirt with their cousin? That was disgusting.

“If Jennie is your cousin…why would you say a pickup line to her?” I couldn’t help but ask him accusingly. It made Mingi laugh as he stepped closer, smiling cheekily.

“Eavesdropping, weren’t you?” I opened my mouth to deny his claim, but Mingi didn’t let me, “First of, ew, that’s literally my cousin do I look like I fuck with family? And second, that pickup line was actually sent by someone whom I have been talking to, and I was just reading it to Jennie.”

“How many girls are you talking to currently?” The question tumbled past my lips before I could even think about it. I only could blame the alcohol for making me so straightforward and embarrassing.

“Wouldn’t you like to know…” Mingi chuckled and stepped closer, invading my personal space. I gulped and pressed myself harder into the counter, hands coming to grip the edge of it. A smirk appeared on Mingi’s lips as he leaned down to be eye level with me, eyes searching my face before they settled on my lips briefly. My head was spinning and perhaps I was seeing things, but his tongue poked out for a second, “You look really hot.”

I gulped and let out a quiet breath, looking down at myself. The leather skirt clung onto me like a second skin and the flower decorated corset did little to nothing to cover what I would usually hide. It was Sooyoung’s idea to dress up like this, she wore a matching set except her corset was green meanwhile mine pink.

“Uh, thanks.” I whispered and didn’t dare move as Mingi lowered his head even more, looking through his lashes as he looked me in the eyes. He’s never stood this close to me before; it only now made me realize the height difference between us. And I couldn’t help but faintly smell gasoline despite his strong cologne.

“Dressed up for someone?” He muttered and I felt a warm finger lightly trace the skin of my right arm. I gulped nervously and ignored the goosebumps on my skin.

“I didn’t know you’d be here—” I tried changing the subject, it seemed to be a habit of mine lately.

“But if you did know, would you have dressed up for me?” Mingi’s raspy voice whispered in my ear as he leaned closer, my mouth opening without a sound coming out. My tipsy brain didn’t exactly know how to function in that moment and that meant I had nothing to say. But as he pulled back, we made eye contact, and his intimidating gaze pulled an answer out of me instantly.

“Yes.” I would totally hate myself in the morning for admitting that, but I couldn’t help myself. Not when he was standing so close and saying things like that. A smirk pulled onto Mingi’s lips and suddenly his hand raised as he gripped a strand of my hair lightly and twirled it around, brushing it behind my ear. I watched him mesmerized, body slightly trembling because of different things. The opened window brought in the chill breeze and we stood close to the it; Mingi’s closeness and touch made me want to crash my lips against his, and I was fighting every fiber in my body to stop myself from doing that, thankfully not tipsy enough to lose all rationality.

“I think I know about your little secret, princess.” Mingi’s tone was playful as he suddenly cupped my cheek and tilted my head back, hovering his face over mine, eyes tracing my features slowly. I hoped my red lipstick wasn’t smudged and that it would be smudged in no time.

“What secret?” I asked confused, biting my lower lip as Mingi’s Adam’s apple bobbed up and down as he swallowed, his fingers slipping towards my nape as his thumb pushed against my cheek.

“About your little crush—” He barely whispered, eyes on my lips as my mouth parted, heart beating like crazy, “on me.”

Before I could answer him, his teeth caught my lower lip between his and he sucked on the flesh, making my face flush as I mewled, hand holding onto his waist for more stability as the counter wasn’t enough anymore. He held eye contact as he released my lip and I felt like crumbling onto my knees and giving him anything he wanted as my grip tightened on him, head pulled closer to his by the grip he had on my nape. Mingi’s lips barely brushed against mine and I tried to close the impossibly little distance between us, but he just tsked and smirked.

“Good girls eventually get what they want, princess, be a bit more patient.” I couldn’t help but groan in frustration as Mingi released me and took a step back, smirking as he swiped his thumb over my lower lip, smudging my lipstick. I threw him a glare, but he just laughed and then turned around and walked off with a cup he grabbed off from the counter. I couldn’t help but lick my lower lip, pressing a palm against my racing heart as I tapped the sweat off my forehead, needing another cup of water to cool off.

            And I didn’t even have to wait for too long. Four days after the party, my father asked me to stop by the car service because he couldn’t decide what color to choose for the tuning he was doing for one of his friend’s car. I couldn’t have been happier to stop by as I made it my personal mission to stay away from that place for as long as possible, embarrassed by what happened between Mingi and I at the party, but also because I wanted to torture him a bit too. I could only hope he yearned to see me as much as I yearned for him. My father was out, having to pick up some pieces in the nearest city, which was half an hour away, so that meant he’d be gone for approximately an hour and a half. Everyone was gone by now from the car service as working hours were over, everyone except Mingi, of course. He had to catch up on his work as he had to skip a day for some undisclosed business. And yes, Mingi should’ve been working right now on that old car nobody actually wanted to fix, but here he was, balls deep in my pussy, thrusting into me like his life depended on it. I guess he was just a simple man too, and he fell exactly into my trap as I walked through the garage door wearing my little sundress, high heels elongating my legs. It didn’t take long for Mingi to stop whatever he was doing as he dragged me to the backroom, where there were no cameras, and pushed up on the table, wasting no time in undressing himself and working up the both of us. My head was thrown back from the constant pleasure his movements brought, his length reaching places no one else has before, my right hand gripping his bare waist as I rolled my hips to meet his thrusts. Mingi was biting his lips hard, holding onto my hips as I had to hold myself up with one arm, muscle straining with each strong thrust. Perhaps I should have expected him to be vocal, but the whines he would let out every now and then only turned me on even more, dragging my own moans out of me. Grease stuck to his left cheek, just underneath his mole and his already sweaty body from working was glistening once again, smelling strongly of the substance he has been working with to clean rims of the old car.

“I bet you’ve been fantasizing about me fucking you covered in grease and all sweaty from the long day I’ve had.” My only answer was a loud moan as he hit the sweet spot which made me see stars, and for a second, all I could hear were his own pants and the table squeaking louder and louder with each thrust.

“You have no idea—” I moaned as I clenched around Mingi, mind blanching for a second as he hit that spot again, “How fucking hot you look—like this.”

My fingertips dug into his hips and Mingi suddenly leaned down, pressing my back flat against the wooden table, rotating his hips as he suddenly slowed down. My mouth opened in a gasp and my legs went around his hips, one hand tangling in his blonde spikey hair as the other went around his shoulders to anchor myself. Mingi groaned in my ear as I clenched around his length again, his thrusts painfully slow on purpose, making me try to move my hips, but he had me pinned down by his heavier body.

“Fuck, please—” My whine was muffled by his lips as he pressed them against mine, pushing his tongue past my lips as I kissed him hungrily, wanting to feel more and more of him. Our lips moved messily against each other as Mingi slightly quickened his pace, but it still wasn’t enough. My eyebrows were furrowed as it started becoming unbearable and I whined, pulling my head away and choking on my words for a second, “I’m going to fucking die if you don’t go faster.”

I couldn’t believe Mingi had the audacity to smirk as he bit my lower lip harshly, making me push his head away as he chuckled amused, fake pouting at me.

“Thought I said good girls get what they want—” He completely stilled, bringing tears into my eyes out of frustration as I gripped his nape, trying to move against him to no avail, “And you’re being rather impatient right now.”

But before I could say anything, the slightly stood up and pulled almost fully out before slamming in again, his pace relentless and thrusts sharp as he threw his head back, moaning, making me grip onto his lower arm as he hit my g-spot over and over again, making my back arch as broken moans left my lips, nails digging into his skin. I was going fucking insane as his thumb found my clit and he started rubbing circles on it, making me cry out as I felt my orgasm building up, ready to snap any second as Mingi’s moans got higher and higher, my walls clenching tightly around him, bringing him closer to the edge as well.

“Fuck.” He hissed at a particular sharp thrust, his hips almost stuttering but I managed to meet his movements, desperate for my own release as I clawed at the wooden table, back arching as the pleasure became unbearable and the knot in my stomach snapped, making me let out a high-pitched moan, only for Mingi’s lips to muffle it as his hips stuttered, his own release following mine, filling me up. My body trembled and my lungs heaved for air as I came down from the high, our lips touching with Mingi as we both panted into each other’s mouths. His scent was intoxicating and I couldn’t help but burry my head into his neck and lightly bite down on his perfect skin, making him shudder. He didn’t pull out yet and I felt him twitch slightly, making me chuckle.

“So, I’m hot when I’m all sweaty and covered in grease?” He spoke up, voice raspy, and his words made me laugh as I allowed my head to rest against the wooden table, throwing an arm over my eyes. I could feel Mingi’s smile as he pressed a kiss against the corner of my mouth, swiftly pulling out.

“I said it once, I won’t say it again.” I peeked at him as he quickly pulled up his boxers and tight pants, adjusting his tank top.

“If I knew all I had to do was change my hairstyle for you to finally let me fuck you—” Mingi shook his head as he helped me off the table, smirking when I had to lean against it for support, my legs having gone numb, “I would’ve done it a lot earlier.”

“Perhaps if you weren’t so oblivious,” I threw him a glare and pulled up my panties, adjusting my dress, “You would’ve noticed how badly I wanted you since the first time I laid eyes on you, idiot.”

Mingi laughed and threw an arm around my shoulders as he pulled me into himself, “Now that that’s out of the way…do you want to date or do you want us to just fuck?”

His question made me pause as I looked up in his eyes, biting my lower lip in thought, “You want to go out with me?”

“I sure do.” Mingi said it like it was the most obvious thing, then he jutted his chin towards mine, “What about you?”

“What do you think?” I asked with a chuckle.

“That we should go for a second round—”

“Mingi!” I pressed my palm over his mouth and threw him a little glare, “My father could be back anytime, you know. And yes, I do want to date you. Unless you’re always this annoying.”

Mingi fake laughed as he pushed my hand off his mouth, “Aren’t you just so funny?”

I stuck my tongue out at him and he tried kissing it, making me yelp and push him away, which made Mingi giggle as he placed his hands in his pockets, “So, tomorrow at six?”

“But you better shower before you come pick me up.” I pointed a finger at him as we went to leave the room.

“I thought I smelled hot—”

“You can’t smell hot, so just—” I sighed and looked at him, “Just—dress up. You—I mean, you know, you looked really good at the party. I haven’t seen you out of your work clothes before.”

“Aw, aren’t you so shy right now and stuttering all of a sudden?” He cooed and poked my cheek, “As if I wasn’t inside you—”

“Y/N, you still here?!” I heard my father’s voice shout from afar and I threw Mingi a warning look as I pushed him away. He walked towards the car he had to fix defeated, throwing me those sad puppy eyes and a pout as my father walked inside the garage.

“Hi.” I waved at him and he smiled, glancing at Mingi.

“You can fix it tomorrow too, you know?” My father said as he went to put his own utensils away. Mingi hummed but said he didn’t have much until he was done, liar. My father glanced at me and I looked away from Mingi, smiling at my father innocently. He just shook his head and threw his keys at me, making me clumsily catch them.

“Go pick up your mother, I’ll stay behind and help Mingi fix the car.” He muttered tiredly as he walked up to my soon-to-be-boyfriend, oblivious to what Mingi would soon become to him as well. Not just an employee, but perhaps a part of our family too. I jokingly saluted my father as I stopped in the doorway, turning to look at Mingi, who was already watching me.

��Goodbye, Mingi.”

“Bye, Y/N.” Mingi tried to fight the smile off his lips as I turned around and ran off with a giggle, cheeks burning suddenly with embarrassment.

Good girls eventually get what they want, don’t they?

Masterlist

[alicerosejensen]

ha ha ha! Here's another portion of Papa Leon's headcanons. I hope to write more sad text, but so far only headcanons. This idea has been in my head for almost 10 days.

warning: Leon is a single dad; Loss of wife/girlfriend (S/O) due to zombie bite; The child is female; Leon's daughter is implied to be immune to viruses.

- When Leon found out that he would become a father, he was surprised, excited and very worried.

- He had long lost hope of starting his own family, but he was glad that he met you after China.

- You understood that the child meant the end of your relationship, but you also wanted a family, so having gathered all your will into a fist, you announced that you intended to leave the baby. Plus, you knew he still had feelings for Ada.

- It was painful and scary for you to admit it to him, but you had the strength to tell him about everything that had accumulated in your soul.

- Despite the fact that two people are involved in the conception, Leon does not have to bother with the duties of fatherhood. You yourself are raising YOUR son or daughter.

- This is what you said to him without even letting him utter a word.

- But Leon also wanted this child.

- There was a quarrel between you, the reason for which Leon did not understand. Yes, it will be hard, but he is ready to take responsibility for little Kennedy and whatever you think he loved you very much.

- There could be no question of any separation!Leon wants you to keep the baby, and if you mentioned abortion, he might flare up.

- So you were preparing to become parents together.

- During your pregnancy, Leon was very afraid that something could happen to you. He said the only weight you can carry is your baby. All the time while he was not distracted by work, he helped you get through the difficult time of pregnancy and read various literature himself. He also took some cute pictures of you talking and stroking your belly. He will definitely print them out later.

- You furnished the children's room, bought a crib and a lot of things. You were waiting for the doctor on the ultrasound to tell you the gender of the child.

- And when you did find out, you made Leon a kind of gift.

- The work of a government agent is dangerous and full of surprises, so no one knew about you and your child except for a narrow circle of people. Everything was strictly classified.

- But returning home from work, Leon heard you say that there was a present waiting for him on the table.

- A paper bag with a girly jumpsuit and a photo of an ultrasound with the caption on the back: Baby girl says hello to busy dad!

- Girl! Leon had already decided that she needed extra protection from future bullies.

- Everything was too wonderful that it began to seem like a sweet dream: he will soon become a father who will have the most beautiful daughter in the world. You will give him the family that Leon dreamed of for so long and was deprived of.

- You said there was nothing to worry about. There is still a whole month before the birth and that Leon will still have time to return to his girls, if he does not delay with his super secret mission.

- But Leon should have been worried.

- Because just two days after his departure, another outbreak occurred in the city that B.S.A.A and D.S.O did not have time to prevent. And the world is again flooded with zombies.

- You didn't even feel the first two bites when an infected shop visitor jumped on you while buying water. You pushed the zombie away by tearing it away from your hand, but he immediately knocked you to the floor, biting into your shoulder.

- By some miracle you managed to fight back. The only thing you were worried about was your daughter, so you struggled to your feet, holding your big belly, and got to the car to go home.

-People yelled and pounced on each other, biting into the throats and devouring the flesh. The sounds of an ambulance siren, police, and then shots were heard all over the streets ... You just wanted to get straight home along this crazy road, but you felt a sharp pain in the lower abdomen.

- Should I go straight to the hospital? You felt your seat getting wet, but despite the pain, blood and madness reigning, you still went to the original goal: home. The place where Leon will look for you first.

- You didn't close the door behind you. Tried but grappled with a distraught neighbor, who was also not averse to feasting on your flesh. You had no weapons, you were torn in half by hellish pain and your child... an innocent child should not die before being born. A loud volley of gunfire deafened you as Mrs. Jones stopped attacking you.

- And thick still warm blood stained your face and dress.

- It wasn't Leon. Ada.

- Seeing a lot of bites on you, including on your thigh, there was only one way out: put another bullet in the forehead, but you were pregnant. Ada wanted to find Leon, but found her (former?) friend's pregnant girlfriend.

- Leon would never forgive her for yours and the death of his unborn daughter. But damn it, you've been bitten at least three times already! Ada aimed the cannon and immediately lowered it when she heard pleas for help.

- Reluctantly, she helped you give birth, hoping that the child did not mutate into some kind of monster. But the room was filled with the usual cry of a child.

- But you already succumbed to infection: swollen black veins; pale gray skin and one eye began to become cloudy.

- "Do not tell anyone I ask you ..." - you croaked in a voice that was not your own, smiling terribly when Ada held your daughter. She quickly handed over the umbilical cord. - "Tell Leon she was born after my infection. She's not sick, I know."

- Ada wrapped the baby in swaddling clothes and reached for her gun again. The hand didn't shake when you asked her to kill you until the conversion happened. Ada fired, and you blood from your head splashed on the wall after which you fell to the floor forming a crimson puddle under you. The girl was screaming at the top of her lungs, but what she definitely didn't want was to mess with a newborn baby during an outbreak of the virus.

- But she couldn't leave the baby just like that, despite the fact that the original plan was to give Leon some information.

- All right, Kennedy girl, you better not turn into one of the critters.

- Ada took her away, making something like a sling for convenient carrying of the child, so that in parallel it was possible to defend.

- Maybe Ada should have waited for Leon at home, but it was too dangerous, especially since more infected people ran in somewhere on the ground floor.

- So she escaped through the second floor.

- Taking the penknife with which you fought off the zombies. Before the shooting, you asked Ada to give the knife to her daughter.

- "Plans have changed Leon" - Ada's voice came from Leon's earpiece. - "Meet me somewhere else and I have a little gift for you."

- But Leon's priority was his beloved with a child. What was the horror when he saw that the doors of the house were open wide and the moans of zombies could be heard from there. Leon dealt with them and together with his partner (it was Helena) went up to the second floor. But you weren't in the bedroom or in the bathroom. However, when Helena opened another room and went deep into it, she froze in place, losing all words, looking at your body.

- Helena noticed a few bites, but still your death was not a conversion, but a bullet in the head. Besides, it was clear from the huge traces of blood on your thighs that you had recently given birth. She barely forced her voice to be louder to call Leon, and when he immediately entered the room, the weapon fell out of his hands.

- "She's infected. Was infected…" - Leon wasn't listening. He picked you up in his arms, pressing your dead body to his chest. Now that he couldn't protect his family, he didn't care about anything. His beloved and his daughter, but Helena assured that the baby had clearly been born, because the umbilical cord was cut, and the baby was nowhere to be seen. - "We need to find the baby. Ada said you were supposed to meet at your house, but what if she took your baby?"

- "And put a bullet in his mother's head," Helena did not voice it out loud.

- With difficulty, but Helena gave her partner a goal to move forward despite all his heartbreak. Tears were streaming down Leon's cheeks and all he wanted was to put a bullet in himself. He. Didn't. Protect. You. This house was supposed to be your island of peace and love in which your daughter grew up, but it turned into another piece of hell.

- But he can still save his daughter!

- Therefore, when he met Ada at an abandoned station, his stomach dropped from the baby's crying. Ada was sitting on some old stool, almost like a mother, clutching someone else's child to her. However, without further ado, as soon as Leon broke into something similar to a rest room, she immediately said that he should drop the gun if he did not want to frighten his daughter even more.

- "Miss Kennedy herself" - Leon immediately took his daughter in his arms. Ada immediately realized that Leon knew what had happened at his house. "I'm sorry about what happened to her mother."

-There was an option to lie or tell the truth, given that this child's life depended on it. But Leon didn't seem to be listening anymore, but his partner was…

- "Relax," - but Helena remained tense. "She was born after her mother was bitten. I'm sorry, but I was too busy with the baby to protect your S/O. Of course, her mother did not feed her with her milk. I'm going to have to send you a bill for baby food and babysitting, Leon."

- In the end, Ada left as if nothing had happened, and Leon had to transfer the child to safe hands for the duration of the mission, but his thoughts were still confused.

_____________________________________________

- He had the idea to put his daughter in good hands. So that D/N has a full-fledged family, and not a loser father who could not protect her mother.

- D.S.O got into the situation and gave him a good vacation so that Leon could fix everything and find a kindergarten or a babysitter for his daughter. Actually, Hannigan, on her own initiative, offered several good options.

- If it wasn't for D/N, Leon would have preferred to get drunk in some bar, mourning his beloved, but he had to mess with diapers, baby food and put the baby to bed. And he coped abominably.

- Stomach cramps, newborn stubble with which he had no idea what to do… Leon was driven crazy by constant screams and he hardly slept until Claire came to the rescue.

- Being a free nanny and a good slap on the head for a dumb father, she took it upon herself to calm the D/N, and, to Leon's surprise, the child stopped crying pretty quickly.

- Claire sent Leon to a well-deserved rest and she cleaned up the house and took care of the baby. Leon found them in the evening in the bathtub where the baby was bathing, while Claire was shaking a rattle in front of her, talking funny.

- "She has your eyes. Did you know that?. And she'll grow up with pretty blonde hair."

- He smiled wearily as he watched D/N squeeze Claire's finger with a small hand.

- "I'm thinking of putting her in foster care."

-"You… WHAT?! - if not for the presence of the child, the younger Redfield would have cursed Kennedy with various obscenities. - "You're crazy! While some are risking their lives (a reference to Ethan - I adore him) for the sake of their children, you are like the last coward running away from the duty that has fallen on you! I know it's hard for you! Y/N died, but it's not your fault! No one is to blame for this, especially D/N, and you want to deprive her of her last loved one! Don't you dare do that, Leon! Or I'll put your stupid head in the toilet!

- Despite all the arguments that Claire considered as stupid as possible, she was really ready to dip Kennedy in the toilet, but she remembered about the baby and wrapped the girl in a towel, taking her to the room for later care: baby cream, tummy massage, a clean diaper for sleeping. Claire changed into a D/N ironed bodysuit and gently began rocking in her arms while she was preparing baby formula. Leon watched her actions, once again making sure that he was a shitty father.

- But is it right to give up your child by giving it to strangers? Claire made him think about his decision until he committed a fatal stupidity that he would regret for the rest of his life.

- And Leon has really put that decision aside for now. Thanks to Claire's advice, he began to cope better with the situation and fully blossomed when his baby girl smiled at him for the first time. Maybe she wanted to show her comfort in this way, but Leon literally shone like the brightest star.

- Actually, the older D/N got, the easier it was for him.

- Cartoons really save Papa Leon.

- Leon knows how to tie complicated knots and would also cope with the first pigtails.

- Claire still helps him a lot and they often go for walks in the park together. Being a single father is difficult but real.

- Alas, Claire also devotes herself to TerraSave, so Leon's daughter often stays with a well-tested nanny (Hannigan and Leon took care of this together). Yes, it's a big expense, but Leon has no problems with money.

- Leon buys his baby coloring books, various books, pencils and markers so that she does not get too sad in his absence.

- The new house is littered with all possible toys. D/N loved dinosaurs the most. Leon thought it was a temporary hobby, but all the dolls were quickly forgotten when his baby had an allosaurus given to Claire.

- Now baby Kennedy has a love only for all possible kinds of dinosaurs. Even bed linen and pajamas.

-"This is all temporary," - Leon told himself, handing his daughter a recently purchased toy. This time Velociraptor.

- Good. At least the girl is busy watching some kind of documentary about dinosaurs while her dad calmly cooks dinner.

- And Leon had to learn to cook, because no one else does it for him (maybe sometimes Claire).

- Maybe Leon doesn't always manage to be a good dad, but he tries for the sake of his baby and really scolds himself for thinking that he once wanted to give her to another family.

- Leon is definitely not getting married and D/N will be his only child. He will have one-night stands, but it will never happen at his house. The only woman he really loved was you, but now he only has a daughter left.

- Claire is still only his friend (I only see them as friends, sorry). A friend who helped him get up from his knees when he was depressed by your death and wanted to give up the child.

- Actually, she visits the Kennedy house quite often and can be considered to some extent a mom for D/N.

- Leon does not know that his daughter was born when you were already bitten three times, which is why doctors tell him about the high ESR in the blood D/N. No one understands what's going on because the girl behaves quite normally and feels pretty good.

- Some kind of anomaly. Maybe these indicators persist due to frequent colds?

- Because gradually they decrease, however, never to the norm.

- Frequent trips to the doctor have already become a routine with which he has come to terms. In the end, without noticing that something was wrong with his daughter, these tests were halved.

- When D/N grows up, it will be much easier for him to cope. The Kennedy family cleans the house together, or the Pumpkin (as Leon calls it) helps to cook (chop carrots or stir soup in a saucepan, add a little seasoning, but everything is under strict control). In addition, Leon tries to teach her to be independent, but it is difficult for him to do this because he constantly wants to spoil her so that she is happier.

- Leon keeps all drawings and children's crafts in a special cabinet in his desk. However, there are a couple of drawings on the refrigerator on a magnet.

- He can't always attend children's events where his daughter performs, but he tries to make up for lost time when he returns home.

- Sometimes he falls asleep with his daughter watching TV. When D/N falls asleep, he will take her to bed without waking her up. And be sure to turn on the night light (with a dinosaur).

- Leon doesn't mind if the girl runs to him at night, because she had a terrible dream. Leon knows all about nightmares, so let her stay close and tell some kind stories so that she calms down and falls asleep again.

- Someday D/N will want to know something about his mom, but for Leon this is always a closed topic. He won't tell anything except that you were a wonderful person and loved her very much.

_____________________________________________

And now the teenage period (D/N 13 years old) .

- The topic of mom is forbidden.

- Perhaps due to the frequent absence of her father, the girl has a bit of a rebellious character, but she does nothing to cause problems for her dad.

- On her birthday, D/N found a small box under the door. Thinking that it was Dad who sent the gift, he and Claire quickly started unpacking, but inside there was a rather elegant folding knife that looked very expensive. And a short note: "Your mom asked me to give you this. I think you're old enough for such a gift. Happy birthday, young Miss Kennedy."

- Claire turned pale when she saw a familiar object and a strange note. Leon would never send that. But the girl was thrilled to get something that had to do with her mother.

- Leon did not comment on the gift at all, but he recognized the handwriting on the note. He didn't want to spoil his daughter's mood, especially since he was late for her birthday, but the next questions began to annoy him.

-"Who was she? Also a secret agent? Did she save the world from bad guys? Look what an awesome knife! My mom must have been really cool! Maybe her partner gave me a gift?"

- Leon tried not to get angry, but the fucking knife still made him flare up. He quarreled with his daughter and immediately got a scolding from Claire when D/N ran to room. He understood that you can't be angry with a child who just wants to know something about his mother, but Leon never let go of that situation.

- He definitely needs to apologize to his daughter.

- As an additional gift, Leon, after a long conversation with his pumpkin, will eventually give her your photo. One of the few that he was able to keep.

- And ask not to play with a knife because it's not a toy.

- I think Leon's daughter likes to play guitar and her favorite song is "Wayfaring stranger"

- Therefore, a new guitar (exactly the one she wanted for so long) will be a gift from her beloved dad.

- Dinosaurs are still the most beloved creatures, why can we have a pet dinosaur?

- But in order to finally win his daughter's heart, he takes her to the dinosaur museum on a day off. Of course they will take Claire with them - she has long been an unspoken member of their family.

- And in the evening, the three of them will sit down to watch her favorite movie with a delicious dinner, which they will order from the restaurant at home.

- D/N is more like you - her mother-but her eyes and hair color are from her father.

- You knew that she would grow up beautiful and become even more beautiful with growing up. Before you died, you were sorry that you would never see it.

- Leon is calm when his daughter likes famous guys from these series and movies. However, the cardboard king from some movie that stands next to the bed began to confuse him

- "Come on Leon! Many girls love sugary boys." - Claire laughed, finding it funny. - "Wait until she starts going on real dates."

- Well he has a DSO database for that.

- In fact, Leon finds it soothing when his daughter is in her room playing the guitar while trying to sing at the same time.

- She still has bad blood tests with elevated ESR and leukocytosis, and Leon really doesn't understand what's going on, given that there is no malaise.

- Leon's weapon is always kept in a safe under a combination lock, however, when he forgot it one day on his desk after returning home, D/N wanted to support him in his hands admiring how cool it is but at the same time heavy.

- Of course Leon was scared when he saw his daughter with a gun in her hands and ordered her to put it back immediately.

-"Let me shoot!" - she said when she watched her father put things in the safe. - "I want to be like these guys with guns from movies. There was one Yakuza who had such an awesome gun with a pattern! Da-ad?"

- "No!"

- The password could not be peeped. And the birthday didn't come up either. But D/N got a scolding when she climbed into her father's office without permission, trying to get his gun.

- The restless child does not want to shoot herself or her neighbors at all, she just watches too many militants, believing that shootings are cool.

- Leon doesn't comment on it at all, considering what's going on at his job. But when pumpkin says that she will work with him after she finishes school, she can't stand this long hard look from her father.

- Maybe Leon really should teach her how to shoot and use a knife, but the thought that someday she might need it scares him. It's easier for Leon to keep his daughter in the safest place away from all this virus-parasitological shit.

- But still, after much persuasion, it brings her to the shooting range and even shows you how to hold and shoot correctly.

- Oh, it's a delight! She hit the target a couple of times and already considers herself the best shooter. But Papa Leon still praises her even for these two successful shots.

- "If the apocalypse happens, then I can watch your back!. I will make such a drawing in the form of a poster where we are next to each other against the background of a green world freed from people".

- Leon can't help but smile. This blonde-haired miracle is the only thing that really makes him happy. Therefore, even talking about the apocalypse does not cause anything but laughter.

- And if there's another outbreak, Leon will be Joel saving his Ellie. Even if him have to go against the government.

_____________________________________________

I'm a little sick, I have a lot of debts at the same time, but I like the topic of "father-daughter" relationships so much… Fuck, I also passed the "Last of Us again", and God, like the first one, I'm crying at the moment where Joel saves Ellie (I think he did the right thing and no one will dissuade me from this)

Now I literally want to write and read about "Leon and his daughter". Because this guy would do anything to protect his little pumpkin.

I will definitely make a couple more posts on this topic later. Maybe even a full-fledged fan fiction with an already invented name for his daughter (her name is Lara, yeah).

I love everyone who reads this and he likes it 💖

[adarkrainbow]

Those weird mangas: Katsuhiro's Hansel and Gretel

Some times ago I made a post about a not-so-well-known horror anime about fairytales, Otona no Douwa. I translated a French review of this hard-to-get series (and you can find here, here and here). Today I want to continue my dive into the weird world of fairytale mangas (because Japanese mangakas LOVE fairytales), with a work by Otomo Katsuhiro.

Otomo Katsuhiro is one of those giants of the manga, most famous for the classic that is Akira. But few people know that before he gained his great fame, he did a lot of humoristic mangas parodying classics of folktales and literature. Among those early works, can be found one of the "bizarre fairytale mangas": his "Hensel to Gretel", or "Hansel and Gretel".

This anthology is a series of short parodies of fairytales or literary works. All short, holding on a few pages, except for the very first story, Hansel and Gretel, that is the opening story and the longest of the collection, but holds within it all that the rest of the book has to offer. (In fact, I might do an analysis of the Hansel and Gretel chapter later).

As reviewers pointed out, Otomo Katsuhiro was still searching and developing his artstyle there, and the heavy influences of the European BD artist Moebius can be strongly seen. The book is apparently quite rare today, as it has gone out of print and never was translated officially - but second hand issues can still be found on the Internet in Japanese, and fan-translations are shared around.

For someone who first stumbles upon this book without knowing what it is about, massive confusion is expected - but in truth there is a logic behind the nonsense.

If you ask me, this anthology is quite uneven in quality as some stories work very well while others fall flat (from the Wolf Man story, which is... oversimple ; to the Wizard of Oz story which is just one of those badly handled typical Japanese grotesque sex comedy). Others truly are funny - I never could imagine The Little Match Girl could have a sad yet hilarious ending, and yet it has.

But overall, looking at the various stories, we can clearly identify and point out what the mangaka was trying to do here. On one side, there is an exploration of a typically Japanese absurd humor - such as the "Ali Baba" story which has some unexpected consequences when the password used is "eggplant" ; or an exploration of what happens when in "Snow-White" people find themselves unable to pronounce, understand or remember the number "seven". On the other side, there is an effort to introduce a senseless but realistic cruelty to the world of classics. Don Quixote, in his attempt to become a dragon-slayer in a post-apocalyptic world where the majestic titans are long gone, ends up satisfied with killing a newborn baby ; while the two birds that go searching for the Blue Bird of Happiness end up finding it... and eating it to be happy.

Other times, the mangaka mocks the so-called "heroes" and "protagonists" of various classical works, pointing out their actual absurdity and madness. From Achab going into poetic and over-dramatic hysterics while Moby Dick has a peaceful family reunion with her next of kin, to Robinson Crusoe clearly shown as being an idiotic colonizer and useless tyrant when the island he finds himself on is actually inhabited by dozen of people... And when classical fairytales are presented, the mangaka does the unique but very revealing choice to focus on... the uninteresting, the boring, the unflattering parts. We have a Sleeping Beauty... But it is just her sleeping and nothing happening, since we are in the middle of her hundred years of sleep. We have a Cinderella... But all we see is her fleeing the castle and de-transforming into a dirty cinder-girl dragged in the streets by pigs, while all the drunkards and inhabitants of the city complain about the racket she does at night.

Overall, the entire concept of this anthology could be taken as a desacralization of the classics. Turning funny or innocent stories into cruel and dirty ones ; highlighting the uselesness and madness of famous fictional protagonists, taking more care to focus on the parts of the legends that are usually overseen or uninteresting - and this process all culminates in a complete and humoristically blasphemous reversal of Jesus life, showing him not as the Christ, but as a monstrous Antichrist living in a world that seems to habe been painted by Bruegel and Bosch - a fitting conclusion for an anthology whose entire point is to take beloeved stories, and show that, deep down, they are absurd, vulgar or boring things about caricatural or insane characters.

But the whole thing keeps humor and joke all throughout clearly showing that these are supposed to be "loving" parodies and "kind" mockery, not an actual criticism of the source material - it is a work of dark humor, absurd humor, using rationalization and real-world logic to break down the marvelous, making the wonder mundane, and showing what cartoon violence really looks like.

I do believe this work probably won't please everybody and would be a hit-or-miss, a "I love it all" or "I hate it all". But it stays a very interesting UFO in the world of fairytale adaptations, and an example of what "fairytale experimentations" can look like.

[delphi-ni]

Lupi Filii- Introduction

I would like to present myself first, if you don’t mind. I am an Italian young girl who recently discovered an interesting story. I really enjoy it and I’m currently following every updates regarding it. I’m not a huge fan, I don’t follow any fandom but I’ve certainly been enchanted by its plot. It is for me one of the most efficient ways of talking about literature raising the attention of an audience, mostly made by young people, that most probably thinks that the literature we study at school is very boring. The action, the well written characters and the beautiful and well placed references about all world’s literature are the strongest components of this comic, novel and then animated series. At least this are the thoughts of a girl who always enjoyed reading.

I don’t usually read or watch series of this genre, but a friend of mine suggested it because they considered it good and I gave it a try. I had no idea what it talked about and it was difficult for me to understand it at first because I’ve never read about Japanese literature before. When I found out the characters were based on actual, real life book and poetry authors I fell in love. I soon found out it didn’t just talk about Japanese literature but also there were characters based on authors from all the world, and it was  beautiful for me to see all this people that literally wrote my childhood together in a new story. As I said before I really enjoy reading, so it was a world I already knew and I could’ve enjoy it a lot better than if I didn’t know any of this authors.

One of the thoughts I had was that these people, I’m talking about the actual authors, were people that probably made an huge impact on their national and world culture. To better understand what I mean I’d say that I’ve always enjoyed studying literature at school, not only the poems or manuscripts, but also authors’ lives, writing characteristics and their impact on nowadays culture. In my presentation I said I’m Italian, so of course I’ve mostly studied Italian culture, but my school program also had me study English and Latin literature. Thinking about the beautiful story made around authors that made the Japanese literature and culture, I thought about a story centred on authors that made the story of my nation. So I wrote it.

My story takes great inspiration on the original story, but has its own course of events and it talks about Italian culture and literature. All with Italian, or foreign, authors that made this culture. This story isn’t just action between supernatural humans inspired by real life writers that use their own most important work of art as a special ability. It is a voyage. In my manuscript I’ve wrote about all Italy, I love my country and I wanted to talk about every aspects of its culture, paralleling the original story, which I’ll never forget for the emotional impact it had in me.

I’d like to share this story with you. I want to show you the beautiful Italy, all of it, and I hope you’ll enjoy it.

(I want to specify that the original story is written in Italian and then translated in English, so the publishing of the English version will be following the Italian one, two working days later, except for the first chapters.)

IMPORTANT MESSAGE: I have made up my own plot for the story, but the idea is NOT MINE. The story is mostly paralleled to the original. I DO NOT OWN any characters’ name NOR any ability’s name, for which they are actual titles with their own legitimate owners. Mostly every character in this story was once a REAL person and some are alive nowadays, so I would ask everyone reading this to NOT USE these names in offensive manners, NOR leave any comment that could harm or offend these people. Everything in the story is INVENTED and did not happen in reality. The characters ARE NOT the authors I’ve took as inspiration so the character’s actions or words MUST NOT be associated with the real person. All rightful credits go to the original authors of this story (Bungou Stray Dogs), Kafka Asagiri and Sango Harukawa. I also want to specify that English is (obviously) not my first language; I apologize in advance for any mistake I might have made, I ask you to be patient and not leave any offensive comment for I’m still learning. Thanks for understanding.

Delphini, Italy, 10/19/2023.

[rafecameron]

dance with me

summary: luke decides to step in and stop y/n’s friends from teasing her about never having a boyfriend. this leads to fake dates and real feelings.

pairing: luke patterson x reader

word count: 5.5k

warnings: fake dating, alcohol mentions

a/n: my second luke fic which took me way too long to finish because motivation deserted me. Gif is mine :)

It wasn’t a new feeling to feel somewhat left out and like a spare part. Y/N was more than used to her friends chatting away beside her like she wasn’t even in the room. She was sure it should have bothered her more than it did. Countless times people had asked why she put up with it, and the answer was always simple. Because they were her friends, at least one of them was. Yes the other two weren’t the greatest friends, she could at least admit to that. But she had known Jessica her whole life and now they were kind of part of the package, it was easier to be with them. And if she was being honest with herself she liked to sit on the outskirts, only listening in and never participating.

She wasn’t much of a talker. She enjoyed people watching and listening to her friends gossip, she could think of nothing worse than having attention on herself. Plus, if her friends were ignoring her it meant they weren’t pestering her about her love life. And that was something Y/N was more than thankful for. It started out harmless when they were younger. She was the last of her friends to hold a boy's hand. The last one to share a kiss. The last one to have a boyfriend (of course, because she still hadn’t). They had teased her about it.

“Oh, Y/N, why do you never go out? Why do you never have fun?”

“Don’t you want a boyfriend?”

“Please let us try and hook you up!”

But the meaningful pestering had slowly turned to more hurtful taunts.

“You’re so boring Y/N, you really need to lighten up!”

“You’ll never find a boyfriend if you don’t live a little!”

“Are you sure you want to come to the party? Everyone has a date, you’ll be alone like usual.”

She tried not to let it bother her. Rolling her eyes and shaking off her friends comments. She convinced herself she was fine on her own. She didn’t want a boyfriend and she certainly didn’t need one. She had considered finding one just to shut them up, but she couldn’t imagine dating someone just for the sake of it. She was old fashioned. She believed you should love wholeheartedly with everything in you. You should love truly and fiercely and definitely not give yourself away just to be included.

Y/N had seen her friends jump from one boy to the next, some not lasting more than a week. She didn’t want that. She would rather be seen as boring than throw herself at boys just for attention. She knew she had nothing in common with her friends and she also knew people wondered why they even hung out with her. But her friends were popular. And it was easier to be in the popular crowd and ignored than it was to be in the shadows and picked on.

It was near the end of lunch time when her friends finally noticed her again. Jessica was leaning against her locker, eyes locked on her compact mirror as she applied another layer of pink lipstick.

“You haven’t forgotten about my party this weekend, have you Y/N?” She asks before pursing her lips at her reflection.

Jessica was the girl Y/N had known the longest. She could stand Jessica. When they weren’t around everyone else she was back to being the girl she’d met when they were seven. Giddy and excitable, not caring what she looked like. But in public she put on the image of the perfect princess, and she definitely played it well.

“It’s your birthday Jessica, how could I forget?” She rolls her eyes with a smile gracing her lips.

Jessica snaps her mirror shut and forms her pink lips into a dazzling smile, “So you’ll be there?”

“Of course I’ll be there.” She agrees with a nod, she would call Jessica her best friend, she wouldn’t miss her birthday party for anything.

“Are you bringing someone?” Jasmine asks, her perfectly trimmed brow quirking up with her question, “We wouldn’t want you standing on your own in the corner like last time.” She smiles, tight lipped and fake as she waits for a reply.

She opens her mouth slightly, considering for a moment if it was a good idea to lie and say she was bringing someone, just to wipe the smug look from Jasmine's face. But before she can decide if that is a good idea or a train wreck waiting to happen a voice speaks up.

“Of course not,” Amber giggles, “Have you ever had a date before, Y/N?” Amber tilts her head, a smile just as fake as jasmines setting on her lips.

“No, but that’s okay,I don’t revolve my self worth around boys' attention.” She returns Amber's smile.

“That’s good! Because you don’t get any!” Amber retorts back with a laugh.

“Amber-“ Jessica begins to scold her friend but is cut off before she can begin.

“Hey, Y/N.” A voice from behind her catches everyone’s attention.

Jessica raises a brow at the boy behind her friend as she turns to see who exactly was greeting her.

“Oh, hi, Luke.” Y/N replies, her hand coming up in a small wave, she cringes at her own awkwardness.

“I just wanted to make sure we’re still on for tonight,” the boy smiles at her and she can’t help but forrow her brows.

She knows Luke from a couple of her classes but she can’t say she’s ever said more than a few words to the boy. Her memory wasn’t amazing but she was pretty sure she hadn’t made any sort of plans with the boy, he was practically a stranger after all.

“Uh, I-“ she begins to tell him that she has no clue what he’s talking about but he cuts her off again as if he knows what she will say.

“I know I said I wasn’t sure what we should do, but I was thinking we could catch a movie?” Luke raises both of his brows at the girl in front of her, willing her to just go along with it.

And if Y/N has learnt anything from her many years people watching she knows how to read signs, something finally clicking in her head as she quickly nods.

“Right!” She smiles, “Yes, a movie that sounds great! Is seven still good?”

Luke nods, a grin appearing on his face, “Seven, yeah, see you then.” He sends her a last nod before burying his hands into his pockets and turning away, feeling pretty pleased with himself.

Y/N turns back to her friends feeling extremely confused but determined not to show it. Amber and Jasmine look somewhat annoyed but Jessica is practically bursting with excitement.

“Y/N!” She squeals and grabs her shoulders, “Why didn’t you say you had a date with that cute boy?” She shakes her friend for an answer.

The girl laughs, prying her friends hands from her shoulders, “I guess it slipped my mind.” She offers with a shrug.

“Slipped your mind?” Jessica she is sure is about to reprimand her but her scolding is cut off by the ringing off the bell, “I want all the details!” She finishes instead.

She sends her friend one last grin before grabbing onto Amber and Jasmine and pulling them down the hall while Y/N turns the opposite way and heads to literature. She couldn’t honestly say why Luke had come over to them but she was glad he had. The looks on her friends' faces when they thought she had a date was the best thing to happen to her in a long time.

She took her seat in the classroom, the room already almost full of students. The seat next to her was taken up by the boy who had stood in front of her just moments before.

“Hey,” she greets as she opens up her notebook, “What was all that about?” She asks.

Luke looks over to her, his desk empty of anything except a blunt pencil which he was rolling around with a finger. He shrugs, smiling as he meets her eyes.

“I guess I got sick of your friends always making fun of you for not having a boyfriend.” He replies like it’s nothing.

“Wait, you know about that?” She asks, a soft laugh leaving her lips, “I never realised people noticed.”

Luke nods, “I notice a lot of things. It’s not right, friends shouldn’t put each other down. I hate seeing it, so I thought I’d wipe the smirks off their faces. Thanks for going along with it.”

She offers him a genuine smile, “I nearly didn’t, I was so confused!” She admits causing him to laugh, “But thank you.”

He opens his mouth to reply but the late bell sounds and the teacher shuts the door bringing the class to silence. So instead he sends her one last smile before averting his eyes out of the window, his finger still pushing the pencil he’d stolen from Reggie around his desk.

The hour dragged by slowly. She didn’t mind this class most of the time but she couldn’t get her mind to focus on the poem they were supposed to be dissecting. If there was one thing she could never grasp it was poetry. She found it beautiful and clever, but she couldn’t tell you what most of it meant. So when the bell finally rang to signal the end of the lesson she let out a sigh of relief and snapped her notebook closed.

“Not like poetry?” Luke asks with a laugh at her slightly dishevelled look after running her hands through her hair.

“If my life depended on understanding poetry I’d have been dead a long time ago.” She admits, and then frowns at the awkwardness of being death up in a conversation.

“Well, it’s a good thing it doesn’t then.” Luke grins as he follows her out of the glass room.

The pair don’t get two steps away from the door before they are bombarded by a blonde in a pink dress.

“Why haven’t you replied to my text?” Jessica stresses, reaching out and grabbing Luke by the shirt as he tries to slip past her, “Are you bringing your new date to my party?” She deposits Luke back by Y/N’s side and looks at the pair expectantly.

“Oh! Uh, well I hadn’t actually brought it up yet.” She offers with a shrug.

“Well then you’re lucky I brought it up for you!” Jessica grins, “It’s on Saturday at nine, my house. I’ll see you there!” She waves to Luke before disappearing in the crowd of people.

Luke and Y/N share a look, one full of confusion, hopefulness and a tinge of awkwardness.

“Guess I’m your date to a party?” Luke asks with a soft chuckle, his hand coming up to rub the back of his neck.

Y/N quickly shakes her head, “No! No please don’t feel the need, I’ll just make something up.”

“So you don’t want me to go?” Luke asks holding a hand up to his heart, “I’m slightly offended.”

“I mean…” she bites her lower lip, looking around the hallway desperate for an escape which never came, “I just meant, it’s not necessary.”

Luke laughs, “I’m only messing with you,” he reaches out and taps her arm lightly, “But uh, i'll go, if you want. I kind of want to mess with your friends a little more.” He admits.

She raises a brow and laughs a little, “Like, fake date?” She asks, laughing again when Luke nods. She knows she should say no, roll her eyes and push him away, but the memory of Amber and Jasmines faces from earlier flashed back into her mind. This opportunity was too good to pass up on, it’s not like she was throwing herself at boys like she promised herself she wouldn’t, it’s all fake. And what’s the harm in fake dating a cute boy?

“Okay,” she nods, “Fake boyfriend, i'll see you there.”

------

The more she thought about it the more she was convinced she was crazy. Fake dating someone was one thing, but fake dating someone she’d never even held a conversation with? That was off the spectrum of crazy. How was she supposed to convince her friends that she was actually dating someone who she knew nothing about? What if they actually had nothing in common? What if when they finally do hang out they can’t stand each other? She supposed they could just fake break up just as convincingly as they fake got together. And she decided that was probably the best option. Break it off now before it got too out of hand for everyone involved. It was what she fully intended on doing. Her speech was already planned out and rehearsed multiple times on the walk to Jessica’s party.

She was going to walk up to him, look him straight in the eye and tell him it was a crazy idea and they needed to stop. She didn’t have time for a real boyfriend let alone a fake one and she didn’t want anyone to get hurt. But as she rounded the corner and saw the boy waiting for her the plan fizzled out of her thoughts immediately and she found herself skipping over to him with a grin.

“Don’t you scrub up nicely.” She comments, tugging playfully on his shirt.

He had forgone his usual slogan tees with ripped sleeves and dressed in a plain black T-shirt and jeans, a plaid shirt thrown on the top which she was sure she’d seen a friend of his wearing the week before.

Luke shrugs looking almost bashful for a second, “I didn’t want to stand out and show you up. You look nice.” He adds, finally looking her up and down.

She’d chosen a simple dress, dark blue in colour and stopping just above the knee, “Yeah well, I didn’t want to show you up.” She teases with a nudge of her elbow.

“I guess we should get this awful evening over with then?” Luke jokes, offering his arm to her to link hers through which she does instantly.

The party was already in full swing when they walked through the doors, her friends drunk to the point of not caring about her arrival which she was more than pleased about.

“I don’t really drink.” She comments as she grabs a can of cola from the table, Luke helps himself to one after.

“Me neither.” He smiles, “I’d rather know what I’m doing...And not look like an idiot.” He leans up to look over her shoulder at the girl stumbling around in her heels like bambi on ice.

She looks over her shoulder, letting out a laugh at the sight before turning back, “You mean you don’t want to look like that?” She grins and grabs onto his arm, “C’mon, there's nothing more annoying than drunk people.”

She leads him outside, pulling him down onto a bench beside her. The backyard was quieter than inside the house, fewer drunk people shouting and laughing and mostly just people chilling out.

“Honestly, I don’t really like parties.” Luke comments, taking a sip from his can, “I’d much rather hang out with some friends and chill.”

Y/N nods her head in agreement, “Same, but unfortunately my friends are the ones who throw all the parties.”

“Don’t take this the wrong way but, why are you friends with them?” Luke looks over to her and raises an eyebrow in question, “You don’t really seem to fit with them.”

“Jessica’s my best friend, the others...Well, they’re friends with Jess so I guess I have to put up with them.” She shrugs, averting her gaze from his intense stare and looking down at her can in her hands.

“Yeah but you don’t have to put up with them being bitches to you.” Luke comments.

She lets out a laugh, leaning her head back against the bench and looking over to him, “It’s not that bad. It’s either that or sitting on my own everyday. And I’ve never heard you swear before.”

“Y/N! Luke!” Jessica practically screams their names, stumbling through the patio doors and pulling her nights catch along behind her, “I’m so glad you came! Together!”

She leans down pulling her into a clumsy hug, almost knocking Luke out with her elbow as she pulls back.

“So! This is getting pretty serious, huh?” She wiggles her eyebrows suggestively at her friend causing her to laugh.

“Jess, it’s been three days.” She giggles, she feels Luke's hand grab hers and allows him to intertwine their fingers, “Three great days.” She adds on with a grin she was sure was the definition of cheesy.

“I’m so happy for you!” Jessica pouts grabbing onto her friends spare hand, “I guess this means you’ll be going to the dance together?” She gasps, the grin on her face radiating excitement.

“Uh,” She looks over at Luke expectantly, eyebrows raised in question.

“We wouldn’t miss it.” Luke answers for them, squeezing her hand and shooting Jess a smile.

Jess lets out a squeal before the boy attached to her hand begins to tug her back inside complaining that it's cold. She rolls her eyes and mouths an apology before disappearing back into the throng of people inside.

“We don’t really have to go.” She begins to say quickly but Luke jumps up and pulls her with him by her hand.

“I don’t mind. And uh, as much as I dislike parties, we’re not going to annoy your friends if we sit out here all night.” He shoots her a cheeky grin before dragging her into the mass of the party.

They discard their empty cans on the kitchen table and head to the living room which has been turned into a makeshift dance area. The room was packed and Y/N already felt nervous about the idea of dancing and being surrounded by so many people.

“I can’t really dance.” She laughs, stopping in the midst of the drunk dancers.

“It’s not proper dancing,” Luke shrugs, he grabs ahold of her waist and pulls her into him, their chests pressing together as his arms snake around her back, “And your friends are watching.”

He smirks as she averts her eyes to the left, Amber and Jasmine watching their every move with matching scowls causing her to giggle. She lifts her hands and rests them against Luke’s chest, letting him move her along to the pop song which was playing too loudly.

“I don’t think we fit in.” She mentions, watching the couples around her grind against each other.

Luke laughs, “Well if you want to fit in.” He quickly spins her around, pulling her back so her back is pressed against his chest, “We can dance like this.” He whispers into her ear as his hands rest against her hips.

She feels her face heat up and lets out a laugh hoping to cover it up, “I guess this is more believable, but I’m not doing that!” She motions with her head towards the couple beside them who were grinding aggressively against each other.

“Deal.” Luke laughs against her cheek as he slides his arms fully around her waist.

Dancing with Luke for the whole night was not as torturous as she had expected it to be. They talked, at least as well as they could with the loud music. She found she got on with Luke quite well which she hadn’t expected. He was funny and sweet, his usual rugged appearance not one which matched his personality at all. When they finally decided to leave the party he offered to walk her home and she agreed. Their intertwined hands splitting apart once they were far enough away from the party to not be seen.

“It’s weird, having a fake boyfriend.” She comments, looking up to the night sky, the stars barely shining through the group of clouds overhead, “I almost like it. Like having a boyfriend but minus all the drama.”

“I thought you’d never had a boyfriend.” Luke laughs.

She shrugs and looks over to him, “From what I’ve seen with my friends I’m not sure I ever want a real one.”

“Well I’m glad I make an acceptable fake boyfriend.” Luke nudges her with his shoulder eliciting a laugh from her.

------

The following week at school was full of preparations for the dance, Y/N feeling more excited about it than she ever had before. This time she would actually be going with someone! Fake or not, it was still a lot more exciting than standing around alone for the whole night. She’d also spent the week getting to know Luke more. They were ‘dating’ after all so they had to hang out in public to make it look at all believable. He spent a lunch with her and her friends, but she didn’t blame him for hating every minute of it. Amber and Jasmine weren’t nice to her and they definitely weren’t nice to him.

She spent most of her lunches with him and his friends, having much more fun than she’d like to admit. She watched them rehearse, half of it actual rehearsing half of it messing around. She liked Luke’s friends and even started feeling a little bad about lying to them when Alex said how happy he was they were happy together. She found she got on with Reggie the best. He was silly and it was a nice change of pace to her own friends to be around someone who didn’t care what anyone thought.

She was also getting used to the physical touches, maybe too used to it. She noticed that Luke was a touchy person, he was always wrapping his arms around his friends shoulders and nudging them and that didn’t stop when it got to her. She now wasn’t sure if it was because of the fake relationship or because he really was like that with everyone. But she found she didn’t mind. She quite liked when he would hold her hand in the hallways or throw his arm over her shoulders when they were sat somewhere. She had to keep reminding herself that he only meant it in a friendly way.

Friday came around quickly and she took the day off from hanging out with like to spend time decorating with Jess, something they always helped out with for every dance.

“What colours your dress? Is Luke getting a matching tie?” Jessica asks as she helps her hang a banner from the ceiling.

Y/N was sat atop Jessica's shoulders struggling to secure the string to the ceiling, they knew they would get told off if a teacher saw them like this but neither could be bothered to go and find the ladders so they had to make do.

“I was thinking either blue or green,” She comments, her words muffled around the extra string in her mouth, “And I hadn’t even thought about ties.”

“He has to be matching! Otherwise you will look odd!” Jess complains.

She had always been way more invested in fashion than Y/N ever had, she didn’t really see the harm in Luke’s tie not matching her dress, but also knew Jess wouldn’t let it go.

“I’ll talk to him.” She mumbles out, letting out a cheer when she finally gets the banner to stick.

As she climbed down from Jessica’s shoulders she was met with a pair of blue eyes, her friend quickly slinking away behind her.

“Hey Y/N, can I talk to you for a sec?” Jason asks.

She chews on her bottom lip, silently scolding her friend for abandoning her, “Yeah, sure.” She offers a smile.

“I was just wondering if you’d want to go to the dance with me? I know it’s a little last minute but…” Jason rubs the back of his neck with his hand, sending her an awkward shrug.

“Oh! Uhm…” She pauses for a moment at a complete loss for an answer. She was supposed to be going with Luke. But that wasn’t real, whereas this could actually lead to something, she was sure Luke would understand if she cancelled with him, she knew he never usually went to dances anyway.

But as she looked up to answer her eyes landed on the figure walking down the hallway towards them, Luke shot her a smile and raised his brows at the boy in front of her and she thought about how she felt when she was with him. Fake dating or not, Luke was her friend now, and friends didn’t cancel on each other last minute.

“I’m sorry Jason, I’m already going with someone. But thanks for asking me.” She offers him her kindest smile.

“No worries, I thought it was a long shot being this late.” He shrugs again and bids her goodbye before disappearing around the corner.

“What was all that about?” Luke asks, leaning against the locker in front of her with a curious look in his eyes.

“He asked me to the dance.” She answers.

“And?” Luke prompts.

“And I said no.” She laughs.

“You did?” Luke doesn’t try to hide the grin that appeared on his face, “Why would you say no? To an actual date, instead of a fake one?”

“I don’t know.” She fiddles with the bottom of her jacket, pulling it tighter around her, “I considered it, but it didn’t feel right, I didn’t want to cancel on you.”

“Well I’m flattered.” Luke laughs, “I was actually looking for you, what colour dress are you wearing? Jess just shouted at me about ties.”

She just rolls her eyes and links her arm through Lukes to pull him down the hallway.

------

Y/N paces on her front porch as she waits for Luke to turn up, part of her dress skirt scrunched in her hand to prevent her from stepping on it and tripping over. She had never felt so nervous before. She had to keep reminding herself that this is a fake date. Luke doesn’t actually like her and she’s sure the feelings she's starting to get are just results of faking sed feelings in public.

“Why are you out here?” Luke’s voice cuts through her worrying thoughts and she turns to him with a smile.

“My mum was bugging me about pictures. I thought it was safer out here.” She laughs, biting her lower lip at the sight of Luke stood on her porch, his suit fitting his body perfectly and his tie an exact match to the green of her dress.

“You look amazing.” Luke breathes out in awe, he holds his hand out to her and she gladly accepts it and lets him lead her down the steps.

“So do you.” She replies quietly.

The ride to the school is quiet but she’s acutely aware of Luke’s eyes flickering over to her during the drive. She doesn’t comment on it but the butterflies in her stomach go wild at every glance.

“Did you help put this together?” Luke asks as they enter the hall.

The hall was decorated with blue and silver giving it a wintery feel, balloons and streamers around the outskirts and hanging from the ceiling.

She shrugs, “I guess. Jess did most of it, I just helped.”

“Well it looks great.” He compliments.

They stand in the doorway sharing a glance before looking around the room, “So, I don’t usually come to these. What do we do now? I thought people would be dancing.”

She laughs and slaps his chest lightly, “People won't be dancing till later, once the punch has been spiked.” she grins and takes hold of his hand to lead him to one of the tables around the edge of the dancefloor.

“I’ll admit, I’m surprised this is still a thing.” Jasmine comments as she sits opposite them, “Are you not bored yet?” She directs her question to Luke who shoots her a glare.

“Why would I be bored? She’s the most interesting girl I’ve ever met, she's actually real.” He comments back playing with her fingers in his.

Jasmine lets out a laugh, eyebrows raised as she lifts her drink to her lips as if she thought Luke was crazy, which she probably did.

“Where’s your date?” Luke asks.

Jasmine’s glass hits the table with a glare, “I’d rather be dateless than have whatever this is.” She points between the two before standing up and stomping off.

“Sounds like jealousy!” Luke calls after her and Y/N erupts into a fit of giggles beside him.

“I think she hates you more than she does me.” She laughs leaning into Lukes side.

The hall soon began to fill up with students, couples slowly making their way onto the dancefloor as the dance fully started. She had spotted Jessica and sent her a wave as the girl made her way to the dancefloor where she would stay for the entire night. Y/N wasn’t sure how to dance and she would take a wild guess that Luke didn’t know either, this didn’t seem like his kind of scene.

“Do you want to dance?” Luke asks as though reading her thoughts.

“You want to?” She responds.

“I can try.” He laughs and stands up motioning for her to join him, “Can’t come to a dance with an actual date and not have at least one dance.” Her cheeks heat up at the comment about it being an actual date, not sure if Luke meant it or if it was just a slip of the tongue, she didn’t point it out.

His hand finds hers as they walk to the dancefloor, finding a spot in the middle which she was thankful for, less likely people will see them there. Luke's arms wrapped around her waist and hers went around his shoulders, much like at the party except their movements were slower.

“Is this right.” He asks and she lets out a soft laugh.

“No idea, but it feels good to me.” She hesitates for a moment before leaning forward and resting her cheek against his chest.

The stay pressed together for the next two songs in a comfortable silence before she decides to break it.

“Why are people staring at us?” She asks.

Luke hadn’t noticed but looks around at her question and notices a few eyes on them, he shrugs, “Because we’re the best looking couple here?”

She laughs and slaps his arm, pulling her head away from his chest, “I’m serious! It’s making me nervous.”

Luke sighs and squeezes her waist lightly, “I have no idea. Maybe people are just surprised to see us here together.”

She considers it for a moment before finally nodding her head, “Yeah, that’s probably it.”

Luke watches her look around anxiously for another moment before he squeezes her sides again to bring her attention back to him.

“I know we haven’t been here long, but I think we’ve made our point, do you wanna get out of here?” he smiles down at her and she doesn’t have to think twice about nodding her head.

Once out of the building Y/N lets out a sigh of relief, “I didn’t realise how claustrophobic I felt in there.” She breathes out.

“Yeah, it’s tough work being surrounded by people like that.” Luke agrees, “I’d much rather hang out just us two.”

Luke drove them away from the school and to a park, the street lamps illuminating the play area which he led her to. They sat down on the swing set, both angled towards each other as they swayed back and forth slowly. They talked about anything they could think of; family, Luke’s band, memories, movies, music. They talked for what felt like hours before Luke jumped off his swing and held his hand out to her.

“What?” She asks as he leads her to a clear area.

“Well, we’re supposed to be at a dance right? So dance with me again.” He pulls her into his arms as she laughs at him.

“There’s no music.” She comments and he just shrugs.

“I was thinking,” He begins, looking around nervously as he bites his lower lip, “When you’re finished with me being your fake boyfriend, maybe you could let me take you on a real date?”

She felt her cheeks heat up a little bit and didn’t hide the smile growing on her face, “Well, maybe I’m done with you being my fake boyfriend now.”

Luke’s face lights up, his eyes finding hers again and looking a lot less nervous, “Yeah? So you wouldn’t mind if I did this then?” He asks.

He leans forward, his lips grazing across hers lightly before pulling her into a kiss. She felt like the world around her had stopped, the only thing indicating she hadn’t died and gone to heaven was the rapid beating of her heart. When he pulled away she pouted up at him.

“I only mind that you pulled away.” She replies, his smile being covered by her lips again as she pulled him close to her.

They stayed kissing and swaying in the silence until Luke finally said he should take her home. They planned their first real date for the next morning, because neither of them could wait longer than that.

tags: @rudyypankow​ @chrlsgillespie​ @crybabyddl​ @lovesanimals​ @marinettepotterandplagg​ @alexpjoyner​

[misscrawfords]

For the bad Austen take game: Fanny Price is boring. (I hated even typing that)

 Aaaaahhhh, you went straight to the jugular!

Mansfield Park was published in 1814, a year after Pride and Prejudice. The latter contained a spirited, active, and witty heroine. The former, a heroine who was shy, physically weak, and very introverted.

Fanny Price is actually closer to what a lot of contemporary heroines were like. Elizabeth Bennet, bursting in on the scene with her “pert opinions” and physical vigor and her direct challenges to the hero is not ahistorical because clever and witty heroines do exist in literature of the time, but she takes that to the next level.

The “perfect heroine” of the early 18th century in many novels was sweet, virtuous, morally dutiful, and somewhat passive. She was prone to fainting, basically had no faults, and at the end of the novel was rewarded with the love of the hero. She is not always a particularly interesting figure and often such narratives have a foil in a lively, witty anti-heroine who brings the fun to the novel but cannot be rewarded with a happy ending because she does not display the appropriate morals. That way the author and reader can get the pleasure of a “bad girl” or at least a “fun girl” without disrupting the expected didactic morals required of (many) novelists at the time.

Fanny Price and Mary Crawford are interesting variations on that. Fanny, like all of Austen’s heroines, challenges contemporary notions of what being a heroine was about. Austen does this in all her novels though Emma is the most obvious example. Fanny has many of the qualities that you would expect from a contemporary heroine but she is also not particularly attractive (a heroine should always be the most beautiful woman in the room) and it is hard to read her excessive passivity and not feel irritated by it. She has a much deeper inner life than most of her contemporaries of this type. We see her jealousy of Mary Crawford, we see her misery, we see her unrequited love for Edmund, her complicated feelings regarding her home in Portsmouth in ways that make her fully rounded internally, only little of that is spoken out loud. These feelings are very human and understandable, but they are not always to her credit and knowing them, we wish she could act on them. Austen seems to be asking the reader to take the classic novel heroine and then ask, “How would she really respond to novel situations?”

Austen’s plot also challenges expected novelistic plots. Edmund Bertram is not a satisfactory romantic hero. He is as quiet and rigidly moral as Fanny... except he blows all his convictions by his blind infatuation on Mary and he spends 99.9% of the novel oblivious to Fanny’s feelings or even that she’s an eligible woman at all. I have sympathy for him as well as for Fanny because he’s very young (only 22/23) and making poor judgements over women at that age and being an oblivious numpty over your childhood best friend’s crush seems pretty normal to me. Nevertheless, following Mr. Darcy, he’s hardly the stuff of dreams.

The character and plot that does seem more novelistic is Henry Crawford and his pursuit of Fanny. He’s handsome and rich and a bit of a rake. Then he meets Fanny who he attempts to seduce, falls in love with her for real, proposes to her and is rejected, then changes his behaviour, tries again and is accepted now that he is reformed and worthy her love.... wait. Rewind. That’s not what happened! Think this plot looks familiar? It should. Henry Crawford is what a lot of people think Mr. Darcy is who don’t understand Mr. Darcy on any level. Henry Crawford genuinely is a handsome bad boy who is reformed by the love of a virtuous woman after being rejected by her. And Austen teases readers with a redemption arc and a real enemies-to-lovers plot. But Henry is as real and complicated and human as Fanny and Edmund - he fails at the last hurdle and cannot complete his redemption arc. He relapses at the last moment. Isn’t that true to life? And is reforming a rake really Fanny’s destiny in life? She doesn’t think so. She sees right through his charm and hates who he is underneath. She doesn’t reject him as Elizabeth does Darcy because she doesn’t understand him; she rejects him because she understands him perfectly. She is the only person in the novel who does. I feel it would be a poor ending for Fanny to make her marry a man she despises and become the mistress of a large estate which brings with it the kind of social duties she must have been unhappy executing.

Fanny gets what she wants. She quietly, patiently does not change. She is surrounded by the superficial, the brash, the badly behaved, the immoral, the weak and she remains strong and stoical and by doing this and remaining true to her values, she triumphs. She wins. She gets the man she wants. She is truly and fully adopted into the heart of Mansfield Park with all her enemies and rivals removed. She is acknowledged as the best of them all. Without even needed to do anything except endure and stick to her guns, she defeats every big boss in her path.

These are not attractive modern values. Our concept of a “strong woman” (*shudder*) is Elizabeth Bennet. But not all of us are Elizabeth Bennets. Most of us aren’t in fact. Most of us are quiet and insecure and filled with envies, jealousies, private sadnesses. Many of us have experienced at some point less than ideal family situations and reacted not by being spirited and clever but by curling up in a ball and just waiting it out. Shouldn’t Fanny be held up as an icon for winning in absolutely the worst of circumstances? But she is an Aeneas in a society that only wants to read about Odysseuses and Achilleses.

Finally, another way in which Austen was distinctly saying in MP, “Hey, so, if you thought I was going to write another P&P, JOKE’S ON YOU, MATEY!” is that the entire novel is an anti-romance. Of course you’re going to be frustrated with Fanny and Edmund if you’re looking for a pair of exciting characters who fall in love and get a swoonworthy romance. But if you read MP as an examination of bad love, inappropriate love, selfish love, inexperienced love, love that taints and goes wrong through the eyes of a quiet and insightful observer who herself suffers the crushing and all too familiar pangs of hopelessly unrequited love - then you find a character and a novel that are rich, satirical, and deeply intimate and clever.

[rossa-motte]

are we writing magical realism?, blog.

Sorry if something reads awkward, I wrote and made this on the phone!

So, first of all, my credentials:

I'm latina... that's enough for some people, oops.

I've studied it

I read it

I write it, I think

I'm not going to distract ourselves so much with history, Internet already has a lot of that. But we can say it originates in Latin America at the beginning/midst of the 1900s, but is written in other parts of the world as well.

Most of the time, the definition we heard is something on the lines of mixing reality and the fantastic, treating the unreal as real. Also, a lot of people see it as fantasy for latinos.

But all this is quite vague and ends in lots of people from countries where isn't common thinking it just means contemporary fantasy, fantasy for literary writers, or thinking it is an... aesthetic... *shivers

Well, if it's none of that, what is? How do I know if I'm writing it? Everybody says something different... And, yeah, a lot of people don't see eye to eye on this, so this is as far as I know and my personal opinion. But here are eight things I think defines magical realism (particularly differentiating it from fantasy):

i. Yes, it's fantasy, but the point isn't magic.

In fantasy the point is magic, is people thinking “oh, how crazy! the magic, the other world!”. Even if is a contemporary low fantasy, the fantastical elements are the focus (most of the time, at least, there are always exceptions).

In magical realism magic is just there. It has a relevance in the plot, character, or setting as much as cup of water, a ride on a bus, or the night. Nobody is going to stop for it nor explain it.

The story in fantasy is about, for example, about a magical girl. In magical realism is about the girl, who so happens to be magical.

ii. And one of the reasons for that it's because it's character driven.

While magical realism is not “the fantasy for literary writers” I think it has that in common with litfic: the plot can be a more... quiet one. Maybe not 100% character driven, but with a subtle plot. And if the plot is not that strong, fantasy can't shine in the plot either.

And, if there's a strong plot (let's say, action with spies or some shit) magic has nothing to do with the premise. It's not a “I'm a secret agent and I read minds but nobody can know about it”, more like an “I'm a secret agent in this Totally Normal World where sometimes someone reads a mind”.

iii. Because magical realism is not a classic genre either.

If I tell you I'm writing an epic fantasy, most people know the type of story I'm talking about. In other world, inspired by the past, high fantasy, probably with this magic journey as a plot, and with very specific clichés an archetypes as options.

We can't do that with magical realism. It's more like saying we're writing historical fiction. It's just one factor of the plot (or setting), and we can have a romance that is historical, as well as a thriller that is historical.

Magical realism is too broad to even have clichés or archetypes.

iv. And it's too vague: we're not writing hard magic systems here.

A really thin line divides magical realism with a low fantasy-soft magic system. I think there are lots of stories that fall in a awkward in-between.

Maybe the difference, really subtle, resides in magical realism “making less sense”.

This other type of fantasy usually has some kind of rules that bend a lot, or some thematic focus. While magical realism looks more like surrealism, kind of dreamlike in a sense, where different unconnected stuff can happen without any sense of logic.

This doesn't really mean it doesn't makes sense. Usually it does but in other ways, like an emotional one.

v. Not only that, but sometimes, magic is not magic.

In a fantasy, the fantastic element resides in magic itself or a concrete thing, but once again, magical realism looks like surrealism. Sometimes the magic resides in the uncanny, in a weird version of reality.

Maybe it has elements that exists but are so strange and unknown that it feels unreal. Or things that could happen but the chances are so low and the conditions so precise that it kind of doesn't make sense (like surviving with a tiguer in the ocean).

And sometimes it feels like a strech to reality: something that could happen but a little too much, like exacerbated. Think about the gothic subgenre, or these post on Tumblr listing a specific setting + gothic. I remember one about university, telling for example, that the answer is always communism, in any class even math, or that time doesn't pass. Is interesting and funny because is somehow relatable, it feels like that even if we know that's not realistic.

vi. And sometimes the magic is ambiguous.

A lot of the times we have explicit magic or magical elements... but we can't be sure if they are really an out of (our) world thing or it has a logical explanation.

For example, ghosts are super common in magical realism... but also in real life. Most of us probably know somebody who has a experience with a ghost (some of us ourselves), or know some legend about spirits in our place.

So, if a character sees a ghost in magical realism, we, as readers, have to ask ourselves: is this character really seeing a ghost or it's just imagining it? 

Same if we have a witch who hex someone and then bad things happens to that person. Or tarot cards telling that something is going to happen and then it does... All that can happen in reality, and it can be real magic or just coincidences.

vii. Related to that, this ambiguity exists because a lot of the time the magic is based in real beliefs and lore.

Let me put it in other words to get across the point:

vii. Magical realism doesn't has to be in Latin America to work, but it needs to have a heavy setting and folklore.

Just as in gothic literature, setting is just another character, and is super common to base the magic in the folklore of that specific setting... and that usually creates this ambiguity.

In fantasy there's a lot of focus on being original, but magical realism (usually) is very traditional. We work with what we already have in our settings.

And this also means... sometimes... magical realism and reality has more in common that one would think.

For example, Border is a Swedish movie with trolls... this only works in Sweden (or near it) because it's part of their stories. In Latin America it would be too alien for us. But, for example, Argentina has a lot of lore with duendes (like elves or gnomes).

viii. Finally, magical realism is not an escapism.

People usually thinks about fantasy as escapism. While I think is incorrect, sometimes it is like that... Even if not, the fantasy part is super romantic and we want to be in that world.

In magical realism not so much. It has a love-hate for life and reality. It's not bad but it has a comment to make about it. Magic is beautiful but mundane, life is cruel and romantic, all bittersweet.

And yes, usually, in Latin America, that means talking about colonialism and poverty.

If any of you want to add something, don't doubt it!

[retroyousei]

Female characters in retro shojo [70s edition, part 1]

Ah, the 1970s (and early 80s), where a majority of the shojo manga stories took place in a distant European country or in America, surrounding either orphan girls from the 19th or early 20th century, who remain cheerful and have adventures, trying to find out who they are, making friends and falling in love, or epic historical stories filled with war, scandals and larger than life characters. If the manga was taking place in Japan, the plot was somehow more down to earth -though most of the time it restrained the same amount of unrealism- and it was either about following the journey of a girl who pursues the career of her dreams and evolves into a notable person, or a high school story filled either with melodrama and angst or a more heartwarming romantic comedy. But in this two-part article I won’t talk about plot tropes of the shojo manga of that era -as this topic deserves an exclusive article-, but about the female characters (I will dedicate an article on male characters some other time). Those characters are very important, as they set the standards of today’s manga and anime. But it should be noted that back then the formula of their design and characteristics are different from today’s. Those are the categories that I’ve noticed, regarding the appearance and personality.

The “average” protagonists

They are the most common category. Usually, they come from middle class and they are presented either as cheerful and a little dense schoolgirls, or plain looking and unrefined, as oppose to their antagonists or rivals who are well educated, beautiful and more talented, but this may serve as a determination for them to improve. Other times they are presented as headstrong heroines, ahead of their time, who refuse to compromise and for this they are a pain to their old-fashion society. Either way, they are kind, good, well-intentioned and want to help the others, that’s why they make friends easily. The thing that really works with these characters and makes them much more interesting than they may seem, is that they are independent and built their future on their own and they never give up, no matter what happens and what someone might say about them. Even when they are not sure of themselves, they always keep trying, until they reach to their dream. They use their obstacles as strength and determination to go on, proving that they are not average at all.

Maya, the protagonist of “Glass Mask” is a great example of this. She starts as a good-for-nothing daughter of a poor family, who isn’t particularly accomplished, but has a hidden passion for acting which she hadn’t realise it herself at that point. But when she is discovered by Tsukigake, a former legendary actress, she realises how much she wants to be an actress to a point that she lied saying that her mother allowed her to study to sensei’s acting school and ran away from home. Not even when her mother told her that she doesn’t consider her as her daughter anymore, she didn’t gave up, in spite of being very hurt by this. Her path towards acting wasn’t easy. Many times she has to face many who say that she doesn’t belong to that industry, or who are jealous of her talent and means her harm, but with her faith in herself, she always overcomes those obstacles. An admirable thing about her is that she dislikes fame, being shy, as she just wants to act and that she does not gives up, no matter what and even when she does, she quickly stands up. The most interesting dynamic of the story is her worthy rivalry with Ayumi, that is clearly a case of the trope “technician vs performer”, with Maya as the performer, as her standard method to learn how to play a character is to become that character. As the story progresses, Maya evolves from a girl with a hidden talent, to a young actress who portraits an original take to classic characters, but who still had much to learn, to one of the greatest actresses of her generation.

In “Yokohama Monogatari”, Uno starts as a plain, poor, orphan girl, who is ignorant about the world, as she hasn’t even seen the sea before and she believed that westerners were vampires who could drink people’s blood, that’s why they had blonde hair and blue eyes. She starts to work as a companion in a rich family to their daughter Mariko, who is the same age as her. Besides their differences, they become quickly best friends. While Mariko is a little spoiled, Uno, despite of her ignorance of world, can be more considerate and responsible in some matters. She also has a lust for learning and soon her and Mariko pursuade her family to go to school. There, she meets many people, among them there are a few foreigners too, she makes a lot of friends, and she excels at all of her studies, being hardworking. As the years passed by, Japan changes and allows exchange of ideas from many cultures -it’s Meiji era we are taking about, that means the last quarter of the 19th century- and Uno evolves from a poor, -many would say- hopeless for her situation, clueless of the world girl, to an open minded, educated and refined woman, surrounded by many people she loves.

In “Tokimeki Tonight”, Ranze -well except of being the daughter of Dracula and warewolf and having her own vampire powers as well- is an average girl who is friendly, sweet and little quirky girl who goes to school and falls in love with Shuun. Some may say that she is pretty basic, but in fact, she knows her self worth well, so even when her parents were disappointed with her not having any power yet, at the beginning of the story, she wasn’t particularly bothered by it. Also she is very headstrong that she falls in love with a human boy, while she knows well that a creature from the demon world and a human cannot be together. But in spite of all of that, she decides to stay true to her own feelings and even though she’s not so sure about Shuun’s feelings for her either, she doesn’t give up and waits for him, because she hopes and deep down knows that he likes her too and she is right. And even when her parents want her to marry prince Aaron of the demon world and even the king- learn that she likes a human, in spite of that being against the rules, she isn’t afraid to stand up for her beliefs. Later though, we learn that Shuun is the lost prince of the demon world, so he is not a human after all, but that’s another story.

In “Aim For The Ace”, Hiromi is a typical schoolgirl who struggles to get better in tennis, when she gets selected as one of the club’s main players in school by the new coach, as he saw potential in her. Some of her seniors are jealous of her because of that and at first she thinks that she is not worth such a discrimination, but soon she improves and realises how much she loves tennis. There’s also a very similar rivalry dynamic with “glass mask” between Hiromi and Reika who grow to be worthy opponents.

In “Haikara San Ga Toru”, Benio is a headstrong young woman who studies Kendo, drinks sake and prefers reading literature and feminist ideas, rather than being interested in housework. She also likes to dress in western clothes, rather than the traditional kimono and strongly believes that women should have the right to decide for their future on their own and they should marry for love. But her world turns upside down when her father announces that he has arranged a marriage for her. The one that he indends for her is someone she knew before, very briefly and accidentally, a lieutenant named Shinobu. Of course, she refuses, being loyal to her ideals and she goes out of her way to avoid him, just to satisfy her pride, in spite of actually starting developing feelings for him. When she moves to his grandparents’ house to get prepared as his wife, she purposely fails in all of her duties as a housewife and constantly argues with his grandparents, but all of that only makes Shinobu fall for her even more. It’s only when he leaves to go to the war, when she realises her feelings for him and during at that time when everyone thought that he was dead, she matured and became even stronger, remaining loyal to him and determined to work as a journalist to support his family, but also tracking him down, hoping that he’s still alive. Of course, at the very end, they live happily ever after together. Benio’s character development is admirable; starting as a clever, but headstrong girl, to an independent and wise woman, proving that you don’t have to disagree with everyone in order to prove that you are the one who chooses how to live your own life.

The villains

Their extreme pride and vain is their common nature. Most of the times they come from a wealthy family, so they are either oujo-sans who are always dressed elegantly, are seemingly refined and they tend to have curly, blonde hair -as blonde hair seem to be associated with wealth and sophistication in Japan-, or they are just spoiled brats that demand that everyone will do as they say. They are the main antagonist of the story for different reasons. The most common one is that they are jealous of the heroine, either because they are their love rivals and they are jealous of the heroine’s relationship with the love interest of the story, or because they are just pathologically jealous of the heroine because of her looks, her happiness, her luck and her loving nature. Another reason they act the way they do is because they want power and success, or they just want to secure all of that. The worse and least complex reason of all is that they are just mean for no particular reason.

Eliza, from “Candy Candy” is the typical alpha b*tch who is pathologically jealous of Candy. At first, she along with her brother, makes her life miserable, by blaming her for the bad things they do, such as hurting the horses in the stables, provoking her and then telling to their mother that she’s wild and leaving her alone in a town she doesn’t know and locking her in dark rooms. After that, during their time in London, Eliza says to everyone that Candy is an orphan who made her life miserable, even blaming her for Antony’s death. Later, having the habit of falling in love with the one that Candy likes too, school, she falls for Terry and constantly tries to turn him against her, failing miserably. She also writes a fake letter to her that it was supposedly from Terry and to Terry too, to meet each other in the stables at night and with this, she blabs them to the teachers and Candy, having no choice, leaves school. Later, when Candy was pursuing a career as a nurse, she continues her cruel ways and her mother also threats the director of the hospital where she was working, that if they won’t fire her, the Leagan family will withdraw their funds for the hospital and she also made sure that no hospital from Chicago will hire her, leaving Candy in a difficult situation. Those are only of few of the things that Leagan family did to Candy. The worst part is that they don’t pay for what they did at the end.

Fukiko from “Oniisama e” fits well this image; She is a refined lady from a rich family, the president of the sorority and very educated, that’s why she is admired by everyone. However, in reality she is manipulative, proud and very possessive. She wants to control everyone and she’s even willing to go out of her way to achieve what she wants. For instanse, she’s jealous of Nanako because she is close to Henmi Takehito, the one that she (Fukiko) is in love with, so to control her, she chooses her to be a member of the sorority and demands that she will stay away from him, even by pulling her into the lake and attempt to drown her . She also makes Rei’s life miserable, by stepping into her weakness, refuse to accept her as a member of their family and constantly manipulating her with the cruelest of ways. Also, it’s revealed that her friends from the sorority are feeling pressured because of her. Later, with the death of Rei, along with her realisation that Henmi and Kaoru No Kimi are truly in love, surprisingly, she regrets, gives up on her cruel ways and matures, growing even more beautiful for all of that.

Yoko from “Tokimeki Tonight” is a different case. She is the love rival of the story and the have loved Shuun ever since they were little. Being the only daughter of a rich businessman, she is spoiled and when something doesn’t go as she wants, she is is angry and demands that everything will go the way she wants. She envies Ranze for her close relationship with Makabe and ever since she accidentally saw her transforming, she tried desperately to prove others that she (Ranze) is a vampire. Her character is less dramatic and more comedic, as she is often grumpy and clumsy. But she isn’t really a bad person and she doesn’t really cause an awful lot of trouble.

In “The Rose of Versailles”, Madam Du Barry, the king’s mistress, wants to sustain her place in the court and demands that Marie Antoinette, who was at that time the dauphine, will speak to her. She also have tried to poison one of the court ladies. Countess De polignag becomes the queen’s best friend, for her own benefits and manipulates her without her (Marie Antoinette) knowing, like telling her to lie about being pregnant and also persuade her to start gambling in the court, which was illegal. She’s also Rosalie’s biological mother and accidentally kills the woman which raised her daughter and she’s the reason that her other daughter suicides, because she cannot handle the marriage the she arranged for her. Besides of her daughter’s death, she doesn’t seem to regret for any of her actions as she tries to make Rosalie merry the same man. Luckily Rosalie escapes. Also, she tried to sabotage Oscar many times and all this was just for the sake of power and money.

In “Glass Mask”, Norie Otobe, befriends Maya and she is supposedly her assistant, but in reality she just waits for the right moment to strike and steal Maya’s role and career. Unfortunately, she succeeds and it costs a lot for Maya, for a while. Luckily Ayumi discovers this and punishes her with the best way ever.

The tomboys

They are either mysterious, or lively, but one thing is for sure; they are dressed in clothes that are considered to be “manly”, they are handsome and they are constantly mistaken for a boy. They are also very elegant and educated and their image is that of a prince. That’s why they are admired by both women and men. Some may say that even though they are trying to be like a man, they are still weak, but they point out that just because they dress more “tomboyish”, doesn’t mean that it makes them less of a woman. After all, when they want to, they can transform into the most feminine girl of all. They also prove that their sexuality is not associated with their looks, as a “masculine” girl has the same possibilities of being heterosexual or homosexual, with a more “feminine” one. So, they break all the stereotypes regarding women. Many times, they are portrayed as headstrong heroines who stand up for their beliefs and their friends.

The most famous character that supports this image is Oscar from “the Rose of Versailles”. Oscar is one of the daughters of the Jerjeyes household. Not having any son, her father decided to raise her as a boy so that one day she will succeed him. Oscar dresses in boys’ clothes and learns activities like fencing and archery. When she was fourteen, she was tasked to serve as Marie Antoinette’s bodyguard. The manga often pointed out how different those two were regarding appearance and character, even if they were in the same age. Oscar has a strong sense of justice and she always protects the weak and is not afraid to challenge someone that she believes that isn’t right. Of course, she is admired by men and women alike and she is also a great and loyal friend. At one point she falls in love with Fersen, who loves Marie Antoinette. But because of her respect for the queen and her love of Fersen, she helps them, despite being heartbroken. At the end, she realises that she loves her childhood friend, Andre. She loves medieval combat, drinking heavy drinks, talking about politics and playing violin. Many pointed out that being a woman she was weaker but she always proved them wrong, pointing out that women can do anything and that it doesn’t matter if you are a man or a woman, only how skilful you are. She was hiding her femininity not because she wanted to be a man, but because that if she acted like a woman, the society might think that she was weak and she wouldn’t be able to have the access and the freedom to do what women normally wouldn’t do back then, because women were alowed to limited things. In the early 1970s, by the time this manga was ongoing, the second wave of feminism had already started and women started fighting for equal legal and social rights, so Oscar’s character was influenced by all this.

Rei from “Oniisama e”, is admired by her fellow classmates and is also called “saint Juste”, named after one of the leaders from French Revolution, due to her physical resemblance to him. She is very charismatic, excelling to sports, piano, guitar and theatre, she is very elegant and dresses often in a black suit. Unfortunately she is drug-addict, she smokes and can be suicidal, carrying always pills and a sharp object with her. She is also obsessed with Fukiko, the sorority’s president, for many reasons, causing her to be controlled and abused by her. She also lives alone in a depressing house filled with mirrors and this also causes to be depressed. Her best friend is Kaoru no Kimi, who’s also a tomboy, but they are entirely different and she befriends Nanako and her friends. In the end she suicides, taking too many sleeping pills, having everyone, especially Nanako, left devastated.

Also from “Oniisama e”, Kaoru, is a tomboy who is strong and energetic. She is athletic and excels at basketball, but she is also very cool and doesn’t seem to care that she is the best at something that she’s doing, that’s why she is admired by her fellow classmates who gave her the nickname “Kaoru no Kimi”, from a Japanese classical novel; “the tale of Genji”. She also has a great sense of justice, as when she sees classmates being bullied, she defends them and put the bullies on their place. She is also very loyal and supportive and cares deeply about her friends, helping them when they are in need, especially her best friend, Rei, for whom she is very concerned. But in spite of her energetic appearance, she suffers from breast cancer and tries to keep it a secret, pretending that she is healthy and that everything is under control. But in fact, she pushes away her beloved, Henmi Takehito, concealing her true feelings, in order for him to be happy without her and not suffer anymore, showing how selfless she is and how much she loves him to a point of sacrificing her own feelings. At the end, it pays off and they end up together, living happily.

Another honourable mention is Rei, from “Glass Mask”. Rei is the older student of Tsukikage sensei’s company and one of Maya’s best friends. She is a tomboy who wears those characteristic 70s jeans and for some reason is mistaken by a boy -much to her dislike-, despite of being obvious that she is a girl. Being an actress, she can transform into a beautiful princess in no time, but she also portraits very well a prince. In the first volumes, she portrayed Jo, from “little women” which was a role very suited for her. As a sister figure for Maya, she is loyal, friendly and the responsible one who helps the theatre company stay organised and is a very strict teacher to Maya, helping her because she knows her potential. Also from “Glass Mask”, Keiko from the “Ikkakuju group” is also mistaken as boy, but she can transform into a pretty princess in no time.

Note: At the first half of the 20th century “Little Women” were very popular in Japan, particularly Jo, who was tomboyish and outspoken and her character had inspired the first female mangakas of the 60s for their stories and characters.

[fullmoonremus]

Strawberry Jam Sandwich | Regulus Black x Reader

Warnings: Nothing :)

Time/Era: Marauders Era

Word Count: 2.2k

Summary: Y/N Potter and Regulus Black are a match made from heaven, even if other people didn’t expect it. 

Request: hello first of all I really like your writing and hope you and your loved ones are doing well. could you write a regulus black fic? like reader is James’ sister and they get married (because regulus doesn’t die) and years later they meet Harry?

A/N: Thank you and thank you for the request! Let me know how you like it! Enjoy! I love Reg and I’m so excited to FINALLY write for him!! For anyone else wanting a fic; please request away! 

masterlist | read on ao3

Y/N Potter and Regulus Black were a weird pairing in most people’s eyes. Both being the younger siblings of the two most popular guys in school, it made their peers raise their eyebrows. Not to mention, they were in rival houses and seemed to be on opposite sides of the war. But they just worked. 

Y/N was a lot like her older brother, James; very loud and loveable. She was naturally talented on the quidditch field and loved to make friends. It was obvious that she had relationships with people of all the houses due to her outgoing attitude and warm sense of humor. While Regulus also played quidditch, he was much more introverted and shy. He didn’t have many friends, due to being categorized by his surname automatically, so he often kept to himself and spoke only when necessary. Y/N was the talker, Regulus was the listener. 

Funnily enough, Y/N and Regulus met through the means of getting Sirius to make amends with Regulus again. Regulus had cornered Y/N in the library and begged her to help him come up with a plan to talk to his brother. They ended up meeting multiple times in the following weeks and grew to be friends. 

Regulus adored her ability to be interested in small things; she once asked him what a necklace he wore meant. It didn’t mean anything in particular, but she sat and listened to him speak about his jewelry for almost 15 minutes. No one ever took the time to listen to what the younger Black sibling had to say. 

To their ‘plan sessions” in the library, Y/N always brought a strawberry jam sandwich to munch on. They met after her quidditch practices, so James and Sirius wouldn’t find them, which meant she needed a snack to keep her energy levels up. She always offered him half, which the rather regal boy would decline nearly every time. Nearly. Regulus found her little snack absolutely adorable, especially when the jam got all over her face. It made her lips even pinker, and that much more kissable. 

The sandwich became an inside joke between the two quickly. Even when passing in the halls, they would scoff and find the most outlandish way to mention the food. It wasn’t funny in hindsight, but it was something that connected the two in its ridiculousness. 

~

Regulus paced back and forth among the bookshelves of the Hogwarts library, hoping to bump into his now best friend, Y/N. The library was near empty, as it was Friday night and very close to curfew, so even just looking for her held very little hope. She had mentioned something about having to finish an assignment she was procrastinating, so Regulus hoped she followed his advice to just get it over with. 

The bookshelves were high and blocked most of the ceiling in the room, making the books impossible to read. Long, vertical shadows cast their darkness over almost every inch of the floor and offered very little light to allow him to navigate the maze of shelves.  During the day, of course, this was a different considering the wall of windows that looked over the courtyards. The window seats were some of his favorite places to come and think. And the seats just happened to be his and Y/N’s meeting spot. 

Regulus was about to give up on his search, but he noticed Y/N hunched over an astronomy book, sitting on the floor with her back leaning against a bookshelf. He casually slipped next to her, offering a shy hello. 

“Hey, Black. What are you doing here?” 

“I was about to ask you the same thing, Potter. Not exactly the best studying environment.” Regulus tilted his head back until it hit the books and turned his head to see her. 

“Well, I’m trying to save myself from having to do this entire project tomorrow. I have a book, yet you appear literature-less. What’s your excuse?” Y/N moved so she sat with her legs crossed, the thick book laid open on her lap. 

“I came to return this, you left it at our last meeting.” He placed a slightly toasted strawberry jam sandwich on the book. It was wrapped lazily in a green napkin and left an abundance of crumbs on her homework. Upon further inspection, the words will you be my girlfriend? were scribbled messily on the paper in black ink. Y/N’s jaw grew slack as she looked over at the highly attractive man next to her. 

“You don’t have to if you don’t want to, but I just wanted to ask.” 

“Are you being serious?” 

“Dead, Y/N.” 

A smile crept over her features and she held out half of the sandwich. “Suppose we can start our relationship with a snack?” 

Regulus accepted the food, making a subtle crunching noise as he bit into it. “I suppose I can make the exception to eat your exceptionally plain choice in snack food, just this once.” 

~

“I’m sorry, you’re dating who?” James laughs, shrugging his younger sister off before grabbing his broom. 

By this point, Y/N and Regulus have been sneakily dating for more than half a year and Y/N was tired of hiding their relationship. After Regulus and Sirius had failed to rekindle their relationship, Sirius shoved his brother even further away than they started. It hurt the younger black to the point of giving up, but even he was tired of hiding their relationship. He loved Y/N with his entire being, and his jerky older brother couldn’t ruin that. 

“Have you ever even talked to Regulus before?” Sirius adds, grabbing his own broom to prep for quidditch practice. 

“Yes, and I am dating him. Not sure what’s so hard to understand about that.” 

“We understand it, just don’t believe it. Now, don’t speak about things you don’t understand.” James kicked off the ground and flew in the direction of the quidditch pitch. 

“Don’t understand? Excuse me?!” 

“He’s right. I know you were just trying to prank us, but joking about something that personal isn’t funny, Y/N.’’ Sirius mounts his own broom and flies off after James. 

After practice, Y/N hurried to the library to meet her slightly anxious boyfriend. Regulus knew you were telling Sirius and James, and he knew they would react badly. Y/N saw Regulus sitting on the windowsill furthest from the door and hurriedly walked over. 

“Hey! How’d it go?” He asked after Y/N pecked his lips and sat next to him. Regulus wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her close. 

“Not much to tell, really. They said I was trying to prank them and to not talk about things I didn’t understand. Honestly, I kind of wish they yelled.” 

Regulus laughed and kissed her temple. “They’ll come around, I’m not exactly their favorite person so I can see why they don’t believe it. And I’m happy they didn’t yell because I know how you feel when people yell and I don’t want you to feel like that.” 

“Holy shit! Get away from my sister!” James’ voice filled the area, Sirius quick on his heels. They must have been following Y/N after practice. 

~

“Riddle me this, you want to spy for the order and potentially get KILLED?!” Y/N paced around the living room of Regulus and her shared flat. 

It didn’t take long for Sirius to reaccept Regulus back into his life after seeing how he treated Y/N. At first, both older brothers thought Regulus was using Y/N to feed secrets and information to the opposing side of the war. They didn’t accept the couple and wanted Y/N to have nothing to do with the boy. But, after many feelings were hurt and various words were shared, they decided to give the boy a chance. 

Regulus treated Y/N like a queen and made sure his girl knew how much he loved her. He wasn’t very good with words, but his actions spoke volumes. Flower bouquets were gifted periodically, as were small gifts that had a lot of thought put into them. During one of their study dates, he spent over an hour drawing a beautiful portrait of her. Not too long after, he gave her an entire sketchbook of drawings he knew she would love. Whether that was pictures of her friends, family, her favorite flowers, or something as mundane as the bench she loved to sit on, the gift had taken hours and hours of his time. It was obvious that Regulus was in love with his girl. 

After graduating from Hogwarts, both Regulus and Y/N joined the Order of the Pheonix. Regulus still had heavy ties with Voldemort and his family, so Dumbledore asked him if he would consider being a spy for the Order. Even Sirius thought it was a bad idea. But, he had to prove that he wasn’t who he was raised to be. He had to prove himself to not only everyone around him, but to his inner soul. 

“Listen, Dumbledore thinks that there’s a spy that infiltrated the Order and if I can find out who, maybe I can stop it. Think about it, James has a kid, a kid who is very valuable to you-know-who. We haven’t even spent a ton of time with him yet, but I know I can save him if I find the spy.” 

“Yes, I realize that, Reg. But I can’t lose you in the process. We’re supposed to get married and have kids of our own and have a happy life-” Y/N takes a deep breath. “I can’t live without you.” 

Regulus smiles a comforting smile, taking his girlfriend’s hands in his. “I know, darling. I’m not going anywhere. How about this,” He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a small ring box, presenting it to Y/N. “Let’s get married. I’ve never been a fan of the big white wedding...and all you need is a few witnesses and two signatures. I’m sure Sirius and James would be more than willing to witness. What do you say?” 

Y/N gapes at her boyfriend. “Are you asking me to marry you?!” Regulus laughs and pecks her lips. 

“I love you so much, Y/N Potter. You are the light of my life and I am so lucky to have you. You have brought me so much joy and really made me the best person I could be,” He wipes a tear delicately from Y/N’s skin. “I asked James for his blessing, too, after the last Order meeting. He said he was ecstatic for us. So, Y/N, will you marry me? We can eat strawberry jam sandwiches together for the rest of our lives.”

“Yes! A thousand times yes!”

~

“Hi, little one, I’m your uncle, Regulus, remember?- Ow! Not the hair!” Regulus sat in a suit in the parlor of Potter cottage with one-year-old harry in his lap. Y/N watched from the doorway, decked out in her white cocktail dress and heels. She couldn’t help but gush at the sight of her soon to be husband with a child; it felt so natural. Her heart swelled just thinking about watching him play with their own children. 

“Yeah, he does that, keep him at a distance,” James responded, coming into the room. He was running late, as always, and was trying to tie his tie. “I can’t believe I’m witnessing my baby sister getting married!” 

Harry gargled and reached his hands towards his father. “Dadadadada!!!!” 

“I know, buddy, I’m right here. Hang out with your Uncle Reg for a while, yeah?” James responds, messing with his hair in the mirror. No matter how much he ‘fixed it,’ it all looked the same.

“It’s crazy how he looks so much like you, it’s like you copied your baby photos and made them come to life!” Y/N stated. Harry was almost an exact copy of James, but with Lily’s eyes. 

Sirius came into the room, perfectly dressed with his hair tied back. “Well, are we leaving or not?” He asked, fixing the bowtie around his neck in the mirror for the 8th time. 

“Pa’foo!” Harry squeals and squirms in Regulus’ arms. His grip tightens around the baby before pressing a kiss into his dark curls. 

“No, not Pa’foo! Reg!” Sirius turned towards Y/N and whistled. “Damn, Reggie, not sure how you picked up this one! Look at the legs on her! Phew, lucky I don’t snatch you up myself!” 

“Stop it! Can we please go?” Y/N swatted Sirius’s chest with her bag, embarrassed.

James plucked Harry from Regulus’ lap and hands him to Lily. “Yes, yes. Sorry, let’s go!” James kisses Lily’s cheek and disapperates out of his house.

Y/N walks over to Regulus and offers him a hand. “Ready to go get married?” 

“I’ve never been more ready, my love. “ 

[cloud9in]

The Half of It - 2 (Poppy x MC)

Summary: Bea, the town’s outcast is recruited by the school jock to win Poppy’s heart. But what happens when she starts falling for her as well?

HIGHLY recommend you read/re-read part 1

No warnings this chapter

Word Count: 2.6k

Chapter 2: How to write a love letter 101

 “In love, one always starts by deceiving oneself...and ends by deceiving others. That is what the world calls romance.”

- Oscar Wilde

I was tasked with what was probably the hardest piece of writing I’ve done in all of my years of highschool, and I wrote eight different versions of the analysis on David vs Goliath my freshman year. That’s besides the point, it wasn’t like any normal research essay. No. For some reason I found that my one and only letter to Poppy would have to be the best thing I ever wrote in the entirety of the universe. Too bad I had to make it sound like it was written by Carter, that big stupid jock. You can guess how severely depressed I became after reading what he had initially written…

 “Dear Poppy, I think you’re really beautiful. Even if you were ugly, I’d want to know you, because you are smart and nice, too. It’s hard to find all those things in one girl. But even if you were only two of those things, I’d be into it. But you’re, like, all three, just to be clear.”

 Bea reads off the paper, turning her head with cringe and confusion at the confident jock sitting next to her. Carter smiles, “She’s all three, like you know all three backs of football. The running back, the fullback-”

 “Thanks for clarifying...:”

 Carter stares awkwardly, waiting for her to continue on. And Bea does, with a big ass sigh.

“...About me. Some people think I’m the cutest one in my family. Those people being my grandma...who’s dead now...Never mind about my dead grandma. All I’m saying is that I like fries. I like dipping them in my milkshake. Is that weird? It’s actually really tasty. Would you like to try that with me sometime?

 CJ, school quarterback.”

 Bea takes a good five minutes to compose herself. Yeah this was definitely gonna be a long week. She lowers the paper slightly and turns to Carter, a puzzled look in her eyes. “So what you’re trying to say is-”

 “I’m in love with her.”

 That confession definitely would have sent her sprawling a few feet back if she hadn’t been sitting. Love? What was love? And why does she despise it now that Carter has mentioned it. 

“...Have you ever spoken to her?”

 “Well...no, I’m not good with words. Besides, would I be here with you if I did talk to her?”

 Bea rolls her eyes and huffs exhaustingly. “Carter, you're not in love. You’re just stubborn.”

 “No I’m not! It’s love, I know it’s love. Love feels different, it doesn’t feel...real. It almost feels impossible. But we indulge in it because of the thrill, the adrenaline of chasing someone mindlessly...and wanting to be present in everything they do. There’s that ‘what if?’, the question that could make or break that love. Even if the ending isn’t what you had hoped for, at least you know how it felt to feel so much joy, so much want.”

 Carter stares up at the ceiling in thought, his eyes seem to be unfocused, staring at nothing and everything. Bea gazes over at him in part shock and part admiration, a smile painting her face. “...Wow.”

 “...Hm, yeah. I heard it in a dating app commercial once.” 

 Bea gasps and smacks Carter repeatedly with the letter in her hand, clearly disappointed. 

 “Wha- Ow!”

 “And here I was thinking you were being original.”

 Bea eventually sits back in her seat, her shoulders slumping as she reads the letter over and over again, trying to make sense of it. That was the problem though, it didn’t make sense, well maybe the fries part did, but the blonde had a lot of work to do. Carter watches her silently until he can’t hold back the lingering question in his head. “...Haven’t you ever felt it? That screwy feeling that love gives you? Poppy makes me feel screwy.”

 Bea continues to read, her eyes glued onto the words that are slightly falling out of the printed lines of the notebook paper. But her mind is fully elsewhere, she heard his question loud and clear. The only thing she could muster was an annoyed “no” in efforts to not become vulnerable.

 He intertwined his hands together, leaning back on the bench. “...Oh I get it, you’ve never been in love have you?”

 Bea’s legs were already one step ahead of her mind as they sprung her out of the seat. She grabs her bag and swats the papers in Carter’s direction, a scoff leaving her lips. “You want a love letter? I’ll give you a love letter!”

 “Yeah but will it be something that makes her fall in love with me and not walk away like you’re doing right now-” Carter’s voice rings out hurriedly yet Bea can’t hear anything except the pounding of her heart getting louder as she stalks out of the church. Love, love, love, what even is it? Will I ever feel it? There is nobody who could make me feel-

 The blonde was cut abruptly out of her thoughts as she crashed into someone, who was most likely on their respective part of the sidewalk. All of the materials in her arms fell to the concrete and Bea rushed to pick them up, “I’m sorry I-”

A familiar blonde set of locks and porcelain skin came into view and she immediately stopped and looked up. Poppy’s eyes were already boring into hers, a look of slight concern, and maybe annoyance? on her face. 

 “...I’m-I’m Bea Hughes…” She could only stutter, all those moments that she pretended to talk to Poppy in her room were definitely not paying off. 

 But maybe it did pay off because a small smile, masked with sparkly pink lip gloss started to form. Poppy bit her lip as her eyes crinkled with amusement, “...Yeah I know. You’ve only been playing my dad’s services on Sunday for, like, four years. He does favour you...even if you are a heathen.” Poppy peers over at the church that Bea had just come out of and raises an eyebrow in curiosity. She picks up a stray book from the ground and grins with an impressed look. “Remains of The Day...Loved it. Mr. Stevens is quite the character.” Okay, so Poppy has great taste in literature, that’s another thing to add to the list that Bea totally doesn’t have stored in the notes app of her phone. Listen, she has to write a love letter to Poppy Min Sinclair, so every piece of information is vital. 

 Poppy hands the book to Bea, their eyes never leaving each other while standing up. Say something Bea. Anything. It’s almost like the strawberry blonde was waiting, hoping, for her to speak . 

 But she said nothing. No, all the insecure blonde could do is stare into Poppy’s eyes, almost as if she wasn’t afraid to turn to stone. 

 The sound of car tires scraping against the pavement caused Poppy to break eye contact before smiling one last time at Bea. “This is me.” Bea watched the shorter girl stroll past her so casually, the complete opposite of what she was feeling in the moment. She didn’t speak until Poppy closed the car door and the driver took off, a frustrated sigh escaping her lips. “I’m Bea Hughes? Really?”

 ***

Bea sat in front of her tv, a pen and notepad in her hand. She couldn’t think of anything to write down. How do you write a love letter, or a confession? This is the one thing she had trouble writing. The tv blasted on with 1987’s “Wings of Desire”. Bea cocked her head to the side when the man started to profess his love. She put her pen to the pad and started writing. 

 Poppy,

 You don’t know me, and truth be told I see that as a good thing. You know that saying, there are plenty of fish in the sea? Well I am not a fisherman, nor do I think you are a fish. Letters are not the form of communication that I would personally prefer, but I am the one writing to you. So no more complaining. I think you are interesting. Like a book I want to read. I’d even read the author’s notes at the end just to get every bit of you. I don’t desire a lot of things, but I long for a wave of love to swell up in me. That’s what makes me so clumsy: the lack of pleasure.

 Yours, 

Carter 

***

Bea pushes down on her pedals, pacing her breath with each turn of the wheels beneath her. The voice of Carter appears as he races behind her, careful not to send her flying last time. Then she’d never write a letter again.  “Bea! She wrote back!”

 The blonde pulled the brakes on her bicycle so hard a wheel might have popped off. She was out of breath but suddenly the reason for it was different. Bea grabs the letter from Carter’s hands and makes haste to read the words she imagined would sit on the paper. 

  Carter,

 I like Wim Wenders too. Wouldn’t have plagiarized him though.

 -Poppy 

“Who’s Wim Wenders and why’d you cheat off of him? Bea I looked up what plagiarism meant.”

 “I didn’t cheat off of him!...Okay maybe I did but this is a good thing!”

 “HOW?”

 “It’s...it’s like a game. She’s challenging us..but in a good way.” Bea nods to Carter but also to herself. There was a response. She didn’t think that Poppy would write back but she did and it has changed Bea’s outlook on everything. She was in, and there was no way it could stop now. 

 “So...are we back in the game?” Carter’s words jumble Bea out of her thoughts and she stutters, “Yep..yes we are.” No you are. “We are definitely back in it.” Nope just you Bea. 

 Bea leaves Carter with an awkward fist bump before peddling away, her mind racing with a million thoughts. But they always seem to close back into one familiar blonde who danced and did everything Bea couldn’t. She sighed, the adrenaline pumping its way out of her lungs. 

 “Game on, Poppy Min Sinclair.”

***

 Bea spent the following days perfecting her next letter to Poppy. This one would be more heartfelt, and less cringe and plagiaristic like her last one. It would come from her and only her...but for Carter of course. The thing is, when Bea started writing again, she didn’t think about the fact that Carter would take credit for everything on the paper, and that he would be the one that develops a *possible* relationship with Poppy. Maybe she didn’t want to think about that part, but the other parts brought just the right amount of serotonin to make her shitty day better. Everything she read, everywhere she went reminded her of the strawberry blonde, and of the unfinished letter. Bea attempted to step into the life of Carter’s and speak like a jock would, without making him seem like something he is not. But that was hard. Because it was her words, her mind. Carter would take that from her, even if it was unintentional. 

 It didn’t help that Carter didn’t want them to be seen together in public. He would slide to the opposite end of the bench in the church when his football buddies would come in. Bea didn’t take it personal. She of course had other things going through her mind. 

 It took 7 days. One week. To finish the second letter, a very short one. Bea wouldn’t describe herself as a perfectionist, but every word that Poppy would read had to be perfect.

Dear Poppy,

 Okay you got me…

 Now that that’s done, let’s start over yeah? I’ll start by saying that I sometimes hide behind other people’s words. For one thing, I know nothing about love. I’m 17 and I’ve lived in Farmsville my whole life. I hang out with my friends, I keep my head down. I’m a simple...guy. Which is to say, if I knew what love was, I would quote myself. But I don’t. I have a question for you, please answer it in any way you want. Are you happy where you are right now?

 -Carter

Bea sat in the church, silently tapping away at the keys of piano, a simple soft melody following the nod of her head. Carter had found her like that but didn’t want to disturb. Except, Poppy wrote back again, so this was big news. They both sat in confession booths as Bea read the letter quietly, her hand gripping the edges a little too harshly. 

Dear Carter,

 You know that it takes eleven muscles to yawn? This is the sort of weird fact I find myself recalling to keep myself from...well yawning. Or showing anything I feel really. And I find myself doing that a lot. So yeah..believe it or not, I turn to other people’s words too. 

 When you’re a pretty girl, and I know it makes me sound conceited, but sometimes I am, but that’s why you’re even writing to me right? I mean my image is what gives me attention, I’ve grown used to that fact. When you’re a pretty girl, people want to give you things. What they really want is to make you like them. Not like them as in, “i like you”, but like them as in, “i am like you.” You may think I’m different, but I’m like a lot of other people. Which makes me kind of no one. It looks like I’ve found my place but I really haven’t. Just a girl who’s lost in the mix. I don’t know why I feel like I can tell you this, but you provide the sort of safety I always craved. You’re interesting Carter, I like you. 

 -Poppy 

Bea read the last sentence more times than she should’ve. Carter watched her silently as she stared into the lines of the paper, maybe hoping that more words would magically appear. The blonde couldn’t describe the feeling in her chest, but it hurt. Physically. 

 “Uh...can I text her now?”

 “Too soon.”

 “No, I'm gonna do it now.”

 Bea felt herself starting to get frustrated, but calmness always overtook any other feeling she had. She was taught to be rational.

 “You do that and she’ll think you’re just like everyone else.” You’re not like anyone else Bea, she needs to know that. 

 Carter lets out a heavy sigh and pulls out his phone. Bea felt a buzz in her pocket and pulled hers out as well. A message pops up alerting Bea of another income of $50 being sent to her. 

***

 Bea slogged through the crowded halls trying to find the exit but before she can walk any further, a firm hand grabs her and pulls her into a familiar classroom. The blonde turns to scowl at the perpetrator which was probably Bradley, but instead she sees bright red lips and black glasses. Ms. Kingsley. But she doesn’t look too happy.

 The older woman holds up a paper which Bea recognizes immediately as her letter to Poppy. How in the world did she get that? 

 “So...this is why half my class is failing their essays?”

 Bea could make a snarky comment back to her, but the sight of the letter sends her thoughts spiraling once again. She lets out a defeated sigh. I mean how did this woman know she’d  written that letter? Ina Kingsley knew everything. “Look...I’ll be reopen for business soon enough.” Bea starts to turn to leave and looks at Kingsley one more time. “I can’t do this for much longer.”

 Bea couldn’t hold in her feelings for much longer as well. But not even Kingsley knew that. She walked out of the classroom with her head down, hoping to avoid eye contact with the one she wanted to see the most. 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

End Note: Part two is here woah. Thought it would never come. 

Tags: @samanthadalton @somewillwin @clowneryme @baexpoppy @zigxryanz @uselesslesbianfr @aleiramacaii  @thedaft1 @alexlabhont @iamsimpforpoppy @cloakanddaggerthings @straightlikewetspaghetti 

[notanotherockstar]

‘Forbidden Fruit’

(Headcannons of being Nolan’s granddaughter and dating Charlie Dalton)

Warnings: smut, fluff, dead poets society spoilers

You meet Charlie at a diner.

And it is in no way like those meet cutes they show in the movies.

You’re just minding your own business and eating your pie waiting for your grandfather to arrive.

Charlie just happens to spot you sitting alone.

Beautiful girl, sitting alone in a booth, eating apple pie, he just assumes that you’ve been stood up.

He just plops down on the seat opposite you.

“Do I know you?” You ask.

He extends his hand towards you. “Charlie.”

“Y/N.” You shake his hand and immediately go back to your pie because pie>>>>>boys.

“So, what’s a beauty like you doing sitting alone in a place like this.”

“Eating pie.”

Charlie laughs, even though he’s confused, because how dare some girl not give into the charms of the great Charlie Dalton.

“Apple?” He asks.

“Yeah.” You answer as you begin to wonder how long he’s going to be sitting here for because your grandfather will most definitely kill him if he saw you two sitting together.

“Can I have a bite?”

“Will that make you go away?”

“Maybe.”

You push the plate forward and allow Charlie to take a bite.

“This good.” He moved forward to take another bite but you pull the plate back.

You shake your head. “Only one bite. That was the deal. Now scatter.” You motion for him to leave, a cheeky smile on your face and you take another bite out of the apple pie.

“One more bite and I’ll leave.”

“Liar.” You accuse him but push the plate forward anyway.

The two of you end up finishing the pie together so Charlie orders another one.

And then another.

And then another.

And then another.

Till there is no more pie left to order.

So you two end up laughing and bonding over a slices of chocolate cake.

When you’re half way through the second slice of chocolate cake Charlie decides he wants to ask you on a proper date.

But then the worst thing that could happen happens.

Your grandfather walks into the diner .

Charlie’s immediately reaction upon seeing his headmaster outside school is to go hide but he doesn’t he just stays frozen in his seat.

He feels like he’s going to faint when he sees you stand up and hug Nolan.

He sits absolutely still as you introduce Nolan as the grandfather you were waiting for when he first spotted you.

As he sits frozen in the booth Charlie’s eyes flicker between you and your grandfather as he begins to wonder how someone of beautiful and amazing could be related to the man who made his life a living hell for the past six years.

He then stands up and shakes both your hands before announcing that he had to leave since his friends must be worrying about him back in school.

Though it disheartens you, you peck his cheek goodbye.

Just as Charlie was about to step out of the door he turns to look back at you and winks sending an involuntary blush on your cheeks.

“He’s nice.” You tell your grandfather as you two sit down opposite each other in the booth.

“He’s trouble.”

You would soon learn that your grandfather was right.

Denying Charlie Dalton was trouble was just as good as denying that the earth revolves around the sun.

That very night, after dinner, you’re sitting on your bed reading a book when you hear something tap against the bedroom window.

You ignore it as first, continuing to read your book but the noise gets harder and harder to put aside as the tapping continues.

You push the windows open and look down to see Charlie standing there, dressed in his pyjamas and a thick black cloak.

“What’re you doing here, Charlie?” You yell as quietly as possible so as to not alert your grandfather inside the house.

He looks down at his palm and begins reading out everything Knox had told him to say.

Much to his surprise, by the time he was done talking, you were giggling instead of swooning.

“Stay right there.” You tell him before shutting the windows, shrugging on a robe and sneaking out to the backyard where Charlie was waiting for you.

“You’re going to get yourself killed, you know that?” you say as you walk through the freshly grass, the green blades pricking and dampening your bare feet.

“I’ve been told.” A cheeky smirk was painted on his well structured face.

You two spend a good chunk of your night talking. Just talking.

The two of you touch every topic from your love for literature, a general hatred towards almost every other topic taught in school and of course, having very shitty parents.

You guys sat on the grass and talked for hours and hours till your heard your grandfather yelling your name and Charlie was forced to run away.

Of course, Charlie being Charlie would not leave without a grand gesture which came in the form of a fleeting kiss.

“Y/N, what’re you doing out so late?” Your grandfather questions as he flashes the light from the torch on your face.

Still in a daze from Charlie’s kiss the only thing that comes out of your mouth was, “nothing.”

The kiss marked the beginning of not-so-secret secret relationship.

That included a lot of sneaking around the town for dates.

You sneaking him into your bedroom.

And him sneaking you into his dorm room when he’s sure no one else is around.

All the other boys know, of course, mainly because Charlie can’t stop talking about you.

They encourage him to invite you to one of the Dead Poets Society meetings.

“Can’t make women swoon if they aren’t any women.” Cameron says and he has to use all his strength not to punch his roommate in the face.

He isn’t very keen on the idea of sharing you with his friends yet but when he proposes the idea to you you jump at the chance.

Nothing sounds better than reading poetry in a cave in the middle of the night and the chance of getting to make new friends was just the cherry on top of the sundae.

You get along with all the boys almost immediately— except for Cameron. No one likes Cameron.

But the one you bond with most is sweet boy Todd.

You end up sitting between him and Neil during the meeting.

It takes a little while but once you break through this force field Todd created to keep other people out the two of you start talking about poetry and literature as though you did it on a daily basis.

Charlie gets VERY VERY jealous of you and Todd.

He has this murderous look in his eyes every time he hears you laugh at something Todd said.

After the meeting he offers to walk you home while the other boys walked back to school.

The walk somehow led to a weirdly satisfying make out session in the woods.

Which led to weirdly satisfying sex in the woods.

“Bet Todd can’t make you feel this way.” You hear Charlie mumble as the two of you put your clothes back on.

“What?” You laugh. “Charlie is that what this is all about? You’re jealous?”

“No.” He scoffs and helps you up.

“No, it’s alright.” You lock your arm with his as you two walk ahead together. “I think it’s cute.” You poke his cheek making him smile.

Going to more and more Dead Poets Society meetings with Charlie till all the boys simply became family— once again, except for Cameron. NO ONE likes Cameron.

Finding out that Knox helped Charlie organise all his big romantic gestures and dates.

In turn, you help Knox with Chris.

You also help Neil practice for the play by reciting lines with him.

Charlie gets jealous again.

And a jealous Charlie is a clingy Charlie.

So he joins you and Neil during practice.

He rests his head on your shoulder and his arms are wrapped around your waist.

Slowly moves his hand up your skirt and slowly (and discreetly) begins fingering you.

You moan mid line alerting Neil.

He immediately excuses himself out of the room.

You want to be angry at Charlie but don’t get chance since he immediately pulls you into kiss and then fucks you into his mattress.

Helping Charlie with his English homework and other subjects whenever possible.

Mr. Keating definitely knows about you.

Charlie told Keating after he confronted him about the English homework he knew Charlie definitely didn’t write himself.

So when you introduce yourself to Keating the evening of Neil’s play you’re surprised to find out that he already knows you.

Broom closet kisses when you come to visit Charlie your grandfather at Welton.

Even though there’s an excitement to having a secret relationship you want to come clean about it because it can get really stressful at times.

Charlie convinces you to keep it a secret for just a little while longer— at least till he graduates and no longer has to worry about Nolan expelling him if he hurt you in any shape or form.

But you have to come clean anyway once the whole Neil fiasco unravels.

There’s a lot of crying and a lot of begging and a lot of swearing and lot of threats to leave home and country and never return till a deal was finally shook upon between you and your grandfather.

You would leave, go back to with your parents/mother/father in exchange for Charlie retain his position at Welton.

Sadly you couldn’t do anything about Mr. Keating’s job.

It’s a very tearful goodbye between you and the boys.

And an even sadder one between you and Charlie.

He spends the night before you have to leave in your bedroom not caring about the repercussions.

You promise to write every week and call every moment you get and he promises to do the same.

[sweetsubharry]

hey ! sorry to bother you but could you reccomend me some fics of footballer louis?? thank you !! love your acc

Hiya!!  💖you can never bother me!! ^-^ ohmgosh I’m so glad you like my blog! I love footballer louis djskasdhjag tysm(sorry it took soooo long!)

please make sure you read the tags and stay safe everyone!💖

Also these are not in any particular order, however I will say the first two are probably my favourites ;) I have to read them again right after this!

freeze this moment in a frame and stay like this by rosesau

Harry (not so) secretly crushes on the cute footie player and fills pages with sketches of him.

Don't Stop Thinking About Tomorrow by 1Diamondinthesun

Harry spends most of his time in an empty house or a lonely darkroom, dreaming of leaving his small town for art school. He's invisible to most people. And then Louis Tomlinson sees him. Life will never be the same.

Or, the American high school AU loosely inspired by She's All That.

Definition of Beauty by zanni_scaramouche

“Your book is upside down.” Harry nods at Louis’ book, his history text now that he sees it too.

“I’d rather study you.”

They both blink, startled by the slip.

“With you. Study with you,” Louis rushes to say. “Liam says I’m shite at history, can you help?”

Louis’ caught off guard by an omega he nearly takes out with an errant footie ball. It’s not that Louis’ never seen Harry before, it’s that he can’t stop looking, and he’s desperate to figure him out.

Coffee Cups and Football Boots by kimtaedumb

Harry’s stood behind the counter again, but this time he’s painting his nails. Louis strolls up to the counter and, thanks to his no brain-to-mouth filter, blurts out, “Isn’t that a little girlish, Haz?” leaning closer to inspect.

Harry lets out a little huff as his hand slips, “Oh, damn, now I’ve messed it up,” he pouts and turns to Louis, “Why should making myself feel pretty be girly?”

Louis holds up his hands in surrender, “’M not judging, jus’ curious is all.”

(The entirely cheesy and cliché Christmas AU, in which Harry doesn’t give a damn what people think about him – mostly – and Louis may be a little bit in love.

Alternatively, the one in which Harry owns a café that’s barely scraping by and Louis is a footballer and he takes Harry away for Christmas.

Featuring Zayn as a cocky little shit that most definitely needs to be put back in his place, Niall as the loveable Irish dude who drinks too much and flirts with Zayn more than the average girl, and Liam who loves everyone but hates them all at the same time.)

Way in the World by flowsque

When Louis Tomlinson enters the waiting room, Harry can distinctly feel his heart sinking to his stomach. The man's hair is ruffled and dishevelled and his red jersey, damp with sweat from training, clings to his perfect and chiseled body. He stands there, almost unreal, against the glass door, peering inside the office. Harry knew this would’ve happened, sooner or later. That he would have bumped into him. They play for the same club after all, even if they’re in different leagues. It’s not weird. It is not. Except it totally is. - Or, the one where Harry has a knee injury and an embarrassing crush on Manchester United's pretty number ten.

I Long For You by AnotherAnonymousWriter

Thirty minutes later, he's sat on a bench in Hyde Park with a book in his lap and a travel mug with hot tea in his hand. Not far from where he's sat, a group of boys are playing football and a bunch of children are chasing each other. Life is good.

Or at least, life is good until he hears a familiar “LOOK OUT!” and sees a football flying in the direction of his face.

And then everything is black.

(Harry gets hit in the head by various objects and falls for a boy with blue eyes.)

ease the quiet and talk me down by cabinbythesea

Harry's a model and Louis' a footie player.

(Louis teaches Harry some football and Harry is insanely good at giving a lapdance).

Baby, It's You by Bearandleonardwrite

"Oh, yeah. Um..” Harry lets his hands fall to his sides. His brows furrow, face full of concern, and he asks, “You’re not, like, stalking me, are you?”

Louis can’t help the loud cackle that escapes his lips and immediately slaps one of his hands over his mouth to muffle the sound. “Oh my god, Harry, no!” Louis tells him, a little breathlessly, giggles still bubbling out of his chest. “Lottie’s one of the makeup artists here today and she somehow got me to agree to come. I had no idea you modeled for, uh.. this brand until I saw you walk.”

“Oh,” Harry says dumbly, eyebrows still pinched. He lets what Louis just said sink in before a bright grin takes over his face and he goes back to doing up the buttons on his shirt. “Well, that’s alright, then. I’m glad you could make it.

(Basically, Louis' a footie player for Man U and Harry's a YSL model. They meet at a masquerade.)

Touch by kotabear24

Harry's shy and virginal with a past, new on the football team; Louis' the (experienced) popular star of the team and Harry's new mentor.

Come In and Change My Life by lightswoodmagic (sarah_writes)

He’d had the same neighbours since he’d moved into the building, a lovely, wealthy couple in their late sixties who had always invited him around for tea on Sundays. Martha had dropped off homemade biscuits the day he’d moved in, so Harry figured he may as well repeat the sentiment. He could hear someone getting closer to the door just as a flush ran through his body; oh fuck. His heat was close, too close to be knocking on a potentially unknown alpha’s door, but it was too late. The door swung open, and Harry’s mouth dropped. He’d never been overly interested in football, couldn’t find the fascination in watching men run around after a ball for hours aside from their uniforms, but he knew who this was. Louis Tomlinson, alpha, captain of Manchester United, star in a number of Harry’s heat addled fantasies, was his new next-door neighbour.

Or, Harry and Louis become friends when Harry looks after Louis' cat during away games, until one night at a party changes everything between them. It's just a shame Louis' going to be away for the FIFA World Cup for three months.

see the truth (it's me for you) by orphan_account

If you asked Louis the first day of his French Literature class what he’d be doing on the last, he’d probably never have guessed it would involve helping a poorly Harry Styles study for the final exam. Good thing he’s not a betting man.

(Or the one where Louis and Harry spend an entire semester ignoring each other after a one-night stand, only to come face to face when Harry manages to catch the stomach flu during finals week. Sometimes fate is funny like that.)

Use Your Words by zedi

based off this prompt: collage au where jock!harry always serenades flowercrown!louis with love songs in their music class. what nobody knows is that harry actually kinda means the words he sings.

But instead it's Louis as the jock and Harry as the flowerchild because I do what I want.

Stop The World (I Wanna Get Off With You) by ilikepianos

"You like this, don't you?", he asks breathlessly.

What? Sucking cock? Being dominated? Yes, all of that. A big fat yes.

Harry nods, lips still wrapped around Louis' throbbing dick.

Louis' lips curl into a smirk. "Keep going then. You're doing amazing, love."

OR: The uni-football AU where Harry may or may not have a minor crush on the captain of the team and suddenly discovers that the feeling is very much mutual.

Picture Perfect by LittleBubbleStyles

an AU where Louis Tomlinson is a misunderstood football player, and Harry Styles is a misunderstood photographer. Somehow, they're understood together.

I just think about my baby; I'm so full of love I could barely eat by mercutionotromeo

Harry and Louis are six hundred miles apart, but they have the same solutions to the same problem.

Or: a masturbation drabble featuring pillow humping, locker rooms, and copious amounts of dirty talk.

into another (another) serotonin overflow by mercutionotromeo

Harry wants this year to be different - wants it to be the year that he finally gets over this stupid crush. He’s going to uni, he needs to decide what he wants to do with his life.

Instead, he’s deciding what he wants to do to Louis Tomlinson.

Or: Sweet first time sex wherein Harry's adorably awkward, Louis is achingly cool, and Harry rides Louis wearing his jersey.

note: it says it in the tag but this is the edited version written in 2019, rather than the 2017 original- so there’s two put I put the link for the newest one :)

need a little sweetness in my life by mercutionotromeo

Harry's always liked feeling desperate and small when Louis touches him, but when he sucks Harry off...it’s fucking otherworldly. Desperate’s not really the word at that point - it’s helpless. Like… like the fucking world could stop spinning and Harry wouldn’t be able to do anything about it until Louis finished him off with his lips and his tongue.

Or, Harry and Louis go to university together. Harry really likes it when Louis sucks him off, and Louis really likes it when Harry calls him Daddy.

(Sequel to "into another serotonin overflow")

I made a map of your stars by brightbluelou

Harry does not have a crush on Louis Tomlinson. Yes, Louis is very pretty and funny, and Harry may have had more than a few inappropriate thoughts about him, but he certainly doesn’t like him. (Except for the fact that he totally does.) or, Harry is the shy boy in the back of the class that no one really notices. Louis is the loud, outgoing football player that everybody likes.

We Made These Memories for Ourselves by supernope

Breath held, Harry squints his eyes open and focuses on the first stick. A blue line. Harry breathes out an unsteady breath. He’s pretty sure he read that one blue line is a negative, but he fishes the box from the bottom of the pile just to make sure.

“Negative,” he confirms, voice echoing around the small room. “Next.”

Now that he’s feeling a little less shaky, he scans the rest of the tests at once, is met with a headache-inducing mixture of pink plus signs and blue double lines. His heart rate picks up until it’s pounding triple-time in the base of his throat and the pit of his stomach, thundering in his ears and throbbing in his temples. He flips over the rest of the boxes slowly, but he knows what they’re going to say before he even looks.

[or, Louis is a footballer, Harry owns a bakery, and they're having a baby.]

Kiss Me on the Mouth and Set Me Free by ls2k14   

Louis has his head thrown back in a laugh, his wet fringe hanging in front of his eyes, and a beautiful flush to his cheeks. From this angle, the sun hits his face just right to where the beams of light are shining in between the spaces of each individual clump of watered down eyelashes. His chest is showing through the soaked material of his white jersey and it seems that his biceps are attempting to break free from the sleeves that are clinging to his skin.

And Harry can do nothing except take it all in. He doesn’t even think he’s breathing at this point. He is literally stuck in place, admiring the true beauty of Louis Tomlinson, while being surrounded by fit footballers and generally attractive people. He doesn’t think he’s ever been in love before, but if Louis let him, he’s pretty damn sure he could change that in the matter of a few nanoseconds.

[miki-snake]

One Reason

📖: It was hard to find a reason good enough for you to stay, when the only reasons can be seen in the past. What about the future though?

⭕️: angst to fluff (promise); model!akaashi

🔍: 5k+

“Akaashi Keiji was once again seen with the rising model Shina Mokata. The two went to grab a coffee and some eyewitnesses claim that they seemed pretty cozy with each other. But it is known to the public that Akaashi has a girlfriend for two and a half years now, they apparently met in highschool. Still, his fans say that for the past months the two of them hadn’t been seen together. ”, the news were playing on the huge TV that was hung on the wall of Akaashi’s living room. You were currently in his apartment waiting for him to come back from his shooting and wanted to start preparing your dinner. You always left the TV on so the flat wasn’t as silent and normally you just blend out what they talk about on the shows. Though today they got your attention. A picture of Akaashi sitting next to a gorgeous woman with his arm behind her neck adorned the screen of his full HD flatscreen. That’s not the first picture of Akaashi with other women and you already knew that it won’t be the last. He was a professional model so it was only natural that he was surrounded by beautiful people all of the time and in most cases women . It wasn’t rare that the PR people would come up with a new story he and his model partner had to portrait. Seeing him with a girl model or generally another celebrity would boost his popularity and also the campaign that he would be working on. Some might argue that it’s a wrong way to get attention, but that’s show biz they would always answer.

You and Akaashi knew each other since the first year in highschool and you two started dating in the senior year, which has been nearly three years ago. You went to college and studied english literature, whereas Keiji got scouted right before college. His career was skyrocketing right from the beginning, his handsome face plastered on so many walls around the city.

You were nothing but proud of him that he got so far, even without any experience or extra contacts beforehand. Soon he was known all around Japan and right now it’s starting to spread overseas.

You couldn’t blame those people because you too, could never get enough of his pretty sight.

But for the past months the sight of him became less and less, until you only saw him in the magazines or the gossip channels. He was busy with an upcoming project that would eventually lead to him traveling over to America for quite some time. The thought of him so far away already made your chest feel tight. Sure, he went out of town for some days or even weeks for some of his shootings, but never was he outside of Japan and especially not for as long as six months. It scared you to be honest, him leaving you behind, while he was doing god knows what in America.

Akaashi has been nothing but a reliable, loyal and supporting boyfriend and you are so grateful for him. You wanted to support him too, with everything he did and wherever he went. You knew that he wouldn’t cheat on you, he would talk to you first before something like that could happen, at least you thought so.

Still, it wasn’t easy to shut off all of those negative thoughts, especially when he was always shipped with other women through his fanbase. Fans, especially girls, can be really cruel if they wanted. It’s like they wanted to control not only Akaashi’s but also your life, constantly writing about how you should do this or dress like that to please Akaashi.

It couldn’t get into your head that those people think that they know him the best. You were there when no one knew about him!

Akaashi knew how much his fans and all those rumours affected you and he always tried to reassure you that you were the only one and you believed him, no, you wanted to believe him. The gossip and fake facts took a toll on you and it was already a reason why you two nearly broke up. Never would you ever want him to give up his career or slow things down because of you. He loved his job and was pleased with how things are going, but you didn’t know how much you could handle.

With him going overseas soon, after you two already seem to drift apart, makes it hard to believe that it could be something that would last.

Oh, how you wished that it would last. You desperately held on to the hope that there is something, just one one single reason that you and him would go through that hard time together. He did ask you if you wanted to go with him, but you were still in college and close to graduating, so it wouldn’t be a good idea. He didn’t want you to give up on your dreams and so you didn’t want him to give up on his dreams.

You didn’t want to give up on you two.

“Some comments on the last picture of Akaashi and Shina were for example:

“It would only be a matter of time until Akaashi would be together with our queen Shina😇”

“It’s so obv that he and her are dating, he already dumped his no name girlfriend🙄”

“Akaashi did seem happy with his girlfriend but then it started to become less until Shina came around and he started to smile again…”

There is no information that Akaashi and his girlfriend really broke up and he refuses to talk about his relationship with her. Instead, he did compliment Shina multiple times during the last interviews, showing his admiration for her. Is this a sign for an upcoming break up or maybe that something already ended? Subscribe to our…”

The sound of the TV was drowned out by your thundering thoughts. When did your relationship deteriorate into something that would only cause you worry, instead of casting a smile upon your lips. You tried to remind yourself of the happy times you and him shared with each other. How the feeling was when he held you in his arms or when his lips would touch yours in a searing kiss. But those moments were stored in the darkest corner of your mind, never forgotten but still nearly gone. You couldn’t really recall his touch, only the feeling of when you woke up alone again or how you've waited hours on hours for him to come home so you two could eat together. Just like today you would wait for him, preparing the meal and then just lounging around in the living room. Maybe he would text you that he would come late again or maybe you just didn’t hear from him at all. You always tried to stay up for him but most of the time it would end up in you falling asleep on the couch in an uncomfortable position, but who cares because you already have been like that for hours.

You just don’t want to believe that this was over. It couldn’t be…

Before you knew it you felt your cheeks dampening, tear after tear rolled down your face and you were sure that if you’d look in the mirror right now you’d feel even more pathetic.

You got dark circles under your eyes and it felt like you were constantly frowning. You just wanted to go back in time, go back to when no one knew him except you and his high school friends. You knew that it was selfish to only think about it, but somewhere in you, you just wished he was never scouted. Either that or you wished that you didn’t fall for him as deep as you did. You shouldn’t wish for that because the time with him was also the happiest you’ve been. He’s not only security or home, in your heart he has always been your future and feeling him slipping away from you felt like losing your own future.

Maybe you were a bit over dramatic and you knew that fights and breakups are just part of the risk you’d take for giving your heart away. It wasn’t like he was your first boyfriend, you went through some breakups already, but this time felt different. It didn’t feel like something you wanted to do but more like it was forced on you. Even though it was your choice to go if you wanted to it felt like it wasn’t you who’d make the decision.

You and him already talked things over and over, right at the beginning of his career.

You knew what kind of a ride it was going to be and you assured him that you would stay by his side no matter what.

Right now though, you just didn’t see the point anymore. You were sitting on the couch, but your knees still ached like they just wanted to give in from all the pressure and your throat constricted, cutting the air thin for you to breathe. You felt like you lost yourself somewhere in your mind and you just yearned for an anchor to get you back. Wandering around your thoughts you desperately searched for a reason to not escape from the pain you’re putting yourself through. You saw many beautiful memories of you two and occasionally one or two arguments but they were never so grave. Those memories were deep inside you and you held onto them like crazy.

Were those memories reason enough for you to stay though? How could the past be the one reason when you couldn’t see a future?

However you didn’t want to stop searching, stop trying… you somehow just didn’t want to give up, even if it hurts.

You try to tell that yourself over and over… but you can't help it.

How much more should you break before you’re completely falling apart?

You just wished for him to notice, for him to see how much you’ve put on the line. Maybe when he would just take a closer look he could help you out of your pit. Maybe if he would just come home sooner then he might see how much you’re hurting.

The heavy sound of the front door falling close ripped you out of your sea of thoughts. Lucky, because you felt like nearly drowning.

You didn’t look, no, you couldn’t look at him. You heard him slipping out of his shoes, dropping his bag and his light steps carried him through the room, straight to you.

His steps ceased to a halt next to the couch you were currently sitting on. You knew that you must be in a miserable state, head dropped into the hands with your legs placed close to your chest, cowering in your seat. He might be sick of that sight but honestly, so were you. You loved him with every fiber of your being but the lack of his attention, the comments in the media and your own crucial thoughts broke you. Slowly they did, but still they did.

“What happened?”, he asked you in his usual lightly monotone voice and you couldn’t hear it anymore. You were sick of not knowing how he felt, sick of feeling like being the only one who cares, sick of searching for a reason that might not even exist.

“Tell me Akaashi... “, your voice broke and it was so hard for you to get the words out of your mouth. You could hear how he stepped closer to you, probably surprised by the fact that you called him by his last name. It was never Akaashi, always Keiji, Kei, honey or every other nickname you found adorable enough to use for him. Well, maybe he didn’t notice.

But he did. Akaashi has always been a perceptive person and he already knew that something was bothering you. He never thought that he would find you like this in his living room, looking like you were desperately trying to hold yourself together. He just assumed that you would come to him if whatever bothered you became too much, he just couldn’t imagine that it was your relationship that was bothering you.

“Tell me…”, you tried again to speak up,” please tell me one reason.” You waited for him to answer, but all he did was looking at you confused. He had a bad feeling in his guts about the situation and he couldn’t understand what you wanted to hear from him. What reason did you need him to tell you?

After he didn’t say anything for some time you raised your head and took a deep breath. You really tried but it just felt like there was nothing coming in, it felt like you would choke on your words you were going to say. Releasing the breath you just slumped against the couch and moved your head to look at the blank ceiling.

“I was looking for a reason that shows me that this still makes sense but I couldn’t find any.”, you told him in an emotionless tone. The thoughts were still running wild inside your mind and every move you made hurt somehow, but at the same time everything was just empty.

You didn’t really spell it out for him but he already knew what you meant. He knew it the moment he saw you like this. What happened to the two of you that you’ve let it come this far? He really thought that you would come to him if you had any doubts, but he guesses he was wrong. It hurt him a bit that you still couldn’t trust him enough that the media could still make you question him.

He didn’t really know how to reply to you. He didn’t have a clear reason he just loved you, wasn’t that reason enough?

“Do you need a reason?”, he asked in a cautious tone, his voice wavering lightly.

You just sighed at his reply. Of course, he couldn’t give you a clear answer. Maybe because there was no answer to it but still. Did you need a reason? Well, you just wanted to have something that justified the pain you were constantly feeling. It irked you that he couldn’t understand it and it felt like something was breaking inside you. You pushed yourself up from your position on the couch to stand up and turned to look him straight in the eyes.

“Of course, I need a reason! Because why else did I put myself through so much pain, had so many mental struggles, just for my boyfriend to literally forget me?”, you nearly screamed at him but it was enough, you had enough. How can he be so calm about everything while you were literally falling apart in front of him. How could he only talk about his future in America, while you couldn’t see your future with him anymore. You felt betrayed and helpless and there was nothing you could do to change it.

“Then why didn’t you just talk to me?”

Was he serious now? How could he say that to you with a straight face like that?

“How many times Akaashi, how many times did I wait for you to come back?! Only to wait so long that I passed out on this stupid couch and wake up alone in your bed again. Time after time and nothing changes! How can I possibly talk to you when you never have the time?”, one could argue that you weren’t entirely fair to him but that was just how you felt and you wanted him to finally hear what you had to say for the past months.

Akaashi slowly felt the irritation rising up inside of him. You knew very well how busy his schedule was, especially because he has to depart soon. You were fully aware of how hard it already was for him to find time for himself, let alone for you, his family and friends.

It took a toll on him too. It wasn’t like he didn’t want to see you but his work had to come first at the moment because else he would lose the great deal he got himself for America.

“What do you expect me to do? I have to go to work or else I’ll lose the deal and you know how important it is to me. It’s a huge milestone in my career.”, he tried to argue calmly but the way his jaw was ticking you knew that he started to get mad. Good, at least it was an emotion and not the poker face that you couldn’t help but feel like wanted to escape your gaze.

“Oh, so your job now is to escort girls around town, being all lovey dovey with each other? I thought you were a model Akaashi and not an actor?”, you knew you hit a nerve. He never really gave you a reason to act all jealous and insecure about other women, but seeing them together that often while you were left behind in his apartment slowly was eating you up.

“Again with the jealousy? What do you want me to do? It’s part of my job to spend time with them and get to know them more. I mean we have to work with each other for a long time so it’s only natural to meet up.”, he started to pace around the room, something that he always did when he got frustrated.

“Why do you care about that so much y/n? It’s not like I want to know every guy you’re working with on your projects. Why does it matter when at the end of the day, I come back to you?”, you could hear how it affected him. It pained him maybe even as much as you but you had to do it. There was no way around this conversation because either you two get even stronger after this or it’s going to be over. It could really be it… after tonight you two might walk into different directions. You two might never cross each other's paths again and that would be it. Everything you went through… just to be completely broken in the end.

“Why do I care? Sure, you might come home to me but when do I actually see you? When do I actually get to talk to you and be with you like you’re being with all those women all of the time? It might seem irrational to you but all those comments about how you’ve probably broken up with me or going to do so is pushing me to the brink of exhaustion. When was the last time we went out on a date huh?”, you just started to vent on him and were panting because talking with him right now was wearing you out. All your emotions bubbled up and you were sure to explode.

“Do you even know what it means to see you everyday but not being able to really be with you? Because I only get a chance to look at you in those gossip magazines and channels. And don’t you dare tell me that I get to see you every night because I don’t! I can’t even remember the last time you took me into your arms on your own will, let alone you starting a conversation with me that wasn’t over text messages.” The tears were shooting into your eyes again as it became too much… everything became just too heavy to bear. You had to hold yourself back to not let out a sob while speaking. 

“It’s not really about the trash talk they make about me but rather the fact that they seem to know more about you than I do nowadays and that they get to see your smile more often than I do, even if I’M your girlfriend! What do I have to do for you to finally look at me?! Can you see me damnit? Can you see how many fucking times I already broke myself for you so I can still be with you?”, you were now shouting at him but god does it feel good. It felt so relieving to finally let go of these words that were stuck in your throat for months. Voicing something you only thought before made it more real to you and it might seem silly but only now were those words really impacting you. Like, they were crashing down on you at full speed and now there was no way of escaping them and ignoring them anymore. You couldn’t shove them back into the darkest corner inside your mind because now they were out there. No taking back.

Akaashi was looking at you but like, really looking at you. He could see you in all your damaged and worn out beauty. Did he really hurt you that much?

He wanted to deny it but there was no way he could ignore the look you gave him. It screamed at him to help you, longing for him to get you out of your miserable state.

Maybe you wanted him to set you free.

Maybe it was the right thing to do, if the other choice would be to let you continue to suffer. He didn’t want to see you like this, he wanted to see the smile you always gave him when they would win a game back in high school or when he finished a good shooting.

He wanted to be the person again who you could proudly call your boyfriend, but how?

With the deadline of his departure to America coming closer and closer it was hard to think of something that could solve this without one of you giving up on something.

If he could he would pull you right into his arms and whisper all of his love into your ear but when he looked at you like that, he was afraid that just one touch could break you apart.

This situation wasn’t something that only one of you could solve and you didn’t expect that of him. You just wanted him to finally understand that how things were working so far won’t be working anymore. You could only handle so much and you won’t go any further if you didn’t know where he wanted to go.

“Kaashi… you’re going to America soon and I’m gonna stay here.

I’m always waiting for you right here, but I can’t do that anymore when I don’t know if you’re going to come back or not.”, your voice was scratchy from all the screaming and honestly you were just tired right now, no real energy left to be loud.

He knew it was going to be a problem eventually but he always believed that the two of you could push through it together.

It might be the fairest choice for the two of you if you just broke up, but he couldn’t do it. He was looking over at you, you looked so small and he wanted nothing but to make you feel safe again. He wanted to make you happy again but breaking up with you just wasn’t an option.

Finally, he took a step closer to you placing his hands on either of your shoulders to guide you back to the couch. He pushed you lightly to sit down with him, so you were sitting together while facing each other. His normally cool exterior was now looking rather distressed and his hair was disheveled, a total mess. You guess you both were and you nearly had to let out a chuckle at that thought. It felt like ages since the last time you two  really took the time to sit down and talk to each other. Even though the occasion wasn’t that enjoyable, just sitting with him made your heart tingle again.

His eyes that could catch you from a mile away were looking at you with such a sad expression and it hurt you to see him like that. It’s not like you wished for this to not have happened because now you two were going to see what your relationship was really made of.

“You know that I love you right?”, your voice was so small, merely above a whisper, but he could still hear you. “I really want to look past the things everyone is talking about and I am proud of you that you got the offer in America but it just shows me that we might aim for different things.”, you couldn’t look him in the eyes anymore and so you casted your gaze down to your hands that were clasped together in your lap. “Your work is now your first priority and I get that. Don’t get me wrong I would never want you to stop what you’re doing because of me but maybe your way isn’t going to be the same as mine in the future.” You could feel the tears pricking in your eyes again and it was annoying you but you just let them fall because you didn’t have the energy to wipe them away. “I really, really, really love you but in this case the saying “sometimes love wasn’t enough” might be right. We both love each other and there is no way that any of us wants the other one to give up on something, so the only solution might be to just…”, you couldn’t say it because once it’s out there you can’t take them back. Words don’t work that way. Once you say it out loud it would become real.

You felt his hands on your cheeks, wiping away your tears with his thumbs. He nudged your head upwards so you were looking at him again. His gaze held so much love and sincerity in it that you couldn’t help but melt a little in his hands.

“I know it’s going to be a tough time but I don’t want you to say the rest of your sentence. I don’t see why love can’t be enough for the two of us. We’ve known each other for so long and been through a lot already, so how come that this should be the breaking point of us?

Do you think that I would accept it that easily? I thought you knew me better than that, love.”, his voice was so tender as if he was too afraid to speak too loud and he leaned forward until his forehead touched yours. “You only have four more months until graduation and I will be going overseas in one. So that means it’s just going to be three months until your graduation. Maybe, if you want to, you could join me in America after the time is over and I will show you around. Of course, I will try to visit you as often as I can during the first three months and if you don’t want to stay the whole three months afterwards, then maybe just for a bit of the time?”, he was looking deep into your eyes with his ocean blue orbs and even if you wanted to, you couldn’t look away from him.

“I know it won’t solve our problem completely but I promise you that I will try to work my ass off so this can work. Because there is no way in hell, I could give up on us without trying the damndest thing I can think of. So, if you are willing to maybe give this a shot then it would make me really happy and if you don’t then that’s also fine because I won't pressure you into something you don’t want. But don’t think I would refrain from begging on my knees first.”, and he did it once again. He made you smile even at the most serious times and even if the thought of Akaashi on his knees begging for you would be a nice sight, you just wanted to give in to him. He was willing to work on it and that is what you wanted, knowing that you weren’t the only one in this relationship. You didn’t trust your voice so you just nodded against his head, which caused him to break out into a small smile. Suddenly his eyes became serious again and he moved his head back a bit and grabbed you by your shoulders.

“You have to promise me though that if you ever start to feel like this again, you have to come and talk to me. I don’t care if you have to spam me full with messages or just call me, but I need to know how you feel or else I can’t do anything to make you feel better.” He looked so sternly that you couldn’t help but start to laugh. You were so sorry because he was just saying something so unbelievably cute but the look he gave you with that, just precious.

You tried to regain your composure after you stopped laughing and placed your hands onto his shoulders just like he did. “I promise that I will annoy the hell out of you that you’ll have no other choice but to give me your full attention.”, you answered him, trying to mimic his serious tone but to no avail. You broke out into laughter again but this time Akaashi joined you.

After you two recovered from your little laughing party, you both fell into each other's arms.

It felt so good to be in his arms again and oh he was so warm, he would have to drag you around with him because there was no chance of you letting go soon.

He didn’t care though because as long as he can carry you around, he would do it.

His right hand slipped under your chin and raised it so you were looking at him again. He was just millimeters apart and your lips were already slightly brushing against his.

“I don’t need a reason to love you because I just love you for who you are. There is no need to reason my feelings because that’s not how they work.”, he whispered the words into your lips and in an instant you two were connected in a searing kiss that melted all of your bad feeling away.

[wonder-womans-ex]

Curtain Call

Act One, Scene Seven

Sirius stands there for what seems like hours—though it’s probably only a few seconds—just standing there, staring through the window. Maybe he should forget the whole thing and leave now.  

But Alice pushes the door open, waving when Remus and Lily look up. Before he can protest, Dorcas pulls him in by the elbow. 

It’s like time slows down when Remus’s gaze flickers past Dorcas and settles on him. He blinks, as though trying to clear his vision, and then he does the last thing Sirius expects. 

He smiles. 

It’s like Sirius’s brain just glitches. He imagines James’s voice in his head—as he so often does when he’s faced with situations similar to this one—saying ‘Padfoot.exe. has stopped working,’ and the thought is so ridiculous it actually shocks him back into the here and now. 

“This is Sirius,” says Dorcas for the second time in under ten minutes, and he waits, practically holding his breath, for Remus’s response. 

He’s prepared for anger. He’s prepared for indifference. He’s prepared for maybe, just maybe, ‘Yes, I know.’ 

He is once again surprised, because he is most certainly not prepared for Remus to lean across the table with his hand out and say, “Nice to meet you.” 

“I—um—nice to meet you, too?” 

It’s clear to Sirius that no one else—save Lily, of course—has any idea of the significance of this moment, especially because he’s not actually sure what that significance is. Obviously, they’re wiping the slate clean, but is it so they can start over again?

Or so they can pretend there was never anything written there at all? 

This is the only thing he can think about as Dorcas slides into the booth next to Lily, motioning for Sirius to sit across from her, and he does, even though it means he’s right next to Remus. Frank squeezes in beside him, and Alice behind Frank, and Mary hesitates a moment before she sits down, too, shoulder-to-shoulder with Dorcas. For a moment, he wonders where Fabian and Caradoc are going to place themselves—there’s no way two more people are going to fit in the booth—but then Fabian pulls two chairs out from a nearby table. He sits down in one, then abruptly stands up again. 

“I’ll grab menus,” he says, gesturing with one thumb towards the counter, and Sirius watches him go, if only for something to look at. 

Dorcas grins. “So, Sirius, tell us a bit about yourself.”

“Um—”

“Invitations to these get-togethers are rare, you know, but you know what’s even rarer? Second invitations. So start talking, buddy, and let the high council judge your crimes.”

“Dorc,” Alice reprimands, “you’re scaring him.” 

“Nah, it’s fine. My brother’s pretty, um, intense, too.”

Sirius’s confidence swells slightly at the laugh that earns him from the rest of the group. “I’m Sirius—I’m twenty-two, but I’m only in first year university because reasons. My favourite food is butter chicken. I was kicked out at age sixteen after I came out as bisexual, and I moved in with my best friend, who also happens to be my brother’s ex-boyfriend. Oh, and I’m an actor. I think that’s the basics? 

Except for Remus, who knows most of this already, everyone stares at him, expressions ranging from stunned to well then. Remus is either trying to break the tension or goad Sirius into something embarrassing when he says, “An actor? Have you been in any movies?”

Deja vu smacks into Sirius like a cement truck. If he recalls correctly—and, honestly? There’s no way in hell he doesn’t—that’s exactly what Remus said the first time Sirius introduced himself. So, of course, he responds in the same way he did then, too. “Ew. Absolutely not. Stage life all the way for me, dude.” 

Immediately, he wishes he could pull up google. Key words: is it socially acceptable to call your ex ‘dude’? Is that, like, legal? 

But Remus just grins and tips his head back in laughter. After a moment, the others follow him in ways that range from a distracted smile (Mary) to a laugh so explosive he imagines Frank would have spit out his tea if he had any.  

They’re still laughing, all eight out of nine of them, when Marlene arrives at their table, one pencil tucked behind her ear and another between her fingers as she taps it absentmindedly against her coil-bound notebook. 

“Hi,” she says, glancing from person to person. “What can I get you tod—Sirius?”

“Hiya, Marls.” 

“Fancy meeting you here.” They both smile a bit at this, because it really isn’t that surprising—neither of them ever spends a whole lot of time away from Frankie’s, really. “Where’s James?”

Sirius gasps, pretending to be affronted. “I do have other friends, I’ll have you know. He and I aren’t joined at the hip.”

“Could have fooled me.”

“Well,” he says, deciding to change the subject, “I’ll get the, uh…” it feels wrong to order fries without James there, and he’s only just now realizing that he hasn’t actually tried anything else on the menu. “The BLT. And a Nanaimo bar, please.” 

“Branching out a little, are we?”

“Shut up.”

“Okay, okay. And for you?”

Without even thinking about it, he, too, turns to look at Remus, who’s got his nose buried in the menu. “A croissant,” he says, just like Sirius knew he would. “Wait, no. Two croissants.” 

“Plain? Chocolate? Cheese?”

It seems as though Remus sits up straighter. “Chocolate?”

“Are you asking me or telling me?” Marlene jokes in typical Marlene-fashion. 

“Telling. Croissant. Chocolate. Yes.” 

(A month ago, Sirius would have leaned over and whispered that he thinks the embarrassed blush colouring Remus’s cheeks and nose is cute. But now is not a month ago. Now, everything is different.)

Lily orders a Greek salad and an iced coffee, but Sirius isn’t paying attention to her. No, he has eyes only for the way Remus, seemingly out of sheer boredom, takes his phone out of his hoodie pocket and unlocks it, grinning at whatever he sees. Sirius wonders, somewhere in the back of his mind, whether that’s the same way Remus used to smile when he got a text from him. It doesn’t matter anymore, but he can’t help but hope that once upon a time he, too, made Remus that happy. 

He doesn’t speak again until everyone else has ordered, too (grilled cheese and a sundae for Alice, poutine for Dorcas, and bagels for both Mary and Frank; Fabian and Caradoc say they’ll share a banana split (could those two get any cuter, honestly)) and even then it’s only because Dorcas asks him a question. 

“What?” he says, shaking himself out of his thoughts. 

“Marlene—is she your friend? Girlfriend?”

“Yeah. Yeah, we’re friends. We’ve known each other for years. Community theatre, mostly, and I see here when I come here, which is probably way too often. But no, we’re not together—Marls swings completely the other way.”

Dorcas nods. “Cool. Think I have a shot? Am I her type?”

“Depends. Do you like Titanic?” 

“The movie? No.”

“Then yes, you’re her type.” 

He laughs under his breath when she adjusts her collar and tucks her hair behind her ear. It’s the classic ‘Preparing-to-ask-a-girl-out’ routine—he’s gone through it himself on many an occasion; here’s to hoping she has more luck—and he looks away to one side to hide a smile. Unfortunately, Remus has had the same idea, and their eyes connect for a few painful seconds. 

This time, Sirius makes himself look away first. 

He finds his gaze drawn to Lily, who’s scrolling through something—probably Instagram—on her phone. He tongue flicks out every once in a while to nudge at her lip ring, and he finds the movement almost mesmerizing.

Just out of curiosity, he thinks about kissing her. Her hair would be soft between his fingers. For some reason, he imagines it smelling like citrus. Her lips look soft, but in his head they’re slightly chapped, cool and warm at the same time as they press against his, and he pulls away to look into those shining amber eyes—

Wait, Lily’s eyes are green, not amber. He is most definitely thinking about someone else—someone with twelve freckles on his nose and golden hair that curls around his ears. 

Three guesses who it is. 

But no, he scolds himself, he is not here to mope over cute boys he used to date. Or any cute boys at all, for that matter. He’s here to have fun. To make friends. To eat good food. If Remus wants to play strangers, they’ll do just that. 

“So,” he says, turning his head sideways. “You’re John, right? John Lupin?”

Maybe, just maybe, someone will explain the whole fake name thing. 

And for once, his prayers are answered. 

“Well, no,” Remus says, and Sirius searches those beautiful eyes for any trace of the fact that they both know he knows this already. He’s not sure whether to be bitter or hurt or simply sad when he finds none, so he settles for a bit of all three. “Actually, John’s my middle name. My first name’s Remus. But if you’re a literature student with a name like Remus Lupin, the only people who are going to take you seriously are the ones—well, the ones with names like Sirius Black. So I started going by John, and it just sort of stuck.”

“Remus.” Sirius twists his mouth around it, enunciating both syllables carefully, like he’s saying it for the first time. He supposes he is, in a way—after all, by unspoken agreement they seem to be starting over. 

“It’s like—do you ever get—do people ever think your name’s just a stage name? 

“All the time.” He can’t quite be sure whether or not they’ve had a conversation like this before; it does seem familiar, but most things do these days. Even if they haven’t really discussed this already, they almost certainly have in Sirius’s head. Or something similar to it, anyway.

 “It’s like that. People assume it isn’t my real name, so I changed it.” 

“Huh.” Tilting his head slightly, Sirius puts on an ‘innocently curious’ air that he knows Remus will be able to see right through. “Anything else I should know about you? 

“I turn into a bloodthirsty werewolf on full moons,” Remus says without skipping a beat. It’s impressive, really, how long he holds a completely straight face, and Sirius watches carefully to try and catch even a glimpse of a smile. “All right,” he says when it becomes clear none will appear. “Monsters are people too, I guess.”

And there it is—that wide, oh-so-brilliant grin that still makes his breath catch in his throat. No, he reprimands. No. Absolutely not. You are not going to fall in love with him again. It will only end in pain. Your pain. 

That’s right. He’s not in love. He’s not even in crush. He’s just becoming friends with someone he used to date. No biggie. Plenty of people do that, right? James and Regulus broke up almost a year ago, and they still hang out. 

Sufficiently reassured, he plows bravely on. “What else? Have you, I dunno, killed anyone?”

“No, but I do have three tattoos.”

Sirius blinks slowly. He can picture one of them—the crossed ski poles on the inside of Remus’s ankle—but he doesn’t think he’s seen the other two. “Really?” 

“Yeah. I’ve got a pair of ski poles on my foot—I’m from Whistler; practically grew up on the hills—and here, on my wrist—” he pauses, rolling his sleeve up to expose his inner arm “—I’ve got the Illuminati symbol.”

There’s a beat of silence as Sirius waits for the ‘just kidding.’ None comes, however, and apparently none will, because now he can see the small triangle inked there, plain as day. 

“I was eighteen, okay?” continues Remus. “And I hadn’t slept in like four days and I might have been slightly drunk. Everyone who has tattoos also has tattoo horror stories, and this is mine. Don’t judge me.”

“I’m not judging you.” And he’s really not. He knows what it’s like to make bad decisions when one is young and tired—he fights off the flashbacks of a sixteen-year-old James piercing his left ear for him at two in the morning—and hey, at least Remus has learned to laugh about it now. “What’s the third one?” 

“The third tattoo?”

“Yeah.” 

Pulling up his sleeve even farther, Remus points to a patch of tiny lettering on the inside of his elbow. “It says ‘Leviticus 18:22.’” 

“What’s that?”

“It’s a bible verse. You’ve probably heard it before, or some version of it—'thou shalt not lie with mankind as with womankind, ‘tis an abomination.'”

Sirius feels as though his thought process has been unceremoniously dumped into a blender. What? Remus can’t be a homophobe. Remus dated him, for heaven’s sake. 

(He’s also right—Sirius has heard that before. As soon as she found out he was queer, his mother pulled a bible out from he’s not sure where and read that verse out to him. It was, like, a whole thing.)

The only thing he can think of to say is ‘what,’ so that's what he says. “What?”

“Don’t worry,” Remus hurries to assure him, “I’m not a bigot or anything. I like guys, too. I just did it for the edge factor, y’know? It’s ironic; it’s supposed to be funny.”

“You have a really weird sense of humour.”

“I know.”

Slowly, Sirius shakes his head in disbelief. “So three tattoos—ski poles, Illuminati, and bible reference?”

“Yep.”

Then he hears, from the end of the table, “And the one on your neck.”

Both Sirius’s and Remus’s gazes dart to Fabian, who has stopped fiddling with the salt shaker and is looking over at them quizzically. “That constellation thing. The one you only got a couple months ago. 

Remus does not look like a deer in headlights. He looks like an escaped criminal caught in the flashlight beam of a police detective. 

Matters are only made worse—or better, Sirius reasons, depending on how you look at it—when Alice joins in. “Yeah, Moony! That’s the coolest one, if you ask me.” 

Remus blushes. It’s only because of the close proximity that Sirius hears his mutter “No one did,” under his breath. 

“This fucker here,”Alice says, seemingly oblivious to humiliation radiating from Remus’s corner of the booth, “Came home—we live together, Lily and Remus and Caradoc and me—in… what was it? January? With yet another tattoo, and he wouldn’t tell us why. My guess is that he just walked by and saw the design in the window and decided he liked it. Impulsive one, our Moony.”  

Sirius decides that he’s not going to ask where the nickname comes from. He has a sneaking suspicion he doesn’t particularly want to know. 

“It’s kind of funny, actually. Took him like a week for us to bully him into letting us see it, and it turns out he’s got the Sirius constellation right there above his collarbone.” She pauses. “Sirius. Huh. I guess Remus just, like, subconsciously decided you two should be friends, even though he hadn’t even met you yet. Maybe he’s psychic or something.” 

Even if his life depended on it, nothing in the world could make Sirius look at Remus right now. If he does, something terrible is almost definitely going to happen—one of them will drop dead of a rare kind of heart attack, or Frankie’s will blow up and kill them all before their food gets there, or Sirius will start crying. 

A tattoo. A fucking tattoo. It doesn’t make sense to him, no matter the number of times he adds it up in his head, because tattoos are something for people who are forever. 

It’s one of those things you just grow up learning—you don’t get tattoos of another person’s name (or the thing they’re named after; potato, potahto) unless you’re absolutely sure, and sure does not mean kissing other people at parties. 

Unless, apparently, you are Remus John Lupin. 

“Really?” Sirius asks. “Huh. That’s cool. Aren’t neck tattoos supposed to hurt, like, a shitton, though?”

There’s a pregnant pause, like the universe is holding its breath. Finally, Remus smiles tightly and says, just barely loud enough for Sirius to hear, “It was worth it.”

***

If Sirius was held at swordpoint and told to recount what the rest of their conversation entails, he would say ‘stab me.’ All he can say for sure is that whatever discussion is had, it stops as soon as Marlene arrives with the food. 

“Two croissants for you, Sir,” she says, placing Remus’s plate in front of him. “And an iced coffee and Greek salad for you, my lady; a banana split for the two utterly charming earls here; a grilled cheese and triple hot fudge sundae for our duchess and one whole grain toasted bagel with cream cheese for her duke, a plain untoasted bagel with cream cheese for the princess with the colourful hair, and one serving of poutine for the absolute queen I see in front of me.”

Sirius is positive Dorcas actually swoons a little at the ‘queen’ comment. Were this a cartoon, her eyes would now be comically large pink hearts. 

“Oh, and how could I forget. A BLT and Nanaimo bar for our resident court jester.” 

He sticks his tongue out at her. What can he say—he’s immature. And dramatic. The best combination, truly. 

Dorcas watches Marlene turn with a smile and walk back to the counter, and, once she’s sure the object of her affections is safely out of earshot, she sighs. “I think I’m in love.” 

“She snores,” Sirius tells her, to no avail. “Like a pig.”

“I love pigs.”

“No, Dorc.” Fabian’s eyes are glittering. “You love bacon.” 

“You guys are teaming up on me! This is homophobia!” 

“I’m literally gay.” 

“Fuck off.” 

Sirius catches Fabian’s eyes across the table. The ginger waves his ice cream spoon around his ear in a ‘crazy’ motion, and Sirius agrees wholeheartedly. Dorcas is, indeed, crazy. 

“You’re crazy, Dorcas.” 

“Crazy in love.” 

(At this point, he could probably tell the whole story about the tomatoes—acting out the best parts, no less—and it would not change her mind in the slightest.) (That’s a good thing, actually; no one deserves Marlene unless they can accept the tomato story in full.) 

Beside him, Remus is already halfway through his first croissant. Some would say he must be hungry, and those people clearly do not know Remus Lupin. He’s not hungry—well, he might be—he just loves chocolate that much. There were times during their relationship that Sirius joked about Remus loving chocolate more than he loved Sirius himself. 

Well. He supposes that now, after everything, it’s probably true. 

(No! Bad Sirius! No moping!)

His sandwich, he finds, when he takes a bite, isn’t actually that bad. It tastes—well, it tastes like bacon and lettuce and tomato and bread, which it is. It’s quite a good combination, he thinks, and he wishes he’d thought of it first. 

Finally, Dorcas motions for Mary to move out of the booth into the aisle. “I’m going for it,” she says, holding her hand up like a microphone. Sirius can’t help but laugh at the announcer voice she uses, and laugh more when she adds, “Wish me luck, my friends.”

“You won’t need it,” Remus assures her through a mouthful of croissant. 

“Who cares if I need it? It’s about the principle of the thing.”

“Good luck, Dorcas.”

“Thank you, Lily.” 

It would seem fitting, Sirius reasons, if they had popcorn right now. They’re certainly all watching intently, as if it's a movie, the shy way Dorcas and Marlene smile at each other before they start talking too quietly to hear. When Marlene starts twisting her blond hair around her index finger, Remus leans over to him.  

“You’ve certainly come on the right day—episode one of ‘Dorcas tries to woo the girl of her dreams.’”

‘You’re too close!’ Sirius screams in his mind. ‘How am I supposed to not fall in love with you when you’re whispering in my ear and your breath is warm on the back of my neck and if I turned my head we would be kissing and—’

“Look, she’s handing her phone over,” he says instead, and Remus moves away to rest his elbows on the table. 

“Would you look at that. It seems that Operation: get Dorc a girlfriend has progressed past stage one,” Alice jokes. 

Sirius leans forward to look over Frank at her. “What’s stage two?”

“Make sure said girlfriend doesn’t find out about the cactus shrine.”

“...I don’t think I want to know.” 

“No, you really don’t.”

But now Dorcas is walking back over to them, and she’s beaming, and she holds out her phone excitedly. “I got her number! She saved her contact in my phone, too—’Marlene; red heart emoji; parrot emoji.’” 

The first one to start is Lily, and Remus follows soon after. When Alice, too, brings her hands together, Sirius joins in, and soon they’re all slow clapping. He can’t quite be sure whether this is a sincere slow clap or an ironic one, but, judging by the way Dorcas’s grin only grows wider, he’s going to go with the former. 

“Thank you, thank you!” She bows dramatically, and Sirius looks around him at the other smiling faces of booth seven, and he can’t help but think, ‘Oh my god, I have friends.’

[baejax-the-great]

First Line Game

I was tagged by @hollyand-writes​. Thank you! This one looks fun.

Rules: List the first lines of your last 20 stories (if you have less than 20, just list them all!). See if there are any patterns. Choose your favourite opening line. Then tag 10 of your favourite authors!

I’m going to put most of these under the cut, but I’ll put my favorites up top =)

The Coolness of Your Shadow: The first time Bethany met Alistair, there was grass in his hair.

Red: It started with an itch.

Wager: “Admit it,” Hawke said, “You think he’s sexy.”

Lighthouse: Even with artificial lights meant to simulate days and nights, and even with Margo having full control over when this happened, she still found herself waking up earlier and earlier in what she generously referred to as “morning.”

A Hawke’s Breakfast: Hawke woke up on the floor in a sort of heap.

The Edge of Sadness: Alistair had not chosen to be born. 

The rest are just chronological =)

The Depth of Fear: “Corypheus is my responsibility,” Hawke had said to the Inquisitor not five minutes ago. Ten minutes? Half an hour? Maker, she couldn’t be sure, except that she’d said it, and now, some number of minutes later, she knew she’d been entirely mistaken.

A Rumor: “Inquisitor!” Josephine waved exuberantly from her seat in the back of the tavern.

Nephew: “He’s a bit small for royalty,” Hawke said, eyeing the little princeling.

Like a Lead Balloon: “This will break him.”

The Silence of Your Deep: Bethany couldn’t be bothered to change out of her Warden uniform for dinner. She would be Bethany the Warden tonight rather than Bethany the sort-of-almost Queen, and the ambassador from Nevarra could simply accept that.

Merry and Bright: Bethany did not like chemistry. It was a complete embarrassment. Her father was a PhD in chemistry, a respected professor, and Bethany could barely remember the chemical nomenclature for table salt. She should have majored in literature or history or dance or something, but foolishly, she had decided on being a doctor, which meant biology, and biology required the basics of chemistry, and chemistry was impossible.

Serenity: “Merrill is sick. Went down to see her earlier. Something is going around the whole alienage.”

Snowflakes: Hawke wasn’t entirely certain how she ended up on the ground. Last she remembered, her feet were firmly beneath her, and she was on her way to a sneak attack on some very well-equipped and unsuspecting bandits.

The Mountain: “So… The mountain.” Aloy stood just outside the entrance where she had once watched Varl charge a thunderjaw. “You ready?”

Shelter Me: Usually the first fluffy white snowflakes of the season filled Lace with cheer.

Top Ten: Shepard limped into her cabin, the painkillers Chakwas gave her already wearing off. The doctor could heal a broken bone in ten minutes, but the ache lasted.

Deep: “A penny for your thoughts, my dear?”

First Contact: Shepard rubbed her eyes and tried to remember why she even came to the crew deck. It wasn’t that she particularly disliked her crew, but when it came down to it, they were Cerberus.

Smutty Literature: “Bethany, sweetheart, I was reading one of your books—”

Interestingly, it looks like I frequently start my fics with dialogue, but almost none of my favorite first lines are dialogue. HMM.

TEOS in particular makes me laugh, because it just sets the tone for Alistair for the entire fic-- very begrudgingly and miserably accepting his lot. Red is just sinister, given the topic, TCoYS is cute, and Wager is silly.

I would also note that every single one of my opening lines is character-centric. I don’t spend any time at all setting the scene, but rather the mood/goals of the character. That’s pretty much all of my writing, though. As a young girl I read Tolkien describing forests for 18 pages and thought, “never again.” But I really admire people who can get me interested in settings and make me feel like I’m there. That is a truly beautiful talent.

Tagging forward @midnightprelude @luzial @noire-pandora @juliafied @pedlimwen @rpgwrites @swaps55 @cartadwarfwithaheartofgold @wizardofozymandias @hezjena2023 @hermiowngranger