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pandora-writes-one-piece · 4 months ago

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The Meet-Cute, Chapter 4 - Law

Source for the pic

Word Count: 4487 (these just keep getting bigger!)

Warnings: Fem!Reader, This is going to be a series featuring Ace, Sanji, Law, Zoro and Kid.

Special Warning: English is not my first language!

Summary: You had your life in Grand Line City all figured out. A wonderful job, a fiancé and a shared apartment. Until you found out he was cheating. Your father, Shanks, had a horse riding accident and you decided that this was just the right time to return home. You were expecting a peaceful, uneventful life back in the Calm Belt, but, fate had other plans.

Notes: I'm really sorry if I messed up some medical expressions. I tried to Google everything first!

| Chapter 3 - Zoro | |Chapter 5 - Sanji|

Law:

Your dad's grunts and wails have been increasing both in volume and in intensity, so you let out a long breath of relief as you finally park the truck at the clinic’s - thankfully almost empty - parking space.

“Hey, dad” you say softly as your heart clenches at the sight of your father’s sweaty face and scrunched up brows. “I'm going to grab you a wheelchair and some help, okay?”

You take his grunt as a positive answer and run inside the clinic, only noticing your dishevelled state as you catch sight of your reflection in the glass doors: your white top is not white anymore and there's a tear at the bottom; your shorts have dirt and oil all over them; you don't even want to get started on your knees and legs, which are bruised and scraped from kneeling on the dirt; and your once perfectly braided hair is no longer perfect and it is barely braided.

You sigh as you enter the clinic and wince in pain as you step your foot wrong. You definitely sprained it when you were with Zoro.

You drag yourself to the front desk and the blonde girl gasps as she looks at your state. “Oh, my!” She gets up hastily and goes around the desk to reach you. “Are you all right?”

You nod frantically. “I'm fine, I'm fine. I-... Kaya?”

The girl looks at you with a furrowed brow but it doesn't take her more than five seconds before her mouth turns into an ‘o’ and she exclaims your name happily. “You're back! It's been ages!”

You laugh and nod. “Yes, we should catch up. After we get my father inside. He hurt his back and-...”

“Again?” You swear this time your ears start fuming. This has happened more than once and this doctor keeps sending him home? Oh, he is going to get a piece of your mind. “Shachi, Penguin, can you be darlings and bring Mr. S. inside? He's had another incident.”

You cross your arms against your chest and frown as you watch two men go outside with a wheelchair to bring your father inside.

“They'll take him to Dr. Trafalgar. How about you, sweetie, are you alright? You don't seem well.” Kaya was your friend from kindergarten to half of the middle school, until she went home to be home-schooled. You lost touch with her even before you left town, but she has always been such a nice friend that you actually find yourself sharing a soft smile with the blonde.

“I've had a few mishaps with the car before getting here.” You sigh. “I'll go freshen up in the bathroom and then I'll meet my dad. Is that alright?”

She nods and points you to the ladies’ room. You stand in front of the mirror and, as you're passing your fingers through your hair, trying - and failing - to detangle its knots, you realise you should eat something. You discarded breakfast on account of that stupid asshole and his selfies, and you and your father didn't have a chance to eat lunch.

But first, you let out a deep sigh at your appearance, you should try to make yourself presentable. You don't want to chew the doctor's ears out looking like a hobo.

Washing up as best as you can, massaging your sprained ankle, and redoing your braid - there's nothing to be done about the state of your clothes - you deem yourself somewhat presentable and, as you leave the bathroom, you see your father being wheeled to a room so you follow him quickly.

“Daddy!”

“Buuuuuug! The doc gave me the good stuff!” He slurs and guffaws, opening his arm and almost throwing himself off the chair to hug you. Then he turns his voice into a whisper. “He stabbed a needle in ma butt!” Shanks uses his hand to hide his cheeky laugh before he continues. “Imma stay here for a while because they'll put some more drugs in my arm. And then we can go.”

What? IV and an injection? That's the whole treatment? No. Not on your watch.

“Yeah, that's good dad, rest.” You smile at him and then turn to the man with the brown hair who is wheeling him. “Hey, where's the doctor's office? I need to speak with him.”

“Er… I… Hum… Dr. Trafalgar doesn't like unannounced visitors…” He stutters but you silence him with an angry look. “But if you must know, it's that door.” He then chuckles nervously and wheels Shanks to a room.

You take a deep breath and stomp towards the office the attendant pointed out to you. After one step, you stop stomping because your ankle hurts too much, but you still make it to your destination. You knock lightly on the door, because you're not a savage, but start to tap your foot on the floor when you don't get an immediate answer.

As you raise your fist for a second round of angrier knocks, you hear a deep ‘come in’ from inside the office and you open the door, wearing a frown.

Which is quickly turned into a stunned expression because you didn't quite know what to expect from the doctor you've been hearing about, but this was not it.

He's hot.

There's no other way to describe the man in front of you. His black hair is tousled to perfection and you have to swallow a lump when he fixes his amber gaze upon your own. The frown and the furrowed brows only add to his allure, as you notice the tattooed forearms and knuckles. What an interesting choice of tattoos for a doctor, you can't help but think.

They spell DEATH.

The rest of his arms are covered by his white coat but you can't help but wonder if he has more ink on them. But that wondering soon stops, because he's already asked you twice about what you need and you have been transfixed in the same spot, drooling at him.

“Right, hi! My father. Shanks! He was just here.” You exclaim as if that explains everything.

“Yes, I know. I'm his doctor.”

He stares at you. “Oh, it’s my turn.” You stumble with your words and, is that an amused smirk in the stoic doctor’s face? Couldn't be, since it disappeared as soon as it appeared. “What is wrong with him? I keep hearing that he needs to come to the clinic more than once a week because of his back. That's not normal.” You seem to regain your cool and remember that you are there to get some answers from this man.

He leans back in his chair and gestures for you to sit but you're too wound up to stay still, so you decline and start pacing the office. You're having a hard time breathing, so you start to fan yourself with your hand.

“You're right, it's not.”

“What is it, then?”

His fingers entwine with one another as his gaze follows your form. You're limping, fanning both of your hands now, and you look like shit. You must be quite a spectacle.

“Doctor/patient confidentiality.”

“Are you kidding me?” Does your voice usually sound so far away? Because everything seems super bright and all the sounds are blending together. You stop and grip the back of the chair tightly, your knuckles turning white from the strength.

“I'm not. Your father is sane and, other than his back, of good health. I have discussed treatment plans with him. He knows what he has and he knows what he needs to do in order to recover. To you, I can't say anything without his explicit permission.” You see him tense up as he stares at you and your behaviour. His brows furrow further as he turns his body to the side, as if he's about to get up.

“But I'm his daughter!” You let out a ridiculous whine and start to gasp for air.

“And I'm his doctor.” He gets up and approaches you. “Sit. You're so pale I can almost see through you. When was the last time you ate and-...”

That's the last thing you remember before waking up in a bed next to your father.

-*-

You blink as your eyes adjust to the brightness of the room and take shallow breaths. Your head is throbbing and the constant beeping noise from the machine is not helping you at all. You realise that the beeping machine is hooked to you through your finger, as well as an IV attached to your arm.

You raise your torso with a grunt and see that the cuts and bruises on your legs have been tended to, and your ankle is now sporting a not-so-fashionable elastic bandage with a pack of ice sitting on it.

“Bug! You’re up!” Your dad flails his arm in the bed next to you to get you to look at him. “Law! Kaya! Someone!”

Pressing your thumb and index finger against the bridge of your nose, you sigh deeply. “Dad, dad, there’s a button to call the nurse next to the bed, please don’t scream.”

But it’s not necessary to use the button because Kaya enters the room with a concerned smile and gravitates towards you. “Sweetie, how are you?” Her voice is so gentle and kind that it forces an immediate smile from your lips.

“My head is killing me. What happened?”

“Well, Dr. Trafalgar said it’s probably hypoglycemia - low blood sugar - he had some blood tests done, the results should be in at any moment. Have you eaten anything today?”

You nod and are about to say yes, of course, but the words don’t leave your mouth because they are not true. You really haven’t eaten anything today. “No.”

“Then, that’s definitely it.” Kaya giggles. “I could hear you yelling at Dr. Trafalgar from where I was sitting. He looked kind of flustered when he opened the office door, carrying you in his arms.”

You blush as your eyes widen. “What?”

“Well, you were unconscious, so he carried you to the examination room.” She giggles again and lowers her voice so your father doesn’t hear the rest. “Sweetie, you two looked straight out of a romantic movie. He was carrying you bridal style with a look of concern and you looked rather frail all curled up against his strong frame.”

You keep feeling your face getting hotter as the beep from the machine next to you grows louder and faster. Kaya has always loved romantic movies, so it’s no wonder she would think something silly like this. For all you know, Dr. Trafalgar was dangling you by one arm and you banged your head on all the thresholds before reaching this room.

It would explain the throbbing headache.

“Nurse Kaya, I do hope you’re questioning the patient about medical history and the possible cause of this incident and not engaging in idle gossiping?”

You gasp alongside Kaya as Dr. Trafalgar approaches you both, a scowl on his face and his brows scrunched. How is his forehead not permanently wrinkled from all the pouts and frowns?

“No, I was just gossiping. I’m sorry.” Kaya giggles as you gasp at her truthful response. Is she allowed to speak like this with her superior? His stare at Kaya is so intense that, after a moment, she excuses herself and leaves you two alone with your father on the other bed, seemingly distracted by a soap opera on TV, until he spots the doctor next to you.

“Oh, Law! How is my baby girl?”

“Don’t call me that, dad.” You whisper between clenched teeth. Law? Is that the doctor’s first name?

“I’m going to examine her now, Mr. S. You can watch your show.” Shanks mouths a droopy ‘okay’ and turns back to the TV. He is still pretty high on drugs, apparently.

“Have you eaten anything today?” His amber eyes stare at yours and you feel compelled to look at his name tag, instead, but then you are staring at his chest, and is that more ink coming out from the neck of the shirt he is wearing? Does he have a chest piece?

The beeping becomes faster and you switch back to the piercing eyes. “No, I haven’t.” You say, trying to distract yourself.

“It’s certainly hypoglycemia, then. I will observe you.”

You nod and he removes the stethoscope from his neck, pushing it against your exposed cleavage. “Breathe in.” You take a deep breath. “Now out.” You do. He takes a step forward and tells you to lean forward as he repeats the process on your back. “In. Out.”

He reaches for a small pen-like flashlight from his coat pocket and points it at your eyes. “Look up. Down. Now the other one, up. Down. Okay, that’s it.”

“That’s it? Aren't you going to say I'm a good girl?” You giggle for a second and then stop abruptly. Suddenly mortified as his eyes pierce into your own with an unreadable expression. “I'm sorry. That was stupid. Are there drugs here?” You point to the IV and as his stare doesn't waver, the beeping on the machine just keeps getting faster and louder.

“That's just a dextrose and saline solution. No drugs. That was all you.”

The machine just beeps louder and louder and you grunt as you rip the monitor off of your finger, rendering the beeping into a continuous, even more annoying, beep.

“Stupid thing! I think that might be broken.” You snort, wail and hide your face in your hands. Can you be an even bigger idiot? Why are you acting like this? Aren't you supposed to be yelling at this doctor on account of your father? Where has all of your bravado gone?

Out the window when you passed out and were carried like a princess by her knight in shining armour. As well as all your sane thoughts on feminism and women’s rights, apparently.

Crap.

“Are you done?” He asks, deadpan as he turns off the monitor and the beeping stops. Now you’re frustrated again, but you simply pout and nod without making eye contact.

He flips through some files and hums softly. “Your blood tests came out normal. This was a simple incident of low blood-sugar, next time try not to stay too long without eating anything, or, at least, if you’re going to fast, drink plenty of liquids, tea or water, preferably.”

“I wasn’t fasting.” You mumble between clenched teeth, your eyes locked on the chipped nail polish that had come out when you ripped the monitor that was attached to your finger.

“Whatever weird diet you are on, then. Stop it. You look extremely healthy, you don’t need it.” Could that have been a veiled compliment?

“M’not on a diet.” Your mumble is even quieter.

“Sorry?”

“I’m not on any diet, or fasting, or anything. I just didn’t eat, that’s all.” This time you speak loud and cross your arms over your chest for emphasis.

“You didn’t eat the breakfast I cooked, bug? Is this still because of that jackass fiancé that cheated on you?” Shanks is literally screaming so you know that, by now, the entire clinic knows you’ve been cheated on. Yet you simply inhale, use the back of your hand to wipe away a stray tear and nod.

“I'm going to kill him.” Shanks simply declares as he tries to get up from the bed. “Law, help me kill him.”

You glimpse that amused smirk on the corner of his lips as he watches your father struggling with the bed covers.

“I would really like to be your partner in crime, Mr. S. But, you see, I took an oath.”

That statement makes you giggle and he turns his gaze back at you, smirk still in place, and your heart does a weird thing that makes you catch your breath.

“Shove that oath up your-... Ouch, dammit!” Shanks’ legs get tangled in the sheets and he almost falls as he tries to get up.

“Mr. S. please calm down. We're not killing anyone today okay?” Dr. Trafalgar turns to you. “He seems pretty determined, maybe you should distract him with something less illegal?”

Is he funny as well? He seems so stoic and uptight but he's responding to your father's shenanigans with a dark humour that's making you laugh.

“Daddy, lie back down on the bed, we will schedule another day to kill him, I promise.” You use your commanding tone and your father grunts before settling back down again. “Besides, since it's the three of us together, I would like to ask you, Shanks, what's the treatment that Dr. Trafalgar recommended for your back because the Dr. doesn't want to share that information with me.”

Your lips turn thin as you cross your arms over your chest.

“That's a good lad, Law. Thank you.”

You glare at both of them but Dr. Trafalgar just raises his arms defensively. “Doctor/patient confidentiality!”

“Dad!” You huff at the same time as your father groans loudly.

“Just tell her, Law. Or I'll never hear the end of it. And I still have a murder to commit.” He mumbles.

You turn your attention back to the doctor and try your best not to give him your ‘see you could've told me earlier and we would've avoided this whole situation’ look, but you definitely give him one of those.

“Your father has a herniated disc in his spine. This occurs when the soft inner core of a disc between the vertebrae protrudes through the tough outer layer, putting pressure on nearby nerves.”

Your brows tighten at all the medical jargon but you're understanding the essentials, so you nod for him to continue.

“Mr. S. experiences stabbing pain that radiates along the path of the affected nerve and can lead to episodes of intense pain and sometimes a feeling of weakness or numbness in the affected area. Activities that cause strain on the spine can make it worse. Something like bending down or lifting stuff.”

You turn to your father with a glare in your gaze, your frown heavy and your eyes watery. “I told you you should rest!” Your words are but a sliver that escapes your lips. Dr. Trafalgar continues.

“When the medication hasn't provided enough relief, as it's your father’s case, surgery may be recommended. The procedure typically involves removing the herniated portion of the disc to relieve pressure on the nerves and alleviate symptoms.”

The silence stretches and evolves into a thick fog that encapsulates the three of you within. Your next words are measured carefully, but need to be asked. “Is it a complicated procedure?”

Of course it is! It's on the spine!

“Each case is unique on its own. The complexity can vary based on factors such as the location and size of the herniation, as well as your father's overall health.”

“And the risks?” Your gaze alternates between the doctor’s professional stance and your father's slumped and defeated form.

“Like any surgery there are inherent risks of infections or allergic reactions. Specifically to this surgery, there's always the chance of the symptoms remaining or that another surgery might be necessary. There's also a more severe risk of nerve damage, which can cause temporary numbness or weakness. Yet, in this case, I would argue that the benefits far outweigh the risks.”

“Dad…” You start.

“I don't want to discuss this right now.” He discards the use of your nickname and calls you by your birth name, declaring his seriousness of the matter.

Your lower lip trembles and you nod at him letting out a very soft ‘okay’. Suddenly, realisation hits you. This was probably the reason why he had the horse riding incident. It was the cause not the consequence.

Dr. Trafalgar places a very gentle hand over yours and you gasp at the shock of his touch. “I will send nurse Kaya to remove your IV and your father's so you can both be on your way and discuss this properly.” You nod. “If you have any questions, you can always call me or visit the clinic.” You nod again, suddenly exhausted as your body starts to complain of all the abuse it suffered today.

He leaves calling out a ‘take care, Mr. S.’ to your father at the door. Silence permeates the room as you turn and let your feet dangle from the bed, your eyes focusing on the lying form of Shanks.

“Dad,” you start. “I know you don't want to talk about this, and I will respect your wishes, but just hear my opinion, you don't have to say anything!” You add and your father takes a deep breath but doesn't say anything so you take that as consent for you to continue. “You're young and very active. These episodes keep you from living a normal, fulfilling life. Dr. Trafalgar said that the benefits are far more than the risks and I think you should consider the surgery.”

The door opens up and Kaya comes in with a bright hello and a smile. “Think about it, dad.” You finish as Kaya stands at your side with a tray of equipment to relieve you of all the paraphernalia attached to your body.

“So, how are we feeling?” She asks you as she swiftly disconnects the empty IV from your arm.

You sigh and give her a lopsided smile. “I'm feeling better, Kaya, thank you.”

“Aaaaaand?” She giggles at you and your brows scrunch at her. “Dr. Trafalgar?”

You feel your cheeks grow hot, even if you will them not to. “He's very competent. He explained to me everything about my father's condition. He's very professional. I'm impressed.” As you admit this, you realise that maybe you should apologise to him for your earlier behaviour but maybe he's with another patient now.

“That's not where I was going.” She pouts at you. “He's single, you know?”

You wince as she takes out the needle in your vein and puts a bandaid over it. “That's… okay, I guess.” You don't really know what to say. Kaya seems to be trying to set you up, but you really don't want to think about men at this moment.

“You're impossible!” She mutters your name as she shakes her head and removes the melted ice pack from your ankle. “There, you're done. I'll take care of your father and you both can leave.”

-*-

Penguin and Shachi insisted on taking your father to the car themselves and you were at the desk with Kaya, settling the payment and documents. You were exhausted. Physically and mentally. The news about Shanks had left you preoccupied and you were having trouble processing.

As Kaya finished inserting some data on the computer, you sighed deeply and pressed the bridge of your nose with your index finger and thumb, closing your eyes and trying to suppress the growing throb in your head.

Suddenly, you feel a presence on your side as a deep voice fills the air. “Are you feeling well?”

Opening your eyes and forcing a weary smile on your lips you slightly nod. “Just the culmination of all the exciting events of today, I guess. A throbbing headache.” You shrug.

Dr. Trafalgar takes out a set of keys from his pocket and goes behind Kaya opening one of the cabinets and taking out two pills from one container. Then he goes to the water dispenser and fills a cup.

“Give me your hand.” You open your palm as he sets the pills there, lightly brushing his long fingers against your skin. “Take them. It will relieve the pressure on your head.” You set the pills in your mouth. “Water.” He hands the cup to you and you drink it. Then he reaches into his pocket and takes out a wrapped onigiri. “Then eat this.” You reply with a meek ‘okay’. “Good girl.”

He smirks and you nearly choke to death on another sip of water. Then you burst out laughing and you notice that the smirk is still adorning his lips. Surprisingly, he laughs along with you and you are forced to admit that the way his deep voice slurred with the words ‘good girl’ made your knees buckle and your body tingle in very unholy places.

“I'm sorry.” You start, as soon as the laughter dies down. “For overreacting earlier.”

“It's alright. I will blame your reaction on your abnormal state.” He says cheekily and you smirk back at him.

“By the way, do you carry all your fainting patients in bridal style?”

He scratches the back of his head and looks down, seemingly embarrassed. “Just the cute ones.” The blush spreads from your cheeks to your nose and you're left speechless. Where had the stoic doctor gone? There seemed to be a cheeky flirt in his stead, did he have a twin?

“Thank you, Dr. Trafalgar, for everything.” You decide to finish the conversation there since you're liking it way too much, which can turn very dangerous.

He nods. “It's Law.” You raise your brow at him. “My name, call me Law.”

“Law. Thanks.” His smirk turns into a slight smile that traps your gaze as you breathe slowly. Single, right? How?

Kaya’s soft harumph seems to wake you both from your trance and Law excuses himself with work he has to do. “Don't be a stranger.” He adds and then wishes you and your father well before leaving. You sigh as you turn to Kaya, who's watching you with a knowing look and a very silly smile.

“This was rom/com happening in real life, I swear. Girl, I'm dying here. You need to go on a date with him!” She squeals. “I don't think I've ever heard him laugh!”

“I'm not going on any date, Kaya.” You say, deadpan as you accept the receipts she hands you. “I'm off men at the moment, thank you very much.”

“Yeah we all heard your father. Sorry about your fiancé thing… Though maybe it was better to find out before the wedding actually happened!”

You nod. You couldn't agree more, actually. “I'm going to go now. Dad and I both need rest.”

You and Kaya exchange phone numbers, not wanting to fall out of touch with her, and wave goodbye. The exhaustion is taking its toll on you and you still have to try and convince your father to agree to the surgery. Maybe you'll leave that fight to another day, though.

As you walk to the truck you unwrap the onigiri and take a small bite. It tastes homemade. Delicious.

As scrumptious as Dr. Trafalgar Law, actually.

No, nope. Not gonna happen. You shake your head as you take your seat ready to face the challenge of driving with a stick yet again. And somehow, between driving with a stick and trying to avoid thinking about Dr. Law, the first one seems like an easier challenge.

#one piece #one piece x reader #op #x reader #trafalgar law #trafalgar d water law #law x reader #reader x law #trafalgar law x reader #the meet-cute #law x you #Spotify

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rubra-wav · 8 months ago

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Main Hazbin Hotel cast x fallen angel reader who wants to cut off their wings (drabble - hc format)

Req by: @lightmoon99

A/N: I fucking love fallen angel angst type content, it's my bread and butter. I hope I was able to do it some justice <3

Cw: SFW, decapitation, a bit angsty, platonic, cannibalism, Gn!Reader

When you had fallen from heaven to hell, your hate for your more angelic attributes that had already existed before the fall only deepened.

You hated the sensation of the weight that signified your wings were, in fact, still there even when your halo had been taken when the exterminators had left you to die here.

You hated that you had to feel the pain of your attempt to hide them under cloaks and baggy clothes with ropes pinning them to your back.

When you came to the hazbin hotel, you were open from the get-go with Charlie, hoping she would sympathise being the daughter of a fallen angel herself.

It of course didn't take long for others in the hotel to find out you are a fallen angel, however it did take longer for them to find out simultaneously during a group exercise that you wanted to discard any and all heavenly reminders of what you used to be.

Charlie

- She's horrified when you bring out your wings in a flourish and say such a thing while gesturing to them.

- It's not too surprising considering you hide them practically all the time, but it still fills her with a sense of grief for you to think such a thing.

- She immediately tries to shut it down, telling you that you shouldn't hurt yourself and should be proud you have such gorgeous wings!

- Would apologise and go silent when she realises how badly she's messed up in saying that seeing your expression.

- Only continues speaking to dissuade some of the poor ideas coming from others in the group.

- She'd probably try to think up ways to make it up to you after the meeting.

- Probably tries to suggest doing some trauma work type things? She doesn't know a lot about that kind of thing, but she could get some books on it to try!

- Actually ends up learning a bit about trauma treatment stuff outside of the awful pop culture live love laugh stuff she's on about most of the time.

- Ends up helping out with you coping a bit better in the end due to that.

- Keeps trying but fails to do anything to dissuade certain members of the hotel to stop encouraging you to remove your wings, however.

Vaggie

- She's stung as a wingless fallen angel herself that you'd want to do such a thing.

- But she also understands all the same why you'd feel that way.

- Would respond in a way that's understanding, but ultimately awkward and clunky due to how she is normally.

- Made worse due to her own angst about it.

- Afterwards, she would probably try to have a private chat to you about it since it's clear you're struggling and logically she's gonna probably be the one most understanding.

- May even reveal she's a fallen too if you're close to try and give you a feeling of comradery in a pretty bleak way.

- She's got basically the opposite of what you've got, but it'd still be bonding and mutual support.

- Would be emotionally supporting you and encouraging you to try work through the trauma rather than harming / cutting off your wings.

- What the hotel doesn't have is a doctor, so you'd be screwed if you decapitated a part of yourself.

- She doesn't want you to feel inclined towards taking up certain members' offers either.

- She knows that the others are not going to stop with their bullshit so she actively tries to educate you on what they are up to really and all the risks that come with.

Angel

- When he first hears it, he cringes very noticeably despite his usual persona.

- The definition of 'that's rough, buddy.'

- He feels terrible for you that you'd feel such a way, but he also has absolutely no clue how to express it at all.

- Probably would be the type to try distract you from the bad by having fun, so he'd be trying to get you to hang out with him and either go to parties or go on various shenanigans.

- He's not good at emotionally comforting people at all, so he's awkward as hell and at loss when it gets particularly bad for you.

- But he's always there to try do activities with you to take your mind off of it.

- And he also needs it as well honestly. It's nice having someone who's also feeling shitty so you can mutually drag each other out to do things rather than wallowing in bs and feeling worse and worse.

- Probably calls out Cherry as well because she's always good at cheering him up.

- He knows quite a few people from a lot of different walks of life, so chances are he could get you in contact with someone who'd be able to perform removal surgery if after everything you still want it done.

- No strings attached as well with his assistance, unlike Alastor.

Husk

- He'd not really react at all initially outside of maybe raising his brows at your comment.

- Obviously, it's bad, but he just prefers to play his cards to his chest with how he truly feels about things.

- Would be actively being bitter as fuck at most of the other residents suggesting stupid shit though in a way that's honestly protective.

- Basically shuts all of them down one by one, calling them out on their crap.

- When Alastor points out how he 'seems to care awfully much about you' Husk scoffs and tells him to fuck off.

- Shuts up for the rest of the group part of the interaction.

- Afterwards though, he'd have a private conversation with you and actually gives you some good advice.

- Tells you that you should do whatever the hell you want but also to not let the opinions and thoughts others dictate that.

- If you want to do that, it's really your decision, and nobody has any right to try to tell you what you should do with your own wings.

- Doesn't really share his own opinion on what he thinks you should do because it's asinine and would be hypocritical to what he's encouraging.

- Just encourages you to think for yourself rather than just going with what the idiots and asshole are trying to fill your head with.

- And if you do decide to get them removed? Make sure to be safe with it.

Sir Pentious

- He very obviously feels bad for you. He shows it all over his face but also has no clue how to express it properly.

- So, naturally, he automatically goes to propose a practical solution to the problem.

- "I can do that for you, my fallen friend! I have experience with my creations, so I should be able to attemp-"

- He doesn't even get to finish his sentence before he's very rudely interrupted by Husk and told to fuck off with that shitty idea.

- Visibly deflates when he's told he's not a doctor and is just some inventor wannabe.

- He'd shut up for the rest of the meeting, moping and glaring between Husk and Alastor.

- But afterwards, he's approaching you saying he would try his best to do it if you asked.

- Would go and start researching how to do the procedure and starts meticulously learning about how to properly do it.

- Whether you decide on him doing the procedure or not, he wants to be ready just in case.

- He has no idea how to emotionally provide for you properly in this situation, so he's doing what he does best and is working practically. He's all open to any way he can be of assistance, however.

- Absolutely asked his eggs for advice on what to do and got nowhere.

Alastor

- Person number 2 who receives a resounding 'shut up' message via Husk.

- His eyes absolutely light up when you say you want to remove your wings, grin widening as he takes on a sweet tone that does not match his intentions at all.

- "Well, that could certainly be arranged, darling."

- Asks if you'd like to make a deal for your wings in exchange for something you want from him. He'd take you to someone skilled enough to do the operation.

- He wants a meal that is heavenly in a completely different kinda way.

- It's not every day you get to eat angel wings. And it wasn't like you wanted them, and he sure did.

- Even if you're friends, he wants to win the rare delicacy competition he has going with Rosie. If he bought some skilfully cooked dish with your wings in it, he'd win without a shadow of a doubt.

- It's not like he'd be lying about getting them removed, either. Just his intentions for volunteering to do so.

- Shuts up about it after the first mention of it and being called out by Husk, going on about something different after.

- But he's already plotting out what he can do to get what he wants.

- Would actively be sabotaging Pentious the whole time he's studying how to do the procedure as well. Those wings are going to be his, and he will not be the second choice when you (in his mind at least) inevitably come to him for assistance.

- He won't actively make your misery worse, but he will act as a passive influence urging you towards his goal.

Niffty

- Would also say she can remove your wings.

- But, would then proceed to try and do just that without even allowing you to process what she's said.

- Gets caught thrashing around like a madwoman in mid-air by Vaggie who saw it coming from a mile away.

- Wants to get your wings taxidermied and framed because she thinks they would make an excellent decorative piece in the hotel.

- Would then need to be kept in sight at all times away from you as she would be repeatedly trying again and again to destroy the cloaks you wear to hide your wings to get to them.

- Already had been collecting your feathers for several months and had already sorted those into a freaky art piece.

- So she's more than ready for a more substantial specimen.

- Was the one to actually expose you as being an angel in the first place - unintentionally by mentioning the giant feathers she'd found in your trash.

- Would probably be placated if you gave her more feather tbh. She thinks your wings and feathers are just wonderful.

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mikuni14 · 3 months ago

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I wonder if each episode will start with a confusing scene from the future that will haunt us and drive us crazy 🤡 (I also wonder if 4 Minutes will end with explaining all the plots and threads, because as we know, not everything was in DFF)

I read some theories and I see that the one that is often repeated is that Tyme specifically approached Great to seduce him because he is conducting some secret operation against his family. A few questions:

if he knows this family, it means he knows who Great is (and let's say he recognized his name on the note)

why didn't he approach Great earlier, why didn't he arrange a "random" meeting earlier

why would he approach him and seduce him at all? What good would that do him?

I know that we all live in a BL bubble, but the probability of Tyme seducing Great outside of our bubble is actually pretty small, especially in those circumstances

Tyme would have to base the success of his mission on Great accepting his advances instead of reporting him to the hospital management for inappropriate behavior and maybe even stalking

well, I'm sorry, but even the most handsome doctor standing suggestively between a patient's legs and admitting that he knows their name from a private note wouldn't be able to gain someone's trust, quite the opposite. In reality, Tyme only manages to do this because Great already has visions of him and is intrigued. But please pay attention to Great's body language - if it weren't for these visions, he wouldn't be so "compliant" with the doc

why would Tyme even admit that he knows as much about him as his name and tell him how he found out about it, which was pretty weird. This sounds disturbing and off-putting to any person

if Tyme wanted to get closer to Great, it would be better for him to befriend him, gain his trust as a confidant of his problems, someone who supports him, shows a positive kind of friendship (which is exceptionally easy compared to Great's friends 😬), not to stick out with excessive knowledge about him (and his groin) I absolutely don't deny that Tyme may be conducting his operation against Great's family, it's also possible that seeing Great's name, he decided to get to know him for some of his own reasons. But this meeting is accidental, Tyme may already have some plan going on and by contacting Great right now, he may try to gain something, but he may also jeopardize this plan. Basing all this on Great's unknown sexuality is a game that could end badly for Tyme as a doctor and as a "spy". It's just.... idk. Somehow there is too much coincidence here. At the moment I am leaning towards Tyme being sincerely interested in Great 😉

Tyme is an interesting character in general, and I personally agree with his description here by @biochemjess. Already in ep 1 I was intrigued by the fact that he wants to be a surgeon, which means limiting interpersonal contact. His scenes with patients indicate that he doesn't feel a deeper connection with them and their problems, their pain. I would not be surprised if he chose this profession for a purely economic reason, to become a good surgeon and earn good money and have contact with patients only on the operating table 🤔 I was also intrigued by his reaction to what the nurses say about him.

Of course, this is only episode 2, in DFF all the surprising plot twists appeared later, so now I am writing everything in my clown makeup 🤡

I really like how the characters played by JJay and Fuaiz meet the same way in each universe. Fuaiz stands in the doorway and JJay has an ✨epiphany✨

(The mustache has to go. EDIT: @italianpersonwithashippersheart made me look at the mustache from a different angle, and after much thought I decided that it could stay 😌)

#4 minutes #4 minutes the series #bl drama #thai bl

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lulublack90 · 5 months ago

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Prompt 13 - Sunburn

@wolfstarmicrofic June 13, word count 849

Previous part First part

McGonagall took their dibs cards off them the following morning when she spotted the amount of bacon and eggs they’d all piled onto their plates.

“You will meet me at the main gates once you have cleaned your plates.”

“Well, that’s our holiday ruined then,” Peter sulked as he pushed the scrambled eggs around his plate.

“Cheer up, Pete,” James said cheerily. “There’s four of us this year, I bet we can get through her list of chores for the day and have some free time afterwards.” James was wrong.

When they finally dragged themselves outside, pots of white paint and brushes waited for them. Remus craned his neck, trying to see where the fence ended. But his guess was they’d be at this all day. They grabbed their supplies and got started.

Sirius and Remus painted one side while James and Peter did the other. They actually seemed to be making good progress until lunchtime when the sun rose to its highest point and beat down on them.

They’d watched tiny Mr Flitwick take the rest of the campers into the forest, chatting away merrily about all the things they were going to see. Remus had felt a bit jealous because the few snippets he caught sounded quite interesting.

“Don’t worry, he says the same stuff every year. I’ll take you around and give you a private tour,” Sirius had winked at him after seeing his sullen face. That had cheered Remus up immensely, and they’d carried on for a few more hours.

They trudged into the main hall once the others returned for lunch. They were forced to the back of the queue and ate whatever was left.

Remus rolled his shoulders as he sat down, trying to relieve the ache that had settled in soon after he’d started painting. Sirius reached up and applied pressure with his fingertips. Remus had to work really hard not to let out a moan.

“Remus your necks really hot,” Sirius told him.

“Sirius not while we’re eating,” James wagged a finger at him as he bit off a chunk of his sandwich.

“Shut up, Potter. No Remus, I mean it’s actually hot.” He pulled Remus’s t-shirt down at the collar to get a better look. Remus squirmed, trying to get away. He had a long scar there from when the doctors had thought he had an issue with his spine and opened him up to find nothing. Sirius ignored it though.

“Remus you’ve got sunburn on the back of your neck.”

“Oh no,” He whined. His scar was going to be unbearably itchy until the redness went away.

“I’ve got some cream we can put on that later,” Sirius reassured him, “Do you want me to help make sure you get sunscreen on there before we go back out?” Remus nodded. He’d thought he’d got the worst of the exposed areas of skin with the greasy cream, but clearly, he hadn’t. He could feel the way his skin had gone taught now that Sirius had pointed it out.

Sirius rubbed copious amounts of sunscreen onto his skin. He seemed to be enjoying himself a bit too much and Remus stopped him after the third pass of his arms.

“Sirius quit it, if you put any more on, I’ll be better covered than the fences we’re meant to be painting.” He grabbed the bottle and squirted some of the white liquid into his hand. “Come here, and I’ll do you,” He gestured for Sirius to come back.

“Promises, promises, Remus,” Sirius grinned wickedly at him. Remus rolled his eyes and splatted a glob of sunscreen onto Sirius’s face to shut him up.

Somehow, they managed to get all the fence painted. With Peter only stepping into a paint pot twice. Both of his legs and shoes were covered in the white paint, but at least he hadn't knocked them over, James had pointed out. They were exhausted, but they wouldn’t have to do it again and that’s what mattered.

“Beautiful job, boys,” McGonagall appeared out of nowhere again, making them all jump. Her smile was kind. All four of them were nervous. “Go wash up for dinner, I’ll put these away,” She waved her hand over the paint pots and brushes. They didn’t hang around for her to change her mind.

“Thank you, Minnie!” They all called simultaneously over their shoulders as they hurried back to their cabin. Remus caught the little head shake she gave them and the smile that played at the corner of her mouth.

“Remus first,” Sirius shouted as they entered the cabin and pushed Remus into the bathroom to have a shower. He threw a clean set of clothes in after him and slammed the door shut. Remus stood there bewildered as James and Peter’s loud complaints came from the other side of the door. “Should have called dibs quicker then, shouldn’t you!” Sirius cackled at them and Remus heard what he supposed was Sirius bounding around the room while James and Peter tried to catch him. He chucked to himself and got into the shower.

Next part

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dearanakin · 6 months ago

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trust you | anakin skywalker: episode III

Warning: mentions of grieving, injury, cursing

Word count: 1.6k

Previous chapter | Read on Wattpad

Anakin

I woke up to the bright lights of the medical room, my eyes slowly opening to adjust my vision. I felt my body ache like hell, as though I had been run over by a truck.

I also felt a sharp pain on my left side and on my chest. Fuck. It took me several seconds to realize I wasn't alone there. Looking over from the corner of my eye, I noticed someone was attaching my metal arm back again.

It was (Y/N). I took a sharp breath and inhaled loudly. She got caught up, not expecting to see me awake. "Oh- I'm so sorry, did I wake you?".

She didn't manage to finish attaching the piece as she waited for a response, and I shook my head. I could say I was glad I have finally gotten it back, but I was beyond pissed.

My mouth was dry, and I was feeling like shit. I tried to lift my torso and sit up, but she stopped me right away. I shot her a confused and annoyed glare.

"You're not supposed to be moving too much, Master" She said in a whisper. "Do you need anything? I- I can let the doctors know you're awake. Luke fell asleep on the couch".

Then I looked on my left side and saw my little boy all curled up, deep in his sleep. I sighed, he must have been really worried about me. Confused, too.

It was taking all of me to not call her out after what happened to me. But I wasn't going to do that, not in front of Luke.

"I want you to finish this-" I looked over my faux arm. "And I want you to be out". My voice came out hoarse from the lack of speaking and drinking water.

(Y/N) looked at me in complete shock, but nodded and didn't say another word.

As soon as she finished it - which didn't take her much, since she was professional at it - I watched as she stood up from her chair. (Y/N) kept her gaze on the floor the entire time, not even noticing when I gripped my metal fingers around her wrist tightly.

Her eyes shot up to where I was holding her, and she hesitantly looked at me. "This is-" I had to clear my throat as my voice wouldn't come out. "This is your fault, I hope you know it".

I let go of her, staring at her back as she made her way out of the room. I pinched the bridge of my nose and muttered under my breath.

Lukey was still out, and I didn't want to wake him up.

It took me two fucking days to actually get released from the medical bay as they wouldn't let me get out at all. My stab wound was barely healed, even though they made sure I would be able to be up and walk.

I spent almost the entire day with Luke, helping him with his homework, as well as playing with his toys or teaching him a few mechanic skills I learned back in Tatooine.

When I could finally do something rather than being completely useless, I headed to the office where we usually plan our missions. I walked past the door and Cal hurriedly came to meet me with a hug.

I groaned from the touch and he realized he pushed the boundaries. "I'm sorry, Master! Jesus, I forgot about it for a second there. I'm just glad you're up and good".

He started rambling, and I placed a hand on his shoulder, calming him down, "I appreciate it".

I smiled briefly before sitting down on the desk, releasing a low sigh. It's only been two days and I already missed being out there.

After discussing for a couple of hours, we were all dismissed for a gathering outside the Temple. I excused myself and made my way to the dining hall, where Luke should be having lunch with his few friends and C-3PO.

I felt my spine become rigid and my hand went cold as I saw him bonding with (Y/N), again. I couldn't help but roll my eyes in annoyance, trying to simmer down. I haven't forgotten I was pretty mad for what happened.

"Luke!" I called out in a rather loud tone and he looked my way. The boy waved at me and proceeded to get back at what he was doing with her.

She barely looked at me and I knew she was keeping her guard up when I was around. I walked toward them, watching as she managed to handle a T-16 skyhopper toy. It was probably his.

NO POV

(Y/N) felt her heartbeat go off too fast, and she could hear her blood pumping through her veins. After what happened between them two days before, she couldn't even handle being near him again.

And the fact she was found making company for Luke made the situation even worse. She followed his steps as he approached them and sat next to the boy.

It was like he was never really calm. He was constantly angry or frowning at everyone and everything. The only moments he seems to be at peace is when he's with Luke.

"What did I tell you the other day?" Anakin mumbled, not even disguising how he glanced at her. His son pouted and apologized.

"He came to me, asking to help him with hi-" (Y/N) was about to explain but he cut her off.

"Didn't I make myself clear the other day? You have to stay close to 3PO" He pretty much sounded coarse, although he wasn't yelling.

"He said she's trustworthy, daddy. And she was helping me set up my toy" Luke kept his head down the whole time, not daring to look up at his father.

This is ridiculous, she thought. What? He thinks she's gonna literally lose it and kidnap him? Or just vanish with the kid without anyone noticing?

He huffed, still not giving two fucks if she was there or not. Anakin tried to look indifferent by the way his son was literally trusting a person he couldn't trust. Someone who was strange to them. Well, quite like it.

"I'm sorry, I have work to do" She gathered her things and rushed out of the table without even looking back.

Anakin took the toy from his son's little hands and gave it a look. "What's up with it?".

Luke sat on his lap and pointed to one of the wings. "One of the wings is hanging loose. I thought she could fix it, since she fixed your arm".

He sounded frustrated, especially because his father noticed how low the boy's voice came out. Anakin felt guilty about Luke and swallowed hard.

Maybe he could fix it himself. Or maybe he could ask some engineer or a Droid to do it.

He just didn't want to have to see her again.

He was definitely frustrated. He felt like he wasn't being a good father, like he wasn't able to actually educate his son and be there for him all the time. Even though he had time to rest his body and heal faster, Anakin felt worn out.

Obviously he noticed the way people looked at him, even his fellow Masters. It didn't matter to him to be honest, he already made himself clear that he didn't care about that.

His eyes were holding a shadow of sadness and frustration with himself; they weren't vibrant with the same determination he had before. The blue irises became cold and sad.

He was in the training room, practicing his movements with the newly fixed robotic arm. Anakin couldn't actually complain about the job they had done, because it seemed to work better than before.

The limb was polished, even. He swooned his lightsaber around the room, avoiding any abrupt movement to prevent any harm to his wounds.

It was a lot easier when Obi-Wan was around. He definitely had a good mood to practice, he was always supporting his apprentice.

Sometimes, when it got too quiet, Anakin would hear his rough words shout out to his former Master.

"I hate you!" He had just lost the love of his life. "You were my brother, Anakin. I loved you".

"Were". "Loved". It felt like his heart got ripped out of his chest and stomped on.

After that, he promised he wouldn't trust anyone. Besides C-3PO and R2-D2, he knows he can barely trust the other Jedi he goes on missions with.

His mind goes way back. To the day his mother died. To the day Padmé died. To the day he felt betrayed by Obi-Wan. To the day Palpatine left him behind, beaten up and mourning for his losses.

It has been six years already. He should've gotten over it. He has Luke now. He has the Droids; and somewhat, he had Cal Kestis, who was a loyal Jedi and colleague.

His flesh knuckles were almost raw from the punches he was throwing at the punching bag. It was becoming hard to reach his relief that day. He let out a strangled groan as he threw his final jab, sending the bag flying.

Anakin fell to his knees, feeling defeated. He didn't want to cry out his sorrows, he told himself he was past that.

From the corner of his eyes, he felt like he was being watched. The shadow standing behind the closed doors was glancing at him with a knowing look.

They have been there before.

@jackie-on-the-loose @adorbzliz @himesuedi @kingdomhate

#anakin skywalker x reader #anakin x reader #anakin skywalker x you #anakin skywalker fanfic #anakin skywalker fanfiction #anakin fanfic #anakin fanfiction #anakin skywalker imagine #anakin imagine #star wars fanfic #hayden christensen imagine #anakin skywalker fluff #anakin fluff #anakin skywalker #usersavana #clonecaptains #userlace

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beelmons · 2 months ago

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It's actually safer to kiss

'I don't do handshakes' was something you had heard repeatedly since your first day at the BAU. The ever so quirky Spencer Reid and his little, often statistic-based, habits.

Most of them you found endearing, granted, it was mostly because you had this massive, teenage-like crush on him, but some of them like his germophobe tendencies were nothing short to insane.

"So, you have only given out three handshakes in your entire life?" you said out loud, a glass with your favorite beverage hanging from your fingers.

The two of you were at a gathering at Rossi's place, but this specific one, being that was because of his birthday, had added people into the mix, resulting in both of you getting too crowded to actually hangout outside where everyone else was.

"Two of them were against my will, actually, my mother forced me to give them out" he answered, his lips curled into a light smile. He himself knew the thing was silly, but he had convinced himself otherwise, he firmly believed his decision to be unfounded.

"But you hug us very often, is it not the same?" you asked curiously, your body leaning lightly forward to pay close attention to his answer.

"No, no it's not." he started, his hands joining into the conversation as he tried to graphically describe a germ with his fingers "See, if you hug me, your germ-filled hands land on my clothes, and eventually I'm going to clean them-"

"Eventually?" you interrupted with a light scoff.

"Yes!" he laughed "Listen, so if you hold my hand, I'm ten times more likely to touch my face or lips, and therefore create a entry pathway for the germs."

"And that whole 'It's actually safer to kiss'" charade is real?" you asked once more.

"Oh, yes, it's real, while the mouth is often nasty, it holds less germs and foreign germs than the hands." he kept going on about that.

Your head popped off with an idea. You weren't sure if it was just you feeling bold or whatnot, but you decided to put his little theory to test.

"Roleplay with me for a second." you asked as you bolted off your chair "I want you to hear how ridiculous that line sounds." you added, walking a couple of steps back. "I'm gonna pretend not to know you, and I want you to say it exactly like you said it to that man, but listen to yourself, really listen, Reid, okay?"

He had broken into laughter as soon as you got off your seat, his head shaking in disbelief. He was as smitten for you as you were for him, but of course, none of you would actually admit it to each other.

"Hi! Doctor Reid, it's nice to meet you" with your extended hand in his direction.

"Uh, I don't do handshakes" He started "The number of pathogens passed during a handshake is staggering. It's actually safer to ki-"

He couldn't even finish the sentence before your lips were on his. He was astounded for a second before he melted into your grip, your hands lightly tracing over his scalp as your tongues danced together.

To hell was this safer, it was actually very, very dangerous.

His hands landed on your hips, his legs opening side to side as he remained seated on the chair, welcoming your body forward.

The clearing of a throat was what finally reminded you that you were, in fact, in the middle of a party with every single one of your coworkers around you. It was Rossi, standing right next to you. You quickly pulled apart and looked with eyes wide open.

"This is not-" you tried to explain, but the man raised his hands to silence you.

"Down the hall far corner to the right," he started, walking past you to grab a bottle of fine wine. "And kids," he added as he started heading back to the part "Please put the bedsheets in the washing mashine when you're done."

#blurb: mine #i couldn't sleep #idk idk idk i haven't properly written in a while

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dyns33 · 1 year ago

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Halloween

Here a little rz Michael Myers x reader for Halloween !

Of course Y/N had heard of Michael Myers.

Not because she was a fan of sordid news stories, but because his had appeared in the middle of all the search results associated with that name when she had typed it online, after receiving the name of her soulmate.

Y/N had read the story. She had seen the photos of a young Michael, ten years old, who had killed his stepfather, his sister and her boyfriend.

But there were other Michael Myers in the world. It wasn't a very common name, but there were several.

So she considered it possible that he wasn't her Michael.

Why would fate have linked her to a killer ? According to his psychiatrist, he was evil. He had killed a nurse at the asylum, for no reason. He was very dangerous, he had no soul, no consideration for others, no love to give.

Y/N hadn’t read Doctor Loomis’ book. She had read enough, and she didn't want to think about this story anymore, moving on with her life and waiting to meet her soulmate.

The name of the asylum should have been familiar to her when her friend Daryl told her about it, but she wasn't really listening to that part. A childhood friend had suffered a violent breakdown, attacking his neighbors, and now he was locked up there.

"His family isn't going to see him from what I've heard. No one is going to see him. I thought… I thought it would be nice to visit him ? If you want to come ?"

She wasn't as close to Ben as she was to Daryl, but Y/N agreed, because it was indeed a charitable act, and if something similar happened to her, she hoped someone would do the same for her, not leaving her alone in such a place

. Everything was going pretty normally. Ben was calm, helped by his treatment and visibly happy to see them. Sitting together in a sort of drab canteen, they were chatting, while other patients were outside, tied to pedestals in the middle of a courtyard.

Y/N didn’t pay attention to them at first. Then a doctor rushed into the room, going towards the windows until he reached the one next to their table. He then turned towards them, then back towards the window, before settling his gaze on Y/N.

"It's you."

"… What ?"

“It’s you he’s looking at.” the doctor murmured as if fascinated.

Not understanding what he was talking about, Y/N looked at him for a long time, then at the window. No one seemed as agitated as the doctor. Everything seemed normal.

There was only this giant man, with long dirty blonde hair and an orange mask, who was turned in her direction. He actually seemed to be looking at her, but Y/N didn’t see why. She wasn't even sure if he could really see her from where he was.

The doctor had started talking again as she looked at the huge patient, but she wasn't listening. She only came back into the room when he placed a hand on her shoulder, which made her jump. Very slightly, almost imperceptibly, this also seemed to irritate the patient on the other side of the window.

"I know he's very impressive, don't look at him. Look at me. What's your name ?"

“Uh… Y/N, but I…”

"Y/N ? Y/N Y/L/N ?"

"Yes, why ?"

The doctor seemed crazy. As crazy as the patients. He looked at her like she was one of them, while Ben and Daryl were completely lost.

Not Y/N. She didn't need to read the doctor's name to understand his reaction, nor to guess how he knew hers. Even if he had never given it in his interviews or in his book, Doctor Loomis must have known the name of his favorite patient's soulmate.

The patient was still in the courtyard, watching them intently, his fists clenched.

But that didn't make sense, because he had no way of knowing who she was. They had never seen each other before, and she hadn't given her name at the door, just following Daryl. It was unlikely that Ben would have talked about her.

"He knows a lot of things. Would you like to talk to him ?" asked the doctor.

Y/N decided in that moment that he was really crazy. He could have reassured her, apologized, given her explanations, but his first instinct was to want to organize a meeting, to study Michael's reactions. Nothing else mattered.

She wanted to refuse. This didn't seem like a good idea. She could still leave and pretend she didn't understand what was happening and run away from here, never to return. But even without looking at him, she felt the eyes hidden behind the orange mask on her.

She had the feeling that his eyes would follow her everywhere from now on.

It was after she had given her consent that Doctor Loomis seemed to consider that he should promise her that she would not risk anything. Michael hadn't had an accident in years, he would be tied up, and several guards would be in the room, he wouldn't hurt her.

Very reassuring.

Michael Myers was already chained to a chair when she entered. The doctor invited her to sit opposite him.

It was hard to watch him. Not because he was huge, and scary, and weird with his mask. No, it was hard to think that her soulmate was right there, and that this would be the only interaction they would ever have, her tetanized on one side of the table, and him tied up on the other.

“Michael, do you know who this person is ?” the doctor began with a soft voice, too soft, as if he were speaking to a child.

"He knows." Y/N answered for him, still feeling his eyes on her.

She didn't turn to Loomis when he looked at her in surprise, wanting to know why she said that, how she could know. It was hard to escape those eyes.

"Good. So Michael, we often talked about Y/N when you were a kid. You couldn't wait to meet her. How do you feel today ?"

The scene was as sad as it was painful. It was obvious that Michael wouldn't speak. He hadn't spoken in years. But the doctor insisted, again and again, asking him lots of questions, making stupid remarks.

Then he wanted Y/N to speak. She didn't know what to say. She had often imagined this moment, but the meeting never happened like this. What could she say to Michael ?

"I'm sorry." was the only thing that came to her mind.

Michael didn't move, but she thought she saw something in his eyes. Loomis was not pleased, putting a hand on her shoulder to shake her and force her to say more.

As soon as his fingers touched her, Michael was on his feet, his chair falling behind him and his chains making a dangerous noise, indicating that they could break at any moment if he pulled on them a little more. The guards pointed their weapons at him, but the doctor ordered them not to move, immediately withdrawing his hand.

"Sorry, Michael. I didn't mean to make you angry. But it's very good. You reacted, it's very good. We'll do it again another day."

Y/N had no intention of doing it again another day. She didn't tell the doctor even though he asked her to leave the room.

As she passed him, Michael grabbed her hand. The guards were tense again, and the doctor became a bit more panicked, asking his patient to remain calm and not do anything stupid.

He could have hurt her badly. Y/N knew it, and that was why she had the intelligence to b afraid. But he didn't squeeze hard, just holding her hand so she would stay a bit longer, breathing hard and movingas close as possible to her despite his chains.

"… I'm sorry." she repeated, freeing herself and leaving quickly.

She hadn't given Loomis her number or address. Ben had understood that she did not want to be contacted by the doctor, promising not to give any information about her. He didn't like the doctor anyway. He had no way of finding her.

There was only one thing Y/N had forgotten. If the doctor couldn't, Michael could. He knew a lot of things, even though it seemed impossible.

He had known right away who she was, and now that his eyes had landed on her, he wouldn't leave her.

As she could not be contacted, no one called to tell her he had escaped. The media had not yet been alerted, so that the population would not panic for nothing.

Maybe Y/N could have had a doubt, noting that it was Halloween. Michael Myers was killing on Halloween night.

However, she wasn't as surprised as she might have been when she found a man in her living room. Huge, with a white mask and a mechanic's outfit. Staying in a dark corner, breathing hard and staring at her.

It was harder to see his eyes with this mask, but she could feel them. It had been over a month since they met, but she hadn't forgotten that feeling. She had often dreamed of him, waking up with a start, because these dreams often turned into nightmares.

Y/N had no idea if that would be the case now.

"… Good evening Michael." she said slowly, staying near the door.

He didn't answer. She didn't expect him to answer, so she didn't ask questions, even though she wanted to know what he wanted, if he was going to hurt her, kill her, or worse.

He didn't have a knife. It didn't mean anything, his huge hands were like weapons.

A sob escaped her without her realizing it, and Michael tilted his head to the side, watching the tear that ran down her cheek.

Then he approached with a slow step, a deceptive step, because Y/N knew very well that she couldn't escape him and that if she tried to flee, he would catch her without difficulty.

Trembling, she watched him stand in front of her, his hand touching her face to wipe away the tear. The gesture was almost gentle, like when he had stopped her in the asylum.

Maybe Loomis wasn't entirely wrong, maybe he wouldn't hurt her. The only person in the world he didn't want to hurt.

“Sorry…” she said again stupidly, continuing to tremble.

In response, he gently patted her head in a reassuring gesture, indicating that he was not angry. He must have known the effect he had on people.

He then put his hand in the pocket of his suit and took out something which he handed to her. A candy. Michael only seemed satisfied when she accepted it and put it in her mouth.

Then he left through the back door, without a word.

It was Halloween night. He had things to do.

Then maybe he would come back for her.

Y/N didn’t know. She didn't know whether to call the asylum or the police. He was a killer, a dangerous madman, the devil, the boogeyman you couldn't escape, but also her soulmate. The one she had waited for her whole life.

So she remained motionless in the living room, crying until she was exhausted, and heard the sound of the door opening again.

#halloween #michael myers x reader #michael myers #michael myers fanfic #michael myers imagine

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rubyfunkey · 2 years ago

Text

Exactly one person asked me to share my thoughts on Leander so here's all the notes I've been taking and thoughts I've had since playing the demo a billion times (not all of these are polished thoughts some are simply just observations that i think might be important to understanding him)

- Leander seems to value information the most out of all the LIs

- He is the only LI that asks the MC what they think about everyone

- He asks the most questions

- He repays the MC for their information by providing them with room and board

- Leander sways the MC's opinion

- When discussing Vere, no matter what the MC says about him, Leander makes it clear that getting close to Vere is a bad idea, and that he is a very dangerous individual. Notably, he says "-but like any monster, he's dangerous." which seems to conflict with how he views Ais, despite both being monsters.

- When discussing Ais, when the MC mentions that they met him at the Seaspring, Leander chokes on his drink. If the MC states that Ais was upfront, Leander asks if the price of the Seaspring's effects seem worth it, and implies that he views Ais's "red-eyed minions" as another form of pet that Ais keeps. The topic seems to upset him so deeply that he requests a change of subject. If the MC states that Ais was intimidating, his reaction is almost the complete opposite, almost pleasant, and the subject of the Seaspring drops entirely. When asked if Leander is afraid of Ais, he says not at all, and explains that he sees the two of them as rivals. The MC worries if being rivals with a monster is smart, and Leander downplays the seriousness of it, saying that Ais isn't a bad guy. To me, when paired side-by-side, these two interactions read as Leander trying to sway the MC away from the Seaspring, or maybe even Ais himself. His reaction to knowing that the MC is intimidated by Ais is casual and amused, because he doesn't need to say anything else about it; The MC is already scared of Ais. If the MC WASN'T intimidated by Ais when choosing to say the former option, they probably would have been at least a little more apprehensive after seeing Leander's reaction to the Seaspring's effects.

- When discussing Kuras, regardless of what dialogue option the MC chooses, Leander seems to think fondly of him, with the exception of his bedside manner. If the MC chooses to say that Kuras seems like a good person, they will then ask Leander if he believes that Kuras could cure them. When asked this, Leander's face will drop*, and he will pause before responding, saying that Kuras is good, but he's "only a doctor". If the MC states that they found Kuras to be cold, Leander heartily agrees, saying that "he never warns you when something's gonna sting, and he's stingy with the pain medicine too". His response to both options is mostly the same, what caught my eye was his reaction to asking whether or not Kuras could cure us. Maybe he has some bitter experience with the limitations of Kuras's capabilities, or maybe he just doesn't want to entertain the possibility of the MC seeking assistance from someone outside of himself. Considering his response to hearing that you visited the Seaspring while meeting Ais, I'm inclined to believe the latter.

*I’m not sure how reliable the sprite expressions are re: understanding character motivation, but I’m going to use them anyway. With a grain of salt.

- When discussing Mhin, if the MC chooses to say that Mhin seems lonely, Leander states that he believes that Mhin actually prefers things that way, and goes on to say that if Mhin wanted to be our friend, we would know. If the MC chooses to say that they find Mhin to be irritable, Leander simply agrees, saying that even paying Mhin for work can be a struggle. His responses while discussing Mhin aren't as foreboding, but they don't really need to be. Leander seems to shoot down any hope the MC may have of being close to Mhin, and if they don't show interest in befriending Mhin, then there's nothing more to say.

- Leander is "friends" with everyone, but has something to say about each LI that makes them seem unpleasant or even dangerous to be around

- Leander is the only LI whose silhouette is unaltered

- "not all monsters are inhuman"

- When selecting Leander on the Choose Your Fate screen, the description reads:

Leander offers you something that should be impossible: a taste of normalcy free of your curse. As the first person to withstand your touch, he could change your life, but some things are simply too good to be true.

- When discussing the Senobium with Leander, Leander states "things that seem too good to be true are often just that". He then proceeds to offer himself as "something that should be impossible" for the MC, as the Choose Your Fate screen says.

- LEANDER is an ASSHOLE

- During the scene where Leander is asking you to show him the curse, regardless of whether or not you hold back or choose to trust him, he will grab your hand to prevent you from pulling away. IF YOU CHOOSE TO HOLD BACK, his grip is tight, his face falls, he takes a deliberate step closer, and even reaches for the MC's throat causing the player to worry that they've just ruined him and are now going to get choked out for the second time that day as a result... He then smiles and says he's just fine. I've seen a few people stating that they believed this was the curse beginning to take effect before he managed to push it away, but personally, i think he was just being an asshole. Like, some small punishment for you not trusting him like he asked you to. A silly little guy moment. I hope he chokes

- When first mentioning the Senobium to Leander, his face falls, but he doesn't immediately comment, instead he continues to drink, ignoring the fact that his Bloodhounds have begun verbally accosting you. He only speaks up and snaps at them once he notices you're looking. The first couple times I read this part, Leander's response seems uncharacteristically snide in comparison to how he acts for the rest of the demo, which is NOT me saying he's been written inconsistently, it is me saying he is fake as hell. I hate this dude

- He seems genuinely concerned when asking the MC if they're alright after their run-in with the roughneck. When he asks them if they'd like a drink, he orders the same as them regardless of what they choose. He doesn't do this when you first meet him, he orders beer regardless of your choice. I don't know if this is important to my research. Compels me though

- "Acquaintances are merely friends you haven't shared a drink with yet" -Guy That Has No Friends

Here is a small list of things I believe I could confidently conjure some bullshit out of upon further research (or with enough imagination):

- The Bloodhounds' motto (As Above, So Below)

- Leander's earring. Maybe.

- Leander's quote, "They [flowers] don't last long, but they leave an impression"

- Another quote, "There are solutions to every problem, and alternatives to every solution"

- The ouroboros on Leander's Kickstarter charm

- The fact that Leander likes masquerades and hates sleep

Here is a list of things relating to what the other four LIs think about Leander that caught my attention:

- Literally everything that Vere said

- Vere either has history with Leander that neither of them have talked about (unlikely given how "subtle" Leander was about his relations with Mhin), or Vere is able to read Leander in a way that the others either can't or don't make known to the MC. Vere clearly has sharp senses and sees through the MC like they're made of water, I'm not sure if this is just a thing for the MC but it could probably be assumed that he sees things in Leander that we can't.

- Ais' comment about Leander's resolve

- I could pretend like something Mhin said re: Leander interested me, but I don't think there was any deeper context to their words other than the not-at-all-subtle feelings of forced-down affection and open annoyance. Love Mhin though

- My thoughts on what Kuras had to say are similar to Mhin's, he seems to be fond of Leander and didn't have much untoward to say, unless you count what he said about the company that Leander keeps

I have no idea what's going on with this man. I believe that he may be involved in some harmful magick-y malarky that is having unseen and horrific effects, or maybe he's simply a charismatic manipulator whose personality is just as monstrous as his peers. I have silly little theories but I would be very shrimpterested in hearing what other people have to say.

TLDR; there's something WRONG with this man and I will be spending the next two years crafting a version of him in my brain that is almost certainly dead-wrong but goodness won't it be fun

#talk talk talk #touchstarved #genuinely i am bedeviled by him #leander #leander touchstarved

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i-willstealyourtoes · 6 months ago

Note

May I request a TF2 head cannon? Preferably one with all nine mercenaries with a Male or Gender Neutral S/O who is the medic on Blu team? Maybe how they meet S/O and what the y thing of them being a pacifist no killing kind? Their only weapon is their medi-gun and they also practice safe medicine unlike medic and how do the mercenaries act after falling for S./O?

Ofc, I got you! I think this is an interesting concept since TF2 is very violent so let's see what we can do with this :) I think because this is about them first meeting it can be viewed as platonic too, I only realised this later on TT

RED!Mercs with Pacifist!Medic!BLU!Reader

Scout

- As soon as he saw you across the battlefield, he had a hunch you were different

- It was the way you carried yourself, it brought a different energy to the fight

- When he got a little closer he couldn't help but notice how you never hurt anyone and only healed others

- It was strange to him honestly, but somewhat endearing

- It was certainly interesting enough for him to try and say hi when you were alone

- The first time you two met it was a little awkward, considering you two were on opposite teams

- "So, you don't kill at all? Why, do you not know how to or something?"

- He can be a little insensitive with his questions, but he's appreciative of your legal practices of medicine

- "Better than my doc, that's for sure. D-don't tell him I said that though, he'll probably saw off my limbs. Again."

- When he gets back, he can't help but want to talk to you again

- You're interesting, fun to tease and actually seem to want to talk to him, so that's reason enough

- Please excuse him if he tries flirting (emphasis on tries) with you, he'll probably do that for the first couple weeks he talks to you

Soldier

- When he first sees you, forming a connection with you is not in his mind at all

- But he does notice the way you act

- At first, he's confused; why are you refraining from hurting/killing others?

- He had to investigate

- And so he does, by flanking your team and killing everyone but you

- "Alright, cupcake. Who are you?"

- If you try to run, he will grab you, his hands gripping the sides of your arms

- "Nice try, but I'm not letting go unless you tell me who you are or kill me. And the second one will just make me mad!"

- After explaining (either in a panic or perfectly calm, he doesn't care), he'll seemingly just run off (as in, he will rocket-jump away), pleased with his 'excellent interrogation skills'

- After that, he'd maybe check in now and then, since despite the fact you're on the enemy team, you also seem kind of... fun?

- He'd ask you more questions, some random, some about you as a person

- Sometimes he'd criticise your medical practices, despite not being a doctor himself :/

- "You know, my doc would never take this long to patch a wound!"

- (That's because your Medic prefers speed over any sort of genuine medical practice)

- As long as you stay friendly with him, you might form an unlikely pair!

- He'll spare you a friendly wave if he sees you outside of battles :)

- In fact, he might just run up to you to try get you to participate in some adventure because everyone else on his team refuses

Pyro

(I headcanon Pyro as they/he/it, but bc not everyone agrees we'll keep it as they/them)

- Pyro doesn't have any sense of enemy team or anything like that, so they aren't immediately hostile to you in the first place (unless you do something to get them to be)

- They probably noticed a nice accessory you had, choosing to not-so-sneakily catch up with you and ask about it

- Will they burn all of your teammates just to get to you? Probably, if the accessory is cute enough

- They'll point at the item and either give a thumbs up or even clap depending on how nice it is

- If you're really wanting to be kind, give them it!

- In response, they'll hug you (they are a tight hugger be prepared) and run/skip back to their team happily

- Next time they see you, even if you're both on the battlefield, they'll wave at you excitedly

- You might even see the accessory on them (if not, it'll be in their room)

- Either way, you've already managed to earn this mercs favour :)

- During ceasefire, they might just show up at your base, all your teammates terrified as they come up to you

- Turns out, they just wanted to hang out :')

- If you're okay with it, you two can meet up in their room (the RED mercs won't bother you since they'll have to go through Pyro first)

Heavy

- Heavy normally wouldn't talk with the enemy team out of professionalism, so you'd have to seek him out most likely

- It'd probably happen during MvM, when both teams work together and you're put in the same group as him

- It'd start off with short, polite conversations, generally asking about you and so on

- "You are other team's Medic, yes? We have not met. I am Heavy."

- He, of course, trusts his own Medic the most, but he certainly appreciates the fact you use legal practices

- He's a pretty nice guy to talk to, so as long as you aren't annoying/loud all the time, he might just start to enjoy your company!

- Once the mercs get back to fighting, he'll make sure to let you know he appreciated your conversations

- "Heavy apologises for anytime Heavy kills you."

- That's as good as you'll get for now, since he'll still kill you on the battlefield

- But he might just start talking to you during ceasefire!

- He probably won't come up to you like Pyro or some of the other mercs, but if he sees you he'll strike up a conversation :)

- It'll usually be him checking up on you generally, making good conversation

- If you guys are close enough, he might just tell you the gossip he hears in his base, especially if you tell him yours ;)

Engineer

- He finds your outlook refreshing, considering that everyone else here was murderous and/or insane (not that he isn't)

- He might not talk to you for a while, since you're technically the enemy (although he doesn't really care about all of that)

- But like Heavy, he might try to strike up a polite conversation during the MvM-era

- "So, you're the other team's Medic? Nice to finally meet you. Can't say I've been able to see you over all the bullets flying normally."

- He might know one or two things about medical practices, so he doesn't mind discussing the science behind that!

- It's nice to have someone who's studious like him, it's a good change

- He's a pretty easy person to get along with, and isn't rude unless you are

- So just be genuinely interested in what he has to to say and he'll come up to you more often :)

- Even more so if you're less chaotic than his fellow mercs

- Not that he hates them (sometimes he does), but it's refreshing to have someone not be shouting in his ear and breaking things all the time

- Once the ceasefire's over, he probably won't talk to you for a while, considering how he's actually a professional

- But if he sees you during a ceasefire, he might just give you a friendly wave, or even come up to you and start up a conversation!

- It's not that he hates you or anything, but he doesn't want to compromise his job

- But if you come up to him yourself, he doesn't mind talking to you at all :)

Demoman

- Tavish doesn't have too much of an issue with talking to the other team, since he already has friends on there (ex: Soldier)

- So if he sees you outside of the fight, he might just strike up a conversation with you!

- That is, if you haven't angered him in any way during your last battle

- If you're shy, he finds that sort of... endearing?

- Everyone else here is quite loud and outgoing, so this is new (in a good way)

- But he will try to liven you up a little, forgive him if he makes you uncomfortable (just tell him to stop)

- Ask him about his interests, he will have no issue carrying the conversation if you're not the greatest at talking

- If you are good with speaking, feel free to exchange banter with him too :)

- He'll ask about your own medical methods and be shocked when you're quite the opposite to his Medic

- "So... you don't inject your team with radiation? Huh. Must be nice..."

- Either way, as long as you're friendly, you might just have a new friend from the other team!

- He might even spare you a smile and a wave before the match starts!

- But just know, he won't go easy on you still, at least not until you become closer

Sniper

- He isn't a social person himself, so it'll be very rare if he comes up to talk to you himself

- As a self-proclaimed 'professional' he'll try not to talk to you

- But he does notice you in his scopes, and can tell you're different

- He has yet to see you kill someone, and for once, you actually practice safe medicine

- Although, that won't stop him from shooting you anyway (if he's smart he'll pick off the medics first so)

- If he does talk to you, it'll be during MvM like some of the others

- He might occasionally have a brief conversation while you heal him up, mentioning how it's 'not as quick as his own Medic' (that's because it's not safe or legal Sniper)

- But eventually he might warm up to you depending how long you treat him for

- "...sorry about killing you all the time... no hard feelings, right...?"

- He's a little awkward at first, so you might have to carry the conversation

- You might not be able to tell from his relatively stale expressions, but he enjoys your conversations!

- You will be able to tell by the fact he comes to talk to you more and more often

- During ceasefire, he'll talk to you if you cross paths too, which is a big thing since he usually doesn't talk to people anyway...

Medic

- He either likes you immediately or kinda hates you, depends on the situation

- If you're new and you both meet in MvM, he'll introduce himself to you!

- It's nice to meet someone else who's in the medical field

- But then he notices the difference between you two

- The difference being, that you actually practice safe medicine

- "You know, you do not have to stitch it like that, you could use this glue here! What? It should keep the blood in!"

- He finds that the only thing you have in common is the frustration and exhaustion that comes with being the only medic in a team of 'idiots' (bar some of the mercs)

- But even the way you react is different

- "Do you not get mad? I know I do, that's when I 'accidentally' misplace one of their ribs!"

- He might try to get you to be like him, so maybe try to avoid treating people near him

- "He'll never know the difference!" (him trying to convince you to do God knows what)

- If his team meets you first, he might actually be a little jealous(?) at first, because some of them might mention how they'd prefer you

- Like, how dare they think you're better! He might just make their treatments worse on purpose!

- But either way it'll probably end with him becoming friends with you regardless of your jobs being to work against each other

- Just, maybe watch out a little because he will try to corrupt your medical practices

Spy

- You're such a breath of fresh air he has to at least give you a welcome

- You practice safe medicine, you're not a brutal murderer, and you seem less insane from an outsiders point of view

- So when he gets the chance outside of battle, he'll come up to you and say hello

- He also may or may not try to charm you immediately depending on how you interact with him

- The whole being on opposite teams thing? Eh, not too big of a deal to him if you're an interesting person to be around

- Although he won't be as active about as it like Pyro or Soldier

- But he'll maybe have a little conversation during ceasefire

- Feel free to gossip the whole time because he will eventually start doing that too

- It is mostly just him complaining about his team

- "My team are a group of imbiciles... especially my Scout. Yesterday, he.."

- Also, unlike some of the others, he won't ask you insensitive questions about your medical practices or abstaining from killing

- If anything, he probably appreciates it

- At least if you don't kill people, he doesn't have to worry about you as compared to Pyro

#x reader #x reader headcanons #tf2 #team fortress 2 #tf2 scout #tf2 soldier #tf2 pyro #tf2 heavy #tf2 demoman #tf2 engineer #tf2 medic #tf2 spy #tf2 sniper

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bagopucks · 2 years ago

Text

T. Zegras - Disheveled Duckling

✄————————————

Trevor Zegras x Reader

Requested✨

Word Count: 4.2k

Warning(s): Insecurities, and a tiny tiff

—————————————

“Whose decision was it to make Zegras the cover of NHL 23?”

“Tried and failed to make the new face of the league Trevor Zegras.”

“What an absolute joke.”

“Too flashy. Not enough skill.”

“Good thing the Ducks hired another useless player. I was afraid they might actually make the playoffs.”

“Wonder if he has to hold onto sh** when the wind blows”

“His girlfriend need a man’s man?”

“Holy shit!” I slammed the door to the house I’d slowly grown to love. Trevor and Jamie’s.

Jamie’s head shot up from the couch, startled and frightened by both my abrupt arrival and my anger.

“You good?” I heard him chuckle. No doubt nervous. I took my shoes off, locked the door, and turned to look at my boyfriend’s best friend. Silence filled the air around us. Jamie’s nervous smile immediately disappeared.

“It’s impossible.” My shirt was dripping with water, as were my hands. “And you didn’t even come outside to help!”

“Trevor’s car is really that unclean-able?”

“It’s yours! It’s your Jamie! What are you driving through?” His cheeks turned red. Trevor was out for a hockey game, but when I informed him that my work place was trying to schedule a late night meeting, and we hadn’t known how long Jamie was going to be at the doctors office, Trevor said he’d simply take an Uber. I felt bad when Jamie came home five minutes after Trevor had left. So I decided to go out and wash their cars for them. It was a nice day anyway, a little outdoor time hadn’t hurt.

“I don’t know?” I had managed to get Trevor’s car practically spotless before I had waxed it. But Jamie’s was something else. It had tiny asphalt pieces all over. Which was usual on a car, but I couldn’t scrape them away without chipping paint, and they wouldn’t just wipe away either.

The sun had begun setting mere minutes ago. I had given up on Jamie’s car. I was tired, I’d missed more of the hockey game than I wanted to, and now I was simply angry.

“You’re lucky I have a moral compass that says I shouldn’t hit injured people.” I grumbled as I left the living room, walking through the house to find mine and Trevor’s bedroom. I needed a change of clothes. Something comfortable.

I had been getting notifications for a while on my NHL app. I had only stopped to look at a few, but from what I’d seen, the Ducks were losing. Another reason to be stressed. Another reason to worry about my boyfriend.

I met Trevor when he played for the USA hockey team. We just happened to be in the same town and in the same pastry shop the night it happened. He was trying to order a bear claw, and I had let out a rather exaggerated sigh over the fact that it was the last one. We shared it over two cups of iced coffee.

After that, we became friends and remained so for a long time. The year he got drafted into the NHL, it seemed he’d been on enough of an adrenaline rush to ask me out. I said yes. He pursued his dreams while I pursued my own. Our paths of life ran parallel, but close enough to hold hands along our walks.

I’d been around long enough to see Trevor make records in USA hockey, get drafted, play in the AHL, and eventually join the league permanently. I’d also seen the rise and fall of his mentality as those years went by as well.

I couldn’t pinpoint when it truly started, but I would certainly say when the media began pushing to make him the new face of the league. That was when Trevor began to feel the anxiety.

To everybody else, he loved it. To everybody else, he ate up every second of attention he got. He loved the videos online, the commercials, the sponsorships and free stuff. And part of that was true. Trevor did love all of those things.

But people put so much pressure on you when they expect you to be the poster child of anything. It can change people. Hell, Sidney Crosby’s first year in the NHL was spent screaming at any ref he could over a call he didn’t like. Getting misconducts and penalties he ought not to. Good men can fall long ways under immense pressure. But when the spotlight is on you, all people want is to see you fall and fail. People want to see the hero bend and bend and eventually break.

Trevor loved the attention, but he despised the hate. He didn’t like opening his sports news apps to find articles on himself, and not having the impulse control to not read them. He hated posting something on Instagram, and going back to check a comment from a friend, only to find hate surrounding it. He hated hearing people he looked up to all his life’s putting him down left and right. He hated being misunderstood, but not given the platform to express his grievances. He had no right to discuss his feelings. Nobody would listen.

Perhaps that had been what made him feel like he couldn’t come to me. What made him pull away when I could tell he was tense and disappointed. It took me forever to really understand why he would come home looking so defeated. Looking like a parent who should have expected better from their kid. It took me forever to realize how much Trevor hated himself.

I blamed it on the publicity over and over again. They built him up so much, just to tear him back down. And I knew with each loss, there was a new article. A new post. A new video. A new comment.

My hopes were whisked away when I opened the NHL app to see the score. 5-1. Not a good look for the Ducks. Then of course, upon further inspection, opening the live summary of the game, I realized Trevor had his own ten minute misconduct.

I was never happy that he fought. That he got in people’s faces and picked fights with guys who could have pinned him down to the ice in one shove. But I understood somewhat. Trevor was just trying to look out for himself. Trying in his own short tempered way to be heard in a league that would not listen to him. But we both found through time that nobody was on his side other than his team and few friends.

“Jamie!” I tossed my phone down onto the bed as I grabbed a spare shirt and a pair of shorts. I quickly changed, the lack of response leading me to assume Jamie was ignoring me. I rolled my eyes as I walked back down the hall, stopping once I was in the living area and over the couch.

Not ignoring, somehow asleep. I worried sometimes about him and his pain medication. He was responsible with it, but I still worried. I gently nudged him. Easy to wake, per usual. And he couldn’t have been out that long.

I nudged Jamie again, watching his eyes flutter open. I gestured for him to move, and he quickly cleared a space for me on the edge of the couch. I sat and took the tv remote, turning the screen on.

“Have you had the game on at all?”

“No.. it’s been.. kinda- stressing me out.” I nodded.

“Trevor got into another fight.” Jamie wasn’t surprised. But he knew as well as I did that Trevor was struggling. On his own little broken sailboat, refusing help because he didn’t want anybody else to be caught up in his storm.

“It should be over by now.” Jamie shifted and sat up, leaning against the arm rest of the couch.

I found the channel and flipped it on. Sure enough, Jamie had been correct. I crossed one of my legs over the other, eyeing up the tv in search of my boyfriend. When I couldn’t find him, I assumed they had kicked him out of the entire arena for the last ten minutes of the game. Banished to the locker room.

I used to love games that took place in the middle of the day. Trevor would come home and we’d have dinner together. Then we’d curl up in bed and whisper for hours until we fell asleep. Now, games in the middle of the day meant there was extra time to avoid aggravating Trevor.

We sat in silence until the goal horn sounded, frustrated Ducks players exiting the ice. It was a waiting game now. One Jamie and I were happy to do together, so neither had to worry about Trevor alone.

“He’ll probably be fine.” Jamie broke the silence with a statement we both knew to be false.

“He hasn’t been fine.” I knew that in my mind, but my heart broke at the first confession of the fact. Trevor had been a wreck of emotions and I hadn’t been able to fix even one of his problems.

And he hid it all so well underneath that big smile. And all those jokes.

Jamie and I returned to silence not long after, but when we caught the headlights through the window, he had been the first to get up to leave.

“You should handle this one.. right?” I gave a nod in approval to his suggestion.

“I’ve got him.”

Jamie retreated to his room after that. Always only one call away if Trevor or I ever needed him. I was supposed to be one call away for Trevor too. Why didn’t he ever dial my number?

I waited for what felt like hours for Trevor to come inside. He never did. So I decided to see what was going on. I unlocked and opened the front door, surprised by the sight of Getzlaf’s car in the driveway. I could just barely make out the silhouette of two figures, one pointing at the other in a manner that looked tense.

I leaned in the doorway, and waited patiently before I was spotted. Getzlaf gestured, and Trevor climbed out of the car. He grabbed his gear from the back, and I heard his voice shout something to his old captain before making his way up the short drive to the door. I wasn’t sure what to say, so instead I stood there, staring at Trevor as his eyes met mine. He looked like he was waiting for something.

“Can I come in?” I was surprised by Trevor’s tone. Playful and lighthearted. I looked skeptical, but I nodded and stepped aside nonetheless.

“I was thinking we could do dinner? I miss that. Maybe- we could try.. like steaks? I know Jamie just got a pack the other day.” Trevor’s always been talkative, but this time it feels off. There was a sound in his voice I didn’t know how to place.

“Trevor I can’t cook steaks.”

“Let me do it.” I stared at him as he shut the door. He hated cooking.

“Come on! It’ll be fun! Let me take care of you.” I shrugged. What’s the worst that could happen?

Trevor insisted I sit at the table while he did his thing. I was hesitant, but I allowed him space nonetheless. Trevor tried to talk about the game a bit, but the bitter laugh that occasionally fell from his lips, and the sad sound in his voice usually caused him to stop before he got into any good details. He often stopped his own comments with something like, “guess it doesn’t matter anyway.” And the repetition of the phrase made me feel like it was a media interview. Like he was repeating and repeating just to get me to go away and stop asking questions. I hadn’t asked any in the first place. That’s what he was hesitant about.

“And the misconduct?” I hoped to look disinterested. Like it didn’t bother me, so I looked down at my phone. Trevor never turned to look at me.

“It was bullshit.” I glanced up at him. His shoulders rose slightly.

“What was it on?”

“You didn’t watch?” Trevor turned to look at me, and I don’t know why, but this time he seemed upset. I had missed games of his before… but this was the first in a long time.

“I was a little busy.” I smiled at him, hopeful to keep the clean car a secret until he could see it in the morning.

“No that’s cool..” he shrugged it off and turned back to the stove. It was definitely not cool, not to him, but he wanted to move on. So we moved on.

I listened to Trevor occasionally mumble under his breath about whatever he was making, the sweet smell of cooked meat filling the kitchen along with the sound of the sizzle of two steaks on the pan. I was certain I hadn’t missed out on Trevor learning how to cook.

Once they were finished, my boyfriend beckoned me over, and I was quick to join his side. He cut a piece and I waited for it to cool off before biting the tender piece of meat off the knife he held. At first it was perfect. Then it was oddly sweet. I made a face. Trevor noticed.

“What’s wrong with it?”

My eyes searched the various items and ingredients strewn across the counter. When I noticed it, I giggled.

“Trevor,” I nodded my head toward the container I used for sugar. I never labeled it because I knew what it was, and the boys didn’t use the big box of sugar I had set aside for baking.

“That’s sugar.” His face fell for a split second. Then he started to laugh. I thought about joining him before it all just felt off. Trevor’s eyes quickly adopted a glazed over look, his smile falling into a frown as the laughter ceased and an overwhelming look of grief overcame his features.

Trevor shook his head before turning the stovetop off. I reached for him while he reached for his keys in his pocket.

“Where do you wanna eat?”

“Baby no. We’ll fix this.”

“I don’t want to. Where do you want to eat?”

“Trevor.”

“I said I don’t want to!”

We didn’t get into fights much. We didn’t like to, but I couldn’t keep disregarding his feelings for his comfort. Something had to give.

“I love you, but you’re gonna sit your ass down and talk to me Trevor.”

“Fuck this.” He shook his head, tossing his keys onto the counter and turning to walk away.

“Trevor!” I snapped and followed him. “I am so sick of seeing you so- so sad! You have to talk to me!”

“I don’t!”

“Then who are you going to talk to? Huh?” Because I knew he was horrible at opening up.

“I don’t know! Nobody fucking listens!” I followed him all the way into our room, pushing the door shut behind myself.

“I’m listening!” I was desperate. “Trevor, I’m right. Here.” He turned to look at me. His anger eased into a blank stare, and it seemed my offer brought everything crashing down at once.

We stared each other down. Both waiting for the other to give up or make some kind of move.

“I’m so tired.” Trevor’s voice quivered, his lips pulling into a frown I hated to see. His eyes fell to the floor.

“Everybody’s so…” he drew in a breath. “Too much- it’s all too much.” Trevor sat down on the side of our bed, his head fell into his hands. “They hate me.”

There was a little kid in there. Devastated. Heartbroken that his heroes wanted him gone. That kids parents didn’t deem him a good role model. That he was ruining his own track record by trying to stay afloat. Trying to survive when nobody respected him. When refs pushed him around and legends dragged his name through the mud. Trevor just wanted to live his dream. He had fun before all the publicity. He didn’t need it, but it was forced on him.

“Nobody hates you.” I slowly made my way over, raking my hands through his hair. Trevor lifted his head to look at me, his brow furrowed and his cheeks red.

“Everybody does! I don’t want to be the guy everybody hates!” Trevor raised his voice, but I couldn’t be bothered to be upset. This was only the tip of the iceberg.

“They liked me..” his voice dropped to a mere whisper. My brow furrowed as I rested my hands on his cheeks, prepared to wipe tears as they began to fall.

“Huh?” I met his volume, Trevor closed his eyes tightly, swallowing the lump in his throat.

“They liked me.. and I ruined it.” Sure, he hadn’t been perfect, but even the aggressive egotistical asshole players had fans. This wasn’t Trevor’s doing. This was the media realizing they failed and then deciding to spin his story. To make him a villain.

“It’s all my fault.” His words were interrupted by a broken gasp, I guided his head to lean against my stomach, pushing a sigh past my lips as I tried not to get too emotional.

“Trevor, this is not your fault.” I ran one hand through his hair while the other held his head.

“I just can’t- fuck!” His voice was muffled in my shirt. “I don’t want this.” I glanced down at him again, my hands travelled to his jaw to move his head from my body.

Trevor’s eyes met my own. So sad. So lost. So broken.

“I don’t want hockey if it comes with all this shit.” He tried to bury his head back against my body, but I held his jaw tightly.

“Trevor.” I carefully moved forward, resting my legs on the bed on either side of his own. I sat on his thighs and pulled Trevor in for a tight hug. His hands gripped the sides of my shirt.

“You just have to be patient. They’re gonna test you.” I whispered against his ear as his head buried in the crook of my neck.

“They test me every day.” I sighed. I didn’t know how to help. “I mess everything up.. they don’t want me. They want somebody who can actually get shit done. They want somebody bigger and faster.. and stronger. They want what I’m not.”

I rubbed at his back with one of my hands.

“Trevor, nobody gives a shit about your weight.” I had never heard a single thing on it before. Sure, maybe his mom made a comment or two about how skinny he was, but it was more so commentary when she was trying to feed him. It never had anything to do with his job.

“Yes they do.” He was insistent. I knew this was a projection. Him trying to find a reason to blame himself for something he couldn’t help. Not everybody gained muscle easily. It wasn’t a bad thing. But to him it was. To him, it was embarrassing.

“I think you look great already. If you get too big, then you can’t lay on top of me any more.”

“That’s not the point.” My joke crash landed. It only seemed to frustrate Trevor more. “People just.. they say shit.” I rested one of my hands on Trevor’s forearm while I worked the other through his hair.

“Like what?”

“That I can’t keep up.. that I’m too scrawny. I need to ‘build up.’ But I can’t! I try and I can’t! I don’t know what’s wrong with me!” He sounded desperate. Desperate for answers I didn’t have.

“It’s genetics Trev. It’s not something you can help.” I knew he tried a million different things. Nothing ever worked. And I knew how hopeless he could get when he’d go to take a peek in the bathroom mirror, and see absolutely no progress. Trevor never had an issue with his body until people started saying things about it.

He’d always wanted to get bigger, but he was patient before. He was willing to really take his time. Now one comment could leave him in the gym for more hours on end than he ought to be in there for. One chirp left him laid down next to me in bed with a shirt on and a pair of pants, curled in on himself like it would somehow make him and his insecurities any less noticeable.

“Or maybe I just shouldn’t be playing hockey. Maybe I’m just not cut out for it.” His sadness had shifted into acceptance. Like he was ready to give up.

“They drafted you Trevor. People talked about you forever. People were elated to have you in the league.”

“Yeah. Were.“

“They still are.” I sighed. “So you have an attitude? They’ll get over it. You know how many people have said they love you? They love your personality, and your talent? You’re a new version of the game. A new type of style everybody is going to know you for.” I moved my hand from Trevor’s hair. I gently traced his jawline with my fingers, holding my breath at the sight of my disheveled duckling.

“What if it never gets better?” Trevor had thought about this more than I realized. I shook my head.

“It will. There’ll be some new hotshot they’ll idolize and attack. Some new player who takes a downward spiral that they decide to torture. This won’t be you forever.. you just have to stay strong while it happens. Okay?”

“I just wanted to play hockey..” exhaustion was evident in his tone. I allowed Trevor to rest his head on my shoulder again, his breaths were heavy from trying to hold back the tears that hadn’t fallen.

“It’ll all work itself out, Trev.” My voice lowered to a whisper. “They did the same thing to Jack.. they did the same thing to Crosby. You just have to handle it better.. that’s all. You know I love you, I just think they get under your skin too easy.”

“I know.” Trevor sighed.

“You have to remember to calm down sometimes. Nobody’s ever going to listen if all you do is yell and fight.”

“That’s what Getz said.” I had been curious, but at no point did I consider asking what Getzlaf had said to Trevor. It hadn’t been my place. But I was happy Trevor told me nonetheless. It was reassuring to know somebody else was telling him the same things.

“You need a stress ball out there or something.” I joked softly, running my hand through Trevor’s hair one last time before I rested my hands on his shoulders, pushing him back so I could see him.

Trevor mustered a sad smile at my words.

“Maybe you just need to chew on your glove like Jack.” I added, trying to go two for two. It seemed that comment earned a giggle from him.

“Or reach out and talk to him.” My tone took up a more serious sound. Trevor pursed his lips and nodded. “You guys don’t talk as much as you should. He probably gets jealous of Jamie.”

I went three for three the second I noticed Trevor’s smile widen, his eyes squinting as well when he laughed.

Silence enveloped our own little world. I tucked a strand of his hair behind his ear. Trevor seemed to finally relax.

“We’re gonna be okay,” I whispered as I gently placed my hands on his chest. Trevor picked up the cue to lay back as I propped myself up over him.

“And I love you.” I added softly, pressing a kiss to his collar. “And Jamie loves you,” Trevor smiled again. “And your mom, and your siblings, and your dad. And all of your friends all scattered about.” I climbed off of Trevor and slipped off the bed. He looked confused before sitting up to look at me, eventually standing as well.

“You don’t have to be perfect.” He stepped closer, resting his hands on my sides as my own slipped beneath his shirt to hold his hips. “Nobody needs you to become a body builder.” I continued. Trevor nodded slowly. “And nobody needs you to lose that attitude.” I wrapped my arms around his body beneath his shirt, gently scratching his back. His weakness. He loved back scratches. “Just keep being the Trevor I know and love. Just be yourself, okay? Everything comes after that.”

And everything did come after that. I didn’t want Trevor to lose himself or his confidence because of others.

After I got him settled, Trevor and I had cleaned the mess in the kitchen and I took him out for a quick dinner. We ate on some curbside, talking and laughing over nonsense. When we did get home, I had checked up on Jamie, prepared to ask if he was hungry before I found he’d been asleep. After that, I slipped back into our room and got settled in bed with him, flipping through streaming services until we found something to fall asleep to.

✾❀✾❀✾❀✾❀✾❀✾❀✾❀✾❀✾❀✾❀✾

#nhl imagine #trevor zegras #nhl x reader #trevor zegras x reader #trevor zegras imagine

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maleyanderecafe · 7 days ago

Text

Infectious Doctor (Visual Novel)

Created by: badmedicinegames

Genre: Horror/Romance

I actually played this one because I thought it was a game that was in my ask, but I can't seem to find that ask anymore, so into a recommendation it goes. This game was very different than what I expected and it honestly feels pretty finished despite one of the endings stating that this is a demo that could be continued and I actually quite like it a lot.

The story starts out with the MC (or Protagonist, in this story), going into the woods to find a cure for her grandma, who has grown deathly sick. After running away from some wolves, she ends up knocking in front of a giant hospital door before passing out. Upon awakening, the MC is greeted by Louhi, a doctor that picked her up after she passed out outside. Louhi starts to check the MC for sickness symptoms as she had suddenly passed out, finding and describing all of the symptoms as his treatment continues. After attempting to undress her, get her to take a bath and cuddling in bed (guilt tripping and getting angry at her if she disagrees and is extremely happy when she accepts). If his affection is high enough, the MC will reciprocate and the two will make out, but ultimately, he will start smelling really fowl and attempt to excuse himself, promising to come back later.

If the MC decides to stay in the room, Louhi will come back happy to see her again. However, the MC starts to ask when she'd be able to go back to her hometown, something that greatly distresses and angers Louhi. At the same time, the MC's symptoms become much worse, which leads to Louhi lecturing about how he has to continue taking care of her. And thus the MC is forced to live under Louhi's care, getting better before getting worse over and over until they die, never knowing what happens to the people in her village.

If the MC attempts to look around the hospital, she'll find that it's it's pretty empty and barren. Going inside of his office he finds pictures of him with other girls and even an entire storage filled with skulls. Running away from the hospital either way will either lead the MC to being killed and mauled by a pack of wolves or running into a group of guys before going back to her village where she gets sick, and her entire village dies.

If the MC keeps looking around the hospital, she'll find that Louhi is eating another patient, holding her head in shock as she sees him. Depending on how high the MC's affection is towards Louhi, she will initially act very scared and distrustful of him and sort of relax herself or continue to feel extremely grossed out by him. Louhi will then talk about his family and life as an Udyr, a type of undead being that has to eat humans to survive and are essentially immortal. His family abandoned him after they found out his power was to essentially be a host for germs and diseases, as pretty much all of his other family members have a sort of all-cure ability which enables them to heal any disease whereas Louhi's is the opposite, being able to create and spread diseases just by being near people, something that cannot be cured (if only there were people who had the powers to cure all incurable diseases). Because of this disparity, Louhi is kicked out of the family and goes on his merry way, taking care of patients he's infected before they die so that they can have a nice happy last moments before they are eaten. This often leads to people wanting to kill him for spreading diseases, but none of them have yet to succeed (though they do name him "Plague Master" which is a extremely funny name to me). Of course, with the MC being infected the same way, there is no way out for her either, as even if she goes back to her town. If the MC's affection level is high enough, she will accept being with Louhi, with Louhi being supremely happy afterwards and even declaring the two as fiances, and continues talking about how he wants to go meet her family. If the MC's affections are lower, she will call out Louhi's behavior, stating that it's unhealthy and he's still causing the deaths of many people, to which Louhi will delusionally defend himself.

Before long though, a loud explosion happens in the hallway, leading to the MC and Louhi to rush out to see what the commotion is about. There we see one of the aforementioned hunters that has been going after him. As the man attacks Louhi, Louhi tries to reason with him to get closer and talk to him, likely to get him infected, however, the hunter doesn't budge and instead blames Louhi for kidnapping his sister, something that the MC realizes is the lady that Louhi ate just moments prior. The two of them start fighting shonen anime style, with Louhi dodging the man's attacks and the man being able to stab something into his eye, seemingly a concoction that is able to dry out all of the various parasites and other viruses inside of him, however, doesn't have enough to effect him. Here, the MC can either help or watch the battle go onward, or in some cases neither depending on the route.

If the MC decides not to help them and is a high enough affection with Louhi, Louhi will ultimately win and kill the hunter, having the MC help him drag the body into the room with the skulls. After that Louhi will continue talking about how excited he is to meet the MC's parents and ultimately drags her along towards to path to her village, must to her unsure nature. Conversely, if the MC doesn't help him but has low affection, Louhi will kill the hunter and another sort of spat about Louhi killing people, Louhi causes the symptoms inside of the MC to get worse and causes her to pass out. Upon waking up, the MC finds herself tied to an operating table. Louhi seems saddened that the MC couldn't accept him, but as he still loves her, decides to take out her heart instead. While she is numb enough to not feel any pain, she still feels fear while she watches to procedure and dies afterwards, with Louhi taking her skull and putting it with the rest at the very end.

If the MC does try to help the hunter, Louhi will feel ultimately betrayed but pinned down by the hunter. The hunter gets the MC to escape to which there is a giant explosion in the background, seemingly killing Louhi. She ends up running into a bunch of the hunters who were with the first hunter, with her telling them that he died. The hunters lament this but ultimately understands what he was going for, a suicide bomber type of death to finally kill off Louhi. They all seem happy to finally have gotten rid of him, only for Louhi to spring up, alive. He ends up killing the other hunters, and saddened and betrayed by the MC's actions, ends up killing her with the disease.

The true ending is only accessible if you have exactly 4 love points with Louhi (which I'm not sure is a reference with four being the number of death in Chinese for instance, but maybe it was just a happy accident). Most of the sequences above going up to when the MC helps the hunter is about the same. He still pops up after the explosion, though this time, he starts to weaken. The hunters gloat at him, stating that the bomb had all the dehydrating effect that the needle in his eye had, with him dying and calling out to the MC before ultimately becoming a pile of goop and maggots. The hunters are really happy finally killed the beast after years of searching and the MC is able to go back to her village, finding that her grandma is happy and healthy, living a good life.

The ending that states this game is a demo is actually the ending where Louhi drags the MC to the village so that he can meet her family, though I think that the ending could have just cut of where it was and be completed, leaving the rest of that either as an extra scene or another game entirely, since the game feels pretty complete as what it was. I was jumpscared into hearing the voices for Louhi but I think it fits him pretty well, though he is pretty monotone for most of it, does fit his character as a doctor and he can get pretty guiltrippy in a lot of choices when the MC does reject him (classic yandere type thing). I also like the reveal that he wasn't a human and seeing his more monster side was pretty fun, all things considered. The sprites are a little bland I would say though since there isn't too much variety in poses, though again seeing his monster form and learning about his backstory is pretty interesting, since there aren't that many monster type yanderes that I can really think of. I will say I was laughing at some points of the story,mostly that they nicknamed him Plague Master, which is such a funny online sounding name from a game that sounds like it's set before the age of the internet, and the sudden shonen style showdown between him and the hunter. One of the things I did like too was that the MC is never fully on board with Louhi even in the route where he does fall in love with him, where she was really hesitant to get him to meet her family (because it would full on kill them if they met each other) but ultimately couldn't do anything given that the grandma was already infected and would have killed the entire town. I think it's a nice turn from a lot of yandere vns where the MC is fully in love with the yandere and doesn't really have any resistance against anything suspicious that he might do. I will say that some of the choices in the beginning that were more like a doctor's check up (asking if the MC smokes, has had a history of disorders etc), are very weird considering that they do actually add points to Louhi's affection, which in some cases makes sense (with the smoking not adding affection since I guess given that he's a doctor he'd want his patients to be... relatively healthy) but also doesn't make sense in others (like having a family history of disorders... is a good thing for him? Why?) which makes it very weird and confusing if you're not following the guide.

It took me a while to really determine if Louhi was a yandere, mostly because I was a bit worried that he was one of those yanderes that considered every one of his "patients" his love, but luckily he does specifically clarify that he does feel that the MC is special in some way (almost as if it knew I was going to play this game), so that's good enough for me. Plus he does specifically want to go meet the MC's family (even if the MC was like, hmm are you sure about that? Also you may have skipped the step where we date before we get married) which does show that he finds her special. Louhi as a a yandere is tragic but also greatly doesn't understand human mortality or is just delusional to it. Given that he was ostracized from his family for basically being a walking disease chamber, he doesn't really have much choice in terms of finding love other that either attempting to isolate himself or giving the best treatment he can when he does infect them and giving them their last bit of happiness. It's not like there were family members or anything that could undo his incurable diseases or anything. I also find it kind of strange that the family just... allowed him to leave or escape and kill even more people given that they are all members that can, you know, cure incurable diseases. I get that they have to eat dead bodies and stuff, which they have plenty of, but given that they are famous and probably rich, why didn't they just let him work with the dead bodies or even out right kill him if they didn't like him? Or even just let him try to cure people and then actually fully cure them afterwards since they can cure incurable diseases? It seems very strange that he was just thrown out into the wilds and allowed to kill a bunch of people with diseases. I get that Louhi does like taking care of people and doesn't actually want them to die (but doesn't really have a choice due to his powers), but it is weird that he so carelessly goes into towns knowing full well that he'll kill them if he does. I do feel the tragedy of him being a doctor but also always killing his patients, but really I can only see him so willing to do so as either the fact that he doesn't really have morality/empathy the way humans do or he's already deluded himself that this is the best way to deal with having his powers and being able to cure people. I think this could have also worked well with someone who is fully aware that he does kill people but really has no choice and accepts a villain type role. I also am not sure if Louhi exclusively takes care of women or not considering that the two other patients we see Louhi have is the hunter's sister and another girl in one of the pictures, which kind of just makes it a bit weird considering he is hundreds of years old as well. The monster design and him being a doctor did feel pretty legitimate though considering he does talk about more technical matters of the diseases that the MC has, as well as how his powers work was really cool. In terms of yandere, he's kind of like a Mother Gothel type character- a person who is a caretaker but also very manipulative, especially when he tries to guilt trip the MC when she refuses advances on her or even straight up shows discomfort. He also seems very delusional given that he already calls the MC his fiance even when the MC notes they should be dating first and the fact that he believes wholeheartedly that he can take care of patients and give them a happy death even when it seems pretty morally grey. One of the things that did get me to wince and cringe though was his nickname of "baby boo" and especially when he says he has to punish a naughty baby. I'm sure someone is into that but that person is not me.

Overall, I did have a fun time with this visual novel. There was a lot of cool concepts, Louhi as a yandere and as a monster is super interesting with his lore and his outlook on life and being able to see the kind of happy ending where Louhi does die or even gets brought to the village is something that has a lot of variety.

#Infectious Doctor #male yandere #yandere #yandere boy #recommendations #visual novel #ongoing

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eleganzadellarosa · 2 months ago

Note

Thank you for responding! Can I request Kimi no na wa theme kyungsoo fic?

pairing: timetraveler!kyungsoo x fem!reader

genre: fantasy, a lot of angst (i'm so sorry), fluff

word count: 8.95K (this actually surprised me)

warnings: POV switches a lot (promise it will all make sense), heavy mentions of death, slow burn?

A/N: thank you so much for this request! I actually had to go watch the movie (I know I’m late, but it was such a great movie) before writing this and I can honestly say, this was the most brainpower I’ve had to use but I really enjoyed the challenge 🫶 Also, I did change the plot a little but I tried to keep the overall theme. As always, thank you for reading and enjoy your day :)

taglist: @sleepingbeautydo

Your eyes open but your body still, maybe even stiff was the word to describe it. That same ache in your head you had every morning. You’ve accepted that now most days would leave you feeling “paralyzed”.

It was weird, they started suddenly and they’ve been constant since. Sleep was no longer peaceful, it just filled the void that your body knew was supposed to be full. Yet, how were you still so tired? It’s been like that for…what day is it? You didn’t have much time to sit and think about it, you had to leave for school in the next 15 minutes.

You finally sat up and stretched all the aches and kinks out of your sore shoulders. You wish one day soon you could get back to your old routine and go back to being the grade A student you were so accustomed to. Whatever, gotta go before that bell rings.

“Another sleepless night huh?” Your friend Clementine, Clem for short, leaned down to see your face as she walked next to you.

“Yeah, I guess so. I’m starting to think that I should maybe see a doctor.”

“A doctor? Yeah maybe you should. This whole losing sleep thing can’t be healthy. I hope you can get this resolved soon.” She says, putting a hand on your back.

You both walked into class, waving at the familiar faces as you hurried to your seats. Clem always sits next to you, it was never a spoken agreement, it just happened and you never bothered to change it.

Perfect timing. Mrs. Akiyama walked in looking prim and pristine as she always does; elegant if you will.“Good morning class! Before we get started, there will be a new classmate joining us and I want you all to give him a warm welcome.” She gestured to someone outside of the door and he stepped inside. “Everyone this is Kyungsoo, he’s from out of town so it would be great if some of you showed him around.”

The boy bowed slightly. He seemed shy but anyone would be with 32 pairs of eyes staring you down awaiting the words that come out of your mouth. Your introduction can make or break your experience at school. You can be labeled as a multitude of things just based of what you say and how you say it. It was a time for everyone to form their judgements about you and see whether you lived up to them or not.

“Hello, my name is Kyungsoo. Nice to meet you.”

Simple, short and he didn’t stutter. Much better than your first day but thankfully you made peace with that abomination. Mrs. Akiyama gestured to the empty desk adjacent to you and Clem. It would be nice to finally have someone fill that spot but he’d be all alone with no seat mate. Surely he wouldn’t mind since whoever you sit next to, you’re stuck with them until next grade.

“Hi Kyungsoo, I’m Clementine!” Clem turned in her seat to whisper her greetings to him.

He smiled and bowed his head in return as he sat his bag in the space next to him. He bowed to you too and you hadn’t noticed you were tilted forward in your chair to see him until he did so. You quickly sat down and turned your attention back to the big chalkboard at the front of the room; ears burning red with embarrassment.

“That’s all for today class, I will see you tomorrow!” Mrs. Akiyama was always punctual with her classes but they never fell short of knowledge.

“Kyungsoo, would you like to come eat with us? We stop at the small park not far from here.” Clem spoke as she packed her supplies in her backpack. You listened carefully for his response, although you didn’t expect much of an answer from him.

“Oh…that would be nice as long as the both of you don’t mind.”

“Oh, well I don’t mind. Do you?” Clem looked back at you and when you looked up, they were already staring.

You swallowed thickly before answering, “I don’t mind either, you’re welcome to join us Kyungsoo.” You tried to muster a small smile, but with the way your lips sat against your teeth, it must have been nothing but awkward.

Outside, you walked arm in arm with Clem and Kyungsoo followed closely behind. He must have felt like a third wheel, but you didn’t know what to say or do to make him feel more comfortable. Perhaps this lack of sleep was turning you into an asshole too.

“Oh Kyungsoo where are you going? We can walk there, it’s not too far.” Clem turned to the new boy as he walked toward the side of the school entrance.

“I can’t leave my bike, my parents would kill me.” He said, his voice fading the further he got.

You and Clem looked at each other and shrugged your shoulders. He came around on a beige colored bike, a basket in front. For him to be so to himself, he surely did attract attention with the large assortment of flowers on the back. There were so many that a few fell off unbeknownst to him.

“Sorry, I can’t just leave these here, I can follow you this way if that’s okay.”

“I mean, sure but you’ll have to pedal so slowly…” Clem said out loud what you were thinking.

“It’s alright, I’ll be okay.”

And with that, the three of you were off to the park to enjoy your meals. Who knew that soon you three would be close knit; the three musketeers.

The day felt incomplete if Kyungsoo didn’t meet you and Clem in the park. The small talk at the bench, the relaxing naps on the grass, even spending the weekends at each other’s houses. He was a great person to be around, very socially aware and knew exactly how to make everyone feel comfortable without saying or doing too much.

“What do you wanna be when you grow up Soo?” You were more comfortable with him now, cutting off part of his name to give him a nickname.

“Hmm, I don’t know. Maybe it’s the smell of the flowers embedded in my brain, but I think I just want to be a florist. What about you?”

You wanted to be a florist too. You eventually decided on this after growing a newfound love for all the different colors, shapes and sizes of all the flowers he would tow with him. But maybe that wasn't the only reason. “A nurse.”

Both Kyungsoo and Clem nodded in unison as if they agreed that was a job that would fit you well. You didn’t think so though, you weren't too fond of having to meet new people.

The sun was close to setting and with Kyungsoo around it was easy to let the time pass you by. The orange and red hue in the sky giving you the last hour or so to lead you home with its natural light.

“We should all get going, we have that big exam tomorrow.” Clem stood, knocking an ant off her sneaker.

“Yeah, I was just about to head home. Are you gonna walk home Clem?”

“Nope, my mom should be pulling up soon. You’re walking? I can ask her to drop you off.”

“Nah it’s okay, wanna enjoy the sunset a little longer.” You say, looking to your left to see her mother’s blue car pull up on the side of the road.

“Okay, call me when you get home! Be safe!” She quickly hugs you after grabbing her backpack and runs to the car to get in. She waved to you and Kyungsoo with her window down as her mom pulled off.

“You sure you wanna walk?” Kyungsoo asked, grabbing his things as well.

“Yeah I promise I’m fine, you don’t have to stay.”

He nodded hesitantly but eventually got on his bike to ride home. He was long out of your eyesight when you noticed he left his name tag for his uniform, so you neatly packed it in the front of your backpack. It was much darker now, but the faint pink and red brushstrokes set a timer for about 20 more minutes which meant you could be 60% of the way home.

You opted for a light jog and when you came upon the crosswalk, you took the chance not seeing any cars coming from either way. That was until you heard screeching tires and instead of stopping, you kept running and tripped onto the concrete.

You sat up and watched as the newly opened skin bled; a fresh scrape on your left knee. It hurt but you still had a 30 minute walk home before you could focus on the pain.

“Are you okay?! Do you want to ride on my bike?”

You looked up hearing the familiar voice. Of course it was him. You’ve come to realize that Kyungsoo was sweet, caring and very well mannered. The type of person you couldn't help but like; couldn't help but fall for. That was the reason right? The reason why you felt butterflies creep in your stomach when he offered you a helping hand and let you hold onto his waist as you sat on the back of his bike. You were home in no time, but you wish it had taken a lot longer. What was he doing here anyways?

“How did you find me Kyungsoo?”

"Hmm?" He was crouched down at your knee, cleaning the wound. "I came back for my name tag but then I saw you. Glad I did."

You nodded your head and watched him apply a bandage over the injured area. How much did he keep in his backpack? "Oh right, I actually have it with me! I picked it up but you were already gone, I was gonna give it to you tomorrow."

He sat on the ground next to you and thanked you for his stuff. "Maybe you should just start riding with me on my bike after school. I don't mind dropping you off; your house is like 20 minutes from mine."

"It's okay, I don't want to inconvenience you like that." You should have said yes.

He turned toward you, knees touching yours and grabbed your hand, catching you completely off guard. "But what if you get into another accident? The driver didn't even bother to get out and help you!"

You were kind of shocked to see him so concerned, considering how nice he always is but something just felt so off. He seemed…scared? Of course he would after seeing his friend almost get hit by a truck, but it just seemed different.

"Okay class, I need everyone to take these permission slips home and have your parents sign them for the trip next week. Bring them back tomorrow so I can get them all submitted and we know how many of you are coming."

"So we all agree we're excited right?" Clem said after class was dismissed.

"Yeah..." Kyungsoo scratched the back of his head, "about that, I'm not going."

"WHAT?!" You and Clem shouted in unison. "Why not?"

It broke your heart knowing that he'd miss out on the first school trip of the year. It was kind of an annual thing, only difference is where it would take place. Your school was very big on community service and this year, they'd be taking you all to the mountains to help in the fruit fields. The food services were the best, it meant you could take home half of what you harvested and everyone knows they have some of the freshest fruits up there.

"It gets really busy this time of year with all the parties and graduations at the shop and my parents need an extra set of hands."

You pouted and Clem exaggerated a crying sound as she threw her head back. “It’s only one day, you sure you can’t make it?” You heard yourself and you almost sounded desperate, but he was now your other best friend so of course you wanted him there.

“Really wish I could but I don’t really have a say so. Of course I wanna go, but I also know my parents need the help.”

Clem walked over to him and hugged him tight, “you’re such a good son.”

You laughed and pulled her off of him, “Why are you saying it like you’re his mom?”

At that, the three of you laughed. At least you could spend the rest of this week with him and a few days into next week before you’d have to wean yourself off of his addictive presence for a day.

"You suuure you don't want to come with me?" He asked, squinting from the direct shine of the sun in his eyes.

"Kyungsoo why do you want me to not go on this trip so badly? Clem's gonna be there and you know she wants me to come. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were scared for me to go."

His smile faltered slightly. "Scared? What if I was?"

"Then I'd tell you that you had nothing to worry about. I promise I'll be okay, I'll even call you when I get there."

He walked up to you and hugged you. Your face and ears felt hot, you had never been so close to him before. Your arms wrapped around his torso and he hugged you a bit tighter. He whispered something in your ear but before you could ask him what he said, Clem called out to you to get on the bus.

It was big and spacious, a lot different than what the normal city or school bus looked like. Of course Clem sat next to you and you sat next to the window. Even if he couldn’t be there, you’d at least pick a little extra just for him; you were sure they wouldn’t mind.

You had to admit though, Kyungsoo being so nervous for you to be on this very bus made your heart beat a little faster. Where'd all of that fear come from? After that one almost hit and run, he hasn't been the same; he's been so protective over you. You stared out the window next to you, trying to shake the anxiety blooming in your nerves. You snapped out of it when Clem slapped a hand on your back as she laughed at a joke you missed, but you faked a laugh nonetheless.

Admittedly, all the twists and turns up the slope of the mountain didn't make it much better. To make matters worse, it began to lightly drizzle, making the ground a bit more slippery. Surprisingly the road was a two way street, so every car that passed on the side of the bus seemed to shake the ground a bit more. You closed your eyes and laid your head on Clem's shoulder; hopefully this would help clear your mind a bit.

You had fallen asleep in the midst of trying to “think good thoughts”. It didn’t seem like much time passed with how the path ahead still didn’t straighten up but you weren’t too sure. The atmosphere had died down a lot, some kids taking naps, others listening to music through their headphones. You took out your phone and texted a quick “wish you were here” to Kyungsoo to let him know that you missed him.

But then that’s when you saw it. The car headed straight for the front of the bus because it lost control on the wet ground. You saw it, but the driver didn't see it because of the split second he looked away to set his cup to the side. So when both vehicles made impact and the bus leaned onto it's side, this was it, this is what he was scared of. The bus burst into flames, frightful screams filling the spaces where the fire had not yet reached. You had grabbed Clem's arm, unconsciously bracing her for the crash that had come. She was screaming something at you and you hadn't noticed until just now when the orange light lined the walls and cracked the windows.

You looked over to see a line of liquid flowing from the underside of the carriage and past the window that kissed the ground. There was no doubt what it was, it made sense. Gasoline. There wasn't much time left now but with no one able to get the emergency exit at the back open, there was but a single outcome. That's when the tears started to fall and you wished you had listened to him. You missed him. You wish you were on the back of his bike right now. You hugged Clem tight and told her you loved her. And you loved Kyungsoo too, but he wasn't here to hear you say that.

18 dead in bus explosion

A splitting headache, but what's new? How many days were you going to wake up like this? You needed to find a way to get rid of them so your grades can go back to normal. But speaking of school, if you didn't get up right now, you were never going to make it to class on time. You quickly got ready and stood in front of your mirror, smoothing the wrinkles out of your skirt. It was pointless since they'd come back once you sat down, but you liked knowing you at least tried.

School thankfully wasn't far so you usually walked there, but today you'd have to take the bus if you were to sit in your seat before your teacher walked in. Public transportation was easy to access, a bus running every 10 minutes and if you calculated it correctly, one should be pulling up in 2 minutes. When it did, a chilling sensation came over you as you stood in front of the double doors. Were you really that tired?

When you arrived at school, your best friend Clementine was waiting in the hallway for you. She waved when she noticed you and vice versa. She connected her arm with yours swaying side to side as you both walked toward the classroom. She noticed how quiet you were, so she leaned forward to look at you.

“Another sleepless night huh?”

“Yeah I guess so, I’m starting to think maybe I should see a doctor.”

“A doctor? Yeah maybe you should. This whole losing sleep thing can’t be healthy. I hope you can get this resolved.” She says, putting a hand on your back. You nodded then stopped in your tracks. Wait… “Everything okay?” She asked.

“Y-yeah, I just had the strangest case of deja vu.”

3 days earlier

Back again? Well of course it was another failed attempt, he couldn’t stop her from going on the trip and apparently will never be able to. Damn, back to square one. What would it take for her to just listen to him? Maybe he needed to stop trying to change what already happened in the past and move on with his life.

But she was supposed to be HIS life. He imagined it so many times, how happy he’d be instead of the sad, depressed man he was currently. It was taking over his life slowly but he couldn’t find the strength to let go. He had been working on a time machine for years and once he finally perfected it and gave it a try, he realized just how much more effort would have to go into his “elaborate plan”.

10 years in the present, life still moving on day by day and instead of living comfortably, he counted down the days until he could try again. There had to be something he could do to make her obey so that instead of an empty space on his couch, she would fill it. “3 more days” he thought, just 3 more until he could use the time machine again and have another chance at changing his life as a whole.

As with any piece of machinery, this one had its flaws, having to wait a few days in between travels or else it would overheat and stop working. He prayed before every trip that he would come back safely; that his machine never stopped working until he was successful. But time waited for no one, even for someone who quite literally has been to his past more times than he could count.

It was time to go to work. The same place he had to smell those same flowers every day. Flowers were supposed to make people happy, but for him, they just pulled him down further in the deep, dark abyss of misery. Maybe he should quit and get another job. Anything but here, even if he had to be a janitor. He hadn’t thought about what to do for college. School wasn’t really a place he felt happy in anymore. But who could blame him?

“Welcome in, have a look around and feel free to ask any questions.”

It was like a broken record with the amount of times he said that same rehearsed line over and over and over again. His life was bleak; black and white in a sea of colors and beautiful fragrance. Still 3 more days, just now it was 3 days, 11 hours and 52 minutes. He let out a sigh. Hopefully his hard work would pay off in the near future.

“Hello, I’d like a bouquet with blue hyacinths and baby’s breath please!” The customer stood at the counter with a bright smile. She was pretty, and she looked to be around his age.

“Sure, a small or large bouquet? The small gets wrapped in paper and the large comes in a vase.”

“Oh, umm a small one would be perfect!”

He nodded his head and got to work on the customer’s request. He walked around the store and gathered the flowers he needed.

White chrysanthemums.

He paused and looked at them for a while.

He missed you.

He hurriedly walked away before the tears that brimmed his eyes could fall. He picked up a few baby’s breath and walked back to the front counter to assemble the flowers with skill.

“Here you go, I hope they’re received well.” He smiled or as much as he could with the thought of you still lingering in the back of his mind.

“Thank you! Have a great day!”

He was glad someone was happy. Maybe he would be too in 3 days, 11 hours and 40 minutes.

“Why would your parents care about those flowers? And why do you have so many?” Clem asked what you weren’t brave enough to, like always.

“My parents are florists and they use this bike for deliveries. I didn’t want to take the bus because I would have to leave earlier and they said the only way I could use it is if I help promote their shop.” He had slightly pouted when he finished, taking a bite of the rice balls he had for lunch. “I like riding a bike but sometimes I hate those stupid flowers.”

“Can’t you at least tidy them up a bit?” Clem asks, your chin resting on her shoulder as you both await his answer.

“That’s the thing, they are tidy. There’s just so damn many!” He slid his lunch box over to you both, four perfect rice balls sitting in the square space. “I packed extra and would hate for them to go to waste.”

You were the first to react and reach for one, a small “thank you” leaving your throat. They were amazing. Top notch even. You never knew they could taste even better than they usually do.

“Maybe my parents can give you a ride home?” Clem offered, although that wouldn’t really solve Kyungsoo’s problem.

He thought about it for a while though, perhaps to not immediately deny her offer and come off as rude. “Hmm, I could but the bike would stay and I’ll be dead before tomorrow.”

“What about little samples every day?” Clem and Kyungsoo both turned their attention to you. “Umm like…something on the teacher’s desk or having one in your chest pocket. That way you don’t have to bring so many but still help advertise their shop.”

“Ooooh yeah, that’s a great idea! You should ask Mrs. Akiyama after asking your parents. I’m sure they wouldn’t want to inconvenience you.”

He nodded his head, "You're right. Maybe I can take a poll and see what everyone's favorite flowers are. I doubt there's anything we don't have."

"What's the most sold flower and which ones are your least favorite?"

"Roses are obviously most popular but for very cliche reasons. Guys always assume every girl likes roses and not to say they won't accept them but there are so many more options out there. As for my least favorite...white crysanthemums."

"But those are so pretty?" You straighten your posture in surprise.

"Yeah but they're also the most used at funerals, so they often carry the meaning of death. It gets pretty sad when those get shopped for. You can see it in their faces when they ask for them; it’s like they’re looking through you. They just look defeated and I wish I could hug them all."

Your heart ached listening to his reasoning. You never thought about it like that. You’d only been to two funerals in your life and now that he mentioned it, those flowers were surely always there.

“Well what about your favorite flower?” It put a smile on your face to see the change in his expression.

“Sunflowers! They can grow quite tall if you take care of them, but I think they’re cool because they turn toward the sun whenever it’s around. I’ll show you! I’ll bring you one tomorrow and we can keep it here at school!”

You suddenly felt shy and your face felt so warm. Clem chuckled and gently bumped her shoulder against yours. It made Kyungsoo avoid eye contact and clear his throat. He didn’t have to bring it, you were already sure that sunflowers were your new favorite.

“I’m gonna head home now you guys, thanks for the great suggestion!”

He waved to you and Clem as he got on his bike. As he rode away, something that hung low at the back, dragged against the ground making a slight scraping noise.

“On a scale of 1 to 10, how much do you want Kyungsoo to be your boyfriend?” Clem cheekily asked when she no longer saw him in the distance.

“What?! Zero! zero zero zero!” You playfully slapped her arm and she got up from her seat and ran away as you chased her.

You sighed deeply once inside the house. You rested against the door, letting the events of tonight finally kick in. You really almost got hit by a truck and the driver could care less. You held your face in your hands and let the tears fill your palms. You weren’t mentally prepared for something so scary to happen but you also felt crazy for enjoying this night a lot because you spent some time with Kyungsoo alone.

Maybe Clem was right, maybe you had an answer for why you wish you could ride on the back with him forever. To feel your head leaned against his back and your arms around his waist. To anticipate the butterflies in your stomach every time you would make eye contact with him. His smile, his laugh, his warmth. Maybe you should stop trying to deny the way you were falling for him more and more every day.

But it didn’t matter because you knew the love was one sided.

He held onto the bottom of your jacket, anything to keep you close and make you want to stay. He didn’t want to come off as annoying or clingy but he couldn’t help it. What was there to say? What was there to do? The time was approaching quickly and one by one the students began filling up the seats on the bus.

He embraced you in a hug, his breathing becoming uneven and a lump forming in his throat. His heart warmed when you hugged him back. He was happy he got the chance to hug his perfect girl but he knew he was unsuccessful yet again. Alas, it didn't stop him from saying what he wanted to say.

"I love you." He whispered in your ear before your best friend called out to you.

ding

You: wish you were here :’(

He looked down at your message and smiled. He sat perched against his headboard. He was going to text you back but he really wanted to hear your voice. He dialed your number and waited to hear the click indicating you picked up.

But it just rang.

And rang.

And he cried as he laid his head down on his pillow to drift off to sleep.

New plan. Maybe he needed to keep a journal of every conversation you’ve had with him. And yes he does remember. Partially because just like he greets the customers, you never broke free from your usual dialogue no matter what he said. There must be something he was missing. Was he not bold enough? Is that what you needed, for him to kiss you until you agreed? But you didn’t love him the way he loved you.

“Excuse me, we’d like to order 100 white chrysanthemums.”

The group of teens in front of him broke his train of thought. White chrysanthemums? What did they need those for?

“Sure thing…but if you don’t mind me asking, what are they going to be used for?”

“The high school we go to, today is the death anniversary of a past class who were killed in a bus accident.”

His heart dropped. Was he really so focused on you that he..forgot you? He’d visit you every year with a bouquet of sunflowers and a love letter. He knew you’d love it, you were sappy like that and apparently so was he.

“Excuse me…” she turned to her friends and whispered, “did I say something wrong?”

“No…no I just didn’t know they were still doing things like that. I’m glad you’re not forgetting them, they were great people.”

They exchanged sympathizing glances and sent him their condolences. He thanked them and then gathered his things to fulfill their order.

He got on his bike, those beautiful yellow petals rested inside the basket on the front. He pulled right in front of the columbarium and adjusted the collar on his shirt. He always double checked his appearance as if you would be standing right in front of him. They had a great photo of you, something that really captured just how beautiful you looked. And you were smiling. A smile he never got tired of seeing and never stopped trying to make appear.

“Hey” he started with a smile, “can you believe I almost forgot today? Thankfully these kids came in the shop and said they were honoring you…and Clem and everyone. Even Mrs. Akiyama.” He swallowed slowly in an attempt to stop himself from bawling. “I always tell myself to stay strong when I come see you, but you know it’s hard for me right? When I miss you this much? I won’t stop trying to have you here with me. Even if I have to crawl, I won’t stop.”

He looked over to see other people approaching to visit their loved ones, so he left to give them their space. 3 more days. He could wait.

Three more days he waited only to wake up on that same dingy orange sofa. It was the only thing he had left from his old house, one that you and Clem have both sat on with him as you all watched movies or played games. He rubbed his eyes and became more aware of his surroundings. More aware of the soft pitter patter against his window. What was that?

He quickly sat up when he recognized the sound. No no no, this can’t be happening. He threw on a raincoat and tripped over his rain boots as he put them on. He stood as he pedaled as fast as he could. This couldn't be happening at a worse time. He checked the weather these past few days and never did it say he should expect rain. Never did it say it would fucking rain today.

He was good with these things, he knew the tent he kept his device in only protected it from the sun and barely so. But he knew that whenever there was a chance of rain, he had a safe space in his home to store it until it was over. Why did it not say it would rain? The closer he got, the bigger and heavier the drops became, it was absolutely pouring.

The makeshift tent was soaked through and through. He went inside and watched as the drops poured down straight onto the equipment. He grabbed anything he could find to soak up the water. But it was no use and he knew that but he had to have hope.

Yet, there was nothing he could do but wait and see what drying it out after the storm would do. However that had the same success rate as trying to water a flower after it has dried up and wilted. But of course that didn’t mean he wouldn’t try; he had to try for you.

“Can I ask you something?”

“Me?” You were surprised for some reason that he had something he was so curious about that he couldn’t help but ask. You glanced at Clem before answering, “Yeah, of course.”

“Do you ever feel like this day has been happening over and over again? Like deja vu?”

A chill ran through your body. “N-no?”

“That’s not true, you said that to me earlier! Wow Kyungsoo can you predict the future?”

“Not cool Clem!” You swatted at her. “But what do you mean? Do you feel that way?”

“Hmm, not exactly. You don’t feel like you’ve seen me before? Like you’ve heard my voice before?” He reached out to grab your hand. “What about this, does this seem familiar?”

Your heart was beating fast and you were starting to feel like you were going to faint. You quickly pulled your hand back. “You’re scaring me Kyungsoo…”

He chewed on the inside of his bottom lip. “I’m sorry. Let me give you something before I go.” He walked up to his bike and grabbed a sunflower, white chrysanthemum and a note from his back pocket. “I hope this will help you remember something. You won’t understand this now, but don’t get on that bus for the trip okay. Just trust me.”

Before you could question him, he was already on his bike, riding off with that agitating scraping sound following closely behind. What was even was that making that noise and why did it seem so familiar?

“What was that about?” Clem asked looking just as confused as you felt. There was a lot of emotions you felt, but confusion was definitely number one.

“I-I don’t know but I think I should head home, my head is killing me.”

“Should I call my mom? She wouldn’t mind dropping you off.”

“Nah it’s okay, I’m just going to catch the bus back. I’ll catch you later Clem.”

You grabbed your things and hugged her before going to wait at the bus stop. On the ride back home, you reached into your bag and pulled out the flowers and the letter he had given you earlier. Such a weird kid, but it felt nice to receive something like this from a boy as cliche as it sounded. It didn’t click until you saw the white flower that you noticed it was your favorite. And what about the sunflower, what was so special about it?

You unfolded the note and read its contents:

Sorry if I came across as pushy or creepy. I just didn’t know what else to say. You won’t be seeing me anymore and I can’t begin to explain why unless you remember everything. This very well might have been my last chance and this may never make sense to you but I hope it does and we can see each other again one day in the future. Would it be weird to say how much I love you? I never got the chance to truly tell you before and if we never see each other again, I want to at least feel that I was able to achieve something. I’ll end this by saying, I know you’re gonna be excited for that trip but if you can trust me, I want you to convince everyone to not get on that bus. It’s selfish to ask if you can do it for me, but if you remember then that’s my only request from you.

At the bottom, he wrote an address and left a clipping of a newspaper article. The address didn’t exist when you looked it up and the paper looked so old that you could barely make out the words on it. Whatever was happening, it was scaring you and you didn’t like it.

The next day, just like he said, he didn’t show up to class. Not the day after, or even the week after and everyone in class acted as if they’d never met him. Simply a figment of their imaginations if even that. But you didn’t forget and the flowers and letter sat in your drawer.

“You’re starting to worry me babe.” Clem slid another orange slice over to you. “You look so out of it. Maybe it’s time to see that doctor you were talking about.”

“I feel okay, I promise.” That was a lie.

“Well even if you feel fine, you don’t look fine and it would make me feel better if you had a doctor tell you everything was fine.” You nodded your head just so she would stop asking. “We should head home, we have that big exam tomorrow.”

“Yeah I was just about to say. You walking home Clem?”

“Nope, my mom should be pulling up any minute now. Sure you don’t want a ride home?”

“Yeah I’m sure, just wanna walk since the weather’s so nice.”

You waited with her until her mother came to get her. She waved at you from the window in the back with a big smile. You took your time walking home, hoping the fresh air would clear your head. You read that letter every night before you went to sleep and it never made any sense. Maybe you were crazy and you really did need to go see a doctor. Even so, it wouldn’t explain a lot of things. You approached the crosswalk and kept going, barely checking to see what was coming.

A mistake indeed. You heard the blaring horn of the truck unable to slow down before it got to you. Instinct kicked in and you leapt forward, landing on your knees. You were alive, but the pounding in your head made you feel like impact was made. The near death accident triggered something in your memory. Like a toy you forgot you loved playing with when you were younger. He was right, you did remember.

You remembered that this has happened before; many times before actually and he was always there to help. You remembered the many times you shared his bike with him. The day he held your hand when you said you felt too scared to walk past the spider web that hung down from the tree. The days where it felt like he knew you and Clem since day one. And most importantly, you recalled being on that bus he told you to avoid and how scared you felt to know you’d never be able to see him again.

You were sitting on the ground now, screaming and crying so much so that you didn’t notice the driver of the truck trying to shake you out of your panic attack. “Miss! Miss! Are you okay? Your leg is bleeding, I’m going to call an ambulance okay?!”

“Call Kyungsoo! Tell him I remember!”

Those were the last words you remember saying before you lost consciousness.

Days passed but you didn’t forget what you remembered. Clem stayed by your side more so than she already did, if that was even possible. You told her about everything and at first she didn’t believe you but then you showed her the article and she didn’t stop crying for hours. You couldn't blame her. Imagine finding out that you, your best friend and everyone else in your class died and the only reason you were able to find that out is because the boy you love and loves you back suffered through it enough to tell you. It still didn't make any sense how that was possible, but you knew you had to do everything in your power for his work to not be in vain.

"We have to convince them to not go Clem, I just don't know how."

She sat with you on the floor, backs against the foot of your bed. "I don't know...nothing feels real anymore honestly. You'd really only have to convince Mrs. Akiyama, she's technically in charge of our class."

"Well yeah, but what am I supposed to say? If we get on the bus next week we're all gonna die? Trust me because Kyungsoo told me?"

Clem sat up and shook her head, "Just explain it to her the way you did to me. Show her the article and everything."

"Yeah you're right, it'll be best to show her some evidence, thanks Clem."

She nodded, "Of course, text me later okay? My mom's outside."

You hugged her goodbye and went back upstairs to plop down on your bed. You didn't have the energy for anything else these days, stressing over how you would make everyone believe you, or at least your teacher. You rolled over on your side toward your nightstand and opened the drawer. The letter carried so much more sentiment now; it was the only thing you had from him besides the flowers, but those were already brown.

"I promise I won't let you down." You kissed the letter and put it back in its place. Tomorrow was the big day and you only had one shot at this.

"I can say I'm quite shocked such an elaborate prank is coming from you." Mrs. Akiyama looked disappointed in you, a face you'd never seen her make in the years you've had her as a teacher.

"What? Mrs. Akiyama I would never joke about such a thing! I'm being very serious right now, you have to trust me!"

"Is this what kids are doing these days? Making fake news articles?"

You couldn't help but look at her in disbelief. "I-I...please I'm telling the truth."

"One more word of this and I'm going to have to send you to the principal's office. I never expected this behavior from you."

You sat, feeling dejected, in the usual spot where you, Clem and apparently Kyungsoo would have lunch after school. If she wasn't going to believe you with physical evidence, you would have to figure out a different way to stop this trip from happening. Clem walked up to you and put a reassuring hand against your back.

"I brought your fave; banana milk." She handed it to you as you laid your head on her shoulder and let the tears that built up since your conversation with Mrs. Akiyama finally fall. "I heard what happened earlier. I feel bad now for giving you such stupid advice."

"It's okay, it's not your fault. I mean you didn't even believe me at first...but I don't know what to do. I'm going to let him down Clem."

"Don't say that! I'm sure if I could remember what he was like, I'd be able to say much more confidently that he'd be happy with you regardless."

You laughed a bit, she was right. If he was here right now, he'd be thinking of ways to get you to stop crying. If he was here...if only.

"I'm going to pop the tires."

Clem shook you off her shoulder, "What? No offense, but that's kind of crazy. You'd have to sneak on school grounds and then pop the tires."

"Exactly."

"No, not exactly. Not trying to be so negative, but if you get caught, you're going to get in trouble."

"Yeah? Well Clem, if I fail it doesn't matter if I get in trouble because we're all going to FUCKING DIE!" It was like the whole world became silent. She stared at you. Unfortunately it was the reality of the situation and this was your first and only attempt at helping. But of course you didn't mean to yell at her. "Clem I'm-"

"No don't apologize, you're right. I've been trying to keep it off my mind so much that I forgot how quickly our time was running out. Whatever you need, I'll be there for you."

You didn't feel so alone anymore yet the truth still stands; if everything fell through, you could kiss your existence goodbye.

It was early in the morning, about 2 hours before the bus was scheduled to leave and an hour before everyone was supposed to be here to do a final roll call. You had looked through everything in your garage the night before, looking for anything sharp enough to poke holes in a tire as big as one for a bus but something safe around to carry. You settled on some long nails your dad kept from the renovations he made on the kitchen a few years ago. A few of those should do the trick right?

Clem followed closely behind you as you both carefully climbed over the lowest walls on the school's courtyard. Thankfully it was still pretty dark outside or anyone driving past could have seen you two and called the police to report a trespassing. You ran to the back of the school where you knew the bus would be and quickly took the nails out of your bag.

"Just keep an eye out for me okay Clem?"

She nodded and you got to work. It was a lot harder than you expected it to be. Of course tires were thick, but you didn't expect them to be that thick. But you kept trying and slowly you were able to get the nail halfway in. Once fully wedged inside the tire, you started hammering in the second one. You didn't want to go overboard with them because then it would obviously look planned, but one might not be enough to make the tire go flat.

“You done? It’s almost time for my mom to get up and she can’t know I’m not in my bed.”

“Yeah I’m finished, let’s go.”

Thankfully so far everything has gone according to plan and you hoped it stayed that way.

When the time came, your heart beat against your ribs. You wondered if Clem felt just as nervous. You didn’t stay long enough to make sure the tire deflated but you heard a small fizz of the air escaping so that was a good sign.

“Okay great, everyone is here! The driver is just doing one last check before we get on.” Mrs. Akiyama spoke as she stood in front of the group of you.

“Bad news ma’am, looks like one of the back wheels is flat.” You stood next to Clem and you squeezed her hand. “That means I’ll have to call the mechanic if you want to leave somewhat on time.”

“Oh no, yes do what you need to!”

Clem looked at you, a frantic look in her eyes. Alarms in your brain were going off and your heart beat even faster. You had to do something before you were back to the drawing board and as a matter of fact, said board wouldn’t exist once you got on that bus.

“NO! Everyone please listen to me!” All eyes quickly turned their attention towards you. “We can’t get on that bus! I know we were all excited for this trip but I promise you we’re better off waiting until next year.”

Everyone looked at you confused and you knew you were never going to convince them like this. Mrs. Akiyama started walking over to you but now was not the time to care.

“If we get on that bus…we’re all going to die.” Gasps were heard in every direction along with chatter among the crowd. “I can’t tell you how I know but you have to trust me on this.”

The teacher finally stopped in front of you and grabbed you by the arm. “I’m calling your parents to come pick you up, you will not mess up everyone’s day with this nonsense!”

You broke free from her grip and ran more into the middle. “PLEASE! I’M MOT LYING, EVEN IF WE HAVE TO LEAVE LATER JUST LISTEN TO ME!”

Two pairs of hands grabbed your arms and pulled you backwards and slowly away from where you stood. Everyone looked concerned seeing the normally level headed girl be so scattered. This must be how Kyungsoo felt writing that letter to you. So defeated, looking for any glint of hope.

“If she stays I’m staying too!” Clem came forward and ran to your side. “I’m not saying that because she’s my best friend, I’m saying it because if someone told me I was going to die and all I had to do to prevent it was not get on this bus, I’d listen. What harm can come from us just waiting and seeing what happens? Wouldn’t that be better than regretting not believing her later on?”

The small talk started up again within the crowd, she was swaying their thoughts; putting doubt in their minds. She was convincing them.

“I can’t believe you chose today of all days…but we’ll see what happens. If you’re doing this for God knows what reason and it was all a lie, we’re going to have a serious talk with your parents and the principal.”

You squeezed Clem tight and thanked her for having your back like she said she would. Kyungsoo would be proud of the both of you if he was here. Maybe you would get the chance to tell him if what he said is true. Just like Clem said, where was the harm in being safe than sorry?

Sparks flew from the time machine, the last few beeps of operation decreasing in octave as it slowly shut down for good. He was heartbroken, crying hysterically with his head in his hands. This was literally his worst nightmare. He doesn’t think he could build up the motivation to make another one. And what was the point? No matter how hard he tried, you never listened. Maybe everyone was right, he’s the reason he’s been sad all these years because of his greed to change the past. He told you he would make peace with himself if he never saw you again, but would he really be able to keep his promise?

A week had passed since he kissed his hard work goodbye and tried to only focus on his life as it was now. He vowed to make changes in his life soon, but he allowed himself another week to grieve. He couldn't help but beat himself up over everything. If he had known that would be his last try, he would have hugged you one last time. Now he wished his future self would let this day replay over and over until he made the right choices to get what he wanted.

“Kyungsoo, it’s mom. Just checking in on you. I know your birthday is coming up. We were hoping to come by and see you if that’s okay. I can make your favorite food, so don’t worry about cooking that day okay? Miss you baby, love you, talk to you later. Oh and call me back with an answer okay? Love you, bye.”

He hadn’t seen his parents in quite some time and it would be nice to be around family again. They were very understanding and never judged him for his choice of career. Or maybe they pitied him because they knew a man who couldn’t get over a dead girl would be no good to work anywhere else. But that was the bad thoughts talking again and he surely didn’t need any more of those.

The chime above the door caught his attention but he didn’t bother looking up.

“Welcome in, have a look around and feel free to ask any questions.” Monotonous and bland.

“Can I do a bouquet of sunflowers please? They’re my absolute favorite.”

“No problem, would you like small or-“ he looked up. Perhaps he should have looked up sooner.

Was his heart beating too fast or did it stop beating completely? He was at a loss for words. Standing before him, even more beautiful than he remembered. Had the depression truly set in? Maybe he was having a really vivid and lucid dream. There was no way he wasn’t dreaming right now or at least hallucinating.

“Kyungsoo, I remembered like you said.”

His legs felt like jelly, his vision was blurry and his ears were ringing. He pushed through and came from around the counter and stopped right in front of you. He shakily raised an arm to wrap around you and hug you. When he made contact with a physical being, a real person, you; he couldn’t help but squeeze you tight, fingertips digging in your back as he held on; afraid to let go.

“Please tell me I’m not dreaming.” Tears streamed down his cheeks and fell onto your shoulders.

“I’m here Kyungsoo, you’re not dreaming. I’m here.”

He was just like you remembered, he still had the ability to give you butterflies and feel like a safe place. It all seemed so unreal, hugging your high school crush in the middle of a place you dreamed of working in. Soon you would finally tell him the real answer you wanted to give and that you never wanted to leave his side.

He looked at you, breathing heavily with your face in his hands. “All that stuff I said in that letter I meant from the bottom of my heart.”

You grabbed his hand and smiled, “I know and because of you, I finally get to say I love you too.”

#kyungsoo #exo kyungsoo #kyungsoo x reader #do kyungsoo #exo x reader #exo do

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locke-esque-monster · 19 days ago

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There's a part of me that wants to think that House MD is a spiritual successor to Mash (which is a whole separate post). It's fascinating to me because outside of one brief reference in the early seasons to Trapper John, and the whole similar "POV of the patient" episodes, there aren't really any references to Mash within House. And frankly, I'm surprised their aren't unless it was deliberate on the part of the creators. But I honestly prefer to believe Greg House within the confines of the show itself is actually an old Mash fan.

Picture it with me, will you...

A young 13 year old Gregory getting obsessed with the show. In part because it's anti-military and anti-authority sentiment pisses off his dad. But he also loves it's mix of drama, goofiness, and quick-witted banter.

He mostly gets to keep watching it because his Mom also likes it, it reminds her of the quick banter of old screwball comedies of her youth.

Sixteen year old Greg being torn between appreciating the accurate harsh reality of killing off Henry Blake, and the fact he wants to write angry letters to the studio on behalf of his mom because the episode made her cry.

Do you remember in Sherlock (2010) how Mycroft brought up that Sherlock had the mind of a great thinker, but chose to be a detective? And his original hope was to be a pirate? I think of that when I think of how Greg became a doctor. He was never going to be the empathetic doctors he saw on Mash, but the show did infuse an interest in medicine he never quite shook.

Imagine Greg at 24, exhausted from med school and a little choked up watching the finale of a show he's spent half his life watching.

Greg starting our his doctor's career with a hatred of doctor's coats like Hawkeye hated uniforms. He knows it's a cliché for doctors of this era to love Mash so it's his own dirty little secret. The thought of wearing a Hawaiian shirt one day has crossed his mind, but is ultimately rejected because it's not worth the teasing, or really his style.

Greg brings his love of banter and hatred of authority right into his work environment. He also has had no problem mixing the bleak with a sense of humor, maybe a residual effect of so many episodes of Mash.

He also maybe took Henry's season 1 speech about doctors not being able to save young men from dying maybe a bit too seriously, and that mixed with his own cynicism has helped inform his distance from his patients.

House meeting Cuddy and him taking great joy from their Margaret/Hawkeye "pushing back against authority but also kind of flirting" . He knows it'll never work, but damn if it isn't fun. It's fantasy straight out of his teenage years.

His ducklings (Cameron, Foreman, Chase) are his other assorted characters of the camp to bounce off of - the Radars, Klingers, and whatnot. He'll run circles around them verbally, but they have the potential to surprise him with a good idea or a clever comment.

When he met Wilson, it was like meeting his own tentmate in the Swamp. He maybe envisioned a little of having their own Swamp when he convinced Cuddy to move Wilson in next door. He was always sure Wilson was his BJ, with his commitment to his wives - even if maybe he went through them like Trapper did with nurses. But when Wilson left after Amber's death, he wondered if Wilson was maybe really his Trapper all along and his BJ didn't exist. When Wilson came back, House immediately thought back to BJ coming back to Hawkeye in the finale.

Wilson is the only one, other than his mother, who knows of his secret love of Mash. Wilson is also fond of it (he maybe internalized Hawkeye's commitment to his patients). And he sees a bit of Hawkeye in House's sense of humor. They occasionally watch it together and will makes jokes about it when the team or Cuddy aren't around. That said, Wilson has to convince House every so often that "No, we're not building our own still."

#apologies to anyone whose read my long-ass posts before #i literally just looked and figured out how to add the “read more” to my posts today - this is the first #house md #greg house #gregory house #james wilson #lisa cuddy #mash #m*a*s*h #hawkeye #hawkeye pierce #house md headcanons #house headcanons

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comic-sans-chan · 2 years ago

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Fic I'll never write where Julian has a latent one-way telepath gene activated by some sci-fi nonsense and can suddenly hear everyone's thoughts. And he's like, "Shit, I don't remember there ever being any betazoid blood in the family. This must be connected to my augmentations. No! I have to fix this James Bond style." So while he's doing that, life goes on and he has to keep a straight face against the cacophony of noise from all his friends and patients.

With his patients, the telepathy actually ends up being pretty useful. He can hear everything they're too embarrassed or proud to say, so examinations go much smoother. Though he really could do without all the sudden "mmm sexy doctor" thoughts interrupting his professionalism. Especially when they cause him to bash his head on his own equipment out of pure, scandalized shock. Twice.

With friends, the challenge is mainly in not responding to their thoughts, because they’re always interesting. His friends are incredible people and he's bursting at the seams to talk to them about their interests, hobbies and concerns. Then, of course, there are the occasional "Julian is annoying" thoughts. He always knew they were there, but actually hearing them sucks. He takes heart in the equal amount of "Julian is a sweetheart" thoughts that pop up, often shortly after the annoyed ones.

Then there's Garak, who Julian avoided for as long as he could because he knows Garak wouldn't appreciate having his thoughts heard. He was literally a spy. Julian listening in on his thoughts would be tantamount to bugging his quarters or something. It's not fair to him. Julian and Garak might lie to each other all the time, but that doesn't mean there isn't a trust there, and Julian doesn't want to break that. Maybe in the beginning, but not all these years later. Not now that they're close.

But ultimately, it's just (hopefully) one lunch, and if he avoids Garak for too long, he's going to hurt his feelings and he can't do that, either. Garak only has so many friends. And anyway, what's the worst that could happen? Julian finds out what Garak really thinks of a book? Maybe Garak's soup is too hot, but he won't admit it? Maybe he'll mentally shit-talk a Bajoran, and that'll suck to know about him, but it won't be shocking. Hell, he’ll flatter himself, maybe Garak will have a lustful thought or two about him. That wouldn't be any great revelation. He knows Garak's attracted to him, and he's attracted back, but fucking an ex-intelligence agent isn't a good idea for someone with a secret as big as Julian's. So, he might have to rub one out after lunch. He can deal with that. No harm done. He comes to lunch.

And it's a spectacular mistake. He should have made another excuse, any excuse. He should have known better. He knows who and what Garak is. He knows he's traumatized and hypervigilant and a little bit of a maniac. Garak's even hinted at sentiment being a particular weakness of his before. He should have anticipated Garak filing away every little thing he hears and sees like his life depends on it. He should have anticipated the checked violent instincts and guilt and depression. He should have anticipated Garak wondering what secret Julian's keeping and coming startlingly close to certain truths. He especially should have accounted for the possibility that Garak is more than just attracted to him. He's deeply in love with him.

He leaves lunch shaken and sick to his stomach. So much of it is unsurprising. Garak's life has been terrible. Is terrible. Julian has known that much ever since meeting Tain. Since Garak spat that he hated it on Deep Space Nine and he hated Julian specifically for being something he doesn't hate. He doesn't hate him at all, apparently, but he does resent him. He feels ashamed for wanting an alien so much, for feeling such a strong connection to something outside of the State. Something that Tain would punish him for. He punishes himself in Tain's absence. It's horrible, the cruel things he thinks so calmly about himself, like it's natural. Obvious.

Julian's always known Garak was miserable and he's done what he can to help him, but he admits there's been a part of him that thought being away from Cardassia and the Order was good for him. That the station hurt him so much because it was a remedy, and sometimes remedies feel like poison at first when you're so used to sickness. But of course it's more complicated than that, of course it runs deeper, and Julian should have done more. Should have invited him out. Should have dragged him into some tennis matches. Should have double-checked that his damn medication was still working after the number that implant did on his brain chemistry.

Shouldn't have gone to lunch, because now he knows Garak fantasizes about taking him back to Cardassia and enjoining with him and fucking him in fields of flowers and... adopting bloody war orphans together. That is not the sort of thing Julian should know without Garak's consent.

Even worse, now Garak is suspicious, and he pops into the infirmary the next day to "check on him after his hasty departure the other day." It's not even subtle. They both know Julian's hiding something, but Julian can't have this conversation without having about ten others that he has no idea how to have yet. And Garak won't stop thinking about running a soothing hand through his weird human hair and over his fucked up human eyebrows and - once when he makes the mistake of turning around - grabbing his ass. He doesn't even have an ass, but apparently that doesn't stop Garak. Bastard! Julian snaps that he's fine and rushes him out because he has work to do, thank you, my dear tailor. Garak jokes that this is the first time he's ever been forced out of the infirmary before, but he's thinking about hacking Julian's computer while he does it, so Julian growls at him and storms off to upgrade his security system. Again.

Time passes and Julian's losing his mind trying to solve this mind-reading problem and figure out what to do about Garak. Because of course he has feelings for the man, but he's avoided thinking too hard about that because Garak's never been a romantic option. Now he knows there's a very real possibility that Garak can be trusted, just like he’s always hoped. That Garak loves him to a degree that challenges his loyalties, and if Garak is loyal to Julian, then Julian doesn't have to worry about him using his augmentations against him. He could finally have a partner he doesn’t have to lie to, who might even understand and accept him. But the fact remains that Garak didn't want him to know that, and Julian feels guilty. And conflicted. And horny, because Garak's been spying on him in the promenade without knowing Julian can literally sense his stupid ass and every third lizard-brained thought is about how much he wants to lick him. There's a part of Julian that wants to just yank him into a changing room and hope that the healing power of sex will just solve everything.

Unfortunately, he knows there's no way out of Garak freaking out about Julian having heard his every crazy, paranoid and lovelorn thought. And Julian's savior-complex is going haywire. How do you comfort a man who won't allow himself to be comforted? How do you return a love someone hates themselves for feeling? Julian updates his medication, but there's only so much medication can do. Garak needs more than just Julian to kiss him. He needs things Julian doesn't know how to give.

In the end, Julian is able to deactivate the gene responsible for the telepathy, and things go back to normal. He has lunch with Garak, who is notably pouty, but Julian can only guess at the reason (probably because he couldn't hack into Julian's computer--ha), and it's a relief. They're back on even footing, Garak is an enigma once more, and all is right with the universe.

Except that everything has changed.

Julian can't tell him he could read his mind without concocting a lie about why he could suddenly read minds in the first place, because he can't tell him about Adigeon Prime. In the end, it's less about whether Garak can be trusted, and more about Julian's issues. It's selfish, but Julian's never told anyone before and he's not ready to now. It's too big. Too much. He couldn't stand it if Garak looked at him differently after. But to lie about it now, so baldly, after the profound vulnerabilities Garak's expressed without having any idea he's expressed them, feels wrong, too.

So, Julian doesn't tell him a lie or the truth or anything at all. He doesn't tell him until they're in a prison camp, until Garak's told him Tain is his father, until the possibility of Garak being ordered to betray Julian is dead and they might die soon after and Julian needs Garak to know he was loved by someone. He needs Garak to know who Julian Bashir really was. A liar. An imposter. A coward. Someone who only ever wanted to heal, who didn’t ask to be a monster. And Garak will forgive him.

But for now, Julian is all those things, so instead of confessing his sins, he brushes his hand against Garak's. He squeezes his shoulder on his way to get a refill. He brings back a dessert for them to share. He argues and recommends terrible books and invites him out to shows and drags him to tennis matches. He encourages his friendship with Odo and Keiko and later Ziyal. He asks him to teach him Cardassian. He brings him fresh Red Leaf tea. He starts keeping a heated blanket in his quarters. When Garak falls asleep for seventeen minutes and fifty-two seconds while they're watching a holofilm, Julian pretends not to notice. Inwardly, he cheers.

In the absence of one type of honesty, another takes its place.

#garashir #my posts #another fic i'll never write even tho lowkey i just wrote it #anyway #will probably edit later cuz i always do #it's not the focus but i love the potential hijinx julian with mind-reading powers could get into #because people have weeeiiiirrrd thoughts #he gets distracted in the middle of a conversation cuz some guy who passed by had an earworm #that was actually just three different songs from three different planets all mushed together #and julian's brain breaks hearing that shit #fics i'll never write

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