#Nobody taught her how to read fairy tales?

[artist-issues]

"A Prince who basically stalks her--weird!"

[riversimmone]

The Mercenary

The Mercenary - prologue

RiverOfTheSand

Summary:

She fled her home to survive the outbreak of war. But in order to survive the outside world, she would need a bodyguard. Instead, she got a rude, arrogant man who just happened to be hot as hell. AU SasuSaku.

Notes:

Cross-posted from fanfiction.net. Technically. There's only one chapter so far. It's edited and ready to be posted and I'm working on the next one. Getting my SasuSaku groove on. So please read and kudo and comment. I hope you enjoy. :)

End chapter notes:

Thankyou so much for reading. :)

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This is a work in progress story you can also find on AO3 and FF.NET.

Enjoy. :)

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The Mercenary: Prologue.

It wouldn't have surprised her, looking back at how she acted, if he had just left her on the side of the road to die somewhere, that rude, arrogant man... that mercenary. She had deserved that at least. But she knew very well, from watching it happen to others, that love could sculpt and heal even the darkest of hearts. It was a powerful thing – toppling nations, uniting former enemies, and healing broken souls. And she had longed to be on the receiving end of some handsome man's affections from the day her mother first told her that she had gotten her fantasy prince.

Sakura Haruno's mother had married a king, a man that everyone loved, and nobody hated – at least, from what the pinkette saw. She was happy, they were happy, and even at the end of it all, they had stayed together.

Sakura, meanwhile, had been ripped away from the fairy tale life she'd taken for granted, unable to stop it as her life came crumbling down around her. All she could do was flee, her mother's screams echoing in her mind, her father yelling at her to flee before they came for her too.

Enemies came in many guises, but this one had crept up on them, invaded their home, and twisted the sword for good measure.

Sakura coughed loudly, unable to restrain herself as she ran haphazardly through familiar halls.

The dust cloud created by nearby fighting hit her harshly, whipping across her tear-stained face, but she refused to let it slow her down. Tripping, catching herself, and stumbling forward as she spotted her sensei moving toward her, she reached out desperately, letting out a grateful whimper as his fingers clasped hers protectively. He was strong and pulled her to him easily.

"We must flee," he said, his smooth voice calm but insistent. "You must survive my Hime."

An explosion – not unlike an earthquake – resounded in the distance, making up her mind to put all her faith in her companion. He had never let her down before.

She would cry later, again. She couldn't stop the tears, but they fell silently. She would mourn later.

Gathering all her strength, she followed the only ally she had now.

The servant's entrance stank like the moat, but Sakura could not care less. Inhaling the scent like it was her saviour, she did the only thing she could – allowed her sensei to half-drag her away. He had taught her to fight, to be strong, and defend herself when necessary. But he had not explained what to do when none of those options were possible. She was running now, crying silently, and picturing her mother – the last time she'd seen Queen Mebuki, her chamber door had slammed in her face, and she was dragged away.

Sakura faltered.

"Do not let go of my hand, Sakura-hime."

She looked up at her saviour, wondering what he would do if it was his family. They were all dead now, and she couldn't help the wrenching of her heart as she remembered that she was the only family he knew now. He would want her to flee this place, find their allies in the north, and return to retake her life. Live, to fight tomorrow. That was one of his many mottos.

The man she'd looked up to for years, the man she still harboured a childhood crush on, the man who had saved her life. He smiled down at her, his eyes crinkling in that way that made women swoon. She nodded her head, showing him that she understood, and they returned to their hurried pace. Through the underground passage that only servants took – from maids to lowly soldiers. Through the courtyards that met them in the pit of darkness – it was night-time. And down into the lower town. No-one would expect this of her, surely.

Sakura had hoped the sounds of war would grow distant, but as they burst into the dimly lit, night air of the peasant district, the sounds only grew.

It didn't take away the fear, but her confidence in her sensei would never be swayed; the entire city was under attack, not just the castle. What force was so great that it could take them by surprise like this?

The lower levels of the city were in a panic, knowing even less about what was going on, and no-one paid her any mind, let alone noticed that she was dressed in the robes of their princess. Her sensei wrapped his cloak around her, to further hide her; his hands slipped from hers to tie it securely around her shoulders. Something heavy slammed into him, and his hands left her completely.

The crowd pushed and pulled; she called his name. He called hers. And when someone shoved into Sakura hard enough to knock her to the ground, he was gone, lost in the sea of people desperately swarming toward the exits.

Her hoarse voice called for him once more, but he was nowhere to be seen. She let out a frustrated cry and looked around. She needed to get out of here and do what her sensei expected of her; she would see him again; she just knew it. Sakura looked up at the castle on that thought, said thoughts going to her mother, and the only father she'd ever known. If only that reunion were possible.

She ran with the fleeing commoners and moved with the crowd.

Fate had a way of ripping away a person's life, only to sneak up unexpectedly and throttle people if they weren't careful. But what it had in store for her wasn't the broken fairy tale she'd assumed. She would find her prince. Her prince charming... and take that fateful step along a bumpy road, toward her own future.

If only she'd known he was just as annoying as her... she might've treated him better.

Maybe.

That roadside, where her imagination envisaged any man would abandon an annoying, spoilt princess...

Sakura took one last look at her home, then turned, and disappeared into the dark.

[mimisempai]

You are my favorite serendipity

Summary

Hob asked Dream to come early when he would pick him up at the end of his class, because he was going to taught something that might interest Dream. Dream did not expect to hear Hob tell the story of their first meeting.

Notes

Flufftober Day 27 - Serendipity

On AO3

Rating G - 1946 words

Dream entered the classroom and sat down discreetly in the back row. Hob had mysteriously told him the night before that he should come a half hour early because he might be interested in what Hob would tell at the end of his class.

"Today I'm going to end the class with the history of the word Serendipity."

Hob sat on the edge of his desk and began his explanation.

"Serendipity is the gift of making, by chance and sagacity, an unexpected and worthwhile discovery, especially in the sciences. It is a polysemic notion whose meaning varies according to the period, the context and the language used. The word, initially English, was created in 1754 by the writer Horace Walpole from the Persian tale The Three Princes of Serendip.  This is what he himself said, ' I once read a silly fairy tale, called “The Three Princes of Serendip”: as their Highnesses traveled, they were always making discoveries, by accidents and sagacity, of things which they were not in quest of: for instance, on the them discovered that a mule blinds of the right eye had traveled the same road lately, because the grass was eaten only on the left side, where it was worse than on the right—now do you understand Serendipity?'"

Dream amusedly saw Hob pretend to yawn at the end of his explanation, then the teacher asked his students, "I ask you the question asked by Walpole, now do you understand what Serendipity means?"

Obviously expecting their negative response, Hob continued, "Then let me tell you a story. It begins one summer evening in the year of our Lord 1389 in a tavern, the White Horse Tavern. An ordinary man, let's call him Robert. So Robert was drinking, a little too much, with his companions. And when you drink a little too much, you tend to talk a little louder. So our Robert was proclaiming loudly that he wouldn't die, because death was stupid."

Dream found it hard not to hold back a laugh at the way Hob was talking about himself. 

Even though what he was saying had happened centuries ago, the memory was vivid in Dream's mind.

"I just think maybe it would be good for you to see them on their terms, instead of yours."

Death had insisted on dragging him into this tavern and now he was forced to endure the inane chatter of all these humans when suddenly a voice sounded louder than the others.

"Look, I've seen death."

He and his sister turned together to the person who had just said these words and listened with curiosity as he continued, "I lost half my village to the Black Death. I fought under Buckingham in Burgundy. It's not like I don't know what death is. Death is... stupid."

Dream and Death looked at each other, and as his friends laughed at him, the man continued in his insolently confident manner, "Nobody has to die. The only reason people die is... is 'cause everyone does it. You all just go along with it. But not me. I've made up my mind."

Dream and Death looked at him again as the man paused before adding firmly, "I'm not going to die."

Dream and Death looked at each other again as the man replied to his companions who continued to mock him.

"You don't know that. I might get lucky. There's always a first time. There's so much to do, so many things to see. Women to swive. Ale to drink. People to drink with."

Dream, annoyed by this human who had such low aspirations, asked his sister, "Why would any sensible creature crave an eternity of this?"

Death replied with that little smile of his, "You could find out."

Dream inquired, "How?"

His older sister replied, "I could grant him his wish."

Dream couldn't help but respond with a mocking tone, "Do that, and he will be begging for death within a century, I assure you."

Death did not lose her smile and replied, "This will prove very interesting."

They turned their gaze back to the man who continued to debate with his companions and Death asked, "Are you gonna tell him, or should I?"

Oh no, Dream wanted to tell him himself, to see if his confidence would persist in the face of him. He replied, "I shall." and walked over to the merry band.  Once facing Hob, he stared at him for a few seconds until the man turned his gaze to him and Dream asked in a composed manner, "Did I hear you say you have no intention of ever dying?"

The man chuckled slightly and after a brief hesitation replied, "Uh, yeah. Yeah, that's right."

Dream continued, "Then you must tell me what it's like."

As he chuckled again, Dream added, knowing full well the effect his words would have on the man, "Let us meet here again, Robert Gadling, in this tavern of the White Horse in a hundred years."

While his friends laughed outright, the man looked at him with a serious expression on his face and a slight shock in his eyes at the call of his name. 

Dream looked at his sister who nodded and then, looked back at the man who continued to stare at him before smiling and answering, "Don't mind them. A hundred years' time, on this day?" 

Dream could see that the man still believed it was a joke, but that the shadow of a slight doubt remained. This didn't stop him from answering seriously, "I will see you in the year of our Lord 1489, then." finishing with a cheeky smile and a challenging glance that Dream held until he turned to leave.

When Dream came out of his reverie, he realized that Hob had come to the same part of his story.

"Robert watched the man leave, a strange feeling in his mind, a question in his head, what if it were true? Well, he knew it when a hundred years later he met the stranger who would meet him again a hundred years later and so on, creating a special bond with this person he didn't know from Adam. So can anyone tell me how this story illustrates the word serendipity?"

A student raised his hand and Hob nodded, "I'm listening."

"Well the man, Robert, in 1389, was drinking and joking with his friends and probably didn't expect a stranger to come along and give him the gift of immortality, so to speak, so that's his serendipity."

Hob agreed and replied, "Quite so. But let's take it a step further, don't you think that his serendipity is also the bond he creates with this stranger by meeting him every hundred years?"

A young girl on the other side of the classroom raised her hand.

"Yes Alice?"

"Professor, does your story have a happy ending? Do Robert and his friend still meet every hundred years?"

Hob smiled softly and replied, "Well, imagine a mysterious stranger coming to you and daring you to see him again in a hundred years to tell him what it's like not to die. Imagine this stranger coming back to you day for day a hundred years later to listen to your life story and then listen carefully before making an appointment to meet you a hundred years later. Imagine that he is there again a hundred years later and you are proud to tell him about your achievements and, even if he doesn't seem to care, you know that you will be there in a hundred years to meet him again. Because that serendipity, that serendipity has become a drug. So even if, a hundred years later, you are at the lowest point of your life, the most miserable, you will be there, if only to see the emotion and surprise, even if fleeting, in that look. Hoping to see that you have touched his life as he has touched yours.  Then nothing can stop you from seeing him again a century later, not even exterior scheming or your own mistakes, if only to see the spark in that gaze."

As Hob went through their encounters, Dream saw in flashes those moments unfold in front of his eyes.

Hob continued, "You will still be there, a hundred years later, to finally read the approval and even affection in those eyes. Even if you will be the one to jeopardize your bond because sometimes you have to tell your friends the truth. Because you want to meet him as an equal and not be the object of an experiment anymore. Risking a lifetime of endless loneliness for the sake of the one you consider your friend. And you would be willing to wait another hundred years of solitude just to finally see the hurt and loneliness you read in that gaze disappear. Just to welcome him back with a smile. Just to see him smile back at you."

Seeing that he had gotten a little carried away, Hob paused for a moment before resuming, his students hanging on his every word, "To answer your question Alice, I think they are still meeting and more importantly I am certain that now they are not waiting a hundred years to see each other."

Just in time, the bell announcing the end of class rang and Hob announced, "Don't forget to turn in your homework for the next class, I won't wait a hundred years to grade them."

The students giggled and exited the classroom one after the other. Dream approached Hob who was finishing putting his things in his bag.

He asked softly, "So I'm your serendipity?"

Hob looked up and smiled, "You doubt it?"

Dream, checking first that the door was closed, took Hob's hand in his and brought it to his lips before answering, "Well I think you're my serendipity too."

Hob replied with a mischievous little smile, "Explain this to me, Professor Morpheus."

Dream chuckled softly then tying his arms around Hob's waist he said softly, "Imagine, you walk into an inn, urged by your big sister to socialize and you're dying of boredom listening to the uninteresting talk around you when all of a sudden there's this guy who talks louder than the others and says he doesn't want to die. Then you challenge this guy to meet you in a hundred years and he takes the challenge with an irresistible smile. Wouldn't you give anything to be there every hundred years? No matter the smile, no matter the circumstances? Just to see this? Even if he annoys you sometimes? Even if the smile is wavering... Even if it smells like danger... Just to see that sweet smile that is only for you... And while you can't be there because of outside forces, once you're free, in full possession of your faculties, wouldn't that be the first thing you'd want to see? To finally be able to smile back at him?"

He smiled gently at Hob as he finished his tale. His lover raised his hand and stroked Dream's smile with his thumb as he whispered, "It seems I need to add a paragraph to my story then."

Dream kissed the thumb on his lips and said softly, "It's an endless story anyway. A story that has a happy ending with no ending. All that's left is the happiness."

Hob laughed softly and, grasping Dream's hand, he said in a cheerful tone, "Come on my sappy lord, let's hurry back so I can show you how happy I am."

"Who is the sappy one now?" retorted Dream as he followed him.

They were still laughing as they left the classroom.

_________

Still not beta'd

Still not my native language

Still hoping you'll enjoy this story  🥰

Still thanking you for bearing with me 😝

Dreamling Flufftober here

Dreamling Masterlist here

[rga531]

The Scar that Hurts

Chapter 3/6: All people from all the humanity and other civilizations were equally worthless to her. They were like ants to her. What worth is the opinion of an ant? And, like ants, they were enslaved to her.

Words: 1615

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She hoped nobody would notice the spot in the dress. It wasn’t that big of a spot anyway; it was also in a discreet place of the dress. It didn’t matter, it was the most beautiful dress she had – white as the legendary snow from the fairy tales and that the explorers claimed to see in the mountains.

As the prim and proper princess of Fallave, she crossed curtain to the main hall of the palace. Dozens of attendants were there, talking about the various issues and eating the dishes available. Whenever she passed, all the eyes fell on her. There were only two possible reactions: either the attendants cowered in fear or smirked.

She felt distant from them. Still, she kept the queenly smile her mother taught her.

The summer banquets were a tradition from immemorial times, when the Fallavin were nomads. In those times, various Fallavin troupes gathered and exchanged food, gifts and stories from their travels. They used to be times full of happiness and celebration.

After becoming sedentary, the banquets still happened, but the more time went, the fancier the party got the less she saw the common people. Although her grandpa left the world when she was eight, she still remembered the stories from his childhood, from when the Fallavin sat on the backs of horses and explored the entire realm, only settling in rainy seasons in their outpost towns. They slept under the cover of stars.

There were conflicts, but, in overall, all the Fallavin treated each other as equals. They were destitute, but they weren’t poor. Their legends said they were exiles from the capital and swore to not have slaves. The women did the same tasks as the men. There were lots of stories of couples fighting in the same horse.

Now the Fallavin were richer. They lived in imponent cities and slept under roofs of thatch and adobe. They talked more like their “civilized” neighbors than nomads. They introduced differences between nobles – the ones who represented the kingdom and managed its departments – and the peasant – the ones that labored. While horses weren’t exactly rare, they weren’t that common anymore – fewer and fewer people learned to ride horses yearly; many preferred to sell them to other kingdoms. Some people lived in misery. Slavery by debts and by imports was widespread.

Tojava knew that her grandfather had a rosy view of their past. She read registers from what their sedentary neighbors thought of the Fallavin: they were pillagers, attacked without provocation, left no prisoners when attacking. To be fair, Tojava also doubted those records as well. She already knew, from her readings, that truth had many faces – the physician Mertus said that there could be as many truths as people in the world. It couldn’t be denied, however, that the Fallavin neighbors introduced civilization to them, molded in their own practices.

Was it worth it? Tojava refused to answer “no”. But she was careful to answer “yes”. If she could recreate the kinship that existed in her grandpa’s stories with the wealth of civilization, then maybe she would solve the problem of evil and help to create a more perfect world, a utopia like the Atlana and Irijaya philosophers imagined.

There were more peasants at the palace’s summer banquet this year. She made sure to invite them, even if her mother whined about. She also made sure to use cushions, instead of chairs, to imitate how the ancient Fallavin celebrated the banquets in circles around the dish tables or campfires.

She put her queenly smile hoping that the Fallavin and their guests could celebrate like friends. The guests had the best clothes they could afford, even though it was clear who was a noble and who was a peasant. They remained each one with their own people, but she could see the nobles uncomfortable with the cushions.

She decided to approach one of the peasants, who was sitting around a table of refreshments: bowls of different types of bread and different sauces to go along with it.

“Mr. Adaen, right?”

“Yes, your highness.”

“I remember you were one of the workers at my experimental farm. And you can call me Tojava.”

“Yes, your highness. It was the most pleasant job I’ve ever done. I’ve been a slave for two years and had just paid enough to get a relief on my contract. I lost my freedom because of gambling, but you helped me to get back as an honorable man.”

“Mr. Adaen, you have no idea of how happy I am hearing this! The farm was built to change the world for the better, to show that the burdens of the labor can be mitigated with wisdom and respect. Oh, Mr. Holxis, come here, sit with us!”

Adaen didn’t seem impressed, but coughed when Tojava called Holxis. He was one the richest men in the country, making a fortune by selling horses to Atlana.

The man put up a fake smile that Tojava decided to ignore, and sat down among them. In normal circumstances, Tojava would’ve noticed the tension, but she was far too happy to notice.

“Your highness, it’s a pleasure to sit down with the future queen.” Holxis replied, while glancing disdainfully at Adaen, who just dipped a piece of bread on artichoke sauce, as if he didn’t exist.

“Mr. Adaen is a peasant, aren’t you interested in how peasants go on their life?”

“Your highness, you must be reminded that everyone has their lot in life. We, nobles, are made to command. You cannot expect a peasant to do this work. If we, nobles, did peasant work like farm labor, our world would be subverted.”

“You get fat, while we get thinner,” Adaen said, still without looking at him.

“Excuse me?”, he got up, dusting off his tunic, “Know your place! See, your highness, that’s why it was a mistake to make us mingle with the rabble.”

“Mr. Holxis, do not jump to conclusions,” Tojava got up and put herself between them. This wasn’t really what she expected. Where was the camaraderie? “And Mr. Adaen, treat Mr. Holxis with respect. You are both hard workers.”

Both men didn’t seem too happy with being scolded by a kid. She was the princess and too big for her age, but it was still somewhat humiliating. Noticing this, Tojava tried to sooth her words.

“We are all contributing to the glory of our country. Banquets are made to celebrate that. What I want to implement is an opportunity for all of us to flourish. I know you must have something in common. Mr. Adaen, tell him how you used your money.”

“I bought a few slaves.”

Tojava’s face became white. Her smile was held together, again, by a fine thread.

“I even bought a lizard one.”

“Aren’t they harder to raise?” Holxis asked.

“Not if you understand that they are crazy for lentils. Prepare with fresh meat, it can be with anything, even rats, and they’ll sell their lives for it.”

“How do you know that? Is it enough to sustain one?”

“I had family in the border, they traded with them. You still have to import their proper foods, but it helps a lot. They are good for brute work. I should’ve brought him to show off.”

“Young man, that is news for me. I believe I underestimate you. I’m interested in hearing your slave-rearing techniques.”

“But…” Tojava intervened; her left eye twitched as she struggled to keep up her smile. “But I built the farm to show we don’t need slaves.”

“Why? All of us bought slaves. We all know that success is when you have someone else do all your menial work. And I’m in the route to the success.”

“That’s…that’s not the right way! Slavery involves submitting others to us, it…it…”

Tojava couldn’t finish. The words were dying in her throat as her heart was flooded by a wave of sadness.

“You’re the princess, your highness. Aren’t we all slaves to you? Isn’t to you whom we all pay taxes?”

Her smile died.

“Mr. Adaen, please excuse the princess. She is smart, but too young. She has yet to learn that the world needs men to lead and men to work. If we can flourish, it’s because we stand on the backs the slaves who are fated to it. And there’s no shame in that, because Mr. Adaen showed me that there are noble souls even among the peasants.”

“But…”

“I’m honored Mr. Holxis. I never expected a noble to be so humble and wise. I was wrong about your kind as well.”

“Let us toast, Mr. Adaen,” he said, dipping a piece of bread in the sauce. He moved too fast and it hit Tojava’s dress, at the left side of her belly, “To the great men of this world!”

Tojava didn’t even notice the green spot, as much as conspicuous it was. She just got up and left. Her heart was heavy with the revelation that all she did was for nothing. If even the small people wished for slaves, then…what was the point?

She made a farm operating under free labor much pleasant to work at, more profitable than any farm that used slaves. What went wrong? Why wasn’t it enough to show people a better way? How could they just reject?

She wanted to cry.

But that was a happy celebration. So, she forced a new smile and kept meeting the other guests.

They all, not matter if they were noble or peasant, men or women, human or not, they all talked about frivolities and let it slide their prejudices and none of them opposed slavery. What was the point?

[heyyyharry]

Deep End - Chapter 6: Andersen’s Fairy Tales

…in which Harry teaches Ezi how to read.

Word count: 4k

AU: famous!harry, siren!mc, adult modern retelling of the little mermaid? lol, fake dating, enemies to lovers.

WARNING: MATURE THEMES

All chapters / Synopsis / Moodboard / Playlist

Wattpad link

A/N: please please let me know what you think. I can't write without motivation 😭

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When Harry finally decided to answer his mother’s call, he had prepared himself for some verbal ass-whooping. He was twenty-four years old, a celebrity and a millionaire, yet still getting scolded by his mother on a daily basis. Life was good.

“Is your date okay?” The first thing his mother said to him was this. At first, Harry thought he’d misheard it. But then she repeated the question in a more urgent and concerning tone. “Harry, is Ezili okay?”

His mother had never remembered the name of any girl he’d brought home. His mother always had a lot to say about the way those girls had dressed, talked, and carried themselves. Had Ezi charmed his mother with her siren magic?

Harry shuddered at the thought. “Y-Yeah...why?”

“Dawson told me you and Bax got into a fight at the manor.”

Harry smacked his forehead. Fucking Dawson. “How did Dawson know?”

“He found Bax lying on the floor.”

Although Harry hated to recall that night because he couldn’t imagine how scared Ezi must have been, it was funny to think about how pathetic Bax must have looked when Dawson had found him. The mental image made Harry laugh. “See?” he told his mother. “It wasn’t a fight if it was one-sided. I beat him up.”

His mother exhaled sharply. Harry could imagine her with her eyes closed, shaking her head. “The only reason I will let you get away with fighting your cousin in my house is because I know what he was trying to do with Ezili. So I called to ask if she was okay.”

“She’s okay. Don’t worry. I think she also scared him.”

“She’s a woman. Any strong woman would’ve been terrified in that situation,” said Harry’s mum. “I feel bad for having let that happen. I shouldn’t have invited him.”

“It’s not your fault, Mum. He’s always been scum.”

There was a pause, and Harry knew exactly what his mother was going to say. “Bax’s parents have always hated us. They envy your father. I think they’re trying to sabotage our wine business. Maybe if you’d change your mind--”

“Mum, we’ve talked about this,” Harry sighed. “I love my career. I can’t...I’m not a businessman like Dad. Isn’t Dawson doing a good job managing our family business already?”

“He is. But I know your father would’ve wanted it to be you.” When Harry stayed quiet, his mother knew it was a sign that this topic shouldn’t be continued, so she switched to another. “You should invite Ezili to lunch at the manor.”

“Mum, that wouldn’t be necessary.”

“Nonsense! Her first time in our house and she got absolutely traumatised. I’ll make up for it. I’ll send you an invitation in the afternoon.”

“Mum, there’s no need for an in--”

But his Mum already hung up on him.

Sighing, Harry sunk back into his chair. A staff member knocked on the door and informed him that he would have to return to the set in fifteen minutes. He told them he got it and intended to call his mum again and try to talk her out of the lunch thing with Ezi. That was when he got another call.

“Don’t tell me someone’s injured. It’s only been an hour.”

“Worse!” Niall screamed. “Dawson kidnapped the girl!”

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Ezili didn’t know if the bookstore was small or Harry’s house was just too big, but she liked the cosiness of it in contrast to what she’d always been used to. There were bookshelves climbing all the way up to the ceiling. The walls were covered with hundreds of books of all sizes, and there were dozens of piles on the floor in the corners as well. But seeing that most of the furniture was covered in dust, Ezili guessed they didn’t often have visitors.

She wondered why nobody wanted to come into this fascinating place. She loved books even though she couldn’t read or write. She’d found a few books in her room and some of them had pictures, but she could only guess what the stories were about. So she wanted to read, but it would be something her mother would never approve of. If she learned to read, she’d become a laughing stock for her kind for sure.

Entering the bookstore, Ezili and Dawson were greeted by an old lady with crazy chestnut hair that looked like she was wearing a fluffy dog on her head. Her eyes were huge behind those thick round glasses that gave her a psychotic kind of look that absolutely terrified Ezili.

“Hello, love birds,” she said with an ear-to-ear grin. Ezili could not take her eyes off the shiny wires attached to this lady’s teeth. They sparkled every time she opened her mouth. This woman must be rich if she wore silver on her teeth.

“Oh, we’re not birds,” Ezili said as she pulled Chilli tighter to her chest.

The crazy lady hugged her stomach and burst out laughing. “She’s a funny girl,” she told Dawson, pointing to Ezili, then her face turned serious. “But no cats allowed.”

“She’s with me. Her name is Chilli and she’s very nice--”

“She can stay here while you pick your books.” Before Ezili could protest, the lady took the black cat and put it on the counter. “So what are you looking for?”

“Thank you. We’ll just have a look around,” Dawson said with a tight smile and pulled Ezili with him. They turned into one of the aisles and heard the lady telling them she’d be here if they needed help. What kind of help would you need in a bookstore? It wasn’t like books would attack you.

“The Book of Wisdom,” Dawson said as he took out one colourful book from a higher shelf. Ezili peered over his arm as he scrutinised the front cover. He smelled like coconut and summer, which reminded her of those tropical islands she’d visited with her mother. And the fact that he was a lot taller than her made her want to bury her face into his chest to get soaked in that homely smell. But then she remembered what Harry had taught her about consent. Realising her chest was touching his arm, she stepped back and felt him relax a bit more. She hoped he didn’t think she was sexually hairdressing him. She had no idea why they called it hairdressing, and she kept forgetting to ask Harry.

“Hey, why do they call it hairdre--”

“Lesson 1: Be polite.”

Ezili jumped and hid behind Dawson’s back, her heart pounding violently. “Did the book just..talk?”

“Yeah, it’s a talking book for children,” Dawson chuckled. “I like your sense of humour.”

He flipped to a new page and the book talked again, “Remember, kids, if you accidentally raise your voice with someone, always apologise to them. It’s not nice to yell at other people.”

Ezili couldn’t decide if she was in awe or creeped out by the talking book. Maybe a little bit of both. But then her eyes zeroed in on a picture of a beautiful siren on one of the covers. She passed Dawson to try and was trying to reach for the book when his hand landed on her shoulder, and she looked up to see him grab the book without effort and hand it to her with a smile.

“You like this? It’s the new edition of Andersen’s Fairy Tale.”

“The Little Mermaid!”

“Yes.” Dawson’s eyes squinted behind his glasses. “You’ve never read Andersen’s Fairy Tales?”

“I have,” Ezili lied, hugging the book to her chest. “I want this book.”

“Great. I’ll buy it for you. As a gift.”

Harry had told Ezili that humans couldn’t just take the things they found because they would get arrested, and apparently, they couldn’t fight and kill each other for things either. It didn’t sound fair and was kind of stupid. Why were humans so dependent on these stupid papers they called money? Ezili couldn’t understand how their inferior brains worked sometimes.

“Hey, look,” Dawson said, holding up his phone that was buzzing in his hand. “Harry’s calling.”

Ezili couldn’t care less about Harry now. She let Dawson speak to him while she flipped through the book to look at pictures. But...why was there a picture of the prince and another girl? Didn’t he marry Ariel? She tried to look for the ones that revealed the new ending, which was apparently different from what she’d seen on the telly, but the rest of the chapter was just text and no pictures. She hated this. She wished she could read.

“Yeah, she’s here with me. The bookstore is just a few blocks near your house…” Dawson finished the call with Harry and turned back to Ezili. “He’s coming to pick you up.”

She found it strange that Harry would speak about Dawson with such hatred, like the way Koa would speak about Ezili, while Dawson had always been so nice about Harry. She couldn’t recall him saying anything bad about Harry when in fact, she could go on and on for days about Harry’s bad qualities. And she’d only known him for a week!

“Why doesn’t Harry like you?”

The question seemed to have caught Dawson by surprise, but he was quick to put on a smile.

“I don’t know. Maybe because I’m helping his mum run the business his father left for him. But he was the one who didn’t want it. He wanted to become a singer.”

“Harry’s mother doesn’t want him to be a singer?”

“No.”

Ezili closed the book and gave an understanding nod. “My mother never lets me do things I like, either. She never thinks I’m good enough because I’m not like her.”

“I’m sure your mother loves you,” Dawson said. Ezili liked the twinkle in his eyes and tenderness in his voice when he reassured her. Maybe he had a special gift that only sirens had. The gift to charm anybody they wanted. “Every mother has their own burdens and loves us in a different way.”

“But...if they love us, should they want us to be happy?”

Ezili didn’t know where that had come from. For the last twenty years of her life, she had never once thought of this. Why now? Why now that she decided that she could have been happier if her mother hadn’t been the way she was? But sirens were all supposed to be the way her mother was. Cold and dangerous like the ocean itself. So did it mean...did it mean her mother and sister were right? That she was too weak and emotional to become Queen?

“Ezi!”

The sound of her name pulled her out of her own head. She snapped her head up to find Harry padding toward her. He looked just like that night when he’d scolded her for biting his cousin. She hated this Harry.

“Let’s go home,” he told her coldly.

Before she could reply, he took her wrist and pulled her with him. The book fell to her feet and she was too appalled to even pick it up. She was about to remind Harry that Dawson was standing right there, but then she realised Harry had intentionally ignored his cousin.

“Ezili, your book!”

Harry and Ezi stopped before they got into the car parked out front. Dawson handed her the book and beamed. “I already paid for it.”

“Thank you.”

“Very nice. Get in, Ezi.”

Dawson seemed slightly annoyed by Harry’s attitude, but he didn’t act on it. Instead, he gave Ezili another gentle smile and told her he’d see her another time. Then, he went back inside the bookstore.

Ezili wished she could have stayed with him.

“Rescue mission accomplished!” said an energetic voice as Ezili got into the back of the car. A stranger she had never seen before peered around the passenger seat and smiled at her before he started speaking in a funny accent, “You’re welcome, by the way. The name’s Niall.”

Chilli was sitting on Niall’s lap, licking her own paw, which showed that she was comfortable around Niall, and Niall wasn’t an enemy. To human Ezili, of course. All humans were enemies to sirens.

“I’m Ezili,” Ezili said, then, she recognised the funny accent. “You’re Niall...Horan?”

“You know me?”

Ezili could feel her grin stretch from ear to ear. “I saw you on TikTok! You’re so funny.”

“Look, H, a fan!” Niall exclaimed as he shook Harry’s shoulder, but Harry didn’t react as he manoeuvred the car back onto the road. “I like her already.” Niall laughed. “I’m Harry’s best friend. Are you following my TikTok?”

“Yeah. I’ve watched every single one.”

“Good, good, good,” Niall said, nodding slowly. He turned to the front and back to Ezili immediately. “Also, I’m sorry about what happened to you. The accident must have been awful.”

“What?”

“Niall,” Harry growled. “Seatbelt.”

Niall flinched. “Sorry.”

Frowning, Ezili hugged her new book and sunk into her seat. She hated this Harry. He reminded her of a whale with a toothache, and even with that image in mind, she still couldn’t laugh. That was how angry she was with him. Yes, she was angry with him being angry with her. And for pulling her out of that beautiful bookstore. For making her drop her book. For holding her hostage like a prisoner. For being rude to Dawson. She hated him. She hated Harry Styles.

So when they’d arrived home and he told her to go inside and hang with Niall, she had to chase after him and let him know how much she hated him.

“Harry Styles!” She called when they reached the white stairs leading to the enormous courtyard where he’d parked his car. “Why are you upset? You have no right to be mad at me after you lied to me.”

Harry stopped halfway down the stairs; it seemed like Ezili’s words had finally hit him. He slowly spun around with a stunned expression as if she’d accused him of manslaughtering. “I didn’t lie to you,” he said, his jaw tight. “I told you to stay in your room. You were grounded.”

“You didn’t tell me that you’d leave me with your assistant and Niall!”

“But I didn’t lie to you.”

“Telling half-truths is telling lies.”

Harry held Ezili’s gaze for a long moment before he started ascending the stairs. She stiffened as he stopped right in front of her, leaned in, and stared.

“Oh, so you’re so honest, aren’t you?” he asked in a mocking tone. “You’ve never lied to me?”

“Never,” she said confidently.

Well, that was also a lie. But since when had Ezili felt bad for lying? She’d eaten men like him. Why did his presence now make her nervous?

She hated that the more she stayed human the more human she became. That thought terrified her even more than the possibility of getting caught and killed in this foreign land.

“I’ve never lied in my entire life,” she added, making Harry's eyes grow wide.

He said nothing, and when he turned to leave, she hurriedly followed him down the stairs. “Speechless by my honesty?” she asked.

“Speechless by the lies that come out of your mouth,” he said. “Is your name even Ezi?”

“No, it’s Ezili.”

Harry let out a scoff but he didn’t stop, so Ezili grabbed him by the arm and spun him around. Hard.

“Shit! How are you so strong?” he cried out, facing her again.

“Apologise.”

“What?”

Ezili folded her arms across her chest and sharpened her gaze. “Apologise right now.”

“For what?”

“For yelling at me.”

“And why should I apologise for yelling at you?”

Ezili bit her lip. The voice inside her head told her to push him down the stairs. She could just say it was an accident, and no one could prove that she’d done it. However, she needed him alive. Sucking in a breath, she said, “Because that’s what decent people do. A talking book told me that.”

“You mean those children's books you found in the bookstore,” Harry taunted, giving her a despiteful smirk.

She scowled at him even harder. “Apologise.”

“Fine,” he breathed. “I apologise for yelling at you. Now you apologise for stealing my cat.”

“I tried to save Chilli. You see, your assistant said something about the Master of the House being dead. I thought you were dead. But she was only talking about a show--”

“Yeah, famous Netflix show. It’s good. But that’s still no excuse for taking my cat.”

“Fine.” Ezili glared at him. “I’m sorry for stealing your cat.”

“And for getting into Dawson’s car.”

“And for getting into Dawson’s car.”

“And for leaving with him and liking him.”

“And for—What is your problem with Dawson?”

Instead of answering the question, Harry pulled out his phone, looked at it, and then told Ezili, “Go inside. We’ll continue this talk when I get back.”

He was just about to run when she pulled him back by his sleeve. He gave her a ‘what do you want?’ kind of look as she stammered, “When...when you get back…”

“Yeah?” He stressed out the word, an eyebrow arched impatiently.

“Can you teach me how to read?”

“What?”

“Teach me to read. Are you deaf?”

“You can’t read?”

When Ezili shook her head, Harry’s frown transformed into a smile. “That explains a lot.”

She smacked him on the arm and he gasped and leapt down two steps.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing! Why are you so aggressive?” Harry winced and backed away from her. “We’ll talk about this later. Now go inside and film a TikTok with Niall or something. I’m late for a photoshoot.”

Ezili opened her mouth to ask him what time he’d be home, but Harry had already run back to his car.

.

.

.

Harry got home at around 10 PM. He’d had a rough day. His manager had been furious because he had run out on a magazine photoshoot without saying a word to anyone. In his defence, he’d been in a rush, and couldn’t figure out an excuse to cover up for the fact that he’d almost let a mythical creature get loose. He shouldn’t have been so careless and left her with his assistant and Niall. That was his fault. Also, he could never think straight when he was angry. He thought about the look Ezili had given him when he’d pulled her out of the bookstore. The look Dawson had given him. Fucking Dawson. If it wasn’t for him, Harry wouldn’t have had to be mean to Ezi.

“Hey.”

“Jesus!” Harry shouted when the light switched on and he saw Ezili sitting on the floor in the middle of the living room. “Wha--Why are you on the floor? Get up.”

“This is Chilli’s favourite spot so I thought I might try to see how comfortable it is. Pretty uncomfortable, I must say.”

Harry rolled his eyes and offered Ezi a hand to help her get to her feet. “Why are you still awake?”

She pulled away from him and rushed over to the table to grab the book Dawson had given her. She shoved it at him. “You promised to teach me to read. This is a collection of fairy tales. Andersen’s Fairy Tales. I noticed that one of the details from The Little Mermaid story was different from the film, so I want to know how the story actually ends in the book.”

Harry sighed as he took the book and looked at the cover. When he glanced up, Ezi was giving him these big puppy dog’s eyes with her hands clasped together in front of her chest. “It’s late,” he said tiredly.

She shook her head. “You promised!”

“I can just tell you the ending.”

“No, I want to read!”

“Fine, fine.” He put his hands up, left palm out, the other holding the book. “I guess there’s still time to teach you the alphabet then we’ll call it a day.”

Harry could have sworn he had never seen anyone as excited about learning as Ezi was, which was quite amusing, he must admit. So they sat on the couch as he taught her the alphabet and how to put letters into words. She was a fast learner, so it didn’t take long for her to memorise everything.

“It’s been three hours and I still can’t read,” Ezili whined as she hit him with a pillow.

Shocked, Harry blinked at her. “That’s not how learning works. You need time.”

“You said my brain was more developed!”

“Yeah, but still!”

Scowling, Ezi kicked Harry’s feet. “You’re the worst teacher ever. I’ll never get to know how it ends.”

“Okay, Miss Drama Queen,” Harry scoffed. “How about I read you the story now, and when you can read on your own, you can practice by rereading it?”

Ezi thought for a moment, then the line between her brows eased, and she nodded once. “But you must teach me everyday until I can read.”

“Fine,” Harry breathed as he opened the book. His body stiffened when Ezi suddenly leaned on him like he was a pillow, her cheek against his arm, and he could feel every beat of her heart.

“Go on,” she urged him, giving him a nudge.

He cleared his throat and opened the book, trying to distract his naughty mind with the innocent words of a fairy tale.

Far out in the ocean, where the water is as blue as the prettiest cornflower, and as clear as crystal, it is very, very deep; so deep, indeed, that no cable could fathom it: many church steeples, piled one upon another, would not reach from the ground beneath to the surface of the water above. There dwell the Sea King and his subjects. We must not imagine that there is nothing at the bottom of the sea but bare yellow sand. No, indeed; the most singular flowers and plants grow there; the leaves and stems of which are so pliant, that the slightest agitation of the water causes them to stir as if they had life. Fishes, both large and small, glide between the branches, as birds fly among the trees here upon land. In the deepest spot of all, stands the castle of the Sea King. Its walls are built of coral, and the long, gothic windows are of the clearest amber. The roof is formed of shells, that open and close as the water flows over them. Their appearance is very beautiful, for in each lies a glittering pearl, which would be fit for the diadem of a queen...

By the time they’d finished one-third of the story, Ezi had already fallen asleep with her head on Harry’s shoulder. Harry wished he’d read this to her in bed so he wouldn’t have to carry her upstairs now. She was small and slender, but he’d had a bad day, so even the littlest inconvenience could bring down his mood. Cursing under his breath, he picked her up and carried her to the stairs as she curled against his chest like a little cat.

When her eyelids fluttered, he thought she was going to jolt awake, but then her brows knitted, and she murmured, “Mother, please...give me more time. I will bring you the heart…the heart...”

He chuckled and put her down on the bed.

[aro-is-gay-af]

Why do I think Resume will end up with Volturi - an attempt to explain Bella/Renesmee relationship

As within the fandom nobody likes Renee (no wonder why) I'd like to make an attempt at explaining to y'all what's like to have a parent like her (because I've got the same problem) and why this is going to cause problem over the years between Bella and Renesmee. This post will include such things as explaining:

why being in a relationship like this is so tiresome

what kind of effect has it on Bella

why Bella is just the same towards Renesmee as her mother was to her

why Bella and Renessme dynamics as mother/daughter aren't as fantastic

why is it so probable that Renesmee will eventually join the Volturi and what may be her reasons to do so.

1. Someone, who's never been in the kind of relationship that Bella and Renee have, is not going to catch up quickly with the point that I'm making in this post. Why? Because it's hard to imagine yourself being in an abusive or neglectful relationship with a person, who is a close relative of yours. You never want to acknowledge that something is wrong and instead, you're trying to find excuses for the person's abusive behavior. Fandom agrees on the fact, that Renee is, at best, neglectful of Bella, while at worst, she's downright abusive. I agree with both statements and in a moment you'll know why. You also need to know that everything I'll write here is from my experience from being in such a relationship hence it doesn't mean everyone will have the same experiences as myself. Now, why is such a relationship so tiresome and you struggle to find your true self in it? In my case, very similarly to Bella, I became responsible for things I shouldn't be responsible for at a very young age. I didn't have the time to actually be a kid because I needed to handle "adult responsibilities". When you have adults' responsibilities you lose something beyond reclaim. You'll never go back to your childhood and be a child once again. I was forced, not only to handle myself, but also my brother and mother, and our household. I didn't have time to do most things that kids do cause I was taking care of my brother, or my mother, or doing chores, or anything that was supposed to be done by adults, except it wasn't. While all of this made me extremely responsible, it also made me anxious, bitter towards my parents and I suffered from depression for a long time. I read somewhere that Bella is exaggerating and it's normal to help your parents within the house, to have responsibilities. The problem here is that Renee is Bella's responsibility in the same way my mother and brother were mine. You cannot give this up because you're too responsible but it also eats you from the insides. Also, if I remember correctly, Bella says somewhere in the book that she doesn't mind this because that's how things are for a long time. That's exactly what I'm talking about! When such responsibilities are forced on you at a very young age, you accept it and think it is natural. It isn't. Adult are adults, and kids should be kids, not kids forced into adulthood.

2. + 3. When you don't have time to be a child and you're forced into the adult world, there's always going to be some consequences that you cannot foresee prior. To Bella it ended actually sadly - we can see in the book, as well as in the movie, that Renesmee is almost as an accessory to Bella. Sure, Bella dies for her, but what else? Renesmee is described as mature and serious, she doesn't want to do things that kids usually do. Why? Smeyer made her this way, yeah, but apart from that, it's because Bella cannot handle a kid. The idea of full family appeared to her because she never had it herself. And while she admits that she doesn't even want children in Eclipse, suddenly in Breaking Dawn we see her change her mind completely. All she ever wanted was a) Edward and b) to be a vampire. So when she has these two goals achieved, why would she even bother with Renesmee? So Resume is mature enough and growing up quickly to relieve Bella from the burden of maternity.

4. Also, I'm not saying that Bella doesn't love Renesmee. Of course she does. Renesmee, also, loves her dearly. It's the same dynamics as between my and my mother, and between Bella and Renee. Bella loves Renne but needs to take care of her and be the responsible adult™. It also tires her, as she needs to think about how to handle the business in the most effective (and cheapest) way.

I think we can establish by now that love has nothing to do with this. So, because of her childhood and the poor illustrations of how relationships should work, Bella is exactly the same towards Renesmee as Renee (and partially Charlie) was to her. She thinks Renesmee is able to handle herself fine - she's constantly throwing at us proves that Renesmee is mature enough to do almost everything adults do. It's bullshit, of course, but Bella isn't aware of that. It's how she was brought up (or it's rather the lack of bringing her up by responsible adult) and she thinks it's the best way to fulfill parental duties.

As I said earlier, Bella is all smiles because she's got what she wanted - Edward and immortality. Yeah, it's great she has a daughter too, but like... hello, it's Edward and her and they have forever so why to bother with a child. It'll somehow work itself out. I will not ponder here on Edward being a father and how I see his relationship with Renesmee, however, I don't think it's pretty healthy either. Also, I need to add here, that Renesmee at least, has others (I mean other Cullens) who have probably more patience and time to actually raise a child. I think, and it's only a headcanon so take it easy, that Renesmee has excellent relationship with Rosalie. Rose will not treat her as adult - she'll prolong Renesmee's childhood as much as she's able to. She has time, patience, will and all love for her, so I think they're pretty close, and it would be a good, as well as a healthy relationship.

5. The older Renesmee will get, the more she'll be able to understand. Maybe the Cullens (and I hope it would turn out this way) would spare her this "being a premature adult" thing but her relationship with Bella will never be as close as she'd probably wish to. Sometimes, love isn't enough to keep up with the relationship and the shit that's going on around you constantly. One day, Renesmee will go to high school, then to university and then? Who the hell knows. She won't necessarily be with Bella. Sure, she'll be always her daughter, but she's not her property. At some point, Renesmee'll be mature enough to decide whether she wants to stay with her family, or travel, or join another coven. What I think, is that Bella won't be happy about it at all. Right now she has her fairy tale. She sacrificed nothing. She's living the life of her dreams with a man of her utmost desire. She has a child, even though vampires aren't suppose to have ones. What will happen if there will be a crack in her tale? Long, nasty cracks, throughout the wall. This is when I get to the point that Bella has no fucking clue what mess she got herself into (but that's for another post).

6. Holy Grail now. Lord, I'm always making this so long, this was supposed to be brief. Okay. So why do I think Renesmee will end up with the Volturi? A few reasons off the top of my head:

※ at some point Jacob will die and Charlie will die, and she'll now what's grief and how hard it is to go on. Yeah, yeah, I know that Jacob is also immortal right now, but he'll probably be killed while protecting Renesmee or Bella. I always think of their relationship as brother/sister because I cannot stand the imprinting shit Smeyer gave us. Also, I think I don't need to explain Charlie here. Renesmee will be devastated by both of these deaths and she'll have to come to terms with herself eventually. I guarantee you that she'll not be the same after that.

※ relationship with her parents. I briefly explained what I had on my mind when it comes to Bella. Renesmee loves her mother but that doesn't mean they'll have healthy and exemplary relationship. Sure, they can work on that, they have eternity but I think that at one point Renesmee will be fed up with the way how her mother is in love with eternity itself. Her relationship with Edward, as I said, is for another post, however I think with time it can get pretty hard. Could you live with the thought that your own father didn't want you? That he regretted that you exist at all? I don't think so. (Yeah, I'm simplifying, but I need to, so don't hate me for this).

※ Cullen coven can break or partially break. @therealvinelle talked about it here a little bit but that's also what I have in mind. Cullens are fairly young coven, with pretty unknown dynamics as we don't get to know them that much through saga (thanks Smeyer for not dwelling on it further). It isn't said anywhere that they'll last next century, not to think about more time passing.

※ she'll be fed up with constantly living with the humans. Imagine you need to constantly move, go to school/college and abide the rules that you didn't agree on in the first place. At first its great, Renesmee has time and reasources to flourish but she can also do that without anoyone else.

※ she has rampant hunger for knowledge. Where to find more books and more knowledge than in Volterra? Simple as it is.

※ she may not find vegetarian diet... sustainable for her. Remember how she was delighted when she drank first Bella's blood and than human blood in general? I think she can go on for some time on vegetarian diet plus/or human diet (if she was to attend i.e. med school which of course I think she would) but after some time, maybe a century, maybe less and maybe more, she'll eventually come to terms that she enjoyed drinking human blood. That's it. She's half vampire by descent. I don't think she'll be able to resist that much , also because everyone taught her from day one she could have what she asked for in a blink of an eye (remember Esme's spoons?).

AND most important (at least for me)

※ her worldview will completely change after a few/a lot of tragical experiences. Sorry, that's just common knowledge. Life is brutal, people are vicious and ruthless. She'll probably work or go somewhere, where she can see what humans are capable of (both in good and bad ways) and what one can do to achieve their goal. I think she'll go to Volturi to simply find comfort there. They've been alive for three thousand years. They can teach her things Cullen's aren't even aware of. Besides, I think it would be a great political move. We all know Aro wanted to know her so bad. If he would, she'll probably be able to influence him to some extent and spare her loved ones if it'd go that far. That's it! Of course, it's fucking long as hell. Sorry for that. Comment if you wish. I cannot wait if you think the same, similar or if you disagree completely! But no hate, please. Professionals have standards™.

[calumxkisses]

Yellow | c.h.

pairing: calum hood x reader

genre: fluff

warnings: none

summary: prince!calum au - you're his yellow and he's yours.

a/n: hi! 'm not really good with au imagines but i hope you'll like it. let me know what you think of this imagine. love you!

this imagine its inspired by the song: yellow

✰ ✰ ✰

“Yellow.” A sudden voice makes you jump. You close the book you’re reading as you place a hand on your chest, feeling your heart beating quickly.

The library is huge, the storm lights barely illuminate the room, making it almost impossible to find your way around and read without the help of candles. The smell of old books is strong, there is a lot of dust on the shelves and feeling small near these high shelves make the perfect atmosphere to be able to take refuge from the outside world, from a world made of rules and confined to the land surrounding the property. Your little refuge, however, is interrupted by the presence of this man and you turn around quickly, trying to hide the smile that forms on your face at the sight of the stranger.

Despite the size of the room, the prince appears to be in full control of everything around him. He is standing in front of the door, several meters separate your figure from his, yet you can see the smile he gives you, his hands hidden behind his back and the fine lines near his eyes that underline his amused expression.

“What?” You ask before placing your hand in front of your mouth and widening your eyes. In your mind, a vivid image of your mother scolds you for your language and reminds you that you are no longer a child and that you must be careful when addressing a prince or any other high-ranking social figure.

“I'm sorry for talking to you like that, sir. I'm afraid I don't understand what your 'yellow' refers to.”

Prince Calum laughs briefly before slowly approaching you.

"We've known each other since we were children, we don't need certain formalities."

“My mother says-” you try to justify yourself, but he cuts you off right away.

“Nobody’s here.” He whispers before standing in front of you, keeping some distance to avoid misunderstanding in case someone enters. If it were up to him, there would be no such distance between you, but rules are rules and he would never want to compromise your image.

You look around to make sure no one is spying on you and, sure you are alone with him, you relax your shoulders and jaw, releasing the sigh you were holding back.

“So, yellow?” You ask, smiling, placing the book on the table to your left while you look at the boy, waiting for an answer.

His curly hair is carefully pulled back and the dark circles under his eyes lead you to imagine him sitting at his desk, with a lighted candle next to him and his gaze on the window in front of him, instead of the pages he is holding with his hand, pages he should study in order to become the man his father wants him to be, but that he will never be.

“It was a difficult choice, I will not lie to you. There are so many colors that remind me of you, the red of the dress you wore at your first dance when you entered society, the purple of the vase you broke when you discovered that you have been promised in marriage to an old man or the blue of water of the stream next to the tree where we always go to sit under it. And there are a thousand other colors that I associate to you.”

You smile proudly to hear that he paid attention to every detail and remember how as a child he couldn't even memorize the poems the teachers taught him and the thousand fights you had when you tried in vain to help him learn each verse.

“When I think of you, however, I think back to when you collected Ranunculus repens and put them in your hair, to embellish your hair and feel like the princesses who came to visit us. You always did it and you always took a few more so, when it rained and we couldn't go out, you had your little escort and you could wear them even inside these walls. You always have and if I'm not wrong-”

Calum slowly reaches out his arm towards you, his hand brushes your neck causing you to shiver all over your body, before moving a strand of hair and grabbing something from behind your ear.

“You still wear them.” He whispers, bringing his hand in front of your eyes and showing the small yellow flower you were wearing until a few seconds before.

“They still make me feel like a princess from one of those fairy worlds I read books about.” You whisper, you look down as a sense of shame takes hold in your body. Your heart seems to feel pain as you think back to how you still feel as a child, how you still dream of those fairy tales you hoped you could live one day.

“You're a princess with or without those flowers on, you know it too, you just hope that others see you as you do, too special for a life you don't want to be part of.” He says bringing his fingers under your chin and lifting your face up. His gaze no longer conveys joy and his tone is harsh, an angry expression has taken place on his face.

“Calum..” You try to stop him from speaking that truth you don't want to hear, but his words have broken through your heart and the pain you seemed to feel, now you are definitely feeling. You take a step back, trying to get away from a situation you can't escape from.

“You don't have to do it, you don't have to stay and spend the rest of your life between false smiles and sleepless nights. Your sister will be queen and my father thinks I'm a failure since I was born. Let's run away, me and you. My cottage already has everything we need and I'm sure they will never come looking for us. We will live that fairy tale we imagined for us and we will have the life we ​​always wanted.”

His hand grabs yours and his gaze is on you. You know he's not lying, he told you the love he feels towards you in the dungeons of this same castle and you haven't thought twice before confessing your love to him.

But this castle, these people, is all you have always known.

It’s a world that doesn't belong to you but you can't just leave. There are rules, responsibilities, tasks that you cannot escape.

“It's not that easy, Calum.”

“No, it's not, it's not easy and it won't be. We'll probably end up arguing and you'll regret running away with me. But then you'll think back to all these tight corsets you had to wear, all the formalities you had to comply with and the man you would hold if you have stayed and you will understand that country life is so much better than a life spent in sadness and that that terrible man who made you cry actually loves you madly and just wants what he knows it’s better for you.”

He also grabs the other hand and continues.

“And if you really want to go back, I will be ready to be looked at with scandal by everyone and to take you back to the castle, to face your father and see you held by arms that are not mine.”

You know that it will be hard, but you have never wanted to be a queen. It’s a big responsibility for a girl that just wants to live a fairy tale, that wants to be free in her own terms. You never wanted a kingdom, you never wanted to be property of some old man and certainly you never wanted to spend your existence submitted to someone else’s orders.

You just wanted to be happy, to live your life to the fullest, to love a man who respected you, your dreams, your independence and your passion for flowers and books.

And maybe house cleaning, mud and small rooms will never be like having silk sheets, breakfast prepared by someone else and the floor always clean, but they certainly convey a sense of greater happiness and a life spent in misery and in sadness it’s the dream of those who do not want to fight for what they dream of and are satisfied with mediocrity.

And you don't deserve mediocrity and the guy in front of you knows it well, he sees it in the way you feel uncomfortable during the dances, when your father talks to you about matters you can never take care of because you’re a woman and in the look that you give to your mother when she talks about her marriage, that is only political and not based on love.

You turn to your right, a huge gold mirror near the window reflects the library, the place where you grew up and where you have taken refuge millions of times. You look in the mirror, the diamond earrings reflect the gray of the sky and are too heavy for your ears. Your dress is gorgeous, hand-sewn by the best tailors, yet you don't feel as beautiful as when you wear old, unfashionable clothes and run free for the castle hills, without the fear of getting dirty or ruining expensive dresses.

Your eyes, pupils who love to look at the horizon, are sad, aware that by staying they will not be able to see any wonder. You touch your face, slowly run your hands over your cheeks, over your lips and run your finger over the bridge of your nose, remembering when you were just a little girl and were treated like a normal girl, a girl that loved when her father played with her and touched her nose while making funny noises with his mouth.

Then you look outside. The sky is full of dark clouds, the rain falls incessantly and a few lightning illuminate the afternoon sky. You look at that garden you have walked a thousand times, at all the flowers you have collected and at all the plants you have destroyed while playing with Calum.

You close your eyes thinking about all the places you haven't visited, all the trees you haven't leaned on to read and all the rivers you haven't seen flowing. There is a world out there, you think, that has yet to be discovered. And who are you, if not a woman ready for life's adventures?

“You didn't ask me.” You whisper.

“What?” Calum asks, confused.

“You didn't ask me which color reminds me of you.” You repeat as you slowly turn around to look at him.

A huge smile forms on his face.

“What color do you think when you think of me?”

“When I was ten, one night, I decided to explore the dungeons alone. I wanted to prove to myself that I was able to do anything. I almost made it, I almost managed to face the monster we thought lived in the cells, but then it was all too dark and I ended up going back to my room crying.” You slowly approach him.

“The next night, you showed up in my room with a jar full of fireflies, you gave it to me and whispered "You can do it." I ended up walking through the dungeons with this jar in my hand, you were a few meters behind me to make sure nothing happened to me, but I always knew you were there, even if you tried to hide.”

“I was able to face one of my biggest fears that night. Whatever other problem happened, you were always ready to help me if I needed it, you always supported me, with advice or simply by being close to me, a few steps back to let me free. You were essential in making me grow, while remaining away. Like the stars, who guide the sailors from the sky, they let the sailors do what they believe is right, but they are there to help and guide them if they need it.”

You bring your lips to his ear and whisper: “At midnight, in our place. Don't be late and take the blue carriage, it makes less noise on the street.” You turn around and walk to your room to pack a small bag with all the essentials.

“Wait, you didn't answer my question!” He says turning towards the direction you went.

“You are my yellow, Calum.” You say, you are far away but you know he’s smiling and you smile too.

[captainpikeachu]

So having recently rewatch the first Cap movie for my MCU rewatch, I have so much feels about the ways many things about Steve in this film actually echoes John’s story in TFATWS.

-----------

Steve: Bucky, come on! There are men laying down their lives. I got no right to do any less than them. That’s what you don’t understand. This isn’t about me. Bucky: Right. Cause you got nothing to prove.

In a way, Steve did have something to prove, to prove that he could do his part for the war effort and not be left behind, forgotten, considered worthless, and not given a chance. He fights to have the chance to prove himself. In this way so did John. John comes into the story with a chip on his shoulder, to prove that he could live up to the legacy and the mythology set by Steve. His chance to prove that he could do the right thing and help people.

The thing is though, Erskine did give Steve a chance to prove himself, he believed in Steve and had faith. John never really had someone who would fight for him and believe in him on his behalf to others.

-----------

Phillips: Hodge passed every test we gave him. He’s big, he’s fast, he obeys orders. He’s a soldier. Erskine: He’s a bully. Phillips: You don’t win wars with niceness, doctor. You win war with guts.

I know that everyone consistently compares John to Hodge, that John is what Erskine was afraid of happening and what would have been if Hodge had been given the serum. But that surface level comparison is misleading at best, because when Phillips throws that fake grenade to test everyone’s guts, Hodge runs away. John would have jumped on the grenade just like Steve did. John wouldn’t have hesitated. Hodge was a bully who purposefully tried to mess with Steve in training and mocking him. John didn’t purposefully try to mess around with anyone, he only ever just wanted to do his duty just like Steve did. In fact, John has far more in common with Steve than he ever does with Hodge. 

Phillips said that you win war with guts, and Steve jumping on that grenade showed that he had guts, this links directly to John's comments while doing that GMA interview, he specifically brings up that he may not have flashy gadgets or super-strength but that he has guts and that’s what Captain America always had and needed. And John does have guts, nobody earns 3 Medals of Honor without having guts.

-----------

Erskine: The serum amplifies everything that is inside. So, good becomes great. Bad becomes worse. This is why you were chosen. Because a strong man, who has known power all his life, will lose respect for that power. But a weak man knows the value of strength, and knows compassion.

This comment from Erskine is often used by fandom to show why John is the wrong choice as opposed to Steve. He’s the bad that becomes worse or the strong man who has had power all his life. But that interpretation is only there if you take everything Erskine says to be a binary choice of good and bad. It’s this automatic assumption that because John is not Steve, then he has to be the bad. Except John is really the middle ground. He has light and darkness within him, it’s a constant civil war, the serum didn’t just amplified everything bad to become worse, it also amplified the good in him to become great. The interpretation that John is a representation of only “bad becomes worse” plainly ignores John’s decision in Episode 6 to let go of revenge to save people. This choice was made AFTER he got the serum, if he is only bad that becomes worse, then he wouldn’t have saved those people. By saving those people, John shows that the serum doesn’t simply work on a binary standard, just like people aren’t binary of only good and only bad. John’s story deepens what the first Cap movie set up about how the serum works, and shows a story progression that is very much like how in real life as kids, we are first taught those fairy tale stories of good versus evil, but we grow up and learn the world is more complex and that people aren’t just one thing or another.

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

Senator Brandt: With all due respect to the Colonel, I think we may be missing the point. I’ve seen you in action, Steve. More importantly, the country’s seen it. Paper. The enlistment lines have been around the block since your picture hit the newsstands. You don’t take a soldier, a symbol like that, and hide him in a lab. Son, do you want to serve your country on the most important battlefield of the war? Steve: Sir, that’s all I want. Senator Brandt: Then, congratulations. You just got promoted.

---

Steve: I don’t know if I can do this. Brandt’s Aide: Nothing to it. Sell off a few bonds, bonds buy bullets, bullets kills Nazi’s. Bing bang boom. You’re an American hero. Steve: It’s just not how I pictured getting there.

---

Peggy: I understand you’re "America’s New Hope"? Steve: Bond sales take a ten percent bump in every state I visit. Peggy: Is that Senator Brandt I hear? Steve: At least he’s got me doin’ this. Phillips would have had be stuck in lab. Peggy: And these are your only two options? A lab rat or a dancing monkey? You were meant for more than this, you know?

Steve’s desire for service and duty being manipulated by politicians to sell bonds is the exact same scenario as John’s desire for service and duty being manipulated by politicians to make him the new Captain America. It’s even echoed by Val’s continued manipulations in using John’s loyalty to service and country into getting him to do what she wants. 

Steve was nervous, reluctant, and unsure of going on stage to perform. We saw the same concerns that John had in that locker room before his big interview. Neither Steve nor John wanted the fame and pageantry, they just wanted to do the job, they just wanted to help, but both having to accept that the “dancing monkey” aspect came with the job description. 

But Steve breaks free of the confines of others’ demands of him because Peggy not only points out that he has other options, but also because it was in that moment he discovered that Bucky was either missing or dead and he could do something about it. If Steve wasn’t having that conversation with Peggy, if Steve hadn’t heard that Bucky was missing, then he might have just stayed with the USO tours and been a dancing monkey his whole life. Circumstances arose in Steve’s favor, and he had people who believed in him helping him to get to the goals that he wanted. John on the other hand lost the one person who did have faith in him and there was no way to bring Lemar back, and Val swooped in at the exact right time to give a lost and in-mourning person the opportunity to feel like not everything had been lost.

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

Senator Brandt: I am honored to present this medal for valor to my personal friend, Captain America!

This is an interesting moment because I don’t know if this “medal for valor” is a Medal of Honor or not, but if it was, then it makes Steve’s story and John’s story even more of a similar parallel.

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

Private Lorraine: I read about what you did.  Steve: Oh! The…yeah! Well, that’s you know? Just doin’ what needed to be done. Private Lorraine: Sounded like more than that. You saved nearly four hundred men.

When Natalie Dormer’s character comments on how Steve was able to save nearly 400 men and get them back alive, all I could think about was Lemar’s line to John in Episode 4, “think of all the lives we could have saved that day if we had that serum.”

If John and Lemar had the serum on the day of the event that gotten John his Medals of Honor, maybe everyone could have made it back alive, maybe it wouldn’t have been the worst day of John’s life, maybe he wouldn’t have looked at those medals like badges of failure because he couldn’t save everyone.

And it also reminded me of comments from Wyatt Russell during an interview where he mentions that John was in the service while Steve was still operating as Captain America and going around to save the day, but Captain America never saved the day for John. In a way, there is almost a sense of resentment, that Captain America could save the day for everyone else, but John still had to fight through the horrors of war and find a way to survive on his own and protect his men, all without the serum, without Captain America’s help.

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

Peggy: He damn well must have thought you were worth it.

Peggy’s comments to Steve about how Bucky must have thought Steve was worth dying for just reminds me of how Lemar jumped in to tackle Karli and stop her from killing John, all knowing of the risks to his own life, because Lemar definitely thought that John was worth dying for. 

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

Anyways, these were just some of the moments that really jumped out at me in regards to how Cap 1 laid a very interesting foundation for what would be John’s story in TFATWS. This is why I love doing occasional rewatches, it really makes you look at the story in new ways when there’s new information that recontextualizes the film.

[alicehattera03]

The way that one anon pointed out how being abusive was intrinsic to Claude's nature in reference to your vampire fic was really very wholesome.💖

Like in the manhwa (Don't worry there are no spoilers) folks like to think of claude's character, based on his memories of diana, as some real prince charming/husband material or if not that then he loved her so much/she was such a goddess that only she was able to unlock/experience his TRUE CARING AND LOVING NATURE. And this led to the popular opinion that it was TOTALLY diana's death that made him violent or abusive. That that is what triggered the ruby palace massacre, that he is the way he is with athy and Felix because he is mourning his beloved's death or "has become" abusive because her death has left him miserable or embittered. And that under normal circumstances he is the epitome of a loving, caring and sensitive person/ nothing near to the "monster HER DEATH MADE OF HIM"

My point is that readers blame claude's abusive and violent behavior on diana's death or abandonment.

People treat his abusiveness as some temporary attachment to his character profile when THAT is what he truly is.

Nobody's death ever made anyone abusive. It's true that people can lash out and act coldly or be bitter after suffering such loss.

But loss seldom taught anyone abuse. Abuse begets abuse.

And your reply to that anon and the vampire fic which I read afterwards (thanks to the ensuing curiosity) is a breath of fresh air🌸🌸. It restored my faith in the existence of logic.

To top it off the dynamics bw the two characters of your fic make me understand the manhwa claudiana's dynamics better. Right now I'm convinced that claude in the manhwa was just as abusive and intimidating before and during his stay with diana. I'm somehow sure with the fact that diana too had to walk on eggshells for this dude as athy did, make compromises and struggle to keep him in line at every turn of their relationship. And that the relationship was far far faaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaar from healthy. Your fic's characterization was pure fucking genius. Keep up the good work👍.

I thought it was wholesome too ahhhh!!! I was like, omg anon jfgldskk so sWeeT- AND OMG YOU TOO thank you soo much for the no spoilers!!! I cry at your attentiveness QAQ

Loss isn't the catalyst for abuse, it only fuels what was already there, and (ahhh I'm so glad that it restored your faith, I only put my answer as what I believed, and am so happy it aligned with what a logical person would think!!! Because it should be so!!!) abusive behavior only gets aggravated by the person who picks out their triggers.

Meaning, it's up to the abuser themself to realize they are the problem not the person/people they abuse, that the abuser's victims aren't the ones who have to change or put up with them so they don't get hurt, but the abuser who has to make real effort to make a change in their actions.

I totally think that Claudiana's dynamic wasn't all that fairy-tale like, cause tbh I don't like it when ships are between low rank x high rank, like a commoner maid and a noble or a baron's daughter and an emperor, or vice versa with a butler and a noble daughter, they're all set up for failure from the beginning because of how the power dynamic is already bad between them. So Claudiana's commoner dancer x royalty was clearly not going to be all that sweet with the political game and concubine nonsense...

(Like please, keep it realistic, most marry for money and power not love. If you're dirt poor and you marry a rich person, chances are if they were poor you wouldn't have married them. And the surroundings as well as the personal relations will probably suffer because of it...)

Anyways back to the fic, thank you sososo much for liking the characterization of the two's interactions, and for the compliment!!! I will definitely try to keep it up ehehe! <333

[reincarnatedladywarrior]

WHAT THE SOCIETY DON’T WANT US TO KNOW ABOUT LOVE

Free encyclopedias on the web would define love as a range of strong and positive emotional and mental states, from the most sublime virtue or good habit, the deepest interpersonal affection, to the simplest pleasure. But come and think of it, love is not an instinct. Love is a skill. And when we say skill, it needs to be learned. A skill that the society refuses to consider as a skill. We are meant to always follow our feelings. And if you keep following your feelings, you will certainly always commit big mistakes in your life. Who wants that? No one wants that. No one wants to end up with the wrong person. Nobody wants to feel like they have been sentenced to life imprisonment by marrying the wrong person.

Unfortunately, it is primarily because people tend to idealize love just like what fairy tale movies try to project on our screens ─ an image of a perfect love where there’s a king and queen living in a castle that is bound to have a happily ever after. But in real life, that’s definitely not always the case. Love is more than just a feeling or a mutual chemistry. It is to love someone with charity and generosity in interpreting someone’s behavior; a constant recognition of ambivalence between the good and bad traits that exist in human nature. Hence, while growing up, we tend to associate an ideal partner to the idea of a good person we have created in our minds from an unconscious attempt of assessing our parents and separating their nice and unpleasant characteristics. Then, we’ll make a pretty long list of good traits that we’re looking for, only the good ones of course. But by doing so, we tend to neglect the mere fact that bad traits are also included in the package. The truth is, a ‘perfect person’ don’t and never exist and is more like a conceptual theory postulated by blind hopeless romantics.

None of us are perfect and we don’t need be perfect to love and be loved. The demand for perfection will lead you to only one thing ─ loneliness. So, one should not find a perfect person to be happy but a perfect person to suffered with in a familiar way that will help you define what genuine happiness really means. Because whether we like it or not, at some point in our lives, everyone will hurt us and all we need is to find someone worthy of the pain that is intertwined with loving. You cannot have perfection and company at the same time because to be in a company with another is negotiating imperfection every day.

Meanwhile, sulking seems to be a reflection of people’s desire to be understood by another individual. Because that’s how love was taught and how we think love should be ─  filled with understanding. That’s right but on its own detriment that’s also the reason why when a person doesn’t understand us, we get disappointed, sad or in rage. We shouldn’t expect someone to read our minds and do something that we wanted them to do for us then invalidate their feelings when they don’t act a certain way that we wanted them to behave. Love requires open communication and a cycle of giving and getting; not only an absolute selfless act of kindness towards another being. Because without communication only endless catastrophe awaits.

On the other hand,  it is also crucial to take note that love is not all about gifting someone all sorts of nice things that you could offer, although it’s considered as one of many love languages out there. On top of all of that, to love is to be a teacher and a learner. ‘If-you-love-me, you-should-accept-all-of-me’ line should be stigmatized as a sign of true love. True love is not just about accepting the way your lover is. It is accepting the truth that love has a role of transforming one another to become the best version of themselves to maintain a healthy relationship. Having said that, it’s a little ticklish but one should learn how to accept the fact that when someone tells you something about yourself, they’re not attacking you. They’re trying to make you a better person and we don’t normally believe that because it hurts our pride to actually take a look inside ourselves to find the truth…that the other person wants to educate us and it isn’t a criticism. Criticism is merely a wrong word to apply to a much nobler idea which is to try to make us better but we tend to reject this idea very strongly. Not unless it’s nothing but a below the belt statement or an insult in disguised of a joke, well then stand your ground. But sometimes you have to bear in mind that an angry person is not always what they see to appear, some of them are secretly and deeply sad pessimists. And this only further emphasizes someone’s need to hone behavioral interpretative skill in order to love properly.

Incompatibility, we are all incompatible but it’s the work of love to make us graciously accommodate each other and each other’s incompatibilities. Therefore, incompatibility is an achievement of love; it’s true love that make us gradually accept the need to be compatible.

We all have types. And we can’t probably change our types. Many of us might have certain types who are going to cause us real problems. They may be too distant, arrogant or going to torture us in some way. And your friends would casually say, cut him/her out of your life he\she’s not good for you. Realistically speaking, you cannot manage your type, let’s take that for granted but there’s an achievement here as well. It is to change how you characteristically respond to your tricky type. Most of us have formed how we respond to our tricky types in early childhood. For instance, we have a distant parent which matches to a distant lover…when we were very young, we respond to that distant parent by attention-seeking…we rattled and banged. And now we’re adults we rattle and bang in our own way. And we think it’s going to help but it doesn’t. It creates a vicious cycle that won’t get us anywhere. It is open to us to have a more mature response to the challenges that the types of people that you’re attracted are going to pose for us. And that’s an immense achievement. One thing that we can do is to recognize the inability to compromise ─ one of the shameful things that we have to admit… “This is my partner, I’ve compromised…in choosing them I’ve compromised.” “Why you’ve compromised?” “Well, I’m not that attractive myself. I’ve got lots of problems. I’m a bit naughty. Frankly, I can’t pull anyone better but they’re very nice…they’re okay.” Now, you would think loser, but that’s not true. Compromise is noble. We compromise in every area of life and there’s no reason why we shouldn’t compromise in our love life. Maybe some parents are just sticking around for the children…good! And we’ll say, “Oh, they’re just sticking around for the children.” That’s a wonderful reason to stick around, for what else they’re going to stick around. Let’s look benevolently in the art of compromise as a massive achievement in life.

Notably, a Danish Philosopher Soren Kierkegaard had a wonderful outburst where he basically said, of course you’re going to marry the wrong person and make the wrong decisions in a whole row of areas. And the reason why you’re going to do this is because you’re a human. Therefore, do not berate yourself for doing what humans do. This is what he said, “Marry, and you will regret it; don’t marry, you will also regret it; marry or don’t marry, you will regret it either way. Laugh at the world’s foolishness, you will regret it; weep over it, you will regret that too; laugh at the world’s foolishness or weep over it, you will regret both. Believe a woman, you will regret it; believe her not, you will also regret it… Hang yourself, you will regret it; do not hang yourself, and you will regret that too; hang yourself or don’t hang yourself, you’ll regret it either way; whether you hang yourself or do not hang yourself, you will regret both. This, gentlemen, is the essence of all philosophy.”

[hanakokichi-donutjuice]

👀 I noticed you followed the author I mentioned, care to check out the newest fic they posted? 👀 also also, christmas headcanons? :0

Hey! Thank you for request ! I don't know if you want Tsumitsu so when in doubt I did general hc on all the characters, but if you want Tsumitsu in particular tell me and I'll do it again ^^

I haven't read her new story yet, but it's in my Bookmarks ! As soon as I have a little time I'll read it ! :D

TBHK CHRISTMAS HEADCANONS

It's Christmas ! They are all having a great family celebration

It’s Sumire’s birthday too (not the real date but I like to think she was born on a holiday)

Tsukasa eats mistletoe

He also plays with garlands and almost electrocutes himself with the string lights

Teru has a horrible Christmas sweater but he thinks he's on top of fashion with

But no, tell him no

Besides, he made sure to match his sweater with his siblings

Mitsuba cut Nene's hair shorter

Mitsuba wears a golden garland instead of his scarf

Tsuchigomori tied Hanako's tie knot

Tsukasa couldn't tie his tie on his own so he had to ask Sakura to do it for him, but Natsuhiko said he took care of it.

Think for two seconds that we've never seen Natsuhiko with a tie, why? He just doesn't know how to tie a tie

After an hour he gave up and he ended up putting on a bow tie and suspenders in Tsukasa instead.

Aoi and Nene both have candy cane earrings

Kou makes the meal

Teru wanted to help him, but we kindly sat him down at a table instead

" NO ! OUT OF THE QUESTION ! WE WANT A WARM PARTY BUT NOT A FIRE !!! GET OUT OF THE KITCHEN NOW "

Mitsuba stole the star from the tree bc: "I am the brightest star in this room! "

Akane and Amane argue over who is more beautiful between Aoi and Nene

"Yashiro is so radiant that she could replace the star on the tree! "

"Well, Ao-Chan is so bright she shines brighter than all the fairy lights on the tree! "

Then Aoi and Nene said it was Teru the brightest in the room

So we tied Teru to the top of the tree to light up the room instead of the star

"We" in fact it was Akane and Amane out of revenge

Tsuchigomori is disguised as Santa Claus

Teru taught him how to make a good "Heave-Ho!" "To stick to the character (but Teru remains the God of "Heave-Oh!")

He also smokes in a pipe with candy cane color

"WHO PUT A FIR BRANCH IN MY PIPE ??!" "

Tsukasa beheads gingerbreadmans and glue them back together to make characters with multiple limbs / Heads

Sakura is sitting by the fire reading a large, beautiful, ancient storybook with sumptuous gold bindings

Natsuhiko had put mistletoe over her chair before the reception

He was going to go under to try to kiss her but ...

Tsukasa comes running ahead of him (dropping the mistletoe in the process) because Sakura is reading Christmas tales and he ABSOLUTELY wants her to get him over it

Mission failed.

Kou, Aoi and Nene distribute Christmas hats to everyone

Hanako put on a Christmas hat over his own hat

At one point Amane asks Tsuchigomori to do Christmas carols on the piano (I like to imagine him playing the piano, the flute and the saxophone) and he manages to convince Yako to sing too.

She has a beautiful voice, she looks like an angel

Then after she clinks glasses with Tsuchigomori

Then they toast once again to their sucks

And again, they drink again!

Okay, by then they're both totally drunk and Tsuchi ’dancing rock with Yako

Flash Info: Music is a slow

Lemon improvised himself Dj, besides his turntables have a lemon motif

Mitsuba eats all the coconut rock fereros (Rafaelo I think?) he can find, anyway nobody likes it so it's okay

Tsukasa and the Mokkes steal the mandarins and papilottes which are placed on the guests' plates

There are firecrackers in the wrapper paper but they don't make much noise: Tsukasa is very very disappointed

So instead he hides behind Mitsuba and explodes crackers behind him to scare him

Almost all the gifts are for Aoi or for Nene

In fact Akane and Amane made a competition to find out which one would give the most gifts to his sweetheart

Perfect equality

"Hanako-Kun ... Did you really get me a Daikon plush ?! "

Aoi received ALL Pandora Hearts, Vampire Knights and Black Butler tomes from Akane

Natsuhiko also gave Sakura a lot of gifts, but they were mostly books.

He gave her some handmade silk gloves too (Mitsuba gave him the patterns and he managed to sew them himself, it's wobbly but it's pretty anyway and Sakura likes them a lot), a pretty refined and expensive tea set, and books on medicinal plants, on precious stones and on healing but he also offered her science fiction books because he knows that she is secretly a fan of this kind of reading

Sakura does not show it but she is very touched, especially since she had never spoken about the fact that she has a weakness for science fiction books.

Sakura gives Natsuhiko a kiss on the cheek

Simp.Exe stop working

"There was mistletoe above us, that's the tradition"

She gave him a dangling earring with an amethyst stone (I can say more if you want but the meaning of the amethyst is based on a hc of Sakura that I have, if you want hc a this to better understand why this stone, ask me ^^)

Nene gave Amane her rocket keychain, lost about 50 years ago

Hanako remains silent then he hugs Nene, he almost cries

Akane offered Hanako milk

“It's good for growth"

Kou gave him a cat ear headphones

And Sumire gave Hanako a bell necklace

"I AM NOT A F****** CAT! "

"Hanako-Kun… You meow while sleeping and sneezing…"

Tsukasa donated handmade pottery to everyone

He accidentally broke one on Amane's head

"My head is… Spinning… Ho I see… The Stars… THE STARS, BROTHER! THE MOON IS NEAR! "

But he offered Yaoi to Mitsuba while whistling

Mitsuba turned all red and stuttering after that

Hanako gave Akane a math manual with his name written on it

"But ... is this my manual ??? It's been something like… Seven months since I look for him! "

"Yes, I thought you would be happy if I gave it back to you for Christmas"

Teru gave everyone the lobster plush toys he won this summer, his stock was too big for Tiara's room (which by the way is really big for a little girl room!)

Aoi gave Nene pretty hair clips and Nene gave her some lily seeds

Sakura gave Nene gaiters and an hourglass and Nene gave her a set of tea scented with autumn flavors and a scented with flavors of winter

The Toilet Trio donated cups to Tsuchi ’

Tsuchi' and Yako both treated themselves to first-price perfumes found in supermarkets

He also gave her a fake fox fur to annoy her

Yako bought her a ferret, (don't ask me why I don't know, she thought it was a good idea)

So now we have Tsukasa and Mitsuba running behind the ferret to play with him since half an hour

And Hanako wants the ferret to be called "Rocket"

Sumire received luxury jewelry, clothing, shoes, fan and perfume

Tsuchigomori donated a telescope to Hanako

Kou received overalls, a multicolored sweater and items and clothes with egg designs on them

Mitsuba received a mirror and polaroid paper for his photos

He also got a whole bunch of kawaii items and clothes with peaches, including an orange skirt and a pink winter dress with soft faux fur.

And Mitsuba gave everyone the same thing: A photo of him with a cute face: “So am I not the most beautiful of gifts? UwU "

Lemon offered Akane a Netflix subscription, but he plans to squat his account too

All the gifts that Lemon has received have… Lemon… designs.

"We should stop the joke one of these days guys, once it's going but every year it gets long by force ..."

Someone (obviously unconscious!) Offered a jumping stick and stilts to Tsukasa, who had the wonderful idea of ​​combining the two, before eventually dashing headfirst into the table.

A little more and he landed in the fire ! ! !

Akane donated a plush, a Hawaiian shirt, glasses and a pen all with pineapple designs for Teru

Teru gave him some sushi candies to make together

He also gave her a watch without hands because: "You don't need any object to tell the time, after all you're a bit of a clock yourself, aren't you? "

"After the party we'll have to throw out the tree, but do we throw Teru with the tree too? "

I hope you like it, I took a long time to write it <3

[drethanramslay]

Without You

Pairing: Logan x MC (Lexi Cahill)

Masterlist

Word count: 2.5 K words

Warning: Just a little cursing, here and there and Angst

MC is actually not present in this fic, this is Logan's POV, four months after he had to leave LA

Author's note: I decided to take part in @rodappreciationweek so here is my submission :)) 

Thanks to @choicesarehard @brightpinkpeppercorn and @client-327 for hosting this 💙

Thanks to @mvalentine for pre-reading it❤️❤️

Title inspiration: Without You by Avicii (ft. Sandro Cavazza)

Song: Gone by Blake Rose

Forgive me if I make any mistakes.

The rays of the sun spilled through the crack in my curtains, making the white walls a yellow hue. My eyes were bleary and red rimmed. It had just been moments since I woke up and my hangover struck me like a train wreck, a familiar electric pain behind my eyes.

I shouldn't have drank so much.

I moved my head to only see an an empty bed side. Of course she left. Who would want to stick around after a one night stand?

The hazy memories of last night filtered through my head, making me wince. Another night, another rave, another tray of shots and another chick to bang.

You could call it saturday shenanigans but, this was different.

Everything was different since I left her.

All my days just seem to melt away into a haze of alcohol and drugs... Today, tomorrow, yesterday seems to fuse into this neverending torture, an ache which no matter how much I drink or how many girls I fuck, never fucking ceases to hurt. The only thing which can fix this gaping wound in my heart is Lexi.

But she is not here.

And never will be.

So this is how it has been for the past weeks. Me getting inebriated to new extremes just to numb the pain and to temporarily erase the loneliness before I become sober again.

Because when I'm in those intoxicated wastelands, I'm so out of it that I can almost hallucinate her dancing with me. I can almost smell her strawberry shampoo, tickling my nose. I can almost hear her tinkling laugh.

And in my alcohol induced sleep, I dream of her in my arms the both of us fitting together, like two jigsaw puzzles.

I despise being sober. Because when I am In my senses, the entire load of loss weighs down on me, crushing me and suffocating me. The 'could have been's' and the regret are all a heavy burden on my shoulders.

A small part of me is often wishing, praying and hoping that things could just go back to normal but, deep in my gut I know, that nothing is ever going to be the same again.

Nothing is ever going to be the same, now that she was gone...

How much time does it take to get over people?

It may be a day, a week, a month or a year. There is no definitive time span for getting over someone you loved, someone you cherished or someone who was close to your heart.

I think it depends on how much of an impact the said person had on you or how much of a void that person left in you.

I was the wild and carefree guy, with no strings attached and never saw myself being the one to fall in love because... Let's admit it, love is a vulnerability, a weakness which people don't hesitate to exploit.

But fast forward to four months later, I am in the same category as those emotional pussies crying over a breakup.

Being brought up in foster homes made me grow up quickly. Some houses were good and caring whilst some were harsh. And knowing that I am the most cursed person to walk the earth, I was always was stuck with the shitty households.

Don't believe me? I still have those scars from the fights and the beatings.

Growing up in such a hostile environment, taught me that there is no room for weakness or error and that love and feelings are just some fairy tale myth which is made by philosophical fools to give you a sense of hope.

But, hope is a dangerous thing, two side of the same coin. It can make you and break you.

I don't think I would have survived my childhood but... That's when I fell in love with cars.

It holds a special place in my heart.

The way my adrenaline spikes as the pointer on my speedometer achieves unattainable speeds, the way I feel the purr of my engine resound through my entire body and they way it's just me, my car and the open road... Nobody could ever compare to that sensation of freedom.

Well, that was before I met her.

Lexi Cahill.

I admit it started off as a way to recruit her as an informant, a tool to stay out of prison, another heart to break.

But little did I know that life would pull the fucking reverse uno card on me. But, I'm low-key glad it did.

It's been 4 months since that scum bag was thrown into the jail.

Four months since the crew went its separate ways.

Four months since I walked away from her.

I don't want to let you go...

Those words were on a repeat in his head, like a broken tape recorder and her teary eyes and broken expression is forever burnt into his brain. It was so hard to let her go. The one time I found a reason to stay, a reason to fight for, a reason to stop running, life just fucked it all up.

It was a tussle, a war between what my heart wanted and the logical side of me which just left me exhausted.

In conclusion, heartbreak sucks.

I reach for my phone and switch it on to check the time. But my eyes fall on our prom photo which I had made as my wallpaper. It's really stupid how head over heels I'm in love with her.

But it's the truth.

There is a saying that life gives you only one great love and that many people go for years without that.

I was one of the few lucky people to get that at 18.

But life is not sunflowers and unicorns shitting rainbows. It's rough, it's hard with its a mix of ups and downs. But it seems like mine is set to be on the all time low.

Staggering to the bathroom, I heavily leaned against the counter, my muscles flexing as I gripped the edge. My eyes lifted to see my reflection staring back at me.

I look like a hot mess.

This isn't you Logan... My inner conscience said, which eerily sounded like her.

God, I really must be losing it, huh?

Slowly and painfully I started my morning chores, my body on auto pilot. My mind kept on wandering to Lexi. She would be in Langston by now.

Would she be in that off shoulder sweater of hers, her feather tattoo peaking from underneath the sleeve? Would she be highlighting and colour coordinating her notes like she always did?

Would she have made new friends? Or dare I say a new boyfriend?

Logan stop hurting yourself. I said to myself as I visibly cringed at the thought of someone else having their arms around her.

The idea of someone else kissing her soft lips or someone else holding her hands or someone else running his hands along the curvature of her naked back made me equal parts angry and sad.

Angry for you know, obvious reasons but sad for the life I had to leave behind in LA.

God I hate this existential crisis shit... It's to early to question life.

I dragged myself in the direction of the kitchen, the smell of bacon waking me up. I was shirtless and wearing a pair of sweatpants because I was too fucking tired to wear anything else.

"Look who has decided to grace us with their presence."

"Shut up Carl, it's too early for your bullshit." Raven said as she slapped the top of his head.

I shot her a look of gratitude as I sank into my seat and reached for the plate of pancakes.

Carl and Raven were the closest thing to parents for me. Carl was a tough man with huge muscles, around six feet tall but, he was as goofy as a child. Raven was his girlfriend who was hella intimidating. The kohl lined eyes and the floral tattoo on the side of her shaven head made her look fierce. Both of them were in their early thirties and ran the Detroit Central crew.

We three were in a different crew when I was 15 and they really took a liking for me. They taught me everything I know and they are the family that I always came back too.

I dug into my breakfast, eating slowly and savouring the sweetness of the maple syrup.

"Thank god you are atleast eating now." Raven said as she ruffled my hair and turned towards the sink.

I shrugged and Carl picked up the newspaper to read, settling into his seat. Suddenly, the bell rang which had all of our backs becoming as stiff as a rod.

"Were you expecting someone, darlin'?" Raven asked, trying to peak through the windows.

"Don't get up, I'll do it." Carl said as he picked up the gun on the counter and pushed it into the back pocket of his cargo pants.

I was frozen, terrified. I had been very careful in escaping but me being the reckless fool and getting drunk seven ways to Sunday may have tipped them off.

I'm such a colossal dumbass.

I could hear Carl's gruff voice talking but I couldn't peek at the person on the other side of the door. I just sank further into my seat, hoping that it was some lost person and not the FBI.

"Boy this one's for you." He moved aside and the person I least expected to see walked in.

"You look like shit."

"Good morning to you too, asshole." I rolled my eyes.

Colt walked into the kitchen, wearing his trademark leather jackets and dark jeans. His combat boots made a thud sound with each step which made my headache worse.

"Will you be okay, Lo-lo?" Raven asked, her eyes flitting to the jerk standing in her kitchen.

Colt snorted at the nickname but luckily kept his mouth shut.

"Yep Ra. Meet Colt Kaneko. Colt meet Raven and Carl." I spoke at I stood up and put my dirty dishes in the sink.

"Oh you are Kaneko's boy, aren't you?"

"Yes."

"We heard about what went down in LA. Our condolences. He was a great man."

He gave a nod. It was a sore subject for me as well. That night in the alley, I wished I could take it back. I usually am not one to regret what I spew but whatever I said to Kaneko is another burden I'm gonna carry all my life.

"Also heard about your crew busted the Brotherhood? You were the mastermind behind it right?" Carl said as he crossed his arms.

"As much as I would love to take the credit, it was Lexi who came up with the plan." Colt said his eyes darted towards me, gauging my reaction.

"The newbie? Heard she drives like the wind-"

Hearing her name felt like an iron fist clenching my heart. That name will always be the source of my happiness, my cherished memories and my melancholy.

"Colt let's take this to the backyard, shall we?" Logan spoke up, interrupting them.

He walked to the back door and Colt followed him wordlessly. It a sunny day but a cool breeze blew which provided some kind of relief.

I reached to take out two beers from the cooler and handed him one. Colt raised an eyebrow.

"Beer... At ten in the morning?"

I shrugged as I popped the bottle cap off mine. "It's 5pm somewhere else."

"That's true too. Cheers." We clinked the necks of our bottles and took a sip as we sat down on the patio chairs.

I turned towards him. "So what brings you to Detroit?"

"To see your pretty face?" Colt said sarcastically as he rolled his eyes.

I snorted. "Always knew you had a thing for me, pretty boy."

"Always knew that you had an ego the size of Jupiter, dickhead. Some things just don't change."

I sighed. "Can't say the same for me through. Everything is different now."

Surprisingly, Colt didn't mock him. He stared down at the bottle in his hands. "Yeah... I can understand. How are you holding up?" He asked as he turned to face me.

I took a huge gulp of my beer before responding, my eyes staring at the mango tree in my neighbor's back yard.

"Not too good. It's been hard for the last couple of months. Kaneko's death, leaving LA and maintaining a low profile... It's been tough."

Life without Lexi is tough.

"Yeah I can understand. I still imagine pops opening the door to wake me up. And don't get me started on the FBI... bunch of bloodsuckers." He muttered the last part.

I snorted. "I'll drink to that."

"Good thing they are off our backs now." Colt spoke eyeing him from the corner of his eyes.

I scoffed. "Bitch please. They are anything but lazy. They are gonna continue hunting us down till the end of time."

"I meant that we are not the top priorities at the moment. Sure Mona was sent to jail but, a little birdie told me that they are after this 'world class' thief at the moment."

"That's a relief I guess."

"Do you know what this means?" He asked taking another sip of beer.

"It's too early for my brain to function. Come to the point, asshole."

"We are rebuilding the crew, dickhead."

My eyes widened. "No way."

"Yup." He said popping the 'p'. He downed the remainder of his beer before standing up. "I'm done repairing the garage. We have a job in two months and I need a crew for that. I already have Ximena on board and now I'm gonna go over to Toby's."

My mind was swimming. Mercy Park Crew was coming back for good.

I looked up at him, suddenly nervous. "What about Lexi?"

He rolled his eyes. "When I said I'm rebuilding the crew, I also meant recruiting Lexi, dumbass."

Oh god.

She is going to come back.

I was frozen in my place once again. I had often asked myself how I would react if I got the chance to meet her again. I always imagined that I would let out the loudest cheer and dance like a mad man.

But this is reality and my thundering heart was a reminder of that.

"Why are you sitting there with your mouth open like a fish? Go! Get your girl."

And that was it. I rushed to my room, put on some decent clothes and haphazardly stuffed my things into my satchel. Grabbing my keys and yelling a quick good bye to Raven and Carl, I was out and in my 2005 Devore GT.

Reving the engine I took off on the roads of Detroit, heading for the highway.

The window was open and the breeze threaded through my unruly hair, making me feel alive. My hands clutched the wheel and my foot pressed down on the accelerator, speeding through the empty streets.

For the first time, in a very long, the roads which felt like a never ending maze for me, were the very ones which were the path to my freedom.

The path to my happiness.

The path to my Lexi.

I hope you liked it 😊

Logan x mc: @kaavyaethanramsey @openheart @skylarklyon @shadowycreatorpaperopera @pixelberryownsme @magicalshepherdtreeprofessor @anotherbeingsworld​

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[jcmorrigan]

001 - Kingdom Hearts

Favorite character: On the villain side: VEXEN IS BEST ORGANIZATION XIII MEMBER. Shoulda stayed evil, though. I like it when he complains and screams about everything and hates everyone. He's one of my favorite villains, just, like...in general. So fun to write. Also attached to Demyx, but I actually liked him more in III than II because it reminded me of my rawr lolspeek weeb days when I f/o'd him without knowing what f/o'ing was and then transitioned this to shipping VexDem like heck. On the hero side: MY GIRL KAIRI! But honorable mentions go to Sora, Riku, Aqua, Ven, Terra, Xion, Roxas, Lea, Ienzo, any Disney character I loved beforehand (this is way too fuckin many to list), Merlin (OKAY I WILL SINGLE HIM OUT), Yen Sid (I'LL SINGLE HIM OUT TOO), you know what let's also single out the Mickey+Donald+Goofy power trio...just...any KH hero who isn't part of the Yozora stuff or the KHUX stuff. ...Except I also LOVE Strelitzia, and she is the only KHUX-exclusive kiddo I care about but I care about her MANY. (Oh, and there's a least fave I have who's a "hero" but that's a debatable label). I would go on about why I love all of them but...that's too many characters to elaborate on

Least Favorite character: See, I think the real answer is Yozora, but the thing is I just tend to forget about him or not care (unless I'm doing a weird AU where he's Noctis' bratty Nobody, don't ask). He kinda represents the Shark Jump and I don't like watching that scene where he literally petrifies Sora for not being strong enough. But again, I can just kinda forget about him if he's not fed to me through a social-media unit. The one I LOVE TO HATE is Master Eraqus. The man actually triggered me back in the day. He is purity culture. He is the overbearing parent who will not accept you unless you are perfect. He is by and large the reason VAT didn't communicate with each other properly. He was the one who taught Aqua to think in absolutes. He lied to Ventus for years and then insisted to kill him was the only option, and then, when Terra tried to defend his brother figure/friend without knowing WHY Eraqus was doing such a thing, Eraqus didn't offer an explanation and instead switched targets to Terra citing that the problem was Terra's lack of OBEDIENCE. Eraqus is just very "my way or the highway" and uses his moral high horse to justify doing things that utterly lack compassion in any regard, which is something that GETS to me on a deep level, and let me tell you, I hated him for so long until I realized he was actually a super fuckin fun guy to imagine as a Bigger Bad in AUs that either have the KH protags teaming up or have villain protags needing a "greater good lawful evil" figure. And I just have found too many good memes about him cheating at chess and killing children. I have to laugh. Making fun of him is fun. He's a ridiculous character. That said, this recent trend of "erase everything bad he ever did and paint him as the ultimate hero of the saga" makes me raise eyebrows for SEVERAL reasons

5 Favorite ships (canon or non-canon): VexDem, SoRiku, Kairi x Jaune Arc (RWBY), Aqua x Rosalina (Super Mario Galaxy) x Bayonetta, IsaLea, Ventus x Papyrus (Undertale), that was six but they all needed to be mentioned

Character I find most attractive: Ienzo. HOO BABY he is adorable. I saw someone make a Valentine's Day gifset of KH and FF characters shortly after III dropped and seeing his smiling face paired with a romance quote made my heart FLUTTER

Character I would marry: Probably Ienzo, see above. He's also a very kind guy. Favorite redemption in the modern era.

Character I would be best friends with: I hope the Destiny Trio would adopt me into their friend circle the way they've tended to do with every other inter-world denizen they've come across. I would love to have them as my positivity squad. Or, y'know, two positivities and one "it's okay to screw up" guy. Just. I would love to hang out with them. I often worry that I'm unlikable to my faves, but even though I would usually prefer to hang with the villains, I can pretty much guarantee these three would be open-minded about me. (Do I kiiiiinda wanna be friends with Vexen though? Of course I do. He'd hate me but maaaayyyyybe he would see me as one of his pet idiots who makes him look smarter, and we could bond over our fragile egos?)

a random thought: You ever think about that one NPC lady in Traverse Town who refused to tell you where she was from because it was none of her business? You ever wonder where she WAS from? What her world was like? How she ended up being the survivor of the Ansem Apocalypse when it hit her? All I know is that when I read her lines out loud (I used to read KH speech balloons out loud all the time), I gave her a Southern accent for no discernible reason and I stand by it. That woman has a twang.

An unpopular opinion: I don't want KHUX to be canon because I feel it's smaller-scale and takes a lot of mystery out of the worldbuilding. I always assume that the KHverse just includes ALL worlds in fiction, and that includes their thousand-year histories, meaning the Age of Fairy Tales should've happened long long long LONG LONG LONG ago and not five generations. And whatever screwed up the world should've been more than just five people having a fight, and whatever saved it should've been more than just five people getting along, and Daybreak Town really suffers from having to stick to mobile-friendly graphics and therefore is the least aesthetically attractive KH town ever, and I don't like that Lauriam and Elrena used to be such selfless people. I do still love Strelitzia because she's shy and relatable and quirky (sitting on the roof) and she questions authority and if you go with shipping subtext she's probably bi (or pan?), but I don't like the "Lauriam's dead sister for his arc's drama" bit. I liked when Marluxia was angry because he wanted to run Organization XIII but it was in the hands of an idiot who wasn't him. And more than anything I just like imagining that the Age of Fairy Tales was something bigger, further in the past, and more mysterious than something designed for a mobile game. Scala ad Caelum, however, I like a lot better because there IS a lot of mystery there and also it's a very pretty town with an amazing design.

my canon OTP: I really only count the Disney couples as the "canon" ones, so this is a question of picking my favorite Disney couple that shows up onscreen. I hope I'm not forgetting an important one, but I think the title has to go to Aladdin/Jasmine, which is always perfect in everything. (This would be an ENTIRELY DIFFERENT STORY if KH had ever adapted Treasure Planet, and if it ever gets the mind to adapt Treasure Planet then even if I don't care about that game I will immediately declare that Amelia/Doppler takes the KH canon OTP crown. *taps watch* Get on it Squenix)

Non-canon OTP: SoRiku, which I counted as "basically canon" after DDD until III decided it wasn't sure. But I'm just a sucker for how DDD is the two of them all "HE'S GOT MY BACK AND I'VE GOT HIS AND I'D DO ANYTHING FOR HIM SO LONG AS HE'S HAPPY." It's just the best kind of Friends-to-Lovers, except when you take all canon into account it's Friends-to-Rivals-to-Enemies-to-Friends-to-Lovers and that's a very juicy dynamic. BUT ALSO: VexDem, which is a nostalgia ship SO STRONG I had to accept that it eclipsed my former Vexen ships by a mile and I wanted to go back to my roots. That one, I have a much longer essay about that I'll just have you refer to so I don't repeat myself for pages. To make a long story short, their scene in III was JUST DELICIOUS.

most badass character: OOF THEY'RE ALL BADASS but in the end it's between Sora and Aqua, because Sora gets the widest RANGE of abilities across the series that he masters while Aqua gets the most POWERFUL abilities due to her Mastery (Command Styles seem like they'd be the most OP things ever in-universe and I'm here for it because flashy battle moves make brain go brr).

pairing I am not a fan of: SOKAI, Xehaqus, RikuNami, Vanitas/anyone not evil

character I feel the writers screwed up (in one way or another): OH BOY. KAIRI THE MOST. YOU ALL KNOW WHY: lack of screen time, Fridging for drama, forced romance to invite death flags (they really wanted to milk that death to get people talking didn't they?), giving Alyson Stoner ZERO direction to actually follow up on Hayden Panettiere's performance. But then I remember that they made Vexen redeem and lose his entire personality and I just...uuugghhhh. I can't believe he died twice in this series. And then Demyx is FUN but also I know he's flipped sides as well, which means he won't be fun much longer! Xehanort seems to switch motivations to whatever makes him the biggest threat (and several of Eraqus' old flaws seem to be mysteriously glued onto him), Sora isn't a motormouth anymore, Riku just doesn't get anyone who cares about him anymore because everyone's distracted by Sora and Kairi, IS ANYBODY GOING TO ADDRESS THE ACTUAL ISSUES THAT DROVE THE WAYFINDER TRIO APART, oh God Marluxia and Larxene you're good guys now what have they done to you

favourite friendship: I really like each of the trios. But you know what's even BETTER than the trios? If you put...all of the trios together...meaning Sora, Riku, Kairi, Mickey, Donald, Goofy, Aqua, Terra, Ven, Roxas, Xion, Lea, Hayner, Pence, Olette...and then you added Isa back in there...and you gave them Ienzo...and you brought back Naminé...and you say that Subject X is Strelitzia and you have her turn back up so she can have justice done...AND YOU HAVE AN ULTRA KEYBLADE GROUP OF FRIENDS. As for Vexen, any purely platonic relationship I have for him is a crossover but trust me I have many crossover pals for he

character I want to adopt or be adopted by: See everyone I listed above in the friendship question. They can either mentor me or let me be their big sis/mom. But also, I will GLADLY be Merlin or Yen Sid's daughter. (But also would I kiiiiinda wanna be a VexDem daughter? This is the worst idea. Still wanna try)

[slytherwrites]

Family Day

Character(s): Jane French; Fairy Godmother; Anxelin Rider

Rating: G

Warnings: N/A

Summary: Before the VKs ruined Family Day, Jane helped run a successful Family Day.

Jane clicks her heels as she waits outside the courtyard doors. A pristine white clipboard is in her hair. It matches the white bow in her bobbed hair. A blue dotted dress sways in the slight breeze heading through. Most kids wear colors similar to their parents in order to imitate them. Jane models her look after her mother, The Fairy Godmother. She doesn’t wear the fall colors of her father, it brings back too many grieving memories

A crowd forms, students enter from her door; parents enter from a different entrance. The students are impatient, but the guards have yet to open the doors, so she can’t let them through. She’d rather be curled up in her bed, looking through the family photo album they stopped updating when her father died.

She checks her phone, lunchtime will be in an hour and she’s promised her mother that she’d overview the activities happening in the school’s courtyard. Jane checks the list, silently seeing if everyone who reserved is here. We don’t need any surprises.

The doors open and Jane steps to the side. After a minute or two she’s the last to leave. Ironically, on family day she’ll spend no time with her mother or father or her extended family. She’ll see them, in the cases of her mother and extended family, but she can only silently mourn the loss of her father. It’s the most she an do familywise today.

She sees the pink and white themed place, Queen Aurora and her family must be officially hosting the event (even if Jane spent more time then all of Aurora’s family actually preparing the event). She gives the courtyard a clean sweep, waving and giving the occasional hug out; she’s on a mission, but must maintain a friendly air around her.

Once she accounts for every family member in attending (even all seven dwarfs and Doug), Jane makes sure the refreshments table is sufficiently stocked. Towers of cupcakes and glasses of soda line a circular table. She hears a group of girls clamor around Audrey. They are congratulating her on her boyfriend (Prince Benjamin) or the party she didn’t even help in (spearheaded by her mother and herself).

Jane groans. She’s sick and tired of royal children. She is sick and tired of the entitled girls and boys who see themselves as better than she is, simply for being born into a family. Her family had to work their way to prestige. Most of their mothers sat on their butts while their stories played out. Her parents were side characters to other people’s stories. She heard the tales her mother and father told her and the lessons she was taught from them. She sees how side characters are treated and its sick (almost as sick as what happens to villains, but Jane won’t digress into that).

As the hour dwindles, she heads to the central gazebo. Jane collects herself and grips the clipboard as she reads off of it, “Your Majesties, Your Royal Highnesses, and everyone else,” she laughs internally, “may you all please calmly head to the dining hall where lunch will be served.”

En masse, they all leave. Luckily for her, not many little kids came to this year’s Family Day. She follows suit, minutes later. She thinks to herself and looks at the abandoned courtyard, it looks almost exactly how it did when they were constructing the party (sans the food of course).

She doesn’t sit down to eat, Jane doesn’t get that luxury. Instead, she heads into the kitchen (luckily she gets to take a break and get some food). Grabbing the plate her mother set aside for Jane, she sits atop a stool and eats, careful not to spill anything onto her special dress.

Despite her mother being in one of these two rooms, she doesn’t get to see her. Fairy Godmother is watching over this event, instructing waiters where to deliver and making sure all of the cooking staff follows everyone’s necessary dietary requirements. Jane can hear her mother’s voice and the hint of stress over today’s event (she feels bad about it, but doesn’t want to potentially stress her out more by distracting her).

Walking out of the kitchen, avoiding the dining hall, she sets off for the library. Nobody will head there, they will be with their families inside of their dorms (unless they are preparing for the final event, the show Auradon Prep’s theatre department has been putting on). Jane should head to her dorm, try to participate in at least one of the events going on today, but the Li family will understand. They don’t need her there.

Walking through the walls of the library, she touches the spine of every book, just feeling how different they all. She hears faint sobs. Following them, she finds Anxelin Fitzherbert (who recently adopted her father’s criminal surname, Rider). Jane’s surprised to see one half of Rapunzel’s twins without the other, but she sits beside the shorthaired counterpart.

She looks up, tears streaming down her face. Her hair is a wreck, haphazardly cut even shorter than her sister’s hair. She’s wearing all black casual clothes (Jane is suddenly reminded that Anxelin is in the show, doing technical work). Anxelin asks, her voice hoarse form the crying, “Has my sister sent you to find me?”

Jane sits quietly, across from Anxelin, “No. I didn’t think there was anyone in here.”

“Why are you here?” Anxelin sounds a little less angry, a little less hurt, a little more relieved.

Jane sighs, “To be honest, I don’t want to deal with the Li family’s questions, acting like I am a valuable person to talk to.”

“Hey,” Anxelin responds, “you’re a great conversationalist.”

“I mean,” Jane comments, “I mean, while the Li family isn’t royalty, they are protagonists of their stories. Li Mulan, she saved a country; Li Shang, he was a military general. Li Lonnie and her family are fantastic, but they’re still protagonists. THey’re going to get their happily ever after and have a family dynasty spanning generations.”

“Not all royals are like that.” Anxelin wipes her eyes, getting a bit defensive.

“I didn’t mean it like that.”

“I know,” A weak laugh lets out of Anxelin, “though, not all of us will have big families.”

“Not going to find your Prince Charming anytime soon huh?”

“I never will.”

“Oh don’t say that.”

“Jane I’m,” Anxelin pauses, the words get caught in her throat, but she forces them out, “Jane I’m gay.”

Jane pauses. She’s never had anyone come out to her, but she knows how the LGBT community is treated inside of Auradon. They’re second-class citizens. If they are royal, they are treated like side characters at their best (Jane doesn’t think to imagine what treatment side characters would get if they were gay, they are barely treated above villains already).

“Is that why you’re crying?”

Anxelin nods, “I came out to my family and一and一and my mother and sister said no words while my father made a joke about it and I feel terrible because they didn’t react badly and I don't know why I’m crying in a library to someone who I don't even talk to and thank you for being here with me I don’t know what I would’ve done if you weren’t here.”

Jane is about to speak before an alarm goes off. It isn’t her’s so it must be Anxelin’s. Anxelin stands up and Jane follows suit. Anxelin pulls her into a hug, “Thank you for helping me Jane. I’ll see you around. The show must go on.”

Jane watches her walk out of the library and wipes away a tear she didn’t know she had. Taking a deep breath, she heads to the auditorium to guide people into the theatre. A renewed sense of vigour is in her; if Anxelin can make it through the rest of the with all she went through, Jane can deal with the snotty royals and not spending any time with her family.

[overgrownlive]

My first live blogged series was the Lunar Chronicles. Unfortunately, I only started blogging during Fairest, and the majority of my thoughts were from Winter. But I'm glad that I read it and shared my thoughts as I did.

That said, I wanted to share my thoughts on the series as a whole because it's been a while since I've gotten this invested in a YA series and tlc blew me away.

Spoiler warning!!!

Cinder-

My sibling recommended the book/series to me. They read it a while ago, and I was looking for some good old fashioned escapism (life is rough, yadda yadda) and I took the suggestion because I love reimagined fairy tales. I also love aliens. And cyberpunk.

So naturally I was on board from chapter one.

I actually originally thought that Cinder was gonna end up having the info on the lost princess lost in her coding. Didn't expect her to be selene bc I thought it was too obvious. I need to stop playing 5D chess with inter-dimensional time travel with YA authors.

I love Kai. I love Iko. I love(d) Peony. I have a love/hate relationship with Cinder and Torin.

Dr. Erland was my favorite character until I figured out why he started the cyborg draft bc dude there were so many better ways to do that. Like....idk you could have looked at the immigration files from Europe and found what family adopted a cyborg five years ago from Reiux France. But ...whatever. Fine.

Everyone might hate me for this opinion but I felt that the feelings that Kai had for cinder were very forced, especially at first. She barely spoke to him, she was just some girl. Idk, I didn't get it. Of course, once we get Kais perspective and he explains that he kinda asked cinder out for convenience I was like "ahh, yes...the fake dating trope. My favorite." /Gen. But then I got confused bc his feelings seemed genuine? Idk it was very confusing but tbh I didn't give a shit about their relationship, I wanted to know what was going on with Luna. I wanted to know about the plot. I wanted Cinder to save Peony and I thought she was going to.

And when she didn't

I almost cried.

I wanted Kai to save the common wealth. I didn't want him to marry Levana or make any deals with her

And when he did

I almost screamed

I understand the feelings now that I've read the whole series. I think it was more of an instinct thing. But at the time, before I knew how they fit together, I was really confused. They just seemed too different and too thrown together.

But, like I said, that didn't dissuade me from reading: the plot, the characters individually, and the world building were enough to keep me going. I'm not someone who reads YA for romance.

Scarlet-

Tbh this was my least favorite book. Again, not really interested in the romance between scar and wolf. I guess it's just that I knew they'd end up together in the end so it didn't really matter to me. I also knew wolf would betray her and I knew she'd be like "jk still love you" and he'd be like "same"

Also my grandma is fucking crazy in the bad way (I'm sorry if you love your grandma, I'm sure your grandma is very nice. Mine is not) and I would not do any of this for her so I can't relate to scarlet on that front. I like to think I'm like her in the strong, firecracker sense. But besides that, there's not a lot of relatability for me so idk

Thorne is my bestie and I love him. His friendship with Cinder got me through the book ngl. I feel bad saying this bc I really do love the series, and I like scarlet and wolf, I just wouldn't read a book about only them: if Thorne and cinder weren't in this book, I would've dropped the series.

I didn't like how wolf had to do everything for her. Like jump off the train and save her from ran and bust her out of prison and shit. Like, yeah, she shot him once but like...idk. not my fav. I think they have an interesting dynamic and I like the characters and their relationship is cute, I just was kinda like ..."okay, cool" the whole time. Not my thing I guess?

That's kinda all I have to say about this one? Idk, I still enjoyed it, I just also barely remember it and I feel like the main purpose was to set us up for angst later in winter.

Cress-

So Rapunzel is one of my favorite fairy tales and I love this retelling. The way that cress' feet get fucked up and Thorne loses his vision I was like "YES THATS SO CLEVER NFKSKRWKKA"

Also the foreshadowing abt their relationship. Thorne is one of my favs, I'm a sucker for asshole gremlins who want to be better.

The way that they kidnap Kai at the end made me laugh so hard. Torin helping melted my heart. I am now invested in cinder and Kais relationship, it doesn't feel forced anymore. It feels like they both saw something in each other that was so abstract that even the reader can't quite grasp it. Kai still has her foot. Why did he keep it? They think about each other constantly. They both have responsibilities that nobody else can understand, but at least they can both try. They want the same thing but neither can have it. They have similarities now. They fit better, now. I get it, now.

Dr erland being cress' father was something I saw coming but also didn't care about, I felt like we could've gone without that. It would be just as powerful if the DNA test came back negative. Erland was hoping, out of desperation, that his crescent moon was still alive. But he really did lose her. Idk.

I loved the desert. The symbolism.

I loved how they both had to rely on each other. I love the dynamic between cress and Thorne. How cress wanted a hero to save her, how Thorne didn't think he could be a hero ever. How they both were a hero for each other.

Thorne taught cress how to survive outside of her satellite. He taught her how to live on Earth. He was there when she took her first steps on feet that had never walked before. Not really.

And cress taught Thorne how to rely on others. She saved him from his sense of self, a view of his life that labeled him as a worthless criminal. She taught him how to care about other people. She taught him to see people, instead of look at them.

It killed me. I love them.

Fairest-

Fuck Levana

Winter-

I loved winter as a character and I really liked the way the story ended. I loved the confession scene between Thorne and cress and most of the rest of my thoughts/big takeaways and opinions can be inferred from my liveblogs.

One thing I will say, though, is I hate how Cinder plans on giving up her rule. I understand that she wants to dissolve the monarchy, but I think she should run for president or Parliament or whatever government she sets up.

Also like...if there's technology that stops lunar from abusing their power...doesn't the whole monarchy thing like...still work??? Idk

Overall this was probably the most engaging YA series I've read in a while. The characters were all diverse and individual and I loved the plot and world building. I've been done with the series for a few weeks and still think about it every day.

[bangtanmythology]

In The Name Of Song. Discovery.

About: Y/N finally finds out her own story, it’s completely different to what she expected and she learns there may be a reason she loves the water so much. Oh, and she meets her true family.

Brother!Jimin x Reader. Jin x Reader. BTS x Reader.

Words:2.1K

Previous Part: New Beginning.

Next Part: Truth Uncovered

Drip

Drip

Drip

The sound felt cold, the ripples repeating themselves over and over, the droplets falling a few meters from your head. Your body was shivering, and you were covered in a gooey sheen, like that of a scaly fish. Your whole body shivered as a breeze crossed your skin and it made tiny lumps appear all over you. You groaned at the sensation in your legs, pain, fire, you couldn’t move them, sure you had feeling but they weren’t moving. They felt stuck. You could smell the sea. A smell you had grown accustomed to, a smell you were familiar with, a smell that reminded you of your dad.

“He’s not your dad.”

Your eyes shot open, your head shooting over to the sound of the voice. The guy was here again, Yoongi you recalled him telling you. There was another man right beside him, half his body inside the water. You peaked around, you were in a cave of sorts, beautiful lights and streaks bouncing off the wall from the bright pool of turquoise water that the man was half submerged in. There were large rocks scattered across the cave, many in weird patterns, almost like a place of gathering. Your eyes focused down onto your legs as you sat up, they weren’t stuck. They were bruised and they had harsh cuts and grazed all over them. 

“Don’t worry, that won’t happen every time, only the first few, when my tail first came through, I was like that too.” His voice was soft and soothing, a cheeky, playful glint to it that matched the toothy smirk set upon his handsome face. His cheeks were round and full, yet his face was defined and well-shaped. A toned abdomen peaked out over the rock he was leaning on, bright green eyes the colour of a bright emerald stared straight at your eyes. His brown hair whipped back to perfection, despite it looking as though it was soaked in the water, he was standing in. Your eyes scanned down his chest, to his hips. A gasp caught in your throat, eyes widening as one word left your lips.

“Scales”

He had emerald scales protruding from his skin, they weren’t stuck on, they were coming from inside of him. His skin was pink surrounding the scales, shining as the reflections in the cave bounced off him and straight into your eyes. He lifted himself out of the water, turning his body sideways, his arms and chest flexing into taught muscle as he sat upon the rock. Your brain span and you felt as though maybe the hallucinations you had been experiencing previously were now very much back. He had a tail. A large, emerald, real tail. Not a dog’s tail, or a monkey’s tail. A fish. A mermaid? Merman? You felt sick to your stomach, a gag escaping your throat as you laid back down quickly.

“Wow, I didn’t know I was that vile to look at, I mean seriously, come on.” His voice again was playful and soft, a couple octaves higher than Yoongi’s. He was approaching you and soon you could see his shadow over your face. Your eyebrows furrowed together. If he had a tail how was he stood over, you? Your eyes looked to the floor beside you, human feet directly next your head, tan skin with some old scars and short toes within touching distance. Your eyes trailed up, human calves, more scars. Human thighs, a large knife print like scar with a slightly pink, shiny colouring too it prominent as his thigh flexed under your gaze. Human pe-

“Why are you naked!?”

You were screaming, covering your eyes and rushing to your feet shoving your body against the cave wall that was now behind you. You had seen naked men before, of course you had, but you didn’t expect your hallucinations to be this graphic and real and big.

“That’s quite a disturbing thought. He’s not a hallucination, none of this is.” Yoongi’s tone was sharp and you could tell frustrated, you stuck your hand out in front of you, perfectly covering the naked males lower body. A deep red tint warmed your chest and your cheeks as you looked between the two men.

“What thought? So she’s not as disgusted in me as she appeared to be huh?” The small tan male was laughing, a cute, melodic sound that brightened up his whole demeanour and if you hadn’t been so confused and lost and scared, it would have made you smile. Your eyes shifted back to Yoongi who was laying face up on some flat rocks on the other side of the cave, a grumpy look on his pale face.

“This isn’t real! You’re reading my thoughts, that’s not a real thing people do!”

Sure, you were shouting and your body was shaking but you weren’t angry, you were terrified. Fresh tears rolling down your cheeks.

“Where am I? I want to go home, how did I get here?”

Maybe you weren’t imagining it, your pain felt very real, the beautiful lights and sounds inside the cave sounded real and that song, the same song from before was real.

“You’re the only one that hears that singing you know? Does that seem like it would be real to you? Jimin, touch her.” Yoongi sure was demanding, a gravelly voice that bounced off the walls and made your blood boil. The man in front of you, who was still naked, Jimin you assumed, walked straight up to you. He moved leisurely and relaxed like someone in their own home, comfortable and content with their place of residence. You tensed, uncomfortable that he was approaching you with no clothes on. He stopped a few steps before getting to you and reached his foot out, his toes prodding at the gashes on your left ankle.

“Ow, that hurts!” You quickly recoiled from his touch as him and Yoongi snickered. Your eyes went down to your cuts. They were fresh, some still bleeding slightly, some started to scab up, despite them looking like they had clearly been soaked in water.

“Hoseok took care of them, he covered them for you,” Jimin mumbled, sitting down on the floor next to you. You sighed and looked back around the cave; it seems like it really was real.

“So, you’re starting to believe, to answer your question, you’re not at home, you’re not even in the same reality as your family and your friends, not that you have many of those. You’re in my reality, the angel world, it’s like there was two earths, the one you lived on and the one you’re in now. Years pass here, for each year here a week passes in your world. So, it’s been two days since you’ve been here, only a few minutes on your world. Nobody will have noticed you gone yet. Of course, your parents know all about this, they were the ones that contacted me. Well, they’re not really your parents, they’re just there to pose as your parents, they took you in to protect you. When you we- “

“Yoongi, slow down, you’re not doing any good right now, she’s probably more confused.” Jimin was petting your hair, a weird gesture that made you even more uncomfortable.

“Well, maybe you should put clothes on, you’re making her uncomfortable.” Yoongi was sighing as he sat up, gripping some cloth in his hands which you assumed was clothes for Jimin. He threw it at him, hitting him square in the face. Jimin seemed to enjoy the banter immensely as he chuckled loudly, a high pitch sound breaking the serene waves and drips of the cave. He quickly shoved his legs into the pants of the sweatpants, and you sighed, finally relaxing a little more. He went straight back to petting your hair, a feeling that, had it been someone else, in a different situation then it would have been comforting.

“okay, I’ll explain slowly, but I’m only going to explain once. You were sick because you’re not human, in fact, the man sitting next to you right now is your biological brother, that might make you feel weird seeing as though you have just seen him butt naked. You’re like him, a mermaid, however there is a curse in your family, all your ancestors have it, but it only affects the females in your family. If Jimin has a daughter, she will inherit this curse. You’re cursed that should you ever fall in love with a human, he will perish, it’s the curse of the siren, your singing will draw them in, as a mermaid you will sing anyway, Jimin does, the singing draws large crowds, it make people intrigued, sometimes it makes people fall in love with him. Jimin has many broken hearts at his feet. The singing that you hear, its’s a song that’s trying to tempt you, it wants you to sing along. When you sing, you’re going to lure sailors, they’re going to fall in love with you and that will ultimately kill them. You’re destined to fall in love with something unnatural, inhuman, a monster. That will be your destiny, that is the curse, you cannot choose a normal life, a life without murder and mess and pain.”

His voice was sombre, yet his eyes once again held that gleam that indicates he was enjoying the things he was saying. Jimin continued to rake his fingers through your hair, unknotting it as the water you had previously been in had dried and clumped it together from the salt. You looked up at him,

“are you really my brother?” You whispered, he nodded, and you searched his face and eyes for a hint that he was lying to you, that this whole thing was a lie, a sick joke. He wasn’t, all that you could see, all that you could sense was honesty, care, love, admiration. There was sadness too.

“I’m sorry that we have this curse, mum and dad gave us up as soon as you were born, we share a family, our birth circumstances were strange. Mum fell in love with a merman, our dad, he knew about the curse, mum was cold hearted, she froze him out. He was madly in love with her, he was crazy about her. Dad died not long after that. So, you’re wondering how we were born. A reaper brought dad back, he brought him back as a sailor, reapers are not the bad people that fairy tales and folklore make them out to be. This reaper he could stop the curse, hold it for some years. Mum and dad fell in love again, they married, they had me. Mum and dad lived long enough to have you 6 years later but he died a few months before your birth. Mum couldn’t cope so she killed herself. We were sent to another reality, the one you’ve been living in, I was there too, of course I’m six years older and I’ve been in here since I was 18, which is about to be six years in a couple of weeks. The change doesn’t occur until you’re 18, it seems that you changed earlier than normal. So, Yoongi brought you here to be with me, I can teach you how to do everything.” Jimin was smiling kindly down at you. Everything was wrong. Everything was confusing. Yet it all felt true.

“Let me show you something.” Yoongi was smiling at you, a smile that was gummy and unexpected, he placed his hand on your forehead and watched as your eyes rolled back in your head.

“I’ll bring you back, you have 7 years to live with her, you can only live with her, as soon as you get back you need to marry, if you do not marry within a month of your return you will be gone forever and I will not be able to bring you back ever again. A year in you will birth a son, you must call him Jimin, in your final year she will become pregnant with a baby girl, you will never meet this girl, she must be named Y/N,”

The reaper was tall, his face dark and hollow, a black trench coat consuming his lanky figure.

“Why are you doing this for me?”

“I’m not doing this for you, that woman has a curse, the curse was put in place by witches hundreds of years ago, witches were the greatest enemies of the reapers, they could cure people, heal them from death, they could put people close to death that were not supposed to be there. I’m simply doing this to spite them, and because my father seems to have been in a similar situation to you, and that cost him life.”

Everything was black, and then white, a bright, self-consuming light burst through every corner of the room.

“Y/F/N?”

A young woman with dark, soulless eyes gazed at the man that was now in the cave with her.

“I’m back, you won’t kill me for loving me this time.”