#THE TRUTH ABOUT RESCUES IS THAT IT FEELS LIKE THEY SAVED YOU SHE GUSHES

[glamangel3766]

HYLIAN GIRL DOLL

[jobrrr]

I don't get it because when Rae gave Claire the amulet Claire was confused because she believed Rae truly has feelings for her but in this week's episode she's back to not believing it?

Hi, thanks for the ask anon. Happy to provide my take. Hope you're ready for a long post.

I guess we have to start with how our two girls are flawed as characters. Claire has two big things that she has to work through. First she lives in a pretty rigid world, and she has been raised a noble, and is expected to act like a noble. While she has a high standard for what she thinks a noble should be, this world view has only started to be challenged and her truths aren't really being truths anymore. When Matt the commoner got badly hurt by Yu’s attendant and she saw how that unfolded the cracks started to form. To her that was wrong, nothing about that should have happened like that but it did. I’ll be spoiler light to start, but going forward her assumptions about a lot of things are going to be challenged and change doesn’t happen overnight. So what does this mean for Rae and her? Well in short they are incompatible in her mind, and even if she wanted something, that doesn’t matter because she has to be a proper noble and proper nobles do not get together with commoners. Factor into that that she has expected that she will do what a proper noble lady will do, and that is to marry a proper noble man. As I mentioned before Claire holds the idea of being a noble to a very high standard, to her it’s an important role and carries a lot of responsibility and she puts a lot of her self worth into the idea.

So we get this line, ‘I’m me and you’re you. I’m a noble and you’re a commoner. Nothing more, nothing less.” Honestly I love this line, cause it's why Claire is tragic. She won't allow herself to act on her wants, and the thing is, even if it takes her a while to come to terms with it. She does want Rae. It’s why she never lets the amulet go, and we will see it again. There is a reason it's part of the closing credits. 

Now secondly, and this sort of feeds into the previous point, a part of Claire believes she can not be loved, and that she deserves it. She does not think that love fits into the ideal of a Noble, and while she gushed at Thane at first, I think that it mostly because she was acting in a way that she thought she was expected to. She is a very high ranking noble, and so she should aspire to the best wife possible. I’m not saying she didn’t have a crush on, but I do think these expectations she placed on herself put a lot of weight into that crush, and if we pay attention to what’s going on between these two? Thane spoke against his father to help them in court and save Lene’s life. Afterwards what did she do? She was with Rae, they celebrated and she never brought him up. As we saw in her flashback, Claire lost her mother at a very young age, and the last thing she told her mother was that she hated her. This is the root for her self value, and when Lene is exiled it’s like opening an old wound for her. Claire thinks she is unkind and unlovable.

This is a huge source of self doubt for Claire, and there is a part of her that thinks she will drive away everyone in her life. There is a part of her that blames herself for Lene leaving, that if she had paid more attention, tried harder, been better things would have turned out better. So how does Rae factor into this? Terrible, at least from Claire’s initial perspective. Rae comes in, being incredibly silly, and spouting what’s to her is nonsense, about being in love with her. It puts her guards up because she has this self doubt, she thinks she is being played, used. It doesn’t help when Rae seemingly changes her father’s mind by dropping a single name. And it really doesn’t help that Rae never explains anything to her and so rarely acts genuine. Claire is perceptive, she knows how to read people and play the social scene. We see it when she comes to Rae’s rescue in the cafe. She knows something is up with Rae, and she isn’t going to figure it out until Rae tells her.

So let's talk about Rae now. Rae, narratively speaking is misleading, from the beginning she set the expectation that this is going to be silly, as a series (and it is) but then we get more serious moments, like Misha asking if she is gay and then we start to see the depth to her. So We have this moment.

In the manga Rae doesn’t explain anything in the moment to Claire, outside of saying she is her guiding light. She doesn’t want anything from Claire expect for to be happy. In the Anime she still doesn’t explain everything but she does say a lot more, and if I’m being frank I think it runs against why it works. Without Rae’s explanation, it keeps Rae a mystery to Claire, hard to pin down and potentially dangerous, no matter how alluring or happy she makes her. And I think this is what makes a lot of Manaria, and the Scale of Love arc work so well.

Rae’s flaws mirror’s Claire’s. She doesn’t think Claire can love her, and it’s why she acts the way she does. She is ultimately avoiding being hurt, Rae is a silly person, but she acts it up and she acts it up a lot. She makes her love for Claire seem like a joke. Because if it’s a joke, then the appropriate reaction is to just laugh and not think about it. Claire will of course reject her because she was never being serious. And this way she won't reject her for real. Because that would hurt too much. Driving Claire away for real is the worst thing that could happen in Rae’s mind.

Also like Claire, her world view and assumptions are working against her. Rae grew up being gay in highschool in Japan. It’s something she talks about later and we won't see it animated unless there is a season 2, but it wasn't a great experience and she is carrying a bunch of her own baggage from Japan. She wants a relationship with Claire, but in her mind that is impossible.

And Rae’s knowledge of the world as a game is working against her for this. She is making huge assumptions about Claire because she thinks she knows everything about her, she even claims to know more about the game then the game devs do. The worst assumption is that Claire is straight, and that Claire will be happy with Thane.

These flaws are the friction in the relationship, and it’s as they both unpack and untether themselves from those flaws, their relationship grows. We have had stirrings in Claire up to this point, but to her Rae’s flaws are making it hard for her to trust her, and coming up in this arc we are going to see Rae have to start to confront her own flaws.

Before Manaria shows up, Rae is stuck in this limbo. She thinks she is happy to be around Claire, and to take care of her but it’s not going great. Lene is gone and it’s been hard on Claire. Rae is trying to use her usual methods to cheer up Claire but it’s not really working. I think this addition from the anime is stellar actually. Lindsay Sheppard nails it in the English version. 

It’s said in such a fond way, but it’s solemn. She wants Rae around, but she does not see how it can ever happen. A part of her thinks that whatever relationship she has with Rae, is doomed to end just like Lene, and her mother.

So enters Manaria. God Rae needs a kick and pants and Manaria is here to do that. Rae needs to grow for the things to happen and this is probably one of my favorite parts of the series.

That made sense right? I hope this makes sense, honestly these two have been living in head so much that last couple months.

[somebodyssherlock-heterodyne]

Hello!

do you have any headcanons about jayjon and the super twins? I'm interested in hearing your opinion on how the twins treat Jay, whether he babysits them, walks with them, whether they stay at his place overnight, and whether Jon gets jealous when they literally try to take his boyfriend's attention

Thanks!

I feel like it takes the twins a little while to actually meet Jay- settling into earth, extradimensional gods showing up to try and kidnap/murder/vivisect Osul, Otho actually getting kidnapped, etc. In that time, they do spend some time with Jon, who is besieged by complicated emotions he doesn't want to have or deal with the entire time he's in their presence. The twins, being the twins, ask him if he has any good stories about his victories.

Cue Jon's bedtime story retelling of the liberation of Gamorra. He monologues dreamily about Jay for at least two minutes every time he comes up in the story. Otho and Osul, who know Jon as a figure who briefly darkens the doorway before flying off again, as though he doesn't feel comfortable in the house anymore, are very perceptive children. They were gladiators- they had to be. They notice, immediately, that Jon's perpetually tense shoulders loosen the minute Jay's name leaves his lips.

I think Otho and Osul end up relating to Jon a lot. All three of them are out of sync and out of place with the softness of the house and the warmth of this family. It takes Jon a little bit to realize it, but once he does he and the twins effectively become a unit.

At any rate, the twins continually pester Jon for stories about his boyfriend, and Jay gives Jon leave to tell them everything he knows. Jon tells them the story of Jay Nakamura: of a rigged election, cruel experiments, a daring escape and a rescue by the Revolutionaries. Of the Truth, a college campus, a sinking ship, a rooftop meeting. He skims the romance bits in favor of the action, because the twins did ask for a battle story, but he still ends the story with 'and then we kissed over the smoking rubble of Bendix's dictatorship'.

The twins grew up under a cruel thumb they didn't have the perspective to want to get away from. They had Clark to rescue them, and periodically have nightmares about who they'd be if he hadn't. Jay, by Jon's telling, saved Jon far more often than Jon saved him, fought tooth and nail against a tyrant, and refused to back down even from unbeatable odds.

The twin think Jay is the coolest person they've ever heard of. They are Gossamer stans first and people second. You know that phase kids have where they find an interest and it becomes their whole personality for a while? Yeah.

Jon's cool with making them custom merch and showing them the fifteen thousand pictures in the photos folder labeled LOVE OF MY LIFE KING OF MY HEART. The twins are having fun, he gets to gush about his boyfriend all day, sure why not.

This is fine- Jay laughs when Jon repeats his life story back to him, because "when you say it like that it sounds badass and epic and not like I just spend ten minutes clinging to the ship railing like a wallaby"- until the twins and Jay finally get around to an introduction.

Jon is torn between jealousy and mild irritation because it's impossible to get a moment alone with his boyfriend these days, and immense fondness whenever he sees the twins bracketing Jay as they pester him for stories about the Revolutionaries. Which sentiment wins out depends on whether or not Otho chooses violence and starts asking doe eyed questions about when Jay and Jon are getting married. She looks like a postcard angel when she's doing it but Jon fucking taught her that look, he knows she's a hellion. Osul is less likely to be a menace but it's not out of any sort of kindness, he's just better at waiting for the perfect moment to strike. Jon loves them both but if they ask which of them will be the ring bearer at his wedding "once you finally manage to write a decent proposal" ONE MORE FUCKING TIME he's leaving them on Batman's doorstep. What's two more orphans to a billionaire anyway? Two phaelosian menaces can't possibly be harder to manage than Damian.

[boredfangirl16]

Chain of Lies

Chapter 3: Faint of Heart 

TW: body issues

Thomas is only thing keeping Alastair from killing James. How does he get himself into such situations?

Well for one, talking with Alastair itself might’ve be problematic given his history with Thomas’s friends, but he couldn’t pass up the opportunity when he saw him sitting alone in the back of room. It’s Alastair’s welcome party after all. Someone should welcome him. It’s clear no one else was going to, so Thomas did. 

Although he did notice Alastair’s interaction with Charles which was a bit strange. Not that Thomas was watching him all night, he just happened to glance over in Alastair’s direction many times. That’s all. 

“Don’t,” Thomas says in a low voice. He grabs Alastair’s arm as he sees him try to get up. “Don’t cause a scene, I’ll go—.”

He stops talking when he sees Matthew seemingly appear next to Cordelia. They resume the dance where James left and all seems well again. Matthew is busy talking his head off and Cordelia is laughing, so they must be alright. No one seems to notice anything is off and everyone continues on with their conversations. That is, all but Alastair. 

“How wonderful,” Alastair says. He’s scowling and his whole body looks tense. If Thomas wasn’t holding his arm, he might still jump up and attack someone. “Fairchild is the one to save her. How convenient.”

“Alastair,” Thomas warns. “All is well.”

“All is not well!” Alastair snaps. He yanks his arm out of Thomas’s grasp. “My sister was just abandoned in the middle of a dance and was ‘rescued’ by someone I wouldn’t trust within ten feet of her. They might be your friends, but they hate me. They might even hate Cordelia too because of it.”

Thomas knows that isn’t true, but he sees where his worry is coming from. 

“That isn’t true.”

“Then why did James run off? Surely he isn’t so dense that he doesn’t realize that it would be embarrassing her,” Alastair says. “Besides who even is that woman he ran to? I’ve never seen nor heard of her.”

He hasn’t seen her either, but he has heard of her. It’s Grace Blackthorn, his adoptive cousin. It’s all his parents have been talking of recently. They seem to think that Tatiana will bring trouble to London. Based on what Thomas has heard, he has to agree. That woman is no good and anyone raised by her can’t be much better. 

“That’s Grace Blackthorn. James is enthralled with her, but I’m not sure why. I hadn’t even heard him speak her name before a few days ago and now he sings her praise and chases after her during balls,” Thomas says honestly. Perhaps a bit of the truth will help Alastair calm down. 

Alastair looks over at Thomas and frowns. “Well that complicates things.”

“Whatever do you mean?”

“You can’t tell anyone.”

Thomas nods. “I won’t. Although a feel a bit like a school girl agreeing to such a thing.”

Alastair rolls his eyes. “Yes, of course, because only school girls keep secrets. It’s not like I’m asking you to try on pretty dresses or gush over boys,” He mocks. Thomas wouldn’t mind that last option, but he keeps his mouth shut. “Cordelia fancies James.”

“That’s a school girl secret,” Thomas chuckles. 

“You didn’t let me finish,” Alastair says exasperated. “And my mother was hoping to marry her off to him. But that will never happen if he is as in love with this Blackthorn girl as you say.”

“Oh,” said Thomas. He wasn’t quite sure what else to say to that. His sisters are both enthralled with the thought of marriage, children, and families, but he from what he’s heard Lucie say about Cordelia, he didn’t think she was that sort of girl. Of course, there is nothing wrong with wanting to get married. It just wasn’t what he was expecting to hear. “Well, does she want to marry him?”

Alastair shrugs. “I would guess she wouldn’t be opposed to the idea. Although I can’t say for certain either way.”

Thomas nods. He isn’t quite sure what to do with this information. Common sense alone would tell a person that Cordelia is generally a better fit than Grace, but love doesn’t always listen to that. Of all people, it is he who knows that. He sneaks a glance at Alastair, but looks away. Perhaps he should focus on his own problems rather that butting into his friend’s now complicated love-life. 

A heavy silence falls over the pair of men. Alastair has a closed off look about him and Thomas isn’t quite sure what to say. The last time they spoke was Paris, which is something he’s still trying to convince himself wasn’t a dream. That could be start to a conversation.

“Did you enjoy Paris for your travel year?” Thomas asks. He puts his arm up against the side of couch, trying to act nonchalant. He doubts it’s working. 

“It was good,” Alastair says softly. He pauses as if lost in memories. Could he be thinking of those two days they spent together? “Nice to get away for a little while and see what the city had to offer.”

Thomas noticed that he spoke slowly and seemed to pick out each word with care. He’s always been good at spinning together half truths that no one bothered to check. Thomas has just always been able to see through them. 

“And what did the city have to offer?” Thomas asks. He knows he’s treading on dangerous ground.

Alastair looks over and stares at Thomas. He isn’t quite sure what the other man might accomplish by furrowing his eyebrows and looking Thomas up and down. 

“Don’t you have better places to be?” Alastair deflects. 

“No.”

Alastair averts his eyes and sighs. “Are you trying to get me to acknowledge that we saw each other in Paris? Well we did, so that’s that.”

Thomas has to take a deep breathe before responding. Why is he so hopelessly crushing on someone so infuriating? “I’m trying to start conversation because you’re rather bad at it. Excuse me for trying to be polite.”

“Harsh,” Alastair says, but Thomas doesn’t miss the twitch of his lips. “I’m rather good at conversation. If I wasn’t, I wouldn’t be able to piss off the entire population of London without even trying.”

“I doubt the entire population of London hates you. You give yourself too much credit.”

His lip curls upward again and Thomas knows that he’s winning. 

“Fine, whatever do you want to speak about?” Alastair spits out. 

“I asked you about your trip to Paris, so it would only to logical for you to respond to that question,” Thomas says smartly. 

Alastair groans.”You’re infuriating. You know that right?”

“Most people call me ‘nice’.”

“Well they clearly haven’t spoken to you long enough,” Alastair mumbles. “I spent most of my time at the Institute, except a few day trips, to be honest. It was only chance that I ran into you.”

“Why didn’t you go sight-seeing more often? Paris is practically known for their beautiful streets and culture.” Thomas tilts his head. 

“I was busy,” Alastair says. “I went there for a reason and it wasn’t to meet the locals.”

Thomas nods, but he doesn’t quite believe it. While a travel year is about training at the local Institute, in Thomas’s experience there was still plenty of time to go out and see the place one traveled to. There’s little point to stay cooped in a cathedral for a year when one can do the same at home. 

“Well, did you befriend any shadowhunters there?”

“Does it look like I’m the sort to befriend people wherever I go?” Alastair snarks, before answering. “I suppose I had one friend there, but I met him before I traveled to Paris, so he doesn’t count.”

“Who is he?”

“None of your business,” Alastair responds defensively. 

Thomas doubts he’ll get anything more out of the man about Paris or really anything at all. He has walls built up all around him with only small peep holes that Thomas can look through. It doesn’t do much good when it comes to knocking them down or getting inside. 

“How was Spain?” Alastair asks and Thomas’s whole face lights up. 

“It was wonderful. I missed home, but the experience was something I’ll never forget. I even got a new weapon over there called, bolas. It’s a rather traditional weapon and I like it better than any sword or crossbow at the institute,” Thomas says excitedly. It’s silly to be so excited by such little interest, but he’s thrilled. “The food is also so much more flavorful. I came back and thought I was eating grey mush.”

Alastair chuckles at that, “Now that, I can agree on.”

Conversation doesn’t come easy, per say, but it comes. Thomas knows that Alastair is trying to be friendly, even if his attempts are rather lacking. If he wasn’t, Thomas bet he would’ve gotten up already. He never has cared much for other’s feelings. So it fills Thomas with a sort of ease that they get to spend the night together talking. Alastair’s guard isn’t down like in Paris, but the entirety of the London Enclave is also in the room. There is only so much that Thomas can expect. 

Topics flow from one to another as song after song is played. He doesn’t pay a wink of attention to the dance floor or any of ladies surely hoping for a dance. The only person he ever entertains is Lucie, and that’s because they’re like siblings. He isn’t deceiving her in the slightest like he would another woman. They just have the occasional turn on the dance floor to keep up appearances and hurry off to their respective friends. 

Yet, Thomas notices that Alastair eyes occasionally wander. At first he thought he was looking for Cordelia, which is an understandable thing to do. Especially after the incident with James. But even when she can occasionally be seen, Alastair is still distracted. There are just so many people. Any of them could be the one that holds his attention. Perhaps it’s that friend of his that Thomas has been jealous of since his school days. The one he went to Paris with, who recommended to The Prince to him. Only, Thomas has no clue who it might be and he doubts he’ll get any answers tonight. He decides that he’ll ask around later and focus on the moment. 

An hour or so later, the ball is slowing down. It certainly isn’t done, but there’s a lull in activity. Everyone’s feet must be sore from dancing all night. 

“I’m going to go get some air,” Alastair says in a break of a conversation. Thomas nods and looks down at his shoes. “Would you like to come?”

Thomas looks up at him with wide eyes. He knows it isn’t meant as anything but a friendly gesture, yet his heart still races fast. He assumed Alastair was trying to run away from future conversation. 

“Yes,” he says just a tad bit too quickly. 

Alastair doesn’t comment on it and sets his glass on one of the tables before going out into the night. Thomas quickly follows behind him. The man sits on the stairs of leading up to the Institute. His back is against the wall, his head tilted up to look at the stars. Thomas sits one step below him and looks up. 

The stars shine brightly as ever. The air is cool, but not cold. Lanterns and street lights illuminate the road in front of them. Alastair is completely silent. Thomas looks over at him. His hair has been dyed blonde since the last time they met. Not that matters, but he preferred it black. It looks like Alastair’s trying to be something he’s not. 

“I’m an ass,” Alastair says. “You shouldn’t wish to befriend me.”

“Haven’t we been over this enough already?” Thomas doesn’t know how many more times he can repeat the same thing. He can leave the past in the past. Mistakes don’t define a person. “You don’t get to determine such things.”

Alastair hums, but it’s obvious that he disagrees. He pulls something out of his breast pocket, a box of cigarettes. Thomas had occasionally seen a glimpse of one at the Academy, but he always assumed it was one of the other boys. Is this why he hid out on the roof at night? He twirls one around his fingers. 

“My mother would kill me if she knew I had these,” Alastair says thoughtfully. “I think that’s why I do it. She’s a big hypocrite about things like these.” He pauses. “Want one?”

“No thank you,” Thomas says. He’s been wary of things like cigars and alcohol, since he was young because of his sickly childhood. While he does drink on occasion with his friends, he doesn’t want to risk any sort of relapse in his health. It isn’t worth it. 

Alastair’s about to light one, when the door to the Institute opens up revealing a small group of shadowhunters. One of them being Thomas’s father. None of them notice the two boys sitting on the stairs. Inquisitor Bridgestock is there as well, discussing something in hushed tones. He could only hear the word demon occasionally being thrown about, which is strange in itself. 

Thomas had no intention of interrupting them, but Alastair has other ideas. He scrambles up and hurries over the group, leaving Thomas in the dust. He sighs, but follows dutifully. 

“There was a Shax demon attack in the Seven Dials,” answers the Inquisitor. Another demon attack? There was the one that Thomas and his friends killed and now this. Could demons be returning to London like the rest of the world? “We are set to head out and ensure the patrol groups have it covered.”

“Can I come?” Alastair asks. 

“I don’t think that would be best,” says Charles, Matthew’s older brother. Thomas has never thought much of him. The Thieves have classified him as annoying and stuck-up, which is fitting of his personality. He’s never bothered to give his younger brother’s friends a second glance, claiming that they are too ‘immature’ to spend time with the liked of him. Not that any of the Thieves have ever asked for his company. “You only just moved here. You don’t know the streets well enough to hunt for demons. I think it’s best you sit this one out.”

“Thomas,” says his father surprised. “Whatever are you doing out here?”

“I was just getting some air.”

“Balls can be tiresome,” his father nods. “But if nothing else, Barbara and Oliver have been dancing all night. It’s only a matter of time before he proposes. Your mother is already planning the wedding in her free time.”

Thomas chuckles. At least one of his sisters is having luck with love. Eugenia, the second oldest had been stood up by Augustus Pounceby. They were fairly serious, but Pounceby proposed to Catherine Townsend instead of her. She became the laughingstock of London society within days, so she left for Idris to escape the gossip. Thomas wishes he could’ve done something about it, but he was still in Spain when everything happened. He knew Genie would’ve felt even worse is he had come home early because of her. 

“But—,” he hears Alastair protest. Although he’s amongst a group, he is specifically arguing with Charles. “How will I ever learn the lay of the land, if I’m not allowed out?”

No one else seems to be paying them much attention. All of the young men gathered are enthralled with whatever the Inquisitor has to say, taking in each word he has to say like it’ll give them the secret to power in the Clave. Thomas feels very out of place within the group. He’s never been one for politics. 

“Alastair,” hisses Charles in a very low voice. “Drop it.” Alastair frowns, but doesn’t protest again. “I’ll show you around later, alright? Then you can go on any patrol you like.”

Thomas watches Alastair nod hesitantly, “You promise?”

“I promise.”

Before Thomas can react, the door opens once again. A stout man peaks his head out, “Gideon, you daughter—.”

He can’t even finish the sentence before Thomas’s father rushes back into the ballroom.  After a beat, Thomas runs after him. Everyone is crowded into a huddle around someone, presumably Barbara. Gideon pushes through to get to the center and Thomas follows the path his father makes.

“She just collapsed,” he hears Oliver say. “We were dancing, and she fainted—.”

Barbara’s eyes flutter open and she sits up. His cousin, Anna, is holding her up. Her dress has been cut, presumably to free her from the corset and a wrapper is tied around her chest, to keep decency. Surprisingly, Cordelia is on the ground with Anna as well. His mother kneels on the ground, helping hold her up. 

“I’m—I’m all right,” Barbara says. “I’m all right now. I had a spell, a silly dizzy spell.”

His parents lend her an arm to help her stand up. Thomas offers her his handkerchief, seeing the spot of blood on her lip. She takes her family’s help graciously. 

“I bit my lip,” Barbara explains when the edge of the cloth turns red. “I fell, and bit my lip. That’s all.”

“We need a stele,” Thomas says. Something must be wrong. “James?”

“My stele,” James says to Cordelia, who stood up from her spot on the ground. Thomas looks back and sees that both James and Matthew just appeared, looking around in shock. “Inside my breast pocket. Barbara needs a healing rune.”

Thomas frowns. James’s hands are clenched at his sides and he’s as still as a rock. He went outside for less than five minutes and everything fell apart in his absence. He’ll have to interrogate James on his behavior later. He takes the stele from Cordelia and draws a healing rune on her arm. 

His mother starts to interrogate her as Barbara repeats her story of a dizzy spell. “I forgot to eat today,” she says, as their mother holds her up. “That’s all it is.”

“Nevertheless, we had better get you home,” his mother says and looks around for Thomas’s uncle. “Will—can you have the carriage brought around?”

Thomas looks at his sister, worry evident in his eyes. Although he has heard of the horrors of corsets, he also knows that his sister doesn’t just get dizzy spells. She never has. It was always Thomas that was the sickly one. He can’t help but think the worst. After all the years he spent stuck in the house, barely able to get out of bed, he would hate for the same to happen to Barbara. 

He shakes his head. It’s nothing. Barbara is not sick, she can’t be. She’s stronger than he’ll ever be. 

Thomas offers his arm to his sister, who takes it gladly. His mother hovers over them as his father is stopped by the Inquisitor. It must be about that demon attack. 

“I’ll be back later tonight,” he says to them before following the Inquisitor. 

Thomas nods and they leave the Institute. Surely the ball will be ended after the events of the evening. Between Barbara fainting and the demon attack, no one will wish to continue on with the festivities. It’s been a rather eventful welcoming of the Carstairs to London. 

Him and his mother guide Barbara into the carriage even though she insists that she’s alright and there’s no need to fuss over her. Against his wishes, it reminds him of all the times he was sick and his family kept him holed up in the house. He hated being doted on every minute of every day, to the point he stays over at the Institute or Christopher’s house whenever he feels ill now. It feels like he’s being suffocated even if they mean well. 

“Mother, it was just a dizzy spell,” she repeats as their mother checks her forehead for a raised temperature. “There is nothing to worry about.”

“You fainted mid-dance, Barbara. I have a right to worry,” their mother huffs. 

“You do,” Barbara agrees. “But I assure you that some food and a good night’s rest will cure my ailments.”

His eldest sister is always so respectful and level headed, nothing like Genie. Most assume that she’s very similar to Barbara, but it’s only those close to her that hear her endless sarcastic remarks. One of Thomas’s oldest memories of her was when she went through a phase of carrying a wooden training sword with her everywhere. She grew out of it, but still adores the longsword she owns. He’s guessed that she only seems so interested in marriage because she thinks it’s how she’s supposed to act. Not that he’s ever confronted her about it. 

The ride goes by smoothly and they arrive at the Lightwood residence. Thomas jumps out and offers Barbara help down. Their mother speaks to the driver, while the siblings make their way into their home. 

“You best eat, before mother starts cooking a five course meal,” Thomas says and sits on one of the stools in the kitchen. 

Barbara sighs and bites a piece off of a roll sitting in a basket on the counter, “Are you happy now?”

“Ecstatic.”

Barbara sits next to him, as she finishes off the roll.

“Do you think Oliver will propose soon?” She asks, her voice filled with nerves. 

“However would I know?”

“Well you’re a man, so maybe you have some sort of intuition for things of the sort,” Barbara shrugs. “Everyone says that he will, but what if he doesn’t? What if—.”

“I’m going to stop you there,” Thomas interrupts. “While your theory on gender telepathy is way off, I am sure he will propose in due time. Oliver is nothing like Pounceby.”

Barbara looks guilty, “I wasn’t trying to imply that he was. Oliver is a wonderful man. I guess Genie’s heartbreak has just gotten to me, a little. It taught me that nothing in life is promised.” She looks at Thomas, desperation in her eyes. “Everyone was convinced that Genie would be proposed to and look at what happened. While I know Oliver would never stoop so low, I’m just scared that I’ll ever get the chance to get married or have children.”

Thomas looks at her with remorse. Doubts creeps into even the most assured minds when hardships comes along. He knows that Barbara has nothing to worry about. It’s only a matter of time before she gets her happy ending. 

“You’ll get married someday, don’t worry,” Thomas assures her. He squeezes her shoulder. “And so will Genie. Everything will work out as it should.”

A devilish grin passes over her lips and Thomas knows he made a mistake somewhere. 

“And what about you? I didn’t see you dance with anyone besides Lucie tonight,” Barbara questions poking him in the side. “You won’t find a wife at the edge of the ballroom.”

But that’s where he found Alastair. Not that he would ever say that aloud to his sister. While he doubts she would care if he likes men, no one is particularly fond of Alastair. She’s too much of a gossip to keep it from his parents or his friends, who would be appalled.

Besides, there’s no way that Alastair could ever like him back. It would just cause problems when there don’t need to be any. Everyone has enough problems of their own, without having to deal with Thomas’s sad love life. 

“I’m not interested in dancing with any of the girls,” he says simply. 

“Then how will meet one? You never talk to anyone, but your friends at gatherings.”

Thomas shrugs. “I don’t know, Barbara.”

His sister looks exasperated. She’s always been a romantic at heart and without Eugenia around to tease, Thomas is left with her insistent questioning. 

“There must be someone,” she insists. 

He pauses. “Maybe there is, but it is none of your business.”

He thinks he’s saved when his mother walks through the door. 

“Mother! Thomas just admitted to liking someone,” Barbara exclaims, as if she hadn’t been escorted out a ball less than half an hour ago. 

“Stop pestering your brother,” chides his mother. “Now have you eaten anything?”

“I had some bread,” she says. 

His mother looks to him for confirmation and he nods. 

“Good. Now, let’s get you to bed,” says his mother as she shoos her up the stairs like a child. 

“But Thomas—.”

“You can interrogate him on who he fancies in the morning.”

Thomas silently thanks his mother for her intervention. 

As the house grows quiet and things start to settle down, the events of the day start to catch up to Thomas. He’s very thankful that Barbara seems alright. Maybe it really was just a dizzy spell. He’s able to push the worry to the back of his mind for now. His sisters do enjoy finding ways to occupy his otherwise full plate. He gets a headache just thinking about it. 

Yet as he lies in bed, the past comes creeping into his mind. It’s like an infection that he can’t seem to get rid of. Once he hit his growth spurt in Spain, he thought he would be done thinking of his sickly self. The past is in the past. He pushed that little boy, deep deep down. He was weak and while he doesn’t like this body either, at least he can be his own person. No longer defined by illness and visits to the silent brothers. 

Seeing Barbara faint and his parents dote on her, brought it all back. 

It doesn’t even make sense. His family was always caring for him, they were ensuring he didn’t face an early demise. But then why does it hurt so much to think of it? Why does it feel like the walls are closing on him, slowly squeezing every bit of life out of him? Why does he feel sick just thinking about it?

That night he falls into an uneasy sleep as he dreams of his childhood. He looks out the window at children playing outside. When he looks hard enough, he sees it’s a young James, Matthew, and Christopher. They’re kicking a ball around, falling down often. Each has scrapes covering their legs and dirty faces. Thomas looks down at his younger self. Not a single bruise or scrape adorns his skinny frame. His legs are ghostly white and look more like twigs than anything else. His arms are the same. His chest narrow with shoulders that sag. 

He’s stuck at the window seat watching everyone else live their lives. His small hand presses against the glass that fogs up with his breathe. He can hear their shrieks of laughter from his prison. 

“Come on Thomas,” his mother say from somewhere behind him. “You need rest.”

“It isn’t bedtime yet.”

“But you haven’t been feeling well. Come on, my dear,” she says and takes his hand to lead him up the stairs. She tucks him in tight and kisses his forehead. Once the door to his room shuts, he tears off the covers. Tears well up in his eyes. All he wanted, was to be like the other children. 

Then he hears a knock at his window. The small Thomas looks over in shock at the disturbance. He’s on the second floor, who could it be? After a moment of hesitation, he walks over and looks out. 

On the other side is a familiar face. A scowl permanently plastered on it, even as he holds onto the vines that grow on the side of the house. Surely the thorns must have punctured him. It’s the reason that Genie stopped trying to climb them. 

“I thought you were never going to open the window,” Alastair remarks as he invites himself into the other boy’s room. He looks around as if inspecting the place. “Are you just going to stand there staring?”

This certainly never happened. His dreams are never exact memories, but he’s never had one stray this far. 

“Why are you here?” Thomas asks meekly. 

“I’m bored and you looked lonely,” Alastair shrugs. He invites himself onto Thomas’s bed and sits against the frame. “It must be dreadful being stuck in here all the time.”

“How would you know that?”

“I guessed. Besides you looked all sad sitting at the window seat looking out at all your awful friends.”

Thomas sits next to him hesitantly. 

“You aren’t supposed to be here.”

“Isn’t that my line?” Jokes Alastair. 

Thomas can only stare at him in awe. He never gets saved in these sort of dreams. 

Alastair hits his shoulder, “Are you just going to sit there looking dumb or are you going to talk to me?” Thomas rubs his shoulder. “Surely, that couldn’t have hurt. You aren’t going to break, pip-squeak.”

Then Thomas, the older Thomas, wakes up. He’s drenched in sweat and out of breathe. He sits up in his bed trying to gather his wits about him. What sort of nightmare turned dream was that? 

He doesn’t know what to think of it, to be honest. Yet, he knows he won’t be getting back to sleep anytime soon, so he looks out the window of his room. It isn’t the same one in his dream that Alastair climbed into, but he looks for the man regardless. It seems like he’s always looking for him. He’s never known quite why. 

Taglist:

@artistinsoul 

@laylax13s 

@thelasthours-alastair

@ashisamess

@thedamnephilimfangirl

@youwerealwaysmysecret 

@melanielocke 

@yozinha-z 

[drrutherford]

eleanorxshipley​:

It was nothing out of the ordinary for Eleanor to take a stroll until she found a local spot to stop for a bite to eat or a refreshing drink. She didn’t mind dining alone– the hum from others enjoying the beautiful weather and their own refreshments was a serene backdrop. Much like the television buzzing at home, except it made her feel less lonely. 

It wasn’t until she was seated that Eleanor took notice of a charity function going on several tables away. She was curious, and thought to sought out if it was something she wanted to contribute to, but figured she would wait until some of the attendees cleared out. Opting to hide her face in the romance book she had been itching to read since it had been announced a year prior, it was the sound of approaching footsteps that stirred her eyes from the pages.

Anticipating her server with the check, Eleanor’s expression blossomed to one of delighted surprise w realized it was instead Gideon. A grin broke across her lips, sputtering a tickled laugh at his remark as she took the proffered flowers. “Always happy to take some of these beauties for sprucing up my place,” Eleanor gushed softly, using the stems to save the place in her book. “They’re beautiful. I was wondering what charity had taken over this place today. Now that I know it’s for a good cause, I do intend to donate before I leave.”

Last she had seen Gideon was at the after party, when he’d come to her rescue from Olivier. “I’m doing alright, thank you, Gid. How about you? I had been meaning to send you a message, but time got away from me,” she admitted. “But thank you again for… you know. Looking out for me. How are things? And with Amélie?”

.

“Yeayea,” He tells her with wry fondness. “You’re very gracious, Shipley, but I bet you get heaps. Much more impressive than this sad looking thing.” Gideon adds, handing over the simple flower arrangement. “Bet I couldn’t open your door for the bouquets perpetually left at the foot of it.” He’d been married to a high society actress, rubbed elbows with many other entertainers in her circle, but in all that time had never met any celebrity as humble as Eleanor... It’s one of the many reasons he adores her. 

It’s also one of the reasons he’s so protective of her — which brings him to at least one of the motives he’d had in seeking Eleanor out today. The slightly more sensitive matter that hadn’t ceased to trouble him since he’d seen her that night in late March.

“Amélie’s fine. More and more tempted to write a hit piece on me, I’m sure, but so far I’ve successfully managed to bat her fingers away from the keyboard.” He steps back with a nod and a vague smile as Eleanor’s waiter comes to collect the bill, freeing her from her table. “Are you really okay?” He asks, as soon as the man has left them once again. “No more boat bullies?” The Rutherford asks, scanning her features to search for the truth — or any attempt to smooth it over.

His gaze flickers to their surroundings, before returning to the actress. Not enough privacy here. “How ‘bout a walk?... Are you free to indulge me for twenty minutes?”

[smol-and-grumpy]

Legally Yours - Ch. 01 (Prologue)

Pairing: Dean Winchester x Reader

Summary: Dean Winchester tops the list of hottest entrepreneurs 2020 and yet, there’s still something he wants but can’t have because, in order to get that, he would have to settle down and get married. She agrees too quickly because she wants to secure a more comfortable life for her and her daughter. Will she be able to help Dean get what he wants without losing herself in the fake story they spin up to deceive his father and the world?

Chapter Warnings: None. Maybe the end will get your heart racing.

WC: 1796

Beta’d by: @deanwanddamons​ <3

Series Masterlist ~ SPN Masterlist

Buy me a coffee

Y/N’s sitting at her desk as she types an answer to the inquiry from a customer, when her friend Donna practically slams a glamour magazine over her keyboard. 

“Have you seen this?” The blond woman asks. 

“Jesus, Donna! I haven’t saved that document yet! God!” She picks the magazine up and tosses it to the side as she continues to finish the document on her screen. 

Donna’s still waiting, staring at her and she wonders if that woman has nothing else to do. Y/N’s sure Donna has plenty to do, they always have a lot of work and that’s why she gets home so late and sometimes, Liv would already be asleep. Sometimes, when she’s lucky, Liv was awake and she’d read her a bedtime story of princesses who are rescued by a heroic prince.

As soon as Y/N is finished, she turns around in her chair, to see her friend still staring at her instead of doing her own work. 

“What is it?” She asked with that added annoyed nuance to her tone of voice.

“Look!” Donna lifts her chin to point towards the magazine she slammed in front of Y/N just a moment before, “Have you seen it?”

Turning back around to her desk, she picks it up, “Donna, I’m not reading those mags, so no, I haven’t seen it. Why?”

Instead of answering her, Donna only grins. The grin that shows her dimples. The wicked one, “Page twenty-six,” 

With raised eyebrows and that little spark of curiosity which Donna had added to her interest, Y/N rifles through the pages until she reaches page twenty-six. 

There’s a picture of a man who stares right at her. He’s wearing a perfect suit. His one hand fakes the adjusting of his cufflink on his wrist. It’s a total male model pose. Well, he looks like one, so she can’t really say that anything’s out of the ordinary. 

At a second glance, though, she realizes that he looks familiar. His face is a little scruffy, but that makes him look edgier, makes him look more handsome. He’s smiling bright, showing his perfect white teeth. There are crinkles around his emerald eyes, seven on his right side, and she knows she shouldn’t even be counting them, so she ignores his left side. And she definitely can’t help but notice the freckles across his face. 

Oh, she thinks.

Oooohhhh.

“Is that..?” She asks with a frown that gets deeper between her eyebrows because she’s just not sure? She hasn’t seen the man that many times in real life. 

“Ya! Our fucking boss! The icy King!” Donna shouts, “Isn’t he dreamy? My god, I wanna eat him up! And he doesn’t look as icy and distant like he always does,”

“Donna!”

“What? Only telling the truth here! Read what the headline says!”

Her friend is right, though, Mr. Winchester’s normal aloof and cold persona isn’t captured in the picture. He’s known to be the icy King in the company. Instead, he looks kind of welcoming and warm. Y/N eyes go to the top of the page, and she can’t lie, it’s hard to concentrate on the writing when there’s a good looking man staring her down.

The headline is in all caps.

 DEAN WINCHESTER, HOTTEST ENTREPRENEUR 2020

 She frowns, as her eyes leave the magazine to look back at her friend, “That’s what you wanted to show me?” 

“Duh! There’s also a whole article about him being the center of attention everywhere he goes,”

“Well, that’s not really surprising, is it? Looking like that?”

“It also says that he has a fiancée.”

“That’s also not surprising,” Y/N shrugs, “I mean, seriously, look at him. Who wouldn’t want to marry that?” She didn't. At least not when they say that he’s cold-hearted. But again, she’s not the norm here because every female is gushing about him. 

She closes the magazine loudly, deciding that she shouldn’t waste more time. She wants to get home on time today. Liv went on a field trip with her school and she wants to hear her little girl telling her about how exciting it was. Y/N still has a lot of work to do and also a meeting with her supervisor later. The sleazebag.

“So, can I go back to work?” She turns to Donna, “I have a meeting with Raphael in about twenty minutes.”

“Ew,” Donna cringes her nose.

Y/N rolls her eyes, “Exactly,”

“Will you tell him off?”

“I already did,” She sighs, “Multiple times,”

“Why don’t you just go to HR?”

Donna knows what happens. What always happens when she has a meeting with Raphael. He’s always trying things with her. Accidentally brushes his hand against her breast or her ass. He once told her to sit in his lap as he was showing her the numbers of her performance. It wasn’t the first time he suggested it, and she doubts that it will be the last time either. He tried to kiss her more than once, but knowing that they are in an office environment, he didn’t dare to force her too much. He also offers to drive her home almost every week, and she’s slowly getting tired of it, not to mention creeped out.

At their last meeting, he made her hang up a picture frame in his office. His hand rested on her hips to supposedly support her, but they traveled further down until he kneaded her ass in his palms. She immediately got down from there, and left the room wordlessly. 

She knows another secret about Raphael, though. One she could use against him, but she just doesn’t know how just yet. Y/N knows and has got proof that he’s been skimming money. He takes it out of the customer’s account. Not a lot, a small sum that customers wouldn’t notice is missing, but in the end, it’s probably a whole lot when he does it to all the customers he’s supposed to look after. 

Again, she can’t really bring that up because she’s sure that he’ll spin it around and Raphael is good at that. With a push on the button of his keyboard, he could reverse everything and she knows that. 

“I can’t go to HR,” Y/N lowers her head and mumbles to her friend, “Because they won’t believe me,”

And that’s the truth too. The Head of HR is Duma, a woman who occasionally fucks Raphael. They have a friend with benefits thing going on, even if she’s married with children. Duma will never believe her because Y/N’s sure that Raphael can spin this perfectly to fit his narrative. 

Besides, what can she possibly tell? It’s her against him. It’s like a mouse against an elephant. She’s only an accountant and is replaceable, whereas Raphael is a member of the leadership team. And who will be let go? She doesn’t think it’s going to be him and she needs the job to survive. 

Y/N watches as Donna’s lips start to curl up, the white teeth of the woman are visible, as she drums her fingers annoyingly on her own desk.

With a frown, she asks her friend, “What?”

“I have an idea,” Donna says and pulls up her outlook calendar. 

She types in something, and then a calendar appears with a lot of colorful blocks. 

Oh no. She has quite the idea of who’s calendar it is even if she can’t read the name from where she’s sitting, which is too far away because she doesn’t want to give the impression that she’s not working. And it’s stupid that they can do that. They have quite an open calendar policy at the office. Everyone can send and block meetings for everyone, even for the icy King. 

“Donna, no!”

“Why, Donna, yes!” Her friend grins, “He has an open window right now. The meeting in the boardroom is in ten minutes. You should go tell him what you know. If someone can change anything, it’s him, right?”

Donna’s not wrong, she isn’t. But Mr. Winchester is what? At least four tiers above her if not five. Why should he care what a simple worker in his company is thinking? Why should he care what the hell she goes through every day while he earns enough profit to fuel his expensive and glamorous lifestyle?

“He wouldn’t believe me,” She shakes her head.

“You can tell him about the money skimming, I bet he won’t be happy to hear that.”

“Ugh,”

Donna stands up and walks over to her, braces her hands on the chair Y/N’s sitting on, “What’s the worst that could happen, huh?”

“That I get fired?”

“Meh,” Donna squeaked, “I doubt that. You’re doing a great job. Your records are great. And besides, if they do that, you can go and file a lawsuit against them. Besides, who knows, if you go to HR, Raphael will fire you before the icy King does.”

True, but still. 

“Now go get your ass up to the executive floor. Maybe take him a coffee, I heard he likes it black,”

“Oh, just like his heart?”

“Ya, maybe I wouldn’t tell him that?” Donna chuckles.

 *

 Y/N’s on her way to the elevators. She can’t believe that she’s really doing it. But Donna’s right. She can’t go on and live like that. It’s already hard to part from her child every morning and to get bullied at her job and being sexually harassed should not be the norm. She just fucking wants to earn enough money to keep her kid and herself above water.

God, she’s really doing it! 

Fuck.

There are six elevators lined up in the foyer. Three on each side. Only one goes up to the executive floor and also one is reserved for Mr. Winchester’s penthouse on the top floor. Everybody knows that. 

To get the elevator to run up to the executive floor, Y/N would need to have a card with a chip, which she doesn’t, and she feels stupid to have just realized it. And now she’s standing here, lost, with a hot black coffee in a lidless plastic cup that almost burns her fingers off.

Ugh. 

She’s so fucking stupid.

Well, she could still try, couldn’t she? She jumped over her own fear and has come this far. She definitely shouldn’t give up now. 

Her finger hovers over the buttons. Closing her eyes and exhaling loudly, she gives the button a push. Standing back, she waits, her heart is drumming loudly against her ribcage.

And she doesn’t even have to wait long because not even thirty seconds later, the elevator dings and opens up to reveal a man in a nice suit staring back at her.

It’s him.

Ch. 02

Please share your thoughts with me, I’d love to hear your feedback.

[straydawg-writing]

𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞'𝐬 𝐚 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐦.

- 𝓚. 𝙯𝙤𝙡𝙙𝙮𝙘𝙠

• hunter x hunter series!

summary:

┍━━━━━♥♠♣♦━━━━━┑

𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙝 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮.

𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙛𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙨 𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙜𝙩𝙝.

𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙞𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙜𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙜𝙚𝙩 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩, 𝙞𝙩 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙗𝙚 𝙨𝙖𝙫𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙨𝙚 𝙗𝙤𝙮𝙨 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙫𝙚𝙨.

ˏˋ♡̩͙♡̩̩̥͙♡̩̥̩ ⋆ ♡̩̥̩♡̩̩̥͙♡̩͙̩͙ˊˎ

- 𝙞𝙣 𝙬𝙝𝙞𝙘𝙝 𝙮𝙤𝙪, 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙧, 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙛𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙜𝙨𝙞𝙙𝙚 𝙂𝙤𝙣 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙆𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙪𝙖. 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙮 𝙛𝙤𝙡𝙡𝙤𝙬𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙡𝙤𝙩. (𝙢𝙤𝙨𝙩𝙡𝙮 𝙨𝙚𝙩 𝙙𝙪𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙝𝙞𝙢𝙚𝙧𝙖 𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙖𝙧𝙘)

┕━━━━━♥♠♣♦━━━━━┙

Chapter 1 —

⋯✰⋯

"Book."

"Gain!"

Bisky's eyes shined like stars as a smooth blue gemstone appeared in front of her. You could spot tears of hers spring up as she cradled the glittering rock like it was the most precious thing in the world.

"What should I name it? Blue-chan? Planet-chan?" she gushed, bouncing on the balls of her feet. You stifled a laugh, catching a glimpse of Killua's dumbfounded expression. If one thing were true, it's that he does not understand women.

While Gon and Killua endured Bisky's brutal training during Greed Island, you had grown to like her. Despite her being 45 years older than you, you imagined she was the closest thing to what a big sister would be like. Or maybe a mom? You wouldn't know.

Unfortunately, you weren't special enough to escape her unforgiving training either. Bisky knew no mercy. While training their physical bodies, she also trained the trio's nen abilities.

Gon developed his special punch move by using the rock, paper, scissors of Chinese martial arts. Killua learned how to better channel his electricity, though Bisky had looked concerned when he first demonstrated it to her. You couldn't blame her. Killua's ability to withstand electricity only came from years of shock torture, and you noticed how he rarely mentions the fact that he still feels the pain. You caught on to it the night you watched his Heaven's Arena match, remembering his voice floating to the stands.

"𝘐'𝘮 𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘐𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘯𝘰 𝘦𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘰𝘯 𝘮𝘦. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘯. 𝘐𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘵𝘴."

Your heart clenched for him every time you remember this fact. He has a tendency to hide his pain, in order to not burden his friends.

Then there's you, who Bisky took upon herself to help.

Since the day Wing opened your nen pores and declared you a Manipulator, you practiced your nen with Gon and Killua daily. When the time came to decide your special ability, the answer was as clear to you as a cloudless sky.

𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴.

Since then you'd been seen carrying around leather pouches of dirt, water, and vines wherever you went. It was a nice start, but it sure did make your back hurt. And of course, Bisky would not accept that. Ordering you to dump out all of your pouches to the ground, she had you draw out your power from the scattered elements that had begun already mixing with the dirt.

Unsure, you had hesitantly stretched out your arm and tried pulling from the water. It took you a number of tries to get it right. You had squinted long and hard, focusing on extending your nen to the elements around you. To your giddy surprise, small, sparkling droplets of H20 were separating from the glob of inky mud to float just a few inches above your hands. Concentrating harder, the droplets began orbiting one another. They looked like little planets.

Sensing the vines, you were able to control their movements too, even manipulating ones that hadn't originated from your leather pouch.

Bisky's wide smile was all that you needed.

From that day on, you only practiced manipulating whatever was around you. The earth was your ally.

"Well, what will you do once you find Ging?" Bisky's voice snapped you out of a daze.

"Naturally, I'll introduce him to Killua, my best friend in the whole world!"

"What am I, a roach?" You mocked, but couldn't keep a smile from spreading across your face.

Gon's unyielding positivity and bubbly voice was like honey to your ears. No one could ever doubt the adoration he held for his best friend.

"Stupid, cut that out! It's embarrassing," said Killua, turning red as a tomato. He looked away in an attempt to hide his embarrassment, except you were right there to catch his blush.

You flashed a mischievous smile to Killua. "You know, I think an I-Love-You-Too-Gon-I-Also-Think-You're-The-Best would suffice once in a while."

"Shut up."

Killua was as stubborn as ever. You are playfully rolled your eyes before turning your attention back to the rest of the group. Gon was inviting Bisky to come with them and meet Ging, but she had said something about not being interested in men who already have kids.

"If I stay with you any longer, I really will get too attached..." Bisky tried to mask it, but you've always been good at noticing little details. She was going to miss them. And truth be told, you were going to miss her too.

"The hunter world is a small place. We'll all see each other again in no time!" you reassured your friends. "See you later, Bisky."

"Take care, Bisky." Gon said his goodbyes, Killua nodding next to him.

⋯✰⋯

"Accompany on."

"Nigg!"

At that, a bright light enveloped all of them, streaking them through the sky. Every time you did this on Greed Island, you had always shut your eyes tight. You'd never get used to the feeling.

The next thing you knew, the three of you landed in an area thick with white fog. It was slightly chilly, causing you to shiver. A hundred feet in front of you was a tall sakura tree with roots so large they could be mistaken for a magical beast. It had to have been there for at least a couple hundred years. Soft, pink petals drifted in the wind, dancing around you and your friends. As your eyes focused, you noticed a shadowy man reclining on the tree's roots. Could it be Ging?

Before you realized what was happening, the mysterious man turned towards the three of you and opened fire on Gon.

Then, Killua was diving in slow motion and pulling Gon out of the way and the two of them were rolling on the ground holding onto each other. Getting a hold of your senses, you looked down at dozens of bullets that had made holes in the ground and noticed an injured ant lying motionless on the floor. The thing was completely decapitated.

"Now look what you've done, you killed an innocent soul!" you exclaimed to the man, pointing at the poor bug.

"That's not Ging..." Gon whispered.

"What was that all about?! First, you push us down, then you fire at us. Stop messing around!" Killua accused the Not-Ging.

After helping Gon back up, Killua examined the insect too. That is, before it ruthlessly attacked him.

"Oh. It wasn't dead," you stated the obvious.

The man quickly finished off the ant biting Killua's leg with his machine gun before scoffing at you. He took off the black jacket he was wearing, unveiling straight, platinum white hair so long it almost touched the floor. You could get a better look at him now. He was lanky, and the beret he wore casted a shadow over his eyes. If you had to guess, you'd say he's about 6'3. Just who was this man? Had God finally sent an angel to cleanse you from your sins?

"I was being dead serious. If I hadn't opened fire, you would have been attacked. That was no ordinary ant, it was a Chimera Ant."

"A what?"

"An aggressive, carnivorous insect that's been designated Quarantine Level 1. You three didn't realize it, but you were standing right in front of their nest. If I hadn't fired the moment I did, an army of Chimera Ants would have consumed all of you by now," the angel explained.

You gawked at his beautiful long locks, gracefully flying in the wind as he turned to leave.

Gon seemed to have recognized the man, asking something about if he were the one who had saved him back then. Gon told a story about being rescued from a fox bear, though it looked like he had remembered something else because he held his cheek as if he'd just been hit. For the first couple of seconds, the man looked at Gon like he was in denial about the person right in front of him. Then, like it was nothing, he called Gon by his name. And if by a miracle, he also knew Ging.

"My name is Kite. Ging was my master."

You nudged Killua, "Did you hear that?! He knows Gon's dad!" Killua looked just as shocked as you.

The three of you followed Kite to a small campfire as he told them stories about Ging, himself, and his current mission. You were thankful for the heat source, warming your hands against the flame as it was only getting colder as night fell. You cursed yourself for not being like Gon and Killua, who always had their long sleeve layers and could just strip them whenever the weather deemed it necessary. All you were wearing were burgundy shorts, combat boots, and a black t-shirt. And of course, your necklace. You reached your hand and held onto the choker pendent around your neck. It was all you had left of your home. Just holding onto the pink pendent brought you enough comfort to warm you from the inside out again.

The sun was beginning to set by the time you met Kite's friends and the cute dog that had taken a liking to Gon. Your eyes softened as you watched Gon play with the puppy, having found its sweet spot right behind its ear. He caught you staring, and flashed his pearly whites.

"Y/N, come rub his belly! He's so soft!"

Getting up from your spot next to Killua and wiping the dust off your shorts, you traveled to where Gon was now teaching the dog new tricks.

"How are you gonna teach him anything without any dog treats?" you asked, petting the little dog.

"With this!" Gon pulls out a handful of goldfish from his pocket. He tossed one to the pup, who caught it in midair.

You held in a laugh. "Gon, why do you just have goldfish lying around in your pockets like that?"

"You don't always have time to snack when you're training you know.. Plus, It's in a baggy!" He showed you the zip -block bag that was stuffed inside the pocket of his green shorts, bashfully rubbing the back of his neck. This time you couldn't help but let out a laugh.

"Oh I see, as long as it's in a bag, right? Can I see one?"

Gon nodded and put some goldfish in the palm of your hand. Looking for Killua, you spotted him sitting on a log watching as the sun set under the ocean's horizon. He looked so ethereal as the orange light reflected off of him. The light made his fluffy white hair shine, and a slight breeze made delicate strands wisp in the wind like snowflakes. You almost felt bad for disturbing the picturesque scene in front of you.

"Hey, Killua! Come feed this dog Gon's two-year-old musty goldfish with me!"

Yeah, you had ruined the moment.

"It's not two years old! I bought it in Yorknew," he whined.

"But it's musty?"

Killua walked up to the two of you with a questioning look, and you paused your bickering to hold open his hand and transfer the goldfish. The dog barked.

"I'm not sure, animals typically run away once they smell Mike on me," he said, referring to the oversized human-eating guard dog at the Zoldyck estate. Considering it's job was to deter people, you guessed that made sense. Still, you had faith that this innocent pup could show Killua some love. He needed the free therapy.

"Just try it!" Gon pushed.

Killua succumbed to Gon's request, holding the treat out to the tail-wagging puppy. Though, instead of taking the treat, it knocked Killua clean over, licking his face.

"What the heck— Help!" Killua desperately tried wiping the slimy slobber off of his lips.

"I think he's trying to kiss you." You giggled.

Mission accomplished!

"Kite did say that hunters are well-liked by animals. This means you're a great hunter, Killua!" Gon excitedly shared.

Killua offered a small smile. "I haven't passed the test yet, dummy."

⋯✰⋯

author's notes: hope you guys liked the first chapter! i'm excited to keep this story going!

[notkageyamasprincess]

youth | tsukishima kei x reader

characters: childhood friend!tsukishima kei x g/n!reader

genre/warnings: fluff, a tiny crumb of angst, typical unrequited love EXCEPT IT’S NOT UNREQUITED, maybe crack if you really squint, no warnings except maybe cussing? anyways they slow dance in a playground 💞

words: 2.4k

summary: you and tsukishima are on a late-night snack run when you pass by the playground where you met as kids. together, you reminisce about childhood memories, make a few realizations, and make plans to fulfill an old promise.

notes: listen to youth by troye sivan while reading if you’d like. also, i tried to make the reader gender-neutral, hopefully i didn’t accidentally miss something

The sound of distant traffic and rustling leaves filled your ears as you and Tsukishima walked home from your trip to the nearby 24-hour convenience store. The snack packaging crinkled in the plastic bag he carried, and your footsteps fell into a comfortable rhythm beside him. The orange gleam of the streetlamps created tall shadows of your silhouettes, stretching across the pavement in front of you. Turning your head, you recognized the familiar metal railings of the old playground you visited countless times as children.

You tugged at his sleeve to stop him and pointed to the entrance. 

“Do you remember when we used to come here all the time? Let’s go sit for a while, I don’t feel like going home yet.”

“Suit yourself. It’s cold, I’m going home,” he responded, a scowl on his face. He hands you the bag and continues walking.

“Hmm, I bet you just want to leave so you can go text your crush. Your mom would be pissed if she found out that you left me out here alone at this hour, though. Auntie loves me like I’m her own child, you know that” you called out, grinning mischievously. 

He stops in his tracks. “____, are you threatening me?”

“Nope,” you replied in a sly tone. “I’m just a master of persuasion.” You don’t wait for him to reply and started cheerfully towards the swings, knowing he would follow you. You grinned even wider when you hear his strides coming closer.

You couldn’t see it, but a ghost of a smile softened his expression as he trailed behind you.

“You’re annoying,” he muttered. 

Fine, whatever. As long as it makes you happy.

You set down the plastic bag next to the swings and nudged his shoulder as he approached you. “Look, I’ll treat you to a hot drink to make it up to you. There’s a vending machine over there, what do you want?”

“Coffee’s good.”

As you hurried over to the machine, he gazed at your retreating figure illuminated by the dim glow emitting from behind the glass. He chuckled as you propped your chin on your hand, carefully pondering the options before you.

Your eyes flitted over the labels before finally settling on what to get for yourself. 

Milk tea it is.

You returned, tossing him his coffee which he caught effortlessly. 

He met your eyes with an amused look. “Took you long enough.”

“Hey, it was a difficult decision!” 

You plopped down on the swing next to him and popped open the tab on your own drink.

------☾------☾------ 

You swayed back and forth, tracing circles in the gravel with your foot as you and Tsukishima recounted your childhood antics. Breaths rise in puffs as you nursed your drinks.

“Sometimes I wish we could be kids again. We didn’t have anything to worry about…”

He hummed in agreement. You snuck a glance at his handsome features. Moonlight reflected off his glasses as he sipped from his can and you felt your cheeks burn when you realized you were staring at his lips.

And I didn’t have to hide anything from you. Especially not my feelings. I didn’t need to suppress my jealousy when girls asked you for “help” on solving problem sets, or when you brought up your crush. I didn’t have to act like I wasn’t sulking when you received other people’s chocolates on Valentine’s Day. I didn’t have to worry about ruining our friendship.

You quickly caught yourself and shook it off, putting a plastic smile on your face. “…I want to go back and relive it again,” you continued.

He quirked an eyebrow. “You sure? What about the time you tried to play hero when Yamaguchi was getting bullied, and then you ended up twisting your ankle?”

“I didn’t expect those boys to actually fight back. Plus, they were nearly twice my size, I didn’t think they would be that low,” you huffed.

“Who knows what would have happened if I wasn’t there.” 

“Luckily, my knight in shining armour came to the rescue,” you giggled, recalling how he had to carry you home on his back. “Anyways, if that didn’t happen, then we wouldn’t have become the Three Musketeers.”

“Dude, stop calling us that, it’s embarrassing.”

“The point is, as far as I know, all my memories with you guys are good memories.”

Tsukishima felt a smile tug on the corners of his lips yet tried hard to conceal how happy that made him feel.

“You’re such a sap. That’s because for the last ten years, I was constantly saving your ass and cleaning up after your messes,” he scoffed.

But I don’t think I’d mind doing that for another ten years. Or twenty.

You noticed faint music coming from his earbuds and perked up.

“Hey, you’re using the earbuds I got you for Christmas!”

“Of course, dumbass. What else would I do with them?”

“I still think you seem cooler with headphones but at least now no one gets to call you broke,” you joked.

He winced. “Isn’t that a dead meme? Also, they’re convenient and I like how they’re wireless.”

You just beamed at him.

He loved how pleased you get over the smallest things. He loved how your eyes became crescents when you smiled. He loved how easy it was to read you. Your emotions were always written on your face and you never made him guess.

God, I’m whipped. 

You finished your drink and placed it on the ground. “So, what are you listening to?” You reached over to take an earbud and found a saccharine love song crooning in your ear. “I didn’t know you listened to stuff like this,” you teased. 

“That’s because I don’t. Did you forget that you were the one who added this to my playlist?”

“Excuses, excuses. Just admit it, it’s a good song.” You leapt up and made a move to pull him up. “Let’s dance.”

“The hell? No way, why would I?”

“Come on, there’s no one else here except us, and I really want to.” You gave him your best puppy eyes and begged. “Kei-chan…Please?”

Tsukishima felt his resolve weaken.

This is bad. Why is it so hard to say no?

“I told you already, drop the -chan,” he said, reluctantly letting you drag him away.

You wrapped his arms around your waist and looped yours around his neck. “Oops, I guess old habits die hard.” You looked up at him. “Kei.”

The tips of his ears tinged pink and he felt the back of his neck heat up.

Shit, shit, shit. Calm down, she only said your name. Stop freaking out.

“Hey, your neck feels really warm right now. Didn’t you say you were cold?”

“Shut up, that’s just because of your sweaty hands.”

“Deal with it.”

------☾------☾------

You gently swayed to the tune and closed your eyes, savouring the moment. 

He glanced down. The moon shined on you and accentuated your long eyelashes, cute nose, and rosy lips. A slight breeze swept over the two of you and your hair fluttered softly in the air before coming to a rest, framing your face once more.

When did this brat get so attractive?

He averted his eyes just in time before you noticed. The current song ended, and a more upbeat track began to play. It was “Youth” by Troye Sivan.

“Do you want to stop? This is probably too fast to dance to, and you’re going off the beat,” he pointed out.

“No, it’s alright. I’m having fun and I really like this song.”

You reached into his coat pocket to put the song on loop then laid your head on his shoulder. Truthfully, this was the most romantic thing you’ve ever done. You wanted to press pause on the entire world and stay in your haven for as long as possible.

“Kei, do you know what just came to mind? This is the place where we first met, and I remember being obsessed with you at first because I thought you looked similar to the main character from my favourite movie. Back then, I made it my goal to marry someone just like him.”

You smiled wistfully at the memory, recalling how you followed him around everywhere like a lost puppy. You found it hilarious that you liked him even then.

He smirked. “Yeah, I avoided you like the plague and I got so fed up because you wouldn’t stop pestering me to marry you.”

“Yup! You even told me that kids are too young to marry but I just made you swear not to kiss other people and to marry me when we were old enough,” you laughed. “Now that I’m looking back on it, that was a pretty stupid promise.”

He honestly didn’t think it was that stupid. There were things that were more stupid in the world. One of them being your taste in men, for instance. He was tired of hearing you gush about a new guy every month.

You and Tsukishima allowed yourselves to get lost in the music and immersed yourselves in the lyrics.

My youth, my youth is yours Tripping on skies, sipping waterfalls

My youth, my youth is yours Run away now and forevermore

My youth, my youth is yours A truth so loud you can't ignore

My youth, my youth, my youth My youth is yours

  “We should go soon. You mentioned you had plans tomorrow morning, right?” he asked.

“I do, but it’s nothing too important. I’m meeting up with Terushima-san.”

His expression soured. “You mean that greasy bastard with the tongue piercing who tried to hit on you at one of our games? Why are you going on a date with that guy?”

“It’s not a date!” you protested. “He asked me to hang out with him once and then he’ll stop texting me.”

He tightened his hold on your waist.

Don’t go.

“You should have just ignored him, it’s not like you owe him a date,” he grumbled.

Why are you wasting your time on him?

You shrugged. “Too late now, it’d be rude to cancel so last minute.”

He rolled his eyes.

Are you trying to make me jealous? Open your eyes, I’m right in front of you! 

You froze. 

Did I hear that right?

You slowly pulled out of the embrace and scanned his face. He looked at you with an indecipherable emotion. Your heart sped up and you hesitated, wondering if you should say something. 

But why would he be jealous, that’s just wishful thinking right? Isn’t he in love with someone else?

You questioned him with a hopeful tone. “Kei. Can you say that again? I might have misheard.” 

Tsukishima’s expression morphed into one of perplexity. And then it dawned on him. 

Oh. Oh. Fuck, fuck, FUCK. 

You started talking before he got a chance to collect his thoughts. “I heard something about jealousy, and I think I heard you say, ‘Open your eyes, I’m right in front of you.’” Your imploring eyes nervously met his own. “But that can’t be right. You were just telling me about the person you were in love with last week.”

Shit. So, you heard it all. 

His mind was racing for ways to take himself out of the current situation. He didn’t think there was much damage control he could do at this point, but you seemed confused and skeptical of what he just said. Maybe he could try to play it off. 

Or... what if I took the opportunity to come clean?

He took a deep breath. “Actually, I’m in love with you, ____. The person I was talking about was you.”

You couldn’t believe your ears.  Never in your wildest fantasies did you entertain the possibility of him returning your feelings. 

He’s in love with…me? This is a dream. This has to be a dream. 

“It’s okay, you don’t have to respond. This is why I didn’t want to tell you,” he continued. “Look, just give me some time, it doesn’t have to be awkward between us or anything, we can act like how we were before.”

He loosened his hold and started to pull away when you suddenly gripped his shoulders.

“Kei. Pinch me.”

“What?”

“Pinch me,” you repeated. “Ow!” You rubbed your cheek. “Okay, this is definitely not a dream then.”

You gazed up at him and carefully placed your hands on both sides of his face. 

“Listen, I feel the same way. I love you. I’ve loved you since we were sixteen.”

His eyes widened. He gathered you in his arms and engulfed you in a hug. He felt relieved. He felt like he was in the clouds. He felt like he was on a high that he would never come down from. 

You laughed and wrapped yourself around him. 

After a couple minutes, he finally spoke. “____, this might be happiest moment of my entire life. The only thing that can top this would be the moment I see you walking down the aisle towards me. I’m serious. I fully intend to marry you.”

“I have no complaints. As long as you don’t go back on your words, I guess you’re stuck with me.”

“Idiot.” 

“I’m your idiot now,” you grinned. 

He kissed you on the forehead and smirked. “That’s right.”

You melted at the rare display of affection. Almost immediately after, an amusing idea came to your attention and you cracked up.

“What’s so funny?”

“I was just thinking, I feel like I should pat myself on the back and congratulate myself. Six-year-old me would be very pleased at how things turned out.”

He snorted. “Yeah, maybe you were onto something there.” 

“There’s one thing I’m curious about though. When did you realize you had feelings for me?”

“I’m not exactly sure. I think it was sometime during the first year of junior high that I started seeing you differently and noticed that I liked you as more than a best friend.”

Your jaw dropped. “You’re kidding. For real? You’ve suffered for way longer than I had.”

His cheeks flushed scarlet and he avoided looking in your direction for a few seconds. “Well, I wouldn’t call it suffering, but at least now you know.” Then, he caught your eyes and stared at you intently. “Hold on, you’re not still going on that date tomorrow with Terushima, right?”

You smiled reassuringly. “Not anymore. I mean, tonight changed things. I have a boyfriend now, yes?”

“Yeah. Unfortunately for him, you’re mine.”

“I’m yours.”

My youth, my youth is yours A truth so loud you can't ignore

My youth, my youth, my youth My youth is yours

My youth is yours

My youth is yours.

a/n: okay if you actually read to the end, thank uuu!  i’ve had the idea of slow-dancing in the night while listening to youth for a couple years now, it’s just been floating around in my head and i decided to take a chance to write it out! started as a cute date idea but alas, i have no partner to re-enact this with... so there you go! i honestly wanted to write kageyama for my first piece but tsukishima fit a bit better lmao. please feel free to give feedback or general thoughts!

[thatbrownb1tch]

I have a post TWK prompt Jude meets her mother’s wealthy parents and they try to set her up for an arranged marriage, And Cardan rescues her

Edit:

I definitely did not base everything off of Gilmore Girls.

“We have grandparents?” Anger fumed through me while Taryn stood in shock. “And you chose to keep this a secret for how long?”

“Jude, I didn’t tell you for many reasons but now that you seem to be, well nearing the end of your peak you must get some family if you’re not willing to settle down,” Madoc leaned back into his chair.

“What do you mean settle down? What? I’d marry some random monster like Locke? I’d rather die than ever marry anyone that I don’t care about,” I spoke the truth right now. Something I rarely did with Madoc.

“Taryn?” He moved off of me trying to figure out what his other daughter was feeling. It took a lot to get me to agree to meet with Madoc but it was even more difficult to get me to be in here with Taryn. I’m only doing it in case they try to kill Cardan or something but right now it doesn’t look like it.

“Where do they live?” Taryn finally spoke.

“Right outside Elfhame, in a large house by the country. They have many connections and you can easily go back and forth in case you’d like to form a connection which I’d rather you not do,” For someone so against us meeting them he’s telling us an awful lot about it. “Look, if you guys want you can see them, but you don’t need to, I was just doing my job,” He stood and began to make his way out of the room.

“You’re a little too late,” I called after him.

“At least he told us,” It’s typical of Taryn to do that. Agree with the one who caused us the most pain. This is exactly why she’s known as the optimist and why I’m the pessimist.

“Wow! It’s so great that he finally told us! Madoc is such a good person because he told us about our only biological family still alive that can possibly help up a decade after he kidnapped us!” Sarcasm erupted, it’s something I try not to do with her but right now she was really getting on my nerves.

“Jude,” She began, “I’m sorry. I understand why you’re so angry but please, let’s go see them.”

I narrowed my eyes, “you can go see them. But I’m not ruining their lives on top of what they already went through.”

“Excuse me?” Was she really this stupid?

“Don’t be so naive. They obviously had to go through the death of their daughter after she ran away. What do you think they went through after mom came here? And then after like 30 years we show up at their doorstep claiming to be their daughter’s kids? They probably haven’t even gotten over her death. Maybe you didn’t love our parents like me but I still mourn them,” I knew the last part wasn’t needed but sometimes she really made me feel like that. Taryn moved on so much faster. Vivi remembered them very vividly and had a good reason because of that but I never did. They just said I was being difficult for no reason when I was forced to live among monsters after I saw my own mother and father die by the hands of the man who’s been taking care of me.

“You really think that? I hope you know that I grieve them just like you and Vivi do. The only difference is I can hide it better unlike you two. Jude, deal with it. You’re not the only one with traumatic events who’s empathetic towards other people who lost their family. Don’t you think it’d make them feel better to know that they still have a piece of mom left?” How could she be so optimistic? If I was in their place I’d wish to forget everything, I’d wish to die in peace knowing that no one else would need to go through the pain I felt. Maybe something was just wrong with me.

“Fine, I’ll go but if everything goes wrong don’t blame me.”

She smiled sweetly, “Thank you.”

Vivi drove us to mom’s parent’s house. Well, technically our grandparents but I’m not sure if it’s okay to call them that yet. Vivi had called them earlier and made sure they knew we were coming, she said they’re sweet.

“Alright, we’re here,” Vivi didn’t leave the car, she didn’t follow us to the doorstep. She was related to them yet she didn’t come with us.

“Are you not coming?” I asked.

“Why? You guys deserve an actual family, I don’t want to see any more. They’ll just ruin my life again,” Every word she spoke made me feel more normal. I didn’t want more people to interfere when I was doing what I wanted. I was so close to getting a higher place on court.

“Alright then, Jude we better get going,” Taryn pushed us away from the car before I changed my mind. The house was gigantic, it was like a mansion, much bigger than a regular family-sized house. It was like Locke’s estate but more homely. It had a beautiful garden with a large driveway. It was in an ‘u’ shape. The house looked newer than the estates in Elfhame but it was still very grand and kept well for its age. I heard that most houses get very old here and start to crack but this one was taken care of.

“I don’t want to go,” I stated flatly as we reached the front doors. The door has a gold knob with a glass window but there were designs on it to keep people from outside to look inside. It was like a privacy barrier but it worked very well because I didn’t see the owners my grandparents walk up to the door and open it. I jumped a little, I wasn’t expecting that but Taryn was very ready with her gigantic smile.

“Hello girls!” The woman grinned widely while looking between the two of us. It was as if she was picking apart everything in our face and bodies, but we were identical so I’m not sure why her head went back and forth.

“Come in, please,” The man pushed his wife away a little and welcomed us inside. He was tall, and wore spectacles. They had a thin metal frame and were small for his face. They were circle shaped and he wore them a little done on his nose, it definitely made him look old. The woman had a short blackish Gray shirt and she wore a red pantsuit.

“Thank you,” Taryn was the first to speak between us and I could tell this was how most of the trip would end up going. They’d ask a question and Taryn would answer, and I’d just nod along. And like usual, I was completely right, an hour in and somehow the only thing I said was “thank you”. The man had introduced himself as Richard and the woman had said her name was Emily. They seemed like lovely people who wanted to get to know their grandchildren but we were all definitely uncomfortable and I was definitely a huge reason behind it.

“So, Jude, how are you?” Emily said it directly to me so Taryn couldn’t answer for me.

“I’m fine, how are you?” I would’ve used her name but I wasn’t sure if she’d like that.

“I’m great, so what are you two doing? School? I assume you’re around 17?”

“Uh, well I did go to school,” I started not sure how to explain to her that my foster father killed the prince during his coronation which made him a traitor and then the person who I thought cared about me actually loved my sister. Then, I made my enemy the king so that my little brother wouldn’t need to be on the throne and so that my foster father wouldn’t be given any power and now I’m the high king’s seneschal.

“We did but we graduated,” Taryn interrupts us so that I wouldn’t say anything stupid. That’s a great way to put it.

“That’s nice, so are you guys going to college?” Richard asked.

“Yes, well not exactly but we have jobs,” Another lie. Taryn is really going all out today with the lies.

“Is college even a thing there?” Emily looked at me.

“Where?” I wasn’t sure if they knew about Faerie but I couldn’t risk it.

“That place, the one which stole our daughter from us, the one which caused her death,” Emily said in such a sweet voice you wouldn’t be able to feel her rage unless you were looking directly at her eyes.

“Yes, we live there. College isn’t a thing and honestly the only thing we can do is either become a knight, a member of the court, or just get married,” I explained.

“So where are you two on the list? I’ve heard that girls get married around your age and we have a couple of boys that we’d love to set you two up with. They can also get you to very high places on the list, almost near the top with the king,” Richard jumped in.

“Well, you can’t help Taryn, she’s already found a place,” I felt their eyes on me and I had to get it off.

“Oh! Are you-?” Emily began.

“I’m betrothed,” Taryn finished with a glare that was shot in my direction.

“That’s great! Is he a good man? Will you be protected? Do you truly love him?” A ton of questions spilled out of Emily and all I could see in her face was grief. She missed mom and all of her questions gave away her intentions. She wanted to make sure we were safe, she wanted to make sure we weren’t going to make the same mistakes. I don’t think they’re that bad anymore. They’re trying to save me from Faerie. Something that only one other person has done and that’s Vivi.

“Yes, I really do. He makes me feel like I’m flying,” She gushed.

“Well that’s great, but please be careful, think it over before you say ‘I do’,” Richard looked at her sternly.

“I will, I promise,” Taryn said looking down at her hand where a small gold ring laid on her ring finger.

“What about you dear?” Emily’s attention turned back to me. Now, I really don’t have anymore saves.

“I’m not planning on marrying anyone there,” I heard a snort come from Taryn but moved on. I could tell she was thinking about my relationship with Cardan which was very simple. “I have a place in the court, I’m not sure for how long I can secure it but I’m happy with where I am,” I didn’t want to give too much away.

“Really? Are you a knight?” Richard leaned forward interested, to know how I got a place without a mans

“No,” I laughed, it was my dream but I was definitely not a knight and I’m not sure if I could be trusted to be a knight anymore. Cardan would choose me to be a part of his personal guard just to annoy me and I’d probably end up going to the tower of forgetting to kill him. “I’m actually connected to the high King,” I wasn’t sure how much I could say but my wording was really bad and I could tell the second they left my mouth. Richard looked surprised while Emily looked disgusted for a split second. She covered it up but it was there. “Oh! No, not like that! I am definitely not connected to him like that! I’m just his seneschal,” I scramble to get the words out.

“Oh, that’s a lot better,” Richard recovers a lot faster than Emily. “Alright, well it is time for me to get back to work but Emily, you’ll be here with the girls?”

“Yes, don’t worry I’ll still be here and if you guys do decide to leave, please do think of coming here,” Emily does seem very sweet and honestly it’d be a lot better to live here than in the tiny apartment with Vivi and Heather, oh and of course Oak.

“Yes, don’t worry if I ever do plan on leaving I know where I’m going,” I grinned hoping they know that I’m trying to accept them. Taryn doesn’t say a word, it’s obvious she doesn’t like them. You couldn’t tell at first but now she’s not being as friendly. Maybe because of the way they talked about her marriage but I’d say the exact same thing if we were still on better terms but now we barely even acknowledge each other.

“Now, Jude, I really do think we could set you up with someone. We could at least throw you a coming out party! Oh, please Jude! It was my favorite thing to do with your mother! Please?” She seemed so excited and I know I should’ve said no but what’s the worst that could happen? I’d just say I’m better off with no one and they of all people should understand that.

“Okay, I’ll do it.”

“What?” Taryn asked, not expecting that.

“Great! Alright I’ll get started on it and you two should sleep here for the night, tomorrow evening you will have the best party ever!” Emily stood up excitedly as a maid came in to show us to our rooms.

“Actually I have to go home. Locke is expecting me,” Taryn escaped, leaving me alone. Right before I was planning on going to sleep a short lady walked inside. She had a straight cut that went up to her chin and she had black cat-eye glasses on.

“Hello, stand up straight please,” There was a hint of Russian in her accent. She walked up to me and began to measure me. My waist, my hips, my bust, she measured every curve on my body. “That’ll be all, a dress will be ready for you tomorrow,”

“Thanks,” I didn’t understand exactly what happened but I think I have a dress now. It was a sleepless night, thoughts filled my head but it wasn’t the worst night of sleep due to the bed I had. I don’t even have anything to compare it to. Somehow I didn’t think about Cardan once throughout the trip. I was afraid of leaving for a day like this, I told him I may be out for up to a couple of days since I kind of wanted to stay with Vivi and Oak for a day but I didn’t realize that I would like Emily and Richard so much that I’d be okay with spending a night.

The party started out great, over time the garden was filled with men who all fought to get to know me. I didn’t enjoy the fact that I was actually missing Cardan right now. Usually right now he’d say something to give me something to overthink, laugh, or mostly panic about but right now I was stuck with a bunch of boys who all wanted my hand. As if they really expected me to choose and on top of it, Emily was very keen on me choosing. She had told me she had about 5 batches so I can have a party each night of the week. It wasn’t that I didn’t like her or anything but, I just could not deal with a room filled with rich people like this. I know I’m supposed to be happy that there’s a room full of people ready to marry me at any second but right now all I wanted to do was run all the way back to the palace. To bicker with Cardan and fight with Madoc at council meetings. I finally found an empty area , a couch in the corner of the garden, somehow no one was to be found. I sat as politely as I could incase anyone was watching but I ended up leaning back and closing my eyes trying to process every person who’s introduced themself. Within minutes later I felt a thud next to me on the couch, I tried my best not to groan and turned my head. I attempted to have a sweet smile but I’m pretty sure it was a glare from the moment I looked over.

“Why the face?” The boy had a sly grin on his face as my eyes widened.

“Cardan!” I hissed. “What are you doing here?” How did he even know about this party?

“Taryn told Locke and Locke told me about it,” He replied coolly while he took a bite

out of something he was holding.

“Who’s at the throne? Oh my god, is it Madoc? He’s going to kill everyone,” I started to panic thinking about what was happening in Elfhame with Cardan and I back here.

“Don’t worry Lo-“

I cut him off, “Locke! You put Locke in charge? He’s going to kill everyone and lock us out!” I almost stood up with even more panic spread throughout me. At least Madoc was logical, Locke thinks everything is a stupid game.

“Locke called for the court of shadows and now they’re doing whatever it is that you do,” Cardan finished.

I took a deep breath, “Oh thank God.”

“So, what did you do to get a party for yourself? I doubt you’re actually planning on choosing someone,” I could tell he didn’t like the idea of me marrying someone just for the sake of it.

“After Locke, I don’t think I’ll ever rush into love at all,” I forgot who I was talking to for a second, I let my guard down stupidly. I could tell Cardan didn’t like the fact that I said Locke but he let me continue before I stopped talking, “I’m just doing this because they miss my mother and Em- she pleaded. How could I refuse a stupid party that caused her more excitement than to know that she had a piece of her daughter left.”

He smirked, “Well, I know something that’d cause her even more excitement.”

“What?” I could already tell this would end with a dirty joke.

“Oh, don’t be like that. I was just going to say that if you chose me, you could pretend you’d live with me for a while,” His idea was great except for the fact that she’d freak out to know that I planned on running away with a boy that she doesn’t even know.

“I think she’d have a heart attack.”

He snorted, “Well, we won’t know until we do it.”

“Cardan!” I gasped.

“Also, who’s ‘she’?” I realized I never actually explained to him who my grandparents were.

“The woman who gave birth to my mom.”

“So ‘he’ is the dad who caused his wife pleasure and pain so that your mother would come out of ‘she’?” He could make even the stupidest things sexual.

“Yes Cardan, please talk about the way that my mom was conceived. Please, I’d love to know more,” sarcasm filled my voice.

“I’d love to but ‘she’, is coming down here’,” my heart stopped for a second. Was she going to recognize him? He did glamour himself so hopefully she wouldn’t, and she probably didn’t know how the new king looked anyway.

“I see you’ve made a friend,” Emily winked at me.

“Yes, I did, but I think it’s time w-“ I stop myself quickly, “I go back home.” I smile as naturally as I can but I can tell it looks too artificial.

“Yes, well I’d like to get to know him a bit before you go,” Emily looks at him. “Have we met before?” She’s catching on.

“I’m not sure, maybe you knew my father?” Cardan played along but maybe he wasn’t. He sounded serious, was he actually asking my mortal grandmother whether or not she knew the old high king?

“Where’s Richard?” I blurted, hoping that she doesn’t figure out who Cardan is.

“Yes, I’m not sure where he is, but Jude. If you ever do feel comfortable, I’d love for you to call me your grandmother. And the same goes for Richard,” This was it. The conversation I least wanted to have and on top of it we were doing it in front of the boy I hate.

“Well, I hope you wouldn’t be calling him grandmother,” His laugh echoed through my body.

“Oh Yes! My wording was not that great,” Emily began to laugh. I’m surprised she didn’t snap at him but again, I think I’m just one who has no filter when it comes to Cardan.

“Emily, dear. Oh, hello. Jude, did you find someone interesting?” Richard inquired as he walked up to the trio.

“Yes, I did, now I really must get going,” I just wanted to leave and Cardan was not helping at all. I glared at him hoping he’d catch the hint.

“Well, it was great meeting you two but, I too must get going and well, I would just love to give Jude a ride back to her house,” Cardan stood up.

“Jude, will have to go her own way,” Emily interrupted. I wasn’t sure whether or not these people knew I was from Faerie.

“Yes, I hope I can see you another time,” I knew if I didn’t go with him I’d be stuck here for at least another day. My eyes burned hoping he’d come up with something else, anything else.

“I don’t think you understand, I know of Jude’s home very well and am offering to take her with me. I’d love to see where she live as I live there too,” Cardan said again. His voice was commanding, just like how it is when he’s in the court.

“Y-yes, of course, you may definitely take her with you,” Richard stammered. He was definitely afraid but I’m not sure what he was afraid of. I looked over and Cardan looked like his normal glamoured self. Emily stood there, as if she was struck by lightning.

“Emily, you’ll walk them out?” Richard looked over to his frozen wife.

“Yes,” She began to walk next to me while Cardan was a step in front of me. Once we reached the front door I began to say goodbye. I hugged her first, I kissed her lightly on her cheek as I saw everyone else do. She did the same to me but lingered a little longer. She whispered into my ear, “You could’ve just said no. You did not need to drag him here to save yourself. The next time you come here, I expect you to leave him there.” Her words were stern and I could tell she wasn’t joking around. She was right, I could’ve just said no but I did not bring him here. He came himself but there was no point in arguing. I wasn’t sure if she knew he was king but I could tell they knew he wasn’t mortal.

“Good bye,” Emily said quietly as we began to step outside the door, “and farewell, your majesty.” The last part made me freeze for a second. Cardan kept moving but he grabbed my arm quickly. Emily definitely saw it, she knew she was right.

“What did you do?” I asked once we were out of sigh.

“Nothing, just unglamored myself for

a second so they saw my crown,” Cardan shrugged as we continued to move.

“You did what?” I froze.

“Well, what did you want me to do?” He grabbed my arm again and forced me to start walking again.

“Anything other than that!” I couldn’t believe him.

“Hey, you needed rescuing so I rescued you.” He brought me to the horse he came here on.

“Thank you,” I said as I threw myself over it.

“You’re welcome, just make sure the next time you plan on getting married,” I turned my head to look at him as he talked, “Make sure it’s to me.” And with that, we started. I didn’t say a word on the the ride back not sure whether or not he was joking. But even if he wasn’t, it didn’t matter because that’s not my priority. We reached Elfhame by dawn and I made a decision. That was the first and last time I’d ever go back to their house.

[silvia7272]

ML Salt Songfic ~ 1 Good For You

I actually forgot about this, but I think I can put it out now considering you’ve all read about/seen my OC Rosina, if you haven’t it’s on my page. Anyway, I hope you enjoy and like the song.

Also, this is an AU of my AU? I guess that’s what I’m calling it yeah. So, it’s not canon and it never was going to be canon, when I heard this song it just inspired me to write this and I could’ve done it without my OC, but I wanted to include her. Well anyway, I hope you like it.

Word Count: 2553

Tags: @queenmj10, @fangirl39, @animegirlweeb, @northernbluetongue, @daminett4life, @raisuke06, @indecisive-mess-named-me, @luleck​, @themamaravenclaw, @emmathedestroyer, (I know you wanted it) if you wish to be tagged all you have to do is say. Sorry, it’s different but this was the reason I started posting in the first place.

***

Akuma Alert! Akuma Alert!

The alarms were blaring in the park, and yet no one could move from their place.

Because the Akuma was right in front of them.

It was Marinette, she had been Akumatized. But it seemed somewhat unusual, she didn’t look any different, but they had seen the purple mist cover her, maybe she was like Chameleon?

So then why did it feel like it had changed?

Adrien couldn’t tell, and he needed to transform into Chat Noir, but he couldn’t just leave his friends to deal with the Akuma alone? Right?

Lila didn’t think that, she tried to make her escape, but a musical note blocked her way. She really was Akumatized!

Her face was contorted with pain as the pink mask covered her face, she was trying to break free!

“C’mon Marinette, you can do it,” He shouted, He tried to reach out, but someone pulled him back.

“Are you crazy, she’s been Akumatized she’ll hurt you, it’s what she’s always done to us. She’s already gotten her other friends hurt because of that transformation!?” Lila spoke, gripping his arm like a lifeline. But it was true, Rosina, Kagami, Chloé and Luka all tried to reach out to her mid-transformation, but they all fell to the ground and no one was brave enough to check on them.

“Shut up!” It was the first time Marinette had spoken since she had been Akumatized, tears were raining down her face, but the blond couldn’t tell if she was talking to the class or Hawkmoth.

“Just shut up, stop lying already, just stop hurting me” She had to be talking about Hawkmoth, she must still be fighting it.

But not everyone thought that.

“Come on Marinette, for once just admit you were wrong already. It’s getting really tiring.” Alya rolled her eyes while reciting how that was the only reason, she got Akumatized in the first place, the piece of paper she was holding had been a music draft of Lila’s that she was going to throw away in the first place.

Everyone knew Marinette didn’t write songs, she only made clothes and baked treats, that the class wasn’t provided with the past few days, and Adrien did think it was strange that she had a music draft, she probably found it and would’ve returned it to its rightful owner.

Why was she so upset about it anyway?

But she stopped, she lifted her head up, her face full of shock.

“You… Really still think I’m lying?” She sounded so disheartened, and Adrien would’ve sent her a ‘don’t rock the boat anymore’ look but she didn’t even spare him a glance.

Weren’t they friends?

“Of course, Lila’s so talented at making song lyrics so she had someone write them down for her. And now you’re holding onto a draft claiming it to be your own, that’s pathetic, even for someone like Chloé never mind you. Just stop being so pathetic and admit it. You’re jealous of Lila and everything she could do for us while you did nothing but whine like a child!” Adrien thought that the last line was a bit overkill, but he wasn’t about to say anything.

But all of that struggling, all of that resistance had completely vanished from Marinette. Why had she given up? Why hadn’t she continued fighting?

“I’ll show you my Melody” It was a whisper that only Adrien was able to pick up. Melody? What did she mean by that?

But he didn’t have time to think of that before everything in his vision turned white. He couldn’t feel his body. He couldn’t move… He couldn’t…

***

“Adrien? Yo Adrien, wake up man” He groaned as he opened his eyes.

“Nino? Is everyone alright? Where are we? What happened? Where’s Marinette?” Nino put his hands up startled.

“Whoa easy there one at a time dude. Anyway, yeah, we’re fine, we don’t know it looks like a white void, Marinette happened and we don’t know”

He couldn’t believe it. When he took in the view, it was devoid of life, it was devoid of colour.

It was just white all around him, he didn’t understand it. It reminded him of Pixelator.

“Oh Adrien I’m so scared, what are we going to do?” He couldn’t shake her arm off so had to relent, everyone around him tried to console the girl.

“Stick together, there should be an exit around here, but I’ll post it on the Ladyblog, that way Ladybug and Chat Noir will come.” He sighed, knowing that his Lady would be all alone for this one.

“Hey, my phones not working!” The others then tried to get their phones. No result.

“Oh no we’re trapped in here and no one is going to save us! What do we do!?” Everyone was panicking, but what could he do, if Chat Noir were to show up now, they would all get suspicious.

Nathaniel wasn’t doing great either. But he stepped back and heard a crunch.

“Huh?” He looked down and found a note.

“What’s that?” Max noticed the discovery and went over to Nath to see what it was.

“It says [The Song Of Truth Is Your Only Escape In This Labyrinth] What does that mean?”

“And why is it on a music sheet?” A simple question they all couldn’t process.

♫I’ll never know why I ever wanted to restore my friendship with you!?♫ The voice seemed to come from nowhere and everywhere at the same time. But he knew who it was.

“Marinette stop this please, we can get through this together” He shouted, he had to get her to stop being so angry.

♫Silence. I am Marilody, Marinette is no more. And you will all be punished for your lies and harassment towards your students! My friends!♫ It was there that she revealed herself.

If it wasn’t for her hair and dress, she would’ve been camouflaged with the background. But she didn’t look like a regular Akuma, no.

Her skin was pure white, along with the white flowing dress she wore. It was embroidered with musical notes, similar doodles he had seen previously on her sketchbook. It was shoulderless with the same pattern, and her hair was the same colour but in a small ponytail to the side. Her eyes were hidden by a giant accessory in the shape of a musical note resembling a hat.

If Ladybug didn’t already occupy his heart, Adrien might be thinking Marinette was more than a friend.

“Marinette please, you’re stronger than this! Don’t let Hawkmoth-”

♫Hawkmoth isn’t controlling me! The one who made me become Marilody is myself. And I will show you the truth of what I can and have done for you selfish people, my Melody will be performed before you and you will see the truth!♫

They heard the sound of a guitar being played. And notes in the air with a red dot flowing through it.

“What’s going on?” Rose and Juleka huddled together along with Ivan, Mylène, Nino and Alya scared. He was scared. He had the power to protect them but couldn’t use it. You could sense the irony looming over the boy’s head.

♫So you found a place where the grass is greener And you jumped the fence to the other side♫

The class was treated to a front-row seat of a scene that had just happened mere moments ago. When they were at the park.

Just what was Marinette’s power?

��Is it good? Are they giving you a world I could never provide?♫

The scene cut to Lila being crowded around by everyone while Marinette was alone.

But she was still smiling. Even if it seemed fake.

♫Well I hope you’re proud of your big decision Yeah, I hope it’s all that you want and more♫

They saw the past of when Marinette was always handing out free pastries to them, wearing that happy and bright smile on her face, they had forgotten what it had looked like.

Because it was never directed towards them anymore.

They had forgotten.

Everything she had done for them.

♫Now you’re free, from the agonizing life you were living before~♫

Then it changed to everyone leaving her for Lila, she was telling a tale of her time in Achu, Rose couldn’t stop gushing about Prince Ali. He thought the lies wouldn’t hurt anyone.

♫And you say what you need to say So that you get to walk away It would kill you to have to stay trapped when you’ve got something new♫

They couldn’t move.

♫Well I’m sorry you had it rough And I’m sorry I’m not enough♫

Everything single thing Marinette had done for them had flashed in front of them.

♫Thank God ‘they rescued’ you♫

But then Lila appeared, and everything she said was almost out of a fairy-tale, it was amazing, they wanted to hear more. They needed to hear more of her adventures.

♫So you got what you always wanted? So you got your dream come true? Good for you Good for you, you, you!♫

They were addictive. They couldn’t get enough.

♫Got a taste of a life so perfect So you did what you had to do Good for you Good for you!♫

Marinette had vanished from view but the scenes were still playing. The blond needed to find a way to free himself. He needed to get Plagg to cause a mini-explosion, to cause a distraction maybe. Anything! But he couldn’t get to him in time. Because he saw someone who he hadn’t seen since at the park.

“Rosina?” They all turned their heads to their new red-haired friend. But Adrien was able to notice, the Cat Miraculous had certain side effects he was giddy to have but that’s not the point. Instead of a black pupil, it was a musical note.

“She’s under Marinette’s control” They all gasped, horrified at what had happened to their friend. They believed her being near Marinette was bad, never mind this!

♪Does it cross your mind to be slightly sorry?♪ 

She really was under her spell! Adrien desperately wanted to shake her awake and free her, but now his arms couldn’t move.

♬Do you even care that you might be wrong?♬ 

Kagami!? Oh god, his two friends were under Marinette’s friends. He watched as they circled each and every one of his friends.

♬Was it fun?♬ 

They flinched.

♪Well, I hope you had a blast while you dragged me along~♪ 

They started to walk away when there was a whine from Lila, they were still able to turn their heads and saw Chloé, she kept prodding Lila as she cried, he wasn’t able to tell if they were even fake tears anymore.

♩And you say what you need to say! And you play who you need to play! And if somebody’s in your way! Crush them and leave them behind!♩

Even if they wanted to help Lila they couldn’t. Their legs wouldn’t let them. It was like they were in quicksand, only they weren’t sinking into the ground, they were sinking into their sorrow and sadness they were feeling. If Marinette wasn’t already Akumatized Hawkmoth would be having a field day.

♮Well I guess if I’m not of use Go ahead, you can cut me loose♮

And then they saw it.

A scene that shocked them.

♮Go ahead now, I won’t mind♮

If her power was to sing the truth.

And all of the scenes had been of the truth.

They felt sick to their stomach.

Then the scene of Lila cornering Marinette in the bathroom must’ve been true as well.

If Lila had been so kind to everyone why were the words [Soon you won’t have any friends left at all. Trust me. You will lose your friends and wind up all alone] written underneath, they couldn’t think anymore, just look.

♫I’ll shut my mouth and I’ll let you go Is that good for you? Would that be good for you, you, you?♫

Some couldn’t believe, they kept screaming how it had to be wrong, how it might just be Marinette’s doing. But the more it came on, the more they started to believe.

♭I’ll just sit back while you run the show Is that good for you? Would that be good for you, you, you?♭

Just like how they should’ve believed Marinette, and they had only just realised their mistake.

♯All I need is some time to think♯ Max. He never needed time to think, he was the smartest one in the class.

♭(I’ll shut my mouth and I’ll let you go)♭

♯But the boat is about to sink♯ Rose. Wasn’t she meant to be the kindest one out of everyone? Why didn’t she give Marinette a chance?

♭(Is that good for you?)♭

♯Can’t erase what I wrote in ink♯ Alix. She had written some things on her desk once… Twice… She had lost count.

♭(Would that be good for you, you, you?)♭

♯Tell me how could I change the story?♯ Lila. She had been caught, and she needed to spin her story. Fast!

♯All the words that I can’t take back♯ Alya. All those mean comments claiming Marinette was a bully. She was the bully. Weren’t they friends? Besties? She didn’t deserve to be called anything like that.

♭(I’ll just sit back while you run the show)♭

♯Like a train coming off the track♯ Kim. He wanted this pain to end, he should’ve trusted her, she had been the one to console everyone before an Akuma had gotten to them. And they treat her like this?

♭(Is that good for you?)♭

♯‘Cause the rails and my bones all crack♯ Nino. They had been childhood friends! How could he think she was lying!?

♭(For You!)♭

♯I’ve got to find a way to♯

♯Stop it, stop it! Just let me out!♯ Adrien. If only she had told him Lila had threatened her, if only he had done more, taking more of the brunt, if only- no he had to stop, he had to accept it was all his fault. He could’ve stopped it, but he was afraid he’d never get to see his friends again. He had to accept that he had hurt Marinette so much she had been Akumatized. He had to accept that- maybe he couldn’t save her, after all, you could never really trust someone who had betrayed you… Right?

♭So you got what you always wanted So you got your dream come true Good for you Good for you, you, you♭

They were sorry.

But images of Marinette gone from their life terrified them.

♭Got a taste of a life so perfect Now you say that you’re someone new Good for you Good for you Good for you Good! For! You!♭

But what would it matter? She probably would never want to speak to them ever again.

♭So you got what you always wanted!♭

What had they done?

They had seen the truth.

All of it.

But they didn’t have time to dwell on that, because as they continued to watch the scenes in front of them, they couldn’t help but feel slightly tired. Only a bit… Maybe if they had a small nap it would… Help.

♫The truth will come out… There will be no more lies for anyone… Anymore♫

***

End. I changed a word for Lila because I thought it would fit better. They, in the song, are Lila and a bit of Adrien. Originally, I wasn’t going to make a two-parter, however, if anyone has an idea I could use, and then a song as well, I will consider continuing this to become a two-shot. Or even if someone wants to continue this? Feel free to do so, just tag me, please.

Well, I hope you enjoyed it and I hope you have a nice day.

Edit 1: This is how Marilody looks like, I thought she’d look a bit more fashionable since you know, Marinette. and since she has more control hawkmoth didn't design her.

[andinewton]

Daddy-to-be-VictorxMC - Happy Holidays

It’s been FOREVER since I wrote one of these, so thought I’d finally finish the one I had part done!  I am completely pain addled at the moment, basically stuck resting as I can’t walk, so please excuse any errors or typos.  I just wanted to get it out and done before I drug myself for the night!

So, enjoy!

Happy Holidays 

You wiggled your feet in your flat shoes, trying to ignore the way they pinched.  Your feet were swollen, at least you assumed they were, you hadn’t seen them in some weeks now.  Your gown was a beautiful silver, tailored perfectly to your enormous bump and flowing with so much material you looked positively angelic, which fit the LFG Holiday Party perfectly.  Victor himself wore a tuxedo, his bow tie, cummerbund, and pocket square the same material as your outfit.  He had promised you wouldn’t stay late, he knew how hard the eighth month of your pregnancy was being on you, exhaustion and swollen joints preventing you from what until recently had been your normal routine.  On the doctor’s advice you had been signed off from work but continued to stay in touch with Anna and make important decisions.  You never thought you would be tired of being pregnant but it was getting very close to it.

The sigh you gave was barely a more heavy exhale than normal, but Victor picked up on it, sitting beside you as he was in the limo.

‘You don’t have to do this.’  He cupped your hand in his in your lap, knowing that lacing would only hurt your swollen fingers.  ‘Just say the word and we turn around and go home.  I’ll even let you eat cookies in bed.’

You laughed softly at his attempt to let you off the hook.  ‘Thank you, Victor, but I want to go.  Anna and everyone from the office will be there and I miss them.’

‘If you insist.’  He raised your hand and kissed your knuckles.  ‘But we won’t stay late.  A quick once around the room to greet everyone, then home.’

‘We’ll play it by ear.’  You rested your head on his upper arm, settled further by his scent and warmth.

Your face was aching from smiling and it had only been an hour.  The first and foremost question you were sick of hearing already was the mock surprise of; haven’t you had that baby yet?  Victor had been eaten up by the crowd almost immediately as board members and investors alike wanted to share a drink with the youngest and most successful CEO in Loveland city.

‘You look absolutely fed up.’  Anna appeared at your side with a glass of wine in hand.  ‘’Tis the season to celebrate, Emsi.’

‘I am, really.  I’m just a little tired, that’s all.’  The smile you gave her was the first genuine one since you left the limo.  She looked beautiful with her hair in a stylish up do, the figure hugging evening gown giving you hope that there was still a waist after having a baby.  ‘You look gorgeous, by the way.’

‘So do you, positively radiant.  May I?’  She wasn’t the first person tonight to touch your bump, but she was the first to ask permission.  There were many reasons you loved her and this was one of them.

‘Sure.  They’re sleeping now though, I think.  No bubble parties here.’  You rubbed your hand lovingly over your stomach, Anna’s hand joining yours.

‘I still can’t believe that not only did you manage to land the demon CEO but that you’re having his baby.’  She shook her head.  ‘We should do an episode of you for Miracle Finder, because you are definitely a miracle worker!’

You laughed as you saw Minor and Kiki heading towards you.  ‘Honestly it feels like a miracle.’  You agreed as Minor broke through the crowd first.

‘There ain’t no party like a bump groping party!’  He sang, both hands hitting your stomach as soon as he was in range.  ‘How long now, boss?’

‘Four weeks and two days.’  You confirmed.  You had not begun counting the minutes yet but it was getting close.

‘And you still aren’t sharing what you’re having?’  Minor leant into you with a hopeful look.

‘We don’t even know.  We want it to be a surprise for both of us too.’

‘Is he kicking?’  Kiki nudged Minor aside with his hip, placing her hand on the spot Anna had just withdrawn from.

‘We don’t know it’s a he.’  You patiently reminded her.

‘I say it is, and I have good money riding on it in the office pool.’

‘You have a pool going?’  You groaned, looking to Anna for confirmation.

She shrugged.  ‘We have to keep you in our thoughts somehow.’

Across the room, Victor watched you laughing with your colleagues.  It was good to see you having fun, as you had been so bored since you gave up working full time.  You still consulted by phone or video call, but you missed the personal interactions.  He had never understood when people said a pregnant woman looked like she was glowing, but watching you chat animatedly with your team he got it, he truly did.  You were effervescent and beautiful, your hair gleamed, skin like porcelain, the curve of your body as it cradled the new life inside you…currently being manhandled by more than one of your staff.  A bitter tang burned up his throat as he watched, completely ignoring the board member he had been talking to, and he stepped away with only a brief excuse me.  He put his glass on a passing tray, untouched as he wanted his wits about him for your sake, and nodded his head in greeting as people tried to get his attention while he crossed the enormous ballroom.  He was in reach of you, heard a laugh leave your lips as your smile brightened at whatever your colleague had said.  It eased the jealous feeling in his gut and just for a moment he took the time to admire how beautiful you were.  And you were his.

‘Victor, darling!’

Closing his eyes he let out a breath through his nose at the feminine voice calling him, close enough to let him know he wouldn’t get away with ignoring it.  He turned, an impassive look on his face, planning on ending this conversation as quickly as possible.  ‘Chic.’

The starlet was wearing a figure hugging dress that plunged low, the split up one leg letting him know she had most likely had to have forgone underwear, not that she would have given the matter a second thought.  ‘I haven’t seen you in some time.  Where have you been hiding yourself?’  She hooked her arm over his as though it were the most natural thing in the world, drawing her body close to his as she stroked her other hand down his shirt front.

‘I haven’t been hiding anywhere.  You, on the other hand, have been working abroad for the last year.  I didn’t realise you were back.  Nor that you’d be here this evening.’  In truth, he was barely able to contain his disinterest and remain professional.  Polite wasn’t something he had ever been with Chic, civil perhaps, but her desire to use him for his position and body put his back up.

‘If you’d known, what would you have done?’  She gushed, leaning her breasts against his forearm.

‘Changing my number sounds like a good start.’

The sound of enticing laughter turned your head, as it did the rest of your group and others in the area.  Chic stood close to Victor, her body pinning his arm between them in a manner meant to draw his attention to her.  In that dress you could hardly miss her.

You saw Victor’s jaw clench in a gesture you realised.  He didn’t want to make a scene but he was giving her the chance to back away before he took matters into his own hands.  Victor’s mind and tongue had always been his best weapons and you had no doubt that he would leave no doubt as to his feelings.  You had no idea whether he was invested in any of Chic’s projects, but you would hate for him to damage a possible business relationship.  Especially if you could intervene and save him the job.

‘I think I have to go rescue my fiancé.’  You rolled your eyes comedically at the group before excusing yourself and heading straight to Victor’s side.

‘Here you are, Victor.’  You smiled sweetly at him, making sure to rest your hands on your bump to emphasise it more.

‘Excuse us, we were in the middle of something.’  Chic glared at you, the venom in her words almost tangible.  She began to turn her back to you, but Victor gave you a small smile, knowing you were giving him not only an excuse to escape but the opportunity to break the news to her himself.

‘You remember Emsi, right?’  Victor took a large step away from Chic, detangling himself from her grasp as he curved his arm around you and rested his hand on top of one of yours.  ‘Are you feeling tired, beautiful?  Do you want to head home?  Our baby needs its mommy to take care of herself.’

Even from the corner of your eye as Victor pressed a lingering kiss to the edge of your mouth, you could see Chic pale, her perfectly painted lips falling open.

‘Your…baby?’  Her voice echoed the disgust in her eyes as you both turned to her.  ‘Don’t tell me you stooped to…’

‘If you have something to say about my fiancee, by all means do, but your next movie depends on a substantial amount of funding from LFG and I would hate to have to withdraw that due to a differences of opinion.’

Chic’s mouth flapped for a moment as Victor drew you even closer to him, his hand taking yours deliberately to show off your engagement ring.  You knew he had deliberately steered the decision to her.  She would either throw it all away because she was acting like a spoilt child who had lost her favourite toy, or she would use her common sense to turn things around.  You were grateful when she took the latter.  ‘Con…congratulations.  When…how?’

‘We’ve been together for some time.  It’s been in the press but I guess you didn’t realise, having been so busy with your own work.’  Victor replied in such a way he implied she was self-absorbed and it took all your willpower not to laugh out loud.

‘Right.’  She nodded, obviously shaken by this revelation, and took a step back.  ‘Well, I have to…have a good evening.’  And with that she was gone, her rapid steps loud even over the string quartet.

‘That was quite satisfying.’  Victor caressed your cheek with his knuckles.  ‘But would you like to leave?  You’ve been on your feet for some time now.’

‘Actually, I’d like to stay a little longer.’  You grinned.  ‘I’m kind of enjoying showing off the fact that I landed the most eligible bachelor in Loveland City.’

Victor chuckled low in his throat, pressing his lips to your temple in a soft kiss.  ‘Dummy.’  He muttered, just loud enough for you to hear, before leading you into the crowd, not so that you could show him off, but so that he could laud over the entire party that he felt like the most blessed man in the land.

I have another chapter planned for Victor’s (belated) birthday, but I’m not sure when I’ll get through it!  Thank you for bearing with me though!

Masterlist

[violent-optimism]

Rey’s Coolest Moments - Top 10 List

Hi Everyone!

Here I am again, ready to gush over my girl Rey and showcase how awesome she is. This is not going to be super serious or analytical unlike some of my other Star Wars/Rey posts; just something fun and spontaneous. I think we could all use a little distraction right now and I guess this is my small way of contributing to that.

Obviously I can’t include all of my favourite Rey moments (we’d be here all day) so I’ve done my best to condense it down into a Top 10 list. As usual, this list is my opinion and nobody has to agree with it or even read it. For those of who are interested, please enjoy!

10) Protecting BB-8 (TFA)

I’m starting this list with a moment that I think is kind of underrated. Right before Rey meets Finn she encounters two thugs that try to steal BB-8 for Unkar Plutt. A small fight breaks out, but Rey doesn’t need any help to defeat her attackers. She takes them out quickly and rescues her new droid friend. That’s some fast loyalty!

 9)  Lightsaber Twirl and Scream (TLJ)

Oh, you know exactly what part I’m talking about. Rey goes head-to-head with one of Snoke’s Praetorian Guards. As he comes at her with his weapon, Rey gives an impressive twirl of her lightsaber before letting out a bad-ass, feral scream that says: “Come on, I’m not afraid of you!” Unfortunately, we’ll never be able to see that guard’s reaction, but I’m sure he was surprised!

 8) Using the Falcon’s Gun (TLJ)

 I’ll never forget my joy from seeing this for the first time. After a grueling start to the Battle of Crait, the Falcon makes a triumphant return to help the Resistance. Hold on a second…if Chewie is flying the ship, then who just shot 3 TIE fighters at once? It’s Rey! She’s taking out enemy ships left and right, and enjoying it too!

 7) The Training Course (TROS)

This is another really fun scene. It’s very short but it shows just how skilled Rey has become between the events of the two movies. I get such a rush of excitement when I see her balancing on that rope…with the blast shield on…deflecting shots from a training droid. How cool is that?? All the while a very intense version of her theme is playing in the background. Gotta love it.

 6) Defeating Luke Skywalker (TLJ)

Okay, this one might be cheating a tiny bit but I still think it’s a cool moment for Rey. When Luke won’t tell Rey the truth about what happened between him and Ben, she’s determined to literally beat it out of him. She stumbles a bit, but eventually manages to win the fight and force (ha) Luke to confess. Sure, Luke is much older, not as fast, and was probably holding back in that fight, but Rey sure wasn’t! I mean how many people can say they bested Luke Skywalker?

 5) Stopping the Transport (TROS)

Now we’re getting into ridiculously cool territory. When Finn rushes over to Rey and frantically tells her that the First Order has Chewie, you think for a second that there’s nothing they can do, right? Wrong. Rey takes one look at the transport and immediately uses the force to try and bring it back down. It’s an unexpected and totally awesome moment that showcases just how strong Rey has become. She’s never done anything like this before, but attempted the impossible to save her friend. Even when Kylo makes it a game of tug-of-war, Rey doesn’t give up.

 4) Destroying Kylo’s Ship (TROS)

This scene and the transport one go almost hand in hand, but in my opinion I think this one is just a tad cooler. Rey knows that Kylo’s SILENCER is on the way. She knows she has to stop it but doesn’t know how…at first. After calming herself down, Rey presents her lightsaber and turns around, ready to run. But she’s not trying to outrun the TIE fighter. She’s trying to get enough speed in order to perform an insanely impressive backflip to dodge the ship and attack it at the same time. It’s basically the Star Wars version of keying someone’s car, in the coolest way possible.

 3) Lifting the Rocks to Save the Resistance (TLJ)

Another scene that absolutely stunned me the first time I watched it. I know it might seem like this part is not as cool as the last two entries, but I think the implications of it are actually cooler than the act itself. Think about it…if Rey hadn’t shown up to Crait and hadn’t found the rockslide at the back of the tunnel, the entire Resistance would have been SCREWED. In this one scene, Rey pretty much single-handedly saves the Resistance from total annihilation. Plus, up until this point, Rey had never done anything like this before, and some of those rocks are HUGE!  Don’t get me wrong, Luke’s distraction is equally important, but Rey’s efforts truly saved the day and proved that she does have a place in this story.

 2) Defeating Kylo Ren (TFA)

For me, this is the scene that basically cements the idea that Rey is a very special character who is destined for great things. In the beginning of the fight, Rey is not doing well at all. Here is a young scavenger from Jakku, who has never used a lightsaber and only just learned she could use the force a few hours ago. Her opponent, Kylo Ren, is clearly more experienced in in the force and lightsaber combat, even though he is injured. Things look grim until Rey reaches a breaking point (or rather, an “awakening” point). She realizes that she does have the strength to defeat Kylo. All she has to do is dig deep within and find it. And she does, oh boy she does! The dynamic of the fight instantly changes as Rey is able to easily overpower Kylo and eventually defeat him. This scene proves that you should never give up, no matter how hopeless things seem.

 1) Defeating Palpatine (TROS)

Here we are at number one! Here is a scene that gives me an intense rush and goosebumps pretty much every time. After hearing the voices of the Jedi who came before her, Rey squares off against Palpatine, using Leia’s lightsaber to deflect his powerful force lightning. The Emperor taunts Rey, calling her “nothing” and saying she is no match for him. But Rey has all the Jedi backing her up, along with a trick up her sleeve. After using the force to summon Luke’s lightsaber, Rey ignites both blades in order to push the lightning back towards Palpatine. With a powerful rendition of the force theme, Rey is able to use the Emperor’s own abilities against him, effectively killing him for good this time (hopefully!).

Much like entry number 3, even though the scene itself is absolutely fantastic, I think the implications of it are actually what make it so cool. Rey is using both of her Master’s lightsabers, as well as the power of all the Jedi to defeat Emperor Palpatine. This scene also makes me a bit emotional because I think about the fact that Rey thought herself as no one from nowhere, and yet she is the one that makes the ultimate sacrifice to defeat the Emperor once and for all – not to mention saving the entire galaxy! It’s just awesome. There’s no other way to describe it. God, I love Rey.

Well, I suppose that wraps things up! If you clicked on this thank you so much for taking the time to read it. If there’s something you think I missed, please feel free to message me with your favourite Rey moment(s)! Thanks again. Bye for now!

[lia-jones]

Growing Together - Chapter Twelve - Father Material

The last injection was one of the worst Victor had had so far. He felt feverish, his stomach churning, angry, revolting against itself. But he knew what would happen should he vomit, so he did his best to keep whatever gunk they gave him that morning inside him.

This time they put them all together in a room, a lady coming in now and then to check their temperatures. He noticed a small boy, probably four or five years old, weeping in the corner of the room. He hadn’t seen any of these kids before, this was obviously their first week there, but they already knew better than to comfort the small boy.

The boy tossed and turned, hands rubbing his tummy, occasionally moaning in pain. Victor immediately understood what was wrong. The injection was making him want to go too.

“Don’t do it here. If you do, they will hurt you.” He whispered to the kid, but his voice was so strained and low from his own suffering that he wasn’t sure if the kid was able to hear it.

And sure enough, a few minutes later, the kid turned to the wall sobbing loudly, his grey sweatpants wet with a brown stain, the room suddenly filled with a putrid smell. Something inside Victor snapped. In seconds he lost all sense of self-preservation, and before he noticed, he was by the kid’s side, stroking his back.

“It’s ok, it won’t be so bad.” He tried to console the kid. “They’ll probably go easy on you because you’re small.”

“What do we have here?” Came the guard, poking the boy with his stun baton to tease him.

The boy’s sobs only grew louder, as he shook in fear. Probably not his first encounter with that baton.

“He didn’t do it on purpose.” Victor intervened. “He’s sick and scared. Please don’t hurt him.”

“Oh but you see, I turned it on already.” He touched Victor’s nose with his baton, the blue light in the tip looking ominous. “What should I do with it?”

Before Victor could answer, the guard hit him right in the gut with his stick, tasing him. Immediately he lost all the strength he had left in his body and dropped on the floor, the contents of his stomach leaving his body, gushing from his mouth and nose. Victor coughed, trying hard not to choke on his own vomit, as the guard chuckled, playfully patting him on the back.

“Look at you, so strong, trying to be a hero.” The guard teased him. “Everybody knows who you are. Mommy and Daddy aren’t coming to save you, maggot. Here, you are just an orphan, and your parents are as good as dead.”

Victor closed his eyes tightly, not wanting the guard to see him cry.

“And tonight, my little boy, me and my baton will pay you a visit.” Victor opened up his eyes to meet an evil grin. “We are having a little slumber party.”

The baton snapped again on his chest.

“Did you hear what I said?” He felt his wife’s hand on his shoulder. He found himself back in the orphanage’s Director’s office, and beside him was the woman he loved. He was safe.

“Yes, it’s taking too long.” He guessed. “Don’t worry, this is just a formality. We were already accepted as Owen’s adoptive parents.”

Right on cue, they heard the office’s door open.

“I’m so sorry for keeping you waiting, we have a new child that is having a hard time adapting. I want to thank you for being here. I was very pleased to know you want to continue with Owen’s adoption.” The director shook our hands and took a seat in front of us. “However, I feel there is a need to discuss this a little further.”

“Why, what’s wrong?” Andrea fidgeted in her seat.

"Please understand that most of these children have arrived here due to very dire circumstances. Although he's only four, Owen is no exception. It's rare to see a child go through so much at such a young age."

“What do you mean?” Victor asked. Owen looked like a fairly happy child. At least, as happy as one can get living at an orphanage.

"Owen's mother took her own life, she hung herself on a pillar of their old house. The police told us that they found Owen, desperate, trying to pull his mother down. He was alone, his stepfather nowhere to be found. He also presented bruises all over his body. We believe he lived in a very toxic environment and was a victim of abuse." The director declared with a heavy voice.

“Oh my-” Andrea jumped from her seat, covering her mouth. Victor had no idea of what to say. No child should have to go through that.

“We inserted him in a foster family as soon as we could. Children are resilient at this age, and we believed that the sooner Owen was in a loving family, the faster he would move on from that horrible experience. But unfortunately, it didn’t go quite as we expected.” Miss Dillon sat straighter on her chair. “You see, Owen is a very bright child who has seen quite enough. Not many adults can deal with that. But my hope is with you, things will be different. You understand what trauma can do to a child.”

Andrea fidgeted on her chair nervously, remembering her trauma printed all over the tabloids.

“She means me.” Victor confessed, his poker face instinctively on.

Andrea looked at him with wide eyes, astonished with his confession.

“When I was rescued from the orphanage, Miss Dillon was there.” He explained. “She was the one that stayed with me until my father came to pick me up.”

Andrea’s jaw dropped and she remained silent, not knowing what to say.

“I still have nightmares of the atrocities I saw in that God-forsaken place.” The Director’s smile fell into a disgusted frown. “I can only imagine how hard it was for Victor to cope with it all.” She gave him a weak smile. “But now, it can serve as something good. Owen will finally have a family that can understand him and help him the way he needs.”

Victor nodded silently. She was right, but for him, it didn't feel good at all. There’s no measure to what he would have given not to have gone through that, or not to have Owen go through losing his only family in such a horrible way.

“Where do we sign?” He finally spoke. “And when is Owen coming home?”

“Well, we should give you some time to prepare a room-”

“It’s ready.” Victor and his wife spoke in unison.

“Then I guess there’s no point in delaying any further.” Miss Dillon got up from her chair. “You can pick him up next Saturday, after lunch.”

Back in the car, Andrea was silent. Victor didn’t need to ask why, he had blindsided her, by concealing the true nature of his relationship with that orphanage. Miss Dillon was one of the few good outcomes of that incident. Seeing children unprotected in such a manner, and subject to such horrifying actions, Miss Dillon had quit her practice as a child therapist and collected as much as she could from benefactors to open her own orphanage, with the solemn promise that if it depended on her, no child would be forsaken. When Victor saw her again, decades later, they were barely scraping by. He used his money and influence to help the orphanage and would make frequent donations to ensure it ran properly.

"I'm sorry.” He sighed. He had his reasons to keep her out of the loop, but this wasn’t fair on her either. Andrea was his wife, he was supposed to share everything with her. Even the things that were too painful to share.

“You don’t need to be.” She looked at him with earnest eyes, yet she didn’t smile.

“I do.” He looked away from her. “I should have told you right away, I-”

“Victor, when we first spoke about it you told me you hadn’t revealed the whole truth, because it was hard to.” She held his hand on the gearshift. “I understand why you didn't tell me about Miss Dillon at first. You didn’t deceive me. You were very clear it would be this way.”

“Why are you being so understanding?” He frowned. “I thought you’d be angry.”

“Ok, listen, I’m not going to say it doesn’t hurt a little that there are things about you that I don’t know.” Her voice was pained, and he looked at her again, worried. “But I also know this is hard on you. So, even if I don’t fully understand, I’ll support you.”

Victor took his wife’s hand lovingly.

“Thank you.” He smiled slightly. “I didn’t mean to upset you, it just didn’t seem relevant.”

“I’m more worried about Owen, honestly.” She leaned on her seat with a sigh. “He’s been through a lot.”

Victor had plenty in his heart to let out about that subject, but he chose silence instead, as he drove them to their home.

“Are you studying those again?” Andrea pointed to his books on the nightstand, as they were going to bed.

“There’s a last one that I didn’t finish.” Victor picked it up and showed it to his wife. “Knowledge is power.”

“We’ll be fine.” She sighed while she pulled the covers to enter the bed, by his side. “You don’t need to be nervous.”

“I’m not nervous.” He opened the book to the page marked by one of Andrea’s post-its. “I just like to be prepared.”

“Fair enough.” She turned off the light from her nightstand and crawled under the comforter. “I am going to go straight to sleep, I’m beat. Have fun with your books.” She turned to the other side.

“Where are you going?” He pulled her arm. “Come here. Rest your head on my chest.”

Andrea immediately turned to him, coming closer.

“That is much better, you’re warm.” She snuggled against him. “Are you sure you can read with me on you?”

“Wouldn’t I say so if I couldn’t?” He answered flatly, as he snaked his arm under her.

“Ok, ok, I’m here.” She defended herself, nuzzling his chest. “Grumpy.”

He kissed the top of her hair, his hand caressing her curls.

“Better?” He asked with a softer voice.

“So much better.” She looked up to him, and, understanding her cue, he pecked her lips. “Goodnight, handsome.”

“Goodnight, my light.” Victor turned to his book again.

Although it may seem a good idea to parents to give their children as many toys as they can have, even educational ones, they are depriving the child of the biggest satisfaction in life: to earn things. The very fact that they can earn something by working for it, e.g. by cleaning their room or setting the table, gives the child a sense of confidence and self-esteem that praise alone cannot provide.

“Do you think Owen has too many toys?” Victor frowned.

“Humm?” Andrea sighed sleepily.

“Nothing.” He pecked her head again, chuckling. “Go back to sleep.”

Victor closed his book, lost in thought. He had never considered that Owen could have too much and that it would hinder his development. He had had everything and that didn’t seem to affect him much. Victor never cared much about what he had. He liked the horses and some books his father gave him, but what Victor craved most from his parents wasn’t gifts. It was affection.

For some reason, his mind wandered to a particular moment in his childhood, when he found himself staring at the door of his father's study, wondering if he should knock.

“What do you need? Be quick.” His father spoke, not taking his eyes from some document he was reading.

Victor scraped the tip of his shoe on the carpet lightly.

“A child shouldn’t waste an adult's time.” His father reprimanded. “If it’s not important it can wait till dinner.”

It wouldn’t be important in his father’s eyes, but Victor knew his father would probably not be there for dinner.

“Do you know anything about the girl? And the other kids?” He asked in a weak voice. The nightmares wouldn’t let him sleep, maybe some information could ease his mind.

“What girl?” His father wrote a note on the document he was reading.

“The girl from the orphanage.” Victor tried again. “The one that saved my life.”

His father looked at him for the first time since he entered the study, his eyes full of contempt.

“You are never to speak about that day again, do you hear me? It upsets your mother.” His father turned again to the document. “And the girl you mention is dead. She didn’t survive.”

Victor’s heart broke with guilt. Mia was dead, trying to save him. Someone had died because of him. It was supposed to be him, not her. She was so little and fragile, and now she was dead. All because he was careless. This was all his fault. The walls of his father’s study spun, and Victor had to take a step back to steady himself.

“No, she can’t be.” Victor’s voice trembled, tears escaping his eyes. “She can’t be dead! You’re lying!”

“What do you think you’re doing?” Apart from his disgusted glance, his father seemed unaffected by his antics. “Lee men don’t cry. Now go make yourself useful and study. You need to be prepared for boarding school next week. Stop staining my carpet.”

He found himself back in his room, his loving wife still in his arms, but his heart was still in his father’s study, staining the carpet with tears. Pictures of his childhood flooded his brain, all those times he tried to please his father and he couldn’t, all those times he craved his father’s love, only to leave empty-handed. He held his wife tighter as she slept and inhaled deeply her perfume, trying to remind himself that he was a married man now, that he was happy, a far cry from the boy he once was. He was loved, and he had conquered the life that he used to fear.

He closed his eyes and felt her warmth, his fingers memorizing every detail of her skin and her curls, his ears mystified as she let out a sleepy sigh, thanking him for his love, and the memories faded away, one by one. However, the worry remained.

Some adults could be oblivious to the real responsibility of becoming a parent, but Victor wasn’t. Raising a child was an extremely important matter, especially for someone with Owen’s background, who had seen evil at such a tender age. Owen deserved the very best, and Andrea deserved the ideal husband and father by her side. But this wasn’t a business meeting, something that Victor could tackle with facts and figures alone. This particular task required feelings, and the knowledge of what it’s like to be in a family. Victor had a father and a mother, but he never had a family. He had progenitors, but not parents, not really. Well, he had his mother, but even so it was only for a short period of his life. His kidnappers had taken everything else away.

So how could he be a good father, if he didn’t have the faintest idea of how to be one? Even worse, what if he became his own father? He remembered how his father could be to his staff, he remembered how he acted, cold and dismissive, and it dawned on him that he was the same way. He remembered how his father’s employees looked at his father, with this blend of fear and respect, and wasn’t that exactly the way his staff looked at him? He blamed his father for so many things, but what if the apple hadn’t fallen far from the tree? What if, even unwillingly, he would treat his son the same way?

Andrea had a good loving family, she didn’t have this problem. Her team loved her; they brought cookies on Fridays and had pizza together whenever Victor had a meeting and couldn’t pick her up for lunch. Andrea knew things like how to play hide and seek, and how to roast the perfect marshmallow with a candle, and what candies were the best. They went to the toy store and immediately she filled a basket with her childhood favorite things: some books, some playdoh, legos, and a slinky. She played with the slinky as they roamed through the store, Victor finding it insufferable, but that was his flaw, not hers. He did not understand what slinkies meant to a child; she did.

So what was his solution? The same as his father’s. The affection he didn’t know how to provide, Victor had compensated for in advance with toys, purchasing every educational toy he put his eyes on. As his father would, and had. Victor got everything he wanted, except for love. And he was doing the same thing already for his son. The thought disgusted him.

Victor left the bed carefully, trying not to wake Andrea up, going to Owen’s room. Although he had painted the walls of his son’s room himself, although he had decorated everything with the meticulous care of a loving father, all he could see now was ostentation, and it horrified him. Toys to fill the hole Victor would no doubt leave in his son’s heart. He couldn’t help but feel dirty. Not only was he being a lousy and lazy father, throwing money at everything, he was stunting his son’s development. That was despicable.

He started removing most of the toys from the shelves, leaving only the ones Andrea had picked. He would need to discuss it more thoroughly with Andrea later, but for now, he needed to make sure he wasn't doing anything wrong. He then looked at Owen's bookshelf, asking himself if all the books he had picked were age appropriate, even if on the cover it said so. Skimming through each one of them, Victor asked himself if stories of killing a wolf could lead to an adult that did not respect animals, or if reading about kissing a sleeping princess would teach Owen to love without consent. Soon he was surrounded by books and toys, frantically going through all of them, his mind reeling as he tried to discern the best options to keep.

His frenzy was interrupted by his wife's sleepy voice.

“What are you doing?” He turned to see her rubbing her eyes. "It's four AM.”

“Go back to bed, it’s cold.” He turned to her. “I just have to organize these, I will join you in a minute.”

“You’ll have plenty of time to do it in the morning. Come back to bed.” She came closer and held his hand, pulling him towards the door.

“I want to do it now!” He pulled away, grimacing as he observed his own reaction. “I just want to organize this, you don’t need to worry about me. I need to make sure everything is in order. Go back to bed.”

“Victor, Owen won’t care if his books are not alphabetically ordered.” Andrea looked at him with worry. He knew she meant well, but that only infuriated him more.

“Then what will he care about?!?” He felt himself snap again. “This is all I know how to do.” Holding a stuffed toy, he sat on the bed. “I’m terrible at everything else.”

Victor stared at the toy in his hands as he tried to keep himself in check. He hated when his feelings got the best of him, but he hated even more that he woke his wife up, and now she felt the need to comfort him. He abhorred being a nuisance.

Victor felt Andrea’s arms tighten their grip around his chest. He held her hands. They were cold.

“Do you want to catch a cold? You’re freezing.” He turned around, trying to pull her to his lap. “Come here, I’ll keep you warm.”

In a matter of seconds, Victor had successfully placed her in his lap, her arms resting on his shoulders, fingers running through his hair. She looked at him expectantly, waiting for him to talk.

“Are you going to tell me what’s upsetting you?” She pressed.

“I don’t know if I can do this.” He wouldn’t dare look her in the eye, shame consuming him.

“You want to quit?!?” Andrea jumped in his lap, alarmed.

“No, I don’t want to quit.” He was offended. “I would never do that, especially with something so important. What I mean to say is that I feel unprepared.”

“No parent is prepared, Victor.”

“Spare me the clichés, you know what I mean.” He snapped, exasperated. “You know my family, you know how my childhood was.” He hesitated for a second, sharing insecurities wasn’t his thing. But this was his wife. He had to be truthful. “What if I’m just like my father? What if I’m not cut out to be a father? Owen has been through so much already, he deserves good loving parents. What if I can’t be any of those things?”

“Nonsense.” She chuckled. “Of course you are lo-”

“You didn’t like me when we first met.” He interrupted her, defying her. “Not for a long time.”

“That was before I knew you.”

“You had all those nicknames for me.” He frowned at her. “King of Highhorseland. You called me a bully.”

"But now I know better. I know who you truly are, and I know I was mistaken."

“You are kind, you see the best in me.” He caressed her curls. “I have to admit sometimes I question if I really do have all those qualities you see in me.”

“Victor…”

“I’m not good at expressing feelings in a way most people understand. I can also be cold and dismissive. Most people find me unpleasant to be with. Do you think those are traits a good parent has? What if I can’t be loving and caring in the way Owen needs? All I know how to do is to organize and buy him things. Just like my father did.”

“Ok, let me just set something straight.” Andrea turned to him in all seriousness. “You are one of, if not the, most caring person I have ever met. You are upset and still all you could be concerned about a few moments ago was that I was getting cold, and here I am in your arms now.”

Victor’s gaze turned to the floor again. Again, she was seeing the best in him, ignoring all the blatant flaws he had. She held his face, making him look her in the eyes.

"You are nothing like your father. You will be an excellent father to Owen and you will be able to understand his needs even more than I will because you had those very same needs. You'll be able to relate in ways I can't possibly ." She came closer, her nose almost touching his. "Do you know why I also think you'll be extremely caring? Because parents that don't give a crap don't waste time late at night wondering if they will be good parents."

Victor lifted a hand to her face. That light she had in her eyes, that beautiful light that warmed him, that could dissolve any ice wall in a heartbeat, he wished he had it. That light could do miracles.

She got out of his lap, sitting close to the headboard.

“Come, lean on me.”

“It’s alright, you don’t need to do this.” He instantly refuted.

“Victor Lee, will you let me be a good wife and take care of my husband?” She pretended to scold him. “Come.”

“I’m too heavy, I will probably crush you.” Despite his protest, he obediently entered the comfort of her arms, his head leaning on her chest, but still worried. “Let me know if you have trouble breathing.”

“You are not as big as you think.” She teased, earning from him a chuckle.

He had to admit, being in her arms and listening to her heartbeat was amazingly comforting. Her fingers ran through his hair, calming and nurturing, and for a moment he forgot his anxiety, and just watched the sun start to rise through the window. When his mind was still, he finally listened to his heart. The love he felt for his family would make up for any lack of experience he would have. This was him treading uncharted territory, like so many times before in his life, but this time he wasn’t alone. Along with his heart was another heartbeat, sweet and steady, the one he was hearing now.

“Thank you.” He whispered shyly, expecting a teasing remark .

None came. When he looked up, he saw the love of his life sleeping soundly, her fingers still threaded in his hair. Victor could almost laugh at the sight. He should've known she would fall asleep.

Slowly and carefully so as not to wake her up, he gathered her in his arms and cradled her to bed. It was indeed pleasant to be taken care of, but he liked it so much better this way, protecting her.

Author’s note: If you liked it, don’t forget to share your thoughts with me! It always brings warmth to my heart! And my ASK box is open! I love talking and hearing from you, beautiful people! Lots of love!

[amethystunarmed]

Is Heavy, So Few Men Can Carry It

Relationships: Original Female Character/Original Female Character, Dabi/Hawks

Warnings: Manga Spoilers, Implied Child Abuse

Word Count:  2278

Part of the Truth Series Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

AO3 Link (Links will be added in a reblog)

~~~~~

Koharu Mukai more or less enjoyed being an EMT. Her quirk was certainly suited for it. The ability to see heartbeats through even dense piles of rubble certainly came in handy during earthquakes and large scale building destruction. It helped in grimmer situations too, like letting her know when there’s no need to rush at the scene of a car crash. Those days were the worst. Sometimes, she had nightmares about silent cityscapes where she can’t see a heartbeat at all.

Where she’s utterly alone.

Maybe that’s part of what influenced her career decisions. When Koharu’s quirk first manifested, her parents had nudged her to the life of a hero. It was never anything overt, never openly stated, but Koharu knew. They weren’t exactly subtle. They entered her into judo lessons the moment she could walk, gushed when rescue heroes like Thirteen and Uwabami were on the news. During her last year of middle school, a brochure for UA appeared on her desk. Again, not subtle.

But... Koharu didn’t want to be a hero. Didn’t want to fight and train for combat with villains. Didn’t want to risk seeing those heartbeats stutter out as a result of her actions.

But she did want to save people.

So, she trained to be an EMT, and she was a damn good one too. And she loved it, she really did.

Except for when it came to dealing with heroes.

Koharu couldn’t say she didn’t get it. Ranking was everything for heroes, and more than half of it relied on reputation and public opinion. She had witnessed a hero from her hometown drop thirty spots in rank after a reporter broadcast him being taken away in an ambulance.

She got it.

But it didn’t mean they needed to be such assholes about it. Attempting to treat a hero after a fight could get you scolded like a child at best, and reported on as incompetent by the media at worst. One of her friends had tried to bandage a seven-inch gash on Endeavor’s arm, and ended up with second degree burns on her hands. So when she pulled the short straw and was sent to look over Hawks, she only really felt a pang of resigned dread.

Honestly, she’d heard good things about Hawks. Every EMT who spoke of him recounted him as polite, cheerful, and actually willing to comply with basic check-ups. Koharu finds all of this to be true. He obeys her every request, even as he repeatedly checked the time on his phone. He starts anxiously tapping his foot, and she takes pity on him.

“You seem alright, Hawks,” Koharu says, as she finishes checking for a concussion. “Not even a scrape.” She’d be surprised at the lack of injuries if she hadn’t seen the current state of the villains. All nine completely immobilized and unharmed. After treating some of the perps Endeavor has brought in, she’s honestly surprised Hawks isn’t Number One. His care and efficiency are unmatched. “Anything else happen that I should know about?”

“I mean, I think one of the villains hit me with her quirk,” he says with no regard to how worrying that statement is. He blinks and startles, almost as though coming back to himself. He looks at her with a large smile, but she can see his heartbeat kickstart with adrenaline. “But it didn’t do anything, I feel perfectly fine.”

Bullshit.

Still maybe she can coax him into actually taking care of himself.

“Even so, it would be best for you to go to the hospital. We can monitor you for any changes.” His smile widens but she sees his eye twitch with annoyance. She holds back a groan and waits for the meaningless platitudes to begin.

“I’m not allowed to go to the hospital.”

Koharu has to admit, her jaw drops. All the training classes, all the years experience, everything she’s ever learned just flies out of her head.

She stares at him, silently, like an idiot.

“I r-really need to go,” Hawks stammers. He looks scared. He looks like he’s about to cry. And suddenly, Koharu remembers that Hawks is a couple years younger than her baby sister. “I just broke like, 8 NDAs by telling you that.”

He’s trying to get away from her, she can see his wings flapping. He is biting his lip, hard, like he is trying to keep himself quiet.

Koharu remembers the words of one of the officers first on the scene. He’d told her to stay away from one of the villains, because of her quirk...

Her eyes widen. She reaches forward to Hawks, unsure if touch will calm him, or just make him more upset. Given the way he flinches, she guesses the latter. She keeps her words calm and level, trying to ease his rapidly increasing heartbeat.

“Hawks, one of the villains is registered as having a truth quirk. I think you’ve been affected–”

“I have to go,” Hawks yells, so loudly it startles her, “I’m terrified of telling you something that will get you killed.”

Koharu gasps, body nearly going limp in shock.

Why would something like this put her in danger?

Could this endanger her family?

What is happening?  

By the time she thinks to ask, Hawks is soaring far above her. She watches until the skyline swallows him.

~~~~~

That night, when she gets home, Aimi is waiting for her. Her eyes light up when Koharu enters, but freeze over when she registers Koharu’s expression. Koharu longs to give in and tell her everything, let go of the terrible knowledge bubbling inside her. She opens her mouth to speak and chokes. I’m terrified of telling you something that will get you killed. She clamps her jaw shut and launches herself forward into Aimi’s arms, and muffles her sobs in her chest. To Aimi’s credit, she never tries to ask what happened. She only strokes Koharu’s hair and hums.

~~~~~

That night, long after her wife had fallen asleep on her chest, Koharu lay awake, staring at nonsense pictures in the ceiling spackle. She thinks of that strange admission—I’m not allowed to go to the hospital—and ponders endlessly of what he could have possibly meant in fractal conspiracy theories. Over and over again, she hears his panicked stammers, those words—I’m terrified of telling you something that will get you killed—echoed around her. He had looked at her with the same terror held by those in the midst of a disaster; the horrific certainty of life crashing down around you.

I should have done something.

I should have said something.

But she hadn’t. And even now, she cannot fathom what would have been the right words to say. She closes her eyes and tries to sleep.

The after-image of his frantic heart beats against her eyelids.

~~~~~

Two days later, in the hospital lobby, she spots a TV news report about the disappearance of the Number Two Hero, Hawks. She drops a stack of forms and they coat the hallway floor like snowfall.

~~~~~

Later that week, Koharu is called into the office of the Hero Public Safety Commission. They didn’t tell her what for, but she knew. Considering the timeline the news had constructed, Koharu would have been one of the last people to see Hawks before his disappearance, if not the last. Though Koharu can’t help but wonder what they could possibly expect her to know. Furthermore, she has no idea what to do with what she does know.

Aimi is nervous. She continually fidgets with the hem of the suit jacket Koharu hasn’t worn since her last job interview. She claims she is just straightening it, but each touch of the fabric evolves into a hand around her waist, a brush against her wrist. Aimi is touching her like she is saying goodbye. Koharu kisses her gently, attempting to comfort her, but can’t help but wonder if she will disappear too.

~~~~~

The office of the Hero Commission Director is blank, white, and boring. The photos on the wall are close ups of calla lilies Koharu expects were in the frames in the store. The desk is black, with stainless steel dressings, and is wide enough that Koharu feels the urge to shout so the Director can hear her. The room makes her feel small, like an outsider, and Koharu can’t help but wonder if that was the goal when the Director smiles at her.

“Welcome, Mukai-san, thank you for coming in,” she says, and Koharu robotically complies.

“H-Hello,” she stutters, and curses herself. The Director chuckles, though not unkindly.

“No need to be so nervous,” she assures. “I just want to know if Hawks said anything to you before he left the scene that day, or if you can recall anything out of the ordinary. You’re not in any trouble.”

“Sorry,” she says, “I just... didn’t expect to meet with you. I thought an assistant would take my statement, or something.”

The Director purses her lips, and looks at her with mournful eyes. “We took Hawks in when he was no more than a toddler,” she tells her, voice heavy with nostalgic grief. “I helped raise him. So of course, I am doing everything in my power to find him.” She reaches forward, takes Koharu's hand in his own, like a man begging for a pardon. “So please, tell me, do you remember anything from that day that could help us find him?”

She remembers I’m not allowed to go to the hospital.

She remembers the way Hawks cowered from her raised hand.

She remembers his heartbeat.

“No,” she tells him, “Nothing.”

~~~~~

Weeks pass. The Commission doesn’t reach out to her again. She breathes a sigh of relief and puts the whole business out of her mind. (Every night she lies awake and hopes that Hawks isn’t found.)

The next time she sees Hawks, he’s on the news.

It was after her shift. For the first time in weeks, she’d agreed to join the rest of her squad at a local bar for some beers. The night had been going better than she expected, at least, until the bulletin happened.

“Breaking News,” The anchor said, nervous voice a poor attempt at remaining neutral, “Former Number Two Hero Hawks has teamed up with the League of Villains in an ongoing heist.” Gasps filled the bar, including Koharu’s own. Someone turned off the music, with the report acting as their only soundtrack. They cut to video of the attack. It was blurry, taken on a phone by someone who absolutely should have been running away, but that is not why Koharu nearly doesn’t recognize him.

Hawks is different. Feathers sprout from his hair and trail down to the nape of his neck. His hands are uncovered, and spout deadly claws. He’s bare-foot, so she can see just how inhuman his legs are, clearly meant to perch and kill. She’s certain the talons on them are at least the size of her hand.

Despite all this, the strangest sight is his expression. Koharu had seen Hawks smile. Honestly, between the TV interviews and billboard ads, it was hard not to. Hawks was known for lighting up the room, making girls literally scream with his dashing looks. Hawks’s smile is like the sunset, constant yet endlessly alluring.

But Koharu realizes, as she watches him grin as he carries the scarred villain from a burning roof, she has never seen Hawks happy until just this moment.

The people in the bar are screaming with anger and betrayal. Someone throws a beer bottle and it shatters against the TV.

On screen, Hawks  croons, and nuzzles his cheek with the man he’s carrying, and something in Koharu’s chest shatters.

Tears drip down her cheeks, and though she is not the only one crying, she is alone in her sobs of joy.

“Fly,” she whispers, words trampled by the jeers and wails of the crowd. “Go far from this place.”

And though he cannot hear her, Hawks sails away, far out of reach.

She does not need to see his heart to know it beats free.

[writinginthedarkwood]

OK, SO you should write about a caring reader who meets tamaki for the first time and he’s facing the wall and having an anxiety attack and reader stands next to him by the wall and puts her hand on his back and comforts him and talks to him and then they become friends or a couple hehe

I love Tamaki so much he is an shaky bebe~♡

You couldn't help but smile a little bit to yourself. A quick text from Neijre explains everything you need to know, your three new friends were all out enjoying lunch but something changed the mood of a certain elf eared boy, and Neijre felt like you would certainly pick things back up again. You opened your closet and threw everything that didn't look absolutely perfect onto the floor and frowned.

You're not dating Tamaki, but it wasn't exactly a secret that the two of you had extreme chemistry. You two start talking and it's like the air changes in the room, everyone smiles and whispers about how cute of a couple you are. He never seems to think too much when you're around, it's like you shut off all of the panic in his head, even if it's just for a moment.

You want to believe it's because you really are special, but the truth is-

It might just be your quirk.

You know you're not the most insanely powerful person at UA, a lot of people wonder how you ended up even hanging around the Big 3 so much. But you ARE amazing at search and rescue, you can heal people by creating a soft warm glow in the palms of your hands. You could save a person's life with one touch, which impresses a lot of pro hero's and your teachers.

A small, subconscious side to your quirk is that the smell you emit is very comforting to most people. Especially when you are healing someone, it can completely reverse shock in a dying patient.

The smell is different to everyone, Tamaki hasn't told you yet but you smell like warm milk and honey, a drink he often had when he was a child.

You settled with a simple and casual outfit and rushed to the coffee house your friends were waiting for you at.

"Amajiki..." You gently touched his shoulder. One thing Tamaki loved about you, the way you say his name. Your voice is like soft bells twinkling and ringing in his ears. "Did you already order?" Another thing he loved about you. You never made him feel weird for being so uncomfortable with everything. His more cheery friends find it funny when he can't help but stare at the wall and hope the noise stops, but you.

You're different.

"I don't want anything." He shot you a side glance, not wanting to move his face away from his spot. Tamaki felt like he was swallowing rocks, how did you look so beautiful?

"Well I'm going to order myself something, would it be okay if I sat next to you?" You moved without thinking and locked your fingers into his.

Your hands are so soft, dainty even. He felt the warmth of your quirk and closed he eyes for a minute.

He felt oxygen flow easier into his lungs, the pain in his chest easing.

The tremble in his hands subsided, and the full ache in his head left him.

Tamaki waited with you in line. You ordered the biggest drink on the menu and two delicious pastries.

You two say next to each other across from Mirio and Neijre. You put a pastry in front of Tamaki and your drink in the middle.

"I think my eyes are bigger than my stomach... would you help me finish this?"

How did you know he was actually hungry? It's like you read his mind.

The four of you had a lot of fun talking and taking a moment to relax and forget about school work. You all laughed until your abs hurt, tears gathered in your eyes and your chuckles turned into empty airy gasps. You had so much fun, even your more pessimistic friend.

Neijre asked you to use the ladies room with her and you happily followed her across the cafe. The minute the swinging door shut behind you two Neijre gushed, grabbing your face and squealing. "Y/N!!!! How do you even do that?? You make Tama so cheery!!" She gazed dreamily into the air, her eyes filled with glee. "You two need to go out already! This is killing me!" She turned and grabbed the sink with white knuckles and took a deep breath. "I can't hold it in anymore! I have to say something!!" Her head snapped around with a steel gaze, her face scary and serious. "I have to get you two together, in the name of love."

You smiled and clasped your hands in front of you. "Don't be ridiculous. Tamaki isn't in love with me." You kept that plastered smile on your face, trying to grin away your true feelings. "You didn't say that YOU don't love him..." Her grin was wicked.

Your group started to separate outside on the side walk, going your separate ways for the afternoon.

"Hey Tama! You should walk Y/N back to her dorm, Mirio and I have an... errand! An errand we have to run!"

"We do?" Mirio scratched his neck in thought. "Yes you big galump we have A VERY IMPORTANT ERRAND TO RUN." Neijre put both hands on Mirio's chest and pushed with all of her strength. You tried to keep your face from burning bright red, does she really have to be so obvious??

The two of you walked pretty slow, and you didn't say much. You never had to fill the space with empty comments. It never felt awkward when the two of you just enjoyed the quiet of each others company. People passed the two of you by, living there lives happily.

"Look at that couple over there." You didn't point with your finger, rather nodding with your head. "I think they're walking a cat on a leash." You giggled and Tamaki's head spun. Your little giggle, oh how it made his heart stop beating in his chest. You looked up at him with those gorgeous eyes and his face blushed bright pink. He smiled down at you, his teeth chattering together and his eyes squinted shut. "Are you feeling okay Tamaki?" You thought about putting your hand on him again. "Of course Y/N, I actually feel really good right now." He took a deep breath and forced himself to grab your hand. "I thought you felt okay?" You asked sweetly.

"I just want to h-hold your hand." He nodded his head, trying to work up some confidence. "Without your quirk... just your hand."

You stomach erupted with butterflies.

While you walked you laid your head on his arm, holding onto him tightly. Tamaki loved this, the way you nestled up close to him. He couldn't care if anyone looked this way and thought it was too much, you looked so adorable right now.

"Well, this is my room." You weren't even sure how you got this far, it felt like the two of you were walking in a dream.

"Y-yeah." Tamaki held both of your hands in front of him. You two lingered for a moment. "I'm really happy you came out with us..." He swallowed. "They're always dragging me out on my time off, but you being there really helped."

You couldn't help yourself anymore. You stood on your tiptoes and pressed your lips onto his, just a quick peck.

Tamaki caught your face and held you for a moment, making the kiss last even longer.

Your eye lashes fluttered, your turn to feel overwhelmed with emotion. Your heart pounded and your chest felt tight.

"Tamaki..." You whispered. "I'll always be there for you." He kissed you again, his mouth stretched into a smile. "I think I know what you're saying..." For a moment Tamaki felt so sure, not worried about what you would say next. He felt grounded in the moment, and he was going to relive this second in his head for the rest of his life.

[why-this-kolaveri-machi]

For the dysfunctional pairing prompt: Dick/Kory?

s2!AU - SPOILERS until 2.11

1.

“You’re good with the kids,” Kory tells Dick. It’s an absurd thing to say when one of those kids is beaten half to death, another is strutting around in a spandex costume like it’s his second skin and yet another… vanquished an interdimensional demon like it was nothing, but they’re all laughing, and Dick looks lighter than Kory has ever seen him.

Dick looks about as bemused as she feels. “You think?”

She smiles. “I do.”

“You’re pretty good with them, too.” He hesitates, then tilts his head at the car. “You know, this model seats five…”

Oh. Oh, no. She has only just come back to herself; there are so many decisions she has to make and so much to think about. Still, she’s curious about the light that’s animating Dick, about what it would feel like to cruise down stark and beautiful landscapes while knowing exactly who she is and where she is coming from and nothing about where she’s going. Only for a little while.

Just for–

“I’m in,” Kory says, and relishes the huge, delighted grin that breaks over Dick’s face.

6.

When Jason falls from the balcony, Kory’s first instinct is to dive right after him. She hasn’t tried flying in so long–not since leaving Tamaran–but the way her power coils around her, lifting her, is so familiar that she lets conscious thought go and let it take her where–

“KORY, NO!”

A desperate grip on her hand jerks her out of the moment. She hangs, swaying, from Dick’s hands even as Jason plummets to his death.

“What have you done?!” she screams at Dick. He has nothing to say, but she sees the answer in his eyes: he has made his choice, and it is going to haunt them for the rest of their lives.

10.

After the whole truth has been told, punches thrown, and the dust settled, Dick and Kory are the only ones left in the room. The silence is absolute, like a crypt–and Dick looks like he might belong in one, pale, stooped, blood pouring down his face. Kory, for her part, sits curled on a couch, her phone in one white-knuckled hand, staring past Dick. He grabs a towel and presses it to his gushing nose.

A few moments pass before Dick ventures, “Kory, what’s wrong?”

There’s a picture of Faddei’s corpse on her phone, the name Blackfire burned into his skin in Tamaranean. Kory feels… brittle, anxiety and regret buzzing under skin that feels like paper. “There’s nothing you can do,” Kory tells Dick, and the words unstick themselves from her throat with visible effort. “You need to be here.”

“Please.” Dick’s face crumples with the kind of emotion he’d dared not show the others. “Please, let me help you.”

“Dick, I–”

“We’re in this together, right?” He takes her hands in his. “Whatever this is, you don’t have to deal with it alone.”

His touch is so very cold, but Kory doesn’t let go.

2.

The first few months at the tower are wonderful.

Kory goes out as frequently as she can, soaking in the sights and sounds of a bustling city. She drags the others out with her often–riding roughshod over Dick’s protests. Rachel and Gar seem delighted that they are together, in peace, and with purpose; and although Jason is wary at first, he warms up to her soon enough.

At night, after the others have gone to sleep, Kory joins Dick in bed. There is a reverence to the way he touches her that turns boisterous without warning, which she finds delightful. Honestly, all of this is more than Kory could ask for.

(and if she finds Dick lying awake in bed well into early morning, or hears Rachel scream into her pillow, or sees Gar unable to look either of them in the eyes for more than a few minutes at a time, or runs into Jason nursing bruised knuckles in the training room in the dead of the night… well. They’re here to work through all of their problems together, and that’s exactly what they’re going to do.)

8. 

The devastation and betrayal in Jason’s voice is palpable when they confront him. Kory knows she should intervene, that without Dick there she needs to take control before things spiral further, but she stares at the pieces of her sawar bracelet in her hand and thinks for a single, vicious, shameful moment: Good.

5.

“Why didn’t you tell me you were having trouble with your powers before?” 

Rachel’s huddled under a table in the control room, and flinches at the sound of Kory’s voice. “What’s the point,” she says. “I just killed Rose. Maybe I’m just born bad, Kory, and there’s nothing anybody can do about it now.”

Kory crouches in front of her and tentatively reaches out to touch her thigh. “You know that’s not true,” she says. “Me and Dick, we believe–”

“Please don’t tell Dick!” Rachel says suddenly, eyes wide, clutching Kory’s hand with both of hers. “Please, Kory–it’s why I didn’t say anything earlier. He can’t know.”

“He can help you, Rachel. All of us can.”

“He’ll only think he’s failed me, somehow. And then–” Rachel’s voice drops to a whisper, “he’ll leave. Again.”

Kory thinks of how wound up Dick has been since Deathstroke returned; how he flinches and mutters at thin air and refuses to tell her why. She thinks of his haphazard battle plans, and the reckless glint in his eye as he discussed how to rescue Jason from Deathstroke. 

“Okay,” she sighs. “I won’t tell him.”

12.

“And worst of all, the idiot goes and gets himself arrested so he can feel better about his guilt.” She takes a healthy swig of her wine. “And I’m stuck. Lost–literally!–in space and time. We were supposed to help each other find ourselves, yet all we’ve managed to do is get lost even further.”

Her one night stand removes his briefs from around his neck and slips into them with no small measure of disappointment. “Seems to me,” he says, “that neither of you were particularly ready to enter into a relationship.”

She considers him critically over the rim of her glass. “Why, are you some kind of expert?”

“I am a psychiatrist,” he says mildly, brushing glitter off his pecs.

“Of course you are,” Kory mutters, rolling her eyes, and finishes the rest of her wine in one final swig.

4.

Faddei keeps calling.

It’s not that Kory isn’t aware that she has responsibilities on Tamaran, or what would happen to Faddei if she didn’t return to him. It’s just–she has an obligation to the people here, and with Rose’s arrival, Deathstroke’s return, the older Titans coming back, she’s been putting out fires left and right. Dick stops sleeping altogether, pacing the hall in the middle of the night, muttering to himself. Kory can’t possibly leave things the way they are.

Tamaran can wait.

9.

Dick stays long enough on the roof after a red-eyed Jason returns to the tower for Kory to get worried. He doesn’t react when she moves to sit beside him; only continues to stare out into the city, a kind of invisible weight stooping his shoulders. His arms are shaking, and Kory tenses, ready.

“I’m sorry,” Dick says at last. “None of this is fair to you.”

“I’m not sure I understand what you mean.”

“All of this.” He gestures at the tower below him vaguely. “Kinda dragged you into the middle of a giant clusterfuck that was my fault. Figured the least I could do is apologise.”

“I’m here by choice,” Kory says. “And we’re going to get through this together.”

“Yeah,” Dick says, faintly.

3.

“It’s wonderful that you two are together,” Dawn says. “Dick can be a difficult person to get close to, though.”

Kory frowns puzzled. “Sexually he’s both quite active and enthusiastic–”

Hank chokes on his lunch while Dawn smacks his back. “No I meant he’s a closed book emotionally. It’s just the way he was raised, I guess.”

Kory thinks of the warmth in his eyes and his smile when he thinks nobody is looking. “Yeah,” she says. “I guess.”

11.

Dick drives them to Nevada after they discover that every means of transportation that Kory had to her home planet has been destroyed for good, then disappears.

Kory leaves him a voice message and doesn’t bother to look.

7.

Saving Conner with her powers is the most Kory has felt like herself since Trigon was defeated.

It’s a startling thought, and she doesn’t know what to make of it.

13.

“I see Dick dying,” Rachel says, her eyes wide and very white. “Please, Kory, he needs us.”

Kory breathes in the dust kicked up by Dawn’s car. “I know,” she says. “Let’s go get him together.”

-

(  Give me a pairing and I’ll write you a way it could be spectacularly dysfunctional! )