#This ship drives me into a mad ramble at least once a week

[thatonefandomjumper]

Leo and Calypso are perfect for each other in all the worst ways.

Two desperately lonely people.

One told himself that the only way for him to be happy, after years of hardships and trauma that he hasn't healed from, is to have a romantic partner.

The other has been cursed to fall in love with whoever arrives in her prison and then eventually leave her, making her relive the same kind of heartbreak over and over.

And then they find each other. The one who finally loves him. The one who finally came back for her. And they think "this is it!" She has been granted freedom. He has been granted the fix to his problems that he so desperately longed for. They can truly start living for the first time.

But that doesn't happen. Love doesn't heal them. They are miserable with each other but neither would ever admit it because this is the only way they told themselves that they could be happy.

[idungoofed]

Now I’m One Of Those Crazy Girls

Okay don’t really know what this is, but I’ve been listening to Crazy Girls by Paramore while obsessively reading Din fics, and this is the result? You know that feeling of being completely infatuated with someone and you start to feel like a creep but can’t help yourself because the slight chance they feel the same is the only fuel you need? Yeah. Anyway, no idea if it’s good or not, haven’t really wrote anything since GCSE English which was over 10 years ago, so I’m sorry if this is a big pile of poo. Also first smut for me, nothing crazy just a little, just use your imagination okay? *Closes eyes and posts*

Summary: Like I said, very inspired by the song ‘Crazy Girls’, pretty much you’re obsessed with Din after ‘dating’ for a month, but he calls a break and leaves you for two weeks alone. Then you find his shop at Peli’s! Cue using spare key you secretly made and then the smuttening.

Warnings: Just a little smutty at the ending so 18+ ONLY! MINORS DNI!

________________________________________

It had been over two weeks since you last saw Din, and it was torture not being able to be near him.

Since you met in the cantina on Tatooine and gone back to his ship the same night you’d barely left his side. He’d said he wanted to take it slow (whatever that means once you’ve already done the deed!), but you’d easily slipped into a comfy routine of accompanying him to other planets for various bounties. He’d checked multiple times whether you’d prefer to stay on Tatooine to wait for him; you’d be left on the ship alone while he hunted. Of course you refused, not shy of saying how much you enjoyed his company.

This carried on for just over a month, and by then you were pretty much infatuated with him. In your eyes you went so well together, always enjoying your time together, never getting in each other’s way or tired of the others company.

At least you thought so. Two weeks ago Din said he wanted a bit of space, that you might of got it backwards and he didn’t want a serious relationship right now.

Of course you were devastated at first, but Din didn’t say he didn’t like you anymore, just that he needed some time. So you let him have just that. That is, you tried. You might of called his com link a few times, and then there was that time you got drunk and too into your feelings, leaving him a long rambling holo-message telling him exactly how much you felt for and missed him. You were still cringing at that particular memory a week later but at least he had messaged you back, and actually said he missed you too. So he was thinking about you.

Now, as you wondered the streets of Tatooine; trying to find something to take your mind off of Dins absence, you found yourself wandering past Peli’s where you spotted a familiar ship in her yard.

Your heart fluttered in your chest; he was here. He must be busy on a hunt, that’s why he hasn’t called you yet, you told yourself.

You walked into the quiet yard. No one was around, even the droids were tucked away. You march to the ships ramp and give a loud knock and wait.

No answer, you look around again to make sure no one’s around and from your pocket slip the door open control you got copied when Din left you at the edge of a town in Nevarro.

Stepping inside the dark ship you flip the lights on and head straight for his bunk. As soon as you open the door you inhale deeply. It’s smells like him; the sandalwood shower gel he always uses, blaster fire, and just his natural smell that’s undeniably his.

You realise how mad you probably look right now practically huffing his cabin air, so you sit on his bunk and make yourself comfy ready to wait for him.

An hour passes and then another and you’re growing impatient. Not only his smell, but the memories you have of all the things you’ve done together in this small space is driving you crazy. You cross your legs and take off your jacket, feeling flushed, and a thought crosses your mind.

Maybe you could get yourself ready for him while you wait

You slip your hand blow your waist band, sliding it slowly from your entrance to clit; you’re already soaking, but don’t stop, enjoying the feeling and imagining it’s Din’s hands working on you.

Eyes closed and head thrown back you’re too gone into your fantasy to hear the ramp open, boots ascending on the metal, and the hiss of the carbonate freezer going. Only does your reverie break when you hear someone clear their throat in the doorway of the bunk, making you jump, opening your eyes. “Fuck, Din! How long have you been there?!”

“Not long enough, Mesh’la.” He says with that voice you’d missed so much.

He slowly walks towards you, taking his armour off piece by piece as he does.

“I don’t know how you got in here, and I don’t care, all that matters is you’re exactly where I need you to be.”

The last piece of armour comes off, of course the helmet stays on, and he finished his approach; leaning over you in his bed. He cups your chin, running his thumb over your bottom lip, “I’m sorry I told you to go, it’s been miserable by myself, I missed you, missed your face….” his hand travels lower. Feather light touches down the side of your breast, then lower to your hip, “…missed your body…” his hand travels lower still, deftly unfastening your pants, hand sliding between the fabric as he cups you, feeling your wetness through your underwear. “Fuck, I’ve missed making you cum on me.”

You gasp as he moves the fabric to the side and circles your clit with his fingers before sliding one into you and circling it upwards. You role your hips, already feeling the building heat in your stomach. He adds another finger and you chase your orgasm. He only stops when you’re pleading with him, legs shaking and breathing erratically still in a haze of bliss.

Din nudges you over on the cot and slides in next to you, at some point he’d lost his flight suit and you felt his bare chest against you.

“I’m not going to be able to get you out my life am I?” He said with a half smile.

You smile back sheepishly and shake your head.

“Good.”

[stay-tinystars]

The Storyteller

Ship: non idol Yunho x fem OC (Mia)

Mostly fluff, slight angst bookstore au. ---Word count: 9.1k. ---Warnings: mentions of cheating (not main pairing), one mention of sex (non explicit), self doubt, depression, unsure of other warnings. ---- A/N: due to the lovely 250 word block limit these paragraphs run on, and for that I am sorry. I am posting this in Honor of Yunho's birthday. Though it's slightly late.

This year the summer seemed warmer than usual. Yunho noticed more heat coming through his apartment window as he worked. Writing and composing songs as he overlooked the city. He was in a rut with writing, they had asked him to write another love song. How could he write about something that broke him last year? How could he write about something that seemed so far out of reach. All his experiences with love he'd already written, and at this point he felt like if he wrote another song about his ex, he might scream. The blinking cursor on the blank screen of his laptop seemed to mock him. He got up and decided to call his brother, maybe he could help him with some ideas. "So, I got a promotion,and part of that promotion is I get to go on a cruise with the CEO and other leaders in the company." His brother said excitedly over the phone, as Yunho paced the floor in his living room.

"That's awesome," Yunho responded, maybe he shouldn't have asked his brother how work was going.

"Problem is, it's only a cruise for two, and it would help me get to know the higher ups better," his brother continued. Yunho's stomach sank, as his brother started to ramble.

"Why do I feel this means I need to watch the twins." Yunho sighed as he opened the door to his small balcony, stepping outside.

"Yunho, it would be the biggest help if you could watch them. It's only for a week, and being as you work from home, I was hoping you could just reconvene to my house for the week. We will buy all the food for the three of you. If you do this I'll also buy your groceries for the next month!" How could he say no to that. His brother had been working so hard and diligently for years. Two 6 year olds shouldn't be too hard right?

Yunho had never been so wrong. Was free food worth this? The twins were driving him crazy. Never a second of rest, and they always wanted to play, eat, or do something that meant Yunho couldn't focus at all. He hadn't gotten anything done for work in three days. He needed a break. How his brother and wife cared for these two tornadoes 24/7 was bewildering. After the twins came back in from playing in the backyard complaining that Yunho didn't do anything with them, Yunho wanted to scream. As a last resort he searched online for something to do with kids. He found a small ad on social media from a nearby bookstore, something called, 'Story time adventures' that happens every Thursday during the summer at 1pm. Recommended age was 4-10, and it was free. He sighed in relief, today was Thursday, and he could have a small break. Maybe he would get just a few minutes of peace while the twins attended. Yunho packed up the kids, and promised to go to the park after the story time, if they behaved. The twins eagerly obliged. Once they arrived at the bookstore he saw a small area set up near the back of the store, with a bean bag chair and lots of small pillows placed on the floor in front of it, a few children already sat on some of the pillows. He urged Kai, and Nami to go join, with a small nudge. Yunho took a deep breath, feeling a small sense of relief as he started to let the atmosphere of the small store put him at ease.  As he started to browse, he found himself in the fantasy section he picked a book and started to read the insert, it didn't seem interesting to him, so he placed it back upon the shelf. As he continued to wander around the store he could hear the children giggling as someone read. He turned down another isle, and could hear her voice.

"Who are you?” said the Caterpillar.

This was not an encouraging opening for a conversation. Alice replied, rather shyly, “I—I hardly know, Sir, just at present—at least I know who I was when I got up this morning, but I think I must have been changed several times since then.”

Yunho was enthralled. The storyteller's voice timbre changing slightly with every character. Her narration voice was calming. He found himself looking around the shelfs towards where the story time was happening. That's when he first saw her. She looked small in the bean bag. Her white jeans, and powder blue blouse, made her match the character of Alice. A white plush rabbit sat next to her on the bean bag. A children's picture book of Alice in Wonderland was in her hands as she read so the children could see the pictures. Only after someone cleared their throat did Yunho realize he was currently blocking the main aisle way. He quietly bowed and muttered an apology and moved off to the side.  She looked so at ease around the 15 or so children who sat in front of her. Each one clinging onto her every word. Her eyes sparkled as she read about the tea party, her mischievous grin matched that of the Cheshire cat as he disappeared. She made the whole bookstore become Wonderland. As she read and placed Alice back into her rightful world, Yunho found himself leaning on the bookshelf behind her. Admiring her attention to the little details. She had a small top hat clipped in her hair, a blue butterfly sat atop. Her earrings were pocket watches. 

"Now how did you all enjoy Wonderland?" Her natural voice was joyful, still drawing him in. He listened to the discussion about the book she had with the children. Some asked about if food could really make you grow, others commenting on the mad hatter.

"How did you do so many voices?" Kai asked, obviously intrigued. She laughed. If Yunho could describe the sound he would, but he couldn't pinpoint any words, it just sounded happy to him.

"I like to make sure every character has their own personality, it makes reading even more fun!" She responded, and clasped her hands together. 

"Ok, unfortunately that's all the time for today." Her words were met with groans. "I hope you all come next week, we are going to Neverland!" Her smile widened as she lifted a children's picture book of Peter Pan.

Yunho shook his head bringing him back to reality. He wanted to return next week. Kai and Nami ran towards him. "We were good, can we go to the park now?" Nami pleaded, as she tugged on his hand.

"Of course, I might even treat you guys to ice cream" Yunho smiled, as the twins cheered.

----

Yunho found himself daydreaming about the story teller. The way she made the story come alive, made him want to go back, and listen to her again. But now that his brother was back home, which he was grateful for, he couldn't go. Or could he?

"Hey, so I was hoping to take the twins tomorrow for a few hours around lunch" he heard his brother choke on air through the phone, as he sat on a chair on his small balcony.

"I thought you couldn't be happier to be rid of them. Isn't that what you said on Sunday?" His brother's voice bewildered.

"I've had a change of heart." Yunho leaned back putting his feet up on the small metal table. 

"Yunho, you aren't trying to pick up single mothers at the park are you?" His brother's voice teased

"No, why would I do that?"

"It's the only explanation for you actually wanting to watch them. After being stuck with them for a week. I know what little monsters they can be."

"No, I just thought they might enjoy going to story time again." Yunho's voice faded as he played with the hem of his shirt.

"Oh so you're wanting to see the storyteller again? Hmm?? The kids said they enjoyed that, and that you gave them ice cream afterwards." Yunho could hear the teasing tone continue,  as his brother spoke.

"Why do you always have to bug me about seeing someone new? Can't I just enjoy the stories with the kids."

"Well you can, but I know you're not going for the stories. You're going because you want a girlfriend."

Yunho wanted to retort his brother's statement, but he knew it would just lead to more teasing. "Look, can I just take the kids to story time tomorrow?" He sighed.

"If you end up meeting someone, that means my children make great wingmen!"

"You're so weird"

"You're the one wanting to borrow my children"

----

He knew nothing about her, but her voice haunted his dreams, both awake and asleep. His only thought was to try to find a seat in the small book shop to listen to her. He got there early, and sent Kai and Nami to sit, as he found a seat off to the side, grabbing a book and pretending to read. Yunho laughed as he noticed Kai taking the front center pillow, his sister following suit, Kai was just as intrigued as he was. He watched as other children filed in, their parents starting to browse the store. Suddenly a sound of tinkling bells came from the aisle next to Yunho. He watched as she appeared, dressed in a Peter pan inspired outfit, green jeans a matching top tucked in, she even had a Peter pan hat complete with feather. Her phone making the sounds.

"Are you guys ready to go to Neverland? Does anyone know how to get there?" She inquired as she approached the bean bag.

"Second star to the right!" Nami practically screamed. Her response was met with laughter from around the store.

"That's right, and straight on til morning! Now all we need is pixie dust, and happy thoughts then away we go!" She reached into her pocket withdrawing a hand full of tiny shimmering clear glitter. She tossed it, sprinkling it over the children, who giggled in response. He watched as she sat on the beanbag, lifted the book.

"Peter Pan" she started, as she opened the book. Yunho never opened the book he had grabbed, he listened, being sucked into the story as much as the children. She even crowed like Peter, while reenacting the fight between Peter and Hook with one hand as she read the story from the bean bag. She was having just as much fun doing this, as the kids were. He rode the back of the wind with the children, until the storyteller placed Wendy, John and Michael back in London. He had to get to know her, at least her name. The discussion time for the book started and ended quicker than Yunho wanted, he hadn't caught what book she was doing next week, nor any of the questions asked. He was caught up in his head. He usually had such confidence with these situations, but he didn't know how to approach this talented young woman. It had been a while since he tried dating. Luckily for him Kai wouldn't leave the poor girl alone, he was talking her ear off. As Yunho approached, he heard Kai asking every question that popped into his head.

"What's your favorite color" Kai's voice excitedly said.

"Purple" she laughed, Kai looked between the storyteller and his uncle and smirked.

"When was the last date you went on?" Kai's smirk grew, along with Yunho's eyes. What had gotten into this kid?

"Umm, I haven't been on a date in a while" she responded looking at the young boy with a raised eyebrow.

"So you don't have a boyfriend?" Kai asked.

"No Kai, I don't have a boyfriend" she chuckled, placing her hands on her hips.

"Can I be your boyfriend?" The 6 year old asked, looking up at her with big eyes. She smiled warmly, and softly shook her head.

"I'm sorry Kai, but you are far too young to be my boyfriend. You are sweet for asking." She tried to let the kid down easy.

"What about my uncle Yunho?" Kai grabbed his uncle's shirt. Yunho's ears turned red as he looked bewildered at his nephew.

"Well, I will have to see," she laughed, as she looked at the tall panicked man.

"He's been lonely since his girlfriend left last year," Nami added as she grabbed onto Yunho's pant leg. What had he gotten himself into? Yunho wanted to hide.

"Well that wasn't very nice of her was it." She responded, looking between the two twins. Then looking at Yunho. "Kids say the darndest things" she held back her laughter as best as possible. "I'm Mia" she extended her hand.

"Yunho" he shook it, and did a small bow. She smiled warmly.

"Well these two are sweet. It's nice of you to bring them."

"He asked to bring us today, so he could hear another story." Kai smiled mischievously. The kid definitely took after his father. Yunho wished he was anywhere but here.

"Is that so?" Her eyes twinkled as she lifted her eyebrow at Yunho and winked.

"Yeah he called dad last night." Nami added, excitedly. Yunho wished he could disappear, like the cat from last week's story.

"So Uncle Yunho, are you employing kids to be your wingmen?" Her eyes full of mischief, as she smirked, he was sure his face was redder than a tomato.

"I, uh, I swear it's not what it seems. I just, uh, like your stories" he mentally slapped himself, though his panicked response made her laugh.

"Well, that's a shame because you're kind of cute." She joked, winked again, then walked away towards the front of the store. Yunho watched her for a moment, shocked at her bold statement.

"Wait, Mia! " he said following her, grabbing each of the twins hands in his.

"How can I help you," she smiled, as she went behind the counter.

"Wait, you work here?" Yunho questioned. She laughed again.

"What did you think I was doing here?" her response floating along her slight laughter.

"Well I thought you only came to read to the kids. I truthfully thought you were a voice actress." his voice faded as he looked at the counter, setting his hands on top of it.

"Well that would be an interesting career. I actually pitched the summer storytime idea. I read a book to a little kid to help calm him down after he lost his mom at the spring festival earlier this year. By the time I finished reading I had a group around me." she smiled as she stared at Yunho's hands resting on the counter. "I've always enjoyed books, so if I can help kids enjoy the stories, and start reading themselves I want to do it."

Yunho felt his heart soften. This young woman in front of him seemed to have a heart of gold. He barely knew her, but he wanted to get to know her better. He just wasn't sure if he had the courage to ask her out quite yet. His heart still fragile from its harsh break last year.

"Miss Mia" Nami peeked her head over the counter.

"Yes, Nami" Mia leaned on the counter making eye contact with the small girl.

"Will you come to the park with us?" The little girl asked. Mia laughed softly.

"Well, I still have work." She placed her head in her hands.

"For how much longer?" The small girl questioned. Mia looked at her watch.

"About a half hour"

"We can wait!" Kai didn't wait for either of the adults to respond, he just pulled Yunho back into the book store. They browsed the shelfs of the entire store until each of them found a book that interested them. He walked back up to the counter with the twins in tow, each of them setting their choices on the counter.

" 'The Astronaut Who Painted the Moon', good choice Kai. I think you will really enjoy it, and the way it describes the colors. Oh, and Nami you chose 'Planting the Wild Garden' it's a great book about how seeds actually work." She then paused with a smile gracing her lips, as she picked up Yunho's choice, her eyes sparkled with nostalgia. " 'Spinning Starlight' is one of my favorites. It's actually a retelling of 'The Wild Swans', but this book captivated me. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did Yunho." Her hands gently placed the books into a paper bag stamped with the store's logo.

"You know a lot about these books," Yunho said, handing her his card.

"Well I do work at a bookstore, plus you guys happened to pick books I have read and enjoyed." laughter traced her every word, as Yunho traced her features in his mind. The way her eyes crinkled as she laughed, the small imperfections in her skin bringing beauty to the world around him, the way her lips sat so perfectly, she was imperfectly perfect, and he was transfixed. He was starting to realize he was head over heels for this girl, that he barely knew. The trio stepped outside and sat on the small bench waiting for Mia, as she clocked out and grabbed her things.

"I don't get invited to go to the park very often. What's the first thing we should do?" Mia asked as she looked between the twins a small smile on her face.

The four of them played on the playground equipment, the younger two creating their own world, and directing the older pair at what to do. Which resulted in side aches from laughing so hard. "What?" Yunho asked as Mia laughed at him, as he laid the full length of the child size slide.

"You are bigger than the slide" Mia giggled as she leaned on the side of the slide looking at him. Yunho smiled as they looked at each other.

"Thanks for coming to the park, you didn't have to." Yunho sat up, then stood from the slide.

"Well I haven't been asked to go to the park in a while, plus I didn't have anything going after work today, and some sunshine would be good for me." Mia said as she walked towards the empty bench off to the side of the playground. Yunho started to follow only to be called by Kai. Yunho ran over and looked up at the young boy through the railing of the playtoy.

"Have you asked her out yet?" Kai inquired as he played with the ship wheel in front of him mindlessly.

"It's not that easy Kai, I barely know her" Yunho responded as he gazed in her direction. She was sitting on the bench now, leaning her head back, eyes closed enjoying the sunlight on her face. She seemed to glow in the midday sun.

"Well, I think she likes you. I can't wait to tell dad I'm a good wingman!" Kai smiled to himself, bringing Yunho's attention back to the twins.

"Did your dad put you up to this?"

"Well he said if we helped you get her number, he would give us ice cream everyday for a week!" Nami said excitedly, as she took control of the wheel from her brother.

"Your dad bribed you guys to get me on a date?"

"He said someone needed to help you, ever since Yuni left you've been sad. Dad just wants you to be happy." Nami looked at her uncle with concern on her face.

"I am happy," Yunho countered softly, as he looked towards Mia again. Was he really just putting on a front? His brother surely saw through everything. Could everyone see how lonely he'd felt? How would that affect the small spark he felt with Mia. He looked back to the twins, who were staring at him. He sighed they were right. He wasn't happy.

"So I'm thinking we should go get some ice cream, how does that sound?" Mia suggested as she approached the trio. Squeals of approval came from the twins as they raced to get down to them.

"Can I have strawberry!" Nami asked as they approached the ice cream stand.

"I want chocolate!" Kai added.

"Can I get one Strawberry, one chocolate, one cookies and cream and whatever the lady here orders" Yunho said at the window.

"I can pay for myself," Mia said, opening her wallet.

"No It's on me. You came to the park, and you didn't have to" Yunho insisted, handing his card to the worker before she could do anything else. Mia shook her head and sighed.

"Um, I will also take cookies and cream," she said softly. The worker nodded and swiped Yunho's card.  Soon enough the four of them were eating ice cream at a small table in the shade.

"Thanks for joining us today Mia, it was fun!" Nami said as she devoured the last of her ice cream.

"Well thank you for the invite. I'm sure Chen hasn't missed me too much." Mia thought aloud.

"I thought you said you didn't have a boyfriend," Kai accused, pointing his chocolate smudged finger at Mia. She laughed.

"I don't, I have a hedgehog," she paused to look at her watch, "who is probably upset I'm not feeding him yet"

"You have a hedgehog!" Kai yelled, sending small droplets of chocolate all over the table.

"Yes," she chuckled. "And he is three this year" She was proud, like a mother would be of her child. "Do you guys want to see a picture of Chen?" She asked, unlocking her phone.

"Yes!" Nami scrambled from her seat, climbing atop the table to see the phone better. There on the screen was a small light brown almost cream colored hedgehog, sitting on a small blue towel

"Chen is a blonde hedgehog, I rescued him from the shelter almost two years ago"

"They have hedgehogs at the animal shelter? I thought they only had cats and dogs" Kai asked as he got closer to the screen. The two small faces stared intently at the screen. Their noses only a few centimeters away.

"The shelter actually has all sorts of pets, most people just go for the dogs and cats. But my apartment doesn't allow animals bigger than Chen." Yunho just watched as Mia showed the twins more photos of Chen. He hated to say he believed in love at first sight, it always seemed to be a stupid thing to him. Until now, ever since he first saw Mia he couldn't get her out of his brain. The more he saw her, the more intrigued he became. He wanted to learn everything about her. "Sorry Yunho, you probably couldn't see him over these two" she laughed as she handed him her phone. There was the small hedgehog, she had placed a small bowtie on him. "This is when I celebrated his first 'gotcha' day"

"He is a cute little guy, he looks like he'd fit in just the palm of my hand." Yunho smiled, handing back her phone.

"Why don't you ask Mia if you can meet him, then you can see" Kai, again, was making Yunho want to disappear. Mia was gently shaking her head, her expression was no longer peaceful. She looked slightly panicked, and Yunho's mind started reeling. What had he done wrong?

"Maybe someday" she responded, getting up from the small table. "But I should go and take care of Chen. It was a lovely afternoon, and thank you for the ice cream" she gave a smile as well as a soft bow and wave, and quickly walked away.

-----

Yunho went to the small bookstore on his own that Saturday, hoping to see Mia and apologize for whatever had happened. Mia was wearing jeans and a graphic t, nothing abnormal, yet Yunho couldn't stop staring. "How can I help you today, Yunho?" She said sternly as he approached the counter.

"I wanted to apologize for Thursday." His large hand swept through his hair, still trying to figure out what he did.

"You did nothing wrong." she seemed to brush off the subject, as she walked away with a pile of books in hand.

"I feel like something happened. Was it the twins? I'm sorry if something they said was inappropriate." Yunho said following her.

"No. They also were fine." Her answer was abrupt.

"Can I help you put those away?" Yunho gestured towards the books, as he fell in step with her.

"I'm alright, I can do this on my own." She kept walking further into the store. She seemed so warm on Thursday, but now she seemed to be turning a cold shoulder on him.

"I-" Yunho's own words caught in this throat, his feet stopping at the end of an aisle. "I'm sorry, I'll leave you alone." his soft words barely reaching her as she stopped.

"Yunho." She sighed, and motioned him to come closer with her head. As he approached she lost her own words. "It's not you." She whispered as she started to put books on the shelf.

"It has to be me. That's the only explanation I can come up with" he said, stepping behind her taking the book she was trying to place on the top shelf from her hand, and placing it where she was trying to place it.

"The explanation is me." She kept her eyes on the shelf in front of her, he could hear the slight tremor in her voice. He placed a hand softly on top of the one she had resting on the shelf. He could feel her body shake slightly as she started to sob. Yunho started to search for words. He was concerned, he wanted to comfort her. Would a hug be too much? I mean he was practically caging her in right now. Was that what was making her cry? He lifted his hand and moved backwards slightly, not wanting her to feel trapped. She dropped to her knees shaking, propping herself up against the bookcase. Mia was finally letting it all out. It was too late to stop her emotions now. Without getting closer Yunho just sat down next to her. Sometimes silence answered more than words. Today that was the case. Mia noted Yunho's presence, currently it felt like the only thing anchoring her to a safe harbor. She had been building this shell for so long, that when it broke it let a dam of emotions loose. The grief and betrayal from last winter. The constant mask she bravely put on everyday though she was broken. Mia found herself placing a hand on Yunho's knee as he went to move, she needed her anchor. Yunho placed his hand on hers.

"I never meant to make you cry." Yunho's words barely above a whisper, as he took his other hand and softly wiped her tears from her cheek.

"It isn't you." Mia rested her head against his hand. She wanted to trust him, to tell him everything, but her mind fought against it. He'll be just like Jay, he will make you believe him then he will lie to you over and over again. She shook her head. No, Yunho was different. But is he, or are his good looks deceiving you. Mia wanted to scream at the doubting voice in her mind. She looked up into Yunho's eyes. They were pure, almost puppy like. "Can you promise me something, even though I barely know you."

"Yeah" Yunho nodded, as he dropped his hands. He was now staring at her intently.

"Can you promise me that you'll be honest with me?" Her question puzzled him.

"Of course." 

"No, I need to know you're going to be honest. That you won't lie, even if it's to cover up my pain." Mia wasn't sure exactly why she was demanding this from the man she barely knew, in the bookstore after she just cried in front of him. Yunho wasn't sure either, but he nodded anyway.

"I promise I'll be honest." He looked at her, a small grin turning up the corner of his mouth. "To prove that. Can I say my butt is really starting to hurt, can we stand up now?"

She laughed, and got up. Wiping her damp cheeks with the back of her wrist "I want to explain some things." She paused as she took a deep breath. "I get off at 6. Would you be willing to meet me at the diner two doors down, about 6:15? I'll pay for dinner." Mia inquired as the two of them headed towards the front of the store. Yunho smiled and nodded.

"I will see you at 6:15"

-----

"Are you two ready to order?" The waiter smiled as he pulled a pencil from behind his ear, looking at Mia.

"I'll have #2 with over hard eggs, and bacon" Mia said, handing the waiter the menu.

"I'll have the #7 scrambled with extra bacon" Yunho smiled at Mia, as the waiter scribbled down their orders.

"I'll get those put in" the waiter nodded as he walked away.

Mia looked at her hands and as she played with her fingers nervously. How could she even start.

"I saw your boss pull you aside as I was leaving. You didn't get in trouble did you?" Yunho asked,  only to get a breathy chuckle from Mia.

"No, fortunately or unfortunately she pulled me off to the side to make sure I was OK. This isn't the first time I've broken down at work." Mia let another breathy chuckle as she played with the ring on her pointer finger. "I hope it's the last though. I feel embarrassed that you saw me like that."

"Don't feel embarrassed, I can be a shoulder to cry on." Yunho then looked at her tentatively. "Do you mind if I ask if you're ok?"

"I'm getting there." She avoided looking at him like the plague.

"Is there anything I can do to help, or make you feel better?" His words, sincere. He was truly concerned, he hadn't seen someone else break down like that in a long time.

"It is sweet of you to ask but I don't know. I don't know how to explain any of it properly, at least not without having another meltdown" her gaze found a drop of water on the table. She put her finger in it, and started to doodle with the water. She would take any distraction from her emotions right now.

"You don't have to explain anything then. I can wait until you are ready." Yunho cocked his head to the side, and bent over to try to look into her eyes.

"What if I'm never ready" she finally looked at him, her pained look met his soft caring eyes.

"I will still wait. I can be a constant in your life. Like an anchor in the storm."

-----

The next Thursday he took the twins to listen to Mia again. This time Mia was dressed in all blue as she told the tale of Pinocchio. Yunho smiled when he realized she made herself the blue fairy. The true narrator of the tale. He watched from the seat he had chosen the week before. He laughed as Pinocchio's nose grew. When the mischief started Yunho could feel the tension of the story. It amazed him to hear her read the stories, she painted the pictures so marvelously with her words, that when Pinocchio was stuck in the water just before he got swallowed by the whale he wanted to hold his breath.  He felt joy as the blue fairy gave Jiminy his good conscience badge, and when Pinocchio became a real boy he had to hold in his cheers. Everytime she told a story it was as if it was the first time he heard it, though he knew all the stories well.

"So how did you guys enjoy Pinocchio?" Mia asked as she set down the book.

"I liked the cricket. Though I don't like bugs" one of the girls said, as she pulled a face. Mia giggled.

"I like him too. So, do you guys think Jiminy was a good conscience?" She asked the group.

"I think he was. Pinocchio just didn't always listen." One of the older boys said.

"But Jiminy was supposed to keep Pinocchio from doing the bad stuff. So didn't I don't think he did very good." One of the girls piped up.

"That is a good point Sumin. He didn't always stop him, But do we always listen to our parents?" Mia asked the little girl, who blushed slightly as she looked down.

"No, I guess we don't."

"But that doesn't mean we have to give up if something bad happens. Sometimes we have to be brave and do things that scare us. Maybe we can do our best to be brave and fix our mistakes like Pinocchio did." Mia said, making eye contact with Yunho. She nodded at him slightly as she returned her attention to the group.

"Then we can become real boys!" One of the smallest in the group said excitedly, which resulted in giggles from around the area.

"Yes, then we can also become real like Pinocchio. Remember life isn't about being perfect, it's about doing your best, and apologizing if you do make mistakes." Mia smiled. "Now remember next week is our last week for this summer so come ready to listen."

"What are you going to read?" Nami asked excitedly.

"It's a surprise! But, I'm going to dress as a princess." She loudly whispered with an exaggerated wink to the group.

"Can I dress up too?" A voice called.

"Of course. We'll give special treats to the princes and princesses who come." Mia's response was greeted with cheers.

"It was a good story today," Yunho said, approaching her.

"I've always enjoyed the little wooden boy." She smiled, as she cleaned the small area up a bit.

"I was wondering if you could maybe give a real boy a chance." Yunho looked at her, his eyes pleading. She looked at her feet then back at him.

"I can try" her voice soft, as she nodded.

"Yes!!" The twins shouted, making the older pair jump slightly. Yunho actually forgot he had brought them for a minute. Mia just started to laugh as the twins started telling Yunho which ice creams they were going to make their dad buy.

"Are you available Saturday?"

-----

"Hi Mia, Are you ready to go?" Yunho leaned on her door frame as Mia answered the door.

"I believe so" she smiled as she grabbed her purse.

"You look nice," he said, admiring her jeans and brown peasant blouse.

"Thank you, you look nice as well. I like your shirt" she noted looking at his dark gray short sleeved button up. Her smile lit up the hallway as she locked her apartment. "So where are we going"

"Well, I wanted to do something a little different" He smiled. "I hope you're ready for an adventure."

As they entered the building Mia did her best not to laugh. She had never been to a place where you could fish indoors before. Let alone one that had a pirate ship that people could fish from. "I would've never expected this." Mia giggled as Yunho took her hand gently.

"Well I haven't stopped thinking about this place since you read Peter Pan. I haven't been here in years, but I thought fishing would be fun. Plus we can pretend to be pirates while we fish." he smiled as he paid.

"I've always thought of myself more as a lost boy than a pirate," she laughed, as they followed the employee to their reserved spots on the ship.

"Pirates have more fun." he wiggled his eyebrows, as they started baiting their hooks.

The next hour was full of small talk, to get to know one another. She found out that Yunho Majored in music, he had a love for writing and composing music. He also loved to dance, he loved the way he could portray his emotions and the words in the song by moving his body. He found out she had been studying environmental science, that she wanted to help be the solution instead of the problem. She said she had to take an unexpected break from school last year, and that she was hoping to start again in the spring. Their conversation lulled to a comfortable silence, until her fishing pole started going nuts. She stood, trying to hold onto the pole. "Oh my gosh! Yunho help!" Mia yelled as she tried to reel in whatever had taken her bait. He quickly stood behind her wrapping his arms around her holding the pole with her. When she finally got the fish out of the water they heard music come over the loudspeaker.

"Someone has caught the largest fish in the tank!" The voice echoed around them. As an employee came over and helped them, weigh and take care of the fish Mia ended up winning the grand prize of the day, which was two gift certificates for more fishing, as well as two free ice creams from the ice cream parlor next door. The prizes from Yunho's small catches was a small plush seal, and some jellies.

"Yunho that was so much fun. Thank you." Mia placed her hand on Yunho's elbow as they stepped outside.

"You're welcome, but the night is still young. If you are okay with it, I'd love to treat you to dinner." He smiled as he gently set his hand on top of hers, as they strolled down the busy street.

"I think that sounds wonderful, what do you have in mind?" A content sigh left Mia's lips as she enjoyed the warmth from the sun.

"Well," he started. "What if I told you it's a surprise"

"Usually I would question more, but I am getting hungry" she said, her stomach growling as if on queue.

"Well lucky for you, and your stomach, it's just a few minutes walk from here." Yunho teased, as he guided her to a pizza place, with outdoor seating on the second floor.

"Yunho!" A few employees cheered as they entered the busy restaurant. "We have your usual table ready for you." The Host smiled as he guided the two of you up the stairs, out onto the patio. "Here you are."

"So, you come here a lot?" Mia asked as she sat down.

"Yeah, a good friend of mine works here as a chef. So I started coming here to support him, but I actually really like their pizza." Yunho sat and sighed contently as he looked across the street. "Plus I really like the view of the park from here, it makes me feel a little closer to nature even though we are in the city."

Mia followed his gaze and could see what he meant. It was beautiful here. She watched as two squirrels fought around a tree. Just taking it all in.  Yunho was lost in his thoughts as he watched Mia. The view was spectacular, the sun was hitting her at a perfect angle making her glow slightly as it pitched towards the horizon. The waiter soon brought them some waters, and informed them that the chef prepared something for them, so they had no need to order. Soon they were talking about how lovely the weather had been this week.

"Yunho! I made something special for tonight!" A man with dark hair, sharp looks, and a mole under his eye came over. Carrying a full tray of food.

"Hi, Wooyoung. This is Mia." Yunho gestured, as Wooyoung set the food on the table.

"So this is the storyteller. You were right she's cute" Wooyoung took her hand and kissed it. Mia could feel her cheeks flush.

"Wooyoung, stop. She's my date, not yours." Yunho rolled his eyes.

"What, I can't appreciate beauty?" He scoffed. "I don't know what you see in this." Wooyoung jabbed his thumb towards Yunho.

"I see potential" Mia smiled looking at Yunho, whose ears were tinged pink. Wooyoung just rolled his eyes.

"Well, I prepared Yunho's favorite pizza, as well as avocado salad, and for dessert I have brownies baking." Wooyoung smiled as he rubbed his hands on his black apron.

"Thank you Wooyoung." Mia responded with a slight bow.

"I expect feedback the brownies are a new recipe I'm trying on you two" 

"That worries me" Yunho joked, as his friend smacked his shoulder. 

----

"Yunho tonight has been just perfect" Mia said as she wiped her mouth with a napkin, to get off any sauce from the slice of pizza she had just finished.

"I've had an enjoyable time as well," Yunho said, before taking another bite.

"I want to tell you something" Mia looked over towards the park, the sun was starting to set, sending golden tones over the trees.

"Anything"

"I'm going to tell you a story, you can't interrupt it ok" she looked towards him, concern painting her face along with the gold of the sunset. Yunho nodded in response.

Mia spun a tale of a young woman who had just moved to a new city. She was full of wonder and hope. She started college and met a man who swept her off her feet. His name was Jay. Everything Jay said was perfect, she felt like she was living in a fairytale. Until she went to surprise him at work one day. Only to find out he had been fired two weeks previously. When she called him, he shrugged it off. Saying he got let go for a stupid reason, and that he hadn't wanted her to worry so he hadn't told her. She asked if he had another job, and he said he did. He had told fanciful tales of what life could be like together, so when her lease was up she asked to move in with him. He seemed tentative until she said she would pay half the rent. Jay agreed, only to have the landlord kick them out two months later, due to overdue rent he never told her about. After they got kicked out, she found another place, and Jay was full of promises again. She told him not until he could be honest and pay bills on time. So he moved in with a friend to help prove he could be better.  After a few months Jay had convinced her he had changed. So she let him move in. When she asked him for his portion of the rent he would say his work hadn't paid him yet, or that he had to help pay for something for his parents. Mia started to see his pattern, she wondered if he really ever had a job, or if he was just using her to have a place to live and food to eat. She was starting to wonder what he had done with the money she had given him previously for rent. She never expected to come home early from work one day to find Jay on their couch, having sex with a complete stranger, money scattered on the coffee table beside them. That's when she had enough. She started yelling, scaring them both, and kicking them both out of her apartment without letting them get dressed. She shoved them out the door and locked it. She then gathered everything of Jay's into garbage bags and set them next to the trash bins outside.

Mia took a deep breath as silence took over the area. She looked at the brownies that had been placed in front of them.

"That is why I tried pushing you away. You came in being charming, and after I started to feel something towards you I panicked. I can't go through another Jay." Mia said quietly as she picked up a brownie placing it on the napkin in front of her and picked at the edges.

"I can promise you that I will never do those things to you." Yunho reached across the table for her hand. "I will be honest, like I promised. Jay was a fool for doing those things to you."

"Can I be honest with you?" Mia asked looking up shyly.

"Of course, I would love for you to always be able to tell me things honestly" his hand felt warm around hers.

"I'm scared. I barely know you, and those I have known have hurt me. I don't trust anymore. I need time with so many things. Honestly I have enjoyed this so much, but I have so many problems. I don't want you wasting your time with me. I'm broken beyond repair" tears threatened to fall with her every breath.

"What are you saying?" Yunho inquired.

"I'm saying you deserve someone who you don't have to wait on. Someone who can love you like you deserve. Someone who you don't have to worry about. Someone who isn't me. You deserve someone better." Her voice shook as she stood up.

"Mia, I like you-" he followed her actions.

"I know, but you shouldn't. You need to find someone who isn't broken." She said as he stepped closer to her, Yunho's arms wrapped around her as they stood next to their table. He remained silent for a moment.

"Can I tell you a story?" He asked. She nodded as she rested her head on his chest. "Once upon a time I fell in love with a girl I thought I would marry. Yuni had all the things I thought I was looking for. She moved in with me, I believed it was going well. The night I was going to propose I came home to find her standing with luggage in hand, all of her things packed. She told me she couldn't handle me anymore. She hated the life she was living, she had been cheating on me with a childhood friend. She was sick of the lies. Sick of the constant music. She told me that I was nothing.  She left me heartbroken in the middle of my apartment, the ring in my pocket seemed to weigh me down. She had destroyed most of my friendships. I sat in my apartment that night realizing that now I had nothing beside my brother and his kids. I was lucky enough to have some forgiving friends who welcomed me back, after I explained how caught up in her I had been.  So I am just as broken as you. I'm still not sure how to love again without getting hurt. But with you I feel like giving it a shot. Maybe we can help each other realize we don't have to be whole to be loved." He was holding her as close as he could. His shirt was wrinking from her tears, but he couldn't care less. He was holding her, he wanted to be her protector. Her arms were locked around his waist, she wouldn't be letting go anytime soon. They were both broken, trying to hold themselves together. Yet in that moment they each felt small pieces of themselves start mending. They held each other as the night grew darker.

"So love birds, did you enjoy the brownies?" They heard Wooyoung say as he stepped outside. They quickly separated, and looked at the table where the brownies had yet to be touched, her eyes grew wide, as Yunho smirked.

"We only ate what we liked," Yunho laughed as Wooyoung's face grew angry. Which made Yunho laugh harder.

"Sorry we haven't tried them yet. We got a little- preoccupied" Mia said as she reached over and picked up her brownie. She took a bite and groaned at the delectable taste. "Holy crap these are delicious!"

Yunho picked up a brownie himself. "Wooyoung this is delicious. Rich, but not over the top, I also like the chunks of chocolate."

"Only one thing would make it better," Mia said, taking another bite.

"What's that?" the chef asked.

"Ice Cream. Make it ala mode" she said covering her mouth as she spoke.

Wooyoung nodded a small smirk on his lips. "I knew I would like you. Yunho this one is a keeper." Wooyoung commented as he walked back into the restaurant.

"Seriously though, can we take the rest of these brownies to go? They are delicious" Mia said, turning to Yunho.

"Of course, but they are coming home with me!" Yunho teased.

"I guess that means I'll be coming over for brownies" Mia smirked as she shrugged.

"I'd like that." Yunho said, stepping forward and enveloping her in his arms once more.

Thursday came quickly, and Yunho picked up Kai and Nami. Kai was dressed in his prince costume from the previous Halloween. It was a bit short but the white outfit with the red sash and cummerbund made him look very sharp. Nami was wearing a perfectly blue Cinderella style dress with her plastic glass slippers of course.

"You dressed up too!!" Nami squealed as she ran into Yunho's arms.

"Of course. There need to be more princes and knights in this world" 

"I wish mine looked as cool as yours!" Kai grumbled, as he compared his white outfit, to Yunho's black one. Yunho's slacks paired great with the black straight neck jacket. Gold filigree adorned the shoulders and cuffs, complete with gold trim. Yunho did feel princely, aside from his crown.

"Hey yours looks great little man! I wish mine was red, plus you have a real crown. Mine is paper." Yunho gestured to the paper crown from a fast food place. "Now your majesties, your carriage awaits."

When they got to the bookstore they discovered a cardboard castle leaning against the bookshelves in the story area, and a cardboard throne placed over a chair instead of the beanbag. Yunho smiled as he saw the children all dressed up as princes and princesses. He sat in a hidden corner of the shop, wanting to surprise Mia. Mia entered wearing a full Renaissance dress, the cream bodice was paired nicely with the forest green kirtle which was corseted with green ribbon. The long sleeves flowed behind her with embellishments around the elbows on the sleeve. A small circlet crown of silver leaves sat across the top of her forehead. Yunho felt she looked like she stepped out of one of the many fantasy novels surrounding him. She truly looked like a princess. "Hello" she smiled as she sat upon her small throne. "It is like the royalty from around the world has joined me today, you all look fantastic." She looked overjoyed, as she smiled at each child around her.

"What princess are you?" One of the girls dressed as Snow white asked.

"I am my own princess today. Because I want to read you guys a book my mom used to read to me." She lifted the small book. "The Princess and the Pea." She started reading the tale of a prince who couldn't find a suitable princess. He would find them lacking in princess ways. Until one night a terrible storm came through the land, and a young woman claiming to be a princess sought refuge. The queen was leery of the newcomer and set a pea under many mattresses. The queen did this because surely a princess could tell. When the girl awoke the next day she claimed pain from something in the bed, that made her not sleep well. When the prince saw she noticed such a small thing he decided to marry her. As Mia finished the short story she smiled. "Can someone tell me why I wanted to read that story today?"

"Because you found your prince!" Nami said excitedly.

"Well, I might've." Mia winked as she felt her cheeks flush. "I wanted to read that to you guys, because I feel you can all be princes and princesses."

"But why? Do you want us to sleep on peas?" A small prince asked.

"No. I don't want you to sleep on peas" she laughed. "I feel you can all notice the small things. To me being a true prince or princess is noticing something small, and being willing to change it. You can all do something, it doesn't have to be big. A small change can make a big difference." Her eyes sparkled as she spoke. Yunho could see her passion in her eyes.

"How can I do something though. I'm not big" a girl in a beautiful green gown said.

"A pea isn't very big, but it changed a lot of life's. Maybe start doing something good, like picking up trash when you go for walks. Being kind to a sibling, or even just giving a hug to a parent. Small things make big changes. Like a ripple in a pool. Remember that as the school year starts. Be kind, have courage, and make a difference" Mia's small speech seemed to spark something within the kids. They seemed excited. "OK princes and princesses, we've got a cupcake for each of you. So make sure to grab one before you leave. They are up at the front counter. "

That is when Yunho it was time to surprise Mia. She was watching the kids converse as she stood next to her throne. "Princess, from an admirer" Yunho lifted a small bouquet of cream colored tulips, as she turned to look at him. Her eyes grew big, as she looked him over.

"Yunho, you dressed up!" Mia's eyes shone as she took the flowers with a courtesy. "You make a lovely prince"

"Thank you. So, I heard Nami ask if you found your prince." He smirked, as he pushed his hair back from his forehead. Knocking his paper crown to the ground. "She did." Mia smiled as she set the tulips on the chair. "Well have you found him" he asked as he softly wrapped his arms around her, bringing her close.

"I think I have. Though his crown might need an upgrade." She chuckled as she looked toward the ground. "I think that can be arranged." Yunho lifted her head to look into her eyes.

"I hope so" she lifted her arms to his shoulders, pulling him down slightly. His eyes closed as her lips met his.

[lesbian-percy-weasley]

The Various Breeds of Christmas Trees That Stand Between Us by Gay-Natasha-Saves-The-World on Ao3 (aka the most epic fanfic writer ever)

Ship: Percy Weasley x Oliver Wood

Content Warning: None

Description: Percy and Oliver have been dating since May but as Christmas tree season comes closer, Percy has to figure out a way to tell his family that he’s dating a boy who’s parents run the rival Christmas tree farm or attempt to hide him until January.

Percy’s family has been in the Christmas tree business since before anyone could remember. It was the oldest in town and one of the biggest as well. They could confidently get almost all the town's business and even some out of towners came. Like Christmas tree kingpins, they didn’t let any other competition plant roots in their territory. And they were successful until a few years ago.

Riverside Christmas Tree Farm sprouted right under their noses. A family had inherited the land from the old man who once owned it and they decided to start a Christmas tree farm. Ever since then, it was a race, a competition, a battle of wills to see who will sell more. The feud between these two families for two months out of the year was not to be matched. Not by the Montagues and the Capulets, not by Xbox and Playstation, not even by Coke and Pepsi. No, if you compared the feud between the Weasleys and the Woods to anything it would be a dishonor.

And with every great story of a family feud of epic proportions, there are always a pair of star crossed lovers.

Percy and Oliver started dating sometime around May, not knowing that they were part of rivaling families. Even if they did know, neither of them would’ve given much of a shit.

Percy’s family didn’t know that he even had a boyfriend. He knew that they would make fun of him for it. They always did find something to make fun of him for. You would think they would catch on after Oliver picked him up to hang out practically every week in the summer. Really, they were just happy Percy finally had a friend that wasn’t in the classic literature club.

They did love each other but as late November reared closer, the whole family thing started to become more complicated. They feared that if they kept hanging out as they were they would make their families irrationally mad. Come January it would all blow over but right now they were in rough waters.

They took to hanging out at school together. Oliver spent lunch in the library with Percy and Percy spent after school watching Oliver’s hockey practice when he didn’t have a club meeting to attend. They didn’t mind as long as they could hang out together.

One day, they were sitting in Oliver's truck when the topic of the Christmas tree farms came up.

“Are you ready to pretend we hate each other until after break?” Oliver asked whilst putting his arm around Percy. “We don’t have to. It’s not like my family pays attention to what I do anyway.” Percy mumbled as he leaned into Oliver’s embrace. “I’m sure that’s not true,” Oliver replied.

“I have been staying after school every day for the past three weeks and they haven’t said anything.” Percy laughed. “I’m sure we can get through the next 40 days without the sky falling.” Oliver gave a lighthearted hum in response.

With that, they left the school to drop Percy off at his house. It wasn’t a very long drive between their houses so Oliver didn’t really mind. He could’ve lived on the opposite side of town and he wouldn’t have cared but it was just more convenient. He always dropped him off at the end of the driveway. When he stopped the truck, Percy gave him a quick kiss and grabbed his books.

“I’ll pick you up at 3 tomorrow,” Oliver said quickly. “The movie doesn’t start until 4,” Percy replied with a smile. “Yeah, and it takes 30 minutes to get to the theater and you’re usually slow.” Oliver chuckled as Percy lightly punched his arm. He hopped out of the truck and waved goodbye as his boyfriend drove off.

It was about 2:50 the next day and Percy was waiting quite anxiously for the text saying Oliver was here. He was waiting in his room since his family was all downstairs planning for when they will open the farm. He wasn’t as involved as everyone else. Sure, he did help when it was open but other than that he chose to opt-out of many of the discussions.

Running a Christmas tree farm wasn’t the walk in a park that most people presume it is. Not only did you have the land you had to maintain all year round for a short business season, but there was also a lot to consider when planting. Of course, you have to plant a multitude of different trees like fir trees, pine trees, cedar trees, and cypress trees (not even getting into the different breeds of said trees). And then you had to strategically plant so that all the most popular types were accessible. If someone had to walk a mile to get a douglas fir then they would just go elsewhere.

Then came the problems with having competition. The fact that they had somewhere else to go that was only 10 miles away. They had to quality check meticulously. If one family got a bad tree then they’ll just switch to Riverside and if there are a multitude of bad trees then it starts to add up. And then there has to be a balance of u cut and pre-cut trees. You can’t just chop the good ones then that leaves nothing for people who like to chop their own.

The ambiance is a big factor too. If it doesn’t feel like a Christmas tree farm then people won’t enjoy the experience. That’s mainly what his family was discussing. How to decorate the farm in a unique yet traditional way. Well, that’s the topic they were on when Percy finally emerged from his room.

He walked down the stairs to be immediately met with the gaze of his family. Of course, they noticed that he was dressed to go out. That suspicion was confirmed when he grabbed his coat and his shoes.

“Where are you going?” his father asked. Absentmindedly, Percy replied, “I’m going to see a movie with my boyfriend.” His eyes widened with horror as he realized what he said.

“Boyfriend?” George asked, “Who’s your boyfriend?” Now, Percy could lie right now. Wait until January to tell them the truth. But he already revealed that much so there was really no use. “Oliver Wood,” he replied as he began to tie his shoes.

The whole energy in the room shifted. “Wood? Like Riverside Christmas Tree Farm Wood?” His mother asked a bit directly. Percy didn’t even look up from his shoes, he just nodded. That was when all hell broke loose.

“Traitor!” Fred screamed over a chorus of gasps. “It’s really not that big of a deal.” Percy sighed, finally looking up at his family. “It is a big deal, you are literally dating our only competition.” Ron rebutted.

Percy was starting to get a little angry with his family. “You guys have been pestering me about getting a boyfriend but when I do y’all act like this.” He wanted nothing more than to leave and go on his date. “What I’m more concerned about is the fact you’re wearing your Frankenstein shirt on a date.” George snickered.

“What’s wrong with my Frankenstein shirt?” Percy asked defensively. “You look like a nerd,” Ginny added. “I don’t care. I just want to go see Pride and Prejudice with my boyfriend and there is nothing any of you can do about it.” He was trying to keep his cool but it was obvious he was losing it.

Suddenly he felt a vibration in his pocket. He knew it must be from Oliver so he started to walk out the door.

“Use protection!” the twins yelled as he was stepping out the door.

“Fuck off.” He replied as he shut the door.

He heard his mom scream “Language!” through the door but he didn’t care. He wanted nothing more than to get away from his family. They teased him a lot but he could usually deal with it. It seemed like they were never happy with anything he did. He knows he’ll never live this down.

But he couldn’t let this ruin his date. For years he’s tried to convince someone to go to Austen Night at the theater with them but none of them wanted to. At least Oliver cared enough to act like he was interested. That was more than his family ever did.

When he saw Oliver’s truck at the end of the driveway, he tried to forget about what just happened with his family. He hopped into the passenger seat and Oliver gave him a quick kiss. He could tell something was off. Percy wasn’t the best at hiding his emotions, especially when he was frustrated.

“Is something up?” Oliver asked as Percy was buckling his seatbelt. “I told my family about us.” Percy mumbled, “It didn’t really go well.” A look of concern fell on Oliver’s face.

“You know, if you don’t feel safe, my parents probably wouldn’t mind if you stayed with us.”

Percy looked confused for a second. “Oh, they knew I’m gay it was about the…”

“The Christmas trees?” Oliver asked

“The Christmas trees.” Percy finished. There were a few seconds of silence then they both broke out in laughter. “They’ll get over it. My parents weren’t very happy when I told them but they don’t really care now.”

“I know. What I was more upset about was them making fun of my Frankenstein shirt.” Percy said as Oliver started to drive. “What’s wrong with your Frankenstein shirt?” Oliver chuckled. “Nothing they just don’t have taste apparently.”

When the movie was over it was already dark out. Percy was rambling about the difference between the book and the movie when they walked out. He wouldn’t even realize it was snowing unless Oliver tapped his shoulder.

“It’s pretty early in the year for snow,” Percy said while he put his hand out to let snowflakes fall onto it. “I don’t think the weather cares about your opinion, Percy,” Oliver said lightheartedly. “It was just a comment I know I’m not Jack Frost or anything,” Percy said defensively as he turned towards Oliver.

Oliver couldn’t help but notice how the snowflakes melted as soon as they touched Percy’s bright orange hair. Or how the wind made his nose and cheeks a little bit pinker. All he could think about was how lucky he was to have him in his life.

“You’re so beautiful.” Oliver blurted out. Before Percy could think of a reply, Oliver kissed him. It was sweet and passionate like all their kisses but this one felt different from Percy. It was like his rom-com Hallmark Christmas movie moment and he wanted it to last for as long as possible.

When it did, Percy hugged Oliver as his life depended on it. “I love you, Oliver.” He said into his shoulder. “I love you too, Percy. Even if your family never gets over it, I’ll still love you.” Oliver replied.

Driving home, Percy was still talking about the movie. Oliver didn’t mind. He liked seeing that Percy was happy and after all, the movie was better than what he was expecting.

Oliver insisted that he drive Percy to his house instead of dropping him off at the driveway. He made an excuse that there might be ice on the driveway so Percy just brushed it off. But he knew Oliver was planning something when he insisted to help Percy carry his things in.

Percy did buy a sweatshirt and an ornament from the movie theater. After all, the proceeds went to the local library and they were Pride and Prejudice themed. But it wasn’t anything he couldn’t carry.

“You just want to see my family, don’t you?” Percy said with a smirk. Oliver shrugged “Just want them to know I’m not going anywhere.” Percy rolled his eyes. “Whatever, you can help me carry my stuff in.”

When they walked through the door, Percy’s whole family was watching a show in the living room. His parents smiled at them but his siblings gave only glares at the two of them. Percy brushed them off and headed up to his room.

Percy showed Oliver around it since he had never seen it before. He had the opportunity to talk about his various trinkets so of course, he’s not going to waste it. But it seemed too soon when Oliver needed to head home. It was dark out and getting kind of late but it didn’t matter. He couldn’t help but think about a time when they could live together. No more feuding, no more Christmas tree drama, no more sneaking around as to not get in trouble. Just the two of them, in love. No amount of fir trees would ever get between them.

[darth-bagel]

30 Questions Tag Game

Tagged by: @mercurypilgrim. Thank you a bunch 💙✨

Rules: Answer 30 questions and tag 5 blogs you are contractually obligated to know better.

Name/Nickname: Well, Bagel is self explanatory, but my friends usually just call me Molly.

Gender: Female--but i’m feeling more and more comfortable with skewing towards genderfluid

Star sign: Cancer ♋

Height: 5′0″ (yes. im p smol)

Birthday: June 29th. And my favorite way to spend it is by playing dnd with my friends *stares suspiciously at 2021*

Time: As I write this, it’s 2:41 PM. I got home early from work and I’m gonna make dinner and play swtor. Two days off, finally~ 

Favorite bands: I listen to a looot of music, so it’s a huge mix, also just a few songs from most artists but-- so uh, the best indication of my favorites are my character playlists. It’s all over the place. So like, Dire Straits, Panic! At The Disco, Fall Out Boy (just asserted itself with 5-6 songs and stayed) The Score.

Favorite solo artists: Also see above. But: Hozier. Possibly the only solo artist I know and listen to every single song from. 

Song stuck in my head: currently? The entire Hozier (Special Edition) Album. I brought it on myself by listening it to sleep.

Last movie: Shawshank Redemption, last week I had a movie morning. I watched Green Mile just before it. It was a day tm.

Last show: I’m still slugging through iZombie, like 4th time. I’ll finish it one day damn it.

When did I create this blog: Good question. Somewhere last year, late summer? At least the darth-bagel one. My main was around since like, 2017? I was nearly an adult before I discovered tumbler xd

What do I post: random swtor things, but mostly just a lot of screens and my army of oc’s. also ramblings, and writing. i try to keep it all swtor oriented tho.

Last thing I googled: okay, it was ‘tresor berlin coins’. some delivery guy dropped few pink plastic coins with “tresor berlin” on it and i was very curious. it’s a night club with underground music and techno-- now we all know.

Other blogs: my main blog a.k.a @elvhenyoung . I have AO3, there’s nothing on it yet. and that’s most of it. 

Do I get asks: I do! I am working on them, slowly. Maybe not a huge amount but they, accumulated on me. I have so much writing to do xd

Why I chose my url: So. I am working in a bagel shop, it’s my third year at this point-- and one day I just made a joke about a Darth Bagel sandwich we could make-- we never did. But the name stayed with me. So. Now I am a Darth Bagel. (I started calling my one other coworker a Grand Moff Bagel so. we are on brand)

Following: 712 (that’s a lot o.o)

Followers: 65.

Oh wow, hellow there! 💙✨

Average hours of sleep: I try to do 8 hours, bc work. I am still v tired all the time. I could use more xd

Lucky number: Idk. But 13 seems appropriate.

Instruments: I tried piano, but eh. I like singing tho, I’m not good at it, but I like it.

What am I wearing: Layers. It’s like -14 C today. But I just got back from work so I have some black pants, Leia t-shirt, sweater and a hoodie. I’m probably gonna change into something more comfy soon.

Dream job: I don’t know. This job I have is not so bad--my boss is an insufferable ass, but it pays well enough.

I once wanted to have my own cafe tho? With games and dnd and ungodly amounts of good tea. But for now I’ll just settle for a stable job that doesn’t drive me mad.

Dream trip: I’d love to visit all my friends in America one day. And see some of the cities as well, although at this point I do have friends all over. So, uh. I’ll make a list one day XD

Favorite food: things with cheese. and spicy. idk, i just like food.

Nationality: Polish.

Favorite song: NFWMB by Hozier. I am predictable yes, it just reminds me of things. 

Last book read: Dragon Age: The Calling by David Gaider. But I also have the Prequel Trilogy Novelization started-- i’ll get to it eventually.

Top three fictional universes I’d like to live in: 

1. SWtOR (duh, I’m gonna bunk on Sylvas's ship)

2. Dragon Age (yes, i know, shh)

3. Can I like... Critical Role’s Tal Dorei? 

Tagging: @chaoticspacelesbians @thedinalixlegacy @sith-nb @blueburds @ajoloart (no pressure from this bagel, so only if you’re comfortable~)

[bxcksdoll]

Hello! Please could I request an imagine where it’s either platonic between Peter and the reader or them two being shipped together, and just kind of a head canon about them being the youngest avengers? Like playing on pranks on the other avengers, and even though they all get mad you see how soft they are towards the two kids? Thank you if you can:)🐝

Parker Pranks

Pairings: Peter Parker x reader

Summary: Peter and Y/N are best friends. They’re the youngest of the avengers and love to cause mischief by pulling pranks on the others.

Warnings: swearing??

A/N: Thank you so much for requesting this, Anon. I am in LOVE with his idea so it was great fun to write! I hope this was what you for hoping for and if you ever want another imagine written please let me know in my ask :D

“Morning, kid, where’s your boyfriend at?” Sam smirked as you walked into the kitchen to grab some breakfast.

“Excuse me? My what now?” you asked, extremely confused.

“You know, your boyfriend. The spider-kid,” Bucky chimed in, sipping a cup of coffee.

“Ha ha, very funny you guys,” you rolled your eyes and opened the fridge.

“So when are you gonna ask him out, huh?” Sam winked.

“Wait, you’re actually gonna ask him out?” Bucky nearly spat out his coffee in excitement.

“God no! We’re just friends. Can’t a boy and a girl be friends without the thought of a relationship?” you sighed, rolling your eyes.

At least once a week you got asked if you and Peter were in a relationship by another avenger. It was driving you mad. You needed to do something about it.

“Good morning, all,” Tony greeted as he entered the room. “Wow, Y/N, you’re up early. I thought you’d still be in bed after probably spending all night on your phone.”

“Actually, I went to sleep early last night, for your information. Not all teenagers are glued to their phones, Tony,” you chuckled.

A few seconds later, Peter entered the room, his phone inches away from his face. He didn’t even look up to say hello, just stumbled across the room and landing on a sofa.

“You were saying?” Tony quipped. “Teenagers? More like screen-agers.”

“That’s possibly the worst pun I’ve ever heard,” you stated, walking over to Peter.

“Hey,” you whispered, shaking him. “I have a plan on doing something, are you up for it?”

“Well that depends,” Peter answered. “What kind of thing?”

“Follow me.” You yanked him up and dragged up out of the room but not without a comment from Sam: “Where you off to, lovebirds?”

“Right,” you said as you finally let go of his arm when you reached a quiet room. “We should do some pranks!”

“Pranks?” Peters eyes went wide with excitement. “Who on? What for?”

“On everyone! And for fun. But, first, let’s start with Sam and Bucky,” you gave a mischievous grin.

“Okay...why them in particular?” he asked.

“They’re always making comments about us being a couple and I’m sick of it,” you answered.

“Well, in that case, of course we’ll start with them. Do you have any ideas of what we could do?”

“Oh, I have a few...”

——————————————————————————

That night you and Peter snuck into Bucky’s room. You kept as silent as possible, scared he would wake up at the sound of you breathing.

Neither of you talked but instead mimed in case he woke up. You noticed that Peter had his phone out and was filming your prank.

Great, you thought. This is going to be hilarious to rewatch over and over again.

In your hand you carried a pair of sharp, metal scissors; the plan was to cut Bucky’s hair. You moved closer to him as he slept, being careful not to touch the mattress or his face as you lifted some of his hair up.

As you began to snip the hair away, a snigger was heard from behind you. Lightly, you hit peter on the arm and motioned for him to be quiet.

You carried on cutting Bucky’s hair in a most gentle fashion, being extra careful. Occasionally he would breath more heavily than usual and you’d sit back for a second but he never did wake up.

After you’d finished cutting the left side of his head you wondered how you’d cut the other side - which he was lying on; you hadn’t thought this all the way through. But then, you thought, it would be funnier for him to wake up and have half of his hair long and the other half short.

You and Peter then left Bucky’s room quietly and made your way to Sam’s room. Luckily, Sam was a heavy sleeper so you didn’t have to be as cautious as you were with Bucky.

“You film this,” Peter insisted, passing you his phone.

This time, your plan was to stick a fake goatee and fake bushy eyebrows onto Sam with super glue.

“This is gonna be hilarious. He’s gonna freak out!” Peter exclaimed, giggling.

He began to squirt the super glue into the fake eyebrows and sticking them onto Sam. Afterwards he stuck on the goatee. After he was finished, the two of you had a laughing fit - trying not to be too loud or else you might wake him.

“Alright, let’s go prank the others.”

——————————————————————————

“BUCKY FUCKING BARNES!” came a booming voice through the compound.

Oh shit, you thought. Now is the time when everyone will discover they’ve been pranked.

You and Peter were sat in the lounge room when Sam burst in; fake eyebrows and goatee standing out from a mile away.

“Have you seen that mother fucker?” Sam sternly asked.

You and Peter couldn’t help yourselves but burst out laughing. Sam’s face got madder and madder.

“Don’t you laugh at me, kids, this stick on shit won’t come off! Now, where is he?” he demanded.

You shrugged your shoulders and seconds later Steve walked in. His shirt fitted tight against him but with two holes cut into them where his nipples were. Again, you and Peter couldn’t control your laughter.

“Hey, Sam could you keep it down a bi-oh my god what happened to you?” he chuckled.

“Me? What about you and your moobs?!” Sam argued.

Steve squinted his eyes in confusion. “My wh-” he looked down. “Hey, who ruined my shirt?! This was my favourite one...and I don’t have moobs!”

“It was Bucky, that’s what he did to me with this shit!” Sam grumbled, pointing to his face.

“Well, that explains a lot,” Steve laughed. “I was beginning to think you used some kind of weird product to help you grow hair...”

Moments later, Natasha strutted into the room with a full head of bright green hair. Everyone burst out laughing until she gave you all death stares.

“Alright, which one of you morons did this, hmm?” she interrogated, the look of murder in her eyes.

“We think that Bucky did it,” Steve answered.

“He is dead meat when I get my hands on him,” Natasha grumbled.

“Help!” came a voice from down the hall. You all peeped your heads round the corner to find a flustered Thor. “Someone has stolen my eye!”

“You’re what?” Sam asked.

“My eye!” came the God of Thunder. “You know, my fake one! I don’t want to go back to wearing an eyepatch.”

“Bucky probably stole it. He’s pranked all of us” Natasha stated.

“What?! Oh, just you wait. I will steal his metal arm and see how he likes it!”

“Hey, you guys,” a voice was heard from the other end of the corridor. As you turned, you saw Bucky walking down, rubbing his hands over his eyes, with a ridiculously hilarious hairstyle. “Could you keep it down? Some of us want a bit of peace and qu-”

“Get him!” Same shouted and tackled him to the ground. “You think it’s funny to glue fake hair onto people’s faces? Well think again, Barnes. I’m gonna make you wish your sorry ass was never-”

“Sam, wait,” Steve stopped him, placing a hand on his shoulder. “Look at Bucky’s hair. He’s been pranked too.”

“Oh god damn,” Sam sighed, getting off Bucky. “One of these days, Barnes, you watch. I’ll have an excuse to beat the crap out of you.”

“Jesus Christ, what’s going on?” Bucky shouted.

“Someone has been playing pranks on us,” Natasha told him.

“Wait, Steve, what did you say about my hair?” Bucky found the closest mirror. “Oh, my hair!” he exclaimed and looked like he was about to cry. “Who did this?”

You and Peter exchanged a look as if to say ‘oh shit’.

“Well, to me, it looks like the work of the kids,” Tony Stark’s voice was heard from behind you.

“W-whaaaaat? No way! It wasn’t us, right Peter?” you rambled.

“Y-yeah. Totally not us,” Peter agreed.

“It so obviously was, you can stop your lying,” Tony laughed.

“Oh, it was you guys, huh? Well I guess that’s just a bit of teenage fun, right?” Steve smiled.

Thor laughed along with him, “yes, I suppose so. They were very funny pranks.” He patted you both on the back. “I suppose all will be forgiven if you two would be so kind as to give me my eye back...”

“Of course, Mr Thunder,” Peter smiled, talking the eye out of his pocket.

“Hmm, now that I know it was you two I can see that it was a pretty funny prank. Nice work, kids,” Sam, surprisingly, said.

“You better not speak of my hair to anyone. Or else,” Natasha warned.

“Oh, don’t worry, Natasha, we won’t,” you laughed.

Bucky was still looking, depressingly, at his hair in the mirror.

“Buck, do you forgive Y/N and Peter?” Steve asked him.

“...yeah I do,” he murmured, sadly.

“Nice job, kids,” Tony praised. “And thanks for not pranking me. This is why you two are my favourites on the team.”

“You’re welcome, Tony,” you laughed. “But watch out in future...” you and Peter gave each other a mischievous look. “You might be next.”

[makeste]

BnHA Chapter 227: Basically Just Me Saying “Holy Shit” a Bunch

Previously on BnHA: We went on a semi-enlightening romp into Toga’s past. Basically she was an adorable child who just so happened to have a taste for blood. And whoever’s job is was to explain to her, “hey Toga, I know you like blood, but other people like being alive, so, you know. Let’s explore some other options for you,” they basically dropped the ball there. So after she murdered her hapless Deku-looking classmate in middle school, she went on the run, and we basically know the rest. Back in the present, Toga had just been blown up from the inside out as you may recall, so she spent most of the chapter kind of out of it. At one point Kizuki even started talking about her like she was already dead, reassuring her that she’d become a martyr for the Army’s cause (which, no thanks). But then Toga managed to stumble to her feet and transform into Ochako as she tried to flee. It was revealed that while transformed, she can use the quirk of whoever she’s turned into, and she proceeded to demonstrate this by floating Kizuki (and half her redshirt goons) a hundred feet into the air before dropping her back down to the pavement. Yeah. So I’m pretty sure she’s dead now. Ah well.

Today on BnHA: Toga passes out in a shed after a job well done. We learn that the MLA is recording all of the fighting, most likely for propaganda purposes because as we have previously established they’re a bunch of dicks. Hanabata confirms that Kizuki is dead and gets the Army all fired up. They charge at Tomura, who is really fucking sleep-deprived you guys, and as he stands there blinking at them he has another flashback. Turns out the little girl from the previous flashback was his sister, and back when they were cute lil munchkins and she was still alive (sob), she showed him a picture of Nana and told him that their grandma was a hero. Tomura doesn’t remember this clearly, but he remembers the accompanying emotions, which is enough to get me hyped out of my mind fyi. Back in the present, Tomura disintegrates I’m-gonna-go-with-about-200 Army henchpeople basically instantaneously without even touching some of them, which, oh shit. And then Dabi is all “oh cool I want to do some mass murder too” but before he can let loose, some dude with fucking ice powers shows up to challenge him. I guess this means we’re never going to get Touya VS Shouto, or if we do it’s going to be very repetitive. But it’s not like I’m complaining either way. Here’s hoping the villain flashback trend continues next week because omfg.

(All comments are my unspoiled reactions from my first readthrough of this chapter like an hour ago lol. I did a quick edit for grammar and clarity, but aside from that this is as close to a live liveblog as I’m going to get. It took two-thirds of a year, but these recaps are finally caught up.)

this is so exciting guys. I mean, for me the reading process is basically the same, but the posting process is going to be a new one since I’ll be trying to get this up the same day once I’ve read it! so you can expect many exciting errors and brain farts! prepare for the full brunt of my unpolished rough draft thoughts!

so anyway, here’s Toga

lol so much to analyze here. real quick:

“sleepy.” if that isn’t the most relatable chapter title in the history of time, though

loving the “my villain academia” logo in the background! as far as I’m concerned that’s the official title of this arc

“the conclusion of the battles” y’all I read this and I was like “what?! already!?!” but then I realized they’re talking about volume 23, which features the conclusion of the joint training battle arc. so who knows how many more villain battlin’ chapters we’ve still got ahead. I have a feeling we’re already winding down, though

note how all of the stuffed animals are stabbed. ah this girl

it’s 2214, who the fuck still uses polaroid cameras. that would be like someone in our time using a [googles inventions from 200 years ago] modern suspension bridge. ...wait

anyway you guys maybe I should start reading the actual chapter already if I want any hope of actually getting this posted before fucking midnight though

oh hey, so Toga is dying in a shed you guys. fun

I’m not really thrilled about this! to be honest! I mean for fuck’s sake she’s only 17. she was blown up from the inside out. and although the consequences initially seemed to have possibly been handwaved, it appears that no one can escape BnHA’s realistic injury clause for long! so. yeah

I get why she hid, because it’s not like the others are just gonna drop everything to come help her (although Twice, though...), and there are enemies everywhere so this is probably safer. but it also means that if she passes out here there’s a good chance she’s not going to wake up again! and that is bad! that is very much not good

what she really needs to do is call Ujiko! hitch a ride out of there while you still can! he is a doctor, right? even if it is the questionable mad scientist type! worst case, you end up as a Noumu. actually, wait a sec, maybe we should think this through

and yet the fact that she’s still laughing, though. just. goddammit. I love her so much. I swear to god Toga if you fucking die...!!

so now she’s curling up in the fetal position and thinking “once again I’ve gotten closer to you”

yeah, Deku really does do this every other week. or he did for a little while at least sob

and now we are cutting to ReDestro who for some reason is monologuing about Toga!

oh right, because he had the cameras and shit set up to livestream that shit

okay but is it just me or is he not looking at any cameras. he’s just enjoying the view from his little observation tower same as before. does his quirk allow him to see everywhere at once or what

is it bad that I barely even paid attention to the actual content of his ramblings lol. it’s just the same old same old. blah blah society rejects anyone who’s different, it’s so unfair, blah blah

it’s not a bad point, mind you; it’s just that RD and his army are completely full of shit and acting like they’re so much better even though they’re just a bunch of mur-diddly-urderers. it’s like how PETA acts like they’re champions of animal rights when really they mostly just kill shelter animals, insult Steve Irwin, and claim that milk causes autism. but I digress sob

oh shit I forgot about this dude

here I was thinking there was only the one other miniboss to go before the big bad. silly me. how could I have forgotten that two page spread and our friend here with the Gorillaz mouth and the Beatles haircut

wow are you serious?

Giran sitting there with one skeptical eyebrow raised thinking about how these guys threatened to kill him in order to lure his friends out so that they could, you guessed it, kill them!

and also, way to completely disregard the dozens of other minions who already bit the dust before Kizuki. like, your entire town is basically doomed, guy. but sure let’s cry for the one dead villain who actually had a name though

holy shit you guys

are you telling me that’s why you were recording the whole thing? is that why you invited the League here in the first place?? for the fucking publicity? kill the bad guys and earn the public’s good will? did I miss that part of the planning sesh, or was this objective already painfully obvious and I somehow either missed it or forgot all about it?

either way it’s amazing how these guys become bigger assholes with each progressive chapter

oh now he’s explaining it all on the next page lol. so I guess I didn’t miss the memo, good

okay but first he’s getting real physical with my boy Giran here though

okay first of all, all he did was say “footage...?” like wth was so fucking impolite about that. and second, why do I get the feeling that there’s probably a fair percentage of people who read this chapter and got to this panel and now suddenly ship it sob

I mean, he just got so up close and personal though. all up in his face. this guy has such a weird energy and it’s really creeping me out now ngl

anyway so here we go with the explanations

holy shit you guyssssssssss

when did Giran get so fucking hot?? and is he single?! asking for a friend???!

anyway so now RD is wiping away his crocodile tears and says Giran is lacking in imagination

oh hey

what an interesting segue back to Tomura!

wow, Spinner’s asking how much longer until Big G wakes up, and Compress says one hour and twenty minutes. so that means they’ve already been at it for like an hour and fifteen minutes! minus however much time it took to warp over and then follow Back-Stab n’ Go out to the center of town for the ambush. even if that took a whole half hour they’ve still been fighting for a long time! but I guess they’re more than used to that by this point, thank you so much Ujiko and your six weeks of brutal endurance training

Spinner’s all “no matter how many we defeat, they just keep on coming!” and I know, dude, it’s almost like there’s over one hundred thousand of them or something dfskdj

although to be fair, probably not every last one of them is actually there. can you imagine. it might take a whole nother hour to beat them all

now Hanabata is driving in on the back of an election van. because apparently he just fucked right off in the middle of his fight with the League, and then came back. with a van

so he’s all “EVERYONE I HAVE SOME DEEPLY SADDENING NEWS” and oh my gosh what is it

oh

yeah dude we already been knew. RIP and all that

so the crowd is all distressed and asking what the Supreme Leader said

really?? that’s what they call him?? yeah you guys aren’t evil at all

and Hana quotes, “‘do not let her sacrifice be in vain’“

sorry bruh. but. it’s gonna be in vain. hate to break it to you

right??

GASP

TWICE STOP BEING AWED AT HANABATA’S INFLUENTIAL AURA AND START PAYING ATTENTION TO THE DUDE WHO’S SNEAKING UP BEHIND YOU AND TRYING TO SNATCH YOUR MASK OFF

anyway so in the meantime this is happening

maybe there are 100k of them. seems like there’s a lot. I do like that from this angle it appears that Tomura and the others have holed up in a relatively narrow alley, thus creating a choke point and limiting the number of enemies who can attack them all at once. although this panel does make it look like there’s just a big ol’ wave of bad guys surfing their way towards them though, so it remains to be seen how effective this strategy will actually be lol

eh?

yeah no shit boy you’ve been fighting Daruk from BotW for the last month and a half

anyway so apparently he’s feeling ~weird~ though

I shit you not guys, my sister was hospitalized a couple months back (she’s fine now) because she started hallucinating after a three-day bout of insomnia. shit is no joke. don’t be like Tomura. go to bed and don’t stay up all night fighting villains

-- OH SHIT!?!

ASDFALSDFHLKSDHLFKJHAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

IT’S A LITTLE GIRL!! AND SHE’ S OPENING A SECRET DRAWER!!

SHE’S ALL “IT’S OUR LITTLE SECRET!” OH MY GOD

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

SWEET JESUS MARY JOSEPH!? HORIKOSHI DO YOU FUCKING READ THE THEORY POSTS ON TUMBLR JUST SO YOU CAN IMMEDIATELY SHIT ON THEM TWO DAYS AFTER?? HOW THE FUCK

AND IS NANA’S SON WEARING DEKU SHOES?? OH MY GOD PLEASE

AND THIS MEANS THE LITTLE GIRL IS ACTUALLY TENKO’S SISTER SOBBBBBBBBB NOOOOOOOOOOOOO

BUT ON THE PLUS SIDE THIS MAKES TOMURA MUCH MORE LIKELY TO GO APESHIT ON AFO’S ASS IF HE COMES TO REALIZE THAT AFO INDIRECTLY MURDERED HIS SISTER OH SHIT

BUT SHIT YOU GUYS, SHE’S SO CUTE AND SHE’S FUCKING DEAD NOW SOB THAT’S SO FUCKING HORRIBLE I MEAN IT I’M REALLY UPSET THOUGH

BUT LET’S CONTINUE WITH THE FLASHBACK TO SEE IF HORIKOSHI WANTS TO TOY WITH MY EMOTIONS ANYMORE!!

NANA DIDN’T DO A GOOD ENOUGH JOB ERASING ALL TRACES OF HER CONNECTION TO HER CHILD AND IT EVENTUALLY RESULTED IN HIS DEATH OH SHIT. I’M SERIOUSLY SO UPSET ABOUT THIS??

NOTE HOW BABY TENKO’S FACE IS PURPOSELY BLACKED OUT EVEN THOUGH (A) HIS SISTER’S IS NOT, AND (B) WE SHOULD, IN THEORY, ALREADY KNOW WHAT HE LOOKS LIKE! IT’S BECAUSE HE DOESN’T HAVE THE SCARS OR THE WHITE HAIR YET CUZ AFO HASN’T WIPED HIS MEMORIES. [nods sagely as though I have any sort of proof of this whatsoever and it’s not all just wild speculation and conjecture]

HANAAAAAAAA oh shit I better come up with another nickname for Hanabata then. looks like it’s Back To The Full Name for you mister

!!?!?!?

okay you guys I think this is intentional misdirection. we’re meant to believe that Tenko’s dad was perhaps abusive and that his behavior toward his son ultimately triggered the awakening of his quirk and led to all of the subsequent Horrible Things happening

but I think what it actually is is that Tenko’s dad probably resents Nana for giving him up. and maybe Tenko wanted to know more about her and maybe he got in trouble for it? because now Hana is showing him the picture, and then talking about this mysterious conversation with their dad and saying she’s on Tenko’s side. so that’s my bet

anyway! but this means Tomura might not need as much convincing as I previously speculated! I figured he probably wouldn’t know much, if anything, about his grandma even if he did somehow get his memories back, because he was only four when all that shit went down, and Nana had parted ways with Tomura’s dad years ago. but if he actually did know a bit about her and even possibly felt a connection with her, as this flashback suggests, that could go a long way towards fueling his eventual breakaway from AFO’s side once All Might is able to explain the truth

ahhhhh you guys this is exciting I’m excited. though also still very sad though because wtf seriously

so Tomura’s tiredly thinking that the least his stupid memories could do is show him the whole picture instead of these fragments. “it’s like a broken tape recording or something”

HOLY SHIT

...I have no words. holy shit

anyone else getting flashbacks to the Highway to Hell though? what is it with Tomura and periodically pulling off the most badass stunts in the whole fucking manga. all because he didn’t get his nap dsflkjlk

ReDestro look at this loss of life. are you crying again. no, I can’t imagine that you are. you ass

you guys are probably getting tired of me just going “holy shit” over and over, but

hooooooooooooly shit

guys, if Tomura can dust people without even touching them he might as well just change his name to fucking Thanos and we’d better start praying this kid gets redeemed and soon

so now there’s a panel of Tomura being all drooly, and honestly he looks like he’s about to pass out. not sure if this is intended to be a glam shot or what lol

ohhhhSHIT

YESSSSSSSSSSS DABI. DRACARYS

!LKJDSLFKJLSDKJF!!

OH SHIT YOU GUYS, IT LOOKS LIKE WE’RE ABOUT TO GET ALL A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE UP IN THIS BITCH

who is this weird little black mage. I’ll tell you one thing, he’s the only guy I’ve seen so far who’s actually dressed appropriately for fucking December weather, though, so good on him

will he defeat our boy Touya (spoilers, he won’t)? will Touya have some flashbacks of his own (TOUYA PLEASE), since that seems to be what all the cool kids are doing these days? will I lose my fucking shit all over again next week? stay tuned! but yes I absolutely will, oh jesus this is awesome

[serbrienneoftarth]

GoT 8x4 Jaime/Brienne Thoughts

Please have my still incredibly disjointed order incomplete ramblings post 8x4. My apologies for how I’m not even bothering to edit this, I’m sick of looking at it now lmao.

I am of course missing so many things, there is so much to cover and I’ll never manage to get it all in one go. I’m only going to cover Brienne and Jaime related things here, but I’m glad to chat about the rest of it outside of this post.

There are things I did not necessarily enjoy within the episode. I would have written it quite differently, but as a whole, I’m not as mad at it as I know much of the fandom is.

What I am irritated with is mostly due to the way things were written and presented rather than the actual series of events.

This is honestly part of the scenario that I have always said would be my want for a canon ending. While I would love a happily ever after, I have never thought that I was going to get it in any way. Realistically the narrative supporting anything of the sort isn’t going to happen. If they offer it, I’m gonna take it happily lol. But let’s be real, one of the two of them is likely to die by the end. They have always been heading in the direction to be together. But I have long since assumed that it would also be ill-fated.

My want for an end to their story has always been something along the lines of Jaime and Brienne briefly realising they wanted one another and being together for whatever amount of time during the war. I have always expected that Jaime would then go back to Cersei, not necessarily to either be with her or to murder her perhaps to try to convince her to give up or to aid in her removal from the throne. And then he’d possibly die with her, though not necessarily intentionally. Brienne would mourn him heavily, but she would understand that he couldn’t have stayed no matter what she said. And in mourning him she would come to find that she was carrying his child. She would lose Jaime, but she would have a physical reminder that he loved her once too. Brienne would then have the heir she hadn’t ever married for. The child would perhaps be legitimized a Tarth, though she would never deny who was her child’s father. And if she had Tarth to go back to she might, and if not she would spend the rest of her days at Winterfell.

I know. I’m used to that being an unpopular want for a ship.

*cracks knuckles* Let’s get into the events of the episode.

I’m incredibly pleased that Jaime and Brienne became canon in a sexual sense. I wouldn’t have written it the way it happened. But I have some thoughts on it as it is. The problem with television is that often times everything is cheapened for a laugh. And the way they presented it as Jaime stumbling in drunk does that. Though Brienne is far soberer than I think people assumed. And while some of the chemistry is missing between the actors in the scene, the fact that Brienne is confused and a little scared makes that a little easier to take. She is very bold in her actions in the scene, undressing Jaime and herself with really no hesitation. They’ve seen each other unclothed before, take care of each other, in the past and recently, that isn’t where hesitation would be anyway. She trusts his sincerity but is unsure of his intentions because for her it’s all very new. Until he lifts onto his toes to kiss her (which was also played for the laughs *sigh*), it wasn’t quite yet real.

Asleep in her bed, Brienne is quite content, and Jaime then looks restless. I’d expect him to be. Not necessarily because he regrets it. (Please note for all I know he is and canonically Brienne is terrible in bed lmao.) This is the first time that he’s been with a woman other than Cersei. For 40 years he has loved the same woman and never strayed. His relationship status is a recent change even if it’s been a long time coming. And Jaime still thinks that Cersei is pregnant with his child. (Is she? Who knows at this point. I’ve stopped guessing.) Perhaps it’s long enough later that he’s fully sober, woke up for a glass of water, and has a headache and feels guilty for how he initiated the whole thing. But regardless, I’d expect him to have a lot on his mind.

At this point, I’d almost skip commentary on Tyrion and Jaime’s conversation, but really Tyrion? A couple of days earlier he was respectful and then this episode he’s back to his drunken little beast persona. What’s she like down there Jaime? What sort of answer is he even looking for here? (Jaime: Like Highgarden. Tyrion: Super gay? Full of thorned bushes? Jaime: No, now that I’ve plundered it I’m back off to see Cersei.)

So here is where I complain about the shit was this show portrays the passage of time, it’s all over the place. But I’m going to say at this point now Brienne and Jaime have been lovers for weeks, a month, maybe more. At least by the time he leaves.

On Jaime leaving…

I fully expect to find out something has happened off camera, more than just Jaime finding out what he did from the raven that Sansa received. But until we know, it doesn’t yet apply.

Cersei has done something to anger Daenerys more than she had been, Jaime knows that Tyrion will not be able to temper his dragon queen and that Cersei’s life is likely now forfeit pregnant or not. And how can Jaime allow that to happen without doing something? Even if he doesn’t love her the same way now, even if he left, Cersei is still a woman he has loved his whole life and she is carrying his baby. He still loves her in some ways and nobody should expect him to be able to just turn that off with a switch.

And beyond that, he knows what she is capable of. I’m not going to call her mad, because I think she is smart and strategic and that people let their dislike of her colour their views of her as a whole. But she has limited things left to lose, and if she has to, she is capable of great destruction. And Jaime has always made himself invested in the city, he ruined his reputation for it.

We don’t know what didn’t get shown between Jaime and Brienne. But I don’t think he has ever told her about the baby. I don’t think Brienne would have even tried to stop him if he had. She tells him that he cannot save her and that he’s better than Cersei. But canonically she doesn't know Cersei or her life and what drives her to her decisions. And I personally would say Brienne would understand parts of her if she did. And anyway, I think that if she knew why Jaime needed to leave, beyond him pushing her away with ugly words, she might have said give me a half an hour, we’ll both go. It’s not that he’s leaving at all, but she knows that he’s throwing away his life to go. Brienne knows that if he leaves he’s going to die. But he doesn’t tell her anything and instead he pushes her away and breaks her heart and leaves alone.

Fuck, I half want Brienne to just tear out of Winterfell after Jaime and be like no, you're going back and that's fine, but you aren't going alone. I’d do it.

He was an idiot. But Brienne will always love Jaime even if he goes back to Cersei, if he dies or doesn't. And she will NEVER hold love against him. You don't get rid of love for anyone so easily. Neither one of them.

Jaime Lannister and his lack of honest communication jfc.

Maybe he did the best thing he thought he could for her, which was to make her hate him a little bit. Or maybe he just hates himself a little for it. For all he cannot be yet, if ever. He is still tied to Cersei and her fate, he’s not free yet.

I'd have preferred if he had said I love you in a clear conversation on screen, but I think he still doesn't trust that it can last either. That he can have happiness. Jaime was awake and watching her. Not with what I think are regrets for loving her, but just a lot of things he hasn't said. And things he has to do still. He's not free yet at all. He’s with her, but his head and his sense of duty are still somewhere else too. He had a taste of a normal life with Brienne, loving someone openly. Because I have no doubt that he loves Brienne and loves her still. But it couldn't last for him at that moment. So much remains unfinished. And now it might always be.

[antiquery]

Randolph Carter?

Good afternoon. Thank you for the coffee. I know you must be busy, so I’ll do my best to make this quick. Feel free to stop me if anything I say is unclear or requires further explanation, but be warned that I do have a tendency to ramble. Old habits die hard, it seems.

I enlisted in the war on the day I turned forty. Before you ask— yes, the identification I provided you with states my age as twenty-seven, and yes, that is accurate. I can see you’re thinking that one of the things I have just told you must be false, but I assure you that they are both quite true. It’s a longer and stranger story than you probably have time for, so I do hope that for the moment you will take my word for it. And the word of the Massachusetts Department of Motor Vehicles, I suppose.

Anyway. I joined the French Foreign Legion in 1914, well before America became involved in the war. My friends looked at me askance, when I told them, and I can see why. I don’t exactly look— or act, for that matter— the part of a soldier. [Laughs.] But I had just lost a very dear friend of mine to a terrible accident for which I was partially to blame, and I was consequently in a rather volatile emotional state, so on the kind of wild whim that drives braver men to braver acts I went to the recruitment station in Back Bay and signed the requisite papers. It was barely a week before I shipped off to Europe.

I remained in France for two years. I will not bore you with a laundry list of the battles in which I participated, or the campaigns on which I marched. Those events have all been recorded many times over, and I do not particularly care to relive them. I will say, however, that I first saw combat in the early summer of 1915, at what I believe is now termed the Battle of Artois. Strange to hear it referred to like that, even in my own voice— it is an ill-fitting name, almost heroic on the tongue, but then I don’t think that even a mind so great as dear Wilfred’s could come up with a name that did fit.

What? No, I didn’t know Wilfred Owen personally, though I often feel as though I did. I’m not as intimately familiar with his history as I am with his writing, so it’s entirely possible that we fought at some of the same battles— even that we saw one another, though at the time I obviously wouldn’t have recognized him. What’s that line from Longfellow? “Ships that pass in the night, and speak each other in passing.” Rather. 

I apologize, I’m a bit off topic. Feel free to omit this section of the recording, if you like, it’s just— Wilfred had a way of speaking of the war that I’ve never heard anyone else quite match in visceral accuracy. There is a kind of knowing in it that I’ve come to believe can only be obtained by the experience of what it was. There’s been much written about the war since his time, but nothing that really…captures is the wrong word, you can’t capture a thing like that. Expresses, maybe. I remember the first time I read his poetry I had the odd thought that it sounded as though the war itself were speaking, with Wilfred as its mouthpiece, or perhaps its translator.

I’m rambling. This isn’t what you asked me in here for. I should describe the battle to you, such as I am able. I say that because, in the vein of the above, I have more often than not found myself lacking the words to express the things I experienced in those two years. In my former years I fancied myself a poet, but now…

But I will try my best. I can start, at least, by setting the scene. It was early May, a lovely time of year in the north of France; the winter had been harsh but short, and as we marched through the countryside we were all awed by the beauty of our surroundings. Being from New England, I was not at all used to the sort of gentle blooming that constitutes late spring in much of Europe; I associated the season with mud and slush and fervid, feverish warmth. I vividly recall the sight of the trees that dotted the field that would become the scene of such carnage positively bursting into flower. Even when we had dug ourselves into the trenches, and all the misery that comes from life within them, there was the not insignificant consolation of the world outside. 

I have forgotten— or blocked out, perhaps— the tactical details of the battle that I was privy to. I knew what I needed to know at the time, and nothing more; I have no interest in improving my knowledge now. And anyway, in the thick of the fray, there is no such thing as tactics, because there is no such thing as consciousness. You momentarily go mad with fear, and it is a mercy, for if you had to witness the savagery taking place before and within you as a thinking and feeling man, I am confident that something essential within you would be as surely murdered as the fellow soldier speared on the end of your bayonet.

I apologize for the grisliness of my language, but you must understand that I am only trying to convey to you a sliver of a fragment of a fraction of what it was truly like. I cannot show you the fullness of it, of course, nor would I want to. I would never wish such a thing on anyone. But— your aim, as I am told, is to know as much as you can about this particular moment, and so I will try and provide you with that knowledge at as little cost to your sanity as possible.

And I do mean sanity. I am not unlearned in the occult (as you may have come to suspect granted the discrepancy between my appearance, my true age, and the story I am telling you) and in my time studying those strange arts I have been privy to a great number of secrets one might consider maddening. You are an institute devoted to the study of the paranormal, so you will know the gravity of what I am saying when I tell you that there is nothing in Prinn or Chambers or even Al-Hazred that so much as holds a candle to what it was like to fight in the Great War. 

The battle waged on for what felt like years, but in fact were only days— about two weeks, all told. I remember very little of the specifics; all of it blurs together in a haze of mud and blood and screams and gore, violent and unceasing death on every side, and fear that filled me with such icy coldness that I thought I would freeze solid on the spot. Such utter and infinite horror, and all of it enacted on that pastoral field, beneath a beautiful spring sky, around trees so delicate and fragrant I sometimes thought I was hallucinating them. I wonder if all the blood in the soil changed the color of those lovely white flowers.

Eventually it was over, though I felt as though I had lived a thousand lifetimes before that day came. When my commander told the regiment that the Germans had surrendered, or that we had, or that the random and reignless turning of the war had rendered us a stalemate, I felt as though I might die with relief. Temporary as it was.

The dead were everywhere. That’s what I mostly remember, about the days after the battle— the sheer plenitude of bodies, and the weak-kneed gratefulness that I was not among them, that I had escaped with nothing but a bullet wound to the upper arm and a bayonet scar that cut from the corner of my mouth to my ear and always made me look as though I were half-smiling in polite concern. [Gestures to upper lip, though no such wound is visible.] They filled the abandoned trenches and the open field of no-man’s-land, of course, but also the places in which we living made our salvaged lives— makeshift field hospitals, filthy messes, even the pitiful “rooms” where we slept. It was like living in a cemetery, but instead of clean graven headstones the markers of the dead were their bodies, slowly beginning to stink in the spring air. I remember— thinking of that line in Eliot, in The Waste Land, where he quotes Dante. “So many, I had not thought that death had undone so many.” But for months and months there was no burial of the dead, none at all.

It was not as bad as the battle itself, this living amongst the dead, but because we were fully conscious and thinking while going about our days it was much more— impactful, I suppose. Before I had always thought of the deceased as relics to be treated with respect, but seeing them lying where they died and dying where they lay, bloated and pale and so unnameably numerous, drove home to me the unimaginable insignificance of us, all of us, you and I and Wilfred and every other human being that is or was or ever shall be. (Isn’t that the phrase? I was raised Episcopalian, but that was so very long ago.) We are such ephemeral creatures, meat and spark, flickers in a howling void. Or, at least, it is hard not to conclude such things.

It must be strange for you, hearing sentiments so bitter from the lips of a young man. By now, though, you ought to have realized that I am not fully what I seem to be, and the face I wear is not wholly my own. “Life is very long,” to pull from dear Thomas again, and mine more than most. I have known so much, and seen so much, and yet— nothing I have seen or known has touched those days among the dead, those hours underneath the spring sky, looking into the faces of men I knew that know me no longer.

I met a god once, many years ago. Not one of the petty gods, mind you, but— whatever it is that is the proper term for the ones above them. (Perhaps it’s misleading to call them gods— they’re more like forces of nature, as fundamental and ineffable as gravity. The Norse have a term for their type: “they who sit beyond the shadow.”) In my youth I was an adventurer in more lands than our world knows, and I was…reckless. Foolhardy, and often too skilled in the ways of dreaming for my own good. I got it into my head to challenge a divine mandate that had been set down before me, and spent months and months questing after a desire I had only the vaguest idea of. Eventually my seeking led me to a mountain a thousand times greater than any on this planet, atop which I met— well. I probably shouldn’t say his name out loud. 

He tried to kill me, of course, because he was— is— cruel. Though that word, too, is misleading; would you call a human cruel for crushing a particularly noisome fly between his fingers? I can hardly blame him, really. Before that, though, he strode up to me and took my face in his hands and kissed me, which I found absurd at the time and still do now. What could possibly motivate such a being to focus his attention on me? I didn’t know. Still don’t, and I’m not sure I want to be given the answer.

But that isn’t the point. The point is that during the time I spent in his presence, with what must have been an infinitesimal sliver of his full attention focused on me, I felt as though I were— there’s no simile I could use to describe it. The closest I can come is that it was what an ant must feel, caught in a concentrated sunbeam reflected by a magnifying glass, at the moment just before it burns up. The term “under the microscope” is a pale shadow of what it was like, but it conveys the general sense. I couldn’t think or speak or move; I’ve been hypnotized before, and this was a thousand times more intense. I thought— to the extent that I could— that I was going to die, right there; I thought I would turn to ash in an instant, like Semele at the sight of Zeus. To this day I believe that if I had spent one more instant in his presence I would have been vaporized. His nearly killing me was a mercy.

That was how the war felt. That sense of ultimate, final, finitive insignificance in the face of something for which you have no name, something for which there is no name. The god I saw, the god who kissed me, he was the war made a brilliant mockery of flesh, and behind his golden eyes I saw the carnage I knew so well writ large across the whole of the cosmos. It is what this universe is made of. It is all that there is, and was, and ever shall be.

I nearly died a year and a half later, at Belloy-en-terre during the Battle of the Somme. A shell hit the ground directly behind me and flung me into the air as if I were a doll, scarring my back with shrapnel and nearly snapping my spine. As I lay there on my stomach in the mud of no-man’s-land, ears ringing and mind woozy, I could have sworn I felt a familiar hand on the nape of my neck.

After that I was too badly shell-shocked to fight. Once my wounds had been seen to, they sent me back stateside, and I finished recuperating in Boston— my cousin Ernest had graciously (for once) taken over the maintenance of my house in Beacon Hill during my absence, and I was welcomed back warmly by those of my friends who had not also gone off to war, willingly or not. And life went on, as it has a tendency to do in the world of the living. My life, strange and wondrous as it has been, continued on its course.

I dream often. Mostly of the war, sometimes of the god, frequently of both. I wonder how much of those latter dreams are my doing, and how much are his— I had a lover once who jokingly told me that I was “supernatural catnip,” and I’d thought it funny at the time. But I have a feeling I’m not being left entirely alone with my memories, such as they are.