#also its kinda funny to me that the other questions were like a couple sentences tops and then. 3 paragraphs. then two sen.s for the last | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

realcube · 6 months ago

Text

ASKING THEM TO CHOOSE A BATHING SUIT FOR YOU

characters ♡ (all aged up) midoriya, todoroki, kirishima & kaminari

request for ♡ anon

tws ♡ implied sexual content - minors dni!

IZUKU MIDORIYA

♡ so flustered by the request

♡ no matter the circumstances

♡ like y'all could be going out for a couple weeks or you could be married for ten years with children, homie still doesn't know how to act

♡ and he is so apprehensive to ask why you want him to pick it out for you because on one hand he's curious about the implications and wants to explore that further but the LAST thing he wants is too ask too many questions for you to then turn around and be like "you know what, nevermind. i'll just buy it myself."

♡ so he will try to get information out of you covertly

♡ "well i think you'd look great in anything.. maybe something floral. unless you are dressing for a specfic occasion?????? 🤨🤨🤨🤨🤨🤨"

♡ "you know i like the red one you have. you should wear that if i get to see you in it 🤨🤨🤨🤨🤨"

♡ "oh you like the orange one? ... orange like the colours of pro hero dynamight ? 🤨🤨🤨🤨"

♡ he somehow manages to spiral and come to the conclusion you are having an affair

♡ but then he remembers he's with the most faithful partner in the world and moves on

♡ he also so believes that this is like.. a relationship milestone

♡ like "omg we are dressing each other now ow 🤪"

♡ if it turns out y'all are going to the beach or pool or something he will ask you to choose his bathing suit too

♡ but yeah he just thinks its so sweet you let him choose what you wear and he gets a strange (temporary) power trip from it

♡ whenever you get changed next he'll silently be praying you let him pick your outfit for you

♡ the power trip doesn't last long though because when he actually has to pick the outfit he is lowkey kinda nervous especially if you are gonna wear it out in public

♡ he is so afraid of making the 'wrong' choice

♡ like he doesn't want to be held responsible if you go out in a ugly fit and people give you funny looks

♡ overthinks asf

♡ it takes him like 10 minutes of pinterest surfing and coordinating to decide and eventually he goes with the same bathing suit you wear almost every time

♡ if you guys are staying indoors though, he is too respectful to say it aloud so he simply blabbers on for ages in hopes you get the hint

♡ "uh well i mean me personally i just don't see the point of going to all the effort to put on a whole new bathing suit after taking your clothes off if it's just going to get wet anyway i mean it's just a waste of washing machine power, pro hero wash doesn't risk his life everyday for people to just throw things in the laundry when they don't need to , right —"

♡ there's more

♡ like he goes on for ages but you pick up what he trying to say after two sentences

♡ and you give the man what he wants 🤷‍♀️

SHOTO TODOROKI

♡ so confused

♡ like he is genuinely baffled; he just doesn't understand why you would want him to choose for you and why, out of all the outfits you wear, it's your swimwear you want him to pick

♡ he is going to ask a million questions before he even tries and i wear he's not doing it to be difficult or defiant , he is just so incredibly curious and WANTS to know what thought process led you to entrusting him with your ootd

♡ you explain that it's just a cute thing you wanted to try, so you could see what colours and designs he prefers on you

♡ he still doesn't fully get it because he's made it inexplicably clear by now that he loves the way you look in virtually anything — you could have rolled up to your wedding in crocs and he would've still been completely enamoured. in fact he'd fall for you even harder for making practical footwear choices.

♡ (not that he's a fan of holes in shoes , he thinks it defeats the purpose. but he'd find something positive about them if you were to wear them)

♡ but after being with you for so long and being a pro hero in an evolving society , he has learned to be open-minded and entertains your idea

♡ he is naturally quite stylish , so it likely goes into your wardrobe and picks something very understated and minimalistic

♡ anything you own that happens to all be one colour; a boring colour too like beige, grey or off-white

♡ even if it happens to be a skimpy piece he truly pays no mind to it, he's more focussed on the design and colour (or lack thereof)

♡ so likely he'll end up handing you a two-piece that is essentially just two pieces of thread on a hanger , and of course you will think there are implications behind that and start eyeing him 👀

♡ but having been married to him for x years, you recognise the blank expression he wears when there is not a thought in his head and you quickly realise that he wasn't suggesting anything by handing you such a provocative outfit

♡ he just likes the colour and fabric lol

♡ "it will really bring out your eyes"

♡ (doesn't know what that means; heard someone say it on tv once and now it's his go-to fashion compliment) (what he really means is "fashion fashion style bags purse clothes purse")

♡ it's only when you actually put it on and show him when he realises what he has done lmao

♡ standing there and staring at you like 🙂 "cute. where's the rest of it?"

♡ it looked a lot bigger when he was holding it and he didn't take into consideration how it stretches

♡ tries to subtly get you to change without admitting its revealing

♡ "very pretty. but i heard jean shorts are in season, why not try those?"

♡ "oh— is that a loose thread? hmph. i think you'll have to throw bathing suit away since it's ruined."

♡ "it's nice but i doesn't bring out your eyes like i originally thought. more so your chin."

♡ tbh he does not want to even admit to himself he has a problem with you wearing revealing clothes because there is no rational reason as to why he should have an issue with it but he just does and it hurts his brain

♡ even if other guys are checking you out that shouldn't matter bc he knows you're loyal and would never cheat so WHY does the thought make him want to freeze an entire city ???

♡ anyway you can tell just by looking at him that he's conflicted and fighting internal battles so you put him out of his misery by just changing into a different one

♡ (after that chin comment tho , he did NOT deserve your compassion 😞)

♡ once he has successfully styled you into a cute outfit he feels so proud of himself lk??

♡ also he still has a hard time understanding why you wanted him to pick your bathing suit 'just because' so in his head he rationalises that dressing each other is just something all long-term couples do and you guys have reached a relationship milestone

♡ similar to izuku except todoroki takes it WAY more seriously

♡ like randomly when he is getting ready, he'll ask you to pick the tie he is going to wear or even his shirt

♡ and if he is getting ready in the morning and you're not awake yet , he will literally make you help him plan his outfit the night before

♡ even for super formal pro hero related events where he is likely being styled by professionals, he will ask you to choose his cufflinks or belt or something like that

♡ just so he has a piece of you on him at all times ( besides his wedding band ofc 🤪)

♡ and yeah this isn't a temporary thing either. unless you ask him to stop, he will be asking you for your input on his clothing for the forseeable future

♡ he'll even start asking other people ( who he knows are married ) stuff like "what did your wife choose on your outfit?" or "oh nice watch, did your husband pick it out for you?" and he gets weird looks every time

EIJIRO KIRISHIMA

♡ he's probably the most normal about it

♡ like he doesn't see it as any sort of test so he isn't nervous or confused

♡ and he is able to aknowledge that it is only an outfit for one day so even if it isn't his best work, at least he tried ??

♡ but yeah he thinks it's sooo cute that you want him to pick your bath suit , makes him feel like he's putting his own mark on you (in a wholesome way) and he finally gets to dress you in his favourite colour

♡ RED!!!

♡ if you don't have any red swimwear he will fr go out and buy you some because that is all he wants to see you in lol and he would LOVE to match with you

♡ red bikini + red truncks combo question mark

♡ if you don't own any red or you don't want to match with him , he'll probably choose a top and bottom from two different sets and pair them together and think he is some sort of style icon for pairing neon pink and sage green but in reality it such a crime against fashion

♡ but you wear it anyway just to see the big dumb smile of his face when you walk out wearing his "creation"

♡ oh and be warned that after you let him style you once he is going to be obsessed with giving his input on your outfits for at least the next six months or until you tell him to stop

♡ it'll be like "kiri, i'm gonna wear this white blouse to the dinner tomororw. does it look better with these black trousers or this brown skirt?"

♡ you'll show him the two options and he'll STILL reply, "hm, have you considered jorts ?"

DENKI KAMINARI

♡ wants to be nonchalant about it sooo bad but is internally screaming dancing and doing backflips

♡ like he is THIS close to blowing a fuse when you ask him

♡ and like you've been married to him for this long so you knew it would drive him crazy and that is exactly what you wanted mwahaha

♡ yeah he tries to play this off casually like a cool , reserved guy who couldn't care less

♡ but we both know that is NOT who he is , in fact that is the furtherest thing away from what he is in this moment

♡ "i- i get to choose?" he stammers, pointing at himself before he clears his throat. plastering a confident grin on his face, "yeah, duh. i'm your husband of course i'm going to choose what bathing suit you wear."

♡ pro hero chargebolt recently saved a politican from a very life threatening fajita incident so naturally your household has come into a lot of money and thus had a pool built in your back garden so he assumed you wanted to take it for a test run

♡ you've both been so busy with work that the pool has been finished for over a week and neither of you have tried it out yet

♡ so he saunters over to the warbrode and shoves his arm in and rummages around

♡ less like he is sifting through clothes; more like he is pulling out a prize from that mystery bag filled with random treasures at the carnival

♡ after a couple seconds of searching, his face lights up as though he has found the perfect outfit for you

♡ he pulls out his arm; lo and behold he has his hand in the air with his fist wrapped around... nothing

♡ literally nothing

♡ he still looks at the air where a bathing suit SHOULD be with wide eyes and an impossible grin, "this would look great on you !! you've not worn it in so long. try it on!!"

♡ he throws it towards you and of course you 'catch it' despite there being nothing there because you are plenty familiar with his antics and have learned by now exactly how to deal with them

♡ you 'hold it' in your hands and nod along, "yes! i forgot about this old thing. i'll go put it on right now." you muse, walking out and towards the bathroom, "i'm sure the dads at the beach will love this one."

♡ denki nods confidently, chuffed with how awesome and fly he is .. until he caught that last part

♡ "(Y/N) WAIT !!!"

#bnha x gender neutral reader #todoroki x reader #kirishima x reader #kaminari x reader #midoriya x reader #deku x reader #mha kirishima #kaminari headcanons #todoroki headcanons #bnha x y/n

256 notes · View notes

high-functioning-lokipath · 4 years ago

Text

RPF - Tom x Reader - He's attempting to be in disguise and you run into him at a library and recognize him. - Words: 1,152

A/N: Alright, so for clarification sake, there is a text message conversation in this imagine. You, as the reader, your texts are in blue text. The other person's texts are in green. I simply do not have the skill to make bubbles lol

Also Y/F/D means Your Favorite Drink

Now, without further ado....

"Ma'am? Ma'am?" You whisper to the lady behind the desk. She seems to be ignoring you though so you whisper louder. "Hello!"

"What do you want?" She snarks, finally paying attention to you.

"Where do you have your classic literature?"

"Ya mean like Shakespeare an’ that?" She asked, obviously disinterested. You nod and she points to the back corner of the building. Thanking her, somewhat half-heartedly, you walk off in search of a copy of your new favorite Shakespeare play. You'd never read it in full but, after seeing a spectacular performance of it, you wanted to read it yourself. Finding the correct aisle, you saw another person was looking at the same area. You tried to get a look at him but he had a knit cap on, pulled down, covering his hair and part of his face. He also had his jacket collar turned up shielding the rest of his face from view. You just shrugged it off and started scanning down the shelf looking for the right book.

"All's Well That Ends Well, Antony and Cleopatra," You read quietly, running your hand down the spines. "As You Like It, Comedy of Errors."

"King Lear, King John, Julius Caesar," The Man muttered to himself, working towards you on the same shelf. He hadn't seemed to have noticed you yet. You couldn't shake the feeling that there was something familiar about him though. "Henry 6, 5, 4, Hamlet."

"Ah ha!" You exclaimed. As you reached for the book you were searching for, his hand bumped yours reaching for it too.

"Sorry," He immediately said, pulling his hand back from yours.

"It's alright," You replied, trying to get a look at his face. Much to your disappointment, however, he was wearing dark glasses.

"Coriolanus is a fine play. Have you ever read it?" He asked.

"Not yet," You admitted. "I saw a spectacular production of it from National Theater though and-" you cut yourself off, finally recognizing the badly disguised voice and the not horribly disguised face.

"Uh, I," He stuttered. "Perhaps I should go."

"No!" You immediately said. "I mean, don't worry about it. I won't tell on you." You smiled abit shyly, surprised you've been able to keep yourself together long enough to form a sentence. "You've obviously gone through a lot of trouble to get here quietly, so," You shrugged. "I shouldn't ruin that for you."

"Well, thanks," He smiled. "Sorry about trying to take your book," He apologized.

"Oh no worries," You replied. "Here," You held it out to him. "I'll just re-read Hamlet for now." He took the book and looked at it for a moment. Then he looked back at you and smiled again.

"Aren't you going to ask for a picture or something?"

"No," You shook your head. "I'm not going to impose on you. Now if you offered," You teased. "Not going to lie, I really really want to but-"

"Give me your phone," He interrupted, holding out his hand. You handed him your phone, unlocked and on camera, and he took off his hat and sunglasses and ruffled his hair a bit to get rid of matting from his hat. Turning to stand next to you, he leaned over a little and held up the phone for a selfie. "Smile!" Once he took it, he brought it up on the gallery to make sure it looked alright. He tapped a couple of things and then showed you the picture. "What do you think?"

"Oh!" You said, finally finding your voice again. "Perfect! Thanks so much, Tom."

"You're welcome. Look, I have to go take care of something real quick. Are you going to be here for a while?"

"Probably."

"Ok, I'll see you again in a few minutes, alright?" You nodded happily, a silly grin working its way on your face. He turned to walk away but stopped and faced you again. "Oh, I forgot to ask, what's your name?"

"Y/N."

"Would it be too cliché of me to say that's a lovely name for a lovely lady? Because it's true." You giggled, blushing furiously and shook your head. He took your hand and kissed it, grinning mischievously. "Y/N, adieu! I have too grieved a heart to take a tedious leave." And with that he left. In a bit of a daze you grabbed the Hamlet book off the shelf and sat on one of the comfy sofas in the corner. After quickly making your new selfie your background on your phone, you settled in to read. About 5 minutes later, though, your phone buzzed.

"This better be important," You grumbled.

Hey, what would you

like to drink? Coffee?

Tea? Frappuccino? Let

me know.

Tom?

Yes? 🙂

"Holy crap," You gulped. Scrolling up slightly, you saw he had texted himself your selfie together.

Sorry if that was a bit too forward. I can just delete your number. I'd just ask that you don't publish my information anywhere.

NO!

It's fine. Actually, kinda funny. Usually I'm the one who has to tell people to ask me first before giving out my number 🤣 I'm not on social media, by the way.

Good for you. It can get messy. Now you haven't answered my question.

Oh! Yeah! Lol Uh, well, I usually get Y/F/D if that's not too much trouble. 🙃

No trouble at all. ☕🍵

[Image attached] (pic of drinks)

Heading back! I have a surprise for you! 😉

Lol 😂 Ok! Can't wait!

"Hi there," He said, peeking around the corner of a bookshelf a few minutes later.

"Hi," You squeaked. He handed you one of the cups in his hand and then sat down next to you.

“Oh, this is for you.” He handed you a smaller package in a brown paper wrapper. You opened it quickly and saw the copy of Coriolanus that had been on the shelf.

“I don’t understand,” you said, a bit confused.

“Well, I may have taken it to the desk and bought it,” He admitted. You stared at him wide eyed. “Open the front cover. I hope you don’t mind.”

For Y/N

Let it be virtuous to be obstinate.

Love, Tom Hiddleston

“You didn’t have to do that, Tom!” You exclaimed. “I-wow! Thank you! That’s a great line too! I haven’t read it before but like I said, I saw a wonderful production of it,” you teased. He laughed and took a sip of his tea.

“Maybe we should read it together,” He suggested slyly, another mischievous glint in his eyes. “And then, perhaps, if you’re agreeable to it, we could go to one of my favorite restaurants a few blocks away and have dinner?”

“I would most certainly be agreeable to that!”

“Wonderful!” He smiled. “Now shall we begin? I have a few favorite scenes that I’m sure we would quite enjoy acting out as well.”

“Indeed. Let’s get started!”

#tom hiddleston x reader #tom hiddleston #tom hiddleston imagine #tom hiddleston oneshot #coriolanus #tom hiddleston rpf #real person fiction #rpf

247 notes · View notes

the-fandom-queen · 3 years ago

Text

The Last Time

Summary: After the events of Memoriam, Spencer visits his father to talk. He soon realizes he should've walked away after the last time.

Pairing: none

Content Warning: no real warnings except angst with no happy ending; abandonment issues, and arguing between parent and child

Word Count: 1.5k

Song Inspired by: The Last Time (Taylor's Version) by Taylor Swift ft. Gary Lightbody

A/N: This is my entry into the Samuel-De-Champagne-Problems 1,000 Followers Challenge. I love your writing and I'm so happy that you hit 1,000 followers!! Its kinda concerning how much fun i had writing this. I hope you enjoy! (also its not beta’d so sorry for any mistakes) Link to read on AO3 here

@samuel-de-champagne-problems

Find myself at your door Just like all those times before I'm not sure how I got there All roads, they lead me here

He honestly doesn’t know why he’s here. He should be on the jet heading back with Rossi and Derek. Heading to see JJ and her newborn son, Henry. Instead, he’s here, standing outside of his father’s house at 10 pm.

As Spencer waits for his father to open the door, he thinks of the cruel irony in his current position. When he was younger, he was usually the one rushing to the door in the middle of the night to greet his father, who would find every excuse to come home as late as possible. And now here Spencer is, almost two decades later, standing on the other side of the door. Life’s just funny that way, he supposes.

I imagine you are home In your room, all alone And you open your eyes into mine And everything feels better

Soon enough, William opens the door and invites Spencer inside. Once inside, the two sit down and Spencer takes in his surroundings. They make small talk, both of them opting to ignore everything that happened over the past couple of days. William asks Spencer about his degrees and Spencer asks William about his cases. It’s all fine conversation but Spencer still feels off. Out of place, almost. And that’s when it clicks.

As Spencer looks around William’s house, he sees no pictures of the man that raised him. Instead, all the pictures were of William after he left him and his mother. There is not a single picture of Spencer, his mother, or his father during the time he was married. And in all of the pictures that are on the wall, he’s smiling. Spencer could count on one hand all the times he’s seen his father smile. And even then, those smiles didn’t look like the ones in the pictures.

“You look happy,” Spencer starts, cutting William off mid-sentence, “In your pictures, you look happy. I’m glad it only took you leaving your mentally unstable wife and 10-year-old son.”

William, who was caught off guard by Spencer’s statement, starts stuttering out a defense but by then, Spencer’s mind was back on the door.

You find yourself at my door Just like all those times before You wear your best apology But I was there to watch you leave

~seventeen years ago~

It was 12:49 am and Spencer was starting to get worried. His dad still hasn’t come home yet. He’s usually home no later than 6 pm. Sure, he’s been coming home later and later over the course of the last month, but he’s never been out this late. He needed to wait for his dad to come home so he could ask him a question, but he was starting to get tired. Spencer was just about to go and wake up his mom to ask her instead when he hears a key turn in the doorknob. His father walks through the threshold looking tired and a bit disheveled. He locks the door, takes off his shoes, and walks towards his bedroom, almost completely missing Spencer before he spoke to get his attention.

“Why were you late?” Spencer asks, startling his father, He turns to look at him and watches him for a second. Then he sighs.

“I was working late,” William responds, thinking that will be the end of it as he turns to walk to his bedroom.

“I called your office and your secretary said you left at 6:15. It’s 12:53 now.”

William, realizing he’s been called out for lying by a 9 year, starts to walk towards Spencer and squats down to look him in the eye. “I did leave at 6. After that, I went to a meeting with one of my clients and it took a little longer than expected.”

Spencer couldn’t think of any meeting that would take six hours but he didn’t know much about being a lawyer, so he accepted his answer.

William thought he was finally done and began to stand. Then Spencer asked his final question. “Are you leaving us?”

This made William freeze, “Spencer, of course I’m not leaving you. Why would you ask that?”

“Because I heard you and mom arguing this morning. You told her that one day you’ll walk out our door and won’t come back.”

“Spencer,” William said crouching back down to be on Spencer’s level once more, “I didn’t mean that. Sometimes when me and your mom fight we say things we don’t really mean, that’s all. I’m not going anywhere.”

“Promise?” Spencer asks, his glasses sliding off his face.

William, not knowing how to turn down his son’s request simply replied, “Promise.”

And all the times I let you in Just for you to go again Disappear when you come back Everything is better

“Why did you break your promise?” Spencer asks William. He feels more than a little bit childish with the question he asked and he hates how his voice shakes but he needs to know.

“I told you earlier. After what happened with your mother and Gary, I couldn’t handle the guilt of the situation. I had to leave.”

“No, you didn’t,” Spencer replies, his voice rising slightly. “You could’ve stayed. You chose to leave.”

“Look, I’m sorry I left you behind. But you have to understand. I was dealing with a lot at the time.”

“And I wasn’t?” Spencer yells, filled with anger. “I was 10 years old dad. I had no friends, my mother was a paranoid schizophrenic, and the only person I could depend on left me.” Spencer quickly blinks away the tears in his eyes and tries to calm himself, but what William says next makes it quite difficult.

“What was I supposed to do? Stay? What was I staying for?” He yelled back, clearly agitated.

“Me. You were supposed to stay for me.”

And right before your eyes I'm aching Run fast, nowhere to hide Just you and me

~Nineteen years ago~

Spencer was sick. If he were to make an educated guess he would say he caught the stomach bug that’s been going around his school. Apparently, being the only first grader that washes his hands isn’t enough to protect him.

He wakes up from his nap, still feeling icky. If his mom was here she would make him soup and read to him until he felt better. But his mom wasn’t here. She was in Arizona visiting some family. So for the week, it would be just him and his dad.

Once Spencer is out of bed, he stumbles to his dad’s office. There he finds his dad, knee-deep in paperwork. When he notices Spencer standing next to him, he puts his pen down and lifts Spencer into his lap.

“Are you feeling better?” He asks. Spencer shakes his head no. “Well, how was your nap?” William asks, hoping to get a different response.

“I had a weird dream,” Spencer started, his voice scratchy from his sore throat, “You went to work one day and never came back. You left us.”

Spencer, clearly distraught by the dream he had, started to cry. In hopes of calming him down, William held him tighter.

“I would never do that Spencer. It was just a bad dream.”

Spencer, still not convinced or calmed, says, “But mom always says our dreams prepare us for the future.”

“Well, your mom isn’t always right Spencer. I’ll never leave either of you, okay?”

Spencer nodded in response and for the time being, both of them believed what was said.

This is the last time you tell me I've got it wrong This is the last time I say it's been you all along This is the last time I let you in my door This is the last time, I won't hurt you anymore

Both Spencer and William have calmed down from their earlier argument. But that doesn’t mean the conversation is over.

“What did I do wrong?” Spencer asks, voice barely over a whisper, “What did I do to make you leave?”

“Nothing,” William answered after a minute, “You did nothing wrong. You were just a kid.”

“Then why did you leave me behind? Why didn’t you take me with you?” Spencer asked, begging for an answer.

“You loved your mother too much. I could never take you away from her.”

Spencer really wanted to believe that. He wanted to believe that his father did love him. That all his actions were out of love for Spencer. But he couldn’t. If he truly loved Spencer, he would’ve stayed, or at least done things differently.

And without saying anything, Spencer rose from his seat and walked out William’s front door. Not looking back when William called after him. Wondering if he could finally find happiness now that he left William behind. Hoping this would be the last time.

This is the last time I'm asking you this Put my name at the top of your list This is the last time I'm asking you why You break my heart in the blink of an eye This is the last time I'm asking you

#SDCP1000 #spencer reid angst #angst with no happy ending #light angst #no beta #songfic #Criminal Minds #Criminal Minds Fanfiction #spencer reid fanfiction

19 notes · View notes

attemptinghaikyuu · 4 years ago

Text

Fake Dating: Akaashi✨

A/n: I’m a simple person, with simple needs, and what I need is Akaashi to be real and tell me I’m doing a good job...

G/n reader

Akaashi Keiji

You met through your friend Bokuto

He had introduced you two at a volleyball game at the start of the school year

Akaashi was quiet, but you and Bokuto managed to pull him into a conversation, even getting a couple laughs out of him, which is rare

Don’t worry, you cherish the smiles and laughter you get from him, you can tell he doesn’t do it too often

You also found out he was in the same year as you

The next day when you got lost on your way to class, he helped out

It was friendship from there baby✨

Oh, you’re not feeling well??? Akaashi is pulling you to the side, asking if everything’s alright

You don’t wanna bother anyone about a problem?? Akaashi is their, he can just tell when something’s up and will be helping if he can

If it’s making you uncomfortable and talking about it isn’t what you want???? That’s fine too, Akaashi is there comforting you with just his presence

When Akaashi is nervous (and you can tell by the way he plays with his fingers) you do everything in your power to get him feeling better

Telling jokes, giving advice, hugging him, some space and an ear to listen?? You are trying it ALL

Sometimes y’all will compete to see who can get Bokuto out of his emo moods first

And not gonna lie, it can get intense

No messing around, it’s almost an all out war

Sure, it was fun and games at first, but somewhere in that chill competition, things became do or die

Oh, your friend is sad cause he didn’t remember to bring a water bottle?

The squeak of shoes, as you and Akaashi sprint, to get your own bottles can be heard by everyone in the gym

Everyone: *sigh* just another day at pra-

Y/n and Akaashi: *wrestling each other to the floor* victory will be mINE!!!

The only problem is, Bokuto ends up figuring out what the two of you are doing, and he gets so flattered and excited over his two best friends working to make him feel better, that he’s instantly up and smiling

Now you have no idea who wins

When you try to ask, he says you did it together and you have a group hug

Bokuto, thank you..

You still wanna know who won though >:/

The volleyball team ends up voting to choose who the winner is (it was you this time!)

The team loves you!! Half of them have a crush on you

You’re too busy being a dumbass, doing dumbass things to notice though😭

Other teams that Fukurodani go up against, will see you and sometimes they’ll try to ask for you’re number

Usually, you’re around someone on the team, so people don’t mess with you too much

There too intimidated

However, you couldn’t be around them all the time

You really needed to go the bathroom at the game that had just ended, and you had some time before you could meet up with your friends

You’re actually pretty quick, since you wanna talk to Akaashi about a math problem you’re stuck on

You already told him you needed his help with it, he’d probably be looking for you soon

Finishing drying your hands, you run out of the restroom to search for him, only to be stopped by a player on the losing teams side

He pins you to the wall and dang... he’s tall and you can’t move away

He’s asking for something

It’s incredibly hard to pay attention to what

You only picked out a few words, those being: number, cutie, and my house

ItS pAnIcK tImE🥳🎉

You consider punching him

Before you can try, someone’s pushing the guy away and grabbing your hand, gently tugging you away from him

“Sorry, but I’m afraid my S/o and I need to go and celebrate a certain victory, against the team we just beat.”

The guy is spluttering as you two walk away

You feel a squeeze to your hand, and when you look up at your friend, you can’t help the smile that finds it’s way to your face

“Thanks Akaashi, or should I say, my heroic boyfriend?” You teased, pausing when you hear an unholy screech

“WHAT???” Bokuto looks between you two from behind. “ARE MY BEST FRIENDS DATING WITHOUT TELLING ME?!”

“Wait, Bokuto that’s n-

He’s not letting you finish that sentence😔

It’s pretty funny until he brings up a classmate who you do not like, they’re always rude and don’t stop when you ask them to leave you alone

Well, apparently they’ll be disappointed to know your taken

Akaashi can feel you stiffen beside him while Bokuto talks about them

He knows they’re not the nicest, so he’s also surprised that they like you

He makes a split second decision to get the person to leave you alone

“Bokuto-san, we were actually about to tell you, we planned our first date for after the volleyball game and we wanted it to be a surprise.”

Your shocked squeak is covered up in Bokuto’s shouted “Heys!” of understanding

Once outside, away from Bokuto, you ask Akaashi what’s going on

“Your classmate, the one Bokuto was talking about, if they think we’re dating, then chances are they’ll leave you alone.” He says it like it’s obvious, and it does, honestly make sense

You nod your head slowly, questioning one last thing, “Why not tell Bokuto? Shouldn’t he know... I mean, he’ll tell everyone we’re dating..”

“Bokuto wears all his feelings on his sleeve, he wouldn’t be able to tell anyone we’re dating like it’s true, if he knows we aren’t,” he turns to you. “Don’t worry, we can explain everything once no one’s bothering you.”

And ya know what, y’all kinda knew what you were signing up for

It was obvious Bokuto would tell people about your newfound relationship!!

You just didn’t know the whole school would know by the next day

Most everyone is in tears over the two of you dating

People are mourning the fact that they now have zero chances of dating either of you

It’s a bit awkward to adjust at first

But Akaashi makes it easy to get into little habits

Hand holding becomes your favorite, you fidget with each other’s hands a lot too

It’s really comforting having him by your side

He makes this dating stuff simple, it’s a team effort that you’re never afraid of working on

You both fit together so well, that you forget it was to get your jerk of a classmate, to leave you alone

That’s why, after six months, you’ve completely forgotten it was fake

I mean, who wouldn’t?? Akaashi literally makes it impossible for it to feel fake

He’s doing cheesy couple things constantly

And you do them right back

Little notes, that have cute reminders to drink water and take breaks or getting each other’s favorite snacks on stressful days, is a regular

Simple gestures from Akaashi, seem to mean a lot more to you now

Because you definitely like him and don’t consider what you have as fake🥺💖

So, after the teams victory at nationals, high on adrenaline, you and Akaashi, sprint to each other, and kiss

It’s super dramatic

Bokuto is screaming over how happy he is for his friends, the team is silently wishing they could be in the middle of that kiss, and Akaashi’s pulling away with a chuckle and question

“I hope this means you feel the same way that I do?” He pauses to interlace your fingers. “Because I really like you.”

#haikyuu!!#haikyuu imagines #haikyuu x gender neutral reader #haikyuu akaashi #akaashi keiji #akaashi x gender neutral reader #akaashi x reader #akaashi x y/n #akaashi x you #fluff #fake dating #this ones kinda on the harem side #but Akaashi’s s/o would definitely have a harem #like him :3 #twinning

153 notes · View notes

phoebe-delia · 3 years ago

Text

Hi El @3lvendork thank you so so much for your kind comment on "No Bias in Beige" (I'm so glad you liked it!!) and for the request for the journalism rant I mentioned in the replies to that fic. I hope you don't mind me making it a post rather than ranting in the comments, but I do better with long stuff in this kind of format where I'm not limited by character counts lol.

So in the replies, I said that there are a lot of things about that fic that I wouldn't do if it were a real article and some things I'd do the same, and I'll be explaining those here.

1. I'm not sure I'd do a story about this at all.

Because this was a fic and not an article for a professional news organization, I was able to take this cheeky idea and pretend like it was newsworthy. A gossip rag like the Daily Prophet might take an interest in what Harry Potter wears to Quidditch matches, but I doubt a respectable news org would think that to be worthy of an article—or a feature story—on its own. But, speaking of feature stories, Harry's wearing neutral colors could be part of a feature or an interview about how he and Ginny are still friends post-breakup, or about him getting engaged to Draco. There could be a question in an interview about what it's like to have two people close to him playing against each other in Quidditch. But this by itself as an article? I personally don't think it has a lot of newsworthy merits or enough substance to be a feature on its own.

2. But the lede and headline I wrote as if it was an actual feature

Let's define a couple terms here. Obviously, we all know what a headline is. A lede is the first sentence in a news article; typically it's supposed to summarize the highlights of a news story in one 30ish word sentence. For example, if I did an article about Harry winning the war, the lede would be something like: Harry Potter defeated Voldemort (nee Tom Marvolo Riddle) in a final duel which resulted in Voldemort's death, saving the Wizarding World from being under perpetual Death Eater reign.

Basically, it's supposed to be straightforward and to the point. In a feature/fluffy kind of story, which I think this fic was, ledes can get a bit more creative, which is why I was sorta playful in the lede.

Also, to clarify, a feature story doesn't mean that it's what a paper is promoting the most; it means the story itself highlights (or "features") a certain topic or person in a more in-depth article than an average news story might get to. It's a deep dive, but not (necessarily) investigative.

3. The Ron quote, while funny, is irrelevant.

I probably wouldn't have interviewed Ron for the article at all, unless I asked him what he thought of Harry and Ginny and Draco being friends while Drarry were together; as Ginny's brother and Harry's best friend his could be an interesting perspective on the dynamic. But Ron's Quidditch preferences aren't the focus of the story, here. I included that quote simply because I thought it was funny that he'd easily root for the Harpies (Ginny's team) over the Tornadoes (Draco's team) but he wouldn't be able to choose between the Cannons and the Harpies, despite having no real ties to the Cannons, he just loves the team.

4. If I were to even include the last part in a real article, I would've made it a lot more subtle and possibly used a picture rather than described the underwear/what Draco did in the text.

It would feel inappropriate and unprofessional to describe Harry's underwear in an article for no good reason, and I wouldn't use the word "ass/arse" in an article, either, unless, again, there was a specific reason. It could be cute to talk about Draco's wink and maybe still use the picture (but not if it showed the underwear).

5. I'd never write the line about Draco's "reputation" where I quote all of those things about him, at least not without attribution.

That kind of thing just doesn't look good in print. And it would be weird to say kinda rude stuff about Draco like that just out of the blue. I included it to be funny, but I'd not put that in a real story. The only way I can imagine printing it in the story is if someone I interviewed said it in an on-the-record context that made it less blatantly critical. And even then there's a good chance I'd leave it out altogether.

Speaking of things being "on" or "off" the record, I want to clarify something I've seen people do in media when they write fictional stories about/relating to journalism that irks me.

Generally, if a journalist is interviewing someone, it's only off the record if the subject enforces that BEFORE they say the secret/hush-hush thing. You don't get to be all mad if you tell a journalist something in a context that could clearly be seen as an interview without requesting—at any point, but especially not after already saying the thing—for it to be off the record. If you say it in an interview and at no point SAY that you want it off the record, you should assume it could be published.

6. One thing I'd do the same is the quotes (from Harry, Ginny and Draco).

I wrote the quotes specifically to be 1. in character and 2. the kind of thing I'd want to include/pick for the story. They show the different perspectives, have relevance and information I (the reporter) wouldn't have known/found out otherwise, and are engaging to read.

Okay, that all being said, cheeky self-rec time! If anyone wants to see me project my journalism ramblings onto Draco you can read it in my Journalist!Draco fic, "Watch What Happens" on AO3! I have a whole few paragraphs that are just me talking about why I love journalism lol. Plus it's enemies to lovers! And fluff! And yeah!

#thanks El!#i hope this isnt too rambly #but you asked me to get nerdy and i took the chance lol #drarry #pheeby deeby thoughts

7 notes · View notes

girlfriendsofthegalaxy · 3 years ago

Text

tuesday again 8/10/21

got a bunch of followers (many of you are Cool Teens, so also a reminder im 26 and an adult and you’re responsible for curating your own internet experience) anyway there’s a bunch of new folks since the last time this was a regular series, so i am going to pre-answer some things that popped up in my inbox last week.

a quick reminder that this is empathetically NOT a recommendations or review blog series. this is a quick snapshot of what i’m thinking about with regards to mass media this week, and sometimes i’m funny about it and sometimes i also do interesting diy shit

a work can be culturally or historically relevant and important in the history of a genre AND be extremely difficult to recommend unless i know you very well due to. hm. let us say many pitfalls due to the inherent nature of the genre or the time it was made in it any number of other factors that make it unpalatable to modern audiences but still worth knowing about. doesthedogdie dot com will be your friend here for anything i talk about ever

being critical of a work doesn’t just mean pointing out its flaws- was it successful in telling the story it wanted to tell? were the techniques it used effective? were the emotions it elicited in me probably the ones the creators set out to elicit? these are key components of a good review and often help me break down what i want to say about a particular piece of media in any given week, but this isn’t a review series of blog posts either.

i am literally just some guy and you should question everything i say

listening i’m gonna wash that man right out of my hair (from the musical South Pacific) brought to you by a random mix of classic movie musicals bc apparently im that kinda gay this week.

like a lot of other fifties media that aged like milk, i have fond memories of watching this with my grandmother. this isn’t even my favorite song from the musical (that would be bali hai’i) but i think it is one of the more technically interesting non-solo ones. specifically, the faint siren-y dissonance on “ahoy, ahoy!” has really been stuck in my head. the melancholy “ah fuck we’ve broken our hearts again” vibe on “rub him out of the roll call/and drum him out of your dreams” with all the girls singing is probably a result of a soprano-heavy cast, but it’s almost chimey in a way? the rhyme scheme of those lines has an excellent mouthfeel. ms gaynor singing “cancel hiiiiiim” has a very different vibe in 2021

two (really three? maybe four? the world is large and mysterious) things can be true at the same time: i don’t think i could watch this musical again as an adult because i don’t think there’s a good way to salvage or update it. the very qualities of this musical that make me go “fuckin yikes” as adult were the very qualities that made my grandmother love it so much. i can hold a bittersweet memory of a rare late movie night with a complicated lady and at the same time wish she were a better person. the dead never leave you with answers.

reading yet another fallow week. this field is turning back into forest

watching i often say “AAA video game (derogatory)” when talking offline about the bad batc/h, but this was a real bioshock ass lookin episode. i don’t think this show is succesful at making or having a point. mostly because it cannot contradict any existing lore in one of the most traversed time periods of this franchise, even with the expanded universe reboot. it falls into the uncomfortable realm of most starred wars media: this is a franchise for children but it also has to cater to legions of grownup fanatics with lots of money. but by god does it “feel” like starred wars. something not all the sequel trilogy movies or much of the clone wars series were successful at.

as a sidebar to that last sentence. the most memorable (imo) scene of the fucking sequel trilogy is the back-to-back battle couple thing in ep seven, which i have just rewatched, and it simply does not hold up. there are too many cuts to other sideplots, which kills any tension dead, and it’s mostly fighting on opposite sides of the room in frantic desperation instead of what i wanted, which was more than five seconds of synergy. it’s a bad rhyme of the final throne room fight in rotj and my memory of the thing is so much better, which is always disappointing.

back to the main point, i think a big part of something “feeling” like starred wars is big setpieces and fights that make you go “HAHA YES FUCKIN SICK WHY NOT!!!!” like, nobody ever Just gets shot in the head and temporarily incapacitated, they get half-vadered by the engines of a derelict ship trying to go to hyperspace while it’s grounded. this franchise has never met a location it couldn’t destroy in a beautiful and awful shower of light while the string sections of three combined orchestras play their hearts out.

this franchise is so fucking stupid and i am so invested in it

playing got my hands on the death trash early access, very hype to play it, have been too busy turning this apartment into a functional and comfortable space to live in for three separate people with their own separate toiletries and groceries and work from home/school schedules

making related to the above, the fucking kitchen table and chairs are done.

things wot i did friday night/saturday morning:

new rubber feeties on everybody

wrapped the legs that structurally couldn’t get new rubber feeties in jute to be kinder to my rental linoleum

bolted the legs back on the table and rebalanced it bc the jute wasn’t quite even

did a very halfassed job of fixing the drawer rails on the table

bolted the chair tubing back together

took all the old decorative tacks out of the backs of the chairs

scrubbed the seats and backs and the pieces the tacks were holding down with mild detergent (partially effective, it still has some patina but is sanitized)

re-covered the bottoms of the chairs in remnant black polyester to replace mildewed black canvas

put in new decorative tacks on the seat backs

bolted the vinyl parts to the chrome tubing parts (a long and frustrating process since there were two sizes of decidedly non-standard nuts and bolts)

wiped everything down again for idk good luck

sitting at my kitchen table in the sun eating a breakfast sandwich and some terrible iced tea on sunday morning was very nice. i lived in the south just long enough to get Opinions on iced tea and how the north can’t get it right. shouldn’t be gritty. shouldn’t be bitter. how is this even happening

some very very halfassed “during” pics

#tuesday again #tuesday again no problem #Spotify

32 notes · View notes

sol-tinyrayofsun · 4 years ago

Text

Zutara Week Day 4 - Celestial: Under The Southern Lights

We’re in the middle of Zutara Week and I’m sure you’ve all realized I’m incredibly soft for these two. I just had to make a proposal one-shot, I had to. This took me forever to write because I kept going all over the nitty-gritty details. So I really hope you enjoy this. Also on AO3.

Title: Under The Southern Lights

Rating: G

Summary: Zuko had it all planned. The location, the time of the day, the - sort of- speech, the jewel… He had been waiting for months to do it. Now, he only had to round up the courage to ask the big question.

Fire Lord Zuko had it all planned. The nerve-racking question was soon to be asked. His strategy excited him, made him feel like a jittery child waiting for their birthday present. Only this time, he was the one gifting something. Proposing something.

He had been wanting to ask her for quite a while already, but the need to make it just perfect had gotten the best of him. Katara was the love of his life, he wasn’t about to propose to her without making sure every part of the moment was flawless.

That’s why as soon as the invitation to the opening ceremony of the Southern Water Tribe Waterbending Academy had come along, an idea started to take shape into his mind. Their first kiss had been at the South Pole, during one of his conveniently frequent diplomatic trips down there. So it only seemed fitting to pop the question on that same spot.

Even more, he had done the math, and they would be just in time to catch a perfect view of the Southern Lights. He could already imagine the two of them under the color painted sky. Yes, it would be perfect. It had to be.

Choosing what to propose with hadn’t been all that difficult as well. He wouldn’t get her a necklace, he knew how much she loved her mother’s one. No, instead, a bracelet would do the trick. He had already taken care of that too.

The betrothal bracelet would have a velvet ribbon with an intricate burgundy and royal blue pattern that interlaced the two colors into each other - Zuko was very proud of that symbolic detail. It would also feature a blue smelt quartz to which he had carved the emblem of the Fire Nation. Carving hadn’t been easy but, with enough practice and a lot of critique from Uncle Iroh, he had managed to get it right.

A set date for the proposal, a wonderful bracelet, the most breathtaking scenario possible… The plan was foolproof, right?

The only detail was, Zuko felt terrified of not knowing what to say when it came to it. What if his speech wasn’t romantic enough or he mumbled too much? Because he knew, he had seen it in action, Katara had the magnific ability to take his breath away. And being out of breath when you’re trying to ask someone to marry you it’s not the most ideal of situations.

But Zuko had practiced what to say. He had taken note of every worthy romantic thought that came to his mind, marking his love in more than one piece of paper. It looked kind of funny though, all those words, all those potential sentences, all those truths written down. Still, it took him forever to figure out what the best speech would be.

Something about destiny, a run-through of just how well they worked together, a brief mention of how they had started from scratch - literal scratch feelings wise, after all, they had actually been enemies for months - all about how they understood each other better than anyone, and, of course, how much he had grown to love her.

Slowly but surely, it had hit him alongside that fatal lightning bolt - yes, as ironic as it sounded like - just how much she meant to him. Feeling the electricity running through him, fighting for his life, Zuko had realized he loved her. Their love had flourished during the following year, being all about baby steps and timid demonstrations of affection, until that first kiss. That incredibly sweet first kiss at the South Pole, where he had finally rounded up the courage to confess his feelings. Luckily for him, she felt the same way. And so their story had begun.

Now, it was crazy to think that, five years later, he was about to ask Katara to be his wife - his companion, his lifelong partner, his heart living in another body somehow. He had been planning it for months, wanting it for years. Agni, he had always known she was the woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with.

Needless to say, the possibility of Katara declining his proposal haunted him. It consumed every bit of his soul, giving him a headache whenever the thought crossed his mind. He had even asked his Uncle for advice, in fear of all that planning being in vain. Of course, the old man had reassured him he had nothing to worry about.

“Zuko, I’ve seen you two together. I’ve noticed your connection before you even realized it yourselves. She won’t say ‘no’. I know it, you know it, everyone who’s familiar with you two knows it,” he had said, a reassuring smile spread across his face. “I’m happy for you, nephew. Your plan seems like a solid one, Katara will love it.”

And with his Uncle words serving almost as a mantra to him, Zuko had eased into the moment. He had the place, the time, the bracelet, his speech all planned out, and a hell of a lot of love for the woman he was proposing to.

As soon as he left for the South Pole, his plan would be set into motion.

———

Arriving at the Southern Water Tribe had been easy enough, with Katara waiting for him at the harbor. Seeing her always put a smile on his face. The way her eyes widened as they met his gaze, the warm embrace he would dive right into, her soft giggling as he told her - for the millionth time - just how much he had missed her. It was those moments he longed for. Those little fragments of time when nothing else mattered but the two of them. He wanted them to last forever.

She had told him all about the Waterbending Academy, explaining to him how Master Pakku had taken up the task to become director of the school. She had also remarked her efforts to ensure complete gender neutrality in the teaching. The ceremony wouldn’t be taking place until the next couple of days, allowing them some extra time to spend together before craziness strikes.

She looks happy, Zuko thought as he listened to her. Agni, I can only hope the same happiness is reflected in her eyes after I ask her.

Her family had also been welcoming, as usual. They had gotten used to his visits to the tribe, though he was sure Kanna wasn’t a big fan of how much Ambassador Katara had been traveling since they became a couple. Hakoda was never out of political affairs to discuss with him, clearly glad to have the Fire Lord so eager to help all the time. And Sokka… His best friend always threw a little fest when he visited. Constantly busy running the tribe alongside his dad and traveling to see Suki, he still made time for him. Being in a relationship with Katara had only brought them closer. And it had given Sokka some good opportunities to make fun of him. Which, of course, he loved.

Still, Zuko felt uneasy, eager to carry on with his plan. During lunch, he had zoned out almost completely, making Katara wonder if something had happened back home. He had managed to blame it on the tiredness from his trip down there, claiming everything was perfectly fine.

And things were fine, but not normal. Not normal at all. How could they be? He was about to ask the most crucial question of his life. Agni, he crossed his heart and hoped for the best.

Holding onto the little box that contained the bracelet, he knew. He was ready. It was time to carry on with his plan. Tonight is the night. It will be perfect.

———

The quietness of the night had taken over the Southern Water Tribe. All that echoed was the sound of ocean waves crashing into the shore. Everyone else had probably been asleep for hours. But Zuko was awake. Wide awake.

He had waited for hours. Alone in his hut - because Agni forbids Chief Hakoda would be onboard with him staying with Katara at that stage of their relationship - he had gone over every single detail a million times. His heart pounded in his chest, racing even faster than the first time he had said ‘I love you’ to her. With each beat, Zuko mentally repeated his lines. Yes, he had lines. Well thought and kind of poetic lines. He had everything planned. He only hoped he would be able to remember what to say once he was moments away from pleading her to spend the rest of their lives together.

Alright, I think it’s time, he thought as he unwrapped his body from a pile of blankets. Considering his firebending prevented him from getting cold, he must’ve been on the verge of a nervous breakdown to be longing for the heat that badly. It didn’t matter though, as soon as put on his coat an unexpected rush of confidence took over him.

Yes, this is it. I’m finally going to ask her. A tender smile spread across his face as he made sure the little burgundy box with the bracelet was safely secured in his right pocket.

He opened the door of his hut, stepping into the darkness of the night. The coldness of the outside took him by surprise.

Good thing he had grabbed a pair of heavy-duty blankets. He wouldn’t want Katara to be freezing during such a special moment. No, it was alright, she was used to the cold, and the blankets would help. If anything failed, he could always tug her under his arms - firebending had proven to have its perks down there at the Pole - and keep her warm. Yeah, that sounded romantic, it would work.

Luckily for him, the walk to Katara’s hut wasn’t a long one at all. It was more of a two-step kinda deal. Pretty convenient if you asked him.

Zuko stood at the entrance, with a racing heart and all the lovely doodle jitters. He couldn’t believe he was finally doing this. After months of rehearsing in his room back home, brainstorming with Iroh, and stressing over the tiniest details, the time had come.

He knocked on the door, a part of him hoping she wouldn’t be too tired. No, she wouldn’t. She was a moon riser after all. Why was he doubting everything he had planned, all of the sudden? No, he couldn’t let his nerves get the best of him. “Katara,” he whispered. “It’s me.”

A response didn’t take long to come from inside the hut.

“Zuko?” Her voice showed a strain of sleepiness, but she sounded attentive enough. “Come in, dork.”

Thank Agni, she’s awake.

As soon as he went through the door, he was met with the tenderest of blue eyes.

Katara was sitting cross-legged, still wrapped into her covers. Messy hair, amused expression, and a raised brow.

“What are you doing here in the middle of the night?” she asked. “Not even here for a day and already wanting to sneak around?” A playful smirk framed her face.

Oh, she’s very awake then. One second and she’s already making fun of me. Spirits, I love this woman.

He showed off the pair of blankets to her, trying to conceal the nervous grin that threatened to take over his face.

“Um, actually,” he mumbled. “I had something else in mind. How do you feel about coming outside with me for a while?”

And off they went, with a nervous Zuko leading the way. Katara had rapidly been onboard with the little nighttime excursion. After all, it had always been their thing to go on nocturnal walks or rush to catch every sunset at the South Pole. But most importantly… The plan was working!

Walking for a few minutes, he finally stopped at the top of a little hill. Right in the middle of the snow valley. The Southern Lights were already visible up in the sky.

“I see what you’re doing, someone’s nostalgic of our first kiss,” Katara teased, twirling around the snowy ground.

“Um, yeah, I mean, it was pretty amazing.” Great, the mumbling had already started and he wasn’t even saying his speech.

“So, are you going to tell me what’s up with you today? You’ve been acting weird all day.”

Darn it. He had tried so hard not to let his jitters show. But there they were. It was time to make his move.

“I’m fine, I promise,” he managed to say. “Why don’t we sit down?”

Once they were cuddled up amidst the blankets and the snow, Zuko allowed himself to breathe. To soak into the moment.

Above them was a dazzling dance of green, blue, white, purple, and red light in the night sky. Exactly as he had pictured it. Perfect scenery, checked. If only asking the big question could be as easy as staring at the celestial lights.

“You know,” Katara finally said, nestling her head at the creek of his neck, her fingers interlaced into his. “I’m glad you brought me here. It’s pretty romantic.”

Yes! That’s the stuff! If she considered it romantic, that meant he had done something right.

Now, it’s time.

“That’s what I was aiming for,” he mumbled. “Do you mind if I move over to face you for a second?”

Her blue eyes showed a bit of confusion, still, she complied. “Not at all.”

He straightened up, still holding onto her hand. She was smiling, silently waiting for whatever he had in store for her. Agni, she was beautiful. No offense to the aurora above them, but Katara was definitely a million times more mesmerizing than any dancing light in the sky.

Zuko cleared his throat, feeling his heart pounding inside his chest - every single beat - and his pulse racing like never before. He squeezed her hand, taking a deep breath before speaking.

“Katara,” Oh Agni, this is actually happening. “I think it’s safe to say that we were meant to be together. Considering all that we went through, fate kept bringing us into each other. We started as enemies, and look at us now. We make all the sense in the world, even if we are kind of opposites. We are two sides of the same coin, we complement each other perfectly. You’re a part of me I never knew was missing, until I almost lost you. You mean everything to me.”

He blinked, nervously battling his eyelashes. A lump of his throat threatened to mess with his speech at the memory of how the light of his life had almost dimmed the day of the Agni Kai. No, it was not the time to feel sorry for the past. This night was all about moving forward. Next to her.

“I’ve spent all my life,” he continued. “Chasing after things that were never going to make me happy, never going to bring me peace. But you, Katara, you brought all the light in the world into my life. You make me happy, you bring out the best in me. I think we were always meant to cross paths, nothing that happened between us was accidental. It was all for a reason, I’m sure of it know. Despite all my mistakes, all those times I’ve stumbled along the way, all of that led me to you. And you to me. That is something I would never want to undo.”

Her eyes had become watery, her fingers were brushing his skin as she smiled at him. It seemed like his speech had taken her by surprise.

“Zuko,” Katara said. “That’s… I love you.”

“And I love you too,” he replied, eager to blurt out the question once and for all. “That’s why I want to be with you for the rest of my life. You’ve become the voice in my head, leading every step of the way, advising me what to do all day long. I can’t shut it up, and I don’t ever want to. In fact, I’m hoping to have forever to spend with you.”

Zuko reached into his pocket with his free hand - luckily for him, it was his right one - and grasped the burgundy box he had been clinging onto for months. With a quick move, he opened the lid, revealing the betrothal bracelet he had made for her.

His eyes met hers, glistening with the reflection of the Southern Lights above them. The skies of the night were alive with those lights, like a thrilling flame.

“Katara, will you marry me?”

There it went. He did it, he had popped the question without having a nervous breakdown in the middle. Incredible. His plan had turned out to be perfect.

Wait. For it to be perfect, Katara had to say yes.

Tears of happiness were streaming down her face. “Yes, Zuko.” Katara was nodding excitedly. “Spirits, of course, my answer is yes!” she giggled amidst the tears.

And Zuko felt his eyes getting watery too, a rush of relief flooding right through him - accompanied by the sweetest of tears. Yes, she said ‘yes’. He felt like the luckiest man alive.

She threw herself into his arms, kissing every last bit of his face. He carefully put down the burgundy box as he ran his fingers through her hair. His lips met hers into a familiar embrace, only now there was something new to it. They were going to get married. They were going to spend the rest of their lives together. And that was perfect.

For a timeless instant, they stayed there, holding onto each other. Savoring the happiness of the moment. But neither of them had forgotten about the little burgundy box.

“You like it?” he asked, taking the delicate bracelet of its casing to show it to her. “My carving could be better, but I think it turned out alright.”

The blue quartz glittered with the celestial lights, all the different colors reflecting into its surface. The Fire Nation emblem, carved into a water blue stone. A ribbon that intertwined both of their cultures, together. Above them, a painting of amber, rose, opal, and gold hues. It swept the sky, flickering, dimming, flashing in the presence of their love.

“I know it’s not a betrothal necklace,” he continued. “But I know how much your mother’s means to you. I wanted to give you something different, so you didn’t have to stop wearing hers... I carved the emblem of the Fire Nation onto the blue quartz, and the ribbon has our colors interlaced… Kind of like us, opposites but together. Stronger together. I wanted it to be something special. Like you.”

Tears started to form back into her eyes. “It’s perfect. This is all perfect, Zuko. I love it, I love you.” Katara planted another kiss on his lips. “Would you?” she asked, extending her left wrist up to him.

“Of course.” He grabbed the bracelet, brushing his fingers through the stone.

His hands were trembling, his whole body was shuddering with excitement. He placed the jewel on top of her wrist, with tremendous care. He felt her skin, soft and warm, and he realized Katara was also trembling. He noticed her eyes glued to his as he made sure the clasps were tied together. Finally, the bracelet was around her wrist, holding onto her like a promise. Their promise.

“There,” Zuko whispered. “I’m so glad it fits,” he chuckled as he placed a soft kiss on the back of her hand.

Katara brushed her fingers against the pendant, eyes still watery and a bright smile tattooed on her face. Then her hands moved up to his face, softly cupping his cheeks. She pressed her forehead onto his, breathing heavily.

“I love you,” she said, caressing his skin. “And you’re right, we were meant to happen. I hope to have forever to spend with you, too.”

“Forever does sound good, huh?”

Zuko kissed her, giving away into the moment. That moment. All those months of planning, all those years of loving her. It had all led him to that exact spot - the woman he loved, his future wife, letting out tears of happiness as they kissed. His plan had been more than perfect, it had been so uniquely them that he found himself fighting back the tears once again.

That’s when he knew it. In the middle of the night, under the Southern Lights, and with Katara nestled into his arms, Zuko knew. Looking back, he knew exactly why it had all happened. It was her, it had always been her. And now, it would be them.

----- I hope you enjoyed this! I wanted to jump on this trope and give it my own little twist with the Southern Lights scenario. Thank you so much for reading! Feedback is always really appreciated <3 @zutaraweek

#zutara #zutara week 2020 #zutara fanfiction #zuko x katara #every week is zutara week baby

55 notes · View notes

natsukitakama · 4 years ago

Note

Hi, it's long-distance relationship!anon ! I finally have a little request for Armin ! How about this : Reader is a foreign exchange student for this year, but has a little trouble adapting to the high school/college. Seeing this, Armin offers his help, and friendship (and more? 😎) begins to blossom from here =w=

Author note : Hello Long-distance relationship!Anon (definitely need to find something shorter lol) how are you ? ♡ damn , I giggle like a baby while reading this it sounds so cute, I hope I didn’t messed this request up. Armin si such a sweetheart how could we not fall in love for him ? This modern AU take place in Germany but I apologize cause I know anything in German so. If you enjoy this please let me know ! I need to apologize cause I’m super late for my request I’m so sorry it took me so long I was kinda busy but still. I hope you’ll enjoy this, let me know ♡

Warning : Fluffy request as usual / Armin being a little cutipie

I did write fully the study session since I was kinda inspired by it I hope you’re fine with that. Also I do not own that glorious gif of Armin, credit to the owner.

Masterlist

Anxious was the good word to define your currently mood, it was the first time you travelled far from your house without your parent. You never experienced something like this before, and you were kinda afraid cause it was a country you never travelled before.

You were an artist student and you decided to travel through Europe so you could study a new way to see your art. You were especially a fan of German’s romanticism, so you though studied art during one year or two won’t be so hard especially about something you craved for.

You decided to join the Shingeki College (I’m sorry couldn’t find a good name) in German, cause you heard a lot of good things about it. You were afraid you might not understand lesson but since it was a foreign college most of the lesson were in English so you were good.

Basically anything seemed to run its course, but that wasn’t that simple. Of course being the only one from your class to travel through German meaning you were most of the time on your own. It wasn’t like you were introvert or anything, but everyone seemed to have their own friends and the last thing you wanted was to stick your nose in friend’s groupe while they didn’t want you to.

So during the first month, you were totally on your own and you couldn’t help but felt lonely and started to regret your country’s choice. In face no matter how hard you tried you couldn’t integrate yourself with your class. You thought no one cared about you, at least that what you thought.

But someone did noticed you.

It’s been couple of days since Armin Arlet had his eyes on you, in fact one day you sat yourself next to him for an art history on twenties. He quickly noticed you were kinda shy and won’t start a conversation on your own, and as he was about to ask you something he was joined by Jean and his friends. He didn’t want to embarrass yourself by trying to talk to you while he was surrounded by people.

As a shy and calm person himself, he knows how hard it could be to make some friends while everyone seemed to not noticed you. So he promised himself to do everything in his power, to start a conversation with you and get to know you.

And that’s exactly what he did, it took benefit of a share-lesson you two have to make a move. Fortunately for him, he was alone on this hour so he knew he won’t be bother by anyone. So he walked close to you and asked for a sit close to you, at first you were taken appart cause no one ever asked to be with you.

But the man looked gentle so you let him not knowing what to do beside he may be your only chance to actually make friends so.

He sat beside you, and starting a talk with you it wasn’t very deep just a way to him to test the water. At first Armin talked about the current lesson, the teacher, what he really loved what he disliked about it, then when he saw you were kinda talkative he started to ask you question about yourself.

« I never saw you last year are you new ?

Yeah, I’m a foreign student I used to study in London but my college propose my to travel through Europe and I thought it could be a good idea to work a year here.

Have any second thought ?

We can say that … I just … I have troubled making new friends here it’s like everyone know each other already I don’t want to the third wheel or anything. In addition It’s the first time I travel on my own, and I can’t help but feel a bit homesick. I don’t what I told you that I’m probably bothering you I’m-

You don’t bother me quite the contrary I own you apologize

For what ? You’ve done nothing wrong

I kinda did, I saw you couple of times walking alone during class. I saw you have troubled making friends and I didn’t know what to do to help you. I should talk to you the second I saw you I’m sorry

You shouldn’t be sorry besides you’re here now thank you very much …?

Armin, My name is Armin Arlet what about you ?

I’m Y/N »

After your class, Armin proposed to study into library he then told you that if you ever need any help for a lesson or something you could always ask him.

You were so happy, finally you found someone to be with you it was such a relief for you. Of course you couldn’t just stick around with him just like that, but he sounded so friendly : maybe will be become a friend ?

Days after days you started to walk around with Armin, it was so easy to be with him. The man was genuinely interesting, he was nice alway happy to help. He was so curious, there are so many things he was curious about.

You couldn’t help but find it extremely cute, he has this smile when he was talking about something he loves and the way his eyes were so bright never failed to melt your heart.

You decided to keep this strange feeling on a side of your brain, for all you know it could have a significant other moreover the fact that he was kind with you doesn’t mean he was into you.

Armin sounded like a man who was genuinely kind to everyone, not only does he help you during your study with his note but he also introduced you to his friends. You became friends with most of them even with Armin’s best friends Mikasa and Eren (even if you didn’t understand their dynamic, they seemed good friends)

One day you asked him about it

« What do you mean « why am I friends with them ? »

I mean- don’t take me wrong they are incredible but… Eren has no chill I can’t count how many times he went on a fight because of something ridiculous especially with Jean and Mikasa … Well she literally sweat Eren I’m not even sure if she is interested on something who isn’t Eren’s related … And you … Well you are so kind … so sweet with everyone and so smart and courageous and and -»

You couldn’t finish your sentence cause you heard what seemed to be the sing of angel : Right in front of your face, you saw Armin holding himself as he was laughing. It wasn’t just some snorts you made when something was barely funny but you didn’t want to kill the mood, it was a real laugh, a cute one. You never heard something so pure and sweet at the same time. Then, when Armin was finally able to catch his breath, he started to reply back

« Well first thank you for that, but I don’t think I’m as brave as you thought I am. Nonetheless, I got your point we aren’t alike right ?

Yeah kinda, all of you are incredible but you are so different especially you, you’re the smartest one

Yeah about that, I’m gonna confess something to you but it’s gonna be a secret ok ?

Of course !

Alright, for a long time … As long as I can remember actually I always thought I did not deserve their friendship in fact they were always here to protect me… I-I used to be bullied when I was a kid you know ? I wasn’t the one to start a fight or to reply back, I always thought it was useless. And everytime, no matter what happened, Eren and Mikasa ran into me to protect me. I used to feel bad about it, like I was burden to them but then we went to college together and they made me realized how wrong I was. They never saw me as weak, they valued me they always did … Do you understand now ? People saw us individually when they should see us as a group »

To say you were breathless was an understatement, Armin always had this power to impress whenever he was talking about something deeply. You couldn’t help but feel a bit sad when he mentioned him being bullied, I mean who could hurt such a precious boy like him you wonder. But you got what he mean anyway. For a brief moment, you felt bad for judging his friends and you wonder if he was disappointed by your behavior.

But when he asked you for a study session on Saturday, you realized how wrong you were : Of course Armin won’t be sad for something so petty like this. But for the sack of your consciousness you apologized.

You have more in your mind anyway, he asked to study with him on Saturday does that mean he actually asked you on a study date ? You weren’t 100% sure but since no one seemed to be invited so.

Damn, you were so nervous. Not only did you want to impress him by your knowledge but you also wanted him to be taken-apart by your look. You couldn’t explain why but the idea of him telling you how gorgeous he thought you were made you feel odd.

Why did you want him to find you attractive ? You were friends and this meeting was purely professional… Right ? You should find a cute outfit just in case.

That what’s you did, cause you couldn’t shut your little voice inside your head telling you to be presentable for once. It won’t hurt to be al dressed up ?

Much to your surprise, Armin was actually breath-taking even if his outfit were pretty simple : a black pant with some brown derbies, a white shirt with black jacket. He did look incredible handsome especially with the way he was smiling at you. But it wasn’t a study date right ?

It was definitely a study date, you just weren’t aware of that yet. It’s been a long time since Armin wanted to do something like that with you. Of course he knew better than to go in front of you telling you abruptly how he feels about you. First because he wasn’t sure himself how he felt about you, he tried to talk with some of his friends but every oh them were pretty awkward when it came to feelings especially Mikasa (who he thought could help him since you know…). Then, because even if he was actually in love with you he wasn’t really sure about how you felt about him ; after all all he did was talking to you once, then you two became friends easily and most of the time he felt like you were the one who talked the much (and he was 100% fine with that since he’s kinda attracted to people like you in addition he really appreciate your voice so he couldn’t complain).

So, Armin decided it would be good for both of you to go out during weekend claiming it would be for study. It wasn’t an entire liar tough, Armin did plan to study with you cause he really loved when you came to him for an explanation. Just having you close to him, listening to him very carefully to fully understand his lesson damn you looked far too cute for him : how your nose cracked when you frowned your eyebrows when you were focusing. Just the sight of you working hard for your study was enough to melt his heart, he loved when someone tried their hardest to do their work ; in addition he was kinda jealous about you cause you worked so hard in a country who wasn’t yours, surrounded by people who barley knew you. When he introduced you to his group of friends, he was mesmerized by how well you were with almost everyone, he just couldn’t help but smile at that thought.

But Armin also planned do other things such as going into a coffee shop just to get to know you better. He thought sharing a hot drink with you would help him to know if you were into him. Indeed he was afraid you might think of him as a friends, in the end you were just sharing some class you never attend to stay any longer (or at least that what he thought) : it won’t be a surprise if you just saw him as a school-friend someone you share a class but that’s it, he couldn’t be angry if you saw him that way … He didn’t actually feel like he could be angry at you at all so.

It took the opportunity to dress well, if he was about to seduce you (or at least try to) he has to be presentable. He wasn’t very fancy, but he definitely knew how to dress well. He tried to look good but not too good, cause for now you still thought it was just a meeting with two friends, helping each other. He didn’t tell you anything about his true intention. So he has to be discreet about his intention, the last thing he wanted was you discovering his plan.

When Armin met you, he had to think twice though : were you aware of his plan ? Did you dress like this just for him ? When you greeted him, he had to swallow two times cause you were breath-taking ; Armin was the one to think physical appearence is important but he had to admit you were very attractive in that outfit of yours. For a moment he was about to confess right there his feelings, but he knew better, he has build a plan and he had to respect it.

So as you two agreed on, you walked together into the library for some studies. During your walk, Armin was pretty talkative (part of his plan he actually asked you a lot of personal question but always did it furtively) which you didn’t mind, it was good actually it made you think you were getting closer to him. When you were finally at the library, you started to work but none of you were actually into this. Everyone could tell, something was radiating from you : was it attraction ? Was it nervousness ? No one could tell, but it sounded like you couldn’t work properly.

« Should we go out ? Let’s have something to eat maybe we could try again later ? »

You thought he would never say that, you couldn’t explain why but since you started to study with Armin you felt nervous it was the same for Armin. He used to be so confident when he explained you something, but today he seemed pretty shy and you didn’t know why and what to do to help him keeping his school. In addition, it seemed like your heart wasn’t on a better state, you could literally felt it beating against your chest you thought it could go thought your chest. You didn’t know what to do abut it, but you were agree with Armin both of you need something to cool off. Nothing would be better than a hot cocoa with some sweets. After ordering what you wanted, you were just staring at each other not knowing what to do.

Knowing he was the reason of this awkward situation, Armin took a deep breath as he remembered his speech. He knew they won’t be another chance and that he won’t be able to took his words away : they’re no going back after he was about to say. So he had to be clear, he had to tell you everything so he won’t regrets anything. He couldn’t help but feel a bit nervous, he was afraid he didn’t understand you, afraid that everything was a misunderstanding ; the last thing he wanted was you feeling uncomfortable with him. He cared about you far too much to let this happen. Deep down, he was a bit confident after what he saw today and the way you behave with him he was hoping that you were sharing what he felt for you. Nonetheless, he won’t know if he don’t do it, so here we go.

« Look Y/N, I’m sorry for today I was kinda nervous as you can see. It just, I had something to tell you but I was afraid you might not enjoy it. I was afraid, I might misunderstand you cause you’re incredible and full of surprises. I was about to give up when I realized that for once Mikasa and Eren won’t be here to help me, so today I decided to not be a coward and told you everything. You might guess what I’m about to tell you, but still I want to do this properly. I’m in love with you Y/N I really do love you, it took me a long time before I could finally realize what I really felt about you. I just love everything about you from the way you laugh to the way care about people. You seem so caring and I know you are, you’re so kind with me … I-I love when you come close to me when you don’t understand something, how you always seem curious about everything, how you listen to me carefully when I talk to you about my passions. I love how gorgeous you look today even if I told you it was just a study session and now I feel stupid for not dressing properly, I love the way your nose crack when you’re focusing on something, how you analyze everyone, I especially love your art. Romanticism suits you Y/N it really does. There are so many feelings in your art I really love it. I know you didn’t plan on staying here, but I would really love having you by my side. Everything seems simple when you are with me, but I won’t force you to do anything you didn’t plan on. I love how brave you are for travelling here on this country with no one with you, how hard you worked to have some friends to be a part of this college. I’d love to help you more and forever »

So, what would be your answer ?

#Snk #snk x reader #Snk headcanon #armin arlert #armin x reader #armin arlet x reader #armin headcanon #armin alert headcanon #Shingeki no kyojin #Attack on titan #Aot #attack on titans #Armin Arlet #aot armin #snk armin #aot x reader #Armin x Y/N #eren jaeger

61 notes · View notes

avengemebuckyy · 5 years ago

Text

Be Careful

Summary:

You tell Bucky to be careful with your heart. Too late he realizes you should have been careful with his.

or:

You’re awkward,odd, and not the most conventionally attractive yet you’re the only woman that Bucky sees

Warnings: manipulation

Authors note: Back from the dead lmao. This is probably trash but I just needed to force myself to finish something it order to try to get back in the groove! Feedback is more than greatly appreciated, it’s what keeps me writing tbh...

PS. You ain’t shit in this lmao

---

You weren’t the most eye-catching. You didn’t look like the girls Bucky used to chase after in his younger years, or the girls on the internet he’d find himself staring at once he’d discovered Instagram, endlessly scrolling through picture after picture, lost in a sea of beautiful bodies and faces. You didn’t look like the tall slim blonde agent he’d always make a point to hold open the door for, or his neighbor’s daughter in Wakanda, who had had dark skin so smooth and a face so perfect he’d never managed to say more than two words to her.

You were slightly awkward, with a slightly odd sense of humor, always cracking jokes that sometimes no one laughed at but you. But you didn’t care, you would laugh at them all the same. You wore baggy clothes, and not the fashionable baggy kind either. Your favorite outfit was baggy camo print cargo pants and an old grey band t-shirt, logo so faded it was almost impossible to decipher.

At first Bucky didn’t pay you much attention. He wasn’t rude, but he treated you with the same gruff stoicism he treated everyone with. Well everyone besides Sam, Steve, and Natasha. Besides he only saw you rarely, you were a high level agent thanks to your skill, but you didn’t work closely with the team very often. Until you did.

One mission with Clint was all it took to have your name thrust forward when Fury was looking to fill a coordinator position. Suddenly you were everywhere. Coordinating their positions on missions, even going on missions with different members of the team. You fit in well with the team, your corny jokes and generally happy disposition make you easy to like. Your apartment was five minutes away, thanks to Tony, so you would often eat breakfast with the team and stay at the Tower well into the night, often crashing in a room designated for you, also thanks to Tony.

You were like a deceptively shallow river Bucky would think after. One minute he was wading through your shallows, next moment he was being taken under by your currents, realizing too late that he was in deeper than he thought possible.

It started slowly, you would make an effort to make conversation with Bucky, never seeming off put by his non answers. Bucky found himself coming to you with numerous questions on how to work social media, you would give such long winded explanations he wouldn’t have to embarrass himself with asking questions. Soon he found himself seeking you out for more than explanations. Funny thing is you were the one who introduced him to Instagram, to the beautiful women on the app but eventually he found himself unable to see any woman but you.

Bucky found himself sitting with you at lunch, looking out the window in the mornings waiting to catch sight of your army green jacket. He’d sit with you in the afternoons as you did your paperwork, steal glances at you ,your forehead always shiny by midday with an almost ever-present patch of acne, eyebrows scrunched together as you filled out mission reports. He loved those quiet moments the most. Bucky wasn’t good with words, not anymore. But he would help carry the 10 pound boxes of paperwork, always bring an extra pen in case yours ran out of ink, and constantly would bring you your favorite Starbucks order. He secretly hoped that you would read the affection behind his actions.

You didn’t usually go to Stark’s parties, you’d rather go to bars and clubs with your friends.

“The crowd at Stark’s parties just aren’t my crowd,” you’d explained with a shrug, toeing the floor with your scuffed sneakers. Bucky had nodded in understanding. They usually weren’t his crowd either, but he’d always go to support Steve, who was pretty much expected to show face.

But for some reason you show up to this party. Four months into your blossoming friendship (and Bucky’s crush). Bucky wasn’t prepared for what you were wearing. When he heard the agents whispering about your unexpected appearance at the party he half expected to see you in jeans and a t- shirt. Or even your cargo pants. At the sound of your name Bucky zeros into the muttered conversation.

“Did you see her?”

“Yeah, damn.”

“Was not expecting that. Or her to even show up. Who knew?”

“She’s kinda hot, not gonna lie. In a weird way”

Bucky turns his head scanning the crowd, heart rate already picking up, fully expecting to see your sweat-pant clad form. He sees you alright. But not in sweatpants. A red dress barely covers your figure. Hemline way above the halfway mark of your thighs and twin slits in the skirt reaching up to your hips. A draping halter neck ties at your neck and completely exposes your back and gives a generous view of your tits. He catches flashes of the curve of your ass as you walk.

In hindsight the dress was totally in line with your character. You didn’t dress the way you did because you were ashamed of your body but rather because you didn’t give a fuck. Your hair is pinned up, one perfect curl escaping your updo and kissing your neck. Bucky feels his heart stop. He spies numerous heads turning as you languidly weave through the crowd in dangerously thin stilettos. You cozy up to one of your agent friends and the two of you drink, giggle, and dance. Bucky can’t take his eyes off of you.

When you head to the balcony he follows.

“Hey,” you say when you spy his shadow darkening the entrance to the balcony.

“Hey,” he gruffs, in a tone he fears is too quiet. But looking at the curve of your exposed back suddenly has his voice dying in his throat. You turn back to looking at the city skyline. Bucky steps forward next to you. Close. Closer than he’s ever been to you, painfully aware of your arms brushing. He can’t fully feel your skin through the long sleeve button down he’s wearing but the touch sets him on fire all the same.

“Needed some air. “ He eventually grumbles. Trying not to stare at your profile. You look at him then, wearing a sly expression he had never seen on you.

“I’m sure you did,”

After that it doesn’t take long for Bucky to gather up the courage after that. Maybe it’s the way you had looked at him on the balcony or the way both male and female agents were sniffing around you at the party. All the same about a week later Bucky finds himself heading to your office in the afternoon as usual, but this time holding a bouquet of flowers.

Afterwards Bucky falls in love with you hard and fast. He finds himself doting on you, taking you out, bringing you flowers and other tokens of his affection. He hears the whispers, it’s almost impossible not to with his super soldier hearing.

“How’d she’d get him,”

“What an odd couple,”

“The Winter Soldier’s with cargo pants?”

But he still holds your hand in public all the same. Stops in the middle of training recruits to kiss you whenever you happen to cut across the gym all the same. Keeps a picture of you in his wallet all the same.

Bucky has never felt this amount of care and comfort from a person since...ever, even before, in his other life. You put his boots by the heater in the winter when he sleeps over so his feet won’t freeze when he walks to the compound. You listen to him, even when he’s angry, raging at nothing, or when he’s sad and sullen, taking minute long pauses in between sentences. Or even when he wants to do nothing but sit in silence and hold you. You especially listen when his words come fast, tinged with self hatred. You reassure him, holding him like he’s fine china. After many late night musings you give him with the best present he’s ever gotten, an impossibly soft kitten who’s uncharacteristically loud purr always grounds him. Bucky finds himself able to open up with you in a way he can’t with anyone else, even Steve. Bucky’s not good with words anymore, but with you he’s amazing. He can’t stop singing your praises, lavishing you with sweet words and adoration.

In hindsight it was a warning.

“Sweetheart, your wallet must be screamin’ for mercy, with you buying this cake nearly everyday,” Bucky says pinching off a piece of the lemon pound cake which is almost always at the corner of your desk. He recognizes the cake from a bakery across the street, and knows its nearly four dollars a slice. You stretch cracking your back, nipples poking through your shirt. Your ever present band shirt had breathed its last breath, and this new shirt is thinner and cropped, and hugs your body closer.

“Not really, I don’t buy it, Tommy hooks me up” you say, shooting him a smile and then returning back to your paperwork.

“Tommy?” Bucky says, and unbidden hot jealousy sears through his chest at the mention of your coworker “He’s always buying you these?”

“Yeah,” you answer, not looking up, and Bucky tells himself to remain calm, unbothered.

He doesn’t.

Later after the subsequent fight and make up Bucky holds you as the two of you sit on his bed.

“I’m sorry,” He says again.

“It’s alright,” you say and somehow your simple words draw the truth out of him.

“I’m just...I- I’m afraid of losing you.”

“I’m afraid of losing you too,” you confess, then pause “Bucky, please be careful with me,”

Your relationship was easy, comforting. The two of you almost never fought, and never grew tired of being with each other. One blissful year turned into two and then five. It was like a dream and Bucky never wanted to wake up.

But reality eventually did.

How closely you guarded your phone should have tipped him off. How you’d constantly declined calls while the two of you were together. The way you almost always got ‘too drunk’ on girls night and would end up crashing at your friend’s place.

The first time it’s sixth months into your relationship on a lazy Saturday. The two of you had ordered pizza and planned to cuddle on the couch and have a movie marathon. You were in the bathroom when your phone had vibrated. Knowing that you would get a notification when the pizza arrived Bucky had looked at your phone. Bucky had felt surprised to see the name Dominos instead of an unsaved number pop up on your screen. Your phone didn’t show the preview of the text like his did. Your phone was still unlocked since you had headed to the bathroom but a few seconds ago, so Bucky tapped to open the text.

Dominos: [Can’t wait to see you again, beautiful]

Bucky’s blood had run cold. He froze, only unfreezing when he realized you were standing next to him.

“We aren’t exclusive!” you had defended.

“What the hell do you mean?” Bucky had growled. At that your face had crumbled, eyes filling with tears.

“You never asked me to be your girl.” you had looked away “We never talked about what we are,”

“Whaddya think we’ve been doing these past months?!” Bucky had yelled back,

“ I don't know. I don’t assume Bucky. Because guys always seem to want to date me, treat me like their girlfriend and then turn around and throw it in my face that they never said I was.” your voice breaks and so does Bucky's anger. He hadn’t been very verbal with you so far. It’s true he never asked you to be his girl, or even verbally on a date. He just thought you both knew. Guilt fills him at the sight of your tear stained face.

“I’m sorry I was just preparing for the inevitable,” you say and turn away. Bucky grabs your arm and pulls you towards him.

“Well, let me make it clear. I want you to be my girl. I want you to be mine and mine alone.”

Your expression is unfathomable as you wind your arms around his neck.

“I am yours.”

That night you stand in front of Bucky and wordlessly slip out of your sweatpants and t shirt, rendering him speechless. With reverence Bucky’s hands trace your frame and his mouth follows. That night he worships you.

Later, you wrap your arms around him and whisper

“I love you,”

And Bucky knows that he’s done for.

“I love you too sweetheart.” he says, and later still when you’ve fallen asleep Bucky lies awake, stroking the soft contours of your back. He’s done for. And he knows it.

“I’ll be careful,” he whispers.

Reality had tried to wake Bucky gently. Through warning signs that should have been loud and clear especially to an ex assassin. But Bucky had accepted your half baked truths and excuses. He was too far gone off of the drug that was your love to heed the warning signs until reality slapped him- no choked him, awake.

His awakening came in the form of the sight of you on your kitchen counter, a man kneeling in between your spread thighs. The flowers he had bought you on his way back from his mission that had ended early drop to the floor. Bucky freezes. But at the sight of Tommy’s face, cheeks slick with you he loses it. Next thing he realizes that he has his hands around your coworkers throat. But your hand on his shoulder drains the fight out of him, and as Tommy scrambles out of the apartment Bucky crumples to the floor and sobs.

“Why?” He asks and he realizes he’s not just asking about now, but about all the times he’s caught you cheating but didn’t have the strength to leave you.

“Baby” you say and gather him into your arms. He wants to pull away, thrash, yell, but he doesn’t. He just melts into your touch. You make him weak. And at night when he thinks about your excuses and half truths he hates himself for it.

“Why do you keep doing this to me?” he says, sobs wracking his frame “Five years-did they mean nothing to you?”

“I’m sorry,” you say “I love you,”

At this Bucky pulls away, standing. “Don’t fucking lie to me.” he hisses.

“I’m not,” you say standing “I might lie all the time but I’m not lying about this.” your eyes go soft at the corners, and start to water.

“No. I love you. I adore you. I’d give you anything-everything and you treat me like shit” Bucky spits, there’s a pain in his chest, his heart is breaking “And I just fucking take it, because you make me so fucking weak- and I hate it” another sob ribs from his chest. A part of him thinks that this is his punishment. For all of the terrible things he’s done. Cursed to be in love with someone who will never truly love him back. He looks at you, your hair is in disarray, baggy t shirt, those fucking cargo pants around your ankles. He gives a bitter laugh “Who woulda thought that you would’ve been the one to make me weak.”

“Why? Because I’m not pretty?” hurt flashes across your face then your eyes go hard. Usually Bucky would have been quick to refute any self deprecating words, reassuring you how beautiful he found you, how gorgeous you were. But now he just lifts his chin and looks back at you with the same hard eyes.

“Well I know I’m not pretty.” you shrug, face going strangely expressionless “But you still fell for me all the same. More fool you.” you say, and after a moment continue. “We should break up.”

At this Bucky shatters. Because he knows deep down that even after all of this he still would have taken you back. He still wants to grovel at your feet and plead to try to fix your relationship. But instead he decides to finally choose himself and turns and walks out of the door and out of your life.

Year later he still finds himself looking at your picture in his wallet, the one remnant of you he has left, that he can’t bear to get rid of. On lonely nights where he can’t sleep and can’t stand the coldness of his bed he’ll trace the curve of your smile and wish that you had cared enough to have been careful with him.

Tags:@stephie-senpai@ayeputita@pixierox101@iamwarrenspeace@ dreamgirljere @ufffg@pietrotheavenger @trinityjadec@abbytagg@wastedsummerss@turdblossommm@jimmyisfab@sev7en@hottrashformarvel @superbuckytrash@waidewilson@abbytagg @awkwardfangirl2014 @desir-ae

Bucky only @chamongangae@callmebucky-doll

#bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes fanfiction #bucky imagine #Bucky Barnes #marvel angst #marvel reader insert #marvel imagine #bucky x reader

67 notes · View notes

hu4ngs · 5 years ago

Note

Ten as a boyfriend pls! Thank you!!

ohhhh boi

omg this baby

first of all congrats, you’ve got yourself a MAN

so let’s go from a to z

you met him when you attended your friend’s (let’s say guanheng) sports match

you weren’t all close to guanheng, so you have no idea who’s in his friend’s circle

and you were very much surprised that he asked you - of all people - to go to his match

so as a token of gratitude, you attended

you sat on the bleachers

you sat next to ten ;)

your first thought when you saw him was that you think he looks so much alike guanheng

when ten caught you staring, him being a lil shit, he just HAD to call you out, playfully, of course

“take a picture, it lasts longer”

you’re confused and taken aback

“i’m sorry, what?”

he laughed at you, before shaking his head

“i was kidding!” he told you

and then you laughed, but you were still very confused

ten, on the other hand, just brushed it off

although he’s a little embarrassed that his joke didn’t come through

there was an awkward silence between you two now

“so who are you here for?” he asked

“my friend, guanheng. he said this is his first time being a regular, so he wants every one he knows to -”

“to go see his match?” he finished your sentence for you

you’re really confused with this man

you nodded nevertheless, “how’d you know?”

surprise surprise

guanheng and him are friends!

so you two exchanged instagrams cuz why not

he’s hot, you’re hot, i don’t see a problem here

and then it just continued on since then

you’d reply to his story

he’d reply to your story

it continued on like that for about two months

and then ten finally tells you that he’d like to have your number

you’re more than happy to give them to you

then you two started playing imessage games together

ten: damn you really suck at cup pong, y/n

you: literally leave me alone

ten: saving your number as ‘loser’ now

this goes on for a few more months i tell you

because ten is a prideful person

he’s not just gonna give in and admit to himself (or to anyone, for that matter) that he has fallen in love

plus, if you’re gonna get TEN to have a crush on you, you’re gonna have to wait longer than 3 months, this man isn’t here for puppy love, he’s here for LOVE love

after months, and you two are noticeably comfortable with each other now, you started opening up a little

every now and then you’d talk about your day to him

and ten appreciates that

he feels needed

he feels wanted

and he loves feeling that way

he loves feeling important to someone

even if he doesn’t open up as much as you do, you didn’t mind

you figured when he wants to open up, he will

and he noticed this about you, and totally loved this about you

plus to you, it’s not a big matter anywas

oh, you’re so oblivious with your feelings for him that was increasingly growing that’s why you’re so tolerable for him

one fine day

more like night

you were texting him

and ten asked you out

das right

just you two, out on a date

he was so straightforward about it??? big dick energy right there

n e ways

you’re like holy shit holy fuck oh my god wow

of course you said yes

only an absolute fool wouldn’t say yes to ten

so the next day yall meet up

he looks stunning

you look stunning

oh god i love a power couple

ten’s a little shy than he was the last time you saw him

and when he’s shy, he giggles and smiles a lot its adorable i tell you i’m so in love with you, ten

anywAys

he took you out to see a movie

and there wasn’t any bomb movie at that time so yall settled with a horror movie

but its shitty though

but it’s okay bc it’s the memories that matters xoxo

ten purposely picked the couple seat btw

he’s a sly fox

like i said it was a crappy horror movie so you weren’t really scared

but ten was surprisingly kept on his toes during some parts

considering all the times ten had teased you thru text

you decided to jumpscare him

you whispered-yelled a ‘boo!’ to him during the suspense part

and he actually S C R E A M

mans screamed LMAO

the few people who came to watch the movie gave you two quick glances

“i’m gonna beat your ass, y/n!” he told you

but you were too busy laughing to react to him

after the movie ended

ten was still a lil mad that you embarrassed him like that

so you decided to take him to an arcade

ten quickly got over it and was excited to beat you in games like he usually does

“try beating me in real basketball the same way you did in the imessage version, loser!” ten told you

and obviously he won

virtual basketball and actual basketball are two different things

and you sucked at sports, even if its just an arcade game

i hope you know what basketball game im talking about omfg

and then you decided to play that shooting game where you have to kill zombies

it was nerve-wrecking

you two were literally SO loud with letting out frustrations about how the zombies should just ‘leave you alone’ and how they should ‘go fuck themselves’

but yall actually won the game!!

you losers actually WON!!

you were so happy because you’re so used to losing in games

that you just,,, pulled ten into a hug

as you excitedly laugh, happily telling him that you’ve won because of how good your teamwork was

your ear was pressed exactly to where his heart was

and you’re surprised that his heart was beating so fast and so loudly

maybe it’s just the adrenaline from playing the game

so you brushed it off

then you went out to eat together

and when yall were eating

you talked to each other a bit more

talking about random things and facts about yourselves

you know,,, small talk and shit

ten, at this point, had already acknowledged that he has feelings for you

but after knowing how much you’re well educated about things he’s interested in, he falls harder for you

as you were busy talking

he couldn’t help but hold one of your hand that was on the table

you quickly became quiet as you stared down at his hand

“ten?”

“hey, y/n?”

you nodded as a response, wondering what the hell is he up to now

“do you think i’m a dumbass?”

you laughed at that question, not thinking much of it

you are, in fact, more intrigued with him holding your hand like that

“sure, sometimes you are”

he chuckled at your answer

and then he made eye contact with you

“well am i a dumbass if i told you that i like you? and that i wanna date you?”

you almost choked on your food

“wait! wait, wait. do you mean that?”

“of course”

you didn’t think twice

you’ve never been so sure about an answer your WHOLE life until now

“then yes, you are a dumbass! but, i like dumbasses. especially cute ones like you”

oh boy ten loves his baby confident like that btw ^

and voila! ever since then you two became a couple

NOW i was so into writing this

let’s get to the point

him as your boyfriend?

nothing changed much

except now he takes you out in so much dates

he loves you so much, and he’s constantly reminding you

he’s not one to admit his love as often as it seemed, so he’d show it through his act of kindness

he knows how much you appreciate the little things

so, he’d shower you with little things

he’d tell you to be safe when you’re on your way to somewhere

facetimes/calls you whenever you tell him a good news, just to congratulate you and say ‘i love you and i’m proud of you, baby!’

he has a lot of petnames for you

baby, angel, babe, honey, darling, fatass, loser, the list goes on

he comes over so often you have a hard time trying to sneak him out whenever your family member comes back from work/school

he’d tease you a lot for being scared to introduce him to your parents though

but he doesn’t mind, when you’re ready, you’re ready

he doesn’t really hug a lot

he kisses you a lot though

he lovesssss giving you a peck on your lips

when you two meet up? kiss

when you’re going back home? kiss

when you made a funny joke? kiss

when he finds you adorable? kiss

oh my god your first kiss with him was totally accidental

ten was showing you his new art and you complimented him

it boosted his self confidence

and then he was jokingly saying “your boyfriend is such a genius artist, don’t you think?”

he was walking towards you at the same time

then he accidentally tripped whilst he was rambling on about how amazing he is

but it’s okay he landed straight into your arms so you managed to catch him before he falls and breaks his nose

BUT his lips landed a centimetre away from your lips

when he pulled back he was like O__O

“did i kiss you?”

“no”

“aw, that sucks”

you were kinda blushing now

he saw you like this, and took this opportunity

he quickly wrapped his arm around your waist, and leaned in to kiss you

it wasn’t THAT passionate

but it was sweet

he was smiling in the kiss when you kissed back

when he pulled away, your noses were still touching

and he took the time to admire your beautiful face

“i love you, babe”

ANYWAYS!! OH MY GOD THIS IS GETTING ME IN MY FEELS!!!!

he compliments you a lot too

he’s constantly reminding you that you’re beautiful

sometimes he invites you when he’s going out with guanheng/taeyong/johnny because he wants everyone he cares about to meet you

he talks about you a lot to his family, too

saying how lovely you are, and how smart you are

and that his family would absolutely adore you when you meet them

god he praises you so much he literally boosts your confidence

oh ALSO!!!

he’d go to every event you joined

you’re doing a performance at your school/college? he’s there to support you

your school’s doing an open carnival and you’re the host for the event? he’ll be there

you’re at a math championship? he’s sitting amongst the crowd praying you’d do your best

you’re volunteering? you’re going together because no way in hell is he gonna let you do all these hard work without his help

you appreciate this so much, it means a lot to you

during your anniversaries/birthday, he’d surprised you a lot

he’d buy you the gift that you didn’t remember telling him that you wanted it

along with 10 other gifts that he bought you

he’ll take you to that fancy restaurant you’ve been eyeing a lot whenever you two go out

he’ll also remind you how much he loves you because you just mean so much to him

whenever you two argue

he’s usually a dick ngl

he’s got a sassy mouth

it’s not his fault if he roasts you

also

you two argue quite often too

some more serious than the other

ten builds a big wall around his heart because he’s just a guarded person in general

it takes a long time for him to open up and trust someone

but once he does, he trusts said people very dearly

even so, whenever you argue, it’d take a while for him to cheer up

it takes an even longer time if he was in the wrong, because he’s quite an egotistical person

but once he cools down completely

he’ll go see you

and he’ll cuddle with you for as long as he can

caressing your hair

whispering sweet nothings into your ear

he does feel guilty of course, but its kinda difficult for him to apologise, so he does these act of kindness instead as an apology

he doesn’t mean anything that he said when he argued with you though

he was simply just trying to win the argument

he’s so glad that you’re able to tolerate with him

because not a lot of people can

he appreciates you a lot for that

he makes it clear that he’d do anything for you because you’re simply worth the effort

in conclusion

ten would be an amazing boyfriend for you

he loves you dearly

he will be the best boyfriend ever

his hugs will linger with you for days

his kisses gets sweeter each time he kiss you

although he can be an ass sometimes

it can’t be helped, that’s part of ten’s nature

he’s a lil mischievous, so you need to tolerate with that, the same way he’ll have (and will) tolerate with your bad sides too

please don’t ever let him go

ten as your boyfriend will make you forget about you exes, he’s just THAT amazing

i said it countless times but im gonna say it again

he loves you so much, so so so so so much, you’re his own personal angel to him

148 notes · View notes

arthurjdrake · 4 years ago

Text

For Keeps : Alain & Arthur

Summary: A phoenix and a hunter go into a bar. (aka Amelie and I somehow never posted a doc we wrote like 3 months ago don’t judge us) >_> Parties: Arthur and @carbrakes-and-stakes

Recent events had come to show that sometimes meeting new people (Leah especially) didn’t always go terribly, and the little he’d experienced of Alain so far from their online conversations gave Arthur a strangely positive vibe. He couldn’t say what it was, but shared interests were certainly a scene setter for an interesting afternoon over beer if nothing else. Though it transpired with recent revelations that his interest in Alain was further vested in gauging just what sort of person he was and just what Evelyn saw in him that made her interested in being with him. Call it protective curiosity. The Perfect Pint was a decent enough establishment and one he frequented if only for the full plate of good food and Guinness they had on tap. A sizeable establishment with light filtering through slightly grimy windows, it smelled like an ashtray but was relatively clean by most pubs standards. Not to mention the presence of several dart boards and snooker tables for patrons to use if they so pleased. Wooden stools lined up against the bar resembled careless soldiers. Two were occupied and Arthur was five minutes early. So he leaned on the darkwood bar, occasionally sipping a cool pint of Guinness while watching the highlights scrolling on the screen and wincing at a particularly nasty tackle.

Alain pushed the door to The Perfect Pint expecting to have a peaceful moment for once. No hunting, no arguing, not questioning everything. Just chatting with someone with common interests and seeing where that led. Not going to the Silver Bullet for once would also be a nice change. It must have been months since he last went to a normal bar. Being greeted by the sound of football matches and people playing pool was a nice change, and it reminded Alain of the few weeks he had spent in Europe a couple years ago. Now he did not care much for the smell of cigarettes, but if this was all he could complain about, then he would not complain at all. Recognizing some customers as he made his way to the counter, he nodded politely and took a seat with the man he figured would be Arthur. If not, then things would probably get awkward really quick. “Bonjour,” he greeted him, figuring that would be enough of a tell. The bartender approaching, he ordered himself a pint of Amber Ale and turned his attention back to Arthur. “I hope I’m not late.”

There weren’t too many people in town Arthur felt he could go down to the pub to simply have a drink with, he was woefully short on friends who weren’t so studiously academic that it was kind of funny to imagine them in a setting like this. Plus, it reminded him of home in an inexplicable way. From the smell to the darkwood features of the pub, like his local back in Twickenham. Occasionally he glanced at his wrist-watch checking and rechecking the time, the smooth carved wood of its casing a familiar comfort in its proximity. As a figure approached and sat down beside him he turned, body-language relaxed and comfortable, an amicable smile warming his features upon hearing the French. “Salut,” he greeted with a small dip of his head, taking a moment to just study Alain, taking in the years around his eyes and features, the stubborn lingering grease around his fingernails and a missing finger as well. Interesting. Arthur vaguely remembered him saying he was a mechanic in a past conversation. A bit rough around the edges but he could see the appeal though it was the personality he was more intrigued to learn more about. “Not at all,” he laughed quietly at the sentiment with a shake of his head “no, I’m just partial to being early.” He let Alain order before he leaned back a little, “so you own the garage in town right? How’s business been going for you lately?”

If Alain could feel like he was being scrutinized, he didn’t mention it to Arthur, and instead, pretended to look just about anywhere else. He had never been here, so this gave him a good enough excuse not to be attentive. “Is it really how pubs look in the UK?” The place looked like a postcard, and a whole lot like pubs that claimed to be authentic, and he couldn’t quite decide if it was really close to the actual thing or a caricature. Clearly, the mime places weren’t as authentic as they claimed to be, so maybe this was the case here as well. He rubbed at the corner of his eye with one finger and thanked the bartender as he came back with his drink. “Do you actually speak French or…” either way, there would be no hard feelings, but once again, he was curious, which was a good indicator : a bored Alain did not ask questions and hardly spoke. Taking a sip from his pint, he leaned back a little in the seat and nodded in reply to Arthur’s question. “Business is doing alright. I’ve had a few good months with the falling fish. Lots of shattered windshields, lots of intensive cleaning too,” scratching the back of his neck, he shrugged. With the big lobsters, a bunch of cars had been roughly damaged, and considering he had to spend some time off work, all those events had helped keeping the cash coming. “What about you. You’re a teacher, right?”

“It’s not a bad imitation of one considering they even have an old geezer eating roasted peanuts” Arthur admitted eyeing another patron at one of the tables in the corner. “Plus this is the only place I can actually catch games when they’re on, even if it is at like one AM… Granted it’s worth staying up if only for the Irish breakfast.” The question was met with a nod, “I speak a little to pass conversation. I’m kinda rusty and the amount of exceptions to all the tenses always catches me in one place or another…” He shrugged a shoulder taking a sip of his beer “personally, I think it’s important especially if you’re going to live somewhere for a while you know? Too many people just expect everyone else to cater to them just because they’re too lazy and entitled to learn another language.” That was a trait that bothered him about most people growing up in an anglophone environment, the lack of desire to even try and relate to people from other walks of life; forcing them to adapt from their culture. It was hardly fair in his mind. “Ha, yeah I can imagine there’s all sorts of interesting things that keep you busy. The newspaper mentioned something about screaming moose you know? I never thought I’d live anywhere that the wildlife would be much of an issue.” Or maybe he should’ve considered that before moving to White Crest. “Yeah! I teach up at the university, history and mythology department. Certainly no lack of folklore around these parts.”

“What?” Alain followed Arthur’s eyes and his shoulders shook with amusement at the sight of the old geezer eating roasted peanuts. “Alright, that is authentic for sure,” he had another sip of beer. Listening to the man talk, his brows furrowed. “You’re kidding? This is like music to my insomniac ears,” of course insomnia was a stretch, but Alain was not about to tell Arthur that he was a vampire hunter, and that as a result, he really didn’t need to sleep that much. Insomniac seemed a lot more simple. “Night entertainment and food, I’m sold,” he scoffed. Now was he surprised to hear that Arthur struggled with the french language? Not really. “Hey, if you ever need practice, you know where to find me,” he offered. It did not cost him much, and he liked chatting in his native language. Really a win win. “I agree. I mean, obviously if you’re only here for a week, there’s only so much you can do, but don’t expect everyone to speak your own language, that’s… logical,” he shrugged, refraining from rolling his eyes. “You just have to be … logical,” he repeated. Clearly things were easier for him when he visited France, but his time in Spain had been quite something, as he could only remember very few things in Spanish. “Screaming moose?” His eyebrows raised and he glanced to the side, clearly concerned. Could it be due to supernatural reasons? Possible. He’d have to ask Kaden about that one. “Clearly not. The area is quite … rich in folklore. I think we’re a good tie with Louisiana and Salem,” he agreed. “What is your favorite folklore story?”

“See?” Arthur chuckled eyes crinkling at the corners in his mirth at the token sight that seemed a staple in most pubs back home, there was always at least one. “No way! I kid about a lot of things but not that. Definitely not when it comes to a full Irish and watching rugby or football. For sure, next time there’s something on I’ll let you know, even if it does mean I have to sit and watch France play--” he lamented with a put-upon look though it was all in jest. Insomnia was interesting but hardly surprising in a town such as this; there could be any host of reasons behind it. “I might take you up on that, I find it hard not to be so formal in structuring the sentences...” Arthur tilted his glass a little “well, yeah sure but I still think if you’re going to visit another country it’s at least polite to try. It’s just always been a pet peeve, just people being so self-involved they don’t think about trying to make an effort for anyone else.” Alain seemed surprised and Arthur’s brows furrowed, “didn’t you see the newspaper? It was a while back but something about Sunday at sundown being when moose would scream? Seemed a bit weird… I didn’t know moose could scream… Just thought they trampled things.” But hey, wild life could surprise you especially in a town like this.

“Rich is an understatement,” he said with a shake of his head. “Issue is most of the stories around these parts were passed down by word of mouth… Not many actual documents to look at.” There was a spark that always seemed to light up his features whenever he got into a discussion about folklore, “oh, would totally have to be the Huldufólk - the hidden folk - Icelanders believe they’re hidden elves that live in the shadows between rocks, it’s said they love to dance and invade farms at Christmas to hold wild parties. That their origins come from the Garden of Eden, when God visited Adam and Eve, Eve was washing their children and hadn’t finished… Embarrassed, she hid the unwashed children and lied about their existence. To punish her God declared that the children she hid would be hidden from all of mankind and so the first Huldufólk came to be.” It was an interesting and unique narrative and one that had always intrigued him. “How about you? Do you take any interest in folklore?”

Pursing his lips, Alain remained silent as he turned to look at the other man, looking as offended as he looked amused by his comment on French teams. “Let’s not mention that England has not won a world cup in football since the 60s, despite being such a great nation of football, then, shall we?” clearing his throat, he took a sip of beer to hide his smile. Such an argument could go on for days, for sure, but it seemed like Arthur was not the kind to start pointless arguments. “There’s nothing wrong with that. I will admit to being less formal than I used to be,” it had been a while since he left the Babineaux household, and his speech level had grown simpler with time. “Of course. Portugal was awkward, I didn’t speak a damn word of portuguese and had to rely on one of those tiny vocabulary books,” he mimed the rough size of said book with his hands and raised his eyebrows in despair as he remembered how thankful he was that most people knew more English than he knew Portugese. “Yeah, some people do have a hard time not focusing on themselves,” scratching at the back of his neck, Alain looked thoughtful for a moment, staring into the gap. “They kind of sound like nazguls when they scream,” he finally commented, but it usually happened a bit later in the year. Alain had not exactly planned to discuss rut season, but if this was where the conversation was heading, why not?

“Like most stories. And it’s not like books or history is any better. It’s always written by those who survive, or those who won,” biased, but at least the version couldn’t change once printed on paper. You could tell how enthusiastic Arthur was about the subject, and it was refreshing. Leaning against his elbow, the hunter listened to the scholar talk about some ancient legend. The story sounded a bit too polished to be the truth, but he did not doubt that Iceland had a bunch of little folks living in the shadow. “It’s hard not to when you spend your whole life in this town. I’m afraid I don’t have stories to tell however,” clearly this was a lie, but Alain knew better than to start telling people he barely knew about his night time activities.

“True,” though Arthur raised a brow in mild challenge, “but what we do have are three six nations titles to the name in the last ten years. So I think that counts for something. You can take football, I’ll take rugby. Issue settled.” It was banterous and Arthur’s grin was cheeky in spite of himself. “You tend to get that way with time, formalities are nice but they can be so constricting to adhere to all the time.” He snorted a little at the comparison, “oh Gods don’t ruin Nazguls for me like that. No no that’s not allowed.” Lord of the Rings was sacred in this sphere and nothing, especially no moose screaming was allowed to ruin it.

“I mean that’s true of almost anything in life. It’s just nice to actually have some hard evidence to work from rather than just the word of mouth. At least that way you can start to deduce what influences there might’ve been on a source.” Perhaps the story was too polished, too easily wrapped up but it was a nice tale nonetheless. Not everything in the world had to be all doom and gloom. So what if there were elves that liked to play games and pull tricks. “Huh, really? Did you grow up here?”

“Heh, fine,” then coughing to jokingly hide what he was about to say, he added in a hurry, “Football’s better anyway.” Obviously coughing was not meant to really hide anything, and he found himself laughing. Shaking his head, he ran a hand in his hair and sighed heavily. “Formalities are fine by me, although I wouldn’t hope to see me ‘formal’,” he scratched at the corner of his mouth, shook his head and took a sip of beer again. Once again he found himself laughing at the man’s reaction. Alain really would have to stop insulting everything Arthur liked. “Nazguls ruined themselves on their own. Moose have the right to ruin them more,” it appeared they had yet another thing in common. Although he was never an hardcore fan, he still remembered the first time he read the Hobbit very fondly.

“Fair enough. I just feel like history is really biased and often misinterpreted too,” you just had to look at what people were taught at school. Maps placing their country in the middle of the world, wars lost barely mentioned… “I did grow up here. But no, no stories,” not any he wanted to tell. “I can however bore you to death about astronomy. Or myths related to constellations, although you probably already know them all.”

It wasn’t the worst, Arthur rather enjoyed a challenge and the fact Alain seemed willing to challenge ideas in a joking fashion was a good sign for the man’s own personality. “Noo!” he protested with a laugh waving his hand as if to try and stop the insults light-hearted as they were “that’s not allowed, only the waters of Bruinen are allowed to completely wreck the Nazguls or a hobbit with a frying pan. Sheesh these are the sorts of debates I used to get into with Evelyn. The real issues of life.” It wasn’t entirely true, this was one facet of many that he and Evelyn had discussed but Arthur was curious to see how Alain would react to hearing her name.

“It often is, but I think that’s part of the challenge of studying it. Knowing you have to work to try and uncover the obfuscated truth behind the fogs of what people want you to believe.” It was countless, the amount of times he’d tried to submit revisions based on contrary evidence, some had gone through while others… It was a tiring endeavor but one he’d continue to pursue regardless. “That would hardly bore me. I’ve been fascinated with astronomy since I was a child. There’s actually very little I find more interesting.”

“I don’t know,” Alain’s brows furrowed at the mention of hobbit held frying pans, and they furrowed some more at the mention of Evelyn. You could see the cogs turning and trying to figure out what this was about. Biting his lip, he shook his head. “You wouldn’t happen to be…” he tried to remember the words she used. “I think she might have mentioned that she had a favorite professor in town,” he scoffed, shaking his head. He supposed that it made sense that she would mention him to her mentor, as secretive as she could be, it was hard not to share some things.

If Alain had often had to do research, it was far from the academic kind, but that did not mean that he couldn’t dedicate entire days to gathering information on certain kinds of undead species. The hardest part was not knowing the species name and hoping to recognize characteristics in his readings. “That’s what I like with cars, they don’t usually tell lies, which makes my job a lot easier,” he doubted that cars would be something Arthur could be interested in, but he was not too surprised to hear that he liked astronomy too, but that did not mean he wouldn’t be excited about it. “Really?!” His tone of voice was unusually cheerful. “Then you have to join me for stargazing sometimes.”

It would be interesting to see what Alain came up with, and while he clearly processed the passing mention Arthur took a sip of his Guinness giving him time to think but out of the corner of his eye watching curiously. “Oh did she?” it was easy enough to feign mild surprise with just a dash of curiosity thrown in for good measure. He made a quietly amused sound, “yes, she does like to remind me of that as often as she can - along with the fact she was one of my brightest students… She’s hardly a forgettable person but if you know her I’m sure you’re aware of that fact.”

“Well, no lies if they’re built well. I once had a guy try to sell me a knockoff Bentley - full look of the thing but the insides were scavenged from hell. Luckily I didn’t agree to that deal.” While Arthur didn’t know much about cars, he knew which ones he liked and back in the day he’d raced the odd car here and there. So it was more a casual interest than a passionate hobby. The enlightened state that seemed to come over Alain’s features on the topic of Astrology - much in the same way his own lit up at the mention of mythology was interesting and Arthur could tell that whatever else, Alain was certainly someone he liked. “Stargazing? Sure, I’ve actually got a great telescope back at mine. Always try to do some Astrophotography when I’ve been out on fieldtrips… Nothing better than a long hike and taking some good photos. I’ll have to show you sometime.”

Alright, so maybe it was not completely a coincidence that he and Arthur had ended up talking to each other, although Alain hoped that they really shared the same interests. “She does leave a strong impression, a good impression,” he clarified. Even knowing that she was not really human, he couldn’t seem to be able to change the way he felt about her, and he was terrified by it, even though he liked to tell himself that if she had fed on him this whole time, he would change his mind about the woman he had feelings for. “I’m grateful we met.”

“The lies here come from that guy, people lie, not cars. If you ever want to acquire one of these, please do tell. I like restoring properly older cars. “The Continental Bentley from the 1950s is a real beauty, but hard to find in good shape these days,” the man’s enthusiasm didn’t waver as the subject changed to astronomy. Quite the contrary. “See, that’s something I struggle with. I never seem to be able to take a proper picture. I tried, but I think I’m just really not good with that kind of technology,” he liked taking pictures, and Evelyn liked having her picture taken which was a great combination, but when it came to space, it was almost disastrous. “You really need to show me. I could use that.”

“That’s true,” Arthur agreed, seeming to take measure of the answer and find it satisfactory “she’s quite a remarkable young woman.” Evelyn had been right, and from what Arthur could tell, Alain was being genuine. “How did you meet? If you don’t mind me asking?” Evelyn had been rather cryptic of late regarding Alain and Arthur was rather curious to learn the story there. “She’s a good friend of mine so I find myself interested in the people she surrounds herself with.”

While Arthur was still taking note of Alain’s general disposition, he seemed to relax into the new conversation put at ease by what he could read from the other man’s reaction regarding Evelyn. “It’s funny you mention that, I’ve got the Bentley Continental V8 here at the minute but back home I have a 1949 Bentley VI Saloon and a 1962 Chevrolet Corvette. They’re some of the best drives I think I’ve ever had on the road.” An understanding nod was given, “ah yeah, often you just have to spend a while playing around with the exposure on the camera and make sure you use a tripod to keep it stable. It’s a bugger but once you get the hang of it it’s not too bad.” He grinned clearly excited by the proposed idea “but sure, next time there’s something astrological going on, send me a message and I’ll give you a crash course. Maybe you can give me a crash course in cars.”

Young woman. He had to wonder if this was meant to be an attack or not. As far as he was concerned, yes, she was young, and yes, he was older, and it was uncommon, but it was something he and Evelyn had discussed. In the end, it was Alain who felt the least comfortable about the difference, not her. “Oh, ahem,” he mused. “Well, I was trespassing on her property, which is a great first impression apparently. I wanted to find a good spot to stargaze, but didn't know it was a private beach,” he trailed off. Yeah, that had been embarrassing, and he had considered fleeing the place the moment Evelyn disappeared to get a cardigan.

Now he was glad he did not.

“Oh.” Well he really was not a fan of the newer ones, as he found them a bit too soft looking, but he kept that to himself. And so it surprised him that Arthur seemed to like some very different cars, but he would not question the man’s taste. To each their own. “See Evelyn, she owns too many cars,” he scoffed. An understatement, although it was not really a surprise. She liked owning things, especially pretty things, and Alain wondered sometimes if there was a reason for that need. “Sure, that sounds lovely. Let’s just hope that my crash course involves no crashing cars,” shaking his head, he took another sip of beer. “I just think that people, just, everyone should know more about what’s under the hood.”

It was less an attack, more a statement of fact and Arthur’s view of evelyn. She was an incredible young woman. There was no further intention to the words than that and if he did notice any discomfort it wasn’t remarked on. He’d learned one lesson lately and that was to let some things lie. So instead, he listened to Alain’s story, leaning a little more on the bar with his interest fixed because he was genuinely curious to learn the tale and get a better understanding of his friend’s mind in this. “And did she stay out?” Arthur assumed so but better to get clarification just to be on the safe side.

“But I do have the other two older ones, I might get them shipped over at some point… I just didn’t know how permanent my residence here was going to be and I didn’t want to ship them and find myself heading back overseas you know? Too much hassle.” Though he had to laugh at the statement of Evelyn and cars, “she has too much stuff period. Always has, but I can hardly blame her for that.” Arthur had his own reasonings about why that might be the case but it wasn’t something to discuss right now. Alain was nice enough but not someone he’d chat in depth to about his long-time friends. Not yet at least. “Yeah, I’d rather not go out in a ball of flames.” The irony of that statement wasn’t lost on him. “You’re probably right, I guess it seems so foreign and alien to most people that even approaching the topic seems like a challenge. It’s kind of the same with history… or language. Some people nowadays are afraid of not being able to overcome the challenge I think.”

“She did,” he wrinkled his nose, “considering the reputation of Harris Island folks, I did consider for a moment that she was staying with me until the police arrived,” which was something that made him feel terrible, but could you really blame him. “I think she had nothing better to do,” Alain might have never been the luckiest person there was, but he always wondered what he could have possibly done to deserve her.

“I mean, that’s fair.” Alain rarely had to get cars imported, but he remembered having to import his own car from France, and how much of a hassle this had been. “I’d love to have a look at those, if you ever do get them shipped here,” he added, finishing his pint and searching for his wallet to pay the bartender. “Glad to know that she always has been this way,” he had a light laugh. Alain had given up on thinking of things he could offer her, hoping that memories could be things she would cherish more. “Let’s avoid that, yeah,” he shook his head. “People probably think it’s too complicated, too hard, too … I don’t know… That only some people are allowed to have this kind of knowledge,” the man had always been curious, and it was no surprise to learn that Arthur, an academic, felt the same way about learning new things.

“Understandable,” Arthur had met a few people that lived out that way and hadn’t been too impressed with them “Harris island folks can be pretty funny about strangers wandering onto their properties. Luckily she’s one of the better few out that way.”

“Sure, I’ll let you know if I ever make the decision to do that… Though considering how much glass damage it seems people complain about online I’m not sure if it’s something I’d really want to expose myself to… But I guess knowing a mechanic doesn’t hurt with that issue.” Setting his glass on the counter he pushed back a little. “Maybe, I guess some people just feel its unreachable for them in particular or they have no effort in pursuing the avenue to acquiring it.” Arthur waved his hand as he saw Alain reach for his wallet, fishing his card out the back of his phone case before good-naturedly adding “don’t worry about it, I’ll get them.”

“I suppose that’s what happens when you get a bit too out of touch with reality,” Alain was certain that his sister, or his parents, were the kind to react poorly to trespassers, and the reason he knew that was because he was himself not really fond of trespassers, and this, despite having spent the last two decades in the middle class.

“I don’t think soundproofing your garage is the answer to big noises, but hey, you now know a mechanic. I’m sure you’ll be alright,” the corners of his mouth tugged up, as he stood up from the stool. “Let me know if you ever feel like learning a thing or two, alright?” He frowned slightly at Arthur’s offer, but didn’t question it for too long and instead nodding, thankful. “Alright, thanks.”

With a huff of amusement Arthur grinned, “good thing people who are rational like us exist then.” With the delivery of a few notes across the bar and a tip for the waiter Arthur pushed to his feet and tucked his wallet away. “Well, nice to meet you Alain. And if you ever fancy watching ridiculously late night rugby matches just let me know.” With a wave of his hand he made his way towards the door and the walk back home in the early afternoon light.

#for keeps #para #alain #p: alain

5 notes · View notes

overthinkingkdrama · 5 years ago

Note

Hi! So, I’ve just recently gotten into K-Dramas, and... I have a small issue, and that is though I LOVE them in the beginning, by the end they always disappoint me? Like, they start lighthearted and fun, and then by the end suddenly everyone’s in mortal peril, and I don’t care? Or they start all fantasy, and then it’s all about the romance in the end? So... Could you possibly recommend me ones that are good, or tone consistent, throughout? Please?

Hi! Thanks for dropping by for recs. These are some of my favorite asks. I just love going back through my watch list and finding dramas that fit a given criteria. It gets more fun the more dramas I've seen.

The thing about Kdramas that makes them a uniquely sticky beast is that many of them are live-shot week to week, at least for part of their run, and often the scripts are not fully written before filming begins. Popular Kdramas will also occasionally receive extensions which can cause further pacing and plot issues and (sometimes) cause a story to sputter out entirely. With the increasing prevalence of entirely preproduced dramas there's been an increase in overall drama quality and consistency in past years. That being said, Kdramas are still a decidedly mixed bag in terms of overall production quality. So it pays to either drop things with extreme prejudice if you stop enjoying them and watch widely, or to have a good drama filter friend (like me!) to give you vetted recs. As a genre a lot of the more "classic" feeling dramas have a tendency to start really light hearted and then swing super dramatic in the latter half. That's something I occasionally like, but lucky for you not all dramas are like that!

Your ask doesn't really tell me what genre of Kdrama most appeals to you, so I went through my list and tried to find you wide a variety of dramas that I think of as being well-paced and tonally consistent throughout. I've also tried to limit myself to dramas that I rated highly on MDL, although my primary criteria was "good and tonally consistent" so this list of dramas is kinda all over the map. But then, so are my tastes. Also, I kinda got the impression from your ask that you're not a fan of the uber-melodramatic side of kdramas and you want something a little more restrained and less soapy, so I tried to steer away from those more makjang dramas but did not entirely succeed, lol. I gave a couple sentences of description so you can more readily narrow down what you're interested in, and if you would like a more thorough review of the dramas some of these have full reviews on my blog which I went ahead linked where they exist.

Age of Youth: A well written slice-of-life ensemble drama about a group of 5 college age women who end up boarding together. There are a couple moments of high drama/trauma toward the end of the show that might be a turn off. But other than the finale the tone is consistent. 9/10

Arang and the Magistrate: A dark fantasy fusion sageuk with a romance. I included this drama because it does a good job of developing the creepy worldbuilding and fantasy throughout. Though at points it can be a bit slow and the special effects are hella cheesy. 8/10

Argon: A tight, journalism driven suspense drama. Not always my genre but I found it very engaging, and at eight episodes it does not overstay its welcome. 8/10

Be Melodramatic: Another female-centric slice-of-life ensemble drama, though with an emphasis on fourth wall breaking comedy and clever dialogue. Very funny and heartfelt. 8.5/10

Cheese in the Trap: Maybe a controversial inclusion, but I very much enjoyed this drama. A slice-of-life college romance with psychological thriller elements. Some critics felt that the drama focused too heavily on the second male lead in the later half of the story, but YMMV. 8.5/10

Coffee Prince: Classic cross-dressing romance and still probably the best of its kind. A wonderfully nuanced and progressive handling of the subject matter, even after 13 years. Deals with serious subjects but doesn't go too melo with it. 8.5/10

Children of Nobody: My best of 2019, a dark psychological thriller about a child psychiatrist and a police detective who have to confront gray morality while attempting to track down a serial killer who only targets unrepentant child abusers. 9.5/10

Ex-Girlfriend Club: On the lighter side, a friends-to-lovers type romantic comedy about the writer of an autobiographical webtoon who has to figure out a way to get along with a group of his ex-girlfriends to make a movie based on his work. Only 12 episodes. 8.5/10

Go Back Couple: Also only 12 episodes (these shorter dramas tend to be better paced I find) a time-slip drama about a divorced couple who get the chance to relive their twenties and end up realizing they still have feelings for each other. This drama is both very funny and it had me bawling on multiple occasions. 9.5/10

Healer: A favorite of a lot of drama fans, this is an action-focused romance about an awkward soft boy with a secret identity as a highly skilled errand boy to criminals and an intrepid tabloid reporter who is his biggest fan. This drama is pretty tropey, but it's fun and the romance is great. 8.5/10

Hello Monster (aka I Remember You): A police procedural with a background love line about a criminal profiler looking for his lost brother and a detective looking for her father's murderer. One of my personal favorites. 10/10

Hit the Top (aka The Best Hit): A time-slip fish-out-of-water comedy about a 90s pop star who winds up in modern day Seoul and ends up befriending his biological son and meets old friends who his disappearance left in the lurch. 9/10

Incomplete Life (aka Misaeng): A realistic office drama that gave me real world work anxiety, focusing on a failed Go player who winds up an intern at a highly competitive shipping company and has to find a way to earn his keep even without the background and college education of his coworkers. Unbelievably well done ensemble drama. 9/10

Just Between Lovers: A romantic melodrama about two people whose lives were irrevocably changed by a tragic mall collapse that nearly killed them as children, meeting again as adults and finding comfort and healing in each other. A rough sit at times, but a wonderful love story with incredible acting. 9/10

Just Dance: High school, slice-of-life, drama about a dance club in a technical high school and a group of working class kids who reluctantly become involved in this club and befriend each other. Only 8 episodes (or 16 thirty minute episodes, depending on how you recon it.) 8.5/10

Life on Mars: Remake of the British show of the same name, this is a surreal time-slip police drama, about a forensics expert who gets shot in the head and wakes up in 1988. Or does he? He could also be dying on an operating table. It's hard to tell. Dark, suspenseful and trippy. 9/10

Matrimonial Chaos: An off-beat comedy about two dysfunctional couples who become inescapably mixed up in each others lives. One that's having a hard time getting divorced and another that's having a hard time getting married, and all the messy weird emotions that go along with that. This is another one of those, makes you laugh/makes you cry throughout dramas I have an affinity for. 9/10

Moment of Eighteen: A heartfelt high school drama about a straightforward but awkward loner who is forced to transfer to a new school, immediately earns the ire of a powerful student and experiences first love. Not my usual thing, but very well written with complex and likeable characters. 8/10

Mother: A cold and socially isolated woman becomes a temporary teacher and upon discovering one of her students is being severely abused and neglected, decides to pose as the child's mother and go on the run with her. Like Children of Nobody, this can be a bit of a rough watch because of the subject matter but it is very well done. 9.5/10

My Mister: A healing, human drama about a structural engineer in his 40s and a debt-ridden young woman in her 20s who end up crossing paths and saving each other from a miserable existence. My current all time favorite drama. Cannot say enough good things about it. Practically perfect in every way. 10/10

One Spring Night: A very restrained and naturalistic slow-burn romance about a woman who is about to get married and suddenly begins to question her relationship and a single father who had given up on love who find themselves irresistibly drawn to one another. 9/10

Prison Playbook: An ensemble slice-of-life drama centered on prisoners and correctional officers in their day to day lives. I find the actual het romances in this drama totally useless, but it's a large and talented cast playing a variety of lovable characters. 8/10

Psychopath Diary: Recent fave. A screwball black comedy about a mild mannered pushover who loses his memory and finds a diary that convinces him he's a psychopathic murderer, which gives him a huge boost of confidence from his new found identity, much to the chagrin of those around him and the actual owner of the diary himself. 8.5/10

Queen In Hyun's Man: A drama about a Joseon scholar who time travels to modern day Seoul and meets an actress who just landed a part playing the queen he served in the past. This one might be on the border line of too dramatic or tonally inconsistent, but it's got one of the most pitch perfect finales in Kdramas and the 45 min episodes keep it a snappy watch that doesn't drag or meander too much. 8/10

Reply 1988: A late 80s nostalgia drama about a group of families who all live off the same alley. Lovely family drama, comedy with a variety of romances. Long ass episodes especially later in the run, but I have rewatched the whole thing and I loved every minute of this show. 9.5/10

Save Me: A dark drama about a young woman who finds herself forced into a dangerous cult by her family, and is desperate to escape, and a group of 4 local young men who try to help her. One of the more unique and well done OCN thrillers. 9/10

School 2013: High school ensemble drama that launched a whole bunch of careers. In general I avoid school dramas (I know there have been three on this list so far, but those are like the only three, lol) but this show got me so invested in all these students and teachers. Also the two male leads are so shippable. 9.5/10

Secret Love Affair: A romantic melodrama about a piano prodigy from an underprivileged background who catches the eye of a married older woman and the two fall into a passionate affair. This drama involves cheating (obviously) but it's beautifully filmed and written and the music is to die for. 9.5/10

Signal: This is a supernatural crime thriller and a perennial favorite in the Kdrama community. An imbittered criminal profiler finds an antique police radio which allows him to speak with a police detective 15 years in the past, and uses this to crack cold cases and try to prevent brutal crimes from ever happening. 9/10

Six Flying Dragons: This one is a bit different from the others on the list, first of all because it's a more traditional historical drama, and secondly because it 50 episodes long. But it is so, so very good. And if you're looking for overall consistency in terms of storytelling and tone this drama has it in spades. 9/10

SKY Castle: A unique melodrama about a group of affluent competitive mothers who will go to any lengths to get they're children into the best medical schools, and a mysterious school coordinator with shady motives who gets brought in as a ringer to give them an edge. This show is kind of hard to sell but very entertaining and watchable. 7.5/10

Stranger (aka Secret Forest): The story of a stalwart prosecutor who, due to a childhood trauma is unable to feel the full spectrum of emotions, works with a bighearted police detective to root out corruption around a series of murders. This one’s rather cerebral and requires your full attention but the leads are amazing and there's a second season coming out this year I'm very much looking forward to! 9/10

The Nokdu Flower: Another sageuk drama about the latter years of the Joseon Dynasty surrounding three people who fall on different sides during the Donghak Peasant rebellion. Incredibly well written and involving historical drama. If you're not sure you're ready to commit to something like Six Flying Dragons, I think this would be another good entry point into the genre. The acting is amazing. 9/10

The Smile Has Left Your Eyes: A romantic melodrama and psychological thriller about a dangerous enigmatic young man on the cusp of becoming either a human being or a monster. He becomes involved in a fraught relationship with the sister of a police detective at the same time her protective older brother begins to focus on him as the prime suspect for a murder. High key moody and tragic if you're into that kind of thing (I am). 9/10

Touch Your Heart: On the complete other end of the drama spectrum, this show is pure unadulterated fluff, which managed to keep me giggling and swooning throughout the run, even though it's typically not my thing. An actress joins a law office as research for a role and falls for the ace attorney she's assisting. 8.5/10

WATCHER: Another OCN thriller about three different people with shady motivations who are connected to the same murder case and become involve in a corruption task force looking into dirty cops. One of those "trust nobody, everyone's a suspect" dramas with lovely complex characters and a fully engaging plot. 8.5/10

Sorry that got so out of hand! This is what happens when you don't give me a little more direction I guess. These are all dramas I quite enjoyed and I believe you will find something in there that will suit your fancy. This is a pretty accurate cross section of my tastes.

Happy watching!

Jona

#asks #answered #kdrama recs #this got stupid long #i got half way through writing my two sentence plugs and was like #omg why did i put so many dramas on this list #lemme just casually throw together a list of 30+ titles that’s what you want right #like wtf #oh well #hope you find something you like anon #i have no idea why i’m this way either

77 notes · View notes

ficletsbynaria · 5 years ago

Note

can i ask for a tendou angst fic ?? in which both of u are in a relationship but then he wakes up one day and now feels nothing?? like it wasn't on purpose and stuff,, its up to u on what the ending would be TYY!!

okay i did my best to make this HURT hurt 😪😪😪 but it’s kinda sad how i see tendou doing this sigh i love the bb but does he love me back

also i wrote this one in 3rd person POV :))

𝔴𝔬𝔯𝔡 𝔠𝔬𝔲𝔫𝔱: 2,296 words

𝔠𝔥𝔞𝔯𝔞𝔠𝔱𝔢𝔯𝔰: Tendou Satori

𝔱𝔞𝔤𝔰: none

To Love A Monster

Something poked his chest, stirring him awake. Tendou’s sharp eyes grew thinner as he squinted at his lover’s form, curling up to him. A soft groan came out of his mouth, calling their attention.

“You woke me up.” He stated obviously, his eyes watched as their head moved to face him fully. Y/N’s expression still groggy but a small smile graced their lips. “I was lonely.”

Tendou looked thoughtful like he always does. “We’re literally cuddled up against each other without any space between us.” With that said, he scooted closer, placing his chin under their head. A sigh of contentment came from his partner, who breathed in his scent.

“And I wouldn’t have it any other way.” Y/N trailed off, small snores can be heard from their mouth. The redhead raised his hand, raking his fingers through their tangled hair. Checking the clock on the wall, he had 20 minutes before morning practice started that day.

His other hand found theirs, entwining their fingers together with his. Staring, he pondered over how Y/N’s hand always looked tiny compared to his. In fact, everything about them was tiny compared to him. Lulling himself to sleep, Tendou decided that Ushijima would just burst into his dorm room if he was ever needed.

He placed a peck on their forehead. Tendou snuggled up against them and closed off the nonexistent space.

This was more important than the morning practice.

“The water’s freezing, I’m not going in.” Crossing their arms over their chest, Y/N tiptoed away from the incoming wave of water. The sand was hot, but the air was cool enough to combat it.

Tendou was already knee-deep into the water, eyeing their stubborn companion. “So did you just wear that swimsuit for me then?” Y/N responded with a glare at his comment. “And what if I did?” He smirked, knowing that he’s pushed the right buttons.

“Then I’ll tell you that I prefer it wet.” He was still standing on his spot yet his stare was beckoning them to accompany him. “It gets warmer when you stay in it for a while, so get your pretty self over here.”

The sun was beating down on the beach, so maybe having a small dip in the water wasn’t that bad. Y/N contemplated Tendou’s offer, placing a finger on their chin. “Aren’t you going to come to grab me and throw me over your shoulder?”

He raised an eyebrow at their suggestion. Tendou recognized that challenging tone in Y/N’s voice. He studied them, their mannerisms, their responses. This particular teasing side of theirs was something they picked up from him. Although, Y/N couldn’t beat him in a banter, as he would never give in to his opponent.

Instead, he faced away from them, striding closer to the deeper part of the beach. “Nah, too dangerous for both of us.” Without sparing them a glance, he added. “If you’re not coming, I’ll go on ahead.” Tendou didn’t wait for them to respond. He started swimming away once it got deep enough for him. Y/N was left alone, the breeze suddenly colder on their skin.

Looking over, they saw the countless couples who took advantage of their summers. Guys splashing water at their significant other. Girls making cute and amateur sandcastles, giggling whenever the beach’s waves toppled it over. Married couples who looked on their children playing in the water, sharing a quiet moment under the shade.

Y/N heard their boyfriend calling over to them. Tendou was panting, hair wet as he floated in the water. “You still gonna stand around there?”

“Coming!” They responded with careful enthusiasm. Slowly shuffling into the water, they remembered their first beach date with Tendou. It was with his family, and Y/N were invited over by his mother, insisting that their future in-law would be part of the trip. A somber expression remained on their face as they recalled. Even with his doting parents watching over them, Tendou messed around with Y/N as if they were the only ones on the beach.

Looking at him now, he acted like someone who was stuck in their own world. Distant and beyond reach.

Y/N rushed over the restaurant’s entrance, bowing at the staff as they entered. The air was colder, and they were relieved to finally have some heat to comfort them. Looking over the tables, Y/N spotted an intimidatingly tall figure at the corner of the room.

“Hey sorry I’m late.” They slid over at the empty chair on the table, next to the ace. “It’s fine,” Ushijima reassured. “At least you’re earlier than Tendou.”

“Satori still isn’t here?” It was confusing, considering that they were half an hour late. Tendou is always on time on occasions with his teammates. The only time he was ever late was when he hung out with Y/N, where he refused to leave their side until they or Ushijima had to force him to go somewhere else.

These days, it was a miracle if Tendou ever crossed paths with them in the school hallways.

“Wa-ka-to-shiii!” The playful voice intruded Y/N’s thoughts, spotting a redhead marching over to their table. Tendou’s nose was reddened by the chilly air outside, matching the shade of his hair. They tore their eyes away from staring at his facial features. He didn’t even spare them a glance when he approached the table.

Seeing Tendou and Ushijima together with the smaller, more welcoming Y/N was a funny display. One who was loud and lanky, another who was silent but his presence (not even counting his height) was intimidating; sometimes suffocating to mere strangers, and one who was inviting and approachable, an aura that dampened the other two’s.

It was Ushijima that pointed out that Tendou worked well with Y/N. Not long after that, Tendou declared to Ushijima that his ‘little one’ (a nickname that mocked their height, but they soon found it endearing) was off-limits. Ushijima then saw that they worked too well, as Tendou and they were barely apart.

Now, it’s as if the world flipped over its head. Tendou’s avoidance was hard to ignore. What’s weirder was Y/N’s lack of acknowledgment towards his actions, sometimes even borderline compliance with it. Ushijima wasn’t stupid. Something was wrong between them

The quiet man noticed that Tendou and his friend were sitting across from each other, instead of sitting together. He moved to stand up, “Tendou, switch seats with me.”

“Huh?” Tendou blurted out, a questioning look in his eyes. He swore he saw Y/N flinch from the corner of his eye, but chose to ignore it. Ushijima walked around the table and sat to the empty chair next to Tendou. He motioned to the chair he vacated, “Go sit with Y/N. You’re their boyfriend.”

Ushijima was blunt with his sentences, but he was also tactless.

He only heightened the tension between Y/N and Tendou. Awkwardly, they avoided eye-contact with Tendou, who was drumming his fingers on the table, also refusing to look at their direction. “I think I’m good here.” He protested.

Y/N drew in a sharp breath. It wasn’t enough for Tendou to glance at them but his fingers stopped moving, attentive on what they will do next. Even Ushijima was observing Y/N. Tendou was certain that they might start crying. When they lifted their head up, he had to stop himself from recoiling at their expression.

“It’s fine, Toshi. Let’s just order our food.”

He memorized their smile, took note of the wrinkles on their eyes when they beamed up at him. How their lips curled sweetly. How a speck of blush adorned their cheekbones. It was a spectacle that he had gotten used to ever since they started dating, even before that.

What he was seeing in front of him, was a hollow attempt of masking the crazy storm inside their head. Y/N’s smile didn’t reach their eyes. Those eyes were also devoid of any brightness. If Tendou looked hard enough, he saw his own reflection in their eyes. As if they were showing him, what caused this sad expression on their face.

Maybe he truly was a monster, the monster that only every opponent on the court had witnessed. The monster that had taken away his own lover’s light.

The cheers were deafening inside the court, hearing it loud and clear even when outside. Y/N tentatively waited at the entrance. Fiddling with their fingers, they contemplated on what to say to him.

’Don’t mind’? No, too repetitive. ‘There’s always next time’? Okay, they just lost their spot to the nationals and he’s graduating, so definitely not. ‘I’m still here for you’? The last statement made them scoff, crossing it out of their mind immediately.

They doubted if their presence was good enough for Tendou.

Y/N’s attention was caught when they spotted the uniform for the Shiratorizawa team. There they saw Tendou trudging towards the opposite direction, not even acknowledging their presence. They threw that thought away from their head, thinking that maybe he didn’t notice them yet.

“Satori,” Y/N paused. Tendou’s ears perked up at the sound of their voice but he didn’t meet their gaze. They swallowed the lump in their throat. “How are you?” Wanting to beat themselves up for such a vague question, Y/N waited for his reply in heavy silence.

“What are you doing here?” He dodged the question, unmoving. They clenched their fists at his response. They took a step closer to Tendou, afraid that he might run away if they weren’t near enough to stop him.

“I watched your game, what else would I be doing here?” They couldn’t stop themselves from letting out a sarcastic comment. Some lost hope that they had opted for them to act like everything was normal. Perhaps by doing so, their relationship might go back to normal.

The bite in Tendou’s next words snuffed out any hope, however. “You shouldn’t have.”

“Why? Is it because you lost the match? You know win or lose, I just wanted to come and support you and the others-”

“I didn’t want you here.”

They blanched.

Tendou couldn’t look at them. In fact, he could hear their heart cracking in two as they muttered a pained ‘Oh’.

“I have somewhere to be. So if you want to say anything-”

“You’re always going to places that don’t have me in it. And I admire the nerve you had to ask if I want to say anything.” Y/N hissed at him. “I have a lot on my mind.”

“Look, I’m tired, we just lost the game. I would like to rest somewhere.” Tendou’s strained voice made it harder for Y/N to continue saying their piece. Yet enough was enough. They wanted Tendou to know, they wanted him.

“And I’m tired. Every day, I’m tired of you brushing me off. Tired of you blatantly ignoring my presence as a whole. But I always thought that you needed your space. I always thought about you.” Every word came out quieter than the last. Unconsciously, Y/N was walking closer to Tendou. He stayed in his place, purposefully ignoring their gaze.

“I guess you’re gonna tell me that it was my fault that I didn’t approach you?” Tendou didn’t answer.

“Tori,” They were suddenly in front of Tendou. Their eyes were pleading and coupled with the cherished nickname, Tendou had a hard time turning them out. “What happened to us?”

Tendou’s eyes were shut tightly when Y/N got in front of him. Their hand twitched by her side, wanting to cup his cheek, to ground him with their presence. Surprisingly, it was Tendou who moved. Arms wrapping around them, clutching them close to his chest. It took everything in Y/N not to cry into his jersey. Instead, they put a hand on his chest.

It was steady, his heartbeat.

Absentmindedly, they pressed a hand to their own chest, checking their own heartbeat. It was hammering, frantic, the complete opposite of Tendou’s.

Things weren’t making sense until Tendou found his voice again.

“They say that when you hug the person you love, your heart gets all crazy and you start feeling dizzy and stuff.” His tone was melancholic, even though his hold on Y/N was intimate in itself. Tendou took their silence as a sign to continue. “I felt like that back then. Felt it every time we were close to each other, even.” He considered his next words carefully. But no amount of careful planning would make it sound better.

“I don’t feel that now.”

The hand on his chest clutched onto his shirt tightly. Tendou placed his chin under their head, looking at nothing in particular. Y/N’s breathing became harsh and heavy. They struggled to speak.

“What do you feel, then?”

Tendou pulled away. His eyes held different emotions as he stared back into Y/N’s. Pity, regret, disappointment.

But not love.

“I don’t know.”

They slowly pushed themselves away from him, staring at the ground.

“Could I have prevented it?” Y/N was clinging onto the air. If he answered yes, they’d be filled with regret. If he answered no, they’d hate themselves.

“I don’t know,” Tendou repeated. It didn’t sound like words anymore. Just a bunch of noises coming out of his mouth.

Y/N glanced at his bandaged fingers. They reached out and grabbed them in their hands, observing each finger with a solemn look. Tendou let them, and they intertwined their hand with his.

“Could you ever love me again?” The question overflowed with a longing.

Tendou’s hand tightened on theirs. Those three words on his tongue already deep-seated into Y/N’s mind that he need not speak it into existence. Those three words that replaced the three that Y/N wanted to hear; the three that he wanted to be true.

author’s note: wowee it’s been awhile since i wrote angst lmao,, lemme know how u felt about this whole ride and if you want an epilogue or even a part 2 😳😳😳

#ficletsbynaria #user maso-cxhi #haikyuu!!#haikyuu x reader #haikyuu drabbles #tendou satori #haikyuu tendou #tendou x reader

71 notes · View notes

cloud9consultive · 4 years ago

Text

How To Flirt With Women Over Text (25 Copy & Send Text Messages) 1 of 2

Below you will find the first 25 of 50 text messages that will show you:

– How to flirt over text. – How to ask a girl out over text. – What to text a girl to start a conversation. – How to text women to make them laugh.

Feel free to send each text as-is or edit as you see fit. You can also use them as inspiration to create your own unique messages… Enjoy!

What to text a girl to start a conversation:

1. Hey cutie so random meeting you today….are you always so friendly to handsome strangers?

2. Hey… Is it too soon for casual text? I mean… I barely know you, maybe we should wait

3. So… what kinda trouble have you been causing since we met?

4. Lets skip straight to the important stuff… which do you prefer: pillow fights or bedtime stories?

How to text women to make them laugh:

When sending a text that could be misinterpreted as rude, mean, or negative, use emoticons or emojis so she knows you’re just joking around.

5. just made you pick up your phone for no reason…looks like I got you in check

6. The police are looking for a suspect described as sexy, funny, & phenomenal in bed. You’re safe but where can I hide?

7. water u doin … besides thinking about me and doodling hearts on a piece of paper?

8. Happy national hug a plumber day! (Use this site to find random and crazy holidays: holidayscalendar.com/categories/weird)

9. If we were stuck in an elevator together could I asked you a hypothetical question?

10. Those beautiful eyes, that amazing smile, those juicy lips, that awesome bod, so hot! But enough about me, what r u up to?

11. ur my new text message girlfriend for the next 5 minutes. In 5 minutes send: Aww now we’re broken up. Its not you its me. Was fun while it lasted. In another 5 minutes send: now I kinda miss you… I’ll do whatever it takes to get you back.

12. Let’s fly to Vegas, get married, argue about our third kid’s name, divorce, then grow old, lonely, and depressed. u in???

How to flirt over text:

13. You: You are so… Her: Awesome (or something similar) You: Wow, we even finish each others sentences. You make me feel like a pudgy, naked, winged child just shot an arrow into my chest cavity

14. Thinking of you…. and taking cold showers =D

15. On a scale of 1 to 10, how dirty is your mind?

16. You: Wanna have text? Her: Is that a sexual innuendo? You: Wow. That’s a big word. Let me grab my dick-tionary

How to ask a girl out over text:

17. Will you go out with me? (a) Yes (b) a (c) b

18. party. tomorrow night. mi casa. u in?

19. We’re gonna be at (place you want to meet) tomorrow. you and your friends should stop by

20. We could go on an amazing first date, have great conversation, share a deep connection, have lots of laughs, enjoy absurd amounts of flirting before I say goodbye and charmingly end the night with a soft kiss on your cheek. After that we’d both get too busy and never see each other again. Interested?

21. You: hola mi amor… This is Antonio *sexy voice* Her: ummm ok hello Antonio! You: Come over and I’ll make you Quesadillas. Then we can cuddle and watch Telemundo

No reply? Get her to respond:

If she doesn’t reply, wait a day then text her again. If she doesn’t respond to that, wait two days then text again. If still no response, wait three days. And so forth.

22. My bad… forgot to get back to you I was X X = something high value, incredibly fun, or hilarious

23. I’ve been distant lately… but don’t worry, first 3 rounds of couples therapy are on me

Random (Use as you see fit):

24. Snapple Fact: A one-minute kiss burns 27 calories 25. No texts after 2am…I get too many of those

This should be enough to get you started if you want to learn how to flirt with women. That’s all for now. I’ll see you on part 2 of this text message series.

#dating

1 note · View note

calenheniel · 4 years ago

Text

Queen of the Ashes, a frozen fanfic | Part VIII

Frozen | Alternate Universe | Hans x Elsa | Romance, Drama | T+

They meet as children, each with a secret. Plagued by tragedy, their paths cross again many years later, and their secrets are unraveled.

Follow updates: #QueenoftheAshesFrozen

Read below, or find links to AO3/FF.Net/Wattpad on my Tumblr.

Author’s Note: I didn't intend for this chapter to end up as long as it is, hence the delay in publishing as it required more editing. Further updates are also likely on a biweekly basis as I balance a tight work schedule with this (my true passion). Thanks all for your support and readership.

»»————-　❈　————-««

VIII.

The queen did not sleep well the evening after her conversations with the prince and her sister.

Once her public – and private – meetings with the prince had become common knowledge, even solitude was unbearable for her, and she instructed her steward to pack her schedule to the brim. At first, she managed to keep clear of both the prince and princess for a day or two, and push the inconvenient thoughts and feelings to the back of her mind.

But where purposeful avoidance had been her modus operandi for so many years, she now found it ill-suited to drown out the chorus of whispers, murmurs, and rumors which increasingly pursued her through every nook and cranny of the castle. By the end of the week, she had missed two or three meetings, and instead spent them pacing in her room until snow whipped around her in a blinding flurry.

Her attendance at social events likewise dropped off, as she found that she could not help but stare with undisguised longing at the prince and princess from the other end of dinner tables and large rooms. She was too fearful to approach them publicly, but also too ashamed of her own avoidance to speak with them.

Whenever the urge struck her to try, she was stopped in her tracks by her father’s mantra.

Don’t let it show.

It was not until she received a discreet note under her door one evening that the queen paused to reconsider her current course of action – or inaction, as it were – as the sudden appearance of the small, folded paper stirred her from her endless brooding.

She plucked it from the floor, opening it with bated breath.

I hope you’re okay. I miss you.

She recognized her sister’s flowery script immediately, and pressed the page flat atop her dresser, rereading those two short sentences until the words in them became distorted.

Her face red, she sat down with a thud upon her chair, and belatedly noticed that the snow she had involuntarily conjured was suspended in the air.

She blinked in wonder at the sight, having only seen it happen a few times before; and after glancing at the note again, the snow and ice which had previously stuck to every surface of her room began to disappear.

Her mouth went agape for a moment, and then for an entire minute.

What’s missing for you?

It closed again, and she exhaled.

I miss you.

»» —— ««

Galvanized with a strange sense of purpose, the queen was too excited to sleep, and greeted the morning sun with restless eyes just as it rose over the horizon.

She slipped on her signature blue gloves – defrosted and cleaned – and pressed her crown atop her plaited hair as the final touch before stepping out, walking at a measured pace to the other end of the hallway. Once there, she dismissed the guards nearby and knocked lightly on the door, swallowing the lump of uncertainty that was stuck in her throat.

No answer to her knock came for a few seconds, which then turned into minutes.

Holding her head high, she knocked again, rapping her fingers harder against the wooden door. When she was met with more silence, she sighed, her head lowering in resignation.

In the same moment, the door creaked open, and the groggy, disheveled features of the princess appeared from behind it, the younger woman’s eyes squinting through the sleep that blurred them.

“Who is i—Elsa?” she said, yawning halfway through her question. She blinked slowly. “What are you doing here?”

The queen reddened, looking down. “I’m sorry, I know it’s early. I should’ve come later, but I…” She paused, her lips twisting. “I got your note, and I wanted to speak with you, and—”

“It’s fine,” the princess cut her off. “Just come inside. It’s awkward talking out here.” She gestured for her older sister to enter the bedroom with a tired wave, and the queen complied after a moment of hesitation.

She regarded the room with wide eyes, having not seen its interior in many, many years. It was only a little smaller than her own and had much of the same furniture, with one noticeable difference.

“It’s all very pink, I know,” the princess drawled, rubbing her eyes as she leaned against a bedpost, crossing her arms. “I bet you’re surprised it’s not messier than it is.”

The queen’s nose wrinkled as she tried not to smile. “I suppose Gerda makes sure that the maids keep it tidy.”

The princess smirked. “That’s right. You know it would be a nightmare if I had to clean it myself—just look at the state of my hair!” She poked at the mess of red curls atop her head with a sigh, her white streak still visible at the front.

The sight of it caused the queen’s smile to fade, and at the sudden change in mood, her younger sister’s brow rose. “Anyway, what was it,” she began before yawning again, half-covering her mouth, “that you wanted to talk to me about?” She glanced at her bed, and at the dresser opposite. “Do you want to sit down?”

The queen drew her arms closer to her. “Oh, that’s all right. I don’t mind standing.”

The princess shrugged. “Suit yourself. As for me, I’m just gonna lay back down here for a minute.” She flopped back onto her bed, propping herself up on her elbows, and threw her older sister a questioning look.

“You’re really not going to sit?”

Her older sister’s arms dropped to her sides and she relented, coming over to sit delicately on the chair by the bed. The princess nodded and ran her hands through her hair, trying to smooth it down.

“Good. Now, where were we?”

The queen’s brows stitched together in thought, her fingers interlacing to match. She glanced up at the princess, and then down again.

“I… came here to apologize. For how I left things the other night,” she explained, “and for not talking to you since. I’m sorry.”

The princess blinked. “Oh,” she said softly, her hands dropping to her sides. “I wasn’t expecting you to say that.” At her sister’s remorseful expression, she clarified: “I mean, I’m happy that you’re saying it, of course, it’s just—it’s not like I was upset at you over what happened.”

The queen matched her younger sister’s wide-eyed look. “You weren’t?”

“I mean, I was a little annoyed, sure,” the princess admitted, “but it’s not like this is the first time you’ve ever ignored me, either. Sorry to say, but… I’m kinda used to it.” Swallowing at the small, guilty frown her sister wore, she continued: “It’s like I said that night: I didn’t hear what Hans said to you, but it looked like whatever he said – or did – really upset you, so I figured that you just needed some space afterwards, and tried not to take it personally. I told him the same thing.”

“You… told Hans that?”

“Yep,” the princess said, rubbing the remnants of sleep from her eyes. “He really wanted to talk to you the last couple of days, but I told him to wait until you came around.” Her forehead crinkled. “Of course, I thought you would’ve done that by now, but you haven’t, so…”

The queen frowned at the comment, and the princess looked sheepish. “Not that you had to do anything, obviously—I’m not saying that. The point is that I could tell he was coming on a little too strong that night, and probably scared you off. Right?”

The queen’s frown deepened. “He didn’t scare me,” she retorted, crossing her arms. “He just doesn’t know when to stop talking. Or what boundaries are. And…” She paused, her eyes downcast. “It’s been hard, with all the rumors.”

The princess patted her sister’s hand. “I know, and I’ve gotten my share of that, too,” she empathized. “I think he gets it, you know? How people see him, and how people see him with you. He knows that it isn’t easy for you.”

“Did he tell you that?” the queen asked, her brow rising.

“Yes, actually,” her sister replied. “But I’m not blind, Elsa. In fact, I’m pretty sure I would recognize sooner than him when you’re feeling upset. That’s why I slipped you that note.”

The queen smiled a little. “It did make me feel better.”

The princess smiled back. “I figured it would, or at least I hoped that it would. I just didn’t want you to feel like you were alone.”

Her older sister’s lip trembled at the statement, and said nothing.

They sat in silence for a beat until the princess broke it, her playful smirk returning. “You know, it’s kind of funny: when Hans is with me, he’s pretty laid-back and easygoing, but when it comes to you, he gets so… intense. I can see why you might need breaks from him.”

The queen’s nose twitched. “That’s one way to put it.” She paused. “Did he tell you anything about that day?”

The princess shook her head. “No, not really. He’s very private about his conversations with you.” She eyed the queen with interest, and noted: “You’re the same, in that way.”

“Well, there’s nothing to say,” her sister snapped, and then collected herself, pinching her eyes shut. “Sorry, that came out the wrong way. I just meant—whatever happened, it doesn’t matter. I shouldn’t have spoken to you, or ignored you, in the way that I did,” she continued, her tone contrite. “Or in the way that I have before.”

She stared at the princess. “He’s not the reason I’m here, Anna.”

“Isn’t he, though?”

The queen blinked. “What do you mean?”

“Let’s be honest, Elsa. Would you even be sitting here in front of me right now, apologizing like this, if Hans hadn’t shown up at your coronation two weeks ago?”

Her gaze narrowed. “I don’t understand what you’re getting at.”

“Just imagine what would’ve happened if he’d never written to us that he was coming,” the princess said, “if he never came to Arendelle, and never stayed in the castle with us. Would we have been able to be together like this?” A slow, patient smile broke out on her lips. “I thought for sure you would’ve snapped by now, with everything going on and all these new people around – it’s so different from what we’re used to – but you’ve actually been handling it all really well.”

The younger woman’s expression grew thoughtful. “I still don’t know or understand what happened, exactly, but it was like something woke up inside of you when he arrived. You just… turned into this totally different person overnight. Someone I haven’t seen since we were kids.”

The queen sat stock-still in the chair, her face pinking.

The princess waited for her to gather her wits, which she did—but only after the room had grown so silent as for the ticking of the clock to become audible in the background.

“It can’t be because of him,” said the queen, her surroundings coming back into focus. “He hasn’t—”

“Been here long enough to affect you like that?” the princess finished. “Yeah… I think you might’ve said something like that a few times already.”

The color in the queen’s cheeks darkened at the comment. “Because it’s the truth. You and I were talking and seeing each other more before all this, while preparing for the coronation over the last few weeks. Him being here has nothing to do with it.”

“Elsa,” the princess began with a sigh, “I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but all that ‘talking’ and ‘seeing’ we did before he showed up was mostly passing each other in the hallways, or me trying to have a conversation with you and you trying to get out of it.” She added in a more serious tone: “I know it’s hard to admit that he could be the reason it’s happening, but… I don’t think there’s any harm in doing so. It might even make you feel better.”

The queen scoffed. “I doubt that.”

The princess frowned. “Why is it so hard for you to believe that I could be right—that him being here is a good thing for us?”

The queen paused, looking away ruefully. “There are things that I wish I could tell you, Anna—things that are hard even for me to understand, or explain. Maybe one day, I’ll be able to do it. But right now…” She trailed off, looking at her gloved hands, and exhaled. “I have to figure it out on my own.”

“But that’s just the thing, Elsa: you don’t,” her sister pleaded, moving closer to her until she was on the edge of the bed. “You have me – and Hans – now. You don’t have to keep your distance anymore.”

The queen smiled sadly. “I know that—really, I do, Anna,” she replied, sounding tired. “But these things don’t happen overnight. You have to let me do them in my own time.”

The princess leaned back at the answer, her mouth twisting. “Thirteen years isn’t enough, huh? Fine. Take your time, then—as long as you need,” she snapped, “but don’t expect us to wait around for that to happen.”

Her older sister threw her a long, mournful look at the comment, but the princess ignored it, crossing her arms and glancing at the door.

“You can go, now. You probably have some work to attend to anyway, right?”

The queen’s hands, tense in her lap, crackled with anxious, cold energy—but she quickly clasped them together, her father’s words whipping across her thoughts like a harsh wind.

Don’t feel.

“I’ll see you later, Anna,” she said, her voice even and formal, and stood from her seat.

She paused once upright, staring at her sister one last time; when the princess refused to return the look, she finally turned and walked to the door, her fingers shaking as they made contact with the doorknob.

A small spark of ice alighted from them on the metal, and the sight caused her to swiftly open and close the door behind her in a panic, breathing unsteadily as she pressed her hands back at her sides.

Thirteen years isn’t enough, huh?

Tears welled in her eyes for a moment – but no longer than that – as the queen faced the endless corridor again, walking back towards the solitude of her bedchambers with heavy footsteps.

»» —— ««

The queen took her breakfast alone in her room later that same morning, declining to answer the curious look her servant had thrown her at the request.

Chastened by the discussion with her sister, she stared blankly at the food when it arrived. By the time she managed to eat a bit of her scrambled eggs, they were already cold; after several more disappointing bites followed in the same fashion, she pushed the plate away, feeling ill, her fingers tapping along her desk.

Trails of ice followed them until the edge of the wood was fairly frosted over, interrupted only by the knock and subsequent entry of the steward.

Her hand snapped back to her lap as she greeted him with indifference. “What is it?”

“You asked me to remind you a few days ago when our guests would start departing,” he said, not meeting her cold stare. “This is the reminder, Your Majesty.”

Guilt stung at her when she noticed his lowered eyes. “Ah, yes,” she said in a gentler way, rising from her desk. “I’m ready. They’re in the throne room, I take it?”

He nodded, finally looking at her. “Yes, Your Majesty.” He handed her a note. “Here is the list of the ones leaving today, for your reference.”

She came to stand at his side, forcing a smile onto her lips, and took the note from him. After scanning it quickly, she handed it back to him, and nodded towards the door.

“Let’s go, then.”

The steward bowed and followed her lead as she walked out, keeping a respectful distance between them, and in a few minutes they arrived in the throne room. A hush fell over the chattering queue as the queen took up her position at the front of it, standing a step above ground level by her throne.

Her smile was still in place even as she noted the looks of apprehension that some of the visitors leveled at her, and she motioned for the first diplomat to approach.

“Queen Elsa,” the Spanish ambassador began, bowing, “it’s been a true honor to stay with you over the last two weeks. We look forward to continuing discussions over the terms of the trade agreements with you and your council in the coming months, and in the meanwhile, I hope you will pay us a visit soon.”

His smile was as smooth as his speech, and she returned it with a strained version of her own. “Thank you, Ambassador. I hope so as well. I bid you farewell and a safe return journey home. Please pass on my regards to Their Majesties.”

He bowed again, moving to kiss her hand out of habit—but, seeing her gloved hands firmly clasped together in front of her, he merely nodded and was escorted out with his retinue.

She hid a frown as the next man came forward, bowing and beginning in a similar way.

“Your Majesty, thank you kindly for your hospitality and generosity in hosting my countrymen and I. We are only sorry that we could not stay longer to see the fireworks this evening, for I am sure they will be spectacular…”

As he droned on, the queen’s attention drifted back to the conversation with her sister.

Why is it so hard for you to believe that I could be right?

Her well-practiced smile dipped, hearing the princess’s voice echo in the room as clearly as it had that morning. The sound drowned out all others.

…that him being here is a good thing for us?

Her lips curled reflexively, causing the man in front of her to blink in surprise.

“Your Majesty? Have I said something—”

Take your time, then, as long as you need—but don’t expect us to wait around for that to happen.

“No, not at all,” she interrupted, her hands sweating inside of her gloves. Her cheeks were hot as she realized the line had grown shorter in her distraction, and she did not recognize the diplomat and his family who stared back at her. “I just—I have to go. I’m sorry.”

“But Your Majesty—”

The protest was no sooner heard than it was forgotten by the queen, who stepped down and walked away from the scene as if held in thrall by a spell of somnambulation. She did not manage even a parting nod or curtsy on her way out, nor did she pay heed to the offended grumblings and whispers of the snubbed nobles and their entourages still waiting to be received.

The alarmed expression of her steward was similarly ignored as she drifted towards the exit, her fingers twitching as her body perspired.

Conceal. Don’t feel.

The words grated on her as she passed through the long hallways and up endless stairways, and she pressed her hands to her ears, wincing.

Don’t let it show.

“Stop it,” she hissed, panting. Seeing the confused look a guardsman shot her, she realized she was already in front of her bedroom door, and reddened.

“You can go, Haakon.”

The older man’s brow furrowed. “But—”

“Please,” she said sharply, her teeth baring with the request. “I won’t ask again.”

He bowed and left his queen, who watched until he turned the corner to burst back into her room in a flurry of uninhibited wind and snow, the doors rattling shut behind her.

She breathed in great gasps and swallows of cold air, trying to calm herself down; at length, the wind quieted to a soft hum, though the snow remained intact.

The queen grimaced at the sight, and attempted to turn her thoughts back to the rest of her schedule for the day, the endless council meetings that awaited her, the books left on her reading list, or anything at all that wasn’t related to her furniture and shelves and window and carpet, all kissed by winter.

But nothing dispelled the chill in her heart, and as she sat upon her snow-dusted bed, she watched with resignation as ice crawled out from under her tired feet and hands and coated the peaks of snow piles.

»» —— ««

She kept to her quarters through lunch, refusing even a tray of food to be brought to her, croaking through the door that the steward should inform her expectant visitors that she was unwell and should not be disturbed.

One effort after the other to occupy herself failed miserably, and she was left either to pace in wide, furious circles, or to wallow on her mattress, her clothes, hair, and hands long since soaked through with sweat.

Every so often, she would pause by the window to watch the guests as they walked through the gates to the docks, boarding their ships, and sailing away. As they faded into the distance over the horizon line, she would return to her pacing, and another crackle of ice would crawl along the floor.

When the call for the final dinner of her coronation celebrations came, she dismissed it, ignoring the pleas from the steward and her maidservant. The queen gathered from their pleas that the guests had, by then, heard of her erratic display in the morning, and were displeased by her long absence since.

In contrast to her usual embarrassment upon hearing such news, however, she was utterly apathetic to it, and stared with a mix of fascination and dread as her ice coated the door, threatening to freeze over the handle and trap her inside.

She had not experienced her powers in such an uncontrollable state since she was a teenager, after learning of the death of her parents. Even then, she had had a measure of restraint in curbing the spread of the ice from going under her door, so that her sister would not catch a glimpse of it on the other side.

At present, she had no idea if the ice remained contained within her room, or if it had crept out into the hallway beyond. Although a part of her wanted to pretend that she did not care if it had, and accept the consequences of her secret being discovered, the sound of the door handle rattling as the ice drew closer caused a twinge of instinctive panic to run through her.

Don’t let it show.

She rose from her bed with a start, a wild look in her eyes as she cleared a footpath through the snow to the door with a burst of icy wind, and then cracked it open, peering into the hallway to make sure she was alone.

Conceal.

Still drenched from sweat, the queen dragged the hem of her dress along the ground as she broke out into a half-jog, her thoughts jumbling to the point that she did not know where one ended and another began.

Don’t feel.

She winced whenever she reached a corner, looking over her shoulder to check for any unfriendly eyes that might witness her frenzied state. However, when she remembered that all of the guests were out on the lawn waiting for the fireworks to begin, she slowed to a brisk walk, becoming less careful in her wanderings and even grabbing a candelabra off the wall to help light her way.

After some time had passed – how much, she could not tell – she came to a stop in front of a tall, dark door, her breathing short and quick.

Conceal.

It was her father’s voice that had said it, it seemed, and she blinked, staring uncomprehendingly at the door.

“The study,” she drawled, her left hand absently slipping into the pocket of her dress. It pulled out her keyring a moment later, still moist to the touch, and she held it up at eye level, fingering through the keys until she reached the one desired. She slid it into the keyhole of the door without so much as a jingle echoing in the hall, and entered the dark room just as discreetly.

Inside, the queen peered into the darkness, eyeing the familiar trappings of her father’s private chambers without her customary hesitation. She rifled through the papers on her father’s desk, creating creases and tears and piles on the floor as she went; took off and examined old, dusty swords from the walls, then sent them clattering to the ground; and pulled out every drawer from every table in sight, allowing them to topple over when she deemed them useless.

Finally, she turned her attention to the floor-to-ceiling bookshelves, and to these she paid greater reverence, merely brushing her hand along the spines. She squinted at their titles, blowing off dust from the oldest tomes in order to make their text legible.

At times, she would remove one from the shelf, and gently peruse its contents—only to put it back in place after a few minutes, increasingly dissatisfied and anxious.

Don’t feel.

“I know, Papa!” the queen snapped at the empty air; several snowflakes followed the echoes of her voice. She sighed, tucking strands of her matted blonde hair behind her ears. “Let me alone. Please.”

The air became still again, and she resumed her search.

As the minutes dragged on and she grew no closer to discovering what she sought, she leaned her head against the shelf in defeat, her body slumping down until she was sitting on the floor, staring up at her grandfather’s portrait through the flames of the candelabra on the desk.

“There’s no use for it,” she murmured, closing her eyes. “I will never be free of it. Papa, Mama, I’m sor—”

Her back suddenly prickled at the sensation of a book pressing against it, and then sliding backwards into the shelf. Her eyes reopened, glancing behind her; shuffling to the side, she rubbed the small of her back with one hand, and pulled out the offending book with the other.

It was thicker in size than the ones around it, and its color a deep red that stood out even in the darkness of her shadow. She propped the book up on her knees, staring with surprise as she realized that, even with her many years of language studies, she could not fully translate the cover text comprised of ancient runes.

Opening the book, she found that everything was written in the same archaic script, and she frowned as she skimmed the pages, only able to make out basic words and phrases. There were a few illustrations included, mostly of natural landscapes. She came to recognize some as ancient maps of her kingdom, wondering at the images of old forests and lizard-shaped fire spirits that no longer inhabited her world.

At length, she came across a picture that provoked her to gasp, her heartbeat slowing to one, long thump.

It was an illustration of an old king lying prone upon a stone slab, his red cape draped over the side and his eyes closed. A small, dark, menacing creature stood behind him with yellow eyes, its strange hands lifted over the king’s body as if in incantation. Smoke billowed out from the king’s forehead and joined a foreboding cloud or aurora borealis above them of green and blue and purple, framed on either side by tall, black, leafless trees.

“Anna,” the queen whispered, still breathless. Her eyes darted all over the page and its accompanying text, and she rose from her seat, laying the book flat atop the mess of papers she had created on her father’s desk.

As she scrabbled and splayed her hands across the pages, another paper slid out from behind the picture—and as she retrieved and unfolded it, the sight within caused a small smile to break out on her lips, her throat choking on a triumphant laugh.

She barely kept her trembling hands from tearing the page in two.

“I—” she said, her breathing quickening, “I have to tell him.”

Without hesitation, the queen refolded it and tucked it into the book to mark the location of the illustration, pressing the tome under her arm as she grabbed the candelabra with her other hand, and fled the room.

»» —— ««

The queen stood in front of the prince’s door, out of breath, her hand raised to knock on it—and then withdrew it to her side, struck by the thought that she had no idea if he was even inside.

Embarrassed, she took a step back, and then another; when her foot moved backwards for a third time, she bumped into the door behind her with an audible thunk from the heavy book under her arm, and she jumped at the sound.

His door opened in the next moment, and his eyes widened upon seeing her.

“Elsa?”

She swallowed, turning halfway towards the hallway. “I’m sorry, I was just going—”

“No—please, don’t,” he said, and opened his door wider. “Do you want to come in?”

She stared with trepidation at the dimly-lit interior, her eyes darting between it and the empty hallway to her right. Eventually, her posture sank a little, bowing her head as she entered.

Inside, his quarters looked like any of the other guest rooms of the castle: a mixture of light and dark blue bedsheets and rugs, and plain white furnishings and walls otherwise. She looked around with a touch of the same interest she had at her sister’s room that morning, noting that the décor had hardly changed since the prince’s first visit to her country, when he was still a child.

The notion caused her face to pale.

“Are you all right, Elsa?”

Startled by his voice, she whipped around to face him, nearly dropping the book. “I—I’m fine.”

“You don’t look fine,” he remarked, drawing closer and inspecting her disheveled, sweat-licked features. “What happened?” He glanced at the book. “And what is that?”

Her mouth grew dry. “It’s nothing,” she mumbled. “I really shouldn’t be here.”

“It can’t be ‘nothing’ if you’ve come to see me, alone, in this state,” he countered, his brow rising.

Another drop of perspiration beaded on her forehead. “Shouldn’t you be out with the others?” she asked, glancing behind him at the window. The first firecracker had just been released, whistling through the sky and popping, causing her to wince. “What are you doing here?”

“I’ve never liked fireworks—they’re too loud,” he replied, and crossed his arms. “You’re trying to change the subject. Why?”

She grimaced as the weight of the book seemed to drag her entire body down. “I’m—” she paused, and sighed shakily as she held it towards him. “I didn’t know who else to talk to about this.”

He took it from her gently, examining the spine and cover. “Younger Futhark,” he said, his fingers tracing the embossed runes.

She blinked. “You can read it?”

He shrugged. “Not well. I assume it was the same for you?”

“Yes. I only managed a few words here and there, but…”

She trailed off as she watched the prince find her bookmarked page, his eyes wide – and then intent – as they stared at the same illustration that had taken her breath away only a few minutes earlier.

“Is this…?”

“Yes,” she replied, and pointed to the loose paper tucked in the centerfold. “I found that behind the picture.” As he opened it, she explained: “I think it’s the map my father used to find the Valley of the Living Rock, where the trolls live. The ones that changed Anna’s memories.”

He studied the picture, map, and runes for a time, and then turned to her. “Where did you find this, Elsa?”

“My father’s study. It was tucked away on a bottom shelf, out of plain sight. I only found it by accident.”

“And what were you doing in there?” he asked. “It didn’t seem like a place you spend much time in, the last time we spoke in that room.”

Some color returned to her cheeks as she frowned. “It’s not, but—” Ice pricked at her fingertips, damp and bare, and she closed her hands into fists. “Between our last conversation, and everyone talking about us afterwards, and then this morning, when I upset Anna by accident… I haven’t been able to control it, Hans,” she confessed, her voice dropping to a whisper as snowflakes began to fall around her. “It’s just getting worse and worse, and I keep pushing everyone away.”

The queen’s gaze alighted on the tome with renewed determination. “I thought that maybe I could find something in the study that could help me. And I did, in this book.” She plucked the map from him, holding it up. “With this, I can go back to the Valley, and tell the trolls what’s happened. If they changed Anna’s memories, then surely their magic must be powerful, and they could even help rid me of mine.”

The prince’s expression became unreadable. “Then… what’s stopping you, Elsa? Why come here, instead of going straight into the mountains?”

Conceal.

Her mouth went limp. “I—I just…”

“I’m sorry that I’ve made things difficult for you—truly, I am,” he continued. “I never intended to cause you this kind of distress or pain. And I can assure you that no matter how upset Anna seemed with you this morning, she would forgive your trespasses, because she loves you.”

He paused. “But none of this justifies what you’re planning on doing.”

The queen’s jaw tightened. “How can you say that? If you really understood how ‘difficult’ things are for me here, you would be offering to take me to the Valley yourself.”

He frowned. “If they couldn’t take your powers away the first time, what makes you think they can now? Or that they would?”

“It’s worth trying, anyway,” she said, flustered. She gestured at the snow, which fell interminably. “Anything is better than this.”

“I’m just asking you to think about it, Elsa,” he implored. “Did they help Anna by altering her memories? Did they make your life easier, or better, by leaving yours intact?” His frown relaxed as his tone grew gentler. “Don’t you ever think they might have left you with your powers, and your memories, for a reason?”

She was struck silent by the questions, and looked down, her lips pressing into a thin line.

Don’t feel.

He stepped closer until he was just hovering over her. “Even if it somehow all worked,” he said softly, tipping her chin up to meet his gaze, “don’t you understand what it would mean?”

He tilted his head towards the window, where one firecracker after the other exploded into shades of red and green and pink against the night sky, the applause and “ooh’s” and “aah’s” from the crowd audible from inside the room.

“You’d be just like everyone else.”

She slapped his hand away from her face, pushing him back as her eyes sparked with rage. “And that’s all I’ve ever wanted,” she snapped, her ice streaking out from under her in jagged lines along the floors. “To be like them—to be normal.”

He watched the ice warily, shaking his head. “You just think that’s what you want, because you’ve never been allowed to see your powers as anything but a curse.”

Don’t let it show.

“You don’t know anything!” she cried, snow whipping around her in a furious squall. “You could never understand what this has been like for me—what I’ve done, or what I am capable of, still. You say you’re not afraid, but I can see it plainly right now, in the way you’re looking at me—”

“I’m not, Elsa,” he insisted, and drew closer to the queen, even as her ice began to surround her in thick, tall walls. “If you would just stop this, and listen—”

She thrust her hands out in front of her to keep him away, and her ice followed the movement, shooting out towards the prince in spikes as sharp as knives.

She screamed at the sight, clutching her hands back to her chest and closing her eyes, her chest heavy with terror; but in the same instant, the ice that surrounded her was obliterated, and she was blown back onto the floor by an powerful, pulsating hot wind.

The queen saw black for a moment, her head lolling on the carpet.

“Elsa.”

It was a voice she knew, but it was distant, calling to her as if from across an ocean of fire.

“Elsa.”

It was closer, then—close enough that she knew it was the prince’s voice, and not her father’s, as she groaned, sweat dripping from every pore of her body. She opened one eye, and then another, with herculean effort, propping herself up on her elbows.

She squinted through a haze of dark shapes, feeling the same hot wind as before sweep across her skin, and the scent of burning wood enter her nostrils.

“Smoke,” she murmured to herself as the room came into focus, her eyes widening.

The ice and snow she had conjured were all melting, as if the sun had just returned after a long winter, and she scrambled up until her palms were on the floor, keeping her steady.

“But how—”

“Elsa.”

Her head shot up and found the prince standing in the center of the room, wreathed in flames.

She watched with her mouth agape as his hand reached forward and retracted the fire and smoke through his outstretched hand, standing calm and still all the while. When they were gone, no part of him seemed harmed, for not even a single hair on his head or thread of his clothing was singed—nor was there a single sear or mark upon the walls or furniture in the room.

He approached her with that same, quiet force, crouching down to her level once he was only a few feet from her.

She recoiled from his nearness, pressing herself up against the wall by the door, her knees instinctively curling in towards her stomach. Sweat still beaded on her skin and trickled down her neck in long lines, disappearing below the collar of her dress, and her mind raced.

“I—I knew it,” she stammered, her lip trembling. “It was you, wasn’t it? The boy from the story.”

“Yes, it was.”

She shook her head, her features growing wan from shock and horror. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

The prince paused. “I thought I was waiting until I had gained your trust, but I can see, now, that it was the other way around.” He grimaced. “To be honest, I didn’t think there was ever going to be a good time to tell you. So I didn’t.”

The queen’s mouth contorted as she swallowed bile. “Because you killed them—your father, your brothers,” she rasped, licking her lips. “Those were no accidents.”

His brow furrowed. “No, they weren’t; not all of them, anyway. But I can explain—”

“Explain what, Hans? Regicide? Fratricide?” She dragged herself up from the floor to stand, scowling darkly at the prince. “There is no defense for murder, whatever your reasons might be.”

His gaze narrowed at the queen as he stood. “You say that without knowing anything about it—and isn’t that exactly what you’ve been accusing me of, all this time? Judgment without understanding?”

Her ire swelled, though she was too exhausted to summon even a single snowflake as she struggled to stay upright. “Don’t try to turn this on me,” she spat, seething. “You’ve committed criminal acts for which you should be—”

“What—tried? Convicted? Hanged?” he finished. “I showed those bastards mercy with a death by fire, compared to what I endured at their hands.”

“Immolation is ‘mercy’ to you, Hans?” she asked, and shuddered. “How can I believe you, after seeing this? You’ve been lying to me since the first moment you stepped foot in Arendelle, fifteen years ago.”

He grew quiet at the accusation, his hands clenching at his sides; then, they reached up and began to untie his cravat and unbutton the top of his shirt.

The queen flushed. “What are you—”

The prince parted his collar to reveal a deep black scar on his skin—a scar, she realized, which continued down his chest as he undid one button after the other.

He paused a few inches above his lower ribs, and his hands dropped back to his sides. “It goes all the way down to my navel,” he said at length. “One of my oldest brothers, Antoni, snuck up on me while I was asleep and pressed a hot poker against my chest. He said I shouldn’t feel any pain, since I was a demon sent from Hell.”

His hand hovered over the scar, but did not touch it. “As it turned out, I did feel pain – tremendous pain, actually – which came as a surprise to me, but not to him. After all, what did I know, at ten years old? Maybe I was a demon.”

A rueful smile played on his lips.

“Though it was hard to imagine Hell being any worse than the Southern Isles.”

#helsa #QueenoftheAshesFrozen #frozen #frozen fanfiction

8 notes · View notes