#and i’m over here like ‘haha gal pals!’ | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

sukifans · 4 years ago

Note

aahhh I’m so excited I love your writing!!! your sokka “help me” fic is one of my favs ever I seriously think about it at least twice a week. in a similar vein, would you be able to combine prompts 10 & 12 for sokka x fem!reader? thank you!!! :)

SOKKA + “can i try that new chapstick? i wanna have a taste” + “i hadn’t noticed but my sweet, funny, goofy best friend is kind of hot, especially since they’ve been on this fitness kick”

⇦ 𝘔𝘈𝘚𝘛𝘌𝘙𝘓𝘐𝘚𝘛

“nastiest skank bitches” Group Message

loml: ladies, i need a girls night

loml: desperately

babygorl: god i’m down, this semester blows

fugly slut <3: i’m in!! always here for a girls night 🥰

loml: y/n??

you: gals. pals. as much as i would love to...

fugly slut <3: ughhhhhhhhh

babygorl: you better not be blowing us off for sokka again istg

you: 😅

loml: TRAITOR BITCH

fugly slut <3: HOES BEFORE BROS

babygorl: WHORE

you: bruh.mp3

you: he’s coming by after the gym to help me with my physics homework!!! I NEED THE HELP PLS I PROMISE ILL BE THERE NEXT TIME

babygorl: lying is a sin y/n

babygorl: sinner

loml: if sokka’s gonna b there maybe she’ll be sinning in........ other ways...... ahaha

loml: fuckboy_emoji.jpg

fugly slut <3: when you gonna tap that fr

you: NEVER LITERALLY NO EW

you: HE’S MY BEST FRIEND

you: UNLIKE YOU RATS

fugly slut <3: he do b kinda yummy tho liiiike 👀

you: STOP

loml: yeah he’s hot sorry queen

you: HE’S NOT HOT

babygorl: i almost hate to admit it but...

babygorl: his biceps 🥴

fugly slut <3 emphasized “his biceps 🥴”

loml loved “his biceps 🥴”

you: hey! i hate u guys! jsyk!

fugly slut <3 disliked “hey! i hate u guys! jsyk!”

babygorl disliked “hey! i hate u guys! jsyk!”

loml disliked “hey! i hate u guys! jsyk!”

babygorl: uh huh yeah sure

loml: yall hear sumn?

NEW MESSAGE from sokka :^)

“hey i’m omw up!”

you: whatever you guys suck

you: i gtg

fugly slut <3: AND YOU SWALLOW

babygorl: bye girly!! get that bestie dick!!

loml: save a car, ride an engineering major >:)

you: desgostang.jpg

You dropped your phone onto the bed next to you with a groan. Your friends really and truly could be such freaks about your relationship with Sokka—or lack thereof. They’d been especially adament ever since he started some stupid bet with Zuko about who could get the most “gains” by graduation, incited by Aang making the mistake of commenting on Zuko’s more pronounced muscle mass.

Idiots.

That’s what Sokka was. Your idiotic best friend, who was funny, and sweet, and intelligent. You loved him, of course, but not like that. And he was not hot.

Definitely not.

The pounding on your dorm door interrupted your musings before Sokka let himself in, dropping his gym bag on the floor and kicking off his slides. His hair was loose and still damp from his post-workout shower and he wore slim joggers with a loose muscle tee.

“Hey!” He smiled brightly when he spotted you sitting in your bed. “What’s up?”

“The usual.” You moved your legs out of the way so he could flop down onto your mattress. “How was the gym?”

Sokka groaned. “Cardio. I’m already sore.” He stretched his arms up to fold behind his head, pulling his muscles taut.

Hm. He does kind of have nice biceps...

You shook yourself internally. Thoughts like these had been creeping out of your subconscious for weeks now, no thanks to your rabid friends.

“My leg’s been killing me, though,” he continued, rubbing his opposite foot across the skin that covered that metal pins and plates holding his bones together after a nasty break in high school. The leg often still gave him problems, ranging from the dull ache he could ignore on the day-to-day, to throbbing pain that left him limping.

You frowned, looking away from his arms to meet his eyes. “You should probably rest up before you hurt yourself,” you said.

“I’ll be fine.” He shrugged and propped himself up on his elbows. “Gotta catch up to Zuko, y’know.”

“Why? You’re already taller than him.”

“So? I wanna be more yolked, too.”

You rolled your eyes. “Buncha dumbasses.”

Sokka quirked an eyebrow. “You want this dumbass to help with your physics homework or not?”

“Haha,” you chuckled nervously, “just kidding, buddy! I meant Zuko and Aang. You—definitely not a dumbass. Nope.”

“That’s what I thought.” He shot you a smug look as he pushed up to sit cross-legged across from you on the bed. He held his hand out with a dramatic, world-weary sigh. “Alright, give it here.”

You opened your laptop to pull up the website that hosted your homework practice problems. “You know I love you, right?”

“Mhm,” he hummed, grabbing a notebook and pen from your desk to work out the math as you handed over the computer. He paused before standing to retrieve his bag, plopping it on your desk chair so he could root through it and pull out his glasses case. You felt your cheeks warm a little when he set the frames on the bridge of his nose.

Fine—he was kinda cute. You could concede that without having to dig too deep into your somewhat jumbled feelings for your best friend.

But you would certainly not “tap that.”

Well...

No. You would not.

You watched his eyes flick over the screen as he tapped the pen against his chin, catching the cap between his teeth while he thought about the formulas he’d learned in a past semester. He nodded to himself and started scribbling out a diagram and the math to go with it. You found yourself a little mesmerized by the way he simply just knew what to do, confidently scratching away at the paper as easily as one might write the alphabet. Your eyes trailed from his long fingers and calloused hand sweeping over the page, up his toned arm (lingering on his bicep a little longer), and to his face. He chewed at the inside of his cheek in concentration, sometimes parting his lips to murmur the logic to himself.

For someone who often said a lot of stupid shit, he sure had a pretty mouth.

You considered what he might do if you snatched a fistful of his shirt and yanked him into a kiss. Would he shove you away and leave? Awkwardly but kindly reject you? Or, would he kiss you back—throw the work out of the way and grab your face to coax you in deeper? Maybe push you back onto the bed and—

“Okay, so basically—”

Jesus Christ, get a fucking grip.

“—from the problem and draw it out like this to apply the formula, yeah?”

Sokka looked to you expectantly and you blinked at him as your face burned. “Sorry, I zoned out. What did you say?”

“C’mon, I know you hate physics but you gotta at least pay attention to me if you wanna pass,” he teased, shifting close enough that the sides of your bodies pressed together. Was it getting warmer in your room, or was it just your best friend?

He launched into the explanation again and you nodded along while internally willing the blood to leave your cheeks. Even as your thoughts ricocheted around inside your skull he managed to break it down in a way that somewhat made sense. He sat back and watched as you slowly worked through the next problem. You glanced up when you heard a soft pop to see him applying chapstick.

“Is that a new flavor?” you asked.

“Yeah, chocolate orange or something.” He held the tube out to you. “Wanna try?”

Fuck it.

Before your rationality could catch up you pressed a hand to his cheek to turn his head and pulled him in for a kiss. Your lips only slotted together for a brief moment before you pulled back to stare wide-eyed at each other. You could feel the fire creeping from your cheeks down your neck, mirrored in the reddening of his tanned skin.

He blinked. You blinked.

The chapstick slipped from between his fingers. Rationality arrived late.

You bolted.

“Uh, see ya later!” you shouted as you threw the door open and rushed out of the room.

“Wait, (Y/N)—“

You didn’t stick around to hear the end of his desperate call. Even thought it was your dorm and you were barefoot you still raced down the hall, wincing at the sound of a door slamming behind you.

“(Y/N)!”

Damn that lanky bastard. You were booking it and he was already hot on your heels. You barreled into the door leading to the stairwell and almost made it down the first step when he grabbed you around the waist and yanked you back. Despite your struggles, the arm hooked across your middle was unyielding until he pushed you into the corner and crowded you against the wall, hands caging you in from either side. Your heart was racing and you weren’t sure if it was because of your escape attempt or that he was close enough you could smell his body wash and deodorant. It was almost enough to make your head spin.

“Sokka, I-I don’t know why—I’m sorry, please, I shouldn’t’ve—“

“(Y/N),” he said firmly and your mouth snapped shut. “Why did you run away?”

“Uh, I—well, um...” You shrunk down against the wall and swallowed hard. “I-I don’t know.”

“You didn’t even give me a chance to respond.”

“Look—“ You paused and stared at him once you processed what he said. “What?”

He laughed, dropping one of his hands to brush against your cheek before threading into your hair to cup the base of your skull. “You really don’t get it, do you?”

“Get what?”

With that he surged forwards and kissed you enthusiastically, making you gasp into his mouth. You balled your hands into the front of his shirt to keep yourself steady as you melted into him. His free hand pressed into your lower back to bring you in closer. His tongue slipped out to tease at your bottom lip and he chuckled when you had to quickly grab his shoulders as your knees almost buckled.

“Get that,” he murmured against your lips, pressing his forehead to yours as the two of you gasped for air.

“Oh,” you breathed, “that.” You hummed happily when he kissed you again, his stubble scratching against your chin and under your palms when you cupped his face.

You both looked up when a stairwell door somewhere above you slammed open, followed by a group of jostling male voices. Sokka grinned when you glanced at him with wide eyes and shiny, swollen lips. You tried to hide behind him as the clamor bounded closer and closer. The group of guys rounded the next flight and gave shouts of recognition upon seeing you two standing against the wall.

“Sokka!”

“Hey, man!”

“Hey, guys,” Sokka said, holding his hand up in greeting.

“What’s up?”

“Oh, is that (Y/N)?”

“Nice, dude!”

“Ah, yeah...” He sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck and you raised an eyebrow at his turned head. They all cheered and congratulated him, slapping his back as they passed and disappeared down the next set of stairs. When Sokka met your eyes again you cocked your head.

“Who were they?” you asked.

“Honestly, I’m not sure.”

“Sokka.”

“My reputation precedes me, what can I say?”

“Mine doesn’t.”

“Well—“ he suddenly became very interested in the underside of the stairs above you “—my reputation may or may not involve talking about you. A lot, apparently.”

“Huh?”

“I don’t do it on purpose!” he interjected quickly, taking your hands in his. “It’s just—I dunno, I guess I think about you a lot, so...”

“Oh.”

“Fuck, okay, that sounded weird.” You laughed a little at his embarrassed floundering. “I just mean, like, things that remind me of you or, y’know, stories that involve you...” he trailed off, flushing at your amused smile. “Stop it!”

“Stop what?”

“Making fun of me!”

“I didn’t say anything,” you giggled, hooking your arms around his neck.

“You’re still laughing at me,” he whined, lips turning into a frown. His hands slipped back down to your waist.

“You’re cute.”

He raised his eyebrows. “Yeah?”

“Yeah.” Without preamble, he ducked down and hoisted you over his shoulder as you shrieked in protest. “Sokka! Put me down!”

“No can do, baby; we have unfinished business to attend to.” He said as he marched you back in the direction of your room.

“You’re gonna finish my physics homework?”

“Nope.”

Oh.

A/N: 2k words bc, again, i have no self control. thank you for the request!

ATLA TAGS: @hotgirlazula @octophopi @blazedbakugou @protect-remus @akiris @sunflowerazula @wooscottoncandyhair @chewymoustachio @ohno-caroline @sunflowerr-mami @1vitamin @ladylizzieofdarbyshire @u-4iia @nymeria-targaryen @tommy-braccoli @dizzy-miss-lizzieeeeee @a-sloppy-bitch @nomin-rights @siriuslyslyslytherin @starryncn

SOKKA TAGS: @fiantomartell @avatarayeaye @zvkta @sher-lockedmarvel @grandmascottlang @captainshazamerica @yuesallura

#sokka x reader #sokka x you #sokka x y/n #x sokka #sokka fluff #sokka imagine #sokka fic #atla sokka #atla x reader #sokka #mine #requests #atla fic #avatar the last airbender

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littlemisslol-fic · 3 years ago

Text

The Silent Opera

Chapter Seven: Fighting with the Melody

Summary: In a world populated by Soulmates— people drawn together by wordless music connecting them to their destined other half— Varian is an anomaly. He is Songless, someone without a Soulmate of his own. He makes due with the cards dealt to him, used to being the castle oddity by now, but when an interesting blond takes up residence in the castle, he can’t help but be drawn to him.

Hugo, on the other hand, is horrified to find that not only is his Soulmate a palace brat, but that Varian doesn’t hear him back— meaning Hugo is trapped in a one-sided bond. When presented with a horrible choice between completing the theft Donella had sent him to do, or taking a frightening step into vulnerability, Hugo finds himself at an impasse he just might not be able to charm his way out of.

And then politics get involved.

Notes: Howdy everyone! It's Wednesday again, and you know what that means! HUGO'S MAN PAIN LETS GOOOO

jk jk but this boyo's got some issues and he's gotta sort them out .____. gotta love debilitating self loathing, huh?

AND guys, gals, and GNC pals, we have more fanart!! A brand new one from notapeaceful duck (bless u duckie, you keep me going) over here, and the other from babieshowclown over here, which has such beautiful colours!! I love both of these so much, they made me tear up 🥺🥺 it means a lot that you guys like this fic that much!!

“Tonight’s going to be awful, isn’t it?”

Hugo snorts, idly playing with a pencil. “What makes you say that?” he asks, balancing the pencil lengthwise on his finger. When he manages the trick he flicks it, trying to spin the pencil and instead launching it across the table. Varian yelps as it hits him square in the forehead, hands flying to try and block only to fail miserably.

“What the fuck—?” he snaps, glaring at Hugo. The blond grins sheepishly, shrugging before grabbing another pencil. Varian’s got half a mind to stop him, but eventually elects to sigh and look back down to his notes. He’s known Hugo long enough to know that the second he tries, the blond will just double down. He taps at his lower lip with his pen, looking at his notes again.

Hugo starts balancing another pencil, side-eyeing Varian as he does so. “C’mon, spill,” he wheedles. “Why’s tonight going to suck? Don’t you get to go to your fancy-schmancy party? Eat caviar and truffles or whatever?”

Varian huffs a laugh, shaking his head. “Nah,” he sighs, “it’s not really a party so much as it is a great big event for Freddy to flex how much money he has. It’s to show how profitable Corona is as an ally. Usually they’re not bad, or at least I’m not expected to be around much, so I just show up for the speeches and then hide down here.”

Hugo purses his lips, now trying to balance the pencil on the eraser end. “Not this time, I assume?”

“Not so much, no.”

Hugo keeps trying to balance his pencil, his hand wavering as it moves. “Why don’t you just skip?” The pencil almost falls, but he just manages to keep it up and center it once more. Nice.

Varian sighs as he stands, shaking out his hands. “Remember when I said that we’re keeping the, uh, the thing quiet?”

“You mean you and the ponce? I remember, yes.”

The shorter teenager winces. Varian wanders to the table where the beanstalks are, avoiding eye contact. He grabs a spray bottle full of water and starts to mist their plants, making sure each one gets enough. “Right. Well, this is when Landis and I are supposed to… you know. Start appearing together. So that the quote-unquote proposal is less out of the blue to the general public. Appearances, you know?”

“Haha, gross.”

Varian nearly throws the spray bottle—no, no, Rapunzel had said to play nice. Instead, he opts to put it down before the temptation becomes too great. “Yeah,” he quietly admits. “Gross.”

The lab goes quiet, just for a second, before Hugo speaks up again. “Are you sure you don’t want me to make Landis have an unfortunate accident before tonight?”

That does it. Varian bursts out into laughter, shaking his head. “Don’t you dare,” he says.

“What if it would be really funny?”

“Not even then!”

Hugo grabs his pencil, pointing it at Varian and closing one eye to line it up. “Aye aye, captain goggles,” he agrees. “No fun allowed, got it.”

Varian rolls his eyes, electing instead to toss a nearby trowel towards Hugo. The blond catches it, arching a brow.

“Come help me with our kids,” the alchemist commands, gesturing to the plants. “Seventeen needs a new pot, he’s gotten too big.”

Hugo smiles, something lopsided and genuine. Varian’s breath catches in his throat at the sight of it— wait, wait no— and he feels a wave of heat flash across his cheeks. He coughs roughly into his fist, shaking his head. What the fuck is he even thinking—

We’re just going to ignore that. Ignore Hugo, and his stupid jokes and his stupid smile and his stupid… face.

Varian bites the inside of his cheek. It’s hard to tell if it helps or makes it worse, the thump-thumpechoing in his ears even past the sting. What the hell is he doing, thinking like that? Varian grabs a trowel of his own, snatching a plant just a pinch too roughly. Hugo doesn’t seem to notice Varian’s inner crisis, babbling on and filling the silence with his own brand of music. Varian swallows thickly, putting his head down and getting to work.

Hugo’s got a Soulmate, and it sure as hell isn’t Varian. The alchemist has his own future, the entire future of Corona, weighing on his shoulders. If there’s ever a time to squash a crush, it’s now. He chances a sideways glance to Hugo, watching as the blond manages to spray dirt everywhere with a misplaced move of the trowel. He blinks behind those big glasses, before bursting out into laughter. Varian’s heart skips a beat.

Fuck.

—————♪—————

After lunch, Varian makes himself scarce. Not that Hugo cares, of course. Because he doesn’t, thank you very much. He doesn’t care so hard that he barely eats his lunch, pushing his stew around with his spoon and staring into its murky depths without seeing a damn thing. The Song is a lull, miserable but resigned as the day goes on; Hugo grits his teeth against it, trying to ignore the music that grabs onto his heart and pulls down, down, down—

He wanders the halls instead. Varian had given him the rest of the day off, stating that Hugo wasn’t allowed to be alone in the lab yet. Rapunzel had insisted on a buddy system now that there’s two of them. To make a long story short— no Varian, means no experiments, save for making sure the plants are taken care of. Which they are, so.

Hugo ghosts through the hall, watching as the chaos slowly grows. He has to dodge maids and chefs alike, all of them running rampant through the hallways with arms full of things to get ready for the party. Even the banquet, when Landis had first shown up, wasn’t on this scale. The last time Hugo saw the castle in such an uproar was the day he’d arrived… Varian’s birthday. Damn it.

He hears the Song take another dip, sinking deeper into melancholy. Maker above, fine, if no one’s going to deal with Varian, Hugo fucking will; if he doesn’t, his sanity is about to snap in half.

He follows the Song’s volume, poking around every nook and cranny. The kitchens hadn’t yielded much, nor had the library… even the great hall didn’t make the Song project louder. Hm. Hugo wanders a bit more, listening, waiting. He passes by Nigel, who looks about thirty seconds away from a breakdown, and only just manages to keep himself from tripping the man out of sheer spite. He’s going soft. Pity.

Eventually he finds a staircase, one he knows leads to one of the lower towers. It’s dusty, well maintained and obviously not used much… but most importantly of all, the Song rings louder here. Hugo can pick up on more, the little sparks of anxiety lacing the general unhappy mood…

Varian’s nearby.

Hugo pushes the door open, shuddering as he’s met with a gust of cold air. Fuck, couldn’t he have picked somewhere warmer to sulk?

Apparently not, seeing as Hugo makes the climb with the Song growing louder in his thoughts. Fabulous.

The tower’s tall as all hell, nothing inside it save for a long, winding stair that climbs higher and higher. By the time he reaches the top Hugo finds himself winded— he’s not even out of shape, and all it takes is a little tower to tire him out? He leans against a wall, catching his breath, and listening intently. Here, the Song rings loud. Varian’s definitely around. The top of the tower only has one room, a circular one filled with various junk, but there’s also a door leading outside, probably to a balcony. It’s as good a shot as any.

Hugo huffs as he shoves the small, wooden door open; he has to grab at it only a second later as a gust of wind nearly takes the door off its hinges. He curses, yanking slipping out before shoving it shut by pushing his entire bodyweight against it. Fucking hell.

It’s freezing this high up, the winds whipping by at a mile a minute. It’s so high up that Hugo feels like if he reached up, he’d touch a cloud—which is scientifically impossible of course, but that doesn’t stop the childish part of him from trying. He snickers at himself before looking around the balcony, just catching sight of a flash of black against the teal roof tiles.

Varian’s hopped the little railing of the balcony, sitting on a part of the roof where it evens out into a flat plane. His legs dangle off the edge, swinging lazily as he watches the courtyard below. He looks lost in thought: a sentiment the Song backs up with its soft, simple rhythm.

Hugo approaches slowly, letting his footsteps echo. Usually they wouldn’t, but it probably wouldn’t go well if he accidentally scares Varian into falling off the roof—even if it would be funny, in a cosmic sort of way. Regardless, Varian easily hears him coming, twisting around. His expression brightens at the sight of Hugo for one perfect second before it slips back into something more neutral, and he turns back around.

“Hey, Hugo,” he says. “How’d you know I was up here?”

Fuck, uh—

“Saw you from a window.” The lie slips from between his teeth easily. “Wanted to come and make sure you weren’t about to get flung off by a gust of wind.”

Varian pulls a face, sticking out his tongue as Hugo snickers. “Well, I’m still here,” the alchemist replies. “So no need to worry.” He shuffles a bit, shifting to the left and leaving a space to his side. Hugo can’t tell if it’s intentional, but he takes the invitation, slowly sitting down and swinging his legs next to Varian. It must be the right choice, as the other teenager smiles, looking down on the courtyard.

“They all look like ants from up here, huh?”

Varian’s voice sounds a million miles away. His eyes focus on the courtyard below, drawing Hugo’s gaze down as well. Far below the courtyard is just as chaotic as the hallways had been, servants and other employees scuttling around. They really do look like ants, all lined up and working together as a unit, ferrying supplies into the castle without a blip in the beat. It’s pretty impressive, like watching a perfectly wound clock doing its thing.

“It’s. Uh. High,” is all Hugo says, leaning a little farther back after seeing his fill. He’s not exactly squeamish about the height, but he’s been in enough sticky situations to know how quickly a fall would kill you. Splat.

Varian rolls his eyes, but it’s easy to see the amusement skittering across his face. “That’s the point,” he says flatly, “it’s out of the way. Quiet. No one really bugs me up here.”

“Except for me,” Hugo chirps, nudging Varian’s shoulder.

“Except for you. You’re a fucking barnacle.”

They both laugh at that. Varian leans back, looking out to the horizon. This high up you can see clear to the outer wall of Corona, just peeking out over the trees. Varian sighs, settling back on his hands.

“Anyways,” he says, “I come up here just to get away. I’m sure you’ve noticed by now, but Rapunzel has a sixth sense when someone’s upset and she kind of gets…”

“Intense.”

“That’s a diplomatic way to put it.”

Hugo nods, settling back in a similar way to Varian. It is nice out here, once the wind dies down a bit of course. The clouds seem endless, floating high over sprawling fields and thick forest. The sun is bright, warmth slowly making its way deep into the skin… yeah, Hugo can see why someone would want to hide up here.

“I guess I just needed to get away for a bit.” Varian sighs. His eyes are closed, the sun making his freckles stand out. “You know, with… everything.” He chuckles then, shaking his head. “You probably think I’m a coward, hiding.”

“Nah,” Hugo can’t look at Varian right now, not when the Song swellswith a sudden surge of appreciation. “Tonight’s obviously going to suck. You said you hate these things on a good day but add in you-know-who and… yeah. I’d be hiding too.”

“I just… I don’t know. It’s happening, I can’t make it not happen, but I just wish I could forget about it for a bit. Everyone down there—” he gestures down to the courtyard “—they don’t know about any of this. But anyone who does either acts like I’m about to explode or… or they say that I’m wrong for not thinking it’s an honor. I just wish things would go back to normal.”

“You? Normal?”

That gets him a soft punch to the shoulder.

“You know what I mean. I just… I don’t want to go through with this. I don’t want to give up my job, I don’t want to move to a new house—a new kingdom!—and I don’t want to marry anyone, let alone Landis.” Varian rubs at his face, rubbing at his eyes. “I just want everything to back to when things weren’t so complicated.” He scratches at the side of his face, not meeting Hugo’s eye. “Sorry, that’s probably a lot. I’m just stressed.”

Hugo purses his lips, thinking. “I can understand that.” He can sympathize, at least; when he’d been a child, tossed out onto the streets, he’d cried every day for time to reverse and return him to better days. He’d had to learn to carry on, but Hugo can still remember the agony of watching his life be uplifted and torn to shreds right in front of him. Varian smiles sadly, rolling his shoulders and leaning forward again.

“I think you’re the only one who does.”

Hugo scratches at his face, looking away again. This is getting too close to the chest. Time to reel it back.

“You could always see if Landis has any food allergies,” he says flippantly, “like shrimp or something. Slip it into his food when no one’s watching.”

Jokes are good. Jokes are easy, safe. Varian huffs out something that might be a laugh, so Hugo will take it.

“You have no idea how tempting that idea is.”

“No, really, do you know any? I’ll absolutely do it.”

The Song trills in glee, an evil little cackle. “I don’t, but if we kill him it’ll cause an international incident. Not sure if it’s worth it. Besides, you said you weren’t coming tonight.”

Hugo shrugs. “I thought the blue-bloods wouldn’t want the common rabble at their party, so it doesn’t make much of a difference, does it?”

Varian tilts his head, confused. “Rapunzel made it so that all royal functions can be attended by all castle employees,” he said, “well, except for the staff needed to run it. But unless you’ve taken a second job in the kitchen, that applies to you.”

Hugo makes a noncommittal noise. “We’ll see,” he finally says. “I don’t know how much I’d like hanging out with a bunch of stuffy fuckers all night.”

Varian shrugs. He looks to the side; one of his fingers begins tapping on the stone, a nervous pattern. “I mean—you know, uh… I’d. Uh. I’d be there. So you wouldn’t be by yourself. Not that you have to go just because I am, but if you’re worried about not knowing anyone, there’s your solution. A—and Rapunzel would be there, and Eugene! I know they like you, at least Rapunzel does, she mentioned that she thought you were fun, whatever that means, so…” he flushes, a dusting of pink across his freckled cheeks. Damn it all, that’s so cute. Varian shakes himself, looking intently at his own hands. “I’m just going to stop talking now.”

Hugo laughs then, something belly deep. Gods, he’s so awkward, it’s great. “No, please,” he giggles, “continue explaining the guest list, I’m sure you’ll get there eventually.”

That gets him another punch, this one a little harder. It only makes the laughter worse, Hugo nearly wheezing.

“Shut up!” Varian snaps, the pink in his cheeks turning a deep red as the embarrassment sets in. “Shut up, I hate you so much!”

“Sure you do.” Hugo has to shove his glasses up on his face to wipe the tears from his eyes. “And that’s why you want me to come save you from a night of boredom.”

Varian scowls, crossing his arms with a pout. “I already said you don’t have to!” he says snappily. “I just thought I’d be nice and invite you—which I’m currently regretting!”

Hugo’s laughs finally die out, fading into uncontrollable giggles. “Fine.” He barely wheezes out the words before he has to gasp for breath again. “Fine, I’ll go to the stupid party if it means that much to you—but I will complain the whole time.”

Varian bites at his lip, but the way his chest hitches is obviously his way of trying to contain a laugh of his own. The Song flutters in mirth; it feels warmer than the sun.

“Oh, I’m counting on it,” Varian says, rolling his eyes, “and I’ll be right there with you. But at least we can be miserable together, right?”

Hugo bumps him with a shoulder, not saying anything. Varian only smiles, so he must get the message.

Miserable together could work.

—————♪—————

The day slips quickly into night, after that. The dance is a masquerade according to Varian, so Hugo unfortunately needs to find a mask—he ends up stealing one from a nearby shop, nimble fingers making quick work as he distracts the shopkeeper with questions about another item. The vendors on the island are lazy, it seems. Too many guards keeping too lax an eye, makes a seller complacent and trusting. Perfect.

It’s a green mask, because of course it is. He’s only just able to match it to his one nice shirt Donella had forced him to pack, implying that he might need it. If she were in front of him he’d thank her; everyone seems to be dressed in their very best for the dance, and he’d stick out like a sore thumb in his usual attire. Especially if he wore the one shirt with oil stains all over it, but whatever. He can clean up a bit—besides, Hugo has it on very good authority that he’s a hot piece of ass, thank you, he just has to give a shit about his appearance for more than twenty seconds. Is it about trying to outshine Varian’s husband to be? Maybe. Yes. Definitely. Of fucking course it is, and he’s going to win if it kills him.

So tonight? Tonight he gives a shit.

The entire castle is in an uproar as people begin to filter in through the doors, all moving in a throng of people toward the main ballroom.

The party’s already in full swing, throngs of people scattered through the croweded ballroom and swaying to the gentle music. Couples cover the dancefloor, a group of portly men gather around the refreshment tables; waiters and other staff work in perfect tandem to fliter through the guests, passing out glasses full of champagne. Hugo just catches sight of the princess and her husband, the two of them absolutely stealing the show in the middle of the dancefloor, before they vanish into the crowd. He scans the crowd, trying to spot a raven crown, before being pushed back into a bit of an alcove as he watches. His Soulmate must be around somewhere: the Song’s pretty loud, jittery with nerves, meaning Varian’s nearby.

The blond adjusts his collar with a pinch of nerves; he must stick out like a sore thumb, dressed up in a monkey suit and pretending to blend in. Even Donella’s reach had never gotten him into a party this swanky.

He just barely has time to register the Song growing louder before he feels a tap on his shoulder. No prizes for who that is, but he still twists, meeting a pair of familiar blue eyes.

Hugo feels something in his chest stutter, breath and heartbeat both stopping for an eternal moment. Varian looks—fuck, he looks good. A trim suit, black and white save for a maroon tie in the center of his chest, hugs him in just the right way, form fitting without being overly tight. Hugo’s used to seeing Varian in the middle of a whirlwind—a mess of bird nest hair and rumpled clothes—he’s not used to the Varian in front of him; Varian looks put together, like he belongs here amongst the elites of nobility. Hair combed back stylishly; skin cleaned so that his freckles really pop out… fuck. It steals Hugo’s breath away—along with seeding the first bit of something self-conscious into his thoughts.

Hugo might be a hot piece of ass… but Varian beats him in every way.

The Song brightens when Hugo meets his eyes, hidden slightly behind a black and grey mask. It’s got dark rings around the eyes, with a few white patches before merging into a light grey. Suddenly, Hugo feels under dressed.

“Hey!” Varian says, lifting his mask. “You actually came!”

Hugo’s brain stutters back to life. Fuck—

“Sure,” he shrugs, leaning back up against the wall. Varian does the same, so that they’re both mostly hidden away from the main crowd. It’s quieter in their alcove, much more intimate. It does absolutely nothing to help Hugo get his stupid fucking heartbeat under control.

“You, uh, you look good,” Varian says cautiously. Not helping, you stupid, pretty—

“Thanks, I know.”

Varian only arches a brow, waiting. Hugo puffs out a burst of air, already knowing he’s caught. “Fine, you’re not that bad, either. I dig the red.”

The shorter alchemist smiles smugly, adjusting his tie in victory. “Thank you.”

Varian��s got a flute of champaign, Hugo notes. He sips at it, taking another look out into the crowd before hiding again. “Sun, it’s been insane out there,” he laughs. He pushes his mask up again, balancing it on the top of his head; in the glint of the light Hugo finally realizes what it is.

“You based your mask off Ruddiger?”

Varian blinks, before his eyes go skyward like he would be able to see the mask from that angle. “Ha, yeah.” He laughs again, shrugging. “I didn’t know what else to do, so I thought why not? What’s yours?”

“Mine is classy and understated.” And stolen. Hugo shoves his own up, smirking as Varian rolls his eyes. “Some of us have taste, goggles.”

“I’m not even wearing my goggles right now—”

“The goggles are metaphorical.”

Varian pauses, before rubbing at his face. “Why did I invite you, again?”

Hugo puts on his shittiest smile. “Because I’m fun.”

Varian… doesn’t argue. Interesting. Maybe Hugo is fun.

The shorter alchemist twitches a bit, watching as the dancers sway to the music. For a second of impulsive stupidity, Hugo wants to ask him to dance—wants to ask him to share a moment, to be able to get a bit closer… but there’s a point where something would get just a bit too obvious. Varian obviously would say no, he’s supposed to be starting rumors about Landis and him, after all. It’s calculated.

Varian sighs, rolling his eyes when there’s a loud laugh from near the snack table. Hugo follows his gaze, wincing when he catches sight of a towering figure in the distance. Hugo spots Landis a mile away—his asshole detection is on point—and scowls. Right. Fuck.

A waiter walks by. The man balances a tray of drinks with perfect grace. Hugo nearly reaches for one, but just stops himself. He can’t go getting drunk, he’s technically on a job after all. Varian, however, has no such qualms, reaching over and swapping his empty glass for a full one and quickly taking a sip.

“How’s… uh, how’s that going?” Hugo asks, warily eyeing Varian as he begins to down his drink. Varian pauses, spluttering a bit to swallow his alcohol.

“Oh, it’s great,” he says, “just peachy. Landis went on a tangent about taxation for about half an hour, and I think it was the most I’ve heard him talk.”

“Fucking yikes.”

Varian huffs into his drink, taking another swig. “I’ve managed to hide from him so far. He hasn’t noticed me yet… Sun, he sucks.” Part of Hugo wonders if he should make Varian slow down a bit to keep from getting sick, and the rest of him wants to see how smashed Varian will get. It’s a fifty-fifty shot on which part is going to win. Drunk Varian would probably be chaotic, it would be funny.

“We could still kill him,” he offers instead. He’s only half joking. Varian sighs, his fingers tapping at the stem of his glass. It syncs up with the rhythm of the Song, tap-tap.

“I wish,” he says distantly, and though it’s probably the alcohol talking Hugo can’t help but feel the mean little sense of victory. He must make a face because Varian fixes him with a look. Out in the main area, Frederick takes to a stage and begins a long-winded speech, something about harmony and unity, and blah-blah-blah.

Hugo tunes him right out, instead focusing on Varian. The other man doesn’t even acknowledge the King beginning to speak, instead scanning the crowd again. His eyes are bright in the lamplight, intense and direct as they flick over the sea of faces. Here in their little alcove it’s quiet, but out there… the world waits for them both. Hugo, even without the Song, can see how tense Varian is, the nerves that lace everything he does.

“Hey,” he murmurs. Varian turns to look at him, their eyes locking. There’s a tugging in Hugo’s chest, a pull that drives him forward, one he can’t find it within himself to deny. “It’ll be okay,” he says, unable to tear his gaze away from Varian’s. The other alchemist blinks, his face softening. Hugo bites at the inside of his cheeks, eyes moving down slightly to Varian’s lips, before he shakes his head, coming back to himself.

“Right,” Varian sighs. “Right. I’m just… nervous, I guess? I don’t know why, we’re not even announcing anything yet, but it feels really…”

“Annoying?”

“Real. Like it kind of felt, I don’t know, not as real as it does now. I could ignore it—him, before, but now I can’t. I think what’s happening just kind of hit me, a bit.”

Hugo grits his teeth against the sudden flurry of truth that springs up like bile. It doesn’t have to be—I can fix this, but you have to promise not to leave when it doesn’t work—

“That’s fair,” Is what he says instead, “I’d want to ignore that for as long as I could.”

Landis takes the perfect time to laugh loudly at something Frederick had said, his voice echoing through the hall. Prick. Varian winces at the noise, shrinking a bit further into the shadows of the alcove.

“I think I’m just nervous about it, now.” His voice shakes slightly. “Like after tonight there’s no going back—there never was any going back, of course, but now people are going to know, and if they know then they’ll ask questions, which means I’ll have to answer them, and what the fuck am I supposed to say?”

“Woah, deep breath there, sweetcheeks.” Hugo takes a chance, putting a hand on Varian’s arm. “Bring it down by at least half.”

Varian sucks in a breath, his face going pale. Shit,this is so out of Hugo’s paygrade. He chances a look around the ballroom, praying for someone more qualified—but Rapunzel’s clear across the room, and Fitzherbert is nowhere to be seen. Varian sucks in another shallow breath as the Song begins to shriek, high pitched strings sending a nauseous feeling through Hugo’s stomach. Part of him wants to panic, another wants to run—he really should just dip, leave Varian to his freakout and act like nothing happened.

Hugo uses his light grip to turn Varian away from the crowd. “C’mon, goggles” he says quietly, “focus on me, okay?”

Blue eyes lock with green. Hugo forces himself to smile, trying to ignore how Varian’s eyes shine bright with panic. “Deep breaths, hey—” he refocuses Varian when those blue eyes begin to stray, keeping him from refixating on the crowd. Fuck this is so beyond his paygrade. “Don’t look at them right now. You have to focus on faking it, okay?”

“Faking—faking what?”

“It. You said no one out there knows, right?”

Varian gulps down another breath. “Right.”

“So, all you have to do is pretend that you don’t, either. They aren’t expecting anything from you right now, no answers, no performance. They won’t be suspicious because they don’t have a reason to be—you have to focus on that, not on what you think they’ll say. They don’t matter right now. Landis doesn’t matter, right now. You just have to be confident.”

“I’m not a confident person, Hugo.”

“That’s why I said fake it.” He shakes Varian’s shoulders gently for emphasis. “You can get away with murder if you act like you’re the one in control.”

Varian’s expression scrunches up in thought. The bright fear begins to dim, the Song settling into something more manageable—instead of a deluge, more of a trickle of anxiety. Hugo’s just glad he can hear himself think. Varian’s hands, shaking slightly, reach up to slap his own cheeks, repeatedly. It’s fucking hilarious, but Hugo manages to choke it back; he only just got Varian to chill the fuck out, laughing would probably start another episode.

Varian doesn’t seem to catch it, thank the Maker. “You’re right,” he says, taking a deep breath. “Just have to… power through. Landis can take the backseat.”

“Or we can just kill him.”

Varian’s face finally breaks out into a tense smile. “Or that.”

Fred’s speech ends, the crowd cheering as they toast with him. Hugo hasn’t heard a damn word, but he still applauds, looking pointedly at the teenager in front of him. Varian sighs deeply, looking back to the castle guests. Landis wanders through, slowly approaching their hiding place. He’s obviously looking for someone, and Hugo sees the second Varian knows he’s been spotted; Varian’s spine goes tense, and his shoulders stiffen.

Landis makes his way through the crowd quickly, parting them like water around a rock. It looks natural, like he was born to shove his way into places he doesn’t fucking belong—

“Landis,” Varian greets, subtly shifting so that he stands between the two taller males. Hugo doesn’t stop watching their unwelcome guest, he’s definitely staring over the top of Varian’s head. Landis meets his eyes for only a second, his gaze narrowing, before he addresses Varian.

“I thought I said no red.”

What?

Varian shrinks, deflating. “Oh, sorry, I forgot—”

Landis cuts him off with a loud, put-upon sigh. “It’s too late to fix it now. We’ll just both have to look like fools tonight, no thanks to you.”

With that he gestures with two of his fingers, pointing out to the dance floor. “We have work to do,” is the last thing Landis says before he departs, not waiting to see if Varian’s following. Something in Hugo seethes at it, at seeing his… his friend treated like someone this prick can just order around, doesn’t he know what Varian’s accomplished—

Varian makes a hurt little noise, toying with his tie. “Shit, I liked this one,” he murmurs, before starting to take it off. Disappointment rings in his Song, loud like a bell. Hugo’s hand is moving before he can even stop it, stopping Varian’s fingers from undoing the tie.

“Keep it,” he says. “It, uh. It looks good. He can go fuck himself.”

Varian’s expression is unreadable. “Thanks, Hugo.” His voice is soft; it rings with hurt regardless. “I’ll see you later, okay? Thank you for coming.”

With that he leaves the alcove, undoing the tie and stuffing it into his pocket. Hugo’s heart sinks at the sight of Varian’s back disappearing into the crowd, the Song filtering quieter now that there’s some distance. He wants to chase after Varian. He wants to leave. He wants… fuck, what does he even want?

He wants the Song to shut the fuck up, does that count?

Hugo feels his face drop into a sneer as the band begins to start up a waltz; he just barely catches sight of Landis and Varian settling into an awkward dance, a good foot of space between them as they spin, but Hugo just spots Landis’ hand on Varian’s waist and it makes him see red.

Which. Fuck. He needs to check himself, right? He may be in a bond with Varian, but it’s one sided—Hugo has no claim to Varian, has no right to want to shove Landis away like a toddler over a coveted toy—and even if he did, Varian’s made it clear exactly what he thought about that kind of shit. Hugo grits his teeth against another swell of anxiety in the Song, it does nothing to help his tortuous thoughts.

Fuck it, he needs some air.

He pushes up off the wall and shoves his way through the crowd ungracefully. He needs to leave, needs to back himself off before he gets another glimpse of what he can’t have—

There’s a balcony nearby, perfect. Hugo nearly bursts through the door, gasping in sweet, sweet air. The door closes softly behind him, locking out the noise, and the stress, and the… everything. It’s blissful, after the nearly overwhelming energy of the party, of having to see… all that. The blond slumps onto a stone bench, cradling his face in his hands. His mask lies discarded next to him, forgotten about.

He needs to get his fucking head on straight.

—————♪—————

Hugo’s been outside for nearly an hour.

Though it’s summer, the cold still seeps in through the thin layers of Hugo’s shirt. He’d taken the jacket off ages ago, nearly tearing the suit apart in an attempt to get his fucking skin to stop itching, but now he’s considering putting it back on. Maybe. Or he could just sulk out here until he dies, like he wants to.

The party continues on inside, loud and abrasive as ever as the night grows older. He has no fucking idea what’s going on inside anymore, though the music remains peppy and classic, so it must be the same shit as always. Hugo scowls, bracing against the cold as a rough wind blusters past; the city’s colder than he’d expected, what with it being in the center of a massive lake, but still. He can’t help but miss summer in Koto, the sweltering, dry heat. Koto, where things made sense, where he didn’t have to think about his Song beyond the peripheral. Koto, where Donella was there, unshakable and strong, always having things mapped out so simply.

Here in Corona, he constantly felt like he was standing on the precipice of some great edge, teetering over the line between salvation and ruin—and nothing was there to pull him back. Worst of all, is that he doesn’t know which was which. Would confession lead to his end, or was it the sickening feeling of having something torn out from under him? Was he killing himself through silence, or through sound? Everything was so uncertain— and he fucking hates it.

Hugo lets out a noise, something rough and frustrated that tears itself from his throat. Fuck. He wants to throw something. He wants to scream. He… Maker help him, what does he even want?

“Hugo?”

The blond startles, nearly falling from his place on the bench. He only just catches himself, whirling around to meet green eyes so much like his own. They’re shining with concern, set deep into a round face.

“Are you okay?” Rapunzel asks him, gently closing the door behind her. Hugo feels a swell of panic as she gets closer—he’s not steady, right now, he can’t fucking deal with this—but he fights his damnest to keep his face straight. He must fail, since she steps forward and her frown gets deeper. Fucking hell.

“I’m peachy,” Hugo manages to get out through the rush of anxiety in his throat. “I’m just appreciating the lovely view.”

Rapunzel doesn’t take the bait. She hesitates for just a second before sitting next to him. Hugo waits for a terrible, long moment before she sighs, looking up to the moon above.

“It is nice, isn’t it?” Her voice is wistful, a total difference from what he expected to hear. Hugo only shrugs in reply, trying to ignore how the Song lets out a small pulse of anxiety. His head hurts, his chest hurts—he needs some fucking space, to hide like the rat that he is. Rapunzel either doesn’t notice his mood or, more likely, doesn’t take it to heart. Instead, she tilts her head and tries to catch his eye.

“But we both know it’s the same moon everywhere, don’t we?”

Hugo winces, knowing he’s caught. “I just wanted some air,” he tries. “It was getting hot and stuffy in there. I’ll head in when things cool down.”

Varian’s Song sends out a sharp snap of anger—seems Landis must have said something asinine again—and Hugo tries to cover it but Rapunzel definitely catches this one. Her brows rise, recognition running across her face.

“Your Soulmate’s having trouble?” she asks, and fuck.

Hugo wants to choke the truth back, to bury it deep in the space under his heart and never let it free, but her eyes are earnest, truly concerned and… and Hugo can’t help but want that support. Donella isn’t here… wouldn’t be here, for months. He can feel himself falling apart and if skimming the issue with a third party would help then maybe it’s worth the risk.

“Yeah,” he finally says. “They’re not having a good night, is all. Makes me feel… itchy.”

Rapunzel smiles at that. It’s not mocking, more understanding. Hugo hates it either way. “When Eugene is in one of his moods he sounds like a herd of elephants.” She laughs, looking up to the sky. “I didn’t realize you Resonated with someone, Hugo. Are they back home in Koto?”

Fuck. “No,” he says, “no, they’re uh. I don’t actually know where they are.” It’s close enough to the truth. Varian could have vanished in the last hour, who the fuck knows. Certainly not Hugo. Her face softens at that.

“Are they waiting for you?”

…Oh hell.

“No, uh. No, they didn’t um. They don’t…”

Rapunzel waits for him, hands clasped in her lap as he stumbles through a basic fucking sentence. Seven hells, he’s pathetic.

“They didn’t Resonate with me.” Admitting it is like pulling teeth. “I did with them. But they don’t hear me back.” He doesn’t hear me at all. “It’s weird.”

“It’s not weird at all.” Her hand makes an aborted movement, like she wants to rub his back. He’s grateful when she doesn’t; he might actually throw himself off the balcony if she tries it. “It’s—oh, Hugo.”

She says his name like a blow, punching hard. Something in him, something angry and vicious, something raised on the streets of Koto without anyone to watch out for it, wants to punch back.

“What?!” he snaps, turning at last to face her. She doesn’t react to his anger, which makes it all the worse. “What? What do you want me to say? That they didn’t hear me? That I’m not good enough?”

“Hugo—”

“What else is there?” Now that it’s out, he can’t stop, he needs to stop— “They’ve got everything laid out for them, and I… I just fall behind. So yeah, I have a Soulmate. But I don’t need them, and they doesn’t need me. The Song is—it’s wrong, okay?”

He ends his little tirade with a scowl, crossing his arms and hunching into himself. If the princess hadn’t thought he was insane before, she definitely does now. Any second now, she’ll stand, leave the balcony. Go back to her party and leave him to wallow in his misery like he deserves. He waits for it, waits to hear her footsteps and the closing of a door.

Instead, he hears Rapunzel hm in thought.

“Did I ever tell you about when Eugene and I Resonated?” she asks. Her smile only widens when Hugo shakes his head. “Well, we’d only known each other for about two days, you know. I’d just left my tower, and everything was so new… I’ve since come to learn that everything happening that quickly isn’t exactly average.”

He doesn’t understand her point. How the fuck can he?

“Not everyone is a storybook princess,” he finally says. He can’t meet her eye; if he does look at her, he’ll probably do something else embarrassing. Like cry. She huffs out a small chuckle, looking down at her hands.

“After we Resonated, I guess I hoped things would just… fall into place. I’d read a hundred stories about it, you know? They all lived happily ever after. But I’ve found that it took a lot more than that.”

“What—”

“It was so hard to open up like that, to be vulnerable and let Eugene really… see me. The real me, no hidden pieces. I’d never even spoken to anyone else except the woman who raised me, let alone sing— but Hugo, I need you to understand how worth it Resonating was. It took time, and patience, and love, but above all it took trust. I had to learn to trust him with my heart, even after we Resonated.”

And then, then, she says something so terribly, horribly damning that Hugo’s breath leaves his lungs in a single second.

"If your Soulmate hasn’t Resonated, do you think it’s because he won’t, or because you haven’t given him the chance to hear you?”

To Sing was to project yourself. To take all the little parts of you and open them up through Song, on the hopes that somewhere out there, your Soulmate would hear you. Without truly being open, being vulnerable like that… there was no way they’d ever find you. There’s no way Varian would ever hear him, without it.

But he just can’t.

He sits there, at a loss for words. How the fuck could she possibly know— no. No fuck it, he’s not listening to this. He can’t, not when she’s cutting so deep without even trying. Hugo makes an aborted move to leave—to escape, to run, to hide away where he can suffer in peace—but she stops him by grabbing his hand. It’s a gentle touch, warm against the chill of the evening. It burns like a brand.

“Hugo,” her voice is soft. “Don’t run. Running will just make it worse.”

But it’s all he knows how to do.

He tugs his hand from hers, shaking his head. “This is different,” he tells her. If she hears his voice crack, she doesn’t mention it. “Princess, I appreciate the pep-talk—” he laughs, self-deprecation deep in his tone “—but you don’t understand what’s happened. If I Sang to them, it would end in nothing but problems.”

“Is that what you actually think?” she asks him. “Or is that your fear, talking?”

It hits like a punch to the gut. He’s not fucking afraid, not of anything, but he just knows a lost cause when he sees one. “It’s exactlywhat would happen. They’ve got everything ahead of him— a whole future, full of anything they could ever want, and it’s so much more than anything I could live up to.”

She’s quiet for an agonizing second, before she lets out a small sigh. “That’s not true.”

“It is—”

“It’s not. Because do you know what I see, when I look at you?”

“Don’t patronize me.”

“Okay, I won’t. When I look at you, I see a smart kid. I see someone who has a kind heart but hides it because he’s been hurt before. I see someone who’s afraid to take a leap, for that same reason. I see you, Hugo. And I, for one, like what I see. I know Varian does too. And Eugene, and some of the other castle staff. I’m just sad that you don’t see it, too.”

“You don’t know the real me—”

“I’d like to.”

“Yeah, right. Even my fucking Soulmate can’t hear me. If there’s anything that screams lost cause more than that, I’d love to see it.”

She doesn’t say anything. Her eyes do the talking for her; her gaze is wide and sad, with a lacing of pitythat drives Hugo up the fucking wall. How dare she waltz in here and act like she had any idea what’s going on? How dare she try and act like her and her stupid boyfriend have anything in common with him and Varian—like their perfect storybook ending was anything like the surefire tragedy Hugo’s currently living in? How dare she act like she knew him at all?!

He steps back again, shaking his head. “It won’t work. Resonating is supposed to be end of it, if I’m not even good enough to get there… then fuck it. The Song’s wrong.”

He turns then, leaving her behind. Thin, shaking fingers only ghost the doorknob to the balcony when he hears Rapunzel start up again.

“It’s not the end,” she murmurs. He turns, seeing her still looking up at the moon. “It’s the beginning.” She tilts her head, looking to him with a grin that Hugo can’t determine the emotion behind. “Just think about it. You’d be surprised what happens, when you give someone a chance.”

The vicious part of Hugo snarls, defensive and hurting. He rips the door open, light and music spilling from the ballroom and shattering the tranquility of the balcony. Rapunzel turns back to the moon, unfazed. For just a skip of the needle, time seems to stop, slowing to a crawl as she cuts him to the core with one, single sentence.

“If you wait until you’re ready, you might just miss your chance.”

He stalks into the ballroom, letting the door slam shut behind him. Rapunzel doesn’t even flinch, sitting perfectly still on the bench even as Hugo runs from her sight like the rat that he is. He nearly hits a waiter, knocking the man’s tray from his hands in a desperate bid for escape. His heart beats at a mile a minute, a frantic tattoo against his chest that threatens to burst forth before he can stop it—he needs space, he needs time to think, he needs it all to stop.

He needs to get his shit together. To make his choice.

But Hugo can’t help but feel like that ship has long since sailed.

#varigo #varian #tangled the series #varian and the seven kingdoms #vat7k #silent opera #fic #MAN PAIN MAN PAN MAN PAIN

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ratsoupee · 4 years ago

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Hot Take Alert!! Hot Take Alert!!

That's right guys and gals and non-binary pals, I have a hot take, and this involves the BNHA fandom.

Well actually, it's a topic I've had niggling in the back of my brain until someone on youtube brought it up, and I realized that yes, this was a thing I realized was prevelant in the fandom, in fanart and in fanfiction.

So unless you want to read a hot take that you are open to and don't get immediately aggressive over, do continue reading under the tab. If not, just go ahead and enjoy your browsing :)

So as a good mha fan does, I engage with the fandom by creating fanart, reading fanfic and generally leaving the fandom alone with how they interact with my work. I'm okay with letting people interpret my work and expanding on it. Often it leads to nice expansions on my work (the most popular one being Shima's Support Hero Deku comic I made) and it's great.

But some comments stick out to me. One instance was in my sequel comic, where Todoroki is used as a heater. I had drawn a panel where he's holding a receipt (I thought I was being clever by showing his left hand, his fire side, which is holding the receipt as he says "my left side keeps me warm" but the composition was bad so it was lost on the readers) then someone made a joke about how his receipt was so long, they had made up that Todoroki was coming out of work from a CVS store.

A light joke, but what got me was the CVS reference, because I realized that CVS was an american reference.

So here's the thing. I'm Asian and I live in Southeast Asia. The only reason I know about CVS is because social media, dominated by american media, have made numerous jokes about CVS and it's long receipts. And yeah, that's a little haha reference. It's small, maybe something someone outside of america who doesn't follow america media as much wouldn't get, but yeah, I get the reference so I move on.

But then, I began to realize in bnha fan fiction, these American references were in alot of prominent fics. What Japanese would refer to these stores as 'Mini-marts' or 'Convenient stores' get referenced as CVS or American named stores like Walmart or Target. When this is a manga set in Japan.

Not only that, alot of fics bleed American culture, most prominently White American Culture, into them. We have heavy uses of memes, jokes and references very specific to white media, and places and settings that would clearly not be in Japan. We have characters saying things completely out of line that throws over what asian culture has been taught and still is respected and carried out by youths.

Now like, I get drawing from personal experiences when writing fiction. If anything, it can be a driving force for a creator to create. But honestly, when I got immersed in a fic to suddenly be slapped with the characters going to chick-fil-a, it kinda just made me frustrated.

Now lets say you shoved all these characters into America, make them America and just make the whole thing American. Err, yeah, I'll probably not read that, but hey, it's fine. But when you keep these character in the context of their world being Japan, you gotta at least respect that Japan and asia culture plays a role it in, and does not stray too far into American context.

It's not even that hard to make bnha content that does not reference American culture. Hell Mcdonalds exists there too, just use that.

From the video I mentioned earlier, he talked about how when the bnha fandom complains about its characters being redrawn as black, they are also the same people that contextualises it's characters based on white american culture, and yeah, that's essentially the core problem.

One artist I like to mention, is theparalumans on instagram. She took the entire bnha's characters and concepts and reinvented it in a Fillipino context. And that is perfectly okay! She uses this to tell amazing gags and explore these characters further in the context of Fillipino culture (the one where Midoriya turns into a Fillipino Grandma is astronomically comical)

So what am I saying here? I had a point.... Oh yeah.

When creating media, be it fictional, fanworks or something, when writing characters, it's cultural context is important. Not just because of immersion, but just as a basic respect to the culture you have used in your story.

Like trust me, I've never been so glad to have asian meals been correctly used in fan fiction.

#bnha #mha #op talks #rant #just skip idk

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meear · 4 years ago

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HOW is reibert still not canon (long post oops)

1. there was literally no reason for reiner to look this salty. is this how y’all look when you tease a friend about their crush???

2. we KNOW yumihisu is the one ship confirmed canon af and this whole arc they’ve been trying to protect the other what’s not clicking

3. BRUH

4. you can’t possibly think Reiner was being subtle in any way. it’s him. he’s talking about himself because he is the CEO of projecting onto others and we know that

5. projecting onto Annie again

how many times did Bertholdt rush to save Reiner from a life-or-death situation. hint : a lot

the fact that reiner both consciously and unconsciously called for him haha anyway

6. you’re all aware by now but if Ymir doesn’t like men and she’s always with Historia it doesn’t take a genius to understand how she and Reiner parallel each other

7. this line exists but go off I guess

(the look he gives her though)

he’s literally only thinking of Bertholdt. funny how he later worries about not being able to protect him against the titans when they had already lost Eren huh

8. by the way, right after Reiner says that about Ymir, Bertholdt worries about him dissociating again.

it’s interesting how Bertholdt immediately associates Reiner’s crush on Krista with Reiner not being himself and Reiner knows it perfectly. it literally can’t be more obvious, otherwise it doesn’t make sense for Reiner to say “I’m a warrior, so I’m not interested in Krista because she’s cute”. how out of the blue is that??? people still think Reiner is bi. he isn’t.

Bertholdt really isn’t amused by Reiner’s bullshit and honestly same

9. remember the rushing in to save Reiner thing ? and how “if you lose you die, if you win you live” is a motto in this series?

mikasa swears to win for Eren’s sake

historia literally tells ymir they’re going to live for each other

“he has his own reason why he can’t lose” lmao so... Reiner is his reason to win?to live????? just say you’re in love and go

10. remember how RB’s mission would have succeeded if only Ymir hadn’t suddenly stopped everything to go back for Historia? how that gave the survey corps the time they needed, and how RB basically helped the SC??

Bertholdt stopped for Reiner and gave the SC the time they needed to get away from the explosion. if he hadn’t done that, he definitely would’ve killed them all

Bertholdt is a hypocrite lmao

11. nothing to see here just dudes and gals crying for their bros and pals

12. we know Bertholdt is a much more capable warrior than Reiner and that he mastered the colossal titan immediately. there is no way Reiner would’ve been able to fight Mikasa like Bertholdt did. Isayama said that Bertholdt “could do anything physically”. sure, Reiner ranked above Bertholdt and Annie during training, but when you look at their childhood, i think both of them could’ve surpassed Reiner if they had been 100% serious. this is just my interpretation though, it’s also possible that Bertholdt’s lack of initiative and Annie’s unability to work with others hurt their grade. i think hand-to-hand combat (Reiner’s weakness) wasn’t graded either

at the very least Isayama’s literally saying that Bertholdt would let Reiner win if they fought

wild how reibert keeps on paralleling characters with confirmed romantic feelings

(Ymir slacked off on purpose too)

+ Bertholdt waiting for Reiner as they race

13. Ymir and Bertholdt are two tall dark-haired shifters who are both really tired of their smaller blonde partner retreating into their fake persona out of a desire to be liked what is n o t c l i c k i n g this is so specific

14. reiner’s main reason for thinking Bertholdt likes Annie is that he stares at her and I mean sure

look I’m not putting every instance of RB doing exactly that because sometimes it’s just because the other happens to be talking lmao but these?? no explanation

bruh you can HEAR the stare

this one is especially glaring since Annie is also in the picture so why didn’t he just draw Bertholdt looking at her??? guess we’ll never know

Reiner has NO excuse for staring at Bertholdt here I’m sorry literally everyone is looking at Sasha and Connie teasing Annie. Bertholdt isn’t doing anything

15. Bertholdt’s development after accepting Reiner’s possible death and deciding to end it all is SO similar to Mikasa after Eren’s death in Trost. they’re both moving in this trance-like state before repeating that the world is cruel, but it’s really interesting because the events are in reverse order for Bertholdt. so it’s more like a mirror. i’ve tried to represent it lmao i hope it’s readable

there’s the same onomatopoeia for the heartbeat, and Bertholdt and Mikasa were making similar expressions. even if isayama’s drawings weren’t as good in the first chapters, you can see that Mikasa has that same blank, wide stare when approaching Eren (it’s chapter 9)

both seem to become another person as they move, though Bertholdt is much calmer than Mikasa (which makes sense if their “normal” personality has switched I guess since Bertholdt is usually the nervous one). He sees everything around him perfectly, but Mikasa runs out of gas because she wasn’t paying attention to anything anymore

see it’s funny because Mikasa literally loves Eren

only difference is after falling, Mikasa says the world is beautiful as well, which makes the omission in Bertholdt’s case (as he rises) obvious

anyway might as well put those too I guess, though i wouldn’t consider them direct parallels but we’ve made it this far lmao

it reminded me of Historia after losing Ymir and Reiner after coming back alone :

(btw the music when Historia cradles Ymir in her arms after she fought as a titan is also called Her heart still beating on Youtube, but I don’t know where that comes from because the actual title is AOTs2M他3... probably just a fan name, but that’s a cool coincidence)

16. this post i made the other day still not over it

17. if reibert not canon then why literal actual canon????

#no but seriously bertholdt and mikasa literally both embraced reiner and eren's body as they realised their heart was still beating #the fuck more do you want #reibert #yumihisu #eremika

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nanaminsonyfans · 5 years ago

Text

⛓️Taken⛓️

Masterlist ✨ Requesting Rules

Request; Hey can I request a wei beifong x metal bender!reader were when they are fighting the red Lotus she gets captured and tortured? He goes crazy trying to find her and when they do she is badly hurt. I just want some angst with fluff at the end.

A/N; oh hell yeah. this is ANGST at it’s finest, we love a man in uniform to kick some fucking ass, also in this oneshot we are going to pretend they stayed in zaofu for like two months ^^ rock and roll buckroo

Pairing; Wei Beifong x Fem Metalbender!Reader

Warnings; Kiddnaping, torture, angst, descirption of wounds, cursing

Honestly, everything seemed okay at the time. You were apart of Team Avatar, just growing up as a kid on the streets you found Bolin and Mako, and they decided to take care of you. Birds of a feather stick together. Because you were apart of Team Avatar you got to travel with them to find the rest of the new airbenders. Asumi appreciated having a metalbender on a metal airship. Like, if there’s a dent you’ll bend it out ya know?

Being a metalbender meant you are also an earthbender, you never really liked bending rocks and stuff, plus you could manipulate metal into whatever you imagine. Knives, swords, bracelets, literally anything. When you arrived at Zoafu, you were amazed by how everyone manipulated the metal. A boy had caught your eye, his name was Wei Beifong. He was a twin to a brother named Wing, both the youngest of the family. That was amazing to you, being the youngest one of this entire group.

You both had a lot in common, shared the same sense of humor and competitiveness. You clicked immediately. Fell in love even, he was the flirt that always made you blush. “You look amazing today.” “Green is a great color on you.” “Wow, do you just metalbend? Because something else his bending up.” You always got flustered and stopped what you were doing. If you were bending while he said any of that? It stops immediately and the metal crashes to the ground.

Wei finally asked you out, and you became his girlfriend. You were so fucking happy and so was he. The relationship was amazing, everything was so pure and loving, practicing bending together, cuddles, power naps. Everything with him made you happy. Everyone was so happy for you, Mako and Bolin has never ever seen you that happy. Your smile was simply beautiful and everyone noticed. Korra, your close gal pal noticed more, happy about it.

Everything changed when the Red Lotus attacked.

Korra was being abducted by them, and because you shared a room with the young Avatar, they took you as well. Knocked you out by hitting your head since they didn’t have another tranquilizer. Your head was bleeding from the force of the blow to your head, leaving a small droplet trail of blood. Pabu woke Mako and Bolin up, both waking up to fight and hopefully save both of you.

They all tried their best, Wei fought with his aunt and mother to let him go down to save you but being a mother, Suyin refused. They weren’t able to get you, they were fast but Ming-Hua was faster, basically encapsulating your body in water. Bubbles of oxygen rose up to the top, everyone watched in horror as the last bubble rose from your mouth and nose.

The Red Lotus immediately took you to the hideout that would eventually hold Korra. You woke up to a burning sensation in your chest, you rolled over and started to vomit up water mixed with the last thing you ate. Your head was pounding as you finally regained your vision that was blurry. Your clothing wasn’t the same as what you had on when you went to sleep the other night. More like rags.

“Don’t bother trying to bend.” A man’s voice said, causing you to flinch and turn towards the voice. A man with tanned skin, broad shoulders, long black hair, and a small and thin mustache. You didn’t recognize this man so your face of confusion caused him to sigh. “I am Ghazan.” Okay, that name rang a bell. You heard of him from adults while growing up, he’s an earthbending master with the unique ability to lavabend. Metalbending was already a substyle of earthbending, but he was the only one you have ever heard of that could lavabend. Even growing up you thought it was a myth.

He also was a criminal, everything was making sense now. You tried to stand up but your chains and registrants only jiggled. “Yuh-You don’t know who I-I am.” You state, fear overtaking your body as if you could sense his power, and that fucking scared you. “You don’t think an earthbending master can’t tell one of their own?” Your eyes widened in which Ghazan just smirked and chuckled softly. “I didn’t know which type but, your face confirmed that suspension.” “Bastard.” You mumbled under your breath earning a slap to the face. “Watch your tone. You are not in control here.”

Your eyes watered from the hit, your left cheek started to sting from that slap. You tried to bend the chains away to no avail. “Yeah keep trying, you can’t bend platinum.” Ghazan taunted and backed up to the doorway. That’s when you realized you were in a wooden cage, suspending above the ground. You started to panic. “What do you want with me?! I’m not important.” You yell, thinking that they could let you go, they obviously wouldn’t.

“We’ve been doing our best.” Kuvira said to Wei Beifong, who had been worried sick for you for two weeks now. “Well try HARDER.” He hissed and stormed off. “Wei…” Wing sighed and ran after his brother. “Listen, we all care about her and we are looking for her but there’s only so much we can do.” Wing explained to his brother that was now fuming with hatred and anger. “You didn’t care for Y/n the same way I did! You don’t understand how I fell! The person I love his captured and possibly being tortured-” His voice cracked as a few tears rolled down his cheeks. “I don’t even want to think about it.” He sniffled and quickly wiped his eyes before turning down the hall.

Your screams were deafening, this was mostly because Ghazan was burning you with lava, Ming-Hua delicately stabbing your sides with ice spikes, and Zaheer suffocating you then letting you slip unconscious. You felt so weak, like you were on the verge of death but they wouldn’t let you die. That was the worst punishment for you. You just wanted to die or see your friends and boyfriend again. Blood trickled down your leg as you blinked back tears from the spike stabbing your left thigh. Your throat was raw from screaming, so you didn’t even bother with it. Why scream? It’s been clear for weeks that no one was coming to your aid.

To your understanding, it has been five weeks since they originally brought you here. Yes, you were fed, dressed, cleaned, and you had been given water, but doesn’t mean the torture ever stopped. Each passing week they took their frustrations out on you, until you heard other’s come, murmurs of them being Airbenders. ‘Opal, oh my god Opal is with the airbenders.’

“Opal! Jinora! Ikki!” You scream, your voice cracking and raw, that’s when you saw then, under your cage. Oh no, these bastards took children? You weren’t anywhere close to the ground so you couldn’t even help them, shit. “Y/n? Oh my spirits you’re okay!” Opal said happily and looked up at you. “Wei? Is-Is he okay?” You whisper weakly and grip the wooden planks with your bloody and bruised body. “He’s worried, hopefully they’ll be here soon…”

It was easy, Korra is going to let the airbenders go and then they would reveal your location. Wei was nervously waiting along with the rest of the Zaofu soldiers, shaking from the anticipation and worry for his girlfriend. “She better be alive.” He mumbled under his breath as they waited on the side of the cliff, remembering the moment he found out you were taken.

Wei’s face fell when Bolin told him what had happened to you, his girlfriend, HIS Y/n. “What?” He snapped, his voice and expression going dark with murderous like intent. “Wei calm down-” Wing started, “Don’t FUCKING tell me what to do.” Wei snapped at his brother and whipped back around to Bolin. “So you’re telling me, you had her, you had them knocked out, and YET you didn’t fucking grab her? You had her in your sights and you didn’t do shit? Ha...haha.” He started to laugh a ran a shaky hand through his hair as tears started to flow down. “She’s gone...and it’s all of YOUR fault.” Wei made the ground beneath him bend into a crater as his emotions got stronger at the loss. He shoved Bolin back and stormed off, leaving a trail of tears behind.

Wei Beifong was shattered at the loss of his first love. He never gave up hope on finding her, he made SURE everyone was looking for you. No stone was left unturned when searching for you. He was so hurt by this, he swore that the Red Lotus would be fucking obliterated for laying a finger on his Y/n.

Your vision blurred when seeing a familiar tanned skinned girl in blue, but your ears worked. “Strap the Avatar to the platinum chains, and let that earthbender down, she’s too weak to even hold her head up. Bring her to where the Avatar will be held.” The familiar voice spoke, Zaheer. Fuck sake, you were gonna die. You let out a bitter chuckle as you were dragged out of the cell by Ming-Hua and her waterbending. “You’re going to try and kill the Avatar yeah? Good luck, she’s a tough nut to crack. I doubt you’ll be able to do it.”

Taunting earned you a firm slap to the face which made your vision get spotty and blurry for a second while your head spun. “Do you really want your last word to be bitter and taunting?” Ming asked with snark in her tone. “How’d you know? Really, I’ve been begging for the past three weeks now, thank you for finally taking that request.” You said faintly and breathlessly as you felt yourself loose consciousness. “Fuh...Fuck you...you…” You whisper as you tried to fight the sleep. ‘Damn, I really failed again huh? This shit sucks.’

Your ears rang as your eyes fluttered open, you heard movement, the earth under you was moving, you felt every vibration, you heard whooshes of fire, and a voice. Bolin? Mako? “...Y/n?! Y/n!” The familiar voice of Bolin called out to you. You coughed and looked around, moving your head. “Bo...lin?” You were weak, your voice showed that. “We have to go.” Mako said as he ran over to you, the entire cave seemed to shake. “If I’m going down, SO ARE YOU!” Ghazan yelled as boulders crashed down. The firebender scooped you up in his arms as he ran, Bolin following close behind. “Don’t drop her!” “I am not going to drop her! She weighs like nothing Bolin!” You laughed softly at their sibling bickering.

“Tha...Thank you...Mako.” You whisper weakly, cupping his cheek. “Y/n save your energy.” Mako said, all big brother like because that’s our beloved mako. You squinted when you got outside. “Y/N?!” Wei’s voice snapped you toward the boy. He rushed over and took you from Mako’s arms. “What...what did they do to you?”

Your legs were covered in burns, gashes, bruises, your collarbone had semi-deep cuts, bruises around your neck, black eye, busted lip, bleeding nose. There wasn’t one place that wasn’t injured. Your hands seemed to be the worst. Your fingertips seemed like they were shaved down, your nails ripped out, and your knuckles bloody and bruised.

“That doesn’t matter…” You whisper, tears running down your cheeks. “You came for me?” Your voice was soft, almost in disbelief. “Y/n, I never stopped looking.” Wei whispered back and took your hand, kissing your bloody knuckles. “Your safe now.” He said calmly as he noticed you shaking and trembling. Six weeks, that’s how long you were there. Finally, you were safe.

✨Epilogue✨

After a year of healing, you were finally able to do everything you did before you were kidnapped. When you were found, you had brain trauma from the constant suffocating and you had some nerve damage. You recovered, not fully but enough to be able to nothing for yourself, you regained your comfortability to bend again! Wei was with you every step of the way. He did his best to help you and honestly? That was enough for you. You had grown closer with his family as well, them being your family too now. I mean, you were obviously going to marry Wei so everyone accepted it.

You fought along side them when Kuvira was being like, a major bitch, and Toph had taken a liking to you! After everything happened, a few years later once Wei and you turned 20 you finally had a wedding. Everyone was so happy, Bolin was your maid of honor because he apparently called dibs. You looked simply beautiful and Wei started crying because after everything, he’s just happy to have you, safe and sound.

#legend of korra #legend of korra x reader #wei beifong #wei beifong x reader #angst #fluff #legend of korra angst #red lotus #zaheer #ghazan #ming-hua

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hueningkaisbabi · 4 years ago

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Sweets ~ Saiki K

Chapter 2 ~ Nice

pairing: saiki k x fem!reader

summary: saiki goes to his favorite café and his “not“ friends follow him. When he’s there the waitress who serve some coffee jelly captures his eye and his mind with her thoughts and looks.

genre: happy stuff

prev ~ next

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“would you like to sit with us?” nendo said to you

“oh um i don’t think i can”

“Y/N GO SIT MAKE FRIENDS GO GO” you were pushed from behind out from the counter by your boss

“oh okay” you smiled and blushed walking over to the table with nendo

“oh wait get something to eat” kaido said to you

“ah you’re right thank you!” he blushed at your cute face and looked away fast

saiki felt a pang of something in his body

you grabbed two strawberry mochis and sat right next to the pink haired boy, nendo to your right and everyone else around the booth

“so what are your names” you smiled sweetly at everyone taking a bite of your mochi

“you know me y/n” yumehara smiled

“yes i do hello again haha” you smiled back

“you know me too! i’m nendo!” he said excitedly

you could tell he was the type of person to love friends and people in general

“haha yes nendo i do”

“im kaido shun nice to meet you”

“hi kaido it’s nice to meet you too!” he blushed once again

“hey i’m hairo kineshi! it’s a pleasure to meet you!”

very energetic you thought, tell me about it saiki thought

“im toritsuka reita!”

“hello”

“im aren kubayasu”

“haiiii”

then it happened

“hello i’m teruhashi kokomi”

she was staring intensely at you but her face looked happy

you felt uncomfortable and saiki could hear and notice

at first saiki didn’t realize but he scooched closer to you without thinking

having his arm agaisnt your arm somehow brought you relief

thank god you thought ....she’s scary...can no one else see this you thought

saiki laughed in his head happy that someone else could somehow see teruhashis fake side

teruhashi was still looking at you even more now with saiki closer to you

“im saiki it’s nice to meet you y/n”

“WAHHHHH” once again was heard

everyone was asking teruhashi if she was okay but you and saiki were glancing at each other

you had set your mochi down when you got uncomfortable but now you were content once again lifting it an eating

saiki had finished his coffee jelly and his fingers kept fiddling

“excuse me nendo can i get up real fast?” you asked the boy next to you

“yeah of course gal pal”

“hahaha thank you”

you walked away to the counter and came back with another coffee jelly and a real spoon

handing it to saiki his eyes quite literally sparkled at you

oh she’s definitely a goddess saiki thought

teruhashi suddenly got up and then looked as if she realized what she did

“sorry to startle you all i need to use the restroom”

she walked away and everyone kept talking

“i should probably get back to work now. it was really fun meeting and talking to you all” as soon as you got up you were tugged at the wrist

by none other than saiki himself

“can we exchange emails”

“of course”

“OH ME TOO” “oh yes please can i have it as well!”

after exchanging emails with everyone but teruhashi as she has seemed to have locked herself away in the bathroom you got back to work serving people

“she’s really pretty” kaido said

“she’s hot, look at those legs!” toritsuka said

saiki cringed at that

“that’s nasty. she’s like an angel” nendo said

and for once saiki actually agreed with nendo

teruhashi came back and sat down were you had previously sat

“hi saiki! can you walk me home?” at that everyone got

“no sorry i’m not going home yet”

“oh you aren’t where are you going? can i come with?!” this is my chance to hang out with saiki!! she thought

gross saiki thought

“im staying here id like more coffee jelly” saiki said as he walked off towards you at the counter

SERIOUSLY she thought

“can i have ano-

he was cut off by you handing him the coffee jelly and spoon already

oh she’s definitely not bad~~ he thought

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

writing this at 12:43 am my goodness. i’m not sure if i’m liking how the story is going but it’ll get good. i’m having ideas come to my head hahaha. hope you enjoy!

@theilluminatidragonqueen thank you for ur comments on chapter 1!!!💖

#saiki kusuo x reader #saiki k x reader #saiki kusuo bios #the disastrous life of saiki k.#saiki kusou #the disaster of psi kusuo saiki #saiki k #fanfiction #imagine #animelove #anime gif #anime / manga

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rwby-sk · 4 years ago

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My ship thoughts

This will be a long post, so I’m putting it under a ‘keep reading”

Bumbleby - Until Vol.4 I wasn’t sure if the Bees liked each other. Like yeah, we’ve had solid evidence since, like, their Vol.1 trailers. But still. I wasn’t sure CRWBY would do it. But wow was I impressed. - Probably my favorite well-known ship - Their EYES are the colors of each others SOULS what more do you want??? - I wish my gf would throw a motorcycle at my abusive ex...

Nuts and Dolts - I tried pushing this ship out of my mind for so long. I did. I wasn’t ready for it - I appreciated the things people made for the ship. I knew it had potential - But wow. Vol.8 really said “Nuts and Dolts rights” and I respect that - They’re so cute together. It’s like if Pyrrha came back to life and could be with Jaune again. - But healthier this way (see Arkos)

Renora - Wholesome - Cute - ‘Boop’ is one of my favorite songs - We all saw it coming. But how we got there was the fun part - That Vol. 4 finale though...

Arkos - First off, Arkos is my favorite ship from Vol.1-3 - Himbo is taught how to drink his respect women juice by an Amazon? Sign me up - The character development, the mutual respect, the CARE - ForeverFall still fucks me up. I cry when I listen to it - I love Pyrrha, she’s my girl, but... She really betrayed Jaune’s trust at the very end. He told her specifically he never wanted to be helpless and watch his friends fight for their lives again. And she did exactly that to him. Making him wonder if he could have made a difference had he been able to fight by her side with her in the end. - But it’s not really even Pyrrha’s fault. Ozpin’s expectations and Cinder’s plan are more to blame - Still high tier - It’s just so tragic

WhiteKnight - Cute in theory - But it’d have to be done so carefully to be a good romantic pairing - As friends? I LOVE IT. Make these two best friends right now! - But Jaune moved past his feelings for Weiss in Vol.2 when he finally realized she meant it when she told him she didn’t like him - I’m shocked though that so few people pick up on Ep.3 Vol.1 when Weiss is making fun of Jaune and mockingly calls him a “cute boy”. I think Jaune just thought Weiss liked him already, and went from there. He hits on Pyrrha pretty quick in Ep.4 too - I think it could work with who they are now, but I think they’re better as friends

WhiteRose - The sole reason I didn’t ship Nuts and Dolts sooner - Vol. 6 messed me up okay? That red scarf really threw me for a loop - Chasing each other in the Argus Limited? - Weiss sassing Ruby non-stop Vol.1-3? - It also completes the RW BY JP NR pairings. I like to joke that the Emerald forest is actually “true love” forest. And whoever you lock eyes with first you fall in love with them. But that only works sometimes - Also that part where they call out each others names when Jinn shows them Ozpin’s past

Ladybug - Cute and interesting - I’m not against it. I would just need more of it to ship it myself - They just have such solid connections with other characters - I do love Blake’s introduction to the main cast though, and how much Blake looks up to Ruby

Freezerburn - Similar to LadyBug - Cute, but I just ship them more with other people - That hug in Vol.5 was a bit sus though - Yang does seem to open up the most with Weiss - And Weiss defended Yang so quickly after the Mercury fight - It’s not unfounded, I’ll say that - Analyzing it has opened my eyes

Crosshares - Yes - Just - Yes - High femme fashion ICON Coco Adel - With fan-fave Velvet Scarlatina - WLW powercouple - I wish I was Coco and Velvet is cute, not much to understand here, keep scrolling

RoseGarden - I have my concerns - Oscar is a wonderful kid - He probably has a crush on Ruby - And he is a wholesome boy who deserves all the happiness - But he also has a manipulative immortal Wizard in his head - So - You know

Lancaster - I never saw Lancaster. Jaune is the first boy Ruby meets. And Jaune calls her cute and quirky once, but... - I love Ruby’s talk with Jaune about failure in Vol. 1, then his return to that speech in Vol. 4 in return. - I think they lean on each other as leaders - But I don’t see it going further - Cute though. I’ve seen nice fanart

BlackSun - I read an analysis a long time ago that really sat with me - Blake asked for space (not out loud, but in action) when she ran away - Yang gave her what she wanted. She didn’t like it. But she gave Blake what she asked for. - Sun on the other hand, didn’t. He followed and helped her anyway. (Believe me, Blake could have used all the help she could get in Vol. 4-5) But in doing so, he kinda took himself out of the running as love interest. - He’s and excellent Foil for Blake though, so I love him

SeaMonkies - Two bros, chilling in a hot tub... - Is it gay to become junior detectives with your best friend and only hang out with him for like 3 seasons? - These two are just - So fucking stupid - Apart, they are fine. Very competent. - Together though - They are just so dumb I think its cute as hell

JNR - Wholesome - I could see it in Argus. In front of Pyrrha’s statue - They love each other - Maybe its not 100% romantic - But they love each other - I could be happy here

JNR+Neo - CRIME + Ren - The pure chaos of Nora and Neo - The exhausted mom-friend energy from Ren and Jaune - The power polycule that could take on Salem alone and maybe win? - I think it’d be cute, but I personally ship them in the two pairs a bit more.

Bees Schnees - We add Blake and Yang’s angst, Yang and Weiss’ trust, and Weiss and Blake’s mutual understanding and growth - Wow okay - I have to give it to you, I kinda like it

Neo x Jaune x Ruby - Based on my response to Lancaster, you might be able to guess my answer here - I think a lot of the ship’s points lie in “What’s better than one short girl dating the tallest guy in the cast? Two short girls dating the tallest guy in the cast!” - Cute though, I think it’d be chaotic and wholesome - But poor Jaune would be exhausted trying to make sure the house doesn;t burn down every five minutes

May x Winter - Look - If I hadn’t made a Neo x Jaune side blog - I would have made a May x Winter side blog - The comparisons - The family legacies - The pure amount of how attracted I am to both characters - What happens when two tops date each other? - What if they were partners in Atlas? - What if May was Winter’s first crush. And after May came out, Winter was like “Oh thank the gods, I was worried I liked all women and only one guy for some reason. Cool, crisis adverted. So anyway, Marigold, here’s how you do your makeup” - I could go on - Haha don’t tempt me - I’m serious - Please let them sass each other at some point

GuardDogs - Marrow = Just doing his best - Jaune = Just doing his best - Marrow and Jaune = two himbos just vibing in this world - If we don’t get Silentknight, I’d be proud to get GuardDogs - Marrow sure has been worried about “Juan” this whole time, huh?

Emercury - The sass - The pure sass - Mercury’s unearned confidence paired with Emerald’s quick temper - Wow, I hope Em can turn him away from murdering people. - If Em gets 1 friend, I hope its Mercury and not Cinder - At least Mercury cares about her (But he’s too cool to admit that outright) - Mercury is going to see Em on RWBY’s team and just immediately walk over and join up. No questions asked. “I guess we’re good now. Sorry Tyrian, its been cool, not really”

Happy Huntresses - Yes - Look at that HUG - Ladies, is it gay to go off into the tundra and form a rebellion against the fascist government with three of your hottest gal pals?

#Rwby #ships #im not tagging them all

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oxnardsart · 4 years ago

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New Boxer Beat Chapter’s out! boxer-beats.com

Boxer Beats was almost at the finale, again. Foxie and Lesbuni sat together, despite the larger crowd and tight seating, Lesbuni always made sure there was room for Foxie and her guard. However, the bunny could tell Foxie wasn’t feeling her best. “I’m sorry about the other day... are you still upset?” Foxie watched the show, looking empty. “It’s not a big deal. There’s just a lot going on right now.” Lesbuni hugged her arms around her girlfriend, “Well I’m here to make it better!” After a few more fights, it was Foxie’s turn. “Are you... dressing up for this match too?” Lesbuni wondered, “I-It’s fine, whatever you want to do...” Foxie smiled, she was glad to see Lesbuni knew not to control her, and to try accepting her instead! Like anyone else, Foxie just wanted to be herself. Or, in this case, someone else. ...But it still counts as being herself! Right? Foxie got dressed into her Anomaly outfit, and already she felt so much happier! The hamster announcered, “Laaaaaadies and women, girls too - welcome to one of the last fights of the nights!” The gals in the audience cheered in excitement. “And all you guys out there...” The men in the audience looked up, Oxnard smiled and casually said or asked, “Sup?” The guys mumbled in response, also casually. “And to all my not-guy and not-girl pals in the audience...” “Are you just going to group us all in one category?” A chameleon under the booth yelled out in response. “Nope!” Oxnard huffed, “I’m going to read out each type I have listed here and give everyone a semi-interesting starter. And then when I’m done, I’ll listen to whoever tells me that I forgot to include someone.” “Anomaly, you can start the fight while I read all these.” Oxnard waved his wrist at him to start.

“Good luck, Anomaly.” Don Badge waved from the audience, his big red nose pointing in the air, and a great big smile shining underneath. “You’re Don’s favorite.” “Awww...” Anomaly sighed, he loved having fans! “Why don’t you come see me after the show sometime, little buddy?” Anomaly winked in Don’s direction. “Um. Hey!” From the other side of the audience, Lesbuni growled. “What? I know you don’t wanna see me after the show... but I’ll show you inside of me after~” The audience got a good laugh out of that, it sounded dirty! But that was Anomaly saying he’d be back to Foxie after... right? “Don wants. To see you. Always,” the badger rang back. “You stop that!” Lesbuni yelled, “I’ll come over there and beat you so bad, I’ll wind up in jail too!” “Hey guys, come on, there’s enough split personality here for everybody’s body.” Anomaly awkwardly grinned, “I’m supposed to be the one fighting up here, not the audience!” “Oxnard’s taking too long!” A chameleon in the audience spoke up again. “The audience isn’t being patient!” Oxnard yelled back. “Don’s hitting on my girlfriend!” Lesbuni cried and started climbing over seats. “Don has. The fox hots.” It was chaos. Everyone was fighting, and Anomaly was still without a fight of their own on stage! But finally, the lights dimmed and focused on the entrance, where a chubby, round figure stood unwillingly. “WELP. THEY FOUND ME. GUESS I GOTTA FIGHT.” It was Anger Mouse! It looked like the mouse didn’t want to fight, the Do-Gooder following him kept patting his back, nudging him up on stage, “You can quit the fight if you don’t want to do it.” “WHO SAID I DON’T WANNA FIGHT?” Anger Mouse yelled up in response. “Then why were you hidin-” “I WASN’T HIDING. LET’S FIGHT, ANATOMY.” The fat purple rat hopped into the boxing ring. Anatomy, er, Anomaly, raised an eyebrow. Did this mouse really want to fight? “ALRIGHT. IT’S BOXING TIME.” Anger Mouse announced, “WE’RE DOING DODGEBALL.” Suddenly, a bunch of bouncing rubber balls fell from the ceiling, most bounced out of the ring right after landing in there. “GAH! GOSH DARN IT. Stupid balls.” Anger Mouse complained. “YUP, WELL, y’know the rules, don’t ya?” He whispered to Anomaly, looking sincere, “You just gotta hit me with balls to win the match. COUGH COUGH. AHEM. SO LET’S FIGHT, WITH OUR BALLS.” The audience all stopped fighting, they wanted to watch this! Anomaly picked up a dodgeball, “Um, is the referee going to come out and tell us to start? Or... do we just start?” Oxnard announced over the speakers, “Aro’s in the bathroom. Just fight!” Somewhere out there, Aro the referee was quite embarrassed, hearing the speakers from the announcer echo into the restroom. No one needed to know that! Anomaly shrugged, eyeing Anger Mouse to make sure he was ready, and threw! ...But he missed. Anger Mouse waited for Anomaly to find another ball and throw it, but he missed again. “HEY, COME ON, AIM A LITTLE.” The fat rat picked up a ball! And then he, he... rolled it to Anomaly? “TRY AGAIN.” The fox threw again, but it went right over Anger’s head. “WHAT’S THE DEAL? YOU CAN’T THROW?” “You’re too short!” “WHAT!?” Anomaly picked up a ball outside the ring, and came back in only to... roll it over to Anger Mouse. “If you’re so good at throwing, prove it.” Anger Mouse confidently picked up the ball, leaned back to throw, aaaand... dropped it. “HA! YOU CAN’T trick me THAT easily...” his voice started to crack and squeak. At this rate, no one was going to get the other out. “Come on F- uh, I mean, Anomaly!” Lesbuni cheered, “You went to pie school, or whatever. You should know how to throw balls!” “Throwing pies and throwing balls are very different, they’re totally different shapes!” Anomaly panicked, things weren’t looking good. “It’s complicated, you wouldn’t understand!” “TRY USING BOTH HANDS,” Anger Mouse screamed. Anomaly couldn’t handle so many people yelling at him. This wasn’t as fun as his first performance. “Wait... a performance!” Anomaly grinned, anything was more fun as a show. The fox dashed around the ring, collecting balls all for himself. “Watch this, Angry Pants!” Anomaly started juggling three big dodgeballs in his hands, the audience was mildly curious. But then the fox started walking forward, right onto a dodgeball! But Anomaly didn’t slip - he stood on top of that ball as he juggled the others in his paws. He then raised a leg, balancing on one foot! “Hey Anger, keep an eye on these balls for me.” “YOU’RE MISSING A PAIR,” he grumbled as he peeked under the fox’s tutu. “Hey, it’s a costume! Don’t judge me there.” Anomaly giggled, and suddenly lost their balance. “Oh fudge!” “GAH!” As Anomaly landed on his back, the dodgeball under his foot shot forward, right at Anger Mouse! It punted the little guy right off stage - flipping over the ropes and landing on the ground outside the ring. “Anger Mouse is outta the house!” Oxnard exclaimed, “Anomaly, watch out!” The fox on his back looked up, the three balls they were juggling were falling right towards him! “Those balls are coming down on him hard!” “I wish I was in his boots right now.” “Happens to me all the time! What’s the big deal?” With the audience’s eyes all on those balls, Anomaly timed his kicks to knock the first two away. The third was on its way, but the fox reached up and caught it in both his paws. He was safe! “Whew! He did it folks,” Oxnard yelped over the speakers. “That was almost a draw, but Anomaly is goin’ to the finals! That performance was quite a kick in the balls, fella. Watch it next time.” The audience cheered, and Anomaly hopped around happily. He did it! “You’re amazing, Anomaly.” Don cheered from one side. “You’re gonna win it all, Foxie!” Lesbuni squeaked from the other. Anomaly was happy, but hearing Foxie’s name brought him back to reality. It was back to being Foxie with the show over. She wished these moments lasted longer. Foxie was left wondering one more thing about the fight... “HEY!” As Foxie went back to her guard in the hallway, Anger Mouse chased behind her, “WAIT.” The short mouse took her hand as they went through the exit. “Um, what’s up?” Foxie asked the little guy. “YOU’RE GOING TO THE FINALE.” Well, that was obvious. “Yeah... I mean, I won the fight... so, that makes sense.” Foxie nodded. “I DIDN’T try to win.” Anger Mouse grumbled, looking down at the floor. “You didn’t? Haha, I didn’t even realize it... you gave me a lot of chances to hit you, huh?” Foxie thought. “And you almost didn’t show up at all!” “I WAS HIDING. I WAS GONNA GIVE YOU THE MATCH.” Anger Mouse sighed, “I didn’t want everyone to watch me lose. But...” Anger Mouse rubbed his face, was he sad? What was going on? Foxie pat his head gently, she almost forgot, this loud little guy was just a little kid. “What’s wrong?” Foxie leaned down to ask. “DON IS MY FRIEND. I GUESS. SO... Y-YOU GUYS... GET TO BE IN THE FINALS TOGETHER.” Anger Mouse sniffed, “HE WANTED TO SPEND THIS WHOLE COMPETITION WITH YOU. THAT’S THE REASON WHY HE JOINED. THAT, and I asked him. I thought we would be on a team...” Anger Mouse lost on purpose, so that Don and Foxie could be together in the finale? “Oh, Anger... you didn’t have to do that.” Foxie smiled sympathetically. “HE’S GONNA FORGET ALL ABOUT ME.” Anger Mouse shrieked with a high-pitched scream, “HE WANTS TO BE FRIENDS WITH YOU INSTEAD. DON’S THE ONLY ONE THAT CARES ABOUT ME. I’LL BE FORGOTTEN BY EVERYBODY.” “Anger, no... that wouldn’t happen.” Foxie rubbed his back, looking at either of their guards to step in... but no such luck. She felt like she was playing mommy. “If Don and I become friends, we can all be friends together!” “Y-YOU’LL join us?” Anger asked, sounding hopeful. Were Anger and Don in a club? Well, whatever made him happy again. Er, wait, was Anger Mouse ever happy? “Sure, I’ll join you guys. We’re all boxing prisoners here.” Anger Mouse squeaked and grinned wide, clapping his gloves together. “Heeee!” You know, when he wasn’t being an angry brat, this rat was kind of cute. “THANKS LADY.” Anger Mouse went towards to his guard and reached for his hand, “GOOD LUCK WITH DON. KICK HIS BUTT!” The chubby mouse chuckled and walked off into the hallway. Was Foxie supposed to beat Don? Or... if he was a fan, maybe it was his dream to be on stage with Foxie in the finale? Foxie felt happier as she left for the night, “For a pair of bad guys, Don and Anger Mouse sure are sweet.”

#boxer beats #anomaly #foxie #lesbuni #don badge #anger mouse #furry #story

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