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kxlinthesky · 1 year ago

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EPISODE 6 PART 2 LIGHT NOVEL Chapter 5-6 English Translation

“... I’m sorry.” Jack removed his stethoscope, his voice carefully devoid of any emotion.

Owl refused to give up hope just yet. “Isn’t there anything we can do?”

Jack shook his head. “Not with how far she’s progressed, no.”

“But she’s still breathing. Her body’s still here,” Owl pointed out, perhaps a touch desperately. “And she wasn’t completely Demonized yet, right? Since Demons usually turn to dust when they die.”

“No, she was completely Demonized. She burned through the last remaining bits of human life force she had. What you probably saw was her trying to restart her heart with whatever magic she had left. It would’ve looked like she was still breathing for a bit... though that’s only a guess. I haven’t seen many cases where the body was left in this state.”

“So all we can do is wait and watch?”

Jack blew out a sigh, mouth twisted in a pained line. “... Unfortunately, yes. I’m sorry I can’t do more.”

Seeing his own frustration mirrored on his friend’s face, Owl held his tongue. His hands balled into fists.

“There’s nothing more we can do for her,” Jack continued. “She... was probably dead before she even met you. The Black Rose Disease marks had spread over her entire body.”

Owl’s jaw fell open. His clenched fist fell limp.

They were back at Owl’s agency, and there was an unconscious woman lying stretched out in front of them. It was the harpy who’d attacked them earlier... well, she had been a harpy. She was just a regular woman now. After all that had happened, Owl and the others had swiftly transported her back to the agency and called for Jack in the hopes that he could help her. And he’d tried, to the best of his abilities... but it was just too late.

That very night, she’d used up the last dregs of her strength. There was nothing left inside her now.

“I just don’t understand.”

Owl all but fell onto the couch, his hands almost clawing at his scalp. The Demonized woman had suddenly attacked them mere seconds after he’d had that odd hallucination, and on top of that, she might in fact be the duke’s missing daughter.... He felt completely justified in being just the slightest bit frazzled at the moment.

Jack’s voice lowered a touch. “... Owl, do you remember the servant at the McCreech’s estate? The one who collapsed in the chapel?”

“The servant...? You mean the one Cain experimented on who got their soul removed...? Whatever happened to him?”

“He passed away, unfortunately. I only bring it up because there were traces of something in him that are also present in her.” Jack gestured to the unconscious woman. “Traces that her soul was pulled out of her body by unnatural means.”

“What?”

Jack held out a medical certificate. As Owl grabbed it and started scanning, his finger tracing the text, Jack went on, “She showed up as a Demon, then reverted back into a human in front of you all, right?”

“That’s right. She turned back right as she was about to attack us.”

“I see....” Jack trailed off for a moment in thought. Eventually, he haltingly continued, “This is just a hypothesis that came up when I was speaking with Sir Tristan before, but... maybe she turned into a Demon before she attacked you all, and someone pulled her soul out then?”

“Huh?”

“She would’ve died the instant her soul was removed, but maybe that’s not enough to actually kill a Demon... or maybe she was moving through some other power....” Jack shrugged, eyebrows furrowed in a pensive frown. “Either way, maybe what happened is she rampaged for a while without her soul, and when she finally surpassed her limits she turned back into a human in front of all of you. Her body ceased functioning... essentially dying a second time.”

“A second death....” The words sounded almost foreign to Owl’s ears. How miserable, how painful would it be to experience that sort of agony not just once, but twice? Hs couldn’t even begin to imagine.

“I’ve been thinking about that device in the McCreech estate this whole time,” Jack admitted.

“Device... you mean the one in the chapel.” It wasn’t phrased like a question. Owl knew what Jack meant.

“Yeah, that one. A device that switches souls around as a way to cheat death... but the more I thought about it, the more I thought that the way it returns souls to their bodies is pretty risky. So I wondered, did the old head of the family create it just to live forever? Or was it used for some other reason? Did someone order them to build it?” As he spoke, Jack raised his arms to hover around him like wings... and not just any wings, not butterfly or bird or anything like that, but the wings of a very particular being. “And so on and so forth.”

Owl dipped his head. He had several thoughts on that front as well. “Mastema... he wanted to turn Eliza and Anastasia into Demons. He said he was collecting it, farming it. Meaning he was cultivating them to try and make something.”

“Make something... Demons, you mean?”

“... No, not Demons. At least, that wasn’t the end goal. Demonization was just a side effect, or an end result, I guess, of whatever he was trying to grow.” Owl’s hand rose to cup his chin. “That apparatus is meant to harvest souls from their bodies. Cultivated souls, grown souls, are unusual – altered in some way, most likely. And once a soul from a Demonized body undergoes that alteration, that’s the optimal time to harvest.”

“... An altered soul,” Jack repeated.

“Yeah. And if the crystallized form of a soul like that is azoth....” Owl was the one saying it, but a chill ran down his spine nevertheless at the thought. He had a bad feeling about this....

“Hey Owl, Doc, why don’t you guys take a break?” called Nick’s voice from the kitchen. “There’s tea on, you want some?”

Owl and Jack traded glances, then nodded as one and moved into the kitchen, taking their seats at the table. Identical massive sighs fell from their lips. Nick handed them each a cup of tea, lips pulled in a contrite frown. “I’m sorry,” he told them.

“What are you apologizing for?”

“If I was faster... if I figured out she was the duke’s daughter earlier....” Nick wrung his hands. “If I brought her to see Owl earlier and we found out she was infected, then maybe....”

Owl cut him off with a firm shake of his head. “There’s no use worrying about what-ifs. You only had that sketch to work off of – there’s no way you could’ve figured it out. You didn’t do anything wrong, Nick.”

“... Mm.” Nick didn’t sound too convinced.

“Ellie already went to bed, right? You should get some rest, too.”

“But –”

Owl reached out and clapped Nick on the shoulder comfortingly. “Tomorrow we’ll get in contact with the duke and have him identify the body, and then we’ll go back there. We’re all worried about Ritz – we have to go get her.” He tilted his head into the agency.

“Thank you for the tea,” Jack chimed in. “Sleep well.”

Nick glanced at both of them, then nodded. “Fine, okay. Lemme just make sure the pub’s locked up tight first, then I’ll go to bed.” He turned and walked out of the kitchen.

Nick shuffled downstairs with a storm cloud hanging over his head. He quickly made his way down to the pub and opened the door. Good thing we were closed today anyway. I don’t think I could’ve handled customers like this, he thought to himself as he walked through the shop. He headed straight for the entrance, but just as he passed by the counter –

“Hey, did you make this lemonade?”

“WAAH!!”

– someone’s voice suddenly spoke up from behind it, and Nick jumped, his heart kicking into wild overdrive. He hadn’t thought anyone was here! He leaped over to the window in a single bound, squinting in the direction of the voice.

“Ahahaha, wow, you just leaped away,” chortled the voice. “Like a cat who saw a snake or something.”

“Ah...!” Nick’s eyes went wide, and one arm shot up to point an accusing finger at the young silver-haired man snickering behind the counter. “You – LOUIS!!”

“Evening,” Louis greeted him amicably. The young man had shadowed Nick on the job the other day, but he’d vanished shortly thereafter... and now he was here in the pub. He raised his hand, revealing a cup of lemonade, and took a sip. “You know, this is really good. It could give Byron’s a run for its money, probably.”

“Hey, don’t just take that! Thief!”

“Now, that’s just rude. Anything that’s left in Byron’s pub is technically mine. He even left me my own key to the place.”

“Okay, but I’m the one who made the lemonade!”

“But the recipe is Byron’s, right?”

“I bought the lemons!”

“And used Byron’s stuff to make it.”

As they continued to verbally spar, Nick drew closer to the counter and deftly swiped the glass out of Louis’ hand. “Why are you even here?!”

“‘Why’... don’t tell me you forgot. You’re the one who said to come back later if I wanted to meet Owl.” Louis leaned his head in his hand, elbow resting on the counter, relaxed as anything. His eyes flicked over to the door leading up to the agency as he added with a huff, “But it looks like there’s another client here. My timing is just awful.”

Nick blinked, then gasped. “Oh, right! Something terrible happened!” He leaned in close to Louis. “That nice lady died!”

“What nice lady?”

“The one who let us run away the other day. We went to go see her today, and... she turned into a Demon, and then she died. I feel awful for her.”

“... I see.” Louis nodded once.

... That was it? Nick squinted at him. “What kind of reaction is that? Are you not surprised at all?”

Louis shrugged a shoulder, almost like he’d been expecting this kind of news. “No, I’m not. There were a bunch of Black Rose Disease infectees coming out of that area, right? It’s not weird at all to hear that she ended up infected, too.”

“I mean, yeah, but....”

“More importantly, if you went to go see her, that means you must’ve been walking around near that hospital place, right? Was there anything off around there?”

“Such as?”

“Anything strange that you might’ve seen or heard.”

“Strange, huh...?” Was there anything stranger than a Demon? Nick opened his mouth to say just that, but then he paused. Right, there was that.... “Actually, yeah, Owl was kinda weird. He said he could see and hear carriages going by, but there was no one on that street but us.”

Louis leaned forward, eyes widening. “That, that, yes! He did see the carriages!”

“What?”

“I saw them, too! I saw carriages rattling around over there!” Louis stepped out from behind the counter, half-forced Nick into a nearby chair, and plopped down on the chair next to him.

Nick thought back to when he and Louis had visited that place together. He did recall Louis saying something about a carriage going by, now that he thought about it. “Right, you did... I remember you saying that,” Nick said.

“Yes, because there was one. I distinctly heard the wheels clattering on the cobblestones. But you didn’t see it.”

“Right, ‘cause there wasn’t one. Ellie didn’t see anything, either.”

“But I did.”

“You sure you weren’t just dreaming?”

“Would you be able to go upstairs and ask Owl the same thing?”

“....”

“Neither of us were dreaming. And neither were you, of course. But there was clearly a difference in what you could see and what we could see. Why do you think that is?” Louis met Nick’s eyes, a challenge in his gaze. “What does the great detective’s assistant think?”

Nick’s jaw snapped shut. He glared at Louis, his mouth puckered like he’d just tasted something bitter, and snapped, “I don’t know. What do you think?”

“Well, the simplest answer would be that one of us was shown an illusion, or put under some sort of suggestion... perhaps?”

“I mean, I dunno about you, but d’you really think Owl’d get ‘put under suggestion?’”

“Maybe it only works on geniuses?”

“Wooow, you really said that, huh. Toot your own horn some more, why don’t you.”

“Well, it’s the truth.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

“And, just checking, did you figure out what exactly it was I gave you?”

“... ‘It’ as in... that test tube?”

“Correct.”

Under Louis’ expectant gaze, Nick averted his eyes. “Doc... uh, Ellie’s physician said he ‘felt something from it,’” he answered.

“That’s all?”

“Yeah. He said, ‘Is the gas laced with alchemy?’ and Owl said, ‘It’s not concentrated enough,’ or something. They sent it in for analysis, but I don’t think they’ve got the results back yet.”

“Hmm, I see.” Louis leaned back again. “I think there’s some sort of hallucinogen mixed in with the smog, personally.”

“Hallucinogen? Is that the ‘poison’ the cats were talking about? It’s not a drug turning people into Demons?”

“Correct. It’s a psychedelic drug making people see carriages. You remember what was under the dress at that building, don’t you? That mechanism under the skirt? I think the Demon Parade might be spraying hallucinogenic drugs around while they’re marching around the city,” Louis explained. “At first I also thought they were spreading the Black Rose Disease, but I haven’t heard of anything that can extract the source of infection... and it’s not something a normal person with no technical know-how could operate, anyway.”

“But if it is a hallucinogen, why would they be spreading it around? What good does showing everyone illusions do?”

“Hiding a tree in a forest, probably. Illusionary carriages would mask any real ones trundling around.”

“Huuuh?”

Louis leaned forward again. “You’ve been investigating in that area recently, right? You didn’t see any weird carriages around?”

“Hey, too close! Back off!” Nick shoved his palm into Louis’ face and pushed him away with a dissatisfied glare. “And hey, you’ve been asking questions nonstop this whole time! You better not be thinking you’re getting all this from an informant for free! I’m not cheap, you hear?”

“Aw, come on, don’t be so stingy.”

“Nuh-uh, this is give and take.~” Nick retracted his hand from Louis’ face just enough to drop it in his line of sight, palm up.

Louis stared for a moment at the hand so eagerly awaiting payment and considered... then, instead of money, he pulled out some of the alchemic cards from before. “What if I add these to the pot?” he asked. “And not just any kind – these are sun-aligned. They fit Owl perfectly.”

“They do?”

“Oh, yes, they fit your beloved partner like a glove.” A broad smile slowly unfurled across his face. “Though, well, they’re nowhere near as effective as him.”

“... Fiiiine.~~” Nick swiveled in his seat and pulled a notebook from his pocket.

“Then we have ourselves a deal.”

Louis traded his cards for Nick’s notebook. As the informant pocketed his new acquisition, the student opened the little book and flipped to a map of the city. Nick commented, “Weird carriages, huh... you know, now that you mention it, I do remember seeing some around with these huge machines or something strapped on top of ‘em. Feels like they’ve been cropping up more and more for the last month or so.”

“Huge machines?” Louis echoed.

“Yeah, you remember the one we saw in front of that building, right? It had that big old device on its roof, with that weird shape. I thought someone was moving house, but... it was really weird. I’ve been seeing ones like that parked all over the city. And none of ‘em had any horses attached, so maybe they were abandoned.”

“... Do you remember where they were?”

“Oh, for sure, I make it a rule to jot down anything even a little out of the ordinary. This map here has all the places marked down.” Nick produced another map from his pocket. Louis whistled and made to grab it, only for Nick to yank it out of reach and hold out his hand again. “That’ll be another card,” he said pointedly.

“... You really are a shrewd one,” Louis sighed, stuck somewhere between awe and exasperation. He did, however, pull out another card and place it in Nick’s waiting palm.

“Thank you!~” Nick pocketed the new card and spread the map open in front of them. This one had marks dotted all over its surface.

Louis peered at the map, eyebrows shooting up. “Heeh... I guess a first-rate informant doesn’t do things by halves, huh.”

“What, were you doubting me?”

“I wouldn’t say that.” Louis squinted, then pointed at one spot on the map near one of the marks. “... Hey, what does this say here? The chicken scratch is hard to read.”

“Oh, I didn’t write that, that was Owl. He writes notes like that sometimes that only he can read.”

“He writes in your notebook?”

“Just on the maps. He’s got absolutely no sense of direction, so when I’m not around he reads the maps funny.”

“Ahh....”

“He even made a note when we came back today.”

“Heeh...? A note from the detective himself, hm... hmm?” The second he heard it was from Owl himself, Louis dove into his perusal of the map with renewed fervor. His fingers traced from mark to mark, comparing the distances between each location and muttering to himself. “... They’re spaced evenly apart... is something built into the carriages themselves... or maybe there’s some kind of antenna...?”

Nick watched him examine the map for a moment. He kinda reminds me of Owl, he thought to himself. Out loud, he murmured, “I wonder if all alchemists are just like that....~”

“A nursery rhyme....”

Nick jolted out of his musings. “Hm?”

Louis raised his head from the map. “Do you know a nursery rhyme about London Bridge?” he asked.

Nick had to take a second for his brain to digest the completely out of nowhere question. “Well, yeah,” he eventually replied, “I mean, there’s the obvious one, right?” He raised his hand and began waving his finger around like a baton, humming the tune to himself. “Falling down, falling down, my fair lady~, that one. What about it?”

“What are the last lines of the story?”

“The last lines?” Nick sucked in a breath through his teeth. “Uhh... I mean, I never actually learned the song properly, so... umm, I think, the people try to build the bridge out of all sorts of materials. They start with wood and clay, but then it gets ‘washed away,’ so then they plan to build it with bricks and mortar, or something?”

“Right, but ‘brick and mortar will not stay,’ so they move onto iron and steel, but even then ‘iron and steel will bend and bow.’” As Louis explained, he pulled a piece of paper from his pocket. “And last they try silver and gold, but ‘silver and gold will be stolen away,’ so they ‘set a man to watch the night.’”

“Is that how it went?”

“Yeah, and the next verse is ‘suppose the man should fall asleep.’”

“Man, this song’s nothing but naysaying.”

“You’re not wrong. But the next verse is the last – ‘give him a pipe to smoke all night.’ That’s where it ends.”

“Heeh? So a pipe solves everything?”

“Well, it’s possible... but there’s an interesting little rumor about this story.” Louis’ face suddenly shifted into a grim mask, his voice taking on a noticeable, almost theatrical tremble, the kind meant to frighten children in their beds. Nick leaned back just a touch, a little on edge despite himself, as Louis’ voice dropped lower and lower until it was a mere whisper. “It’s said that in order to complete the bridge, the man became a pillar himself... a human sacrifice....”

“... Heeh...?~ A human sacrifice?” Nick rolled his eyes doubtfully, still leaning back. “You mean they killed him to make the bridge stay up? C’mon, that has to be fake.”

Louis’ voice rose back up to its normal pitch with a disappointed frown. Guess Nick didn’t scare that easily. “Well, it’s more or less a baseless rumor,” he agreed. But his expression was as grim as before as he placed the paper he’d pulled out onto the counter and slid it over to Nick. “But she told us to ‘not become like that song.’”

“Who?”

“The woman we met.”

Nick gasped. He meant Maud. The paper on the counter in front of him had to be the note she’d passed Louis as they were leaving the other day! He grabbed it and opened the folded note to find some kind of scribbled map and the words “London Bridge” scrawled across the top. “What’s this?” he wondered.

“A map leading to a factory near London Bridge,” Louis replied.

“A factory?”

“One that makes carriages, specifically. I went there earlier today. It’s not all that big, but it’s not small, either. There was this circular symbol on it of three blooming flowers, so it was easy to spot.” Louis gesticulated with his hands as he spoke. “They were making these pitch-black carriages inside... with strange machines attached to the roofs.” He mimed the shape with his hands.

Nick’s eyes widened. “Just like the ones I saw,” he breathed.

What was going on? Why did Maud give them a map to the carriage factory? What was with their odd shapes?

“... What do you think?”

“What do you mean?”

“About what she said. ‘Don’t become like that song.’ Do you think she meant ‘don’t be a person who smokes a pipe and gets turned into a human sacrifice?’”

“Uh....”

“If the smoke from the pipe is some sort of metaphor, then....” Louis tapped the note, his face falling even more –

Ding!

Nick jumped. That was the bell over the door. He’d forgotten to lock it. “Ah, sorry, we’re closed today!” he called. But then he took a closer look at who’d just walked in and his jaw fell open. “Wait, RITZ?!”

“Good evening, Nick.” Ritz – for it was Ritz, perfectly safe and sound – held up a small bag with a quiet smile. “I apologize for the other day. I brought some tea to thank you for serving me that lovely brand before.”

Nick launched out of his chair in a flash and rushed up to her, eyes wide and wild. “Ritz, you’re okay?!” he yelped. “We saw you go in that weird building and we were so worried!” “Weird building?” Ritz repeated, befuddled.

“You really shouldn’t go there anymore!”

“Huh?” Ritz blinked, her head tilted. Why was Nick so panicked? Then her eyebrows shot up, a certain stiffness setting in her shoulders. Now that was the old Ritz, the usual Ritz, with her rigid posture and her chest puffed up with pride. “... Are you referring to the support institute?” she asked. “Don’t be so rude. That place is a perfectly safe salon that provides women in need with the most wonderful system of support they could ask for. Everyone there is fighting hard to secure rights for women. I won’t tolerate any slander against it.”

Nick breathed out a quick sigh of relief at her attitude even as she efficiently shut him down. He shook his head, though, and insisted, “It didn’t look like that to us! If you go back, you might get caught up in all the crazy stuff, too!” He jabbed a finger behind him at the counter. “Even Louis over there thought it was suspicious!”

Ritz peered around Nick, then glanced back at him with her head tilted even further. “Louis? Who is that?”

“Who – the guy sitting at the counter? Look!”

“... There’s no one there, though?”

“Huh? What?” Nick whirled around to find no one behind him, no hide or hair to even hint someone had been there in the first place.

One eyebrow arched on Ritz’s face. “Are you sure you aren’t daydreaming, Nick? Or did you perhaps have a bad dream?” She spread her arms. “As you can see, I’m perfectly fine. Does it look like I’ve been caught up in something strange to you?”

“I-I’m not daydreaming!”

“Then why are you insisting it’s so dangerous? Are you perhaps fine with a society where women don’t hold rights? I may have misjudged you!”

“That’s not what I’m saying at all! I’m just worried about you! I don’t want you going anywhere that’s not safe!”

“And I am telling you that it’s not dangerous, and it’s not suspicious! The head of the salon, Krinos, is a wonderful person!”

Their back and forth was slowly growing more heated, unable to see eye to eye with each other. Perhaps because he heard the commotion, Owl came down the stairs to investigate, his eyes widening as he noticed Ritz. “Oh, good, you’re all right,” he said, pressing a hand to his chest with a relieved sigh.

“Oooowl!~” Nick turned to his partner pleadingly, halting in his tracks. “You tell her not to go there anymore! It’s actually....”

As Owl strode up to the pair of them, Ritz eyed him with naked caution. “Are you also against the movement for women’s rights, Owl?” she queried with a tongue cold and sharp as an icicle.

“What are you talking about?” Owl replied, distinctly wrong-footed. When he noticed just how angry Ritz was, he dropped his voice to a more pacifying tone. “Ritz, we’re not against women’s rights – we’re for it, if anything. You’re on equal footing with us. That’s exactly why we’re so worried about you, as your friends.”

“,.. Friends....”

“Yes. There was a woman outside that building you’ve been visiting that Demonized – she was infected with the Black Rose Disease. We just don’t want you to end up like her.”

“A Black Rose Disease infectee? Is that true?!”

“Yeah.”

“It can’t be....” Ritz’s anger melted away, replaced by flustered confusion. “Th-There are several infectees in the facility as well, all of whom can’t find work because of their condition. Perhaps the woman you saw was one of them.”

“Probably.”

“Where is she now?”

“She passed away. She collapsed right in front of us and lost consciousness, so we brought her here and called a doctor, but by then we were too late.”

“No...!”

Ritz stumbled away in shock, her eyes flicking everywhere but Owl and Nick. But it wasn’t long before she straightened up again, clearly trying to buoy her own spirits with her posture alone. “If a death has occurred, then the police will need to investigate,” she announced, turning to Owl. “I will likely need to call in a coroner as well.”

Nick nervously tugged on Owl’s sleeve. “Owl... she was Ritz’s....”

Owl took a few seconds to collect himself. He stepped aside and gestured at Ritz toward the agency with a nod. “... Go ahead, Officer Ritz,” he murmured, head bowed. “You should see this for yourself, as an officer of the law. I believe in you.”

Ritz shot him a faintly perplexed glance, but she stepped past him without hesitation and climbed the stairs up to the agency. Nick fell in step after her, but as he passed by the counter he glanced over with a frown. “Oh, right, where’s...” he mumbled to himself.

There was no one there, though, just as there wasn’t anyone there this whole time. Even the lamp had been dimmed at some point, as if the place had been completely silent and untouched from the very start.

“... I wonder when Louis left,” Nick muttered, before turning and following Ritz up the stairs.

“Miss Maud...?”

The bag slipped from her grasp and thudded to the floor.

Ritz walked into the agency, exchanged greetings with Jack, then saw the woman’s body lying in the living room... and stumbled to a halt, her jaw dropping and her face rapidly paling. She stood there in dumbstruck silence for several seconds, too shocked to even breathe, too shocked to remember she’d come up here as a police officer intending to do her job.

“Maud? It can’t be – it can’t be Miss Maud? No! Why?!” With a shrill screech, Ritz hurled herself toward the body, her hands desperately reaching for the woman –

“Don’t, Ritz.” Owl grabbed her and pulled her back.

But Ritz struggled against his hold, her focus locked on the corpse in front of her. “It can’t be, it’s a lie – no, this can’t be real, Miss Maud!”

Owl’s eyes flicked down to the woman in his grasp. “So you did know her,” he murmured sadly.

“Know her? She was my friend! She was the kindest person at the salon, she always listened to me... ahh, no, why, how?!” Ritz wailed.

“Calm down! I know you’re upset this happened to your friend, but....”

“I can’t! Miss Maud was... no, no, she can’t, she can’t be dead! She never said she had the disease, she never said anything like that! I can’t....” Ritz slumped in Owl’s hold. Her knees thumped against the floor. She stared at her friend’s body in despair. “I can’t believe this... ahh...!” Her hands rose to claw at her scalp as she broke down sobbing.

“I didn’t think the lady we were looking for was gonna be Ritz’s friend,” said Nick at Owl’s side. He pulled a folded sheet from his pocket – the picture of the duke’s daughter.

Ritz raised her head. Her teary eyes sought out the slip in Nick’s hand. She knew that slip; it was the same picture Nick had shown her before.

“Hey, Ritz, did you – did you know? That she might be the duke’s daughter?!”

The second she laid eyes on the picture, all remaining blood drained from her face. “Ah... I... ahh...!!” Fingers rose to claw at her face again as she shook her head back and forth, the very picture of anguish. “I, I did something so terrible...!!” she screamed.

“Ritz?” It wasn’t like her to lose herself like this. Nick gently grabbed Ritz’s arm and leaned in, studying her face intently. “What’s wrong?”

In between hiccupping sobs she replied, “I... thought there was... a slim chance that, that she....” Her voice rose to a shrill pitch. “Maybe she was her, she was the duke’s daughter that... that you were looking for...!”

“Huh?”

“But I told myself that couldn’t be right, because, she was so much thinner than the woman in the picture, and, and I – even if she was the duke’s daughter, I thought... it’d be better for her if I didn’t tell anyone... because she was being mistreated at home! She said she was locked away in the estate and never allowed even an ounce of freedom, so I...!”

“Ritz....”

“But... now this happened....”

Ritz’s shoulders hunched, trembling head to toe. This time, it was Nick and Owl who couldn’t find the words to speak. How could they, when they had no idea where to even begin consoling their distraught friend?

A different voice, frigid enough to freeze even a waterfall of tears, spoke up instead. “Oh, here you are.”

“The duke?!”

“Duke Fitz?”

The pair turned toward the door to find a black-haired man standing there wearing an haute couture indigo jacket with nary a wrinkle to be seen and shoes polished to a high sheen. The faint scent of perfume clung to his frame. It was the same man who’d been by the agency the other day... their current client, Duke Fitz.

Owl stepped forward, confusion wrinkling his brow. “May I ask why you’ve come?” he inquired. He hadn’t told the duke about his daughter yet, so he was surprised to see him come calling again so soon.

“Ahh, good timing. I thought I’d come and cancel my request to find my daughter... though I certainly didn’t expect to find you here with a corpse.” He glanced the dead woman’s body up and down. He huffed a single chuckle through his nose.

And then he opened his mouth again and said, without a hint of grief or sadness, “Well, she certainly makes a pitiful sight, for a member of the Fitz family.”

“... Your Grace,” said Owl slowly, “are you positive that this woman is your daughter?”

The duke nodded. “Without a doubt,” he confirmed. “That seedy-looking face of hers is the spitting image of my dead wife’s, especially now that she’s so thin – it was harder to tell back when she was fatter. This is my daughter.”

Owl’s face clouded. “... I can’t apologize enough for our failure to locate her while she was still alive,” he murmured, head bowed. “I deeply regret that our cases piled up to the point that we were unable to start our investigation immediately.”

The duke waved him off, still cool and collected. “I don’t mind. I’d thought the woman died two years ago – finding out she only died recently makes no difference to me.” He walked up to the body, his hand hovering over her collarbone as his eyes flicked back and forth as if searching for something. A cheerful smile unfurled across his face as he glanced back at Owl. “In fact, if anything... because you were late, you managed to deliver me a product of superior quality. I really should be thanking you.”

“Huh?”

The duke sounded so calm, almost peaceful, like a disciple whose prayers had reached their god... completely and utterly fulfilled. It was most certainly not the face of a father looking at their dead child. “You see, I was quite discouraged two years ago when the merchandise disappeared right before delivery. I even admit to resenting my foolish girl, but now I realize that was an unseemly bout of pride. My prayers were answered after all. Their messenger came to me earlier and praised my efforts. He said, ‘They have obtained a jewel more magnificent than any in the history of your family.’ To think she had hidden herself right by their side....”

“Your Grace...? What are you...?”

“Well, then, I’ll take my leave now; I have a soiree to be getting to. Ah, I will pay you for your services up till now, of course.” Fitz handed Owl a blank check without waiting for a reply. “Go ahead and write whatever amount you like in there. Good evening to you all.” He turned to leave. Owl and the others stood there silently watching his retreating back, utterly flabbergasted....

Except for Jack, who called after him, “When will you be back to collect your daughter’s body?”

“I won’t.”

“What?”

“I don’t need it anymore,” the duke said, like he was talking about a broken piece of equipment instead of his own family. “Just toss it in a public cemetery somewhere, you can do whatever you want with it.”

Jack’s eyes bugged out of his head. “Wha – Whatever we want?! She’s your daughter, isn’t she?!”

“That was a disgusting, immoral woman who chose to tie herself to a filthy servant, of all things,” Fitz shot back without turning around. “I could never inter her in the family grave.”

Ritz shot to her feet, incensed. “That... that is taking it too far!” she shouted. “You kept Miss Maud confined in your estate ever since she was a child, did you not?! How selfish can you be to refuse to even bury her just because she fell in love with one of your servants?!” She rushed up and latched onto his arm, still screaming. “Miss Maud told me how her father abused her from birth! How she would be beaten if she took even a single step out of her room! I was her friend! She told me everything! I will not stand by and let you treat her like this!!”

Fitz stared down his nose at Ritz like she was a particularly disgusting cockroach. “Don’t touch me,” he said icily, shaking off her grip with a glare. “I gave her a life of luxury – I fed her, I clothed her, she wanted for nothing. How could that be called abuse?”

No one could deter Ritz that easily, though, not even a duke. “How could it be anything else?!” she screamed. “Yes, she may not have been hungry, and she may have always had lovely clothes, but how could anyone be happy living alone locked in a single room for their entire life?! All Miss Maud could do was stare out the window day by day, and the only light in her life was the chimney sweep who would come to visit and sing her nursery rhymes from the rooftop! Is it so wrong that her heart fluttered at his kindness?! Do you know what she told me?! She said, ‘It was only for a short while, but the days I spent living with my husband were the happiest days of my life. We were poor, yes, but his singing was enough for me.’”

A deep crease appeared between Fitz’s eyebrows. But Ritz’s tirade wasn’t yet done. “But her husband passed away... he was murdered...! Was it perhaps you who –”

SLAP!

“Hold your tongue, girl, lest you say something you regret,” hissed the duke. He’d lashed out without hesitation or mercy, sending Ritz stumbling back with a single strike to the face. It had all happened so suddenly she couldn’t even shout. Three, four steps back she went, until her back hit the wall and she slumped to the floor, one hand dazedly pressed against her cheek, her pupils blown wide. She didn’t even seem to fully process the pain, too stunned by the sudden blow.

Nick immediately rushed to her side with a panicked shout. “RITZ!!” As he kneeled down to grab her by the shoulders, he yelled at the duke, “What are you doing?!”

“Slapping away an annoying bug,” Fitz replied calmly. He pulled a handkerchief from his breast pocket, carefully wiped his hands with it, and carelessly dropped it to the floor. “Let me tell you something, girl. That woman’s name was Matilda. Matilda Lee Fitz. Not this ‘Maud.’ Do you know what that means? It means that while you may have thought of her as a friend, she certainly did not see you as one. You didn’t even know her real name. How pitiful.”

Ritz went white as a sheet. That had struck far harder than any physical blow. She opened her mouth, perhaps to try and refute his claim, but all that came out was a trembling gasp. Her lips quivered.

“Hey! That’s enough!” Nick spat. He shifted to shield Ritz behind his back, his voice quaking with rage. “Are you even really her father?! How could you say that to your daughter’s friend?! Maybe this is exactly why she ran away from you, ever think of that?! You heartless bastard!”

Nick’s red-hot ire was a mere candle flame against the duke’s impenetrable ice, though. “That’s a rather impertinent thing to say to a client, don’t you think?” he said imperiously.

Nick’s voice rose even further. “What’s wrong with you?! You’re treating your daughter like garbage and you even assaulted my friend! You’re definitely not our client anymore! You’re nothing to us!” he declared sharply. His eyes flicked over to his partner. “Right, Owl?”

“... Hm? Did you say something?” Owl glanced up from the check he’d been systematically ripping to shreds. Scraps of white paper were already fluttering to the floor in a tiny heap at his feet.

Nick stared at his handiwork. A slow grin spread across his face. “... Awesome,” he breathed.

Owl walked up to Fitz, his expression perfectly unruffled. He stared the duke directly in the eyes as he asked apropos of nothing, “What would you say to a quick medical examination, Your Grace?”

Fitz’s eyebrows furrowed. “A medical exam? I have no idea what you’re talking about. I’m perfectly healthy.” He clicked his tongue, meeting those violet eyes dead on. “How rude.”

“No, I remember encountering someone like you before.” His gaze never wavered. “I saw your relatives once... like you, they also kept cool heads and didn’t grieve in the face of death. The women heading toward their tragic fates... and the cruel men who were always waiting nearby. They were the devout folk of a certain island.” Owl’s eyes flashed. “Sometimes their descendants display similar temperaments.”

“...!!”

Fitz’s eyes twitched. Nearby, Jack’s eyes widened in realization. He knew a man like that as well – the man who’d poisoned his own father and attempted the same with his brother and niece for the sake of profit and power. The duke did indeed seem rather similar to that man.

“Research into neurosis is proceeding apace, so what say you, Duke Fitz? I have a rather considerable interest in your bloodline.” Owl took another step toward the duke. “Who or what were you going to offer your daughter to, that caused her to flee from you? What kind of jewel did your daughter become? By all means... I would love to hear it.”

Those violet eyes... they were the unblinking, piercing eyes of an owl.

The eyes of a creature swooping down on its prey cowering in the dead of night.

The eyes of a hunter approaching on silent wings, talons outstretched, poised to strike the heart.

The eyes of a predator.

“Don’t come any closer!” Fitz instinctively raised his voice and shoved Owl’s shoulders away. “I won’t forgive any insults against me, boy! Go ahead, keep going, say something else! I’ll call my lawyer here!” Threats spilled from his lips as he glanced down at the shredded check lying on the ground by his feet. He sniffed out a mocking laugh. “I don’t know what sort of relationship you have with that cheeky little girl, but heed my words... you’ve all made fools of yourselves!”

He turned on his heel and strode away, fully intending to leave this time. Nick wasn’t letting him off the hook that easy, though, and chased after him, shouting, “And what’s wrong with that? Ritz is the nicest, most reliable police officer in the city! Maybe even the world!”

Fitz scoffed. “A police officer? A little girl, a police officer. Hmph. She doesn’t know her place. What could a stupid woman like her possibly accomplish? I would wager she has the easiest job in the precinct, listening to citizen complaints all day long.”

“You...!”

“And since she’s got such an easy job, she doesn’t even realize that the woman the detective was looking for is someone she knows,” he continued spitefully. “If she’s that incompetent, she could at least find someone she could eke out an agreeable life with. And if she can’t even manage that, then she has no value whatsoever, the useless thing.”

“Shut up!!” Nick’s hair was starting to stand on end, his eyes flashing. “Don’t talk to my friend like that...!”

“I’m only speaking the truth. A woman can’t possibly carry out a proper investigation!”

“What did you say?!” A scarlet hue was bleeding into Nick’s eyes... but just then, another voice spoke up.

“I....”

It was Ritz. She’d finally recovered enough to clamber to her feet again, though she was still leaning against the wall in a daze. Her voice was quickly rising from a whisper to a scream. “I... it’s always like that, I don’t notice cases under my nose, I can’t solve anything...! E-Everyone says I can’t, that it’s because I’m a woman –”

“Ritz?”

“– I couldn’t... my friend, I couldn’t even save my friend...!” Ritz sobbed wildly, one hand pressed against her swollen cheek. Her eyes were growing dark, and not just in the emotional sense – the scleras themselves were slowly turning black, spreading outward from her irises in a marble pattern at a concerningly rapid pace.

Owl noticed. “Oi, Ritz?!” he shouted. The instant he thought he saw the telltale signs, though, she dashed away toward the exit as though yanked by an invisible string.

“Ritz! Wait! Where are you going?!” Nick glanced between Ritz and the duke. “The next time I see you, I won’t let you off so easy!” he hissed at Fitz with bared teeth before he chased after his fleeing friend. “Hold on, Ritz! You don’t gotta listen to a jerk like that!”

He might as well have been talking to a brick wall. Ritz didn’t turn back.

Owl stared after the two, biting his lip, then with one last glare at the duke turned to Jack. “I’ll take the daughter’s body,” he told his friend.

“What? You will?”

“Contact Father... Tristan, please.”

Jack nodded. “Y-Yeah, okay.”

With no time left to waste, Owl dashed off after Nick and Ritz.

original written by Nagaya Kawaji here

#kotonoha project #part 2 babey!#featuring what might be owl's best moment ever!

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angelsndragons · 3 years ago

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fjord’s feelings for caduceus changed in episodes 98-99

by which i mean, fjord finally realized how special and important he is to caduceus, which in turn set the tone of their relationship for the rest of the campaign. buckle up, this is a long one.

not when fjord threw away his sword and went to caduceus instead of jester. or when caduceus presented him with the star razor. or after the citadel fight when caduceus gave him his holy symbol. i think things changed for fjord in episode 98-99, when caduceus saved his life and removed the orb.

this is going to require some context.

because here’s the thing: fjord’s always looking for the price, waiting for the catch or other shoe to drop. people caring for him because of him with no strings attached is unprecedented. vandren and the world taught fjord that love is conditional, that only if you hide what others would find ugly and make yourself useful to them will they deign to give you a scrap of affection. i don’t think vandren did this maliciously, mind you, it was just part of his worldview and fjord’s life up to and beyond that point supported it. we can see that right up to the end of the show, where fjord is terrified that vandren didn’t remember him or that he didn’t mean nearly as much to the man as vandren did to him.

so we have fjord, who learned to don masks and hide his truest self, including his best and worst aspects. while fjord made the nein into a coherent group, into a force, a crew, a family, even, he still waited for that other shoe to drop. waited for the day that they would reject him because he was no longer useful or because he pushed them too far. you can see this waiting all over the early campaign; he’s not looking for an excuse like caleb to cut and run but he anticipates nearly all the moments that almost fractured the nein, in spite of that low wisdom score. while jester carried the guilt of not being able to save molly, fjord carried the guilt of not protecting the group in that crucial moment. travis confirmed on talks that fjord’s biggest fear when he lost his powers the first time was that he would no longer be useful and be kicked out of the group.

that’s why fjord damn near broke down at the end of 72. the nein, no questions asked, with their standard level of snark, accepted that he was going to be a liability and kept him around anyway. armed him anyway. declared that he was no liability and that they would help him along until he could help himself and them again. this unconditional acceptance caught fjord completely off guard. it always does, really. because caduceus had said for months, an out of game half a year, that he was looking to reforge the sword as a gift for fjord. he said this to fjord’s face. he did not change course when he learned that the sword was a legendary blade forged by acolytes of the wildmother and moonweaver. the blade was still meant for fjord, even if fjord was still chained to uk’otoa. fjord extends his love and protection to the nein but is still not convinced the reverse is true. he was starting to believe it but he wasn’t quite there yet.

caduceus has a high enough wisdom to understand that’s fjord’s hang up even if he doesn’t quite understand the reasoning behind it. that’s why he pulls fjord aside in ep 75 and tells him that he doesn’t have to choose the wildmother, that there are other gods and other ideas out there looking for a champion. fjord, who at this point considers wildmom his only option (travis says she’s the only one who’s shown the slightest interest in fjord and that’s why he’s gunning for her), is befuddled by caduceus and this whole talk, so much so the pair end up talking past each other for the next several episodes.

after fjord officially becomes a paladin, things between him and caduceus become fairly...unsettled compared to their previous interactions. they talk past each other more, they aren’t in sync enough to double team those social interactions they were just starting to get good at. things are just weird for a while. to me, that’s fjord waiting for the catch, waiting for caduceus to call in some favor or something like it. and he keeps getting confused when caduceus doesn’t. so he tries once or twice to follow in caduceus’ footsteps and do as he would instead. and it just makes things weirder. these two don’t have a moment together that doesn’t leave one of them confused or unsatisfied until ep 87, when caduceus gives fjord the holy symbol and inadvertently kicks off the next phase of their relationship. because here, caduceus tries to put them back on equal footing and fjord recognizes it. caduceus rejects framing their relationship as mentor/student and tells fjord he doesn’t need caduceus to give him answers. fjord is “well on his way.”

by defining what they aren’t, mentor/student, our two boys inadvertently ask the question, “so what are we?” honestly, it’s a question that the entire group grapples with in the 90s as they reintegrate yasha, as veth struggles with the question of changing back and whether she can stay with the nein, as beau tries to sacrifice herself for veth, as jester learns some uncomfortable truths about the traveler, as caduceus finds his family again. fjord and caduceus can easily define what they aren’t - not mentor/student, not brothers or cousins- but what they actually are stumps both of them.

their relationship doesn't look like any of their relationships with the others: beau is fjord's bro and first mate, caleb is fjord's complicated mirror and admiree, jester his crush and first person he learned to be vulnerable with, veth his antagonistic sibling. on caduceus' side, caleb is the one he looks to for a fellow project nerd and clear, unvarnished goals, beau and jester are the sisters caduceus misses, yasha the quiet beloved barbarian he understands better than the rest, and veth a mess he wants to help but can't. but fjord and caduceus' relationship is highly undefined at this point. notably undefined, beyond their newly shared connection to melora. at the dinner with essek, we get the stone bomb. and travis and fjord panic. like no, seriously, they spend the next four episodes low key panicking over this revelation. this ties back to fjord waiting for those other shoes to drop but it’s also more than that.

when it comes to destiny, fjord has always been the answer, the self made man, to both caduceus and caleb’s questions about destiny. he makes choices about who he is, who he wants to be, and takes actions towards those goals. he is one of those rare people who can wear many different masks, take on many different roles, while still maintaining his sense of self and becoming a fuller version of who he is. when I say fjord is the answer to destiny, what i mean is that he is what ioun said way back in c1 about Fate: mortals make choices and through those choices, destiny is fulfilled. he is the answer to caduceus' own growth from passive instrument waiting for someone to play him to active communicator in this conversation between gods and mortals. in this sense, fjord is what caduceus learns to be (this is exactly why caduceus rejects a mentor role; he has as much to learn from fjord as vice versa).

so for this coincidence to pop up, this idea that maybe fjord only had the illusion of choice to extend his service to the wildmother, that maybe somehow he was manipulated again, that there was some grand destiny pushing things and fjord had no say in it, yeah, i can see why fjord was low-key terrified. so is this what fjord and caduceus are: just some predestined grand fairy tale partnership neither of them have that much say in? episode 96 resoundingly rejects that label too. for one thing, none of the stones or clays treat fjord's last name as anything amazing or spectacular. for another, this string of episodes gives us caduceus at his most human. the terror of not knowing what happened to his family, the uncertainty of his homecoming, the relief of saving his family and home, the irritation at the way the chaos crew treats the temple, the playful attitude caduceus cultivates after, it's all on display. caduceus drops much of his placid exterior and willingly allows the nein to see sheer depth of emotion he has.

which leads me back to episode 98-99. uk’otoa’s agents come for fjord. and caduceus is pissed. travis and ashley both said on talks that they hadn’t really seen taliesin that pissed, that it was like someone had threatened an actual loved one of his. fjord dies. and comes back to an exhausted, still pissed off firbolg who is five seconds away from snapping archmage vess derogna’s head off for interrupting his prayer of healing. taliesin doesn’t even begin to relax until they start interrogating the dead fish people the next day. once caduceus confirms the ball is still in fjord, notably caduceus and caleb were the two who remembered, fjord starts asking for a way to remove it. he asks caduceus to start a commune with wildmom in tandem with jester’s commune with the traveler. caleb tells fjord that caduceus fought “very hard for you while you were down, i don’t know if he’s up to it.” having heard that, caduceus still tries, with his first divine intervention attempt of the campaign. and when jester figures out that greater restoration will work, caduceus pushes through his exhaustion, takes charge, and goes through a truly terrifying greater restoration with fjord to remove the ball. convulsing, seizing, shuddering, collapsing, etc.

in those moments, and in the quiet after when fjord confirms that he still has his powers, it finally hits him that yes, people can protect, fight, and love him for who he is alone. there is no chain or other shoe waiting to be dropped here. the wildmother is no uk’otoa, to punish or take power at a whim. caduceus will fight with everything he has and then some for fjord because he loves him (not for nothing does fjord only realizes the depths of jester’s feelings when she uses heal on him). who are caduceus and fjord to each other? they are people who will fight for one another and the others as far as they can. fjord says over and over again that he wants to protect the nein and look out for them because he cares for them. he demonstrates it over and over again as well. caduceus says basically the same thing; he wants everyone safe and happily on their way and will stay until they are. he demonstrates this all the time as well. this is, i think, the first time that he demonstrates his dedication so unequivocally, free of the artifice of duty, fully committed through love. fjord recognizes this in caduceus and caduceus does in fjord.

i say this is a turning point because, while they don’t really have another super in depth conversation alone together, these two start clocking each other and openly help and look out for each other. there’s an ease and intimacy to the relationship after this. fjord watching caduceus swim near vokodo’s lair, fjord being ready to hand over his armor to caduceus when it looks like his won’t be ready, fjord, caduceus, and beau plotting behind jester’s back to keep her safe from the traveler, the absolute offense fjord takes to eadwulf after he spoke to caduceus like that, fjord levels up in paladin after caduceus tells him he’s proud to know him, all the way to the end of the show when fjord shelters the clerics and tells them to finish lucien, we get little moments like these from both of them. hell, caduceus is the first person in the campaign to tell fjord directly that he loves him.

#cr #critical role #cr meta #fjorclay #wildbros #fjord #caduceus clay #prim did theirs so i'm doing mine #in b4 the wrap-up #just barely #and ran out of steam at the end #i'll expand on that later #gotta finish my vm v m9 meta #and the cockroach party analysis

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gunterfan1992 · 4 years ago

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Episode Review: ‘Together Again’ (Distant Lands, Ep. 3)

Airdate: May 20, 2021

Story by: Jack Pendarvis, Kate Tsang, Hanna K. Nyström, Christina Catucci, Jesse Moynihan, Adam Muto

Storyboarded by: Hanna K. Nyström, Anna Syvertsson, Iggy Craig, Maya Petersen, Serena Wu

Directed by: Miki Brewster (supervising), Sandra Lee (art)

Across Adventure Time’s ten season run, the show explored a bevy of “mature” themes and story ideas—topics, like love, sexuality, depression, and grieving. The show also touched upon death, but the emphasis was usually placed on the emotional toll of a loved one dying, not really what happens when you die. We knew there were Dead Worlds and Death. We knew that there was reincarnation. But how does it all fit together? What does it mean? How does it work?

With “Together Again,” we finally have many of the answers.

This special opens with a marvelous fake-out episode simply called “Finn & Jake,” that sees the two steal a magical cartoon of 50-flavor ice cream before rescuing Turtle Princess and LSP from the clutches of the villainous Ice King. This is all deliberately anachronistic and over the top. Ice King is back to his season one ways, Finn has both arms, and he is still wielding his golden sword that he lost in season two’s “The Real You.” There’s lolrandom dialogue and silly monsters; it’s like a parody of seasons 1-2. But then, this adventure starts to get all wonky, and in time Finn realizes that he is in a some sort of trance or illusion: one that ends with Jake being buried in the ground. Suddenly, Finn awakens from his reverie. He’s an old man. And he’s dead. We’re then presented with a new title card that lets us know the episode is actually called “Finn & Jake Are Dead.”

Holy Glob! They actually went there.

Turns out Jake died years before Finn, so naturally Finn is super excited to see his best bud. But something’s wrong—he cannot find Jake!! They planned to spend eternity together. But all that Finn can find is his very own psychopomp, Mr. Fox (voiced by Tom Herpich, whose purposefully stilted line readings are the epitome of delightful). Finn rightfully assumes that Jake is in a different Dead World, and so, being the ball of spunk and energy that he is, he demands to meet with Death, only to discover that there’s a New Death in town (voiced by Chris Fleming). The episode eventually explains that New Death was the son of Death and Life, and after New Death killed his father, he became the sovereign of the afterlife. New Death hates his job and decides to just blow up all the Dead Worlds so he doesn’t have to deal with it all. (I won’t get too much into the details here, because there would be a lot of story to parse out.)

Finn soon learns that Jake has reached nirvana in the 50th Dead World, where there is nothing but peace and serenity. Finn nevertheless tracks down Jake, pulls him from paradise, but in doing so, accidentally lets New Death in, who promptly obliterates Elysium, sending all the enlightened souls—including those from different levels of the afterlife—to the 1st Dead World. This gronks up the afterlife, temporarily halting the reincarnation process.

Well, Finn and Jake are rightfully ticked, and so they haunt the material plane looking for Princess Bubblegum. She’s not home (more on that later), but Peppermint Butler is! After Ghost Finn and Ghost Jake explain the situation, Peppermint Butler tells them what to do: They need to find Life and explain the situation. The duo manage just that, and Life is rightfully angry that her kid has stopped the transmigration of souls. After Life gives Finn a McGuffin sword that can hurt Death, Finn and Jake return to his abode. A brawl ensues wherein we learn that New Death has been possessed… by none other than that spirit of the Lich.

That’s right, it’s the Lich! He’s back, and boy is he evil.

The Lich explains that by possessing Death, he can destroy the afterlife, thereby destroying a key aspect of reality. Naturally, Finn and Jake are not cool with this, and they engage in combat. After Mr. Fox grabs the McGuffin sword and uses it to annihilate the Lich and New Death, he is proclaimed the New New Death and sets everything right. Finn is slated to be reincarnated, and Jake is slated to return to the 50th Dead World where he and Finn will one day be reunited. As Finn is pulled into the wheel of souls, Jake suddenly decides to go back with Finn, too, “Just for fun.” The episode ends with a card letting us know that the episode is neither called “Finn & Jake” nor “Finn & Jake Are Dead.” Instead, it is “Finn and Jake Are Together Again.”

As they say, “And there wasn’t a dry eye in the place.”

If you were to tell me several years ago that the last episode to star Finn and Jake would revolve around them dying, I think I would’ve been upset. Not simply sad, but rather frustrated because “they all died” can feel like a cheap ending. But with “Together Again,” it all works. And a large reason that it works is because the show goes all in with their ideas. Finn and Jake don’t magically leap back into their old life (no, no, they very much do bite the dust). Instead, the special emphasizes the cyclical nature of life through the transmigration of souls. The episode ends with a beautiful scene of Finn and Jake, bound together as soul-brothers, being reborn into a new, mysterious (possibly Ooo 1000+?) world. It’s both aesthetically and emotionally pleasing; it doesn’t feel off the way over finales might. This is right. This is the way life works. “Round and round as nature goes,” and all that jazz.

I loved the series explanation of how death works. It seems that souls land in a specific Dead World, where they ‘marinate’ for a bit, presumably being rewarded or punished based on their life in our meat reality. After a time, they are then reborn. This process repeats, with each soul reaching higher and higher levels of enlightenment until they hit nirvana, which is the 50th Dead World. So in a sense, Adventure Time has a roughly Buddhist cosmology with a dash of Greco-Roman mythos thrown in for flavor. (As to what happens after a soul stays in the 50th Dead World for a long period is anyone’s guess, but I’d speculate that when all the souls in the multiverse have been purified and land in the 50th Dead World, they will all collapse into one another and form one perfect Monad. Perhaps this is the sphere of perfection that the beings who merged into Matthew thought they were connecting to? Who knows! It’s anyone’s guess!) I was a little disappointed that we didn’t get to see who Death, Prismo, Life, etc.’s boss was, but perhaps that’s a mystery better left up to the imagination!

One minor thing that I loved about this special was the number of characters who made cameos as well as all the callbacks that were made to previous episodes. Regarding the former: Finn and Jake’s canine family show up (including the oft-forgotten Jermaine!), as do Tree Trunks and her myriad husbands. Tiffany plays a major role in all these shenanigans as a “death cop” of all things. There is a delightful rogues gallery stuck in the 1st Dead World (including, among others, Maja, Sharon from “The Gut Grinder,” and Wyatt). In the 50th we find Ghost Princess and Clarence happily at peace next to Booshy, the weird spirit mentioned in the Pen Ward classic “High Strangeness.” As far as callbacks go, perhaps my favorite is the clap (from “James Baxter the Horse”) that Jake taught to Finn in case they ever do get separated in the afterlife. And of course, there are myriad references made to “Death in Bloom,” the episode that planted the seed for what this would grow into.

Going into the special suspecting that it would involve Death, I was curious how they were going to handle Miguel Ferrer’s character. (In case a reader is not aware, Ferrer played Death in episodes like “Death in Bloom” and “Betty,” but he sadly passed away a few years ago). The producers’ choice to feature him in a non-speaking cameo—despite playing a relatively significant role in the story—was wise; I’m not sure if I can articulate the exact reasons, but something about his role felt appropriate and not gross, as some post-mortem memorials can be. Speaking of which, the wonderful, lovely Polly Lou Livingston was featured for the last time in this episode as Tree Trunks, happily in heaven with her literal harem of husbands. It was funny, it really was, and I’m sure that Polly Lou would’ve gotten a kick out of seeing it on screen. (Also, this is a pro-Tree Trunks safe space. Any Tree Trunks haters will be chucked into the 1st Dead World with Wyatt.)

The biggest mystery in this whole thing, for me at least, is the question of Princess Bubblegum and Marceline. Several years ago, I wrote an essay about what could’ve happened to them in the Ooo 1000+ universe. I speculated that they peaced out and left Ooo behind. In this special, neither Bubblegum nor Marceline are to be found in the Candy Kingdom—Peppermint Butler seems to be the one in charge, given that he is now wearing Bubblegum’s crown. Likewise, the duo aren’t anywhere in the Dead Worlds either. Maybe the two of them skipped town and got a duplex in the Nightosphere? Who knows… I just want my favorite gals to be OK!

All things considered, “Together Again” was a marvel: An episode that managed to feel like a series finale even more than “Come Along with Me” already did without taking away from the series itself. An episode that managed to make the idea of dying funny. An episode that brought back the Lich in a way that wasn’t forced. An episode that made Mr. Fox the New New Death. An episode that gave us a beautiful ending to Finn and Jake’s story… as well as the beautiful beginning to a new one. I said it on Twitter, and I’ll say it again here: “Together Again” was the end of a sentence in a book with infinite pages. Truly, the fun will never end.

Mushroom War evidence: Everything takes place in the Dead Worlds, so not really. Perhaps a more eagle-eyed viewer can inform us...

Final Grade: That’s right, I’m gonna do it...

Post-script, I actually messaged Jesse Moynihan to ask about his writing credit. He told me that it was for an unused story idea that he had developed. I’m not certain, but I’ll bet it was a part of the cancelled TV movie they were trying to make during season 5, since that would’ve seen Finn and Orgalorg journey to the various Dead Worlds.

#adventure time #adventuretime #atimers #at #atdl #distant lands #adventure time distant lands #finn the human #jake the dog #together again #togetheragain #dead worlds #hanna k. nyström #Hanna K #adam muto #jack pendarvis

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greenygreenland · 4 years ago

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Dream A Little Dream Of Me: Norman x Reader

-MANGA SPOILERS! READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!

-NOTE: YOU’RE BOTH AGED UP SO DON’T START TELLING ME FBI’S GONNA COME TO MY DOOR 😂😂

-THE TIMELINE IS A BIT MESSED UP SO JUST IGNORE IT COMPLETELY AND DON'T ASK ME LOL

-also, is it just me or do thick eyebrows look really cute??? Norman has pretty thick brows compared everyone else and I think they're cute

WARNINGS: Kissing lol

Summary: You finally see Norman again.

Life had to be the scariest thing you'd ever faced. It threw the bad, the good, the everything your way until you could barely stand. Until you were left broken and mangled and shattered. Life was scary. It was cruel. Yet somehow, today was different.

You thought it was a dream. After all, how could it be reality when the boy in front of you died a year and some months ago? He had been shipped out, left for dead because it was a part of his stupid escape plan.

So how was it he stood before you? Breathing? Smiling? Living?

The office door closed behind you with a soft click. It bathed the room in silence, as if for a moment, the world decided to give you a second to breathe. A second to take in the wonderous sight before you.

The boy's name stuck in your throat. He had changed, not only in height, but stature and appearance. Norman was older, and he grew up to be more handsome than any runway model could ever be.

"(Y/n)," he gently said. "I'm glad you're well."

That was all it took. One sentence and you tackled him in the tightest hug your trembling arms could muster. "Norman...!" To have his arms around you, to hear the beating of his heart--it was a relief. A miracle sent by the gods. "You’re so stupid!"

No, he was more than stupid. He had to be the dumbest boy alive to think that it was okay to sacrifice himself for the sake of your family. You all were supposed to escape together just like Emma said. No one was supposed to be left behind, yet Norman--bless his heart--acted on his own.

You hugged him as if he would disappear if you let go. "We were all supposed to leave together. But you--I thought you--shipped out--and then--!" You chocked on your words. What more could you say anyway?

You buried your face in the crook of his neck. The muffled sob that ripped through your throat was more than Norman could handle. His knees went weak and you both slowly sunk to the floor in a heap.

"I'm here." he gently said. "I'm not going anywhere (Y/n)."

Despite the steadiness in Norman's voice, his shoulders hitched, and he sniffled. "I'm here." he repeated. "I-I'm here." It sounded like he were reassuring himself that he wouldn't leave you so soon, as if he were scared too. Not for the way you sobbed and sobbed, but for the ache in his heart that seemed to beat in sync with yours.

Slowly, your sobs turned to quiet sniffles, which then silenced into nothing but tiny hiccups. You basked in Norman's warm embrace. He didn't hold you too tightly, as if he were afraid it would shatter you to pieces. Instead, he pulled you close to his side and leaned on his desk behind.

You rested your head on his chest, taking the time to memorise his scent. Parchment, the woods, and old books. You liked that, it was comforting to know he still smelled the same. On the other hand, his voice wasn’t as smooth or rounded as it once was. It was icy. No one seemed to notice that tiny sharpness that hit the end of each note he spoke. You wondered what could've made his kind heart harden.

Sure, Norman was still the same Norman you remembered, but something about the way he acted seemed off. He was clingy, much more than he ever was. Maybe he just missed you? No, that couldn't be right. Norman acted as if he were running out of time. He held you close and gently, as if these would be the last moments you'd see each other again. As if there wouldn't be a tomorrow.

You slowly pulled away to get a good look at Norman's face. His chin was slightly pointier, his cheeks less chubby and full. His lips twitched upwards into a comforting smile. It didn't quite reach his eyes because he looked so overwhelmingly tired. Your poor boy probably worked day and night to keep the hideout on its feet. It must be hard on him, you thought. Especially since he was revered as a god.

Norman's brows raised. "What's wrong?"

You took his thin hands in your own and gave them a good squeeze. "It's nothing. What about you?"

Ah yes, small talk. The perfect way to avoid any question thrown your way. Norman knew you well, sometimes even more than himself. When you asked simple questions such as these, that meant your mind laid elsewhere in a land he could never reach. Norman took that as a hint to drop the subject.

For now.

He wondered what invisible weight laid on your shoulders. Was it something as heavy as his? Perhaps your weight was worse and it ate away at you. Norman wished he could take that weight away and relieve you of that pain. He'd carry it all if he could, and it didn't matter to him if he'd die trying. This was you he was thinking about. He'd do anything for you.

"I've been okay," Norman vaguely responded. "But I have been busy, so I find it difficult to sleep sometimes.”

Norman liked to be honest, but you knew it was because that helped him figure out what was wrong with you. It was a game of tag. In this case being 'it' meant figuring out each others' worries through a back-and-forth match.

"You haven't been sleeping enough?" Your voice came out rather quiet as you traced invisible circles over the back of his hands. "Is that because you have so much work? Or do you refuse to get help?" Norman sat in a still silence and you sighed.

Of course.

This was your Norman after all. He always shouldered a burden too big for his shoulders to carry. It was always something so heavy, so terribly hard to balance by himself. If that burden grew any bigger, it would collapse, and that would be his downfall. But you wouldn't let that happen to your Norman. No, no, no. You'd take that burden from him, steal it if you had to, and be his crutch.

"What have you been doing here?" you quickly added. "As 'William Minerva', I mean?"

Norman looked unbearably uncomfortable. That little frown tugging at the edge of his lips was a tell-tale sign. “I’ve been getting a lot done." he carefully said. "In fact, I’ve figured out a way to end this. Once and for all.”

Norman began by explaining the first phase of his plan. The first phase had long been in motion. It started with the indiscriminate burning of cattle facilities, then the gathering of information, and continued on to pave the way for all the other phases you didn’t care to hear about.

The first few steps weren't too bad, but the final act in Norman's plan made your skin crawl. You half-wished you hadn’t asked him anything to begin with. Maybe it would have spared your appetite. Your grip on his thin hands loosened and loosened until your hands rested on your lap.

Norman wasn't so little anymore. He had grown up just a bit, but not in the way you wished to see. How could he think of something so cold-hearted and cruel? The extermination of all demons in Neverland was an act of genocide. If you re-called correctly, it was also considered a war crime.

Norman was smarter than that. He understood the consequence he'd have to face if that were the path he walked right? He understood that there were still other options right? Maybe you heard him wrong.

No.

You had to have heard him wrong. Norman wasn't ruthless like that. He was a ball of sunshine that made you smile whenever you were together.

"I see..." You tightly smiled. "So that's your plan on freeing everyone?" Norman nodded with a seriousness that took you back to the time he left everything to you and Ray and Emma.

You weren't mistaken then. Norman truly meant everything he said.

"Yes, that is my plan. It's been taking me a little longer than expected to set it in motion. I've decided to officially start tomorrow."

Tomorrow?

Your breath hitched. "Don't you think that's a bit hasty? What if...what if something goes wrong?" Norman smiled. It was hollow and wry and everything that he wasn't. "Don't worry. Fortunately, I've always been pretty good at getting what I want." You didn't return the smile, and you didn't want to say why.

Norman was quick to catch on. But of course he would catch on so quickly, this was Norman. Your Norman.

"Do you have a problem with my plan?" he inquired. You shook your head. "No, it's...it's not that." Yes, it was that. Your plan is dangerous even if it is good, you thought. Innocent lives wouldn't be spared, and that would spell an unfair fate for the demons who ate to survive.

You wanted to tell Norman why his plan was wrong, and why he didn't have to be so unforgiving about it. But then what? Why would he listen when you didn't have any better ideas? He seemed to have his mind set anyway, so no half-baked ideas would make a difference. And besides, he was the smartest person you knew. Maybe that was the only way out of the terrible fate all you cattle children faced.

"If you're okay with my plan," Norman said, "then what's bothering you (Y/n)?"

"It's still a lot for me to take in," you admitted with a plastic smile. "I guess I'm just shocked that you're, well, here." Norman smiled, this time with a genuine warmth. "I understand." He leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on your lips. "I'll see you at dinner."

Your cheeks burned. How bold of him. "Y-yeah, I'll see you at dinner." Norman let out a cute little chuckle that made your heart beat a little louder than it was supposed to. You hauled yourself off the floor and made your way to the door. Norman followed.

You flashed him a nervous smile, one that mixed in with your muddled worry and anxiousness. You glanced at his bright eyes. For a moment, they seemed to dim like the setting sun. It reminded you of Mama. When no one looked at her, she didn’t smile. She always looked so sad when she sat by herself, and maybe that was because she was.

"(Y/n)?"

Your fingers brushed against the doorknob. “Hm?”

"I want nothing more than to protect you and our family. I know you don't fully agree with me," his expression darkened. "But this is the way--the only way we can save everyone without spilling a single drop of blood."

For a moment, you forgot who you were speaking to. This wasn't the same boy you begged to run away with before he got shipped out. This wasn't the same boy who gently tucked a piece of hair behind your ear and sweetly complimented you. This boy--did you truly still know him? Was he still the Norman you grew up with and fell head-over-heels for?

You blinked and that dark look washed itself off his face. He strode up to you and placed a hand on your cheek--just like the day he was supposed to be harvested. Norman’s eyes were soft, softer than any blanket, and his lips pursed into a gentle frown. With his thumb, he wiped a stray tear away.

Why were you crying?

"Norman..." You couldn’t find the right words. There were none that could explain the suffering you endured in silence. You worried, not only for Norman, but your family and all those other people in the world you didn’t know about. Norman’s plan--oh how stupid it was--had it changed him? Had it forced him to guard his heart to keep a still mind?

You wondered what he endured while you went on your crazy adventures. At least you had your family, and Yuugo, Lucas, and all your friends. But Norman? He didn’t have anyone but himself. He carried the whole world. Alone. Had he been scared? Worried? Angry that no one came for him? Your heart clenched at the thought.

"Smile,” Norman said. “It’s okay, I promise. I'm here." He gathered you in his arms and you didn’t have the heart to protest. “How?” you whispered. “How were you able to do all this on your own?” Norman helplessly shrugged. “You could say I have connections, either that or I’m just lucky.”

“What will you do after this is all over?”

Norman went still again, as if he couldn’t answer your question. You heaved in a shaky breath. If Norman wasn’t going to give you a straight answer, then you’d squeeze it out of him. “Did anything else happen to you? I’m sure there’s a catch, isn’t there?”

It was like someone flipped a switch. One moment, you were a mess of tears, sorrow, and anguish. Now, something menacing laid in your voice. It was almost threatening, as if you were indirectly telling Norman to dare avoid the question. “I don’t want you dying trying to be everything at once,” you said. “Here you’re revered as a god, and if I know you, then it’s plain that you set yourself up like that. Don’t tell me you plan to die on us again.”

He stiffened.

“I know you Norman, don’t forget that. And because I love you, I don’t want to see you destroy yourself. I admit, I don’t know why you act like you’re going to leave again, but I’ll do everything in my power to stop you.” You pulled away and took his hands in yours. A small smile of reassurance made its way up your lips, but Norman didn’t return it.

No, he couldn’t. And despite all he did, he couldn’t lie straight to your face. Not like this.

Dinner cheered you up. The smiles and laughter that your family shared with Norman made you feel just a little bit better. But how long would it last? And how long would those smiles stay present? All the questions swarming in your mind made you feel sick to your stomach. There was too much to think about, and too little time to answer them.

You forced down the last of your food with a sigh and brought the plate to its respectful place. Everyone was too busy chatting and catching up to notice, but that was fine. It was better that way.

You made your way to a secluded walkway. It was in one of the calmer areas of the hideout that overlooked the lower levels. It was quiet, save for the distant chatter of Hayato and his friends. He let out a bright laugh that echoed through the vacant walkways. What a shame it would be to hear that disappear.

“So this is where you went.”

“I told you she’d be here.”

You whipped around in alarm. “Ray, Emma!”

Ray sharply looked you up and down. He raised a brow and you squirmed under his gaze. He gently bumped shoulders with you. “What’s wrong with you?”

You absentmindedly shrugged. “Nothing.”

“That’s what someone who’s not okay would say.” Emma noted. She settled by your side on the railing and flashed a bright smile. “You were so quiet at dinner today.”

You shook your head. Que another absentminded shrug and plastic smile. “I guess I just wanted to make sure everyone was okay.”

Ray sighed. “Everyone but you?” He leaned against the railing next to you. “Did you and Norman talk at all?”

You froze. ‘Yes’, was what you wanted to say, but no sound came out. The image of Norman’s matured face, the way his his soft lips hit your own, and his stupidly tall build crossed your mind.

Emma let out a gasp and slapped a hand over her mouth. “Ah!” she cried. “You’re all red!” You covered your hands with your face, ignoring Ray’s curious stare.

“What did you two talk about in his office anyway? Or should I say, do?” The glint in Ray’s eyes had subtext you didn’t want to recite out loud. “Rayyyyy,” you grumbled, “shut up.” He sent you a teasing grin as Emma frowned in confusion. “I don’t get it.”

“You’ll understand when you’re older.”

“Yeah, it’s grown up stuff.”

You ignored the warmth spreading to your cheeks and elbowed Ray. “Don’t say it like ‘that’! Now you make it sound like something else!”

He daringly raised a brow. “Like what?” You ran a hand over your scorching face. It was a miracle you weren’t on fire. “No, no, I’m not answering you!”

You shared a good laugh and a comfortable silence began to settle, blanketing your shoulders in a lightness that you hadn’t felt in a while.

Emma softly smiled. “I’m glad we found you.” she admitted. “You looked really sad all by yourself out here.” Ray nodded with a small snort. “Yeah, talk about depressing. But seriously though, did something..?”

Of course these two would see through your façade. Of course they’d understand something was wrong. They were your family, and they didn’t deserve your silence. Your smile shattered. “I don’t know if Norman told you about his plan yet, but it’s...it’s bad. Sure, the demons have done some terrible things to us, but that doesn’t mean all of them are guilty. I want to stop him, but I don’t know how.”

Emma nodded in agreement. “He told us earlier and I don’t like it either.” she firmly said. “Ray and I talked it over and we have a plan, but it’s risky. Like, really risky. It has to do with the Seven Walls and...”

You held on to every word Emma and Ray spoke. Risky was your middle name. Well, not actually, but it was something that became your friend. You and your family looked death in the face too many times to count. What would be another?

By the end of it, you were sure this new plan would change Norman’s mind, or at least convince him to give up the whole ‘genocide’ thing. It was decided by Ray that tomorrow, you’d all talk to Norman. Things seemed to be looking up. No, they had to be.

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

The halls were empty and you were alone. How was it you got lost in the first place? You made sure to have every twist and turn memorised, so why did you end up in the wrong corridor twice? Ray would surely tease you for getting lost. What an absolute--

You slammed into someone’s chest. A yelp escaped your throat as the person in question lost his footing. He sucked in a sharp breath and went tumbling straight into you. Your back hit the ground as the boy threw out his arms on either side of your head to brace himself. You didn’t need a name to know who you had tumbled into. Light hair, soft eyes, fancy waistcoat and suit.

“Norman?”

He hovered over you with wide eyes. His lips were inches from yours and he was just so, so close.

Thump, thump, thump.

Your heartbeat was so gosh dang loud. Could he hear it? Could he see the way your face burned red?

“Uhm--I--I--uh--”

Why wasn’t he moving? Why weren’t you moving? Why was it so hard to look him in the eyes? A nervous smile broke out across Norman’s lips. He pushed himself off of you and offered out a hand. You gingerly took it.

“Sorry.” Norman said, helping you to your feet. “I wasn’t looking where I was going. Are you okay?” Your gaze darted from his lips to his dazzling eyes and then to his cheeks dusted in red. Your heart wouldn’t stop slamming against your chest. It kept going, and going until you felt like you were about to burst.

“Sh-shouldn’t I be asking you that?” you retorted. “I’m not the one who--you know...gets sick all the time.” You weren’t sure why you said it like that, or why that made Norman smile so cutely, but he was smiling. That made your heart flutter. You glanced around the corridor a few times, and somehow, you kept finding focus on his lips.

What was wrong with you?

Norman caught on fast--like he always did. “Oh I see,” he said with a low chuckle. You swallowed. His voice really did deepen (but you kind of liked it). For a moment, you thought he caught onto your staring, but instead of commenting on it, he intertwined his hand with yours and led you through the winding halls.

“Don’t tell Ray I got lost.” you muttered. Norman laughed and it was like the sound of happiness itself. “I won’t.”

The halls all looked the exact same: cream coloured paint, nature-like decorations, and numbered wooden doors. You forgot what number your room was, so that was probably why you got lost. Norman took a sharp left where you recalled should be a right instead. “Wait isn’t it that way?”

“I have something to give you, so we’re going to make a quick detour.” Norman’s cheeks dusted pink and he looked the slightest bit nervous. “What is it you want to show me?” He flashed you a contagious smile. “It’s a surprise.”

“What kind of surprise?”

“I can’t tell you,” he said with a chuckle, “that’s why it’s called a surprise.”

When you got to his office, you were nervous. Surprises were fun, yes, but in a world where nearly getting eaten by wild demons fell into the category of ‘surprise’, you learned not to like them very much.

Norman closed the door behind you and it softly clicked shut. Okay, you thought. So he was locking the door and making his way over to his desk. Okay, that’s fine. Norman shuffled through a cabinet, that nervous look still on his face. Okay, okay, nothing wrong here. He gently shut the drawer, and as he walked out from behind his desk, you took note of the small little box he fiddled with.

Okay. Okay. Box. Nervous. Locked door. Did he not want anyone to interrupt whatever he was about to do?

Norman heaved in a deep breath. A really, really, really deep breath. “(Y/n), I have never met anyone else like you. You’re the strongest person I’ve ever met, and you’re beautiful and kind.” He sunk to one knee and opened the little box. “Will you marry me?”

“Yes!”

---------

You jolted awake with a start.

“Sorry,” Norman said. He scribbled a few words down in his notebook. “Did I wake you?”

Ah, that’s right. After you talked with Emma and Ray, you all met up with Norman and hung out for a bit. But when had you gotten to his office? Much less, fallen asleep? You rubbed your eyes with a shake of your head. Judging by the tired look on Norman’s face, it was way past bedtime.

The heavy cloak around your shoulders offered a welcoming warmth. It smelled like books. It smelled like parchment and ink. It smelled like Norman and it was comforting.

He glanced up from his notebook and curiously met your gaze. “What are you smiling at?” The dream popped up in your mind and your smile grew. “I had a good dream.”

“What was it about?” he inquired without looking up.

“You.”

The scratch of the pencil froze and he met your gaze. “You had a dream about me?” Your cheeks flushed. “Yeah, and you proposed.” Norman’s back went rigid and he turned as red as an apple. “I-I pro--proposed to you?” he stammered. You snickered, a smug smile tugging on your lips. “It was really sweet. And if you’re wondering, I said yes. I was going to kiss you, but then I woke up.” You stood up with a sigh. “It was disappointing, but that’s okay.”

You let out a small laugh and neatly folded Norman’s cloak. You left it on the couch and made your way across the room. “That’s a nice notebook.” you said. “What’re you writing about?”

Norman stilled and closed the book with a smile. “It’s nothing special.” He put the pencil down ever so quietly and stood. “Do you seek my affections?” he inquired. You settled on the wall. “Don’t you have work to do?” Norman looked down at you. His fringe brushed across his eyelashes, and he loosened his tie. Slowly.

Your heart steadily drummed against your chest. “What are you doing?” The false innocence in your voice caused Norman to chuckle lowly. He caressed your cheek with a feather-light touch. “Well, you did say you were disappointed right? Why don’t I make it up to you?”

He rested an arm on the wall with a sly smirk. Your lips connected and it made your stomach flip-flop. The kiss was slow, it was sweet. You found yourself pulling him closer, running your hands through his hair and yanking him over. "Norman?" He met your gaze with half-lidded eyes. "Yes (N/n)?"

"Where did you learn how to do that?"

He smirked and it was hot. The fact that he kept his arm braced against the wall didn’t help either. "Why?" he lowly inquired. "Do you like it?" Your breath caught in your throat and you found yourself wanting more.

Knock, knock!

Norman didn't look too happy about that. He ran a hand over your cheek and gently tucked a lock of hair behind your ear, that half-lidded look of his melting into warmth and love. He made his way to the door, tightening his tie and smoothing out his hair with a quick touch.

"Hello--?" Norman fell short mid-sentence. As soon as your gaze locked with the person on the other side, you understood why. Ray stood in the threshold, just as red-faced as you and Norman, with a sheepish look on his face. “I’ll come back later.” he muttered.

Oh great. Had he been eavesdropping? You glanced at Norman and he glanced at you, then Ray, and back to you. Ray sucked his teeth and stuffed his hands in his pockets. “Don’t have too much fun.” he said, a smirk twitching onto his lips.

You made your way to the threshold with a groan. “Rayyyy!”

“Yeah, yeah, don’t worry.” he coolly replied. “Do whatever, I didn’t see anything.”

PART 2 <--- READ PART 2

NOTE: I spent a WHOLE WEEK writing this. Please reblog so I know you guys like it :)

TIP JAR

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subwaysurf45 · 3 years ago

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Ghost Rider

summary: on a mission you drop and few flirty comments to Bucky, he might not pick up on them but Steve helps him figure it out.

pairing: Ghost Rider!Reader x Bucky Barnes.

words: 2375

warning: fighting, violence, burns(?), sexual innuendos

Masterlist!

the whole “demon with the skull on fire” look was kinda hard to keep hidden, not that you wanted to. You were recruited by S.H.E.I.L.D. after a fight, the Ghost Rider needed to be stopped but you had info on the real bad guys that made you who you were, you helped the Avengers with hunting.

your performing days were over, after crashes and trauma you tried to hide away...like before, the head on fire thing was very memorable; but you wanted to forget.

Tony and Banner worked together to find a face for you, and after sometime -and a little input to make your hair fire-red- you looked normal, for an Avenger.

The team sat in the conference room, Cap was leading the discussion. He was going over the plan and all the different ways it could end and the proper ways to handle the multiple endings.

Bucky was sat beside you, he always found a way to be near, not too close but just enough. “I like the face, forgot to tell you- I mean, I didn’t see the skull because you were in a cell and only Banner and Tony saw it but still...looks nice,” he whispered, you smiled and nodded. When you looked back to Steve, out of the corner of your eye you saw Bucky shake his head, he muttered something to himself before listening in again.

“Like the hair,” you whispered after a couple seconds so you didn’t get caught like school, Bucky had just cut the long locks to a nice trim. “looks strong and healthy, like someone could pull it.” you joked

“Thanks, it really stays out of my eyes-”

“Buck.” Steve slightly raised his voice, “c’mon, man.”

“Sorry,” Bucky whispered before looking out of the corner of his eye to you, you felt like kids trying to be proper in front of the adults. Bucky flashed a smirk before really listening.

*****

You were all in the quinjet, your combat pants were full of knives, you preferred knives rather than guns; it just happened like that. Bucky sat across from you, you tried not to look at him because of his intense stare you thought your new face was going to melt off if you really focused on it.

Everything was ready, your uniform was set. or so you thought, Bucky stood and kneeled beside you, His nimble fingers going to your left calf to zip up an open pocket. His hand rested on your knee as he took one final scan, looking at your legs and pockets. His thumb swayed back and forth as he checked, as he stood he used your thigh to get a little push up even though he didn’t need it.

“Wow,” he dusted off his own knee from the dirty floor, “great thighs, you should teach me your workout routine.” He smirked before going back to his seat, his tongue flicked up and rested on his tooth, he was really going for it.

and you weren’t one to lose in a battle of flirty comments, the first thing that came to mind was blurted out with the coolest tone.

“they make great earmuffs,” you winked, but Bucky just nodded, he didn’t get the joke and you were now wondering if that complement he gave you wasn’t supposed to be sexy, he just thought you were strong.

*****

You were all camped out by the building which was deep in the forest, everyone was in position. The rain was beating down hard, you could hear thunder from afar but you knew it was getting closer. You were slightly slipping up in the mud, your boot would get caught and would almost fall off.

the earpiece was buzzing, everyone was confirming their status and what they saw. The tall trees covered the moonlight so you would have to rely on the earpieces way more than a typical mission.

“west entrance, clear.” you whispered.

slowly everyone worked their way inside, your door was open so you went right in. You did have a gun on you but you knew if anyone came to fight you’d switch to knives, but long distance needed guns.

All you needed was files, this group had too much information.

Bucky was on the second floor, he and Nat were getting files loaded on the hard drives. She was typing away while Bucky covered her six, he scanned around and around even though the building was extremely dead and quiet. It didn’t look dead, there were no cobwebs or any tipped chairs, it looked like an office that was in use.

“this isn’t right, they would have someone protecting the files.” Bucky muttered and left Nat’s back, going to the doorway where he came in to look again. When he turned, she was there. “I have this feeling, I don’t know wha-aah!”

You heard a scream from upstairs, you dropped what you were doing and headed up, gun ready to open fire. Nat was looking around and breathing hard.

“what is it?” you asked.

“Bucky- he was there- and then not there- they’re like assassins, they are so quiet.” She was paranoid, you’d never seen her like that before. “I have all the info, but we need to find Bucky.”

the earpieces were constantly running, everyone else was listening. “We have to roll out, we’ll get Bucky soon.” Sam said, “this place is freaking me out.”

“We can’t just leave,” you shake your head, but Natasha was already leading you out.

As you reached the outside Natasha let go of her death grip, you shook off her hands and looked back to the building, something was wrong; there should be sounds of movement.

“It’s too dark in there and this won’t end well, I’m calling the shots and I say no.'' Steve put his foot down and towered over, you were a little shorter but the build of that man made you feel small.

You turned back and headed to the door, Steve tried to grab hold of you but he retracted his hand with a hiss. He looked at the palm of his hand and saw it was red, there were already pus bubbles forming.

“You burnt me?” Steve yelled.

You closed your eyes as Steve yelled nothing at you, you needed to help Bucky and you were going to do whatever you needed to do. Your head started to heat gradually, like boiling water. The fake couldn’t hold your heat, the jaw began to melt exposing the skull you used to sport; a little melted near your left eye. But what changed the most was your hair, like a bonfire it was big and tall; you were now taller than Steve. Red flames licked the air as the blue flames in the middle stayed almost still, a ball of light from the actual fire on your head lit around you, allowing you to see.

“I did burn you, third degree.” You sneered and walked to the door, “and if you’re gonna leave Bucky and make me save him, get me Steve’s bike.” You left them with the sound of the door slamming to echo around the vacant forest, it rang louder than thunder and rain.

You walked around, trying to hear for any sign of life. Your heart dropped when you heard a muffled scream, it had to be Bucky. Your feet stomped and echoed up the stairs and the screaming got louder and more despite, when you turned the corner you saw Bucky strapped by the ankles and wrists to a medical table, his eyes were wide with fear and his mouth was stuffed with some rag.

“oh god,” you muttered and ripped out the cloth in his mouth.

Bucky didn’t even give himself time to breathe, “ghost! It’s fucking ghosts- and they went through me- i can see your jaw bone- and then they could-your head in on fire- and then I’m tied- and- BEHIND YOU!”

you turned and saw a ghost, your flaming hair swooshed and shot out sparks because of how fast you turned. The ghost had a knife in his hand, and three emerged from behind him. They were opaque and seemed like ghost zombies, parts of them were missing.

There was a stand off for three seconds before the fighting started, and Bucky could barely see what was going on. You danced around the ghosts with ease and it seemed as though you knew what was coming, he wanted to help but as much as he tugged on the restraints he couldn’t break free. HIs body was about to give out, he was in shock and he was tired like everyone else; but being tied up made him remember his Hydra days and that was enough to make him become small.

“I got you,” you muttered and untied him, the ghosts were gone.

“how did you-...?” Bucky didn’t need to finish his sentence.

“I took one of their knives and used it on them, they couldn’t die from our real weapons so I had to use theirs, it was easy.” you got him out and helped him up, Bucky was putting most of his body weight onto you.

“You’re warm,” Bucky tiredly muttered, he was about to pass out.

“I know, I have fire hair,” you said with a smirk, the fire helped you out of the building. Just for safe measures you leaned down and allowed your hair to light the wall, the rain that was pouring outside would put out your fire and you’d just have normal hair but it would also put out the fire that would start in the building; you didn’t want it to burn the entire forest down.

Bucky was about to collapse on you, his eyelids hovered and barely stayed open. he looked sick, his face was green and extremely pale.

“I-I need to sit..” Bucky slurred and fell against the bottom of the staircase, “I think they drugged me...” You tried to pick him back up again but he was heavier than you.

“Buck, we gotta go,” you warned.

he sloppy grin covered his face, “you’re cute when you’re stressed, I love it!” he sang, “you’re always so cute, I just wanna put you in my back pocket and take you everywhere with me- Oh! I could put you in my backpack and... oh that a good idea, good one, James.” Bucky giggled as he thought of taking you everywhere with him.

“You’re definitely drugged,” you giggled and got him up again, when he protested you thought of staying for a bit longer but the fire you light was fast approaching, “Shit!'' you yanked Bucky up and headed for the door, only then did you notice a oxygen pipe running down the wall, “Bucky was gotta go!”

you busted through the door and smiled widely at Steve’s bike waiting there for you, you carried Bucky over and put him on the seat and you got in front of him.

“My butt is wet!” Bucky yelled like a child, it had been there for a while because of the pool of water on the seat.

“Hold on!” you yelled, the engine revved and as your feet left the ground the bike took off. There was mud everywhere, little potholes and murky water splashing up. you spotted a ramp-type-mud-thing near a tree and went for it. Bucky saw it too and grabbed hold, “Bucky!” you yelled.

“What?” his voice was shaky.

“That’s my boob!” you screamed as you went up the ramp, the building exploded behind you and Bucky forgot to move his hand, the loud noise made him hold tighter, “Ow!’ you grumbled as you landed, going at top speed.

Bucky lowered his hand, “sorry, sorry, sorry, god i didn’t mean to, sorry,” he kept repeating himself, you could feel the blush radiating on his cheeks from behind you.

“Never said I didn’t like it...” you muttered.

“What did you say?” Bucky asked, but he didn’t get an answer because you were back with the rest of the group.

You all went home, Bucky was wheeled to the medical ward to see what he was drugged with and you went to your room.

*****

Steve was holding a laptop as he walked into Bucky’s room, he was still in a hospital bed in the med center, it had been a couple days and Bucky was feeling fine; it was a mix of shock and some random drug they never really identified.

“Alright, I’m showing you something,” Steve’s eyebrows were knitted together, he opened the laptop and it had the audio recordings from the earpieces from the last mission.

“Those earpieces save?” Bucky groggily asked.

“Yes, and I’m showing you this.” Steve had pulled audio clips, “you and y/n need to stop flirting and actually do something, I can’t keep hearing this in my ear all the time.” he sighed and hit play.

‘great thighs, you should teach me your workout routine’

‘they make great earmuffs’

Steve deadpanned to Bucky, Bucky just shrugged, “I didn’t know what she meant by that so I just smiled and nodded.”

“Bucky!” Steve yelled, “where does your head need to be for her thighs to make earmuffs?”

“between her legs?” But was picturing a really fatal choke hold that Nat did once.

“what else is between her legs?”

“her- oh...” his face went from confused to red, “oh...!” Bucky bug eyes met Steve’s knowing face.

“and you grabbed her boob, and just listen to what she says when you moved it.” Steve scrolled a bit and then hit play.

‘never said I didn’t like it...’

“I was drugged, I didn’t know what she was saying!” Bucky cried, “I can’t believe it went over my head.”

“go talk to her!” Steve said.

Bucky stood up and rolled his shoulders back, he walked out of the med center and to the rooms, and at one point he thought about turning around and wimping out but he held strong and kept going. Once he was at your door he knocked and you opened pretty quickly.

“I-” he cleared his throat, “I was thinking about you,” Bucky said.

“really?” you smirked.

“ya... I was wondering if you had a pair of earmuffs I could try on?”

#Bucky #Bucky Barnes #bucky oneshot #bucky barns fluff #bucky x y/n #fatws bucky #civil warn bucky #bucky fic #tfatws #winter solider fanfiction #winter solider x reader #winter solider x y/n #falcon and winter solider series

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levis-hazelnut · 4 years ago

Text

Levi x Reader Your Saviour

Summary: you lived within Wall Sina and were forced into an engagement with a man you didn’t even love. While the man you did love, tried to help you escape your cruel life.

warnings: abuse

Blood splattered onto the pristine, marble floor of the hallway as you coughed up a little blood and spit. You were barely able to stand up because once you got to your feet, you were knocked down again by the hands of your fiancé. Getting engaged in real life was nothing like how you had imagined. You had dreamed of having a romantic, maybe cliché, engagement, with the man you loved. You pictured him to be caring, and protective, and sweet, and anything but the characteristics of the man you are engaged to now. Love wasn't meant to hurt you, it was meant to make you happy. Were all your childhood dreams a lie? Is this what getting engaged is? Getting beat up by your fiancé, not being able to stand up for yourself, your parents not helping you in any way. This wasn't how you imagined yourself getting married.

The only good thing in your life right now was a better man you truly loved, but you weren't allowed to be involved with him. Well, no one told you that, but you knew it was something you shouldn't do. You first knew him as a thug. However, for a while, you hadn't seen him which made you worry, but he had come back to tell you that he had joined the Survey Corps. And then his name kept popping up as Humanity's Strongest Soldier. And every time he comes to see you, he tries persuading you to go with him, however, you refuse for a reason you don't know of.

He may not be your dream lover, but he's someone that cares for you, protects you whenever he can, and he would try to be romantic but fail in the cutest way. Now, here you were, completely helpless, crying on the floor, coughing up some fluids, getting beaten up by this dickhead who decided to ruin your, already damaged, life. His name? Luther. "P-ple-ease... S-s-stop," you begged, stuttering through your tears and pain. "Please..." He scoffed, thrusting his shoe into your stomach which caused you to cough again as you clutched your chest. "Why would I stop?" "I d-didn't do anything wro-ong." "Do you think I'm stupid?" he spat, kicking you one last time before crossing his arms over his chest and looking down at you as if he was superior to you when it was actually the opposite - you were of a higher class than him. "Where did you get those marks on your neck from?" You're the fucking one that's bruising me all over, you thought, but would never have the balls to say it aloud since it would just result in more beatings. Well, he wasn't the one that gave you the bruises on your neck, but he doesn't give two shits about you so shouldn't care what you do.

The only reason he’s going to marry you is that: one, your parents want you two to marry; two, Luther wants to have more money and power by marrying into your family. He only did it for that, not for love or for you. And if something unexpected happens to your parents, since you're an only child and he's your future husband, he's going to have all their wealth. "You aren't going to answer me? It seems like you need some more discipline." "No... don't, please. I've had e-enough..." "Well, then, tell me where they came from? You aren't being a very faithful fianceé." I'm not being faithful? Says the one that has a different girl in their bed nearly every night. Again, this isn't something you can say audibly. "Tch. Fine, don't say anything. We'll talk tomorrow," he spoke rather calmly. You knew that whenever he would leave at night, you wouldn't see him until the next day so those were the few hours you would feel safe (apart from your parents, but they weren't as bad). He walked away as you struggled to stand up, staggering as you tried. You pressed your palm against the walls of your house and limped to your room, closing and locking the door behind you so no one can disturb or hurt you.

It wasn't only Luther that hurt you, it was also your parents. The only person in your household that doesn't hurt you in any way is your personal maid, Elsa (and the other two maids). She comforts you whenever she can, tends to your injuries, and sometimes defends you. She's also the only person that knows about Levi. You sat on the stool behind your dressing table, looking at yourself in the mirror to find cuts, bruises, blood decorating your face and other parts of your body. Your eyes fell on the marks on your neck, made by your true love, and got some makeup to cover it up, so your parents don't find out as well. As you were doing that, you heard a thud coming from your balcony which made you jump. Your balcony doors were closed, and so were the blinds, so you didn't know what it was until you approached it. Peeking through the blinds, you immediately opened the door for your favourite person to stumble inside. Before the freezing, evening wind could enter your room, you quickly shut the door and embraced the male, letting a couple of tears fall. "Hey--" he started, but you cut him off. "I missed you so much," you whispered into his chest. "That bastard beat you up today?" You nodded, causing more tears to spray out of your eyes as a soothing hand rubbed your back and gentle lips pressed against your scalp. "It's okay. I'm here now," he said quietly, pulling you closer and tightening his arms around you. "I won't let him hurt you while I'm here." "I love you so much, Levi," you sobbed. "I love you, too." After you finished crying, he took care of your injuries with the first-aid kit in your room as you sat on your bed and he told you about his day since you had asked him, so you could be distracted. "And then, Hanji, that lunatic, decided to annoy me about 'my mysterious partner'. Apparently, everyone was curious about you, god knows how they found out I have someone." "And let me guess: you shouted at Hanji and stormed off to your office." "Yes," he smirked, knowing how well you knew him. "Anyway, I'm done. Do you feel at least a little better?" "Yeah, thank you, my love." "You're welcome, my princess." "Miss (Y/N)?" the honey voice of your maid sounded from the other side of your door, along with a few soft knocks and you got up to open the door. "Hi, Elsa," you gave a little smile. "Do you need anything?" "Oh, I just came to bring you dinner. Do you need two servings?" she asked when she saw a glimpse of Levi. "No, no, it's fine. I'm not even going to eat that much. Thank you, Elsa." "You're welcome, Miss (Y/N)." She left with a sweet smile and you locked your door again, holding the tray of food in your other hand as you went back to Levi who sat on your bed. You settled down next to him, with the tray in your lap. "Have you eaten?" you asked and he simply nodded. "Do you want some because I'm not going to be able to finish this?" "Eat what you can." As you started to dig into the food, Levi shifted to behind you and sat cross-legged, and he decided to fiddle with your hair, which had a bit of blood stuck to it. But it wasn't disgusting enough for him to stop braiding your hair. His fingers gingerly played with your locks as you ate and relaxed under his touch.

Once he was done weaving your hair, he grabbed a hairband from your bedside table and tied the end of it to keep it in place. He pushed the plait over your shoulder so you were able to see it and you gave him a tender smile, twisting your head around to see him. Levi's soft lips collided with yours for a loving kiss, unlike the forced ones Luther gives you with his nasty lips that have been on many other women. His hands snaked around your body, resting on your stomach as your hand reached for his face, barely brushing his skin. You felt his silky, ebony locks graze your face and you used your other hand to tangle in his hair. You shifted your body and pushed it against his, both of you slowly reclining until Levi's back hit the mattress and your upper body lay on top of him. You suddenly pulled away when you heard footsteps, freezing in your spot, waiting for the footsteps to either go past your room or the other way. Fortunately, they did and you were put at ease, letting out a relieved sigh before collapsing onto Levi and snuggling into him. "Can you stay the night, please?" you pleaded. "You know I can't. What if someone sees me?" "I don't care. I've never felt so safe around someone other than you. I know you can protect me." "I can, but your parents and fiancé won't be happy to find me in your bed. They'll take it out on you, maybe when I'm not here." "When are you going then?" "When I know you're safe, so when everyone's asleep." "I'm never safe, Levi." "I'm not as well. But I get through it and come back fine. The same thing applies to you. I know you're strong but just afraid, however, I believe you'll be able to break through one day." "I don't know... I don't think I'll be brave enough," you murmured, feeling yourself slowly drift off to sleep. "You will be," he said, kissing the top of your head just before you fell asleep. ~/~ When you woke up, you were lying down in your bed with the covers encasing you. No one was there with you, meaning Levi must have left while you were asleep. Since there was light spilling through your curtains, you concluded that it was the morning and decided to sit up, rubbing your eyes. When your vision cleared, you spotted a note on your bedside table next to you and reached for it, unfolding it to reveal its contents. 'I'm sorry I had to leave, but I may come back today since we barely spent time together last night. Try to stay strong for me and look after yourself. I want to see you smiling and don't want to see any new injuries. I'll see you soon, my queen.' You let a smile stretch onto your lips after reading the note and decided to get out of bed, your body aching as you did that. Padding into the bathroom that was connected to your bedroom, you freshened up to look less like a dead person. When you were done, you quietly left your room and wandered through the heavily decorated and wide corridors, making your way to the kitchen to find one of the other maids, Annelise. She wasn't as angelic as Elsa, she was just someone normal but a little robotic - no rudeness, no kindness, neutral expressions, not over the top with anything, just stuff like that. You gave her a small smile and greeted her with a 'good morning' before taking a seat at the dining table where she placed your breakfast in front of you. "Thank you, Annelise." She nodded and went back to the kitchen to start on your parents' breakfast who were presumed to walk in, in a couple of minutes. You began to have your breakfast and made small conversation with Annelise before Elsa and another maid, Bertha, came in. Ugh, Bertha... Other than Luther and your parents, there's no one that you despise more than her. She acts all innocent but she's a fucking whore, who is after your fiancé and father. If she ever saw Levi, you're sure she would want him as well. She's one of those b*ichy, bothersome, sassy girls who make you want to rip your hair out. Her voice is so squeaky and annoying, her laugh is high-pitched and annoying, her face is fake and annoying, everything about her is annoying. Nevertheless, you are nice towards her because you don't want to be bitchy. "Good morning, Bertha, Elsa," you beamed and they greeted you in return - Bertha with a fake smile. And this is exactly why Elsa is your best friend, your favourite person ever, the most trusting person, and the sweetest and kindest person you know (excluding Levi, but he doesn't count since he's your beloved). And just to make everything clear... Elsa: your maid, so she serves you (but is more like a friend to you).

Bertha: your parents' maid, she serves them and they seem to get along (probably because of their similar, disgusting personalities).

Annelise: the maid that does everything, helps out the other two and doesn't really have a close relationship with anyone (not her fault, just because you and your parents already have your own maids). Whenever you had a rough time the day before or earlier in the day, Elsa would make you a chamomile tea and sit down to talk with you. And since you were coming to the end of your breakfast, meaning you would head to your room soon, the pretty, young woman decided to make some tea for you, giving you a knowing smile. Once you finished your breakfast, you started to wash your dishes (which you would normally do so the maids had less work to worry about) but Annelise had stopped you, turning off the tap. "No need to wash it, Miss (Y/N). Thank you, though." "Are you sure?" "Your parents wouldn't like it if you did my job. Leave it." "Okay," you complied since you didn't want her to get into trouble because of you. You thanked her for breakfast before leaving to go to your room. Knowing Elsa would be arriving at your room, you left the door open and went to open the doors of your balcony to let the light breeze wash over you. You stood outside for a moment, staring over the town as people in rich clothes wandered around.

You never asked to be born into a life like this. Yeah, others would love to be as wealthy and lucky as you, but you wish you could swap with them. You don't want nasty parents, an abusive fiancé who you’re being forced to marry, snobby people surrounding you. That's not what you would have asked to have when you were brought into this life.

A small yelp was released from your mouth when a figure jumped into your balcony, and a hand clamped over your mouth when your eyes met the steel ones of your lover when you tilted your head back. The hand was soon removed and you let a smile onto your lips before pecking his lips once you turned around. "What are you doing here so early?" "I'm supposed to be getting supplies, although just not here in Sina," he stated with a shrug before pecking your lips in return. He strolled into your room and closed the door, so no one would see him. "But, I doubt they care about where I went." "You can't be here," you told him, following behind him. "My parents always come to my room after they have breakfast, and Luther comes in the afternoon. That's why it's good you usually come in the evening." "I'll hide if I need to." "Luther stays in my room most of the time, Levi." "Fine. Let's go out then, that way no one will disturb us." "I'll need to ask my parents first. And even if they let me, people are going to see me with someone that's not Luther so I'll be seen as unloyal and the word will spread since everyone is a bitch." You could see him biting back a groan and some profanities towards the people that irritate him (your parents and the people that will spread the information). Nevertheless, he stayed calm, but you were sure he was murdering everyone mentally. "Forget about--" He was cut off by a gentle voice. "Miss (Y/N)?" "Tch." You shot him an apologetic look and went to open your door, finding Elsa standing there with a cup of tea for you, so you invited her in and she gave a small wave and smile to Levi, who seemed pissed right now. "I'm just going to quickly speak to Levi," you told your maid, dragging him to the balcony and shutting the door behind you. "I'm sorry, love, I know you just want to relax on your day off, but you know what my life is like and it's near impossible to actually relax. And, you know I'd love to spend the whole day with you, away from everyone else, but there are so many risks. I'm sorry. I wish you could stay here as well, but my parents and Luther--" You were cut off when a pair of soft lips joined yours in a dance, filled with passion and longing. Automatically, your arms looped around his neck and you were brought closer to him, with the arms that had snaked their way around your waist. This was the only place where people couldn't see you, even though you could see them. It was because trees surrounded your balcony and there was a small gap where you could overlook the area around your mansion. It gave you an ounce of privacy in your life that everyone gets involved in. "You don't need to apologise. None of this is your fault," he told you softly, tucking a bunch of your locks behind your ear. "We'll spend time together whenever you can, I will wait. I don't want you getting into trouble for 'cheating' on your fiancé, and I don't want people to talk shit about you because they see you with me." "I still don't understand why you're still in a relationship with me. My life is so troublesome, we barely spend time together, the universe seems to want me to live a miserable life." "It's... because I love you, (Y/N). I don't care if we don't hang out a lot because at least I still get to see you. That's all I care about - you," he paused for a moment as you gazed at the silver ornament on his ring finger before glancing up to see why he stopped. "I'll wait however long to get married. But I'm never going to want to marry someone other than you." When Levi had come to see you after he joined the Survey Corps, he proposed to you, and of course, you had said yes. But it's been several years since then and you've never been able to actually get married. However, he still has your ring since if you wore it, you would get beaten up or something. Now, you have to wear some overpriced ring that Luther gave you; you preferred simple things. Your eyes locked with Levi's and you were able to see a slight smile on his lips. "Gosh, I love you so much," you whispered with tears in your eyes and threw yourself into his arms. "Um, sorry... Miss (Y/N)? I think your parents are coming now." "Oh my gosh. I'm so sorry, Elsa, I just left you in my room. Anyway, Levi, stay out here. I'm just going to quickly be a good girl for my parents and then, come back." "Okay." You smiled at him and walked into your room, closing the balcony door and shutting the blinds before sitting on your bed. As soon as your bottom hit the mattress, the door opened and your parents entered.

Were they good parents? Definitely not. They would only come in because obviously, your dickhead fiancé would tell them that you may have some secret boyfriend or something of the sort. Because of that, they would check on you every morning, sometimes randomly during the day but, luckily, they've never seen Levi. "Good morning, mother, father." "Let me see your neck," your father abruptly said, grabbing your wrist and drawing you closer to him so he could inspect the marks on your skin. "Where did these come from?" "... Luther..." you lied, knowing they wouldn't interrogate you further unless you gave an answer. "If we ever find out that you are cheating on Luther, we are going to kick you out of the house." "I-I would never cheat on him. I... love him," you muttered, internally cringing at your own words. "Anyway, we are going to be out the entire day and come back late at around midnight, maybe later. Also, Luther has some business to attend to and we don't know when he'll be back, so you're going to have the house to yourself. You can do whatever you want, but nothing stupid. Elsa, we want you to keep an eye on her and tell us if she does something wrong." "Yes, sir." "Okay. I'll see you two later then," you beamed, giving them a wave as they left your room with Elsa. She knew that you wouldn't speak with her now since you can hang out with Levi. When you locked your bedroom door, you ran to the balcony to Levi with a toothy grin spread across your lips. Maybe the universe doesn't want you to have a miserable life after all. "What's happening? Why are you grinning like that?" "My parents and Luther are going to be out all day; I can do whatever I want. The only ones here are the maids but they won't bother us. And, since your squad or whoever's with you don't care about what you're doing, we can spend proper time together," you told him excitedly. "So, maybe we could drink tea - your favourite - relax, then maybe have a nice dinner together outside, on the balcony." "Okay, but the first thing is this," he smirked, sweeping you off your feet and carrying you bridal style into your room and towards your bed, where he gently placed you down. You propped yourself up with the help of your elbows as Levi crawled onto you like a predator. His lips met yours in a feverish kiss, thrusting his tongue into your mouth, which elicited the tiniest of moans from you. Your parents weren't even gone yet, but you didn't worry about that because they don't care about what you are going to do now. All they care about is attending important events. ~/~ With your body snuggled up against Levi's, he stroked your clammy tresses and stared up at the ceiling as you quietly slept beside him. Light breathing emitted from you as your chest rose and fell. Grey hues flitted from the ceiling towards you when the raven-haired male heard a mumble of his name and you shifted in his arms. There was a slit in your eyes where he was able to see your (E/C) orbs gazing at him tiredly. Not being bothered to say or do anything else, you closed your eyes again and shifted your head to rest on Levi's exposed chest. He lightly nudged you and you gave a small hum in return. "I want to shower." "What time is it?" "Around three, I think. You were asleep for like an hour. Anyway, I want to get up." "Mhm." You moved off of him and he sat up, running his fingers through his locks before standing up and walking into your bathroom, shutting the door behind him as you nestled into the covers, wanting to relax a while longer. After about ten minutes, Levi came out of the shower as he dried his hair with a towel and sat on your bed. Because of the bed weighing down, and because of the light sleeper you are, you stirred from your nap. All you saw was Levi's toned back before he stood up and he, unfortunately, put on some clothes so you weren't able to see the impressive sight anymore.

Once you got out of bed, you looped your arms around his torso, pressing your cheek against his back as he tried ruffling your hair. You softly giggled and parted from him, going round to face him and pecked his lips before going to your bathroom as well, wanting to scrub off the sweat that dampened your flesh. You had come out of the bathroom, wearing a bathrobe and your hair wrapped in a towel. A small hum sounded in the room when a pair of warm lips pressed against the back of your neck. "Levi," you said in a certain tone to make him stop, which caused him to huff. "I'm going to change and then, I'll ask Elsa to make us a nice dinner." "Okay. I'll just wait here." You picked out a floral, knee-length dress before making your way down to find your favourite maid. "Oh. Annelise!" you called and she turned towards you. "Do you know where Elsa is?" "I think she's in the library." "Okay. Thanks." And so, you started to walk towards the library, fortunately, finding Elsa there dusting the shelves. You were about to say something but then you heard a thud and shout from above. The room above the library was yours so that could mean that something had happened to Levi. Worry started to course through your body. Even though you knew he was strong and he could have just stubbed his toe or something, you were still worried about him. Elsa shot you a questioning look and you jogged out of the library, going to your bedroom as Elsa followed after you. When you opened your door, you just wanted to bury yourself. You gulped before talking, "Luther... what are you doing here?" "Who the hell is this?" Glancing at Levi, who had a bleeding nose, you arched an eyebrow in question, not knowing what to say to Luther. Tell the truth, or lie and say you have no idea who Levi is?

Being your saviour, the shorter male spoke up and walked towards you. He put an arm around you as you saw Luther's eyes burn into both of your souls. "I'm (Y/N)'s fiancé. We've been together for so many years, I've lost count. And I heard she’s being forced to get married to you. But the thing is that she's mine, no one else's." "(Y/N), is this true?" Luther asked in a quiet voice, though, laced with venom. "... Yes," you mumbled and averted your gaze to the floor. The dickhead came marching towards both of you, getting ready to thrust a fist into you, but Levi caught his wrist and twisted his arm until a crack echoed before letting go. "Hey, (Y/N), I'm going to deal with this jerk. There's a carriage somewhere outside, so get whatever you need and head outside. I'll come out in a bit." "Wait, what?" "I have no time to explain. Just go!" "You better keep your stupid ass here! You aren't going anywhere!" "Shut the fuck up. You don't even love her," Levi snarled before headbutting him. You hesitated to leave, but you did, opening the door to your house but soon remembered Elsa. You can't just leave her. But then again, she's all the way by your room so you can't get her. And you didn't know what Levi was planning, so maybe you can see her again. You started to walk around, looking for a carriage and it soon came into sight so you strolled towards it as your heart started to beat faster. Was Levi planning to take you back to the Survey Corps with him? "Excuse me, are you (Y/N)?" a voice inquired from inside the carriage which frightened you, and you instinctively stepped away. "Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you or anything." The male speaking came out of the carriage and held out his hand for you to shake, which you did with reluctance. "I'm Erwin Smith - Commander of the Survey Corps and one of Levi's closest comrades. It's nice to finally meet the woman that somehow stole his heart." "Uh, I guess it's nice to meet you, too, Erwin. Do you, by any chance, know what Levi's planning?" "Yes. Did he not tell you?" "No, he's busy... doing something." "Beating up your fiancé?" "Yeah... How did you know?" "It was part of his plan. He probably already told you that he's meant to get supplies. He told me that he's coming here and that I should come in a couple of hours as well. It's been about five hours since he left, and I don't plan on knowing what happened during that time," he said, which made you blush lightly. "Anyway, he wanted to beat up your husband before taking you with us to join the Survey Corps. That is, of course, if you want to. I would never offer this, but after a lot of persuading from Levi, I’ve decided you can just stay at HQ and not become a scout." "Umm... I don't know. Levi's always tried to get me to go with him but I always refused. And, I don't want to leave Elsa, she's kind of like my best friend." "Levi's going to bring her. He knew you wouldn't want to leave her." "By the way, how did you know if Luther, my fiancé, was going to be here or not?" "Luck?" he replied with a shrug. "Oh, there they are." You saw Levi and Elsa coming towards you and you smiled at them, embracing both of the people you love and cherish. "Did Erwin tell you everything?" "Yeah." "So you're coming?" "Do you think I would stay at my house after all this? Of course, I'm coming. Also, is Luther still alive?" "Yeah. Did you really think I'd kill him?" "Maybe..." "Come on, let's go." All of you got into the carriage - you and Levi sat next to each other on one side, and Elsa and Erwin sat on the other side. You would see Erwin glancing at you two at times as you spoke, probably because this was the first time that he's seen Levi's 'mysterious partner'. Your hand rested on Levi's lap and he gripped it gently, subconsciously rubbing his thumb against it. "Oh, before we go to HQ, we're going to meet up with some other scouts. Expect a lot of nagging and questions," the male beside you informed you and you nodded before resting your head on his shoulder. ~/~ "OH MY GOD!! IT'S CORPORAL'S GIRLFRIEND! HE'S ABLE TO LOVE!" "What's your name? How old are you? What's Corporal Levi like to you? How did you meet?" "Uhh..." "Oi, brats, get away from her. You're going to crush her before a titan can." "But, Shorty~ You're the one that had a crush on her~~" "Tch." "Anyway, Shorty's darling, what's your name?" "(Y/N)." "Hi, (Y/N)!!" several voices shouted and you slightly winced. "How long have you known Shorty?" "Maybe about fifteen years...?" "FIFTEEN?! SHORTY, WHY DID YOU NEVER SPEAK ABOUT THIS LOVELY PERSON?" "Shitty Glasses, please stop yelling. And I didn't tell you because you would annoy me every day, more than you usually do. I didn't even tell you, but you still managed to bother me." "So rude..." "Hanji, he loves you dearly. Not just Hanji, it's all of you that he loves and cares--" "Hey, hey. Shut your mouth," Levi cut you off and dragged you towards the carriage you would sit in for a while more until you reach headquarters. "We need to go. All of you have your horses, so you can go." "Aw, you just want to be alone with (Y/N) in the carriage~!" "Shitty Glasses, go," he ordered as he grit his teeth. "We're not even going to be alone," he muttered. For a second, you were wondering what he was talking about until you realised that Elsa was here with you. You felt bad that you were basically forgetting about her, but it isn't your fault since there's been so much going on today. "I like them," you said once you settled into the carriage, opposite your beloved. "You only met them for like five minutes. You'll get tired of them after a while." "Maybe, but they're nice people." Levi didn't say anything, he only looked at you as if contemplating if he should say something or not. You didn't question the silence nor the stares, thinking he would eventually tell you what he was thinking. As you gazed out of the window and soon, trees and greenery surrounded you for a minute or so, and then, a castle came into sight, giving you an idea that that building would be where you will be staying.

You were about to say something but then a presence came beside you, causing you to tear your head away from the window and look at the male sitting next to you. He took your hand and slipped something cold onto your finger; you didn't even have to look down to know what it was as your lips stretched into a grin and tears brimmed your eyes. "In a couple of days, we're getting married. Nothing will be in the way, no one will object or stop us." "Okay. Thank you so much, Levi! I love you," you told him quietly and pressed your lips to his, not caring about Elsa sitting there. "Damn, get a room, you two," a voice teased when the carriage came to a stop and the door opened, revealing some scouts from Levi's squad. "All of you go away before--" "Hey, Levi, let's just go. You don't need to punish them," you told him and got out of the carriage. "Fine." "Wow. Someone is able to make Corporal quiet? Can you always stay, (Y/N)?"

"I don't plan on going anywhere," you smiled. "By the way, dear (Y/N), who did that to you? The bruises and cuts, I mean," Hanji inquired and you suddenly silenced, gazing down at the ground. "Well--" "You don't need to know shit. Just go and take the supplies into the castle and make sure those brats start cleaning. And, someone take Elsa to her room." "Okay." "Are you okay?" Levi asked softly, cupping your cheek with one hand and you leaned into his touch, giving him a small nod and smile. "Don't tell me what you think I want to hear. Tell me the truth. Are you okay?" "I don't know. Moments ago, I was all happy about finally getting away from my life and finally being able to get married to you. Because of all this, I was able to forget about the life I had a couple of hours ago. But, being reminded about it just makes me... afraid, I guess." "Why are you afraid? There's nothing to be scared about. Your parents and Luther and anyone else you dislike aren't here, so don't be afraid. They can't hurt you here. I doubt they even know where you are, so there's nothing to worry about. If they do find out, there are many experienced soldiers who will protect you and never let you go back to the life you had. All of that's in the past now." "... I don't like having the thoughts of everything that's happened to me. I wish I could somehow just forget." You threw yourself at Levi and he secured his arms around you as he tried calming down your sobs that unexpectedly began. He rubbed your back soothingly and rested his chin at the top of your head, wishing there was something more he could do. But he's already done so much for you. "You aren't going to be able to forget. But, you will be able to grow stronger and soon those memories will hide in the back of your mind. It just takes some time, and I'm going to help you with any nightmares or memories you have. You aren't the only one who goes through these kinds of things. Even I--" Silently questioning his silence, you felt something drop onto your scalp which caused you to look up, only to find that Levi was crying. He didn't even look at you, he just kept staring straight ahead into the distance. "Levi..." "Shh." He placed his hand on the back of your head and brought your face to his chest again before wiping away his tears. Levi Ackerman was crying? In the fifteen years that you've known him, you have only seen him cry a few times. But he had seen you cry a million times and comforted you every time.

It was a surprise to you every time he cried, and to spare his pride, you didn't look at him. You know everything about him, everything that's happened to him, everyone he's met. You know how depressing his life was, but still, you don’t think you’ll get used to seeing him like this. So, you didn't exactly know what to do in this situation. How do you comfort Humanity's Strongest Soldier? What have you done to comfort him in the past? Soon, your own tears had stopped when you had become preoccupied in your thoughts on how to comfort Levi. Maybe you could just do what he does - hug you and tell you that everything will be okay, and say some other things that always seem to calm you down. "Hey, Levi?" "I don't like talking about it," he whispered against your hair. "Well, I don't like seeing you upset, so don't put on an act. Don't act as if everything is okay. Don't hold everything in. There's nothing to hide your feelings from, my love. Let it all out, and talk about whatever's on your mind. You've always helped me through my rough times, so it's time to let me help you." "Thank you, (Y/N)."

#levi ackerman #levi x reader #levi ackerman x reader #aot #aot fanfiction #aot imagines #snk #snk fanfiction #snk imagines #attack on titan #shingeki no kyoujin #reader insert #x reader #fluff/angst?#can levi be my knight in shining armour pls #id love to run away with him #also him calling me 'my queen' i love it lol

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angelguk · 4 years ago

Text

→ pu$$y fairy — a jeongguk scenario

member: jeon jungkook

word count: 3.2k

genre: smut + college!au + jeongguk and oc are in a weird fwbs without the friendship part just the benefits except jaykay lowkey has feelings + virginity au

warnings: virgin!oc / blowjob / we talk about dicks for a bit / oc is strange / jaykay is confused / cum swallowing / first times / not really edited / mingyu the meddling best fwend

soundtrack: on the way, jhene aiko + hold on (slowed and reverb), the internet

Jeongguk doesn’t hate Mingyu. He truly doesn’t. He is one of his closest friends after all; he’d held him up after Jeongguk had dumped half a keg down his throat and his legs had promptly collapsed. He’d also been a successful wingman for when Jeongguk was aiming to add Seolhyun to the list of girls he’d bagged, sent pictures of his organic chemistry notes when Jeongguk had missed more than half of the classes in high school and didn’t laugh at him when he was heart-broken over Sua and borderline depressed. He was a true friend; someone Jeongguk could rely on. It was a simple brother-like relationship that Jeongguk deeply treasured. So no, he could never hate Mingyu – but he could absolutely long to punch that insufferable asshole in the face.

He should have known this was going to go downhill exceptionally fast the moment you stumbled into his room, wide-eyed and nervous in your unsure steps. When his pants had hit the ground, the shock in your eyes was a dead giveaway to how messy this whole arrangement was going to be. The second clear sign was when you jumped out his window because the sight of his bare dick terrified you.

And this was all the result of Mingyu being a meddling shit who didn’t know when to mind his business.

He remembers it with a clarity that makes his shoulders tense, how Mingyu had snuck you into the conversation while twisting a soju bottle in his hands.

“Yo… JK…. You mind if I ask you a question?” He’d said. Jeongguk shrugged, focused on flipping the meat on the grill because he was starving and the prospect of cooked meat was a lot more appealing than feigning interest in a conversation. “Alright…," Mingyu took his silence as a cue to speak. “Have you ever fucked a virgin?”

He should have known then. He really should have known.

“I don’t know. I don’t ask any questions when I’m hard,” Jeongguk had replied, unknowing of the dangerous path this conversation was guiding him down.

“Yeah and most of the time you don’t fuck on an actual bed. I’m not even surprised you don’t ask questions.”

“Hey!” Jeongguk had swung the tongs around. “I ask important ones, like consent and making sure we’ve got a condom around. But virginity? Not my concern.”

“Seems a bit…. Whorish to me.”

“Not whorish. I just have my priorities elsewhere… Like cumming for example.”

Mingyu had sighed as he poured him a shot, the air leaving his lips heavy. “I shouldn’t even be asking you to be honest. You’re a decent guy but your kind of a dickhead when it comes to sex.”

“How does not pondering on virginity make me dickhead? Again, as I said, priorities are elsewhere.”

“Dude you’ve never even tried to have meaningful sex at least once in your life. When was the last time you were actually emotionally invested in the person you were sleeping with? Hmm?”

The answer was Sua and he knew that but Mingyu was decent enough to keep her name out of his mouth, the judging look in his eyes saying enough.

“You know… I don’t do well with the whole emotional thing. I prefer it physical. It’s less messy. But what does this even have to do with virginity?” Jeongguk hated to admit it but he was somewhat interested in where this conversation was going. If only he knew it was leading to a massive train wreck of the one thing, he steered clear from – emotions.

Mingyu had just sighed again, tipping the soju bottle into his shot glass once more. “There’s a girl who I’d like you to meet.”

He’d scoffed, mouth stuffed with a perilla leaf wrap. “You know I don’t do blind dates.”

“It’s not a blind date,” Mingyu had retorted, the glance he threw at his friend’s direction precarious. “She wants you to take her virginity.”

Jeongguk had choked. Of course, he had. Even if sex didn’t mean much to him, taking someone’s first time like that felt very transactional. And Jeongguk wasn’t that big of a dickhead. But then Mingyu had opened his mouth, spewing various details about your life to him that he would rather have not heard over a KBBQ lunch. You were a friend from one of his business lectures, rather eccentric but sweet and funny. You were also a virgin and terrified of approaching men on your own, one of the reasons Mingyu had sprung up this arrangement. Jeongguk wasn’t one to fall into things like this but it was too late. Mingyu was a marketing major for a reason, he knew how to spin words in his favour, convince people into agreeing to things that they normally would not. And that’s how Jeongguk found himself staring at your retreating figure after you’d thrown your body right out his window, landing hard on the lawn of the house he rented with Namjoon and Seokjin. The crazy thing was that you’d gotten up immediately, not showing any sign of a broken bone or injuries, before promptly sprinting down the road to the bus stop. He should have known then. He really should have known. And yet, here he is, pants discarded on the floor of his room and his dick aching from being unrelieved for longer than it’s ever been, while you crouch over him, squinting at his penis like it’s a foreign object that could kill you.

“Could you please stop staring at my penis like that.” He says it out of frustration, but also the way you’re examining his length makes him feel self-conscious in a way he hasn’t felt like in a long time.

“Sorry,” you murmur, not breaking eye contact with his dick. “I’m just… fascinated. It’s rather….” The sentence tapers out and you swallow hard as if it pains you to admit it, “...Ugly.”

Jeongguk decides then and there he hates you.

“I mean... It’s not that it’s ugly!” you swiftly attempt to amend, catching the glare he directs at you. “It’s also big!”

“I know. And you just said it was ugly,” Jeongguk retorts, weighing the options in his head. Either get a poor blowjob from a girl he’s terrified of (but also bizarrely attracted too) or kick you out of his room and finish himself off. The situation sucks either way but it’s better than the last time when you’d leapt out of the window like a gazelle.

“I misspoke,” you say, gently falling onto your knees. You flash him a shy smile, a soft delicate little thing that makes your eyes glitter and Jeongguk instantly picks the first option. “It’s just different to what I expected it to look like.”

He scoffs, swallowing hard on the sudden lump in his throat. “There’s no way you haven’t seen a dick before. You don’t watch porn?”

The grimace you make is enough of an answer. “I have… Not all the time though, it’s too much for me sometimes. Also, it’s weird seeing it in real life and not, like, through a screen.”

“Noted. But still, it’s not that ugly,” Jeongguk murmurs, trying not to compare his penis to the visuals he has in his head. His pride is wounded from that comment he won’t deny it.

“It kinda is,” you reply. Jeongguk flicks your forehead in retaliation. “Ow! Why’d you do that.” There’s that stupid pout in your lips as you glower at him. He despises how his dick twitches at the sudden thought of your pretty mouth wrapped around his length. Despises it even more when you gasp at the slight motion trembling through him. “It moves?!”

“Yeah,” Jeongguk sighs, wondering how on Earth you’re over the age of twenty and still like this. “It does. Also, don’t insult my dick. It’s rude.”

“Sorry again,” you pause as if you’re considering whether what you might utter next is offensive. You open your mouth anyway, unable to comprehend the fact that your words are slowly chipping away at his ego. “It’s kinda scary that it moves.”

“Oh my god, you are the literal worst.” Jeongguk thinks his boner might evaporate. It’s a miracle it’s lasted this long. You’d sauntered into his room around half an hour again and he’d been hard from the get-go. Truly amazing his balls hadn’t shrivelled up yet. “You know you’re about to blow me off right?”

“I know… I’m stupid,” you counter, eyebrows furrowing together like you’re attempting to figure out exactly how Jeongguk’s dick works. It’d be very simple if you just asked him. It’s essentially an up and down motion, some swirls, a lot of wetness. Nothing too difficult. But when you glance up at him, the innocent glaze over your eyes almost hopeless, he can tell it feels the same as defusing a bomb. “I just… Don’t know what to do. Show me?”

And there it is - the foolish little thing that landed Jeongguk here half-naked on the edge of his bed in the first place. Even though you were mildly repulsed by the male autonomy you were still so eager to learn. Something Jeongguk didn’t know he would be into until you posed that question and his balls tightened in a way they have never done before.

“Okay,” he mumbles, hoping you don’t suspect the twitch that runs through his length when you say that. Not like you would, to be fair.

But then you sweep your hair back, lean in fast, no preparation or anything before your breath is brushing against his crotch and Jeongguk nearly screams.

“Woah, woah, woah! I thought you just asked me to show you? What are you doing?” Maybe he scuttles further down the bed, terrified of the rush of heat you send straight to his gut.

Your eyes flicker upward, bright and ingenuous. “Am I doing it wrong?”

“You’re not -,” Jeongguk sighs breath weighing through the air. “You’re not doing it wrong. I just think... We should go slow right? It’s your first time? Maybe don’t rush into it?”

“I watched a YouTube video and they said to do it like that,” you reply. Jeongguk can’t help but blink at you, brain reeling from attempting to understand your being.

“You watched a - never mind. You’re giving me a headache. And I thought you knew nothing. Porn would have been a better research alternative but to each their own.”

“I did it for preparation! I didn't know it’d be this nerve-wracking in real life. And, I told you, real dicks are gross. She used a dildo.”

“How is a dildo any different to a real dick?” Jeongguk fingers dig into the mattress a little harder when you lean it once more, gingerly resting your head against his knee.

“It’s just different. Less grotesque. And they come in various colours.”

He might just actually scream. “It’s literally made to replicate a penis.”

You sigh, your breath skipping against his skin. The room is suddenly tight, closing in on him and you’re not even really touching him. And then you catch your lip between your teeth, pressing down with a quick thoughtful bite. “I think you’re deflecting right now.”

“I’m not,” he splutters. “Why would I even be deflecting right now?”

“I mean, we’re having a conversation about dildos when your dick is hard and I’m meant to be blowing you. Sounds like deflection doesn’t it?” He hates the way your eyes glitter, bright and captivating as your gaze locks into his.

“Like I said,” Jeongguk retorts, “We should take it slow.”

“Okay then. I’m done talking about dildos unless you have anything else to add?”

“I don’t,” he murmurs, “Okay then, onto giving a blowjob.”

“Onto giving a blowjob,” you reiterate. And then, like a psychopath, you smile. “Where should I start?”

He hates that body is on edge right now, hands trembling even though he hides them by squeezing his bed-sheets tight. “Try giving it a lick first? You can put your hand around the base too - if you want to.”

“Here?” His knees nearly buckle when you wrap your warm palm around his length, grip firm around the base of his cock. But that’s nothing to the gentle lap of your tongue against the side of his cock, a quick little thing and nearly launches him off the bed.

“Oh - uh - yeah, there.” His voice sounds far off and without warning your mouth is against him once more, tongue a sinful little thing that slips along his length, wet and warm and so sneaky he’s unsure of what to respond with apart from an instinctual buck of his hips. It’s easy like this, your tongue pressed against his cock and your hands slowly dragging upwards, placing a perfect pressure along his length that leaves him sighing into the air of his bedroom. Your movements grow more direct, reading the increasing desperation in Jeongguk’s body as he moves closer and closer to you, waiting until you feel sure enough. And then, finally, your mouth sinks onto him.

He nearly whimpers. Nearly. There’s a heat pooling in his gut and ebbs through every muscle and nerve, the coil of his desire springing tighter with each inch that slips down your throat. You take him so well, Jeongguk can’t help but watch in awe, the wideness in your eyes making him harder than he’s ever been in his life. Even with your inexperience, the way you swallow his cock is obscene. It’s an imagery Jeongguk engraves in his memory, purposefully stored because he knows he’ll think about it whenever his desires override his logical thoughts again. You lap him up like you want this, a soft moan echoing from your throat and along his length as you move deeper, mouth plaint to his dick. He forces himself to sit still, give you the time to adjust, lick and taste to your leisure, forcing the impending wave of heat back down into his gut. He holds it there even when you move away, the sound of your wet mouth popping off his dick permeating the air.

And of course, you lick your lips afterwards, a swift swipe of your pink tongue against them, your eyes trained on his.

“Like that?” you ask.

Jeongguk’s going to die. He is. And you’ll be the reason why listed on his death certificate.

“Yeah,” he murmurs, chest tight with want. “Like that.”

You lean back in without question, mouth taking his length like you were made for it and your hand works against the parts of him you can’t reach just yet. His mind wanders as his eyes take in this sight of you, on your knees and mouth open wide just for him. Someday he’d like to see if you could truly take his length, all of it. Down your throat. Hard and fast like his hips wanted to go. But this is more than perfect. How you concentrate on blowing him like you want to see him spill himself down your throat. It’s almost adorable, the earnestness in your gaze every time your eyes flicker upwards as your mouth moves along his cock. He likes this more than he’s willing to admit, the slowness in your pace, how your tongue is shy sometimes when it laves against his tip. It’s a change from what he usually gets - and a welcome one too. A tiny part of him feels like it would be fitting to hold your hand. You’re so pretty too, especially when your lips are on him. He’d like to take care of you, see what your face looked like when his tongue was deep inside of you, know what your taste like as you moan out his name. He doesn’t even register the words as they leave his mouth, head lost in the images colouring his thoughts.

“Taking me so well, baby,” he can’t help the grunt, the pet name natural to him, “So pretty with my cock in your mouth.”

And you hum like you like it - like you like pleasing him, sinking further down until his tip bumps against the back of your throat. The zip down his spine nearly sends him spiralling.

“Baby,” he feels it then, when your eyes shift to meet his, the snap in his gut. “F-fuck, I’m gonna cum. You need to stop right now if you don’t want to down your throat.”

But you don’t, moving faster like the twitch of his dick in your mouth spurs him on, your lips firm as they wrap around him. He doesn’t hold in his moves this time, hips gently moving up to meet your mouth, the tremor running through his bulky thighs nothing but a warning before it hits him hard. A wave of heat, melting through his muscles as his eyes flutter shut, your tongue lapping him right up, no protest as he unravels down your throat. It’s over in an instant but Jeongguk feels like mush, head floating and his bones soft with how hard his back hits the mattress. You pull off his length a second later, letting him feel you swallow all of him first.

“Holy shit.” His mouth is still disconnected from his brain.

There’s a beat of silence, so awkward that Jeongguk shuffles himself back onto his elbows even though his bones feel like giving way. And then your laugh tinkles through the air, a soft gentle thing that makes his heart seize in his chest.

“That… wasn’t so bad,” you say, staring at him with an ease that spikes an urge to press his lips against yours in his heart.

“Oh,” he replies, like an idiot. “You liked it?”

“Well, it didn’t suck… pun intended. Your moans are really loud.”

Jeongguk blushes - he blushes - even after the stupid joke you made.

“Um, yeah. I do, I guess. Sorry, I kind of forgot to show you what to do. But you’re a bit of a natural, to be honest.” He abhors the diffidence in his voice.

“I guessed that,” you retort, the smile on your face hypnotic, “From your really loud moaning.”

“Can you - fuck how do you ruin any intimate moment when it happens?”

“Guess I’m a natural at that too,” you say it with a laugh, and Jeongguk can’t help the smile that tugs against his lips.

“Um,” he tries, fully aware of the front view seat you were getting of his soft dick. He sits up to try and shield it, feeling awfully exposed. “If you’d like… I could return the favour?”

“No, I’m good.” There’s zero hesitation in your voice and you’re up before Jeongguk can think of a decent excuse to keep you in his room. “Maybe another time? I’ll text you. Bye Jeongguk.”

It’s then he regrets not encouraging you to undress earlier, his assumption that this would be the worst blowjob of his life incredibly incorrect. Perhaps if your clothes were scattered around his bedroom he could have found a way to convince you into his sheets while you searched for them. But you’re fully dressed, already bounding out of his door like his dick wasn’t down your throat moments ago. He watches you go with forlornness, mouth dry with words he’s incapable of expressing at this very instance and his heart oddly warm at the sight of your skipping away with a carefreeness he admires. He still hates that you’re leaving, perhaps the only positive of this situation is that you’re using his bedroom door instead of his window.

“Bye,” Jeongguk mumbles into the vacant air. You don’t even catch it, shooting him a quick grin before you’re bounding down the stairs as if this doesn’t even matter to you. A stumble on a stepping stone to something greater. He plucks up his phone, pants still lost somewhere on the floor. Blocking Mingyu for twenty-four hours should be enough of a punishment, right?

mingyu the man [10:21pm]

bro..

you alive?

jaykay [10:26pm]

i focking hate u

u know that right?

mingyu the man [10:31pm]

you dont my g

how was it?

did she jump out the window this time?

jaykay [10:34pm]

worse

mingyu the man [10:37pm]

bro wtf wot she do??

jaykay [10:40pm]

she actually gave me head

mingyu the man [10:45pm]

????

how is that worse dude you’re just as weird as her

jaykay [10:46pm]

ITS WORSE CAUSE I LIKED IT

mingyu the man [10:51pm]

damn....

you like crazy coochie don’t you

jaykay [10:52pm]

WHAT R U EVEN

MAN FUCK

I HATE U

mingyu the man [10:53pm]

lmao u don’t i brought her into your life u lurve me

im best man for the wedding

not jaehyun

u got dat right

jaykay [10:56pm]

i hope you fall into a ditch and die

mingyu the man [10:58pm]

okay big man

you gon see her again tho?

jaykay [10:59pm]

....maybe

idk man im fucked up right now

like???

SHE JUMPED OUT THE WINDOW??

mingyu the man [11:01pm]

and u still invited her over to suck your dick again

crazy coochie got u bad bruh

jaykay [11:06pm]

FUCK U

mingyu the man [11:11pm]

mhmm if thats what u say

i have a class wid her to tomorrow

any messages u want to pass on?

hello?

[mingyu the man is blocked]

hello? jaykayyyyyy

JAYKAY

SEAGULL

damn he got it bad

#jungkook smut #jungkook x reader #jungkook fanfic #smutcentralnet #btswriterscollective #btswritingcafe #hey kristy #shoutout 2 ella kristy and luna 4 beta reading mwah

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vivianweasley · 4 years ago

Text

Reason Why I Hate You (Fred Weasley X Reader)

Summary: You hated Fred Weasley, but you just didn’t know why. Maybe it was because there was some unfinished business between you two from a past life? past life au and a bit of enemies to lovers.

Prompt: this is for @slytherinsunrise‘s writing challenge and the prompt is Historical AU! Hope you guys would like it:)

Pairing: Fred Weasley X Fem!Reader

Warnings: murder, major character death, arranged marriage, terrible husband, reader’s family in past life is pureblood supremacist, sound of explosion (firework), angst in the past life, fluff in this life

Word Count: 2.2k

Special thanks to @valwritesx for giving me wonderful advices<3

Disclaimer: all the pictures in the moodboard are from Pinterest. Credit goes to the original owners.

Please do NOT repost or translate my work on another site without permission! Thank you! Reblogs and comments are always welcome:)

It all began on an early autumn afternoon.

1815, an afternoon in September, Frederick Weasley just threw a water ball on his potions professor, and he was now hiding in a broom closet, waiting for his angry professor to go away.

But he heard footsteps approaching the door. Just when Fred was sure that detention is waiting for him, he saw a girl at the door.

“What are you doing-” before you could even finish your question, Fred pulled you into the broom closet, closed the door, and covered your mouth with his hand.

The space inside the broom closet was so limited that your bodies were pressed together now. You felt your face heating up, and your heart was racing. You should be furious. You should scold the man in front of you for being rude or even slap him for that, but you were just standing there stiffly, with your eyes wide opened.

There was another series of footsteps approaching the broom closet now, and you heard the potion professor yelling, “You’re dead if I catch you! Ten points from Gryffindor!”

After the sound of footsteps faded, Fred finally let go of you. You finally got the chance to step on his foot, causing him to jump in pain.

“I probably deserved that.” His hands were still rubbing his foot, but he didn’t forget to joke, “So, tell me, what brings you to the broom closet?”

You glared at him, “I was looking for my cat.”

He nodded, “I’m guessing that you are curious about what brings me here, to this broom closet, to meet with you.”

“Oh, I already know. You just threw a water ball on the potions professor, and now you are on the run.”

His face suddenly lit up, “So you just saw my work?”

“Who doesn’t know about Frederick Weas-”

“It’s Fred.”

You glared at him and continued, “Who doesn’t know about Frederick Weasley’s shenanigans.”

“So you already know my name!” He smiled, couldn’t hide the pride on his face, “May I have the honor to know yours?”

You rolled your eyes, “Y/F/N Y/L/N.”

He bowed a little and pretended to tip his imaginary hat, “Y/F/N Y/L/N, my pleasure.”

This man was frivolous, reckless, and didn’t respect any rules. You had all the reasons to hate him, but why was your heart beating so fast? You sighed, as you could already foresee a future that’s out of your control, “My displeasure.”

Like many romance novels from that period, the girl with a strict upbringing fell in love with the infamous troublemaker. You and Fred were very different people. You were like different sides of a coin, but this couldn’t affect the attraction between you two. Once the spark between you was ignited, there was no turning back. It was as if fate was pulling you together.

You decided to get married after graduating from Hogwarts, but your family forbade this marriage.

They said the Weasleys were blood traitors, and Frederick Weasley was nothing but an ignorant boy of ill-breeding. Your pureblood supremacist family could never give you their blessings. In fact, they already betrothed you to the youngest son of the Burkes, Ralph Burke.

You’ve met Ralph a few times. Not only did he believe in pureblood supremacy, but he also believed that women should do nothing but stay home and be a good wife.

Fred’s situation wasn’t too good as well. His family hated your family, and they wanted their son to marry the Johnson girl.

You and Fred met under a sycamore tree. He sounded desperate, “Let’s run away! Let’s run to a place where no one knows us. France, America, anywhere but here!”

You nodded. You didn’t want to care about how eloping would ruin your and your family’s reputation. These ridiculous rules controlled you all your life; it was time for you to finally do something reckless, something for yourself.

He let out a sigh of relief and held you tightly, “Three days later, I’ll wait for you under this sycamore tree at night. We will get married the next morning!”

After the longest three days in your life, you tiptoed around the house to make sure that everyone was asleep, and you started running as soon as you left the house. You only brought a small bag of galleons to help you survive the first few days and left everything else behind.

You wanted nothing from your past. All you wanted was to start a new life that is carefree and full of choices you could make on your own. A life that you could spend with someone you love.

But when you reached the sycamore tree, the person waiting for you wasn’t Fred, but Ralph.

Ralph’s face was emotionless when he told you that Fred already left the town two days ago because he was afraid. He was afraid of being tied down by you and being forced into another marriage by his family, so he ran away on his own.

You couldn’t believe it. You knew Fred loved freedom, but he was never someone who would break a promise.

Ralph took you to the Weasleys, and Mrs. Weasley’s reaction confirmed everything as she yelled, “Where is my sweet Frederick? What did you do to him??”

So it was true. He ran away, without you.

You felt lifeless as you collapsed. You couldn’t understand it. If he was so afraid of the restrictions that marriage brings, why would he even suggest eloping with you?

You felt deceived and betrayed. Anger and sorrow were clouding your reasons. You were willing to sacrifice everything for him. Your reputation, your family, the life you had, everything. But he still ran away without you. He left you behind.

You felt like a joke.

You felt hopeless.

Three months later, after still not hearing anything from Fred, you gave in to your family’s expectations and agreed to Ralph’s proposal.

You were locked up in the Burke Manor after becoming Ralph’s bride. Misery and resentment were the only things that kept you company in this cold cage that was shaped like a luxurious manor.

Finally, after two years of living in this agony, you closed your eyes forever.

You left this world still resenting Fred. You left without knowing that two years ago under that sycamore tree, he closed his eyes before you.

That night when you and Fred met at the tree for the last time, Ralph was there, too. After hearing that his fiancee was planning to run away with another man, a blood traitor, he couldn’t stand the humiliation. He confronted Fred, but Fred didn’t seem to care at all. Merlin, Ralph hated that smug smile of Fred.

Rage took over him, and he raised his wand at Fred. It was a simple death curse. Ralph took care of the crime scene calmly and returned home, pretending like nothing ever happened.

And just like that, Fred disappeared. No one knew the truth. No one knew that until his last breath, he was still holding a wedding ring. The world only knew a coward called Frederick Weasley, who ran away on his own after promising forever to a poor girl.

~~~

September 1991, you were admitted to Hogwarts along with the famous Harry Potter. You soon became friends with Harry, Hermione, and Ron. And naturally, you also became friends with the other Weasley kids, except for one, Fred Weasley.

You were even great friends with George, but there was something about him that warned you to stay away from him.

Fred was hurt, but he wasn’t too worried because he knew for sure that he could find a way to make you like him.

1995. You were having lunch with your friends at the Great Hall. It was a perfectly normal day until you saw a spark floating in front of you. And before you realized what it was, something exploded on top of your head. For a moment, you thought your heart was jumping out of your chest.

You looked up and saw fireworks exploding across the Great Hall and spelling out “Y/N Happy Birthday.” You rolled your eyes, knowing exactly who would come up with something dramatic like this.

You also heard some people gasping and saying that they were jealous. But you weren’t happy with it at all. It not only almost scared your soul out of your body, but also made you feel embarrassed.

You stood up and tried to run away, but you heard Snape’s voice, “Ms. Y/L/N, Mr. Weasley, this is not a carnival. Detention.”

“Professor, it was all me. She has nothing to do with it!” Great, at least he’s not only a stupid git, but a chivalrous stupid git.

“Good. Ten more points from Gryffindor.”

The Gryffindor table soon started groaning, and you sighed. What kind of birthday gift is this?

After class, you and Fred were sent to the divination classroom to wipe all the crystal balls. You were sent here because Snape didn’t want to risk having Fred breaking all of his precious potion bottles. As of Trelawney’s crystal balls? Snape couldn’t care less.

Looking at the classroom that was filled with crystal balls, you sighed. What did you do to deserve this bloody simpleton in your life?

“Y/N, I’m sorry...” You could hear the guilt in his voice.

But you still replied bitterly, “Forget it. It was nothing. Who cares about spending birthday at Hogsmeade anyway, right?” You knew you shouldn’t be so passive-aggressive, but you just couldn’t put away the hostility towards him.

But Fred couldn’t take it anymore, “Why do you hate me so much? If it was something I did, I apologize. But you hated me from the very beginning. What the bloody hell did I do?”

“I-” You rolled your eyes. Isn’t it clear enough? You hated him because...Then it struck you. You didn’t know how to answer his question. Yes, you could say you hated him because he was reckless and pompous, but was this the real reason why you hated him?

“I-I don’t know.” You lowered your head, feeling both defeated and confused.

“Then could you at least try not to hate me that much?”

Guilt started rising in your stomach, but you didn’t want to admit your defeat, “Why do you care? There are so many others who love you.”

“I care because I fancy you!”

You were still dumbfounded and not sure how to react, but you heard a cough behind you. You and Fred turned together and saw Trelawney.

Except now, her eyes were rolled back, and she started speaking in a hoarse, guttural voice, “180 years later, the star-crossed lovers meet again...One with regret... and one with resentment...On this fateful day...destiny ties them back together once again...”

And then she coughed again and returned to her usual self, “Oh, that was embarrassing. What was I doing here again..Oh right! You two can leave now. I don’t need cleaning here.”

“But Professor Trelawney, Professor Snape said...”

“Oh don’t worry dear, I already told him. You two are good to go!” Trelawney thought back on how scared she was when Snape told her that Fred Weasley was cleaning her classroom. She came here as fast as she could and was relieved when she saw all the crystal balls were still intact.

“Do you think Trelawney was talking about us?” Fred asked after you two left the classroom.

“When did you start to believe in that?” You sounded nonchalant, but deep down, you always believed that Trelawney was actually excellent at divination, so you started panicking after hearing that oracle.

Fred ignored your question, “What did she say? One with resentment? That sounds like you.”

“And you’re the one with regret? Do you even know what regret feels like?”

“Yea! I regret that I did make a great impression. I regret that...I didn’t make you fancy me like I fancy you!”

“You are hopeless, Frederick Weasley. Stop saying that if you don’t mean it!” You were angry. Does he even know that he shouldn’t say something like that? What if people took it seriously? But knowing how frivolous he was, he probably said that to everyone. So why were you still blushing? The more you thought about it, the angrier you got, so you decided to walk faster to get rid of him.

But Fred kept up and stopped you, “But I’m serious. I mean it.”

He looked so sincere when his warm brown eyes met yours, making your heart skip a beat. You stuttered, “F-fine...then I guess I...don’t hate you either...”

“Great! That’s some progress!” He grinned, “You know, if we start running now, we might still have time to go to Hogsmeade.”

You raised your eyebrows and he continued, “If I could make up for your birthday, would you go on a date with me?”

“I... could consider that.” Your face was heating up, but you started walking faster again so he won’t see how flustered you were.

But of course, he kept up again. “Why are you always calling me Frederick?”

“I don’t know. It just appeared in my head. Plus, I feel like you hate it.”

“I do. It sounds sad.”

“Who knows, maybe it’s your name in your past life,” you joked.

“Then I’m pretty sure I hated it in my past life, too,” he shrugged, “Whatever, this life is all that matters now.”

You didn’t reply as you looked at him. He was smiling at you, and at this moment, you knew your future was going to change, in a good way this time.

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genderfluid-insomniac · 3 years ago

Text

When They Can't Save You (main six headcanons)

Asra:

He is devastated and tries everything to get you back, he lost you once, he won't lose you again. Julian and Nadia along with Portia come over to his shop when he hasn't been seen in a while and wasn't responding to them.

They find him frantically looking through books and herbs scattered around him, eyes wide with tears brimming and bags from the lack of sleep.

They're in shock for a bit until the spot Faust slithering over to them with concerned eyes, Nadia lets Faust up her arm and onto her shoulders. Julian and Portia rush over to Asra, grabbing his arm and turning him to face them.

Tears began to fall, cascading down his face and he trembles, breaking down and dropping the herbs he’s holding. Latching himself onto the siblings, gripping their shirts with balled fists, and letting out racked sobs.

Nadia kneels down and hugs them, letting Faust move over to the magician’s shoulders and flicking her tongue at his tears. His voice breaks as he speaks up,

“I know they’re gone, they’re dead, but maybe- maybe I can bring them back. If I did it once I can do it again, I know it. This can't be it, I have to see them again!” He yells and holds onto his friends tighter.

Nadia goes to comfort him but he interrupts her, pulling out the heart-shaped emerald amulet that he gave you. Clutching it to his chest and clenching his eyes shut, broken cries escaping his mouth.

“Why?! Why did you have to do that? You weren't supposed to die! Why wasn’t it me?! It was supposed to be me not you!” He let you down. He messed up. He’ll never get to see your beautiful smile again, the way your eyes lit up when you were excited.

You. The very person that brought him life, was gone. What did he have to live for? Now that you are gone… nothing.

Nadia:

It was evening and she was on her balcony, stroking Chandra who was perched on the railing next to her and letting tears fall down her cheeks. It was one of those nights again, the nights she didn’t get sleep when she seemed to see you everywhere and give her false hope. That you had lived.

Her hand shaking and Nadia went to rub the owl's feathers when a sob racked her, breaking down. The queen collapsed on the railing letting the night air carry her cries to whoever would listen to her sorrow.

Her companion cooed and nuzzled her face before flying off and leaving her, coming back moments later with a garment that meant the world to her. A scarf that you wore when you first met her, a scarf that Asra of course let her have.

Nadia lifted her head a bit when Chandra returned and choked out another sob at the sight of your cloth, gently opening her arms as her feathered friend placed it in her hands ever so gently. Recalling all the memories that they shared and your final moments with her, never losing hope or faith that she’d help Vesuvia return to normal.

Right now she didn't care who heard her as she cried out in pain, hearing a concerned Portia knock on the door and rush in, “Your highness, I-”

She cut herself short seeing her friend's state, eyes puffy and red, desperately trying to hold herself together. Portia walked over to Nadia, tears brimming her eyes and some escaping down her face.

“It’s one of those nights?” The only response she got was a nod as the queen tightened her grasp on your scarf. “I know you miss her, we all do believe me I know, but you can’t blame yourself. It was their decision and we have to respect that-”

Cries left Portia's mouth and interrupted her but she pushed through, “even though it hurts really bad.” The ginger could finish her sentence as she embraced Nadia, joining in her cries and hoping that you would come back, knowing you couldn’t.

Nadia spoke up, “They became my reason to believe in love again. I never thought I’d fall in love after Lucio, but they restored my faith. I know they wouldn't want me to be sad but I can’t go on living without them. I don't remember how to.”

Portia:

After you’d died, Julian moved in with his sister to help her with her work and taking care of herself, given how destroyed she was after you’d left. Concerning even Nadia and Mazelinka so much that they checked in on her pretty much daily.

It was another day of work, Portia was wandering the halls and making sure everything was in shape when she passed a passage that you and she used to take often, tearing up a bit and running her hand along the entrance. Tears quietly left her eyes as she recalled all the fun you both used to have in the palace.

You never gave up on her, never doubted her, and never stopped loving her the entire time. Now you were gone and it felt like her fault like she could have done more to save you or stop you at least. Vesuvia was saved but at what cost.

Portia sobbed and dropped down against the wall, holding her heart and trying to quiet her crying but it never worked, even as weeks passed. She could never get over the loss of you.

She heard footsteps and didn’t bother to look up knowing who it was based on his frantic breathing. Her brother knelt down in front of her and held her close, breaking down with her. You’d been family to the siblings and you brought a feeling of comfort they had forgotten about.

Portia reached into her pocket and pulled out a bandana you wore in your hair that you’d given to her for her unruly red hair. Bringing it to her lips and kissing it,

“Why did it have to be you? You were loved so much! I know you’d scold me right now for being sad instead of happy for treasuring the time we had” a bittersweet laugh let her lips.

Tears continued to fall as Julian rubbed circles on her back and consoled her as long as she needed, you’d been her world. As her brother, he’d never seen Portia so happy and in love when she first introduced them to him. Laughing to himself softly how awkward the moment was when he told her that he’d broken into their shop and met them prior.

Portia whispered her words with a smile, “I treasure every moment I had with you. I do. But I can’t stop crying over you, you knew how much you meant to everyone but you still sacrificed yourself anyway. You were selfless till the end, huh?”

Julian: When you had died, Julien stopped being himself anymore and he had never blamed himself more after he lost you not once but twice. Even weeks after your death he blamed himself and kept asking Asra if there was any way to bring you back, which they both knew there wasn’t a way to but he still asked.

Most of the time you could find him at the rowdy raven completely drunk or bargaining with the bartender for another when he was refused one.

Mazelinka or Portia usually has to drag him by the neck back to the house and watch over him as he drunkenly cries while remembering all the good moments he had with you.

He also contemplates taking his life because without you he doesn't feel like he can help anyone. You got him out of getting hanged and saved his life multiple times, you always had his back.

For once he wishes he could trade his curse for you again, he would rather eat leeches every day than live without you. His self-deprecation was always bad before but now since you’re gone, he completely lost his self-confidence, thinking that he’ll never be good at anything ever again.

“Why couldn't it be me?! They did so much for me and what do I do for them in return, let them die! Because of me, they died, again, and I don’t think I can bring them back this time.”

Sorrowful cries escaped him as he fell to the floor and held your masquerade mask in his hands, tears blurring his vision. Portia crouched down beside him along with Mazelinka and wept with him, hoping for some sign that you were okay even after death.

Muriel: (Hold on to your hearts this one is gonna be rough, possibly way worse than the other ones)

Truth be told, Muriel didn’t know if life was worth living when you died. He was already broken as he saw many others he cared about die before him and he couldn’t do anything to stop it.

The hermit never left his house ever, even for food and water, it was Inanna that practically dragged him outside whenever he stopped eating or drinking. Feeling completely empty and worthless as your last moments continuously played on loop in his head.

Endless crying and never taking off the bright green scarf you bought for him and said matched his eyes. Only taking off to wash it and make sure it never left its pristine condition you left it in and cried whenever he had to.

You brought so much light into Muriel’s life and changed it wonderfully, the town loved him again and remembered him in a happier light, he was able to move on from his past and confront Lucio, and the best part of all, he met you.

The forest only heard Muriel’s sobs and cried with him, everything seemed dimmer when you’d died and nothing would be the same. Muriel even considered taking his own life because he had nothing left to live for but went to Asra instead and talked out all the grief he’d built up.

Inanna never left his side as he did everything he normally did before he met you, feeding his chickens, making sure the forest was in good health, and training in case anything went wrong. It was the only thing he could do, busy himself so much that he couldn’t think about the loss of his love.

The way you held his face before you passed, how your soft hands cradled and wiped his tears away. The light and love slowly fading from your eyes as you spoke your last words to him,

“You matter so much and I was so lucky to meet you. I love till the end, Muriel, never forget that.” With that, your eyes fluttered shut and your hand went limp as the giant held it in his hands.

But did he matter if you weren’t here with him? You spoke about loving him till the end and he never doubted your love but it had been the end, you had left this world. But he would never forget you, not till the day they would meet again.

Lucio:

In all honesty, he didn’t know how to feel. For years he’d been hurting the people of Vesuvia only to be brought back and having to rebuild everyone's trust but now you were gone.

He was used to watching you as a ghost, someone that couldn’t interact or communicate with you, and now it was the opposite. Lucio could only hope that you were a ghost and had to fight the doubt in his mind.

‘They passed peacefully, why would they come back? You’re just getting your hopes up for nothing.’

Even Nadia, who loathed and despised him, comforted him through tough times as she knew what it was like to lose a loved one. The others who were still a little skeptical that he was faking this started to believe him after a while.

Only someone in true grief could act like he was, Lucio wasn’t Lucio, and for once it scared everyone. For him to not be his arrogant loud extroverted self was foreign and seemed wrong. Julian and Asra often came to him and helped distract him, Asra at times coming to him and using a dagger that the old king gave them to try and contact you in the magic realm, sometimes getting messages but they were only verbal.

He only blamed himself, at least when he was a ghost he could still see you and at times you could see him (even if he made that blasted deal with the devil) it was better than this. His dogs never left his side as he roamed solemnly around the palace, letting tears fall down his cheeks and soft sobs exit his mouth.

“Why was he so obsessed with power when the only thing that mattered was in front of him? I really am foolish aren’t I, love? I hope you can’t see how much of a mess I’ve turned out to be. I miss you”

#the arcana #muriel the arcana #asra alnazar #countess nadia #the arcana lucio #portia devorak #julian devorak

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mcgnagallsarmy · 3 years ago

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Top 10 Spuffy fics I’ve read (Apr 2022)

Benign by Jim Wicked [NC-17]

They’d been hopeful after surgery and chemo. But the same cells that quickly regenerated to heal The Slayer’s wounds—the same cells that kept Buffy looking healthy throughout treatment, to the amazement of oncologists—also replicated malignancies at a startling rate. After two years cycling through remission and relapse, the cancer had finally metastasized to her bones, lungs, liver, and brain.

Catch by Holly [PG]

Someone asked him once how long it had taken, falling into sync with her.

Doomlets by Sunalso [Adult Only]

Outtakes and extras from Thing of Doom. More smut, and Will Jr. cuteness overload.

Found by CupcakeCute [PG-13]

Begins between TGIQ and Power Play, continues post-NFA. Buffy learns of Spike's resurrection from an unlikely source and immediately sets out to make things right as The Apocalypse breaks out in L.A. Spike/Buffy pairing, some Angel/Cordelia.

Inside Man by Holly [NC-17]

Spike had this perfect memory of them together—her holding his hand, looking at him with tears in her eyes, telling him she loved him. If a man had to die, that was the way to do it. But in their world, the dead don’t stay dead. A completely canon-compliant retelling of AtS Season 5, beginning with Harm’s Way.

Like Daughter Like Mother by violettathepiratequeen [PG]

Spike thought he'd seen the last of the Buffybot, but turns out it has a bizarre feature that not even he was aware of...

Only Time Will Tell by Grief Counseling [NC-17]

Buffy, Giles, and the rest of the Scoobies are living in London a year after the collapse of the Hellmouth. They are faced with an interesting mission to save the world: they must retrieve an artifact that was destroyed over a hundred years ago. The catch? Buffy must travel back in time to the exact location that Spike lived before he was turned to obtain the artifact. The pain of seeing him again after losing him, even in human form, might prove to be too much. Or it might be exactly what a grieving slayer needs. (Note: this post-series story does not include comics canon)

Pardon My French by Girlytek [R]

In retrospect, it was probably a bad idea to let Buffy perform a spell in French. Begins at No Place Like Home.

The Ring by violettathepiratequeen [PG-13]

All he wants is to feel like she's choosing him. Is that so bad?

Someone To Lean On by MaggieLaFey [NC-17]

Buffy has just discovered that her mum needs surgery for a brain tumour and that her little sister is some weird ball of power with a crazy-strong chick trying to get her. It isn’t exactly the most relaxing moment in her life. Of course, that’s exactly when Spike suddenly turns human, needing all the help he can get, including somewhere to live… Will Buffy find a way to ask for the help she needs? Will they both learn to lean on each other?

#Buffy The Vampire Slayer #btvs #spuffy #ficrec #monthly ficrec

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callivich · 4 years ago

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I love the idea of time travel and I just couldn’t get this idea out of my head, so here’s a little time travel story! Reworked this so it’s slightly different and longer! Planning on a part two soon.....

———

Ian had been standing in the kitchen of his and Mickey’s new apartment. He had been about to make some coffee and take it to his husband who was still sleeping. Everything had been normal and fine - he’d been idly thinking about what they were going to do that day. It was Saturday and Mickey had, the night before, demanded not to be woken early, but other than that, they had no plans. Maybe a dip in the pool? It was sunny, but not too warm, which was good because the slightly cool weather meant less people in the pool.

And, just as he was imagining swimming lazily in an empty pool with his husband, it seemed like he blinked and the whole world had shifted sharply. He felt dizzy and his vision swam, his body felt weak and he collapsed against a nearby wall, trying to catch his breath. It was like no feeling he’d ever experienced.

Blinking furiously, he noticed something alarming - he was not leaning against his kitchen wall, he was somewhere else. Somewhere he never thought he’d ever go again. Somewhere it was impossible to go again, but he recognised it immediately. The Milkovich house. He glanced around at his surroundings, struggling to understand how he could be standing outside Mickey’s old bedroom. What the fuck?? Was he dreaming? Or, worse, hallucinating? If he was dreaming or hallucinating, it was the most realistic thing he had ever experienced, there was nothing dreamlike about it. Everything looked exactly the same as he remembered - the signs on Mickey’s door, the dirt covered carpet, the dimly lit hallway - it even smelled the same - that stale mixture of smoke, beer and sweat.

It was too much - this situation he found himself in, it couldn’t be real, and yet, apparently it was. He felt a sharp burst of panic, his chest felt tight, and he reflexively clenched his hands, trying to calm himself. It was then he realised he was holding something. It was heavy and solid in his hand, and as he stared at it, it took him a few seconds to understand what he was seeing - it was a tire iron. And then everything began to click into place - he noted his worn, hand-me-down clothes and when he reached up to feel his hair with his free hand, his fingers found bangs. An overwhelming feeling of familiarity washed over him, he remembered these clothes, he remembered holding the tire iron and he remembered why he was holding the tire iron. Most importantly, he remembered this day. It was the day that everything changed between him and Mickey - the stolen gun, the fight, the sex - and he was in his teenage body. Shit.

Ian didn’t know what to do. This was impossible. There was simply no way it was possible. And yet, here he stood, years in the past. His mind began to race with possibilities - should he leave? and go where? back to the Gallagher house? or should he stay here and wait to see what happens? would anything happen? would he blink and be back in his kitchen? or was he stuck here in the past forever? He wanted to go home, to his apartment with Mickey, he wanted his husband. Mickey. A thought occurred to him - maybe Mickey, his Mickey, was here too? Not that would automatically fix everything, but at least Ian wouldn’t be alone. He stared at the door, he needed to know either way - either Mickey was also, somehow, here in the past, and they could figure this out together, or he was about to run into angry, teenage Mickey, who perhaps didn’t hate Ian as much as Ian had assumed at the time, but was definitely not his friend.

He paused outside the door, and as he took a deep breath, his hand tightened on the tire iron - unsure if he should just leave it on the floor. He definitely wasn’t going to hit Mickey with it, but if it was teenage Mickey in there, then Ian hoped the sight of the tire iron would stop Mickey from hitting him. Ian pushed open the door, and softly shut it behind him with a click. There was Mickey, laid out on the bed, face down, asleep, just as Ian remembered. It was bizarre seeing this again, at the time he had no idea how this day would change his life, but here it was - the moment that their lives began to become entwined.

This wasn’t the time to reminisce though. Ian gently, much more gently than he had done so originally, poked Mickey in the back with the end of the tire iron. Perhaps too gently, because Mickey didn’t move. This was promising - teenage Mickey was a light sleeper, but in the safety of their apartment, adult Mickey had began to sleep heavily, and Ian hoped that the fact Mickey didn’t move immediately meant that this was his husband.

“Mickey. Wake up.” Ian moved closer to the bed, and tapped him on the back with his free hand.

That did it, there was an annoyed groan, and Mickey turned his head, so Ian could now see his dirt-smudged face, but didn’t open his eyes, only muttering a tired, “No.” This was different to what had happened before, but Ian still wasn’t sure if this was his Mickey or teenage Mickey.

“Wake up.” Ian tried again, this time giving his shoulder a shake.

“Fucks sake, Ian, it’s the weekend....I wanna sleep in.” Mickey mumbled, sleepily. Still, he didn’t open his eyes, just reached out a hand, and when he didn’t feel anything but an empty space, he continued, “Come back to bed.”

It seemed like Mickey thought Ian should be in bed with him, and relief flooded through Ian. This was his Mickey! Now he just needed to actually wake the fuck up.

Feeling more confident, he sat down on the bed next to Mickey, dropped the tire iron on the floor, and ran a hand down his back. “Mick. Open your eyes. But don’t freak out.”

“What am I gonna freak -” And then he was speechless. His eyes were finally open and he looked at Ian in shock. “What the fuck?”

“I know.”

Mickey’s eyes darted around the room, back to Ian, down at himself, and then settled on Ian. He reached a hand out to touch Ian’s face softly, running his fingers over the freckles. “Fuck. What’s going on? How...”

“I don’t know?! I was in the kitchen, I was going to make coffee, and then suddenly I was here and shit, I thought I was dreaming, or hallucinating, but this is all so real. So it must be real?” The words tumbled out and Ian was so glad that he wasn’t going to have to deal with this alone.

“I don’t....the last thing I remember was going to bed with you.” Mickey sat up, and swung his legs around to sit close to Ian. “This is fucked up. It’s fucking impossible.” He ran a hand down his face, before turning to stare at Ian again in disbelief. And Ian couldn’t help but do the same back - he still couldn’t believe his eyes.

“What are we going to do?” Ian broke the silence, they couldn’t sit here staring at each other all day.

“Shit. I don’t fucking know.” Mickey frowned for a moment, as if considering something and then pinched Ian on the arm.

“Ow! What was that for?”

“In case it’s a dream.”

“You’re supposed to pinch yourself.” Ian grumbled, as he pinched Mickey on the arm. “There. Feel real?”

“Hardly felt that, but yeah.” He looked around his room. “So, I guess we’re in the past. That means -”

Mickey didn’t have time to finish his sentence because the door opened and a ghost entered. Or rather, not a ghost, someone who was very much alive. Terry. Mickey instantly tensed up, his hands balling into fists. Terry made his way into the bathroom, slamming the door behind him. Ian didn’t think, he just pulled Mickey close, hugging him tight.

“Fuck. Shit.” Mickey let out a shuddering breath. “Ian, we can’t.” He moved away reluctantly. Ian felt his heart clench but nodded, shifting away to the end of the bed. Of course they couldn’t hug, not here, not now. Fuck. Ian wanted to punch the wall. Mickey pinched the bridge of his nose, “I can’t fucking be here, man.” He jumped up and threw on some more clothes and some shoes.

Terry stumbled back out of the bathroom, and Mickey froze, his eyes wide, still unbelieving of what he was seeing. He kept staring at the door after Terry left. It was surreal seeing Terry alive, walking around like normal. And if Ian thought it was surreal, he couldn’t imagine what Mickey was thinking. Or rather, he probably could guess. His mind drifted to thoughts of Monica - she was alive here, what would it be like to see her again? Would he felt strange? Horrified? Upset? And Frank....shit, Frank had only just died, but right now, he was alive.

He pushed the thoughts away, they needed to leave. This was all too confusing. Mickey had only just finally come to terms with Terry’s death and this....this fucked up situation was only going to cause him pain. And Ian was still going through some pretty strange and surprisingly upsetting emotions about Frank’s death, it was all still so raw. Neither of them needed to be confronted by their dead fathers (did anyone ever?), especially not so close to said fathers deaths. The room felt too small, too hot, Ian knew they needed to leave. It was impossible to think here.

“Let’s get out of here.” Ian tugged on Mickey’s hand, squeezing it gently, before dropping it.

“Where?” Mickey questioned, shrugging on a coat.

“One of the abandoned buildings? At least then we know we’ll be alone. And we can try and figure out what we’re going to do.”

Mickey gave a whispered “yeah” and flung open his bedroom door, hurrying towards the front of the house, causing Ian to jog behind him to catch up. He was about to reach him when Mandy appeared. Ian’s stomach did a pleasant flip when he saw her - he’d missed her so much and here she was, looking exactly the same as he remembered. He fought the urge to hug her tightly.

“Ian? Are you ok?” Her eyes searched his face curiously, like she could tell something was wrong. But that was stupid, Ian thought, even if she could, she would never guess it was that Ian and Mickey had somehow time travelled from the present back to the future.

“Uh...yeah. I just...” He couldn’t help it - he glanced at Mickey who had paused by the front door, looking over his shoulder at Ian. “I gotta go home.”

“Ok. But-”

“Everything’s fine, Mandy. I’ll see ya.” He could hear the tremble in his voice and he could tell from the slight frown on her face that she was concerned. She looked back and forth between Ian and Mickey, her eyes narrowing and noticing Mickey’s hand on the door. “Where are you going, shithead?”

“Out.” And with that, Mickey practically flung himself through the doorway and made his way onto the sidewalk. Ian waved a hand in Mandy’s direction, wishing he could explain to her but knowing he couldn’t, and headed out, shutting the door behind him. He felt guilty brushing her off, but Mickey was his priority.

“Mick.” He called out as he caught up. He bumped his shoulder against Mickey’s and they began to make their way to one of the more isolated abandoned buildings, both knowing which one they should go to. They walked in silence, both of them struggling to make sense of where, and when, they found themselves. So, it was no surprise that neither of them noticed the figure that followed them.

——

Ian watched Mickey as he climbed the old, battered stairs in front of him, he could see the heavy tension in his shoulders. It was familiar but not something he had seen in awhile. Mickey was relaxed and happy, most of the time, they were finally settling into the West Side and things were good - safe and stable - and their days were filled with kisses and laughter, they just were enjoying being together. But, now, they had been thrown backwards to a time when things were dangerous and unstable and complicated.

There was a splintered door, which Mickey kicked open with his foot. He sighed heavily and Ian grasped his hand, leading him towards one of the walls. They sunk down onto the floor, backs against the cold brick. Ian moved to cuddle Mickey close, but it was awkward. He was used to being able to hold Mickey easily, but here, now, as they were a similar height, it was different. He had never had the luxury of being able to hug or be close to Mickey like this back then, so he wasn’t used to trying to hold him like this. Eventually, with some fumbling, they managed to find a good angle. Mickey slumped down a bit, and Ian put his arm around Mickey’s shoulders, they were pressed close, and Mickey threw one leg over Ian’s, and rested his head close to Ian’s neck.

“This isn’t fucking fair.” Mickey whispered. “What the fuck is this shit and why is it happening to us?”

“I’m scared.” Ian replied, using his free hand to grab one of Mickey’s. “What if we’re stuck here?”

“Your meds.” Mickey squeezed Ian’s hand. “What are we going to do about your meds?”

“I don’t....” Ian faltered. He hadn’t even considered that. What was he going to do? He hadn’t been diagnosed back then, now, so what did that mean in terms of his illness? The fear that had been bubbling under the surface suddenly began to overflow. What the fuck was he going to do? “I don’t know. Shit. Mick. I don’t-”

“We’ll figure it out.” Mickey put his free hand on top of his and Ian’s clasped ones. Ian wanted to believe Mickey but he didn’t feel convinced, and as confident as Mickey sounded, Ian could hear the worry.

“Ok. Yeah. We’ll figure it out. But, what are we going to do, like right now? We can’t stay here tonight.”

“I can’t go back there. I can’t see-”

“I know. I know. We’ll stay at my house.” Ian cut him off before he could say his father’s name. It felt strange saying that - my house - because it wasn’t, not anymore. His house, his home, was the apartment he shared with Mickey.

“And how the fuck do we explain that? And what about Frank? You gonna be able to deal with seeing him again?”

“Don’t care.” He heard Mickey snort. “I don’t care Mick, you’re my fucking husband, and I love you and we need to-”

“Holy fucking shit! What the hell is this?” A shocked voice cut through the air, startling both of them.

Ian and Mickey jerked their heads up at the same time to see Mandy standing in the doorway, a look of complete and utter disbelief on her face. They had been so wrapped up in their problem, that they hadn’t noticed her following them or heard her making her way up the steps of the building. They slowly disentangled from each other in a way that Ian noted would not have happened in their teenage years. Mickey would have shoved Ian off back then, but now, he was so used to not hiding or feeling afraid that he didn’t. As much as Ian would like to focus on the growth Mickey was showing, he knew he couldn’t. Because right now, the stakes were too high.

Ian’s heart pounded, he knew they needed to say something. He could trust Mandy. He had done so before. But fuck, there was so much more he knew in hindsight. So many more terrible, violent things that he knew he could not let any of them go through again.

Which is why he blurted out the first thing he thought of, “It’s cold. We were cold, so we were just warming up.”

Ian didn’t need to look at Mickey to know he was probably rolling his eyes.

“Cold?” Mandy folded her arms and leaned against the wall. “Thank fuck I’m not a cop Ian because you would not last-”

“What the fuck are you doing here? You follow us?” Mickey interrupted. “Go away.”

“No. Not until you tell me what’s going on.” Mandy pushed off the wall and walked to towards them. “Ian, what’s going on? I thought you and Kash-”

“Fuck him.”

“Shut up, Mickey. I’m talking to Ian.”

“Mandy, please. This isn’t what it.....can you just forget you came here? Please? And please don’t say anything. To anyone.” Ian pleaded. He needed her to go. He loved her, and he loved seeing her again, but fuck, this was not the time. He couldn’t think with her here. All he kept thinking of was when Terry found him and Mickey - that horrible morning that always made his stomach churn when he thought about it. He didn’t think Mandy would tell. But in that moment it felt like it was too much - someone else knowing - he just couldn’t handle it right now. He just wanted to be with Mickey. “I’m begging you, Mandy. Please.”

Mandy bit her lip, in the same way Ian had seen Mickey do a thousand times. She looked back and forth between them, uneasy and suspicious, Ian realised he had tears in his eyes and he could see the exact moment Mandy noticed. “Fine. But you owe me an explanation Ian. And so do you Mickey.”

“Yes.” Ian breathed in relief. And he watched her turn on her heel and leave. They stood in silence until they were sure she was gone.

“So, what now?” Mickey pulled Ian close, his arms winding around his waist.

“Maybe if we fall asleep, we’ll wake up back home?” Ian hoped more than anything that would be true.

“Thought you were awake when you came here. Back? Now? Whatever.”

“I was but....who the fuck knows right? It’s worth a try.”

“Yeah. Maybe. But we can’t sleep here.”

#gallavich #gallavich fic #ian gallagher #mickey milkovich #shameless #headcanon #as always feel free to continue this or add to it!!#I think this idea would be great written by someone who is good at multi-chapter fics #I’m not great at that #so very happy if anyone wants to take this idea and do their own thing with it #or remix it or use parts of it #btw sorry but I’m probably not going to continue this #but they definitely get home safely

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cheri-translates · 4 years ago

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[CN] S2 Shaw - Ch 12 Angst Scene

🍒 Warning: This post contains detailed spoilers from the Season 2 main storyline, which has not been released in EN 🍒

Before proceeding, do note that I’m unable to answer any questions related to the non-Gavin chapters in S2 because I have no idea what’s going on. I decided to translate this because I got spoiled on Weibo and it hurt so bad that I needed to do this as an outlet :’)

If you decide to continue, it’s highly recommended to read Shaw’s 2020 Birthday R&S and Summer Night Date first for maximum angst!

Short summary of what happens before this:

MC sneaks into the Hunter Game and two participants make her legs go numb so she can’t move

Shaw happens to walk by and rescues her, bridal carries her to an abandoned ship, uses his Evol to restore sensation in her legs and they talk about the “Beacon”

And I have absolutely no idea what’s going on

Anyway, he gets into another fight later on

When things are finally somewhat peaceful, Shaw collapses and MC discovers that he’s been running a fever this whole time

Joker’s pal walks by and zaps him to the hospital

Shaw: [hisses in pain]

When Shaw wakes up in a daze, he feels as though his head is about to split into two.

In a blurry state, he takes a look around his surroundings, subconsciously calling the girl’s name.

Shaw: MC?

The response he expected doesn’t arrive, and it seems she isn’t by his side.

He closes his eyes, recollecting what happened before he fainted - the Hunter Game, power grid, the young man...

Shaw: !

Shaw sits up violently. After he fainted, he could vaguely hear the conversation between her and a young man.

His vision gradually becomes clear. He once again takes in his surroundings, and realises that he’s in a hospital.

Taking out his phone, he dials that familiar number. As expected, his call doesn’t get through.

Shaw balls his hand into a fist, punching the bed fiercely. Veins appear on his forehead.

He pulls out the IV and stands up hastily, only to feel the entire world spinning.

After calming down for a moment, he decides to make a trip to the antique store first.

Dizzily, Shaw returns to the vicinity of the antique store, realising that the street is crowded with people from the neighbourhood. It seems like something has happened.

The closer he heads in the direction of the antique store, the closer is the sound of the blaring fire engine. Shaw’s heart leaps, and he controls his quickening steps.

When he turns at the corner, Shaw stills, pausing in place.

A sudden, ear-splitting clap of thunder explodes in the sky.

Black tongues of fire lap the roof of the antique store, appearing both mysterious yet bizarre.

Firefighters disperse the crowd while extinguishing the fire. However, it’s clear that given the strange circumstances, they’re at a slight loss.

Evidently, this is a fire stemming from an abnormal and malicious act.

After a few rigid steps, it’s as though Shaw has gone into a frenzy, running forwards wildly.

The flames seethe and churn in his widened eyes, reminiscent of a surging black swamp, gradually climbing and overtaking his entire vision.

Firefighter: What are you doing! Stop him!

Shaw: [a heartbreaking shout] GET LOST!

Shaw shakes off the hands roughly, a crackle of white electricity causing the firefighters, who are trying to hold him back, to shift away instantly.

Countless blood vessels become evident in his eyes, and he rushes into the black purgatory without hesitation.

The dusty smoke snatches away one’s privilege to breathe. But right now, the thing suffocating Shaw even more isn’t the turbid air.

His gaze lands on the objects on the wooden racks, and he feels an astringent pain in both eyes.

Shaw: [difficulty in breathing] ...

As though in a frenzy, Shaw lunges forward, grabbing a bundle of calligraphy paintings that look aged, then rushes towards the entrance.

Flaming bricks from the roof fall around him. He doesn’t bother dodging them, and simply hugs the calligraphy paintings to himself even more tightly.

He tosses the calligraphy paintings to a firefighter at the entrance. Without a word, he immediately disappears into the black world of flames again.

Just like this, again and again, back and forth, he doesn’t stop.

Very soon, large patches of scalded skin are left on his body. But he doesn’t seem to feel pain, and simply rushes back into the sea of fire repeatedly.

Shaw knows that these spiritless, dead objects are meaningless to some people.

But to others, they are a period of living and breathing history, evidence of a miraculous existence.

He is unable to fathom why anyone would use these objects as tools for venting their anger and for taking revenge. At the same time, deep in his heart, he knows it clearly.

It’s probably because to Shaw, these dead objects represent life.

The black flames burn his fingertips, swallowing every fragment belonging to his place, and every corner.

And also, every silent memory.

He exerts his all, wanting to grab them. But what’s left in his palm is a pile of scalding ash.

When the fire is finally put out, half of the antique store has already been scorched.

Or rather, the person behind this had always intended to burn half of it as a warning.

Aside from those items which Shaw risked his life to retrieve, most of the objects in the antique store are in the mess, returning to dust.

The firefighters round up their work, and no one dares to disturb Shaw, who simply stands in front of the antique store.

The black flames look abnormal and filled with malicious intention, the thick smoke spiralling in between Shaw and the antique store.

Shaw lowers his head, and no one can see his current expression, and no one knows what he’s thinking about.