#as him having personal beef with children instead of him focusing (too much) on the bigger picture. like..isnt that his entire personality? | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

lunar-magnolia · 3 years ago

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IT'S TIME TO GO ON A SPECULATION JOURNEY @l-tachi

It's true we don't really know Hua Cheng's past before he fell into Xie Lian's arms as a child, but we do have some things that could help make up a little picture of his human life. I might leave out some things and take them for granted, like his transformation from simple fire ghost to savage:

*putting a read more because Long and spoilery

He was a citizen of the Imperial Capital of Xianle or lived in the vicinity of it. It's possible that he lived outside the walls, because of what Feng Xin said about knowing all the children who lived in the poorest part of the Imperial Capital. He said he had never seen little Hua (or Hong-er) around.

Because of his cursed eye that he kept covered, it's possible that his family was cast out of the city when he was born. Maybe they did live inside the city, but once little Hua came around and voice spread about his curse, they might have been kicked out.

It's also possible that only his mother loved him in the family, and the fact that she wouldn't give him up and doomed them all could have been cause of fights in the household. Thus we have little Hua lying about having parents and refusing to go back home.

It's also possible that he truly doesn't have a name. Hong Hong-er is the way his mother called him, and sounds more like a cute nickname that referred to his red eye (it means "little red"). He never gives Xie Lian a proper name, neither when he's a child nor when he was in his Wuming form. This is completely debatable tbh

However, when he meets Xie Lian again after 800 years, he does give a name that he says he prefers: San Lang. In the notes of the book it says that it indicates the third son of a household. This made me think that he probably had at least two older siblings when he was human. Which is nice, but all things considered he probably didn't have a good relationship with them.

CW: death, suicide mention

It's unclear if he jumped or just fell from the wall during the festival as a child. There's a high chance that Xie Lian is an unreliable narrator and Hua Cheng never told him why he was in such a dangerous position in the first place. It's however safe to imagine that he was going to jump, but seeing the parade he stopped himself. He was either pushed or he slipped.

I say it's kinda safe because of the infamous scene where little Hua is pleading to Xie Lian to tell him why should he continue living when he really doesn't want to. His life has been too hard on him and he wants to die. Xie Lian tells him to live for him if he can't find anything else worth living for. So yeah.

The guoshi of Xianle mentions that the kid Xie Lian had brought to the Royal Pavilion centuries ago was cursed and he probably never lived past 18-20yo. We know that up until 14 years old he was alive and well and in the army, fighting in the name of the Crown Prince. We also know that after the Land of the Tender accident he was booted from the army. At some point after the fall of Xianle, he died.

We see him protecting one of Xie Lian's temples when people wanted to burn it down. It's possible that he died doing exactly that, when he was around 18/19 years old.

In fact, Hua Cheng mentions that dying in Xie Lian's name is the greatest honor for him. And it already happened twice: when he was a human and when he sacrificed himself as Wuming.

Also another possible indicator of the age he was when he died is the age he has in his Hua Cheng form. He is described as a youth in his 20s.

After his sacrifice as Wuming, his soul still refused to leave the mortal realm and dissipate. We can imagine that after that episode mount Tong'lu opened and he went there as a fragile soul to regain his power and become at least a savage again. He knew he needed to become strong again if he wanted to protect Xie Lian, so he risked it all.

We know that while journeying towards the kiln, he gained enough power to have a "physical" form and gauge his own eye out to forge E'ming in a desperate situation. Plus, at the exact same moment, the heaven sent a heavenly calamity and he ascended as a ghost. But since Xie Lian wasn’t there and he had lots of beef with the heavenly officials, he immediately jumped down and continued on his path to become a supreme.

He stayed in the Mount Tong'lu zone for 10 years. In these ten years it's highly probable that he slew as many ghosts as he could to gain as much power as he could get. He also spent his time exploring the ruins of Wuyong and honing in his art skills in the Cave of Ten Thousand Gods.

When he entered the kiln, it's unclear if he found other powerful ghosts to fight inside it or not. In any case, once he was done and still inside, before escaping he carved the giant Crown Prince statue that we see in book 5.

After escaping the kiln, he had all the "physical" strength. But we know that he's also extremely knowledgeable, and that when he challenged the 35 heavenly officials, some were civil gods and he beat them in debates.

So it's possible that after becoming a Supreme, he started his journey to gather as much knowledge as he could. During the years he gained fame and his Crimson Rain Sought Flower title.

With his status and skill, he eventually founded Ghost City and started building his own wealth too, thanks to the Gambler's Den.

It took some time, but when he was positive he could take all the 35 heaven officials down at their own game, he went and became the infamous Hua Cheng, the Crimson Rain that sought the flower.

I think it's important to mention that the guoshi of Xianle also said that the people cursed like Hua Cheng had the worst luck. Instead, we see Hua Cheng being possibly the luckiest person on Earth. This is probably the consequence of Xie Lian changing his fate and giving up all his luck (per the cursed shackle). Among everything, in fact, guoshi said that to survive the curse, fate must be changed.

I think Xie Lian altered Hua Cheng's fate both when he was a human and held onto little Hua when everyone else told him to let him go, and when he gave up his luck just after Wuming's sacrifice. Xie Lian, in fact, says that luck will be transfered to people who lack it. And Hua Cheng, who was in the vicinity, was probably the most unlucky person present. I think he absorbed most of Xie Lian's luck, and that also impacted his fate.

Another possibility is Hua Cheng gaining luck after he forged E'ming. If his eye was the reason why his luck was so terrible, removing it and sealing into a spiritual device could have been the catalyst to his apparently infinite luck.

I think he also spent his time looking for Xie Lian, but the world is vast and he lost track of him after the Wuming arc. So he focused on improving himself to be worthy of one day approaching Xie Lian.

I guess he came to know Xie Lian's whereabouts when Xie Lian ascended for the third time. It's possible that he got word of it from Black Water, and then the rest is history.

Akdhskfhjd I might have skipped some things, please feel free to ask more questions if something is unclear or doesn't make sense. All of this is pure speculation based on the information we have from the book and it's all debatable. Still, I had fun thinking about it! Thank you so much for the prompt!!!

#TGCF #tian guan ci fu #heaven official's blessing #Hua Cheng #Xie Lian #Fan theory #I really just went and pulled all of this out of my brain for fun purposes akfjskjfkd #i hope this makes sense #And that it was fun to read!#Long post #Lunar talks about tgcf

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purebarnes · 4 years ago

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courage to change—

ꜱᴜᴍᴍᴀʀʏ ➢ taken place six months after endgame, y/n stark gets a call from none other than sam wilson— being confused on why he had called her. wanting to go after a new villain. she was obligated at first but knew it was her friend that needed help. she never thought she would go back into become a hero after her loss.

ᴡᴏʀᴅ ᴄᴏᴜɴᴛ ➢ 2.1k

ᴅɪꜱᴄʟᴀɪᴍᴇʀꜱ ➢ fluff all around. nothing extreme.

ᴀᴜᴛʜᴏʀ ꜱᴘᴇᴀᴋꜱ ! ➢ this is my first time writing on tumblr so if it’s bad then sorry!! i enjoyed writing this so if you do like it then please let me know.

months have passed without tony stark, everything became quiet, a loss is a loss with whatever you’re dealing with. this was more than a loss for y/n— especially pepper and morgan. they all thought that they would be a big, happy family but tragically that never was the case. thanos ruined everything for the girl and she lost her best friend and mother to people just like thanos. she told herself she would get back and start saving because no one saved her dad, sometimes it would bring nightmares to her.

she had to deal with everything and be with her family which more important, she didn’t talk or call anyone. there would be nights where she would cry herself to sleep with tony’s sweatshirt that she loved. the scent was still there and she never wanted to let it go because it was a part of her that wasn’t lost. morgan was always smiling for her half sister, it was like just yesterday was when the world went back together but she knew she just wanted to think about it like that. days would go by where she wouldn’t return peter’s phone calls and it wasn’t just because she didn’t want to. she knew her dad was an important figure to the boy— she thought she would break down in front of him.

helping around the house was essentially the part where she needed to help pepper. happy would stop by and occasionally drop off the cheeseburgers that both of the girls loved. it was those moments and little things that made her feel so much better. it didn’t help when the one person she cared about as much as her dad wouldn’t do anything to help her when she was in complete pain. bucky barnes was the man for her and she was there for him when he was struggling and when he wouldn’t talk to her after the funeral: he felt awful but that wouldn’t change anything at all.

the relationship started out fine and all though tony wasn’t pleased and supportive about the thing they had for each other. he would never tell her to break up with him or even if they weren’t— he wouldn’t try to break them off. he loved him for that, all the problems they had with his parents getting killed by the winter soldier. nothing mattered anymore, she threw that relationship out slowly but also painfully. she loved him and he loved her but they both weren’t mentally stable to be each other at that moment.

pacing around her room to calm herself from finding herself to have a panic attack, she hears her phone buzzing and looked up and walks over to see what it was about. she saw the name ‘sam <3’ she couldn’t help but smile at the contact, she’ll be honest it had been awhile but that didn’t matter at that moment. she took a deep breath and opened up the message.

sam <3: hey y/n... it’s been awhile and i should have asked you how you have been instead of now. i thought we could catch up, it’s just i wanted to see if you could help with something? think of it as a last mission type of thing, let me know. hope you are well

y/n knew sam meant well and maybe this could help her with everything that she was going through. this also meant she could suffer but she rather help another friend that needed something. she agreed to help him and visit him in louisiana. she typed back saying that she would be in town in a day or so.

y/n stark ♡: of course i will come by! just give me a day or so, so i can get things ready to pack... you still have your boat? would love to see it!!

they talked nonstop about everything until she had to remind herself to tell pepper and to go and pack her things. she went into the kitchen where morgan was watching tv and eating a turkey sandwich that her mom prepared for her. pepper looked up, “hi, honey. you want a sandwich... turkey or roast beef?” she asked smiling, already pulling out the whole wheat bread. y/n smiled telling her she wanted one, “actually pepper... sam asked if i could go up to louisiana? he wanted to catch up and his family will be— of course you can go. we will be okay, just call me every night alright?” she went over to hug her step daughter. morgan saw them hugging and she couldn’t help but go and hug both of them.

later on the night, y/n had packed her suitcase with clothes and essentials she needed for her trip. she saw the glasses that tony had saved and left for her in any case of a tragic accident— she sighed grabbing them and placing them in her suitcase. she watched morgan and pepper at the porch entrance waving bye to her, happy had grabbed her bag and placed it in the back trunk of the limo. she thanked him and entered the limo while happy got in the other side of the limo. “how are you doing kiddo?” she looked up from her phone and stifled a small smile, “alright. just hoping this trip is going to be ok.”

they both focused on their phones and on the ride while they saw the entrance to the wilson family seafood. y/n saw sam and his sister talking as they all looked at the limo that stopped in front of them. the girl gave a right hug to happy when he told her to be safe and also to have fun— he gave her the suitcase before leaving. she saw sam and couldn’t help but smile widely and went to walk towards him. they were engulfed in a hug with warmth surround them, “ah, sam. i missed you.” she told him rubbing her hand on his backside. they both let go to meet each other in the eyes, “i missed you. come see sarah.”

sam and sarah were obviously close, sarah saw y/n and was putting down the crates her children helped her with. she went to go hug her and all this was something that she never got back because just isolated herself, “so sarah wants to sell our boat— whoa, you’re getting rid of this bad boy.” y/n spoke turning around to see the boat in her two eyes. sarah gave the girl a chuckle while continuing to leave into the boy where sam and y/n followed her on it. “sam, the boats gotta go—wait.” sam tried to intervene his sister but she wasn’t having it with him, “no. let me finish. i’m doin' everything i can to keep this business afloat. and everyday i’m making $5, and spending $10.” sarah told her brother.

“so, why won’t you let me help?—no, don’t start with that. we made a deal before daddy died. you’re out there—” y/n froze when sarah mentioned her fathers death and each time it kept eating y/n alive. she would do anything to make that feeling just leave for a small portion of the time. sam noticed she wasn’t present and sighed when she saw y/n, “y/n... i’m sorry.” sarah apologized and y/n told her it was fine and that it wasn’t her fault at all. she kept hearing on the conversation, “i do things my way her—right. but you tangled the house into this when you took those loans.” sarah punched her brother in the chest graining at the impact it made on him, “forgot how hard you hit, uh, y/n wait up here and then we can catch up. i will be back.” sam told her making y/n nod and chuckle, “don’t take too long.”

sam finished talking to his sister and once he came back—they went on side to have a drink and have a small conversation. sam poured her some non alcoholic drink as she didn’t drink that often, “so tell me. what have you been up to.” he asked the girl slouching on a chair and she took a sip, “if you know me sam, you would know nothing.” she told him looking down at her drink and in circles, “don’t torture yourself stark. i’m here now.” same went to give her a soft hug and she returned the hug smiling at him. “have you talked—no.” y/n told him since she didn’t want to talk about it or bucky as it brought memories.

sam asked if y/n could watch his nephews while he and sarah would go to the bank to ask for a loan, she didn’t hesitate to help him out. y/n woke up early and saw sam and sarah with her two children packing up the food they were going to give out. she walked over “morin'.” she spoke yawing while sam looked up to see her in a black t-shirt and shook his at her semi-messy hair, “morning y/n. you sleep good?” sarah asked packing up food, “honestly, yeah you guys have nice cushions.” she said honestly. “you always gotta do the most, huh?” she said asked.

“i don’t play with these white folks.” sam chuckled before continuing, “look, i know you’re worried, all right? but i did the research. i ran the numbers—you really think this is gonna work?” she said skeptical about it all and if sams plan would work, “I know it will. and then we can renovate the kitchen. now, you said you wanted to sell plates in the weekends, right? that’s great. you can introduce some of grandma’s recently... shit. we gotta go.”

sam looked at his watch and noticed the time and that he would be late but he was rather punctual. y/n furrowed her eyebrows as he wouldn’t be late, “you know me, no such thing as on time. you’re either early or late. pick one.” he told the girls, both of the siblings went to go get their jackets on. “all right, boys, i love you. now, y/n will be watching you and no video games.” sarah said kissing her sons on the forehead and looked at y/n to know that she would be helping her a lot.

once the wilson’s came back, y/n was hanging out with boys because she soon fell in love with both of them. being around the two boys made her feel special because it was something she walkways wanted. y/n was watching them play video games and she just admired them until sam came in to ask to steal her. “can you come here quick.” she nodded and walked over to sam and entered to the room where sam was in and he was explaining the video. it was the flag smashers—he didn’t look too nice. he saw the video of one of the flag smashers throwing a man acros towards the pole. “he looks strong—who are you?” they got interrupted as y/n scrunched her nose and surprised he didn’t know her.

“y/n. y/n stark—oh. oh, uh i am so sorry for your loss.” the man rambled while y/n laughed saying thank you and he kept going, “he was. i mean, they went dark as soon as it was all over. but that their m.o. we gotta keep our eyes and ears to the ground till they pop up again.” the man on the call told them. the young lady sighed not understanding how that could all be possible, “anything else happen outside the video?—no, man. my face was in the dirt before i knew what was happening. why? what are you thinking?” sam turned to y/n and they shared a look of unsteadiness, they both knew what they were both thinking. if something was out there then they needed to stop it, “nothin'—wait. you don’t think he could be a... look, i’ll circle back to you. let’s keep this between me and you.

a second later sarah came into the room turning on the television and telling both of them to look at was on the news. it appeared to be a press and y/n did think about it as anything until she heard what the man was saying.

“unrest, in the wake of recent events has left us vulnerable. every day Americans feel it. While we love heroes who put their lives on the line to defend earth, we also need a hero to defend this country. we need a real person who embodies america’s greatest values. we need someone to inspire us again, someone who can be a symbol for all of us. so, on behalf of the department of defense and our commander-in-chief, it is with great honor that we announce here today that the united states of america has a new hero. join me in welcoming your new captain america.” the man spoke and there was a man in a captain america uniform with steve’s shield over his arm. y/n rubbed her temples while sighing knowing this wasn’t good.

#bucky x y/n #fatws bucky #sam wilson #bucky imagine #fatws series #marvel #the avengers #bucky barnes

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timelordthirteen · 4 years ago

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Desperate Souls 3/?

Mr. Gold/BelleFrench, Explicit

Summary: A broke and heartbroken Belle French comes to an agreement with Mr. Gold to do a little modeling, just for him, in exchange for the money she desperately needs, but it isn’t long before they both realize they’ve made a deal they didn’t understand. Based on this prompt.

Chapter Summary: The first evening at Gold's goes unexpectedly for Belle.

Notes: And here we go... ;) This got very long which I guess is what I get for trying to cram too much in. Chapter 4 is in progress. This is what Belle wears. And yes I have images for everything.

[AO3]

Belle spent the next week trying not to think about her deal with Gold.

Every time she looked out the library window at the pawn shop, or saw him walking down the street, she could feel her ears burning and a flush creep up her neck. Monday, she picked up the money for the ring, such as it was, and nothing had been said on the matter, except to agree on seven o’clock as the time she should arrive at his house. It was said almost as an afterthought, after the sales receipt had been written out and the cash was in her hand. She was so focused on the existence of their agreement at all, that she hadn’t given any thought to the fact that she didn’t know when she was supposed to show up.

Wednesday morning they were both in Granny’s diner at the same time getting coffee. He said good morning to her as he went to leave, very nonchalantly, very I am not paying you to model your lingerie for me, and she completely mishandled the change Ruby was giving her, spilling half of it into her purse and the other half on the floor. Of course he was out the door by the time the last quarter fell.

But now the day was here, and she couldn’t ignore the inevitable anymore.

She closed the library at five, and went up to her apartment to shower. The new shelving had arrived for the children’s section resulting in her spending much of the day crouching down on the dusty floor reorganizing everything. It was tiring work, but satisfying, and she couldn’t wait to unveil all the updates that had been done since the section was closed a couple of months ago. Her excitement for that was , unfortunately, tempered by what was about to occur as soon as she realized what time it was.

Belle didn’t know how one should dress for such a thing. Since she hoped the whole event would be just a quick in and out, she opted for a comfortable navy sweater dress and a pair of leggings, which she thought would be fairly easy and quick to take off and put back on. As soon as the idea of taking off her clothes hit her, her stomach dropped to the bottom of her black ankle boots.

Fuck.

She closed her eyes and took a slow breath, in and out. The sick feeling faded, but she started to wonder if she should even go through with it. Gold was paying a substantial amount of money, and on paper it seemed simple: show up, put on some fancy underwear, get paid, and go home. Except every single part of that sounded like exactly what a prostitute did. While she was fully supportive of sex work from a feminist perspective, it was absolutely not something she wanted to do herself.

Yet she felt like she was about to, in a way, and it made her wonder what was in it for Gold. She didn’t really know that much about it, apart from the fact that he was rich and everyone thought he was a jerk to varying degrees. Her limited interactions with him had always been very cordial, and while he seemed a bit eccentric and reserved, he was also intelligent and sharply funny. The first time she’d met him, right before she’d interviewed for the position at the library, he’d made her laugh. Five minutes later, when she found out he was part of the town council’s hiring committee, she’d been terrified that she was already out of the running. He didn’t ask her a single question, yet at the end everyone had looked at him as if he alone held the deciding vote.

Congratulations, Miss French.

That was all he’d said, and it was done; she was hired. The whole thing had been surreal, and now somehow her current situation made it even more so. Had he set his sights on her back then? Had he been waiting the past four years for a moment when she would need something from him to do - what? None of it made any sense.

Sighing, Belle checked herself one last time in the mirror on the back of her bedroom door, and then picked up her purse. It was time to do the brave thing.

Gold’s house was on a dead end lane not far from the library.

Everyone knew which one was his, the pink Victorian with the wide front porch that sat between two stately trees on a small bump of a hill. It seemed set apart from all the other houses, both because of the wide, deep lot in which it was built, and because of the almost ominous way it loomed over the other homes. It seemed to project its owner’s presence, and Belle shivered.

She carefully picked her way up the front sidewalk, her hands clenched into fists inside her coat pockets as she wondered what piece he had picked for her to wear. There were a couple of items she’d special ordered that were more on the risque side of the spectrum, things that were more personal to her, things that she liked for herself, not just to wear for someone else. Faced with the prospect of wearing them for Gold, she felt strange, as if a part of her might be exposed in a way that had nothing to do with how much of her bare skin was showing.

She paused at the door, repeating her mantra to do the brave thing, before she raised her hand and knocked. Her arrival was earlier than they’d discussed, only a few minutes after six, but she couldn’t sit in her apartment another second. Hopefully Gold wouldn't mind her desire to get things over with as quick as possible.

The delay before Gold opened the door felt interminable, but then a warm glow was spilling onto the porch, and she caught a whiff of something that made her inhale sharply. The scent was rich and familiar. It made her mouth water, and it took her a moment to realize it was the smell of food cooking.

“Miss French,” Gold said, breathlessly. He looked down at her and frowned. “You’re early.”

Belle forced a smile and shrugged. “Sorry, I was just sitting around at home and thought...why not just get it over with?”

His expression changed in a way she couldn’t read, but then he stepped back and held open the door. “Please, come in.”

The foyer was high and surprisingly bright, with a large, wrought iron chandelier that looked like something that belonged in the Middle Ages. In front of her was a short hallway that appeared to lead to the kitchen from which the aforementioned delicious smell was emanating. To the left was a sitting room, and to the right was the staircase, and while he was busy shutting the door behind her, she was busy...staring.

“May I take your coat?” Gold’s voice startled her, and she spun around to find him looking at her curiously.

She swallowed and nodded, and then handed it over, watching as he hung it on a set of hooks inside the door. Then he turned to her with a faint smile and his hands folded over the handle of his cane. Abruptly, she noticed that he was without his usual suit jacket, and instead was in just a checked dress shirt with a solid color tie. It was disarmingly casual.

“I was just making some dinner,” he said. “Since you’re early, I suppose you can join me, if you like.”

Belle blinked. Dinner. Dinner was so...normal. Dinner was a thing she did on dates before she let someone see her in her underwear, which was not what this was. But at the very mention of food, the scent wafted in from the kitchen once more, and she realized how hungry she was. She hadn’t had anything to eat since lunch, which she barely picked at anyway as her nerves about tonight grew and grew.

“Uh, yeah, o-okay,” she managed.

At that, Gold’s lips curved a bit more, and he motioned with a hand in the direction of the kitchen. She turned and walked ahead of him, her hand tight on her purse strap, as if she expected him to attack her or hit her over the head with something at a moment’s notice. It was ridiculous, she knew that, but the situation was ridiculous, and clearly her nerves were still getting the better of her.

The kitchen was quite well appointed and large, with a wide gas stove top set in an island with three bar stools at one end. Delicate pendants hung over the span of dark granite, an old fashioned style with those bare filament bulbs and a dark metal finish around the top. Her eyes darted around the space as Gold went to work at the stove. There was a pot of something bubbling away, and when he removed the lid, the room flooded with the scent. She let out a sound that was half contented hum, half moan at the enticing aroma, as she leaned forward over the edge of the counter.

He gave the contents of the pot a stir, and then retrieved two plates from a cabinet along with silverware from a nearby drawer. In a matter of a minute or two, he had dished up two servings of some sort of stew over a pile of fluffy mashed potatoes. She could see bits of beef, carrot, and pearl onions in a fragrant gravy, and her stomach rumbled loudly.

Gold glanced at her, eyebrows lifted. “The dining room is through there, if you’d like to have a seat,” he said, with a nod towards a room off the kitchen. “I’ll just be a moment.”

Without a word, she picked up her plate and utensils, and made her way through into the dining room. It was a long, narrow space that connected back around to the sitting room at the front of the house. There was a sizable table in the center with a total of six chairs, and an old fireplace on the outside wall that had been retrofitted with a gas insert. It was giving off a soothing heat, and she sighed as she came around the table. She set her plate down and leaned her elbows on the table, resting her head on her folded hands, breathing slow and deep as the fire warmed her back.

“Alright?”

Belle looked up and then straightened, nodding as Gold came into the room, his plate in his free hand, and a bottle of wine tucked under his arm. “Yeah,” she said. “Fine.”

He returned to the kitchen to fetch two glasses, and came back a moment later to take the seat directly across from her. “Drink?”

She nodded dazedly, though whether that was because of lack of food, or because it was entirely too surreal that she was having dinner with Mr. Gold, in his house, which he himself had cooked, she couldn’t say.

“Beef burgundy,” he said as he popped the cork from the bottle and poured some wine into each glass. “Seemed like the thing for a cold winter night.”

“So you’re Julia Child?” She said it without thinking, and for a second she was worried he wouldn’t find it funny, but then he grinned crookedly.

“Hardly. But I think I do well enough.”

A half hour or so later, Belle would have to say that Gold did more than well enough. The best meal she’d had in ages, it was altogether warm and earthy, with beef so tender that it fell apart under the weight of her fork. The potatoes were the perfect thing to hold all the delicious bits of vegetables together, and scoop up the gravy which was made rich with red wine and bits of bacon. She set her fork down with a light clatter against the plate, and tossed back the last swallow of wine in her glass, which she was quite certain was a brand and vintage that cost at least half a day’s pay.

The thing that surprised her the most, aside from the delightful explosion of garlic with every bite of mushroom, was that they’d managed to fill the silence with something resembling actual conversation. It was mostly about food and cooking, something about which Gold seemed quite passionate and opinionated, but it flowed well, and for a time she forgot that this wasn’t a dinner between acquaintances. It was a business transaction, and too soon the food and wine were gone, and she started anticipating having to keep up her end of things.

She helped Gold clear the table, but he shooed her from the kitchen before long, sending her to the study. The room had double french doors at the entrance, a high ceiling, and a stone fireplace that would have matched well with the chandelier in the foyer in a fourteenth century castle. A rush of warmth washed over her as she opened the doors, and she smiled as she looked around. Flanking either side of the fireplace were floor to ceiling bookshelves, that contained all manner of books and collections, as well a small, but well stocked, wet bar. There was a large mahogany desk at one end of the room where a bank of windows looked out onto the backyard, and at the other was a wide china cabinet with even more little treasures.

Two high back upholstered chairs sat to either side of the fireplace, with a large rectangular ottoman in tufted leather that seemed to take the place of a standard coffee table. There was a sofa as well, facing the hearth, that matched the ottoman. The walls were wallpapered, but framed art of all kinds, hung on every one of them, and above the fireplace mantle was an appropriately sized television. A professional designer would probably find it an eclectic mess, but Belle thought it was cozy and charming, exactly the sort of room that one wanted to relax in while the wind howled and the snow fell.

She was just about to peruse Gold’s collection of books when he appeared in the doorway. “It’s after seven.”

His expression was more subdued than when they were eating, and she swallowed hard, feeling the abrupt shift in the tone of the evening.

“Right,” she said, willing her stomach not to give up the food she’d just consumed. “Where should I -?”

“There’s a powder room through there, just before you get to the kitchen,” he replied. “You’ll find what you need in there.”

And there it was.

The facade that had been in place during their meal had lifted, and Gold was back to being Gold. Standing with his hands folded on his cane and with his suit jacket in place, he was, as always, impeccable and imperceptible. She couldn’t pretend this was anything else but what it was, and the uncomfortable knot in her throat returned as she passed by him.

The half bath was located under the stairs, and though a wall somewhere had been adjusted to accommodate it, the slant of the ceiling made it feel smaller than it was. The odd shadows cast by the sconces over the sink, and the way the toilet was tucked into an angled niche, made it feel like a cell in a dungeon.

Belle stepped inside, closed the door, and froze. Hanging on a brass hook on the back of the door was the black chemise she’d brandished in his shop. It was fairly tame as such things went, being plain black silk with lace trim adorning the edge of the bust and hem. The most tantalizing thing about it was the spaghetti straps, and some of her anxiety was alleviated by the fact that he had chosen the least revealing thing in the collection. Of course that meant there were plenty of scandalous items left to embarrass her.

There was a set of metal shelves to the left of the pedestal sink, containing a basket of extra toilet paper, and a bottle of hand soap. She set her purse down on one of the free shelves at the bottom, and then sat down on the closed lid of the toilet to take her boots off. Midway through unzipping the first one, it dawned on her that she didn’t have anything to wear on her feet. Of course on her honeymoon that wasn’t such a big deal, though a few items she’d planned to pair with some sexy heels. She sat for a long moment contemplating what to do, and finally shook her head. Bare feet would have to do, and if Gold didn’t like it, well that was his problem. He was getting what he paid for and no more.

As Belle pulled her sweater dress up over her head, she wondered if she should have asked him for a contract. But that would have meant a paper trail that said she was selling her lingerie clad body to Gold. Proof was the last thing she needed, though she supposed he could be planning to take pictures of her or something equally damning. There were rumors that he’d blackmailed the former mayor, but it was so many years ago now that no one really knew for sure.

She stripped off the rest of her clothes and hastily folded them before setting them on the shelf next to her purse. Then she removed the chemise from the hanger and slipped it over her head, the cool silk skimming down her bare body and making her shiver. After a moment’s hesitation, she firmly decided she was keeping her panties on for this one. They weren’t visible through the material of the chemise, and were a similar black with lace trim style.

Turning to the door, she caught her reflection in the brass framed mirror above the sink, and paused. The chemise wasn’t form fitting or clingy, but like most things made of silk and lace it didn’t leave a lot to the imagination. Still, it wasn’t that much more revealing than her favorite blue sundress as far as cut and material went.

And yet it was.

It was an undergarment she had purchased for the sole purpose of wearing it as a preamble to sex. It was a statement, an invitation.

Belle forced her eyes away from the mirror and took a breath as she opened the powder room door. The hallway was chilly, and she shivered again as her bare feet made contact with the cold wood floor. She was grateful that the study was so warm, and wondering if he’d planned it so, starting a fire and closing the doors to keep the heat in. It was strangely thoughtful, which was as incongruous with what she knew about Mr. Gold as much as the fact that he’d served her dinner.

Shaking her head, she made herself step forward and then around the corner, heading back down the short hallway. The faint draft from the front door brushed across her, raising goosebumps on her arms, legs, and - elsewhere. She stopped just before the threshold of the study and looked down to see the front of the chemise doing nothing to hide her pebbled nipples. With a roll of her eyes, she pushed open one of the french doors, and stepped into the room.

Gold was seated in one of the chairs, facing the door, and Belle could feel his eyes on her as soon as she came into view. She tried not to look at him as she made her way around the end of the sofa, but when she reached the ottoman, it became almost impossible. Her eyes lifted and met his, and for a long moment she felt frozen in place.

The side of her that was near to the fire was quite warm, but the other side was still chilled from the hallway. She felt another tingle of goosebumps across her skin, and clenched her jaw to keep from looking down at herself lest she draw his attention to the obvious.

Gold’s eyes were dark, his features shadowed by the glow of the fireplace, but she knew instinctively that his gaze was traveling up and down her body, taking in every inch of her. He was reclined casually, right leg crossed over the left, and his elbows on the arms of the chair as she stood just a few feet in front of him. The handle of his cane glinted in the low light, and she had the absurd impression that this might be what meeting the Devil was like.

“Mr. Gold?” she said quietly.

He shifted in his seat and let his eyes bore straight into hers for a long moment before he raised a hand and made a circular motion with one long finger. “Turn around.”

She suppressed a shiver at the low, soft tone of his voice, and the way it made his accent heavier. Slowly, she pivoted on her heel, shifting her feet until she had turned in a complete circle. When she faced him again, his expression had changed slightly, his lips parted as he breathed out a whispered lovely. She wasn’t sure if she was supposed to hear it, so she said nothing.

Then he licked at his bottom lip and then gave her a small smile. “Would you pour me a drink?”

Belle blinked, her mouth opening and closing wordlessly.

“Scotch,” he added, indicating the area to the right of the fireplace that she’d noticed earlier. “Neat.”

“Yeah,” she finally managed, “sure.”

She turned and moved to the bar, where she found a short, cut crystal glass and a tall bottle with a name she recognized. It was probably from one of the locked boxes wine and liquor stores usually kept the expensive brands in, the brands where if you had to ask how much the bottle cost you probably couldn’t afford it. Of course Gold was a scotch man. Neat suit, neat scotch, and her lips twitched in odd amusement as she poured the drink.

A heady, earthy scent wafted up from the glass as she picked it up and carried over to where Gold was sitting. She walked by the ottoman and came to stand at the arm of the chair where there was a small side table. He lifted his hand, and she placed the glass in it, but as he lowered it back to the arm of the chair, his knuckles just barely brushed the black silk covering her thigh.

She stepped back quickly, her breath catching and her eyes going wide, but his face betrayed nothing. It was as if he hadn’t noticed, much less done it intentionally, and she exhaled in relief.

“Thank you, Miss French.” He took a small sip of the scotch, his gaze fixed on her over the rim of the glass, and then set the drink down. “Would you like one?”

Belle shook her head. “No thanks.”

“Very well then.”

His words felt final, and when he looked away from her, she knew her task was done. There was something strange about it, dismissive, and it left her unsettled. She hurried back to the powder room, and changed back into her sweater dress and leggings. She was overly warm by the time she was done, and blew a breath upwards at her forehead, ruffling her hair. Unsure of what to do with the chemise, she put it back on the hanger and left it on the back of the door. They hadn’t discussed whether she should take the lingerie back or not. If she kept it, she planned to throw it all in the dumpster with the rest of the remnants of her relationship with Garrett, but what use would it be to Gold?

That was a line of thinking she didn’t want to pursue.

When she came out of the bathroom, Gold was nowhere to be seen, but she could hear music coming from the direction of the study. She went to retrieve her coat, and when she turned around to put it on, there he was, with a yellow mailing envelope in his free hand. He waited while she put her coat and gloves on, and then handed her the envelope. It was a noticeable thickness to the contents, and her heart rate increased as she felt the rectangular shape of what was inside. He’d paid her in cash, and she wasn’t sure she’d ever held that much money at one time.

“I thought it was best not to have a paper trail” he said, once again folding his hands over his cane. “I assure you it’s all there.”

She gave him a brief nod before she tucked it in her purse. “I believe you.”

One of his eyebrows lifted at that, but he otherwise remained passive as he pulled open the front door. “Good night, Miss French.”

“Good night, Mr. Gold.”

She stepped out onto the porch, the chilly air a welcome relief on her face, but then he leaned out to add, “Do be on time next week.”

She nodded again, and then turned away, hurrying down the steps before he had closed the door. Nothing he’d done was impolite or disrespectful, and indeed she had to admit that the majority of the evening was actually quite pleasant, if also a touch awkward. Yet, she couldn’t shake the feeling of his eyes on her. There was a crawling sensation on her skin that made her itch, and all she wanted was to get home and take another shower.

Gold sighed and walked back into the study, leaning heavily on his cane.

He had immediately shed his suit jacket and tie after closing the front door, leaving them draped over the end of the banister to be taken upstairs when he went to bed. Reaching up, he popped the top two buttons on his dress shirt, but he still felt like he couldn’t breathe. The scotch wasn’t helping as it usually did, but he picked up the glass and took a large swallow before dropping down into the chair.

His eyes closed as he leaned back, conjuring the image of Belle French standing in his room in a silky black slip. The length had been demure, the lace no more than a pretty adornment, but it still affected him more than he anticipated. She was as lovely as he knew she would be, and clearly nervous.

Opening his eyes, he sighed again and stared into the fire.

Of course she was anxious about the situation, he was taking advantage of her, having her parade around wearing next to nothing while he watched like a lecherous bastard. It was perhaps the most selfish and base thing he’d ever done, but the moment when she’d looked at him, covered in soft silk and lace, half curious and half afraid, he’d felt a rush of excitement unlike anything he’d felt in years. It was delight and desire and depravity all in one. He shifted in his seat as the sensation washed over him again. When it was over, it would be final. He knew she would likely never speak to him again, but for this short time, one night a week, for as long as her collection of unmentionables lasted, she was his.

The fire snapped loudly, shaking him from his fantasy. He took up his cane and stood abruptly, deciding to forgo a second drink in favor of a cold shower and an early bedtime.

#rumbelle #rumbelle fic #belle x mr. gold #my rumbelle fic #fic #desperate souls #lemon fic

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flying-nightwing · 4 years ago

Text

The Three Words to Remember in Dealing with the End

I’m trying something new y’all, this is a third person POV because I want you to unveil the actions at the same pace as Jason and not MC/reader. I absolutely loved writing this, so hopefully I did it right and you will enjoy this adventure like I did!

ps: this isn’t something fun or light hearted, it might be triggering for some people. if you are in a fragile mindset right now (especially with everything that’s happening right now), maybe it would be best to save it for later. Please take care of yourselves xx

Masterlist in bio/pinned

Pairing: Jason Todd x reader (ish)

Word count: 5060

Warnings: death (major theme), language

Summary: Jason finds something deeply unsettling during a not so typical night in Gotham (I’m not saying more y’all, read and find out).

It had been a strange night for Jason. Things had been quiet, not too quiet to become suspicious, but enough to underwhelm him at an unsettling level. Everything from the gloomy, yellow-ish night sky above him to his tensed muscles screamed trouble--and his instincts were rarely wrong--but there was nothing big happening. He was almost tempted to pick a fight with the wrong person just for the sake of it, just to shake off this nagging feeling that serious shit was about to blow in his face. Although starting beef again with Sionis would be quite entertaining, he wasn’t sure he had the energy to deal with another tantrum from the eccentric man on the longer term.

So instead, he kicked the door from the building’s roof on which he was hanging around and half heartedly climbed down the stairs. Plastic tarps were flapping around in his face like badly designed Halloween ghosts, and the wind in the half constructed walls were whispering unintelligible songs in his ears. That specific construction site had been abandoned as the recurrent vandalism had weighed the construction costs into the negative, making the company leaving it behind completely as a rotting proof the poorer Gotham neighborhoods were no longer a concern to city hall. Jason thought about the community center that had been bulldozed down to make room for the apartment complex, leaving dozens if not hundreds of children and teenagers without an after school hangout place, and it made him sigh. Now the cheap carcass served to shelter squatters, or well, him when he needed a hideout in between safe houses.

The building in itself wasn’t very high like the skyscrapers one could find in the diamond district, it was rather on par with the rest of the apartment complexes around. From a distance, you couldn’t even differentiate it from the rest. Cheap, smog stained concrete looked the same whether or not it was a finished product. The aesthetics wasn’t something developers around here were aiming for, nor were the resident seeking lodging. Low income neighborhoods didn’t get to benefit from trendy landscaping. But the city didn’t really care about that, they claimed nobody really came around here anyway, like poor people weren’t people in the first place. But Jason knew, and every day he resented those officials on the city council a little bit more.

A thud coming from the floor he had just passed made him halt his descent, his ears strained to try and catch some more noise. He waited a few seconds, and concluded it must have been a squatter tripping and falling on the floor when no other sound followed. But he hadn’t taken a full step down that a loud and clear cry for help bounced on the unfinished plaster on the walls. Without much more thinking, he turned around and climbed back up the five steps he had already taken, going straight for the origin of the sound. He was about to round the corner of a threshold when he bumped into a frantic young woman, her eyes wide and terrified.

“Please help!” She cried, gripping the sleeves of his leather jacket like it was a lifeline. She had an angry, scabbed rope mark on her neck and bruises the size of fingerprints around. “Somebody’s after me, he tried to strangle me!”

Well, that was a new one. Usually, there would be little punks making graffiti or trying to steal material from the structure, petty non-violent crimes like that, but he had never seen homicide, especially not since he started coming around. Nevertheless, he gently pushed the woman aside and pulled out his gun, ready to investigate.

“Stay close” He said, and she nodded vigorously. He carefully walked inside the room, analysing his surroundings for any thread or hostile individual. The floor creaked lightly under his boots, making the woman jump every other second. However, his search eventually came up empty, so he clicked the safety of his gun back on and slid it back in his thigh holster. He faced the girl and shrugged. “If there was anyone here, he’s long gone”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah” He replied. “Are you okay? What happened?”

“I’m not sure” She flinched, still visibly. “To either questions, to be honest. All I remember was seeing this blurred figure grab my head and slam it on the floor, then his hands were around my neck… And I woke up, and there we are”

“Do you have any idea who did this?”

“No really” She rubbed her temples. “I was grabbed on my way back from work and dragged in here. I know it was a man, but he was masked”

“Damn” He muttered, looking around. There wasn’t much left to do now, beside making sure that woman got home safely. “Come on, let’s get out of here. Do you have somewhere safe to go?”

“Yeah, I have an apartment a few blocks away” She nodded timidly.

They climbed down the stairs, Jason following a pace behind her. She was recoiled on herself, her eyes darting from one place to another like she was expecting to be jumped at any time now. She was shivering from the harsh wind, clearly not dressed for one of Gotham’s cold September nights. He thought she was lucky to have fallen onto him and not someone with ill intentions. The people coming here usually left each other alone, but with the lady’s assailant on the loose, he wouldn’t be so trusting of everyone’s intentions around here.

“Here, we’re almost out” He said as the front door came into view. She sighed in relief as she took the last step down and closed the distance with the door. She reached for the handle, pulled, but nothing moved. She then tried to push, but it didn’t move any more.

“I-It’s like it’s locked” She stuttered in disbelief.

“Let me try” Jason stepped forward, pushing and pulling the door like she did before. Strange, that door was never, ever locked. He then tried to pick it, even break it, to no avail. The door simply wouldn’t open. He huffed and took a step back, thinking. “Let’s try the backdoor”

The pair moved through the ground floor, passing in front of a few empty sleeping bags on the way. Jason went straight for the small door, only to be met with the same problem.

“Alright, you wanna play this game?” He muttered harshly, pulling out his gun and aiming at the handle. He fired a shot, but the bullet bounced right back on his red helmet. “Son of a bitch!”

He muttered a few more curses before kicking the stubborn door in frustration, then turned to the woman.

“Well, somebody doesn’t want us to leave '' He stated with bitter humour. “Maybe your wannabe killer is still around, after all”

“Oh god” She gasped, her chest suddenly heaving quickly. She was having a panic attack. “We’re trapped. We’re gonna die, aren’t we?”

“Hey, hey” He tried to reassure her, an uncertain hand on her shoulder. “I won’t let him get near you. He certainly didn’t plan on having me around, so he’ll stay away if he knows what’s good for him. We’ll find a way out”

She bent over, hands on her knees, and shut her eyes tight, focusing on her breathing until it somewhat calmed down. She then nodded slowly, standing straighter again. “O-okay”

“You sure?”

She took a deep breath and nodded again.

“Alright…” He drawled out, looking at her for a second more to be sure she was actually okay. “Let’s go around and see if there’s anyone in here tonight, and if they have seen anything”

“Are you sure it’s safe?” She eyed him with uncertainty. “...He could be out there”

“Then it’s his mistake” He shrugged. “Come on”

Like earlier, she followed closely behind him as he checked each floor in detail. He came across a few homeless people he had seen around before, none of which could ever commit murder, or attempt to for that matter. He saw it in their eyes, they were harmless. They had been on the second floor, the only one which seemed inhabited at all that night. The third floor came up empty as well, so Jason didn’t waste time there either. However, he was a little more careful on the fourth. It was where he had found the girl, so there was a slight chance the assaulter might still be hanging around there. He began with the first apartment on the left, then the one on the right he initially searched. He paid specific attention to any detail he might find; hair, cloth, blood splatter, anything. He was crouched over a suspicious stain when he heard it.

A deafening scream.

In less than a second, he was on his feet and through the threshold of an adjacent room, only to come face to face with a decaying corpse. The woman was staring with horror like she was in a trance, a hand covering her mouth to either hold back any more screams or her own vomit. Probably both, Jason thought.

“That definitely complicates things now” He hummed.

“How can you be so calm?” She was freaking out again. “There’s a body! A dead body!”

“Yeah, I know” He replied, unbothered, taking a step closer to observe. The nauseous smell of decomposition was starting to get through his helmet, and he genuinely wondered how she hadn’t barfed her guts up already. Her state of shock perhaps helped to keep her together, at least for now. “Looks like it’s a woman. Probably has been there for two weeks or--fuck this is nasty”

He backed up and gently pulled her out of the room, away from the corpse. She didn’t need to see anymore of it.

“Well, there’s good news and bad news” He sighed. “Bad news is your guy and this poor woman’s killer are most likely the same person. Good news is that you, unlike her, escaped him”

“Oh god” She gagged, but dry heaved on air. “This can’t be happening”

“Okay, listen” He sighed, “I’m sure this is a lot for you, and you didn’t ask for any of this. But the killer is potentially here keeping us trapped, and I need you to hold it together a little bit longer until I figure this out, kay?”

She gave him a wild look like he was crazy. “How can you expect me to hold it together?”

“Is there anything you can focus on?” He tried, getting a bit impatient. Things weren’t adding up in his head and he needed to concentrate, but he couldn’t if his new unwilling investigation partner started freaking out every other minute. Then, he noticed her fingers fidgeting with a necklace around her neck, a small ring with a azur gem hanging from it. “What does that ring mean?”

She looked down at it, like she was surprised she had subconsciously showed it up. “Uh, it was my mother’s. Family heirloom, y’know. She gave it to me when I graduated college”

“It’s very pretty” He said. “Look at it and think about your mother, okay?”

She nodded, and he took a step away to pace around in peace. So there was a killer who managed to trap them into the building, or intended to trap only her, which was why he was hiding away now that Jason was here too. But then again, Marty on the second floor didn’t see or hear anything all night, and that guy had a sharper ear than a cat. Then came the question of why he didn’t see or smell the body on his first general scouting of the place. Surely, a decaying body would have ticked him off way sooner. Maybe the killer dragged the body from a higher floor? It would make no sense as to why he would have done that, but there was no other logical explanation.

He went to rub the bridge of his nose, only to be met with his helmet. He let out another muffled curse and looked at the ceiling in exasperation. “This is the one time I could use one of my stupid brothers”

“Why?”

He let out a dry chuckle. “They’re idiots and annoying as fuck, but they’re better detectives than I could ever be. Solving this nonsense puzzle would be an easy game for them”

“Then what’s stopping you from calling them?”

Jason paused, staring at the woman for a moment. No, it wasn’t that simple. “Last time we spoke, I… We fought pretty bad. I don’t think they ever want to see me again”

“I’m sure--”

“We’re on our own for this, trust me” He interrupted, his tone dry enough to make her recoil. He coughed and relaxed his tense posture, taking a deep breath. “I can solve this, I don’t need them. I’ll go check the body again, stay here”

“Wait!” She called before he could turn around. “What if he comes back?”

He blinked a few times, then began patting his side and pockets. He wouldn’t leave her a gun, or she’d hurt herself in the state she was in, or accidently shoot him for that matter. Nervous firing rarely even found their intended target anyway. A knife was also out of the question for the same reasons. Besides, she didn’t seem skilled enough to hold her own with a blade, and he had no idea what weapons the killer carried. The knife would basically be useless, if not more dangerous for her. He finally felt a small lump in his pant pocket, then fished for it. He pulled a small taser that definitely wasn’t his, remembering he had disarmed it from a goon earlier that night. He had no idea he had kept it, but it would do.

“Here” He held it up to eye level, pressing the button. A blue-ish current was formed, crackling and fizzling. “You hold it out and press the side button to turn it on. Don’t point it at me or yourself. Got it?”

“Uh-- I guess--”

“Great” He pushed the device in her hand and turned on his heels without more ceremonies.

He inhaled deeply and held his breath as he returned to the corpse, thinking about a thousand better ways he could have been spending his Friday night. He crouched next to it, grimacing at the decaying skin that made the victim’s identity barely recognizable. He noticed the dried out hair first, it was the same color as the poor girl on the other side of the wall. The exact same, he could have sworn. The killer must have a very specific m.o. he stuck to. There had been a couple of girls going missing in the last weeks, it must have been one of them. Nobody would think to check here, or rather nobody would bother. He turned his head to the side, coughing as he worked to catch his breath despite the putrid smell. He forced himself to return to his half assed detective work, scanning for any trace of struggle or aggression. The rope the killer used to choke her was still around her neck, but that was nothing Jason could work with as he already knew about the obvious neck fetish that was in play here. He poked the rotten skin with the end of his gun, pushing hair and clothes away to try and find something he could have missed with a first glance. No viable piece of information could be found in the teeth or under the nail since he was about two weeks too late, and he could not make the distinction between decomposition marks and actual contusion marks. Dammit. He had nothing.

He was about to give up when something shiny got his attention on the victim’s chest. There was a chain plunging into the neckline of her shirt, and with his gun he carefully pulled it up. He was certain his brain physically broke in two when he came face to face with a stained, yet recognizable ring with an azur stone.

“What…” He trailed off softly. “... The Fuck”

Thinking about it, the victim’s clothes were awfully similar to what the lady on the other side was wearing, beside the obvious dirtiness difference. He looked over his shoulder, to where she was pacing nervously, then back to the corpse. Same hair, same clothes, same ring. Same approximate size, same bone structure, rope position coinciding with her strangling mark. Jason did not want to be thinking what he was thinking, because only crazy people were seeing ghosts. But was he totally sane? That was debatable. It would explain why they were locked in the building for no goddamn reason, or why Marty didn’t hear anything, or why he did not notice the corpse or the smell during his initial search, or why that lady did not stop once to rethink asking an armed stranger in a red mask for help, or why…

Besides, ghosts would not even make the list of the weirdest things he’s seen. He himself came back from the dead, so the idea wasn’t actually that far fetched. But now, the question he faced was, how do you tell someone they’re dead, when they’re convinced they’re alive? Bruce’s training did not prepare him for that, and honestly neither did Ra’s.

He slowly stood up, trying to scour his brain for a gentle way to break it to her. He couldn't just rip the bandaid off, that would be insensitive. And if she really did control who could get in and out of the building, would sending her into ghost shock--if that was even a thing--risk trapping him here forever as well? How does one even deal with a bloody ghost? Reluctantly, he returned to the other room, where the woman looked at him with hopeful eyes. Jason felt a pinch in his heart, knowing he would be the one to break the news to her.

“Anything?” She asked, her arms wrapping around herself. He gave a sad nod, and she sighed in relief. “Good, I just wanna go home”

“I…” He struggled to find the words. “What’s your name?”

“(Y/N)” She said, uncertain.

Jason was glad his mask hid his expression. His eyes closed as his suspicions were officially confirmed; she had disappeared a little less than three weeks ago without a trace. She had been presumed dead by the GCPD, apparently rightfully so, he found out.

“(Y/N), I have good news and bad news”

She kept staring at him to let him speak. She didn’t seem to grasp the undertone of his words, or how he somehow said it completely differently than the previous time. She really wasn’t aware of her situation.

“Good news is that I found who the victim is” He began, his voice heavy. He wasn’t the type to just get emotional for strangers like this, but this one especially struck a chord in him. “Bad news is… You’re--you’re not going home, (Y/N)”

Her face fell. “W-What?”

“The… Body, on the other side” He half heartedly pointed behind him. “It’s you. You went missing three weeks ago, and you’re...”

“That’s crazy!” She shrieked. “That’s impossible! I’m here, I’m right here, I’m real…”

Her voice faltered at the end, like she was starting to doubt herself. Jason softly jerked his head to the other room, silently making his way back to the corpse with her carefully following behind. He stopped and crouched like he had done minutes ago, and in the same way, lifted the ring. Something clicked in her face, a newfound horror etching on her features. This time, it wasn’t because she found a corpse, but because she found out the corpse was hers.

“No…” She stumbled back, and Jason hurried to steady her. He didn’t know if it was necessary, since she probably couldn’t even feel physical pain anymore, but it seemed like the right thing to do. He escorted her out of the room once again and waited beside her as her entire reality came crashing down. It felt surreal for him, he couldn’t even imagine what it was like for her. He let her slide down the wall and rest her head in her hands as she processed all of this. “I can’t be… My family, they must be worried sick”

“I’m sorry, (Y/N)” He sighed, sliding down next to her.

“But I’m--” She tried to argue, then a tear rolled down her cheek. “I’m not ready to go”

He took off his mask for the first time, ruffling his hair in the process. The least he could do was to give her a human face as the last she would ever see. “Take all the time you need, I’ve got nowhere else to be”

She eyed him with confusion, at both the removal of his mask and his words. “Why?”

He smiled sadly at her. “I don’t think you should be alone right now. I’m Jason, nice to formally meet you”

“I don’t think it matters now” She mumbled, casting her glance downward. She handed him back the small taser, realizing she wouldn't need it anymore. “I’m dead. I don’t even know how I’m even still here, or where I’m even going. I don’t understand anything--”

“You don’t have to,” He interrupted softly. “It’s okay not to understand. And it’s okay to be afraid. But death is a part of life, and despite how scary it might be when it rings at your door, sometimes it’s better not to fight it”

“Easy to say for someone who is still alive” She said, making his lips subtly curl up. At least she was calming down now.

“I died years ago” He admitted, and her eyes widened comically. “No, I’m not a ghost if that’s what you’re wondering. I was resurrected through magic… But I know what it feels like”

“How did you die?” Her voice was barely a whisper.

Jason hesitated. He wasn’t used to talking about this, but he figured he could at least vent to a ghost. It might even make her feel better about the circumstances of her death, he thought. “I died in an explosion” He finally revealed as he looked away. “I realized I was dead when the countdown reached two seconds and nobody came for me. Two seconds isn’t a long time to come to term with the end of your own existence, and everything that comes after”

“I suppose not” She sighed. “I guess I’m lucky I have time to figure it out. What’s it like, on the other side?”

“I honestly can’t really remember” He shook his head. “My memory from the moment I closed my eyes to when I reopened them is scrambled. And even if I did recall, it might be different from you”

“You think so?”

“I hope so”

He did not elaborate on that, and she did not ask. Jason wasn’t sure whether his visions of hell were from his time in the grave, or if the pit messed with his perspective, but he certainly hoped this girl wouldn’t have to go through something similar as well. They waited in silence for a moment as neither felt the need to speak up. He respected her need to have a moment to herself to absorb all this like he had wished he could have had. He had never felt as vulnerable as when he waited, helpless and unable to move, for the bomb to go off. He had been terrified, clinging to a last hope it was just a nightmare, or that help would have swept in at the last second like it always happened in the movies. He had been truly alone then. Perhaps it was why she had found him earlier, she felt his connection to death and his ability to relate. She seeked one last ray of warmth before disappearing, one last attempt not to be forgotten by reaching out to someone with the best chance to understand her. He doubted it was a coincidence he was the one she let help her.

“You didn’t have to stay with me…” She spoke up. It could have been ten minutes or more, Jason couldn’t tell. He had been in his head the whole time. “But you did, for what it’s worth. Thank you, Jason”

“You’re welcome, I guess” He half shrugged. “It’s… It’s just things I wish had been said to me in my last moments, comfort I wish had been brought to me when it was time to go. I’m glad it helped ease this transition for you”

She gave him a small smile and placed a hand on his shoulder. He could feel her unnatural cold radiating on him, see the bleakness of her skin and the absence or a steady rise and fall of her chest now that he was up close.

“Well, I’m glad you found me” She muttered, letting her hand fall back down to her side. “I… I think I’m ready to go. But before, could you do me a last favor?

“Sure” He nodded.

“Could you bring back my necklace to my mother?” She asked, staring straight into his eyes. And probably his soul, by the looks of it. “This case might never be solved, I don’t want it to be lost in an evidence bag”

He was initially surprised by the request, but it made sense. This would be the last thing her mother would have of her daughter, and it didn’t belong in a locker kept away forever. He nodded. “I can do that”

“Thank you” She gave him the first real smile he had seen on her face. Her eyes had lost the life in them, that was obvious, but there was this peacefulness that hadn’t been there before. Her resolve to accept her faith showed more and more in her expression, and it was steadily becoming clearer she did not belong to this plane of existence anymore. Two weeks trapped in between life and death without being heard or seen must have been so exhausting, and now she was ready to let go. “Just one more thing”

Jason furrowed his eyebrows at her sudden knowing expression. He could see it clearly despite her image slowly fading away. Was she even aware of it? He didn’t know, but it didn’t seem painful. He hoped it wasn’t, she deserved an undisturbed rest for what had been done to her in this life.

“A piece of unwanted advice from a dead girl?” Her tone was a bit playful. He let out a quiet chuckle, his shoulders barely raising. “Call your brothers”

She became serious, and so did he.

“The worst thing about this, is that I left this life without even being able to say proper goodbyes to my family” She explained. “I wish more than anything I could just see them one more time to tell them I love them, but I can’t. Don’t take for granted there will always be a later for it, because there might not be”

“I…”

“Please, for me” She said, almost entirely faded now. “I hope I see you again one day, Jason. Thank you for everything”

And then she was gone. Jason stared at the empty space beside him, like there had never been anyone there. The cold spot was gone, and with it the last image of her smiling face. The smell of the corpse returned at full strength now that she wasn’t there to manipulate the surroundings, but he couldn’t be bothered by it as much as he was before. He found himself unable to tear his eyes away from where she had been seconds ago, struggling to tell whether or not it had actually happened. But it must have, the entire experience had felt way too real to be a product of his imagination, and the dead body served as a material proof his head didn’t conjure it all up. Slowly, he stood up and went back to the body for one last time. He’d have to place an anonymous call to the police to tip them to the body tomorrow, after giving a heads up to the squatters to steer clear of the building until the situation died down. He bent down and only took the necklace without disturbing anything else, slipping it in a pocket for safe keeping. He’d also have to find a way to give it back to her mother without making it seem like he had killed the girl…

With one last silent goodbye to a new found yet ephemeral friend, Jason made his way down to the first floor, his step a little slower and heavier than last time. The first light of the morning peeked shyly through the sky of Gotham as the clouds appeared clear up, like it was their way of reflecting the peaceful passing of a soul on the other side. He never believed in symbolism in nature, but this once, just this once, he could make an exception. He reached the bottom of the stairs and carefully made his way to the main doors, pausing in front of it. The birds in the walls didn’t seem to mind him as they sang the arrival of the morning, and he put back his mask to face the outside once again. He gripped the door handle, pushing even so slightly.

It opened with a groan.

Sighing, he stepped outside and fished for his phone in his back pocket. He went to his contacts, scrolling down until he found the name he was looking for. Reluctantly, he pressed it and came face to face with the taunting call icon. Surely he would still be awake, his patrol would have ended not too long ago. Or he’d be asleep, and then he’d disturb him. Hesitating, his thumb hovered above the lock screen button, then over the call one, then again, the lock screen. He let out a frustrated huff, looking at the sky. There might not be a later… Or perhaps there will. But was he ready to take that chance? He looked at his phone again, taking a deep breath and making his decision.

As the first sun ray reflected his helmet, he called Dick Grayson for the first time in years.

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baekhypnotized · 5 years ago

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drive me crazy [M]

it’s a just normal occasion that baekhyun brought you out for a dinner with one of his partner. everything was perfect at the first but when his friend mentioned about his rival, he became intense. on the way back home, you decided to make him relieve his stress, made him go crazy.

GENRE: smut, romance, oneshot

PAIRING: byun baekhyun x you/fem reader

WARNING(S): fingering, oral, handjob, blowjob, car sex, dom!baekhyun, sub!reader

WORDS: 3.3k+

AUTHOR’S NOTE: I improvise this oneshot so I decided to post it out. But, I’m so sorry if my writing skills are still suck because I kinda having problems with my insecurities towards writing :( sorry for any common errors and for the bad smut oneshot too. will try to improve more in the future!! please leave some of your thoughts after reading this!! thank you in advance for dropping by and read!!

Byun Baekhyun is just a busy businessman, the greatest CEO in the city as he owns almost all of the shares in Byun Corporation which it's his family company. At a very young age, he became the Chairman just because his father fell sick as he was unable to contribute himself into his hectic schedules or not, he will get a heart attack due to high blood pressure.

Instead, Baekhyun took the biggest role among his siblings because his eldest, Baekbeom, is busy handling their company in China plus he already has two children and it does make sense that Baekhyun is the most perfect one to take the position other than his close relatives.

But, here you are, always be by his side to support him no matter what happens. Even though Baekhyun said you are his pillar of strength in his life, he is your source of light. He shines brightly in your life the moment he came in the first place. The one who taught you that life doesn't only revolve around you, where problems can be solved even if it takes thousands of years. That man helps you a lot to realise that you’re that kind of person who deserves to live in this world.

"Babe..." A soft tone calling you.

Currently, you are reading your book on the bed with Baekhyun, sleeping soundly beside me as he hugs your lap lazily like a child. You divert your gaze to him, stroking your fingers through his messy, fluffy permed hair full of adoration. Putting aside your book on the bedside table, you bend your body with your arm supporting your head. You continue to stroke his hair softly, trying to coax him from his exhaustion.

Baekhyun's eyes are still tightly shut but his cute snores have turned into several sighs. He had a sleepless night before, busying himself into meetings with shareholders, business partners and also piles of paperwork.

"Yes, Baekhyun?" You reply to his call.

"I’m fucking tired..." He confesses and again, he leaves out a huge sigh. Your lips tilt into a small smile before you plant a soft kiss on his crown a little bit longer, hoping it will soothe him a bit.

"I know, baby. I know. Have some rest, hmm?"

"I can't. We can't. We have dinner with my business partner from London, remember?" He replies. You almost forgot that he told you two days before that he's going to bring you together with him to the dinner since he wants to introduce you as someone who's the most important to him to them. But, right now, you would want to force him to stay at home instead, telling them he will not be able to join the dinner since he's sick or something. Baekhyun can pay all the expensive dishes for his business partners just to give him the bill.

Yet, he's not the kind of person that you know.

Baekhyun is a responsible man, always prioritises and cares about his company more than himself because he wants his dad to be proud of him but of course, his dad is already proud of him no matter what. His dad once told you to always remind him to not immerse himself too much in this business because at once, he will never have thoughts about his health. Like the one that his parents believe in, you moved into his apartment after you graduated from your university and since then, you are the one who's taking care of everything about him.

"But Baekhyun..." You are about to fight him when he suddenly cuts you off with placing his soft lips on yours, indulging into a long, passionate kiss. Baekhyun brings his calloused hands to cup your cheeks, tilting his head a bit to devour your wet cavern deeper. Involuntarily, both of you sit up, as you are wrapping your hands around his neck while he pulls you to sit on his lap. The two of you drown into the long kiss, able to replace all the kisses that you guys were supposed to exchange always for the past few days when he was busy.

He breaks the kiss, tugging a strand of your hair that is hiding your face behind the ear. Your heart flutters as you could feel your face flush. "I’m sorry for not being with you for the past few days, babe. I'll make it up to you later." He lifts your chin up to look into his eyes straightly, "Cross my heart."

You bob your head several times, placing your head slowly on his broad chest as you inhale your favourite scent of his that gives you comfort somehow. Baekhyun places his chin on your head, caressing your hands adoringly as the two of you stay in this position for a few minutes before starting to prepare for tonight's dinner.

He wears a royal blue tuxedo, pairing with a silver metallic wristwatch from Rolex and his hair was combed nicely, making him look the hottest tonight. As for you, you wear a short satin silk dress in also royal blue colour to match with his tuxedo. You dangled a pair of crystal blue earrings and also a wonderful expensive necklace that Baekhyun bought for you together with the dress. You slip yourself into blue high heels and bring your pouch to the dinner.

Baekhyun prefers to drive his Black Audi Rs7 rather than having his private driver to drive the two of you to the restaurant. The interior of the car was designed beautifully as it suits well with him. Maybe that's why he prefers driving his favourite car. And whenever he drives the car while using only one hand on his steering, somehow he looks so magnificent. Every time he focuses on the road, he slides his other hand to intertwine with your hand, planting a kiss on the back of your hand. That small action can make your heart beats like there's no tomorrow.

Baekhyun makes you fall in love with him every second of the time.

When the both of you arrive at the restaurant as he parks his car, Baekhyun guides you to the private dining room that he reserved by placing his hand behind your waist, keeping you close to him because there were a lot of people on our way as he’s afraid of losing me among the crowds.

"Baekhyun!" A man who looks like in our age greets him from afar as the two of you go closer to the table. Baekhyun sincerely greets his business partner with a warm hug while you shake hands with his escorts.

"Finally, you’re here in Korea! Let's take our seats, shall we?" Baekhyun invites all of us to take our seats as I land myself sitting right beside him. Baekhyun comfortably places his hand on your thigh, caressing it. You do have fear as you would become so nervous with strangers but thanks to him, you feel calm and giving a bright smile across your face.

"Jack, let me introduce you to my favourite girl," He introduces your name to his business partner as you lift yourself from your seat to shake hands politely with Jack.

"Nice to meet you! Baekhyun often tells me about you!" Jack says that cause you to flush. The thoughts of Baekhyun mentioning you to his friends make you blush because obviously he wouldn’t stop doing it as he in love with you. Like deeply.

The waitress comes to your table, handing the menu booklet to each everyone. Once you open the menu to take a look at the choices, you are stupefied by staring at the price. It was extremely pricey that makes you gulp a large lump in your throat.

"Baby, order anything that you want," He murmurs, pats your thighs to assure you to choose anything that you want. Well, he's too rich to pay for the dishes for sure. After the four of you guys order the food, Baekhyun and Jack start to discuss the business while me and Maria (Jack's escort) exchange stories about our countries.

You sneakily take a few glances on Baekhyun, feeling ease seeing him laughing out loud when Jack tells him some jokes. You are very delighted to see him in this way even when he talks about his company's business. The qualms that you worry finally lessen slowly.

The food expressly arrives after a few minutes but as usual for women, Maria and you take pictures of the dishes first, leaving the men snorting silently as they are watching both of you. After a few shots, the four of you finally devour the dishes. For real, the foods are so mouth-watering, making all of you guys busy indulging the good food silently and focus.

"Anyway, do you know that Park Corporation is currently trying to win some of our shareholders' attention?" Jack asks, causing Baekhyun to stop swallowing his food. You can see his face becomes tighter and the facial expression becomes serious and intense.

"Really? Has he succeeded then?" He asks in return. Baekhyun, trying his best to not spoil the dinner, casually continues to cut his beef.

"Our shareholders' grip strongly on our trust, Baekhyun. But you know how determined he is, trying to let your business down..." Jack expresses it slowly, understanding that Baekhyun also has his own temper that he needs to control when it comes to his company.

Baekhyun grabs his expensive wine, gulping it, "No worries, we will never lose them." He replies with a small smile, trying to not make Jack worry about the current situation. "Let's finish this up, guys. It's getting late already."

The moment becomes silent because no one is brave enough to utter anything currently. Including you. you could only caress his thigh softly in circles, murmurs discreetly into his ears saying, "Everything's going to be fine, baek." You comfort him with a soft tone.

When the dinner ends, we bid goodbyes to Jack and Maria, inviting them for a tour later when they have more leisure time to visit Korea because Jack has a business that he needs to settle back in London, that's why they need to catch the next flight by tonight.

The drive back to the apartment continues to become silent. you hate this kind of moment when Baekhyun looks so scary and serious as you are afraid to talk to him. But you know, only you can break him through that intense moment between the both of us. Daringly, you travel your hand to his crotch, begin to massage his clothed members slowly but pleasurably, causing him to hiss softly.

Baekhyun tries his best to focus on the road, gripping the steering wheel tighter the moment you continue to massage his balls. You slip your hand into his pants and boxers, feeling his bare meat as you grip your fingers around his member. He’s so fucking thick. You take out his member freely from his pants, playfully playing with his red tip using your thumb pad in circles.

"B-baby.." He calls.

You ignore him, start pumping his shaft around your fingers by adding more pressure. Moans start to elicit out of his mouth. You continue to cup his big balls with your other hand, trying to make him crazy while you're working out with his cock with your hands. When the veins at his dick start to protrude as it starts to stand proudly and hard, a few pre-cums start to release. "Eyes on the road, Mr Byun."

You begin to engulf his whole long length into your mouth, bobbing your head up and down your mouth while taking a glance at his pleasurable face. You can finally taste his small amount of juices in your mouth. Moans and low grunts are escaping as Baekhyun slams his head back to the headrest. He tries his best to focus on the road, trying to avoid us from getting caught into an accident. You could see the visible veins decorating his throbbing dick.

It didn't take long before Baekhyun finally surrender . He purposely bucked his hips upwards, accidentally causing his tip to hit the back of your throat as you gag having his cock fully inside your wet cavern. You try your best to give him the pleasure that he wants since he loves it when you mercilessly give him the blowjob. Your tears start to prickle in the corner of your eyes each and every time Baekhyun's cock hits your throat as you are breathing heavily through your nose this time.

"F-Fuck... it feels so good, baby-" He mutters as he moans. The sounds of you gagging and choking yourself with his big cock is the music into his ears where he doesn't need to turn on the radio. But instead, listen to that drench and sloppy wet sounds that you’re making with his throbbing dick. You are speeding your pace to engulf his cock as it's abusing your mouth.

"I'm coming, baby..." Baekhyun warns you with his husky yet breathy voice. Before he succeeded in releasing his juices into your mouth, he parked the car safely, somewhere as it's a perfect place to hide the car from other people's sights.

Baekhyun tightens the grip on the steering wheel, causing his knuckles to turn into white the moment he releases his hot seeds into your wet cavern, leaving a loud gasp. You try so hard to gulp and swallow it quickly. He pulls you off from his cock, some of his seeds trail from your lips as you lick it off.

"You're such a bad girl. I was driving and you blow-jobbing me, huh?" Baekhyun cups my cheeks with his hand, holding them with a force as he stares into your eyes seriously.

Innocently, you nod your head.

"Are you already wet?" He asks.

"You need to find it out then," You arrogantly reply as you smirk. Spreading your legs wider, you invite his fingers to feel the wetness that already drench your panties after listening to his moans from previous sessions. Practically, your wetness is pooling at your core, dripping wet but still waiting for him to settle it.

Baekhyun chuckles huskily, bringing his fingers to cup your drench panties before he pulls it off, leaving your bare pussy revealed to the exposed air. You breathe heavily, with the thoughts are currently playing in your mind which are Baekhyun finger fucking your hole.

Baekhyun strokes his two fingers along your folds, caressing on it while his thumb abuses your swollen and sensitive nub. Your toes start to curl and you grunt softly. "What do you want me to do with you?"

"Fuck me with your fingers, please" You finally beg. Suddenly, he hardly pushes his 3 digits into your tight cunt, passing through the walls without any warning..

You start to squirm badly when he begins to thrust your pussy with his fingers as he continues to play with your swollen clit. Your eyes are shut, biting your lower lip to bear with the pleasure that he gives when he keeps poking your sensitive spot over and over with his fingers.

You grip tightly around the seatbelt but it's unable to make you stop squirming badly, feeling aroused having him sliding his digits in and out easily because of your wet juices as the lubrication.

"B-Baekhy- Faster-'' you command. In any minute, his eyes dilated, increased his thrusting and hit your spot non-stop. You pull his nape into a deep kiss, swallowing the moans as he slips his tongue to stroke the roof of your mouth.

You double over the gasp when he brings his mouth to your clit, sucking and licking it badly while his fingers continue to pump in and out of your pussy. He quickens his movements and fucks you faster with his digits. You can finally feel the build-up in your stomach as he rolls the bud between his lips. The string of arousal finally snaps. You let out a loud mewl. You grip your fingers hard around the seatbelt, squeezing your legs together with Baekhyun lodges his face between your thighs.

"Oh my god.." You pant hard, feeling the last wave of pleasure rushes in you.

You cum having his mouth abusing your pussy. Baekhyun gives a few licks of your juices, swallowing them. Your legs feel so weak as your heart is beating too fast.

"Come here," Baekhyun invites. He unbuckles your seatbelt and lifts you up from the passenger seat, placing you to sit on his lap. "Thank you for being such a bad girl for me, babe," Baekhyun mumbles into your ear, dragging the tip of his hard cock along your slit. "Let me reward you." He breathes.

A sexy moan leaves your mouth when you lift yourself to push his tip between your folds and into your wet pussy. Baekhyun sheaths himself even more until his cock completely buried inside of you. Your walls squeezing tightly around his thick rod. He groans, his hand placed on your hips while your hands wrap around his neck.

"You're so..." he sounds breathless, "tight.."

You start to ride his cock relentlessly while Baekhyun works out with his hips upwards to meet with your thrust synchronously. Your inner muscles clench around him involuntarily. He grunts into your ear.

Your legs start to tremble to the fact that the pleasure weakens your energy. Baekhyun keeps on ramming your tight pussy with his thick girth while your pussy is trying to engulf his rod fully in me. The sexes slide smoothly just because the two of you guys’ pre-juices lubricate it well. "B-Baekhyun-"

Baekhyun slaps your bare ass, causing you to let out a surprised squeal as your pussy suddenly tightens around his throbbing cock, causing him to groan loudly. His breathing is loud and shallow in your ears.

Your mouth parts as you receive the same arousal that he keeps on giving. You roll your eyes back, slamming your head together each and every thrust. He cannot stop calling your name, abusing your g-spot with his swollen tip over and over. The overstimulation that you’re currently having, causing you to slow down from thrusting.

But, he aids you, pinning your back to the steering wheel as he uses his force to pound into your tight snatch. Tears start to stream down your cheeks as you feel like about to burst.

You bump your back on the steering wheel, accidentally hitting the honk. There are also a few times your head bumps towards the roof of the car, causing the both of you to chuckle for a second. Baekhyun pulls me away from the honk, afraid we will catch the neighbourhood's attention while we're busy fucking in his black car. "I'm cumming, Baekhyun..."

You couldn't hold it anymore. Baekhyun continues to hit that specific spot with a few more thrusts, you explode around his cock, your walls convulsing. He also released his hot and warm semen into your womb as both of us panting hard, trying to catch our breath. Baekhyun pecks your lips, wiping your sweaty forehead with his hand. "Thank you, baby." He plants a kiss on your crown.

You slowly pull yourself to sit back on the passenger seat, gasping softly the moment his throbbing cock sliding out from your cunt, feeling empty inside. You grin widely at him when the mixed cums start to drip from your hole. You pull out some tissues to wipe off the cums around your pussy, worried that it will stain his leather seat. Baekhyun also takes some tissues to wipe his drench throbbing cock before he slides his member into his pants back.

"Sorry if you accidentally stained your seat, baek.." You mutter softly as you apologise, making him chuckles.

"It’s okay, baby. This is also your car anyway and only you can sit here," He points it out to the seat that you’re sitting, "And the place where we'll be making out other than our bed." He smirks seducingly, causing me to slap his chest softly.

"Let's go home, hmm?" You buckle your seatbelt securely before looking at him. His engine roars the moment he starts the car, buckling himself as he slides his hand to intertwine again with your fingers.

"To our home, we go."

#exowritersnet #exo fanfiction #baekhyun #baekhyun fanfiction #baekhyun smut #smut fanfiction #exo scenarios #baekhyun scenarios #baekhyun oneshot

355 notes · View notes

elephantinparis · 4 years ago

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A Sky beyond a Storm Review

If I could give this book -∞ rating I would. This review won’t be spoiler free, so if you haven’t read the book don’t read further. Now that that’s out of the way let’s get into it.

First of all, I want to start by saying how sad and angry I am to be writing this because this series had become one of my favorites and it completely disappointed me in the end. I’m not sure disappointment is even a proper word for what I’m feeling at this point. I also want to mention that yes, I am a huge fan of Nightbringer, but I wasn’t expecting a hea for him. What I was expecting was an arc true to his character from previous 3 books. Instead, what I got was a complete character assassination. It all started from the very first chapter–Nightbringer kills a small child, but at that point I was still trying to defend the book and genuinely thought: yes, it fits his character since he despises scholars. So even though I didn’t like it I understood. But then the complete character destruction started. First, we had a moment when he saw a happy family and went: yeah, I’ll kill the mother and the kids out of nowhere because they remind me of my family and if I can’t be happy no one can. Now, let me explain why this is ooc behavior: The Nightbringer as we knew him always had a beef with scholars only. The family he randomly kills are not scholars. Another thing: why would he put someone through the same agonizing pain when he is always specific about the deaths having meaning to him and that he doesn’t kill in vain(scholar killings are not in vain for him) other people, however, don’t fall into that category. Another ooc behavior moment was when he put one of his jinn in chains (yes only for a second and yes the jinn tried to use her influence on him), but the Nightbringer I know would never put his people through that after them spending an actual millennia in a prison. He spent so long trying to get them out, he would never put them in chains again. Then the cherry on the top of the cake was that all throughout the book the author tried to drive it home how much Nightbringer wanted Laia dead and how much he wanted, and I quote: “Open her up.” Another inconsistency since in Reaper he saved her more than once and completely let her go (because we know he loves her). Yes, he wanted to know what magic she possessed since the moment in Torch, but he had multiple opportunities to kill her and he never did. But in this book, he more than once physically assaults her when she’s in no position to truly hurt him and from his previous behavior that’s ooc actions. And you can come and say: but wait a minute Laia is a real threat now and that’s why he wants to kill her after he “opens her up” and I’ll point you to the chapter where he finally learns of his wife’s betrayal and understands what magic Laia possesses. And what does he do? He walks away. The man who spent the entire book hunting her down has her vulnerable, alone, he finally figured out the mystery of her powers and I am to believe from all his previous actions that he’ll kill her, but he DOESN’T. Because, of course, it’s not in the nature of his character to kill someone he loves even if they’re trying to stop him. So, which is it Sabaa? The inconsistencies are jarring. It just drives it home how his actions in this book were character assassination. The final nail in Nightbringer’s metaphorical coffin (because of course in the end he gets no funeral, no established peace, nothing. Unlike Keris…but I’ll get back to that later) is the fact that his evil villain plan is to literally end the world…I’m sorry WHAT?! So, in the span of this book he went from wanting scholars dead, then wanting all humans dead and then wanting the whole world to end which would result in his people dying, too. What in the actual hell is this?? So many possibilities could’ve been taken with this character, even if the author didn’t want to give him a redemption arc, he could have been a much better villain with a good goal. Instead we get this. Please someone try to explain WHY would he do this when he just freed his people? They would suffer just as much from his plan, so it makes no sense at all. His entire character was about protecting the jinn, giving them a safe space once he freed them. Another thing I noticed is that in the previous 3 books Nightbringer was very much humanized, embers and torch focused on him feeling again, his growth once he fell in love with Laia and even in Reaper his actions were tied to her, but in this book it’s completely forgotten. He does monstrous things to other people who aren’t scholars which was never his goal before. He had a millennium to set his anger and hurt on others, but he focused on those he felt were responsible for his life being ruined – the scholars. And yes, he was wrong to try to take revenge on people who didn’t do anything, but the point remains the Nightbringer I knew would have never done anything to jeopardize the jinn’s safety. Even as a villain his story went in a very cruel direction. I never praised Leigh Bardugo’s depiction of her villain Darkling, but maybe I should’ve since she gave him the bare minimum and Nightbringer didn’t even get that. Funny that the author has said on more than one occasion he was her favorite character. I shudder to think what she would’ve done if she disliked him.

Another character who was treated with cruelty all throughout the story is Helene. Now I’ve got to give credit where it’s due - Helene grew a lot throughout the series: she shed her prejudices, finally acknowledged she had been protecting the wrong people and that martials need to change, she also grew as an incredible leader and a warrior and when the people chose her to be their Empress I was so proud, but then…she made her vow. To never marry, to never have children (which is totally fine since it was even mentioned she didn’t want them earlier), to completely give herself to her duty to the empire. It rubbed me the wrong way immediately because a big part of her arc was love–love for Elias who rejected her, love for her family–who got slaughtered before her eyes, love for Avitas–who also was killed for no real reason other than to make her suffer even more. And what does this show? It shows to Helene that love isn’t her friend because it only brings her pain, she lets people in, loves them with every part of her soul and they end up dying. So, at this point we have a young woman who started the series thinking she wasn’t worthy of love end up thinking love itself wasn’t worth it. How messed up is that? Still as cruel as this arc was it was at least consistent or that’s what I thought. In her very last chapter, it’s heavily alluded she might have something with Musa. And if it was written as just two friends grieving their lost loves it wouldn’t have bothered me at all. But there were clear romantic undertones and then I was left thinking: what? I thought she chose only her duty. And though Avitas was barely a few weeks in the ground at that point I couldn’t even fault Helene for wanting to move on because I just wanted her to be happy again. But at the same time, I cannot ignore the inconsistencies. The cruelty she experienced was too much.

It’s ironic how two of my favorite characters got the short end of the stick.

I don’t really have much to say about Elias since he didn’t really have his own plot, he was just inserted into Laia’s. His ending was by no means earned and I know it’s hard to say that because he had gone through so much in the first 2 books. But ever since Torch he made a conscious choice to become the Soul Catcher. Sure, he only did it to save Laia’s brother, but he made a vow to serve and he completely disregarded his job after the fact. I think if the ghosts that got out in Reaper didn’t hurt anyone, he would have continued to ignore the duty he himself chose. Now in this book he could’ve had an interesting development since he didn’t remember his past life, but this was resolved in the very beginning when Cain somehow gave the memories back. Then in the very end for a quick resolve someone just took over his job and Mauth was okay with it. The person who took over was just brought back for plot convenience and it makes me so mad. He didn’t earn the freedom…

Then we have Laia. The problem I had with her character in general is the fact she disregarded her past with Nightbringer. She can be in love with Elias and acknowledge what she felt for Nightbringer. Alas, she only sees a monster, shows no compassion once she learns of his story and since she spent all the book trying to kill him and not just stop him the very end felt hollow when she suddenly starts showing compassion to a suffering Nightbringer. Laia from Torch showed compassion and understanding in her own way toward Nightbringer and now it was just gone. She was still conflicted and in this she’s completely closed off. I don’t think her romance with Elias would’ve suffered if her very real past with Nightbringer was acknowledged properly.

I also want to talk about Rehmat (Nightbringer’s wife). We learn that she had a gift of seeing the future and once the war started and she lost their children she saw what Nightbringer would become. So, what does she do? Does she go to her husband and tell him what she saw, tries to change the future, show him that even when she’s gone, he can go on and be who he was always meant to be? Beloved. Hell no she goes to humans and uses blood magic to extract her essence and be put in the progeny of a random tribe. Then waits a millennium to kill her husband. What in the world is this?? The reason why she does this is never addressed. So, as a reader I must make assumptions that she never loved him. That she didn’t even try to change anything. She also could’ve told him of her plan so he could’ve found someone to awaken her sooner so they could once again be together. He was deeply hurt and alone without their people and she left him too. Tell me how you bring in this new force and you don’t even explain her actions? How is this good writing?

Now I want to talk about the death count and if the deaths had any meaning. Got to start by saying that only supporting characters were killed. First, we have Darin. Killed by Nightbringer because he wanted Laia to kill him for his plan. See, the thing is Laia already wanted to kill him throughout the book, she got the weapon and she came there with the goal of killing him. Nightbringer didn’t need to “encourage” her by killing Darin. So, in my opinion the death was pointless and served no great purpose. It was a way to make the reader hate the villain, sympathize with the heroine and was done for shock value. Livia was another character to suffer a pointless death. She was the only person Helene had. There was no reason to do it same with Avitas. I guess for Avitas I could try to excuse it by saying it’s war and he did die on the battlefield. Keris had always been a great fighter and even Helene couldn’t take her on. But she already lost Livia and now this?? Too much. Too cruel. Livia’s ending could’ve also been written off as a war casualty, but she wasn’t actively participating in the war. Sure, she was the Empress Regent, but to me it’s just too much after her family. Both deaths only caused Helene pain and she didn’t gain anything profound from those losses. Lastly, I truly hated how the author tried to humanize Keris Veturia. And when I say tried, I really mean it because at least for me it didn’t work. The author suddenly had her saying she couldn’t kill Elias when time came even though she already had. She poisoned him and he died because of her. That woman first abandoned him, then tortured him throughout his time at Blackcliff and then in the end cost him his life. And Elias mourned her…She also had a lovely send off in the Waiting place where she found piece with her mother. So then if this villain deserved peace why didn’t the other one? At least Nightbringer had his reasons. We never knew hers.

In conclusion, I don’t understand how the story could’ve gone so wrong. As always everything you read is my personal thoughts and my humble opinion.

Tagging: @nightbringer @bookittothelibrary we suffered so much...I can’t.

#a sky beyond the storm #an ember in the ashes #a torch against the night #a reaper at the gates

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spookybreadstick · 4 years ago

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OH MY GOD PLEASE MAKE A POST ABOUT EJ DIET 🥺🥺❤❤❤❤ ( am i asking too much? i was without internet these last days so I'm kind of reading everything you recently posted just now) - dancing parrot🐦🐦

kjdhfsdnsjkdhfc this warms my heart knowing that you are out there binge-reading my stuff 🥺 you are not asking too much, i love all your requests

so, ask and you shall receive (a former co-worker of mine used to say that every single day). i give you: EJ’s diet!!!

💖 💖 💖

TW dark!! this is some dark stuff!! read at your own risk! TW

🤍 EJ goes on the hunt about once per month, but on two different nights.

🤍 EJ needs five victims in total. One for full consumption, and the other four for organ harvesting purposes.

🤍 The first night, which will be on the full moon if he can help it, (because it heightens his demonic powers for some reason???) will be his kill-night.

🤍 The kill-night is when he essentially goes feral and kills his victim. Of course, as an act of mercy, he always makes sure that the victim is dead before he begins. He hates to see any creature suffer, and this is no different.

🤍 EJ will take care of this person in the most humane way possible before he lets the demon within come out to play.

🤍 He's like a freakin' snake, how they eat their meals whole? Well in his case, it's not exactly whole, but he does just go ham on the body :/

🤍 The following day or two will be spent sleeping off his "food coma," if you will.

🤍 As soon as he is awake again, he will be well-rested and fully focused on his goal of organ-harvesting.

🤍 EJ will harvest from four people (meaning four kidneys in total, since he only takes one from each). He does it all in one night.

🤍 EJ will break into someone's house quietly and inject them with an anesthetic so that they don't wake up, then preform the surgery. He does it carefully, and doesn't take anything else other than the one kidney he needs.

🤍 Poor boy always feels bad about it, so he will leave a glass of water and some Aspirin next to their bed for when they do wake up.

🤍 After the harvest-night, he will store his goodies in a special freezer for when he needs them. Because he consumed so much during his kill-night, he will be full for two weeks. Then, over the next two weeks, he will have the kidneys he has harvested.

🤍 EJ also eats raw (animal) meat for other meals. This type of meat is basically a snack for him, while the other type of meat is his full meals.

🤍 So, in between his feedings, he will be eating some raw beef or chicken to ease the hunger away.

🤍 There has also been times that he has been truly desperate and enlisted the help of the proxies to steal donated organs from a hospital. He always feels terrible about taking an organ away from somebody who needs it, but sometimes it has to be done.

🤍 EJ CANNOT be left too hungry. It will cause him to go feral, and he does NOT want that.

🤍 At least if he does things his way, he will have some level of control over what's happening.

🤍 EJ also has a process of collecting for victims.

🤍 For the victim that he will fully consume:

- Always biologically male (tends to be bigger so more of a meal, and he always feels somehow more guilty if it was a female instead??)

- Always a total douche-bag. This would be somebody that deserves to go.

- Is in proper health. No illnesses, no ailments, no underlying conditions. Healthy as a horse.

🤍 For the victims that he will only harvest from:

- Proper health is important here as well. No illnesses, no ailments, no underlying conditions. Healthy as a horse.

- No family history of kidney transplants or failure. He would hate to leave somebody with one kidney if they can't handle it.

- Properly hydrated! Your kidney would be no use to him if you are dehydrated.

- Also, no history of autoimmune diseases of any kind. That would be no good either.

🤍 EJ would also never take from children, and he wouldn't take from somebody who has a lot on their plate (parents, newlyweds, widows, grieving people, depressed people, college students who are stressed about life, etc).

🤍 It is also important to note that EJ does not do his research on his own.

🤍 It is Slenderman who does.

🤍 Slender knows EJ's rules and expectations, so he takes the time to "make a menu" of sorts, for him.

🤍 EJ can't bear the thought of actually hunting other human beings, it makes him feel like such a monster.

🤍 He prefers to let Slender handle the dirty work of finding the victims, and he'll handle the rest of it himself. It makes it easier to do the job when you don't have an emotional attachment to the people from watching them to see if they'd be a good fit for a meal.

🤍 (Of course, Slender doesn’t like it either, but he is much better at looking at things from a practical point of view. EJ needs to eat so he doesn’t go feral, and by helping him out with the research part, Slender will be ensuring that EJ is eating regularly).

🤍 EJ hates his diet so, so, so much and he carries around incredible guilt for it (despite him handling this in the best, most humane way possible). He does think of himself as a monster, but he is trapped in this way of life with no other option.... :(

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bluecoloreddreams · 4 years ago

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(Disclaimer: this contains spoilers for the Fruits Basket and Fruits Basket: Another manga, as well as taking into consideration tidbits from Takaya’s twitter.)

So, okay, first of all we have to address the YMMV aspect: Some people don’t like this ship. As long as they’re respectful, I have no beef with that. I’m well aware that some people cannot/choose not to make the distinction between “real life” and “fiction”— I have the luxury of this choice, so some of the “problematic” ships/character aspects within Furuba don’t bother me (for the most part). It’s fiction, and I’m aware of this.

Again, some people cannot/do not make this distinction, and that’s none of my business because that’s their personal life. I’m aware that people dislike aspects of Akigure, and that’s fine.

Personally? I’ve been reading Furuba since like, basically the dawn of time. I was reading scans on, like, MSN groups. I remember a friend at church (of all places) telling me about the Akito reveal because I was behind on updates. It’s literally engrained upon my shipping heart at this point.

(Headcanons ahoy! Like literally, this is all headcanon/my perspective on the series as a whole. YMMV/YKINMK/Dead Dove, the whole works, if you know you know

YES I wrote it like it’s an actual research paper because I have No Chill At All, please forgive me. It’s long and pretty rambling.)

Addressing the first elephant in the room: Given my limited interactions with the fandom, my impression of Akigure from a generalized fan POV is that it’s pretty divisive. Every episode she comes up there are “I hate this kid” comments and I cry

Akito is a favorite of mine, and it’s impossible for anime-only’s to make a deep, informed call on her character. On the other hand, a lot of manga-readers dislike her too.

So, why am I talking about whether or not people like Akito as a character?

I’m of the opinion that it impacts people’s ability to view her character arc as one that deserves a happy ending. That she doesn’t deserve to have love, happiness, or forgiveness, all of which are given to her when she and Shigure finally end up together on equal footing. (Do I think the way it’s rushed in the original Furuba ending? Yeah, but hey. Sensei had like a huge ensemble cast to wrap ends on. Now there’s Furubana to look to and it’s just chef’s kiss.)

There’s a mental aspect in this, involving the dichotomy between “reality” and “fiction”.

There is absolutely zero argument that are a lot of things that Akito does that uh, listen, if it was IRL she’d be in jail! Jail for terror baby! Jail for life!

Fortunately, Fruits Basket is a work of fiction. These characters aren’t real, they’re idealized brushstrokes of human nature created to move a plot and a message along.

That’s why Akito and Shigure work as a couple and as characters:

They’re both incredibly deep characters that get passed off as one-dimensional by a lot of people (and the original anime, woof). Some of it is again, because anime-only fans just don’t have the whole story, since Akito’s arc is one that builds gradually until it hits a point where all hell breaks loose, which we are a ways away from.

So what’s the message that their relationship and characters are supposed to pass on?

Well, it breaks down into two categories: world building and thematic arcs. The latter is more important and what I’ll be focusing on, while the former is just a little spice that I, personally enjoy, and won’t really talk about in depth. (It’s that the magical realism in Furuba sets up the idea of soulmates, it’s just…. Something I enjoy and it’s really heacanony, so I can’t really justify spending more words on it!)

When discussing Fruits Baskets in any capacity, I feel like we must first keep in mind the thematic “lessons” of the series:

There is an inherent loneliness in living as a human being, since loss, grief, and hurt are indelible parts of the human experience, and learning to cope with these feelings in a compassionate manner is a life-long lesson

People react differently to the loneliness of existence, and their reactions are based upon their personalities, their upbringings, and their own choices

Everyone is capable of change and learning, if they choose to do so, however:

Personal agency is taught, but in the vacuum of positive reinforcement, the ability of a person to choose to be compassionate is stifled or outright inaccessible

Therefore, if you are not taught to deal with your grief and existence outside of others, your ability to connect may become warped, manipulative, or abusive, and this is not the fault of the child but instead the parental figure

Eventually, you will be aware of your actions, and then it is your burden to choose—some people do not take this choice (the head maid, Ren, Kyo’s bio dad, Rin’s parents, Sawa’s mother in Furubana)

Abuse has long lasting effects on the psyche and can be physical, emotional, and/or mental in nature and must be dealt with in order to grow as a person

“Dealt with” does not mean that it goes away, but that it is acknowledged and given a positive outlet (Yuki’s garden, Aaya’s shop, Rin’s art, Momiji’s violin playing)

Forgiveness is not linear

Forgiving yourself is a long and arduous process, and happens independent of other people’s forgiveness

This is really brought to the forefront in Fruits Basket: Another, when Shiki talks about how his mother interacts with the rest of the Sohma family. It’s shown she’s done what she can to make amends, but recognizes that while she can individually hold relationships with certain family members, as a whole, it's best if she allows them to be away from her.

This is a whole tangent on its own, but there’s a certain blanket of casual forgiveness given to Akito by the entirety of the shown Zodiac in Furubana, in that they trust that she’s raised a kind and thoughtful son and allow him the grace of his own family.

Again, in Takaya’s tweets post-series that acknowledges that Akito’s friends with Uo-chan, despite her relationship with Kureno (and it shows a depth of awareness on Kureno’s part that he stays away

People flourish in environments where love and positive reinforcement is given freely, even when people are in the wrong

This doesn’t mean that no one is ever scolded: see Komaki and Kakeru, Kisa and Hiro, Hatori chews out Shigure all the time, but never ceases being his confidant

So okay, that’s A Lot. But every single character in Furuba follows these themes in their own manner, because the series is about healing and learning how to heal from abuse, neglect, and isolation. Someone’s gonna have to be doing it. Point blank, the end, to tell a story there must be conflict, and boy howdy, there’s a lot of conflict in Furuba. Every personal thematic arc in the series ends up tying into a romantic one, because Furuba is a romcom drama.

There’s a loop that goes “personal betterment”->”crush”/”friendship”->”conflict”->”personal growth”/”relationship growth” in the series for every character. That’s the bread and butter of Furuba.

But anyway. To the question:

I love them because they work, they’re both their own people with their own narrative focuses, motivations, conflicts, and flaws. Both Shigure and Akito are believable in their own right in the context of Furuba, and I think Takaya did wonderfully in crafting a story where their personalities mesh well and give each other reasons to better themselves.

To talk about them together, you have to talk about them separately.

I’m gonna start with Shigure because, truthfully?

I just want to lament about how often he’s simply passed off as either comic relief or absolute trash. He’s so underestimated!

“He’s a joke of a grown man… He is reliable and I trust him.” (Another, v. 3)

He’s incredibly intelligent when it comes to interpersonal relationships, which is why he’s able to do what he does. He’s also incredibly kind—no one made him take in Yuki or Kyo or Tohru. He could have just went “ah, I’d prefer not to” and moved on. But he didn’t, made up some bullshit so Haru would feel like taking in Yuki was a transaction, and let me just tell you, I am the same age as Shigure and if you gave ME three teenagers to be the guardian of?! It would be a full on disaster.

He’s actually incredibly trustworthy (if he wants to be), insightful, and a genuinely good guardian despite his jokes and wisecracking.

He forced Kyo to go back to school, knowing full well it would be good for him. He lets a whole host of children run rampant through his home. Kids who actually enjoy his presence. He’s shown as having a good familial relationship with Rin (who tries to warp that for her own means), Kisa, Haru, and Momiji. His advice to Tohru is genuine, insightful, and ridiculously helpful.

Shigure is good with people. He gets up at the crack of dawn to drive Shiki to see Sawa in Furubana. He’s who Mutsuki and Hajime immediately go “holy shit you need to do something about this” to when they find out Shiki’s getting nasty notes about Akito. He’s who Shiki goes to when Sawa fell down the stairs as a child. As much as Shiki and the others make fun of Shigure, he’s obviously someone who’s trustworthy. And that’s not some new development, he’s always been trustworthy in regards to those he loves. No one asked him to show up to Tohru’s teacher conference, he volunteered. Like this dude loves people, he’s the dog spirit after all, and rightly so.

Does he have his own motivations? Of course! But so does everyone else in Furuba. He’s a complex character, man!

He laughs and jokes a lot because he’s projecting this image of a laid back, doofus. When you think about who he’s friends with, the whole middling goofball act makes a lot of sense. Just like some of Ayame’s over the top behavior is a defense mechanism, I believe that Shigure casts himself as a generally unappealing man to keep himself safe from advances when he was in school, but also to temper the wildly unequal personalities of his other two friends. He’s the sort of person who would just go “eh, whatever makes it easy”, and that’s just how he is.

He doesn’t mean the creepy school girl thing, it’s a bit and I think the only people who don’t realize he’s running a bit are Yuki, Kyo, and Tohru who are absolutely too stupid to realize he’s playing them for reactions. He thinks it’s funny.

Anyway:

When the older Zodiac had the dream of Shigure, Shigure is the only one who made the active choice to seek out that feeling. His soul was touched, and he decided that he wanted that and only that. This doesn’t necessarily mean he went full Jacob from Breaking Dawn, but it does mean he acknowledged there was a bond, and he wanted it.

When you get into the technicalities of the curse, it’s mentioned that their Zodiac spirits influence how they interact with Akito, and that going against her can cause physical and emotional pain. Yuki cries when meeting her, and it’s mentioned that that’s just the normal reaction for the Zodiacs.

It’s hard to say how much of their early interactions are influenced by the curse, but it’s obvious that Shigure has genuine fondness for her. She wasn’t always absolutely broken, as shown in Yuki’s backstory, and was a precocious child, one who sought affection openly.

Shigure has an indulgent personality, and is shown to love being adored. Guess who loves him! Akito! Guess who wants lots and lots of affection! Akito!

Their personalities are very well matched as they get older: They’re both intelligent and coy. They both have fairly sharp tongues when needed, and have no qualms about doing whatever it takes to get what they want.

Shigure wants Akito to be independent from the curse. He’s made it clear to her he doesn’t want to be her father, he doesn’t want to be her friend, he wants to be her lover. Those are boundaries that Akito’s never been given before, and his frankness with her and his jealousy with Kureno is something she agonizes over, simply because she’s never been given any sort of serious interpersonal boundaries, or repercussions for her actions. He’s always kept himself separate from her, because of those boundaries, even when they were children.

That’s important. It opens the door to the idea that her actions have consequences, and is a persistent nagging in the back of her mind.

“Even though you hadn’t realized it, I was waiting for that day.” (ch 101)

For the bulk of the series, the only person who sees Akito as a person separate from the curse, and sees a future where she can grow is Akito. He has an extraordinary amount of patience for her, and forgives her for a lot.

There are only two incidents that Shigure cannot forgive: Her sleeping with Kureno, and at the very end of the series, I’m of the full opinion that if Akito had pushed Tohru off the cliff, Shigure would have been done with her. Look at that expression, that is the look of someone who is toeing the line of throwing away all his hopes and dreams. If she really had pushed Tohru, I just...... The series would have taken a much darker tone.

OKAY that’s enough about our favorite terrible author! (Okay, an aside, Shigure, please share your work ethic, you goof off so much but you’ve published so many things…how…)

ONTO AKITO!

“I’ve finally realized… she hated her own shallowness all this time, from the very start.” // “It’s frightening because you have no choices.” (ch 121)

A lot of people dislike Akito because she, for the bulk of the manga, is violent, manipulative and just downright unpleasant. And that’s fine, but it’s not the point of her arc or the themes of the manga. (It is, however, the point of Rin’s: you don’t have to forgive everyone.)

She’s not the only violent person in the series. If we as readers can forgive Uo-chan and Kyoko, or even Hana-chan for her moment of violence, why can we not extend the same grace to Akito?

Violence is often shown as a knee-jerk reaction to fear and sadness: Kyoko, Uo, Hana, Kyo, Rin, and Akito all react violently to negative situations and feelings. Even Kisa reacts violently when she’s at her worst, biting both Haru and Tohru when she’s in her tiger form, which is shown to actually cause pain like a real tiger would. (It’s played for laughs, but has anyone been bitten for realsies by a house cat? That hurts! How much more would a house-cat sized tiger hurt!!!)

Out of all of them, Hanajima and Kisa are the only characters to show immediate remorse, because they have what the others don’t: A positive support system. Once positive role models and support systems are in place, all of the others begin to learn how to react differently and ease out of the knee-jerk reactions that were ingrained in them.

It’s made explicit in the manga that you have to be taught how to react positively, you have to learn and choose to be good, to be friendly, to love yourself outside of others’ perceptions of yourself. Look at Yuki’s arc. Look at Uo-chan’s. Kyoko’s.

Yuki sums it up nicely in the last chapter of the manga, where he tells Tohru that she taught the Zodiac how to become human. She allows them to grow into people who can make the choice to be loving, compassionate individuals.

Just because Akito doesn’t interact positively with Tohru for the bulk of the manga, it doesn’t make it any less true:

Akito is kept in a juvenile state of being: No one teaches her to suck it up, that the world exists outside of herself, that other people are people and not things. In fact, she’s actively encouraged to act the way she does. She’s incredibly broken, between the maids of the Sohma estate just… allowing her to do whatever the fuck she wants and her absolutely jacked up relationship with Ren and Akira. She has no moral compass at all. No one bothers to teach her that her actions have serious consequences.

She knows, in a roundabout way that hey, these people don’t like me. There’s a serious mental dissonance between what she latently knows—these are all people with no connection to her other than the bond of the curse. This is why Tohru is able to break through to her at the climax of the manga:

She knows she’s wrong, but no one has ever told her she’s wrong but understood why she’s doing it. Akito just didn’t have the words to explain herself. What do children do when they cannot communicate? They lash out. Kids will bite, scratch, yell, kick, fall to the floor and have screaming tantrums out of frustration. Eventually, most kids learn that there are other ways to express frustration, and move along. (Not all, though, but most.)

Akito was taught that this is acceptable, allowable, and is her right as god. She is actively broken and kept that way through the neglect of the Sohma family maids, Ren’s abuse, and how Akira framed her role in the Zodiac.

I can go on and on and on and on why the way Akito was treated for her role in the Zodiac by her parents and the rest of the Sohma estate was just awful. I hate it, it’s terrible, she never had a chance to learn and grow and be the genuinely thoughtful woman we know she grows into.

She doesn’t force her path of forgiveness onto others and is fully cognizant of what she did, the repercussions of her actions, and lives her entire life after the curse breaks trying to right what she did wrong.

“Even if she gets hurt, she says she deserves it. She tells me not to let it bother me, but… I’ve always, always loved her so much.” (Another, ch. 13)

Tohru opens the door for Akito. She extends her hand, offers her friendship despite having seen the absolute worst of Akito. She tells Akito that everyone is lonely, everyone wants bonds, and acknowledges Akito’s worst fears, that Akito herself is selfish and dirty for wanting something assured and unending because she, Tohru, herself is dirty and selfish. Tohru knows what Akito has done, knows she’s injured some of her beloved friends, had plans to lock up Kyo, hurt Hatori.

Tohru still forgives her. One of Tohru’s striking traits in the manga is that she is suffering, every day, she struggles with the grief of losing her mother and the fear of being alone in the world. Through nothing but her own empathy and realization that loneliness is universal, she’s able to forgive people. She forgives Akito and cares for her, and through Tohru, Akito is introduced to the realization that she’s been wrong and that maybe, she shouldn’t be forgiven.

Shigure also forgives her, and this is the crux of their ship.

To me, that itself is wildly important.

They’ve always circled around each other, and Shigure has always been waiting for Akito to be able to come to him again, in full control of her life and choices. He wants Akito the woman, not Akito the god.

He’s been waiting for the day Akito can meet him as an equal. Akito wants it too, and has wanted him to turn and see her for a very very long time. But she’s been terrified, the entire time, that when he does see her as herself, Shigure won’t like what he sees, and will leave. She’s aware of what she’s done post-curse, she’s aware of the impacts it will have on the former Zodiac members, and she’s aware that once the “bonds” of god and the animals is gone, there may not be anyone left for her.

Neither of them are under any illusions at the end of the series: Akito knows she has to atone for what she did, Shigure knows she has to learn to grow into a person who can function alone. They both know that there are people who are against them changing the oppressive structure of the Sohma family.

Neither of them care. There are things that they want, together, and it’s enough. There’s a whole new world for them to explore and learn about. And in Furubana, this is shown to be a lifelong effort on their parts:

“She said after meeting me, she learned so many things for the first time. She smiled happily as she said it.” (Another, #13)

To close, I’d like to take a moment to talk about the curse and Shigure, and how he set things in motion.

Without Shigure, the curse would have devolved on its own, yes, but the circumstances would not have allowed for the freedom the Zodiac had at the end of the manga. It would not have ended with Akito being able to learn and live freely. Allowing Tohru into the Sohma family cracked open a door to compassion and kindness none of them had ever experienced before, because the Sohma family seems to exist in a vacuum of stability and love.

It wasn’t that Shigure knew instantly that Tohru was kind and loving and thoughtful, if anything, his read on her was “completely normal, albeit strange, teenage girl who obviously has a rough life”. But she was normal, she was from outside the Sohmas, and he knew that was enough. No one in the family was stepping up to change the status quo and how stifling and abusive it was, so he did it himself.

He did it because he loved Akito.

Not because he felt bad for himself, or Hatori, or any of the others, but merely because he loved her to the point of manipulation. It backfired in his face, because he got a big ol’ dose of “loving and respecting” juice from Tohru, but he still got the end he wanted.

What I mean to say is best summarized in chapter 123:

“It would be nice to live in a kind world, without any troubles, without any fear, without hurting anybody, without ever being hurt, only doing the right thing. I wish I could reach this kind world by the shortest path possible. … “That’s wrong”, or “that’s stupid”: If it’s someone else’s life it’s so easy to make such irresponsible comments. ...It would be great, but it doesn’t exist. … Little by little, walking one step at a time, is all you can do.”

We get to experience the roughest part of the path with Akito and Shigure, we got to watch them be terrible people who were lonely and in want of love struggle and learn how to get up and move on.

They tease each other, Shigure is thoughtful of the distinction between “the person Akito was raised to be” and “the person who Akito is”. He’s seen her at her messiest, and she’s seen him at his most jealous. They still chose each other, despite the hurt they caused each other, and others. They make up for it, reflect, and live a life that demonstrates that they have learned. They have friends who are thoughtful and loving and would not hesitate to drop everything and help them, lend an ear when they’re frustrated, help them not to make the same mistakes.

And then we get to see them be wonderful, kind, thoughtful, loving parents in Furubana.

We got to see their adorable, kind, compassionate child be friends with the children of the people Akito hurt, because everyone in the former Zodiac’s family collectively decided “never again, no”.

Their child adores them. Shiki in Furubana #13 radiates love for Akito and Shigure the same way Mutsuki and Hajime do.

They are genuinely good parents, even when they tease Shiki, and I think that is testament for how good they are for each other and how much they’ve changed as adults.

I think that’s enough of a reason to ship them, don’t you?

#Mitkun writes stuff #fruits basket manga spoilers #fruits basket another #fruits basket spoilers #akigure #fruits basket akito #fruits basket shigure

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mae-gi-writes · 4 years ago

Text

Deobi Playlist (EP 11) | The Boyz Imagine

EP 11: in which Kevin and Mae go on a first date and Juyeon’s girlfriend has bad news.

The Boyz x Hospital Playlist inspired drabble series.

Main Characters: Hyunjae, Juyeon, Kevin and OC (Mae)

Sides: the rest of The Boyz.

Genre: fluff, slice of life, comedy, BROMANCE BRUH

EP 1 | EP 2 | EP 3 | EP 4 | EP 5 | EP 6 | EP 7 | EP 8 | EP 9 | EP 10 | EP 11

-----

“You’ll be fine,” Hyunjae’s voice is a soothing lullaby to the ongoing tumulant war roaring through Kevin's head as he quickly buttons up his charcoal jeans and glances over at himself in the mirror.

As per Hyunjae's recommendations, Kevin now eyes his jean jacket hiding a white t-shirt underneath, said jeans and matching converse and tries to imagine what Mae might think of him.

"Are you sure?" Kevin repeats.

"Kevin, it's a date. Not a goddamn wedding," Hyunjae's voice resonates through the phone with clear exasperation, "she's not going to judge you for it."

"Okay okay," Kevin takes a deep breath, "you're right. It's just a date."

"Yeah, a date. With Mae. You'll be fine. Just think of it as just the two of you hanging out as you always do."

"Oh my god what if I make a fool of myself? Or worse, what if I spill something on her? Or me? Or what if--"

"Kevin," Hyunjae cuts him off, "breathe, my man."

Kevin does as he's told, inhaling shakily and exhaling through his mouth, "sorry," he mumbles, "I just--I don't want to mess this up."

"And you won't. Do you know how much she likes you?"

Kevin blinks at his reflection, "What?"

Hearing Hyunjae sigh at the other end of the line, his heart suddenly speeds up at the slightest possibility that this love is not one-sided.

"Okay, this didn't come from me," Hyunjqe starts, "but--well, the reason why I was so keen foe you two to, you know, get together, is because I knew that she--that she liked you back."

"You knew? And you kept this from me?!"

"Hey, it wasn't my secret to tell okay!"

"HYUNJAE WHAT THE FUCK."

"I'M SORRY SHE SAID SHE'D CIRCUMCISE ME IF I TOLD ANYONE."

Kevin's fingers reach up to pinch the bridge of his nose, "what about Juyeon? Does he know?"

Silence.

"HYUNJAE."

"Yes yes, alright! He knows too! But I couldn't possibly keep the secret for myself! It was too good to tell!"

"So all this time you both knew?!"

"We couldn't just betray Mae's feelings just like we didn't betray yours," his friend is quick to point out.

"Fine, fine. You're right," Kevin pauses, "but still--"

"Let's not continue this or you might be late for your date."

Kevin's eyes impulsively flit over to the clock on his nightstand, before letting out a reluctant groan of agreement, "fine. But I have questions when I return."

"Aye sir."

Kevin had planned out the day with precise timing and to the finest detail. They were to have lunch at a coffee shop overlooking the Han River, a location chosen both because of the beautiful view it gave and for its location, since it was close to the arcade he'd carefully picked out just a few days prior. After that, they'd head over to the arcade for an afternoon of fun and games, and later on they could walk along the Han River, hand in hand, while watching the sunset coating the entire city in warm shades of gold.

But of course, he should've known that everything would just go wrong from the moment he set his mind to make this day as perfect as possible.

For starters, they met up at the coffee shop entrance only to realize that it's closed for renovation. As a result, they had no choice but to find a nearby fast food joint, settling on greasy burgers and too-salty fries to match and although Mae assures him that she is perfectly fine with that choice, it definitely does not hit the sweet romantic spot that Kevin has been aiming for.

“Honestly, this suits more my style anyway,” Mae says as she bites a big mouthful of beef and bacon burger.

“Sure,” is what he mumbles, though his mind is clearly trying to piece up together a better action plan for the rest of the day to come.

It’s fine, he tells himself internally, it will definitely get better from there. Right? Right?

It doesn’t.

The moment they head to the arcade, they are bombarded with a group of ten-year old children running around and screaming at the top of their lungs, clambering up on makeshift motorbikes and squealing at the top of their lungs as they attempt to shoot down zombies through a two-dimensional screen.

It’s practically impossible to hear what Mae is saying, yet have a romantic date together.

“Kevin,” Mae shouts over the cacophony of piercing screams echoing throughout the neon-coloured room. She tugs down onto his arm so that her lips reach his ear, “we don’t have to stay if you don’t want to, it’s fine!”

“But that was what I had planned--”

“It’s okay, we’ll figure something out!”

He tries not to show his displeasure, but the scowl breaks through his forced nonchalance. Mae, having spotted his change in expression, tugs more insistently onto his arm, “it’s okay Kev. Come on.”

It’s only until they stumble out of the arcade -- Kevin sporting a sour expression -- that Mae bursts into a soft chuckle at the said man’s face.

She nudges him lightly on the shoulder, “come on, Kev. It’s not that bad. We’ll find something else to do.”

“But I know you’ve always wanted to go on a date in an arcade,” he mumbles out, words sounding a little whinier than he’s intended. Mae can’t help but laugh at how cute he sounds and looks at this very moment, like a child in need of a lollipop to feel better and as if on its own accord, her hand reaches out to pat his head.

Kevin blinks down at her in surprise, at the lingering smile faltering at the corner of her lips upon realizing how close they are at this very moment. Clearing her throat and quickly turning away so as to avoid direct confrontation of this awkward atmosphere, Mae gestures towards the Han River without meeting his eyes.

“How about we go for a walk?” she asks. “Okay,” he mumbles, still slightly put out that all that planning has resulted in absolutely nothing. What if Mae thinks he actually doesn’t really care about first impressions? Or what if she’s someone who actually loves big romantic gestures and had been expecting so much from him, only to be disappointed by his lack of effort? These sort of questions keep on daunting the back of Kevin’s mind as the pair make their way to the riverside. The sun is shining in the distance, though grey clouds linger underneath like a barrier that already hints there will be no sunset today, which only makes Kevin want to stomp his foot in protest. It’s not fair! Chants his inner subconscious as Mae’s voice chimes through the air:

“So this is definitely not the kind of date that I had been expecting.”

“Thanks Mae,” he mutters, “that’s exactly what I want to hear right now.”

She can’t help but burst out laughing at his face transformed into a pout, eyebrows drawn together and lips turned down, clearly upset by it all, “and here I thought you were one with the big romantic gestures.”

“Look, I had the date all planned out to the finest detail,” Kevin protests as they reach the riverbank, “it was perfect in my head. And then all this shit happened.”

“You tried,” she grins, “I appreciate that.”

“And yet, you’re still laughing.”

“It’s funny! You should see yourself! I’ve never seen you pouting that much in my entire life.”

“Because I wanted today to be special,” he all but grumbles, scowling at how funny she finds it when he’s put so much effort. And for what? Absolutely nothing! “I didn’t want it to be just any date.”

“It’s fine, really. It’s just a date.”

“It’s not--” his eyes catch her own, blazing with emotion, “--just a date. It was officially our first. I just wanted it to be special, you know?”

There’s a slight pause as the girl takes in his words, a half-smile still dancing at the corners of her lips as she tries to find any kind of fault to the young man who thinks he has screwed everything up. In truth, she couldn’t have asked for anything better, and the fact that Kevin’s plans -- despite his amazing preparation -- have failed just makes it all the more special, and will definitely be something she’ll cherish forever.

But she knows, no matter how much she talks, Kevin will definitely keep beating himself up about it because that is just the kind of person he is, the kind of person that expects so much from themselves, only to loathe themselves for it for reasons that shouldn’t exist in the first place.

So she does the only thing that she thinks will boost his morale. She closes the gap between their bodies in one fluid movement before stretching up on her toes to kiss his cheek.

Kevin’s eyes are as round as saucers when she pulls back, jaw falling slack at her more than intimate action. He can’t recall the last time they’ve been this close, and it had definitely not been on romantic terms.

This, this feels different. It is different. His hand tingles with the desire to touch his cheek, just to feel the residual warmth followed by her soft imprint.

“Thank you,” Mae murmurs as Kevin probes at her face in an attempt to find out what is going on inside that head of hers. From the soft peony colour dusting her cheeks, he’d have to think that she is definitely smitten. She continues in that shy, soft voice that is a complete contrast to her usual strong tone, “what you intended was meaningful enough.”

His lips twitch, threatening to break into a shit-eating grin as he replies, "no problem," in what he hopes is a nonchalant, blazéed manner.

They continue striding down the pathway and it is then that Kevin finds the courage to brush the back of his knuckles against hers. And when her eyes flutter to his with curiosity, he forces his courage forward, wraps his fingers around her own before squeezing softly.

He refuses to meet her questioning gaze, instead focusing on the sight ahead. The sun is melting into the Han river's surface, covered up by clouds so that only strands of pale light slither through. It is definitely not the most romantic mood he'd wished for, definitely not the perfect date he'd carved out in his head.

But it'll do for now. He is content enough, because Mae is at his side, because his heart is now full with butterflies as he thinks of more exciting days to come.

Later, the pair find themselves at a late night convenience store to buy cold canned coffee drinks and a bowl of ramen to share. Setting down at one of the outside tables and huddling together to escape the bite of the cold, Mae allows herself to get a whiff of Kevin's cologne, a scent that she grew up knowing and yet, right now this scent means so much more.

"Now this, this is the best date I've ever had," she exclaims, slurping up the ramen and allowing the salty taste of soy sauce and Korean chilli fill her tongue, "how you gonna beat this, Kev?"

"If this was what you call the beat date, then you haven't seen anything honey."

"Oh, overconfident now are we?" She says, a little more comfortable with being playful.

Kevin rolls his eyes, chewing on his mouthful of noodles before passing the bowl over to her once more, "You're the one who apparently has low standards. But that's okay, It can only get better from there."

"See, that's not something you should say to your date."

"Why not?"

"That's something you'd say to like, I don't know, your best friend."

"Aren't you? My best friend?"

Mae's halfway through gulping some of her coffee when her mind registers his words, and boy is she glad that she manages not to choke, "uh--I mean, wait--I don't understand."

"If you're wondering whether you're my date or my best friend, don't worry," Kevin smirks, "you're both."

"And how does that work?"

"It doesn't. You're my best friend, and I love you--"

As soon as the words fall from his lips, the said man's ears redden as realization hits him like a truck.

"What--" Mae breathes, "what did you just say?"

"Nothing."

"Say it. I heard it, but I want you to say it."

"I--I--" his eyes darted back and forth with growing panic. What the fuck Kevin? He wants to slap himself across the back of his head. This is your first date! How the fuck did you ruin it so fast?

"Kevin," her tone was serious.

"I said that I--" he takes a shaky breath, exhales slowly and tries not to throw up from embarrassment, "that I love you."

The hitch in the back of her throat does not go unnoticed by him however, which makes the situation just marginally better.

"Look, forget I said anything. It's really not--"

"I won't forget it."

"Oh come on Mae, you can't use that for blackmail

--"

"I won't forget it because I know that this thing between us," she motions between the two of them, "is something special. And I don't want to risk anything by saying it now."

The way Kevin's heart soars through his chest like a hummingbird about to beat out of its cage causes his mouth to stretch into a shit-eating grin, one that he can't hide no matter how much he tries, and one that keeps on glowing brighter when he notices the blush coating Mae's cheeks.

"I--I know I feel something," Mae continues, trying not to stutter underneath the intense stare he's pinn3d her down with. Suddenly, she is all too aware of the lack of distance between their bodies, the warmth radiating from his chest, "but I don't want to say anything, not when I'm not ready yet."

Kevin nods, his smile turning gentle, "I get it, Mae."

His hand reaches out gently, smoothing over her cheek to curl a strand of hair behind her ear. He doesn't need any verbal confirmation of her part yet. It's good enough that she feels something special for him something that can turn into so much more. For him right now, that's good enough.

"Juyeon? I need to talk to you."

The alarming tone in Yunji's voice causes Juyeon's mind to come to attention. He straightens up from his seat before asking, "what's wrong? What is it?"

"I--" there's a short pause as she takes in a brrath at the other end of thr line, "Please just come."

"Where are you?" He is already standing from his seat as he talks, moving towards the corridor while dodging a few nurses scurrying by, "I'm coming."

A few minutes later, he hesiatates slightly upon arriving at Yunji's office door. She had clearly stated that they should avoid visiting esch other during office hours to avoid being the talk of town, but the seriousness in her tone cannot be ignored, no matter how suspicious it may seem.

He knocks on the door, before he hears a soft "come in."

Yunji, sitting at her desk with a stack of medical documents before her, jumps slightly when their eyes meet. Motioning for him to close the door, Juyeon does as he's told before taking a seat right opposite her.

"Yunji," he starts softly, not failing to notice how hard she's trying to avoid his eyes at all costs. His heart clenches with apprehension, "what is it?"

He watches Yunji's bottom lip tremble, notices the soft glistening in her eyes, and instantly his mind swerves into panic mode: does she have an incurable disease? Or maybe her family? What about if someone had died?

And then, the words hit him like a truck.

"Juyeon, I'm pregnant."

-----

Tagging @juyeonzz @thesingingfae1905 @gratefulmaria

Let me know if you want to be added to the taglist! :)

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sleekervae · 3 years ago

Text

Suck It And See [0.2]

Masterlist

"So, what's it like?" Rose asked. Jade laid flat out on her bed, staring at the cracks and stains in the ceiling while her best friend was on the phone.

"It's cold," she said, "Even for post-summer in England, it's cold,"

"What do you mean by cold?" Rose asked again, "That don't make no sense,"

"It's just very isolating is all," Jade replied, "None of these cousins have even come over to say 'hi',"

She hummed from the other end in thought, "Well, perhaps they're waiting for you to come out of your room?" she inquired.

"That'd be fine," Jade said, "If they too weren't locked in their own rooms. Rose, the only sounds I hear are the odd car driving by or the birds in the trees. It's eery, there's no life here whatsoever,"

"They're a suburban family, s'pose. Suburbans do things differently," Rose said, "Remember my next door neighbour? The brownstone that always reeked of meat?"

"Rose, that whole neighbourhood smells of deli meat. You're round the corner from the artisan markets," Jade said.

"Don't matter," Rose said, "Fact is that we lived in a suburb and every single person in that bloody square-radius was whacked,"

Jade sighed, "I think I'd rather be in a Newcastle as oppose to this," she said.

"Well, what's this Auntie all about, then?" Rose asked, "You said she was rich?"

"That's the only cool thing about her," Jade mused, "She married into it. Think she's put out a pound for my mum's treatments? Think again, kid,"

"Perhaps taking you in is her way of chipping in?" Rose said, "You know, take the emotionally-distraught-teenager out of the equation?"

Jade rolled onto her side, staring glumly out the foggy window that overlooked the neighbourhood. It looked more like a still-life than a reality, with silent streets, strangled grass, nobody about on the streets. It was depressingly glum, a place that no emotional teenager could possibly withstand in her circumstances.

"As far as I'm concerned, I should be at home instead,"

➿➿➿

Right at seven-fifteen in the evening, Jade was refreshed and redressed, this time in a simple white t-shirt and a pair of comfortable jeans. Her long, thick brown hair was tied up in a loose ponytail, showing off her gorgeous, youthful face. The wonderful smell of roast meat and steamed vegetables filled her nose, and it suddenly dawned on Jade that she was starving. She hadn't eaten anything since she had left her house this morning. She had had a cup of coffee and a scone with her dad in a local cafe by the station, a little father-daughter time before she would have to chug off. It wasn't the most pleasant bonding time for Jade, she still had mixed feelings towards her father and his actions.

Aunt Joy looked to have her head in the oven, a cynically amusing concept to Jade as she entered the kitchen. It was twice the size of her kitchen back home, with jade marble counter tops, clean wooden cabinets, a big, beautiful stainless steel fridge, and a state-of-the-art oven and stove-top set. A few feet away was a grand dining table covered in a green and yellow patch table cloth. And in two of the seats were her younger cousins, Charlie and Noah. The boys were fraternal twins, both eleven years of age with dark bowl-cuts, pudgy and pasty faces, with a thick rimmed glasses sitting on both of their noses. They seemed to be fighting over who's turn it was to play with their video game console.

"Charlie, it's my turn!" Noah whined as he tried to make a grab for the gameboy, "Yeh said yeh'd let me play after yeh killed the dragon!"

"Yeah!" Charlie sneered back, "But now I 'ave to kill the mutant lava monster!" he exclaimed. Noah continued to whine at him and kept grabbing for the console. Soon afterwards, a little, wispy-haired boy came running into the kitchen, yelling for his life.

"AAH! Mummy!" the little boy ran and hide behind Aunt Joy. Jade watched with confusion as another boy, taller than she was, came running after the little boy. He had a gremlin mask on over his head, but the young boy wasn't old enough to understand. Alfie, he was. He couldn't have been older than seven or eight.

"Mummy! Oliver's tryna' eat me!" he yelled. The older boy, sixteen-year-old Oliver, ripped off the deformed, ugly mask and started to laugh.

"Oh, take a joke, Alf. I was only kiddin'," Oliver said to him. Aunt Joy refrained from rolling her eyes as she pulled the roast beef out of the of oven and set it on the stove top to cool.

"Boys, did you say hello to your cousin?" She asked in a diminutive sneer.

The shenanigans in the kitchen came to a sudden stop as they all turned around and focused on Jade. She suddenly felt as though she was being glared down by a pack of wild hyenas.

Oliver, being the oldest, made his move first as he slung an arm around his cousin, "Long time, no see, cuz,"

Out of all her cousins, Jade tended to gravitate towards Oliver most. Perhaps because he was older, perhaps because he was good looking? Jade would never have any romantic kindlings towards him, he was her cousin after all. Regardless, Jade could appreciate his high cheek bones, shaggy but combed back hair, and well-chiseled body. He was a top player on the school's lacrosse team after all.

Uncle Cosmo entered the dining room soon after and had the boys set the table for dinner. He kept calling for Flora to come down from her room.

"Flo! Yehr ma 'as dinner on!" He shouted down the hall.

Jade took a seat at the end of the table, unsure of what else to do as Oliver and and Charlie set the table. He had ripped the game boy away from them and placed it on the spice rack whets neither of them could reach. Flora eventually came down and took a seat on the opposing side to Jade, between Oliver and Alfie.

They all sat down and Aunt Joy placed the roast and veggies in the middle of the table. Noah sat to Jade's left and Uncle Cosmo to her right. They both suddenly grabbed her hands. She was confused until she saw the rest of the family join hands and she realised they were going to say Grace.

"Do yeh say Grace before dinner, Jade?" Charlie asked her, clearly sensing get unease.

Aunt Joy replied before Jade could even open her mouth, "No dear, your Aunty Ruth doesn't believe in God," she said.

"So... Do you not believe in God, Jade?" Charlie asked.

"Erm... not really," she replied.

"Why?" he asked, "Yeh're not afraid of Him?"

"Charlie!" Uncle Cosmo suddenly cut in, "It's none of the business wha' Jade believes in. Now 'old yeh brother's 'and,"

Jade let out a small sigh of relief. And with that, Aunt Joy proceeded to say Grace:

"Dear Lord, thank you for this food we are about to eat. We are grateful for your provision. We ask that you would bless this food and continue to guide our family along Your path. In the name of Your son Jesus, amen,"

"Amen," the whole table said. They all suddenly turned to Jade, who had stayed silent up until that point."

"... Oh. Erm -- a-amen,"

➿➿➿

Dinner passed as quietly and uncomfortable as possible for Jade. The younger boys kept asking her why she was here, why her mum was sick, why her parents separated. Uncle Cosmo and Aunt Joy steered the conversation away as much as they could, but even Aunt Joy made little attempt to ease Jade into her family. Oliver then went on to tell Jade about the school she would be attending with them -- Stocksbridge High School. Flora meanwhile stayed silent, occasionally throwing a dirty look Jade's way. She couldn't for the life of her understand what her problem was.

Jade helped the five children -- well, four, Flora chose not to help -- clean up afterwards, then they all separated into their own rooms. Jade was at a loss for what to do with herself, so she sat on the couch with Uncle Cosmo as he lit his pipe and watched the evening news.

"Yeh excited for school tomorrow, Jade?" He asked her. Jade nodded slowly, more focused on the puff piece the news channel was doing on a bird sanctuary in Ireland. She had hardly spoken a word all day, and Uncle Cosmo didn't take it lightly. He couldn't begin to imagine what heartbreak was being thrusted upon this young girl.

"Jade, how are yeh doing? Wif all of this?" He asked her. Jade shook her head and looked up at her uncle with those big, sad hazel eyes.

"I'm fine," she replied quietly.

Cosmo sat forward on the couch and looked down the hall, finding the door to the den closed with light flickering from under the door. His wife wouldn't be able to hear him, then.

"Listen, I won' lie to yeh and say 'I know wha' yeh're going through'. I will tell yeh 'owever tha' it will get better. Yehr mum is a lil' fighter, and she will pull through. If anything, she'll do it fer yeh. As fer yeh dad, 'e's gonna 'help yehr mum any way 'e can, yehr ma won' be alone,"

Jade blinked back the tears that were threatening to spill over and wiped her nose on her jumper sleeve, "Jason's in jail, Uncle Cosmo. Jack's living with... Her. And I'm up here. How is she not alone?" she said. One of her older brother, Jason, had been hauled into juvenile detention last year on a drug charge, while her younger brother, Jack, was living with their father's new girlfriend, Winona, for reasons Jade could not see as logical.

Uncle Cosmo shrugged back and sighed, "Well, yehr ma knows she ain't alone because she knows tha' 'er children are thinking of 'er. She don't want yeh to see 'er in her treatments because she don't want yeh to remember 'er like that. Yeh understand wha' I mean, dear?" he said. Jade, again, nodded as a snail's pace, still keeping her eyes trained on the television.

"Things are gonna be strange for the next lil' while, I know. But yeh 'ave us to lean on fer support," he assured her, "Yeh ain't gonna be alone, Jade,"

Jade forced herself to swallow the growing lump in her throat as well as her uncle's articulations. She wanted to believe him, but the homesickness she felt was too fresh in her mind to give in to the ease her uncle was offering. She quickly wiped away the tears that slid down her face before Cosmo could notice and she turned back to the television, not uttering a word for the rest of the evening.

➿➿➿

Morning came faster than Jade would have liked.

After a sleepless night of tossing and turning, Jade grimaced as a loud pounding thundered on her bedroom door.

"Wake up, Jade!" Noah called from the other end, "Mum says we 'ave to get readeh fer school!"

Oh yeah, school. As if she weren't having enough troubles.

Jade groaned and shoved the blankets off her frail body. The floor was cold against her feet and she shivered as a draft whipped across her skin. She did a little stretch and went to the suitcase she hadn't yet bothered to unpack. Unlike her school back home, Jade had to wear a uniform to Stocksbridge -- and ugly one at that, consisting of a button down shirt, a black skirt, and a scratchy grey jumper, and an ugly tie.

If her friends back home could see her now, they'd never let her live this down. Jade had gone to a school where if you dressed like you were on your way to a business meeting downtown, you'd be robbed of your lunch money and locked into the janitor's closet within a span of ten minutes. She missed those ugly, drab classroom walls and rusty lockers that would clatter as you would walk by.

Jade -- now dressed in her new uniform, went to the bathroom to brush her teeth and comb her hair. However, as she tried to turn the bathroom knob, she found it was locked. A shrill voice hollered from the other end.

"Occupied!" Flora shouted with aggravation.

Jade was overcome with a sense of awkward being, unsure of just what to do. The only other bathroom in the house was her Aunt and Uncle's in their bedroom, and the powder room downstairs. Was it appropriate to brush her teeth in there? In this house especially?

"Erm -- i-it's me," Jade called, "Can I come in? I just wanna brush me teeth!"

There was a long, uncomfortable silence before Flora finally replied with an expected "No!"

Jade was beginning to get annoyed with her attitude, "I'll just be thirty seconds, I promise ya! I just really need the sink!"

She heard Flora groan back, "I'm using the sink! Use the loo downstairs!" she exclaimed. Jade bit on her bottom lip nervously, eyeing the corridor to the flight of grandiose stairs. Reluctantly, she took her toothbrush and toothpaste and skittered down the stairs, then headed right for the powder room. As if my a stroke of misfortune, Aunt Joy had spotted her from the kitchen as she was brewing a fresh pot of coffee, and she called after her.

"Jade, dear!" her voice slithered through the air with the grace of a snake, "I certainly hope you're not planning to use the powder room to brush your teeth!" she said, "It's unbecoming, you know,"

Jade refrained from rolling her eyes. It was the powder room, people use the powder room to freshen up. And she needed to freshen up for school so she wouldn't be mistaken for a zombie on her first day.

"Well... Flora refuses to get out of the bathroom... so what do I do?" she asked.

Joy sighed with exasperation, most likely at how petty and ridiculous her daughter was being. Or so Jade had hoped. But by the look on her face, Jade was weary that some of that exasperation may have been directed at her.

"Alright. You can use the powder room this morning. But I will have a talk with Flora," she said. Jade thanked her graciously and hopped into the powder room, feeling as though she had received an indirect warning from a prison warden as oppose to her 'loving' aunty.

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alpaca-writes · 4 years ago

Text

Mystics, Chapter 18

When Arch becomes hired on at Mystics by the strange shopkeeper Lyrem Nomadus, everything seems to be going well- in fact, their life nearly becomes perfection. Soon enough, however, Arch realizes that perhaps not everything is as perfect as it seems….

Read Chapters 1-17 and more HERE

Taglist: @myst-in-the-mirror, @livingforthewhump

CW: Gore, food gore, captivity, swearing.

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

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN: DINNER IS SERVED

Perhaps the floor wouldn’t have felt so rough- Perhaps the air would have felt less dry- Perhaps the bars wouldn’t have been staring back at Arch so mockingly- if…

If they hadn’t practically waltzed into their own prison. Perhaps it would have felt less humbling to be there if they had tried to fight back just a little bit. But it was impossible to do. It was like Paimon had every little one of their muscles at his beck and call. The thought of it made Arch sick to their stomach. They were disgusted with him- with themselves for being too weak to oppose his whims.

Arch stood in their cell, back to the door as they heard the clanging shut. They felt themselves released from the hold Paimon had and immediately they turned to charge the bars.

“Let me out you wretched animal!” they noted the distinct change in the way they insulted him. Usually the go-to word was bastard or jackass. Lyrem had really rubbed off on them more than they realized.

Paimon tilted his head and placed his keys within his robe. Its green silken sheen seemed drastically out of place for a cavern full of tortured souls.

“That’s no way to speak to your employer.” He wagged a single finger. “Consider this a verbal warning.”

“Fuck you,” Arch spit. Their hazel eyes still brought a fire of life to their words- all of it burning with the hatred of a thousand suns.

Paimon raised his eyebrows and moved on.

That had been… probably hours ago… maybe twelve? Arch had passed out against the cave wall for a while and when they had awoken, nothing had changed. Not a shadow moved along the corridor, and not a single discernable word echoed through to them. They heard screams, whimpers, and cries from men, women, and sometimes even the sounds of young children.

Their knees hugged up to their chin and they settled their cheeks into the crevasse they created there, allowing their tears to be soaked into the light purple chiffon and satin. And their feet, their poor feet ached. They didn’t know how long it would take the soles to heal, but Arch wasn’t betting that Paimon would be bringing them shoes any time soon- not after their last encounter… And there was no way in hell they’d ask for any.

The thought was tremendously tempting though.

The sound of clacking hooves against the ground forced Arch to wipe their tears away, determined to maintain their composure. Soon enough, Paimon appeared at their cell door with a glass of water in their hand.

Arch didn’t move an inch, but they shifted their eyes up, glaringly.

Paimon sipped on the glass silently, paying them no attention- refusing them the honour. As though he had planned the moment carefully, Arch found themselves swallowing, and suddenly becoming parched. None of their usual bodily functions seemed to be operating before now.

It was like Lyrem’s back room- Jess, Kyle, and Marcus never used a bathroom, never ate, never drank any water, and never died from it- even though the time Kyle and Marcus had spent back there without any form of sustenance would have been enough to kill a person. Places like Paimon’s home- places like the back room, were odd exceptions to this rule of human functioning.

Arch breathed heavily, though they tried their best not to show it.

“How long do you think it’s been?” Paimon asked, swirling the clear liquid in his hand.

“What?” Arch’s voice cracked. “I don’t know.”

“Guess.”

They rolled their eyes and threw out a higher number than they would have regularly guessed.

“Seventeen hours.”

Paimon looked over to them in mild shock. “Close… Eighteen.”

“Why does it matter?” Arch raised a skeptical brow. They found their eyes lingering on the water glass more than they would have liked.

“Because I have always been fascinated by the perception of time,” he admitted.

Arch blinked, and wiped a hand against their face.

“When can I see Lyrem again?”

“You won’t be seeing Lyrem for a very long time,” Paimon replied.

Arch fell contemplatively silent.

“You see? Perception,” he added, patronizingly. He emptied the glass and it vanished out of his hand as though it had never been there at all. “It’s fascinating. Guess how long it’s been on Earth.”

Their eyes focused on the rocky floor. They had no choice but to obey.

“I don’t know,” they answered, honestly.

“About ten minutes,” Paimon replied. He stared down at them with shining eyes. He turned around, his hooves clacking against the ground as Arch heard his words echo back. “Fascinating, I think.”

Arch was left alone again, with nothing but a bleak reminder that Paimon was more of an asshole than he ever let on as he had known them on Earth. Arch was still thirsty; and now they knew it was only because Paimon wanted them to be. What felt like many hours, had passed by again. At the knowledge of time being meaningless here, Arch didn’t bother to try and keep track of the minutes. They closed their eyes against the most comfortable of notches in the wall and allowed whatever time to flow, to flow as freely as it willed as they tried to sleep it off.

Their head lifted up from the wall with a sudden jolt as they heard a rumbling noise. The ground wasn’t moving like it had before, and then Arch heard the rumble again. They looked down, and grew annoyed when the sound originated from their stomach, carrying with it some small pangs of hunger.

A pressure in their forehead, made them wish to close their eyes again- and they also wished to have something soft… a pillow, a bed… a blanket-

NO.

Arch couldn’t afford to think like that. This was the game Paimon wanted them to play. He wanted them to bargain with him. He wanted them to ask for shoes and pillows and water and food. They would stretch their legs, sit back down and try to get some rest again instead of entertaining the notion for even a second that they would give in to a single one of their basic needs.

From far off down the tunnel, there was a wheel squeaking. It grew louder, and then outside the cell, Arch saw the shining silver rolling tray stop to park. Paimon wasn’t far behind it. There were two dinner settings, covered with their own silver warming bowls. Paimon lifted one of them off, and immediately the scent of a salt and pepper steak, roasted potatoes and mushrooms filled the air. Arch couldn’t help it; their mouth began to water the moment it was uncovered.

“Hungry?” Paimon asked with a slightly playful note in his voice.

“No,” Arch lied.

“Tell the truth.”

“Yes.”

“Hm. Well, I have some good news for you, Arch. You and I will be enjoying a lovely dinner together.”

Paimon unlocked the cell door.

“Stay,” he commanded and Arch stayed, as if they had any other choice. “Good pup.”

He lifted one of the covered dishes and handed it to Arch as they stood warily in the corner of their small prison. Paimon returned for a knife and fork and set down a glass of water on the ground before locked the cell again.

Behind him, a simple stick chair materialized out of the ground below and he sat down in it, using the rolling tray as his table.

“Go ahead. Eat.”

Arch heard the command and sat cross legged on the ground, setting their plate in front of them.

Lifting off the silver warmer, it was soon clear that Paimon had not come to bring them any desirable meal. The dark red liquid ran along the sides of the plate and smelled much worse than the steak did.

That was because their main course was a raw human heart about the size of their fist.

Arch gagged at the sight, letting the silver clang noisily to the ground. They were going to be sick- any second now-

“Eat,” Paimon knew he didn’t need to repeat the command, he was just growing impatient and placed a linen napkin over his lap.

Shaking and pale, Arch lifted the knife and fork. Sticking it into the left atrium, they heard and felt the sickening pop as the fork broke through. Then, the knife slowly sawed away at a small piece. Arch gagged again before lifting the forkful to their mouth and wished they had a clothespin to stop the heavy scent of blood from rushing into their sinuses. It was warm on their tongue. It was probably fresh.

It was also rubbery. Hard to chew. Tasted… a little bit too much like metal and vaguely musty with a hint of… was that canola oil? Creamed corn? They shut their eyes tight. Hoping they could just imagine away the uncooked organ as some raw beef. They served that in France, didn’t they? The chewing took the longest time. With each bite down, Arch tried to ignore the rubber band sensation, but it was much harder to ignore the heavy taste of blood and the recurring thought that it had just been inside of someone’s chest.

They finally choked it down with a hard swallow as Paimon watched on with a smile. Arch shuffled to the side to pick up their water glass and drank it greedily as a stray tear rolled down the side of their face.

“I was worried that Lyrem would grow soft.” Paimon said, placing a small potato in his mouth. He chewed and swallowed and savored the delicious taste as he reminisced. “Before he had met me, he had nothing. He ran around the world searching for meaning and purpose at the behest of millionaires and politicians but it was never enough. I brought him true love, and in exchange I put his skills to good use. Then, like all men eventually, he decided that he wanted to settle down. He wanted to live normally; grow old with his love and start a family. Well, I certainly couldn’t have that be the reason for a failing business. The last thing I ever wanted was to see him fail... I kept him on the right path. I saw him through the worst of his emotional tribulations with Maria until she finally left the picture, and I convinced him to find someone to new to work with.

I wasn’t convinced by you in the beginning, I admit. You were too green for my tastes, and that is saying something. But, after I heard what you did for him, and what you did to your poor uncle, well… I realized that perhaps he did not make the mistake I thought he did.

Then, I heard that Hekate’s debt to Lyrem had been forgiven. She no longer wanted his life paid out in full so, there was no more rush for you. I could sense that he would want to pump the brakes on your advancement in this field. That is why you’re here. I need to make sure you progress properly. Go ahead, sweet thing. Eat up. It will make you big and strong.”

Arch had taken several bites already, but stopped as they listened to Paimon speak. They sliced into a side of the heart, allowing blood to escape and further pool into the plate.

“Whose heart is this?” they asked.

“Are you sure you want to know?”

A blink, and Arch stuck their tongue between a gap in their teeth in the effort to loosen a piece of tough muscle that had been lodged there.

“Probably not,” they replied, thankful for the response he gave. They took another bite. Arch burped and covered their mouth. “Excuse me.”

“It’s a bit hard to get down the first time. That is why I am here to help,” Paimon remarked understandingly. He was nearly finished his meal now.

“How did you meet Lyrem?” Arch inquired, carving out their next piece onto their fork.

“He threw himself off a balcony and I saved him.”

Arch’s eyes grew wide. They couldn’t imagine Lyrem to be anything less than self-preserving. He certainly couldn’t be suicidal.

“He threw himself off a balcony? … Why would he do that?”

“Because he was sad, and he was alone. Though, I never understood why he felt that way. He had it all, he had done it all. It turns out all he really needed was a good friend.”

“Pfft. You?” They commented. “You think you’re a good friend?”

Paimon raised a comical brow, unoffended and unironically he replied.

“Well, yes, of course.” He set his plate aside. “I taught him plenty of tricks until he nearly became a god himself. Of course, he will never reach that tier but I was the only one who encouraged him to follow that yellow brick road. Then and even now, all sorts of people; rich, poor, young and old, sought him out for favours of his own, or favours from me. All they needed was something… genuine. An ancient sacrifice, a recent sacrifice, …or something simply more valuable than money could buy, and we would be willing to make an offer and give them whatever they wanted.”

“And you want me to sell your… indulgences? Lyrem said it himself, I’m not the greatest salesperson. I’m not the same as him.”

“Oh, sweet thing, yes you are. Just look at you. You’ll carve up a classmate for Lyrem’s spell work- just as he once did for me. Right now, you’re eating a raw human heart to gain mystical power- not even he was willing to do that without a firm shove in the right direction. With just a nudge of encouragement from yours truly, you’re nearly finished your very first. You belong with us. Lyrem’s an old friend; he’s a business partner and you’ve signed on as an employee of this great enterprise.” Paimon’s eyes shone with the inkling of pride as Arch finished the heart in two quick bites and shoved the plate away. “In fact, one day, I believe you’ll make partner.”

They wanted to puke, but their body wouldn’t let them.

“Is this the way all your business meetings go?”

He laughed, throwing his head back.

“Only the important ones.”

Arch lifted their head; the life coming back to them that they had felt they had lost time and time again was returning now. Their feet no longer ached. Their head no longer pounded. Their stomach had been satiated completely.

“So, tell me then,” Arch began, “when do I get a raise?”

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cohentm · 5 years ago

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✮ ∷ ╰ 𝖚𝖕𝖉𝖆𝖙𝖊𝖉 𝖎𝖓𝖙𝖗𝖔𝖉𝖚𝖈𝖙𝖎𝖔𝖓 .

I FEEL LIKE i just ran away from home and then realized i’m five and, unfortunately, cannot survive without my parents. LMDFLKDFGM i missed u all and had to return… we hate to see it. anyway! whew. i figured i’d post a refreshed lil intro for cohen to make sure i hit on some key changes before i hop back into the game! the most important / group-related part is right at the top, so if u read nothing else, read that! ily all and i’m excited to jump back in like i never left. i’ll be sliding in dms and makin’ starters asap, so if u wanna make some connection changes my door’s always open! x

✮ ∷ ╰ 𝖈𝖔𝖍𝖊𝖓 𝖘𝖊𝖌𝖚𝖗𝖆 : 𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐤𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐬 .

cohen currently lives in a glorified, raggedy frat-esque house ( he is NOT a fratboy but he might as well be huh ) of his own right off campus, about a five minute drive / ten minute walk from the stadium ( it’s about four bedrooms large with three bathrooms, all on one floor. think david dobrik’s house–click here to see–except much uglier and CHEAP MVDFLG ).

he’s fiscally very protective of his savings. he’s been working since he was 12 with his dad, and never ever spent his money, despite some repetitive near-misses where his parents tried ( and failed, bc cohen’s slick ) to steal money from him. basically he now pays for his share of the house using the money he saves/has always saved working for factories, farms, & fixing people’s junk cars.

his only current roommate is foster, meaning he has two spare rooms he’s not really doing anything with. beer pong table’s outside, the kitchen is the alcohol hot spot, there’s a pool table instead of a dining room table, u know how it goes.

regardless, he throws open invite house parties literally every weekend. they take place every friday night up until the sun rises on sunday morning–whether he’s around the house for all of five seconds or all night doesn’t matter, because they’re always a-go.

you’re all 100% free to use his house entirely at your leisure for character fun / development / a place for ur thread to take place / etc! you don’t even need to get my okay beforehand! just do it! think of it as a known dillon fact that cohen’s having a house party every weekend NFKDFNDFKJG.

no matter who you are, whether cohen likes you or not, he will not care if you show up with some randos or familiar faces and party it out. he’s socially bored 24/7 and full of apathy and alcohol at all times so mans probably will be plastered drunk out doing donuts in the parking lot and fighting someone he doesn’t have beef with anyway. ur muse probably won’t even see him there. LMKGDFLG if you’ve ever seen burlesque? literally him showing up to his OWN house for a visit / to get plastered and then wander off during the weekend party is…. real. so yeah! use his house like it’s ur own. just be out by sunday afternoon bc he likes to pretend none of it ever happened as soon as he wakes up and has to be sober for school. x KMVFBLFG love u all.

✮ ∷ ╰ 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐬 & 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐧𝐬 .

tw: eating disorder mentions ( food & lifestyle ), drug addiction / recovery, alcoholism, & mentions of past steroid use.

full name. cohen anthony segura.

aka. co, jet.

character inspiration. adam parrish ( the raven cycle ), vince howard & tim riggins lovechild ( if y’all watched fnl…. let’s cry together ), a much more problematic & asshole-ish david dobrik ( the vlog squad ), nathan scott ( oth ), steven hyde ( that ‘70s show ), emily prentiss & aaron hotchner lovechild ( criminal minds ), & noel miller ( tmg ).

age & d.o.b. twenty-two. birthdate tbd.

zodiac. virgo sun, aries moon, & aquarius rising.

pronouns. he / him.

orientation. openly bisexual.

this has never presented as too large of an issue for cohen, despite living in dillon. he isn’t afraid of being talked about, and has a history of making sure people know he can hold his own if anyone has anything to say about his personal life.

university major. architecture & architectural technology.

after living in a trailer for the duration of his life, the idea that he would be invested in architecture is astounding. however, here he is. his passion for home creation stemmed from growing up and envisioning a real home to live in. his parents are both into self-taught carpentry, and his dad was shoving tools and measuring tape into his hands from the time he was young in an effort to instill in him a firm “get it done yourself” mindset. he spends his time studying structure & building planning, and secretly has a journal full of dream house mark-ups.

occupation. wide receiver for the dillon panthers, full time student, & prospective architect / carpenter post-college.

tattoos. many riddled throughout his body. brandon arreaga’s tattoos are cohen’s.

face claim. brandon arreaga.

alignment. neutral evil.

hogwarts. slytherin.

positive & negative traits. ( if u’ve already read this do not read it again i promise u nothing here changed LSMFLD )

hardworking–he works himself to the bone and is entirely unapologetic about it. you’ll rarely catch him slipping, but if he does, he’s the first to get ear-splittingly angry with himself over it. he’s way too hard on himself & he knows it, but he’ll never admit it.

he nitpicks at the flaws of others in an effort to feel superior, and always acts unaffected when he’s called out for bringing the team down when he’s not taking care of himself ( cue vince howard from fnl or nathan scott from oth scenes where they’re bragging about how good they are on the field even though he’s apt to get himself hurt because of how desperate he is for some kind of validation–cohen had a huge issue with restricting and abusing stimulants / testing steroids throughout high school and college in an attempt to boost his football persona. he was always incredibly fast and beat literal ODDS to maintain his wide receiver position, but especially thanks to his small build he’s used to being underestimated / downplayed, which puts a really heavy weight on his shoulders. today, he’s eating healthily, he’s off drugs, and he’s taking care of himself better than he ever has before, but it’s still incredibly hard and he still reaches out for ways to overcompensate, which is where alcohol usually comes into play ).

transparent–sure, he can turn into a stressed out & irritable jerk within a fraction of a second, but at least he’s upfront about when he switches lanes. LDFGLMKFG

he’s incredibly focused, which means he’s never going to linger in uncertainty for too long before he admits that he’s just not down to be around you / to be there / to talk / etc. he’s no bullshitter by any means. he’d rather hurt your feelings and keep his environment stable and tactile than stick around and put his easily shaken emotions at risk just to make you comfy.

he’s also accountable. he knows when he’s causing shit to fuck up & hit the fan, and he’s always quick to right wrongs when things are on him. ofc he’s bred from a family full of blame-givers, so he unhealthily picked up a bad habit of being really good at sounding like he’s apologizing sincerely when he’s really just trying to end a fight because he’s annoyed. LDCLDKMFDFG.

he’s blunt, temperamental, & incredibly selfish when it comes to his own lifelines / vices, but wholeheartedly selfless when it comes to doing anything to protect or lift up the people he loves.

mental diagnoses. anorexia nervosa ( in recovery ), alcoholism ( ongoing ), an addiction to various stimulants ( in recovery ), & frequent past attempts at steroid use.

physical diagnoses. n / a.

phobias. has an irrational fear of accidentally burning down his house. will get immensely stressed–to the point where he’s absolutely annoying and intolerable to put up with / be around–if someone’s cooking or baking “irresponsibly.” will probably yell at you and hover-cook until you let him take over so he can make sure nothing goes wrong. LMSDFKLFG

scars. an appendix scar on his lower left side.

drug use. frequently.

alcohol use. frequently.

diet. very decently rounded. he loves to cook, despite being self-taught. growing up the way he did, he settles for making simple dishes very well. he’s not the type to go all out for dinner. he meal preps like it’s his job. he usually just settles with some kind of pan-friend chicken and pasta dish at home.

birth place. dillon, texas.

parents. "jude" judith & anthony segura.

two lower class parents with deep-rooted anger issues. they currently live in the same trailer park together, in separate trailers, and fight with each other constantly. they claim they’re divorced, and are seeing other people, but they’ve never actually filed for anything, since anthony segura thinks it’s just a ploy for judith to take “half [his] shit.” cohen visits them often, and acts as a middle ground child who hates but loves both of them equally. his dad enjoys / tolerates his son’s presence more than his mother does, but only marginally. his mother’s much less concerned with the fact that she has children, since, in her mind, her relationship issues are the most important things in her life. cohen spent many nights as a kid with his drugged up mom in his lap while she cried about not being loved by anyone. his dad, even though he’s rough with cohen, at least spends time with him every now and again. as a kid, his dad was handing him beers to drink and tools to learn to use to prove he was a man ( despite being a ten y/o child bfkjgk oh well! ). regardless, today cohen lives on his own but is still the financial backbone for his parents–since his mom is unemployed and his dad is a seasonal construction worker–and has been since he was fifteen. they ask him for money every chance they get, and cohen never says no.

siblings. a younger sister ( by two years ). loves her to death. would protect her with his life.

pets. he’s notorious for letting a certain set of strays run amuck in his house. he feeds the neighborhood cat, is a-okay with people bringing their animals to his parties, etc. but he’s too scared of permanence and obsessed with independence to ever follow through with getting his own animal.

education. current senior at dillon university.

he has always been a decent student. he got into architectural honors college his sophomore year of college. however, he’s still not by any means incredibly intelligent. he’s decent grade-wise, but only because he tries really hard and puts in the effort it takes to keep up in a field like architecture. he’s also a chronic cheater, but c’est la vie! lmfgdflkg he spends the vast majority of his time either studying or practicing, and gets very irritable very quick doing either activity because he doesn’t know how to manage stress, so he drinks in the evenings in an attempt to make up for his tense demeanor, but he’s an angry drunk so… whomst are we really kidding here. LMDFKLG

languages. english & american sign language.

#friday:intro #WHEWWWW home at last. all i did last night was wait & make gifs huh. MCVLKDFSG

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therainroguefanfiction · 4 years ago

Text

⚽ Paid; Aoyama (Sportember #020)

📑 Table of Contents | ⚾ Challenge Post

Genre: Fluff, Slice of Life, Family

Word Count: 2,035

Pairing: Reader, Aoyama

World: Clean Freak! Aoyama-kun

Prompt: “I don’t get paid enough for this.”

Sport: Soccer

Author’s Note: So, I tried looking up Aoyama’s first name but couldn’t find it anywhere. With that said, I chose the first name of Haruka! If anyone knows his canon first name, please let me know! ^~^)/

━━━━━━༻🎾_🏀_🏐༺━━━━━━

“Y/N! Come down here, will you?”

You paused the anime you were watching on your laptop, pulling yourself off of your bed before heading downstairs where your mom was standing in the kitchen, placing the beef stew into the crock pot to cook overnight. Aoyama was sitting at the table, wearing his baby blue latex gloves as he worked on his homework. “What’s up, kaa-san?”

She smiled at you over her shoulder before turning back to her task. “Your brother has a game tomorrow but it’s a bit far. Can you take him?”

You glanced over at your younger brother, who glanced up at you with a derpy expression on his face. “I don’t have any plans tomorrow so sure thing.”

“Thank you, dear. I appreciate it!” Kaa-san gave you a one arm hug, something she was unable to do with her youngest child because of his germophobia. Haruka couldn’t stand to be touched, he hated being dirty, and he refused to touch anything without his gloves, but you were his special older sibling that he adored and the only person he could handle touching him. Though, even that had its limits.

You settled down across from him. “Who are you playing against?”

“Takada academy.”

“Takada?” You mused. ‘Why does that name sound so familiar? Hmm.’ It was just on the edge of your mind, but you couldn’t bring it to the surface. ‘Meh, whatever. It’s probably not even important.’

“You should video it!” Kaa-san stated with a proud grin, setting the video camera on the table in front of you. It was one of those super expensive ones that professionals use.

“Where the hell did you even get this?” You muttered as you picked it up to inspect it. “So heavy.”

“I was interested in being a film maker for a brief period when I was in high school,” she stated, clapping her hands together as her eyes gained a faraway look.

“Right…” you leaned back in your chair, giving her a weary look. “There’s really no need for me to film. There’s gonna be a bunch of reporters there with their cameras focused on him. You can just watch their footage.”

She huffed, putting her hands on her hips and puffing out her cheeks. “Why can’t you just do this for me?”

“Because it’s a pain,” you answered honestly, letting your head fall back as you closed your eyes. “Plus, I don’t even know how to work the damn thing.”

“Language,” Haruka mumbled softly, sending you a look.

“Yeah, yeah.”

“If they don’t get good shots, I swear,” Kaa-san huffed in annoyance as she returned to the food, making you chuckle.

“Don’t worry, they always get the best shots of him. He’s a little celebrity, after all~”

“He really is, isn’t he?” She sighed dreamily. “One of my children is a star.”

“And the other?” You prompted with a raised brow.

“The other… is very protective over their baby brother and I appreciate that!”

“Gee, thanks.”

“We all have our roles to play, you know. Just because your role isn’t as glamorous doesn’t mean it isn’t important!”

“Sure, sure. What’s your role?” You wondered. “Official stew maker?”

She glared at you. “Real funny, Y/N.”

“I know, I’m a real comedian.” You stood up, stopping to ruffle your baby brother’s hair on the way to the door. “I’m going back to my room now.”

“Don’t stay up too late!”

“Okay~” You shit the door behind you, flopping onto the bed and slipping your headphones back onto your head.

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“Y/N, wake up please.”

A groan passed your lips as you squinted at the bright light shining right into your eyes and it took several blinks before your vision cleared up enough to see who had woken you up.

Haruka was standing beside the bed, his hand suspended in mid-air, clearly unable to bring himself to shake you awake. Your room was sparkling brighter than the sun because he had taken the time to clean it before waking you up, as he did every time he entered your bedroom. Unfortunately for him, you were quite the messy person, often leaving dishes in your room and empty chip bags scattered about like leaves on a windy day. He loved you dearly but he wished you would be more cleanly.

“What time is it?” You muttered, putting your hand over your face to block the light.

“Eight o’clock.”

“And what time is your game?”

“We are supposed to be there by nine-thirty.”

“Shit,” you groaned, throwing your covers off your body so you could get ready.

“Language,” he scolded softly, his brow furrowing as he watched you. “You really should take a shower…”

“I took one last night,” you tugged open the dresser drawer, pulling out a pair of casual clothes before turning back to your brother. “Out so I can change.”

“I really think you should -”

“Haruka.”

He frowned at the stern look you gave him before slowly nodding and leaving the room. He hated upsetting you almost as much as he hated being dirty and he knew that his germophobia got on your nerves, so he tried his best to overcome it around you. This was something you had definitely taken notice of and appreciated.

When you finished getting dressed and headed downstairs, you found him buttering a piece of toast, those latex gloves protecting his hands from germs.

“You need more than toast,” you frowned at his back.

He shook his head, holding it out to you. “It’s for you. Okaa-san made me breakfast before she left.”

Your lips twitched up as you accepted the toast. “Thanks little bro. You ready?”

With a nod, he peeled the gloves from his hands before setting them in the sink to be washed. The urge to wash them then and there was strong, but he managed to refrain, but not without looking back at them more than a few times. You opened the door for him, closing it and locking it behind him before heading to your car.

He stood off to the side as you unfolded the clear plastic, draping it over the front seat for him to sit on. He had told you on more than one occasion that your car seats were disgusting and that he’d rather die than sit on them. Politely, of course.

“Thank you,” he mumbled softly as he slid onto the seat.

You hummed in response, shutting his door before walking around to settle in the driver’s seat, turning the key in the ignition. No words were spoken between the two of you, settling for a comforting silence with the radio on a low setting, but that was fine with the both of you.

“Sheesh, there’s so many people here,” you muttered to yourself as you tried to finding a parking space. “I’m gonna let you out. I’ll find a spot and be there soon, okay?”

He nodded, waiting for you to come to a stop and lean over, opening his door before he got out, using his foot to close the door behind him.

Several minutes passed before you were able to snag one, putting it in park and turning off the ignition before stepping toward the field. You could hear the large crowd before you saw them and it made you cringe. People just weren’t your thing and sports fans were even worse. You just wanted to blend into the back of the crowd and mind your own business but when the coach saw you, she waved you over with a grin.

“Aoyama, over here!”

Dozens upon dozens of heads snapped toward you with stars around their heads and hearts in their eyes, expecting to see the first year that had become a soccer star but, instead, they got you, the older sibling with zero star power. The shine faded and their eyes narrowed at you, judging you to be an imposter. You could feel their piercing stares following you a you stepped through the crowd to reach the coach, who you were positive was a sadist.

“I told you to just call me Y/N,” you scowled at her, stuffing your hands into your pockets and trying to ignore the stares at your back.

“Oops, I forgot,” she grinned. “Where’s your brother?”

“Washing his hands probably.”

“Y/N, my love~!” Tsukamoto rushed toward you with his arms outstretched, lips puckered in hopes that you would kiss him.

You stepped back, sliding your foot forward so that he tripped, landing face first into the dirt. “I’m not your love, idiot.”

“How cold!”

“Y/N!” Zaizen folded his arms across his chest, giving you a stern look. “Where is your brother? He needs to be warming up!”

“Ya’ll do realize I’m not his keeper, right?” You deadpanned. “I don’t have him on a GPS system.”

“Hah? But you’re his older sibling! You should know where he’s at during all times!”

“You got a baby sister, right?”

“Yeah, so?”

“Where is she right now?” You quirked a brow, watching the different emotions crossing his face – first confusion, then embarrassment, and finally annoyance. “Yeah, I thought so.”

Ishikawa chuckled, bringing his hand to his mouth and pretending to cough when Zaizen glared at him.

Sakai took a step closer, glancing at you before quickly looking away, his cheeks dusted a bright pink. “You’re looking really pretty today, Y/N-senpai.”

“Thanks,” you offered him a soft smile and the pink darkened a few shades.

“Hey! How come you call me an idiot but you smile at him?” Tsukamoto cried, trying again to throw his arms around you but your foot to his face stopped him in his tracks.

“Because you’re an annoying idiot that doesn’t know when to quit,” you glanced the other boy, lips twitching up just a fraction. ‘Plus he’s adorable.’

“The game’s about to begin! Where the hell is Aoyama?” Zaizen huffed, angrily, eyes scanning the crowd.

“Do you mind going to look for him, Y/N-san?” Ishikawa asked you softly.

“Sure, why not.” With a shrug, you turned on your heel and headed away from the field, looking for your baby brother.

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Your eye twitched at the scene before you as you stood in the open doorway of the locker room, brain trying to process what the hell was happening but you could smell the smoke from its lack of progress.

A girl that you had never seen before was standing just inside the door without a shirt, her lacy bra on display. Gotou was standing in the middle of the room, clutching a bat lined with a bunch of bent nails and stickers of flowers. And, finally, Aoyama was scrubbing the locker room as if his life depended on it.

“I don’t get paid enough for this shit,” you sighed, bringing your hand to your face.

Aoyama didn’t look away from the locker he was scrubbing. “You’re not getting paid at all.”

“That, my dear brother, is the problem. You know your team needs you, right?”

“I’m almost done.”

“They kind of need you now, Haruka.”

He frowned, looking between you and the locker he was cleaning.

“Ah, don’t worry! I can finish this for you,” Gotou smiled brightly.

He hesitated a moment longer before slowly nodding and heading toward you. Together, the two of you headed for the baseball field.

“Do I want to know what the hell was happening back there?”

“She locked me inside so I couldn’t play. It was filthy,” his nose wrinkled in disgust.

“She what? That little – I’ll kill her!” You turned on your heel, prepared to return to the room so you could give her a piece of your mind, but Haruka’s fingers latched onto the end of your shirt.

“Don’t,” he spoke softly, tugging on it again. “She’s not worth it.”

“But -”

He pouted, making you sigh in frustration.

“Fine,” your hand came to rest between his shoulder blades, feeling his muscles tense beneath your touch. “Make sure you kick their ass, understand?”

“I will, I promise.”

With a smile, you ruffled his hair before taking the place beside the coach, feeling your heart swell as you watched your baby brother playing the sport that he loved so dearly.

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desperationandgin · 6 years ago

Text

Deep as the Road is Long (Part III, Chapter 23)

Rating: Lightly smutty toward the end.