#because it's a fairytale explanation

[rainintheevening]

"I had a dream that I became a Jedi. And I came back and freed all the slaves."

"I'll come back and free you, mom. I promise."

Last fic I wrote really made me think about this, and this is such a simple explanation for why Anakin hasn't gone back to Tatooine between Episodes I and II.

He's not ready.

His dream is to become a Jedi and come back to free slaves, most importantly his mother. That would mean once he becomes a KNIGHT, once he knows everything, and he's strong enough, and powerful enough, and brave enough. Then he'll go back.

He's gotta go out into the world and make something of himself first.

And that makes me think he maybe never asked the other Jedi about freeing his mom, because he wanted to do it. He wanted SO BADLY to be the one to do it.

Thinking about how when I was a kid, I wanted to be The One to hold my family together, to keep the house running, to make my mom better. I hated it when other people helped, or made meals, or whatever. Bit of a saviour complex, or the 'saving people thing' as Hermione called it. Anakin 100% has that too.

Yes, there are nuances to how his dream would have altered and even faded somewhat over time (though never the part about his mom), but that would be way more interesting to delve into with a fic.

What I'm saying here is, Anakin not having seen his mother between Episodes I and II, being because of his own dream of becoming a Knight and coming back to save her, seems like the kind of reasonable explanation George Lucas meant to infer.

"I wasn't strong enough to save you, mom."

[jfleamont]

If I had nickel for every time I was in a fandom where all the main characters, except for one, die very young and tragically and the one that survives has to cope with the immense loss and guilt that comes with such a devastating event I'd have three nickels, which isn't a lot but it's weird that it happened thrice

[etruatcaelum]

[ @firestormmaidenanddragon asked: ]

"This world is strange, yet very much like the one I'm from, but that doesn't explain why I ended up meeting you, miss?" Venus the phoenix-lady had crossed into Remnant, yet she ended up at Salem's castle instead of being with the people of her world and where they were, which she found it kind of fitting given how she hid herself from her own world anyway.

Her hands don’t falter from their rhythmic movements, nor does Salem look away from the thin black yarn she’s drawing out from the batting in the crook of her arm, though her eyes do narrow fractionally. This again.

The spindle twirls down from hip to knee, and she catches it with a deft flick of her thumb. Back and forth and back and forth. Meditative. After a few repetitions do nothing to diminish the sensation of a presence, her expression pinches with nettled displeasure.

Irately, she mutters, “Why, indeed.”

[astrow1zar6]

Astrology Observations- 34

Capricorn moons are very uncomfortable expressing emotions and can get kinda weird when others express strong emotions to them. A lot of cap moons felt they needed to detach from their emotions to survive when young so it can be harder for them to get in tune with their emotional nature. (They are surprisingly sensitive tho however)

Mercury in Pisces usually struggled with logical thinking and speaking when growing up. They usually understand things without having to think about them it’s like they get a hunch and just know without explanation but they usually have a hard time expressing what they know in logical terms so that others can understand. Because of this inability many people might’ve thought they weren’t smart or are never paying attention.

Sun in the 1st house people are so magnetic. Even if they barely speak they usually have a a bunch of people trying to date them or be their friend. If any of you ever watched Naruto I feel like Sasuke definitely had this placement. He really didn’t care to be around anyone or socialize but people were so obsessed with him. They just have the IT factor whether they realize it or not.

Moon in Leo’s really enjoy being babied by people especially by their partners! They really crave emotional attention low-key.

Mars in the 8th house people can be without human touch for too long or they start acting really unstable. They are very physical people.

Saturn in the 8th house people don’t really experience true intimacy till later in life. I’ve seen a lot of people with this placement deal with very surface level relationships that are usually unsatisfying. they deeply fear emotional connections mainly because they are very sensitive to criticism and rejection which causes them to avoid it completely. when things get too deep they put up more walls which prevents their relationships from blossoming past a certain point. As they age however they will learn to trust others more.

Pisces sun/moons loved to play pretend when they were kids. They were always pretending they were fairytale creatures and usually had imaginary friends.

Jupiter in Leo is such a slay placement. If you have this placement you ARE the main character (especially if it’s in the 1st, 2nd, 7th or 10th house) chefs kiss 😘 🤌🏼

Virgo moons can be veryyyy petty when mad mad. I know a lot who enjoy throwing others flaws in their face, they can be very notorious for that (if underdeveloped however) they can be more impulsive with their words than Aries moons at times.

Leo risings can be very blinded by others beauty. I’ve seen some that date the shittiest people just cuz they’re attractive they can be very superficial (similar to libra rising) they just really appreciate beauty and love showing off attractive partners they can almost see it like a trophy.

Pisces sun/mercury can become very confused easily. They can be listening to someone so intently and then completely forget what they were talking about or vice versa they can be telling a story to someone and then in the middle of the story completely forget what they’re talking about 😂 (I’m guilty for this 😭)

Sag risings could’ve been called obnoxious a lot growing up :(

Leo suns love attention negative and positive. That’s why they usually take fame better than most signs they just really love being seen.

Having a lot of 3rd house placements can make even the most introverted person talk A LOT. Especially when it’s in Venus or mercury. When given an opportunity they can yap all day and when it’s something they’re into you’ll never hear the end of it😂 it’s very cute tho

If a Capricorn rising looks really bothered while you are talking to them they are lol. They HATE pointless yap.

Saturn in 7th house have DADDY ISSUES!!!

Moon in 5th house composite is sooooo adorable 🥺 you feel so happy inside being near them even if you don’t say a word to eachother you just want them there. You also love touching eachother.

[choccy-milky]

finally drew clora and seb's kids!!🙌🙌

Celeste Sallow: OK THIS IS THE NAME IM SUPER PROUD OF BAHAHA because not only does the name celeste relate to the stars (in typical ravenclaw fashion...clora picked the name) but celeste sallow is also an alliteration. BUT, its an alliteration that begins with a C, which means clora gets to match with celeste in the form of both of their names starting with a C, whereas sebastian gets to match with celeste because both of their names are an alliteration/they're alliteration allies🥹ITS THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS!🥳

Lewis Sallow: as for lewis, if you've read my fic then you know that seb has a vendetta against names that start with an L bahaha, but 'lewis' was actually HIS idea. when celeste was born, seb wanted to find a muggle story to read to her, since clora's favourite story is ALSO a muggle one (sherlock), and he wanted to stick with tradition. so he ended up finding alice in wonderland, which he loved because of how adventurous and clever alice was and of how much she reminded him of clora and celeste (both personality and looks wise). it became his favourite for those reasons, to the point that when they had lewis, sebastian overcame his L-name hatred by naming their son after lewis carroll.

Houses: celeste could have been sorted into either gryffindor or slytherin, but ultimately ends up in slytherin because she wants to be like seb. kinda like how clora also probably could have been in gryffindor, tbh. as for lewis.....him being 10000% in ravenclaw doesnt need any explanation BAHA, just look at him.

Appearance: since clora has a tiny bit of veela blood in her, thats obvs passed down to their kids, too, and so they mostly take after her as a result of it. but there's still little bits of seb that shine through in each of the kids: for lewis its his brown curly hair, and for celeste its her complexion/freckles. and the fact that celeste looks so similar to clora only doubles up sebastian's stress/protective instincts when he watches her BAHAH. he's ofc still proud that she takes after him so closely, but seb also cant deny that he wishes it had been their SON that had taken after him instead, to keep her out of danger.

Celeste & Lewis: for celeste and lewis’ relationship, celeste is a super proud big sister, and treats lewis kinda like how seb treats clora. if there's anything that needs to be done, she offers to do it for him. and although she doesn’t have the patience to read stories herself, she loves playing outside and having lewis read to her in the background, and loves to act out/use his stories to fuel her imagination. and lewis makes sure to pick stories that he KNOWS she’ll like (which mostly involve heroic and daring feats of adventurers or pirates. he's tried to read more classic fairytales and romances to her a few times, but celeste always gets bored). she loves to draw though, so sometimes when lewis reads books that have no pictures, she'll draw them herself.

Celeste & Seb/Clora: celeste is a daddy's girl LOL and always tries to impress seb with the stuff she does, especially after hearing how HE was at her age, and so its half to impress and half because shes competitive that she wants to do the same/be just as good. and seb always gets a kick out of hearing her feats in the crossed wands club, or in defense against the dark arts class, and he also goads her on, telling her she'll have to do better than that if she wants to be as good as HE was. and whenever celeste gets detention, clora always stresses and asks why, whereas seb just tries to keep the smirk off his face. as for celeste and clora, clora also reads to celeste, and bakes and cooks with her, which is something celeste actually likes doing. not only because it keeps her busy and she likes to help and get messy in general, but also because she likes the fact that it results in good food afterwards LOL, and constantly asks when things can be taken out of the oven. also, for as tomboy-y as celeste is, she honestly doesn't mind/likes the clothing that clora puts her in and likes when clora dresses her up, bc it makes her look like one of the princesses from the storybooks, and it just amuses her more than anything else. once she enters hogwarts, though, its mostly trousers. but she still DOES like the occasional girly clothing.

Lewis & Seb/Clora: lewis is a momma's boy LOL and unlike celeste, doesnt care about duelling or of proving himself or anything like that, and is only concerned with stories and his future studies. so ofc clora had to show him sherlock, which he naturally loved. it even inspired lewis to want to write his own stories, so that he could challenge his own skill and see if he could, but also because he wants his mom to read them, and likes the idea of writing his own sherlock-esque story with equations and mysteries to be solved that he can offer her. lewis also wants to write a book for celeste as well, bc although he wont admit it, he basically wants to write a story tailor-made for her and her interests. one that he thinks will have everything she’d love in it. and part of it is genuinely because he WANTS to do it for her, but the other part of it is also for his ego, and to see if he CAN write a compelling story, and write something that would actually get THE hyperactive celeste to sit down and read it in its entirety (not to mention of her own volition). as for with seb, lewis looks up to him more than anyone else, due to how well-rounded he is and how hes so good at practical stuff AND studying, and he kinda sees seb as a main character/protagonist from one of his books, and uses sebastian as inspiration for his own stories. if hes stuck on what he thinks the dashing main character should do next, he'll ask his dad what HE would do, which results in seb getting very weird questions that he nonetheless is always happy to answer. also, when lewis is older and finally learns the full story of what happened with clora and seb and ranrok and rookwood, he writes their story in novel form, except he just changes their names/some of the details, and it becomes a best seller LOL. and i didnt know where to put this, but the four of them all read a story before bed every night, with lewis in the middle and seb and clora on either side of him. though celeste stands at the foot of the bed, basically doing a charade/mime show of what theyre reading, and putting on a little play to go along with it BAHHA.

OK thats all i can think of for now ive yapped enough😩 if youve read all of this ur a real one.... ive also considered giving them a 3rd (and last) child, which would be a boy that looks exactly like seb, and seb would just be praying like please.....let this son take after me🧎‍♂️🙏 BAHHA

[floatyflowers]

Dark! Percy Jackson Reverse Harem x Reader|| Chapter three

<<< Chapter Two

A lot has happened, Clarisse and her cabin mates. bullied you and Percy-

-Ok, they bullied Percy and didn't do anything to you because Ares has forbidden them.

And when she tried to speak to you, Percy flipped and 'bended' the toilet water, and attacked them.

And there you met Annabeth, who you think is very cool.

Maybe because you like Athena.

Right now, you are sitting beside Percy eating a muffin as Luke explains how he met Annabeth.

"Before camp, I was on the road. Me and a forbidden kid I met along the way. Her name was Thalia."

"And what does that mean, forbidden?" the blond boy inquires.

"A long time ago, Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades agreed their children were becoming too powerful, so they made a pact not to father any more."

You listen carefully to the explanation, feeling like your mother told you something like that before.

In a fairytale narration.

"And it held for a long time, until Zeus broke that pact. Until Thalia"

"Of course, it's always Zeus' fault, no surprise here" You mock and roll your eyes.

Luke chuckles before continuing.

"A forbidden kid attracts trouble. Monsters everywhere, it’s just a constant battle to stay alive."

You look at Percy, ignoring the rest of the speech

Just so you can focus on connecting the dots.

Percy can control water.

His father is the godly parent.

Percy is Poseidon's son even if he haven't claimed him yet.

"Oh my god, Percy"

The two boys turn to you.

"You still haven't found out who is your father...have you never paid attention to what Chiron told us in class about Greek gods"

You exclaim while Percy's eyes widens, Luke seems to understand what you are implying.

"You are bright, (Y/n)" the older demigod compliments you.

"Then do you know who is it?"

Before you could reply, a conch shell blows as Chiron begins speaking.

"Heroes… it’s time!"

You sigh, remembering that it is time for the flag capturing.

°°°

"This is your first time in capturing the flag and you said you are going to protect me?"

"Don't worry, everything will be fine"

Percy assures you, as he flosses.

"You are hopeless" you assert.

On the other hand, you gently pick up a lizard and start patting it.

Until Percy decides to cut in, and also pat the beautiful creature.

"It's so cute"

"I agree"

He looks at you the same moment your eyes meet his own.

Percy leans in slowly, ready to kiss you on the lips, closing his eyes.

Unfortunately for him, you playfully put the Lizard against his lips.

He opens his eyes quickly, backing away and wiping his lips.

"Why you do that?" Percy whines.

"I thought you said it was cute" you tease him.

Suddenly Clarisse comes in with her flag mates.

"Flag’s that way. It’s not here." Percy says.

"We know. Yeah, glory’s fine. Revenge is more fun."

Clarisse turns on her spear before staring directly at you.

"You should stay away from frauds like him, dear niece"

Chapter Four >>>

[wqlfstqr]

◟𖥻 spider boy, king of thieves:

spiderman ! percy jackson

▰▰ pairing(s): percy jackson x female!reader.

Spider-boy, king of thieves Weave your little webs of opacity

author: percy jackson is the textbook definition of a peter parker variant, fight me

y/n loved Percy Jackson, she was sure of it. Had been sure of it for years now. For some time, she had been sure, too, that those feelings were one hundred percent reciprocated.

Percy and her, they had this pull towards each other, or that's what everyone else seemed to believe when they said the two of them were perfect for each other. Sadly, y/n was aware that the fairytale everyone seemed to buy was far from perfect and, as much as she wanted to be with him, something always seemed to get in the way.

This was the thrid time they broke up, and y/n was sure it was going to be the final time. Of course, they always seemed to find their way back to each other but she couldn't allow that to happen another time. As much as she loved him, she simply couldn't.

Because dating Percy was a mess, a hurtful mess. it wasn't always like that. they used to be happy and in love, but then he started disappearing for hours with no communication, arriving late to pick her up or standing her up on dates, and he always gave some kind of made up explanation about it. The last straw was when he arrived two hours late to the winter dance he had promised to take her and then refused to tell her why.

y/n's friends seemed to think there had to be two explanations: he was cheating on her or losing feelings for her. Either way, she didn’t want to find out, so she broke up with him before he had the chance to break her heart again. Now there was absolutely no going back, even if all she wanted to do was call him back and take back everything, that wouldn't even work since he never even answered his phone.

"so this is the last time, huh?" her best friend said skeptically, as if she really didn’t believe her. Fair enough, she had already gone back to him two times already.

"yes, and you'll see I really mean it this time." she reassured her friend as she held her phone in between her ear and her shoulder, her hands busy while she went through her closet. "this trip is just what I need, when I'm back I won't even remember who Percy Jackson is."

That was hardly the truth, but at least she hoped she could begin to get over him while she was away for the holidays. She was going to Boston to visit family there, and maybe some time apart from the city and from Percy would be just what she needed.

"y/n, you know I love you" her friend started and she was taking the clothes she needed for the trip but she paused when she heard her tone. "but I find that hard to believe."

y/n was about to reply in her defense, when her gaze landed on a blue sweater in her closet. Percy's sweater. She didn’t even know how long it had been there, but she knew exactly what to do.

"i'm being serious, I'll even go and give him his things back before I go to Boston." she decided, dropping her own clothes in her suitcase before taking the sweater from her closet.

that was something she had never done in the past two breakups, and she did have a lot of his stuff just hanging around in her room. Some of his clothes, his camera from the last time he came around, some of his books, drawings, comics, even the christmas gift she had already bought and wrapped for him weeks ago.

She hadn't realized how much of his stuff she had until she hung up on her friend and she already had a box full of his things. It was difficult not to cry while going through it all, everything held a memory behind it and every memory having anything to do with Percy was painful enough to bring tears to her eyes.

Still, she managed to keep her feelings in check as she took the box and walked out of her apartment, thankfully her parents seemed to be too busy packing to have any questions as she slipped out of the front door. Then, walking to Percy's was easy enough since he didn’t live too far from her, so twenty minutes later she stood upside of his apartment with the box in one hand as she knocked with the other one.

It wasn't Percy that came to open, and she should've been grateful that it was Sally instead, but her smile almost dropped because maybe she had wanted to see him. Still, Sally was too sweet not to smile at her as she opened the door. "y/n! what are you doing out in this cold? and without sweater!"

something she could admit was that she was going to miss was Sally, Percy's mom was just the sweetest and always cared for y/n like she was family. And now the tears were threatening to spill again.

"I wasn't planning on spending too much time out of my house." she started, biting the inside of her cheek because she couldn't, for the love of God, cry in front of Sally. "I was just dropping Percy's stuff off."

Sally looked at the box in her hands and finally seemed to register what was happening, her smile fading slowly as she now looked at the teenager with pity. y/n knew she was probably aware of the break up, Percy always told Sally everything, but it was hard having to stand there and act all tough when the woman was looking at her with such sadness.

still, Sally was nothing if not positive, so after a second she smiled again. "he's not here right now, but you can come in and wait for him if you want." she opened the door further, as if welcoming her in.

and y/n knew she shouldn't, she should just leave the box with Sally and forget all about Percy, but she simply couldn't say no to Sally. And, well, she hadn't seen Percy since last week, it would hurt to see him one last time. Maybe make sure he was doing alright.

"okay" she nodded and stepped into the apartment, following behind Sally as she beamed at her.

Of course, Sally gave her some hot cocoa and blue chocolate chip cookies while she waited, and she made sure to avoid the breakup topic when they both sat down to talk. y/n loved Sally, she was always full of stories and advice and a kind of motherly love y/n herself wasn't used to receiving from her own mother.

But after an hour, Percy hadn't came back and Sally didn’t have a clue where he was, so she sent y/n to wait for him in his room while she went to run some errands. Which y/n should've refused to do but yet again didn’t.

"And y/n?" Sally called as she opened the door, the younger girl was still amazed at how much the woman trusted her just to leave her there. "I can't say I know what exactly happened between you and Percy, but I can tell you he cares about you."

Yeah, that's what y/n had wanted to believe for years, what everyone always told her. But now she wasn't so sure about it, still, she smiled at Sally and let her go before she went into Percy's room, which was exactly how she remembered from the last time she had been there.

She tried not to look around too much, knowing she would feel too nostalgic about it all, instead she busied herself with playing some game on her phone while she waited. Unfortunately, thirty minutes later Percy hadn't arrived and she was already too tired of waiting for him. That's all she ever did. So she stood up from his bed, leaving the box there and shortly after making her way to the door while the dissapointment settled in her stomach.

but then just as she was about to turn the knob, she heard some ruffling behind her back and then the noise of Percy's window opening. She immediatly turned around, her heart racing as she expected to find some thief entering through the window, yet she had to stop herself from screaming when she didn’t find thief but, far from it, Spider-man.

what was Spider-man doing in Percy's room? As he entered the room, y/n put her hands over her mouth to stiffle a stragled sound. Spider-man didn’t seem to realize she was there as he started crawling through the roof.

y/n was gaping at the superhero, unsure of what to do as her mind raced through countless scenarios. Yet, nothing could have prepared her for what happened next. She let out a squeak she couldn’t contain when Spider-Man started to remove his mask, catching his attention

wait wait wait y/n froze when she realized- first she recognized the hair. his hair. the one she had ran her fingers through countless of times. When he finally turned around, she already knew who he was.

Percy looked as shocked as she was once his eyes finally found her, her pale face and her back against the door she had been trying to open just seconds before. "this is not what you think it is." he blurted out, still hanging from the roof.

She had trouble finding her voice again. "so you're not Spider-man, you just go around crawling on people's ceilings dressed as him?" she asked, surprised at the slight sarcasm in her shocked voice.

He let go of the roof, y/n was about to point out that his amazing landing didn’t exactly help his case at all, but he looked at her with panic in his eyes so she shut her mouth. "well maybe it is what it looks like."

She lost her breath, and she knew she had to sit down soon, so she simply walked past him and took a seat in his bed, exactly where she had been minutes before. Percy's eyes shifted at the box placed beside her, and he looked like he was about to question it before he shook his head and pushed it away so he could sit.

"So you're Spider-man." she managed to say after a few seconds of silence that felt like hours.

"I guess I am." he replied, shrugging like it wasn't a big deal at all, for a moment y/n wanted to throw something at him but now that she knew he was Spider-man, it was likely he was going to catch it before it even came close to hitting him.

That thought opened the door for many others as realization dawned on her: Every time he caught something without even looking, every time he was late to dates or disappeared for hours only to reappear suddenly—she realized it all added up. The missed calls, unanswered messages, and the times he stood her up, and-

"Oh my god, is this why you were late for the winter dance?" he seemed to hesitate before he nodded slowly, she averted her eyes to look at anything but him, she couldn't look at him right now. "so you let me break up with you instead of just telling me the truth?"

"it's not-" he stopped himself, taking a deep breath before he could go on. "it's not like that, I just wanted to keep you safe."

She didn’t know if she was annoyed or sad, but she sure as hell wanted to cry. "Percy you've been lying to me, that's not fair."

Percy rubbed the back of his neck, looking directly at her even though she wasn't looking at him. "I know it’s not fair. I know I messed up. But I didn’t want you to get hurt because of me. I thought you’d be safer if you didn’t know, if I kept you away from me."

"Safer?" she scoffed, finally meeting his gaze with her eyes filled with tears. "Percy, you don't get to decide that for me. Do you know how much it hurt to think you didn’t care? I thought I wasn't enough for you for so long."

Seeing the tears in her eyes made Percy want to reach and hug her, but he knew her too much to know that she would probably pull away. "I care about you, that's why I did it." he felt like he was drowning as he tried to explain himself. "you mean everything to me, I wouldn't want to risk putting you in danger."

Her lips trembled as the anger melted into exhaustion. She wanted so badly to just let it go and fall back again into his arms, but the wound in her chest still ached. "You should’ve told me. I would've understood you."

He hesitated, his shoulders sagging as he admitted, "I was scared, okay? Scared the people after me would use you to get to me. Do you think I wanted you to feel like this? To lose you to this?"

The room fell silent again, but after a moment she looked away and stood up from the bed, she couldn't bear another minute there "I don’t know if I can forgive you," she whispered, her voice barely audible. "Not right now."

And with that, Percy let her go. He had so many things to say, but he knew it wasn't the right time, it was better to just give her some time to think. But he also knew that she wouldn't let her walk away again, not this time. Not ever again.

y/n's parents were very mad at her but she couldn't bring herself to care just yet. The boston trip would've been an excellent idea after all the mess with Percy, but instead she had decided to skip it altogether and stay home for christmas.

Fortunately, New York was big enough so that she could avoid running into Percy. Unfortunately, it was difficult not to think about him when everything reminded her of him.

y/n loved to spend her afternoons walking through the bustling streets of New York. Right in that moment, she was trying to distract herself, but everything reminded her of him: the street vendor they always stopped by for pretzels, the bookstore where he had listened to her talk about every book she had read, the park where they had shared their first kiss just under a snowy day like this. Every way she looked to, there was a memory of him hidden.

She was so lost in thought that she didn’t even notice him hidden, following her every step until suddenly strong arms wrapped tight around her waist, and before she could even gasp, she’s was already soaring into the sky. Wind rushed past her as she looks at the the familiar red-and-black suit. "Percy!" she yells, half-angry, half-dizzy from the height.

He chuckles, the sound muffled through the mask. "Hey. Missed me?" she wanted to keep screaming at him, but she looked down and realized just how high they were so she gasped intead, holding tighly onto him.

He swung them higher, the city blurring beneath them until they landed on the rooftop of some random building. She stumbled a little, trying to catch her breath, but Percy steadied her.

"What the hell, Percy? you can't just do that and-" the words died in her mouth once she looked at what was waiting just in front of her.

"Surprise." he said softly, motioning to the cozy picnic blanket and basket waiting for them. The setting sun was casting a golden glow over the skyline, the view breathtaking.

He pulled his mask off as he turns to face her, his sea green eyes full of guilt. "I know it won't solve everything, but I just need you to listen to me, and after that if you hate it, you can push me off this roof."

That made her smile just a little, unintentionally showing the lingering affection she had been trying to bury. "as if that would work, you would probably land on your feet."

He laughed, and she realized just how much she was missed that laugh.

However, before she could even try to commit it to memory, he turned serious again as he took a step closer to her. "I'm really sorry for not telling you the truth sooner, I should have never let you believe that I didn’t care about you. I can't take what I did back, but from now on I swear to you that I'll never keep anything else from you again. Just let me show you how much you mean to me. One day at a time"

She tilted her head to the side, giving him a soft smile. "You’re really not going to give up, are you?"

"Not a chance," Percy replied almost immediatly, as if he didn’t even need to think about it. "You mean too much to me."

She looked at him for a long moment of silence, but she didn’t say anything, she simply stood there in silence before she finally sighed and went to sit on the blanket he had set up, he seemed confused but immediatly followed her to sit beside her. He didn’t push her, didn’t try to force a resolution. He just sat there, letting her process, letting her feel.

"Does this mean I don’t get pushed off the roof?"

"Don’t push your luck, Jackson," she replied, rolling her eyes even though there was a smile tugging at her lips.

They both sat right there in silence until she finally speaked again, looking up at the sky before going back to find his eyes, that were already on her. "one day at a time." she granted finally, and before he could even begin to smile, she continued. "but no more secrets."

Percy’s lips twitched into a small smile, and he nodded. "no more secrets."

She smiled at him, and he smiled at her. And they both knew that maybe not everything was okay just yet, but they would work it out. They were both in silence, except this time it was peaceful knowing that there was no secret between them.

However, as much as Percy was happy, he was also Percy so he couldn't hold the silence for much longer. "have you ever wanted to see New York the way I do?" he asked.

She hesitated, narrowing her eyes at him. "What does that mean?"

He stood up, offering her a hand as his eyes had a certain playful shine on them. "trust me, just let me show you."

And because y/n would follow that boy just about anywhere without any doubt, she took his hand after a second and let herself be pulled by him. It all happened so fast, one moment she's was standing up and the next he had her arms wrapped around her waist, stepping backwards off the ledge of the rooftop.

"Percy!" she shrieked, clinging to him instinctively as they both hung upside down.

"Relax, I’ve got you," he told her, chuckling softly. He started to walk slowly along the side of the building, his movements careful. She clutched onto him tightly, her heart racing from the adrenaline... and maybe from being so close to him again. "I always do."

When they reached a quiet spot where they could see the skyline, he stopped, holding her steady. "Look" he said softly, holding her with one arm as he uses the other to point to the city.

She followed his gaze, her breath hitching at how breathtaking the city lights looked shining beneath them. "it's beautiful, Percy" she mumbled.

"You’re beautiful" he didn’t meant to say it out loud, but he did and maybe he didn’t regret it, because when she looked at him, just a moment, the weight of their recent struggles melted away.

She rolled her eyes, but a small laugh escaped her. And it was the most beautiful sound he had ever heard. "That’s the corniest thing you’ve ever said."

"hey! I’m trying here" he replied, grinning. "besides, you deserve all the cheesy lines in the world."

y/n shook her head, but she couldn't hide her smile. And maybe, she thought, it isn't perfect at all but it's right. He's right for her. They are right for eachother.

They stayed there, just looking at the city underneath them as the night stretched on until it's was time for her to go back home. With the city humming below, Percy swung her back to her apartment.

The night air felt cold against her face, but thankfully her apartment wasn't far away. in no time, Percy was settling her down on the fire scape by her window.

"home sweet home." she couldn't see his face since he had put on the mask, but she knew he was grinning.

"thank you for dropping me home, quite literally." she smiled at him as she opened her window, but she didn’t step inside just yet because she wanted to be there with him for a longer moment. "and for everything else."

"anytime." once again, y/n wished she could see behind the mask because she could swear he was smiling, and she loved seeing that smile. Percy seemed like he was also buying time before he had to go. "hey, we're ok?"

"we will be" she nodded, and that seemed to be a good enough answer for Percy, who nodded back and took a deep breath.

Not knowing what else to say, she finally stepped into her room. Percy he took a deep breath as he saw her, then legs hooked over the ledge and he hung upside down, his head poking through her winsow.

"good night, y/n" he mumbled softly, ready to swing away. but just as he was turning to leave, she finally spoke.

"wait, Percy" she called for him, making him stop and turn his face back to her almost immediately, he looked alarmed, like he was bracing himself for something terrible to happen.

He was about to ask what was wrong, but y/n didn’t even stop to think before she pulled his mask down, uncovering his lips. Percy, perched outside her window, let out a surprised gasp just as she leaned in and claimed his lips with hers.

Percy's breath caught in his throat as he froze, surprised. But when he finally did react, he steadied himself, and leaned into the kiss, his heart pounding so hard he was afraid it might jump out of his chest at any moment.

The kiss started tentative, a mix of hesitation and longing. But as they melted into each other, the city around them faded away. For the first time in weeks, she felt whole again.

When they finally pulled apart, she could finally see the smile on his face. "and there it is folks, Spider-Man always gets the girl."

She rolled her eyes, swatting his chest lightly, but she couldn't possibly fight the smile tugging at her lips. "You’re impossible."

"And you love it." he replied, his grin widening.

y/n chuckled, looking down at him, her heart full. "I’ll see you soon, Percy," she said, her voice playful yet fond.

"make that tomorrow." He winked at her, then swung away into the night, leaving her standing by the window, knowing that they would be alright.

[aayakashii]

ooh i did mean the second one, but if you have ideas about the first one i would love to hear your thoughts too~

- soulmate anon

OKAY SOULMATE ANON I HAVE YOUR HEADCANONS HERE!!!!! I used this list to write these down and while I have an explanation for some, others I went purely with the vibe but I hope you like it!!

soulmate headcanons

Kamurai Jin

"One soulmate owns a lock and the other owns the key to that lock."

I feel like it's fitting for him to have such a traditional romantic item like a locket. A cold man whose heart can only open with a literal key that only his soulmate has – this is a thing of fairytales. He has always been the king, but he is the one who needs to be found and saved by someone who can actually burrow their way into his heart and show him the love that he so desperately yearns for.

Ishibashi Tohma

"You have this unlimited stack of sticky notes. Write whatever you want on it, and that note would magically appear somewhere in your soulmate’s line of sight during that day."

I literally just think it's adorable! He's such a busy man and it'd be so cute for his soulmate to send him random sticky notes throughout the day, showing him support and telling him they love him. He'd keep them all in a box even if there are dozens of them per day.

Lucas Errant

"You can feel a tug from wherever your soulmate is. These may either be automatic, or have stronger tugs whenever your soulmate is in distress."

Can you imagine how worried sick Luca would feel whenever he felt a tug in his heart? As soon as he finally found his soulmate, he'd give them the tightest, most relieved hug because now he can always be by their side and protect them from anything. No more tugs, no more distress. He can finally be their knight.

Fuji Kaito

"Your eyes are your soulmate’s hair color, changes when they dye it."

I chose this one for him because: it's canon that he dyes his hair. Can you imagine all the times his soulmate’s eyes have changed color as he dyed his hair? Slowly fading from yellow back into brown as his roots grow, or changing the tone of yellow if he changes the brand of hair dye and all that... What if Kaito goes through a emotional crisis and changes to a completely random color too? That could be either fun or unnerving lol

Mido Alan

"People have a tendency to experience whatever emotions their soulmate have pent up inside them."

Alan deserves someone who completely understand his emotions. Someone who knows how to place their hand on his shoulders and kiss his cheek whenever they feel a pit of anxiety grow in his chest. His soulmate would understand his emotions, even when he can't understand them himself.

Kurosagi Leo

"Everybody has some type of tablet thing that's a shared space you and your soulmate can draw on."

Leo's soulmate needs to be well acquainted with his moods and his brattiness. Communicating with each other through little doodles and words before meeting each other seems like the perfect way to get used to him. And it'd be a nice way to get at him, to say that his doodles are awful lmao

Haizono Sho

"Everyone receives a special accessory (hat, watch, necklace, bracelet, etc) that is exactly alike with their soulmate. Many people, when they meet their soulmate, like to swap theirs with the other."

Oh, Sho strikes me as someone who would love to have matching accessories with his s/o. What if his soulmate has a bandana just like his? Or maybe an earring? He'd waste no time in asking them to swap items, feeling comforted by the physical presence of something that assures him that he's loved by his soulmate.

Sagara Haru

Each person has a spirit animal that can lead you to your soulmate."

That's very simple. Since Haru takes such good care of his animals, it's only fair that one of them could lead him to his soulmate. The prompt says spirit animal, but I imagine it with a tangible animal. Little Peekaboo tugging him towards some random place out of nowhere, and Haru just following suit because he can't say no to his baby. Little does he know, he'd find a lot more than he expected.

Otonashi Towa

"A red string tied around your pinky is connected to your soulmate’s pinky (when the two of you are in a certain distance)."

What better way for Towa to find his beloved soulmate than the most cliché and run down soulmate trope of all times? I think Towa would love a cliché though. He'd love the racing heart, the butterflies in his tummy, the fireworks in his head. He would tangle himself in that red thread if he could.

Shiranami Ren

"There’s this special video game where your partner is your soulmate. You only get to meet if the two of you finish the game."

That just sounds to me like the only way Ren would be motivated enough to find his soulmate lmao maybe he'd carry them or maybe he'd be carried, but, either way, it'd ensure that there'd be less awkwardness between Ren and them. Bonding online, to him, probably comes quicker and easier, and it'd be less painful to him to transition his online relationship to a irl one.

Hoshibami Taiga

"When you meet your soulmate for the first time, you get a flashback/relive their entire lives."

I imagined this would be fitting for him, because it'd allow his soulmate to actually know and understand the things he did during his life. They could be someone he could trust to know what went on in his past when he can't remember. He'd place a lot of trust in their hands and I feel like, to Taiga, trust must be as important and rare as love.

Romeo S. Lucci

"Everyone wears a mask. You get to finally take it off when you meet the one with your identical mask, your soulmate."

I think that this man already wears a metaphorical mask every single day, always thinking of how to act in order to get what he wants, and that's what I thought of once I read this. His soulmate would be the one person with whom he could let his guard down, actually relax and be himself. The only one he wouldn't be scared of slipping through his fingers, because, well, they're his soulmate. It's a bind that goes beyond any material desire.

Shinjo Ritsu

"Have the same tics at the same time (verbal tics, drumming fingers, humming, etc)."

This one I chose because I genuinely headcanon that Ritsu is autistic lol Not only would he be able to quickly pick on the fact that his soulmate stims the same way as him, he'd probably feel extremely comforted by the fact that they wouldn't judge him for his little quirks. Even if everyone says he's annoying, he knows that the only person that matters understands him.

Kagami Subaru

"Legend says that if you fold a certain amount of paper into cranes (or anything really), you can meet your soulmate."

Our resident anxious king. I thought of him creating the habit of making a certain origami every time he felt too nervous, like a comforting stim that would keep his mind off of whatever plagued him and keep his hands busy. Maybe he knows that folding a new crane would get him closer to his soulmate, and that's why it comforts him, or maybe he doesn't know at all. Still, it is something that fits his personality, imo.

Kusanagi Haku

"If you send off a paper airplane, it shall reach (or move in the direction of) your soulmate."

I think Haku deserves something simple and that he can (mostly) control. If his soulmate never found him, he could still go check on them whenever he wanted. And if they did find him, even better! Nothing too complicated for him. He already has too many complicated things on his plate.

(Still, he would always keep an eye at the sky surrounding him, patiently waiting for a paper airplane to finally gently poke him on his nose).

Kotodama Zenji

"Songs sung by your soulmate is stuck in your head."

Can you imagine being his soulmate and having a biwa concert going on in your head at all times. Would probably make his soulmate go crazy, but could also be extremely endearing because, I mean, it's Zenji. No one can ever be mad at him. He's the sweetest (and would be 100% stoked that his soulmate would hear all his creations no matter where they were).

Edward Hart

"Everyone holds a locket with their soulmate's picture, but it can only open when certain conditions are met"

Something about an old, powerful being cradling a small locket their whole life, waiting for the day it would open, and finally feeling the rush of relief and adrenaline once the little locket opens for the first time. Or maybe having the locket open and close through multiple lifetimes as he finds his soulmate over and over again.

Mizuki Rui

"You stop aging at a certain age, until you meet your soulmate and grow old together."

I chose this one literally because I think Rui deserves to have a soulmate with whom he'll live for the rest of his life – something that's guaranteed to happen, even if it takes a while. But it's okay because he'll literally have all the time in the world until he finds the one with whom he can grow old and live happy.

Lyca Colt

"Your soulmate leaves coloured footprints only visible to you."

In this world, maybe Lyca would see colors in the same way canines do – just a spectrum of blue and green tones. But then, once he finally got close to his soulmate, their footprints would light up his world in many more colors, and he would be amazed by it no matter how many times he saw it, like someone seeing a rainbow for the first time.

Isami Yuri

"Everyone gets little books of what people think about their soulmate (but never said out loud)."

Yuri would be OBSESSED about knowing what his soulmate says about him on their book. Do they like him? Do they think he's smart and cool and powerful? Maybe he'd try to find his soulmate just to know what is written about him, but then he would be caught off guard by how he slowly stops caring about that so much – maybe the person themself is the one that actually matters.

Kirisaki Jiro

"Get the same injuries as your soulmate does."

In his case, since he's always fighting some very rough battles, I think it'd be better for his soulmate to get the same scars as his.

They'd wake up, and suddenly, there would be another marking on their chest or arms. What the hell is their soulmate doing that they get so many injuries after all? It'd be tough to miss him in a crowd. After all, who else would have star-like scars on their chest just like them? Maybe Jiro wouldn't even know about the soulmate marking since a new scar would be hard to notice. Once they explain it all to him, he'd take it in stride, like always. He may even feel an unknown pang of guilt after he finds out about it. Maybe.

[spectralreplica]

But do you think the plan will work?

Oumota: tarot reading edition! I had this idea during Oumota Week and just got around to finishing it now 😔. At first I thought about giving Sun to Kaito and Moon to Kokichi (a la Reversed Sun by grayimperia), but I think it works better to have them both in each card, to highlight the parallels. (If you want more explanation of my design thoughts, I'll put it under a cut at the end.)

General tarot meanings:

The Sun: happiness, confidence, success, optimism, innocence/childhood, inspiring others, internal motivation, truth

The Moon: illusion, imagination, uncertainty, secrets, confusion, intuition/the subconscious, fears influencing you, insecurity

The Star: hope, regaining inspiration, renewal, healing, moving on, new purpose, calm after the storm (Reversed Star: despair, lack of faith, pessimism, boredom, anxiety, being overwhelmed by past problems)

.

I feel like while Kaito is naturally more Sun coded and Kokichi more Moon coded, they have some qualities of both cards. And Star vs Reversed Star is so temping to bring in for DR.

I was thinking of it as a past, present, future kind of reading, but also maybe situation, action, outcome. Starting out with high self confidence and some childish black and white thinking. (Maybe a little over confident and childish to the point of egotism and inflexibility, shades of reversed sun...). Covering for insecurities by projecting a fake persona to everyone around, doubling down on the lies and self-deception a la chapter 5. Finally, either coming through everything stronger, with renewed hope, or else crashing and burning, overwhelmed by unacknowledged issues that have built up.

.

As for the specific imagery...

Sun: I stuck pretty close to the traditional imagery here. The flag/banner has their respective prints on it, and I put Kaito on Mars while Kokichi remains on Earth. It's also sundown or sunset for Kokichi; is he moving towards the Moon or away? The horse is obv. very chess piece inspired. Kokichi gets his King Horse a la the mask on his bed, and I gave Kaito a pegasus because flying.

.

Moon: Moving a little bit away from traditional imagery as more of the canon situation seeps in, but still pretty close. The moon floats "outside" the cage, wearing their respective false faces. (We know from the ending that the skyline on those glass panels isn't real...) They both have an Exisal in the background in place of one of the towers, but Kaito has a bamboo grove a la Princess Kaguya; Kaguya came from the moon and she will go back, no matter how much people on Earth love her. Kokichi has one of the racks that sits beside shrines where you're supposed to tie bad/unlucky omikuji (paper fortunes) so that the bad luck doesn't follow you; living in purposeful denial of bad things, but they lurk there on the horizon.

They both still have at least one dog/wolf, but I gave Kokichi a fox because of their association with being tricksters. Also, wolves and foxes, as predators, are framed as villains in stories, but at the same time it's also not uncommon to see them as heroes (stereotype of predator/hunter vs stereotype of bravery/nobility and cleverness). Also, contrast of fox and hound, like the clash of Kokichi presenting himself as childish + annoying vs a genuine threat. Kaito has the dog, monkey, and pheasant that accompanied Momotaro, continuing his fairytale theme.

Everyone seems to argue over what the crawfish means in the original, but I went with the interpretation of moving from water to land, evolution, things coming to the surface. So, Kaito has a koi. I think most people know about the "koi climbs a waterfall and becomes a dragon" thing because of Magikarp, but here it is again just in case! Kaito's got an aquatic creature struggling against its nature in hopes of someday actually transforming into something grander. Kokichi has a poison dart frog. Already amphibious, so it can go between water and land freely, but visibly harmful to anyone who tries to get close.

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Star: The least traditional imagery and the most V3 canon imagery. There's still a tree, but it's a pine tree. ...I dunno, no explanation for that, it just looked nice 🤷‍♀️The two jugs are replaced with the poison and antidote bottles. Originally, they're supposed to represent the conscious and subconscious and pour in two different places, but here they're mixing together directly. V3 resolves the "truth vs lies" theme by arguing you have to accept ambiguity. Also, Kaito and Kokichi's whole plan rests on them managing to work together to obscure exactly who is in the Exisal in the end.

There's a figure in the foreground in Kaito's jacket, but they're just a silhouette (a la the culprit); it's not either of them, it's both, and they're reaching beyond the bounds of the game. The star in the sky is ringed by the trial podiums, since all of their hope for the future rests in derailing the next trial. Can they win? Well, Shuichi and Kiibo are at the top, the two people they (or at least Kokichi...) know can be problems, but Tsumugi is specifically blocked from view, always overlooked...

[yeonniesblog]

Kuroo x reader x oikawa

Synopsis : After years spent by a certain setter along with a small toddler mending you heart, your life was a just like a blissful movie with a happy ending. But little did you know the person who gave you not only the worst years of your life but also the small ball of sunshine, decided to suddenly make a appearance in your fairytale when fate played a wild

reader's note : this is the last chapter, make sure to read it in order! Sorry for the angst hehe.

Part 1 : meeting you again | Part 2 : wouldn't you | Part 3 : broken promises | Part 4 : where it all went wrong | Part 5 : enough for now (current one)

“she is a fucking psycopath” kenma sighs, putting the car in reverse as he pulls up in his driveway, eyes fixated on the rear view as kuroo watches the irriated expression on his face.

“dude, chill I know you hate kizumi, but I might marry her” kuroo sips his coffee as he lets out a shallow grunt in annoyance too, what was he doing in life.

“no, just think about it, she specifically asked for the ring you bought to propose to y/n, when she knows you could afford to give her much expensive one right now, but, again I repeat. she asked specifically for that ring, only”

the black hair man groans at the explanation, he knows his friend has a point, but he is trying to gaslight himself into believing whatever kizumi explained to him. “i think she just likes it, she was the one who chose it too, all those years ago—” and before kuroo could finish his sentence, the half blonde cuts him off, swiftly taking out his phone from his pocket and muttering something to it “siri, how do you block people in real life”

“yeah, okay, this is a kuroo hate club, I get it” the man sighs, propping his head back on the headrest, closing his eyes. “honestly I know her behavior is weird, but I’m in a tight spot, my only left family is nagging me to marry her, and you know I could care less about marriage” he pauses taking a deep breath. “dad is legit emotionally blackmailing me, sitting at his stupid hospital bed probably faking his disease”

“they want you to marry, doesn't necessarily have to be her” kenma suggests, opening the seatbelt around him. “i cannot marry a stranger, kizumi is a better option, we have been dating on and off for one year” the rooster haired man replies, honestly he really wants to jump off a cliff, but he will suppress the impulsive urges.

“as a rebutal to that, one thing you said was right” kenma sighs finally looking at his friend, kuroo looks tired, or is aged that appropriate word. “her behavior is weird, it's like she has more attachment to y/n than you, she is insecure as fuck of her. you, me and her, we all know she won't ever level up to the place y/n has in your heart, so she trying to become her, its giving me chills” kenma shudders at that thought, physically gagging.

“do you think it's too late for me to get a therapist?” with that kuroo tetsuro groans one more time.

kuroo sits quietly, hands clasped, looking up with hesitant eyes as he watches you put your purse on the table, stoice face, yet so pretty.

he really meant it when he said you got more gorgeous over the years, there were few lines now adorning your face, mature and elegant glow.

even if he sometimes wonders if it would have been better if you both never met at all, if it would have been better if neither of you had to go through the heartbreak, but he knows,

if there was a spell to go back in time, to where he met you, he would do the same thing. he would make a silly chemistry joke and wait for you to laugh at it, not because it was funny, no it was because it was so bad you laughed at it, it was his fault wasn’t it?

to loose the most precious thing in his life, did you feel worse than him, it wasn't a question, nor a comparison, he wanted to know because he will never forget or forgive himself to give you so much pain over the year.

what did you name the kid? did oikawa tooru’ see how your son took the first steps, was he the one who got called father first, what's his favorite food, does he have a birth mark, does he like volleyball? is your son’ tastes similar to what is his? Just like how he saw the little kid adorning your homely baked goods, similar to what he himself used to do.

it pains him, physically pains him to know he wasn't there for anything, he wasn't there to make you food, hold your hair while you threw up during you morning sickness, not hold your hand while you went into labour, he wasn't part of any of it, six years sometimes means nothing and yet to him, now, it means everything, it means every important thing he lost.

“you don't know how much draining this is for me, to be talking to you, or as a matter of fact to talk about what happened, cause honestly you deserve nothing, not the explanation, not to meet me or ruko” you break the silence first, firmly sitting at your place.

and kuroo wishes he could repent on all the thing you said but the only thought in his mind is what you named your son “his name is ruko?”

“his name is oikawa saruko” you firmly state, a small smile tugging at you lips, you were proud your kid had a father like oikawa, cause you can't imagine anyone else being a better father than him.

tetsuro has never wanted to be in someone else's place as much as he wants to be oikawa now, he sighs at your words. “why didn't you tell me, I would get it if you wanted to get away from me, but don't you think I deserved to know the kid was mine?” his voice quivering as he asks you the question, a weird pang in his chest.

“i tried, I tried so many times” your voice quivers slightly “why do you think I asked for your opinion to have a kid?” that silents the man infront of you, his pupil dilated as he realizes how he explained it, and how it sounded like a definite ‘no” from his side.

“not to mention, even after that I was going to tell you, with my parents kuroo and you didn't show up” he relishes at how defeated he feels when you don't even call him by his first name, so the announcement when you called him was with your parents? his legs tenses up and he stops shaking them.

“i know I don't have any excuse but you know there was a storm that night—”

“yet you left me all alone in that storm, tetsuro” his heart breaks into million pieces, do you even know how much he just wants to pull you close and cry, stain your shirt with his tears of sorrow that he made a mistake and couldn't be in your presence and of joy because after years he was able to see you.

“i—y/n” he tries to put his hands over yours but you are swift to pull away, he knows a million reasons of why your reflex action was right, yet he can't help but feel his throat becoming dry “i’m sorry, I assumed you were with your parents, I had no idea, my phone was dead”

“how can you still lie to me?” your voice croaks, finally looking straight into his eyes, you really don't want to care for whatever his action was or what he did but you can't help but feel wronged.

“what do you mean lie?”

“so your phone was dead enough to not respond to my texts but it was working when you reposted on social media with your now girlfriend, her friends commenting how cute you both looked” you scoff pausing in disbelief “or should I say fiance”

“whatever are you sayi-” then it clicks, it suddenly clicks how kizumi’s friend has always shipped him with her, despite knowing he has a girlfriend, despite him saying he doesn't appreciate it, that it straight up makes him uncomfortable.

how kizumi knew, that your birthdate was his password to Instagram, he remembers her saying it was so cute, its laughable to think how dumb he has been, how could he not notice her intention. but he wishes you told him, he wishes he could have cleared off the last misunderstanding and if he could take it all back he would.

hell, he would never breath the same air as kizumi if he could go back in time and fix things. but he cannot, all he has is regret and all he can do his atone for his mistake, he was hoping you'd be kind enough to let him see his son, he hasn't been a great partner but he sure as heck wants to have some influence in your son’s life—

after all, it was a part of you and him, back then if he actually heard you were pregnant he'd probably be scared as shit, but he would still fight every odds to raise the kid you made, how could he ever resent a mini you, kuroo knows he has no right to feel wronged but all those years without the little guy or even acknowledgment of his existence makes feel burnt.

his lips shaky and he doesn't know if a explanation would even help at this point, nothing would change and even if kizumi was in wrong– so was he though. his mouth ran before he could know.

he looks up at her. “I know you don’t owe me anything, but there’s something you need to hear" your eyes held anger and he was scared of that, he wanted to scream please forgive me, over and over again in a chant but he knew he didn't deserve your forgiveness.

you crossed your arms, wary but patient. you had no idea how you still held on. but they say but they say old habits die hard, and even after six year you had the same patience for him, you wanted to laugh at yourself “Go on.”

“It was Kizumi,” he begins, voice low but firm. “She… she’s the reason things fell apart. She was jealous of you, of what we had. She deleted your texts that night—the ones you sent me about the announcement. She posted on my social media to make it look like I was with her. And she—”

"You didn't know?" your eyes widened and you had no idea how to feel after hearing that, conflicted feeling filled your lungs and the wall of resolve you have solidified getting cracks of doubt in them, but you remained firm.

“No,” Kuroo says quickly, his voice thick with regret. “I was blind, stupid, and I didn’t see what was happening. I let her control too much. I thought I could trust her. But I swear, if I’d known—” He stops, realizing that no matter what he says, it won’t erase the past.

you stare at him, your face unreadable, but there was turmoil behind your eyes “So, you’re saying it was all her fault?”

“No. No..no.” Kuroo says firmly, shaking his head. “It was my fault too. I let her into my life, I didn’t listen to you, and I didn’t fight for you when it mattered. That’s on me. I just… I need you to know that I didn’t abandon you on purpose.”

you exhale slowly, looking down at you cup, a closure huh? but what does that change ? you know oikawa is much more important to you now, nothing could change that, nothing could make you ever abandon the perfect family you have right now. “I believe you, Tetsuro. But that doesn’t change what happened. You weren’t there when I needed you, and I had to pick up the pieces alone. Oikawa was there. He’s been there for me and for Ruko.”

even if there is a shaky heartbeat you feel around your past lover you know it was not meant to be. there are so many things unsaid and there will be so many things which will be, you are a mom now and you could never be an careless one. and as much as tears were welling up in your eyes for what could have been, you won't risk anything for what it is now.

Kuroo swallows the lump in his throat. “I know. And I’m glad he’s been good to you both. I just… I missed so much, Y/N. I want to know him. I know I don’t deserve it, but I want to try.”

bonus scene

Kuroo sits on a bench, watching from a distance as you and Oikawa playing with your son, Ruko. The boy—his son, biologically—has Oikawa’s mannerisms but your smile. Kuroo’s chest tightens as he watches the little boy stumble, only for Oikawa to sweep him up, spinning him around while you laugh.

They look like a family. They are a family

Kuroo thinks to himself, maybe this could have been you both if he wasn't consumed by the thought that you both would also be horrible parents much like your families.

you notice him then, your gaze meeting his. There’s no anger in your eyes anymore, just a quiet understanding. you approach him cautiously, arms crossed. “You’re here,” you speak, trying to keep your tone neutral.

“I just wanted to see him,” Kuroo admits. “I won’t interfere much. I just… needed to see him.”

You sit beside him, keeping a respectful distance. “He’s happy, you know. Oikawa’s a good father. He loves Ruko like he’s his own.” and that breaks kuroo's heart, as much as he tries to look positively at this. He can't help but feel his heart become empty, can't help but wish to be where oikawa is right now in your life.

Kuroo nods, swallowing the lump in his throat. “I can see that. He’s a lucky kid.” you glance at him, your expression softening. “I know the truth now, about Kizumi. About what happened. I’m… sorry you were caught in that.”

“I’m sorry too,” Kuroo says, his voice breaking. He knows it's not enough but all he can do is regret it over and over again. “For everything. For not being there, for letting you down. I should’ve fought harder for us.” you look away, your gaze fixed on Oikawa and Ruko. “Maybe. But it’s too late now, Tetsuro. We’ve both moved on.” and he feels a bit happy, you used his first name, God he is so pathetic

“I know,” he whispers, his heart breaking all over again. “But I’ll never stop wishing I could go back and do it right.” and before you are able to say anything you notice a small figure approaching you, you feel at ease when you notice it's your son, oikawa stood a bit away, he felt protective over you both but he doesn't want to snatch away the closure you deserve, and he can't snatch away ruko from his biological dad. so he stays silent cause he knows ruko would pick him for sure, he loves the little guy to death after all.

“Ruko, this is… this is Tetsuro,” you say gently, getting up from the bench only to kneel beside your son.

The boy looks up, curious but cautious. “Hi,” he says softly, clutching his toy dinosaur.

Kuroo crouches down, his heart aching as he gets his first close look at his son. Ruko has Y/N’s eyes and his messy black hair. He smiles faintly. “Hey, buddy. That’s a cool dinosaur you’ve got there. What’s his name?”

“Cupcake,” Ruko replies, holding it up proudly.For a moment, Kuroo wants to giggle, pondering why a dinosaur would be named Cupcake, but he holds back, his lips twitching into a soft smile. “Cupcake, huh? That’s a pretty unique name. Why’d you pick it?”

Ruko beams, his small chest puffing up with excitement. “Well—it’s not weird, okay? It’s ’cause I love dinosaurs and I love Mom’s handmade cupcakes, so I mixed two favorite things at once!”

Kuroo freezes for a moment, his breath catching in his throat. Cupcakes. His gaze flickers briefly to you, you who look away, your expression unreadable. He remembers countless nights when he’d come over to your place, exhausted from work or practice, and the smell of your freshly baked cupcakes would make him feel like he was home. They were his favorite—a sweet, simple treat that reminded him of your warmth.

And now, their son shares that same love.“That’s… that’s actually genius,” Kuroo finally says, his voice hoarse with emotion. “Cupcake is the perfect name for a dinosaur. You’ve got great taste.”

Ruko grins proudly, going on to describe Cupcake’s many adventures and how he takes the toy everywhere. Kuroo listens intently, his heart clenching. There’s an ache beneath his chest—a mix of pride, love, and regret. He and Ruko have so much in common, and yet, this is the first time he’s learning it.

The realization stings, and he resents you a bit for that but it also fills him with a bittersweet joy. Ruko is bright, imaginative, and full of life. He’s a part of you and him—a reminder of what you both once had. And kuroo decides he can live with that. That's enough for now isn't it?

Finally ending this series, I get embarrassed whenever I reread it but it was my first series and it has been in my drafts for years. But here I ending, thank you for everyone who waited for this.

Here is the taglist (it's based on people who were waiting for it) : @reikashe @mikaela26sstuff @chita318 @mxrice @freddiemylovelg @glxar @amarinthe @rinsangel @captainchrisstan @gamacha @cheeseriz @pluviophilefangirl @bnha-bakusquad @asaitashi @lordmomourmomoness @missyasmim @macky-attoh @belle643 @on-crows-wings

[traumaticemphaticfantastic]

This is a portrait of a Golem that I finished a little while back in June. I find that out of all the Jewish folklore creatures I’ve read about the Golem is the most prevalent and renowned, most notably because of the famous story “The Golem of Prague” which is basically THE Golem story that most of us are aware of, though, there are others. For instance, did you know that there was a Golem of Chelm? It’s true, you can find it online if you wish. And there was also a Golem of Vilna if you can believe it, you can find a translation of that story in the delightful collection “Yiddish Folktales” published by The Pantheon Fairytale and Folklore Library.

But, as I was saying, the Golem is pretty much the most well-known uniquely Jewish folk legend out there, I decided in this piece to make a shout-out to that legacy by using design motifs from possibly the most well-known Golem retelling, the German expressionist film Der Golem: wie er in die Welt kam, while I don’t particularly like how the story was retold in that film, I must say that the design of the scenery and costumes of the characters are simply delightful, I particularly enjoy the set of the Prague Ghetto and the design of the Golem himself. I do quite love German Expressionism and silent films as a whole and Der Golem is certainly a staple of both!

Another part of this Golem’s design is that its tunic is covered with Hebrew/Yiddish letters, this is a direct reference to the Golem’s more symbolic significance as a creature literally brought to life through the language of the Jewish people: that language is a powerful thing, especially to those communities who have consistently been looking down the barrel of cultural-extinction. For a much better explanation of this concept than I could ever write down here, I would like to point you to the YouTube video “The Golem and The Jewish Superhero” by Jewish video essayist Jacob Geller, a truly phenomenal and tremendously emotional look through the history of the Golem tale.

That will be all for today, may you be well, and Good Shabbos and a Shabbat Shalom to you all.

[mistyacorn]

you remind me of the main protagonist

sypnosis; dan heng and his odd way of saying “hey, i think i like you”

pairing(s); dan heng + fem! reader ⟿ featuring; pure fluff, really blank and super indirect dan heng, reader is compared to a female character (hence, fem! reader)

a/n; this was such a random write lol. im so sorry that it’s a bit of a mess, im still working on more clear storylines heheh . i hope it’s still enjoyable! ૮(ㅅ´ ˘ `) ♡ also i made beauty and the beast a canon fairytale here pffft u neva know

⇢ DAN HENG is the type that literally nobody expects to like anybody, and therefore neither do you.

⇢ you’d probably even think that he dislikes you because whenever it’s just the two of you he never says a word. he’s dead silent. he only ever nods or gestures and barely looks you in the eye.

⇢ occasionally you’d get slightly jealous of how he speaks whenever march is with you guys (even though they always end up fighting verbally, it’s still talking!)

⇢ so you eventually take it as a ‘hint’ and try your best to move on.

⇢ though let’s be real, it’s not easy to move on from a crush if you see him almost everyday. especially when he has the most perfect emerald eyes and soft black hair….

⇢ one day, you’re in your room on the astral express and you’ve just finished the book you had borrowed from the express library recently.

⇢ you did borrow it without telling anyone though, so it kinda felt like you stole it haha…

⇢ but you definitely did not want to annoy dan heng with your request so stealing borrowing seemed like the best option.

⇢ you decide to head over to his room, hoping to secretly drop the book and go.

⇢ thankfully the boy is not in the room when you get there (which is super rare, go you!). you tiptoe as carefully as you can towards the bookshelf.

⇢ you quickly find the correct slot and insert the book.

⇢ just as you think you’ve accomplished your mission, you turn around and-

⇢ at the door stands dan heng, staring at you nonchalantly (as per usual). “hi.”

⇢ his sudden appearance immediately causes you to begin a five minute long explanation about how you got there. (yes, five minutes. idk how but you drag it on and on) its mostly bullshit you’re spitting out.

⇢ “…pom pom told me that there was this super cool book…. I just had to read it of course …..and it was really cool yeah yeah ….um about robots and science and…stuff….”

⇢ does pom pom even read?? you didn’t know!

⇢ and you definitely don’t notice amidst your frantic stories, but dan heng listens to you attentively in amusement. he actually has the smallest grin on his face, very well knowing you are making everything up.

⇢ to put it simply, he finds it endearing. he’s almost in a trance, just listening to you talk and talk and talk…

⇢ after you finish your story time, he snaps out of it quick enough for you to not notice anything.

⇢ and you bow repeatedly in embarrassment before dashing out of the room.

⇢ the following day, dan heng suddenly gives you a book out of nowhere. today, his signature cold face seems slightly nervous instead, but you don’t pay attention.

⇢ you see that the book is a fairytale, one that is right up your alley!

⇢ ‘Beauty and the Beast’.

⇢ you open the book to see a post-it note on the first page, with neat handwriting on it;

‘y/n, I saw you liked fairytales and the fantasy genre. I do not. But I stumbled across this book yesterday, and I remember reading the first three chapters sometime when I was younger. It seems like something you’ll like. The main protagonist reminds me of you. I hope you’ll like it.’

⇢ your face is red hot as you read his note. he wrote to you. he thinks of you. he said you reminded him of a princess. (what the fvck.)

⇢ and secretly behind the scenes, dan heng is not as calm and collected as he seems.

⇢ after you put away the book and left that day, he took note of the book you had returned. fairytale…fantasy…

⇢ dan heng immediately started to think hard about any fantasy books he had read in his life. hours and hours of struggling later (he never reads fantasy, it’s too unrealistic for him), he finally remembers one.

⇢ he’d read the first few chapters of it before, and he remembers the main character all too clearly. she reminded him so much of you, yet he didn’t know why.

⇢ (truthfully, it was definitely because she was his first ever fictional crush. and now you were…… but he was never going to admit that to himself.)

⇢ he spends his night searching around the archives. 2am the next morning, he finds it.

⇢ dan heng goes to bed that night, heart thumping faster than usual, because now he realises just how much he likes you.

© mistyacorn do not plagiarize or repost please, just enjoy it ykwim

[kurishiri]

95K┊Dark If —Harrison Gray—

꒰ ִ ֺ ⊹ @ notice ⊹ ֺ ִ ꒱ this translation may not be 100% accurate or contain creative liberties due to characterization or narrative flow purposes. if you enjoy, please consider reblogging, but don’t repost these or claim these as your own!

— the 95k story for dark if (part 1), featuring harry. i think it is “required reading” to understand the world of this event, but they set it as the 95k bonus story, so i'm translating it. please note this does not necessarily have a happy end.

— cw: mentions of murder and death, angst.

Every story had an established plot, so to speak.

For example, in Cinderella, the prince fell in love at first sight with Cinderella, and they lived happily ever after.

Or if we took Snow White, the kiss from the prince would awaken her, and then they lived happily ever after.

‘It’s boring if everything goes as planned?’ That’s fine, since it’s the type of story most people want.

But, I wonder when this all went down...when did this fairytale world start to become so twisted?

And also, what had to have gone down for me to end up in this role of guiding the keyman to this world and through those twists?

Tonight, once again, the keyman who had wandered into this fairytale world tried to run away, returning to reality.

In other words, they were not the keyman, but rather they just happened to get caught up in all of this.

Victor: It seems this time as well, they were unable to find the missing thing.

Harrison the Lying Fox: They’ll just think of it all as a bad dream and forget about it anyway.

H: Besides...

Victor: ‘It’s best to quickly forget about this world and live in reality’?

This mysterious man named Victor, who wandered this world, had a shrewd look as he smiled, and as usual, such a look irritated me.

Just when I thought of throwing even a single insult his way, I heard the sound of footsteps.

(Ahh, here we go again...)

(Someone was ‘summoned’ by this world.)

Victor: Oh, where are you headed off to? There’s a guest here.

Harrison the Lying Fox: I’ll look from afar. There’s not much point in talking face to face anyway.

Victor: I see. Then do as you like.

——And then, the footsteps gradually grew louder, until they stopped.

Victor: Welcome to the twisted fairytale world...

V: A guest has come~~ Yippeee~~!

There stood a figure, petrified from what looked like anxiety.

Kate: Um, where... I... just now I was at the bookstore, and...

(Oh jeez... she’s so frightened.)

Kate: Uhm, I’m in the middle of my letter carrier duties. So I would like to return to Kingsley Books...

Victor: Now that may be a bit difficult.

Kate: Huh?

Victor’s explanation, something he had repeated thousands of times over, flowed smoothly.

How he selfishly wanted her to find the ‘missing thing’ in the fairytale world.

And then, the one named Kate was sent to the twisted fairytale world in order to find that very thing.

Victor: Harrison. Are you going to take a peek into the story?

Harrison the Lying Fox: You can stop with the act. I know you know as well that I’ve got no choice but to.

The lying fox was always a despised presence within a fairy tale.

And that was the role I bore. It was my fate to spend my life serving this world so that it could return to normal.

(I can freely traverse through any fairytale world.)

(But if I were to flip a coin on it, it would mean I would never be able to become a character in any fairy tale.)

Despite the fact I was bearing this troublesome fate, I myself couldn’t correct any of these stories... it was ironic.

Victor: Well then, have a good time. May you find the best happy end this time.

—— Traversing... ——

Kate: I’m... Cinderella?

Having been sent to the world of Cinderella, Kate wasted little time in starting her search for the missing thing.

She was trying so hard I couldn’t help but feel fed up.

But——

Stepmother: It’s because of children like you that my own girls don’t get chosen by the prince!

Kate: P-please stop...

Stepmother: You...someone like you...!

So that one of her own children would become the prince’s fiancée, the stepmother schemed and killed Kate.

Once again, this fairy tale reached a bad end.

And then, Kate was taken back to reality from the fairytale world.

—— In reality ——

Kate: Huh? I... what was I doing again?

K: ...I feel as though I was sleeping for a long time...

I had come to realize in the long time I had been observing that if a keyman were to die in the fairytale world and reach a bad end,

they would be forcefully returned to reality like this.

And——all of what happened in that world would be wiped clean from their memories.

But, in most cases, their bodies would still remember, and they would leave, as though to run away.

It was like they were saying they didn’t want to see a bad dream again.

(Alright now, you get out of here quickly too.)

(Go back to that peaceful everyday life filled with normalcy.)

Kate: ………

After standing up with a bit of a wobble, Kate once again reached for the fallen book.

(………Huh? What in the world are you doing?)

And then, as if trying her best to remember something precious, she furrowed her brows,

and then, once again, Kate was sucked into the book like she was being summoned by it.

Harrison the Lying Fox: Wh——you idiot.

And so, Kate — once again — found herself repeating the same exchange with Victor,

landing in the world of Alice in Wonderland.

In this world, the bell signifying the Queen of Heart’s judgment resonated.

Kate: I’m looking for the missing thing in this world.

K: That is, the thing that’s lacking in the world. If that is——a peaceful life...

Liam the Cheshire Cat: Then you wouldn’t want to approach the Queen of Hearts. Well, all is up to you, Alice.

And so, Kate once again tried so hard to find the missing thing, it was laughable.

(Why do you feel the need to go so far?)

(...Ah, jeez, if you get hurt again that’s all on you.)

This time, in this story as well, Kate was unable to find the missing thing.

And, never learning from what had happened, she would continue to choose this cycle.

Over, and over again, she would roam within these twisted fairy tales.

At one time, she was Snow White.

But, she was killed by a foreign prince named Natalia, who was aiming to conquer the country that Queen Elbert ruled, covering for him.

And at another time, she was Sleeping Beauty.

She was cursed by a fairy to ‘prick her finger on a spinning wheel ten years later, triggering the curse,’

but before that time, she had passed away from an illness.

Such events would repeat themselves, over and over again.

And, over and over again, I would watch over Kate.

Today as well, Kate was in a twisted fairytale world, continuing her search.

At this point, I couldn’t bring myself to care about what fairy tale she was in.

It was just watching over her was my job.

Today, it had been raining in this forest nonstop since the morning, and Kate’s shoulders grew more soaked.

When I saw her body trembling in the cold, I couldn’t bear it...

——And, for the first time, I approached Kate.

Without an utterance, I held an umbrella above her.

Kate: ...?

Harrison the Lying Fox: The rain won’t stop for a while. Wanna come in?

Kate: T-thank you?

Harrison the Lying Fox: Haha, why phrase it like a question?

Kate: Um... can I ask who you are?

(My name...)

Harrison the Lying Fox: That kind of thing doesn’t really matter, does it. Since we’re going to be parting ways when the rain stops anyway.

Kate: Is that so. Yes... I suppose so...

Kate looked a bit lonely, before thanking me again.

Under a single umbrella, I looked up at the sky, the rain falling non-stop.

(I hate the rain.)

(...But, just for today, I wouldn’t mind if it never stopped.)

(Because, then I can be together with you... for just a little longer.)

The ‘thanks’ from Kate made a strange warmth seep into my heart.

And then, once again, Kate was killed in the fairy tale.

While I’d seen her die countless times, for some reason, this time made me feel a pang in my heart for the first time.

—— Time skip ——

Victor: Oh my, Harrison. It’s not every day I see you here.

Harrison the Lying Fox: Could you stop this already?

Victor: ...I take it this is about Kate?

Harrison the Lying Fox: .........

Victor: That, I can’t do.

Harrison the Lying Fox: And why’s that?

Victor: Because, for some reason, Kate herself ends up choosing to come back here over and over. This is a first for me as well.

V: And I find myself thinking, about Kate...

Harrison the Lying Fox: What about her? Hurry and say it already.

Victor: Perhaps she may be the true keyman?

V: Harrison? Where are you headed?

Harrison the Lying Fox: ...To Kate.

Victor: I see... do be careful.

Kate was in the world of Cinderella, like she was the first time.

Tonight, Kate was participating in the ball, and she must introduce herself to the prince.

She had a fairy godmother alter her appearance, and I thought she looked more beautiful than any of the other participants here.

That was no lie, either, since the eyes of any who passed by would be taken by her.

But, Kate, the gentle soul she was, could not bring herself to approach the prince directly.

(Ahh... if she doesn’t speak up, he’ll get stolen by other women.)

(Jeez, always making more work for me.)

I quietly approached, and I dropped an empty glass from a table right adjacent to Kate,

causing a shattering sound to resonate through the dance hall, and everyone in the venue turned their attention on Kate.

Kate: Ah, wh—? Me? I-I’m so sorry...

(Look over there, the prince has finally noticed you.)

Prince: Um, are you hurt anywhere?

When I confirmed the prince had reached out to Kate, I left the venue.

After all, a lying fox was hardly suited for such a place.

I descended the long staircase myself.

(I don’t think that would be enough to change the course of the story.)

(Kate, go and find the missing thing. This time, for sure.)

When I wished for this, a bitter feeling bloomed in my chest, as though I had bitten on sand.

(I see, if Kate were to find a happy ending, I would no longer be needed.)

Before I knew it, I had watched over Kate for quite a while.

At some point, Kate had already become a part of my everyday.

(——What am I saying, with something so out of character like how a farewell would be lonely.)

Trying to shake off these conflicting emotions, I continued to walk, when...

Kate: Uhm...

(...Kate?)

When I turned around, I saw Kate running down, holding the hem of her dress up as she did.

(...What happened with the prince?)

(Why’s she chasing after me?)

Many words welled up in my throat, but I pushed them all down.

After all, in Kate’s memory, I was not there.

Harrison the Lying Fox: Did you need something?

Kate: Ah, um...

Harrison the Lying Fox: ...?

Kate: Have... we met somewhere before, by any chance...?

Harrison the Lying Fox: ......... (O_O)

Kate’s eyes pierced through me, like she was begging for the truth.

We stared at each other for several seconds, which felt more like an eternity.

But, the one who broke it first was me.

Harrison the Lying Fox: Who knows. It’s probably just you.

(It’s alright. I’m good at telling lies.)

Kate: I...see. Sorry about that, for saying something so strange. Please forget it.

Kate put up a forced smile before she returned from where she came.

And I, much like a fool, couldn’t take my eyes off of her back.

(Hey, Kate. Having watched over you all this time, I’ve come to realize something.)

The ‘missing thing’ that Kate had always been searching for in these fairytale worlds...

(That is——the protagonist.)

(Kate. You yourself are the missing thing in its truest form.)

Had Kate followed her own heart, choosing a path to become happy,

I was sure the twisted fairy tale would reach its end.

But, when I tried to tell Kate,

Harrison the Lying Fox: Gugh, hah... gh...

Something seemed to stop words from forming in my voice.

And, as though mocking at this eternal, twisted fate from afar, the clock struck twelve.

Harrison the Lying Fox: .........

(I can’t become your prince, nor can I become your lover.)

(And, someday, you may end up finding your happy end.)

(But... for now... even if it’s just this moment——)

Harrison the Lying Fox: Hey, you there. ...Heading that way could spell out danger, you know?

Kate: And you are?

Harrison the Lying Fox: Who knows. More importantly, where are you planning to go?

(...Let me watch over you, while holding the key of this secret in my hand.)

That night, as strange as it was, I had a dream.

In my fairy tale, one that remained without a name to call it, Kate suddenly appeared and said——

Kate: Harrison!

Harrison the Lying Fox: How do you know my name?

Kate: Of course I know. Because I’ve always been searching for you.

Harrison the Lying Fox: ......... (O_O)

Kate: ...Harrison, I like you. Would you become my happy end?

(Ahh... I see now.)

(So this is the most convenient dream for me.)

A bitter, yet unbearably sweet feeling blossomed in my heart.

(If this isn’t a reality, then I won’t have to lie anymore, right?)

I touched Kate’s wrist, and then brought her in an embrace.

(That’s right, I had always... wanted to hug you like this.)

Harrison the Lying Fox: Me too.

H: I’ve always wanted to reach the best end with you, too.

(Kate, I no longer want to see you crying.)

(I think you’re much better suited with a carefree smile.)

Harrison the Lying Fox: Kate. I like you.

I wished that time could stop, just a little bit longer,

for while this momentary dream was fleeting, I had never had seen a better one before.

Fin.

masterlist 🗝️ ┊ ko-fi ☕️ ┊ comms 🤍

[iid-smile]

⭑ — THE SNOW WHITE PRINCESS IS

お願い KISS で目を醒まして欲しいの

白い棺から連れ出すよう

content — sakura haruka x fem!reader, the reader is referred to as "princess" and wears a dress, brief mention of suo and the class, the reader has parents, he calls you pretty,

wc — 0.9k (how??)

dec 3rd ⭑ event masterlist — for the lovely @hanaeriin !

a/n: pretend i didnt forget to post this yesterday + im gonna edit it because idk what the hell happened while i was writing

princesses, fairytales, fantasy... haruka never got the appeal over why people are so obsessed with romance and happy-ending stories. it's not real, it's made up, and it's stupid.

once or twice, he's taken a peek at your phone whenever you don't respond to him calling your name. maybe you were studying, maybe there's something super important that you just can't tear your eyes off it, but no. it's heaps and heaps of short clips, all having a common theme, ballroom dancing and huge dresses.

now that he thinks about it, he used to hear you gush about disney princes, or how magical and perfect the princesses' lives seem to be, minus any dilemma that takes up the majority of the movie.

well, that's an idea! you can be a princess for a day as a gift, and he'll be your prince. oh, that's cheesy...

with a little consulting from a certain love adviser with an eyepatch, he was forced convinced into committing to his idea, his brief idea spiralling into something much more complicated than it needed to be. either way, he feels almost obligated to, especially since this is your first december together.

here's the catch; haruka has no idea how to dance. he can do the hokey pokey (barely), but he cannot do whatever the hell you see in those videos. he's never had great limb coordination unless it's been for fighting, so basically he's at the level of a baby learning how to walk for the first time.

twenty-five days. he had twenty five days to learn how to dance.

in the meantime, his little helping elves (he did not choose this alias, they did) were fixing up a dress for you, gathering up money from each member of the class to make their grade captain's girlfriend happy.

soon, the day finally came; christmas morning. he's been stressed all the way up until the moment he reached you front door, eyes trained to the ground with thoughts of doubt running all over him. what if he messes the whole thing up and ruins your day? his hand absentmindedly reaches up to knock on the door, dreading the moment he hears footsteps approaching and praying to anybody out there that you're still asleep.

with the permission of your parents and a flustered explanation later, he makes his way to your room, trying his best to keep the long trail of skirt material from touching the ground.

quietly, he enters, and the door shuts, making little to no sound. your room certainly hasn't changed much since he's last been here. as usual, he cringes at your embarrassing collage of photos together, as well as a few additional trinkets he spots dotted around the area.

he lays the dress carefully over a nearby chair and approaches your side. how was he supposed to do this? nudge you awake? call your name? how would a prince wake up a princess? thank god nobody's here to witness this...

here goes nothing.

your brain shakes itself awake from a soft yet firm sensation on your lips. it's familiar, comforting, and something you've grown well addicted to. your head tilts as you deepen the kiss ever so slightly, before leaning back to take a look at the culprit.

there he was, your prince charming now adorned in a fancy suit that you'd never imagine he'd ever wear, hair slicked back with a few loose strands over his forehead, and his thumb gently rubbing over the back of your hand.

did he get ahead of himself? "u-um—" every rational thought slipped from his mind, only a stuttering mess left behind. "i—"

"am i dreaming? you're really a prince?" you whisper, sleep still present in your voice and your hands lazily press against his cheeks. there's a slight burn against your fingertips, yet you still brush them just underneath his eyes, to confirm if you were awake or not.

he'll just go along with it. "yes... and i..." deep breaths, deep breaths. "i'd like to take you to the ball."

your head tilts in confusion. "the ball?" gears turn in your head as you put the puzzle pieces together. "like cinderella? but my hair! my makeup—!"

"you don't need any of that." he mumbles, lips pursing from his honesty. "you're pretty as you are right now."

"what about a dress? i don't have one..."

"you do." and he moves out of you way, enough for you to see the stunning dress that has magically appeared in your room.

you don't even have time to react before you're suddenly yanked up to your feet, one of his hands on your waist and the other still holding your hand. his feet start to move in a graceful pattern, and you somehow manage to fall into the rhythm, even with no music. you can see the amount of concentration on his face, as if he's practiced this day and night, knowing exactly where to go, exactly where to stop and pull you close and hold you tighter. for once, you seem to be more rattled than him.

finally, you're in line with the dress, hands tentatively reaching out to touch the material. it's beautiful, seeming to be your exact size as you lay it over your body.

the sound of you unzipping the back snaps haruka out of his trance, tumbling his way to the door. "i'll give you some privacy." though he can't see it, you nod, a soft smile overcoming your face as you continue to admire the garment in front of you.

now that you think about it, you have had an odd conversation here and there about clothing sizes, plus random visits to tailors because haruka's uniform "didn't fit anymore", plus going to more high-end shoe stores that you've always dreamed of going to, and oh.

he really did this all for you, didn't he?

[fictionadventurer]

Top ten fairytale retelling novels/novellas you've read.

I've already answered my top 10, so here's my shot at listing 11-20.

11. A Long, Long Sleep by Anna Sheehan: Would probably be higher on the list if I'd remembered it in time. Sci-fi story that's a very loose retelling of "Sleeping Beauty", but so rich and emotionally devastating.

12. Maid and Minstrel and The Beggar Prince by Kate Stradling: Putting both of her short "King Thrushbeard" retellings in one entry. The first is more of a "Beauty and the Beast" tale that makes both leads decent people caught up in a misunderstanding, but I appreciated how it (probably accidentally) made me see the Christ-imagery inherent in the original. The second gives King Thrushbeard some character flaws and a good arc, and has an excellent explanation for why the princess didn't want to marry any of her suitors.

13. Fairest by Gail Carson Levine: Snow White retelling set in the world of Ella Enchanted, and retains that book's creativity in adapting the fairy tale elements. Has an excellent full-cast audiobook.

14. The Stepsister and the Slipper by Nina Clare: Georgette-Heyer-esque Cinderella retelling. Very rushed ending, and not the kind of romance I'd advise anyone to pursue in real life, but very fun.

15. Soot and Slipper by Kate Stradling: Cinderella retelling with an excellent twist, adorable characters, and a convoluted ending.

16. Before Midnight by Cameron Dokey: Short and basic Cinderella retelling that gets on the list because I have extremely fond autumnal associations with this book.

17. Unseen Beauty by Amity Thompson: A "Beauty and the Beast" retelling from the point-of-view of one of the invisible servants. Since I'd had that idea for years before finding this, I was thrilled to find that this story does a pretty good job with it.

18. Exile by Loren G. Warnemuende: The first book in a trilogy that retells "Maid Maleen". I haven't finished the series yet, so maybe it's unfair to put it on here, but I loved the section of the story that takes place in the tower, so I couldn't leave it off the list.

19. The Seventh Raven by David Elliot: A retelling of "The Seven Ravens" that does a decent job of retelling the fairy tale, but I mostly love it as a very well-structured novel-in-verse that structures each POV character's poems with their own poetic form.

20. The Tales of Ambia by Allison Tebo: Fun, slightly Wodehouse-ish retellings that are a breath of fresh air in the romantasy-dominated world of indie retellings

Honorable Mentions:

The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer: Objectively as stories, these should be pretty high up on the list. It had great characters and adapted the fairy tale elements in some amazing ways. But I'm not a fan of a lot of the worldbuilding elements here, so I couldn't bring myself to rank it above some of my beloved, but more-flawed indie retellings.

With Blossoms Gold by Hayden Wand and Sweet Remembrance by Emily Ann Putzke: Both contained in Once: Six Historical Fairy Tale Retellings. The first is "Rapunzel" set in Renaissance Italy with an agoraphobic Rapunzel, and the second is a beautifully devastating retelling of "The Little Match Girl" set during WWII. I haven't read these in a long time, but I remember them both being very good.

Masque by W.R. Gingell: An excellent "Beauty and the Beast" retelling with a very lively Beauty, a Beast who works as a police detective instead of brooding in a castle, and some clever adaptations of the fairy tale elements. Unfortunately, I've decided a couple elements of the magic go beyond what I'm comfortable with, so I couldn't put it on the list, but I had to give it credit.

[14buddy22]

Hello!! Can i request an angst to fluff hotch x reader fic. Basically hotch and bau! reader are together and then something comes up from reader’s past that makes hotch question their relationship, they have this huge fight and hotch says something that hurts the reader so much, a bunch of yearning later the two make up. pls make it really angsty with a very fluffy end!

Getting His Last Name

Warnings: angst, fluff, guns, stalkers, blood, hospitals.

Aaron's P.O.V. is italicized :)

Your relationship was a fairytale. Well, not exactly a fairy tale, but he treated you like a princess. He was your Prince Charming.

You were certain about that.

You knew you loved him. You had ever since you laid eyes on him. Actually, no, not since you first laid eyes on him because you were in a relationship with someone else.

You fell in love with him when he showed up at your apartment to check up on you after one of the worst days in your life. You were held hostage, the person you were held hostage with died, and then your boyfriend broke up with you that night. Saying that he had cheated on you and he had to come clean since he felt guilty. He hadn't even asked about your day.

Aaron told you that night that he just so happened to be walking by your apartment. He had your favorite take out food that you and him had ate in his office to work on case files together.

When he saw your mascara smeared and running down your face, he knew he was not leaving your apartment that night. He wasn't going to leave you alone until he knew you were okay.

He didn't know about the boyfriend part until he asked you what else was making you upset.

That was the moment you fell in love with him. When he knew something else was going on and when you realized he wasn't going to leave you alone for the night.

Here you are now, you two had been dating for 2 years, engaged for 3 months. You two were cleaning your home, Jack was spending the weekend with a friend.

When you were singing and cleaning the bathroom, Aaron began to call your name. Pausing your music, you followed his voice into your shared closet.

He was holding a case file. You knew what that case file was. You never wanted him to find it.

"Aar-"

He cut you off. You hurt him. You could see it in his eyes. You had a past. You didn't want anyone to find out. You're afraid Aaron just had.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I couldn't. You have to understand. Please."

"I let you know my son. I let you know me. I've told you things about me that no one else knows, and you couldn't tell me this. Tell me that the woman I'm engaged to is in witness protection?"

"Aaron. I'm sorry."

"No -Y/n. Wait, is that even your name? You know what. It doesn't matter. You should have told me this."

"I'm no longer in witness protection."

"What do you have to say for yourself, Y/n/n? Why couldn't you tell me this? What made you feel that you couldn't trust me?"

You were teary eyed. You never thought that the man you loved would ever make you upset. But here we were and it's all because you had a secret you never told him. You never wanted to tell anyone.

"Since you don't have an explanation for me, we'll finish cleaning the respective rooms and uh, I'll sleep in the guest bedroom."

You weren't going to let him do that. This was his house to begin with. You moved in. You could at least tell him you'd at least be sleeping in the guest room.

"No, Aar. I'll sleep in the guest room. This is your house."

He dropped the case file on the table and walked out past you.

You hurt him. He's been hurt before and you promised you'd never hurt him again. But you broke him. After slowly helping piece him back together, you broke him apart. This broke him and it's your fault. You saw his look of disappointment, despair, heart break.

You waited until the light turned off in the hallway. A sign that he was heading to bed. You pulled out the case file. Looking over your past, what made you into who you are today.

Being in witness protection changes you. You have to lead this life you never wanted to. Come up with small, but smilier lies about your life just to fabricate this made up story to keep you safe.

You had an unsub who was obsessed with you before you entered the BAU. In a different unit, yet, you interviewed him when he wasn't a suspect. Then he became obsessed. Would send you flowers, chocolates, would leave notes on your apartment door.

It freaked you out and that's when you entered witness protection. You changed your name, just your last name, though. You changed little life of your details, but you were going to stay this way. You never wanted to go back to who you were until your stalker was dead.

However, your stalker wasn't caught until a year into your witness protection. That had been the 1st year you joined the BAU. You've been working for the BAU for 4 years.

Your stalker had been in prison for 3 years. Your relationship with Aaron being together for a little over 2 years. You should have told him. You knew that. You felt bad. But you wanted to protect him as well. You knew if you told him, he'd go looking into it. Possibly even go visit the prison your stalker was at and intimidate him.

You never wanted that. He told you what happened when Haley and Jack went into witness protection. Granted that was 8 years ago. But it still hurt him to this day.

You decided to cry yourself to sleep. Not knowing how you had royally fucked it up between you and Aaron. You never wanted to hurt him but you did. You were going to have to live with that for forever.

Waking up the next morning, you decided you'd get a head start. You and Aaron could drive separate instead of together. You didn't know how he'd be.

But when you went to grab clothes, you noticed the hallway light on, which meant he had left already. It was only 6am. Yes, he was up early, but he never left early ever since you moved in.

Getting showered and dressed for a casual day, you decided to stop and get breakfast for everyone. You knew the team was going to be in for a rough one today after yours and Aaron's event last night, so why not try to make it a bit better?

Leaving the house and arriving at your favorite coffee shop, you saw a little kid crying. You couldn't just ignore it being an agent and just being a good person.

You knelt down to the little boy and said, "Hi, I'm Y/n. What's going on today, buddy? Can I help you?"

Aaron's P.O.V.

Rossi said, "Where's Y/n?"

"Her and I drove separate. I didn't want to wake her up."

Strauss came knocking on my door with the director of the FBI trailing behind her.

"Where's Y/n?"

I explained that we drove separate. I made up the excuse that I didn't want to wake her up since I got here early. I didn't have the heart to tell them that it's because I was so hurt by her last night that I wasn't ready to see her again this morning after I found out the truth she's been hiding.

"She'll be in shortly, but as her unit chief, what do you need her for?"

"Agent Y/l/n, was in witness protection when she came into the BAU. There was a prison break last night. Y/n's stalker was one of the prisoner's who escaped.

I knew that all the color had drained from my face. She would have been at work now, surely she would have. She was amazing, always on time. Usually early. But now that she wasn't here, I was scared. What if last night was the last conversation I had with her. I was upset by finding out she was in witness protection. She should have told me. I would have protected her more.

"I-I don't know where she is. Let me try and call her."

"We tried. She didn't answer."

I grabbed my phone from my pocket and found her contact name. I called her, praying she'd pick up before it got to voicemail.

You saw Aaron was calling you. You knew if you didn't pick up, that'd be cruel for him, but you were trying to help this little boy. You decided to pick it up.

"Don't answer it."

The little boy looked at you, but you recognized that voice from anywhere. You ID'd that voice, you testified in court, you were put in witness protection from that voice.

"Hello Y/n. Did you miss me?"

Aaron's P.O.V.

Voicemail. Damn it. Where the hell is she? We need to get all the information we can on this guy and dig into her past life. Unfortunately I wasn't an expert on her as I thought I was. I thought I knew everything.

But was everything in our relationship a lie?

It was weird to be at a house that you once kicked the door in. Arrested this guy. it was weird. But you were here. In a home, tied up in the basement.

You were scared. You knew what he did to the women. He raped and tortured them. He stalked them first. And now he had you at his mercy. If you wanted to survive, you had to comply. Fighting would make it worse. He liked it when they put up a fight.

You had blacked out again and you don't know from what. You remember drinking water in the car. He must have roofied you.

Rossi walked in with Garcia and said, "We got her last known location, we got security footage, we were able to track his plates. He went to the home that Y/n arrested him at. He didn't try anything tricky. Which means..."

I stopped in my tracks. Knowing exactly what it meant.

"It means that my fiancé is his end game."

Chills ran down my spine. We didn't have time to waste. If I wanted to find her alive, we had to go now. When we looked through his case file, he was not sticking to his routine. The love of my life was his end game. He knew it, I knew it.

Speeding to the house, I just needed her to be okay. Her and I would be okay. Jack needed her to come home. I needed her to come home. She was the love of my life. Not was, I had to hope she's still alive. She is the love of my life.

I got out of the car, pulling my gun out. My bulletproof vest feeling tighter than ever. Did I tighten it too much? Has it always been this tight?

My mind was racing. As I kicked in the door, I thought about Y/n kicking in this door 3 years ago. Except today, I'm afraid someone isn't coming out alive.

My team checked the house until we found a hidden door to a basement. As I opened the door, I made my way downstairs. Finding a room. When I walked in, Y/n was there. Her stalker, Chris, was holding her at gun point.

I held my breath in my throat. I couldn't be scared. I had to be strong right now. Y/n was looking at me.

"Aaron."

That's all you could muster up when you saw Aaron. Sweating a little bit. Worried written all over his face. Tears filling his eyes. You put him in this situation. You should have been more careful. You should have told him that you were in witness protection.

"I'm sorry, Aaron. I'm so sorry."

"Don't be sorry. We're gonna be okay. I love you."

Chris said, "You can't have her. I want her. I've wanted her for 4 years Hotchner. She's mine now."

"I will never be with you."

You looked at Aaron. He was reading you right now. You were hoping he knew what you were going to do. You saw him slightly shake his head no, but you wanted to just be by Aaron.

You kicked your foot to Chris' ankle and he knelt to the ground. It seemed like everything happened in slow motion. He let you go, you began to run to Aaron when you felt a piercing pain in your lower back and abdomen.

You saw Aaron's eyes widened and then you heard another gun shot. You think it happened at the same time you hit the ground. But all you could focus on was Aaron.

You saw the tears roll down his face now. Everything was muffled. Maybe it was the gunshots still ringing in your ear. Aaron had to have shot him, right? Chris was dead.

Then you saw Rossi leaning over you as well.

"He's gone. Chris is dead and you're going to be alright. Right kiddo?"

You felt the blood you were losing. This wasn't a normal amount, right? Maybe it was. You hadn't been shot before so you weren't sure.

"Aar."

As you began to talk, you felt blood coming from your mouth. Was this right? No. It couldn't have been.

"Hey. Hey sweetheart. The paramedics are here. You're going to be okay. I love you so much. Okay. Chris is dead. You're free from witness protection. You're so strong. I'm not mad at you."

"I'm sorry, Aar. I never meant to hurt you."

Watching her lose that much blood scared me. I didn't lose this much blood when I was stabbed 9 times. Blood coming from her mouth wasn't a good sign. I was going to lose her. I was right when I said someone wasn't coming out of this house alive. I was hoping it was Chris. While he was dead, I didn't want to lose Y/n either.

She was losing blood and losing it fast. She was coughing up blood next. This wasn't good. No, no, no. Please, no.

"I need you to keep your eyes open for me. Please honey. Please."

I leaned down to kiss her forehead. Giving me something to hold onto. I watched her eyes closed. She still had a pulse, but where the hell were the paramedics. We're losing her. We're losing her too fast.

The paramedics arrived within the next 5 minutes. Their training took over. All I could do was sit back and watch. The blood from Y/n's words staining my shirt.

The ride in the ambulance was terrible. I watched the love of my life lose her life. Flatline, then be brought back to life. Still losing blood.

As she was rushed into surgery. All I could do was wait. I sat there. Watching everyone else around me. My world stopped and their world was still going on.

After multiple hours of sitting there, a doctor came out to be met with me and my team.

"Y/n Y/l/n?"

"I'm her fiancé. Is. Is she okay?"

"It was touch and go for a while, but we managed to stop the blood, give her blood transfusion and she's alive, and expected to make a full recovery. She's awake and she's asking for Aaron."

I felt a sense of relief wash over me. She was going to be okay. I'm going to marry her. It didn't matter what her last name was before she met me. It doesn't matter what her last name was now, she's going to be Y/n Hotchner someday.

Walking into the hospital room, she looked small and fragile in that bed. But that was the opposite, she was strong. I'm so proud of her, she had to know that.

"I'm so sorry we went to bed mad last night. Let's never do that again. I love you, Y/n. I want to know all about you before witness protection. I want you to tell me everything that you will let me. Just never leave me, okay?"

"I love you Aaron Hotchner. Now let's get married the minute I get out of here so I can get rid of this last name I never wanted. I've always wanted yours."

He got next to you in the hospital bed and held you in his arms. Both of you sharing a kiss. You felt so happy to be alive. You felt so relieved that he loved you. You felt excited that in three days, when you did leave the hospital, you were on your way to the courthouse to officially become "Y/n Hotchner."