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marmotsomsierost · 3 years ago

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(i totally read this backwards at first, so this is instead 'death's family meeting regular mortal's family for the first time')

"Thane!"

"What?!"

He turns to see Suze staring pointedly and angrily at the table to his left where the massive bouquet of mixed yellow roses, white and purple anemones, and eucalyptus was carefully packed and waiting. The operative word being 'was,' as they were...well. Not dead, not yet, but definitely faded. Petals were already littering the burnished wood beneath the arrangement. He turned back to Suze with a wince. "...Sorry, Suze."

"Keep it together! For one dinner! Fuck!"

"Hey, I'm not the one who had to revive their neighbor's dog because she got a phone call from their girlfriend's dad and panicked."

"Oh, you want to star-" Roger stepped between them, folding his arms across his chest. Some variant of this dance had been repeating itself frequently since they'd been invited to dinner with the Huldersons, and he was beyond tired of it.

"I'm not listening to this for the fifth time in three days. Stop freaking out. It's just dinner." Laughter from behind him ruined the stern glower he'd been indulging in to cover his own nerves. Inge leaned out from the mudroom, kicking their boots off behind them as they waved hello, still chortling.

"You should see your faces, it's like a children's book. 'this anthropomorphic personification's smile is too small! this anthropomorphic personification's smile is too angry! this-" They had to dodge a wilted rose and sighed, picking it up off the floor. "C'mon, don't take it out on the flowers. you should've planned for that." They watched the head rise from its droop and the color return with a bit of focus before sticking it carefully through the clip holding their hair.

"Okay, not all of us won the personfication lottery like you did, sue me for thinking Thane could keep his-" Suze broke off in an aggrieved screech. Roger watched in resignation as his siblings once again devolved into a wrestle-slap-fight before turning back to face Inge properly.

"I assume you have some sort of plan, then, since you're over 30 minutes late and not dressed nicely and..." He blinked, looking more closely at their forearms. "...covered in dirt??"

"Yeah, whatever, it'll wash off fast. It took me forever to find some nice enough, it's totally the wrong season."

"For what? More flowers that are just gonna wilt in minutes because Suze is head-over-heels in happiness and none of us want to ruin it for her?"

"Yeah! Wait, no. Not like- hold on." Inge darted back towards the mudroom, returning to thump (gently) a large cardboard box on the table. "Flowers aren't the problem! Cut flowers, that's hard, they're already on borrowed time & highly susceptible to changes in just general environment, much less Thane being moody." Thane paused in his attempt at getting past Suze's curls for optimum noogie-strength to raise a rude gesture their way, leaving an opportunity for Suze to hook a heel around and drop him to the ground.

"That's why I found these!" They said proudly, lifting a shallow earthenware pot out of the box. It was filled with precariously shaped and piled dirt wrapped in some kind of silvery moss. A smallish green shrub stuck up out of the dirt, with five or six small yellow roses in varying stages of blooming tucked between the canes. Inge grinned at the three of them. "See? They're active, right, alive and growing and they've got their own dirt & water & sunlight, so not even Thane could make 'em wilt without actively meaning to. Plus if the Huldersons like 'em they can plant it right in their yard and I know where there's a whole bunch, they can have a whole hedge if they want!"

Suze was staring at the bowl with a bemused frown, distracted enough that Thane was able to shove her off, hopping gracelessly to his feet and straightening up his clothes. "Is that Grandma's lekanis?"

"Yes," Roger answered for Inge, closing his eyes as though that would change the view when he reopened them.

"What? All the pots at the store were too big or too boring or too fancy, and it's not like Grandma ever uses it, especially after she lost the lid. She's not gonna mind."

"Too fancy- Inge, that's almost 2,400 years old!"

"So? It doesn't look it, we've taken great care of it, it's fine." Suze was still staring at it as though it were some potential mimic waiting to eat their faces off. "I thought you'd like it," Inge added, a bit more quietly.

"Inge, that's a wedding gift."

"No, Grandpa bought it for Grandma after the third time they got drunk, ended up on Knossos, and needed rescuing by her parents."

"No, I mean- it's often a wedding gift," Thane explained, "The lekanis, not the roses."

The brief silence that oozed into the room after that sentence felt portentous, at least until Thane made a fist and banged on the wall behind him. "C'mon, Del! Stop eavesdropping! You're leaking again!"

The heaviness to the room cleared abruptly, followed by a muffled "It's not my fault y'all are loud and panicky! Keep your shit together, it's just dinner- which y'all are gonna be late for unless you leave now, there'll be traffic on the bridge."

Four gazes met, briefly united in a different kind of panic, before breaking away in all directions: Inge, to pack the plant back in the box carefully but quickly before grabbing a garment bag and box of wetwipes from the mudroom; Roger, to dash out the door to start the car; Thane, to run for the neoprene carrier containing two bottles of wine and sparkling pomegranate cider; and Suze, to indulge in a brief moment of silent contemplation about running the other direction until she ran out of landmass. Then she considered the level of 'i'm not mad, i'm disappointed'-face she'd get from Livia after she caught up with her, groaned, then flinched as her phone buzzed in her pocket. She fished it out, eyeing it warily until the contact appeared on the screen. Del's roommate? Suze answered it, but before she could speak they were already talking.

"You better get a move on, Del's muttering about yelling out how long til release and in what plot direction the next book in that series you like is gonna go."

"I'm gone, I'm going, I'm-" the line was already silent. Suze booked it out the front door, pausing only to check her reflection in the window on her way out. Thankfully Thane hadn't screwed up her hair too badly- a few swipes with her fingers and the streak was back to being neatly contained, an accent rather than a mad scribble-cloud. It'd be fine.

Assuming nobody realized Inge had stolen roses from the arboretum, again, and sent a basilisk after them. Was that still a thing? No, whatever, it didn't matter! It was just dinner with her girlfriend and her girlfriend's family and her family, like normal people do. In a normal restaurant, in public. With other normal people.

Oh, no.

No. Suze shook her head as she slid into the car, glaring at Thane until he scrambled out of the passenger seat into the back. It was going to be fine.

You’re a regular mortal with a regular family. After a very odd “meet cute,” you’re now dating the anthropomorphic personification of Death. You got to meet their family, and it went really well. Now they’re going to meet yours and they are terrified that they’ll make a bad first impression.

#i got halfway through before i realized i'd misread the prompt #oh well #i borrowed Susan from PTerry because she's amazing #(go read Soul Music or Thief of Time you'll see)#are the huldersons even normal people #beyond the 'what is normal' definition of normalcy anyway #(that'd be a solid no)#skrivens

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taiturner · 2 years ago

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if you still do these, top 5 twdu characters you'd like to see appear on tales of the walking dead :)

I’ll always accept top 5s!! And this is such a great question. In general, I’ve mostly been looking forward to Tales for the new characters it’s going to establish, because TWD is such a huge universe, and there’s so much potential beyond the characters we already know, so I haven’t thought about it much, but I do have some ideas that come to mind :)

Going to answer with groups rather than individual characters because it just makes sense. (And yes I’m 100% aware I have unpopular tastes in characters along the lines of what most fans would call “boring,” so I’m not holding onto any hope that these may actually happen, but this is my silly little blog I made for my silly little favorite characters).

First is obviously the Bennett family, they’re my favorite TWDU family across the board and I’m really interested in all of their story. Of course I’d like to see what they’re up to in present day, but I’m mostly interested in a backstory of the Campus Colony through the lens of the Bennetts. How did they secure the place, how did they establish their new normalcy? They seem to be living as “normal” lives as they could between the classes and the jobs and the housing, etc., so I’m super interested in that. But with the Bennetts specifically, it seems that Felix was almost helping Leo co parent in a way after Kari passed, and I just really love that whole dynamic so I’d love to see that, plus of course how Leo got started on his research and eventually how he was recruited by the CRM. I love WB for what it was, but I am extremely invested in the Campus Colony community and would love to know more. It’s such a fresh take on a community for the TWDU.

Next is the Sutton family!! It seems to be implied that Earl handled a lot of the construction early on, and I’d love to see that (maybe particularly for my own Earl and Alden father-son agenda in how it compares to Alden immediately stepping up to fortify Hilltop, but you know). Earl with construction and blacksmithing, Tammy with her garden, Kenny just a young kid. I really love Earl and Tammy Rose’s banter so I just want more of them in general - and Earl’s death is probably my favorite death scene in the show because it was just really perfect imo, with the way he was able to mention all of his family, so I’m invested in that. (Of course I’d love to see Alden again but I have 0 interest in seeing anything of the Saviors, even though I doubt he’d be included in that narrative anyway, given that he was a worker there and not a soldier, but… if there was a way to bring him back for Tales it’d definitely be alongside the Suttons in some capacity; obviously not holding my breath since the majority of the fandom hates him for existing but I’d be a sham if I didn’t mention my favorite little guy).

Sasha and Tyreese in their doomsday bunker at the beginning of the apocalypse. They mentioned their neighbor having a doomsday bunker once and I have never forgotten— doomsday bunkers seem like an essential story to tell in this universe, so I’m antsy to hear about one (though from synopsizes, it seems like there will be a story about one? So that’s exciting). Sasha is one of my all time favorites in general and I adore Tyreese, and I especially adore their relationship, so I think this would be a really fun episode for me. And probably the most realistic of my list, honestly.

5x05 of Fear is so special to me so Althea and Isabelle currently have such a good opportunity to follow. I know Maggie left the show for personal reasons, but they obviously kept Al alive for a reason too, so I do wonder if they have this idea in their back pocket because obviously their chemistry is so fun, there's so much going on with them, and it's a way to keep establishing CRM stuff without giving too much that it crams whatever bigger story is at play. I would just love to see them again now that they're actually together, not on opposite sides, etc. And I just love both the individual characters so much anyway.

I’d love to follow Tony and Percy pre-WB. I loved them as characters on WB and I loved watching Percy’s character development, but I think it’d be so fun to watch them and their scheming pre-show. There’s a lot of opportunity there with them coming across other groups of people that could potentially be really fun.

Some honorable mentions to Kelly / Magna / Connie / Luke / Yumiko / Bernie group because they’ve hinted at some fun backstories (and I love every single one of these characters so much so I’d personally have a blast), the Monroe family, Tomi settling into the Commonwealth after his big lie, Jesus (literally anything, he’s always fun to watch).

I feel like I’m probably missing some big ones I’ve thought about a time or two, but these were at the top of my mind!

#carlschandler #answered #ty so much for asking 🥺

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omegasmileyface · 3 years ago

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Not in the Job Description

heres a silly lil Danny Phantom concept based entirely off a half-awake sleep-vision that made me laugh :) my subconscious brain is a genius at coming up with things that make just enough sense to be worth writing

summary: Danny's job at a local restaurant is surprisingly fulfilling, even after being crowned Ghost King. Speaking of that job, however, there are some intricacies to it that are hard to keep in mind during everyday life.

warnings: descriptions of nausea and mild sickness

words: 2180

AO3 link

===

Honestly, life was going pretty well at the moment for Danny Fenton. He wasn't even worried that it was a false security or a calm before a storm, because this kind of semi-serenity had been going on for more than a year. It was a long-term stability brought about by adaptation and putting in effort to get help and accommodation. Jazz would be proud!

Sometime at the beginning of Junior year, the Observants had chased him down and crowned him High Ghost King (much to the chagrin of both involved parties). It certainly added responsibility to Danny's plate, along with some new sensations and a series of crises (what didn't these days?), but a little political discussion with some of the more powerful ghosts ended with Danny deciding that, at least at the moment, the position didn't require him to do much more than he normally did. More ghosts would seek him out for help and he would do his best, and some "paperwork" (though there was very little paper involved and it was a lot of talking and oaths and rituals and such) happened about monthly. Otherwise, though, the Zone didn't need much more help than that, having survived off an absent King for centuries. Well, and the ambient purpose of the King as a sort of core for the Zone, but Danny didn't have to put in time or conscious effort for that.

Eventually that settled into normalcy, and Danny was back to worrying about the balance of schoolwork, self-care, and fighting. He still hadn't given up on the prospect of someday becoming an astronaut, and he was determined to have the grades for it. Don't get him wrong, he'd gotten way better about that! He'd formed a practiced, if not entirely stable, system that kept his grades at a solid B- / C+, while getting a solid 5-ish hours of sleep most nights and not bottling things up too much. It was about halfway through Junior year that he realized, with some help from his friends, that his ghosts fights were honestly pretty civil, at least against the regulars. Civil enough that he knew they had some respect for him, and was willing to risk asking for help. So a few weeks and awkward but not bad conversations later, and he had agreements with almost all his regular "foes" not to cause trouble within Amity from 11pm to 7am, 3pm on weekdays. It was more than half the day off-limits on school days, and plenty of ghosts made up for it to a degree by making themselves more common during the "permitted" hours, but it greatly increased Danny's well-being and school performance anyway. "Rivals" like Skulker and Technus had enough respect for Danny and his Lair to abide, and plenty even cared that he was taking care of himself, even between frequent sparring. Maybe a few were really just in fear of his new crown, but he chose to cautiously pretend that wasn't a possibility.

After graduation — he made Senior year with all As and Bs! — Danny's parents had encouraged him to get a part-time job over the summer. He had been interning at FentonWorks (paid! His parents might not be the most attentive but they certainly weren't unfair) since he had accidentally revealed himself a few years back, and they had been thrilled to hear that he still intended to go into NASA if possible, and had done whatever they could to help. They recommended the job because, as good as a paid scientific internship was on a resume, it would help to have a variety of activity and the opportunity to get recommendations from employers who weren't liable to nepotism. After searching local businesses, Danny found a small sandwich shop founded by a middle-aged couple who had moved in and set up shop just before the ghost attacks began. Being close to the school but not far from the commercial sector and offering small portable food (no one wants to sit down for a meal when a spirit could come crashing through the window at any moment), the place got good enough business to pay the employees a proper living wage. Better yet, they were allowed to take home unsold food! Not to mention the owners were both very kind women who held smiling conversation with employees and customers alike. Danny was more than lucky to land such a nice job, even if it meant he had to get up at 7 five days a week.

All this is to say that it wasn't as surprising as it could have been that he was having a slow and pleasant day at work.

Both the owners were out for the day on some sort of vacation, so today it was just Danny and a short teenager named Casey manning the place. Most of their orders recently had been online due to an explosion causing road work near the restaurant and it was mid-morning, leaving work slow enough that they could afford to just have the two until lunch shift started. Danny was on cashier duty today, but unless the door bell sounded, he was helping Casey in the kitchen.

"Aw, man, we're almost out of tomatoes."

"Really?" Casey looked up to the shelf Danny was inspecting and indeed saw only 3 tomatoes. "Huh, guess they didn't restock yesterday. Well, we probably shouldn't risk needing more before the day's out, do you want me to go get more?"

Danny shook his head. "Nah, I can go. I think I could use the fresh air." He said that a lot, especially as an excuse when his ghost sense went off, but that didn't mean it wasn't true. He never had liked being confined.

Casey checked the monitor to see if they'd gotten any new online orders. Since there was a grocery store just a block away, any time someone needed a quick restock they tended to just walk.

They looked up to see Danny already had his jacket on and was looking them in the eye. "Would you take over my position until I come back?"

"Of course. Ten minutes?"

With a nod and a smile, Danny was out the back door.

===

After a moment of habitually wiping down the counters, Casey went up to the register in case a customer appeared.

It was even quieter than before for a few minutes, so they busied themself with mini restocks and organization. They were in the middle of stacking some paper coffee cups when they started to feel dizzy. There had been this subtle pressure on their chest since Danny left, which they figured was anxiety for working the restaurant alone for the first time, and now it had solidified into a warm nausea that flared whenever they exhaled.

With the disinterested panic that came from having strange things happen for years, they wondered if they had missed their medication this morning. A quick glance at their phone, however, showed the notification for it checked off.

Putting the phone back away, Casey noticed the tips of their fingers were somewhat translucent. Alright then, it was definitely something to do with ghosts. Great! Just excellent. The panic was less disinterested this time.

They weren't familiar with any sort of ghost illness that made humans translucent, so they definitely needed to call someone to make sure nothing bad happened. It would be best to call the Fentons' public number so they could go over and get looked over by then. In the meantime, they should call Danny and ask him to hurry back. He shouldn't be much longer anyway.

Casey didn't even get the chance to act on their plan, however, before a short humanoid ghost appeared in the dining area. They didn't look to be up to anything, but Casey reached for the emergency ectoblaster beneath the register anyway. The nausea was getting worse, along with a new chill, and they couldn't be sure this new ghost wasn't somehow causing whatever they were going through.

The ghost looked at them with an expression that was almost desperate. "Ah! Kind human, thank you for your time." The ghost... bowed? "I am Eurusid, from the Spoken Channels. There has been a dispute which damaged public meeting grounds in the center of the Channels, and both groups refuse to allow the damage to be repaired except by the other group."

Casey's eyes narrowed. It was becoming difficult to stand with the dizziness, and if not the ghost himself, then whatever he was saying was probably a hallucination. They didn't even think about responding beyond a detached "what".

It was then that Danny re-entered the back door with the new tomatoes. Good thing, too. At least with another person there, Casey could confirm whether they were hallucinating.

===

Placing down the grocery bag and shrugging off his jacket in one motion, a skill only gained by years of laziness efficiency, Danny called toward the register. "Back!"

Once he caught sight of the teen, however, all casualness shed itself from his body and he rushed over to hold them. "Man, Casey, you feeling alright? You look really pale." The realization that their form was slightly translucent, despite the firm human heartbeat beneath, was drowned out by him finally noticing the ghost standing a few feet away. The reaction of his ghost sense had been so minor that he had ignored it.

He was surprised to see that he recognized the specter's face, marred as it may have been from worry and confusion aimed directly at Casey. "Eurusid? What's going on?"

As the ghost, still confused but unwilling to act impolitely, gathered his bearings and began to bow toward him, Danny's coworker shuddered under his hands, regaining his full attention. He thought back through the day's events for hints as to the situation, before swearing, cutting off whatever Eurusid was about to say.

Danny backed up and said, voice as clear as he could, "I recall my position."

Casey's reaction was immediate, a gasp of air like they had been kept from breathing and a return of their skin's human opacity. Danny rushed back over and put his hand on their back to steady them as their eyes narrowed and went slightly unfocused.

Figures, doesn't it? One of the many intricacies that had come up at his coronation Junior year that just hadn't come up enough to keep at the front of his mind. One of the defenses of the High Ghost Crown was the ability of the King to temporarily give their duty to someone else. As long as that person accepts, during a specified time they substitute for the King in dealing with political matters, as well as taking over as much as their ability allowed of the King's function to process the energy of the Realms.

Danny had no idea that this ability could be activated with words as vague as "take over my position", let alone that it could be used with a human. That potential had never come up during the ceremony, so for all he knew, a full ghost in his position couldn't substitute with a human. A human certainly shouldn't be able to take over any part of the energy processing, though maybe in Amity Park the average person processed enough environmental ectoplasmic energy to make it possible. Regardless of residence, though, it could not be good for Casey's body, which had no Core to properly process energy and had no human equivalent except perhaps a small emotional center in the brain, to even attempt to filter and manage some of the inherent energy of a dimension.

Their skin was still clammy and their coordination was shot. Ancients, if this is what an accidental substitution did to a human, Danny would have to word things very carefully when asking for help in the future.

"King Phantom?" Danny looked up to see that Eurusid was still floating there awkwardly. Right. He had two people here to help.

"Sorry, Eurusid. One moment, I'll be right with you." He turned back to his coworker, who looked confused and less lucid than ideal, but probably still lucid enough to realize this ghost had just called him "King Phantom". Well, he'd deal with that once it came to it. "Here, Casey, let's get you some water." He helped them walk back into the kitchen and sat them down on a bench by the back door. There was a chair in the register area, but they probably didn't want to feel exposed to the dining area like that, even with nobody but the ghost there.

Once handed the water, Casey sighed and eagerly drank from it, eyes closed. Danny rubbed his hand on their back a bit and promised to be back shortly before walking back out to meet Eurusid. Whatever he was here about was probably worth immediate attention but Danny was sure there'd be at least a solid minute of apologies on both sides before the matter was addressed. Hopefully both the Spoken Channels and Casey would be alright before the next shift came in.

#danny phantom #my writing #danny phantom fanfiction #ghost king danny #gkau crack baby !#ive been referring to this in my head as 'the wendys story' even though having it be a chain fast food restaurant doesnt quite work #ghost king hcs here very inspired by heavy on the heart light on the head by gothmoth and the a king in chains series by five-rivers #with some Pizzazz thrown in!#throne in . ha #one day ill come up with a complete and proper hc set for it but Not Today #me writing the sentence 'danny made senior year with all as and bs': dont cry dont cry dont say 'god i wish that were me'#oh also bear in mind ive never worked at a restaurant #unedited bc im impatient 😔

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kingdomtual · 3 years ago

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So, this is gonna be a theory on Drippin...idk what exactly to title it because I’m gonna touch a few points that interest me about their mvs and possible lore, but yeah!

Also, if you know Drippin better than me, feel free to let me know if I’ve missed anything important or made mistakes LOL I did do my research, as best as I could, but sometimes the lore is hidden in details that I miss! So, yeah, anyway! Onwards

So, I’m pretty much gonna summarize some thoughts about their different mvs leading up to Villain. Would love to know your thoughts, and if you have anything to add! Because, like I said, I know Drippin pretty well but I’m aware that I could definitely have missed something here. :)

So, starting at the very beginning...we have the Allegory of Drippin. I just rewatched it so I could have a fresh perspective (and also to see if any of their superpowers correlated with the items in their boxes, but alas LOL) and there is some interesting stuff in there!

I think the items are meant to be references for us, most notably for me is the spyglass that Minseo had which immediately made me think of Shine. How exactly each one ties in though? I really don’t know myself LOL And the fact that they take them and destroy them by the end of the allegory makes me believe these are items that were keeping them in the darkness. They couldn’t move into the light until they had taken these items, placed them in their boxes, and got rid of them.

I also love how Junho’s character is always the same. He’s the strong leader (duh!) but he’s always seen in a powerful position, I feel like. That’s a constant for him. Like, in the Allegory, he’s carrying that door, he’s going to find the other members, he’s carrying each box, he’s going to give it to them so they can finally get rid of that burden. He leads them through the doors, to apparent freedom.

And we see this strength of character continued in Nostalgia. Also, hear me out...there’s something about Junho and desks LOL like...we see him walking in a room with a desk in Nostalgia, we see it in Young Blood (and that one really echoes a lot of what we see in Villain) and of course we see him sitting behind his desk in Villain. Obviously I think it’s used to make him look powerful, and it works, but yeah. Idk where that thought was going exactly, but you know what I mean? I love finding parallels, because I don’t think it’s an accident.

Now, we don’t really see anything quite like the Allegory in their mvs, but I honestly think that once Drippin escaped the darkness and came into the light (figuratively or literally, however you wanna take it. It is an ‘allegory’, after all) they are trying to go back into some semblance of freedom and normalcy. We see some unique things in Nostalgia...lots of interesting sets there. The wide open area with ruins, the stone walls around them in that small room that almost seems like a prison, and then I think it was a tent with the desk but also all that string...yeah, some interesting stuff. I think this is still them trying to make their escape from this empty world they’ve found themselves in after escaping the darkness.

But even when Drippin do make it to ‘civilization’ again, it’s never quite normal for them. Let me jump to Young Blood here, where we see Dongyun with a normal, convenience store clerk job. Has he found some sense of normalcy in life now? But then the lights go out, and he discovers a place beyond the door of the fridge, and all of his friends are there. Of course he enters, and so begins another search for...something.

Drippin always seem to be searching for something, which I think is interesting, too. Even in Shine, they’re looking for that big tree, but also looking to the stars, looking everywhere. And the tree they find seems to be a call back to the tree that’s seen in Nostalgia. Is it the same tree from that empty world? Or, is it just a reminder to them of where they have been?

Back to Young Blood, Minseo is seen with what looks to be a blueprint of a building, or maybe just a floor plan. He has all sorts of red thread and pins, trying to make a connection, but then he paints across it with red paint. It seems like he knows what he’s doing, but I can’t make sense of it. Whether he’s covering something up, or making some sort of dividing line, it’s interesting.

I think in this MV we see them in their most desperate state of searching for...something. Again, I don’t really see what that thing they’re looking for is, I couldn’t really connect anything within the lyrics and couldn’t find much in the behind the scenes videos, so I’m not sure, but it’s interesting...and I wonder if it might have to do with the blue light that the villains are protecting.

So, here’s where my theory sort of begins. I’ve just been summarizing my thoughts up until now, but I wanna dive in. I think Young Blood is where we begin to see the villain sides of Drippin. Again, they’re looking for something, and although I don’t know what power that blue lights hold for Drippin, it was clearly very important to them...perhaps the reason they have powers?

It stays in their lair, and is seen here, but also on Junho’s desk. Although it’s clearly important to them, and protected in their lair, it’s not really the primary objective of the mv, either. Their primary objective is getting away from the DX agents that are pursuing them relentlessly (which makes sense given their very destructive powers) and...idk, taking that cash money, baby. Basically it’s showing off what they’re capable of, which I love, but I think we already started to see this even before this mv came out.

Go with me quickly to Vertigo. Now, I know technically Vertigo is a Universe song, so idk if it really counts towards their lore...but honestly the mv rang so true of things we’ve seen from them before. We see that bright, happy side of Drippin, and then the darker, ominous side. Perhaps we hadn’t seen anything too dark before Vertigo, but Young Blood had started to show us that there was something straining the members, causing strife within them. And Drippin are often seen in their mvs as having almost two worlds, or something. Again, Young Blood has that normal life world, and then the world inside that fridge door where things are being planned, things are a bit different.

In Nostalgia, we see the empty world, and then that strange stone prison. Shine, and Free Pass, and such are a bit brighter and have different energy, but I like that Vertigo shows both sides of Drippin. The happy side, and the darker one.

We do see that Hyeop has powers, as well. They’re not the same powers that we see in Villain, but I think knowing that he’s capable of something like that to protect the other members is key. Hyeop is also the only one we see being ‘experimented’ on? It’s insinuated, I’m sure, that the others are all in the same boat in Vertigo, but he’s the only one strapped down and has all those monitors on him, and such. And he’s the only one who shows his abilities.

Could their villain powers have come from some other source? Maybe the DX agents are the ones who had them pulled out of their simulation of the happy, calm world, and dragged them into the reality that they’re test subjects in some sort of experiment to make super humans. And, unfortunately for the DX agents, they escaped. We also see a lot of bright lights connected to the members during that MV, most notably the purple wires that glow. It has the same vibe to me as that blue light that the villains are protecting. Could be something there, for sure.

Anyway, we’re in Villain now. We know for sure that the villains get caught right at the beginning- well, all except Junho. From the teasers released prior to the MV, I think it’s very clear that the villains had been separated (perhaps by circumstances, or maybe to lose the scent of the DX agents) but they certainly weren’t being quiet about their powers. They’re not afraid to use them, and seem quite jaded about their current situation (which is understandable seeing as they’re being pursued viciously, most notably we see this in Alex’s teaser) but I think Minseo’s teaser is my favorite.

Honestly, Minseo’s character is often such a mystery to me. But especially in villain his reaction to things seems so different from how the others react.

One minute, he’s just chillin

He genuinely seems quite happy, he’s just hanging out!

But then...

The storm rolls in, he screams in terror. I mean, one would assume he called the storm, because Minseo controls the weather, but he seemed frightened by it. Perhaps he’s afraid of what he’s capable of, or perhaps he can’t really control it as much as he wishes he could. His emotions might dictate his power more than he can control it, but if that’s the case then why would the storm roll in while he’s happy? It’s very interesting, and I really tried to see if there was any behind the scenes info, if Minseo might spill some tea on his character choices, but I couldn’t find anything so I’m gonna make a lot of assumptions LOL

Throughout Villain, Minseo seems to be the one who is most frightened of their situation. Maybe he’s just worried about his friends, I thought, but sometimes he even looks at his friends with fear. See here:

This is him looking at Junho after being brought back from that bus kidnapping, and Junho is engulfed in that blue flame. It makes me think that Minseo is the least villain-y out of all of them, perhaps afraid of what they’re all capable of and if they’ve gone too far to ever go back to the fun times they used to have. Vertigo broke that barrier between their enjoyment of youth, and now they’re thrust into a dark world where they have to defend themselves from these DX Agents all the time, and his friends are very dangerous. He’s very dangerous. It’s not an easy pill to swallow for him.

Because everyone else seems pretty fine with how things are going:

In fact, Junho and Minseo seem to be the only ones really weighed down by their situation. Junho might be embracing his villain side, but you can tell he’s a bit broody about it.

He’s troubled, too, but he would still rather use his power to defend his friends and that blue light than risk it all being lost. And he definitely appears to be quite strong and capable. The others often refer to him as ‘the Boss’. which makes sense. Once again, Junho very clearly has that leader role.

So, they all wake up from that kidnapping by the DX agents and are ready to get back to business immediately.

They know they have to defeat the DX agents, grab that cash, and protect their lair. Those seem to be their primary objectives, I don’t really see much else that indicates why they’re doing what they’re doing, however if we are taking into account the events of Vertigo prior to Villain, then it’s pretty clear why they would want to defeat the ones chasing them. The DX agents have ruined their lives up to this point, and they want revenge, too.

So, they all gather together and use their variety of abilities to work together to stop those DX agents, and take what they want. Once again, Minseo looks quite frightened of what’s happening, but ultimately at the end he embraces what he has to do in order to protect the others around him. Minseo often seems to know more than he lets on in the mvs, I feel. Like, flashing back to Young Blood and his inspection of that floor plan, and he also seemed quite anxious to find /something/. What it is...I’m not sure, but Minseo knows /something/. I think that may also be the case here.

He’s afraid of what they have to do, but he knows they have to do it. There’s no other way, unless they want to be kidnapped and imprisoned again. We really don’t even know what the DX agents were planning to do with Drippin, they only got so far as that bus ride, but I think it could be assumed that they would end up back in some testing facility, like we saw in Vertigo.

So, Minseo embraces his power to stop the DX agents, and all of them work together in tandem to protect each other and escape with the loot. At end, we only see Junho as he lights on fire and jumps from that building and then struts off into the night. Junho is definitely a guardian for the others, but maybe he’s getting them into trouble, too. His power seems the strongest, or at least the most intimidating. The power to control blue flames is pretty intense!

So, anyway, I guess my tl;dr of this whole thing is: Drippin have quite the mysterious storyline. It’s not easy to connect, but I think connections can definitely be made between some of the mvs. There’s a lot of aspects of having two separate worlds, or two separate places, and as the story goes on we begin to see them grow powers and become stronger than they were before. I think it’ll be interesting to see if this trend continues for them, because even if they don’t continue to showcase their superpowers, I think they will always have this ability to visit different places...like in Young Blood, and Vertigo, and Nostalgia. They have this youthful energy where they are quick to face a challenge together, and I really can’t wait to see more from them soon!

So yeah, that’s it! Idk if my theory is really a theory or just me talking out loud about my thoughts...but if you have known Drippin for longer than me and want to chime in, I’d love to hear it!

#drippin #literally this could all be nothing but I did do research into their official videos and couldn't find too much content #so a lot of this is just me talking and making observations #let me know what you think #hok theory #yes I'm well aware this is not hok but that's my theory tag LOL #so oops

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prodbyteez · 4 years ago

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cjh. akrasia [f]

(n.) lack of self control

word count; 877

notes; semi based on a true story

genre; FLUFF. TOOTH ROTTING FLUFF jk it's just lovely

it’s not that jongho had a problem with affection. he was just a person who preferred to do it...less. though you’ve been with him for around 6 months now, there are still things you haven’t done that “normal” couples would’ve gotten way beyond by now. sure you’d had your first kiss already, but the first time it happened was by accident and you swore you saw jongho wipe his lips afterwards. (when he saw how sad you got though, he did it for real)

normalcy for you both was some hand holding here and there, maybe a hug - only when you were in a private setting - and if you were lucky, he’d kiss your forehead. oddly enough, you didn’t mind your less-than-affectionate teddy bear boyfriend. what he lacked in physical touch, he definitely made up with through words and small things that he would remember about you. the way he muted the facetime mic when he blended his protein shakes because you had sensitive ears, the way he made sure when he held your hand his was on top cause it was more comfortable for you, the way (right now) that he was holding your bookbag because he knew you had back problems. those counted more than any kiss he could give you.

today, you and jongho planned a small park date. it was beautiful outside, the weather a sunny day with a crisp breeze to ease off the heat. you found the perfect patch of grass to lay out your blanket on and settle your bag and shoes on the edges so it wouldn’t fly up. these dates were your favorites. sometimes you’d bring food and eat together. other times jongho would bring his guitar and play you a song he’d been writing. but most times it was just you and him laying down together people watching or cloud watching. sometimes even dog watching. you were about to lay down until

wait, stop

hm? you look over to see jongho take off his coat and bunch it up before placing it underneath where your head would’ve been.

here, so your neck isn’t sore later from laying on hard ground

you smile at him and you hope it’s not totally evident to everyone else in the park the major heart eyes you’re giving him. down bad. no, down terrible

y’know if you weren’t such a grouch for affection, i’d totally kiss you so hard right now

you hear him chuckle before he lays next to you. maybe later

a few minutes pass by as you both enjoy the warmth on your faces. you turn your head to the side to see jongho’s eyes closed. kiss him. your brain must hate you.

do it, he’s sleeping anyways.

he’ll kill me

he loves you too much to kill you

i’m not gonna kiss him

coward

your brain really does hate you because next thing you know, you find yourself waving your hand over his eyes to see if he wakes up. nothing.

you’re not sure what in your right mind pushes you to do this, but you lift your head up and angle it so your hair doesn’t tickle him and wake him up. you scooch over just a little and. wow. you softly place your lips against his neck and give him the lightest of kisses before moving away to scan his face for any movement. lucky for you, he’s still aslee-

what was that?

or so you thought.

what? nothing. i thought you were asleep

just because my eyes were closed doesn’t mean i was asleep

b..but i waved my hands over your face, and you didn’t wake up

i was curious to see what you were gonna do. so i ask again, what was that?

you huff and roll back over onto your back covering your flushed (plus flushed some more) face with your hands. aphngshun

what?

aphnshn

take your hands of your face and tell me

you slide your hands off your mouth and let them fall to your sides.

affection

and you can’t hide the heartbroken face you make when you hear that. sure he probably didn’t mean it, but it still hurt. maybe he really just hated you. if it was anyone else, or maybe someone in his past he wouldn’t feel this way. were you too ugly? or a bad kisse-

do it again

your eyes practically bulge out of your head and you almost snap your neck from the whiplash as you look at him.

what??

i said do it again

you prop yourself on your elbow as you reach over to feel his head. maybe we should go home...you feel warm.

or maybe it’d because it’s sunny outside and we’ve been laying here for 10 minutes?

your scrambling for words to say, but all your head is replaying at the moment is do it again, do it again, do it aga-

you can’t finish your last thought as you suddenly feel a pair of lips softly crash into yours. you feel jongho mumble against your lips, smiling. you took too long. his hands reach to pull you on top of him and you smile against his lips back. i love you.

i love you too baby.

networks; @ateezlovenet

#yeah so the part where i describe the sweet things mr choi does #yea </3 #i have sensitive ears and a bad back ;)#writingsbyteez #ateez #fluff #jongho x reader #jongho imagines #ateez imagines #ateez fluff #jongho

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storybookstalker · 4 years ago

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Hᴜᴍᴀɴ Gʀᴇᴇɴ Lᴀɴᴛᴇʀɴ Cᴏʀᴘs ఌ Sʜᴏʀᴛ Rᴇᴠᴇʀsᴇ Hᴀʀᴇᴍ Hᴇᴀᴅᴄᴀɴᴏɴs

Sɪᴍᴏɴ Bᴀᴢ

He’s probably the most seemingly normal yandere in this harem, letting him genuinely get close to the darling. He feels like an actual friend, and will act like one— albeit his protective tendencies.

He’ll gage how comfortable they are with him and use it to balance himself around them. Simon will hang out around them as often as they’ll allow and in return he (happily) listen to their problems. He starts acting as if he’s already their lover, but he won’t go too far with it until he gets the hint that they want him to. Or if one of the other lanterns gets too close.

He tries to plant doubt in their mind about how safe the other lanterns are, wanting them to view him as their protecter.

Simon hates all of them, but he hates Hal the most because of how entitled he acts. As if he has some claim to the darling regardless of how the darling feels.

Kʏʟᴇ Rᴀʏɴᴇʀ

Kyle is the most distant yandere. He acts somewhat harsh to the darling, pissed off about his feelings towards them. Everyone he loves dies or leaves in some way, so he doesn’t want to feel the way he does.

But as all yanderes eventually figure out, trying to get rid of their feelings only make their obsession 100% worse.

He attempts to awkwardly rekindle whatever relationship they could have, but because of his behavior previously, this could go pretty bad.

He mostly accepts stalking them and being a distant “friend”. He decides to slowly try to rebuild their relationship and let them think he’s giving them the space they need (when he’s actually heavily stalking them). This, depending on the kind of darling, could give him friendship/relationship points as many of the other characters don’t give them space.

Kyle hates Guy and Simon the most. Guy, as he’s overly confident and delusional. Though he’s more jealous than anything else of Simon because how easy it seemed for him to get close to the darling.

Jᴇssɪᴄᴀ Cʀᴜᴢ

Jessica seems like she has the best chance at winning them over at first, and then a few months pass and suddenly darling is doing everything and anything to get a breath of air.

She acts like the perfect girlfriend, then eventually a switch flips and Jessica starts to panic the second she doesn’t know where darling is.

She’s the yandere most likely to put a tracker on (or in) reader in this group. Her paranoia could easily rub off on the darling if they aren’t careful.

If darling can look past the controlling paranoia and just accepts ‘hanging out’ with Jessica almost every moment of the day, then surely this relationship will bloom into something beautifully isolated.

The only one she’d ever be able to somewhat trust is Simon, otherwise? The rest could drop dead for all she cares. She just wants to take darling somewhere quiet and peacefully live together.

Gᴜʏ Gᴀʀᴅɴᴇʀ

A super fun guy! He’s so upbeat it’s easy for most darlings to look past his red flags. At first all the “dates” are so fun! It’ll become easier for the darling to let their guard down, after all they’re having so much fun! All their troubles seem to melt away.

It’s easy to slip into somewhat of a honeymoon phase with Guy, his yandere tendencies aren’t super obvious until darling starts to really go against him. He’ll become the one they call up when they want to get away from the normalcy of life.

Soon enough, Darling will realize their mistake and try to get away. Not like it’ll work, of course. His calls will match his darlings and suddenly they’re getting a hundred or more calls a day!

Hey! It’s not fair to just throw him away like that? Won’t they do anything to fix it? They’re really hurting his feelings! Haha, he knows they’ll be his again soon enough— so it really doesn’t matter how long it takes. He doesn’t mind groveling a bit if it means he’ll get even a drop of attention from his darling.

He doesn’t care about any of them, why should he? It’s pretty clear that they’re his. Though, Hal pisses him off. If he had a least favorite rival it’d probably be John, he’s so straight-laced! How boring.

Jᴏʜɴ Sᴛᴇᴡᴀʀᴛ

He’s worse than Hal in some aspects. Friendly to the darling for a few weeks, then suddenly out of no where it looks like he’s mad at them! Darling is confused, but doesn’t really know him well at that point— depending on the darling, they might just run off instead of questioning him.

That’s when he’s suddenly approaching them, it’s scary! He looks so serious and angry... and then darling is even more confused when they’re handed a book. See, John is more worried about you than most of them, so he made you a weekly schedule to follow!

It’s easily a hundred pages long, so naturally darling is probably gonna laugh it off. He’ll start pressuring them into actually following it, degrading them in their “disorder”. There are certain situations where he lets up on it but otherwise? Darling might as well kiss their stress-free life goodbye!

Honestly he’s probably the reason they begin hanging out with Guy so often. He won’t notice until it’s too late to fix his relationship with darling, but he’s sure that there’s nothing a good talking to can fix. And if that doesn’t work? Well, there are other ways to force someone to listen to you.

He actually doesn’t really hate any of them, besides for Guy. See, John understands why they all seem interested in darling, the darling is pretty great afterall! But Guy? Not only is he an uncooperative dick, but he’s too carefree. Darling will rot under his care, so John can’t let that happen.

Hᴀʟ Jᴏʀᴅᴀɴ

He’s flirty, charismatic, attractive... what darling wouldn’t get somewhat of a crush/squish on a guy like him? Someone who knows what other people want? Some Darlings could figure out he’s trying to manipulate them early on, either way he’ll keep on trying.

He’s the perfect boyfriend after all! Darling won’t talk to him? Ahhh they must not be feeling well, he’ll do something nice for them! Do they like flowers? Cute plushes? Movies? Food? He’ll do anything to make them feel better!

Huh? Restraining order? Aww they’re so cute! He’ll think they’re playing hard to get, well that, or he’ll think they’re having a couple’s fight.

The worst one in this group by far, his eagerness to prove his love to his darling will take him beyond the limit of normal. Even normal yandere wise, it’s more intense than most yanderes would allow. Good Luck darling, you’ll need any chance you can get with this one.

He thinks they’re all worthless fuckers. Especially Guy, who the hell does he think he is? He can’t just waltz in and take you away from him! Clearly that’s what’s up, darling prefers him anyway. Hal is definitely better, darling should say so too.

#Yandere DC #yandere green lanterns #yandere reverse harem #green lantern reverse harem #yandere Simon Baz #yandere Kyle rayner #yandere Jessica Cruz #yandere guy gardner #yandere John stewart #yandere hal jordan #yandere green lantern #yandere Justice League #yandere x reader #yandere writing

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chasseurdeloup-retired · 3 years ago

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Something Seams Off || Irene and Kaden

TIMING: Current LOCATION: Sew La Ti Do PARTIES: @threadofheart and @chasseurdeloup SUMMARY: Kaden goes to Irene to repair his jacket and they have a snicker-snacker of a time. CONTENT WARNINGS: None

Kaden ran his hands along the leather jacket as he watched the signs of the stores along the street. He didn’t want to miss the repair shop. Clothing wasn’t usually precious to him. It couldn’t be, not as a hunter. Sure, he had to scrounge and save for new clothing back in the day, but any shirt or pants could get destroyed in the wrong monster fight. The best thing to do was usually patch it best as he could for as long as he could before tossing it aside for something else decent. But the leather jacket in his grip was different. This was a gift. Kaden had precious few gifts in his life that he held onto, at least not prior to coming to White Crest. Either way, if anything was worth taking care of, it was the jacket Blanche had given him. To the point he was careful not to wear it on hunts, at least not often. Sometimes it was hard to avoid. Still, he couldn't figure out where some of the holes in the piece were coming from. It didn’t make sense. Definitely beyond his skills to repair. Time to try a professional for once. He gulped before swinging the door open. He had to remember whatever the price, he was fine, he could afford it. Old habits were hard to break. “Hello?” he called out. “Uh, got a jacket that needs fixing. This is the place, right?”

After the online interaction with the owner of the leather shop, Irene was quick to research some tips on how to better mend leatherwork. Since it wasn’t her typical area of expertise, she wanted to improve on it in the event she had customers seeking that specific service. Scattered across her table were scrap pieces of leather she had practiced her stitching. Several of her poor needles already set aside and bent at odd angles. Just then, the jingle of the door chimes caused her to look up at the customer entering her shop. With a warm smile, she got up from her table and walked over to the counter. “Welcome, I’m Irene, and you’re in the right place. What sort of fixing does this jacket need?” she asked, her hands gently patting on the counter indicating for him to set down the piece. Upon brief examination, it certainly appeared to be well-worn, well-appreciated.

“Hi, nice to meet you,” Kaden said, awkwardly and a little stilted as he walked towards the counter. He had no idea what the protocol was in this whole exchange, it wasn’t like he’d ever done it before. Thankfully she took the lead and indicated where to place the jacket so after giving her a slightly startled look, he did just that. Right. Made sense, she had to look at it after all. “Uh, there are some holes in it. Weird spots. I don’t think I made them.” Then again, he got so many injuries and brushed up against so many various fangs, claws, and pincers it was hard to keep track of the damage after a while. “Not that I-- I mean, I work in animal control. With the WCPD. Uh, Officer Langley.” Which probably didn't matter. Why the fuck was he introducing himself? And why was he nervous about a damn jacket repair? “You probably didn’t need to know that or care. Just, yeah. Weird holes. Does it… You think you can fix this? Not to-- I just don’t know what can and can’t be saved. Usually don’t try.”

Irene’s expert hands were quick to search typical areas where jackets typically formed holes. The seams didn’t seem to be split but with some of the holes, she likely would have to reline a couple of spots so that any fixing wouldn’t look like a patch job. Her eyes narrowed as she continued to study the jacket. “Overall, this looks like it’s in good condition, but the holes are… a little strange,” she noted aloud. “Like you said, definitely in some strange places. If this were a weather or cotton piece, I’d say maybe moths or something, but I’m a bit at a loss as to the cause.” Straightening up, she let out a small sigh and another smile. After all, her job wasn’t to determine what caused this but rather how she would fix it. “Well, Officer Langley, this probably will take me about a week. I think I have similar thread and fabric to fix this up, though once I’m done, it’ll look brand new.” It was clear this jacket meant a lot to him; the stress emanating from him was hitting Irene like a wall of bricks, so she hoped her words could offer some relief. “And I could offer you a rough estimate as well if you’re interested.”

Kaden rubbed the back of his neck as he watched the woman work through what was going on with his jacket. Putain, he wasn’t normally this nervous about simple human interactions. Something about it being new, unknown, it left him unsure. “Yeah I didn’t think moths would go for leather, but a brow--” Merde. He caught himself before he started talking about fae and monsters. Barely. “I mean, yeah probably not moths.” He felt his stupid heart pounding in his chest over a stupid conversation with a seamstress. The fuck was wrong with him? Maybe he shouldn’t quit hunting. He clearly couldn’t handle normalcy. “A week? Is that-- I mean, sounds good. I’m not sure how long this would normally take. I’ve never had anything repaired before. I normally just throw away things once they get damaged but I guess if I did that you wouldn’t have any business so anyway this is, uh, new. For me.” He was certain she could tell without him saying shit. Her next assurance had him even more wide eyed. Shit, was he really that obvious? He didn’t think he looked poor. He didn’t right? Fuck, maybe he did. “A rough estimate? Oh. Yeah. That’d be good. To know. If you--” His brow furrowed as he cut his sentence short once more. This time it wasn’t just him not knowing how to speak like a normal person. Something was moving. His brows knit together as he looked closer at the jacket. “You’re not…” His eyes darted back up to her. Her hands were in fact not underneath the jacket. And yet it was wiggling. “That’s not you moving it, is it?”

Irene could feel the intensity of his emotions grow despite her telling him that the jacket could be fixed. Was something else worrying him? In the past, she had worked with clients who held incredible sentimental value to their clothing articles. Perhaps this was one of those instances. With a warm smile, she looked across the counter at the man. “This jacket must mean a lot to you if you’re bringing this in for extra care. I assure you that your jacket is in great hands with me, officer. You’re doing great,” she added lightly with a small chuckle. Grabbing a notepad and a pen, she scribbled a few quick notes about the current condition of the leather jacket and the exact fixes the officer was requesting. That helped her approximate the cost. Just as she was about to write out an estimate, his question caught her by surprise. “Hm? N-no, what do you mean?” she asked, her eyes instantly darting to the jacket to see brief movement. Shoot, did her shop have mice or rodents? “Oh goodness!” Without thinking, she lifted the jacket up, expecting to find some sort of critter there only to spot something… not quite exactly that or anything she had seen before. “What--” she jumped back in surprise, her eyes wide after she immediately dropped the jacket back down.

Kaden nodded a little along with her words. “I mean, sure it, uh, I like it and all. But it’s not that important.” Putain, why did he say that? What if that meant she was less careful with it now that she thought he didn’t care? “Not that-- I mean. Yes. Thank you.” Fuck, what if she was fae? And he just thanked her. And why did she have to reassure him that he was doing fine with a basic social interaction. Sadly, his ineptitude wasn’t the biggest disaster in the room. When she moved the jacket, out hopped a small rodent looking creature. Only it wasn’t a mouse or rat, no no. That was a snicker-snacker. No missing it. “Putain,” he grumbled to himself. “No wonder there were holes.” Out of instinct, Kaden reached for his knife in his back pocket, but his hand hovered and hesitated. Just long enough for the supernatural rodent to scutter off. Shit. But he couldn’t just stab the snicker-snacker right in front of her in her shop. He wasn’t the most experienced with social norms, but he was pretty fucking sure destroying shops with knives was frowned upon. He twisted and turned looking to see if he could find the creature. “Must have been in the jacket. Not sure how I missed that.” Had to have crawled in one night when he was hunting. At least he hoped that was the case. If he had an infestation in his apartment, well, he didn’t want to think about the destruction waiting for him at home. “Did you see where it-- there!” he shouted as he leapt towards a corner of the store, diving onto the floor, trying to clasp the rodent with his bare hands. It skittered just out of reach, running to the other side. Shit. He had to get it or else it could be bad news for her shop. It had definitely gone to the left. Only, when he glanced to the right, he saw it there, too. No, not the original one. There were two. “Uh. Think you’ve got a problem here,” he told her, trying to pick himself up off the floor.

If the rodent-looking creature scared Irene, the man pulling out a knife immediately caused the seamstress to shriek out of surprise and fear. But her attention was quickly drawn back to the thing that jumped off her counter and was not running around her shop. With wide eyes, she pulled her gaze back to the man as she tried to process just what had happened. Irene wasn’t normally one for any sort of judgment, but yes, how had this man conveniently not realize that something like that was burrowing his jacket? Before she could even respond, Irene toward the floor as the creature skittered across her feet to the man’s left. Another yelp escaped her lips as she jumped back in surprise. It was one thing for rodents to be scampering around, but she will not have them messing up her shop. Trying to think quickly, Irene grabbed a broom from the corner and glanced to the right and saw… another one. Confusion etched across her face. “Oh no…” she muttered quietly as she slowly raised her broom. Was this her weapon now or a poor decision of a shield? Who knew. “What are those?” she asked in a soft voice, hoping not to startle these creatures with any sudden noise.

This was a problem. One snicker-snacker was bad news. Two were exponentially worse. And for all they knew, there were more than even that. Kaden started to listen and look for any more signs of them, trying to keep his steps quiet as he ducked down to look at any and every corner. “Snicker--” He paused before finishing his answer. Saying “snicker-snackers” was going to make him sound like he was out of his mind, wasn’t it? And it wasn’t exactly keeping the supernatural a secret at that point either. Putain. “Uh, rodents. Mutated mice. I think.” That worked, right? “They’ll eat through just about anything so be careful.” This whole shop would be in bad shape if an infestation broke out. All the clothes and fabric would never last. He glanced over to see how she was holding up. Broom wasn’t a bad idea on her part. Shit, if only he had his work kit. No nets or cages on him now, unfortunately. “Got anything to trap them with? A basket. A bowl. Anything?” He saw a jar full of pins. This was a terrible idea. “Putain,” he grumbled to himself as he dumped the pins as carefully as he could manage onto the table he picked the jar up off of. “Sorry about that. I, uh, I mean looks like it’ll work.” He caught a blur of motion out of the corner of his eyes and leapt towards it, jar in hand. “Sweep it towards me! Corner it”

Irene watched the man move around expertly ready to attack. She clutched the broom tighter against her chest as her heart pounded loudly in her ears. “Snicker? Like--what, like the candy?” she asked incredulously. Her brow knitted tightly as she tried to keep an eye on even just one of these creatures. “Mutated mice. Wonderful. Thank you evolution,” she muttered under her breath as she took slow, quiet steps through her shop. Rodents weren’t something she was scared of; hell, she’d seen her fair share of very brave rats in New York. This? This should be a piece of cake, though she had no idea what sort of advantages these mutations gave these rodents. Her eyes quickly scanned the room in response to his request. “Uh… how’s this? Wait!” she called out, unable to find a suitable container before the pins were spilled out. Great. But she had little time to process that before she also caught sight of a dashing blur past her. Instinctively, she swept broadly with the broom, the bristles making contact with something, and a loud squeak seemed to indicate she must have caught the rodent. “Coming your way!” she called out as she made one swift broom push toward the man. “Well, that has to be one, right? Is that it?”

“Uh, sort of,” Kaden started. With how often he ran into the supernatural in this town, it was hard to remember how few of the residents actually were in the know. Code said to keep shit secret, he needed to try a little harder. As he dove, he slammed the lar over top of where he’d seen the blur. Only to catch something just to the left of him. Shit. He reached out with the jar again as she swept the lump towards him, capturing the creature underneath. “Got it!” he shouted, keeping both hands on top of the small jar, just in case. There was a sound of something splitting behind him. Putain. He kept one hand on the jar as he twisted to try and look behind him. A table leg had snapped in two and he was certain if they didn’t hurry, there might be less than three legs there. “Shit, shit, shit.” He was making a real fucking great impression here. He had to let go of the jar to get over to the other one. “Uh, do you have a book? Or a weight? Or something? And one more--” He paused. “Maybe two more jars. Just in case.”

Irene's stress levels increased, both from wanting these creatures out of her shop and from the fact that this whole instance was creating a giant mess of her shop. Had these things always been around this entire time? A hazard of her work she never considered before? As the man dove down, Irene held her breath until she saw that he had managed to catch something. “B-book? Um, goodness, I have uh I have a couple of binders of fabric swatches,” she said, frantically reaching for these from the desk in the back. And jars. Her eyes looked for a few more of those, all filled with things like thread scraps or buttons. The priorities now though was definitely in capturing these creatures, so she poured the contents out into an empty box and quickly returned to the man. And then she saw the cracked leg on her table. Oh goodness why was this happening. “I hate to bombard a customer with orders, but please get these things out of here before the rest of my shop is destroyed,” she pleaded.

This was not the first impression Kaden had planned to make. Granted, he didn’t start off on the best foot so guess he didn’t have much to lose. He’d shifted and let his foot rest on the jar while she went to grab more supplies to trap the creatures, untrusting of what would happen if he left it unweighted. He didn’t want to find out if the snicker-snacker could topple over the glass. At least it couldn’t eat it. Well, it shouldn’t at least. It wasn’t exactly wood or fiber. He looked down. Floors should be safe, too. Right, better get them out quickly. “Thanks,” he said, taking the book and the jars from her. He dumped the book on top of the makeshift snicker-snacker trap and hoped like hell it was enough to keep it there. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw the little pest run up and back towards his jacket. “Oh no you don’t,” he said, diving towards it and yanking it away off the counter. The mutant mouse went spinning and flying in the air as the rug was pulled out from under it, but landed on its feet and scurried off. Merde. He’d have to be more careful.

Jars in hand and ready to pounce, Kaden tried to move quietly around to the back of the counter to see if it had landed back there. A flash of fur and horns darted out, squealing towards the table with three legs. “Not today, you little bastard,” Kaden said as he threw himself at the table, crashing into it, causing all sorts of odds and ends to go flying and clattering to the floor as he wrestled to get the jar on top of the creature. All he got was a spool of thread. Good thing she’d handed him two jars. He reached out with his left hand and slammed the glass down, praying he didn’t break it with his hunter strength and heard a squeal as the tail wriggled out from underneath the lip. If it were a mouse or a rat, he might feel a ping of remorse. But a snicker-snacker? He dug the jar down to the floor a little harder before the tail snaked its way back under the container with another squeal. “Got it,” he said, breathing heavily as he pushed himself off the floor.

Irene watched with astonishment as the man moved so expertly. Her eyes darted back and forth between the now-occupied jar and the precarious situation of her table. “Sure…” was all she managed to respond. With her hands now empty and the man chasing after the other “mutant rodents,” Irene’s attention honed onto the jar. She could hear the skittering of the creature, sounds of tiny claws scraping against the glass in an attempt to escape. Leaning down onto her hands and knees, Irene took a peek at the rodent inside, this snicker thing, and let out a small gasp. It looked like a mouse or a hamster but with horns. What the heck was in the White Crest water that mutated the rodents into something like this? Her thoughts were quickly interrupted by the sudden slam from the man, the sound of another jar crashing onto the ground and securing another creature in its confines. “O-okay, what do we do now? I mean, are we supposed to let these go out in the wild? Is there animal control for something like this?” And how dangerous were these things? So many questions ran through her head. Then her face paled lightly at the next thought. Did these need to be exterminated? Despite the trouble they brought, the idea soured her stomach.

Kaden brushed off his pants and arms after standing and taking a look at the chaos around the room. Putain. Not how he intended this to go. Couldn’t even have a simple interaction in a store in this goddamn town. “Lucky for you, I am animal control. Obviously not on duty right this second. Or else, you know, I’d be prepared.” He sighed and pushed his hair back into place. “They’re pretty destructive, as you can see,” he said, gesturing to the poor table. Shit. “Uh, I can, pay for that, by the way. I sorta brought them here.” No clue how he was affording that but tables couldn’t cost that much, right? Shit. “Reproduce exceptionally fast, too.” He reached up and rubbed the back of his neck. This was the worst part. People already had bad takes on animal control half the time. He’d been called an animal killer too many times for his liking. And it’s not like he could tell her these were clearly monsters and out himself. No one liked to hear about dead animals and he couldn’t blame them. But these weren’t sweet little mice, these were pests. Abominations. Capable of destroying full houses if left to their own devices. “For now, I’ll take them out of here. They’re definitely not adoptable, though. I’ll do a relocation out in the woods, though.” He hoped she would buy it. There was no way he was going to chance a snicker-snacker infestation in town.

It was the sudden calmness that stressed Irene out even more. Was this it? Were all of them caught in her jars? “You? You’re animal control?” Had he said that earlier before all of this happened? She couldn’t recall. A hand ran through her hair, the other hand almost resting against her damaged table before she spotted the broken leg. She quickly pulled back and sighed. At least that table was a hand-me-down from the previous tenant of the shop, and Irene had been hoping to upgrade to a more customized work surface. “Um, yea, th-thanks, I think,” she said mindlessly, unable to fully assess the severity of these creatures. “Like rabbits. Or rats. And I thought New York rats were damaging,” she muttered to herself. How did those things even scurry onto him and into her shop? “Right, your jacket though. If uh if you still wanted that mended, I can still take that on but I might need more time now because…” her voice trailed as she gestured to her mess of a space.

“Officer Langley, yeah. That’s me. Animal control.” Kaden almost felt like he should apologize for that fact. Almost. He did catch them, after all. “But yeah, like rabbits or rats. Only they’ll eat through your table legs. Uh, anyway, if you don’t mind, I’ll go get something more appropriate to transport them and come back.” He’d make sure to bring a knife with him, too. Maybe a few extra cages in case more of them showed up in the interim. He was about to turn and walk out when his eyes shot back to the jacket, brows raised. Right. He almost forgot. “Oh, yeah. If you can. No rush. At all. Um, thanks, and,” he paused to look around the room, “sorry. I’ll be back soon.”

#writing #wickedswriting #chatzy #threadofheart #irene #something seams off

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secretive3amramenmaker · 4 years ago

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More Fire Force Opinions That Literally Nobody Asked For (pt.2)

Guess who finished the manga~ Guess who finished the manga~ This gal~ I’m surprised that my Fire Force rant/essay meta was so well received by the fandom, thank you guys so much!!! Anyways, today I’ll be discussing some a lot of my ideas, opinions, thoughts, future predictions, and commentary on moments from the Fire Force manga.

Warnings: Spoilers for future Fire Force Season Two arcs, and for the Fire Force manga. Read at your own discretion! Now that the warnings are over, onwards! ヽ(ヅ)ノ

(I’m actually trying to order my opinions via arcs, but I feel that this is really important, so I’m putting it first.)

1. There are no iPhones in the Fire Force.

This is so sad? My favourite characters don’t know the joy that is staying up late, scrolling through social media, watching YOUTUBE, having MEMES, KNOWING👏THE👏GREATNESS👏THAT👏IS👏VINES!!!

I’m slightly disappointed that Vulcan, who is literally named after the god of forging himself, who can make frickin’ HOLOGRAMS, didn’t bring back any of the pre-Catalysm technology to recreate, improve, or experiment with. As an expert engineer (I say this 0.2% seriously, with the two years of high school engineering course experience under my belt), I would’ve been interested to see what kind of gadgets Vulcan could whip up. *insert ‘Inspector Gadget theme song*

Please have this very sad Jigglypuff to show how sad this is.

2. Sister Iris and Religion in the Fire Force Storyline

In the beginning of the Fire Force series, I’ve accepted the fact that Iris' role as noncombatant, meant to act as the religious and public face of the Eighth Company. I think it is a fascinating role, because it allows the story to explore the idea of religion and belief in depth, which I was really looking forward to. I was excited how the author would handle Iris’ character, but I’m somewhat disappointed that it took so long for us to see Iris and other side characters like Maki and Tamaki become more fleshed out (I’m not counting Iris’ and Hibana’s backstory in Season 1. I felt that was more backstory to flesh out Hibana’s character rather than Iris’).

Throughout Fire Force’s story, some of the things I looked forward to the most were the religious elements, motifs, themes, and questions that are sprinkled throughout the story, one of my favourites being the portrayal of the dichotomy of religion. In Joker’s backstory, we see the darkness of the Holy Sol faith, and what happens when any religious belief is taken TOO far, without any regard for human life or rights. This idea of viewing humans as a collective, no regard for the individuality and feelings of a single person in the pursuit of faith is embodied by the captain of the Shadow of the Holy Sun, Joker’s former captain and abuser. However, we also get to see the goodness religion and belief can achieve in Iris’ mini arc, which focuses on Iris’ internal struggle as she struggles with her faith after being informed of the Evangelist’s part in the founding of the Holy Sol’s religion. Shinra and Huo Yan Li, the bucket hat 1st Brigade lieutenant (Seriously, which is the correct way to pronounce this guy’s name? Huo Yan Li?? Foien Li???) interaction in the Iris arc really summed up the arc and Iris’ character beautifully. Religion and belief gives people closure, hope, and strength to keep on moving forward. Seeing the anime adaption was an amazing experience. Fire Force’s animation was the reason I decided to watch it in the first place (before staying for the intriguing plot and religious side plot), but this particular episode?? Pure art. The colouring, ambience, storytelling? So good＼\ ٩( ᐛ )و /／

Like, the little detail of the burning nun in Iris’ eyes? (lmao sorry for the extra trauma, sweet child) *chef’s kiss*

The importance of belief is also hinted in the Asakusa arc, where all the district’s inhabitants believe in Benimaru, and expanded upon in later manga chapters, when we learn that Adolla is linked to humanity’s perception and beliefs about the world around them.

I would’ve liked Iris a lot more if we got to further explore her character and the affects of religion on others more deeply, perhaps see Iris visiting the Infernals’ families and loved ones, trying to help give closure through the nation’s (mostly) shared faith in Sol. They mentioned offhandedly in both anime and manga that Iris visits the deceased’s families, and I felt it would’ve given the deaths more significance and depth if we get screentime of how families are affected by the death of their loved ones. It would have also given the Holy Sol’s religion more depth and meaning if we saw believers of Sol’s actions due to their religion, (also giving more impact when we learn surprise surprise! The Holy Sol temple is founded by the Evangelist!) since belief without actions is just lip-service.

I would have also liked to see how Iris’ prayers affect others in the Eighth company. We do get to see this, 140+ CHAPTERS LATER in the mini Iris arc does Shinra (finally) mentions how Iris’ prayers helps him not lose sight of why he serves as a firefighter and kills Infernal. I’m glad that we got this scene, because better later than never, especially since Iris’ and Shinra’s discussion and overall the entire Iris mini arcs shows the power of prayer, but I would’ve like to have this topic discussed sooner.

2. Obi’s Sole Flaw

I think that Obi was an okay character, but they kind of pushed the boundary of his “normalcy” when we saw him topple pillars and rip railways out of the ground with “brute strength”. There are limits to the human body, it is fragile, and it doesn’t matter how much conditioning or “going beyond your limits” you do. People do experience boost of adrenaline, which is probably what the very anime-like titled “Pressure of Death” is based on, since life or death situations can heighten your performance and strength. However, I do understand that this IS shonen, and it isn’t meant to be realistic.

What made Obi’s sole flaw (and a physical flaw, at that!) was his “normalcy” while surrounded by more powerful individuals then he, and having to make up for something he can’t help by working twice as hard as everybody else. Now, although I was disappointed that Obi didn’t have any character/moral flaws, what made Obi’s character mediocre to me wasn’t the choice of Obi’s sole flaw. In fact, I could see how this could be an interesting character narrative IF WE LEARN MORE ABOUT OBI’S BACKSTORY, THEREFORE EXPLORING HIS CHARACTER MORE!!! (We only know Obi was a regular firefighter, being decorated twice, and then having his titles revoked for prioritizing the lives of citizens before becoming the captain of the Eighth.) No, what I didn’t like about Obi’s character is that we never see him STRUGGLE with his flaw, how others were born “superior” to him thanks to there invulnerability to flames, how he lives knowing one day he could just burst into flames. There’s SO many interesting things about Obi’s character, that could explained further, making him so much more interesting!!!

On the other hand, Obi’s character is a great role model for what a “normal” person can do (while jacked up on adrenaline, and when they manage to overcome flight reaction in fight or flight). He works hard, training to the best of his ability, doing what he CAN do, pushing his limits so that he can go above and beyond, overcoming the “Pressure of Death”, and staying true to his ideals, something very hard to do in a world where you might burst into flames at any given moment. I know that if I were to wake in a world where I could die any second (I mean, I could die tomorrow in Real Life™, but what are the chances of that?), I would definitely find myself struggling with my faith, and staying true to the morals I admire and was taught by my parents, especially if I was putting myself in danger despite of this weakness.

3. Asakusa Showdown Arc and Shinmon Hibachi

The Asakusa Showdown arc. Yes. Just yes. I-

It was amazing, periodt. The art, the overall aesthetic, the storytelling. *Cue violent fangirling* I took SOOOO many screenshots of the fight between Benimaru and Hibachi, I’m pretty sure my camera roll is 95% manga caps now. I love how the author actually gave a (fairly) valid reason for the cool Japanese aesthetic of this arc, in that Adolla is slowly gradually colliding with the Fire Force universe, causing people’s perception of the fight to seep into the universe. Overall? It. Was. Amazing. Albeit not my favourite arc, (that honour goes to the mini-Iris arc) I think that the Asakusa Showdown arc is easily in my Top 5 Fire Force arcs.

The Asakusa Showdown Arc mirroring and showing the ideals taught in the Mini Iris Arc was quite clever, though I’m not sure if this was purposefully done Okubo, or if I’m just scrabbling at crumbs.

In the Mini Iris arc, we see how religion and belief gives closure; a stark contrast to Asakusa with its proto-nationalist/atheist values. In THIS arc, centering around Asakusa and it’s proto-nationalist inhabitants, we see what happens when there isn’t enough effort to emphasize or give closure in what happened to Hibachi, and his subsequent death.

Shinmon Hibachi, as the leader of the neighbourhood fire watch, understood the significance of killing Infernals; of taking somebody’s life. But because of the unwillingness to let others (i.e. the inhabitants of Asakusa, that one kid who stabs him) understand the weight of killing Infernals and gain closure through understanding the reasons behind his harsh actions, Hibachi shoulders the consequences of both his and the actions of his predecessors’ ALONE, therefore leading to his demise.

The kid who stabbed Hibachi was still a CHILD, and children don’t always have a comprehensive understanding of death and the consequences of responsibility (no matter how much that kid believes he was ready to be an adult and support his mother).

3.5 Extra Worldbuilding Questions About Asakusa

I also have so many questions about Asakusa in general! How is Asakusa powered without being supported by Amaterasu, which is the country’s (and isn’t that mind boggling, that a whole country is supported by one power source with no backup source or other forms of energy/electricity, because of patriotic pride in a machine that might one day shut down, cough manga readers where u at?) I’m assuming that Asakusa mainly use coal, candles, and lamps for energy and lighting, since we did see one example of lighting in Asakusa (an ancient oil lamp), but I’m not sure if that would be sufficient to support a whole district of people. People were able to do that in the olden days, but back then there was a smaller concentration of people, and power necessary to support them.

Is Asakusa a district that is mostly atheist or polytheist? Do the inhabitants believe in no gods, not just the Sun god brought by the White Clads and Raffles I, including the Shinto or Buddhist gods from before the Catalysm, or do they believe in multiple gods/ancestor worship and they just don’t want to worship the Sun God like the rest of the Tokyo Empire because they’re unwilling to accept the new culture, immigrants and religion caused by Amaterasu, wanting to keep up the old Japanese traditions?

4. Arthur Deserves Better Parents 2k20 (Hint of Arthur’s Secret Ability?)

When Team Vulcan + Arthur found Arthur’s parents in the sewers Nether... Honestly, I don’t want to touch on them much, since I want to be (fairly) logical in my opinions on them, not letting my personal feelings twist my hypotheses for what may happen in the future of the Fire Force storyline.

Putting aside Arthur’s parents obvious neglect and bad parenting, I’m curious if Arthur's dad is actually a prophet or did he just get lucky with his delusions. Is this related to how Arthur can notice the difference between dopplegangers and real people? Perhaps because Arthur’s delusions of knighthood are so different from how he truly is (an abandoned child who deluded himself as a knight), therefore allowing him to notice the difference between dopplegangers and Adolla, as they are created by people’s perception of a subject.

5. Let Sho Be a Normal Kid at the End of the Show 2k20

Please let the small child be happy at the end of the manga. I mean, being raised by a cult underground isn’t exactly a Hallmarks childhood. For example, in the beginning of chapter 231, look at how Sho looks longingly at those kids on scooters and was so happy when he got a balloon from the firefighter mascots! (bruh, same balloons bring me so much joy)

I hope that in the end of the manga Okubo lets Sho, Shinra, and Eighth have some quality time. In one of the early arcs (with the first speaking demon, Minamoto?) Shinra saw some kids going to school wearing school uniforms, mentioning that if Sho was still alive, he’d be old enough to go to school. I’d be so sweet if at the end of the manga, Sho would have the chance to go to school, maybe the Fire Force academy (if it’s still running if by the end of the manga they’ve discovered the reason behind Human Combustion), makes friends and beat up anybody who badmouths the Eighth.

6. Cool Combat Medics!

I’d love to see more of the cool combat medics from the Sixth! We only saw the captain, Kayoko Huang, in action with her Asclepius staff pyrokinesis, which, might I add is a fascinating and terrifying ability. Think about it, she’s controlling CELLULAR DIVISION!!! She could start creating tumors in the bodies of her enemies! Could disintegrate people cellularly and no one would know, because fire snake, so no fingerprints!

Anyways, that is all I have right now. Thank you for reading my opinions about “Fire Force”, and for the nice response I got when I published my first opinion piece! Bruh, it took so long for me to edit this... 😔 I’m thinking of doing another meta going more in depth with my theory on Arthur and how he’s able to distinguish the difference between people and their dopplegangers, but that’s for another day. Feel free to discuss about your own ideas or thoughts in the chat, or tell me what you think! I promise I don’t bite. Have a wonderful day!

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louuieferrignojr · 4 years ago

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title: pumpkin spice and everything nice (ao3)

summary: when kyle suggests pumpkin picking and couple pumpkin carving contests, things get competitive

author’s note: thanks to @haloud for the fic title :)

“Do you think this one is okay?” Isobel asked Gregory, picking up a pumpkin from the ground. Gregory raised an eyebrow at the question, looking at the seemingly normal looking pumpkin, before looking beyond Isobel to see his younger brother and Michael in their own little world.

Michael had his arm around Alex, while using his other arm to try and get the beanie to stay atop his own head. Greg could hear Alex’s laughter as the curls made it impossible before Michael instead placed the beanie on Alex’s head.

Watching as Alex turned to look at Michael with a grin, he was interrupted by someone clearing their throat.

Isobel.

“They’re sickenly cute aren’t they?” She asked, before she pushed the pumpkin she chose into Gregory’s arms and he took it without complaint.

He could only shake his head softly before looking at his girlfriend.

“Just haven’t seen my brother this happy in a long time.” The statement was relatively true. Alex had been happy with Forrest Long a few months ago, but they broke up amicably when Forrest realized his time in Roswell writing his book was up and he left the town looking for a new muse.

Now though, Alex was so happy that his older brother didn’t know what to make of it.

“Well let’s go get the lovebirds. My feet are killing me.” The expensive boots she was wearing were not ones you’d wear to a pumpkin patch, but the glare Isobel gave him when he suggested different attire made that attempt pointless.

“Where are the rest of the gang anyway?” He asked, noting that Max, Isobel, Rosa, Maria and Kyle were nowhere to be seen in the huge field of pumpkins they were currently in.

“Gift shop,” she stated, before pulling Gregory along to where the two men were.

“Michael, I’m not that cold,” They could hear Alex say as they watched Michael zip up Alex’s hoodie. It was only 50 degrees out, but there was a strong wind coming in that day and Alex kept getting the chills as they walked through the pumpkin patch.

“You keep telling yourself that, because I can feel you shivering.” He pulled Alex into his arms and kissed him on the forehead, before making his way down his face, kissing his nose and each cheek before finally getting to his lips.

“Okay, break it up.” Isobel said, a smirk appearing on her face as they broke apart. Michael looked affronted, while Alex just shook his head.

“Did you two choose your pumpkin?” She asked, before taking notice of the huge pumpkin on the ground beside them.

Michael picked it up, “Yep. We are going to kick everyone’s ass at this couple’s pumpkin carving contest.”

“Yeah, yeah sure. You haven’t seen what Rosa can do when she gets creative with her art. We’re definitely going to lose to her and Maria.” She saw what Rosa could do the few times she visited her in rehab and she was impressed.

Also incredibly disappointed that she was also going to lose this contest.

“We’ll see about that,” Michael muttered, grabbing Alex by the hand and walking towards the gift shop and cafe that the farm had. They could faintly hear Alex ask if they had hot chocolate and Michael hurriedly agreed to buying him one.

“We’re really going to lose aren’t we?” Greg asked, turning towards Isobel.

“Afraid so sweetie,” and gave him a peck on the lips.

------

“Kyle, she’s cheating!” Michael exclaimed a few hours later at Alex’s house. His entire living room had the furniture and his guitar case moved to one side so they could put newspapers down on the floor as they carved their pumpkins. Kyle came up with the idea about a month prior, after everything with Mr. Jones ended, the alien no longer in the picture. Alex suggested his house as it wasn’t as far out of the middle of town as Max’s or as clean and pristine as Isobel’s. The idea of having pumpkin all over Isobel’s floors or table nearly gave her a heart attack. She readily agreed to Alex’s house and the date was set.

Kyle was the only one standing as he walked around to see how everyone was doing. Isobel and Gregory were doing terribly, as their design they were carving came out more deformed than they expected. Kyle could barely contain the grin that appeared on his face while Isobel gave a long sigh as she sat next to Gregory as he tried and failed to make it look presentable.

Max and Liz were doing a bit better, but Michael’s note about Liz cheating did hold true as she tried to ask Max to use his powers to mess up everyone else’s pumpkins.

No matter how much he wanted to win this contest with their giant pumpkin literally referred to as the “Big Max,” by the people at the farm, Max himself declined that suggestion, not ready for Michael to yell at him. Their relationship was getting better and not even a pumpkin carving contest was going to ruin it, no matter how childish the fight would be.

“Michael, calm down,” Alex suggested calmly, grasping Michael’s hand gently and Michael’s grip on his knife loosened as he finished carving. He looked proudly at his work before Alex gave him a kiss on the cheek.

“You did great babe.”

“Not as great as us though!” Rosa exclaimed, turning her pumpkin around to show everyone.

Their mouths dropped open as they examined her carving and Kyle let out a laugh.

“Michael, we totally lost.” Alex stated, looking down at their own pumpkin.

Rosa’s E.T. carved masterpiece was on another level and Maria smirked beside her, proud of how talented her girlfriend was.

“That’s my girl,” she stated, giving Rosa a quick kiss before looking up with a raised eyebrow at Kyle for the results.

“Well, let’s start with last place. In last place, we have...Isobel and Gregory,” Isobel pouted, before noting that Gregory was still trying to fix the carving, “We lost sweetie.” The older man grumbled, dropping the knife. Isobel could hear Rosa laugh in the background as she looked at their pumpkin.

Kyle took a step towards Liz and Max next, “In third place, we have Max and Liz. Not bad, but not great.” Max and Liz both sighed, and Kyle noted that Liz turned to glare at her boyfriend. Kyle could see that Liz would never grow out of her competitive nature. Michael snorted, “Guess Big Max was no match for Little Max’s carving skills.”

Taking a step towards Alex and Michael, Kyle spoke, “In second place, we have Michael and Alex. Great job gentlemen, but well...you know.” He could only gesture towards Rosa’s alien inspired carving to show them why they didn’t win.

“In first place and receiving a $50 gift card to the new incredibly expensive Italian restaurant in town...Rosa and Maria,” He handed them the gift card and Rosa held it proudly while Maria laughed at the sad reactions from everyone.

“Come on guys,” she got up and grabbed Rosa’s hand and waited for her girlfriend to pick up the pumpkin. “Let’s put the lights inside them and put them on display outside.”

As everyone got up and did just that, Kyle was left alone to start cleaning up everything. After watching him nearly slipping on the newspapers, Michael let out a laugh, “Think fast Valenti,” the words came out of his mouth as a beer came floating towards the doctor.

As he got stable standing on his own two feet and grabbed the beer, he looked at the curly haired alien who was dating his best friend.

“Thanks,” he opened the bottle and took a swig.

“Thanks for this idea man,” Michael looked from Kyle to the front door where Alex was coming in with Maria and Rosa, laughing along to something they were saying. “We all really needed this, but especially Alex. This level of normalcy, we never had it before.” He played with the beer bottle in his own hand before he continued, “Now that we’re officially dating, just hanging out with friends is nice. Before it was always a secret and no one really knew and we never had a real definition to what we were.”

Kyle looked at Michael, seeing a whole new side to the mechanic he never saw before and never expected to, before shrugging. “Not a problem Guerin.”

“Hey, what’s up with you two?” A new voice joined the conversation, and both turned to see Alex standing next to Michael.

Michael shook his head, before grabbing Alex’s hand. “Nothing to worry about. Just thanking the good doctor over here.”

Alex looked between the two of them, before shrugging. Kissing Michael on the cheek, Alex let go of Michael’s hand and set off towards the rest of the mess that was being cleaned up in the living room.

“So….we’re watching E.T. right?” Rosa asked 10 minutes later, as she planted herself on the couch that has now moved back to its original spot.

“I think I have the DVD,” Alex muttered, going through his extensive movie collection. Michael could only laugh as his nerdy boyfriend started pulling out his DVDs.

“Ah ha!” Alex exclaimed, pulling the movie out and Michael used his telekinesis to open the DVD player for Alex to put the movie in.

Each couple took a spot in the living room and as Alex got up to sit next to Michael on the couch, he turned to look at his boyfriend. The alien turned his head to look back at Alex and smiled softly at him.

“Happy fall,” he whispered, as the movie started playing in the background.

Alex kissed him on the lips before he spoke, “Happy fall.”

“Some people want to watch a movie, boys,” Rosa stated, glaring at them as she threw popcorn at their heads.

One piece of popcorn got stuck in Michael’s hair and Michael grabbed it before throwing it in his mouth.

“Delicious,” he stated before turning to capture Alex’s lips on his own.

#malex #with side pairings of belmanes echo & marosa #michael guerin #alex manes #malex fic #roswell new mexico #my fic

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nanamicide · 4 years ago

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You are there, beyond despair - Chapter 1

Summary: Kanon Nakajima and Yasuhiro Hagakure have been spending the past few weeks together in Towa City. As they get adjusted to their daily routine there, Yasuhiro wakes up telling Kanon that he had a vision -- he will be going home with his mom today. Kanon's reaction to the news is nothing like what she expected from herself.

Read on AO3

It had now been around a week since they’d almost parted ways – a week of small arguments, laughing and crying about sweet nothings; a week of making fun of each other while having each other’s backs whenever danger seemed to draw near. Things had definitely been quite intense, no matter how Kanon looked at it. But somehow, it had eased part of the pain and anger that she’d been holding onto since she’d been made captive.

It didn’t matter that Yasu was part of the Future Foundation anymore, as he clearly was different from most of them. First of all, he wasn’t a skilled fighter – she was the main reason why they’d survived this long in the city. Second, he wasn’t smart or manipulative the way she’d always assumed most of their agents were. He had tried to manipulate her, making her believe that he’d lead her out of the city and be able to protect her, but she’d seen right through him. Besides, it hadn’t taken a long time for her to understand that he was sticking around her because she had money – money he desperately needed to pay his debt to the Kuzuruyu clan.

At that moment, the sun was about to rise. This meant that they wouldn’t be able to stay here much longer if they wanted to stay safe and not have to hurt anyone. Sure, the Warriors of Hope weren’t running the city anymore, but this didn’t mean that it’d stopped being dangerous. Towa City was still filled with its fair share of criminals, and news sources were going on about how the Future Foundation was still looking for the Remnants of Despair, whoever these people were. Regardless of that, the fact that people associated to the Ultimate Despair were still running free implied that constantly hanging around a Future Foundation member was putting her in danger. Kanon didn’t mind, though. She knew they’d manage to save themselves. Besides, Yasu’s talents as a fortune-teller had been useful to them in the past. There was no way he wouldn’t be able to predict it if their lives were on the line, right?

Kanon rolled to her side, facing the sleeping man in the bed that was next to hers. Of course, he was still asleep. He always slept in. No matter how much she told him they he needed to stay alert and get out of bed as soon as the first rays of sun began peeking through the window of whatever place they’d chosen as shelter for the night, she still had to wake him up herself. It was almost as though she had to do everything for him. Still, as much as she complained about it, she didn’t mind it too much. It may have been weird, but something about his company and the way they interacted with each other made his flaws tolerable.

So, as per usual, Kanon sat up in bed and quickly fixed her hair before shaking him awake. She’d tried nicer approaches before but had quickly learned that the only way to get Yasu out of his slumber was to be rough.

“Ugh, you could be gentler when you do this, Kanon-cchi!” was what Yasu greeted her with, just like he did every morning.

“Well, how many times did I tell you to wake up before the sun even rises, idiot? Don’t you realize that if you could simply do as you’re told, I wouldn’t have to touch you like this,” she replied, making a face as if to show her disgust towards him.

“Alright, alright, I’m sorry!”

“Yeah, just pick your stuff so we can go, already,” Kanon shrugged, picking up her bag. “You wouldn’t want one of these mysterious Remnants of Despair to find us now, would you?”

“They’re not going to find us!”

“Huh?” She turned to him, raising an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

“I had a vision before falling asleep last night,” he started, wrapping a loose hair tie around his dreadlocks. “I’m going to see my mom and go home today.”

Kanon shivered, blinking to make sure she’d understood what Yasu had just told her. Were they really going to go home today? She knew the things he’d predicted about their futures had been quite accurate since they met, but what if he was wrong? And if he weren’t, what would happen to her? He’d mentioned that he would see his mother and go home, but he hadn’t said anything about her, had he?

“Now, now, Kanon-cchi, what’s the long face for? Think you’re gonna miss me?”

“No, thank God, you won’t be holding me back anymore,” she laughed, heading towards the exit of the building. “It’ll be much easier to just look after myself, you know?”

“There, there,” Yasu chuckled, patting her shoulder. “You don’t have to pretend to hate me now that you know I’m not gonna be around anymore. We did have some good times together, didn’t we? No point in pretending they never existed.”

“Like, when I saved your ass from all these Monokumas?”

“I mean, that’s one of the examples, but that’s not the only thing we’ve been through!”

Kanon rolled her eyes, stepping outside. The sun was beginning to shine its blinding, crimson light on Towa City. She hadn’t cared about how different the outside world looked when she had first gone out after spending a year in captivity. She’d understood that things were now a lot more dangerous than she remembered them right away, but at least she was free. And with that hacking gun she’d stolen from that dead Future Foundation member, she felt invincible. Today was different though – she wished the sun could have stayed shining on the other side of the world instead of hers. Did that mean that she’d already grown tired of her freedom?

No, that couldn’t be it – if it were, it would mean she was falling into despair again, which couldn’t happen until she’d get the chance to find out if she truly did want to avenge Leon Onii-chan by killing some Future Foundation members.

She wasn’t falling into despair, and it had nothing to do with Yasu and I probably having to part ways soon. She probably was just tired from all the things that had been happening to her recently. Regardless, she sure as hell was not going to give up.

“It’s gotta be around here! At least, it looks hell of a lot like what I saw in my vision!”

Yasuhiro was excited. After weeks spent in Towa City in a failed attempt to gather the money he needed to pay his debt and return to his peaceful existence with his mother, things were finally about to come to an end. At this point, he wasn’t thinking about ways to borrow Kanon-cchi’s credit cards anymore. He was only eager to go home and have things be normal, at least for a short while.

He understood very well that the Tragedy, and everything it’d changed in the world, meant that nothing would ever be the exact same again. But a few days of normalcy in the apartment he shared with his mom was everything he wanted – well, that and maybe a little bit more time with Kanon-cchi.

It was true that, at first, he’d stuck around her because she’d saved him. Once he’d realized she was the daughter of one of the richest families in the country, he’d told himself that he was after her money, nothing more. But the uneasiness he’d felt after he’d found out about her feelings towards her cousin and the Future Foundation, as well as how easy it’d been for him to forgive her – after she had damn near killed him! – and decide to stay in Towa City with her even though he could have very well escaped, made him feel as though there was a little bit more than purely practical reasons as to why he’d spent these weeks with her. He blamed it on his physical attraction towards the young woman. Just how long had it been since he’d had a girlfriend, anyway?

No, I don’t want her to be my girlfriend, he thought. It’s just that she’s kinda cute! Yeah, she’d be a terrible girlfriend – she’s always nagging about this and that and she’s so impulsive sometimes. Still, I enjoy being around a pretty girl! It’s normal for a guy my age.

“Is that… Her?” Kanon-cchi asked, pointing towards what probably used to be an important office for the Towa Corporation.

“Yeah! That’s right!”

It didn’t take more than two seconds for Yasuhiro to entirely give up his train of thought about his relationship with Kanon-cchi. His mother was there, standing around smoking a cigarette, just like he remembered her. He hadn’t seen her in years. Nothing mattered more to him than reuniting with her.

“Mooooooooooooom,” he called out, sprinting towards her.

Angry. That was how Kanon had been feeling since Yasu had run towards his mother without paying any attention whatsoever to her. After everything she’d done for him since he’d almost died at the hands of that Monokuma, was that how he was thanking her?

Paying no mind to how she felt, she had followed him, dragging her feet at every step. It didn’t help that the wind that was blowing was super cold and messing her hair up. It was just all so wack. Still, she waited for the mother and her son to finish reuniting and talking about how much they’d missed each other and how happy they were to be together after all this time. She didn’t even say a word no matter how much the entire scene annoyed her, which was out of character for her.

She was just silent, as though something inside of her was breaking – as though she were falling into despair again, except she seemingly had no reason to do so this time. Everything would be fine, right? Yasu would leave and she’d be able to gather all the answers to her questions, without him holding her back by being an idiot and putting himself in danger. She didn’t need to be feeling so negative about what was going to happen. It was good for her. She’d be one step closer to her goal.

“Aren’t you going to introduce us?”

Kanon glanced at Yasu and his mom, confused. Had she just asked to be introduced to her? Why did she care, anyway? It wasn’t like she was anyone important in her son’s life now, was she?

“Ah yes, mom, this is Kanon-cchi! She saved my life a few times after we arrived here, and I lost the Future Foundation squad I came with. We’ve been best buds since!”

Best buds, huh? That’s one way to put while completely disregarding the fact that I tried to kill you, weirdo.

“Thank you, Kanon-chan. My boy can be so clumsy sometimes, I’m relieved to hear he had someone as bright as you to rely on.”

“Huh? I… Uh, you’re welcome, I guess.”

Suddenly, Kanon felt overwhelmed with guilt. Why was she being praised after everything she’d done? Why wasn’t Yasu telling his mother the truth? It’s not like she’d even been happy about them finally reuniting. She didn’t deserve any of what was happening.

“Pretty girl, too. Good choice, Hiro,” the pink-haired woman added, making Kanon embarrassed. “Anyway, I’m Hiroko.”

“Nice to meet you.”

“Future Foundation should be here with a helicopter in about fifteen minutes,” Yasu said. “Ahhh, I knew today would only be good fortune!”

“You’re still in debt,” Kanon spat, surprising herself by how rude and angry she sounded. “So, I don’t know about good fortune. What if one of the members of the Kuzuruyu clan is waiting where you used to live, knowing damn well you’ll have to go back there at some point?”

“Wh-what do you mean? Why d’you have to be so negative, Kanon-cchi?”

“Well, at least you won’t be able to say I didn’t warn you,” she shrugged, turning her back to them and starting to walk away.

“W-wait!” He called, making her turn towards him again. “Where are you going? What are you gonna do now?”

“You know what my plans are. They haven’t changed just because we spent some extra time together. I still hate them, y’know? They killed him.”

“But it’s dangerous out there. And what about your parents?”

Kanon froze, unable to understand why Yasu suddenly seemed so worried about her and what would happen to her. He’d had no problem ditching her to run towards his mom ten minutes ago, so what changed? What had gotten into him that made him want to know what she’d be doing?

“They’re probably dead, aren’t they?” She coldly replied, staring at him. “So, what if it’s dangerous here? At least I’ll have done what I had to do.”

Yasu frowned, making her even more confused than she already was. His reaction to the current situation made little to no sense to her. He’d been so eager to go home when he’d woken up and told her about that vision, so why was he holding onto her like this? Why wasn’t he letting her go and do what she had to do?

“I have an idea,” Hiroko finally said. “Why don’t you come live with us if you have nowhere to go?”

The question hung in the air for five long minutes, during which neither she nor Yasu spoke. And at that moment, her heart felt like it was split into two different parts which wanted completely opposite things. Going with Yasu and his mother, although she wasn’t quite sure why, seemed quite appealing to her. She had never thought about it until Hiroko mentioned it, but now that she’d planted that seed in her brain, it was growing into quite a reasonable and safe-sounding plan.

On the other hand, that other part of her kept screaming at her that if she did this – if she gave up on attempting to kill at least one Future Foundation member without even trying to find out if she still felt like doing so – she’d be betraying her cousin. And that thought was unbearable. She’d put herself through a lot of hardships just to make him acknowledge her as a woman, and now that someone else was coming along and offering her some sort of comfort she was forgetting all of this?

He was dead, and she was thinking about giving up on him as if he’d never even existed. That wasn’t fair. Yasu had told her she was his captive because she was important to him. This meant that in his last moments, he probably thought about her, didn’t he? He probably even tried to survive that dreadful class trial for her. So how could she abandon his memory like this? How was it right for her to just leave Towa City without putting her plan into execution? What was wrong with her?

“Um, if I may,” Yasu spoke, breaking the silence that had lasted far too long for it to be considered comfortable, “I think it’d be a good idea for you to come with us. I know you have all this unfinished business, but uh—No, no, please, don’t cry!”

“I… I’m sorry, okay? It’s just that you come into my life out of nowhere and think you can just replace Leon Onii-chan like this? Do you really think your stupid demeanour and kindness are going to make me forget about how much I loved him? About how much it hurt when I found out he was dead? I’d trade you for him if I could, do you understand that?”

“I know all of that, but you still didn’t kill me when you had plenty of opportunities to do it. So, the time we spent together must have meant something to you! I’m not pretending like I can replace him or whatever weird relationship you had, but don’t pretend like you’re even happy to see me leave. You’ve been sulking all day, Kanon-cchi. Even the most stupid person on Earth could have noticed it!”

“Don’t you understand that me coming with you is betraying him?”

“It isn’t,” Hiroko spoke up, chewing on the cigarette she’d brought to her lips a few seconds prior. “I have no clue what you two are talking about, but if someone you loved and who loved you died, then I’m sure they’d want you to be safe.” She paused, lighting her cigarette, and taking a drag. “I don’t care about this hope versus despair thing they all have going on these days, but I’m pretty sure you choosing to stay here instead of moving forward in your life would be picking despair. In a way, you’d be giving whoever took that person away from you exactly what they want. You don’t seem stupid enough to do something so desperately idiotic.”

“C’mon, Kanon-cchi, it’ll be fun.”

Kanon blinked, wiping her tears away. As much as she hated to admit it, Hiroko made a fair point there. If she stayed here, she’d most likely despair – either she would realize that killing a Future Foundation member wouldn’t be enough to make her forget her cousin, or she would die at the hands of one of these Remnants of Despair. Deep down, she knew this.

“Fine,” she yielded. “I’ll leave Towa City with you guys. But don’t assume that it means you have free access to my money!” Kanon pouted, making Yasu let out an amused laugh.

Maybe leaving Towa City with the Hagakures wasn’t mistake.

With Kanon-cchi’s head resting on his shoulder as she was peacefully asleep, Yasuhiro realized that his life would truly never be the same again. Because the short, cute, wannabe-gyaru would be sticking with him for what seemed to be the foreseeable future. He did not mind, though. His fortune-telling abilities did not seem to be giving signs of anything bad happening starting from now, after all.

I’ll be the one to keep you safe, now. I’m gonna act like the protagonist, for real! He thought, running his finger through the young woman’s light brown hair.

#Yasukanon #Hagakanon #Yasuhiro Hagakure x Kanon Nakajima #Kanon Nakajima #Yasuhiro Hagakure

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abreathofthewild · 5 years ago

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And They Were Roommates, Chapter 1/?

Summary: After the events of Endgame, the Avengers try to regain a semblance of normalcy. Steve Rogers decides to move to a small town, get a regular job and a regular room mate...

Word Count: 1832

Warnings: mentions of death. some language. some hanky panky (MILD exhibitionism?!??!). Like neck kissing, hip straddling. But not between Steve and reader... yet. Eventual warnings for possible PTSD and traumatic flashbacks. Smut. Oh boy I can’t believe I just wrote that this is going to be a wonderful journal.

Notes: Holy cow I’m actually posting this. This is my first time posting a fic so please be kind? I’m also open to constructive criticism though so yeah. How I’m posting a Steve Rogers fic before a Thor fic is beyond me but I guess ya gotta follow the spark? This literally is based off a dream so it should be interesting?! If I can actually finish it?! I have not seen Endgame (I’m not mentally prepared) but I have a general idea of how it goes and I’m writing things differently. For reasons. I hope you all enjoy! EDIT: I’m so mad at Tumblr I tried to add a tag through mobile and it DELETED THE WHOLE DANG POST FORMATTING AND ALL so here it is again.

Links: Chapter 2

You groaned as you rolled over and blearily felt around for your phone on the nightstand; the display lit up so bright it made your eyes squint in pain. As they finally adjusted to the screen and you saw the numbers 2:43, you felt a familiar anger boil up inside you. That anger spiked when you heard a few thumps and more giggling from the living room. This was the third time this week Steve had brought some random drunk girl home from the bar where he worked. He was a popular guy because he was great at what he did, good-looking too you had to admit. And he was Captain America. He knew he had these qualities though and he flaunted them. For most people, his cockiness was a turn on; for you, it was the exact opposite and made most of the time rooming with him a miserable thing. You rolled over and squeezed your eyes shut, desperately willing sleep to come. Your mind trailed off to when you first met Steve. After the defeat of Thanos and the death of so many, Tony in particular, the Avengers had dispersed; they remained in touch but they all had decided to lead normal lives. As normal as possible anyway.

Steve Rogers? Captain America? He decided to get a regular job at a regular bar in some regular town and move into some regular house. You knew he hurt. Who didn’t? Everyone had lost someone. You… You had lost your sister. She was the one who roomed with you before Steve. Some of her pictures were still on the mantle along with one of the Avengers together. You always smiled when you saw those pictures. The one with your sister was her in the snow, her skin flushed a bright red from the cold, her nose and eyes scrunched up as she laughed. That memory was so sweet, still fresh as if you had taken the picture yesterday. She had tripped and fallen face first in the snow. It was deep so it hadn’t hurt her. Instead she had flooded the air with her laughter. The two of you had ended up gasping for breath from hysterics. The one of the Avengers was similar although the focus of their laughter seemed to be Tony Stark’s frown. It wasn’t really a frown though, more as if he was trying to keep a smile off his face. Steve had never told you the story (he never really told you much about that time) but you guessed they were ribbing him for something. The love for each other was evident though. Steve seemed to be the most enthusiastic; his head was thrown back, eyes closed. He was holding his stomach and his golden hair was falling loosely in a wave. It made you smile every time you looked at those.

“Steeeevveee…” A whine came from the living room. Your efforts to go back to sleep were a no-go. All those girls he brought home were so… Not Steve. It made your blood run hot.

“That’s it,” you whispered angrily to no one in particular as you leapt from your bed and stalked down the hall. The was a furry rug running down the length of the floor; you weren’t exactly trying to move quietly. Still, you doubted Steve wouldn’t hear you, either way. At the last minute, something stopped you from rounding the corner. Really, what right did you have to tell him not to bring girls home? This was half his house. You had to be at work in three hours now though, a thought that made you somewhat desperate. You took a deep breath and slowly padded out into the living area.

There was Steve, sitting on the couch (the couch you sat on too sometimes for Christ’s sake). The girl was straddling his lap, her blonde curls loose around her shoulders. Her mini skirt was hiked up to her hips. His arms were at her back and he was kissing her neck; her hands were in his hair and she let out a small moan. You stood frozen in place.

They were completely absorbed in each other, completely oblivious to you standing there gawking. It was an impressive sight to see Steve in action if you were being completely honest with yourself. Then he opened his eyes. You’d looked him in the face before, knew he had pretty blues but this… This was different. They were stunning, intense. And focused on you as the girl he was holding let her head fall back on a sigh. He didn’t stop, just watched you watching him. It made the muscles in your stomach clench. What the hell? You stood straight, shook your head in an attempt to make the haziness leave your brain and cleared your throat. She jumped in his arms but didn’t make any move to get off his lap. She did a half turn to see who was there; you crossed your arms and tapped your foot.

“Look, I don’t wanna be rude and I don’t know if Steve told you but he doesn’t live alone. And I gotta get up for work in the morning. I mean, can you guys just be a little quieter, Steve?” You directed your gaze to him. He watched you lazily but… Your cheeks flushed hot when he kept watching you. Shit… “That’s all I need…” You trailed off awkwardly, frustrated with yourself. He finally looked away and back at her face.

“Gosh, doll, looks like our fun’s over. Maybe some other time?” He smirked, squeezing her hips. He continued smirking as she stared at him in disbelief.

“Look,” she finally said, mirroring your statement with sarcasm, “I don’t wanna be rude but I don’t know who this bitch thinks she is—” Your eyes widened when Steve didn’t even let her finish her sentence as he stood up abruptly, letting her fall indignantly to the cushion next to him.

“That bitch,” he said quietly, “pays half the rent. She’s my roommate. And I won’t have anyone disrespecting her.” Now it was her turn to widen her eyes; her mouth gaped open. Steve stood, imposing, one hand in the pocket of his blue jeans, the other arm extended to the door. The girl stood quickly and grabbed her bag from the coffee table. The door slammed as she left. You crossed your arms and tried to look everywhere but at Steve who still faced away from you.

“Sorry,” you mumbled. “I didn’t mean for that to happen. I just… I have to be there at, like, six—”

“It’s fine.” His shoulders and back flexed; you gulped when he turned around and studied your face. “She shouldn’t have said that.” God those blue eyes. He took a step forward and another when you didn’t back away. Finally, he grinned. “I think you made her jealous. I mean, who wouldn’t be jealous of you? You get to see America’s ass in person every day.” You rolled your eyes. Steve having access to the internet was all at once the worst and best thing. He was fascinated by memes and when it came to memes of himself… well, he could make you sit for hours showing you memes. “Play hooky with me tomorrow, let me make up for how she treated you.” You crossed your arms again and pursed your lips, shook your head.

“No-can-do, Steve. I’m one of the openers. I wouldn’t do that on such short notice.”

“I figured as much. I’ve never seen you call out. I mean, except that one time you were puking your guts out.” Steve smirked, you shuddered.

“Ugh, that was awful. I was so sick! Thank god you didn’t bring anyone here those nights.” You returned his smirk as Steve gave you an expression of mock surprise, throwing his hands up in surrender.

“I don’t bring that many girls home, okay? Besides, I have to drown out the bad memories somewhere.” There was an uncomfortable moment of silence.

“Steve—"

“Plus, you were so miserable. I didn’t want to bother you. I tried to stay scarce those days.” He’d crossed his arms again, and you had to force yourself to keep your eyes on his face instead of how good he looked in that worn white t-shirt of his. His words jarred a memory in you though from the last time you remembered being that sick.

You were fifteen. Your mom had to work the night shift at the hospital. She wasn’t particularly caring anyway. Y/Sister’s name was the one who found you in the bathroom in the middle of the night, laying on the cold tile floor holding your stomach. She had rubbed your back and held your hair back from your face and made sure you drank little bits of water to wash away the gross aftertaste.

“Ssshh,” she had whispered. “It’s all right, you’re okay.” She had helped you back to bed, tucked you in with a bucket on the floor. She had stayed there all night, waiting it out with you. It was the best feeling just knowing someone was there. She was always there for you, even when no one else was…

Tears sprang unbidden to your eyes and you bit your lip. Shit. Shit shit shit.

“I, uh, I gotta go to bed, okay? Um, sorry about tonight. Didn’t mean for it to go that way,” you said again. That quick he closed the space between you; he was so close you could smell the subtle aroma of his cologne, see the way his eyes searched yours. He reached up and brushed a thumb across your cheek, wiping away a tear you hadn’t even noticed falling.

“Please don’t apologize. Can I take you out after you get off?” You looked up at him (you definitely had to look up) and studied his face. He looked so tired. His eyes looked sad. How had you never noticed before? Maybe it was time you paid attention. A small nod.

“Yeah,” you whispered, even though you didn’t even know why you had to whisper. “I get off at 1. Should I meet you?” Steve smiled then. Golden boy. Apollo. The sun.

“Nah, I got this. I’ll pick you up.” Was he always a gentleman like this? A quick hitch of your breath as he leaned forward and spoke close to your ear “Good night, Y/N.” He stood up and slowly brushed passed you heading to the room at the other side of the hall where he saluted you with a grin as he went in and closed his door. He knew. He knew the effect he suddenly was having on you and he was loving it. If you were being honest, you didn’t mind that you were finally acknowledging it.

And now, somehow, you were going to hang out with Steve Rogers tomorrow. You slapped a hand over your mouth to stifle your disbelieving giggle. It felt good.

#inthorantine writes #steve rogers #steve rogers x reader #enemies to lovers #enemies to lovers trope #txt #inthorantine #and they were roommates

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tired-college-student-writing · 4 years ago

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Here we go Loopty Loo pt4

Summary: Graduation was supposed to signal the final time they all spent time together at UA, to show they have all grown into the Heros they dreamed of being.

It was supposed to be, but when has anything ever been easy for class 1-A?

pt 1

pt 3

pt 4 (HERE)

pt 5

___________________________________________

Loop #49

___________________________________________

To ask for normalcy in this class was too much, Aizawa knew this.

It was like asking it to rain gumdrops to expect these 20 idiots to behave like normal human beings for five minutes in the original timeline, and it had only gotten worse as they all fought off apathy at their time stuck just kept going.

But how Aizawa wished they would stop getting caught so he didn’t have to deal with the other teacher questioning it.

Cockatoo: Uh Shouta?

Cockatoo: Should I ask why Bakugo and Kaminari are yelling ‘Fuck your chicken strips!’ at a shellshocked Todoroki?

YallMight: I think it has to do with them finding out that Endevar and Hawks are dating.

Chloroform: THEY WHAT????

Sleepis4theweak: I wish Yagi was joking

YallMight: At least they aren’t singing ‘She thinks my tractor’s sexy’ this time.

He glared at the tall blond he was eating lunch with, “Fuck you, I know you put them up to that.”

“No proof,”

“Shut it,”

“If I make you smile will you, forgive me?”

“Maybe,”

Yagi just grinned, “I just helped Jiro finish a parody song of Aint No Rest for the Wicked, called Aint No Rest for Endeavor, where they diss Endeavor for three minutes straight, including some… uh, classified information and are going to play it during the Cultural Festival with Shoto taking lead vocals.”

Aizawa wasn’t fast enough to stop the snort from escaping, “These fucking kids,”

“It’s better than Bakugo’s idea of writing a parody of “Fuck You” to call out Overhaul or All for One… or both.”

“As long Dabi gets a recording,” Aizawa chuckled, “I’m going to allow it.”

“You were going to allow it either way,” Yagi teased, not even batting an eye at the fact that Aizawa basically adopted the villain, “But I suppose he would like to see his younger brother roasting their father.”

Aizawa shrugged, “I’ll talk to the kids when we get back, making sure they time the parody when they have the largest crowd. I’m guessing I’m going to be on ‘Stop Endeavor from burning down the school’ detail again?”

“I can take Eri during it if you would like,”

“Nah, I’ll let Mirio handle her, she misses him anyways. They can’t make more of a scene then the Host club they held last year. ”

He glanced back down at his phone, to see the flurry of texts had continued.

BloodyMess: Why is your class full of the troublesome ones? And why haven’t you expelled any of them??

Cockatoo: Cause Sho is soft for his ‘problem children’

Chloroform: Yeah, plus they take care of his daughter like they’re her big siblings and I’ve never seen Sho look softer.

YeeHaw: Soft? Are we talking about the same man?

Cockatoo : *SmilyBoi* Read em and weep

BloodyMess: Oh shit, the dude can actually smile and not look like he’s trying to murder you

SpaceCadet: Aw, he’s wearing a bow!

Cockatoo: Eri put it in his hair, he wasn’t gonna remove it after she called him dad

Cockatoo: Oh shit

Chloroform:???

Cockatoo: Monoma said something to a table of Class 2-A kids and Shinsou appeared out of nowhere and brainwashed him. He’s now dancing to Toxic by Brittany Spears in the middle of the courtyard.

Chloroform: Omg, please say you’re recording!

Cockatoo: I am, but now Kaminari and Sero are being backup dancers

Cockatoo: Mina just had to stop Kirishima from taking off his shirt when he joined

Cockatoo: We have a full-on flash mob going on right now.

Cockatoo: Sho, come get your kids. I don’t know when they had time to choreograph this stuff but it’s not really school appropriate

BloodyMess: Aizawa, control your class

Chloroform: He’s probably trying to stop a migraine from forming

YallMight: No, he finds the whole event funny.

Cockatoo: How do you know????

Yagi smirked snapping a picture of the usually stoic teacher wheezing at the mental image of his stupid kids before the picture was texted over the group.

Chloroform: Oh? Having a picnic together, are you?

Sleepis4theweak: And? Aren’t we talking about my dumbass class?

Cockatoo: Pretty defensive there Sho, anything you want to share?

Sleepis4theweak: I have no idea what you’re talking about

Cockatoo: Come on Sho

Chloroform: Let’s change tactics

Chloroform: @YallMight are you fucking Aizawa?

YeeHaw: You trying to kill the man, Midnight?

BloodyMess: The man spits up enough blood without you being like this nem

Aizawa shot his companion a look, “Don’t you dare,”

Toshinori raised a brow, a shit-eating grin crawling onto his face, “Too late,”

YallMight: Rawr (*ΦωΦ*)

Aizawa could hear the screaming from here, though that was probably just Mic losing control at the unexpected response from the world’s Golden Boy for all that was good and pure.

Oh, if they only know how corrupting spending 145 years with mostly horny meme teenagers is.

Aizawa couldn’t breathe at this point, putting his head down on the table they shared, gasping for breath around his gales of laughter the stitch on his side pulling. Toshi looked way too pleased with himself, as his full belly laughter echoed around them. After a minute the taller man shifts and looks away, laughter drying up almost as quickly as it had started.

Aizawa squinted up at him, “What?”

“Should we let them think we’re dating?”

Shouta felt a slight flush crawl over his cheeks as he leaned across the table, “Aren’t we?”

Yagi relaxed at the words, “I… wasn’t entirely sure where we stood on that. You know how tricky emotions are in these loops.”

Aizawa shrugged because he knew the man was right. Sexualities and attractions seemed as fluid as everything else in the loops. He’s gone through marriage, dating, divorce, breakups, flings, and hookups at this point, whether he weathered them himself or just recalled them from the memories he received from each loop. He had been romantically involved with Hizashi, Nemuri, Tensi, Oboro, Emi, and even Yagi at one point or another.

In this timeline, however, he had been devoid of any romantic attachments, his timeline memories not recalling a single long term partner, and only a handful of one night stands. His emotional attachment for the kind, gentle, flawed man went beyond anything that resembled normal, but what in their lives was normal anymore, and he wasn’t going to deny that even in the timelines where he was straight the number one hero was attractive in both forms.

He would admit that this was a loop where his physical attraction was... fairly overwhelming.

Aizawa just grasped Toshinori's hand in his own instead of answering, earning a blinding smile that made his heart flutter. If the attraction is mutual then, why not allow themselves some happiness in this mess?

His phone pinged again, his Class chat text tone… That rarely bore good things if he was tagged in it.

Sonic : *MaybeWeWentTooFar?* @dadzawa @DadMight um help?

“I’m gonna kill them,” He sighed as he opened the picture of Monoma standing on what seemed to be an ice version of Pride rock, holding Nezu aloft while most of 2-A and 2-B were kneeling at the base.

“And having them all prank you before you remember them next timeline?” Toshinori teased, puffing up as he rose from his seat, “I don’t think so.”

The homeroom teacher sighed but silently agreed. Dying before graduation seemed to dump affected loopers earlier in the loop then everyone else. They could arrive anywhere from a few hours before everyone else, to years earlier and there didn’t seem to be a set reason for how long they were sent back. After the first three times, the class seemed to come to a silent agreement to mess with each other as much as they could during the time they spent before everyone else remembered. Aizawa was still proud to say he had the best prelooping revenge on his problem children, even if it started accidentally.

“If I told Hizashi that we were engaged, what would you do?”

The sunflower man choked slightly at the out of the blue question, coughing up a mouthful of blood as he deflated once again.

Aizawa continued walking hiding his smile into his capture weapon as he neared the courtyard.

Yagi jogged slightly after him, already puffed back up, before offering a counter with a shit-eating twinkle in his eyes, “If you dodge the question until tomorrow I can have rings by morning.”

He slipped his hand into the other’s hands in his way of answering. They were practically married anyway, pretending to have a secret engagement wasn’t gonna be hard in the slightest. Toshi even came over enough that Eri probably not question it either, and it just gave them longer to be the happiest they could be during the loops.

His hair rose as he glared at Shinsou, capture wiping out to grab Nezu away from Monama as his grip slackened as the mind control faded from his system.

The whole courtyard whirled to look at them, and Aizawa notices too late how Midoriya’s eyes flash between him and Yagi, down to their hands and over to where Mic was still filming, a straight-up evil smirk flashing for barely a second before it was perfectly covered in a scandalized mask.

“OMG AIZAWA-SENSEI ARE YOU FUCKING MY DAD?!?!?”

Welp murder was outweighing the possible embarrassment of preloop pranks. Maybe he could bribe Dabi with those embarrassing pictures Toru had taken of Endeavor...

“Young Midorya!” All Might gasped, chopping his hand through the air similarly to how Tenya would do, “That is highly inappropriate! What my fiance and I get up to in our free time is our business and our business alone!”

Make that two murders.

Definitely two murders.

___________________________________________

Taglist: @i-like-fairytail-and-stuff @plaguedoctorsnake (I’m so sorry for forgetting to tag yall in pt 2)

#bnha #boku no academia #yagi toshinori #aizawa shoto #all might #erasermight #all of class 1-a #midoriya izuku #presentation mic #midnight #bnha monoma #shinsou hitoshi #endevour #fuck endeavor #dabi is a todoroki #these children are memes

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boldly-ho · 5 years ago

Text

Another Life Chapter 5

Fandom: What We Do in the Shadows

Pairing: Vladislav x Reader

Series Rating: M

Word Count: 2412

Summary: You snoop around and make a series of unsettling discoveries.

Beyond useless.

A few scary stories. A flash fiction subreddit. A startling number of news stories about people who were murdered by their own flatmates.

You had googled ‘what to do if you think your flatmate is murderer.’

It was pointless, of course. If you really thought Viago was a murderer then you should go to the police.

You weren’t entirely sure why you hadn’t. You didn’t have very much doubt that Viago actually had killed someone. Mutilated, more like. The image of him covered in blood was seared into your memory. You ran through every possibility from the mundane to the outrageous and you couldn’t come up with a single plausible non-murderous reason for him to have that much blood on him. Though, just because you couldn’t come up with a reason didn’t mean there wasn’t one.

That small shred of doubt is why you hadn’t gone to the police.

That, and fear.

Assuming Viago had killed someone, you lived with a murderer. And that night, Vladislav had covered for him. You’d run into him on the stairs, and he said he’d checked on Viago and that everything was fine. It most definitely was not fine. So, assuming Viago was a murderer, Vladislav was at least an accomplice. And earlier that evening, Vladislav had told that they were going into town with Deacon. So, quite possibly, you lived with a murderer and two accomplices. Or worse, potentially.

You’d looked into it after the fact. Someone had gone missing that night.

A young woman. Her name was Kura. She had bright eyes and a big smile. Her family wanted her back, and was willing to paid a hefty sum of money for any information that could make that happen.

It made you sad.

Fear was only one small aspect of why you hadn’t gone to the police. In fact, the fear was starting to fade. It had been a week now since you’d stepped in some stranger’s blood, and nothing had come of it. The next night, you’d passed Viago in the hallway. He’d smiled at you, and you’d politely nodded in greeting. You’d spoken with all of them. In fact, you’d been part of a flat meeting about how Deacon still hadn’t swept (which you were sure couldn’t have warmed him to you further). It was life as usual, and was getting more normal by the day, and no one had asked you what you knew, or threatened you to keep quiet, or snuck into your bedroom with a knife.

Why would a house of murderers get an additional flatmate? Occam’s razor: the simplest solution is also the most likely. They said they needed help with the bills; they probably needed help with the bills. And it would be extremely counterintuitive to kill the person that helped pay the bills.

Still, the possibility of living with one or more killers naturally put you on edge.

Not that you were sure anyone was a killer.

Still, though.

How else could Viago come to be covered in so much blood?

Occam’s razor.

Enough time had passed. The guys had all gone into town again. It was the first time they’d all left the house together since that night with the blood, and you had plans to snoop around. You had to know one way or another if Viago had killed someone, and you were going to dig around for the answer. You didn’t know what you were looking for, but you were sure you’d know it if and when you saw it.

You made your way down your long, isolated hallway and into the main one, stopping first at Deacon’s room. As you least suspected him of any murder or conspiracy, you were more able to summon the courage required to investigate his room. Before you could chicken out, you swung the door open and-

A closet.

It was a hall closet. Some of Deacon’s clothes where in there, yes, but it was most definitely a closet.

Not a great start, then.

You supposed it was a good thing that you never had your heart set on becoming a detective with Wellington PD. You didn’t even know where your own flatmate’s bedroom was. Maybe his room was downstairs with Viago’s?

Nevermind. Vladislav’s room was right down the hall from here. Hopefully, anyway.

You stopped at Vladislav’s door, hand on the doorknob. You really wished you’d known where Deacon’s room was. This felt different, riskier. You knew for certain that whatever Viago was up to, Vladislav knew about it. You took a deep breath, trying to slow your racing heart.

The longer you stood here, procrastinating, the longer it would take you to search the house, and the more likely it was that the guys would come back and catch you in the act. It was that thought that spurred you forward.

You opened the door, and for the briefest moment were surprised by the normalcy of it. You realized that you had built up some sort of extreme idea in your mind, and that anything short of dismembered bodies parts would have seemed normal. Because, although the room had most of the same things any bedroom had – a closet, a dresser, a nightstand – it was missing something very important. Vladislav’s room had no bed. Instead, where a bed should be, there was a large black coffin, wider at the top than at the feet, like one from a Halloween movie, styled like those constructed hundreds of years ago, rather than the rectangular sort that people were buried in today. It was lined with crushed red velvet, and it contained a pillow and blanket.

He slept in it.

You stood in the doorway, unsure of what to do next. While subconsciously you might have been suspecting the macabre, more rationally, you expected a normal bedroom. The plan was to rummage through drawers, peek under the bed, explore the closet. How a coffin fit into that picture, you didn’t know, but it didn’t necessarily change those plans, save for looking under the bed, of course. So, you continued onward, trying to discount the uncanny apprehension that seeing the coffin had brought on.

The room was cluttered, but not overly so; more like an organized chaos. The nightstand had an antique lamp on it, a wine glass with remnants of red wine congealed at the bottom, and a skeleton key, probably for the bedroom, as it was made of the same brass as all the doorknobs in the house. The nightstand had only one drawer, so it seemed the easiest place to start. You opened the drawer, and found a stack of phone and electric bills and a small collection of sex toys. You felt your cheeks heat as you closed the drawer again.

Nothing helpful in there. You crossed the room, pulling open the closet door. You pushed his clothes to the side, all outdated from what looked like an assortment of decades or more, mostly all black, white, or red. There were no shelves in the closet, just the bar for clothes hangers. On the floor there was a small haphazard collection of shoes and boots, mixed in with what you assumed was his dirty laundry. You rummaged through it, looking for anything at all, really, but found only clothes.

You sighed in disappointment and shut the closet door behind you. The chair in the corner of the room held a pile of books, all old-looking and leather bound. You looked through them, quickly, but none were written in English. It didn’t matter, anyway. You very much doubted any of those titles translated to ‘How to Murder Unsuspecting Kiwis.’

You sat on the floor beside the chair, surveying the room once more. Just the odd bit of discarded clothing, a bow and arrows propped in one corner, and, of course, the coffin. You had no idea what to make of it, but you decided that sitting in a room you were decidedly not supposed to be in probably wasn’t the place to try to figure it out. Pulling yourself up, you gave the coffin one last look and left the room, shutting the door behind you.

Stepping out into the hallway was like stepping through a portal to another world. The odd mix of mundane and surreal in Vladislav’s room had been almost intoxicating, and you hadn’t realized how strange it felt until you were back in a realm of normalcy. The hallway was safe, secure, and most importantly, familiar. It was everyday.

In spite of the gravity of your searching Vladislav’s room, it really hadn’t taken long, and you still had two more rooms to search. Making your way downstairs, you turned down the hall you’d never actually used since your tour of the place. It held a bathroom that you never used since you had your own, and since you didn’t want to share with that many men. Across from the bathroom was Viago’s room. Father down the hall was another door, which you had assumed was storage but must actually be Deacon’s room, and further down, a trapdoor which led to the cellar, Petyr’s room.

You didn’t pause at Viago’s door as you had with Vladislav’s. Unless there was an actual dead body in this room, it couldn’t possibly be weirder than the last one. So, you opened the door.

You were right. It wasn’t weirder than Vladislav’s room. It was pretty much exactly just as weird as Vladislav’s room.

Viago also slept in a coffin.

It wasn’t identical to Vladislav’s. Viago’s was sleeker, a deep mahogany rather than black, lined by a tan fabric rather than the deep red in the one upstairs, and was actually made up, so much as a coffin could be made, with the pillow neatly fluffed, and the blankets inside perfectly pulled up and folded. But, all differences aside, it was definitely a coffin.

It was somehow more jarring to find Viago’s coffin than it was to find Vladislav’s. When you’d entered Vladislav’s room, the coffin was odd, surprising, and generally something you’d never thought you’d encounter. Finding Viago’s coffin was worse. After all, what could be more disconcerting than finding out one of your flatmates slept in a coffin?

Other than the coffin, Viago’s room was picturesque. It was tidy, spotlessly clean. There were paintings on the wall above the bed. An area rug sat in the center of the room, and the bedside lamp even had a doily underneath it. The room was like a bed and breakfast for the deceased.

Muffled voices and the sound of a key in a lock snapped you out of your musings on Viago’s aesthetic. The guys were back early. You launched yourself into a sprint, slamming Viago’s door shut behind you and hoping like hell no one heard it. Doubting you could make it up to your bedroom without being caught, you instead ran to the kitchen and lit the burner beneath the kettle, pretending to be up for tea rather than for spying.

As the voices got closer, you realized it wasn’t Deacon, Viago, and Vladislav, but rather Vladislav and a woman. You heard a fair bit of giggling on her part, and his promise to meet her upstairs momentarily. Jesus, did he bring women back to sleep with him in that thing?

“Hey.”

You jumped at the greeting.

Vladislav laughed. “You’re very easily startled, aren’t you?”

“Just tired. I couldn’t sleep,” you lied. “You guys back already?”

You feigned ignorance when he said it was just him and a friend.

“I’ll just make my tea and be out of your hair in a minute.”

“Don’t worry. We’ll just be upstairs for the night. Goodnight Y/N.”

You didn’t respond as he left. You heard him run up the stairs, louder than usual, probably taking them two at a time, eager to rejoin his lady friend.

You wondered about her. Worried. You wished you’d seen her face. What if she went missing? Like Kura with the bright eyes and the big smile?

You huffed in frustration, turning off the burner before the kettle whistled. You didn’t really want tea. You wanted something stronger. You knew you didn’t have any alcohol, but opened the fridge anyway, hoping against hope the universe would be so kind as to gift you some. The universe did not oblige, but your flatmates did. Sitting on the top shelf among your assorted leftovers was the decanter of red wine they had, still with at least a glassful left in it. Making the quick decision that now was not to be the moment you started respecting your flatmates’ boundaries tonight, you pulled it from the fridge and poured yourself a glass.

You knew something was wrong before you could pinpoint what exactly it was. As your poured, you realized the viscosity was off. This was thicker than wine, landing heavily in the glass instead of splashing, clinging to the sides instead of rolling quickly down. It was more opaque than it should be, not letting any light shine through. This wasn’t wine.

You dipped your pinky in the liquid, and brought it to your mouth. You knew you’d regret it, but put the digit on your tongue anyway. Your fears confirmed, you spit into the sink more times than was probably necessary and rinsed with water straight out of the tap.

Blood.

That’s when you realized.

The outdated clothes, the oversized canines you’d seen on at least two of them, their nocturnal lifestyle, the way Vladislav had said Deacon didn’t want to live with a human, the blood covering Viago that night, the almost empty glass on Vladislav’s nightstand with the sticky red residue… the coffins…

Vampires.

They were vampires.

Your heart was racing.

No. No, they weren’t vampires. They couldn’t be vampires. Vampires weren’t real.

You hadn’t actually seen anything that proved they were vampires. You hadn’t seen anything inhuman. No one had turned into a bat. No one had hypnotized you. No one had actually sucked blood directly out of a person’s neck.

You could get fake teeth. Or implanted ones. You could wear weird clothes. You could sleep all day, and in a coffin. You could drink a bit of flood from a wine glass and live to tell the tale. You were physically capable of killing someone.

No. They weren’t vampires. But they either pretended to be, or actually believed they were.

You weren’t sure which idea was more unsettling.

#wwdits #vladislav #vladislav x reader #jemaine clement #another life #al fic

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introvertllux · 5 years ago

Text

Peace in Normalcy: Chapter Two

(The chapter is told from Prue’s point of view. Anytime, that you see italicized words, that means Prue is speaking via her internal monologue).

Genre: Romance, Drama, Comedy, Comedy-Drama

Warnings: 18+, depictions of mental health, mental disorders, depression, suicide, and sexual abuse. (Please do not read, if you may be triggered).

*Any depictions of mental health are based on MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCES. Please do not think I’m making fun or or mocking anyone, again these experiences are based on what I have seen and, or been through myself. Also, I am not intending to romanticize mental health or disorders in anyway. Lastly, If you do decided to read this story I am very thankful and I hope you enjoy it. : )

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Prue’s P.O.V

(Picture of Prue)

Saturday, September 28, 2019

I looked to the side of the bed at the digital alarm clock. The time read 8:35 AM in glaring red lights. I didn’t get much sleep last night, but that wasn’t too unusual for me. One thing, I can say for sure is that my stomach doesn’t hurt any longer and the pounding in my head has subsided. Maybe this is a sign that today will be a better day.

Even though I struggle to get any sleep, ironically enough I’m a morning person. Don’t get me wrong you definitely will not find me singing from the rooftop like Marry Poppins, but I tried not to be grumpy to anyone, I come in contact with. When I first wake up, I still like to have my own space and to be in mind a little bit before I truly and fully interact with anyone.

I swung my legs over the left side of the bed. I then scratched my head, I sighed knowing that my curls were knotted in my head.

That’s what I get for not sleeping with a headscarf or bonnet. But let’s be honest after all that happened did, I have time to be practical for once in my life?

(Picture of the guest room Prue had slept in)

I proceed to place my feet on the smooth carpet as I scratched my lower back with my left hand. I let out a small yawn and rubbed the crust out of my eyes. I then started to make up the bed, first smoothing down the fitted sheet. I then looked down at the floor as I picked up the flat sheet and the comforter.

What? I’m a wild sleeper. I can’t tell you myself why my sheets ended up on the floor.

I placed the flat sheet on the bed, followed by the comforter and neatly folded, tucked in the sheets. I made sure to fluff the pillows, ensuring that the bed looked exactly how it did before I slept in it. I then gathered up my clothes from yesterday and folded them over my left arm and grabbed my sneakers and carried them in my left hand. As I exited the room, I made sure to close the door behind me.

For some reason, no matter the room or the place I always needed for all doors to be closed.

I walked a few feet down the hallway and into the bathroom. I softly closed the door. I looked around the bathroom and again I was not shocked. This bathroom was glammed up. There were Marble and rustic appliances.

(Picture of Mallory and Jahmal’s guest bathroom)

I brushed my hands down and over the bathroom sink and I continued to admire the hard work and dedication that I knew Mallory had taken to remodel this room. I paused to look in the mirror at my matted curls. I slumped my shoulders and groaned as I am mentally prepared for the pain that was to come with this detangling process.

I crouched down and searched the cabinet underneath the sink for a detangler brush. I scavenged through the cabinet and didn’t see one. I saw band-aids, cotton balls, a box of tampons, and a pack of brand-new toothbrushes. I grabbed the pack of toothbrushes and placed them down next to me. I leaned forward to get a closer look into the cabinet, this time trying to see if I could at least find a wide-tooth comb. After a few moments of moving items around, I concluded that I would not find a brush or a comb in here. I scrunched up my lips trying to think of another solution.

I came down to my last possible solution.

Finger detangling.

Yeah, this was going to hurt.

Before I started this process, I wanted to search the small medicine cabinet for some hair clips so that I can separate my hair into sections to speed up the detangling process. I glanced over the medicine cabinet and saw two clips and a large scrunchie. I closed my right hand into a fist and pumped it into the air and cheered to myself quietly. I then closed the cabinet and turned on the faucet water. I made sure the water was warm and the stream was light.

I guided my hand down the middle of my hair, where it naturally parted and separated the left section of my hair into two parts, then did the same with the right side of my hair. I quickly twirled the top section on my left side and clipped it up and proceeded to do the same with the right side.

I put my hand underneath the faucet and cupped some water into my hand and gathered the bottom left section my hair and began to finger detangle. I continued this motion until I had completed it on all four of my sections.

After taking out the clips I looked up into the mirror. I twisted up my lips, contemplating whether or not to leave my hair as it is or try and attempt to do something with the hair tie I had found. I moved my head side to side as I continued to contemplate what I should do.

I had to weigh my options. It was the beginning of fall and wet curls never stand against the temperature transitions between the summer heat and winter cold. Also, I didn’t have any product are tools to help me style it so wearing it out doesn’t seem like the most logical option right now.

I looked into the mirror scrunching my face up in distaste.

Hmm, a ponytail? Maybe? I thought as I gathered my hair up into a ponytail. I turned my head from left to right with my hair still gathered in a ponytail.

Nope. I hate it.

I decided against that style as I saw my damped curls hanging from my hands. I let go of my hair and let it hang loose. I bit my bottom lip and squinted my eyes and I came to a conclusion. I moved a foot away from the sink and hunched over. I gathered up my hair once more and wrapped the scrunched around it twice, folding my hair over itself.

I stood up straight and stared into the mirror one last time. And may I present to you, the messiest bun. Despite it being messy, I kind of liked it.

(Picture of Prue and her messy bun)

Feeling pretty content with the style, I opened up the cabinet and place the clips back where I found them. I then got dressed into my clothes from yesterday and laced my sneakers up. I neatly folded the pink pajamas my sister lent me and exited the bathroom. I quickly, went back into the guest room and placed the pajamas on the bed.

I then left the room, closing the door behind me and went downstairs in search for Mallory. She never mentioned to what time we would be heading to our parent’s house. I had assumed early in the morning due to our parents being very particular about people’s arrivals. They had always preferred the morning rather than the afternoon.

(Picture of Mallory)

As soon as I came downstairs, I saw Mallory slipping on her second shoe along as she went to gather her keys of the key holder. I walked closer to her. She turned around with her keys in her right hand and glanced over me. She opened the door and walked out. I followed behind her, keeping my distance. I looked back at her I watched the door. She clicked her car keys and the doors opened. I took my respective seat on the passenger’s side and hers on the driver’s. She slightly drove off in the direction of our parent’s house.

(Picture of Mallory’s car)

I knew that Mallory was beyond angry at me. She was disappointed, hurt, and confused. I can tell. I desperately wanted to apologize. I am more than aware that what I did- no how I acted was wrong. But I hate confrontation. I didn’t know how to deal with it. I hate for people, especially the ones I love to be angry at me and to avoid me. I would do anything for them to forgive me, but I never knew how. I’m not an argumentative person at all. I just want to please people in anyway I can.

I’m also not great with my words. I have to think before I speak. I have to be able to analyze and reflect on the situation. I need that time to think of the right words to mend the relationship.

Our parents only lived about 30 minutes away by car and 45 by walking. Normally, it would take me hours, sometimes days depending on the severity of the situation to come up with right words to say. But I only had 30 minutes in this case.

I decided that I would take this car ride and think of what I wanted to say to Mallory and how I wanted to say it.

As, Mallory drove through the neighborhood, I looked in the rear-view mirror glancing at the housed I remember so clearly from my childhood. I started to get anxious as I knew we were getting closer and I hadn’t yet developed the right words to say. My mind began to race, and I started rapidly and intensely think of what I could say.

I looked into the rear-view mirror and saw the red house, which let me know we were only a couple of minutes away from my parent’s house.

The red house. It’s the “landmark” our father used to make Mallory and I look for to know we were close to home. Just in case one of us was ever lost.

(Picture of the red “landmark” house)

I briefly closed my eyes and took out a shaky breath as the anxiety within me continued to rise. I slowly opened up my eyes and saw the modern grey and white trim house.

(The Walker’s house)

Fuck, we’re here.

I turned my head to my left and looked at Mallory and she put the car in park. She then extended her right arm forward and took her key out of the ignition. I started to panic more as my heart started to beat rapidly as if my heart was going to jump out of my chest. She moved to unbuckle her seat belt. I knew I had to apologize before we went inside. I would never be able to move on if I knew she was upset with me and I could have done something to fix it.

“M-Mallory.” I said with a shaky voice. Turned back, looking straight into my eyes. My eyes widened a little, as I was slightly taken back.

“I- I wanted to apologize for what I did and how I acted. There’s no excuse for my actions and my behavior. I know that you have been the only one there for me and you have sacrificed your time for me and- “

Malloy reached out her hands and placed the on my shoulders as she squeezed lightly and smiled softly, “Stop, you don’t have to apologized. I know that you feel like I might be angry at you or like I might not forgive you, but I do. There’s nothing you can do that will make me that you. Ever.” She said as she paused to sigh.

I looked down still anxious as I was unsatisfied with my apology and although I heard what she said I can tell her voice and body language that she was still upset. I guess, it was a good thing that I was staying with our parents it would give us some space.

Mallory then let go of my shoulders and got out of the car and I followed her same actions. I closed the door behind me as she clicked the doors locked. We walked up to our childhood home and Mallory rang the doorbell.

I heard footsteps quickly approach the door followed by the sound of locks un-clicking.

“Mal!” I heard a deep but tender voice say.

“Hey pops!” She greeted back happily. “Come in, come in. Don’t forget to take your shoes off by the door, you know how your mother gets.” He said and moved from the door entrance. I began to get nervous; I hadn’t seen my parents in nine months. An even before then we all had a distant relationship.

(Picture of Levi Walker)

“Where is she? Where’s my Pru-Pru.” He said. Mallory walked into the house so I could be fully seen.

“I- um I’m right here,” I said.

“So, you’re not going to give your old man a hug.” He said. I stepped into this house as he wrapped his arms around me. The hug wasn’t as warm as the ones he gave me as a child which saddened me. I knew he wasn’t sure what to do now that I was home. But, I’m still his daughter, couldn’t he still feel that?

��Pops, where’s ma? I wanted quickly to drop Prue off. I have to swing by Ramona and David’s and pick up Jahmal.” She said as he took her shoes off.

I took my shoes off and stood awkwardly off to the side. “Your mama should be heading down. You know how she is when people come over. Everything has to be organized to a T or she will start going off.” He said.

My mother was indeed more than a neat freak. I would say she suffers from some sort of OCD, but she would always deny it.

“Well, I know you didn’t come with just the clothes on your back. Where is the rest of your stuff?” He said looking at Mallory, but I knew the question was directed at me. Before I could answer Mallory said, “In the car. It’s just these two black suitcases Jahmal and I use when we go on vacation. They’re a heavy dad. I won’t ask you to help with the old man.” She chuckled as she teased him a bit.

“Old-old man? Let me get my shoes on so I can show you, that this old man has still got it.” He said as he flexed his muscles. While they both put their shoes on, I looked around the house. Everything was mostly the same aside from the pictures. There were a lot of new pictures of Mallory a few pictures and Mallory and Jahmal.

Where were my pictures? My diplomas?

I took a closer look around the living room and saw pictures of Mallory as a child, her graduation pictures through college, copies of her diploma’s, a picture from her and Jahmal’s wedding day, and a few pictures of them on vacation.

(Picture of the Walker’s Living Room)

The spots where my photographs were now replaced. Part of me didn’t want to believe it. I walked further into the living room and looked in front of me, around the walls, and still didn’t see any of my old photographs. I turned around and look at the wall behind me and still nothing. I then posted the side table beside the couch and noticed a picture frame faced down.

I steadily walked up to the side table and cautiously lifted the frame. Inside the frame was a photograph of me as a child.

(The picture of Prue in the frame in the on the living room side table)

“I thought, I always taught you to greet before you enter a room.” I heard a voice say.

I swiftly turned around as I held the framed photograph behind my back.

I looked toward the voice of the women who raised me. “H-hi, mom,” I said quietly.

(Picture of Gwendolyn Walker)

She glanced over me and spoke again, “I see you remembered to take your shoes off before entering. Did you wash your hands?” She asked skeptically.

“No.” I answered barely above a whisper.

Her face went ridged. “You know how I feel about unsanitary things. And you know that’s always been a rule. You know how I feel. Wash your hands immediately and don’t touch anything until you have done so. Remember to wash your hands with warm water for at least 45 seconds.”

With that, she exited the room. I turned back around and place the frame back down exactly the way I found it. I made my way upstairs to the guest bathroom. I knew that my mother was very specific where people washed their hands. In this case, I would have to use the guest bathroom because I came from “outside” and that had nothing to do with the kitchen (Which was the closest area with a sink). Lord knows that she would find a way to know if I ever washed my hands in the kitchen sink despite not cooking or eating in it prior.

I finally made it to the guest bathroom and closed the door. I walked up to the sink and turned on the faucet, making sure that the water was warm. I then grabbed the bar of soap and proceed to scrub my hands making sure to get rid of the germs in every nook and cranny of my hands. After what felt like a minute. I turned off the water and wiped my hands on my jeans. I knew I couldn’t use a hand towel my mother would surely be upset. I then walked over to the toilet paper roll and grabbed some and cleaned the small droplets water that escaped out the marble sink as I was washing my hands.

(The guest bathroom at the Walker’s house)

I flushed the toilet paper down the toilet and left the room. I made my way out of the room and began to walk down the stairs. Before I could start walking down the staircase I heard the sound of Mallory and my parents talking.

“Another one? How big was it this time?” I heard my dad say.

“Not as bad as the one that sent her to the hospital. She just freaked out.” I heard Mallory respond back.

I then heard my dad sigh and ask, “Is- is there something that triggers her to do that?” “I don’t know dad. Her emotions are all over the place. She’s not as in control or stable as she used to be before all of this happened. We- we have to try and be sensitive to what she could or might be feeling.” Mallory said.

“She’s always been sensitive. Always. Nothing has changed.” I heard my mother say sounding unfazed.

“Just be gentle with her. I’m sure after she starts attending therapy again. She will have more control over herself.” Mallory said sounding hopeful.

“Let’s just hope we won’t have to force her. You know she’s been more defiant as she got older. If she doesn’t go by court order, then she’ll be back there faster than you can say, Jack Robinson.” My mother said.

“She’s going to go. Trust me. I’ve got to go. I love you both. I’m only 15 minutes, a phone call, or even a text away if you guys need me.” I heard Mallory say slightly rushed. A few seconds went by as I heard the shuffling of keys and the door slam.

I waited what felt like a few minutes before cautiously proceed downstairs and came face to face with my parents. I looked at them silently. My dad looked gave me a small smile, which told me he had no idea what to do and my mom gave me a stoic one which told me she wouldn’t change the rules of her kingdom for anyone, not even her own daughter.

“Did you wash your hands.” I heard my mother ask.

I adjusted my posture and looked directly at my mother and answered, “Yes, mom I did.”

She then crossed her arms over her chest and said, “Let me smell them.” She said.

This was a test. She wanted to see what would make me explode. I don’t feel like I might explode. But to be completely honest I can’t gage that anymore. Could this trigger me?

“No. Mom, I’m not doing this again. I’m not a kid anymore. I’m grown. I’m not going to keep enabling your habits.” I said trying to be sensitive to my mother’s feelings but stern enough to stand my ground.

“There you go again. Still defiant. You know, there are benefits to listening to your mother. That’s why the saying goes mother knows best.” She said as she stared me down with a slight grin on her face.

There goes that look and stance. It was the one that let me know throughout the years that my mother wasn’t someone that was a fan of conflict but she sure as hell wasn’t against it. She knew she had one this battle because when it came to conflict, I was never going to confront it.

“Sweetheart. I know it’s hard with the hand-washing thing but let’s just trust our daughter and believe that she really washed her hands. How about we just calm ourselves and just relax, huh.” My dad said soothingly.

He grabbed my mother and pulled her into a hug and rubbed her back in a circling motion.

Leave it to my dad to put the fire out. My dad was a lot like me when it came to conflict, he hated it. But the difference between him and me was that he would try to be the peacekeeper by trying to calm all the parties involve and I would avoid the situation, disappear until I can figure out a way to fix it.

About an hour and a half had past and I was in my old room. It looked the same which was a shock to me. My mother was not a fan of my décor chooses she thought it was too bland for a young woman to represent a young woman. But I guess dad had convinced her to let it remain the same. I walked to the corner of my room and saw my old art supplies crammed into a box.

(Prue’s bedroom)

I narrowed my eyes, angry at how my personal stuff was crammed into a box. This wasn’t nearly half of it. I then opened my closet and saw that the rest of my art supplies were thrown into the closet. I was broken pieces of my wooden easels, torn pictures I had drawn, and dried up paints.

I took a deep breath trying to control my emotions. I felt angry, confused, and saddened all at once. I wanted to tear up anything in my path and curse my parents out, but at the same time, I wanted to scream and cry as I felt heartbroken that my own parents would do this to me. My love for the art they shove away like nothing and even the very sight of me they can’t stand as they hide every picture of me except one and it’s faced down, shunned just like the present me.

My heart began to beat rapidly and at all the thoughts and emotions accumulating in my head. I fell to my knees as I crawled inside my closet. I closed the door and huddled around my art. I pulled my knees as close to my chest as possible. I pushed my fingers onto my forehead and began to cry silently. Not knowing what else to do.

I flinched as I woke up. I shuffled a little hearing the ruffle of papers and clanks of wood move with me. I yawned feeling drained. I got up from my shambles of work and open the closet door. I brushed down myself getting rid of the flakes of paper and tiny wood shavings.

I was physically tired and emotionally drained. The only thing that I wanted was a glass of water from the kitchen and then quickly retreat back to my room before I was noticed. I made my way out of my room as I closed the door behind me softly. I made my way down the small hallway and down the staircase as quietly as I could.

I slipped through the living room and into the kitchen. I grabbed a glass cup and filled it halfway with tap water. I gulped the water down; remember the last time I drank anything was last night.

(Picture of the Walker’s kitchen and dining room)

“Pru-Pru.” I heard and I slightly choked on my water. I spiraled into a small coughing fit and I placed my cup down.

I felt patting on my back. Soon, with the combination of the back-patting and my coughing, I was able to settle my breathing.

“Oh my God, Prue. I’m sorry I scared you.” He said.

“It’s okay dad. I’m alright now, I promise.” I said trying to reassure him.

“Okay, if you’re sure you're fine. I have a surprise for you.” He said with a smile on his face. I look at him skeptically.

“It’s one you’re going to like.” He said in a sing-song voice.

I just looked and him and turned to wash, dry, and put away my cup. My dad waited patiently and then led us to the dining room table in the kitchen.

I picked a random seat and my dad sat in the seat adjacent to me.

“Close your eyes. Come on just like when you were little.” I looked at him smiling small at his goofiness and instantly gave in.

I then heard him say, “Now, open your hands.” I opened then and immediately felt a bit of weight in them.

“Can I open my eyes now?” I asked. “Yes.” He responded happily. My eyes flickered open and I was immediately shocked to see an iPhone.

“D-dad. I- you didn’t have too. Wow, thank you, dad.” I said as stood up out of my chair as it screeched on the floor and hugged my dad as awkwardly. I held on tightly trying to show my dad how much I appreciated this. I pulled away after a few moments. “Thank you so much day.” I said.

You don’t have to thank me, that’s what dads do. I want- I want to help you get back into your normal way of things in the best way I know how.” He said looking hurt yet hopeful in away.

I can see the hurt in his eyes. I know he feels guilty in some way or another, yet he doesn’t know what to do. But I can tell, neither he nor my mother are ready to talk about any of it so, I guess they’ll tip to around it- around me until they’re ready.

I sat back down in my seat and unboxed the phone. Just having a phone in my hands was weird. I haven’t had a phone in nine months. What would I do with it? I don’t have anyone outside of my family to contact and I will be living with half of them already and if I needed to talk to the other, I could just walk to her house. I don’t have friends and I’ve never had social media so, why do I need it?

“Your mom and I think you should have it. Just in case of an emergency. We asked your new therapist. They thought it would be a better way to get you back and adjusted into some normality.” He said.

I powered on the phone and I soaked in what he was saying.

“I put my number, your mother’s number, and my number into the phone, and I made sure to put your number into my and your mother’s phones and I gave Mallory your number earlier today. Knowing your sister, I’m sure she will be texting you before the end of the night.” He said with a chuckle.

I smiled knowing that dad was right about. I got up from my chair and pushed it in. I thanked my dad again. As I made my out of the room, I heard my dad yell that dinner will be ready by six. and went upstairs to my room and began fidgeting with my phone. After setting up my phone, I sighed, knowing that I would have time to stay in my room and recharge before dinner.

I looked at the clock and it read 12:45 PM. I got and decided I need to shower. It was long overdue. I was glad that my room had an attached bathroom, so I remain uninterrupted. I look my phone into the bathroom and placed it on the bathroom sink carefully. I was so glad to be able to take a nice relaxing shower and to be able to wash my body and hair.

(Prue’s bathroom)

About an hour had past and I stepped out of the shower with a large grey towel wrapped around my body and a smaller matching one around my head. I walked into my closet, careful not to drip water onto my older drawings and cautious of the pieces of wood on the foot of my closet. I grabbed a maroon zip-up hoodie, a very large green tie-dye shirt with a green alien shirt, and black biker shorts. I placed the articles of clothing on my bed and the put them on.

(Picture of Prue in her sleep wear of choice)

I then grabbed my phone and set the alarm to 6:55 PM because my mom was not accepting of any form of lateness.

In her head, if you’re late for anything that was a sign of disrespect. If I were late for dinner, I just won’t be allowed to have any. In the words of my mother, “If you wanted it you would have proven it by being on time.”

I then got underneath my crisp white sheets and got snug. I felt my body relax as if for a rare moment I would be able to fall asleep with no running thoughts or anxiety. I pulled my comforter closer and began to drift off.

I woke up to the loud sound of my alarm going off. I groaned and flipped over on my side and squinted at the bright light of my phone screen. I quickly pressed cancel and quickly got out of bed. I raced out of my room, closed my bedroom door, and made it down the staircase. I made it to the kitchen, with only a minute to spear as the kitchen clock read 6:59 PM.

I sighed in relief and sat across from my mother as my dad took the head of the table. I slightly began to plate food myself. We were having BBQ wings, green beans, and mashed potatoes. We ate in silence for a few seconds before I let out a yawn. I immediately covered my mouth and excused myself, ‘Excuse me.” I said.

“Prudence, I think we need to go shopping. You’re wearing a t-shirt with an alien on it at dinner.” She said eyeing it strangely.

“Sweetheart, it’s just a t-shirt.” My dad playing his role as the fire extinguisher accordingly. I tried to follow my father’s lead by trying to project peace.

“It’s not just a shirt Levi. It’s inappropriate for dinner and her age. Last time, I checked I agreed to raise sophisticated and classy young women. An alien does not fit either of those descriptions.” She responded to my father.

She then went back to getting her green beans. I looked down feeling ashamed. I ate my potatoes silently trying to keep quiet.

“We did. Wearing an alien shirt doesn’t say anything less. you know that she’s always been into that artsy stuff.” My dad said as he bit a piece of his wing.

I continued to eat and listen as they spoke about me like I wasn’t even there.

“I swear it’s the art stuff. At least Mallory turned it into a career, but it turned Prudence into a- “she said before I looked up and interrupted her.

“Into what? A weirdo?” I said as I laughed bitterly. “Or maybe a psycho is more of the word you’re looking for. I mean for God asked mom what do you want? You want me to be Mallory! I’m fucking sorry that I wasn’t able to run off, marry the man of my dreams, and be highly successful in at my job is that what you want me to say! What more can I do? I was valedictorian of my college and that wasn’t good enough, then I got a job that made a good amount of money and my place now!” I said yelling loudly as my left leg began to shake rapidly.

“Prudence, lower your voice!” My mother hissed in an exasperated voice.

“Oh! Oh, you mean like this!”

I yelled as I ran room the table and sprinted out of the kitchen and into the hall. I unlocked the front door and took a huge breath and yelled at the top of my lungs.

“HEY, EVERYONE GUESS WHOSE PARENTS ARE AHAMED OF THEM? GUESS, GUESS! GUESS WHICH KID THEY LOVE MORE. NOT ME, NOT PRUDENCE!” I yelled as I stretched my arms out widely laughing slightly manically as I cried erratically.

The flicker of house lights and the cries of neighborhood pets begin to alarm the streets.

Heavy footsteps ran towards me and grabbed me from behind, lifting me up and back into the house.

I sobbed trying to fight the hold on me. “Let me go!” I yelled as I began fighting the hands on me.

“Shh. Shh. I’m sorry. I’m sorry.” I heard my dad’s voice desperately say as he let me go and place me on the floor holding me into a tight hug. “Let me go! Let me go!” I repeated muffled in his shoulder.

He began to rock us back and forth as he cradled my head. I looked over my dad’s shoulder through tear-filled eyes to see my mother’s composure look different. She looks alarmed, scared, and saddened. I start to cry harder and harder and as it gets harder to breathe.

“Prue. Follow the beating of my heart. Just like when you were a kid. Remember how you always felt at ease when you did it? I want you to try and do it.” He said softly.

I followed what he said trying to focus on what he was telling me.

There was banging at the door. Nobody moved to answer. “It’s Officer Taylor! Open up!” The voice boomed.

(Picture of Officer Taylor Miller)

My mother tried to compose herself to her as walked to the door. She cracked the door open, slightly so that half of her body was showing.

“Good Evening, Mrs. Walker I’ve received some phone calls from some scared neighbors stating noise complaints from this address. I know, um Prue’s back home and we had something similar happen yesterday so. And I spoke to her about the consequences of-” He said trying to peer into the house.

Third person’s P.O.V

“Look Taylor right. Yes, you went to school with Mallory. My daughter just got back from the hospital and we’re all trying to figure out what’s going on. I’ll be damned if I let you sit here and threaten the safety of my daughter. I understand that we are not being the best neighbors right not but as soon as next week we will have our daughter on her schedule. You need to give us time, this is not an overnight thing.” Gwendolyn said sternly not back down one bit.

“I see and I understand. If you don’t mind, I would like to come in and check to see if everything is alright if things are settled.” He said trying to get around Gwendolyn.

She closed the door tighter as she pushed herself more into the frame. “Of course, I mind. I’m many things in this world, and one of them is a mother. No matter how old my kids get, it's my job is to protect them. I’ll fight tooth and nail to protect my daughter from anything or anyone that tries to hurt her. Now, I understand it’s your job but if I sense even for a second, you’re out for her I will do anything and everything in my power to take you down.” She said smoothly.

She stared up at his tight expression and said, “Now, you have a good night Officer Taylor.” With that, Gwendolyn slammed the door in his face not even waiting for a rebuttal.

Gwendolyn turned locked the door and turned to where her daughter and husband were. She kneeled beside them and tucked a strand of hair behind her daughter’s left ear as she was lightly snoring.

Levi stood, as he carried Prue bridal style and Gwendolyn followed behind. He carried her up the stairs and into her bedroom. He gently placed her into her bed as Gwendolyn tucked her in tightly. Levi moved her curls around and placed a kiss on her forehead. Gwendolyn followed suit and repeated his action. After placing a kiss on her daughter’s forehead she lingered for a moment as she looked over her daughter as tears threatened to spill over her eyes.

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Links to:

Chapter Three

Masterpost

I wanted to thank everyone who has liked or reblogged anything that has to do with this story. I want to give a HUGE SHOUTOUT to the following people for showing me some support (I apologize if i’m missing any names)!!

@pettycruella @jk-unless @plussizeappreciationfics @passionfrvttt @melaninhawtie @lokisbitch27 @blackpridesblog @po-taytay @themilkcartoonkid @amethyst09 @disaster-shadow @rosemilage and any members of the group chat Black!Reader.

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greyias · 5 years ago

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FIC: The Waiting Game

Title: The Waiting Game Fandom: SWTOR Pairing: Theron Shan/f!Jedi Knight Rating: T Genre: Angsty angst angst Synopsis: The worst part about all of this was the waiting. Theron hated standing on the sidelines as everyone else risked their lives. He needed something to do. Anything to keep him distracted from his own thoughts. Spoilers: So many spoilers. For the end of Onslaught and its epilogue, for 6.1/“The Task at Hand” and for the upcoming storyline in 6.2. Warnings: Considering what’s going on in the world right now, I’m tagging this as “Covid19 related”, as parts of this may be uncomfortably familiar with the current state of events. There’s also a lot about Theron and his very fraught and complicated relationship with Satele in this. So if you’re not a fan of her, or you just think she’s the worst, you should probably skip this. Because I love her and their very complicated dynamic.

Crossposted to AO3

The crash was loud enough to hear from the senior staff meeting room.

It pulled Theron from the datapad he’d gotten lost in, and had him poking his head out the door into the hallway. He managed to just catch sight of Scourge’s dark armor disappearing around the corner as the Sith stormed off. Not that Theron hadn’t gotten used to Sith temper tantrums since coming to live on Odessen, but it still was enough to pique his curiosity.

Stepping out further into the hallway, he could just make out both Kira and his wife talking solemnly at the door that Scourge had stalked away from. Whatever the conversation was, both Jedi were clearly concerned. Grey gave the little astromech at her side an affectionate pat on the head, before she looked up, squinting down the hall until she caught sight of him. They were all far enough away where Theron couldn’t see their expressions clearly or even eavesdrop on what they were talking about, but the tense postures let him know that something was amiss.

As he walked up, he could see the remains of the crates that had splintered upon impact with the wall, and the rows of cracked monitors ringing the room. He quirked an eyebrow as he looked back at both Jedi. “You guys felt like redecorating? Not sure that ‘Warzone Nouveau’ is going to catch on as an aesthetic.”

Kira shot him a look, but he couldn’t quite decipher what it meant. Maybe she didn’t find his joke funny. Of course, he’d gotten that look a lot. Things had been a little awkward since she and Scourge formally joined the Alliance, but Theron hadn’t been able to figure out if they were just having a difficult time adjusting or if something else was going on.

He was saved from pondering on that further by his wife gently laying her hand on his arm. “Let’s take a walk.”

A familiar feeling of dread settled in his gut, and he swallowed before fixing a smile in place. Even if he had a feeling what this was about, he could pretend for a few moments more. They were quiet as they made their way to the elevator, and were about halfway down when he finally decided to break the silence.

“So, are we walking to any particular place?”

“I thought a stroll in the woods might be nice.”

“Are we going on an adventure?” His humor was a little forced, but he was trying for normalcy here. It’d been a while since they had that. About as long as since Kira and Scourge arrived on Odessen.

“Not the same type of adventure as the last time,” she said, a lilt of amusement tinging her voice.

“Pity.” Even if they were alone in the elevator, his voice was just a murmur as he leaned in closer.

He wasn’t really planning on doing anything inappropriate, was just angling on getting a reaction out of her, but the lift’s doors opened up onto the crowded walkway before he could push it any further. He let out a frustrated sigh and straightened up before anyone saw and got any ideas. The last thing he needed was to start rumors about improprieties in the lifts. Not that he really cared about the rumors about himself, but he’d already caused Grey enough trouble with his undercover stint. He didn’t need to give people more reasons to whisper about them.

Even if they were married.

They ambled on out, towards the cantina. He was trying to act casual, normal even, but Grey hadn’t said anything about what that conversation with Kira was about. Or why Scourge felt the need to redecorate the room quite so violently. But Theron had an idea anyway. Something of his thoughts must have shown on his face, because her hand found his and intertwined their fingers together.

When Theron had gone undercover, Grey had still been wearing the armor from her time before her carbonite sleep. Sometimes he’d wondered if she had worn the giant pauldrons, embroidered cape, and heavy gauntlets as some sort of armor against all the change in her life. But since his return, she’d adopted a new outfit. A much simpler garb, a deep blue tunic that was very Jedi in fashion. As silly as it sounded, it felt like some sort of evolution — like she was somehow more comfortable in her skin and her role in a way that she hadn’t been before.

He liked it though, from the way the color of blue set off her eyes, to how the long trailing scarves on the tunic liked to pick up the wind when they stepped outside. The change from the heavy gauntlets to fingerless gloves was also a benefit, and especially nice in moments like these, as he was able to feel the warmth of her fingertips against his.

Of course, he’d also changed things up a little too. The long gray overcoat had long been discarded — the charred hole in the back where he’d been stabbed wasn’t a keepsake he wanted to hold onto. While he hadn’t abandoned his old style completely—his old, faithful red and black jacket was definitely still around—Theron had felt the need to integrate a little bit more variety into his style. Like the lighter coat he was wearing now, with a set of fingerless gloves of his own.

They were a little more comfortable to wear when he was just working around the base, and the tactile feedback of his bare hands was nice. He was of course referring to the fingers intertwined with his. For a few moments at least, the soft reassuring pressure and warmth of her touch chased away the anxiety welling up in the pit of his stomach. Although he supposed the gloves helped with the coding too, and his endless research with the HoloNet and beyond.

The sight of the two of them walking hand-in-hand didn’t raise too many eyebrows at this point. There had been a time where he’d tried to strictly keep the personal side of their relationship behind closed doors — but that had gone out the window a long, long time ago. At this point, Theron was pretty sure that the only person who scoffed at the public displays of affection was Lana, and that was just habit. Well, and maybe Grey’s older brother would make a comment or two about how disgusting and saccharine they were. But the jerk was probably just trying to get a rise out either of them with that sort of thing, because he got bored easily. It was like having a large, very old and very loud toddler as a brother-in-law. Sometimes Theron was thankful that he was an only child.

For now though, he and Grey were content to walk in companionable silence, meandering through the cantina, and out into the woods. It was springtime on Odessen, and it was a nice day. The variations in the season on the planet was still something that Theron was adjusting to, even years later. If he had to pick a favorite, though, it would be spring. The fields beyond the military hangar would fill with these beautiful white flowers, and the sight of them brought to mind his homecoming from Nathema. The frequent rains kept the air humid, especially out here in the forest where there was less sunlight filtering through the canopy to speed up the evaporation. It made the ground smell fresh and new — and it reminded him of life.

These days, he really liked that reminder.

The temperature was still just cool enough where wearing a jacket outside wasn’t uncomfortable and gave him an excuse to draw his wife in a little closer under the guise of sharing warmth. She leaned into the embrace, and was happy to just walk along in ambling steps for a few more moments and let this quiet moment of peace linger.

Then she let out a sigh, long and wearied, and it told him that whatever she was about to say next wasn’t going to be good news. But he’d already suspected that from Scourge’s temper tantrum.

“The quarantine has failed.” Her voice was quiet, ringing with an air of defeat she let show where no one but him could see.

His blood froze in his veins, his own steps slowing to a halt. “What do you mean ‘failed’?”

“The transport with Satele—where the infected were being contained—it’s not responding to our signals, and there was no sign of it at the next scheduled stop.”

That certainly explained the Sithly destruction. Theron couldn’t even blame Scourge, as a thousand conflicted feelings began to well up within himself. For the past few weeks, he’d been trying his best to keep them tied up. Like he was rolling every single thread of worry and anger and anxiety around each other, like it was some nervous ball of string. He wouldn’t let it unwind, he couldn’t. But the news picked at the fraying edge near the end, and if Theron wasn’t careful it could unspool into a mess that he’d have no hope of cleaning up.

The breath he blew out was long, whistling past clenched teeth. He needed to say something, because Grey was staring at him in the way she always did. Full of concern and warmth and understanding — and he loved being on the receiving end of that but also hated it because it just picked at that loose thread more. Her fingers shifted in his, holding him just a little tighter, and he let out another breath, giving her hand a squeeze in return. He swallowed, forcing the rising lump in his throat to go back down where it belonged, and managed to seize that thread of unease before it snagged on something and undid the tattered fabric of his composure.

He was fine. He just needed to focus. That was all. Preferably on the problem at hand.

So that’s what he did. “What’s our next step?”

“Right now Teeseven is heading out with an escort and as many probe droids we can spare. They can scan and sort through the data faster than we can.”

“And there’s no chance of them getting infected,” Theron pointed out sourly.

“That too,” she added with a sigh. “It’s just safer this way.”

She was right. Of course she was. The droids could do the job faster than anyone, cybernetics or no. He just hated being on the sidelines. Doing nothing.

“Do we know… how the ship disappeared?” He hated the hesitation in his voice, in the question itself. Hated the emotion in betrayed, even if he was sharing it with the safest person in the galaxy.

“No.” She gave his hand another squeeze. “I’m sorry.”

He’d had a nightmare last night. Where that ship of the damned had landed in some busy spaceport. Some place like Kuat. Or Nar Shaddaa. Or even Coruscant. And as the passengers of the transport walked out among the unsuspecting, all of the hapless victims fell into line one by one. And at the front of the crowd was someone that looked remarkably like his mother — but was definitely not her. The woman with Satele’s face had sightless, unseeing eyes that glowed with a malevolence. When she spoke, it was not the soft, calm measured tones he’d come to know, but with a deep chilling voice of a long vanquished ghost that Theron had first heard back on Yavin. Then the woman that was not his mother had turned on the unseen watcher and attacked.

Theron had awoken with a start. A fine sheen of sweat soaking through the thin sheet covering him. Somehow he hadn’t made enough noise to stir the woman sleeping next to him, still cocooned in all of the blankets and comforters on the bed. It had taken him a few moments to reorient in the darkness of their bedroom, let the familiar stone walls ground him back in reality. To remind himself that the dream had just been that. He hadn’t wanted to wake his wife to talk about the nightmare, even if he’d lain awake for a long time afterwards. Trying to shake the images from his head.

If someone were to ask him, Theron would tell them that he didn’t believe in ill omens. The timing of the dream with today’s news was just a coincidence. Or it was the product of a stressed mind trying to cope. His subconscious just trying to get him to pay attention to the things he kept pushing to the back of his mind during his waking hours.

In the light of day, he could see more clearly what was wrong with the dream. The last time the ship was seen, everyone on it was in a comatose state. Trapped in both a nightmarish slumber and stasis. The only thing amiss before today was the Force rumblings from Kira and Scourge that some thing was joining the consciousnesses of the infected together. His subconscious had just morphed that into something familiar — something a lot like Ziost. Another thing he didn’t like to think about.

There were a lot of things he didn’t like to think about. Too many mistakes and unpleasant things in his past to dwell on — and getting through the day right now sometimes felt like walking a very winding and narrow path to keep his thoughts focused and productive. Rather than take one of the branching paths into speculation about what was waiting for them when the ship was found.

As much as he tried to stay focused though, his mind still strayed. And he thought about Satele. A lot. He’d thought he’d excised that particular bad habit a long time ago. When he was growing up, he and Ngani Zho had talked about his mother, of course. Zho had never kept her a secret from Theron, and had told his young charge about his favorite student. For the longest time, Theron had this image built up in his head of this perfect, heroic Jedi that he’d someday meet. If he just tried hard enough, focused enough, and applied himself enough, he’d finally be able to wield the Force, and he’d have a chance of meeting the fabled woman that Zho talked about.

Even when both he and Zho had still been foolish enough to think that Theron had a chance at becoming a Jedi, they had never talked about mother and son ever being able to have that type of relationship. It would have been against those strict detachment edicts, as would have Satele taking her flesh and blood on as a Padawan. Even if the Force had deigned to grant him the ability to wield it like the rest of Revan’s bloodline, he probably would have had someone else train him. Maybe someone like Gnost-Dural. But if Theron was being honest with himself, not something he did often, in some of his more carefree moments as a child he’d imagined the two of them fighting side-by-side with lightsabers in hand.

He’d tried to scatter those stupid, childish notions away when he’d left Haashimut. Along with the selfish, immature longing for his mythical heroic mother to come save the teenage runaway when the shadows grew too dark during the night. He told himself that at thirteen he was too old to be wanting his mommy, especially since he’d never even met her. He reminded himself at fourteen too. By fifteen, he’d just about beaten that feeling away with bitterness. And at sixteen, he’d just learned to forget he’d ever even had the want to begin with.

Theron was approaching forty years old now. He was married and mostly happy with his life. There was still a small part of him, a part of him that he liked to pretend didn’t exist — to pretend had never existed — that still wanted his mother. Maybe not the one that he had, but that mythical, heroic figure of his childhood musings. Perhaps it was human nature, he thought, to crave the security and comfort provided by a parent.

A long time ago, before Ziost and Zakuul, before he’d even met the woman at his side, Satele had told her son that she would always be there for him if he needed her. All he had to do was ask. That same part of him he liked to pretend didn’t exist panicked at the thought that he might not have that anymore.

They’d never had a chance at a normal relationship. Not when Theron had been a young boy, dreaming of being that idealized Jedi like his mother before him. Definitely not as a bitter teenager out to prove that the galaxy was wrong about him. Nor even as adults, when they were working towards a common cause. Outside of a professional capacity, almost all of their conversations devolved into arguments — and since Theron was being honest with himself at the moment — a lot, though not all, of those had been started by him. Clinging to that old bitter feeling because the alternative meant opening himself up to being that scared, vulnerable kid again.

But not everything had been bad. They were precious few, but he did have a few pleasant memories with Satele. Most of them had been after Yavin, but before the Ziost incident.

Mostly he remembers taking afternoon tea on Coruscanti terraces, a pleasant breeze teasing the air. He and Satele would take a break between the endless debriefs on the Revanite incident. Even during these moments of downtime, Satele would sit straight, posture perfectly poised as if she’d forgotten how to relax. Theron would sprawl back in his chair, kicking his feet up onto the table just to see if he could get a reaction out of her. Maybe get her to lecture him on proper decorum. He’d been careful not to kick any of the serving ware, just act like a bit of an uncouth ass.

She hadn’t lectured him though, just let a small smile quirk at the corner of her mouth. As if his attempt to rile her was both transparent and amusing. She would ask him politely about work, careful to keep the subject on something he was comfortable with. As if just the act of having this time together was enough for her, even if they never said anything of substance.

It was funny. He hadn’t realized how much he’d actually enjoyed those quiet moments. At the time he’d just been focused on how awkward it was, trying to navigate the weirdness that was getting to know this stranger who was somehow not so strange. Now when he looked back on it, the awkwardness had faded, and the good stood out more. Time had a funny way of distorting things.

Theron didn’t know what he wanted at the end of all of this. He wasn’t sure if he and Satele could ever really have those quiet moments out on a Coruscant terrace now. Hell, he wasn’t sure if they’d be able to maintain a civil conversation. All he knew, as that when he was faced with the prospect of it, it crystalized in his mind clearly — he didn’t want his mother to die. She would one day, he knew that, by old age if nothing else. But he just wasn’t ready for that eventuality yet — even if they didn’t talk or hug or do any of the things normal families did.

He was just not ready to live in a world where he didn’t have the opportunity to… do something different. And he didn’t want the last things expressed between them to be anger and bitterness. He didn’t want her to leave life thinking that he hated her. Because he didn’t. He just… just…

Without even realizing it, Theron started walking again. His pace brisk as if he could somehow escape the place that his mind had taken him to. Grey’s grip around him tightened but she kept in step with him, despite the fact that his legs were much longer than his and she was practically jogging to keep in stride. She was just there, a quiet, comforting presence at his side. Willing to wait on him to be ready to talk, always so patient and understanding.

He didn’t say anything yet, but slowed his steps a little so she didn’t have to try so hard to keep up even as he lifted his eyes up to the canopy. Counting the branches above as a way to think about something else.

Several years ago, this was the path that Grey had disappeared on when she had tried and failed to get intel from Valkorion for a mission. Where that ghost had stranded her out in the wilds. Where had Satele had found her, taken care of her — brought her to the ship that the former Jedi Grand Master had called home. Grey had eventually told him about all of what had happened, including all of the belongings and keepsakes that had been stowed away. Including some old toys Theron had when he was a child — and a locket with a picture of him after he’d joined the SIS. For a woman who had based so much of her life on not clinging to attachments, Satele apparently had quite a lot of things she was attached to.

He still hadn’t figured that part out. Most people wouldn’t hoard the past possessions of children they didn’t want. Nor steal holos from sealed government files to have a memento of their long-lost son. There was a part of him that wanted to see Satele again so he could demand why she had those. The rational part of him knew it would be a stupid question, because there was really only one logical explanation.

Honestly, he wasn’t sure if hearing her say it aloud would make it better or worse. Hearing his mother actually tell him in words that she cared for him — maybe even loved him — would it make it easier or harder to accept whatever her fate was?

And beyond everything to do with Satele, and all of his stupidly complicated family drama, there was the woman at his side. His wife, his partner. One of the few people who was immune to the sickness that had overtaken his mother. The one who supposedly could walk into the heart of the contagion without fear of infection. Theron should have all the faith in the galaxy that she would save the day. Because she had never let him down, not once since they’d met.

Yet the question still hovered. What if? What if she’s not immune? What if whatever had taken over Satele and all those following her took Grey too?

Theron couldn’t lose his wife. He just couldn’t.

He knew that he would lose some unquantifiable part of his life if his mother died, even if he didn’t understand what that would look like until it happened. But he knew what his life would be like without the woman at his side. He’d already lived through that hell for nearly five years. He knew the emptiness of waking up each morning alone. Of the anger and impotent rage that never went away. Of the grief that bled away the brighter, happier moments. How even sleep wasn’t an escape, because then the day would just start over the moment he woke up.

It was why he’d so willingly thrown himself into danger when someone was conspiring to kill her. Better him than her, he’d thought. It was both a selfless and selfish desire. Keep her safe from harm — save himself from the pain again.

When he looked down from the canopy, it took him a moment to realize how far they’d walked. He blinked, breathed, and tried to reorient himself. Reminded himself to not pick at that thread of anxiety and what ifs. To not look too far beyond this moment. The future wasn’t guaranteed, only the present.

“Is there anything that I can do?” he finally asked, deciding not to ruminate on how long they’d probably been walking in silence.

“Right now, the safest thing to do is let Teeseven do his work.”

“So all we can do is wait?”

“It could be a few days. Or weeks. Or months. I can’t give you any certainties.” She let out a sigh. “I know it’s not ideal.”

Of course it wasn’t. Theron wasn’t good at waiting. For all his childhood training, all of the meditation techniques and special education that Zho had given him, he’d never quite been able to cure Theron of his natural impatience. His drive to just do. It was probably written somewhere in his SIS personnel file, hell, Lana had probably scribbled it in every single margin of his Alliance personnel file too. “Impatient.” ”Impulsive.” “Keep away from trains.”

Theron hated standing on the sidelines as everyone else risked their lives. Or in this case, as a bunch of droids did the searching for him. He needed something to do. Anything to keep him distracted from his own thoughts.

He hated this.

The waiting was killing him. Part of him wanted this to just be over. See where the cards fell and then let life get back to normal. He was also dreading the end of the waiting. The moment it ended, it meant that the danger arrived. Whatever this infection was building towards, something in his life was going to change. He could lose his mother. He could lose his wife. He could lose them both.

So the waiting was a blessing. And it was a curse. And right now, it was all he had. All he could do was focus on the present, even as the future came barreling towards them.

“You know, we’re already in the woods,” he said.

“We are.”

“What do you say we get lost here for a while…” Theron let his voice drop low, and watched as a little warmth raced into Grey’s cheeks. “We could have us another adventure.”

She snuggled in closer, laying her head on his shoulder. The proximity lit up a fire in his gut, and for a few moments, it knocked away that fraying thread of unease. In this moment, it was just the two of them.

“You know, I think that sounds like a good way to spend our time.”

And so they walked on, hand in hand. Still waiting. Together.

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