#but I need a partner to translate that into sheet music

[knighted-princess]

I am not talented at art or writing, but I do love music! I am not great at it, but music is how I express myself!

[shiningwonderland]

Ren Jinguji (Repeat)

Translator: Mimi (Twitter: _mimisaurora)

December — A Fickle Score

It's now December, and I still haven't been able to talk much with Jinguji-san.

To study abroad....

It's without a doubt an amazing opportunity, but....

It's such a significant decision to make.

Besides....

I catch a glimpse of Jinguji-san.

He looks to be having a fun chat with the girls about the dance party.

Haruka: It’s already that time of year, huh….

A dance party will be held on Christmas Day at the academy's party hall.

The party hall.... The place Jinguji-san took me to during summer break.

I would like to go to the dance with him too....

Should I try asking him...? 

Select the phrase!

Talk to him (+20 Love +0 Music)

Haruka: U-Um… Jinguji-san.

I muster up my courage and try to approach him, but he just stares at me silently.

I can tell without him having to tell me.

His gaze clearly shows that he did not want me getting any closer or speaking to him.

Haruka: Nevermind….

I give up and back away.

I will try to talk to him another time.

I couldn't bring myself to talk to him at another point during the day, and now, it was after school.

Haruka: Sigh… Looks like there’s no one I can talk to about this….

Ryuya: Hey, Nanami. You’re here at the right time. I thought someone might still be sticking around, and you're the right person for the job.

Do you have any plans after this? If not, I'd like you to help me... Can you transcribe this song onto some sheet music?

Select the phrase!

Leave it to me! (+0 Love +15 Music)

Ryuya: Great. I can count on you then.

And so, while listening to the song he'd given me, I transcribe it onto sheet music.

Haruka: Let's see... This part is…

Ryuya: By the way, Nanami. Have you gotten the chance to talk to Jinguji about you studying abroad?

At the abrupt question, I pause for a moment.

Select the phrase!

It’s been difficult talking to him about it (+20 Love +0 Music)

Ryuya: If you’re struggling to talk about it, does that mean you’re seriously considering the offer?

Haruka: …No, I’m still undecided…. I just don’t know how to bring it up to him….

I came to this academy because I want to become a composer.

I’ve been working hard to write songs for idols.

All I had to say is, "I'm going to study abroad."

Those words are the golden ticket for my dream come true.

It will come true, but....

Why does my heart hurt so much?

Ryuya: Are you having second thoughts?

Haruka: Yes. I think it’s a wonderful opportunity. I honestly am undeserving of it.

I'm also well aware that it would be rude to turn it down. But….

Ryuya: It’s Jinguji, isn’t it? You’re worried about him. Well, he is your partner, so it’s only natural to be concerned.

Haruka: …You’re right. I am helplessly captivated by Jinguji's voice and his very presence.

I can't allow this to end with that voice, that incredible presence, that brilliant aura… going to waste.

I want to write him a song that is second to none. It’s what I’ve been working so hard toward this entire time. 

My dream is no longer merely just about becoming a composer. I want to debut with Jinguji-san.

Ryuya: I see. It sounds like you're pretty devoted to Jinguji.... In that case, it would be all the more reason to go now and decline the offer to study abroad. Why are you hesitating?

Haruka: ...It's exactly because I'm so obsessive over Jinguji-san that I'm having second thoughts. I wonder if he really needs me.

I guess you could say our enthusiasm towards all this is so vastly different. Jinguji-san is not as interested in singing or being an idol as I thought he was.

I'm the only one devoted to this debut, and it's pushing me to get desperate. I see how I might actually be more of a nuisance than anything else.

Ryuya: Well, that may be true. But it’s useless mulling it over without confirming the details without confirming with the guy himself.

Haruka: I know….

What he’s saying is right.

It’d be faster to just ask, than worry about it.

But….

Ryuya: What? Are you scared?

Haruka: ….

I suppose… I am afraid.

If he were to tell me he didn’t need me….

“I have no desire to have you by my side.”

Those words he said to me last month. Every time I remember them, it feels like my heart is being torn to pieces.

Ryuya: Looks like I’m right. Well, supposing he does say he doesn't need you as a partner, I'm sure that would sting like hell…. 

But you've known for a long while that he couldn't care less about being an Idol, haven't you? And yet, you've been working hard all this time.

Am I wrong?

Haruka: ….

He's absolutely right.

Despite Jinguji-san not showing up for practice or even letting me hear his voice, I still pushed on.

But now....

If Jinguji-san were to say he doesn't need me, I might break.

Ryuya: So why are you losing that drive now?

Haruka: ….

I think it is because I am in love with Jinguji-san.

A one-sided romance is not a violation of school rules. So it doesn't necessarily mean that I have to give up my feelings for him.

But I can't imagine I'll be able to stop loving him now, and even if we can't be together, at the very least, I don't want him to hate me.

Ryuya: Well, you’re probably going through all this trouble because you don’t understand it yourself. Sorry about that. I’m not criticizing you or anything. Don’t take it to heart.

After that, he gently pats my head.

Haruka: Sensei….

He’s worried about me….

Oh, I’m eternally grateful!

Ryuya: Anyway, no matter how scared you are, you shouldn't avoid him. Just talk to him straight.

Haruka: I will!

I’ve made up my mind that I can’t make a decision on this without telling Jinguji-san first.

I need to face him properly sooner rather than later!

I’m ready.

The next day, I sent Jinguji-san a message.

I didn’t want anyone else to know about my studying abroad, and I figured no one would hear about it if I told him here....

But honestly, whether he would come or not was a gamble.

He still hadn't been talking to me much lately, which made it all the more uncertain....

Ren: Hey, Lady. Inviting me to a place like this is rather intense.

Jinguji-san glances around, amused.

Haruka: Jinguji-san!! I’m… glad you’re here!

Ren: It's something important, right? Ah, I also want to apologize about the other day. I took it a little too far, saying you were unneeded. I'm really sorry about that.

Haruka: No, you’re fine…. I’m the one who overstepped your boundaries….

Ren: …You kind of scared me a little. You were suddenly so straightforward and earnest….

His eyes, unlike last time, look at me kindly.

But his gaze is a bit sad.

Haruka: Jinguji-san…?

I didn't sense any of his usual enthusiasm.

Instead, he sighs and looks down.

Ren: I was just glad to hear how you felt. I appreciate your kindness. So, what can I do for you?

I wanted to talk to him about studying abroad….

But….

Haruka: Um, before that, can I ask you something?

I want to find out if he needs me as a composer, if what I'm doing is helping him.

Ren: Go ahead.

Haruka: Jinguji-san… What am I to you… Is my music….

…wanted? I can’t bring myself to say that word.

Haruka: …. …Would you miss me a little if I were to be gone?

I realized exactly what I was muttering. 

Ah... Wait. 

Why did I ask that? I didn't mean to….

Ren: No, not at all. We don’t have that kind of relationship.

He averts his gaze and mutters back under his breath.

Whenever I try to bridge the distance, I am confronted with merciless rejection....

He will never allow me to be by his side.

How much does he need me?

What can I do?

Haruka: I see… I guess you’re right.

Ren: …Please don’t… make that face. It troubles me when you do… You look best with a smile….

His hand, which rose for a brief moment, fell back down effortlessly, and Jinguji-san looks down again.

Select the phrase!

Jinguji-san… (+20 Love +0 Music)

I grab onto a corner of his clothes without thinking.

Ren: Lady? What’s wrong?

Haruka: Ah, I-I’m so sorry. Uh! Everything’s alright. I’m fine!

I tried my best to manage a smile, not wanting him to worry, and Jinguji-san looked a bit worried.

He then gently brings me into a hug and softly pats me twice on the back. 

Ren Jinguji: It's nice to see you smile, but not when you have to force it.

He whispers in my ear and lets go of his embrace.

A fleeting touch.

But that tenderness hurt, and it almost brought me to tears.

Haruka: It’s… about me studying abroad….

I somehow manage to get the words out.

Haruka: ...I've been recommended to study abroad in America….

"It was on your brother's recommendation."

I kept that part to myself.

I feared that if I said that, it would only serve to cause Jinguji-san even more grief.

Haruka: After studying in America, I'll be able to debut as a composer….

Jinguji-san brows shoot up slightly and he brushes his hair out of his face.

Ren: Oh, that’s great to hear. I assume it's the result of your abilities being duly judged.

Jinguji-san replies with a coy smile on his face without batting an eye.

I should be happy to hear his praise, but...

It fills my heart with loneliness.

Haruka:  …I am very grateful for the opportunity to debut, but I....

I want to work hard with Jinguji-san….

Is what I was about to say….

Ren: Go wherever you want to go, even if it’s the States. I have no right to stop you.

He interrupts me and I'm left speechless.

What Jinguji-san said is valid.

I have to make the decision because it is my life.

It's wrong to leave that choice to someone else.

But....

There's something that still bothers me.

Select the phrase!

I want to do debut with Jinguji-san… (+20 Love)

Haruka: If I’m to debut, I want to… I’d like to do it together with you.

Ren: Of course, as your partner, I'm delighted you feel that way. But your debut is not guaranteed if you try with me.

Now, if you study abroad, your debut will be practically confirmed at that point. Did I get it right?

Haruka: …Yes.

Ren: Say, Lady. What's your dream?

He places a hand on my shoulder and whispers in my ear.

Haruka: My dream is… to become a composer.

My voice shakes as I answer.

Then, grabbing both of my shoulders, he looks into my eyes with a serious expression.

Ren: Exactly, you’re here to become a composer. And now, they’re rolling out the red carpet for you. So why are you hesitating?

I’ve told you before, haven’t I? You’re destined for this. You should think about that.

With those words, he lets go of his grip.

Ren: Is that all you wanted to talk about? Then I’ll get going now. I have somewhere I need to be after this.

Haruka: Yes… Thank you.

So… that was it?

My absence didn't seem like a big deal to him.

Ren: Well, I’ll see you around.

Flashing his usual smile, he raises a hand and walks away.

I wish Jinguji-san would have stopped me.

It was a thought I had entertained somewhere in the back of my mind.

I was naive enough to think that I would give up the idea of studying abroad if he did so.

I had hoped Jinguji-san would make the decision for me, even though it was only for me to make.

This is my life after all.

I've relied far too much on Jinguji-san just because he was my partner.

Let's rethink this.

What is best for me and for Jinguji-san?

And above all.

What do I want to do?

It’s been a few days since I last went over everything with Jinguji-san.

I still couldn’t decide on an answer.

I definitely think that studying abroad would be better for me in the long run.

But I don't want to leave Jinguji-san's talent untapped.

By coming to this academy and meeting him, I have found a new dream.

I want him to sing with his heart.

And I want to share that song with the world.

But...

It's nothing more than my own selfish dream.

I'm just forcing him to become someone he's made clear he doesn't want to be....

Tokiya: So, I heard the news, Nanami-kun. It sounds like you’re going to study abroad.

In the classroom, Ichinose-san approaches while I’m lost in my thoughts.

Haruka: Ah… Yeah. I was invited to study abroad and pursue a more advanced study of music.

The truth is, I haven't formally replied yet, but for some reason, the proposal is continuing to move forward, and it's hard to say no....

But then again...

I wonder how he possibly could have heard about it, I've been trying to keep this a secret for as long as possible....

I guess I can't keep it to myself forever.

Syo: Seriously?! How come I didn’t know about this? And Ren…? What do you think?

Ren: It doesn’t matter to me… It’s her life. It's up to her what she wants to do, right? Who am I to interfere with that?

His cold words stung a bit.

Syo: Oh, come on. You’re so mean! You should be trying to stop her!

Syo-kun retorts, looking annoyed.

Tokiya: Syo…. They are entitled to think what they want. It's not something for others to meddle in.

Ichinose-san calmly reminds him.

Syo: Yeah, I guess I see your point… It’s just kind of sad. Let’s all at least throw her a huge going away party!

Haruka: Thank you.

It made me happy to know he’d miss me.

But... seeing as the offer has gone ahead and my classmates are even aware of it...

There is no turning back now.

If they took my silence for confirmation, I can't refuse them at this point.

I will soon have to part ways with Jinguji-san....

Then I have to at least finish the song before that.

This is my unrequited love.

My final selfish act.

I'll write a song for the graduation audition, hand it to Jinguji-san, and then wish him farewell with a smile.

Then, in a matter of what seemed like seconds, things moved quickly, and it was decided I would leave the day after Christmas.

So that I could leave with no regrets.

I poured my everything into this.

All of the love I carry... every single bit of it, I put it all into this song.

I weave a melody straight from the heart.

And then, I carefully arrange the melodies one by one.

And finally....

Haruka: …It’s done.

On the day before the dance party, I finally managed to end up with something I was happy with.

I leave the day after tomorrow....

It came down to the wire, but....

Even so, I'm thankful it's done.

Haruka: I hope he listens to it….

Preferably, I want him to listen to it right now, in front of me.

He's a busy guy, so it's unlikely he'll show up on such short notice.

Still....

I really wanted him to listen, so I sent him a message.

“The song is ready. Please give it a listen. I'll be waiting for you in the recording studio.”

Haruka: …I wonder… if he’s coming….

An hour has passed since I sent the message.

I just sat in the recording studio looking out over the booth, unable to motivate myself to do anything.

Ren: Hey, Lady. I heard you finished the song?

Haruka: I did!

He really came….

What should I do? I'm over the moon.

Haruka: Um… Thank you so much!

Ren: You’re… thanking me? That should be my line. This is the song for the graduation audition, right?

Jinguji-san gives a genuine smile, looking really happy.

Up until July, he never really showed any interest in music or singing.

If anything, it almost seemed more like a chore to him than anything.

But during summer break, little by little, he started to look more interested.

Whenever I composed a new song, he would enjoy listening to it, and even sometimes share some advice on how I could improve it.

Before the school festival, he was having a lot of fun with it, and I wish we could have kept writing music together like that.

But those fun times came to an end with the school festival.

I hurt him by going too far.

I believed he hated me already.

But my songs....

He didn’t hate it.

I could tell just by looking at his eyes.

Jinguji-san still loves music even now!

Ren: You've probably been swamped preparing to study abroad. Do you mind if I take a listen?

Haruka: O-Of course! I’ll play it now!

And so, I played the newly completed song.

I wonder what he thinks....

From the start until the end, Jinguji-san listens to the song intently.

I hope he likes it.

After the song ends, he parts his lips to speak.

Ren: … I see. Not bad.

Haruka: So… d-does that mean you’ll sing it at the graduation audition?

Ren: Naturally…. I am the only person in this world who can perfectly handle performing this song.

He replies with a wink.

Haruka: Thank you!!!

He likes it….

I’m so glad….

But, in the next moment, his face clouds over.

Ren: …You’re leaving the day after tomorrow, right?

Haruka: …Yes.

We'll have to part ways in two days' time.

Thinking about it makes my heart ache.

We won't... be able to see each other anymore....

I will no longer be able to have him smile at me like this or listen to my songs.

Ren: You don’t look too excited….

Jinguji-san walks up next to me and brushes my bangs aside.

Ren: You were having doubts about studying abroad a little while ago, right? Is it because you were worried about not knowing the language? Or maybe you lack confidence in your own talent? Or perhaps....

He trails off, biting his bottom lip.

Ren: No… Nevermind. Anyway, this is a huge opportunity for you. Do your best out there. I have high hopes for you.

Using the hand that had brushed back my bangs, he lightly caresses my cheek and flashes a kind smile.

Haruka: …I will.

Jinguji-san is sincerely cheering me on.

I want to meet his expectations….

Ren: Ah, right. The dance party is tomorrow, may I escort you to the dance?

Haruka: Oh! Are… Are you sure?! I-I’m really glad… but…. Are you sure you want to go with me?

Ren: Of course, tomorrow is the end….

The end….

Those words pierce my heart.

Ringo: Ah, there you are…. Phew, I'm glad you're still here. Hurry back, everyone is waiting.

Ren: Waiting…? Didn't we already wrap up the interview a while ago? I made sure to check with the director.

Ringo: It seems there was one thing they missed, so it should only take a second. 

Ren: I see, if that’s the case, then fine. Well then, Lady, I’ll be seeing you tomorrow.

With a wink, Jinguji-san leaves the recording studio.

Ringo: Thank goodness… What a relief. Looks like everything will work out in the end. I got so worried about what I was going to do when my cell wasn't getting through.

Haruka: U-Um… About Jinguji-san’s interview….

Ringo: Oh, it's for the Jinguji conglomerate. It happens from time to time. That kid is really liked among the bigwigs because of his good looks and great way with words. 

He's often sent out whenever there's a special feature on the wealthy. He's usually really good about standing by for a while after the interview is over.... 

This time, though, he wanted to finish early for some reason.... He didn't even wait for them to check over the footage, he just asked the director if it was okay to go....

Haruka: Oh… I see….

Jinguji-san.

Despite being so busy, he made sure to come….

Ringo: But I’m glad to still see your face around campus. Well, I have to go now too. I’ll catch you later, Haru-chan.

Haruka: Of course. Thank you.

What am I going to do with myself…? I'm so happy.

He came in spite of his busy schedule....

He didn't even look annoyed at me for sending a message on such short notice....

He hurried as soon as he was done to listen to my song....

Tomorrow will be the end.

I poured all of my feelings into this song.

And even now, I feel my love for him about to overflow.

I didn't want to leave, my heart felt like it was going to weep.

And then, the next day.

Tomochika: Alright! You’re perfect. I think I did pretty good if I do say so myself.

Tomo-chan helped me dress and apply my makeup before the dance party.

Haruka: T-Thank you. I’m sorry for leaving you with all the work. You’re still not even ready.

Tomochika: Oh, I don't mind at all, I can get myself ready in 10 minutes. And besides, I actually enjoy doing makeup for others.

It's fun to be able to see things objectively and, with my own hands, watch it all come together to form something pretty.

It's practically a hobby, and I like doing it, so don't worry about it.

Haruka: …Thank you.

Tomochika: Anyway, I’m glad to hear you’re going to be studying abroad.

Haruka: …Yeah. It’s a great opportunity….

Tomochika: You don’t look too happy about it…. Well, you can do whatever you want with your life but... If it gets tough, you know I'm always here for you.

Just make sure you have no regrets!

We're friends no matter where you go. You can talk to me anytime. And... I'll make sure to keep your space here ready for you if you ever decide to come back.

Speaking, she gestures to my bed.

Haruka: …Thank you.

Ren: Lady, are you in?

Haruka: Ah, yes.

Tomochika: Looks like your partner’s here…. Perfect timing. I’ll be leaving soon too, so you go on ahead.

Haruka: …T-Thank you.

Ren: You look absolutely beautiful in that dress. The lace stands out perfectly against your fair skin. You look like a princess straight out of a fairy tale.

Haruka: Uh… I… I don’t…. T-Thank you.

Ren: I'll be with you for the entire evening.

Haruka: Huh... With me? But, the other girls….

I thought he'd at least be dancing with the girls....

But Jinguji-san just grins and without another word, we start walking.

Huh…?

Isn’t the party hall over there?

Haruka: W-Wait… The party hall….

Ren: We’ll be here tonight.

Haruka: ???

And then, we arrive….

Ballroom music plays in an empty auditorium.

Haruka: There’s… no one here. I knew the party hall was in the other direction….

Ren: No, this is the right place. I don't want anyone disturbing us, at least this one last time. Come on, let's dance.

Jinguji-san takes my hand and we start dancing.

Haruka: Um, y-you know, I’m not really… good at dancing….

Ren: Then allow me just one song. Don’t worry, I’ll lead you along well.

He winks and begins to take steps forward.

He skillfully moves his arms and hips to lead the dance, not minding my clumsy gait.

Jinguji-san was so good at leading that although I was hardly moving on my own, I almost believed I was dancing magnificently.

...This is it.

This is the final night I can call myself Jinguji-san's partner.

With a heavy heart, I still found myself able to be happy dancing together with him.

When the dance ends, Jinguji-san holds my hand and escorts me to the center of the stage.

A small table and two chairs were placed there with food, cake, and wine glasses arranged on the table.

Ren: It's not much, but I prepared a cake and some drinks. No champagne, of course.

He speaks up with a soft smile.

Ren: I thought about reserving a restaurant… or something like that… but I figured you wouldn’t be too happy with that…. So….

I put it all together myself. I didn't rely on using my family's wealth, but instead, I did everything from scratch.

Haruka: Um….

Ren: It’s not really something I’m used to doing. The cake turned out looking a bit funny.

Haruka: You made all of this yourself!? That’s amazing… I don’t know what to say, that makes me so happy to hear….

What should I do?

I feel like I'm going to cry….

Everything is handmade…. I’m so overjoyed that Jinguji-san went through such lengths for me that I didn't know what to do with myself.

Ren: I had watched the chef make it and thought it would be easy for me to do myself. Well, I ended up making a mess with the whipped cream flying all over the room. 

I ended up just leaving it as it was, and I'm sure Hijirikawa will complain about it later. But, like I care.

Finishing that thought, he suddenly smiles.

Ren: Now, the taste may not wow you… but since I followed the recipe, it should still be pretty good, don’t you think?

Haruka: I don't even know how I can possibly repay you for treating me so kindly. Ah, I should have also prepared something for you.

Ren: Lady, you don't have to worry about a thing. We're celebrating you studying abroad tonight. Please, go on, have a seat.

He smoothly pulls out a chair and, with a practiced hand, helps me sit.

Haruka: Ah, s-sorry.

Ren: There’s no need to be so nervous, I want you to relax.

Haruka: Ah, a-alright. I’ll do my best!

Re Jinguji: Come on, relax, relax.

He lighty pats me on the shoulder and smiles.

As he gazes at me tenderly, I naturally begin to break out into a smile.

Ren: Yes, there we go. That smile. I hope it remains that way always. Tonight's a special occasion, after all.

A glass of a richly hued grape juice is poured and a plate of cake and chicken is served.

Haruka: I-It’s alright, I can serve myself.

Feeling grateful, every time I try to do something....

Ren: Not today… Allow me to do this for you.

Jinguji-san kindly assures me, and I end up leaving everything in his capable hands.

This is the first time in my life I've experienced something like this….

I've never had someone handle everything for me this way before.

I wonder if… this is really okay?

It feels like a scene straight out of a drama, and my heart begins to race.

Ren: Here’s to your new beginning… Cheers.

The sound of our clinking glasses resonates throughout the spacious hall.

Haruka: Thank you very much.

Ren: Now, go ahead and eat….

Haruka: Alright.

Jinguji-san watches me with a smile on his face as I bring the food to my mouth.

Haruka: Ah… It’s delicious….

Ren: That’s good to hear. I hardly ever cook, so I was a little worried how it’d turn out.

Haruka: No way, it's super tasty! I'm very grateful that you made this for me….

Ren: It's worth all the hard work to hear you say that. It's very rewarding to know when someone is happy as a result of something you created yourself. Oh, and by the way....

Jinguji-san stands and comes up behind me. 

Ren: Stay still for a moment….

He brushes my hair aside, brings his hands around my neck and places something on it.

Is this… a necklace…?

Ren: There, that’s better. You look lovely, my Lady.

He kisses the pendant at the end of the necklace and smiles.

Ren: I actually also handmade this myself. I was looking through some jewelry during the school festival and thought maybe I could do it myself instead of buying something that already existed. 

I gave it a try and it turned out to be surprisingly easy. That is the first piece I ever made... Do you like it?

Haruka: I-I do. I’ve never seen anything so wonderful!

Ren: Then, will you cherish it forever?

Haruka: Uh… W-Well….

Ren: It’s already yours. There’s no one better suited for it than you.

Haruka: Thank you so much!

Ren: You’re very welcome… Ah, look, you’ve stopped eating. Go on, your food will get cold.

Haruka: R-Right.

Every time Jinguji-san flashes me a kind smile, tears threaten to well up in my eyes.

But if I cried now, surely I….

I don't want to leave, I want to stay by your side.

I love you.

...Is what I'd like to say....

But I knew I couldn't do that.

So, I held back my tears.

Ren: …Oh, it’s gotten quite late…. There’s actually one more gift I have for you.

Haruka: Please, I’ve already received plenty. This is too much. I already don’t know what to do…. 

Just celebrating with you like this fills me with so much joy! I can't imagine anything better….

Ren: My lady…. Don’t hold back. Today, I want you to leave everything to me.

Haruka: Ah… Is that….

Ren: Yes, this is your final gift!

Jinguji-san swiftly pulls out his saxophone from under the table, hiding behind the tablecloth.

He’s going to play… for me.

…I’m so happy!

Ren: I knew it.... You love music better than any costly item. You look absolutely delighted right now.

Then, with the saxophone in his hands, Jinguji-san wears the most serene and tender smile I've ever seen.

Haruka: Ah… Yes. I love your saxophone playing, Jinguji-san, so I'm honored I get to be able to listen to it.

I really don’t know what to say. This will become a very treasured memory. Thank you so much.

Ren: Good. I dedicate this music to you!

With a determined look on his face, he breathes in, grins, and begins to play on his saxophone.

He was just as incredible the last time I heard him perform, but....

His technical skills are in a completely different league.

I always considered Jinguji-san to have a superb ear for music, and his ability to draw people in was remarkable.

While gazing at him, transfixed, our eyes suddenly locked.

Then, Jinguji-san smiles and winks at me.

Ah!

He's so cool!

He now plays with an even greater range of expression, making his performance on par with that of professionals.

If music were to be compared to writing, technique would be language.

If someone with a natural talent for writing learns many words, the number of ways in which they can express themselves will increase dramatically.

Even if they want to convey something as universal as "love", the more words available to them, the more impactful their message will be....

His performance is splendidly majestic.

It is passionate, yet delicate in its delivery.

Just listening to it, my heart trembles, and tears well up in my eyes.

I was so absorbed in applauding that I forgot to wipe away the tears that were falling down my face.

As I continue to clap, Jinguji-san gives a wry smile, sets down his saxophone, and approaches me.

Ren: Was it good enough to make you cry?

He gently wipes away my tears with his fingers.

Haruka: Yes… It was… very touching…. I’m so happy….

My tears continue despite his best efforts to wipe them away.

Ren: I didn’t mean to make you cry, but if they’re tears of joy, I can live with it…. 

I guess all that practice paid off a little. Oh, and I also wrote some lyrics for your song, even though it's not quite finished yet.

Jinguji-san opens a notebook and hands it over to me.

The moment I see the words written on the page of the notebook, the melody of the song I composed comes to mind and Jinguji's voice plays in my head.

It's only an imagining, of course.... But, it's so cool, and I want to hear the song as soon as possible.

Haruka: Um… Could I… listen to you singing this?

Ren: I'm afraid I can't do that. The lyrics aren't even complete yet. I would like to work on it some more.

Besides, I need more practice. I can't let you hear it when it's still incomplete.

Saying that, he takes the notebook from my hand.

Right....

Of course. I also wouldn't want to show off a song that was unpolished….

But it’s really a shame….

Ren: You really wanted to listen, huh?

Haruka: Yes… but I’ll deal with it. Oh… the graduation audition!

I will make sure to return on the day of the graduation audition. So… please let me hear it then. Um… I’ll be looking forward to it….

I want to listen to it soon so badly.

I want to create a song with him.

But we are unable to stay together.

If I were to cancel my plans to study abroad now, it would only cause trouble for Jinguji-san's brother....

I never did end up telling him that his brother is the one who made this study abroad possible but....

Inconveniencing his brother would ultimately be the same as inconveniencing Jinguji-san....

I want to stay here.

I want to remain by his side forever.

Biting back the words that nearly slipped from my mouth, I tightly clench my fists.

Haruka: I will continue to support you no matter how far away we are from each other.

I truly believe that you will become a wonderful idol.... I'm sorry I couldn't be with you until the end. 

But with your talent, you'll be able to debut even without me around.... Ah, but wait, that's right.... 

You... don't even want to become an idol.... You never need me to begin with….

Huh? That’s strange….

I didn’t mean to say any of that….

What should I do….

I can’t control myself….

If I let myself continue like this, I might end up saying things I shouldn't….

Haruka: Uh… so that’s why… I’m sorry. I’ll be going now.

I find myself starting to run away.

But....

His hand quickly shoots out and grabs onto my arm.

Ren: Don’t go!

Haruka: What…?

Before I can react, he pulls me into an embrace.

Jinguji-san's fingers bury themselves in my hair as he hugs me, so tightly that it hurts.

Haruka: U-Um… I….

Ren: Today is not over yet!

Jinguji-san raises his voice. As I tremble under the fierceness in his voice, he loosens his hold and gently strokes my hair.

Ren: I give up. I wanted to see you off smoothly... but you... the look that you have on your face….

His voice quivers, hugging me tightly again.

Ren: I don’t want to let you go….

Jinguji-san mutters in a voice so small I thought I’d imagine it.

Haruka: I… don’t want to go. I want to stay by your side forever. But I'll be causing problems if I don't leave, so…

Ren: That’s not true. I need your song…. Is that selfish of me?

Haruka: That… I'm so happy to hear you say that. But….

Now that the offer has gotten this far, I feel it would be rather disruptive to turn it down now.

Besides... Jinguji-san's brother is the one who recommended that I study abroad....

Haruka: ...Your brother recommended that I study abroad. To refuse now would be…

Jinguji-san's shapely eyebrows twitch.

Ren: It was my brother…? If I had known that, I would have never supported this in the first place.... 

He must be trying to use you for something absolutely idiotic. That man wouldn't have suggested you study abroad otherwise....

He tightly bites his bottom lip.

Haruka: But… studying abroad… Jinguji-san… You said it was fine.

Ren Jinguji: I won’t let you go!

He tightens his hold on me.

Ren: This is your future we're talking about. I don't care if my brother is involved, as long as it's really for your benefit. But there's no way to be sure. Besides....

Haruka: Jinguji-san….

I murmur softly and glance up at his face.

He then places a kiss on my forehead before letting go of his embrace.

Ren: Sorry… This isn't like me. It seems I got caught up in the spirit of Christmas Eve and got a little emotional.... 

But... I still don't want to let you go. At first, I genuinely believed it would be better for you if you studied abroad. 

I thought it would help you release the music I was so captivated by out into the world as quickly as possible.... But it seems I was wrong. 

It was a new chapter in your life, but you were on the verge of tears the entire time. I can't allow a woman with such a look on her face to leave. 

You have something more important on your mind than making your debut. Tell me, what is your real dream....

My real dream….

Haruka: …I want to…. I want to make a song with you. I want to….

I want to properly get through the graduation audition. I want us to work hard together. I want to… aim for our victory….

Holding back tears, I finally confess my honest feelings.

Ren: Alright lady, I'll make sure that dream of yours comes true. I swear on this night, I will.

Haruka: T-Thank you….

Ren: I won't let you cry alone. If you're going to, do it in my arms.... Okay?

Gently, he pulls me closer to him and guides my face to rest on his chest.

Haruka: …Okay.

And so, Jinguji-san gently caresses my back until I stop crying.

He told me not to go.

He needed me.

And that made me happy….

The very thought of ever leaving him completely vanishes.

The next day.

Haruka: Please accept my most sincere apology!!

I stand in the principal's office and bow my head.

Despite the fact I had never given them a formal reply, they had already started making arrangements for me to study abroad.

And they canceled it on the day of my departure.

I can't think of anything more tremendously inconvenient than that.

Haruka: It was very last-minute…. I caused trouble for so many people….

Ryuya: To be fair, they had already made their moves before you even had a chance to give them a proper response….

When it comes down to it, it’s better than getting on that plane only for you to have to come back later.

Shining Saotome: Hahaha!! Well, we somehow managed to salvage the situation! Shining’s political power is invincible!

Haruka: T-Thank you very much!

Sensei….

Shining Saotome: In return, give it your all and do your best!

Haruka: Absolutely! I will try my hardest!

Ryuya: Oh, and I'll let them know, so you don't have to worry about it.

Harukai: Hyuga-sensei… Thank you so much!!!

And so, I canceled my study abroad.

I caused trouble in many different ways, but even so, I decided to take a stand and give it my all.

Haruka: Ah, Jinguji-san. Did you wait for me?

Ren: Well, yeah. It seems like things went well from the looks of it. Now then, shall we go? I've reserved a recording studio for us.

Haruka: Thank you!

Starting today, I’ll work hard together with Jinguji-san!

And together, we will win the graduation audition.

Without fail….

Mini Game

Ryuya: Hey, Nanami. Sorry for calling you out here. But, here's the thing. I'd like to ask for your opinion as a composer. 

There's an unfinished set of lyrics that a student of mine wrote, and he’s still struggling with a few parts. 

When you think about putting a melody to it, as a composer, which phrases would you choose? I'd like you to choose from among these options. 

Just think of it the same way you did the previous lyric test. But since the lyrics are not yet set in stone, it's not like there is a clear-cut right answer. 

If I had to say, it would be about how well it might resonate with him… or something like that. You know what, nevermind. 

Are you ready? We’re about to start.

The next day, I show Jinguji-san the lyrics I had written.

Ren: I knew I could create this with you. My own personal music. I'm sorry for stopping you. But I have no regrets. Let's debut together.

Haruka: Yes! I have no doubt in my mind that we will definitely debut!

I won’t be sparing any effort.

I will do whatever it takes.

Chapter End

[yoinkschief]

Content Warning: Nudity (Nothing explicit or sexually motivated)

Also there's a gigantic fucking rant under here about this bastard I did NOT plan for it to be so long and I have this sinking fear the others will be just as, if not longer

Take this traditional ref sheet because I can't be bothered to make it digital right now

Sheet Translations and explanations cause I have shitty handwriting:

7'2"

Used to be 5'8" but you know how that goes XP

Whoag! He's tall! Seem experimentation can go a long way :)

★Strip/Mafia Tord is the only version of Tord who wears earrings anymore

I used to always draw Tord with earrings, specifically dangling earrings with upside down crosses on them, but more recently I've stopped doing that and instead draw him with only a tongue piercing that him, Tom and Edd all have matching (they tried to convince Matt to also get one but he was worried about it ruining his teeth), so as a way to homage to my previous design and because it fits him too well I gave him diamond studs :)

Hearing aid [picture]

Tord wears a hearing aid! On top of his eye sight being fucked in his right eye and not what it used to be in his left, his hearing also is shot! He needed a hearing aid on his right ear and on top of his processing issues from his ADHD he can't hear as well as he used to in his left ear (not that his loud bass music taste ever really helped)

Has no waist, giving the illusion he has hips (he doesn't)

Shawty's got no hips and no ass, the only meat he has is in his massive bohongas and the only meaty claw he has left, he already had a triangular shape what with his big ass rib cage and zero hips but going to the military made him even more top heavy so now he's even more triangle

Screen [picture]

His robot arm has a screen on it that's basically an apple watch but better because I fucking hate apple,,,, and yes it does say OPPAI on it, it's an inside joke between me and my lovely partner :)

Spectator Shoes [picture]

Because I think he would wear them, and it's a silly nod to his constant need to be in the spotlight and not sitting on the sidelines: that was the whole reason he left to go to the military in the first place, he was sick of being "Edd's friend" and not "Tord" if that makes sense, he needed an out (and just from personal experience of having people I know go to ROTC and/or join the military fresh out of highschool, it's a good wake up call for some, and a horrible fucking power trip for others,,, don't really know how that last one happens when the whole point is to get you to cry to your mom and beg to go home but hey, to each their own I suppose)

[picture] Power Core

Serves to connect to Tord's nerves, forming it into power to move his arm with

The logistics behind this are loose at best and a goofy thought I had at worst, but basically it's something like the workings inside of the bionic arm connect Tord's nervous system to the core which then converts his thought energy/brain's commands into actual movement, which is why he has one at his shoulder (to connect the nerves) and one on his hands (to connect to The rest of his arm, think of it as like the two power cores being connected via invisible string that gets manipulated to pull his hand up, down, to the side, and so on, and the bicep and forearm connected with the elbow allow it to bend more naturally). That's the best way I can explain it

[picture] The coat he wears on his shoulders,,, meant to pay homage to the coat he wears in his 2004 design

Pretty self explanatory, but since he doesn't have his OG coat (because Edd now wears it, more on that when I get to his ref sheet) this is what he's wearing, a big ass mob coat with gold trim as the accents,,,, I spent way too long drawing Zenigata's mandatory oversized detective/inspector trench coat to not somehow find a way to bring it to someone else's design

OMG! He nakey!

Yup. I'm very mature.

Dragon Tattoo [pictures]

Ahh the infamous dragon tattoo HC,,, at least I think it's infamous- I've seen a lot of people with it so, lol. Additionally, he also has a tattoo of Jason Voorhees' mask at the base of his neck/top of his spine, but it's covered by his hair so I didn't think to add it but there's a very cute story behind it: Tord used to have a snake (he bought it as a ball python,,, it was not,,, it was a reticulated python, and he only found out when he didn't stop growing) who he so lovingly named Voorhees because he was white with a grey splotch on his face that Tord swore looked exactly like Jason's mask, so, he got a tattoo to match with his pet snake. Like a queer.

✨Trans✨

I will never miss the opportunity to make Tord trans masc I love him so

[picture] Leads with his chest

Machismo or something, I dunno, but he has the cocky confidence of a bastard type air around him and so in later years he starts leading with his chest after he goes to the military, versus his past, more laid back, lead with his hips. And by laid back I mean both he was more "devil may care" and trying to get laid, because he's got the libido of a dog in a heat thinking he was doing something leading with his hips because all the snoody whores do it in his anime and he hasn't touched grass since he was in college,,, boy howdy was that military a good idea to knock some sense into him (even if that did come with giving him an excuse to be even more power hungry and that much more of an attention whore)

Still has no ass

Yeah. No amout of drills can give him muscle there, and trust that he's tried (mostly out of spite because Tom always made fun of him for having a flatter ass then Matt, a literal twink with scrawny limbs,,, though you shouldn't let that fool you, he's far too strong for how thin he looks. Anyway look at how that turned out: it didn't lmao)

Ouroboros Tramp Stamp

Another fun story to tell :) so, back when Tord lived with Edd and the gang, he got super hyperfixated on Vikings and their symbolism and artworks and whatnot (he recently rewatched all of the How to Train Your Dragon movies and it lead him down a rabbit hole leading him to want to learn more of his ancestry seeing as most Norwegians came from vikings,,, if I remember correctly, do correct me if I'm wrong) and texted them about what Viking tattoos they should get: Tom's was the Viking rune for "Wolf", Matt's was the Yggdrasil, and I can't remember what Edd's was. The reason Tom was Wolf because it just fits him, he's got that "lone wolf" energy to him but he's just a dork who enjoys being around his friends whether he'd say that to their faces or not, and he's fiercely loyal to them to the point where it anyone would be the first to die for their friends in the group it would be him. Matt's is the Yggdrasil because,, well I can't really explain this one, it's just cause it fits really, I dunno how to explain it. Tord is ouroboros because mmmmm the snake that eats itself is just fucking spot ON for Tord, and having it as a tramp stamp is the sweet cherry on top, self destructive habits and a drive to run himself into the ground to satisfy his insatiable need. Tord has no idea if the others got these tattooed on them (they did, and to everyone's surprise Matt also got a tattoo,,, though no one knows that any of the others got their tattoo save for them knowing Tord got his cause duh)

An interesting thing to note if you want is that often times people will get a tattoo of Ouroboros surrounding the Yggdrasil, so you could say Matt and Tord kind of have matching tattoos. And for the storyline, that can be seen as important

Also fun fact: Tord's original tattoo was supposed to be the symbol for lightning as a way to nod at the fact his name "Tord" is a shortened version of "Torden", at least in my headcanon, which means "Thunder" in Norwegian,,, but then I found out that symbol has become a N*zi dog whistle and by god this man does NOT need any more fucking N*zi symbolism in his design can we fucking stop with that. Besides, ouroboros is much better anyway, I think

EDIT: I REMBER NOW - Edd's tattoo was the Web of Wyrd due it being created by the Nords, the Norse mythos' equivalent to the fates, the symbol representing fate and the fact that your past actions have consequences on your future (something something obligatory EDDS-world joke and WTFuture joke) but yeah Edd's got this one like how the others do

- Hand Me My Shovel, I'm Going In!

Will Wood + The Tapeworms

- Dogs // Still Bummed

nouns

- BAD LUCK!

Jhariah

- Selfish Hate

JAWNY

Just some songs I was listening to while drawing that I thought fit him a bit and the vibes I was going for, I highly recommend you listen to these songs if you haven't already,,, P.S. for everyone who loved Panic! At The Disco when the band was still together and before Brendon started writing his own lyrics, ruining his voice and came to light to be a piece of shit, I HIGHLY recommend Jhariah, he's him but so much better I fucking love his dogs, his albums give the same vibes as the Vices & Virtues and A Fever You Can't Sweat Out albums,,, and I couldn't help myself I love Will Wood holy shit

Time for an info dump about Tord in this AU,,, be prepared it's so fucking long this has been stuck in my head for forever pleASE-:

Obviously, The End Part 1 & 2 are canon in this series, but Tord has absolutely zero regrets about it - he can't, otherwise all the work he's done is for naught,,, although it wasn't planned; his original plan WAS to move back in with Edd, settle down and continue his operations in London with his buds without them ever knowing cause he missed them, however, they got to nosey and so he had to abort with what he was hoping to have finished (the giant robot) but was unable to due to, well, Tom

"but how come Tord was trying to kill Tom, then, if this wasn't what was planned?" Because it was fucking funny, Kyle/ref,,,, also because as a side note: Tom canonically cannot die, or at least, hasn't found anything that can yet and he's not at the old age for that yet. He has what I like to call "Deathly Immortality", or "Cartoonish/Looney Toons Immortality" where he "dies", but then comes back like nothing happened and no one mentions it as any different

Tord has something similar, as well, but instead it's more of "Unfortunate/Spiteful Immortality" or "Anime Immortality" in the sense of where Tom dies and pops back up like a toon character, Tord is like an anime antagonist who just won't die, like William Afton he always comes back but in worse and worse state (He also got sick an ungodly amount in his youth until his body was like fuck it and actually gained an immune system for every illness he kept getting lmao,,, pollen still wrecks his ass though)

Afterward The End Part 1 & 2, Tord poured his full attention into his mob, experiments, and his projects, the thing he was basically trying to use his friends as a front for before Tom got too smart, since he was having trouble not being homesick for his previous life before he went to the army and got power hungry,,, guess you can't be homesick for something that doesn't exist anymore LMAO, anyway- in pouring himself into his work, he buys an "entertainment building", as he calls it, to launder his money: Midnite. Because he thinks he's clever or something misspelling Midnight. Midnite is basically like, all sorts of things rolled into a skyscraper, each floor has a different thing: A restaurant, a casino, an arcade, a strip club, wink wink nudge nudge, but basically this is where he holds meetings and such with his money laundering

Strip/Mafia takes place I'd say... Three? Years after The End? Long enough for Tord to get way too much shit done but short enough that bitter feelings are still felt between the gang for Tord and from Tord

Yes TomTord is canon, but let me tell you this is god's slowest candle wick, because Tom fucking GOES THROUGH IT in this story man, cause everyone's going every which direction, suddenly changing and leaving and he hates it in general because mmm parental issues of dead parents who left too early, the fact that he's autistic and fucking hates sudden changes, the fact Tord is alive is enough to piss him off, it's just all around not a good time for him and so the TomTord is very Tord sided. He's always had a fascination with Tom since highschool, but didn't really understand what it was until he had to be told to his face by who was supposed to be his significant other 💀 but Tord enjoys Tom because he truly is the only one who was able to keep him on his toes in his youth as he got older it grew deeper and he gained a bigger appreciation for Tom and his knack for always being able to throw Tord off his guard,,, to be fair though that's mostly because Tord relies on his quick wit, luck, and the gullibility of others; he's not really good at long term planning and thinking versus Tom who is amazing at pattern recognition and planning long term and for this that could go wrong, in other words, thinking and planning ahead

Additionally, Edd sided TordEdd, too, because love triangles or something, except they both are like bordering narcissistic personality disorders so it really would not be good for either of them to get into a relationship with each other, not that Tord really wants to (anymore? He kinda had a thing for Edd in highschool at the beginning but fell out of it pretty quickly, which, fun fact, is an ADHD thing: Edd gave him instant gratification and euphoria so, like people with ADHD tend to do, he fixated on it, but slowly fell out of it once he stopped thinking with his excitement about having a new friend who actually paid attention to him), but Edd is CONVINCED Tord is just doing all of this for attention from him like he's begging Edd to "save him" (he's definitely not) because Edd "doesn't have a savior/hero complex, stop telling people that omlll" so that's always fun

Errr trying to think of more to say without just writing out an entire book or just showing pictures of the OG script I wrote for it JGXXGJJXG

Feel free to ask any questions oml this AU is stuck in my head I seriously can't keep it contained any longer

OH

Drag/Street racing exists and is a big(?) part of this lmao,,, I mean kinda, it kicks off Tom slowly beginning to rekindle his feelings for Tord and shows Tom's relationship with Paul and Patryck from when they met in college along with Tord

Hooo boy college alone would be a lot to explain, so much shit happened in college but it technically isn't super important to the story? Besides the Paul and Patryck meeting Tom and Tord thing, ofc, but like what happened in college follows my general timeline headcanon of Eddsworld and it's a lot to explain when most of it just gives reason as to why Tom and Tord hate each other/bicker a lot when they move in together and gives a more in depth reading of their relationship and behaviors, moreso as to why they fell into stuck a pitiful state (butterfly affect baby, ONE action called them to both fall over the edge)

Also, I have a list of people I've based/referenced for Tord as Red Leader and it goes as follows:

Gustavo Fring - Breaking Bad/Better Call Saul

Professor Venomous - O.K. K.O., Let's Be Heroes!

Lord BoxMan - O.K. K.O., Let's Be Heroes!

Bill Cipher - Gravity Falls

Dr. Robotnik - Sonic Franchise

Yes I'm aware how chaotic that listing is lmao, but to be fair when I think Red Leader I think calculated and cunning like Fring and Venomous, but also stupid loony silly like BoxMan,, and of course a menace to society like Cipher and Robotnik

That's all for Tord I believe,,, I'll do more soon I'm sure

One last Tord appreciation:

Have I expressed how much I love drawing people's torsos, I think they're gorgeous

[all-about-kyu]

Pairing: rock guitarist!Woozi x classical musician fem!reader

Genre: fluff, band au, mutual pining au

Rating: PG

Warnings: none

Summary: You never thought Jihoon would like you back, you come from opposite worlds after all.

Word Count: 507

requested by; @jaelaxies​

for The Cafe request event

You and Jihoon have always run in different circles at your performing arts school. You’re in the orchestra and a few classical chamber ensembles, Jihoon on the other hand, he was focusing on much more modem music, rock specifically. Despite never running in the same circles or even interacting all that much, you still developed a crush on him. You had always assumed it was hopeless, why would he ever take notice of you?

Jump the present time though, your university decided it would be a great idea to do cross genres for a performance. You initially thought it was a ridiculous idea, how did they think they would mix jazz and heavy metal? Then you found out that your partner would be Jihoon and suddenly it was the smartest idea the uni ever had. So here you are sitting at the piano looking at the sheet music that Jihoon had come up with a few days ago. He had asked if you wanted to do some of the composing, but you knew he was much more versed in composing than yourself.

“You doing okay with the music?” he asks, tuning his guitar, “I hope I didn’t make it too complex. I’ve heard how talented you are playing that thing and wanted to at least give you a little challenge.”

“Oh, um, I’m really not that great. I’m doing okay though! I think I could probably get this memorized in a day or two.”

“A day? God,” he sighs, “how did I fall for such a talented woman?”

His comment catches you by surprise, you must’ve been hearing something wrong. He wouldn’t be in love with you, it wouldn’t make sense.

“Huh?” was all you could say.

“Oh, I didn’t mean to say that out loud. I’m sorry.” “You- you like me too?”

“Like you?” he gawks, “I have adored you from a distance since the first day.” he admits.

Again you can’t fathom any intelligent responses. You just opt to stare at him in hopes he clarifies what he means by his statement. Luckily for you, he does. He places his guitar down on the stand beside him, makes his way over to the piano bench, and sits beside you.

“You don’t remember, do you?” he chuckles, you shake your head as a reply, “You beat me out for the principal clarinet our first year. I was so the awe of your talent that it knocked me down a few notches… I needed that though. Then I found my calling in rock more than I did classical so everything worked out. But since that day when I saw the audition results, I knew I wanted to be with someone as dedicated to their craft and as talented as you. As the months and eventually, two years drew on I realized I wanted to be with you despite being in very different departments.”

“So you’re saying…” you don’t finish your question.

“I’m saying I want nothing more than to be with you.” he states clearly.

“I’d like that.”

“Good, ‘cause I like it too.”

COPYRIGHT STARLITMARK 2023© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED — reposting/modifying any fic or piece of original writing posted on this blog is not allowed. Translations are not permitted. 

Networks: @caratwritersclub​ @k-vanity​ @kwritersworld​

Tag List: @jaehunnyy​ @brattybunfornct​

[rouge-variant]

May i request a one shot for Soulmate Levi college au in Paris ?

Reader is an art student (or whatever you think would fit the best )while Levi is in music course and is a very talented pianist, they meet by accident and find out about their bound as soulmates .

Something fluffy cuz Levi deserves love ❤️

Thanks :)

Absolutely he does!! AHH, I love Soulmates!! My version is a little different but if you want it changed to your idea, let me know! I had so much fun writing this but I apologize for the wait! Thanks for your request and I hope you enjoy!!!

Levi Ackerman x Y/n: Pastels and Pianos

Trigger Warning: Minor mention of Y/n's parents being nonexistent during a flashback. Please keep that in mind while you read.

Boxes scattered the room as you stood by the window. Setting up for your first year of college in Paris! You never thought that your paintbrush and creative mind would get you here, yet here you stood. The view from the window was beautiful and it made your creative juices start to flow. The box with your supplies sat by your bed but there was still much work that needed to be done before next week. But that was next week and this would only take a few hours at max. Organize or paint...the latter was your choice and you quickly set up.

Normally you worked in silence as you had trouble with your hearing. Your parents had told you that it was just the way your body worked but your art mentor told you differently. He was an older man who lived alone at the house at the end of the street. He was weird, even you couldn't deny that but he was also such a caring person too. He caught you drawing on his sidewalk with chalk when you were small and instead of scolding you like other people did, he came out and spent the entire day out there with you. He instantly became something similar to a guardian figure in your life since your parents both worked full time. He told you that you could call him "Grand-père". He laughed at your confusion and translated it for you. He grew up in France and while he taught you your art skills, he taught you french too. You two grew close and he picked up on your hearing troubles as well as the mark on your dominant hand.

"Soulmates often share one major thing in common. Their marks are placed on the same part of their bodies that are used constantly and one out of the five senses is affected by the other's talent until you meet them. You, chérie, must be with someone with musical talent. Find them and you'll be able to hear better" Grand-père explained.

"Just like when I met mon amour. Except my taste was missing, turns out he was a baker. You two would've gotten along perfectly. When you find them, bring them to me. I would love to be the one who'll protect you when I'm gone..."

There was a quiet tune coming from either above or below your room, that pulled you from your thoughts. Because of the hearing issue, you couldn't tell where it was coming from but you heard it. Maybe even a little better compared to normal but you shrugged it off and just chose to listen to it while focusing on the painting in front of you. It was a piano no doubt but it was also playing something you couldn't recognize. The resident building was housing multiple students all of different courses so you assumed that the music was a practice sheet or warm-up before the actual piece. Regardless, it was beautiful and helped with the painting. By the time the sunset, the music was finished as was the painting. You smiled at the work of art before cleaning up and settling into your new home. You missed the music but hopefully, it would be back later.

The man in the room above, stood by the window the same way you did below. He frowned at what would be a beautiful sunset and shut the curtains. What's the point anyways? Unlike everyone else around him, his side effect from his Soulmate Mark, never went away as no one turned out to be his partner. So naturally, he became bitter. He knew that people could get by without meeting their person or even after their partner left. His mother did just fine while raising him on his own. But unlike his mother, Levi became closed off and just chose to let his mark drag him down instead of letting it go, unlike his mother. Was it really that bad to hold onto this childish hope of finding the person of his life? Maybe, maybe not but that was the least of his worries at the moment. The room below him was making so much noise, that it gave him a headache. He hopes that this'll be the last time since he knew that you were probably just getting all settled in. As the noise faded, he looked back down at the mark on his hand. He hated the looks of it, an ugly blub of a slightly darker shade of his skin. His mother was so happy that he had his mark despite him losing his father shortly after he was conceived. She had always told him the wonderful things that happen when you fall in love and it excited him. But that excitement slowly turned into disappointment and anger when it never became a reality which is why he became so closed off. He had school and a career to focus on, not some stupid fairytale and he intended on staying focused on that for the rest of the years he had left in Paris.

Oh, the struggle Levi had with that goal going forward. The next time he went to practice, he swore there was a splotch of what he assumed was white, on his music sheet. He blinked a few times and it slowly faded back into the grey that it normally was. He sighed and dismissed it on his insomnia. You were no better as you heard the music again, it seemed clearer instead of the usual muffled effect that covered up every other noise you've heard. You shook your head and the muffling came back, much to your displeasure but at least the music was still there.

Every time that you and Levi got closer to actually seeing each other, the more the side effect of the mark, faded. It sparked excitement within the two of you but the wave of disappointment was always much larger. You guys occasionally passed each other in the hallways in the large school but because you two never made direct eye contact, the side effect couldn't be lifted. And by the time either of you looked back in the flood of students, the other was nowhere to be seen. So it never fully went away and you both thought that those who wrote up your fate just wanted to get a kick out of you. Halfway into the year, something changed for the better and this time, there was no disappointment.

It was late in the evening and the last of your orange oil pastel was reduced to smears on the page. You had twenty minutes to make it to the store down the street where you knew they sold them. Thankfully the night wasn't too cold so you threw on your runners and bolted out the door. You were halfway to the store when the music you've been hearing started playing again. It was the first song that you ever heard from the mystery person and your body started moving without your permission. There was a music shop just down the street, just a block before your store and as much as you really wanted to finish this piece before tomorrow, you went to see the music store. As you drew closer, you heard the music grow louder and clearer. Your heart skipped a beat as you thought finally you would meet your Soulmate.

Levi sat at the piano in his friend's store and played the melody his mother taught him. Isabel sat on the counter and listened while Farlan leaned against it. This was something the trio had done since last year as they were all studying music together and Farlan worked part-time here. None of them noticed you slowly enter the store and stood by the door after quietly shutting the door. Levi continued playing, his eyes closed in concentration and his bangs falling in front of them. He was beautiful and you smiled softly as the song easily put you to ease. You clutched your side bag tightly as the song became almost perfectly clear after seeing Levi. You wanted to speak to him but the song was far too wonderful to make you even think about interrupting him. So you waited and let yourself get lost in the song. You wanted to have it always playing when you did your art because it already was getting your creative juices flowing. The song ended too soon for your liking and you looked back at the trio.

Levi opened his eyes and bit back a gasp. The piano keys were brighter or darker than they normally were. He made no move which caught Farlan's attention so he confronted his friend.

"Levi? What's wrong?" He asked, not used to his friend's shocked behaviour. Levi shook his head and blinked multiple times but there was no change in the new colours he was seeing.

"There's more colours" Levi muttered quietly. Isabel looked up to see if anyone else snuck in and she caught your eyes.

"Bro! You have a girl watching!!" She cried excitedly and you jumped a little at her loud voice. Levi whipped his head around quickly and finally after two hundred and eighty-five attempts, Levi's steel eyes were pierced by your bright ones and suddenly everything erupted into colour and sound. Your bodies moved you two closer to each other and Levi finally could see the bright unknown colours covering your hand and you were finally able to hear the quieter music that the radio played in the store. Both of you were speechless and Isabel took the opportunity to tease him.

"Levi, this is when you introduce yourself to the beautiful woman in front of you!" She called out with a big grin which turned into a beautiful laugh as Levi's ears and cheeks lit up in a blush. Farlan only smirked watching the scene unfold in front of him.

"Shut it!" Levi barked back before turning back to you and you could see his eyebrows furrow in confusion at the colours on your hands.

"You weren't able to see colour before right?" You asked slowly and Levi nodded in response. He was far too embarrassed and curious to continue talking and you smiled at his flustered state.

"That's ok. Here," you held your hands out better so he could see them and he took them into his hands. "This is blue, green, purple, cyan, green..." As you spoke, his eyes roamed over them and landed on your mark briefly and he turned his hand to match yours so his mark was displayed to you.

"You're my Soulmate...?" Levi asked slowly like if you gave him the answer he wanted, you would fade away and all the colour would fade into nothingness yet again.

"It would appear so, as long as you were the one who played the piano" you giggled as Levi slowly looked back at your face. You were beautiful. His heartbeat quickened at your eyes melted into your smile. He gently dropped your hands and cleared his throat to rid of his flustered state.

"Yes, I am. Would you like to hear more? Since, I'm assuming, you can hear properly now?" Despite the sassy remark he made, you could tell he was happy to show you again. You nodded and grabbed his hand to pull him back to the piano.

Isabel and Farlan's jaws were on the ground as they never thought Levi would ever soften this much around a complete stranger, let her hold his hands despite being covered in oil pastel, or believe in the whole Soulmate thing. Regardless, they were happy that Levi finally felt like this. Hopefully, you could help him in places where they couldn't.

"You still haven't introduced yourself Bro!" Isabel reminded and Levi shot her a weak glare as your laughter filled his ears.

"She's right, I'm Y/n. And you are?" You turned to him again.

"Levi" His voice was heavenly and you blushed upon hearing it.

"A pleasure. Though I wish we met sooner" you smiled again and he nodded.

From that point going forwards, Levi walked you to your morning class and waited for you after your final class of the day. You attended all of his piano recitals and joined him when he went to see Isabel and Farlan at his store. By month four of you two dating, you moved into his room and he was always present when you did your art. He loved them but his favourite one was the one you first did when you moved into the building since you captured the beautiful sight that eventually caused you two to get together.

Music and art, are a perfect pair. Much like you and Levi. Even Grand-père was happy with Levi and knew that he was the perfect man for you after Levi impressed him with his fluent French, much to your surprise as he never spoke to you with it. The two of you only spoke English but now, maybe that might start becoming more common. The wait was defiantly worth it, both you and Levi would agree as you two cuddled on the couch with your painting hanging above the couch.

[buskies]

This fic contains spoilers for Points of Contact, since it’s a version of chapter 9 from Garrus’s point of view.

For @notasiren21, who gave me the idea for the second half of this chapter, and who has been an awesome and patient friend and beta. Thank you!!

—

SO YOU HAD SEX WITH AN ALIEN. What now?

Do you:

a) Determine whether or not your partner (and you!) would like it to happen again

b) Discuss what type of relationship fits best for you and your partner (some options include: casual, serious, one night stand, platonic friends, etc)

c) Panic and make all the wrong choices

Of course, Garrus went with c). As he did with pretty much all his personal life choices.

To be fair, he did try a) first.

“Listen,” said Garrus. “It’s not that I don’t like you. I do. A lot. Definitely more than is appropriate for a turian of my social standing. There are expectations. And you—you—”

Saved his life. Made him laugh. Gave him gifts. Risked her life for him. Danced like she was running barefoot in the hottest deserts of Palaven.

“We shouldn’t do that again,” he finished weakly.

Of course, Shepard just stared blankly at him.

This was what happened when you crash landed on a planet with an alien race that barely had the technological firepower to send a rocket to their moon. Why did humans still not have a universal translator?

Garrus pointed at himself. Then he pointed at Shepard.

The next step here would be to give some sort of negative indicator. It wouldn’t be the hardest thing he had to communicate to her in these months without a common language. All he needed to do was shake his head. She would understand.

His hand hung suspended in the air.

He lowered it again.

Shepard pointed at herself. Then she pointed at Garrus. She said something in human, cocking her eyebrow at him.

“I don’t know!” Garrus said, flung up both his hands, and stormed back into his sleeping quarters to hide.

*

Garrus lay sprawled out on his nest of pillows, arms spread, staring at the ceiling. Each night before he fell asleep, he reviewed what he had learned about humans from living with one for months.

Last night he had learned that humans:

tasted like salt if licked behind the ear

made both musical and incredibly ridiculous sounds during sex

felt really really good to have sex with

incredibly good

best sex he’d had to date

would be surprising if he ever had better sex in his inevitably short life (if he even managed to get off this rock alive)

Garrus snorted at himself. Human intercourse and reproduction was of course a topic of interest, but he could just imagine his boss’s face if he rhapsodized for five thousand words about how amazing it was to have sex with one.

*

On the plus side, Shepard seemed just as clueless on how to proceed as Garrus was. Of course, if this was weird for him, it had to be at least twenty thousand times weirder for her. You couldn’t throw a stone in the Citadel without hitting a cross-species couple, considering how asaris paired off, but as far as he knew, Shepard was the first human to have sex with an alien.

To her credit, she seemed to be handling everything with the same aplomb he’d grown to expect from her. Although she was avoiding him just as much as he was avoiding her, she didn’t seem to be freaking out. Then again, for all that humans broadcasted their emotions as loudly as a Blasto! advertisement, Shepard had always been ruthlessly collected in the short time he knew her. Hell, an alien spacecraft had crash landed in her backyard and her response was to drag the alien inside, toss him on her bed, wash him off, patch him up, change the sheets, and then give him the most comfortable clothing he had ever worn. Nothing seemed to faze her.

Except, of course, when she shot him with a brightly colored kid’s toy shaped like a gun. Or when she wrapped a long, soft strip of cloth (scarf, she’d called it in human) around his neck. Then she laughed with her whole body until tears squeezed out of the corners of her eyes. Or the blood vessels on her face vasodilated until her cheeks were painted pink in what appeared to be the turian equivalent of a blush.

It had taken him nearly a month to decipher that one, since she did it so rarely. Turians blushed by an involuntary fluttering of their mandibles. Garrus had trained himself out of blushing at a very young age. Which was a good thing, since he was constantly making an ass of himself.

“Shepard,” he said, when they inevitably ran into each other in the hall.

“Garrus,” she said, in human.

For a moment he was so busy reliving the other night—when she had arched under him and gasped out his name in human—that he missed half of what she was saying. Not that it mattered since he couldn’t understand her, but she clearly expected him to be paying attention.

Apparently, she wanted him to follow her into the kitchen, where she had laid out six bowls of human food.

“What’s this?” asked Garrus, taking the seat across from her.

She got that look in her eye that indicated she was about to try and explain something. On her handheld tablet, she pulled up a screen with more human ciphers on it. She set it on the table and scooped out some food from one of the bowls, and put it on her own wrist. Then she tapped on her tablet, and the ciphers started to move in what appeared to be a countdown. For how long, he couldn’t tell, but the meaning of everything else snapped into place. She wanted to do an edibility test. Pretty standard training in the military.

He shrugged. “Okay, sure. Don’t really see the point, though. Even if your food doesn’t immediately send me into anaphylactic shock, I’m not sure my body will actually process the nutrients.”

She kicked him on the shin.

It had to have hurt her more than it did him, but he still shot her an outrageously offended look. She did that thing where she swung her eyes around in a way that somehow managed to perfectly convey sarcasm, then pointed at him.

Don’t be a fucking defeatist, she said with her glare alone. Then she reached out to take his wrist.

The contact zinged through him like a spark from a wire. Shepard jerked her hand back, but then pressed her lips together, determinedly wrapped her hand around his wrist, and yanked his arm forward with a bit more force than necessary.

“Sorry,” she said, one of the few human words he’d managed to pick up. Gently turning his hand over, she looked up at him expectantly.

Garrus nodded at her, a little dazed. He kind of felt like he would agree to wrestle an elcor right now, if she asked. Her hand was oddly stubby and had more digits than he was strictly comfortable with, but it was paradoxically soft and strong, able to touch him with such tenderness at one moment, and then grab onto him with bruising passion the next.

Turning his hand over, she plucked up a sliver of foodstuff from one of the bowls and placed it on the inside of his wrist, narrating what she was doing the whole time. Then she reset the timer on her tablet and, unless he was reading into things, reluctantly drew her hand away from his arm.

Garrus leaned back in his chair, holding his wrist in place, already feeling the awkward silence creeping up around them now that they were forced to wait for a reaction. This was what he got for having sex with someone he shared close quarters with. Someone who had become a friend—realistically, the truest and most devoted friend he had ever had in his entire life—and he had to go and fuck it all up by—

Shepard pointed at him and growled. His brows flew up.

In retrospect, he should have known better. There was no way someone like Shepard would let something as trivial as a drunken tryst, no matter how awkward Garrus felt about it, slow her down.

Frowning, she tried again, varying her tone. It took him a moment to realize she was trying to say his name.

“Garrus,” he said.

She snarled at him.

He cleared his throat, forcing down the laugh that wanted to break out. “Garrus,” he said again.

“Rrrrris,” she said.

They continued to practice his name until the tablet chimed. It had been about fifteen minutes. In that time, Shepard had managed a passable variation of his name, and Garrus had not died from anaphylaxis.

Shepard mimed plucking the foodstuff from her wrist and eating it.

What the hell. It felt like yet another practice in futility, with the exciting additional risk of potentially poisoning himself, but he popped the sliver into his mouth to humor her. It tasted a bit like an unripe pomum fruit from Palaven, mildly sweet with a nice crunch to it.

“Apple,” said Shepard, setting the timer.

Garrus’s mandibles twitched in a frown. There were certain sounds he was poorly equipped to make. Shepard just stared at him expectantly.

Well, she did try saying his name in Cipritinian without a second set of vocal cords. He could give it a shot.

“Aa-aa,” he said, varying his tone to match her singsong syllables.

Her lips didn’t even twitch in a smile, even though he felt ridiculous, like a baby trying to sputter out his first words. Where turians used their secondary vocal cords for nuanced pronunciations, humans relied on their lips and tongue. It felt a bit like trying to speak around a mouthful of rocks.

She pointed at the apple in the bowl, pointed at him, then said, “Grrr.”

Sometimes, trying to speak with Shepard was the funniest shit he had experienced in his life.

He huffed a laugh, but she just fixed him with that determined look of hers. “Mild fruit,” he said, choosing to go with a descriptive generic term, since there really wasn’t a turian equivalent.

Taking a deep breath, Shepard attempted the word. She made him repeat it several times, committing the word to memory. Then she pointed at him and said, “Apple.”

“Aa-aa,” he dutifully repeated.

After fifteen minutes, Shepard looked at him expectantly. He shrugged. He wasn’t dead. She narrowed her eyes at him, then leaned back in her chair, grabbed her stomach, and groaned theatrically. Then she mimed vomiting.

“Do that again,” said Garrus.

She couldn’t understand him of course, but she kicked him anyway.

He considered how he felt, then shook his head. His stomach wasn’t immediately rebelling, at least. Shepard nodded at him, then picked up her handheld tablet and tapped on the screen.

They repeated this method of experimentation and classification with all six bowls. Along with the apple, he seemed to have no problems with sugar, spinach and rice, but he ended up spitting out the meat called chicken and the liquid called milk definitely wasn’t sitting right in his stomach.

Shepard dutifully noted down the results of the experiment on her tablet, then got to her feet.

Wiping his wrist with a wet towel, he cocked his head to the side. His stomach didn’t exactly feel great from all the foreign food, but he also didn’t feel like he was going to vomit or immediately die. “I guess it’s good to know I might have options if I run out of rations—”

He blinked when Shepard sat back down and carefully set a pistol on the table, barrel pointing at the door and away from them both.

“Gun,” she said.

“Right. Okay,” said Garrus. “Gun.”

*

By the end of the night, Garrus had increased his human vocabulary by twenty words and he still hadn’t died, so he counted that as a win.

When they finished cleaning up the kitchen, Shepard turned to him, beaming, and gave him a thumbs up. It was infectious. He had pretty much accepted the fact that his life had a very close deadline, but her enthusiasm and determination sparked a treacherous flame of hope in his chest.

Even with things so awkward between them, she was still trying to help him. It might all be in vain, but the thought warmed him all the way through. Lucky. He was so fucking lucky. First, that he somehow managed to beat the statistics and not land in water. Then to be found by Shepard?

He stared at her, slightly in awe, until her smile faded and she lowered her hand. For a moment, she seemed fragile. Vulnerable.

Garrus reached out and took her hand, and then said one of the new human phrases he had learned that night.

“Thank you.”

[tenseoyong]

ayy my fave tumblr freak~ who in nct would edge their partners and/or likes to be edged. like I know johnny would make sure to torture the hell out of u but I wouldn't let mark cum untill he's literally begginggggg ay I just horned myself up GIDARYO JUSEYO

johnny is beyond happy to tease the hell out of his partner. he loves hearing you beg and plead for him to let you finally cum—pure music to his ears. he doesn’t do it for an insanely long time, maybe ruining 3 of 4 orgasms before he finally gives in and let’s you have your release.

doyoung is more dominant in the bedroom, he loves reigning powerful over his lover; continuously building your orgams up before ripping them out of reach, loving your desperation and frustration the more and more he denies you.

haechan can take it and dish it. haechan’s a definite switch—he likes teasing his partner and being teased in return. he likes the bit of a power trip denying his partner gives him, hearing you beg is heaven. and he likes the extra pleasure he gets after being denied his own release for a time, his head spins when you finally let him cum.

hendery is another switch, with sub leaning tendencies. he likes the cheeky aspect of teasing his partner, the way you whine and wiggle about and plead with him to finally get your release is almost comical to him—you know he’s got that shit eating grin on his face the whole time. but that’s definitely wiped off when it’s your turn to play; he’s a big whiner, breathlessly begging and wriggling about no matter how hard you try to keep him pinned, making offers and pleads for mercy.

yuta is an absolute devil, it’s like he’s never happier than when he’s teasing and tormenting his partner. he loves tying you down, and keeping you spread at his mercy. the more you whine and beg, the brighter the mischievous glint in his eye and the bigger he smiles, laughing at your misfortune and happily spends ages teasing you to the point of needing to shout your safe word.

ten is a certified brat. the confidence he exudes on stage is 93% an act, he’s holding that mask of control and dominance but he’s nothing short of a whining, sub-y brat when you get your hands on him. though he definitely really whines when you tease him too much, a few ruined orgams he can handle in strides but beyond 4 or so, and he’s snapping at you to get on with it and fuck him properly.

shotaro loves messing with you at any opportunity. sending ✨spicy✨ pics and videos of him practicing very...enticing dance moves, it’s only fitting that it translates into the bedroom. like yuta, he’s boyishly excited by your desperation and whining, but not nearly as much as the older boy. taro’s eyes just light up seeing you at his mercy, begging and pouting and pleading for him to let you cum.

renjun can take it as he dishes it out, but he’s definitely more of the denier than the denied. he might let you tease him a bit before he takes charge again, pinning you back down and reasserting his dominance over you. he’s not a crazy teaser, just enough to get your heart racing and get a bit of whining out of you.

yangyang is another switch/sub-leaning. he’s just too eager to please to completely deny his lover when you get to begging—denial is fun in theory but he caves way too easily. not that the same could be said when he’s in the hot seat, the way he flushes and his face pinches from the growing pleasure before it’s ripped from his is too precious to avoid.

mark is such a whiner. he’s not exactly the biggest fan of being denied, but a bit of teasing he’s happy with—not that that means you go easy on him. he’s embarrassingly loud, and grab-y, hands clutching at the sheets, at you, at his own hair, whatever he can get his hands on. poor boy’s damn near tears before you finally have mercy on him—but don’t worry, he’ll get his revenge.

[everyhowlmarksthedead]

Disaster.

JAVIER PEÑA. ┃ NARCOS.

❝ words: about 1.8k

❝ warnings: nsfw, unprotected sex, mention of bodily fluids, language, soft Javi.

❝ summary: Never let Javier do the laundry.

❝ a / n: This is a writing for Javier that has four years or more, but I translated it to English. Dialogues are in spanish, but this work also contains the translations. As always, I hope you enjoy and feedback is appreciated ❤.

Gif credits to the author.

MASTERLIST. ⎢ MULTIFANDOM TAG LIST.

The sunbeams through the curtains disturb your peaceful sleep, rolling tangled in the soft sheets to toss an arm over Javier's chest. But it falls over the cold mattress. Growling still not awake at all, you palm his empty side of the bed. Sitting up on your left arm, you glance through the door to the living room. No noise outside his dorm that makes you know he's still at his house. Lying on your back and tilting your head with a puff escaping your lips, your eyes land on a hand-written note on his nightstand waiting for you to be read. Kissing your lips, you stretch an arm to grab it. “Te quiero hablar sobre algo más tarde, me esperas, ¿sí? Te amo, pendeja”.

The first time he called you like that was the day you met him —or more precisely, the day you almost ran over him. You remember him with both hands on the hood of your car, screaming at you “¿qué pasó, pendeja? A caso, ¿no me vió?” You were focused on texting your boss, but when you raised your eyes and made eye contact both you and him fell for each other, a fact that surprised you when his partner told you he was a perro; every night with a different woman.

A goofy smile curves your lips, feeling yet the kisses Javier spread last night all over your skin, just hoping he has left some coffee for you when you decide to get up. Directing your steps to his wardrobe, fully naked, you pick one of his t-shirts impregnated with his heavenly smell to wear it. You don't have anything planned for today other than enjoying your free day and wait for him to come back, so when you see the mess his house is in your opinion, you settle on cleaning it.

After having breakfast como Dios manda, you start for the living room. Except for the documents and the archives from his job, you pick up all the trash around, before sweeping the floor and dust the furniture. Once it is done, you continue with the laundry. God, this man has clothes thrown throughout the house. Putting them inside the basket, you bring them to the kitchen, but you have to leave aside your task when you find the washing machine already occupied. You're starting to tremble. Javier is a disaster, and you don't need to be a genius to realize it. So, when you see a red shirt inside, mixed with your white clothes, you pray for everything you know.

Opening the small door, you confirm your suspicion.

“¡PUTA MADRE! ¡NO JODAS! ¡HUEVÓN MALPARIO'!”

(Shit! Son of a bitch!)

Music in Spanish sounds all around the house, with the kitchen as the epicenter. You're cooking something for dinner, wearing a short chiffon dress —that makes your legs stand out and that used to be white, now is some kind of pink—, stalling till Javier comes back. Oh, he's going to pay for what happened.

“¿Mi amor?” The front door gets closed while hearing his voice calling you. “¡Ya regresé! ¿Dónde te metis— whoa, whoa, whoa…”

(¿My dear? I'm back! Where are you?)

Your boyfriend stops in his tracks as his mouth drops to the floor. Taking off his aviator sunglasses, you find him ogling you with eyes widened. He gulps to wet his sore throat while licking his bottom lip.

“A ver, a ver… voltéate”. He whispers waving his index finger doing circle moves.

(Let's see, turn around).

In silence, you obey his petition in slow motion so he can delight with the views, drawing a gunny grimace on your face. When you face him again, he is crossing himself thanking God. Raising both eyebrows, you take some steps closer swinging your hips to provoke him a little more, having so much fun.

“¿Sí te gusta mi vestido, hm?”

(Do you like my dress, hm?)

He just nods his chin fascinated, not being able to speak.

“Está bonito, ¿verdad? Pero… pues más bonito estaba cuando era blanco”. You reply, lifting both arms at the sides of your body.

(It's beautiful, isn't it? But... It was perfect when it was white).

“¿Cómo así, mi amor?”

(What do you mean, my love?)

Javier doesn't understand what's going on when you practically drag him through the kitchen to the clothesline outside, pointing at your white clothes, now of a strange pink discolored, he has to swallow a giggle. Pressing his lips together, he scratches the bridge of his nose doing his best to not laugh.

“A ver, cuéntame el chiste. Así me río yo también”.

(Tell me the joke. So I can laugh too).

“¡No me estoy riendo!” He feigns to be offended raising his hands to his chest.

(I'm not laughing!)

“Seguro… ¿No es esa tu camisa favorita?” You ask making a soft and brief move with your chin.

(Sure... Isn't that your favorite shirt?)

Putting his brown eyes on the piece of clothing he's wearing, he doesn't have a chance to reply when you ruin it and all its buttons by a strong pull, making them fall to the floor. A proud grin curves your lips up, while Javier tries to babble something. But the response to your action is better than you could think.

Crashing his lips on yours, his fingers move faster than you can assimilate to undoing his belt and the zip of his jeans, as he devours your mouth hungry like a stray dog. His tongue fights yours in a battle for dominance, pulling down his clothes before forcing you to turn and face the counter. Javier ruins your thong as easily as you have ruined his shirt, causing you to moan when he obligates you to spread your legs for him.

Bending over the counter and sticking out your ass, hearing him jerking off his delicious cock, your boyfriend digs his hardness as deep as he can into your soaked cunt. You cry out his name inevitably. Javier spits an animalistic groaning onto your ear. It doesn't matter how many times you two have fuck, you always need a second to adjust to his length, but this time he doesn't give you the opportunity. Not losing time, he grabs your throat with his right hand whilst the other presses your body to the counter from behind. Javier rocks his hips furiously, back and forth, running out of air. Soon, your moans and your whinings fill the kitchen, as the dry noise his pelvis produces when it crashes your limits.

“Si querías coger… solo tenías que decirlo”. He hisses lost in the pleasure, thrusting you harder with every move.

(If you wanted to fuck, you just had to ask for it).

It's not like he's mad at you, it's more like he is trying to compensate you for what he has done. He knows to perfection how to worship your body, how to make you feel loved and desired; but he also knows to perfection that you prefer him to be rougher than gentle —pulling your hair, choking you, biting your neck, making you beg.

“Ah, Javi…”

“Sí te gusta que te… coja, ¿no?”

(Do you like how I fuck you, right?)

“Sí, sí… Más rápido, por favor… por favor”.

(Yes, yes... Faster, please... please).

Your right-hand wraps his wrist, securing a little more the grip on your throat before guiding his other to your legs, straight to your throbbing clit.

“Tan ansiosa, tan necesitada mi gatita”.

(So anxious, so needy my kitten).

His forefinger caresses your finger so softly that he could kill you, quite the opposite of his waist.

“Qué rico…” You gasp enraptured, arching your back and tilting your head to reach his lips.

The fight of your tongues continues, drinking each other's pleasing growls, while the pace of his finger increases too close to the orgasm.

“No pares… no pares, por favor”. You beg onto his mouth, trailing his lips after over your jawline down to your neck.

(Don't stop... don't stop, please).

Nailing his teeth causing you to whimper loudly, your legs start to tremble as Javier digs his twitching hardness into you once and once, not letting you breathe for a second and pushing you to the edge. You can't help but scream his name, just like he loves, feeling the tickles exploding within your belly and letting yourself go. Your boyfriend only needs some more pushes straight to your g-spot to come inside you with a delighted howl drown against your neck. His warm seed mixed with your wetness makes him sigh breathless, collapsing over your back as you need to rest your arms over the counter till recovering.

“Me vuelves loco, mujer”. Javier mumbles, placing gentle kisses on your shoulder before caressing it with the tip of his nose.

(You drive me crazy).

Slowly pulling himself out of your overstimulated cunt, stealing you a disappointed whining for the sudden emptiness, he puts on his clothes as you turn around to face him.

“Te ves bien bonita, así toda hecha un desastre”. His perfect and charming smile gives you goosebumps, leaning forward to you to pepper your lips with so much tenderness.

(You look beautiful just like that, messy).

“Qué chistoso”. You chuckle placing both hands on his neck.

(Very funny).

“¿Arrunche en la tina?”

(Cuddles in the bathtub?)

“Por favor”. You just reply before he lifts you on his arms in the most purest bridal style, making you laugh lively and satisfied.

(Please).

In barely a couple of minutes, your bodies are covered by warm water, relaxing every inch of them and making the tension disappear. Javier is lying back on your chest, smoking with both eyes closed as your fingertips gently roam his chest. You have missed him too much today, being something rare for you to not spend your days off together, but he has been through so much work lately.

“¿De qué me querías hablar?”

(What you wanted to tell me?)

“¿Hm…?” Expelling the smoke through his nostrils, Javier raises his chocolate eyes towards yours.

“La nota”. You add referring to the piece of paper you found this morning on his nightstand.

(The note).

“Pensé en que vinieras a vivir conmigo”.

(I was thinking that you could come to live with me).

That's it. No doubts. No questions.

“¿Vivir juntos? ¿Acá?”

(Live together? Here?)

“Sí, acá”. Javier says puckering his lips, moving his mustache funnily. “¿Qué tiene de malo, pues?”

(Yeah, here. What's wrong?)

“Nada, nada… Está bien, me parece chévere”.

(Nothing, it's okay, I like it).

“¿Te parece chévere?” He scoffs sitting up, turning his head towards yours.

(Do you —just— like it?)

“Sí, ¿qué pasó?”

(Yeah, what's up?)

“Pensé que… no sé… que estarías feliz”.

(I thought... I don't know... You'd be happy).

Raising your eyebrows not believing what he's saying, you roll your eyes moving your arms around his neck to push him back again.

“No seas pendejo, Javi… Estoy más que feliz”.

(Don't be an idiot, Javi... I'm more than happy).

Embracing him tightly to your chest, you sink your nose into his neck taking a deep breath from his scent, almost dizzying you.

“Mírate… de perro callejero a perro casero”. You chuckle close to his ear, biting softly his earlobe.

(Look at you... from stray dog to domesticated dog).

“Pendeja…”

[bruhlsbees]

sapphire strings || modern!andrea marowski x gn!reader

summary: andrea marowski is an exchange student from poland and reader's stand partner in their orchestra

pairing: modern!andrea marowski x female!reader

warnings: super fluffy, possibly bad polish translations, stupidly disgustingly sweet

word count: 3,588

a/n: i just watched ladies in lavender for the first time and i adore andrea so much - such a sweet sweet boy, if you can catch the poor white chicks reference in this i will love you forever.....also check out @creme-bruhlee newest andrea marowski fanfiction because they've only posted the first chapter and you can tell it's already going to be wonderful!!

The auditorium echoed with the sounds of sheet music rustling, instruments being tuned, and those who ignored the conductor and chose to continue to play their instruments, despite others needing to desperately tune their own. It was rather chaotic - but you expected nothing different as the orchestra was preparing to enter a new concert cycle, the crazed energy still among many as the conductor passed out the new piece.

Sitting in the back, all alone, you waited until the violinists in front passed your copy of the new piece back to you. For the new concert, the orchestra would be playing ‘Dvorak - New World Symphony’. Everyone was surprised to say the least when the conductor had announced it. While it wasn’t too challenging for most of those who were in the orchestra, it still gave the conductor enough room to push you all for what he knew you could achieve.

When the girl in front of you turned around, smiling as she extended her arm out above your stand to hand you your copy, you snatched it quickly from her, eyes lighting up as you set it flat on your stand, opening the booklet to scan your section. You ignored her laugh, and the rolling of her eyes, paying attention only to the set of notes - airbowing along as you hummed to yourself.

Despite being last chair in the first violin section, you were just as enthusiastic as the others - perhaps even more than some. You didn’t mind sitting in the back, alone, it meant that you had to only rely on yourself and if you screwed up it was your fault...that and you didn’t drag anyone down with you. You couldn’t lie to yourself, the idea of having a stand partner was not something that you were fond of.

Continuing to airbow, body swaying to the music that played in your head, your motions came to a slow stop as you heard the conductor tap his baton on his stand, raising his hands to gather the attention of everyone. You hadn’t realized until looking up, but there was someone new standing beside him. Someone younger who held his violin close to his chest.

This was weird, you weren’t expecting to have any new member of the orchestra.

“Everyone! Please, settle down for just a moment,” The conductor began, hushing the orchestra with his hands before smiling at the silence, “As you may know, we are transitioning from our previous concert cycle and into our new one-” The claps and whistles that erupted from the percussion section sent out an erupt of laughters from the orchestra, even a stifled one from the conductor. Shaking his head, the conductor tapped on the stand to gather everyone back in.

“Yes, glad to hear we have some enthusiasm over that...anyways, as I was saying, we are entering our new concert cycle and there will be some minor changes with our orchestra. This isn’t a bad thing, but a good thing! We will be having a new violinist joining us all the way from Poland.” Motioning towards the gentleman beside him, the conductor smiled and nudged for the gentleman to step up on the podium with him.

“This here is Andrea Marowski. He will be performing with us for this next concert cycle. Now Andrea, if I remember correctly, you said you played quite frequently back home?”

You watched as the shy boyish grin on Andrea’s face spread, cheeks going pink as he nodded, obviously not too much of a fan with the attention drawn to him. “Tak, I play for Poland orchestra.”

The heavy Polish accent slowed his words a bit, as if he were trying to make sure to annunciate what he was saying in English correctly. You caught yourself smiling ever so slightly, thinking it was cute to see him try so hard.

Your conductor, however, was not as swooned over the Polish violinist as you were. He nodded, clapping the man’s back, before turning Andrea towards your section. You watched as he pointed at you, whispering something to Andrea before returning to the podium. Your smile dropped slightly, shifting in your seat as Andrea approached your stand, hovering next to the open seat that was on the inside.

“Witaj! I was told to sit here?” The statement sounded more like a question, and perhaps that was because the expression that stained your face was not the most welcoming. You were comfortable with the routine you had for yourself - and now it seemed like things were messing up.

“Well if you were told to sit here, you probably are meant to sit here.” You mumbled after a moment of silence, watching as he tilted his head to the side, confused as he didn’t quite catch what you had said. Before he could ask you to repeat what you had said, you were already moving down towards his chair, pulling some of your folders from the chair to set under your own.

Out of the corner of your eye you noticed Andrea tentatively take a seat, as if he knew that the seat wasn’t meant for him. His back was straight, stiff, like he was already going in to play. You wondered just how big of a deal this guy was over in Poland, because the way he held himself with his violin said almost enough.

To distract yourself from your new stand partner, you vigorously went to work airbowing the song, eyes fixed only on the pages in front of you. You weren’t usually the one to get flustered so easily over something so small, but this piece was something you were looking forward to for a long time and you wanted- needed, it to be perfect.

The sudden rap of the baton hitting the stand caught your attention, pulling you from the piece and up at the conductor, smiling at everyone with his warm smile. The two of you were close, having practiced many years with him - he was almost like a father to you - perhaps if you talked with him alone, he would change the seating arrangement?

“Is everyone ready to practice sight reading?” When a few nods were shook, he raised his hands, preparing to conduct, “Remember the emphasis of sight reading. I do not expect perfection, but to see where we are all at with this piece.”

Taking a deep breath, you raised your violin to your shoulder, adjusting the instrument to not slip from your shoulder before resting your chin on the rest, your back arched straight and foot tapping to the tempo from the metronome. When the conductor began, the strings shot down, moving to the director of the conductor.

At first you were dialed into the music, absorbing every note you could, not processing your surroundings too much until you finally heard Andrea playing beside you. You noticed that he liked to play rather dramatically, drawing out the notes that you wouldn’t think to, but nonetheless it sounded far better than your own. Was this jealousy? Perhaps; you had been with the orchestra for years and kept in the back - so when someone new shows up and clearly is better than you, you couldn’t help but kick yourself.

Shifting your sight from the paper and to Andrea, you began to airbow to watch him. His dark brows were furrowed, lips pursed, concentrating on doing his best for the sight reading. You thought to yourself how he looked funny - like a little kid being angry. You couldn’t help but smile, despite their own emotions feeling rage.

You didn’t know how long you were staring at him, airbowing sloppily, because when you looked up from his fingers and back to his face, his eyes were on you, and the expression on his face was not one of pleasure. With a ‘what are you doing’ expression, he motioned towards the booklet before it finally hit you that you missed the page turn.

With crimson ears, a burning sensation rose up your neck and to your face. You quickly turned and flipped the page, both of you doing your best to figure out where you were, but by the time you found it, the conductor had already stopped. This was embarrassing. How could you miss a page turn? Now he was probably thinking that you were an idiot!

Running a hand through your hair, you let out a soft exhale, listening as the conductor praised you for doing better than he had expected. Your thoughts were racing, too quickly for your brain to process anything. The only thing that you managed to process, however, was Andrea’s voice directed towards you.

“Ołówek?”

Snapping your head towards your left and at him, your frown deepened, confused as to what you had said to you, “I beg your pardon?”

He went to say the word again before his mouth snapped shut, frowning as he tried to think of the word before making a scribbling motion, hoping you would get the hint. It took you a moment, but you soon realized what he was asking of you.

“Oh, pencil. Yeah, hold on.” Dipping down, you opened your case and pulled out a pencil, handing it to him. You watched as he smiled, taking the pencil before leaning forward, putting a giant star above the fourth to last measure of the page, indicating for you to turn the page.

You knew that the gesture wasn’t meant to come off rude - but you were already embarrassed and it felt insulting to watch him draw such an obvious cue for you to remember. Andrea, innocent as always, looking over at you, cheeks pink, a smile across his face, as if he were proud of the stupid little star on the page.

Before your own annoyance burst, you were thankful to hear your conductor begin dismissing everyone for the day, saying that they should go out and enjoy the sun while it lasted. Packing your things up quickly, you all but ignored Andrea beside you, who was slowly packing up, a sad beaten puppy dog expression on his face.

When you finished packing, standing up and dragging your chair with the others to be stacked, you left the auditorium in a hurry, not saying goodbye to anyone. When you exited the auditorium, going down the hall, before finally reaching the fresh air of outside, you all but grumbled to yourself, kicking at the loose stones that passed you by.

⋆ ⋆ ⋆

The rocks that you laid on were not comfortable, although they were dulled by the pain that coursed through you. The thin blanket didn’t provide much cushion, but warmth as the sun passed behind clouds, the wind picking up and pulling the waves in higher. You had your eyes closed, blocking the sun from directing into your pupils, blinding you completely.

Coming to the beach always seemed to help your consciousness nowadays, especially when you had a particularly hard day. You were beginning to sink in guilt with how you acted today in practice. The universe directed you onto a path to something new, something great, and you blew it on your own personal insecurities.

“So practice is going to be held every day. Starts at noon, ends at two. I want you to know that this might not be an easy transition for you, you understand? Your accident left you with permanent damage in your hand, you might not play the same aga-”

“So am I not supposed to try? To get back up, pick up my bow, and try until my hand falls off? Please...you were the one who told me all those years to never give up on myself, and now it seems as though you are. I want to be here, I was meant to be here. I can do this. I know I’m rusty, I do, but if I just give up now, I would never forgive myself.”

The conductor pursed his lips, nodding sadly at you before reaching his hand over the desk, taking your weaker one in his, holding it tenderly.

“You’re lucky to be able to still use your hand. I don’t want you to overdo it. You know I enjoy you in the orchestra, but you have to think about the rest of your life. What is to come of you if you lose the ability to use your hand by next spring? Then what?”

You knew the question was meant to sink in - to make you realize that it was important to think into the future...but that was just it, you didn’t think of the future, you thought about the moment, what was going on in the present.

Leaning forward, you placed your stronger hand on his, smiling at him, “And what if I don’t lose my hand by next spring? Have I given up on a whole year to grow? To one day sit back again in the first chair? This is my choice, and I will take all of your concerns to the heart, but at the end of the day, if I want to play, I’ll be damn sure that I am in one of those chairs.”

The determination was something the conductor had been fond of with you. The flicker of hope you always had in your eyes radiated onto the others which brought for a positive environment and a stronger bond within the orchestra.

And now - a year and a half later, your hand was growing stronger each day, and your skill was catching back up to where you were before the accident. You were still not where you wanted to be, nor where you wanted, but it was a start. A start in the right direction. The conductor explained that for the year coming back from your accident you would sit in the back, learn sometimes slower than the others, to make sure you didn’t strain your hand.

At first you were enraged by the decision, but as time went on, you knew it was for the better. The year off from first chair was only that - a year - a year compared to a lifetime didn’t seem too bad by the end of the day. And so when the Polish violinist waltzed into the room, showcasing the same enthusiasm you once held, it saddened you, reminded you of your own demons.

He was better than you, and you hated to admit it - because you knew that you would never be as good as him again. But that wasn’t his fault, and that’s why you were here now, on the beach, drowning in your sorrows.

Holding your hands close to you, head propped up by your violin case, you baked in the warmth of the sun, silent tears spilling down your cheeks. You took in a shaky breath and held it for a moment, listening to your rapid heartbeat as you tried to calm down, before finally exhaling slow. After three more times, you felt calmer, more at peace with your surroundings.

And then the sun went out, like someone turning off the lights.

Opening your eyes, your eyebrows furrowed as you saw none other than Andrea, standing above you, with a small smile on his face. When you processed who it was, you quickly pushed yourself up off your blanket, standing up to meet his chest, looking up to his eyes.

“Witaj!” Extending his hand out, he held a small purple flower towards you, motioning for you to take it - and you did, carefully taking the flower he gave you and smiled, mumbling a thank you.

Nodding his head, Andrea stuffed his hands in his pockets, looking around awkwardly before back at you, “Water pretty.” He commented, as if trying to fill the dead space between you two.

You turned your attention back towards the ocean and smiled, nodding before looking back at him, “Yes, I think so.” Twirling the purple flower in your fingers, you felt the heavy weight of the silence sit on you, wondering what to say next. Did he want something? Was he here to yell at you? Part of you knew that if he were to yell, he would have every right - after all, you were a complete jerk to him throughout practice.

But he didn’t, he never did.

Moving around you, Andrea took a seat on your blanket before patting the space beside him. At first you didn’t move, debating on whether you would want to share the space with him, but then your heart tugged, and the next thing you knew you were beside him on the blanket, shoulders pressed against one another as you both looked out towards the ocean.

“You play....” He paused, trying to think of the word he was looking for in English. While he thought, your stomach twisted in knots. What would he say? Was he looking for the word bad? No good? Despicable? Was this man going to destroy your entire career with just one wor-

“Me-Mez...merisi?” Looking down, your cheeks grew even hotter than they had in the auditorium. Did he just say that your playing was mesmerizing? You knew he must have heard the word on the television or radio, because it wasn’t a word you’d ever thought to describe yourself.

“Mesmerizing?” You questioned, watching as he nodded, agreeing proudly as he got the word right. You shook your head, laughing lightly, “I wouldn’t say that...but thank you.”

Clearing your throat, you felt silent, playing with the flower again before turning, opening your violin case to set the flower in, so it wouldn’t get lost or ruined, before closing the case again. You were then again met with the silence between you two.

And then, the bubbling sensation brewed in you again - the guilt that was eating away at you. You knew that you’d have to apologize here and now, or spend the entire night tossing and turning with another thing to feel guilty over. But you didn’t want his pity, you didn’t want to explain why you were upset because there was nothing to be upset over. That was just it though, right now wasn’t about you, at least not entirely.

Taking a deep breath, letting out an exhale, you turned and looked up at Andrea, who seemed fixed on the ocean, “Andrea?” You began, gaining his attention. When you stared into his honey eyes, the smile growing on his face, you smiled back, continuing on.

“I just wanted to say sorry, for earlier, how I acted,” You pointed at your weak hand, before dropping it back in your lap, “I was in an accident last year, hurt my hand, could not play well.” You tried to speak slow, making sure he was following before continuing on. “I was sad hearing you play, because you are...mezmerisi.”

Andrea let out a soft laugh, his smile growing until you could see the two rows of teeth in his mouth, your own laugh escaping, feeling ridiculous at the lame joke. But you were glad to see that he wasn’t mad, and for the most part, he seemed to understand.

“I understand.” Turning his attention from you and to the rocks and shells beside the blanket, his eyes lit up and leaned forward, pressing himself against you, disregarding your personal space, as he reached for a seashell, pulling back before holding it up for you to see.

Smiling, you nodded, “Seashell, yes. Pretty.” And it was - a beautiful shark’s eye moon shell with hues of blue, purple, and orange glazed over the white. You watched as he extended the shell to you before shaking your head, closing his hand with your own, “Keep it, Andrea.”

At first he seemed to be sad that you didn’t accept his gift, but soon tucked the shell into his coat pocket, turning back to look out at the sea. You followed in suit, turning and leaning against him once again slightly, looking out at the sea as the sun began to set.

⋆ ⋆ ⋆

When you sat in your seat the next day in practice, you got your stand ready, setting your bow on the bottom shelf of the stand, a pencil ready in case you or Andrea needed it. After your talk yesterday with him, you felt better with yourself and the idea of being someone’s stand partner again. Despite your own accident, it did not make you a burden towards others. Andrea was patient and he did his best, in his poor English, to make it known that he would help you when you needed it.

So when he came in that day, a glowing smile on his face, bidding the conductor and others in your section a ‘good afternoon’, he soon came to you, sitting in his chair to your left before pulling out his things; rosin, an extra pencil, and the seashell he found yesterday.

Blushing, your attention shifted from the seashell and to him, a smirk on your face as you got him smirking back, acting nonchalant while getting his shoulder rest ready and tuning his violin.

Maybe it was a placebo effect on your mind, maybe it was the seashell, the conversation yesterday with Andrea, your conversation with the conductor a year ago, or your own realization that your own growth would make you better than you’ve ever played before - but in a different way.

Whatever it was though, that day during practice, was the best practice you’d had in a very long time.

[bleulone]

i love your analysis so much! i have a question as well, like, how do you envision polin's sex scenes ? thanks for your answer (:

    Hey! Thank you very much :)) I have no idea if they are that even good but I’m happy you like them. It’s just my brain tending to produce some iNsIGhiTfUL analyses though they usually end up drowned under a huge wave of stupidity and horrid spelling/grammatical mistakes XD. So, about Penelope and Colin’ sex scenes, I guess we’re getting spicy in this house 🌶. I mean, I don’t blame you. Who’s not hot for Polin ?! The steamy Polin hours have already begun and they’re legit challenging my patience. (Be still my Polin heart, be still).

   Okay, without further ado, let’s talk about sex baby, shall we ? It’s a pretty long answer/meta so bear with me.

    I don’t know if you’ve read Romancing Mister Bridgerton, but a quick reminder (for those who haven’t... yet), there are a bunch of iconic steamy scenes that I’m dying to watch on screen. First we have the famous “thank you” scene where Penelope, now a 28 year-old spinster, asks Colin to kiss her because she doesn’t want to die without having been kissed... then ends up thanking him— which happens to be humiliating for our 33 year-old boy because he thinks that she thinks he did it out of pity while he absolutely did not. The man definitely felt butterflies in his stomach... and in other places as well lol. We also have the ICONIC carriage scene where Colin gives Pen’s generous bosoms™ the attention they deserve. This is followed by his proposal. Later on, after the announcement of their engagement, there’s a pretty hot make-out scene on Lady Violet’s sofa. Finally, we have their first time in Colin’s bedroom, after sneaking out of their own engagement party... which leads Colin to push the wedding date forward. At this point, I just love their horniness, especially Colin’s who’s just so freaking amazed by Penelope for more than 300 pages straight (duh! who isn’t ???).

    When you say envision, I suppose you mainly refer to the way those scenes will be filmed right ? I’m afraid I don’t have an advanced knowledge in film-making but let me start by telling you what elements need to be depicted. I would love Shonda and Chris to capture the real essence of our boos’ feelings : the yearning, the love, the respect and the guilt (specifically on Colin’s side) in their eyes. The more we move forward throughout the seasons, the more we see different layers of the perceptions of they have of each other, going from a childish idealization/immature ignorance to a sudden realization. A mature one. Penelope goes beyond the facade of the charming devil-may-care guy to meet the seriousness and temper of her significant other. Meanwhile Colin discovers how confident, powerful and attractive this woman is and always has been. It echoes what I’ve written about the importance of the gaze in Polin’s love story in this meta. By the time season 4 hits, man... their heart eyes and eye-fucking will jump OUT XD, all fibers of their beings, burning with need. The fact that this evolution took literally years is very emotionally painful, which is why I find it important to keep the slowness aspect of their relationship before and during their love making. I’m really looking forward a slow build-up toward their intimacy. It would differ from Daphne and Simon who merely shared one hell of a kiss in Lady Trowbridge’s garden then shared their sexy times after they married or Anthony and Siena’s rough sex... In fact, there’s a certain (sweet) ardent tenderness in Polin I like due to the fact that they’re slowly (re)discovering each other, as adults. Since they were both introduced in season 1, the audience will have all the time in the world to notice numerous evidences of the many natures of love they have for one another : from an affectionate and friendly love to a more carnal and enduring one.

    Okay so, in terms of filming, with Netflix’s Bridgerton being a show which promotes the female gaze, it wouldn’t be that much of a surprise watching those sex scenes being shot from Penelope’s perspective, like it was the case with Daphne in the first installment of the series. Most of the time, sex scenes in Historical Romance are not gratuitous. Their presence serve an important purpose in a hero/heroine’s journey. In Penelope’s case, they’re here to help her learn to embrace and love herself. In other words, sexuality is synonym of freedom. I don’t know if they’ll show a lot of skin, but I won’t be complaining considering the fact that we’ll have the chance to get a chief kiss treat on screen : a plus size woman in a major successful Netflix period drama getting a love story as romantic and steamy as other more “fit” female characters. No, your weight doesn’t prevent you from being desirable at all. As far as I’m concerned, I haven’t watched a plus-size female character portrayed as an attractive protagonist in a period drama (please if you have, let me know, I can be wrong). Having a beautiful half bare curvy body like Nicola’s being equally filmed like numerous slim actresses will be so inspiring and powerful to watch, especially for (young) women who struggle, like Penelope, to love their body shape which, to them, doesn’t “fit” the “beauty standards”. By showing her female gaze and portraying her as seductive, Pen’s “supposed” imperfections transform themselves into mighty assets, loved and worshipped by our dashing Mister Bridgerton. That’s body positivity at its finest darling ;).

    It will be deliciously erotic watching the undressing process being exquisitely slow, garment by garment, while their gaze are all heated and hungry. Their sex/make-out scenes should be tender and passionate, sweet and raw. The lightning, colored by a dark blood orange yellow or a blue depending the locations^^. Moreover, the depiction of the exploration of Penelope’s desire can translate itself thanks to multiple close ups. For instance, I can imagine a few ones on Pen’s fingers gently roaming over the smooth skin of Colin’s firm chest and back/touching his hair right after he removed his shirt. And a disheveled Colin letting his hands and lips making a journey of their own, mapping, conquering the alluring unknown territory that is her gorgeous voluptuous body... kissing her on the places he knows oh too well will give her pleasure (is this me wanting him to go down on her?— um yeah I sure hope it IS! If he doesn’t, trust me imma riot... AGAIN). Even a close up on her face while Colin is performing his addictively pleasing torment will be a marvelous proof of the female gaze. By the way, why not even adding a post-coital scene after their first time ? I can picture Penelope waking up first and contemplate her handsome soon-to-be husband. She’d bring her hand to his face and let it travel all around his forehead, his cheeks, his lips, his neck and let it rest on his heart— making sure that what she’s just experience was real... obviously, Colin will wake up in the process and he’ll take this as his cue to go for another round of sexy times under the sheets.

   Showing Pen reaction is essential according to me because she was stuck with the idea that she would never experience the luxury of being loved, giving pleasure nor receiving it... she ended up being happily wrong. Throughout her multiple intimate encounters with Colin, I want her to progressively realizes that she can be an active partner. In the carriage, she knew she had an effect on him, but it’s not until their first time that she actually realizes it. Hence the reason why I WANT the mirror’s introduction in one of their sex scenes. Here’s as a little reminder an excerpt from chapter 18 :

“I want to see you sitting up," he groaned, "so I can see them full and lovely and large [about Pen’s breasts]. And then I want to crawl behind you and cup you." His lips found her ear and his voice dropped to a whisper. "And I want to do it in front of a mirror."

“Now?” she squeaked.

He seemed to consider that for a moment, then shook his head. "Later," he said, and then repeated it in a rather resolute tone. "Later.”

   It would be such a shame if the show doesn’t use the incredible potential of this object (/kink). I mean, the symbolism is pretty clear. Penelope has always fled her “ugly” reflection but it seems like Colin wants to show the real her, the beauty that holds every single inch her alabaster skin and the effects they have on him. Thus, I would love to watch a scene where Colin just praises the alluring goddess and siren that is Penelope Featherington. Just imagine! Just IMAGINE the power of this scene : a shirtless Colin sitting behind her on a bed, meeting her gaze in the mirror, his lips touching her right ear, biting and licking the lobe sometimes, whispering all kinda of dirty yet poetic words to her while letting his hands caress her thighs, her hips, her arms, her lovely bosoms™... oof. At the same time, a wonderful and harmonic instrumental music will play in the background and match the melodic partition of shudders, breathes and moans let out by our lovers. I can imagine Luke inspiring himself from his performance in the 2019 short film, Youth In Bed. The way he conveyed the awe and the yearning on his face, in his eyes with his mouth slightly open when he knelt before his partner Shun Yin was just captivating and— and so Colin! I cannot help but bring myself to picture Ethan, the character he played in YIB, in a Polin steamy scene. I cannot unsee this anymore jsksk. I mean, all this gifset radiates this book4chapter18!Colin, you cannot tell me otherwise!

    Also, I would love Shonda and Chris to keep Pen and Colin’s cute/emotional pillow talk. One thing I really love in JQ’s books is the concern she gives to her male protagonists about potentially hurting their partner during the act of penetration. Colin is a rake, and what his experience with women taught him is that he needs to be very gentle with the love of his life. It was so adorable seeing him not wanting to harm her and asking her to tell him if he does anything she doesn’t like 🥺. Plus, before actually doing it, Colin and Penelope shared a few kisses and just laid down side by side, confessing their love. Though our boy kept feeling guilty about not returning her love after all these years. He desires nothing but to make up for the lost time and show his love and desire during this special intimate moment. I hope they’ll keep all of chapter 18’s dialogue. It’s just so telling of our boos’ feelings, you see.

    All in all, I can’t wait to watch those Polin steamy scenes. As much as I may sound crazy, I want them after two other seasons of pure pining and yearning in order to have a very good payoff. I’m not an expert on depicting intimacy on screen, but I loved so far what Lizzy Talbot, the intimacy coordinator who worked on the show, have done in season 1. Sex scenes in Bridgerton seem very real and dive you in the intimacy of the moment, leaving you all flustered and hot. So probs to her! I have faith in her work and have no doubts about what her and the directors will serve us in future seasons. Though, in the end, I think it’s mostly up to the actors, Nicola and Luke, to see if they’re comfortable filming sex scenes.

    If you guys have any suggestions or wishes for those steamy polin scenes, please do share them :) by commenting on this post or by sending me asks! I’d love reading your thoughts/take on this very important matter ;)) 

[ihappentolikefnafsurprise]

Personalities: FNaF 1

I’ve been meaning to do this for so long, just never decided to sit down and do it. Probably because I keep getting distracted with other stuff. Feast your eyes (is that how it goes, I might be dumb). I spent a couple of hours on this, and let me tell you I never thought it’d be this difficult. But I’m proud of this, even if it may be cringe.

(oops they ended up being really long I think you can tell who’s my favourite character (hint they’re a robot))

Basically everyone in this group are buds. Sometimes they don’t get a long but they know how to not take it too far. I tried not to repeat cliches (Goldie being either really flirty or really shy, Chica being a cook, etc.). I mostly went off of what they do in the game and took the traits I liked.

Note that these are the personalities of the animatronics themselves, not the dead children. The idea is that they started off as just the kids but then they got their own lives and slowly developed their own personality until they were separate. I might give them some personalities later on, but right now I’m focusing on the robots.

Likes to be the boss

Freddy

Seems grumpy and unapproachable but he’s actually pretty nice

Scary when he scolds you though

He doesn’t even realize he seems grouchy

Can be pretty boring to hang out with

Unless you enjoy cleaning, dealing with Chica and Foxy, and reading in silence

Bonnie is the one he’s the closest to

(sort of because of Fredbear and Springbonnie being friends, they’re not copying they just happen to mirror it)

Loves hugs and uses them to comfort others

He’ll also use his music box

He’s good at comforting others with hugs

Hates the “don’t touch Freddy” rule

Has a really nice singing voice

He hums and sings when he’s bored or when he’s doing something

The cook of the group and he can make a good pizza

He makes thin-crusted pizzas because helth

He can’t eat so he’ll leave them in the fridge for the kids

Everyone’s baffled on how it got there but accept it anyway

He remembers all the children who come and loves them all very much

He likes to keep things tidy

When Chica’s made a mess in the kitchen he goes in to clean it

He used to scold her for it, but he’s given up

He picks up random items that the children forget with the intention of returning them

Straight up eats them

(He steps in the backroom or goes behind the curtain to get the toys out, children don’t need to see that)

He still continues to pick up toys even when he can’t go off the stage anymore, just a habit that stayed

Frustrated that the new employees just throw away the toys instead of putting them in the lost and found

Sometimes he plays the arcade machines on his own time

He likes to read

There’s no books though, so he just ends up reading manuals, newspapers that people leave behind, employee files, etc.

Until he secretly ordered a book series for himself

It took some convincing from the others

But he ultimately decided to because he doesn’t like the owner

Also the owner is really bad at actually managing the restaurant so he never noticed

Because of this Freddy often steps in from behind the scenes when things are really going wrong, like employees misbehaving

He sends an email to them and then he gives them a little fright when they come into work and they usually either quit or straighten up

He likes earthy tones like brown and beige because he’s boring

Bonnie

He comes off as nonchalant and uncaring

People think he’s angsty

It’s basically his whole persona when he’s on stage, he’s supposed to be the party pooper that doesn’t like parties but is eventually convinced by his friends to join and has fun

Off stage he doesn’t have that much of a presence

He can approach people just fine and isn’t really that shy

He’s just a quiet guy

Probably the best one to chill with because he’ll talk if you’re talking but he’s cool with silence and just enjoying each other’s presence

The type to laugh at his own expense

Has some dark humour and likes to joke around with Foxy, who also enjoys that humour

Secretly the mother hen of the group (despite being a bunny and a guy, he just fits mother)

Would laugh if you trip but then subtly watch you for injuries

If it’s an animatronic he can do some basic fixing

Doesn’t know anything about human first aid, but he’ll help where he can and call for help if he needs to

The type of guy to seem calm but there’s internal panic

If something seems kind of dangerous he’ll watch from afar

But if it’s too dangerous he’s the first one to shut it all down

Good at comforting others

Worries a lot and is probably the most cautious of the group

Very protective

It’s why he’s the first one to come to your door, he wants to make sure it’s no one dangerous (even though they’re like 400lb robots but sssh)

Hides most of his worrying, thinks he’d come across as annoying

Weak to puppy-dog eyes

Likes happy alternative music, but he’s open to almost anything

Plays the guitar by ear

Is pretty good, not legendary, but he experiments on his own

Can’t read sheet music

His favourite colour is red

Takes random pieces of paper like articles and anything useless and writes on the back of them like a diary, he keeps it hidden inside of the backroom in one of the Bonnie heads

Chica

Chaos incarnate

She’s a hyperactive kid that has trouble considering other’s feelings

Struggles with responsibility

Her favourite colour is green

Not at all good at comforting people

But she can listen while you rant and chime in or give you a distraction if you need it

“you wouldn’t believe the crap I had to deal with today”

“I wanna know everything!”

She’s actually the physically the strongest in the group

They’re all pretty strong, she’s just at the top

Mostly uses her strength to lift tables in order to make forts and playing around in the kitchen

Has broken many pans and lots of cooking utensils

Terrible cook

Can’t be left in the kitchen unsupervised for too long otherwise you run the risk of her starting a fire

Good at singing

Loves happy-go-lucky tunes

Radiates positivity

Doesn’t like the others being sad, but doesn’t know what to do about it

She’d probably get Freddy or Bonnie to help

Baby of the group (she is an adult though)

Has excellent puppy-dog eyes, only Freddy can stand them

Has trouble dealing with her own emotions

Tends to idolize or idealize people too much

Doesn’t understand what the outside world is like, or any of the problems that people deal with

I think that you gathered by now that she is not the mother hen of the group, even though she’s chicken

More like the kid sister that wants you to play dolls with her

Doesn’t like being alone and will find others to keep her company

Her feelings get hurt pretty easily

She can take a joke, just don’t be mean even if it is funny

Easily made happy by food

Tries to convince Freddy to make her pizza

When he doesn’t she’s like “fine then I’ll make it on my own”

Spends like a half hour trying to decide which pan to use and even more time getting the ingredients together

Freddy stops her before she can actually make anything, otherwise the whole place will burn

She’s easily distracted and tends to be absentminded

But if she finds something she likes she can sit there and do it for hours

Doesn’t like sudden noises, even though she makes them

Impulsive

Doesn’t play the arcade games, they make her mad

Foxy

The other chaos incarnate, he’s Chica’s partner in crime

If they were left in a room together all the tables would be smashed the chairs would be arranged to make a fortress

Tends to cause a lot of trouble so he gets put in time out often by the Freddy’s

Claims they’re being bums but they just want to keep the building intact

He sneaks away when they’re not looking sometimes and gets in even more trouble

Has the same dark humour as Bonnie

But he doesn’t laugh at himself

Actually a little self conscious

He’s a psychopath that enjoys exercise

When I say exercise I mean running and that’s it

He likes to pretend he’s either running away from or being chased by a huge monster

It’s one of the few things that can calm him down, just let him burn off some energy

Makes the others time him, but Chica usually gets distracted

Not a bad person, he just has a very hard time sitting still

He likes to draw

Carves little pictures into the floor of the cove when he’s bored

He’s running out of space though

If you give him a colouring book (they have some children’s colouring books and crayons) he’ll be calm up until he’s finished, then he’ll want to do another one

He also likes storytelling

Don’t ask him to write though, he doesn’t have much patience

Struggles with feelings of sadness

Misses performing for the kids

Most negative emotions translate into anger

Which will result in him trying to smash things and they others having to hold him back

Says things he doesn’t mean and does things that he wouldn’t do otherwise

He just can’t handle the emotion

Luckily he doesn’t get angry often

More often than not he’ll just pretend the negative feelings don’t exist, which also isn’t healthy

Out of everyone in the group he wants to go outside the most

He likes movies

There was a cheap VCR and tv in the boss’s office that’s now in the pirate cove

Somehow, none of the employees realized he took it

Either that or they just weren’t paid enough to care

He has like two movies he watches on repeat, it’s another thing you can give him to calm him down.

His favourite colour is blue, like the ocean

The true angsty one

Golden Freddy/Goldie/Fredbear

Spends a lot of time alone

Kind of a grump

Doesn’t like being bothered

He got the nickname Golden Freddy because that’s what the others called him when they first met him

It didn’t stick at all until the night guards that saw him called him that

Now it’s something the others call him to tease him, but they usually shorten it to Gold or Goldie.

He doesn’t really mind Gold or Goldie, but Golden Freddy kind of bothers him because it makes it sound like he came after when he’s actually the original

Doesn’t say anything though

Hangs out in the safe room, so the others can’t really get to him anyway

But they can yell through the door so there’s that

(I know it’s supposed to be invisible to them but they have life and stuff so they can see, they just can’t go inside)

He’s very sleepy

Spends most of his time sleeping or daydreaming

Doesn’t really miss performing

Says it was fun while it lasted but he’s fine with it being over

Though sometimes he eats his words when it’s daytime and the kids come

The cheering gives him the urge to come out and say hi even though he knows he shouldn’t

Misses being able to hang out with Springbonnie all the time

Springbonnie is there in the backroom with him, it’s kind of why he spends so much time in there

He activates sometimes, but he usually stays shut down to conserve battery

It’s pretty random

Springbonnie doesn’t know much about what’s going on, he never stays up long enough to get a full explaination

But he does try his best to keep his friend in high hopes

(I’ll be writing his personality later on, with FNaF 4)

There’s no way to charge him because the chargers are on the stage and the others can’t come in to help move him and Goldie’s not strong enough

And he can’t get up on his own

He likes being able to talk to him sometimes at least

Every now and then the others have to convince him to come out

He comes out on his own occasionally

But sometimes he shuts himself out completely and doesn’t realize how lonely he is, even if it is self-inflicted

The best way to get him to come out is knock-knock jokes, he loves them and the irony of it being through a door is just perfect

Likes even the cheesy ones

You can tell him puns or some well-constructed jokes too, he likes pretty much everything

He’s the grumpiest but he’s also the best at making others laugh

What can I say, he has a lot of time on his hands

When he does come out he hangs out with Freddy or Bonnie, the other two are too high energy for him

He plays the arcade games

He has the highest score, since he literally lives there and can play them whenever he wants

Likes the repetitiveness of some of the games

Even if he’s kind of a grump and a recluse the others respect him and come to him for advice when they need it

It’s sometimes stupid stuff like “where did my guitar go” and “quick help me hide Bonnie’s guitar”

He likes the colour purple

[libbymodernpace]

The past 2 weeks I’ve been in frantic planning mode for Welcome to the (analog) Neighborhood. My to-do list keeps getting longer, no matter how many things I cross off....but trying to dial into the parts I love, manage the parts that are hard for me, and not get too panicked about everything.

The weekend is shaping up really well though. In addition to the Phonotel, I have planned 4 “Maps of Delights” tours that will lead to spots in the neighborhood where you can gather, hang out, relax, recreate- for free. One to the Library, one to Buchanan Park, one to Linear/Janice Stork Park, and one to the Wolf Museum. Each will have spots along the way to stop and notice- neighborhood delights and portals to other worlds (all found during my asset-mapping and surveying), spots where you can get free stuff from local businesses, and narrative delights (lines of short fiction displayed around.) I’ll also have analog cameras, records, a message-delivery service, activity guides, live music, a small parade...oh man, I’m getting stressed thinking about it now.

The parts I love- no surprise- are the art and design. I’ve been slowly turning the card catalog (which has been operating as a haiku machine for the past year) into a Palm Springs inspired retreat *for* and *from* your phone. A fresh coat of paint, new drawers for the rooms. Hoping to keep some of Matty’s cacti around to complete the vibe. I’ve created a new logo, printed FAQ sheets to give to partners, designed and printed promotional postcards to hand out, set up events and posts on social media, contacted the LNP and WITF events calendar with info, redesigned and rewrote the Phonotel Survival Guide, full of tips on how to survive out there without your device, and started to turn the Art Barter Mart drawers into the new CrashPad for tablets.

The harder parts for me- the project management and coordination- has been going well, too. Here are some wins:

I’ve connected with a bunch of businesses who have agreed to offer rewards to Phonotel participants- discounts, giveaways, fist bumps, stickers. 

Secured Street Beans brass band to do a set and lead a small parade around the block for Saturday, May 21 at 3pm

Reached out to neighbors, friends, organizations to talk about participating, and potentially volunteering, at the event. Started making schedules and coordinating job roles. 

Met with the Executive Director of the Library to discuss a Map of Delights that leads to the Library 

Working on press releases and press lists

Reached out to Write Now! A local writers group , McCaskey English teachers, and fellow PACE artist Jose of Teatro Paloma to submit short written pieces to the weekend’s Map of Narrative Delights. Super excited that Jose is interested in submitting a piece in Spanglish

Super excited about the enthusiasm and feedback I’ve gotten from neighbor’s who I’ve asked to post parts of the Narrative Delights in their windows or as yard signs. I have 25 locations lined up and now need to coordinate the spots with the words and the maps...it’s like a giant puzzle

Working with Reynolds Middle School staff to encourage students to participate, have them be a focus of one of the Maps of Delights, potentially doing a mapping workshop with students, and on translating materials into Spanish with the help of Srta Cruz. 

Researched costs, suppliers and purchased many of the things I need for the weekend: polaroid film, disposable cameras, wood for signage, paint, etc.

Found a local woodworker who offered to cut the signage for me

I am ignoring all of my other client work. It’s hard doing all of this, balancing everything. But I love it. 

[kuredono]

Sing Sing Sing [part 1 of penpals] | Fushiguro x gn!(clarinettist)reader

TW: mentions of throwing up, hospital despite the TW this is v fluffy! basically you and Meg have been penpals and you meet for the first time! but not in the way either of you would’ve imagined... 

"i think they're coming around now..."

"hello..?"

all you remember was taking a wrong turn down an empty alley on a sunny day, then you were in a cold building with an ugly looking monster holding the back of your neck.

you grasped at a knee, or maybe an arm, squeezing as your felt your stomach churn, though you kept your lips pursed together, willing for it to stay down.

"i think they're gonna be sick..."

"GOJO-SENSEI! HELP! THE CIVILIAN IS GOING TO THROW UP!"

fresh air suddenly hit your face and you threw up in a bush before everything went black again.

"-the thing up. afterwards it was pretty easy to deal with."

"you say that, but the civilian still got injured."

"hey! i didn't see you trying to catch them."

"i had my hands full already!"

your eyes were immediately assaulted with the bright sunshine as you tried to crack them open. you decidedly kept them shut and moved your lead weighted arms to cover your eyes.

"oh?"

"you awake?"

"what happened?" was all you could ask. you had tried to beat the ugly thing with-

"my clarinet!" you bolted up, eyes wide open and met with three equally wide ones (person one had a black blindfold?), but suddenly your head exploded with pain.

"go slowly. you hit your head pretty hard." a voice said as you groaned, squeezing your temples with your trembling hands. "do you remember what happened?"

"got lost walking back. woke up in a weird building and there was a funky looking thing. tried to run away, then some people turned up and the thing exploded. kinda gross."

"gross?!"

"i mean, they are super gross." 

"where are we? what's going on?" you dared to open your eyes again, more slowly, as you took in your surroundings. you were sat on the floor, leaning against a big black dog. how cute. you nuzzled your head into its fur, easing your killer headache. 

"we're in Akihabara, and i think you're concussed. we'd like to take you to a hospital." the one with white hair and the blindfold spoke with a kind smile.

"who are you?" you furrowed your brows together, feeling like you should run away because stranger danger ! but the dog was comfy, lulling you to sleep.

"ah, i'm Gojo Satoru, i'm a teacher at the Tokyo Jujutsu Tech High School, and they are my first year students. we were out on a field trip when we found you." the white haired male answered again. he was a teacher? you'd never be able to guess.

"Jujutsu Tech High School?" you repeated, the name distantly ringing bells. you turned your attention to the students. "i recognise that uniform."

"we've been in Akihabara and around Tokyo before! did you see us then?" the pink haired boy asked with a bright smile. you buried your face into the dog with a thoughtful hum.

"it's only natural we stand out you know!" amother voice voice sung.

"never in a good way." a calmer voice grumbled.

"i guess i just exude that kind of eye-catching aura."

"it's easy recognise beauty such as mine."

how did you get here? why was this happening to you? you were just performing with a marching band this morning, doing your absolute best and playing your loudest for someone. you wanted to stand out for someone. he said he'd come by but didn't. you weren't disappointed... well... you were, but you understood he had his reasons. he probably had classes because it's Thursday.

"Megumi Fushiguro?" you mumbled, the students around you falling silent.

"what did you say?"

"oh yeah, in Japan you say it the other way round don't you?" you chuckled, remembering how embarrassed you were when Megumi cared to point that out when you were discussing nicknames. "Fushiguro Megumi. think he goes to your school."

it was quiet for a moment before the students erupted into excited chatter, 

"Fushiguro! you know them?"

"why didn't you tell us!"

"what? i - i don't—" the calm voice was not calm, but his breath stuttered, "Y - Y/N?"

you had first met Fushiguro via letter in first year middle school, your middle schools partners for a penpal project. you had sent the first letter and even went through the extra effort to try and make a translation, though your characters were very messy so you made sure to also send the English original in case it was unreadable. it was nearly a month before your class got their responses, and it appeared you were the most lucky as Fushiguro's English was far better than your Japanese, and when comparing letters with your classmates, you had the most interesting response.

nearly a year and 7 more letters later, you were the only one in your class still in touch with your penpal, and with the year drawing to a close, the teachers explained that you could only send one more letter. so with a wish, you sent your phone number and downloaded several Japanese chatting apps. sure enough, 2 weeks later, there was a friend request on LINE from a Megumi Fushiguro. his profile picture was just a night sky, but you couldn't say anything, yours was sheet music. this anonymity continued indefinitely. at first you had no idea how often he was okay with you messaging him, and you added the Tokyo timezone to your clock app so you didn't message him at ungodly hours, but after a few months, Megumi would be your first thought when you saw a cute cat or something and you'd quickly snap a photo to send him. he also did the same, mostly pictures of the sky.

on Megumi's birthday, you sent a recording of you playing his favourite piece on clarinet, and for your birthday he sent you a playlist of songs he thought you would like. from then on, you continued to send him your repertoire and small recordings of your practices. then one day, when you talked to him about your most recent performance, Fushiguro asked for the link to the video. you did, but didn't tell him which clarinet player you were. he didn't ask either. you toed the border of your anonymity when you first moved to high school with a picture of you in your new marching band uniform, but from the neck down. you weren't expecting a photo back, but he surprisingly sent one back of his uniform from the neck down. his uniform looked much comfier.

then a spot for a Japanese high school exchange opened (one of the main reasons you chose to attend the high school you did), and though it was for second years, you fought and won the spot. you immediately messaged Fushiguro without checking the time in Japan. and as if that wasn't enough, the wind band in your Japanese high school were having a performance in Tokyo! Fushiguro was in Tokyo! you told Fushiguro, but then dread began to pool in your stomach. what if he didn't want to meet? you were totally fine with that. but you wanted to so badly! you remember your elation when he stopped you mid-anxious text ramble to say he would meet you.

you woke up to a white ceiling and the potent smell of disinfectant. the hospital curtain slid open to reveal a beautiful boy with deep blue hair and long eyelashes, his eyes widening at you.

"ah- good afternoon."

"good afternoon, how can i help?" you smiled, "i think you might have the wrong bay?"

"no. i- uh- do you remember what happened? do you, do you remember me?"

"um... no? i'm not really sure what you mean? i mean, i recognise your uniform- do you go to Tokyo Jujutsu Tech High School by any chance?"

"they said you would be concussed and you might have some memory problems..." the boy mumbled, "is it alright if i sit down?" your eyes darted to the curtain in panic, "ah, i'll leave the curtain open, our teacher is just signing you out the hospital, i'm Fushiguro Megumi."

"Megumi?!" you gasped, the boy smiling softly as you fumbled for words, "i- you- huh?"

"yeah... we have a lot to talk about."

"then, please! sit! i can't believe!" you covered your mouth with your hand, which did nothing to muffle your delighted squeal as he sat in the chair next to your bed. "wow. i mean, it's so nice to finally meet you in person!"

Megumi couldn't help smiling too.

"it's nice to see you too... and i'm sorry i didn't make it to your performance."

"hey, it's okay! we still met up!" you grinned brightly. Megumi then found his hands very interesting.

"and, um... your clarinet is broken..."

"that--" will be very expensive, the thought alone bringing tears to your eyes- your precious baby! it was worth more than your entire wardrobe and shoes! but you shoved that thought away until later. Megumi was here now, visiting you in hospital. "-actually, why am i here? what happened?"

Megumi thankfully didn't push the topic of your clarinet and gladly filled you in on what had happened. by the end of his explanation, you had your face buried in your hands.

"i'm so sorry you had to see that."

"it's fine, i've seen worse. besides, you were concussed, it's normal."

"still..." you whined, peeking between your fingers to find him offering you a hint of a reassuring smile. you gave in with a sigh, "i must say, that's some weird religion you have and they teach you, no offence."

Megumi chuckled, eyes distant, "you're right, it is pretty weird."

"but, um, thank you for saving me Megumi." said boy snapped back into reality very quickly, his cheeks flushing red as it dawned on you that everyone probably called him by his last name. "or do you prefer Fushiguro? am i pronouncing it right? sorry, i got used to-"

"it's fine." he uttered out, "Megumi is fine."

"what about honourifics?"

"whatever you're comfortable with."

"then... Megumi-kun? or is that too weird?"

the boy's cheeks darkened, "it's fine..."

"then you can call me Y/N-chan! then it's not as weird right?" you suggested, starting to feel the second-hand embarrassment.

"yeah." Megumi flinched too much when his phone chimed, and he hurriedly read it over. "Gojo-sensei -my teacher- said he's signed what you need to let you out. you just need to sign a few things before you go."

"right." well, the moment had to end at some point. you couldn't stay in the hospital bay forever. it was just an amazing coincidence that you had met Megumi, so you should be thankful you even had the opportunity to speak to him like this. "am i okay to move?"

"um, i'll call a nurse."

Megumi stepped out as you were examined by the nurse, and you saw him again in reception as you gave him and his teacher a thumbs up before signing the hospital forms.

"thank you very much for everything you've done. i'm so grateful. and please pass my thanks on to the other first years!" you bowed formally to the pair, Megumi flushing red while his teacher just waved you off.

"no worries. sorry about your clarinet and the concussion." the teacher responded.

"it's fine, i was always told i have a thick skull! comes in handy sometimes."

"i have to go now, but Megumi will walk you to the station, right?"

Megumi scowled at his teacher with an unreadable look in his eyes which seemed to make the teacher's smile brighten.

"well it was nice to meet you sir!" you bowed again at the adult, who nodded to you.

"nice to meet you too! hope you enjoy Japan. Megumi, be nice."

Megumi glared at the older man as he skipped away, seemingly pleased with himself for winding the younger up. Said male sighed.

"you don't have to walk me back if you're busy, i have GPS on my phone."

The boy startled at your comment, brows furrowed, before shaking his head, "it's fine, it's no trouble. i would feel better if i walked you to the station at least."

you couldn't stop the wide smile stretching on your lips, "thanks!"

"it's nothing."

you mentally thanked all the deities for letting you spend a little longer with your penpal, chatting easily as if you hadn't just met him less than 10 hours ago. by the time you had made it to the station, you had mentally prepared to part.

"so... i guess this is it?"

"yeah..."

"it was so nice to meet you- i cannot fully explain how nice this has been! even if i did spend a while in a hospital." Megumi chuckled at your words. you felt your cheeks heat up, his smile squeezing at your heart.

"i feel the same."

your train arrived.

"well. i'll message you later then?" you grinned hopefully, Megumi nodding. "hug? or do you not do those? i don't mind."

you nearly burst out laughing at the rush of emotions that flickered in Megumi's eyes- mostly panic. he blinked out his state when a giggle slipped out. he flushed red but nodded stiffly, opening his arms for you. you smiled as you wrapped your arms around him, feeling his wrap behind you too, surprisingly quickly considering how awkward he was at first. keeping it short because of the train behind you, you pulled away to find him also smiling. so he did like hugs.

"until next time?"

"yeah."

the doors shut and you waved to him as the train set off. and that was that.

your phone buzzed in your pocket.

Megumi: the school offered to pay compensation for the damages to your clarinet, so please let me know if and when you're free to go to a music shop in Tokyo to buy a new one.

sorry this hasn’t been proofread and the ending is kinda rushed because i just really wanted to publish it hahaha (catch me constantly editing this for DAYS now, so i probably shouldn’t post it but we die like men)

[zet-sway]

Spiritual Shrios Summer Fill - “Caress"

My third fill for @rosenkow's Spiritual Shrios Summer! I wanted a happy ending for these lovebirds, so pardon my AU. I slammed down the rough draft while vibing hard to Hozier and Ed Sheeran.

PROMPT WORD: CARESS | WORDS: 2246 Rated: "S" for "Soft & Spicy" AO3 Link: "Safe, Warm, and Whole" Pairing: Thane / FemShep Setting: Recently Post-War, Thane Survives AU Summary: "I can't sleep," she mumbled. "If you aren't too tired..." Her voice trailed off, her statement finishing with telling hand trailing across his hip, straying close to the sensitive scales below his abdomen.

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

The soft chill of night air filtered through the open window in their shared flat as Shepard stepped out of the bathroom on sore, aching feet. Fresh from a cold shower, shoulders dropped with fatigue, she managed a smile at him across the room. Thane looked up from his reading. "Siha, how are you feeling?" "Exhausted." She looked it, too. Ever since the war had ended, combat seemed to always take a heavier toll on her body. Her armor powered her through the field, but in their private quarters, she carried herself on tired legs, fresh bruises peeking out from beneath her shirtsleeves. He would kiss them away if he could. Thane stood and guided her into his arms. "Come to bed with me. I think you've earned a good rest." Their flat - if it could even be called a flat - was barebones, no better than any military dormitory she's ever stayed in. White walls, cold floor tiles, and almost no décor to speak of. It was clean, at least. Six months since the war had ended, humanity had made little to no progress reclaiming the comforts they'd enjoyed before the reapers. Still, some inspired soldier had managed to requisition an old bed that was bigger than the standard issue Alliance bunk size - a gift for the legend herself, and her partner. He eased her down onto the sheets with steady arms. "It's too quiet in here," Shepard groaned as she laid down. "I'm sure the Alliance would be willing to relocate us to one of the orbital stations," he said, undressing before joining her in bed. She made an annoyed sound. "They need me here." It was mostly true. The alliance was still uncovering disorganized pockets of reaper forces, most of them in the underground byways of urban centers. It's what she spent her days doing. Strapping on the same old armor and delving into close quarters to fight cannibals, brutes, and whatever other monsters lurked in the dark. He wanted so badly for her to rest, but she wouldn't have it. The three months she spent held up in the field hospital were agony for her, and not simply because she was in pain. That restless mind, her patchwork cybernetic body giving her inhuman reserves of energy that her organic parts simply couldn't keep pace with. Even the Alliance had tried to offer her diplomatic work - something she had laughed off. "Come back when you're ready to let me do my job." Still, Shepard found planetside silence deafening. Sleep was harder to claim without the white noise of a cruiser. She talked often of the thrumming of engines on ships she'd lived on for most of her life. Thane himself rather enjoyed the quiet sounds of Earth, but it didn't much matter to him where they were. As long as she came home to him at night. "What will you do once the ground work is complete?" he said, settling in beside her. "I can't fucking wait," came her muffled response, face stuffed into a pillow. "Maybe then we can get back into space. Help with the Citadel reclamation." She turned to look at him then, squinting against the light on his nightstand. "If that's okay with you." "My love," he said, switching off the light and kissing her forehead, "I would follow you to the edge of the world if you'll have me." She swatted at him weakly. "You're sickeningly sweet." Thane's face contorted in an exaggerated frown, but his voice betrayed his mirth. "I make you sick?" She rolled her eyes. "You know what I mean." "I love you too, Siha," he chuckled, and gathered her into his arms. Indeed it had taken him a little while to get used to living with humans and their ample use of sarcasm, but he did understand her. By now he had long since stopped using his translator. Earth was becoming more familiar to him by the day, and he was surprised to find so many humans eager for his help. That he wasn't Alliance didn't seem important when so much needed doing. When he refused to leave her hospital bedside, they busied him with menial tasks around the infirmary and he was surprised to find he enjoyed the small role he had in healing the injured. Most of all, he thanked Arashu each and every day for her unbelievable

blessing, to have Shepard here, curling into his chest, safe, warm, and whole. She wriggled against him, humming quietly as she found a more favorable position with her knee over his and her face in the warm velvety frill of his neck. Soft breaths rolled over him and he trilled in response, the sound vibrating in his chest. They fit together so seamlessly that he could never be sure if she teased him like this deliberately or simply out of comfort, but warmth of her breath over his throat made his body stir in irresponsible ways, considering her state of fatigue. With some amount of guilt, he shifted away from her. She reacted, her arm tightened about his waist to press him close and this time she did it on purpose, gentle lips kissing his throat once, then twice with an open mouth, with a small hum of satisfaction. Her intentions were loud and clear. "I thought you were exhausted," he mused into her hair. Ambient light from outside spilled through their open window and illuminated her in the dreamy shades of nighttime. Her eyes were closed, body tucked tight against him. Like holding the entire world in his arms, he swelled with adoration. "I can't sleep," she mumbled. "If you aren't too tired..." Her voice trailed off, her statement finishing with telling hand trailing across his hip, straying close to the sensitive scales below his abdomen. "Mm," he pretended to consider, knowing exactly what she wanted. "I may be able to help. What do you require?" It would be a cold day in hell when he was too tired for her. She kissed his neck again, her palm flattening against the small of his back and dragging it slowly over his backside. "Touch me," she whispered. Warmth bloomed in his chest, the heat of desire washing over him. "It would be my pleasure," he rumbled. Slowly, he pushed her shorts off her hips and eased her on to her back. Eyes closed, licking her lips in contented anticipation, he watched her chest rise and fall with each contented breath. Hands slid across her belly, easing her t-shirt up over her head and she accommodated him, rising just enough to pull it off and flicking it lazily on to the other side of the bed. Relaxed as he'd ever seen, her undressed body laid before him, dotted with scars and stories he knew so well. He pulled himself over her, meeting her lips in an unhurried kiss. She stretched against him, warming beneath his body, hands wandering across the defined lines of his shoulders and spine as though she knew his stripes by memory alone. He gathered her breasts together from where they rolled to her sides and gazed up at her face as he kissed the deliciously soft valley between them. Thumbs running over each hardening peak, he watched her expression as he teased her if only just to see the gleaming edges of her teeth drawing her lower lip into her mouth. Her eyelashes fluttered as he squeezed her flesh gently, closing his lips over first one nipple, then the other. She arched up to meet his eager tongue, heavy breaths rushing from her lungs as though the pressure of his hands drove the air from her body. Beneath him, he could feel her core flex with each flick of his tongue and twist of his fingers "Fuck," she moaned. He couldn't help but watch her, eyes closed, lips parted, chest heaving against his hands as he stoked her lust from a smolder to an irresistible flame. His gentle mouth began to work its way down across the hard plane of her abdomen. Beneath the scent of standard issue soap, he could smell the salt of her skin, pausing to place an appreciative kiss atop her mound before his hands curled around the juncture of her hips. Her breathing was ragged as his thumbs parted her eager, heated flesh for his appreciation. The first time they'd done this he'd had to talk her down from her insecurities. The memory made him feel possessive, nearly angered by the notion that some other man had turned down privilege of knowing her this way. Thane let his breath ghost over her glistening center, thumbs dragging firmly up and down her folds just to hear her moan for him. The urge

to tease her was irresistible. It was with a knowing smirk that he finally bent his mouth to her, tasting her earthy, salty flesh - her hitched gasps like music to his ears. She told him once that he put human lovers to shame, and he was proud - perhaps the only man in existence who pried the secrets of her pleasure straight from her lips. He knew exactly how to touch her simply because he'd asked. The sounds she made when he laved his tongue over her clit were low and resounding reminders of how painfully hard he was in his shorts. Her fingertips trailed along his sensitive jaw, feeling him work as he ate her greedily. "Don't stop," she whispered. He grinned against her sex, teasing her entrance with two fused fingers, pushing slowly inside her heat only to brush against her center and slip out, again and again. Patiently, he devoured her, walking her closer to the edge one searing second at a time until her head was thrown back, her spine arched off the bed, fingers trembling against his scalp. He loved this. Every time he went down on her his mind trailed over every single time previous - recalling the exact intonation of her voice, the press of her hands, the way she tensed her thighs as she neared the peak of her pleasure. By now, he could tell precisely when to set her off. He edged her for a few seconds longer. She was close, so close. She came with a shout, her clutching fingers carefully telegraphing how long he could continue to draw out her climax before she trembled and sagged, clenching her oversensitive flesh away from his hungry mouth. "Holy shit, Thane," she gasped, heaving for breath and sprawling against the mattress. He climbed atop her and she kissed him without hesitation and he growled - he couldn't deny he found it irrefutably erotic how she cleaned the taste of herself off his lips. Clumsy hands fumbled at his shorts, stroking his burning length, urging him to bring it to her lips. Maybe another night - he thought. Right now he burned to bury himself inside her. He felt her tense in anticipation, her eyes cracked open and gleaming in the moonlight, slowly blinking up at him with a look so unguarded he could have wept. She guided him to her slick entrance and he slowly pushed inside, groaning as her hungry, supple flesh tempted him into her scorching depths and at last, he hilted inside her. He set a languid pace, cradling her hips in his hands, searching for the perfect angle to make her see the stars she missed so dearly behind her closed eyes. With her core hypersensitive in the glow of her climax, she clutched at him desperately, nails digging into the scales of his back with such force he thought for sure they would be discolored before long. He didn't care. Becoming one with her, seeing her completely blissed out by each roll of his hips and knowing he could make her feel this way made him shake with wanting. He covered her with his body, ravishing her lips against pleasured cries that came so resoundingly he was sure to hear "who was getting lucky last night?" in the morning. He belonged to her - this night and as many nights as she wanted him. She made him delirious in her pleasure. Her body demanded his release. Held within her wanting arms, he finally succumbed with a hoarse, drawn out cry. For seconds he was infinite, a whirlwind of white hot ecstasy fraying him apart until he found his sweetest end in her embrace. And then there was nothing but her and the caress of crisp, evening air wafting over him. A gift from the earth to bless their joining. He shivered with the aftershocks. Soft hands trailed down his back. He didn't know how long they remained before separating. In the afterglow, memories overtook him easily. Vivid remembrances of Irikah and Shepard tumbled together and he slipped in and out of them like the rolling of coastal waters. It was difficult to rationalize how he could deserve either of them, what he could have done to earn the love of the fierce and cosmic women who touched his heart. But as Shepard's breathing slowed from heavy to peaceful beside him,

his doubts were pushed aside. Arashu herself had sent him a divine protector, and he would not refuse her gifts. "You're the best," she murmured against him, and he could hear the daze of sleep trailing her gentle voice. Just a sigh of breath as she tucked her head against his chest and whispered:

"I love you." - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Thanks for reading!

If you like creating shrios content, you're welcome to hop on board the challenge! My previous fills [AO3]:

Secrets in the Steam [Prompt: Wet]

Your Gods are My Gods [Prompt: Pray]

[nightklok]

Why hello it's time for me to be a nuisance and post my detailed Picklegail manifesto after a year of keeping this hidden underground, now it will be raised upground as part of my revenge plan-Under the cut is how I would've wanted their relationship to progress throughout the series-I converted a twitter thread i had into something readable so apologies if some things still don't make sense sdflkj

I like the challenge of trying to keep key elements of the show the same so Abigail won't be introduced until season 4 because I am like this. However, she would be mentioned in passing throughout the series by Pickles. The scene where Nathan mentions wanting to be a regular jackoff in Dethdoubles would probably have a few more lines by Pickles about 'settling down with that nice person you still think about' though the rest of the guys would think it's weird to think that. This would officially start in Snakes N' Barrels Part 2, the scene where Pickles began describing LA.

"Oh yeah, here's where I hosted my first concert in this small club. Got to meet a lot of fans and stuff. Especially this one girl, shit, wonder where she's at now."

This would also kinda explain why Pickles never even seemed to show interest in finding romantic partners throughout the series; almost everyone had an episode where they had a crush on someone even if it never went anywhere in the end. Pickles just never bothered dating because he knew that finding someone genuine as a celebrity was tough and he knew he wouldn't be connected as well as he did with that girl he met back in the 80s. There might also be a scene in Rehabklok where the doctors mention 'letting go of the past', which could also mean both letting go of his trauma from his family and letting go of the idea that he will get the relationship he really missed.

Season 4 comes around and now they all meet. Nathan notices how Pickles looked at Abigail like you would with trying to figure out if you recognize someone.

Nathan: "oh hey was she the chick you went out with back in the 80s?" Pickles: "Ehhh I dunno she is familiar though"

Will it get addressed by the characters? Probably not. Will it instead be painfully dragged out long because the readers will know? Yes, as per the MTL way :D

The two do eventually get some alone time. Abigail interacts with Nathan, Skwisgaar, and him one on one since they're the brains of the band and she wants to get through to them to help get progress on the album. Pickles and Abigail would get more one-on-one time; he especially becomes her translator when it comes to trying to understand what the boys are talking about when brainstorming.

They end up warming up to each other, making jokes, and probably the first time they really did comfy with each other was when Abigail asked Pickles to read the sheet music and he says seriously “I can’t read music”. she laughs thinking it’s a joke (he’s really not)

Abigail: “You know, I met someone back in the 80s who wanted to be a musician but didn’t know how to read music.”

Pickles: “Really? That’s crazy haha wonder if I met em too”

(this is in fact to piss readers off. There will be more dialogue to describe how oblivious the two really are.)

In the background of this, Nathan would be trying to impress Abigail. Her mistake would be beating around the bush instead of telling him upfront, causing very minor miscommunication.

But overall, the progress in the album is coming faster than ever thanks to Abigail's efforts. Though once again Nathan gets the dreams telling him the album isn't ready.

Pickles and Abigail pull an all-nighter to finish one of the last tracks. They get to talking a lot more about their personal lives, finding themselves having quite a bit in common. Abigail mentions meeting a singer back in the 80s who had inspired her to take up music production. After all, it would've been very hard for her to go to college at the time but the man had his own secrets too (being LGBT+ in the 80s) and he somehow managed to be successful. They don't kiss despite the tension but they do fall asleep on the couch together. Nathan sneaks into the recording studio while they're asleep and assumes they're dating which made him quickly back off on trying to flirt with Abigail. It would also make Nathan feel guilty as he realizes that Pickles is still mad at him if he won't tell him about his relationship. However, he wasn't there for that.

He catches the glow of the monitor and sees the album is almost finished. It isn't ready. He quietly attempts to delete it but the light of the monitor changing for him to delete the files slowly wakes Pickles up. He is groggy but then he realizes what's going on and attempts to stop Nathan but once again he's too late.

Abigail wakes up and quickly snaps out of her grogginess when Pickles explains frantically what happened. They both yell at Nathan for destroying their months of progress but Nathan only says, “it’s not ready. We need a better album. Trust me.” But since he doesn’t give a thorough explanation it’s hard to trust him.

Now is Going Downklok. They are in the submarine, Nathan is trying to fix things between him and Pickles but Pickles won’t have it. So he decides instead to let Abigail and him have as much free time as possible.

Nathan just talks about how great Pickles is to Abigail, accidentally dropping hints that she may have known him as the guy from before. And he does the same to pickles though he doesn’t talk to him much anymore and ignores him.

Pickles and Abigail are once again alone at the recording studio, both ranting their frustrations over working with the album once again. Eventually, it carried over to their own personal lives. And finally, they have the braincells to realize that maybe they did meet so many years ago. The room is so stuffy it feels like a sauna and only adds to the growing tension between. It only increased when they tried to leave the studio to remain as professional as possible but one of them instead locks the door. They both end up making out and eventually having sex in the recording studio.

Years of pent-up frustration, loneliness, and overall everything that had led up to the moment washed over. They decide to keep a secret relationship afterward because even though they did find each other, much like in the past, they found each other at the wrong time.

The dinner scene comes up. The two sit feet apart just to make sure no one would be suspicious. Nathan is at his height of frustration because he knows he had to delete the album but everyone is mad at him. He gets a little too drunk, and like the friend he is, outs their Relationship like a drunken wedding speech. Pickles quickly refutes that, instead he screamed at him over broken trust, deleting the second album that Charles had made sure the public wasn't aware and finally decided to quit the band. The news spreads like wildfire.

Abigail is quickly put to blame however it lasted very short since there became other conspiracies surrounding it. Nathan did say quite a lot after all to the point where it’s clear Abigail wasn’t part of the equation. But of course, some people blame her still and she decides to lay low. Pickles has to deal with his own consequences too so he decides to stay at her parents’ place with her as they wait for the news to blow over. While he’s happy to finally be with her, he does miss music terribly. Specifically, he misses playing with Dethklok.

She reminds him he can always talk to Nathan to sort things out but he knows Nathan isn't the type to apologize. The day of the concert comes, things happen as expected in the show. He doesn’t come home because they are in the submarine and he has to explain everything to her through a phone call where he’s beginning to break down, saying he has a terrible feeling that things will never be the same. She tries to calm him down but given how Selacia’s appearance is all over the news, she has the same feeling. They reunite briefly before the funeral.

I haven’t decided on the official ending so here’s ending one:

Toki offers to give up his seat so Pickles can sit next to her. He accepts as he doesn’t want to sit anywhere near Nathan. Magnus seems bothered but doesn’t say anything. There would be a funny scene of them just recreating 'Hello Magnus' 'Hello Pickles' once again.

But Magnus' tension quickly dies down when he hears them whisper to each other. He sees them hold hands discreetly and relaxes.

Magnus: "So I see the rumors are true between you two?"

Pickles: "I-yeah. What are you gonna fuckin' do about it?"

Magnus: "Nah, nothing. Just happy for you, is all."

Magnus does gain Pickles' trust enough to let his guard down by just sharing small talk. When the service begins, MMA texts Magnus over why Toki is sitting so far and how the plan is ruined. Magnus is hesitant to respond for a few moments (regret over what's to come, perhaps?) but he goes through and texts back that there is a change of plans but this plan would be better.

Well, couples would do anything to make sure the other is safe in such extreme circumstances.This plan could be much better, after all.

Ending two: pretty much exactly as canon. Pickles probably a lot more emotional- The end :D

[averagesmw]

Penny Haywood x MC- The way I see you

Game: Harry Potter Hogwarts Mystery

A/N: This takes place in a universe where Bea didn't get snatched by the portrait curse and had a normal year

_____________________________

A pair of beautiful blue eyes slowly opened and blinked a couple of times to adjust to the light of a new day

These were the eyes of someone who had just woken up in a mess of blonde hair and still managed to look so cute despite not being properly dressed

Making her way through the sheets, the young Hufflepuff sat on her bed, yawning and stretching when her mind brought her the sudden reminder

This was the day she was craving for

A big smile appeared on her face the minute this realization hit her

You see, this day marked the second year of Penny Haywood's formal relationship with Y/N L/N

Well, as formal as a relationship in Hogwarts can be

And speaking of, there was an object in her nightstand, something that's not supposed to be there normally

The blonde looked at the novelty in her piece and discovered a cupcake made of her favorite flavor with a small note attached to it

"To start your day the way you like it"

In order to contain her excitement, Penny grabbed her pillow and muffled her happy screams in it. Thankfully, not many were around to hear it anyway

She knew exactly who had left this gift. This day was already proving to be brilliant

Without further due, she changed into her robes and did her hair, taking less than a minute to do her iconic braids. So many times she had done them, it just came to her naturally

And so, she walked off to the common room, where she saw the house ghost looking at the plants

"Good morning, Friar"

The ghost turned around to look at her, a smile immediately appearing

"Good morning, miss Haywood. I trust you had a good sleep?"

She nodded eagerly, that's when the friar noticed the pastry in her hands

"Is that from who I think it is?"

She raised the object so her friend could get a better look at the freshly baked object

"It is! Today's the day"

A joyful laugh came from the Friar upon hearing the news

"Then allow me to congratulate you on your second year together! You two are the purest couple I've seen in decades"

Haywood found herself flattered by this comment. However, it wasn't the only one of its kind

Practically all of Hogwarts cheered on the two of them, some going as far as to call them the "power couple" of Hogwarts. It was funny how easy they warmed up to Y/N after being saved a couple of times

Some others were insistent that they could be a better suitor for Penny, or that hanging out with curse breaker would only result in tragedy. While things did get interesting, every situation could be handled by their combined effort

With the help of their friends too, of course

"Well, if you want to know where your lover is, try looking at the courtyard"

"Will do, thanks, friar!"

With that, she left the common room and headed straight to the place suggested to her

Penny was excited, not only because this date meant a lot to her, but her curiosity was piqued. Her relationship with Y/N was unique, and as some sort of tradition, one of the two would give a present to the other

The first year was an enchanted bracelet that Penny gifted Y/N that would bond them even at the distance. This year, however, the curse breaker insisted on being the one that gave her something, and judging by the way they talked about it, it would be incredible

Walking down one of the halls, the young Haywood was met by her sister, Bea

"I see you finally woke up! Thought I'd have to call Tonks to set up a prank on you"

"Good morning to you too, Bea"

They shared a laugh as they kept walking. Bea had just started her year at the school but she was adapting surprisingly well

While the Haywoods made their way to the courtyard, memories began to flood Penny's sweet mind

Memories of the night it all began, the Celestial Ball. Y/N agreed on setting up the dance and chose Penny to be their date for it

Little did she know, they had a surprise for her at the event. Gifting her a necklace, the star of Hogwarts asked her to be their partner in front of the people at the party

She almost teared up at the question, but it was a yes ultimately. Everyone cheered at this and the dance that followed was just as breathtaking

The sound of music and chatter brought Penny back to reality, seeing as they had reached their destination. However, her eyes sparkled when she found a certain someone not far away from her

"There you are!"

When they heard her voice, they welcomed her with open eyes

"Goldie! Good to see you!"

She ran towards her lover, who caught her in a hug and even spun them around in a playful manner

All the while, the other person that was with Y/N used a spell to conceal something. Bea saw what it was, but agreed to "look away"

"Tou liked the cupcake?"

"I loved it! Thank you so much"

She gave them a tender kiss on the cheek before breaking the hug to see what was Y/N doing in the courtyard. That's when she spotted an unusual figure there as well

"Badeea? Good to see you" she received a gentle smile from her

"Likewise, Penny, and congratulations"

She smiled and then gave her lover a curious look

"What are you doing here?"

"We're... "

They stopped to look at Badeea in hopes of getting some help, but she just shrugged

"...Working on something important. It's for later!"

"Can I see?"

Without losing their smile, Y/N shook their head

"I said it's for later, Penny. You'll have to wait"

A saddened Penny tried her best to bribe Y/N into confessing by making puppy eyes. It almost worked, if not for another voice to join the scene

One could argue that the whole scene was saved by...Tonks

"Finally, we were looking for you!"

The voice came from the pink-haired girl, who was accompanied by Tulip, both glad to see their blonde friend

This sudden change made Penny drop her act to welcome heir friends

"Girls? What can I help you with?"

"We need your help to choose some ingredients!

"Ingredients for what?"

"For a prank, of course!" Tulip chimes in

"Did we mention there is a discount on potion-making equipment?"

Upon hearing Tonks's words, Penny's eyes went bright like a kid in a candy shop

However, as good as this offer was, the memory of her agenda came back to haunt her

"It's tempting..."

Then, she looked back at her lover with a saddened smile

"But I wanted to spend the day with Y/N"

While the curse breaker was touched by this heartwarming statement, they smiled tenderly at her while putting a hand on her shoulder

"Oh Penny, don't worry, I'll be waiting for you!"

"Are you sure?"

She got a nod from them

"Just promise to have fun"

Penny was surprised by their attitude, but she appreciated that she wouldn't have to choose, so she approached them and gave them a quick peck on the lips

"You're the best"

With that, she walked out of the courtyard along with Tonks, Beatrice, and Tulip. All while Y/N waved them goodbye

Once they were out of sight, however, the kind smile turned into a sigh as they turned back and made the object reappear

"What do you think? Is it ready?" He asked Badeea

She approached it and inspected closely, with her hand on her chin

"I think it's almost done! Just cast the spell and then we wait for it to take effect"

They nodded and with their hand at the ready

"Capillum fluit"

Then, something started to move within the object, a graceful wave that was almost hypnotic

" It's beautiful, brilliant job, Y/N!" Badeea clapped

"Thank you!"

Y/N took one last look at this, their proudest achievement yet, aside from solving the vaults

"I just hope she likes it just as much"

...

Meanwhile, at Hogsmeade, Penny walked in the company of her sister, Tulip, and Tonks, the latter being the guide

"So, what prank are you going to pull?"

Penny asked deciding to break the ice. This question made Tulip and Tonks look at each other before nodding

"That may or may not be a lie, Penny" The redhead started

"We do need your help, but it's something much more akin to your expertise as a potion-maker!" Tonks added

They stopped to give Penny a small piece of paper containing a colorful add

"See, we heard that Honeydukes having a competition"

"It's to encourage students, but the reward sure is something!"

"What is it?" Bea inquired

"Six months' worth of chocolate frogs!"

There were gasps after hearing that. Those were some of the best treats Honeydukes had to offer! There would be more than enough to share with their friends

Penny looked away from the piece of paper and now focused on Tonks, with that determined look on her face

"And what do we have to do?"

Hearing this earned a smile from the girls, Bea even cheered a bit to see her big sister on board for this

"The team that creates the potion that smells the sweetest wins!"

"That's where you come in, you get to be our brilliant leader!"

"I don't know Tulip, I-"

"Too late! We've arrived!"

The sound of a nearby crowd ended the conversation. Those must be the other participants

Penny froze for a second, looking at all those people competing to get the same reward. She had won intern tournaments, but this was something else entirely

Then, she felt her robes being tugged, the cause being her younger sister

"Come on, it will be fun! Plus I want to see you in action"

"I...I don't know if I can do this"

" You're Penny Haywood! You knew most potions before they even taught them!

"Girl, you know how to do most of them on your sleep!"

"See? You got this, sister!"

The way the girls talked about her made Penny's cheeks turn red. Of course, she had received compliments before, but they just sounded so confident in this, even made it sound like it would be a walk in the park for her

It was true that she was one of the most proficient at school. Perhaps it would translate well into this competition?

Who knows, but it was an idea worth entertaining

"... alright, let's do this"

The girls cheered in unison before taking Penny to them to register their team for the upcoming challenge

Tonks got them a place in the contest, the last one available. While still unsure of this decision as the teams were announced, the blonde saw the look other people were giving her

Some seemed to recognize and were in awe, some others saw her as a rival to be dealt with. It was just like Hogwarts

So she would handle it as such

As soon as the competition started, Penny started barking orders to her teammates, making sure they understood what they were doing and most importantly, cheering on them

And so It begun, Tonks gathered the ingredients while trying her best not to drop any of them on accident

Tulip kept assisting Penny in the process of making the bomb. It was new for her, making something that wasn't intended to smell putrid

Bea followed in her sister's footsteps and acted as some sort of cheerleader while also assisting where needed...also keeping Tonks away from fragile things

While listening to what she was saying and how she was encouraging her teammates to do their best, one could see the indirect influence of a certain curse breaker

They were, after all, the most convincing person at Hogwarts. Who else could convince a student to fight a bloody troll?

After thirty minutes, the alarm sounded, echoing through the establishment and forced everyone to stop what they were doing, but it also gave everyone a chance to catch their breath after such an exhausting experience

The judge approached every team and smelled every potion until he reached the girls' stand and took their potion. His expression changed for the better when he smelled it, he raised the vial and proudly proclaimed

"Everyone, I think we have a winner!"

They gasped when they heard that, they couldn't believe that their team effort had taken them that far. Claps from the other competitors and the crowds of spectators came their way

"We...we won..."

Penny stood breathless, adjusting to the news when she was suddenly hugged by Bea, then Tonks and sure enough, Tulip

"All thanks to our brilliant leader!" Stated her sister

"Thank you so much for your help, Penny!" Added the metamorhmagus

"Bringing you here was the best decision by far!" Tulip admitted as well

They hugged her as if they were a Quidditch team embracing their most important player after winning the finals. To think that it wouldn't have been like that if she hadn't chosen to tag along in the cursed vaults

Penny knew she was lucky to have so many true friends, and she hugged them back like so

After having their photograph taken, the announcer approached them and gave them a certificate that would serve as a trophy for them, but also ensure that they would get their prize.

Shortly after, they celebrated their victory at the Three Broomsticks, the first round being courtesy of Madam Rosmerta

It had been so much fun, it was so easy to forget that the group had spent two and a half hours away from Hogwarts

Tonks suggested going back to Hogwarts to make sure nothing would happen to the certificate, but that Penny would keep it since she had led the team to a smashing victory

And so, they boarded the train back to their welcoming school, chatting as they traveled

When they entered the main hall, however, the atmosphere drastically changed

"This way, hurry!"

Badeea's shaky voice echoed through the hall, catching the girls by surprise

Then, the artist herself came rushing at them with a worried look to her, and behind her, was Y/N being practically dragged by her

They rushed past the group, without even stopping to talk, but straight out the doors and out of Hogwarts, leaving the four students beyond astonished

Penny wasn't surprised to see that, Y/N would get into an adventure without even looking for one

What surprised her was the fact that they were holding hands

It wasn't that big of a deal

Right?

It was just Y/N hanging out with Badeea and solving something

Like the past three months that they've spent together working on something that she couldn't see

Again

"That was... unexpected" Tonks was the first one to break the silence

"Should we follow them?" Bea asked, preparing herself for another adventure

Tulip shook her head in disagreement

"I didn't even see where they went"

But then, they noticed the silent blonde, who stared at the door longingly

"Penny, are you alright?"

"I...I don't know. I was expecting Y/N to at least say hi."

The pink-haired girl then wrapped her arm around her

"You know how it is with Y/N, sometimes they have to go and save everyone with just seconds of anticipation"

"You're right..." A sigh followed this reply

"Don't be sad, sis, I'm sure Y/N will have something for you!"

"And we'll stand by you until they come back"

Tulip stood proudly in front of her, making the others nod in agreement. Penny couldn't help but smile at this display

"Thank you, girls"

And so they sat at the staircase, already chatting to find a way to keep themselves entertained in the meantime

It wouldn't be long before Y/N returned, right?

...wrong

Four hours later

Tonks had fallen asleep, Tulip was casting sparks of the top of her wand to keep herself entertained and Hagrid had asked Bea for her help with some Puffskeins

"Yeah, until they come back..." Penny whispered

Her voice made Tulip sit up, finally listening to something after so much silence. Wonder where everyone was at this time

"You know Tulip, you can go now if you wish, I don't want to keep you waiting here all night with me."

"Are you sure? It's not a problem"

She got a nod from the saddened blonde

"Yes, don't worry about--"

That's when the doors were heard again and this time, it was loud enough to wake Tonks up and make the rest of them stand up and at this person

It was Y/N, with their clothes dirty and tattered, scratches all over them, and even some small cuts

Penny hated a few things. Being late to a class, werewolves, and above all, seeing Y/N like that

"Hello, girls" Y/N smiled with whatever energy they had left

"What happened to you?" Tulip asked directly

"I... It's a long story. Do you mind if I steal Penny?"

This caught the Hufflepuff by surprise. Now they wanted to see her?

Their friends gave her a thumbs up and sighing, Penny looked back at Y/N

"Yes?"

"I need to show you something"

Y/N took their hand and tried to move but was stopped by Penny herself

"No, you need to tell me what happened with Badeea and to you"

"I will, but in private. Please"

They locked eyes for a moment, her stern gaze couldn't hold against Y/N's subtly pleading eyes and that simile, that smile she couldn't deny

"...fine"

So she allowed herself to be taken away by Y/N. She was a bit mad because Badeea took them away, and by the hand nonetheless

It didn't help that they frequented each other quite a lot recently

But also because they were away for so long. Penny at least remembered she had something special today

But her thoughts were met with a heartwarming reveal. It was Y/N's bracelet, the one gift she had given him

As they were holding hands, she could get a clear view of it. Despite Y/N's roughed look, this accessory still looked as good

It was as if it had been enchanted with a protective spell every day

This didn't align with her theories, why would Y/N keep it and take care of it so dearly if they were with the other girl so much

The doors of the secret room took Penny out of her thoughts and by the time she knew it, she was in that special room that Y/N's brother used as a headquarter before disappearing

Y/N themselves would use it whenever they needed to review something in private

However, they had changed quite a few things. They organized the notes that were just scattered all over the floor and even managed to sneak in a bed for those times that they were too tired to reach the common room

Once they were in the area, Y/N let go of her hand to stand in front of Penny, scratching the back of their neck

"First, I'm incredibly sorry I arrived so late here"

"I'm sure there is quite a story behind that" The blonde answered with her arms crossed

"There is, but first, I want to show you this"

Y/N took a couple of steps back and turned towards something covered in a gray cloth

"I've done a few brilliant things in my time here, but this one is my favorite one by far"

They grabbed the cloth and removed it to reveal a portrait of Penny herself, enchanted so that her beautiful blonde hair would continuously flow as if blessed by a gentle breeze

Her blue eyes sparkled with hope and her tender smile was enough to turn any bad day into a good one

Penny's eyes went wide and she covered her mouth when she saw this painting in front of her. She tried to study every detail of this sparkling portrait but found herself too distracted by the fact that she was looking at a depiction of herself

"You...you made this?"

She asked almost breathless. Y/N was eager to hear her voice again

"Yes, and that's when the story chimes in."

Penny moved her gaze slightly so that she was now looking at the curse breaker, without losing her shocked expression

"You see, Badeea offered to tutor me in this painting when I told her that I wanted to give you something big, that's why we spent so much time together, we even invented a spell for this specific portrait"

Then, Y/N sighed, recalling the next part of the story

"But then Peeves stole it and we ended up going to the Forbidden Forest to get it. I had to duel an Acromantula to get it and--"

Y/N found themselves unable to finish their story due to Penny's soft lips crashing into them, she even brought their head closer with her hands

Of course, they returned the kiss as soon as they were able to process what was going on

"You went through all of that trouble, just for me"

Penny thought out loud, in awe of what she had just heard. This boosted Y/N's confidence, and they moved her hair to the side while looking at her in the eye

"I...I wanted you to see yourself the way I do"

This time it was Y/N who leaned in for a kiss, getting a taste of her warm lips that just craved theirs

"Although I'm sad that it took all day to show you. There was so much I wanted to do"

The curse breaker admitted with a hint of shame, making Penny giggle. It was astounding how they could be incredibly confident to steal a kiss and then be as cute as a child just seconds later

Then Penny looked at the bed beside them, an idea immediately came to mind

"Well, we can always cuddle"

And cuddle they did. It was a good thing that they didn't have classes the next day, so they could spend a bit more time in each other's warm company

Penny Haywood had it all, beauty, intelligence, unrivaled charm, and yet, she couldn't help but feel like she was the lucky one

And as she snuggled against her lover's chest, she allowed herself to rest, knowing that even if she might fear from time to time that someone could take Y/N away from her...

...They would always find a way back, always