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absolutepokemontrash · 3 years ago

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MC is Half Demon and They’re- Oh Crap They’re Barbatos’ Kid!

This is the second part of that one request I answered for Dia and Barb’s possible kids. Sorry this took so long! Writer’s block, y’know? Anyhoo~ enjoy, everyone!

This story didn’t start on the first day of the exchange program, it started five days before in Barbatos’ room at three in the morning with the poor butler waking up in a cold sweat.

Oh dear, it appeared the exchange program would be up in a bit of a tizzy. He had… a child? Oh my… Barbatos hoped the young master wouldn’t be too miffed about the student not being a totally normal human.

On the day of the exchange program, Barbatos insisted he had to be present for the event, he carefully pushed a cushioned sofa in the drop zone before opening the portal. The child fell right out of the sky and landed perfectly on the couch, they were already wearing a helmet and looked quite shocked by the cushioned fall.

Well, it was a big shock to the assembled crowd, but the child gave everyone a lopsided smile and removed their helmet.

“So, I assume I’m here for the exchange program?”

Dadbatos

Well, this child was incredibly… what was the word the kids were using? chill? They were quite chill considering the situation, and was surprisingly prepared for the sudden drop into hell.

“Oh, I had a dream that this was going to happen, and I dream about the future n’stuff. I thought I’d come prepared.” “Ah, that’s very sensible.”

Diavolo recovered quickly from his shock and was positively delighted to meet this little munchkin. He insisted that they had to stay with their dad.

MC was polite, if not a bit overly calm about a lot of things. They didn’t run off to start trouble, and they didn’t seem very impressed by the Devildom itself. It was sort of like this child had a very low maximum level of excitement. Barbatos was glad his child wasn’t some little hellraiser.

He was never a child himself, so he’s a bit clueless about what children actually enjoy. Here child, have a… have an old torture weapon. Don’t use it on anyone who doesn’t deserve it :)

(I’m kidding, Barbatos is too responsible to give one of his instruments of torture to a child. That’s for when they’re older.)

“MC,” Barbatos knocked on his child’s door. “Have you done your homework?”

MC answered the door with a grin on their face. “Yep, done this week’s and next week’s. I’m getting a head start on the potions project due next week.”

Barbatos almost breathed a small sigh of relief. Thank the stars his child was responsible, it already took a big chunk of his energy to make sure Diavolo didn’t get distracted from his paperwork. Though, his stress levels did rise a tad when he got a glimpse at the mess in MC’s room.

“Are you going to clean that?”

“Nah,” MC shrugged. “It’s whatever. I know where everything is and nothing’s a fall risk. See you at dinner, father.”

And with that, MC shut the door. Well… no child was perfect.

As much as MC’s lack of cleanliness bothers Barbatos, he knows his kid isn’t being maliciously lazy, just for the love of the Demon King please stop leaving cups on the coffee tables without a coaster!

Oh yeah, Luke has a big sib. Sorry- little sib, because Luke isn’t some chihuahua child, he’s a totally mature grown-up Angel.

Barbatos is the type of father who will let his child go off and have whatever kind of fun they want as long as they don’t slack on their important duties.

Barbs also has a goddamn torture dungeon so we here at Stupid Headcanons inc. do NOT recommend trying to eat MC. Doing so may result in you wishing you were dead.

Don’t fuck with the butler.

Lucifer

…out of literally everyone in the room, the last person Lucifer expected to have a secret scandal baby… had a scandal baby. Damn.

At least the human wouldn’t have to live with him and his brothers. The last thing Lucifer wanted was for Barbatos to be even more aware of the chaos that went down in that house every single day.

MC and Lucifer have a healthy level of respect for one another, but Lucifer just can’t shake the feeling that this kid is messing with him somehow.

Just, little things… MC offering him fruit and loudly assuring him that it was just blackberries and nothing poisonous, asking if the RAD uniform suits his tastes, proclaiming that the dirt was high quality-

SOMEONE TOLD MC ABOUT LUCIFER’S FIRST VISIT TO THE DEVILDOM!

MC wasn’t exactly visibly goading him, they said everything with an innocent smile on their face.

When MC starts getting nosy with the attic, he’s not terribly sure how to deal with it. He was going up against a child that could at least partially tell the future. After the first time Lucifer told them to scram, they never went back to the steps… at least not when Lucifer was there to guard it…

After everything goes down, Lucifer is glad that MC wasn’t hurt or anything. He’d come to like the child and it’d be awful to lose the only person who could get his more hyperactive brothers to calm down.

Mammon

Mammon wasn’t present for the meeting, but when he was informed later, the news was met with an eloquent: “the fuck? Huh, wild.”

He isn’t too interested in MC at first. At least until the little runt saved him from getting busted for skipping class. Mammon was just eating his lunch in the courtyard when MC passed by and calmly told him that if he skipped class he should not hang out in the west staircase because Lucifer was going to walk down those steps during third period.

At first Mammon tried to brush off the warning, but ended up listening to the kid anyway, and what do ya know! He didn’t get caught by Lucifer!

That’s when it clicked that MC could see the future, right? Right?! Ya know what Mammon could use that for?! Right?!

Gambling! Scams! Schemes! General shennaniganery!

MC wasn’t terribly enthused about the entire situation, so they may have messed with Mammon a little. Just a bit.

It’s not like Mammon ever listened when MC told him to cut his losses and leave the casino anyway 🙄

Leviathan

First reaction? Thank the anime gods that there wouldn’t be another normie living in the house with him…

Reaction upon hearing that the MC was Barb’s kid? Really? Barbatos? Wow… well, to be fair Levi totally understood why someone would be attracted to Barbatos, I mean, Levi’s watched plenty of anime involving butlers, but Barbatos actually having a living breathing child? Damn.

But still, Levi wasn’t going to hang out with some normie brat. He had better and nerdier things to devote his time to.

Whenever MC visited, Levi was up in his room. But once MC decided to poke their head in the door while Levi was in the middle of gamer raging.

They calmly sat Levi down and explained to him that he could be upset about whatever happened in his game, but lashing out wasn’t going to fix anything or make him better at the actual game.

…damn it… they were right.

Slowly but surely Levi and MC built up a friendship, and the brothers rejoiced at the lack of rage related Lotan summons.

Satan

Out of everything Satan could have possibly expected from the second exchange student, this was not one of them.

Satan began to wonder exactly how MC’s powers worked, he didn’t exactly have any concrete data to compare them to because Barbatos was so mysterious

Hm, how very interesting. Satan decided that it was up to him to satiate his own curiosity and began to study MC. To be honest, MC wasn’t being terribly interesting.

They were a pretty normal kid all things considered. MC went to class, made friends, did their work, very very normal. Well, except for the fact that they seemed to dodge practically every unfortunate thing that could have happened to them.

They’d stop at the perfect time to avoid something accidentally being spilled on them, they always had pencils ready, and they always seemed to know exactly when a teacher was coming… mad sus.

Satan eventually confronted MC about this, and they just shrugged and explained that they tend to dream about what was most likely to happen the next day and would adjust their actions accordingly.

It may have been anticlimactic, but MC did inform Satan that there would be a cat in the courtyard in fifteen minutes.

HE NEEDED TO GO!

Asmodeus

Asmo had genuinely been looking forward to the new exchange program, he was excited to have a new face around the house to shake things up! He loves his dear brothers but spending thousands of years with them makes their shenanigans become a bit… well, a bit boring.

But my oh my, the new face was being obscured by that tacky bicycle helmet… the new face looked an awful lot like Barbatos…

Once Asmo registered what was going on, he was positively enchanted with the little half human. They were just so cute! They looked like a baby Barbatos with those adorably chubby cheeks!

Oh Barbatos~ he just had to let Asmo babysit!

When Asmo managed to sweep MC away for a fun day with shifty uncle Solomon, he was reminded of all the shenanigans that he, Barbatos, and Solomon used to get up to.

*sigh, Barbie was always so busy… no time for a fun night of torture, chaos, and revelry

Anyhoodles~ MC was always such a relaxed little thing. They let Asmo vent whenever any awful tragedies occur, like when Asmo finds a sweater that isn’t in his size… *sniffle*

Beelzebub

A child of Barbatos? The best cook in the three realms Barbatos?! …hey kid want to hang out with cool uncle Beel?

Beel tried everything in his power to get MC to make him food. I mean, the genetic disposition for making good food has to have been passed down from father to child!

When MC finally made Beel food, he was ecstatic!

…Until the food touched Beel’s tongue and he realized it wasn’t good, it was just… okay. Average. Passable.

Aw man… but the kid looked so excited to have made something for Beel…

Beel really hammed up his reaction to make MC feel better. Beel was like “Wow. So good. Amazing.” “Thanks Beel.”

Very sweet child, they don’t mind being used in place as a dumbell.

Belphegor

Damn, and here Belphie was, thinking Barbatos has standards. Apparently not!

When MC went and walked up the attic steps, Belphie was almost bouncing on his toes in anticipation. This human had been a pain in the rear to call up, so he was excited to finally get a good look at them. And lo and behold, a half demon child of Lord Diavolo’s butler.

MC grinned and greeted Belphie first, using his name and asking why the Avatar of Sloth was stuck up in the attic of his own home when he was supposed to be in the human world. Belphie was flabbergasted and didn’t exactly know how to respond.

He came up with a new plan quickly. Belphie didn’t exactly know how this kid’s powers worked, so he’d continue with trying to trick them into opening the attic door. Allowing Belphie to end their miserable little life and thus ruining the exchange program.

The child continued to visit Belphie up in the attic, relaying the events of what was going on, and Belphie continued to play the part of prisoner. Until one day in particular…

MC appeared in front of the door, looking a tad more unkempt than normal, they weren’t smiling their usual carefree smile either. Their eyes bore holes into Belphegor’s skull as they flared at him.

“How long have you been planning on killing me?”

MC had seen the future where they died at Belphie’s hand, and they sure as hell were not going to let him out of the attic after that. Though, they did tell Belphie about Lilith’s true fate before they left, and assured Belphie they had no reason to lie to him about something he wasn’t directly involved in.

So, Belphie did get let out of the attic eventually, and even though MC smiled and welcomed him back all the same, there would always a barrier between the two. Broken trust wasn’t easy to mend, after all.

#I just like to think that the kid just carries weapons with them in their bag #But they never use the weapons for what they’re SUPPOSED to be used for #Like- MC: Oh yea this is meant for pulling out teeth but it’s big and heavy enough that I can just clobber someone with it #obey me #obey me!#obey me! shall we date?#obey me shall we date #obey me mc #Obey me Headcanons #Obey me! Headcanons #Obey me Barbatos #Obey me Lucifer #Obey me Mammon #Obey me Leviathan #Obey me Satan #Obey me Asmodeus #Obey me Beelzebub #Obey me Belphegor

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illuminatedquill · 3 years ago

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Extracurricular, An Analysis

Oh Ji-soo and Bae Gyu-ri

“Love is the ultimate outlaw. It just won’t adhere to any rules. The most any of us can do is sign on as it’s accomplice.” - Tom Robbins

You know the story. You’ve heard it before, right?

Boy meets girl.

Girl finds out that boy is running a side protection business for prostitutes.

Girl decides to blackmail boy into letting her join his business.

Classic high school criminal shenanigans ensue leading them into more dangerous situations where they are forced to make desperate decisions to stay alive.

Oh, and they fall in love along the way.

Oh? You haven’t heard this one before? Then let me introduce you to this delightful kdrama called Extracurricular.

I watched this one while waiting for the newest Hometown Cha Cha Cha episodes to drop and ended up binging the whole series in two days. There are many remarkable parts of this series: it’s a crime drama, first and foremost, that showcases high school teenagers caught in a cycle of violence and crime, abandoned by the society and adults that are supposed to be protecting them. There are no clear good guys and bad guys in this drama; everyone is cast in shades of grey. Our main leads, Oh Ji-soo and Bae Gyu-ri, run the prostitution business, and are both from broken family backgrounds. Their actions are morally questionable at best, but the top tier performances from Kim Dong Hee (you might remember him from Itaewon Class) and Park Ju Hyun make you cheer for them anyway. You want them to have a happy ending, despite the horrible things they do. The audience is always reminded that despite how clever they are in staying ahead, their actions have consequences, and they’re just high school kids. The drama never pulls it punches.

But, weirdly enough, it’s also a love story. And that’s the part the really sticks with me until now. (The chemistry between the main leads is absolute dynamite and I could watch ten episodes of them just verbally sparring with each other. They don’t even kiss. They’re that fantastic when together on screen.)

I’m writing this because this is undoubtedly one of my all time favorite kdramas and I have a lot of feelings about our main pairing, Ji-soo and Gyu-ri. I can’t call them a couple (wait, didn’t I just say they fall in love) because their relationship can’t be labelled simply as that. Think of it as something similar to the main leads in My Ahjussi. Two people who should have become soulmates, yet met at the wrong time.

This kdrama is not particularly happy, and while I do encourage people to watch this, I am warning that the subject matter is extremely dark. If you’re sensitive to scenes depicting sexual assault, graphic violence, or anything in that zip code you’ll want to steer clear.

Also, I’ll be diving into spoiler territory in this analysis. So if you want to go in clean, then stop reading here.

Still here? Awesome. Let’s dive deep into the messy, amazing pairing that is Oh Ji-soo and Bae Gyu-ri. First, let’s do a brief character background on our two main leads, starting with Ji-soo.

Oh Ji-soo is one half of our main pairing and this story starts with him. He lives by himself and has been essentially abandoned by his only parents; his father is a failed businessman who gambles whatever money he acquires on scams and his mother ran away. His apartment is small, sparse, but functional. He owns only a few outfits aside from his school uniform. The only unique item he owns is a pet hermit crab that he takes care of. His life outside of school is non-existent; he has no friends, no one to hang out with and do typical high school teenager activities with. He takes care of himself and lives only for himself and his “dream”: to graduate, attend college, get married, and have kids like a normal person.

But to do that, he needs a large amount of money. He has no other financial means to do so (his father is largely absent, as is his mother), so he decides, at some point, to start up this protection business for prostitutes. The drama doesn’t go into detail about the how and why he came to this conclusion that this was the best way to make a lot of money in a short amount of time, so you’ll have to suspend your disbelief from the get go. Considering the themes of the story (how youths abandoned by society tend to act out in extreme ways to make it in this world), it’s not hard to believe his desperation would drive him to make such a decision.

Ji-soo, despite his shady business, is actually a decent person. There’s a streak of humanity that exists inside him that refuses to go out, despite the increasingly dark and bleak events that start to overtake his life. He’s attached to his hermit crab, cares for his “employees” outside of them being tools to make him money, and doesn’t want to see anyone get hurt. He goes above and beyond what’s required to help out people at the risk of his own life (in particular, Gyu-ri, and we’ll get into that shortly).

What we learn from the first few episodes is that Oh Ji-soo is extremely smart and methodical in how he approaches his life. At school, he is known as a model student - quiet, top of the class in terms of grades, doesn’t draw any attention to himself, always follows along with what the teachers ask of him. Only his homeroom teacher, Mr. Cho, seems to consider his quiet style of existence to be concerning and tries to make him less socially awkward by pairing him up with another student in a new extracurricular club. This leads to the introduction of Bae Gyu-ri, Ji-soo’s longtime crush and future partner-in-crime.

Meet Bae Gyu-ri, the other half of our dynamic duo. Her introduction into the story kickstarts the entire plot, as one of her earliest actions leads to a domino effect that spells increasing doom and tragedy for our main leads. She messes with Ji-soo’s operation at a critical moment and she spends the rest of the drama doing her best to make up for the consequences that follow.

In my personal opinion, she is probably the best main female lead I’ve ever seen in a kdrama. Hands down, no other character exists (currently) that rivals her sheer cunning, wit, and badassery. Gyu-ri is Crazy, capital C, and is the chaos to Ji-soo’s control; the fire to his ice. Despite being the direct cause of half the events that happen to Ji-soo in the drama, he can’t help but need her because of what she offers. They make an incredible team. Her competitiveness, her need to win no matter the odds, helps them survive time and time again.

Gyu-ri is from the opposite end of the spectrum of Ji-soo; he’s dirt poor and she’s insanely rich (always nice to see a reversal of typical kdrama tropes). Her mother and father run a successful entertainment company. Gyu-ri is popular at school, friends with seemingly everybody, pretty, cheerful and gets along well with her teachers. Ji-soo, and the audience, believe from the beginning that she has the perfect life. It’s not hard to believe that she’s just involving herself in Ji-soo’s business because she’s bored and needs an outlet, at first.

We soon learn otherwise. Gyu-ri has more in common with Ji-soo than he initially realizes, in that they’re both trapped in circumstances beyond their control - it’s just that Gyu-ri’s cage is gilded, whereas his is not. Her parents are strict and have her life planned out for her, all without her consent or input, leaving her feeling frustrated and powerless despite her rich lifestyle. A suicide attempt hasn’t done much to change her parents attitude towards her, only serving to further their control over her life.

So, when she learns of Ji-soo’s operation she immediately seeks to angle her way into it. First, she tries to rip him off, believing that he’s an evil “pimp” and thus deserves it. But after spending some time with him, she changes her mind last second and decides to help him out instead.

And, now, let’s get into their relationship, which is one of the best (if not the best) aspect in the entire series.

I need to be upfront about something: the relationship between Ji-soo and Gyu-ri is not exactly healthy. I wouldn’t describe it as toxic - the circumstances surrounding them aren’t exactly the best environment to encourage open and honest communication - but it’s definitely not what should be considered ideal, especially for young adults, and especially for young adults who are dabbling in crime instead of studying.

So, why do I love them so much? If you’ve read some of my previous posts, you know that I loathe toxic relationships in kdramas, so I understand if you think I’m coming off as hypocritical here. Why do I like Oh Ji-soo and Bae Gyu-ri when I didn’t like, for example from recent history, (oh boy, here I go again on my Nevertheless BS) Park Jae-eon and Yu Na-bi?

First, Ji-soo and Gyu-ri are way cooler than Jae-eon and Na-bi ever could be. They run a criminal enterprise that involves having a high amount of intelligence, cunning, and daring to do so. Do Jae-eon and Na-bi run a criminal enterprise as a side business? No, they don’t, because they’re boring art students.

Secondly, Ji-soo and Gyu-ri actually progress in their relationship and change their views as they learn from each other. Now, granted, that progress isn’t towards becoming better versions of each other - quite the opposite. But at least they have progress. Jae-eon and Na-bi stayed in the same stupid cycle for the whole series and then decided that it was better staying that way as opposed to trying for something else.

Last, but certainly not least, Ji-soo and Gyu-ri are actually interesting to watch for me. The chemistry between Park Ju Hyun and Kim Dong Hee is explosive and they way they spar, exchange looks, and just generally exist around each other on screen is something I can watch forever. I’ve said this before but Han So Hee and Song Kang’s on screen chemistry, outside of their intimate scenes, really didn’t impress me.

Okay, back to Extracurricular. This relationship, man. It’s all I can think about (other than HomeCha’s Du-sik and Hye-jin, but that’s another post). Ji-soo and Gyu-ri are so good together.

I’ve noted before that Ji-soo is methodical in how he approaches his life; he plans out everything ahead, and rigs any situation as much as he can in his favor. It’s brilliant, but when a crisis happens, he doesn’t know how to deal with it effectively. He panics and flounders; becomes indecisive at a time when clear, decisive action is required.

Enter Gyu-ri. She quickly becomes the partner he never knew he needed. When there’s a situation, she becomes invaluable in her quick thinking and wit, coming up with solutions on the fly. It’s not perfect, but it keeps them just one small step ahead of whatever is coming their way.

The only thing preventing them from becoming unstoppable is the lack of communication and trust they have with each other. A lot of that has to do with how Gyu-ri entered Ji-soo’s business - she blackmailed him first, and, when that failed, she strong armed her way into getting him to accept her help. It’s implied in the drama that Ji-soo has had a crush on Gyu-ri for a while (since ninth grade, I believe) and in the first episode he actually gets the chance to spend time with her outside of school on a sort of quasi-date.

It goes sideways pretty quickly because of some shenanigans from his business, but not before she gets to know him and says some pretty touching words regarding his situation. Poor guy is head over heels - even after finding out that she’s the one blackmailing him, his feelings are only dampened, not extinguished. When he catches a glimpse of her family’s situation, he gains a deeper understanding of her and why she acts the way she does. Even more importantly, Ji-soo treats her the same after finding out this information which, to someone like Gyu-ri, means more than if he comforted her about it.

If you want to see a physical representation of how he feels, other than paying attention to his actions, you can see it in him keeping mementos from Gyu-ri. She has an interesting habit of folding bags into origami shapes and giving it to him. Even after the blackmail reveal, you can see that he continues to keep these in a container on his desk. It’s really cute that he keeps these, when it probably doesn’t even matter that much to Gyu-ri.

Towards the end of the drama, Ji-soo prepares to turn himself in to prevent Gyu-ri from being implicated in the crimes they committed. And it costs him almost everything to protect her. Ji-soo, the quiet, nerdy kid, puts himself on the line time and time again to protect Gyu-ri, knowing that it puts his life and his dream at risk to do so. And all for what? For some girl that he thinks doesn’t even like him in return?

Well, let’s talk about that. Because I’ve seen some comments that Gyu-ri was only using Ji-soo for her own selfish gain. And I can agree that was how it was at the beginning for her; she definitely was only interested in acquiring money, like Ji-soo was, in order to achieve her own goal of being free from her parents.

But, oh man, that is not what is motivating her at the end.

It’s actually pointed out relatively early by some of her friends that it’s obvious that she likes Ji-soo more than he likes her. Understandably Ji-soo is keeping her at arms length from him given the whole recent blackmailing, so it would make sense that it looks that way.

Further questioning reveals what she likes the most about him:

“It’s not like I’m crazy about him. He’s fun. And amusing. He’s smart. And there’s a certain charm he has. He also has a wolfish side to him. But he thinks he’s a puppy.”

- Bae Gyu-ri

But, as she gets to know Ji-soo better, you can certainly see that she starts to fall hard for him. As a cover story for why they hang out so much together during and after school, Gyu-ri states to everyone that they’re dating. The reactions across the school definitely imply that this is a shocking development, which means that Gyu-ri hasn’t dated anyone before. So why Ji-soo other than the reasons she herself states?

He challenges her, just as she challenges him. Gyu-ri may be the more dynamic, quick thinking of the pair but Ji-soo is every inch her intellectual equal - just in different ways. She doesn’t seem to be the type to be easily impressed, but you can tell that she’s definitely impressed by Ji-soo’s operation and how thoroughly set up it is. When Ji-soo is frustrated at the beginning by his setbacks, he blows up at another student (knocks him out in a crazy punch) and immediately walks over to Gyu-ri afterwards (who saw the whole thing) to inform her that she is now his partner in crime.

The look in her eyes, and the small smirk she has speaks volumes about her attraction to him in that scene. Smoldering.

And, oh yes, she’s prone to jealousy. Another classmate, Min-hee, gives Ji-soo a present out of the blue (it was supposed to be for her boyfriend, Ki-tae, but that’s another sub-plot) - all within view of Gyu-ri. It’s hilarious how she tries to brush it off. Later, for plot reasons, Ji-soo has to spend more time with Min-hee which only furthers Gyu-ri’s annoyance.

And her motivations stop being entirely about the money and more towards helping preserve the dream that she and Ji-soo share about being free. There’s a scene in episode 8 where it’s revealed that, due to a business partnership with a local gang (set up by none other than Gyu-ri herself in a desperate move), Ji-soo would have to drop out of school permanently to work on their behalf. Gyu-ri overhears this and, despite badly needing the gang’s help in sustaining their own business, immediately terminates the partnership.

All because it would interfere with Ji-soo’s dream.

Man, if that isn’t love.

In the following episode, Gyu-ri, and later on Ji-soo, is kidnapped by the same gang in retaliation for terminating their partnership. Ji-soo comes to her rescue but Gyu-ri is already almost free (again, she’s really, really badass) and is demanding that they bring Ji-soo to her instead of running for her life.

Surviving this latest attempt puts the two in a reflective, vulnerable mood and Gyu-ri asks Ji-soo why he keeps saving her. Ji-soo asks later on why she keeps risking her life to be with him. They don’t say the answer in words but in an almost kiss (yeah, you read that right - almost).

And then, if you aren’t already convinced, Ji-soo crosses his one last remaining line in an effort to keep Gyu-ri safe; he accidentally pushes a fellow classmate down some steps and, instead of helping her, leaves her to die after grabbing the evidence she has on him and Gyu-ri.

Extracurricular pulls off quite the magic trick here, hiding this well done love story in the middle of a serious crime drama.

The real tragedy is that Ji-soo thinks that Gyu-ri views this whole business, and by extension his life, as one big game. It’s something that she takes offense at, visibly becoming upset when he says that.

But even if that were true, he should be assured since Gyu-ri doesn’t like to lose.

As they hurtle towards the end and face up to the consequences of their actions, Ji-soo and Gyu-ri undoubtedly lose sight of their original goals and dreams. They do some fairly horrible things to stay alive and ahead of the police who are close on their trail. You can’t really blame them for doing what they did; in the face of a society that has abandoned them, what they’re doing is a logical outcome to gain what they want so desperately and deserve so much: the chance to be free to live like normal, care-free people.

I can’t say for certain that they achieve that. The drama is serious in consequences and, at the end, the net around them is drawing tighter and tighter. I won’t spoil the ending scene for you, because I highly encourage you watch this drama yourself but I will say this: Ji-soo and Gyu-ri seem stuck in an impossible situation with nowhere to go, and no one to help them, with a clock ticking down towards either death or discovery by the police.

But, all the same, I’m always the optimist. They’ve gotten through situations like this before and they can certainly do so again. Maybe not as bad as this one, but not too far out of their league. And, like I mentioned before, Gyu-ri doesn’t like to lose. Especially when it comes to Ji-soo.

Their relationship is truly dangerous, as Ji-soo himself notes. Them being together is the source of their problems; they’re too much alike now, as opposed to the beginning of the drama where he stated that they’re too different. Their love is the kind of love where both of them are willing to burn the whole world down if it means keeping each other safe.

I’m a real sucker for those kind of love stories. No one’s a hero here. They’re just kids in high school, doing the best with what they know.

Who are we to judge what is right and wrong? Especially when the one committing the acts are high school kids who don’t know any better and just want to save each other?

Do we have that right?

Do they really deserve that punishment? Shouldn’t we be pointing fingers at the society that forced them to act this way?

Extracurricular really makes you think about that. Is it really so outlandish and terrible what Ji-soo and Gyu-ri do to survive when the adults who are supposed to be protecting them, teaching them better, have failed in their duty?

Maybe they really did win at the end. Not so much in succeeding in their goals but in gaining something that not even regular people are likely to find - a partner, a soulmate, someone who will stand by you no matter what.

If you do watch the ending, and are not an optimist like I am, then all I can say is this: whatever happened, they were together at the end.

They were together.

#extracurricular netflix #human class #netflix #kdrama #oh jisoo #bae gyuri #park joo hyun #park ju hyun #kim dong hee

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insertmesoftly · 3 years ago

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John x Loner Troll Oc (Whobie)

Basically, Whobie had a falling out with the trolls and once again was withdrawn/depressed and being a hermit in a dark corner not talking to anyone. And from loneliness, they start trying to troll the humans, but oops, they got John and John is a sweetheart and such nice interactions immediately soften the guarded troll. They start by thinking humans are nice, try talking to others but they just don’t feel the same level of niceness from them (to be fair, they’re more guarded with trolls too) so they conclude its just John they like, and go back to him. After a conversation where John tells em they're one of his favorite trolls to talk to cuz they don’t try to hide stuff from him and don’t talk down on him for his ‘human stuff’, instead always excited to learn more about them and him. Just at being called a favorite, they are immediately struck by the realization that they feel something intense, and they log off of Pesterchum without telling him anything in response and stop talking to him altogether. They can’t handle this. They don’t think they deserve John's pure friendship.

(Putting a Read More cuz I felt this one was long and I got nervous <v<")

They keep tabs on him of course, but never text him again, stuff happens that’s unplanned (I’m still not done with reading Homestuck haha) and the first time they meet, Whobie has had a major mental breakdown and is just all violence wanting to kill anyone that gets in their way. John is with a group when they run into them in this crazed state. They're on top of a hill screaming down to them, describing in detail the torture they’re going to put them through, how they will revel in their screams but they won't let them die, laughing manically and getting closer when they spot the color blue. And they see John. And they trip the rest of the way.

They look up from the dirt and are sweating. They rub their eyes but nope, yeah its him. They immediately turn coward mode, trembling and walking backwards, crying out, 'Ah-Ah, ACTUALLY UM- YOURE SAFE F-FOR NOW, UH- G-GOODBYE' and they turn tail and scramble out of there to bury themselves in a pile of dirt and cry.

They hope to never run into them again, but for whatever reason, the group needs em for like info or something, so they capture em eventually. Whobie’s all hostility, the usual threats and laughter and biting, but the group noticed their immediate personality turn when they’re around John. So, they use that to their advantage, making him in charge of em. John has never seen em before and doesn’t know they’re the troll he used to talk to. He believes their reaction is due to fear of him. So, he tries being friendlier with em and it only kills Whobie more, who worms away from his touch even while tied, begs to be left alone while crying and can’t even fucking look at him, they always look away.

Insert some self-indulgent wholesome shenanigans of Whobie learning to communicate with the group because they come to terms with wanting to help John, who keeps asking nicely and being so kind to em it breaks their heart not to. They ask to talk to a different person every time so they can share everything, but they make it clear it was for him, and this confuses John who thought they didn’t make any progress, that they still didn’t like him. There’s a moment where Whobie gets out of their 'prison' during some base invasion and instead of running away, helps John. John is grateful and tries patting their back and telling em thanks and Whobie flinches again and runs away to hide behind a pile of rubble like a scared animal. John is beginning to get frustrated.

Once the situation is under control, it’s the other players that negotiate something with Whobie. Whobie can talk perfectly fine and act though hostile relatively normal around them, but they can’t with him... they musthate him! … Is this a kismesis thing? He tries asking em through a nefarious way, trapping em in a room and making them look at him and respond to his questions. And though the conversation had em blushing and dying and very clearly being a flustered mess, what they’re both able to take away from this talk in the end is friendship. Both sides want to be friends with the other. That’s good enough for John.

So starts the road to friendship with em as John makes a pet project out of making Whobie be more ok with being in the same room as him, looking at him, and touching/being touched by him. Inadvertently too, John actively teaching Whobie to love themselves too. Just a bunch of wholesomeness tbh. They’ve been a broken Whobie that gave into being alone forever but now they’re making friends. It’s enough to give them hope.

Now, have some notes on cute miscellaneous moments as they’re becoming friends that I imagined for em:

- John didn’t realize Whobie was the same troll that ghosted him at the start until a few weeks into their friendship, he begins rambling about his favorite movies and Whobie already knows about them because of his past texts. They mention it offhandedly and everything kind of just comes crumbling down for John as he puts it all together. “IT’S YOU!!!” “Uh oh.” “YOU GHOSTED ME! WHAT THE HECK?!!!” “I-I’M SORRY I COULDN’T- I WASN’T- I CAN LEAVE! I’M SORRY-“ “OH NO, NOT ANYMORE, YOU HAVE TO MAKE UP FOR IT BY WATCHING THESE FILMS WITH ME NOW!”

- John trying to prank Whoobie into getting mad at him because they’re so quick to hold grudges for everyone but him, but every prank goes wrong and instead of making them angry they start to tear up and get sad thinking he hates them finally. As a last resort, per someone's idea, he goes so far as to eventually 'eat' their favorite dessert. And they’re storming around demanding to know who did it, they really needed that comfort food, THEY’LL RIP OPEN THE CULPRIT’S STOMACH AND- John says he did it. Whobie turns around. Looks at him. Bursts into tears. He feels too fucking guilty and buys them a dessert every day for a month, coddling them to make up for being an asshole.

Ok there was a night of me playing Splatoon where I was recounting my first time playing it, how magical Squid Parties were to me (sessions where a player is friendly and instead of fighting the other team, it becomes an adorable session of just the players messing around the map being friendly). and I realized this was adorable for Whobie so here’s that note:

-Whobie being really into Splatoon competitively, getting really into it when John alternatively teaches them about Squid Parties. They were dubious of them at first but now they get really excited when someone squiggles back and forms a party. Their happiness and obsession with being nice in the game to 'make more friends' is an adorable break from their violence. They always have to show John their new friends.

- So, purring. It’s a common headcanon for trolls too right? I read like three posts with purring stuff. So of course, here’s some Whobie purring for the first time around someone else. It's a big embarrassing deal to them and it DOES NOT help that John makes it a BIGGER deal by being SO over the TOP with it. It happened once Whobie was finally getting ok with his touches and they were lying down somewhere being goobers and talking and he holds their hand and involuntarily they just begin purring up a storm. John is confused at first, thinking it’s something else. Then they both realize. Whobie is ready to scamper away like the animal they are, but seasoned veteran John has them tackled and is laughing and teasing em. So, it’s a cute thing they do and their flustered confessing to John that he's the only person/troll they've felt comfortable enough for it to come out with is one of the things that stick to him that makes him hold their hand a little tighter.

- Whobie once while being hugged by John accidentally moved their head up too fast and stabbed/scratched his chin with their horns. They were both in shock. Whobie was so ashamed, trying to find a saw to get rid of their horns once and for all. They'd cut these cursed things! John stops em by rerouting their attention to his bleeding profusely instead. He's ok, just a jab that'll heal but Whobie still feels bad and refuses to cuddle anymore. At some point, John comes up with putting something soft on the horn tips so that he doesn't get hurt. Whobie is satisfied with this and never takes them off, even at the cost of looking stupid. For John's hugs, anything is worth it.

rbgkg just Whobie learning to be defenseless and being like a little kid. I also got some stuff that leaned more into drama/realization of red feelings.

John being invited to go somewhere and he declines cuz 'that’s the time Whobie and him are gonna marathon (insert movie series here).' The person groans and points out how he's been hanging out with his lover more than his friends and John's immediately in the defense saying 'Wha- It's not like that! They're just my close friend. Like Rose or Dave-' The person has to point out how he's not as touchy with them. Doesn't spend as much time with em either. Doesn't derail conversations to talk about something cute either of em did. And John is left pouting as the friend walks away. Meanwhile Whobie is told by one of the trolls that they have it bad. And they fully agree. It's just. How can you not idolize someone like John? The sweetest, kindest, funniest living thing in the cold cruel and vast universe? And as Whobie is trying to avalanche their feelings about John, the troll snaps back to ‘just become matesprites already since they make you feel so red’ and this. Breaks Whobie. They snap and become embarrassed as they teleport right to the troll's face and repeat, 'these are pale feelings, pale feelings, this is pale, i could never possibly- I’m not deserving of it. its pale. its friendship, HES MY MOIRAL, ITS PALE!'

As time goes on, John gets protective over them after hearing about their issues with mental illness and isolation. Something undecided happens to Whobie (maybe the return of someone who hurt them that they hurt back) and it stokes the protective stuff in John. He keeps trying to step between em, but because of who Whobie is now, thanks to him, they manage to put some stuff behind them and forgive some things… successfully also being forgiven in return, so that relationship starts healing and the two are becoming friends… Which means now they’re not spending as much time with John. And John should be glad! Whobie has grown! They have another friend! But. Uh oh... He’s not. He’s not and he’s scared. Is he... a bad friend?

I've had some confession scenes rattling in my head, been unable to decide which I like most. I like imagining confused possessive John snapping and taking Whobie away from a troll meeting because he was scared they would leave him, and thinking confessing was the only way to get them to stay. And I'm of course a sucker of the dramatic and have a scene of Whobie taking a bullet/stabbing for John, and as they 'bleed out' and come to terms with 'this is the best death I could’ve had...' they get delirious from the blood loss as John tries flying them to safety and give in to their emotions. Deciding screw it, they were gonna die anyways. Kissing John, making him stop. Telling him he was the best thing in their lives and passing out.

.... they wish they were dead. Instead, they wake up in a patient bed with John right next to em and they are fucking SWEATING remembering what happened, expecting a rejection. They get fussed at instead, cheek caressing, concerned questions, a bit of tears. Then yelled at for being stupid when they shouldn't have been. Then. John kisses them. And it's solidified. The dorks are together now.

Last thoughts before my brain turns into fried chicken lol. John fucking loves kisses. He's full of them. Quick ones that land wherever on Whobie's face. Kisses on their hands when he feels like being romantic. Pecks on their horns when they're concentrating too hard on something (the sensitivity always makes them turn red at the feeling, it’s the best spot for teasing). And of course. Make outs. Usually what was intended to be a quick kiss on the lips and ends with John not moving and slipping tongue. They are the grossest offenders of PDA and his friends regret pushing him to confess while Whobie was passed out.

#homestuck oc #troll oc #homestuck troll #homestuck #homestuck john #john egbert #oc x canon #canon x oc #john egbert x reader #john egbert x oc #whobie adruru #troll ocs #hs troll #homestuck trolls #homestuck x reader

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missdawnandherdusk · 4 years ago

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Country Girl

Muggle!Reader X Draco

London Boy

Summary: Draco has your heart and you have his, a muggle and a wizard, but what happens when you take him home... to America, to your very muggle parents, and your very muggle small town?

A/n: As promised here is some ridiculous fluff and shenanigans between these two dorks. Also, this gets very southern very quickly, so as a disclaimer: none of this is meant to offend anyone at all, it’s just simple writing fun. I know a lot of you come to Tumblr to destress from the news, so this is free from current events and can even be seen written around circa 2010 if you want. I love you all and let me know what you think because I love being validated your comments and reblogs

“Um, do you maybe want to come with me back home?” The question was timid as it left my lips.

“To America?” He raised an eyebrow looking up from his workstation where he was currently brewing Amorentia—not that he used it, but it brought comfort to me and worked surpassingly well in a diffuser.

“To put it broadly, yes.” I smiled, knowing he had no idea how expansive America really was. “I’m off for the summer and my parents have been nagging me nonstop to meet you, and well it’s home,” Shrugging I hopped up on his desk and he eyed me warily, moving some things out of my way.

“How long?”

“Well I suppose you could apparate back any time you like, but...”

“How long?” He pressed again.

“A week?” I was almost afraid of his reaction.

Not that I was afraid of him, but I knew him well. He liked order. He like routine. Everything had a place and he preferred it if it stayed in that place. Which included him, in London.

“I understand if you don’t want to. I know it’s a lot. Muggle parents, Muggle girlfriend, America...” I trailed off looking down. “Just thought I’d offer.”

“Love,” he tilted my chin up. “If you want me to go with you to meet your parents, I suppose I can manage a week,” he smiled.

Happiness fluttered in my chest as I threw my arms around him.

“Careful dear,” he scolded, easily pulling me into his arms, carrying me. “This stuff takes forever to wear off and I’d rather not have you drugged for the next few hours.”

“Could be fun,” I giggled, nuzzling into his neck.

“You say that now,” he chided, a smile evident on his face.

_____________________________

“Now, they don’t know that you’re a wiz,” You reminded him. “And I’d rather not have to obliviate my parents, so if you could— “

“You act like I’m a teenager Y/n, I’m not stupid,” Draco rolled his eyes.

You raised an eyebrow at him. A challenge.

“And, a very fair warning: I am very...posh compared to my parents,”

Draco laughed; the word so unfamiliar to your lips and your American accent. Nor could he imagine in any way that someone would regard you as posh. He loved you, of course, but a lady was something you were not—not that he didn’t treat you like one, but that was beside the point.

But nothing you said could ever prepare him for what waited at your doorstep. Not the hours on a flight. Not the ride back in another muggle car. Not the songs on the radio. Not the conversations he had with Hermione and Harry unbeknownst to you.

“Pumpkin!” An older man in a buttoned-up flannel pulled you into his arms. His drawl was thick, making yours sound almost normal. “You are too pale darlin’ ain’t enough sun over there in England,” he chided, a huge smile on his face.

“Oh nonsense,” your mother replied, her drawl having more of a twang. “She’s just fine. Our little Georgia peach,” You face went a little pink as you blushed.

“Momma, Daddy, this is Draco,” he heard more of a drawl slip into your words and Merlin was he in trouble.

“The Brit,” your father scrutinized him for a moment before the smile returned. “Pleasure to meet you son,” he held out his hand.

“The pleasure is mine, I assure you,” Draco almost purred, shaking your father’s hand.

“Oh Lord, hear that accent,” your mother fawned. “No wonder you fell for him, Y/n,”

“Mom,” you whined, turning a shade of red.

“Well come in you two, you must be exhausted from the flight.”

Draco should have taken your warnings more seriously. Maybe you should have eased him into more. Because a very Muggle farmhouse in the middle of the country with your very American parents was something he was not prepared for.

The floorboards creaked under his socks—shoes left by the front door—as pictures hung on the wall, a lot of them of you in various childhood phases: fishing, in trees, driving your beloved Jeep, posing next to a dead stag—that one made Draco snort, if only Harry knew. There were also tiny little ‘t’s all over the wall that Draco just didn’t understand the meaning of. Were they to ward something off? Was it a collection? Did they stand for some name he wasn’t aware of?

“Y/n, you go on with your mom and fix up dinner,” Your father nodded you two off to the kitchen.

“Dad,” You warned, a familiar look in your eyes.

“You worry too much.” Your dad shook his head. “Now, go on,”

You paused a moment, your stubborn streak flaring before you disappeared into the house, leaving Draco alone with your father, feeling quite anxious.

“Come on in, boy, sit on down and tell me about yourself,” Your father beckoned him to sit on a well-worn leather sofa, a knitted afghan thrown over the back.

Draco knew how to keep light conversation—a perk of being a Malfoy—but this? This he had no idea how to do. Your father seemed to pick up on that as he chuckled.

“So, you like my daughter, do you now?” He asked, his eyes holding the same shade as yours.

“Yes sir,” Draco nodded. “Very much,”

“Yeah, we think she's something else,” Your father shook his head, chuckling. “Her daddy's girl... mama's world.” His face became hardened, serious, “She deserves respect and that's what she'll get ain't it, son?”

“Y-yes, of course,” Draco stammered. “Always.”

The smile came back to your father’s face and Draco felt like he just passed some sort of test.

“Well, y'all, run along and have some fun while you’re here. Just keep her safe. She’s got a knack for trouble,”

“Oh, I’m aware,” Draco chuckled.

“Dinner!” Two voices called from somewhere else in the house.

“Comin’ darlin’,” Your father called back, standing. “Shall we?” He gestured for Draco to go first.

........................................

“Was that so bad?” You asked later that night as you got ready for bed. It was different, seeing you flit around the room with memorized paths and actions.

“One of the most bizarre things I have ever experienced,” he confessed. “But I have to admit, your mother is a brilliant cook,”

You laughed.

“Oh, tell her that tomorrow, she will love you to pieces,”

Your drawl was coming in thicker the longer you lingered home and Draco began to understand the fascination with his accent, because your drawl did something else to him. The small room you were in was yours. A true work of art that was merely shadowed by your room in London. The soft blue tone room was calming as fairy lights were strung and antique furniture filled the room. Dried flowers and various paintings and posters filled the room matching the quilt spread underneath him.

You came over to his sitting position on the bed, nestling between his legs. His hands slipped up the backs of your thighs and you swatted him.

“Behave,” you hissed. “You have no idea how long it took me to convince Daddy to let us stay in a room together. I’d like to not lose that battle on the first night.”

“You has to ask your dad for permission to sleep with your boyfriend, in your room, as an adult?” He raised an eyebrow. “And I thought my parents were strict.”

“Oh, you don’t know the meaning of the word, pretty boy,” you smiled and draped your arms around his neck.

“I think I quite like this side of you,” Draco grinned.

“You ain’t seen nothin’ yet,”

“For the love of my sanity please use proper English,” Draco dismayed to your amusement.

“Fine.” You rolled your eyes. “You haven’t seen anything yet,” You dropped your drawl easily.

“You know what? Never mind,” Draco grinned, causing you to laugh harmoniously.

Never once had Draco ever seen you be a morning person, except now. The sun filtered in through the flowing curtains and your eyes fluttered open, landing on his.

“Mornin’,” You greeted.

“Good morning,”

“You ready?” There was a mischievous look in your eyes.

“For?”

“Well, I don’t think you’re quite ready to meet my friends, so I thought today we could go fishing.”

“Fishing?”

“Well, it’s not deer season so... we can’t exactly hunt. But it is fishing season.”

“There are seasons for you to kill wildlife?” He asked, watching you get ready.

“Yeah?” You paused, looking over at him. “Helps keep the animals from being over hunted while still keeping up the sport and population down. Daddy and I do it more for the population, not the sport,” Your smile was soft. “And venison is to die for when momma cooks,”

After a breakfast that Draco would be craving for the rest of his life, you loaded up the Chevy pick-up truck (you had informed him) with bait and poles and against his better judgement, he got in.

_____________________________

“I’m gonna seriously have to thank Hermione for takin’ you shoppin’ beforehand,” You grinned, eyeing Draco in a short-sleeved Henley and khaki shorts. “Knowin’ you, you only own suits and dress pants.”

“I own t-shirts,” Draco refuted, clinging to the door handle for dear life as I meandered the backroads towards the lake.

I rolled my eyes and turned onto the trail that would take us to the docks.

“This isn’t even a road!” Draco dismayed. “It’s barely dirt!”

I couldn’t help but laugh. “That’s what four-wheel drive is for,” I grinned. “And honey, I fear the day someone takes you muddin’.”

“Mudding?” He asked skeptically.

“Don’t worry ‘bout it,” I smiled, chuckling darkly, imagining the pristine Draco Malfoy anywhere near a four wheeler or ATV.

Hopping into the boat, Draco eyed me, hesitant on the dock.

“You can drive this too?” He narrowed his eyes at me.

“It’s barely anything to drive,” I rolled my eyes, throwing my hair up. “Now come on, city boy. A little country ain’t gonna kill you,”

“No,” Draco agreed, settling in the boat beside me. “But a country girl just might,” The purr of his voice had me blushing and fumbling to kill the engine and grab a fishing pole.

Draco absolutely refused to touch the live crawfish. His face scrunched up in disgust as he watched me cast my line in.

“Oh, like it’s any different than you and your potion’s ingredients,” I pointed out.

“That’s different,” He pouted.

Smiling at his theatrics, the day consisted of Draco dismaying at just about everything. Including but not limited to: sunscreen, mosquitoes, not being able to hold my reeling hand, the heat, the sun, Oakley sunglasses—of which he looked absolutely stunning in and it wasn’t fair—baseball caps, live bass, me handling said bass, me handling a knife, the live crawfish again, the heat... again.

“Oh my God, Draco,” I huffed, not nearly as annoyed as I sounded.

“I’m sorry,” He drawled. “But this is absolutely absurd,”

I might have shoved him into the lake.

When he resurfaced, utter shock was on his face, as well as anger as he scolded my name.

“Yes?” I answered innocently. “Not so hot anymore is it?” I bated my eyelashes.

“You little—”

“Oh, and watch out for gators,” I grinned mischievously as his eyes went wide with fear. “Kidding!” I laughed, slipping off my crocs. “Probably,”

He was hanging onto the side of the small boat when I leapt off the side and into the icy water.

“What in the world are you doing?” Draco swam over to me.

“Swimming? Since someone thinks that fishing is absurd,” I mocked his accent.

“I don’t sound like that,” He grumbled.

“Yes, you do,” I smiled, wrapping my arms around his neck. “Stop being so uptight, Dray. Whatever you’re holding onto... reputation or whatever voice that’s in your head...” His face fell.

I knew that he had been raised to hate everything around him. The innocence and simplicity of it. Sure, it had taken some time and I had made a home in his heart, those prejudices fading, but he still fought hard sometimes. And maybe I wish he didn’t. And maybe I was selfish to think that.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered softly. “I just... Your world is so incredible, Draco. Filled with things that are beyond my wildest dreams, and maybe I wanted to show you into mine,”

His arms snaked around my waist as he held me close, resting his forehead to mine.

“I’m sorry too,” He murmured softly. “Of course, I want to be a part of your world as well, but— ”

“Maybe fishing was a bit over ambitious?” I mused.

“Maybe slightly,” He chuckled, pressing his lips to mine sweetly.

“At least we have dinner tonight,”

“I can’t tell if you’re kidding or not,”

I wasn’t.

__________________________________

The next day wasn’t as ambitious as fishing with you, but it was still quite new to him. Dressed in a sundress, you took his hand and lead him down the main street of your small town, the small shops reminding him of a fairytale. He was surprised at how many people recognized you and said hello. A kindness that he wasn’t accustomed to in the Wizarding world. Especially when the café owner had a long conversation with you and then said that your lunch was ‘on the house.’

“Not too bad?” You asked softly, after finishing lunch.

“Not bad at all,” He smiled.

After bringing in the groceries from a quaint muggle shop, into your warm little yellow kitchen, you took Draco’s hand and led him into the backyard. The sun was setting just beyond the horizon, painting the sky in crimson colors.

“Mr. Fancypants alright with climbing a few trees?” There was a smirk on your face.

“What are we? Five?” Draco chuckled, following you into the tree line.

“Well, I guess that is when daddy and I built this,” You gestured to a certain tree, where an emasculate treehouse resided.

Despite the wooden construction’s age, it still held well. Draco was half expecting it to be bigger on the inside, a commonality in the Wizarding World, but no, what he saw on the outside was what was reflected on the inside. This treehouse held no secrets. Draco smiled as he watched you climb the tree with no shoes on—a commonality he had noticed. You went barefoot whenever you could.

You helped him up and his eyes darted around, taking in the little house with it’s rope banisters, many windows and various trinkets and knickknacks that Draco had no hope in naming or identifying. When his eyes found you again, there was a blanket folded into your arms.

“When I was little, I used to come out here and stargaze... I don’t know how many times Daddy would have to come up here and carry me home ‘cause I fell asleep,” A smile touched your lips.

Draco looked up to the wooden roof and raised an eyebrow skeptically. You caught his question and nodded to a rope to his left. His fingers grasped the course fibers and tugged it experimentally. A mechanism went off and the roof parted at the gable, letting him see the first stars that had come out to play.

There was something different about looking up at these stars with you. He had spent years studying them in class and couldn’t remember half of what he had learned, but with you, they held a different meaning. You knew all of the stories it seemed. The ones that he learned as a child and some he didn’t. It was jarring, hearing the familiar stories fall from your lips. After all this time, maybe your muggle world wasn’t so far off from his magical one.

True to your word, you did end up sleeping softly in his arms as he looked up at the stars, then down at your peaceful face. Knowing that you wouldn’t want to spend the night outside—and neither would he for that matter—he carefully scooped you into his arms, and instead of risking dropping you, he simply apparated to the soft grass below and headed up towards the house.

Your father was waiting on the porch, the light still on despite the late hour, nursing a can, a soft smile on his face.

“Good to see that some things don’t change with her,” Your father opened the door for him. “Sometimes I think I lose her to her fancy schools, halfway around the world,” There was an air of melancholy to his words.

“I can assure you that you’ll never lose her,” Draco smiled down at you. “She adores and loves you more than you’ll ever know. The way she lights up when she talks about home...”

“You’ve made an old man very happy tonight Draco,” Your dad smiled. “Now go on up, I’m gonna close the house up for the night,”

.................................

“I’d like to apologize in advance for just about everythin’ that’s about to happen,” You took his hand smiling.

“How bad can they be?” Draco mused. “You’ve met my friends, and that went well,”

“Uhuh,” You laughed. “Sure. I’ll take that vote of confidence.” You easily backed your truck up into the circle of other vehicles surrounding a rather large bonfire that gave Draco a bit of anxiety.

“Look at what the tide washed in!” Someone called from the back of a pickup truck.

“No way!” Another gasped.

“Since when did you get home!?”

A girl rushed up and pulled you into a hug, dislodging your hand from his as he watched you spin with the girl, both of you laughing. A few others came up and hugs were passed out, hellos exchanged.

“Son of a bitch, you never said he was hot, Y/n,” The first friend who greeted—Rebecca— raised an eyebrow at you.

“Yes, because that’s all I look for in a guy,” You rolled your eyes, offering him a beer and taking a seat on the tailgate of your pickup.

“I’m just glad to see that you haven’t gone full brit on us,” Another—Megan smiled from the arms of a guy that Draco would have stereo typed to be on your arm instead. “Still think you can outshoot me?” She grinned.

“With my eyes closed,” You drawled, taking a sip of your own hard iced tea. “Seriously, y’all think I was just gonna forget everythin’?”

“We didn’t think you’d come back after find Mr. London over here,” Rebecca grinned.

“Yeah, you’ve been awful quiet over there Union Jack,” Megan narrowed her eyes at him, and he felt the same sort of anxiety he had around your parents. “What are your intentions with our Y/n?”

“Y’all really? What are we? High schoolers? And he has a name ya know.” You rolled your eyes, leaning against him, intertwining your finger with his. That eased his anxiety a bit as his eyes stayed trained on the dancing fire.

“Well, any guy worthy of catching your eye must be something special,” Tyler—the guy sitting next to Rebecca—shrugged.

“Oh, come on Tyler, we were freshman,” You scoffed, taking another swig from your can.

Draco’s interest was piqued at this new information. Was there something between you and Tyler that he wasn’t aware of? Was it something he had to worry about? His grip tightened around you and he caught the sly smile on your face at the action.

He learned a lot about you that night. You never were one to brag but stars did your friends like to embarrass you. You weren’t the top of your class, but you were pretty damn close. You always got yourself out of any kind of trouble and had about every boy at your heels in school and didn’t give them an air of interest—Tyler lamented quite obnoxiously. You could be out late Saturday night at a party, but every morning you were up early, in the choir at church—which shocked Draco, you had always been hesitant to sing around him, and he wasn’t exactly sure what ‘church’ was but... it was a question for another time.

The conversation lulled as food was brought out. You offered him a bit of mangled stretched out wire and a hot dog and shot him a dazzling smile before showing him how to roast it over the fire. It was messy and uncivilized, and Merlin, Draco loved it. Sitting cross-legged beside you, a paper plate in his lap filled with such rich food and sweet fruit, he truly caught a glimpse into your world again.

The buzz of insects and glow of others, the heat and warmth of the fire, the smell of grass and dirt, the sound of some country song blasting from a nearby truck, the sway of your body as you hummed along, the smile that rested on your face, the buzz of alcohol in his system, and the taste of it on your lips, Draco never felt more... free. The Dark Mark could be nothing more than a tattoo. His scars could mimic Alex’s dirt biking scars. His school career could be scoffed at like yours was. His parents could just be strict and rich. He could be free.

_____________________________

My thumb absentmindedly stroked the back of Draco’s hand as the night wound down. I had switched to sweet tea a while ago, knowing I’d had to drive home. There was something oddly comforting in seeing Draco in the midst of my small-town world. His careful blue eyes, stark blond hair, and pale creamy skin seemed to rebel at the mere thought, but the smile on his lips overrode it all, claiming he belonged.

In bed that night, my fingers traced over the scars that littered his chest. It was hard to imagine that the Harry I knew caused them. It seemed like worlds away. Even in Draco’s arms, London and magic and wizards sounded like a fairytale, some far-fetched dream.

“Your friends are... nice,” Draco murmured, drawing a chuckle from me.

“That’s one way to put it,” I propped up on my elbow. “Nothing too absurd I hope?” There was a slight teasing tone to my words.

He smiled lazily at me.

“It’s... different here,” Draco decided.

“Good different? Or bad different?”

“Free different.” He mused. “Like... it—my past... doesn’t exist at all. No one here knows, or judges me...”

“Well,” I whispered softly, running my hand through his hair. “It is a different world. Somethin’ you have to love about a small town,” A smile grew on my face. “And it’s not about your past, not anymore. It’s your future that’s important,”

“As long as you’re there,” Draco pressed a kiss to my forehead.

“For as long as you’ll have me,”

“Forever,”

I spent the next day teaching Draco how to bake. He was a decent cook after spending some time with my grandmother and I in London, but backing was a bit different, as Draco found out. With classic rock on the radio and mom and dad out for the day, Draco and I had a blast. A few times I saw him cheat and use wandless magic. It earned him some flour in his face—which he also magicked away. When I protested, he pressed a kiss to my lips and maybe I forgot why I was upset in the first place.

With the pie in the oven, Draco and I lounged across the couch. His hands were fiddling with my hair absentmindedly, as we watched The Breakfast Club. Hermione and Harry had done an alright job introducing Draco to muggle movies and shows. But as much as I loved Doctor Who—we were all convinced that the Doctor was a wizard secretly—or Sherlock, some American normalcy was appreciated.

That night I couldn’t help but laugh as Draco was very confused about football. It was like translating something through three languages—Wizard, to British, to American. After a while I think he gave up on the notion and just nursed his beer. The game held my interest for the second half while my father was very adamant about coaching from his armchair.

“You should have seen him at her little league games,” My mother muttered, causing Draco and I to chuckle and my dad to simmer some.

“Softball,” I filled Draco in. “Like baseball... but for girls I guess.” He nodded.

Before I knew it, the week ended, and Draco and I were packing to return back home, well to London anyway. I traded in my sundresses for jeans and sighed as I unzipped my suitcase, starting to unpack.

“It’s not like we’ll never go back,” Draco wrapped me up in his arms.

“We?” I raised an eyebrow.

“Did you not want me to go back?” A playful smile graced his lips.

“No, I do! I just... well, I know you Dray,” I draped my arms around his neck. “You like things a certain way in a certain order, and well, that,” I gestured vaguely. “was anything but,”

“Maybe it’s time I leave this behind me,” He murmured softly. “Stuffy offices and grey skies...”

My eyes widened in surprise and joy.

“Not completely,” He amended. “I do still have to work, they need me as Head Healer, and you have uni, and then there’s Teddy to think about, but... maybe a summer home there wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world,”

I drew him into a tight hug, tears stinging my eyes. It wasn’t even that he wanted to go back, it was that he wanted me with him when he did. He talked about a home like I’d be there beside him.

And when he was down on one knee, surrounded by my London family, with a simple ring, I knew that he did want me there beside him, and always would.

I gave him an escape from his past and he promised me a future.

Tags: @coffee-addicti @msmcsmutt @ravn-87 @artemismohr18 @whygz @crazywritingbug @fuzzy-panda @bitemebro522 @zombiesnips-blog @savingdraco @welcometomyworldwithoutrules @akari180 @slytherin-emerald @memalfoy-spidey @queenfeatherwings @fanficflaneuse @go-whovian-universe @spicyshenanigans @darling-im-not-okay-i-promise @dietkiwi @katsukink @takemetothekingdom @strangerr-things @tmnt-queen @hxneybgb @justsomerandomgur @belcvayelena @moviesbooksandfandoms @howdycharlie @xtrashmouthxtozierx @cocochanelthepupper @ninacotte @braelynn-j @jiggllyy @honeymarvel @darcypottah @atomicpunkrock @thiccheerioss @lottie289 @boredashaeck @beautiful-pegasus @tceedlmao @deadlynyghtshayde @iconjuresnapeingrandmaclothes @anonymous034 @bi-andready-tocry @lunna-does-real-doodle @dragonsandbread @okaydraco @the-queen-of-hell-things @cmxreader @alienmotel @oh-itsnothing @sunflowerxsadnessw @fattycooter @angelotakunerd08 @thisisahugemistake @fanficsigottaread @gweaslvy @strawberriesonsummer @gaysludge @cleopatera @ray-of-sunrise @artist-bby @shadowsingeraxolotl @peters-legos @quillsareforwriting @ghostlytoadalmondhairdo @wollymalfoy @lilpieceoftoast @paper-cats @floweryjh @sdicapriox @slothgirl22 @peachesandpinks @monimillion @hufflautia @livize75 @annie-mcl @riathearora @live-like-luna @justathoughtfulangel @coconutdawn @skteaiy @wannabeskinny-thinspo @naughtygranger @queenofmankind @dragonsandbread @abundantxadorations @moony-artnstuff @myforeveryoungblog @and-then-a-girl-with-luv @1-800-luvsick @pandas-rice-field @strawberriesonsummer @jjustsomerandomgirl @mrvlfangirl3190 @loverbbgirlsblog @in-slytherin-we-trust

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birdy-bat-writes · 4 years ago

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Damian Wayne - Civilian crime solver

Request: Could you do headcanons or a scenario about Damian with a friend or s/o that is really into mysteries and goes around investigating cases even though they're really in over their head? Bonus points for shenanigans. Thank you!

Of course, amazing Anon! Great suggestion! And hey, why do friends or lovers when we can do both?? ;) I hope you enjoy this!

A/N: Um… My Headcanons are basically just fanfictions with sentences that don’t flow into paragraphs. I split it into 2 parts. I Really liked writing this one though. I love Damian. This one came out kinda angsty though, sorry about that. But it has a sweet ending.

Part 2 here

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- You met Damian when you both were in the sixth grade. He was quite the indignant 11-year-old. Unfortunately for you, this fellow was your lab partner for the year.

- You noticed his distaste for most people, but he didn’t have it with you. You couldn’t have known at the time, but the reason for that was that you were the only person in the room Damian saw as someone of equal intellect. It was the way you were organized and level-headed. You were independent and self-sufficient.

- Truth be told, the only major difference between your mindsets was that you weren’t as cocky.

- Made sense though, since your mother was an environmental toxicologist. Your home was pretty full of science equipment since you could remember. You were always curious as a child, and of course your proud mother encouraged it and taught you bit-by-bit how to use the tools. You idolized her and your father, who passed away when you were younger.

- Over the course of your partnership with Damian, you grew to tolerate each other, and then even enjoy each other’s company. By the time You were both 12, you had a pretty solid friendship.

- You discovered this when he invited you over to his house for his birthday and his family nearly choked, had a stroke, or checked if you were a robot. He had to explain to you that he didn’t bring friends over very often.

- “I made an exception for you because you are far closer to me than anyone else and I enjoy your company.”

- You guys hang out all the time now and talk about personal stuff and just joke about things. It makes you really happy when Damian laughs. He often found himself thinking about how much more often he’s been doing it since he met you.

- “Hey, what do you want to be when you grow up, Dames?”

- “Well, I’d like to follow in my father’s footsteps.” You assumed that meant running Wayne Enterprises. You were half right.

- “I want to be a detective.”

- “Really?”

- “Yeah, like my dad was.”

- “He’d be proud of you.”

- You had a love for forensics and special permission from your chemistry teacher to use the advanced chem lab after school. You were her TA after all, and Damian used that time to sit with you and chat while you worked.

- “Y/N, what are you analyzing?”

- “Um… It’s a mud sample.”

- “From?

- “The Gotham botanical gardens.”

- “Why?” Why are you analyzing dirt from Poison Ivy’s crime scene from last night?

- “Promise you won’t freak out?” He nodded. “I heard on the news that Poison Ivy was using monster plants to terrorize people. And they looked kind of like yellow trumpet vines you find a in the Gotham gardens. I was just checking the dirt for any chemicals that could have altered the plant growth.”

- Damian was stunned and speechless. Something he experienced rarely, if ever. “Y/N, messing with this stuff is dangerous. maybe you should let Batman and the GCPD handle this.”

- “Come on, Dami. Please don’t say that. I want to do this; I want to help people. If I figure this out first, I can tell the GCPD.”

- “I’m just worried for your safety.” He couldn’t deny that your work was brilliant, but he couldn’t let you put yourself in harm’s way either.

- “I’ll be safe, I promise.”

- He ultimately told you it was alright with him if you were careful. What he meant by that was that he was going to spy on you and keep you away from any and everything that was dangerous.

- Robin would follow you to your house from the shadows to make sure you got home safe and Damian would check in with you on your files. As your determination to solve cases increased, his desire to ask you why increased as well.

- “I just think it’s fun, Damian.” Wow you were a bad liar.

- “There’s more to it.”

- “What?”

- “Why are you actually doing this?”

- “Because I want to.” You were sterner this time. Damian noticed and decided to drop it for now. He offered to walk you home like he usually did but you declined.

- That night, you decided to investigate a lead you didn’t tell Damian about. It led you an abandoned building in old Gotham. You were scanning the second floor for anything out of the ordinary until you heard a voice approaching from the corner.

- You ran into the nearest room and hid. The voices were getting closer. “Falcone wants this job done tonight. Don’t f*** up.” You were terrified.

- Suddenly, your mouth was covered by a green gloved hand. You wanted to yell but you heard him shush you. You turned quietly to meet eyes with a domino mask. It was Robin. You didn’t have enough time to process everything that happened but at the end of it all you ended up on the sidewalk next to an ambulance and police cars.

- Deciding you had enough for one day, you headed home.

- The next day at school you seemed quiet and so did Damian. At the end, you walked over to Damian to ask if he wanted to hang out.

- “Not at the lab.”

- “Okay… we can watch a movie if you want.”

- “Alright.”

- “Cool. I’ll just go get my stuff.” He saw you walking in the direction of the lab and something sparked in him. He stopped you.

- “I’ll get it.”

- “What? I can get it. It’s fine.”

- “Just stay here, Y/N.” He was a bit too curt for your liking.

- “Don’t tell me what to do.”

- “Just listen to me for once.”

- “Why are you being like this?!”

- It turned into a yelling match. Damian’s emotions got the better of him and it ended with a “You could have died last night!”

- Tip of the hat to him *clap* *clap*. That’s how you found out he was Robin.

- It made sense really. You shared a heartfelt conversation about how he trusted you but he didn’t want you getting hurt. He knew what it was like out there and he couldn’t stand the thought of anything happening to you.

- You promised to keep his secret and he made a compromise with you; you could help him with forensics for his cases with Batman as long as you never went out into the field.

- Then you went an watched the movie you wanted to.

- “Hey Dames, I need to tell you something.” He turned his head to you. “You had asked earlier why I was so obsessed with the cases… my dad died investigating Falcone’s drug cartel. I guess got a bit too into it… I just thought you deserved to know.” You shared a look of sympathy and for the first time in your friendship, he hugged you. It held for a while, but it wasn’t awkward, just comforting, as if you both said that you were there for each other.

- Skip to the point where your working with him and Batman was normal. Well… as normal as it could get. You and Damian blew the Batcave circuit breaker. Twice.

- You would always get results before Bruce managed to figure out how. Tim liked you specifically because you could make Bruce look very confused.

- You and Damian would pass notes in class in code about new information from cases. It started to make people gossip about you two. It didn’t help that you both always stayed back late together and showed up to class alone, before anyone else.

- It began to scare people because Damian doesn’t bother to spend time with other humans but with you, he like?? Willingly?? Does it??

- You would work late nights with the boys and keep track of how much sleep they each were getting. If anyone fell too short, you sent them up to bed. It actually backfired on you once because you were very sleep-deprived and didn’t want to admit it, so Jason picked you up and dragged you to your room in the manor while Tim and Dick smiled cheekily. “Oh, how the turntables.” ;D

- Damian would sleep when you forced him, but he would still have his days. He believed he was above sleeping???

- This boy refuses to admit he’s tired. Even when he looks like a jittery racoon. So, you bring him hot chocolate in the mornings, (courtesy of Alfred) with a hint of a lot of caffeine (courtesy of Tim).

- Ever since you started spending so much time at the manor, you got much closer with Damian and his brothers. You felt a sense of family and care there.

- Your favorite nights were the ones where your mom would let you sleep over and you would stay late in the cave working with Damian. The serenity of the cave and the faint glow of the computers always made it feel like some alternate plane of existence.

- “Alright, Sherlock, you’ve been obsessed with this case for three days now. Let the computers do their work and take a nap.”

- “Dami, I’m too ‘thinky’ to sleep.”

- “’Thinky’?” you nodded and giggled at your superior use of vocabulary. “Come with me. I want to show you something.”

- You detected a hint of mischief in his voice and followed him up the cave staircase to the top of a ledge. He pulled a rope ladder out from behind the ledge and gestured for you to climb it.

- You glanced at him once before hoisting yourself up and climbing onto the rocky surface. You looked up and the sight took your breath away. The ledge was a flat floor of the cave that overlooked the waterfall from the inside. If you looked down, you could see the dancing currents on the lower levels of the cave. The air was misty and cool, and you honestly had no idea that there was a view like this anywhere in the manor.

- “You like it?”

- “Its so beautiful.” You said, your voice full of awe. Damian sat down on the floor, against the cave wall and patted the ground next to him. He wanted to say something. Just regular makings of conversation, like the ones you always had. This time, for the first time, he felt like he didn’t know what to say to you, so opted to look at you.

- The way the water reflected light on the cave walls made patterns of hazy light. The glow hit your skin and made your eyes sparkle. For the first time since he had met you, Damian saw you in a completely new way. He didn’t understand it, but he wasn’t opposed to it either.

- You broke the silence with, “You know, ever since I met you, and your family, I’ve never been happier.”

- You looked back at him. Something about the way he looked at you made you feel butterflies and fireworks all at once.

#damian wayne #Damian al Ghul #damian wayne headcanon #ROBIN BATMAN #robin #damian wayne fluff #damian wayne x y/n #damian x reader #damian wayne imagines #damian wayne x gender neutral reader #damian wayne x reader #batbros #dc comics #dc fluff #headcanons

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themanofgloom · 4 years ago

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Boogeydad Shenanigans

Summary: A cute, fun drabble about Ormad’s usual mornings with Rudy and what it’s like to sit inside his head!!

Trigger warnings: Plenty of self-deprecative thoughts, mentions of death, anxiety, cursing, drugs mention, ex-lover mention

If you can read it, it’s appreciated!!

You’ve been staying awake for the past hour. What are you doing sitting in bed. What time is it? No, you don’t even have a clock in the mansion -- idiot. You’re an idiot, that’s what you are, you understand? It’s not like you didn’t not know that days ago but just givin’ you a little reminder in case you forgot.

Rudy needs to go to school. Get up. Make breakfast for her early.

Noooo.... Ormad shut his eyes and rolled to his side, face shoved into his pillow. It’s probably not that late. Or maybe it’s really early. Yeah... more time to sleep, more time to kick back and relax. That’s great. He stretched his arms and legs, groaning quietly before squishing up again.

What’d he dream about last night? Wait-- no. Don’t think about it. Don’t, don’t, don’t. That was a hideous dream. He hated it. He scrunched his nose and moved it around. No, no, no. The dream was ugly and awful and he should think about something else. Like... like the blanket. The blanket smushed up against his back. Yes, think of that blanket like a person. Like, like a nice person cuddled up next to him because yes, they liked him very much, he was great.

No, that was stupid. Yes, it’s stupid, and I’m going to believe it.

Ormad sat up in his bed and blinked several times. His two dark feet stuck out at the end of his violet blanket. The room was pitch black; just the way he liked it. He yawned before laying back down again--

Squeeek!! Light poured into the room. He hissed and covered his face.

“Dad!” Rudy said. “Are you ready to go?”

Ready to go? What?? Then it hit him. A truck did. A truck of oh my lord, what a stupid ass you are!! “I-- um, well--”

“Come ooonnnn!” she urged. Rudy already had her signature hoodie on, as well as her sneakers (shoes in the house were fine -- were they?) and backpack. “They’re selling cupcakes in the morning today!!”

“Yes, yes, okay.” He clenched his fists and gritted his teeth as she skipped on away. He pursed his lips and glared at nothing. His head shook.

Idiot, you could’ve been up earlier. You could’ve made her breakfast and you could’ve greeted her with a, “Good morning, sweetie! Look at all of this I made for you in just a few minutes!” You could’ve felt GREAT today and done something good for her, but instead you just laid here in bed like the lazy fool you are. Later on, when she grows up, she’s going to do the same thing; she’s not going to take care of you. She’ll let you wilt and suffer because you deserve it, you know that, you know--!

Ormad stumbled out of his room and slapped his hands through his hair. Messy. It was always messy. Not like he cared; he was too lazy to make himself look nice, anyway. He didn’t want to be so perked up and pretty and proper for the teachers. Because oh, what’d they expect out of him, some weird freak?

Hell yes he was a weird freak. Just not as weird as some other people. At least he could hide his weirdness. Yes.

Ormad met Rudy in one of the hallways. He was about to open up a portal to the Positive Side when she interrupted: “Dad!”

“Huh?”

“Did you pack stuff up? I got my water bottles, but where’s your backpack?” She wasn’t hostile or yelling in any way, but it sure as hell felt like it to him.

“Backpack? Why do I need a backpack?”

“Field trip! Remember?”

Oh no. Look. You big embarrassment. This is why she’s humiliated by you. First you slept in for hours without making her breakfast, and now she’s reminding you of something you should’ve remembered days ago. What the hell is wrong with you? Ormad clenched his fists and gestured wildly, not knowing what to do with his hands. “Um-- what do I bring, again?”

Rudy exhaled, her feet shuffling. “Daaaad. I talked to you about it yesterday.”

“I know.”

“And the day before.”

“I know, Rudy.”

“And now we’re gonna be late.”

“Can you tell me what I need?”

“The pamphlet we got and some shades.”

Pamphlet. Where the hell did he leave the pamphlet? Ormad’s stomach felt hot as he stormed around his room, searching anxiously through drawers and the sheets of his bed. Where was the pamphlet? Where the hell did he leave it?

“Rudy? Do you know where I put it?”

“I mean, I gave it to you a week ago, and you said you’d put it somewhere safe.”

A week ago. You see, that’s a great excuse. It’s not your fault that you don’t know where it is; it’s just the long amount of time between now and then. See? You did nothing wrong. Rudy just gave it to you too early.

Ormad fussed about, looking through the living room.

No, don’t think shit about your daughter like that. She’s your daughter. She’s your baby. She looks up to you and if you look down at her like that, guess what! She’s going to abandon you when she grows up and she’s gonna frolic over to one of those Rulers in the Positive Side and you’ll lose custody and be all alone!! So then you’ll be in a lonely cycle again and you’ll probably end up trying to do stupid shit to get her back. Don’t think about your daughter like that, she’s not dirt, you’re dirt, you can let her walk on you because her feet can’t crush you, but ohhhhhhhhhhh you can’t walk on her, you understand? You do that and you’ll regret it for the rest of your life and you’ll probably be asking yourself, “Why am I even

“Found it!” Ormad declared, holding up the pamphlet with a shaking hand.

“That’s great,” Rudy replied. “Come on. We gotta go!”

Ormad formed a backpack out of Negativity and stuffed the pamphlet into it. Then he looked himself up and down, tapping his claws together. “Do I look fine?”

“Yeah!”

“I should be disguised as someone. Something else. I’ll pretend to be a chaperone, but a Positive instead.”

“Dad, you’re fine.”

“Fine? I’m not fine. Maybe you are, but at this point they’ve gotten used to a human in their class. If they see me, there might be an attack on the trip and they’ll tear me apart, and then you’ll get hurt and die because you’re a human. You know that, right? How easily humans can bleed out like that?”

A sigh came from her, along with the rolling of her eyes. “It’s fine, Dad! Really.”

“Tell me fine when you--” No. Cut it out. Cut it off. He sewed his lips shut before anything else could get out, and he closed his eyes and exhaled. Stop. Breathe. Your daughter is not your therapist. Do not treat her like one. You ugly, monstrous, disastrous garbage fool.

Ormad opened the portal, and the two of them went in.

***

“You didn’t have to say that to the tour guide,” Rudy mumbled.

“Well, I defend myself when I need to,” Ormad replied. “It’s a little hard to deal with.”

“What?”

“Being me. That’s hard to deal with.” He tapped his claws on the edge of the table. There were no Positives in the room they were in, but there were plenty of Positives in the room next door. They’d been kicked out.

Ormad clenched his jaw, and his heart sank. “Am I pitying myself again?”

Rudy rubbed the back of her neck. “A little bit.”

Damnit. He thought he wasn’t. God, why couldn’t he just talk about himself for once?

Or maybe you talk about yourself all the time to the point where it sounds normal. You talk about yourself to yourself. That’s it. That’s normal for you. Change the topic and suddenly you’re being assaulted.

They sat there together in silence. Ormad was scratching the edges of the chair with his claws, bouncing his legs and glaring at nothing. Rudy sniffed.

“Hey, Dad,” she said quietly.

“... What is it, Rudy?”

Her small stubby fingers curled the strands of her dark hair. “Can I... tell you something? I’ve had it on my mind for a while now.”

“Anything, sweetie.” His heart was rising in his chest.

Fuck, fuck, fuck. What was she going to tell him? Was she going to say that he’d been using her as a doctor again? He thought he’d been just fine. No, you’re not fine and you know it. Something always slips by you, and before you can take it back the damage is already done and when you say sorry it just comes out as self-pity. So yes, maybe you did do something bad and now she’s going to tell you and your relationship with her is going to crumble and it’s going to be all your fault.

“There are therapists in the Positive Side,” Rudy told him. “Maybe you should get one.”

“... Therapist?” Ormad repeated, and he dryly chuckled. “I don’t need a therapist, Rudy. I’m completely fine on my own.”

“You don’t seem to be, Dad.”

“What are you talking about?” He ran a hand across the top of her head and gently patted it. “You’ve asked me this several times before. I’ve said no to every single question. I’m fine.”

“Yeah, I asked you,” Rudy said. “I said, ‘Dad, do you want to get a therapist?’ But right now, I’m just saying you should get one. You need to.”

“I don’t need one, Rudy. Trust me.”

“You said to the tour guide that if he didn’t want to feel the same pain and suffering that you do, he should ‘back the hell off.’“

Ormad clenched his teeth. “He was just angering me.”

“But it happened last field trip, too. And the one before that, you had a breakdown.”

“Then maybe I should just stop coming on field trips,” he admitted. He averted his gaze. “But I can’t just leave you unsupervised. Imagine what they can do to you when I’m not around, Rudy. Terrible things.”

“Dad.”

“Yes.”

“Get a therapist.”

Ormad sighed and said nothing.

“You need help. Just get one. Please.”

Why should he? He wasn’t a weak little victim. He wasn’t going to let himself be vulnerable and open again to the wrong people. Rudy was the only one who understood him. And he didn’t even need to vent to her! It was fine. They were a perfect family. They were fine.

But then when she’ll get older, you’ll look at her differently, won’t you? And maybe you’ll be like those petty humans on Earth. You’ll say, “Hey, since she’s older now, she can handle things better!” So you’ll dump and dump all your pour little feelings on her and then she’ll get humiliated, maybe say something like, “Dad, please, stop, you’re hurting me!! I hate you, i hate you!!”

Because you don’t want to hear those words. You don’t want her to hate you because if she hates you, you’ll do anything and everything to get her to not hate you again. But she will continue to hate you when you don’t make the right choice and you can’t take it back because the mistake was YOUR fault, you understand?

And then she’ll go over to the Positives and the Rulers will tell her all about you and the terrible things you did to them when you were younger. She’s gonna get poisoned by them and then she’ll probably break into the Negative Side and try to kill you. Maybe that’ll happen -- oh yes, that’ll definitely happen!! Because gueesss whaaattt? You’re a stupid foolish clown. You’re just some jester with strings attached to you lala la la la la dancing for everybody to laugh at because you always tend to slip up and embarrass yourself, like this morning, or maybe that one time you let Alice nearly overdose and she said it was your fault, YOUR fault, but you said no, so then later she broke up with you and then you left the Earth because boohoo, you couldn’t do enough, could you?

And that’s why you’ll always enter a new door in life just to break it and lock it shut, because everything you touch wilts like a flower, and that’s why Rudy’s going to die before she becomes an adult, and that’s why you were so alone when you were younger and that’s why everybody betrayed you and that’s why you’re unloved and you’ll be forgotten and nobody NOBODY will ever ever FORGIVE YOU for what youve done to them and next up youre going to be forgotten by your own daughter because of what youve done to her so

QUIET

Startled, Ormad let out a shaky sigh, closing his eyes. Rudy waited for a response, almost expecting none.

“Okay,” he mumbled. “I will. I’ll get one.”

For you, but not for me.

#Poetics And Potential ( writing drabbles/etc. )#You're A Brat. But You're My Kid And I Love You. ( Ormad & Rudy )#Negativity Itself ( Ormad )#drugs mention #death mention #long post

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gwenbrightly · 5 years ago

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The Little Mermaid Incident (aka the beach day everyone deserves)

Crossposted from ffnet. I’ve been meaning to do a beach day themed chapter for Of Milk and Cookies for awhile now, so here it is!

“This feels… weird…” Lloyd commented absently, digging his toes into the sand. Kai gave his brother an odd look.

“The sand feels weird?”

“No. This. Being here, at the beach to relax without the threat of an evil warlord bent on world domination looming over us?” he explained, tilting his face toward the sun and enjoying its warmth. Nya slung an arm around his shoulders.

“After everything you’ve been through, you’ve earned it, Lloyd. Taking today to chill and have fun is exactly what you need! And just look how happy your dad is.” she told him, watching as the former villain helped his wife spread out a picnic blanket not far away. The sound of laughter floated over to them. Lloyd grinned.

“I wasn’t sure, at first. If they were gonna figure stuff out. You know?” he admitted hesitantly, “But they’ve both been really great about it so far.”

Kai gave his hair a ruffle and said, “I’m really happy for you, green bean.”

“Me too,” Nya agreed, “now let’s get over there and join the others before Cole completely buries Jay.”

“Yeah, that’s probably a good idea.” Lloyd noted with a laugh. The two ninja in question were throwing sand at each other with gusto. The buckets they had brought for sand castles had been long forgotten. He followed Kai and Nya as they approached them, ignoring his slight limp. The lingering effects of his injuries made it difficult to completely forget the events leading up to this moment, but he was happy to put the memories out of his mind for now.

“Do I even want to know what’s happening right now? I thought you were gonna make a scale model of the city.” asked Nya as she ducked a wayward clump of wet sand. Jay gave her a look that clearly meant save me.

“We were. But dirt clod over here decided it’d be funny to bury me instead…” he complained.

“So I know this looks bad but-” Cole began to protest before Kai interrupted him.

“Nah, I can definitely see the appeal in torturing Jay.”

“Hey!” the master of lightning glared at Kai, “not helping.”

“Listen. You know those pictures where people bury their legs in sand and make it look like they have mermaid tails and stuff? I was just thinking it’d be funny to take one of those and send it to Zane.” Cole explained, resisting the urge to toss more sand at his best friend. They had all been a bit disappointed that their nindroid brother couldn’t wouldn’t be joining them til later in the day, but they understood his desire to spend as much time as possible with his father. There was no way of knowing how much longer they had. Lloyd’s eyes lit up.

“Oh, that does sound like fun!”

“Okay but I don’t see why I have to be the mermaid,” Jay said, giving Cole a dirty look, “Nya’s like, way prettier.”

“Um… thank you?” she replied. Her cheeks flushed slightly at his awkward compliment.

“Well, I mean, your hair could almost pass for red in this light.” Cole offered.

“And you did grow up in a junkyard. I’m sure you do have whozits and whatzits galore lying around.” Nya added.

“And thingamabobs. He’s definitely got at least twenty of those.” Lloyd joined in with glee.

“But who cares. No big deal. He wants mooore.” Kai began to sing. He wasn’t going to pass up this opportunity to mess with Jay.

“Jay wants to be where the people are. Jay wants to see, wants to see them dancing,” the others joined in loudly and more than a little off key, “Walkin' around on those, Whad'ya call 'em?”

“Oh, feet!” Nya practically shouted. Jay shook his head in resignation. His family had become far too invested in this for his liking.

“O-okay fine. I’ll do it. But only if you stop singing about me like that.”

“Thanks for being such a good sport, buddy.” Cole told him, slapping his back. He sighed and then plopped himself down on a particularly nice-looking patch of sand.

“Well, might as well get comfortable, I guess. I expect to look fabulous by the time this is over.” the master of lightning joked, already scooping up whatever sand was within arm’s reach.

“Oh, don’t worry. You will.” his girlfriend promised. Lloyd nodded enthusiastically.

“We got you covered.” he declared before grabbing a bucket and wandering off in search of seashells to decorate with. This beach was much nicer than the one on the island. He hadn’t enjoyed that experience very much; it had been gloomy and cold and had quite honestly been full of traumatizing experiences. But here there was sun, and warmth and pretty shells, and sea glass that had washed up with the tide. It was peaceful. Lloyd found himself wishing they’d done this sooner. His parents probably weren’t going to appreciate all his newfound treasures, though. Most of the things he’d put in his bucket were not going to be donated to Jay’s new look. He smiled with delight, spotting another sand dollar to add to his collection.

“Yo, Lloyd, get your butt over here.” the Green Ninja heard Kai shouting in the distance. He pocketed it and trotted back to the others. They had managed to completely bury Jay’s legs while he was gone and now Cole was carving a scaly design into the sand-tail.

“Oh, yes. These will work great!” Nya exclaimed, rooting through his Lloyd’s bucket. He snatched away some of his more precious finds before she could claim them for Jay.

“Betcha I could help you make a lanyard with one of these pieces of sea glass later, if you want? I saw a tutorial on Ninterest that looked cool.” she offered. Lloyd considered this for a moment. It would make a nice gift for his mother – a peace offering to show that he was doing his best to let go of their rocky past.

“Sure, that’d be neat.” he agreed.

“Okay, you two. Show me the goods. I get full veto power on anything that isn’t mermaidy enough.” Jay told them, doing his best to hold still so he wouldn’t disturb the sand piled on his legs.

“Is that even a word?” Kai wondered. The master of lightning gave him a look.

“It is now. I’m a mermaid so I would know.”

Nya rolled her eyes and held up one of the shells she’d snagged from Lloyd.

“Whaddya think, Ariel, is this one a keeper?” she asked her boyfriend. He examined it carefully.

“Ooh yeah, I like it.” he replied.

“What about…” Lloyd took his time choosing another shell, “This one? “

“Nah, that one has a piece chipped off, see? Mermaid princesses don’t wear chipped shells.”

“More for me, then.” Lloyd shrugged, happy to return the shell to his collection. They cycled through more shells and eventually they began to run out of places to put them.

“Please tell me that was the last of them? If we add any more shells, Jay’s gonna start looking tacky.” said Cole.

“It is. Unless you wanna fight Lloyd to the death for his ‘favorites’ or something.” Nya assured him.

“I just think they’re cool, okay?” Lloyd defended, pulling the bucket closer.

“How about we take that picture, now.” Kai suggested gently. Jay nodded in agreement. He was starting to lose feeling in his feet.

“Please. As fun as this has been, I can’t hold still much longer.”

They called Garmadon, who wisely refrained from asking questions, over to take the picture for them on Cole’s phone. He waited patiently as they arranged themselves so that everyone was visible, the sight of his son so happy making it all worthwhile. Once everyone was in position (which was an adventure in itself), they smiled brightly while the former warlord snapped several pictures.

“Thank you,” Cole said as he took his phone back from Garmadon and flipped through the images, “guys! These are gold!”

The others crowded around so they could see too. Nya turned to Jay, who was still half buried, and offered her hands.

“Want some help up?” she asked.

“Sure,” he grinned, wanting to see himself in all his mermaid glory before Cole sent the picture to Zane. The master of lightning grabbed his girlfriend’s hands and prepared to be launched from his sandy prison. Unfortunately for both of them, Nya yanked a bit too hard. They both ended up sprawled on the sand, prompting Cole to take even more pictures. Kai and Lloyd snickered as the two struggled to disentangle themselves.

“You better not post those on Chirp.” Nya muttered. The master of earth shrugged in a way that made it clear he planned to do exactly that the first chance he got.

“Alright, lemme see.” Jay demanded once he was back on his feet. Cole tossed him his phone. He smiled broadly when he saw the results of his mermaidy suffering.

“Oh, yes. I can’t wait to see Zane’s reaction to this.”

“I don’t know about the rest of you, but I could do with a bit less sand covering my entire body. I’m gonna go rinse off.” Nya declared, heading for the water. Lloyd watched absently as she, Jay, and Cole raced towards the waves after sending Zane a copy of their shenanigans. Kai stood next to him. He didn’t seem interested in joining the others.

“You’re not gonna go swimming?” Lloyd asked.

“Nah. Water’s not really my thing. And besides. You look like you’ve got something on your mind.” Kai told him.

“I’m just… wondering what happens next, that’s all.” Lloyd explained. Kai regarded him carefully for a moment before responding. There were a lot of unknowns now that the world was beginning to return to normal. But that didn’t mean Lloyd should be stressing out about the future. So Kai settled for something simple.

“You get to be a kid, Lloyd. You go home and find a good hiding place for all that stuff you’ve got in your bucket. You spend time with your parents and stay up way too late reading comic books,” his brother cracked a grin at this, “Maybe even get Nya to help you with your multiplication tables so you can stop counting on your fingers – don’t think I haven’t noticed that. But at the end of the day, whatever you decide, it’s your choice. I know eventually Master Wu will have stuff for you to do, but in the meantime? Just be a kid, okay? You deserve that much.”

“O-okay. I think I can do that.” Lloyd decided. He hadn’t exactly gotten to just be a kid lately. It sounded… nice.

“Good.” Kai told him, ruffling his hair.

“Thanks.” he replied, giving the older boy a hug. Returning it, Kai said, “It’s what big brothers do, green bean.”

They stood there in silence for a few minutes, just enjoying the peacefulness of the afternoon. The sound of Nya screeching as Jay dunked her could be heard in the distance, bringing them back to reality.

“You sure you don’t wanna go in the water?” Lloyd broke the silence.

“Would… would you believe me if I told you I can’t swim?” Kai admitted, looking sheepish. Lloyd stared at him for a moment, trying to figure out if he was lying.

“You do realize you were the first to suggest swimming back to ninjago when we got stuck on the island, right?” he said at last.

“I… yes that is true…” the master of fire stated. Lloyd smacked him.

“Dude, you need serious help. You could’ve died.” he exclaimed.

Kai held up his hands in surrender.

“I know, I know. Getting myself killed would’ve been a dumb move.”

“The dumbest,” Lloyd agreed, dragging him towards the water, “but you’re at least gonna come put your feet in. And we are so revisiting this later.”

“Okay, but I take no responsibility for any splashing that might happen as a result of your pestering.” joked Kai, giving in to Lloyd’s demands with little protest. After all, the sun was bright and the water was cool, and in this moment, the world was at peace. Whatever the future held could wait.

#ninjago #ninjago fanfiction #myfics #OMAC #mermaid jay is a hill I will die on #just... don't ask how I came up with it because I sure as heck don't know #family shenanigans #Kai can't swim #Lloyd hoards seashells #Nya is such a supportive gf

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eleanor-writes-stuff · 6 years ago

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call now for a free gift! [part i/iii]

Six years after Rey's first Christmas with Ben and his family, unexpected gifts abound at the annual Organa-Solo-Skywalker(-Kenobi?) Christmas celebration.

Featuring: Organa-Solo-Skywalker shenanigans, a ton of major surprises, and fluff. Again with the fluff. It's always the damn fluff.

For Day 7 - Holiday of @reyloveweek.

It’s the overly-fluffy sign up now for a free trial! sequel no one asked for! Now with even more fluff, because I have no self control whatsoever. In keeping with tradition (well, when it comes to this specific series, anyway), please expect daily updates.

Also available on AO3.

A heavy arm slung across her middle. Warm breath tickling the shell of her ear. The barely discernible rise and fall of a chest pressed against her back.

The day begins much like any other, and it takes Rey a while to remember that this is the last Christmas Eve she and Ben will ever spend in this apartment of theirs, where they met and fell in love and built a life together.

“Hey,” Ben mumbles when she turns slightly to look at him, and his fingers instinctively curl around her waist to keep her near. “What time is it?”

Rey reaches blindly for her phone on the nightstand, unwilling to tear her eyes away from the sight of Ben trying to blink the sleep out of his eyes. He’d come to bed late last night, something about catching up on work emails and making sure they’ve got everything they need for the trip. By the time Rey felt him crawl into bed, it must’ve been at least two in the morning.

It’s seven now, a whole hour before their alarm is set to go off. She tells Ben as much and whispers for him to go back to sleep, sighs happily when he pulls her closer to his chest and nuzzles into the curve of her neck before he lets sleep reclaim him.

She doesn’t take her own advice, chooses instead to catalog every little detail about their room. It’s not the room they started out in – they’d taken over the master bedroom a few years ago when Finn and Poe moved out – but over the years it’s turned into Rey’s favorite place in the world. Nothing bad ever happens in this room; she doesn’t allow it to, even has a rule about them resolving a fight before they can set foot into this space. It’s the safest place in the world to her, and soon she’ll be leaving it – and their home and her job and this city – behind for the great unknown.

Ben stirs behind her, tightens his grip on her and makes a tiny sound of contentment in the back of his throat before he settles back into sleep. He’s warm and comforting and home, and Rey knows that’ll never change no matter where they live, no matter what life-changing surprise life has in store for them.

Ben seems a little jumpy over breakfast, but he waves off her concern and blames it on a combination of sleep-deprivation and dreading whatever awaits them in Alderaan. It’s Leia’s first Christmas since stepping down as Senator, and there’s a distinct possibility she might’ve gone overboard with the planning now that she has the time to oversee every last detail.

They spend most of the three-hour drive coming up with increasingly outlandish predictions for what they’ll find at the Organa mansion, and by the time Rey suggests the possibility of Leia having mounted a sleigh along with a dozen reindeer on the roof, Ben seems back to his normal self.

He’s smiling even as he keeps his eyes on the road, the corners of his eyes crinkling in that way she’s grown so fond of. His shoulders shake with restrained laughter, and when they roll to a stop at a red light he shakes his head at Rey’s ridiculousness and takes her hand over the gearbox to press a kiss to the inside of her wrist.

Now would be a good time.

Instead Rey beams back at him, surges forward to give him a peck on the cheek before she points out the now-green light. “Floor it, Solo,” she jokingly commands, and Ben uses his free hand to salute her with a chuckled aye aye, ma’am.

The car is filled with laughter and silliness and painfully off-key Christmas carols for the entirety of their drive through Takodana, but Rey observes a change in Ben as soon as they drive into Alderaan. He starts tapping his fingers against the steering wheel, and she catches him surreptitiously patting down his left pocket at least three times, as if checking for his keys or phone. When they take an unfamiliar route, she assumes he must be too busy thinking about whatever it is that’s troubling him to realize that he’s made a mistake.

“Babe, you missed the turn.”

Ben jumps. The Silencer is pretty spacious, but his sudden movement still brings his head dangerously close to the roof of the car. “Um, actually, I didn’t,” he tells her without meeting her eye, his hand wrapped around the wheel in a white-knuckled grip. “We’re making a quick detour.”

He guides them onto a road that cuts through the forest, one that Rey knows leads to the snow-capped mountains behind the Organa mansion. In an effort to ease the tension, she narrows her eyes at Ben and asks, “Benjamin Organa-Solo, is this the part where you take me deep into the forest and hide my body?”

She relaxes when Ben laughs and turns to her with a fond smile. “Sure, the past eight years have all been a part of my elaborate plan to kill you.”

“I know it’s a joke,” Rey tells him, “but you are exactly the kind of person who would come up with an eight-year plan to commit the perfect murder.”

Ben frowns without looking at her, paying close attention to the road as snowy gravel gives way to frozen-over dirt. “What is that supposed to mean?”

“That you’re meticulous and detail-orientated and the slightest bit anal-retentive, and I love you for it,” she shrugs.

“Thanks, sweetheart,” Ben mutters wryly as they slowly come to a stop just a few feet away from a thicket of trees, where the dirt road ends and the snowy forest begins. “All right, we’re here.”

Here is the middle of nowhere, and Rey is tempted to make the murder joke again. But then Ben’s carefully getting out of the car and making his way over to her side, and when he opens her door it’s like a veil of calm has descended upon him. He offers her his hand and a bright, assuring smile, and so she lets him lead her into the forest.

Ben keeps his left hand in his pocket as they walk, and uses his shoulder to push aside some low-hanging branches before he gently tugs Rey into a familiar clearing.

It’s the lake behind the house, the one they sometimes walk to when they’re in need of a break from his family. The ice is never thick enough to walk on, but the thin layer of frost combined with the Alderaanian winter sun always makes for the most dazzling sight, a thousand pinpricks of light cutting through the thin layer of ice to bounce off the water underneath.

“It’s the lake,” Rey hears herself saying somewhat unnecessarily, and Ben just gives her a warm smile before he pulls her along to the edge of the lake. It’s beautiful and calming, and any other time Rey would’ve assumed they’re just here for a moment of peace before they get pulled into the madness that is the Organa-Skywalker-Solo holiday celebration.

But Ben’s left hand is still in his pocket, and he’s looking at her like she’s the true miracle here amidst this breathtaking show of Mother Nature’s beauty.

“Ben,” Rey whispers, her heart in her throat as the pieces fall into place. “Why are we here?”

“A month from now, you and I are going to leave behind everything we know to start a new life in Naboo,” he reminds her. “And I know that as excited as you are about this, you’re also terrified and sad to leave the only place that’s ever felt like home to you.”

Guilt begins to pool in her stomach, but Ben is so gentle and understanding and Ben about it that she doesn’t even bother denying it, just takes a deep breath and nods.

“I’m a little scared and sad too, Rey,” Ben admits, his fingers giving hers a reassuring squeeze. “Coruscant is… every single chapter of our story, so far, and it’s not going to be easy to leave that behind. But I thought maybe if we give this chapter of our lives a proper last page, the kind it deserves, then… maybe it’ll be easier to move forward and look to the future. Because at the end of the day, that’s what this is all about. It’s not an ending, it’s a new beginning for us, for our future together.”

Ben takes one step back, finally pulls his hand out of his pocket along with a tiny velvet drawstring pouch. He smiles when Rey drops his hand to bring both of hers to cover her mouth, and everything takes on a dreamlike-haze as she watches him get down on one knee.

They’ve discussed this before – of course they have, after six years together. But they’ve always been so casual about it that Rey sort of thought it would happen over breakfast one morning, or while they’re on the couch watching TV. He’d burn the French toast because he was distracted by her or she’d turn around to smile at him during a commercial break, and they’d share a moment of quiet understanding before one of them gathered the courage to say those two little words, short and sweet and to the point.

She’s dreamed of it, waited for the moment to come, fallen in love with the quiet elegance of the idea. But this, this is beautiful and perfect and them too.

On one knee – in jeans, in the snow -, Ben presents her with a ring she recognizes from pictures of his grandparents and smiles at her, that calm, assured smile from earlier, the one that says this is perfectly natural and there’s nothing to be nervous about and this is exactly where we’re meant to be.

“I know we’re starting our new lives in just a month, but I’ve waited eight years for us to build a future together, Rey, and you know I’m not the most patient of men,” they laugh and she cries and Ben’s smile grows the slightest bit wobbly. “So I’d like to start the rest of our life together today, if that’s okay with you. I’d like to promise you a lifetime of lazy mornings no matter where we are, an eternity together no matter where life takes us.”

Later, Ben will tell her that his leg started cramping up before he could pop the question. After, Rey will admit that the reason for her extra-loud sniff was to prevent her nose from running. But for now, everything about this moment is perfect. Even the persistent voice that’s been screaming tell him tell him tell him in the back of her head for the past three days falls silent as Ben finally asks:

“Rey, will you marry me?”

“You’re forty minutes late,” Leia tells them in lieu of a greeting when she opens the door to find Rey and Ben on her front porch. They’re hand-in-hand and smiling like fools and glowing, and she just sighs and shakes her head at them, begins to say, “Don’t tell me you’re late because you two were fooling around in the car–”

“Hi, Leia,” Rey says with a tiny wave of her left hand, and the older woman gasps as her hand shoots out to grab Rey’s.

Leia’s whole face lights up as she spots the ring on Rey’s finger, and she turns to Ben with the biggest smile on her face. “You didn’t.”

Ben grins. “I did.”

“Han!” she hollers into the house without looking away from the young couple. “Han, get your ass here right now!”

In the minute it takes for Han to stomp to the front door, Leia pulls them each into a hug, then a group hug, and Rey swears her eyes have grown shiny with tears but she’ll never accuse the great Senator Organa of getting weepy just because her son’s engaged.

Engaged. She and Ben are engaged.

Han appears at the door with his customary scowl, which quickly turns into a proud smirk once he realizes what’s going on.

“So you finally did it, huh?” he asks Ben, reaching out to clap his son on the shoulder. “Good for you, kid. And welcome to the family, Rey. Though god knows you’ll probably live to regret it.”

Leia turns to her husband with narrowed eyes. “You’re not surprised. Why aren’t you surprised?”

“The kid had to get advice somewhere, didn’t he?” Han shrugs, crossing his arms as he leans against the doorway.

“Advice?” Leia echoes incredulously. “You’ve never even proposed to anyone! I did,” she tells Ben and Rey almost defensively. “I woke up to find him building a crib one morning, and I told him this might be the pregnancy hormones talking, but I think we should get married.”

“And so we did,” Han says with a rare smile as he reaches out to wrap an arm around Leia’s waist and pull her close. “But for the record, I was going to – so it counts. Had a ring and a plan and everything,” he mutters.

Leia snaps her head around, as if this is news to her. Knowing Han, it very well could be. “A plan? Really? Well, let’s hear it then.”

Ben shakes his head at his parents as they get swept away in their own little world of bickering. “Think that’ll be us in thirty years?” he whispers to Rey as Han steers Leia into the house with a hand on her lower back even as they continue to argue.

He sounds half-amused and half-terrified of the prospect, but Rey… Rey hears us in thirty years and falls in love with the thought of it.

Coming back to this 'verse makes me feel all warm and fuzzy. I hope reading this makes you guys feel the same way!

See you tomorrow, when Leia stumbles upon a huge surprise and then presents Rey and Ben with a surprise of her own. In the meantime, thank you for reading and as always, please feel free to like/reblog/comment/etc.!

#reyloweek2018 #reyloveweek #kylo ren/rey #ben solo/rey #rey x kylo ren #rey x ben solo #modern au #star wars #reylo #rey #ben solo #kylo ren #fic: call now for a free gift #my fics

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the-record-columns · 7 years ago

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July 19, 2017: Columns

The sermon from my wife was entitled...

By KEN WELBORN

Record Publisher

Often in this space, last week for example, I often revel in the really odd, eclectic, and unusual things that have either been brought in to me, I have found in my travels, I have purchased, or, shall we say with tongue in cheek, have otherwise acquired.

On Monday of this week I was recounting the stories that go with my chance encounter some years ago with one Joseph Thomas Redding, III, from Long Beach, California. Joseph was the grandson of legendary businessman, civic leader, entrepreneur, inventor, and the de facto mayor of the Cairo Community, the late J. T. "Big Tom" Redding. I met Joseph when he was in town to settle the estate of his father, J. T. Redding, Jr.

Over a period of weeks, I was able to acquire some very special items of local history, including some black history items. These include two cement block-making machines which the senior Mr. Redding invented (and the patent model that went with them), all the way to two 9 foot arched doors from the old Damascus Baptist Church-and a plethora of treasures in between.

There were some really cool old locks in the in-between stuff, and, while locks had never been a focus of my collecting, Kay and Brenda Ball had given me a some locks from the old Thrift Supermarket some time ago. But these at the Redding estate caught my eye and went along well with the other stuff I was loading up. I took what looked like the better one to Harvey Barlow, local locksmith at Wilkes Lock Service on 10th Street here in North Wilkesboro.

Harvey is not too easy to impress, but his eyebrows did arch up a few times as he looked over my Redding locks, especially an unusual Yale lock, and pronounced the lot of them as "...well worth saving." With that endorsement I proudly placed the locks, along with some Ford wrenches from the same find, on a window frame just outside my office door at The Record. If I can see them often, I will be be reminded to show then to Sonny Church and crow about beating him to the sale.

So now I am excited about locks, and one evening I happened to be in a place where I really had no business being-at a minimum it was a judgment call-but curiousity won out over judgment. I went inside the building; it was dark, rainy, and leaking and all I had with me was a small flashlight and a flat head screwdriver. As I stumbled around in the dark and dampness, I spied a lock hanging on a door frame.

My new found interest in locks trumped ( or is that Trumped?) the fact that it was cold and I needed to go top the bathroom. Upon looking closer, I could see the lock was attached to a hasp that had Phillips head screws. Armed only with a flat head screwdriver, I resolved to dig those screws out if necessary, all the while holding the flashlight between my teeth which was making me drool like a baby. After what seemed like forever, I had the lock in hand and managed to get out of the building without breaking a leg so I could find a bathroom.

I went straight to the office and began to clean up my treasure-WD-40, Gunk Remover, and fine steel wool soon cleared away years of dirt, soot, and grime off the lock. I grabbed my trusty "Carl W's," the jewelers glasses I have which I named after the wonderful jeweler who worked across the street for so many years, Carl W. Steele. With my Carl W's on, the hair on my fingers looks like a tree limb, so I squinted down to see if I had found a Yale, Slaymaker, Master, Hurd or Corbin lock. I found numbers but no name. After more cleaning, I realized that there was a name on the bottom left, but it was so small and full of dirt I still could not read it, Undaunted, I continued cleaning and spraying till the name could be finally read with magnification. I adjusted my Carl W's once again, peered through the three layers of glass at the lettering. I cannot tell you the emotion I felt as I read, stamped clearly on the bottom of my new lock--"Taiwan." When I looked again, it still read, Taiwan.

I was crushed.

All that work, basically breaking and entering, enduring the cold, rain, and leaks; enduring personal discomfort to the point of uric poisoning, and all for basically nothing.

And to top it all off, the only help I got from my wife was a sanctimonious sermon entitled, "You shouldn't have been there to start with."

Decisions

By LAURA WELBORN

Have you ever acted on something that seemed like a good idea at the moment and then turned out to be a disaster? I sometimes forget how much everyday decisions can affect our lifes with great consequences both good and bad. While an immediate need is satisfied, in the long run the decision lasts a long time. The story of Jacob and Esau (the twins of Isaac and Rebekah) Genesis 25:19-34 where Esau gives up his birth right for food to Jacob, thinking he was going to die anyway. While this is a dramatic story, it does illustrate how decisions that are made quickly without care thought about how it affects not only ourselves but others as well.

The Torah guideline is that" every one of us is responsible for the well-being of our neighbors. What is right is right and wrong is wrong.". How we treat others is a direct reflection on ourselves. So we must put faith in action with a lantern to our feet and a light to our path so that with power and determination we can accomplish our goals without harming others.

So how do we keep from making quick decisions? This goes back to mindfulness. The

It's about being silent, and witnessing the thoughts passing through you. Just witnessing at first, not interfering and not even judging, because by judging too rapidly you have lost the pure witness. The moment you rush to say, "this is good" or "this is bad," you have already grabbed ahold of the chaos.

It takes a little time to create a gap between the witnessing of thoughts and your reaction to them. Once the gap is there, though, you realize - that you are not the thoughts themselves, nor the chaos influencing them. You are the witness, a watcher, who's capable of letting go, changing your mind, and rising above the turmoil.

And this process of thought-watching is the very alchemy of true mindfulness. Because as you become more and more deeply rooted in witnessing, the confusing, chaotic thoughts start disappearing and you can make decisions that are thoughtful, and do not lead to harm to yourself or others.

Continue to move through each day consciously. Make an effort to notice at least one insignificant little frustration that you would normally get frustrated about. Then do yourself a favor and simply let it go. Experience, in this little way, the freedom of being in control of the way you feel. And realize that you can extend this same level of control to every situation you encounter in life.

Ice cream, sunsets, and green pigs in the dog days of summer...

BY HEATHER DEAN REPORTER/PHOTOJOURNALIST

This column will not make much sense unless you are like me, and weird and random facts swirl through your brain at warp speed 24/7.

I'm absolutely addicted to the "this day in history" and the "this is National (insert bizarre shenanigan here) day. In fact my 2016 office wall calendar had an assignment for everyday every day. I went with a simple calendar this year because it proved entirely too distracting, as my publisher , Ken Welborn, did not feel as strongly as I did every week about the public-at-large needing to know it was National rutabaga day and the story behind it.

But I digress.... This week Ken and I were fortunate enough to find out that this is National hire a Veteran month. He asked me to work up a little ditty about it on page 7B and I did, and we talked about all the awesome guys we know and love at the local VFW Post 1142.

But not before he and my editor Jerry, spent the next 20 minutes finding out what every day in July was, rather (Allow me to share those most notable in my opinion:) the 8th is “bald is in”, the 10th “don't step on a bee day”, the 13th is “embrace your geekiness day”, the 14th is “Robin Hood day”, the 15th is “National gummy worm day” (which is every day for me as its my my favorite candy ever) the 16th is “national snake day”, (bet my daughter makes a party hat for her pet snake) and the 17th is “yellow pig day”. Now, we don’t have any yellow pigs, here in Wilkes that I know of, but Ken says we did have a Green Pig restaurant..)

For those of you who like Ice cream, (I’m the odd duck who doesn’t...) July is National ice cream month. It’s also Park and Recreation month, blueberry month, watermelon month (sorry, Justin...) sandwich generation month, (whatever that means, but I love a good sandwich)....

Well you get the idea. Very little work was done Monday morning cause Heather got distracted by the fun fact tunnel, but we all shared a giggle at some of the absurdities.

I guess that’s enough of that for one day. (By the way, today is National Hot Dog and raspberry cake day.)

So, enjoy talking your house plant for a walk (July 27) in the dog days of summer (July 3 - August 11) and remember you deserve a massage (July 16-22).

The Hounds of Summer

By Carl White

Warm summer days in the South are not uncommon and the Dog Days of Summer take things to another level. For the most part, we don’t mind sweat because we know it’s good for us. Sweat is an equalizer for all people…somewhat that is.

I recall a conversation with Jenny Biddle in Conway SC. We were talking about the hot weather and the sweat of summer. She reminded me that horses sweat, men perspire and women glisten. This expression seems to have originated from the Victorian era. I listened as she explained and later I did a bit of research because I know that sometimes etiquette suggest we say things in a politer way, and often, there is good reason.

As it turns out men do in fact sweat or perspire more than women do, by as much as 4-5 times. It is also of interest that horses do have a few things in common with humans and two of those common traits are armpits and sweat. I realize that the horse has legs and not arms, non-the-less the correct expression is armpit and not legpit.

As it relates to sweating or perspiring for men. If you look back in time we will see that the many cultures used the expression that men perspire and animals sweat. But time has progressed and for good or not humans are often classified as sweating. I even asked three of the ladies at the office if they sweat and each answered yes. One even said that her husband glistened far more than she.

So, what’s all this got to do with summer heat, well just about as much as dogs have to do with the Dog Days of Summer. It’s easy to ponder the lazy days of summer with our dogs stretched out and not eager to do anything that requires a lot of energy or at least not for an extended period. We humans can find ourselves feeling a bit the same. It’s just too hot to do much, the heat seems to take away our energy. We spend much of our energy trying to find ways to cool off.

We have established annual traditions that take us high in the mountain for shade and cooler weather or off to the coast we go to play in the waters and then lay in the sun and crisp our skins, which does in fact make us feel cooler when the burn stops.

The Dog Days of Summer are normally the hottest days of the year and last between early July and mid-August. It all goes back to the Greek, Roman and Egyptian ideas and mythology. The star Sirius which is represented by the dog apparently rises with the sun during this time of the year.

It was thought that when joined with the sun, Sirius A which is the brightest of the stars, and with its smaller counterpart Sirius B creates our hottest, haziest and yes laziest days of the year.

When you consider the geography of Rome, Greece and Egypt compared to the Carolinas, it’s hard to tell if the idea is valid, however it is hard to dismiss the heat of our summer days.

And how can we deny the sweating horses, the perspiring men and the glistening women all surrounded by our beloved lazy hounds of summer.

Please remember to apply sunscreen.

Carl White is the executive producer and host of the award winning syndicated TV show Carl White’s Life In the Carolinas. The weekly show is now in its seventh year of syndication and can be seen in the Charlotte viewing market on WJZY Fox 46 Saturdays at 12:00 noon. For more on the show visit www.lifeinthecarolinas.com, You can email Carl White at [email protected].

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jebwtf · 8 years ago

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The 3 Times He said ‘I Love You’ And the 1 Time He Should’ve|| A selfie

Jeb wasn’t quite sure when his bed had turned into a therapy room, but he wasn’t sure he liked it. The sheets were normally reserved for sweat and moans, but tonight it was just two bodies, smoking each other down and speaking truths he didn’t want to hear. “Jeb?” Her voice broke through his head, gaining his attention back. “What’s up?” He asked, his voice deep and gravely, filled with sleep and alcohol. The male rolled over, letting his arm rest across the girls stomach, trailing his fingers around her skin.

“Where’d you go? Got lost up in there for a second.” She giggled, poking his forehead with her index finger.

They went from rough kisses and touch to talking about his relationship failures and triumphs in a matter of minutes. He hated nights like this. “Just... thinking about your question. I’ve said it a few times, really only, truly, deeply, meant it and felt it once...” That dreaded ‘L’ word. The thing he both wanted and feared at the same time. He could tell Lulu was curious as to the times, knowing that she desperately wanted to know what happened to his hard little heart.

Jeb didn’t want to put her through this, and he was more thinking about how he could skirt around his feelings and not upset her, but he was drunk and for once she was stoned and if she wanted to know he’d tell her. She deserved that much. Because in Jeb’s head, it didn’t matter. His feelings were always pushed to the wayside as a kid, never good enough, never smart enough, just never enough for his parents, his friends, his teachers.

“Well, tell me about them, Mr. DuBois. You never talk about these things, it’ll be nice to see this side of you.” So he sighed, looking over at her, studying her face. He could see the need written all over her expression, so he leaned back, bringing an arm around her as she cuddled up to him.

“I guess the first time was when I was fourteen...”

Jeb had fallen in love with a boy in the year above him. The first time they kissed, it was behind the bleachers before band practice. All shy hands and chaste lips, his voice cracked when Jimmy asked him to go to the fair with him. As friends, of course, because they were in the south and God forbid anyone knew. It was the best night of his life. The older boy wrapped him in a blanket and they shared corn dogs and soda. They went up and down dirt roads and in the safety of Jimmy’s truck the younger of the pair had an arm wrapped securely around his shoulder. They did this for months. Finding a clearing in a field or out by the shore that they could call their own for awhile. They talked about life and sex and family. Jimmy knew everything about his family, and vice versa.

After a night of hooliganry, Jeb had snuck him into the basement which was Kai’s room at the time but it was the safest from his parents. It was about a year before Kai had been kicked out, but the older of the boys was always sneaking out until all hours of the night. They were all wandering hands and stripped off shirts. He wanted so badly to feel that love, to feel wanted and needed and like he wasn’t a mistake, so he said it. He said it and meant it and Jimmy responded by kissing him. But he never said it back. Kai walked in on them, the two boys jumping apart, wide eyes staring at the older of the DuBois-Hiatt family. “Don’t tell mom or dad.” Jeb pleaded in a hushed whisper, earning a slow nod from Kai. “I won’t... Just, don’t fuck on my bed, yeah?”

Jimmy came out later that week. Jeb never saw him again.

The second time, Kai was gone and Jeb was on a downward spiral. Being the only kid in the house he now got all the brunt of the frustration. He wasn’t hit as often as Kai, but he still had bruises, and the mental and emotional scarring was worse. He was never sure of how he felt or if he was right. The kid started hanging out with kids that accepted him. At this point, he didn’t know if he was gay or where he fell on the spectrum, but he knew he liked anyone willing to make out with him and that’s all that mattered. He ended up falling for Serena Clay. She was fiery and unafraid of anything. He envied that in her, since he wasn’t scared of the world, but the people in it.

The pair grew close when she left home since her situation wasn’t much better than his. He had his own car now, and they’d go off on their own adventures, running from the law, getting into bars and bar fights, fucking in public restrooms, the usual teenage shenanigans. It wasn’t until a night where they just sat back in his truck, passing a joint between them and talking shit about the world that he realized he loved her. Thankfully, she said it first and he said it back. But storms don’t last and Serena was definitely a storm and she was gone as quickly as she came into his life, leaving him with nothing but hoodies he couldn’t wear and sheets that smelled like her hair. At that point, he decided he should get used to being left. He knew that he wasn’t worth staying for, and he wasn’t sure he ever would be.

The third time, he was off to school. New York was a giant adventure, and one he welcomed. No one knew his name, his family, his brother, he felt like he could make his own name. He wasn’t tied down in the shadows of his families bullshit. That’s where he met Angela. She was a ways older than him, but maybe that was the appeal. She showed him the ropes of the city, often coming to his shows. The affair went on through his entire first year, and he was on a good track. He wasn’t drinking so much, he had amazing grades and was doing well in his extra activities. He really felt like they were a power couple, even if they had to keep it under the ropes and away from her husband. Jeb didn’t mind, as long as she was with him he felt normal. Loved. All those feelings he’d been searching for his whole life, he finally felt them. He’d said it to her a couple times, never hearing it back, and the last time he said it was after an argument. He wanted her to be with him, but she decided she wanted to make it work with her husband. He begged, he pleaded, he got angry, but in the end she didn’t love him back.

The time he should’ve he was in his second year. He’d met Lydia in a freshman seminar his second semester. They hooked up a couple times, but he’d made his way through the freshman class and she didn’t want that kind of trouble. So instead, she introduced him to Lulu. And from there he met Auggie and the rest of the gang. The boy had gotten so used to touch, to keeping people at an arms length, it was weird being in a group of people that cared about him and he didn’t have to sleep with them. They were rich kids, though. He knew off the bat he didn’t belong in their crowd with his raggedy jeans and broken down Chevy, but they liked him. He and Lulu hit it off almost instantly. She was wild but not into substance abuse and Jeb was calm but always brought the party supplies he could.

They were opposites and people say opposites attract, but he never expected that. They fought more often than they didn’t, but it was more that she called him out on the way he used people and he couldn’t stand that she wouldn’t mind her own damn business. But they were nineteen and in love and neither of them wanted to admit it. On a trip down to California, they got plastered and went around the town. Jeb had never seen her drunk, and it was a sight. Of course, she was sober more often than not, but still he took what he could get from the experience. They made the city theirs. Taking pictures with people that looked like celebrities, using her name to get into places, sleeping on the beach, making out on their motel bed, against a dirty alley wall, under the LA lights at 3 AM. For once they weren’t themselves and they could just give into everything they felt for each other in New York. On the last night there, they were sprawled out on his bed, laughing, telling stories of their childhoods, just being teenagers. She said it first. Well, she wrote it first. In lipstick on his chest, bright red and complete with a heart. And then she said it. Softly. Just as scared of her feelings as he was of his.

But he didn’t say it back. After everything, the one thing he learned is that if he said it back, she wouldn’t stay. And the last thing he wanted, was to lead on someone that he cared about. She deserved someone better than him. Someone that didn’t kamikaze relationships and sleep around with people to fill a void. Someone that didn’t drink just to get through the day and didn’t have a fucked up family. Someone in the same social class, that her parents wouldn’t glare at when she brought him home. And that wasn’t Jeb. So he didn’t say it back. He didn’t write it back. He just said ‘thank you’.

But he didn’t tell her that. When he got to the last time, he just paused, thinking for a moment. “Well? Who was it? What happened with the almost?” Her voice was a whisper, a plead almost. She needed to hear what she already knew, but he couldn’t do it. “I... It was someone that deserves much better than me. I couldn’t give her the things she wants and needs, and I wasn’t going to say something so powerful just to disappoint. So I just said thank you. She hates me now, to say the least.” He let out a laugh, looking down at her, seeing her fighting back the tears forming in her eyes. “It’s okay to be vulnerable, Jeb.” It was a tone he’d never heard from her before, and it sent chills down his spine. He didn’t want to break her heart. It was never his intention. But some people weren’t meant to be loved. She dropped the subject shortly after, and they returned to their normal routine of fucking each other senseless and passing out.

But he woke up alone this time. With a note in red lipstick written on his mirror.

‘I don’t hate you. -Lu’

#p:the three times #p:selfie

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