#but i'll take a break here -- it's like half past 6 in the evening | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

writingforstraykids · 6 months

Text

I owe you a kiss - Pt.6

Pairing: Minchan x femReader

Word Count: 5362

Summary: Once you're back home, your husbands try their best to support you, but the circumstances are taking their toll on you. It all goes well until you find out who was the one driving that night...

Warnings/Tags: mention of amnesia, angst, tiny mention of blood, fluff, cuddles, anxious!soft!min, caring!soft!channie, domestic stuff, husband!min, husband!chan

A/N: I know, I know it looks like shit in the beginning but trust the word count, it'll get all good, soft and domestic🖤

PART FIVE | PART SEVEN

Minho slips out of his shoes and stands still for a moment. Chan closes the door and hesitantly slips his hand into Minho's. “Kitten?” he asks quietly but gets no response. “Min, look at me, please.”

Minho does, looking at him with wet eyes, still not saying a word. Chan gently rubs his shoulders before cupping his face and flashing him a small smile. “I know I should be happy,” he finally says. “I know I should be relieved that she's awake and talking. I know I should be happy that we finally got her back. I know I shouldn't still be feeling like shit,” he rambles, and Chan soothingly fondles his cheeks. “But you know how much she hates losing control. You know how scared she gets of change,” he hiccups helplessly, and a few hot tears slip down his cheeks. “Once it'll all settle in, she'll hate me, and I-I can't even blame her because I did-didn't do anything else those p-past two months a-and-.”

“Hey,” Chan says so softly it makes him shut his mouth. “I won't let that happen, baby. It was an accident and there was nothing you could've done,” he says firmly and pulls him in close. “I'm so thankful you're both alive, you know? I don't know-” his voice breaks, and Minho's heart sinks at the sound. “I don't know what I would've done if…,” he stops himself, not daring to put his deepest fear into words. “I get it, Minnie because it would've been a lot easier without the memory loss. I'm terrified of hurting her because I'm not fully feeling well yet. But as long as you won't let go of my hand in all this, I know I'll be okay.”

Minho carefully pulls Chan's hands off his face and intertwines their fingers. “I won't let go,” he says.

“I'll always have your back, okay?” Chan asks timidly, and Minho nods quickly.

“And I'll have yours,” he promises and squeezes his hands.

“I could really use a hug,” Chan admits, and Minho doesn't hesitate, pulling him close and kissing his cheek. He gently sways them from side to side and exhales softly. “I love you, Min.”

“I love you too, Channie,” Minho whispers back and squeezes him tightly.

Minho gently helps you out of your jacket and hangs it up for you. Neither Chan nor Minho had remembered that you only moved in here one and a half years ago, so the house was another factor. He watches you glance around the hallway timidly and swallows softly. “Anything familiar?” he asks gently.

You swallow hard and shake your head. “Not besides…some of the interior,” you tell him.

He notices how anxious it makes you and carefully slips his hand into yours. “Let me give you a tour, come on.”

You follow him through the house and recognize some bits of your old home. He tells you where to find the most important things, and seems like he's afraid to say anything wrong. It makes you sick seeing your husband try so hard to make you comfortable in a suddenly so unfamiliar place. “I-I'll go use the bathroom real quick,” you tell him, and he nods, telling you again where to find it.

You close the door and take a deep breath, hugging yourself tightly. “Fuck,” you whisper and sit down heavily at the edge of the bathtub. If you wouldn't know Minho and Chan had been your boyfriends for four years and then husbands for another five you would've freaked out at the hospital. You couldn't remember the past two years of your marriage, but the seven years before are enough to trust them. Still, it all feels so weird. You don't notice how much time has passed until Minho gently knocks at the door and lets himself in. He sits down next to you, and for a moment, you're both quiet. “Minho?” you ask timidly.

“Yeah?” he asks gently, turning to look at you.

“Have I been a good wife to you and Chan? Did we have fights? Did I hurt you? Did you hurt me?” you ask, and he inhales deeply. “I know this sounds weird, but…I have no idea where we left off.”

Minho fidgets with his wedding bands and hums thoughtfully. “I can't remember anything big concerning the two of us, we usually get along very well,” he tells you, a small smile on his lips. “We were on a date before the accident. I was very tired, was fighting with Chan over the phone, and…you said you'd take me out for dinner. You were trying to cheer me up, and you did, you always do,” he says and gently clears his throat, pushing away the images of what happened after.

“What about Chan?” you ask timidly, sensing something off.

Minho straightens up and pinches his nose, trying to figure out where to start. “About…six months ago, Channie wasn't feeling very well. He was overwhelmed with work and had no resources left for either of us, including himself. He pushed us both away, and one night, when I was abroad, he called me, saying he got into a fight with you and something was seriously wrong,” he tells you and chews on his lower lip. “I called you, asking you to go back and check on him as I flew back home. Chan was feeling numb for quite some time, and we did our best to support him figure out ways to make him feel again. After a while, he decided to visit his family in Australia, take a break, and everything. I stepped in for him at work, and it was killing me,” he admits. “I missed him like hell. I had to lead our team, and I felt lost without him, but you never gave up on me,” he says and his hand subconsciously slips into yours. “He caught me on a bad day, we got into an argument, and well…then we had that accident. Channie got onto the next plane and came back home as fast as he could.”

“Is he still struggling?” you ask hesitantly, and Minho smiles weakly.

“I don't know, Y/nnie. This whole thing has taken a huge toll on me. I broke down repeatedly and Chan took care of me as best as he could. He even got me a therapist, imagine that,” he laughs, and you can tell he's not really doing well with any of this. “I don't think he had much time to figure out how he truly feels. I should've been there for him more, but I…I could barely get myself out of bed sometimes.”

“I'm sorry,” you apologize timidly, squeezing his hand. “I'm so sorry, Min.”

Minho shakes his head firmly. “None of this is your fault,” he says and searches your eyes. “None of it, okay?”

“Okay,” you nod hesitantly.

Minho inhales shakily, a suspicious shimmer covering his eyes. “I know this whole memory thing is shit, honey. I feel selfish for saying this, but I'm just so glad you're alive and back home.”

You smile weakly and squeeze his hand firmly. “As long as I have you two, I'll be okay sooner or later.”

Minho gently squeezes back and looks up as Chan steps into the doorframe. “Oh my, am I interrupting something?” he chuckles.

“Hey, Channie love,” Minho says softly and Chan leans down to give him a kiss.

“Hey, kitten,” he smiles, gently caressing his cheek. Chan turns to you and gently brushes back your hair, kissing your head, unsure if you feel like kissing. “You're okay?”

“More or less,” you nod, and he sits down on your other side.

“We're always here if you need someone,” he tells you and gently pats your knee.

“Thanks,” you nod tiredly. “I really appreciate it, this can't be easy for you either.”

Minho remains quiet this time and glances at Chan. “We're just glad to have you back. The rest we can figure out together,” he assures you. “Just let us know, okay?”

“Okay,” you nod gently.

You turn onto your side heavily and are met with a sight that used to bring a smile to your face. Minho's asleep next to you, his hair hanging into his face, lips parted, and his bunny teeth showing a little. His lashes throw their shadows on his cheekbones and you once more notice how beautiful he is. You've been home for a week now and Minho took another two months off to keep an eye on you. You like being home with Min because he's there when you need him but lets you be when you don't. He doesn't push, he doesn't talk your ears off, and he tries his best not to handle you like you're made out of glass. Still, you can tell he doesn't see you when he looks at you. He doesn't see his wife. He sees the accident and the woman he lost due to the memory loss, and the guilt in his eyes suffocates you sometimes.

You haven't dared look up the accident yet, but slowly, you can't fight the urge to see what really happened that night. Minho doesn't like talking about it, and Chan wasn't there.

You slip out of bed and grab your phone, leaving your husband on his own. Locking yourself in the bathroom, you start researching and soon find article over article. Pictures of the crashed car send shivers down your spine. Investigating some further you can tell how worried your friends were about Minho during their interviews, who looks nothing but truly exhausted. You can tell he hasn't been sleeping much; his eyes look glassy in most of them, and Chan never leaves his side.

Minho looks up as you come downstairs to join him for breakfast and gets up, putting some waffles on your plate. “Thought you'd like something sweet,” he says and flashes you a smile.

“Who was driving?” you ask, making him freeze for a second.

“What do you mean?” he asks, but the slight tremble in his voice tells you he knows exactly what you mean.

“The accident. Who was driving?” you ask again, stopping in front of the table.

Minho carefully puts the plate down in front of you. “Does it matter?” he asks timidly.

“It does,” you nod, tilting your head at him. “Will you be honest with me, or do I have to ask someone else?”

He stares at you, wondering what you're aiming at with that question, but gives himself a push. “I was.”

“Were you drunk?” you ask, and Minho's frown deepens.

“No.”

“You said you were tired, was that it? Was that what made you miss something?” you ask, and he subconsciously takes a step back. “Were you so upset about Chan that you weren't paying attention?”

“Y/nnie,” he pleads quietly. “Don’t do this.”

“Min,” you say firmly. “I can't remember the past two years of my life. I don't know what happened and no one can tell me because that'll only be your version of every day,” you say and take a shuddery breath. “Chan hasn't kissed me once since I'm back home, and you look at me like I'm something broken you're too attached to to get rid of. That hurts, Min. I just want my fucking life back!”

Minho raises his hands in defense and steps closer to you. “Honey, I'm sorry, you're right. I can't make up for all that time. But she said they'd come back to you in a few months, at least that the chance is very, very high,” he tries, but the way your eyes darken, he knows you don't want to hear any of it. He tries to brace himself for the emotional outburst that's about to happen, but he can't prepare himself for what you say next.

“No, you really can't make up for it. Not if you're the one causing this whole mess,” you say, noticing the fear flickering in his eyes, but you don't care. “You were the one driving, you're the one feeling guilty, and now I know why. My whole life went to shit because of you!” you snap at him. Minho doesn't say anything, simply stares at you as your words sink in. His body trembles, his stomach tightening painfully, and his eyes filling with tears. “You fucked everything up, and you're trying so hard to make up for it by staying home with me. Now I know why you so desperately try to make me feel better, and I thought it was because you loved me!”

Minho looks at you as if you just hit him right in the face. A soft whimper leaves his lips, snapping you out of your rage, before tears start running down his face, and his body shakes with a sob. “I know, okay?!” he snaps right back at you. “I know it's all my fault! I-I know I fucked up, and I-I'm the one to b-blame,” he hiccups helplessly, taking a few steps back as you reach for him timidly. “I'm sorry, Y/nnie, I swear, I did-didn't want this.”

“Min,” you whisper guiltily, but your husband shakes his head firmly, biting back a sob. “I'm so sorry, darling, I didn't mean it.”

“Don't lie,” he says, voice cracking.

“I'm sorry, please,” you try, but Minho pushes past you and goes back upstairs. You let him, knowing he can't handle you, seeing how badly you just hurt him. Helplessly, you grab your phone and call Chan.

“Hey, baby girl, I'm on my way home. Is everything-.”

“Channie,” you whimper.

“What's wrong, baby?” he asks worriedly, putting you on speaker.

“I hurt Min,” you tell him, hugging yourself tightly and sitting down on the sofa.

“Hurt him how?” he asks nervously, taking a turn left.

“I said some dumb stuff about him being responsible for my life turning to shit and that the accident was his fault,” you say, and it's quiet for a moment. “Chan?”

“Ynnie…please tell me you didn't,” Chan says lowly, heart sinking to his stomach. “Please tell me you didn't.”

“I'm sorry, Channie, I didn't mean it,” you whisper timidly. “I was just…I don't know what got into me.”

“I…fuck, okay, I'll be home in a bit,” he tells you, swallowing down the lump forming in his throat.

“Thank you,” you sniffle.

Chan stares at his phone as you end the call and slams his hand on the wheel. “Fucks sake Ynnie, not when I finally convinced him otherwise,” he curses and finally reaches your street. “Shit, shit, shit.”

Chan quietly pulls the front door closed behind himself and swallows hard as he meets your anxious eyes. “Where is he?” he asks.

“Upstairs,” you tell him. “Channie, I'm sorry,” you tell him, tears filling your eyes. “I'm so sorry.”

Chan sighs softly and opens his arms for you, pulling you into a tight hug as you get up. “I know you are. I know you're struggling, and I know we can't take that pain away,” he says, soothingly rubbing your back. “But baby girl, you can't forget Minho is a victim here too. He might have been the one driving, but he's also the one who saw you unconscious, covered in blood, and not knowing if you'd ever wake up again,” he tells you gently, without sounding like he's blaming you even a little. “He still feels guilty because he'd rather be the one getting hurt. He's been having nightmares and panic attacks and had a really hard time believing that it isn't his fault, you know?”

“I just fucked that up, didn't I?” you ask timidly.

“I don't know,” he answers honestly.

“I asked him if he was drunk,” you admit shamefully.

Chan bites back a sigh, trying to be patient with you. “Okay, come on,” he says and pulls you to the sofa. “The police provided us the security camera footage, where you very clearly see who's at fault,” he says and grabs his phone, showing you the clip.

You can see your car pulling up at the crossroads. Suddenly, a car races down the street from the right and crashes right into your side. It's raining heavily, making the road slippery and causing both cars to slide to the side a few meters. Once the video is over, you look at Chan horrified.

“That other driver was drunk,” he tells you gently. “He was speeding, ignored a red light, and honestly, looking at this, it's a miracle you two are still alive. So please, don't blame anyone else but that guy, hm?”

You nod quickly and chew on your lower lip anxiously. “Channie angel?”

“Yeah?” he asks gently.

“Can you tell him I'm sorry? I don't think he wants to see me right now,” you say timidly.

Chan nods and kisses your temple. “I will. We'll fix this, okay?”

“Okay,” you nod, relieved.

“I'll go check on him, alright?” he asks, and you nod bravely. Chan grabs a blanket and wraps you up in it, flashing you an encouraging smile. “We'll be okay.”

You timidly grab his hand and search his eyes. “I love you.”

Chan's face softens. “I love you too, baby girl.”

Chan opens the door to the room he uses to work from home, suspecting that's where he'll find Minho. His heart breaks a little as he sees him sitting on the small sofa there, his legs hugged up to his chest. Minho's wearing a sweater of his, burying his face in its sleeves as he takes shaky breaths, clearly trying to calm down. He silently closes the door and walks over, kneeling down in front of him and soothingly rubbing his thighs. “Bunny?” he asks so softly Minho looks up with wide, teary eyes. It's a term reserved for their most private, intimate moments and it never fails to make Minho feel so safe and loved.

He doesn't say anything, body moving on its own as he slips from the sofa and crawls right into his lap. Chan welcomes him with one of his most loving and healing hugs, nuzzling his nose into his hair.

“I love you,” Chan whispers, cradling his head. Minho slumps against him, burying himself into his arms as deeply as he can, growing so small it breaks Chan's heart.

“I'm so tired, Chan,” Minho says, voice raspy from crying. “I'm so fucking tired.”

“I know,” Chan says and turns with him in his hold, leaning against the sofa. “How can I help?”

“There's nothing you can do,” he answers quietly. “She hates me. I fucked up her life.”

“You really think that?” he asks patiently.

“Doesn't matter. She does,” he says.

“Do you?” he asks. “You think you fucked up her life?”

“Apparently, I'm not exactly making it easier,” he answers. “Since I'm the drunken, heartbroken, distracted fuck who got us into that accident.”

Chan mindlessly rubs his lower back. “Apparently…so you don't believe it.”

“I-” Minho grows quiet before pulling back and searching his eyes timidly. “Does that matter if she does?”

“To me, it does,” he nods. “You've been blaming yourself for months, saying the most hurtful shit about yourself…I think you made some progress,” he says calmly.

“Not really,” he shakes his head. “The minute someone throws it at my face, I agree with them.”

“Bunny, can I tell you something?” he asks, and Minho nods tiredly. “She called me the minute you left, saying she fucked up. She asked me to tell you she's sorry because you probably wouldn't want to see her now.”

Minho's eyes fill with tears. “Really?” he asks timidly, and Chan nods. “I really thought she hated me now.”

Chan gently cups his face and plants a tiny kiss on the tip of his nose. “She doesn't, I promise.”

Minho messily wipes his cheeks with the sleeves before stopping in his movement and groaning at himself. “Fuck, I completely messed up your sweater.”

“That's okay,” Chan giggles softly. “We can wash it.”

Minho hums and smiles shyly. “Just really needed you close after that,” he tells him.

“You're so cute,” he smiles happily. “Also-” he gets interrupted by the door opening. The two of them look up and see you standing in the doorframe, shaking with sobs.

Minho moves before Chan can fully comprehend the sight and wraps you into a tight hug. “Shh, honey, it's okay.”

You hug back tightly and shake your head. “Nothing is okay,” you sob. “I hurt you. Just be-because I can't cope with what's happening.”

“It's okay,” Minho whispers gently, caressing your head. “I promise we're okay.”

You timidly grab his sweater a little tighter and bury yourself into him. “I'm sorry, Min. You didn't fuck up anything,” you hiccup. “I love you so much.”

Minho buries his face in your shoulder and shakes his head. “I know,” he whispers and squeezes you gently. “I love you too, my pretty girl.”

“I just wanna feel normal again,” you whimper, and Minho's hold on you tightens.

“Try and give yourself some credit, honey. You went through some shit, and you're still dealing with the aftermath,” he says softly and kisses your hair. “Try being a little more patient with yourself.”

Chan smiles sadly, remembering himself saying something so similar to Minho only weeks ago when they went for a walk. So he did listen.

Two weeks later

You anxiously meet your reflection in the mirror before staring down at your products on the sink. Chan said he'd take you both out to dinner, and you just wanted to look nice but you had trouble remembering your routines. You talked to your doctor about it, and she told you it's completely normal to get confused easily by those things at the moment.

Minho walks into the bathroom, buttoning up his shirt, and flashes you a gentle smile. “You're alright, beautiful?”

“Yeah,” you nod quickly and stare back down at your things. “I…I think I need help,” you tell him, glancing up at him as he fixes his hair.

“Sure, what do you need?” he asks, not quite picking up on your struggle yet. Minho grabs your concealer and carefully hides the dark patches beneath his eyes. He's still not sleeping well, and it shows.

“I uh, I forgot what I usually do,” you tell him, waving at the various items displayed at the sink. “Like…did I have some sort of routine? Because if I did it's nonexistent in my brain right now.”

“Oh,” he nods and puts your concealer back down. “Uh, I'm not sure, but I can still help,” he tells you, and you smile relieved. “One second,” he winks at you and leaves the room, coming back with a chair. “Alright, take a seat, honey.”

You giggle softly and do as you're told. Chan joins you, chuckling in confusion as he sees you. “Min's helping me, my brain is letting me down right now.”

“Oh,” he laughs and watches Minho grab some of your things. “Yeah, it's good you asked him and not me.”

“I had a feeling,” you tease him lovingly.

Chan chuckles and turns back to the mirror, adjusting the collar of his shirt. He fixes his hair that frames his face in those beautiful curls you love so much and you can see the frown forming on his face before it’s fully there. It’s beyond you how both of your husbands were this stunningly pretty and still had their trouble believing so, Chan much more than Min. “Channie?” you ask gently, and he hums in response. “You look very handsome.”

Chan meets your eyes through the mirror, face softening. “Thank you, baby girl,” he says with a sweet, shy smile. Minho turns around, taking in the sight of his husband, and hums agreeingly before slapping his bum. Chan snorts and fondly rolls his eyes. “Typical.”

“That’s your own fault wearing those trousers,” he smirks before getting started with helping you. “Who even allowed you to leave the house in those, huh? Surely not me. No one else should be allowed to see how well-.”

“Minho,” Chan whines in protest, blushing heavily. “Shut up, will you?”

Minho smiles softly and then you realize he must’ve noticed Chan’s insecurities getting the better of him as well. “Only because it’s you,” he tells him fondly. “So, I think you started like this,” he tells you. He talks you through it, checking in with you if what he’s doing makes sense, and tries his best to make you satisfied with the result. Only a little later you’re ready to go and thank him happily. “Always, princess,” he assures you kindly. “You need help with your hair as well?”

“No, thank you, darling,” you smile at him. “I’ll be done in a bit.”

“No rush, honey,” he tells you and kisses your cheek before leaving you some space. He joins Chan downstairs, who’s standing at the kitchen island, bent forward on his elbows as he checks his phone. Minho smiles at the sight and steps behind him, wrapping his arms around him. Chan gently intertwines their hands on his stomach and finishes his message to Lix with one hand. “You’re alright, kitten?”

“Yeah,” he nods and nuzzles his face into his neck. “Ah, you put on my favorite cologne,” he smirks, burying his nose deeper into his skin.

Chan hums, agreeing, and turns off his phone, turning in his hold. He smiles as their eyes meet and gently nudges his nose with his own. “Pretty boy,” he whispers, and Minho blushes softly. “I miss you.”

“Miss me?” Minho frowns gently. “I’m right here, love.”

“No..like,” he leaves the sentence unfinished, gently squeezing Minho’s hips.

“Oh,” Minho laughs brightly and kisses him sweetly. “I can stop by the company tomorrow, just make sure Sungie and Binnie aren’t around.”

“I think I can arrange that,” Chan chuckles, gently cupping his face.

“Don’t start anything you can’t finish now,” Minho warns him, and Chan rolls his eyes, kissing him lovingly. Minho kisses back sweetly and pulls back soon, knowing Chan could get lost in kissing way too quickly. They really didn’t have time for this now. Not with you coming downstairs any minute, still finding your way back into your marriage. “Channie…is that place you picked in walking distance?” he asks.

“I figured there’s a chance she doesn’t feel safe to drive yet, so yes,” he nods, and Minho hums, relieved. “Also, you aren’t exactly keen to sit in a car yet, either.”

“Not really,” he chuckles agreeingly. “Thank you, Channie.”

“For what?” he frowns softly.

“For being so considerate and caring,” he smiles, shaking his head as Chan is about to respond. “Don’t you dare say it’s nothing now, I will kick you.”

“Oh,” Chan nods, holding back a laugh.

“Idiot,” he giggles fondly, poking his side.

“I’m ready,” you interrupt them gently, standing a little away from them.

Chan smiles at you sweetly. “You look beautiful, baby girl,” he tells you, and you mirror his smile.

“Our beautiful girl,” Minho agrees proudly, taking your hand and pulling you closer. “We should probably leave, right?”

Chan checks his watch. “Yeah, we should.”

You swallow softly and glance at them timidly. “Can I sit in the back?” you ask.

“I thought we could take a walk, it’s close by. If we’re lucky, we can see the stars on our way back home,” he says, watching your eyes brim with tears. “Or we can take the car?” he asks nervously.

“No,” you shake your head and laugh weakly. “I would prefer walking,” you assure him. “Thank you, Channie angel.”

“God, you two sometimes,” he breathes out, squeezing Min’s and your hand. “It’s nothing, really an-ey!” he breaks off in protest as Minho punches his shoulder.

“I told you, it’s not nothing. It means a lot, my love, and we’re very happy to have you,” he says. “Also, be glad I didn’t kick your pretty a-.”

“Okay,” Chan laughs and pulls you both with him. “Enough of this now, you’ll make me get all sappy, let’s go.”

You enjoy your first evening out immensely. It makes you feel less like something’s wrong with you. Both Chan and Minho focus mostly on you, making sure you’re alright and comfortable. The many smells and loud noises are overwhelming at first, and they try their best to distract you. Once you allow yourself to relax, things get easier. Dinner is delicious, but what truly makes your evening is the laughter, gentle touches, and the way they make sure you’re part of the conversation.

On your walk home, you indeed see the stars painting the dark canvas of the night sky. You’re walking between them, holding onto their hands, and feel a lot closer to Chan as well. Minho occasionally points out constellations, sometimes playfully bickering with Chan about the correct name. You find yourself smiling, genuinely smiling, for the first time in a while. You think about your day and suddenly stop in your tracks, leading to your husbands turning in confusion.

“Y/nnie?” Chan frowns as your eyes fill with tears. “Are you okay?”

“I remember that place,” you breathe out, and they both stare at you with wide eyes. “We had dinner there the week we moved in, didn’t we? Channie, you spilled your drink all over Min’s pants. Min, you wouldn’t stop cursing because it got all sticky and-” you break off in wonder as your mind forms such vivid pictures of that day.

Minho laughs wetly, a hot tear falling down his face. “Yeah, yeah, that’s exactly what happened.”

Chan still stares at you in wonder before laughing weakly. “You remember?”

You nod happily, messily wiping your cheeks. “Yeah, I know that’s not much, but-.”

“No, baby, this is huge,” Chan smiles through tears, wrapping you into a tight hug. “That’s your first breakthrough after only three weeks, baby.”

You giggle happily and beam at Minho, who’s still frozen in place. Reaching out for him, he takes your hand and lets you pull him into your hug. Minho cups your cheek and kisses your forehead softly. “I’m so happy for you,” he tells you genuinely.

Back home, as you prepare for bed, the weight of the day slowly settles on your shoulders. For the first time since you got back home it doesn’t feel like the burden of another wasted day but a blanket of comfort. It reminds you of the love and care that surrounds you in the presence of your husbands. Minho brushes your hair as Chan takes off your makeup for you, both as gentle as they can get.

As you lay in bed between them, the events of the past few weeks replay in your mind. The argument with Minho feels like a very distant memory now, simply a hurdle you’ve all overcome together. His forgiveness, his understanding, and his undying love for you feel like a balm for your wounded, anxious heart. Chan’s patience, kindness, and unwavering support for the two of you remind you of the strength of your bond.

In the quiet of the night, with Chan’s steady breathing on one side and Minho’s warm presence on the other, you feel a sense of peace lull you in. The road to your recovery would still be a long one, and you weren’t naive enough to believe that there wouldn’t be any more challenges.

You whisper a quiet “I love you” into the darkness, and in the soft murmur of their responses, you find a promise—a promise of healing and a love that will never leave you. You don’t know why, but right here, you understand that no matter what comes your way, you’ll face it together as a family. With that thought, you drift into a peaceful sleep, knowing that with Chan and Minho by your side, you’ll be okay. You would talk to Chan about the distance you feel another day, and you’d work through your shared trauma with Minho another time, supporting him through his share of the deal as well. For today, you’re glad to be able to fall asleep between the loves of your life.

PART FIVE | PART SEVEN

MASTERLISTS | PROMPT LIST | GUIDELINES

Taglist: (Please let me know if you want to be added to/removed from the taglist!)

If your name is marked red I couldn't tag you for some reason.

@atinyniki @galaxycatdrawz @silverstarburst @kailee08 @aaa-sia @lilmisssona @kthstrawberryshortcake @channieaddict @soullostinspaceandtime @rebecca-johnson-28 @lixie-phoria @kibs-and-bits @xxstrayland @ihrtlix @pheonixfire777 @mellhwang @palindrome969 @michelle4eve @ontito0icongirls @furiousheartpoetry @bluesiebirdie @scarlet789 @ziipzeepzop-eez @harshaaaaa @lost-in-avoidance @dprkbyn @bear8585 @lee-knows-cats @mintchip17 @zdgx1 @lost-in-avoidance @rylea08 @heeyboooo @manuosorioh @gisaerlleri @andassortedkpop @lailac13 @bbokari711 @kazuuuaaa @rssamj

287 notes · View notes

leviraaaaaa · 1 year

Text

Just go to fucking sleep. (Levi x reader)

"Oi, brat."

You opened my your slowly, groggily. Someone was shaking you.

"....huh?" You mumbled, still half-asleep. Mind hazy from the slumber, you blinked a couple times, trying to clear your head. The stranger's face finally came through, familiar silver eyes scowling down, brows furrowed. You squinted in confusion. "..captain?"

"Go to bed."

You raised your head from the pile of papers you were resting on, which you were supposed to work on instead. They were all wrinkled now, the smooth surface had folded in the edges, all credits to you falling asleep on them. You stared at the stack, then looked at Captain Levi, trying to process and remember where you were and how and why you got there.

Oh right, you were at the library. You realized as you looked around the room.

But why were you at the library?

Then it hit you.

"Oh, shit. Did I fall asleep?" You groaned, horrified. "Captain Nanaba will kill me."

"Why the hell are you sleeping here? How did you even get in the library? It's way past curfew."

"That's fine, I got permission from section commander Hange." You rubbed your eyes. "I got sleepy while working."

"No shit, do you have any idea how late it is? Why are you still working?"

"Because I have to copy these reports for tomorrow's meeting." You internally let out a frustrated groan, staring at the stack in front of you that you were supposed to make copies of, handwritten. Each document were about 6-7 pages thick. "Hell, this isn't even supposed to be my job, it's Roy's. But then he was suddenly bound with other errands and I just had to be the first person in captain Nanabas's sight. Now I'm stuck here and I'm not even halfway finished."

Levi listened silently with a blank stare, his eyes scanning your exhausted face and slumped shoulders. "...just go to fucking sleep. You have dark circles."

"Pretty, aren't they?" You stretched gloomily. "You're one to talk."

"Must you retort to every word I say? You look like rotten shit, get your ass to bed, " He narrowed his eyes. His voice though sharp as it was, just beneath it was a softness barely noticeable. "I'll talk to Nanaba, she can't expect you to finish all these by yourself."

"Don't," You yawned, waving his concerns away. "It's an important meeting. I can't just not do it. It's fine, morning's still a few hours away."

"It's almost 4."

"Shit, for real?" You cursed under your breath, glancing back at the looming sight of the spread out files in front of you, wishing you could burn fucking holes in them. "...it's fine. I'll manage it. I still have 3 hours left. I'll finish it in an hour or two, then get a half hour nap"

"Like hell you will, go to sleep."

"Jeez captain. This is important. Just let me do my work, you do yours. Why do you care anyways?"

"You're insufferable when you don't get enough sleep. I don't have the energy to deal with your moods in the morning." He said flatly.

You would have laughed had you not been so tired. Such a levi thing to say of him. Instead you sighed, an emptiness taking over your head as fatigue tugged your mind.

"Captain, seriously....just..go away."

Your reached forward to the pen in front of you and you pulled a paper towards yourself, flipping it open.

"No way." His hand shot out, grabbing your wrist. "I'll break your fucking hand."

"Charming."

"I'm serious. This is unhealthy."

"Break it...after..after I'm done.." Your words slurred, eyes fluttering shut as you dozed off right there, deep sleep pulling your underneathe in seconds. Your head dropped forward. His reflexes worked before his mind, his hand shooting forward and stopping you from hitting the table just before.

"Idiot." He muttered under his breath, watching you with wide eyes as you fell asleep, right there on his hand. Then he slowly lowered you down on the table, gently pulling his hand underneath your forehead, making sure your head doesn't bump. You fell against the table softly.

The next morning, when Moblit shakes you awake, you find yourself wrapped in a certain green scouts cloak, all the papers done and stacked neatly in front of you, just perfectly.

#levi #captain levi x reader #levi x y/n #levi x reader #levi x you

341 notes · View notes

the-priestess-of-dawn · 4 months

Text

it's not love but i still want you: a toxic chrima playlist

Tracklist + thoughts under the cut

1. L.A. LOOKS - HEALTH

I want another life (Don't hold your breath) I want to try again (But you can't swim) But it's not love It's not love It's not love, but I still want you It's not love, it's not love It's not love, but I still want you (It's still us)

2. Suffer - Hurts

Touch me and make me feel your misery And play me like you play your twisted little symphony 'Cause I'm just addicted to you, I'm just addicted to you I'm just addicted to the way you get the worst of me

3. Fight for Me -AlicebanD

I'll make you cry for me and lie for me (I'll make you cry for me) And bleed for me and die for me (And die for me) But most I'll make you right for me I'm sure I'm right for you

4. Follow You - Bring Me The Horizon

Show me what I can't see when the spark in my eyes is gone You got me on my knees, I'm your one-man cult Cross my heart and hope to die Promise you I'll never leave your side

5. Hate That You Know Me - Bleachers

Sometimes I, I hate that you know me so well Some days I, I wish that I wasn't myself No luck! And I hate that you know me so well

6. My Boy Only Breaks His Favorite Toys - Taylor Swift

My boy (My boy), only breaks his favorite toys, toys, oh I'm queen (I'm queen), of sand castles he destroys, oh, oh 'Cause I knew too much, there was danger in the heat of my touch He saw forever, so he smashed it up, oh, oh

7. Shadows - Red

There's a hate inside of me like some kind of master I tried to save you but I can't find the answer I'm holding onto you, I'll never let go I need you with me as I enter the shadows

8. Get Away - CHVRCHES

I'll be your guide so you can see The other side and I will never let you get away Never let you get away

And so they continued on eternally, partners never to be parted.

So yeah, I'm back with another mini playlist curated from my main one, this one focused on toxic chrima inspired by Fell Exalt Chrom and his Forging Bonds, but not staying 100% true to that canon because that Grima is able to send Chrom away to have a better time in Askr, and we're not having any of that nonsense in THIS playlist, oh no. The invisible ties that bind them have been dyed red in blood, and there is no escaping fate when they'd both choose ruin over breaking that bond.

The songs I used here aren't necessarily in a particular order in a narrative sense, though they are grouped in pairs corresponding to Grima's POV followed by Chrom's POV. I did take care to make sure that My Boy Only Breaks His Favorite Toys was paired with Hate That You Know Me because of the "I knew too much" line—in my mind, this ties into Grima trying to harshly distance himself from the past he shared with Chrom, insisting that the Robin Chrom knew is dead and that Chrom will never be reunited with him, because he thinks that it would be less painful for Chrom to believe there is nothing human in him left than to be constantly looking for signs that his partner is still himself... even though the signs are all there and not too hard to pick up on for someone who knows Grima well.

I also deliberately ended the playlist with Get Away because it's a sort of... lighter note than the rest. It also pairs particularly well with Shadows just before it because "I'll be your guide so you can see" is a perfect response to "Caught in the darkness, I go blind/Can you help me find my way out?" Even though this is toxic chrima, there's still relief from their despair to be found in each other. This also plays nicely with Follow You from earlier in the playlist, "Crossing your heart and hoping to never let you get away" serving as a callback to "Cross your heart and hope to die/Promise me you'll never leave my side" and "Cross my heart and hope to die/Promise you I'll never leave your side." I really like the way that worked out. Grima, you are never getting away from your other half, and that is both a threat and a promise.

#chrom x grima #chrobin #fire emblem awakening #fe13 #fanmix #playlist #i actually had the playlist prepared like a week ago but then resplendent grima's lines were datamined and. well. i was distracted #but now we've all had time to calm down about him right?#resplendent party's winded down now we can retire to the drawing room to enjoy some toxic doomed chrima #Spotify

15 notes · View notes

sonkitty · 9 months

Text

Earthly Objects Study - Windows Part 2 (Good Omens 2)

Below is a post that I wrote about The Window Trick without fully recognizing it for being a Threshold Trick. It is one of my favorite posts I've written on Good Omens 2, so I am saving it for posterity. Feel free to read it, but here is a more updated take on The Window Trick: The Window Trick

...

If you have no idea what I’m talking about, it’s best to start with my main post:

Good Omens 2 - Earthly Objects Main Point of Reference

And the windows post:

Earthly Objects Study - Windows Part 1 (Good Omens 2)

Let me start by saying I do not understand the simplified window looks that Crowley does during episodes 5 and 6. He has several compared to any other character in the show, including Aziraphale (I think).

In episode 5, Crowley looks from outside the bookshop toward Aziraphale when Aziraphale brings down the chandelier. The camera starts from outside and behind Crowley before showing his front from inside. He later looks out from the window inside the bookshop with the demons outside and surrounding the place. That particular one can at least be a standard 3-points earning in the game because of his hand visibly touching a flat surface, the window panes and wooden lattices being the simpler window look touch (if such windows grant such points).

In episode 6, there are multiple cuts of him looking from outside the bookshop toward Aziraphale though the camera is from inside the bookshop to see Crowley looking. He smiles. A strange little thing that happens is that when he later passes the open broken window, most of his body has already passed it.

If these things have a deeper meaning in all of this other stuff I'm about to say, it's beyond me at the moment.

Likewise, if the nightingale song adds anything to what's happening with the windows or thresholds, it is well beyond my capability to analyze.

I'll also acknowledge past theories on one point of what I'm going to talk about have been "He's shut the door on another level. That's so sad!" and "Maybe its' an after-effect of the stillness." So, minds do change, you know.

Now, we're going to focus on the latter half of episode 6 and the format of more complex window scenes.

If you've read the previous windows post, the latest version, you'll catch that I found what seem to be three requirements for earning earthly object points by looking through a window in these more complex scenes.

Simplified steps:

(1) The looker looks

(2) The window sees

(3) The looker is seen clearly behind the window pane. Possibly, this requirement also wants the window's physical threshold, such as a window frame, to be partly visible.

If you're not familiar with my basic rule-breaking theory for episode 6, it goes something like, Crowley and Aziraphale are intentionally avoiding touching earthly objects as much as possible. The kiss is something exceptional in it all between the two of them, but they are otherwise doing a lot of not touching things. There have been other extended conversations between them with no touching but this one is different. There's no three objects at the start like in Before the Beginning. There are no goats at the end like in the Job minisode. There's no chair at the end when deciding to leave Aziraphale on his own. And so on.

Some semblance of a visual physical touch on something they aren't wearing is not what happens during the bookshop scene at the end of episode 6.

Even so, we're actually going to start just before that with the Metatron.

After the Metatron talks to Muriel, his gaze suggests he is looking toward the bookshop, possibly even into the windows of the location, meaning he might be watching the intense conversation that's about to happen.

The story does something important here. It doesn't show step 2 for a complex window scene. We do not see what the window sees.

Not only that, every time Aziraphale or Crowley seems to look out the window during the bookshop scene, step 2 still does not happen. We never see what the window sees. We can see some stuff from within the bookshop through the window. It's not the same as a shot of what's happening outside and a window frame or something from within the structure to tell us that's the window seeing things. The story never tries for that specific step to reach that specific type of earthly object touch with step 2.

That is to say, it never tries during the bookshop scene.

The truly startling thing is that after Aziraphale has left, we actually do see step 2 is reached when Crowley looks at Nina. Step 3 is not reached, but step 2 is. He's allowed a faint differing touch on the door threshold with movement in his fingers. Then he looks at Maggie. Again, step 2 is reached but not step 3.

Those are two threshold-only touches onto windows.

The Earthly Objects game loves the number three.

Is there going to be a third threshold-only window touch and if so, how?

Yes, and not only that, it's going to be a 3-in-1 to reach #3.

What?

Am I sure?

Goodness no. Reaching this conclusion was unbelievably hard. It would be so easy to just tell you that Crowley is a demon so of course the windows at use here are just plain not earthly. Look at those supernatural-indicator long sideburns! I have some other excuses too, but let's focus on the hard answer for now.

Earlier, Crowley touched a threshold within itself by already touching a door before the camera saw it and then touching that door again when the camera wasn't looking. There are actually more touches in their own complex format, but the point is he touched the door while touching the door.

If we want the same thing for a window, how is that done? Greatly simplified, again, without accounting for thresholds and step 3, the idea is: Look through a window while looking through a window.

The first two windows we'll focus on are the lenses on Crowley's sunglasses. They are going to be an inner layer for the look, so the second "window" in the above stated sentence for the concept. The lenses are the windows on Crowley's door to himself. They present quite an issue for preventing step 3 since they are small, and Crowley is always behind them when he wears them. The third window is the driver's window on the door to his car—specifically in season 2, this car is also his home. That's going to be the outer layer, and the major assist to get it all done.

The first threshold touch that initiates the whole thing is the one for our inner layer. It is theoretically the two little dots of white light that appear in Crowley's sunglasses after he looks at Maggie.

Crowley's sunglasses don't usually reflect anything, but when they do, the most common type of reflection is light.

That is our very much theoretical step 1 for our eventual 3-in-1 threshold-only touch. For now, it is only 2-in-1. We aren't at the third window just yet.

The dots disappear as he starts to move and enter the car.

When steps 1-3 happen for a complex window scene, there isn't a threshold cross through a door in between, in the scenes that I've taken the time to analyze.

Presumably, that means that this threshold cross bears some significance. It also brings us to window #3 of this particular set. By now, step 1 is done through both together. We are at the threshold for our window set. Crowley is looking.

Now that we're layered further in, we can finally start on step 2. We must see what the window sees.

The outer layer of the look is deliberately blurred. It is blurred in a way that one would assume means the car window is actually closed, not open. It is incredibly difficult to find that the story at least intends for this to be a blur for its game that's passing or sharing the look with the sunglasses. The story is also trying to deceive us after all.

The biggest clue is the lacking bullet-holes sticker, which might have disappeared during episode 5 around when the demon invasion was starting. If that sticker just plain disappeared, I have found only one other ridiculously tiny clue.

Before Crowley closes the door, one of the people to his right is wearing a white shirt and orange over-shirt or jacket. The blur level looks the same for below the upper part of the door frame and for above that upper part of the door frame. Below the door frame is where the window is. Above the door frame is not where the window is. There is a person right before the one I'm describing who has a similar color scheme, but it's much harder to gauge if that's the same blur level happening. As such, the main clue is the person with the orange jacket or over-shirt. The blur level should be different if the window is closed.

I suppose the little lights that are presumably from the coffee shop are also about the same blur level.

The window behind Crowley also looks blurred, and you can't really tell it's blurred as closed instead of open because the blur levels look so similar to each other. I assume that's part of the deception and deliberate.

We, the audience, see what the window sees from the inner layer. The sunglasses have reflections of what is happening outside the door to the car as reflections. These are very unusual for Crowley at all and not direct. They seem to be slightly ahead and to the right of where Crowley's eyes would be looking.

Are they all the way up until the front of the window that we can't quite see? The story won't tell us directly. Instead, it's going to tell us nothing to his left is reflected, and when we get anything resembling the front, it changes significantly from what's outside the door to his car. When Crowley turns his head to turn off the music, those car door reflections disappear. They are not gone completely for every single frame, but they are gone completely for a significant amount of those frames. The main reflection that becomes visible looks like some combination of light and darkness that can't possibly be in front of him at all (or if it is, I can't figure out how or what it is).

Crowley's sunglasses rarely reflect people, and when they do, it's usually a person deliberately showing him an object they are holding.

That said, we are at step 2 of our 3-in-1 threshold-only touch for window #3.

The next cut is where step 3 is canceled out. The reflections are gone, and that window to the door of the car is more clearly shown as open. The blur pass or share from within is gone. There is no window pane, but there is a completely clear full window frame for it. Crowley was not behind the window pane of the outer layer, just the inner one. That's enough for his 3-in-1 threshold-only touch on window #3 before finally driving away.

That requires a lot of faith in the deceptive blur and the necessity of a lacking outer window pane to reach this conclusion.

A few other things worth mentioning are that my initial logic was suspecting it was related to how carefully he put his sunglasses on back in the bookshop. His thresholds for those are the end pieces, but he touched the areas around them, which I've taken to mean the thresholds of his own thresholds. I took that to mean he was protecting himself, possibly for what happened in the scene.

The main thing that changed my mind to this layered window concept was that as I was drafting my post, I would ask, "How do you tell the audience that this thing is happening?" and at least part of the answer was within the given scene itself (two dots of white light for step 1, reflections for step 2). I had no answer for what you can find within the scene on how to mitigate step 3 until I focused in on that car window.

There's probably some meaning to the fact that the window threshold-only touches were reserved for humans. The humans in the story have a fake dimension to them. Maggie and Nina do not have last names. They don't address Crowley by his name. The extras have some disturbing patterns in their repetitions and suspicious cuts throughout various scenes. So, while that rather sours what I believe is the story's intent, in my own opinion, I think the intent here is to show Crowley's love for humanity in whatever is really going on. Such thinking, besides the structure overall, comes from the music and David Tennant's acting.

Another question that might arise from all of the above is to ask what it means for Crowley's own sight. He senses people and things with his eyes to the point it very much looks the same to an outside observer as how seeing works. The story puts effort into what is and is not reflected in those sunglasses to indicate it's still not quite the same thing as seeing.

So, do the reflections mean Crowley can see, as in the more understood form of seeing, if he wants? Or just that he needs this specially created scenario to do it? I have no answer. Until the story says otherwise, go with the answer you like best. If you want to know my personal preference, it would be that Crowley just does what he wants. He could see, but he doesn't because he uses his own snake eyes in a way that suits him. It might even be to his advantage. Analyzing him as a character, for season 2 at least, shows a deep precision and strategy in his choices.

Plus, you know, those snake eyes are part of why I love the actor-character combination as much as I do.

The end.

I actually hope I never have to drastically change my mind and update this post. I'm rather proud of it because of the challenges involved, but past posts have suggested that's simply not going to happen. Sorry. So, please keep that in mind. I do update things if I feel I've figured more out though I usually make a post to say so and link the post that is being changed.

#crowley #good omens 2 #good omens s2 #good omens #david tennant #good omens season 2 #good omens analysis

21 notes · View notes

petitelepus · 1 year

Text

FOX'S WEDDING, PART 15

KITSUNE!RENGUKO KYOJURO X FEM!READER

Summary: Senjuro is doing well in school. So well that he has friends that he invites over to your place.

Warnings: Kissing, little arousal at the end

A/N: Female Reader, Kitsune Kyojuro, Kitsune Senjuro, Kitsune Rengoku, Monster Musume!AU, Tanjiro Kamado, Inosuke Hashibira, Zenitsu Agastuma, Jigoro Kuwajima

PART 1 II PART 2 II PART 3 II PART 4 II PART 5 II PART 6 II PART 7 II PART 8 II PART 9 II PART 10 II PART 11 II PART 12 II PART 13 II PART 14 II PART 15 II PART 16 II PART 17 II PART 18 II PART 19

September came and trees' leaves started to turn orange, yellow, or even bright red, depending on the tree. You and Kyojuro had been planning your wedding for a week now and you never expected a wedding to be so hard to plan.

You had begged Kyojuro to not get a job until you were married because you appreciated his help and opinion when it came to deciding something for your wedding.

You were both taking a break from planning and enjoying some tea and cookies when Senjuro came back from school. He called his usual, "I'm home!" as he took off his shoes and he joined you and Kyojuro in the kitchen.

"Hi Senjuro," You greeted the young Kitsune, "How was school?"

"Good." He nodded as he took a seat and reached for a cookie, "I was wondering if my friends could come visit us tomorrow?"

"Your friends?" You and Kyojuro glanced at each other and Senjuro bit his cookie, "We have an exam coming and we would like to keep a study group at one of our places. I offered to ask if I could host the group for the first time?"

"Of course!" You smiled happily, "Can I offer you guys treats?"

"If you want to, but you don't have to!" Senjuro smiled and you felt your heart almost burst in your chest as you clapped your hands, "Then it's settled! I will prepare you guys something to eat so you can focus on your studies!"

"Really?" The young fox smiled, "Is this okay with you big brother?"

"Hm!" Kyojuro nodded proudly, "I'm happy to see my dear brother and bride doing their best!"

"Then it's settled! What time will you come tomorrow?" You asked and Senjuro reached for another cookie, "School ends at 2pm so we are here maybe half past two?"

"Alright, I'll make sure that you guys aren't missing anything!" You said and you meant it. You were honestly so happy when you heard that Senjuro had managed to make friends so soon and you wanted to make a good impression on them for Senjuro's sake!

So when the next day came and Senjuro was walking back home with his friends, the said friends gasped when they saw the huge house he was living in.

"You live here?" A young man with dark hair asked as he and his friends took in Senjuro's home.

"What, is your family rich or something!?" A young man wearing a boar's head asked this blond man scowled, "C'mon Inosuke, a house doesn't define a person."

"I don't mind." Senjuro smiled a little shyly as he and his friends entered the house.

"I'm home and I brought my friends!" The young Kitsune called and the boys heard footsteps as you rushed to greet them from the kitchen.

"Welcome welcome!" You greeted them happily, "You must be Senjuro's friends! It's so nice to meet you all!"

"Good day, ma'am!" The young man with dark hair, round ears, and a raccoon's tail greeted you with a bright smile, "My name is Tanjiro Kamado! I'm Senjuro's friend and as you can see, I am a Tanuki!"

"I'm called Inosuke Hashibira! King of the Mountain!" This young man with a boar's head over his declared proudly.

"My name is Zenitsu Agatsuma and I'm a Nezumimi!" A blond boy with a mouse's ears and tail greeted you and smiled, "You're very pretty!"

"Aww, thank you!" You smiled happily, "Would you boys want some snacks?"

"Yes please, big sis." Senjuro smiled, "We'll go to my room to study."

"I'll bring the snacks soon!" You smiled as the boys made their way upstairs to Senjuro's room which was the house's biggest bedroom. The boys took in Senjuro's huge room as the shy boy closed the door, "Make yourself comfortable guys."

"Whoa, you have a Nintendo Switch and Playstation 5?" Inosuke immediately went to see the consoles and Senjuro smiled, "We can play later if you want to?"

"Awesome!" While Inosuke took in the impressive collection of games, the mouse boy turned to look at the fox boy.

"Oi! Oi oi oi!" Zenitsu grabbed Senjuro, "You didn't tell me your host family is a total beauty!"

"W- what?" The fox blinked and the mouse was on the verge of tears, "You get to live with a beauty like her?! How is that fair!?"

"Calm down Zenitsu!" Tanjiro said, "You enjoy living with Grandpa Jigoro, don't you?"

"I do love living with Grams, but it's not fair…!" The blond young man cried out and Senjuro gently patted his back, "Don't worry Zenitsu! She is my big sis only and she is engaged to my older brother."

"That doesn't make me feel better-!"

Suddenly there was a knock on the door and you called, "Boys? Is everything okay? I brought snacks!"

"Coming!" Senjuro quickly went to open the door and it was a good thing he did that because you were carrying a huge tray filled with food, such as both grilled cheese and grilled ham sandwiches, apple slices, and chocolate. Your fiance followed behind you, two huge bottles of soda under one arm and one holding a bowl of potato chips.

"Greetings boys!" Kyojuro greeted his little brother's friends as he put the soda bottles down, followed by the bowl, "I'm Senjuro's older brother Kyojuro! Thank you all for being my brother's friends!"

"Brother!" Senjuro blushed, but Tanjiro smiled, "You don't need to thank us! We all like Senjuro very much! He is really kind and we are happy to be his friends!"

"Hm!" The older fox nodded, "Hearing that makes me happy!"

"We will leave you boys to study." You smiled as you put the tray of food on the bed and you and Kyojuro let the boys be. As you were making your way downstairs, you smiled.

"Did you hear? Me?" You blushed as a smile rose to your face, "Me a beauty?"

"I always call you beautiful!" Kyojuro exclaimed.

"I know, but-!" You covered your smile with your hand and turned to look at your fiance, "Are you jealous?"

"No!"

"You are!"

"Nope, I'm not!

"Why?" You asked and he smiled as he gently held your face and kissed your forehead, "Because I know you love me as much as I love you and I love you and you only."

"Aww," You smiled as you placed your hands over his and moved them so you could kiss his knuckles, "It's healthy to be a little jealous, you know that right?"

"I do." He kissed your forehead again, "But I also know that you are loyal to me so I don't have a reason to be jealous."

"You sweet talker," You grinned, "Wanna help me make some cake?"

"Yes, my beloved Hime!"

While Senjuro was upstairs studying and enjoying treats with his friends, you and Kyojuro focused on making a simple strawberry and cream cake. You hadn't baked that in ages, not since you moved in together with the Kitsune brothers and strawberries happened to be on sale the last day when you had visited the store to buy stuff for Senjuro's study group.

The cake was easy oven tray cake and easy to make and while it was in the oven, you whipped cream and let Kyojuro cut strawberries. Once the cake was done, you let it cool down so the whipped cream wouldn't melt as soon as you would put it on. So while it cooled, you and Kyojuro thought about your wedding a little.

Half an hour later, the cake was cool enough for the cream and you absolutely smothered it with cream and strawberry slices. It wasn't the prettiest cake but it tasted so good when you one bite as a test and you moaned out loud.

"This is so good…!" You smiled and Kyojuro nodded, "Everything you make is good!"

"Should I make some tea and coffee and ask boys to join us?"

"I think that sounds marvelous!"

"Okay, just a second!" You put the electric kettle and coffee maker on and went upstairs to get the boys.

"Boys?" You knocked on Senjuro's room door. "May I come in?"

"Yes!" You heard Senjuro call and you peeked inside and saw that they all had their textbooks and notebooks out as they studied. Over half of the treats you had brought had been eaten and you blinked as you saw this beautiful young man sitting there. Who was he and where did he come from?

"Oh, who is this handsome young man?"

"It's Inosuke," Tanjiro replied helpfully.

"I see!" You nodded as you noticed the boar's head resting next to him.

"I'm sorry to disturb you, but when you want to, would you like to come downstairs for some cake, tea, and coffee?"

"Cake!" Inosuke cheered and the boys looked at their friend.

"Oi, you ate most of the sandwiches, how can you still eat?" Zenitsu asked but Inosuke had made up his mind and he was eager for some cake.

Senjuro smiled as he looked at you, "We will come there in a second. Thank you, big sis."

"No worries!" You smiled and closed the door as you made your way downstairs and just in time as the electric kettle and coffee maker were done.

You put the cups on the table and cut generous pieces of the cake on plates that you put on the table next to the cups. Kyojuro took a seat at the head of the table and you smiled as you placed a huge piece of cake in front of him.

"Thank you, my beloved bride!" He thanked you but you gave him a look, "You're welcome, but wait until boys get here."

"I will!" He nodded and soon enough the boys joined you guys in the kitchen.

"Thank you for inviting us for cake," Tanjiro thanked you and you had a feeling that he was the polite one in the group. You smiled, "It's no problem! Please, enjoy some cake and tea or coffee if you like?"

The boys nodded as they poured themselves some tea and you noticed that no one took coffee, so you poured yourself some so it wouldn't be wasted. You watched them take their first bites of the cake and you absolutely beamed in joy as you watched their eyes widen after one bite.

"TASTY!" Kyojuro shouted, followed by Inosuke shouting, "SWEET!"

"It's so good!" Senjuro grinned.

"I wish my future wife could bake this well…!" Zenitsu smiled happily as he took another bite of the cake.

"It's really good cake!" Tanjiro said with a smile before looking at you, "Could I possibly get a recipe for this?"

"Of course!" You were so happy they liked your simple cake. Tanjiro smiled, "Thank you! I think my little sister and host father would love this also!"

"Oh yes, you guys are in extraspecies program also?" You asked and the boys nodded, "Yes, I live with a Tengu called Urokodaki. He is taking care of me and my little sister Nezuko."

"How nice!" You grinned, "If you ever want, your sister is welcome here also."

"Thank you!"

"I live with Grandpa Jigoro. He…" Zenitsu smiled a little, "I love him. He took me in when others wouldn't and I owe everything to him."

"Aww…!" You smiled happily, "I'm glad you have someone so important in your life. We all need someone like that."

You were about to ask, when suddenly Inosuke exclaimed, "More cake!" before shoving his empty plate at you. You blinked in mild surprise but smiled, accepting this plate, and went to fill it.

"How about you Inosuke?" You asked as you gave him the full plate back and he barely spoke as he started to stuff his face full of your cake. "I live with old grandma Hisa! She is a good cook!"

"I see," You nodded and your confusion must have been clear on your face because Senjuro smiled and replied, "Inosuke is a human."

"Ooh, I see!" You nodded harder this time as suddenly it made more sense to you. You noticed movement from the corner of your eye and turned to see Kyojuro offering his empty plate to you, "May I have more, my Hime?"

"You ate it?" You blinked in shock, "But you were quiet?"

"I'm sorry big sis, but I used my magic a little," Senjuro admitted and you nodded, understanding and taking the empty plate, "Okay, a second round of cake coming right up! Who else wants more?"

Senjuro, Tanjiro, and Zenitsu raised their hands and you smiled as you filled their plates and as they ate, you listened to them tell you about their lives and such.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door and you blinked, a little confused about who it could be. You glanced at Senjuro, "Are we expecting someone else?"

The young fox shook his head and you got up and went to answer the door to your shock, you were greeted by this smaller older man with a wooden cane, a white mustache, and a scar on his cheekbone… And he was missing a right leg.

"Hello?" You blinked and the man smiled, "Why, hello there young lady. I heard my son is here for a study session?"

"Son?" Now you were confused, but the man smiled, "A little mouse boy called Zenitsu. I'm his host family Kuwajima."

"Ooh, you must be Grandpa Jigoro!" You smiled, "Zenitsu was just talking about you!"

"I see!" He nodded, "Bad I assume?"

"Not at all." You looked over your shoulder, "Zenitsu! Your grandpa is here!"

"Gramps!?" You heard and the mouse boy came to the door in record time, "What are you doing here?!"

"I'm making sure you don't bother this young lady!" The older man snapped and you shook your head, "Please, you have no reason to be worried. Zenitsu is an absolute delight to have around!"

"I see, I see." Jigoro nodded, "Well, I think I'll take my leave then. I was just passing by."

You had a feeling that was a lie and that he honestly wanted to check up on his foster child.

"Remember to come home on time Zenitsu!"

"I will, I will!" The blond boy nodded and you felt your heart break as you watched Grandpa turn and leave, and you-!

"Grandpa Jigoro, wait!" You called and the old man turned to look at you in confusion, "We were just enjoying some cake, tea, and coffee! Would you like to join us?"

"What!?" Zenitsu gasped and his guardian shook his head, "Oh, I don't want to be a bother-!"

"Not at all!" You rushed out and gently helped the older man inside, treating him like he was made out of the finest porcelain. You helped him to take off his shoe and then escorted him to the kitchen living room area where everyone was enjoying cake by the table. Zenitsu took his seat while you helped his host.

"Please, sit here." You pulled your chair for Grandpa and he took a seat, "Thank you, you're a very kind young lady."

"Thank you," You smiled happily, "Would you like some green tea or coffee?"

"Tea would be marvelous, dear." He smiled and you nodded, immediately preparing a perfect cup of tea for the old man, "Would you like some cake also?"

"I would love some."

"Coming right up!" You rushed to get a new plate and meanwhile, Grandpa Jigoro took in Kyojuro's and Senjuro's fox ears and tails, "My, Kitsunes here? What a lucky omen."

"Thank you, sir!" Both brothers thanked the man who smiled as he glanced at the older fox, "Taken by the ring on the young lady's finger, you must be the one engaged to her?"

"Yes, sir!" Kyojuro nodded and Grandpa was about to say something but then you returned, "What are you guys talking about?"

"Oh, nothing dear, don't worry." Jigoro smiled and you nodded as you placed a cup of tea in front of him and an absolutely huge piece of cake before him. "Please, Grandpa! Have some cake!"

"Tea and cake?" He chuckled, "My, you're just the sweetest young lady!"

"Please, it's my pleasure!" You were absolutely beaming with joy and others could see it also.

"May I get another piece also, my beloved?" Kyojuro asked as he held his empty plate and you nodded, "Of course! Would someone else take more cake also?"

Senjuro, Zenitsu, and Tanjiro shook their heads and politely turned down your offer.

"Me!" Inosuke exclaimed and you took his empty plate also and skipped happily to the kitchen to fill the plates. While you were gone, Jigoro looked at the older fox, "You're a smart young Yokai, I can tell. Treat her well."

"Hm!" Kyojuro nodded, "I will!"

"What?" You called as you came back with cake and gave your fiance and Inosuke their pieces.

"I was just telling this fiance of yours what a kind young lady you are!" Grandpa said and you got even happier if that was even possible, "Thank you, Grandpa, it means a lot to hear that from someone as wise as you!"

"I have no doubt in mind that you will make a great wife for this young man!"

"Hm!" Kyojuro smiled, "She is perfect, isn't she?"

"Yes," The old man nodded before glaring at his foster son, "Zenitsu! Make sure to find a wife as good as her!"

"I'm trying!" The mouse boy cried out and Senjuro and Tanjiro laughed a little as they tried to cheer up their friend.

You all started to talk about random topics as you enjoyed your tea, coffee, and cake. You were all having such a good time that you all missed how quickly the cake and time went. As the Fall came so did the darkness. Before any of you knew it was time for the boys to head back home so they wouldn't worry their families.

"Thank you so much for the snacks and cake!" Tanjiro thanked you as he was putting his shoes back on. You smiled, "Thank you for visiting! I'm happy that Senjuro has friends like you boys."

"Can we come over some another time also?" The young Tanuki asked and you nodded as you glanced at the young fox standing by your side, "If Senjuro is alright with it?"

"I would love it! Next time we could play my video games?" He asked and Inosuke who put the boar's head back on nodded, "I want to play soon too!"

"Me too…!" Zenitsu whined as he helped Grandpa Jigoro to get his shoe on.

"Stop your whining Zenitsu! I'm sure you are welcome back here also!"

"I know, but I'm worried how you will manage without me around!" The mouse boy cried out and the older man smiled as a soft blush rose to his cheeks," Ah, what a good boy."

"You're all welcome back here." You said with a happy smile and Kyojuro nodded beside you, "Hm! All my brother's friends are always welcome!"

"Thank you for the tea and cake. They were absolutely delicious," Grandpa Jigoro nodded before looking at your fiance, "Treat her well, boy. She has a heart made out of gold."

"Aww, thank you!" You smiled happily, flattered to hear such pretty things being said about you.

"Hm!" Kyojuro smiled, "I will!"

The three of you bid farewell to your guests and after they left you went to clean the dishes and such into the dishwasher. Senjuro was the first to take a bath as he still wanted to go through some of his notes before bedtime so you and Kyojuro relaxed on the couch.

"I'm so happy for Senjuro for gaining such kind friends!" You said and Kyojuro nodded, "Me too!"

"And I was happy to meet Zenitsu's Grandpa! What a sweet old man he was!"

"Hm!" Kyojuro nodded, but you immediately noticed that his usual smile looked a little too tight… As if it was forced.

"Is something wrong Kyojuro?"

"No!" He shook his head, "Everything is okay!"

"Are you sure?" You frowned, "Are you… Are you mad at me?"

"No!" He looked at you, "I could never be mad at you!"

"Then what is it?" You asked, "I can tell something isn't right."

"Hm!"

"Wait… Are you jealous?"

"Hm!" He nodded, before admitting, "A little."

"Wait, hold on!" You raised your hands, "You aren't jealous of Zenitsu but you get jealous of his Grandpa Jigoro?"

Kyojuro nodded and you snorted a little, "I'm sorry, but that is just a little silly!"

"Hm!" Your fiance didn't appear to appreciate your laughter. You grinned as you gently took his hand and kissed his knuckles, "Don't worry, my beloved, because I have my eyes on you and you only."

"Hm!" He nodded, finally smiling a little more genuinely as he used the hand you were holding to move a strand of your hair behind your ear, "That does make me feel better!"

"Aah, my fiance is the cutest!" You squealed happily as you jumped so you were straddling his lap and you pressed the palms of your hands on his cheeks.

"I promise, I love you and only you." You said and that was the only warning the Kitsune got before you leaned forward and kissed him lovingly.

You felt him smile against your lips before he kissed you back, his hand going behind your head and grasping the back of your neck, holding you still so you wouldn't be able to escape.

The two of you pulled apart, but only an inch so you could gasp for breath. As soon as you got your dose of air, you both dove right back, kissing each other again and again…

You moaned softly against your fiance's lips, feeling his manhood hardening in his pants against your clothed sex. Finally, you pulled apart from the kiss and looked at each into your eyes, seeing all the love and adoration you held for each other… And the lust you were feeling.

Before you could do anything more, you heard steps coming and quickly jumped off and threw a couch pillow over Kyojuro's lap. Just in time, Senjuro came downstairs wearing his pajamas and holding his phone.

"Big sis?"

"Yes Senjuro?"

"I was going through my notes when others messaged me," He replied and smiled, "Thank you for feeding us today. Tanjiro and others are excited and want to come over soon again!"

"Pleasure was all mine!" You smiled as you waved your hand, "Just let me know when you guys are coming next time and I can cook a proper meal or bake something!"

"I will! Thank you!" He nodded and he was about to head upstairs but he stopped to look at you two, " Oh yeah, the bath is open if you want to take one!"

"Thank you Senjuro!" You called and the young fox went to his bedroom. You turned to look at your fiance and grinned, "Wanna make out a little before bath?"

"Hm! Yes please!"

36 notes · View notes

ehlnofay · 1 month

Text

Summerfest Day 6 - MIRROR (part one)

this is the first excerpt of a longer piece. I'll post the complete story on the free day on the 19th :)

In the cave underneath the derelict white-stone ruin, just as they were told, there is a tree.

It’s not all that impressive, even by a tree’s standards. It’s big, granted, with sprawling roots, half set into the wall of the cavern and threading itself along and into the low ceiling; thorny brambles, or an approximation of them, have sprung up from the crooks of its base, and here and there it sprouts bouquets of dry leaves. It looks half dead – or at least, not really alive in the way trees are supposed to be, though nothing ever is, here. As sources of apparently mythically powerful wood go, it’s gnarled, sad-looking – altogether pretty underwhelming.

It's also growing firmly out of the far end of a dank little pond that spans the whole width of the cave, because even with the Mad God gone somewhere beyond reaching, its world still revels in tormenting them.

Pax sighs and drops their main pack on the spongy earth in the entryway, leaves it sagging there, half-empty. No point risking dropping it in the water, even if there’s not much in it worth saving. You move quicker if you pack light; you move quicker still if you take shortcuts, and Pax has gotten adept enough at going by the off-road wilds that she only really has to pack for the populated places. (The wild Isles have plenty to eat in them, it seems, and apparently love to share, because her pack is never any lighter going out than in and yet she’s never hungry when she comes back. Sometimes the food is spoiled, though. Not much loss – everything here is atrocious.) The cave – it, like the tree, had some pretentious name, but they’ve forgotten both – is small and cramped, lit only by the faint stripes of lichen crawling along the walls, reflecting faintly off the surface of the water, dark as ink. Besides the tree and the sludgy-looking pool, there’s not much there to look at. Pax takes one step forward, and then stops; stands still, arms loose, bow still in its case slung over his shoulder, and waits for the catch. (There’s always a catch.)

Nothing happens.

He wrinkles his nose – holds still a moment longer – gives in, and pads over to the pond, earth squashing under his shoes. Gumming up the studs in the soles. It doesn’t smell like anything – the cave or the pond or the mud or anything – which is weird, but things being weird can’t really be a cause for alarm anymore, and haven’t been since they came in months ago. Pax reaches down and balances on one foot to pull a shoe off; puts the foot back down, and, fuck, he forgot about the stockings and now there’s mud seeping through the webby fabric sticking to his legs. Whatever. Who fucking cares. He takes the other shoe off, too, and hangs them both from crooked fingers, standing at the edge of the pond.

Fuck, she’ll have to change the stockings after this or be wet all day.

(Boo-hoo, she’ll be uncomfortable. Shut up.)

And still nothing happens. It’s less terrible than it could be, and that is too good to be true. Normally something would be trying to kill her by now. But there’s a time crunch she’s working under, and standing around looking at ugly trees waiting for the other shoe to drop gets no-one anywhere. The shithead library man said they needed a stick, so a stick they’re fucking getting, however little they believe it could be as easy as taking it.

Pax exhales again, the sound jarringly harsh in this empty, half-dead cavern, and they step into the pond –

Their foot breaks the surface and then keeps going – hard to see with only the lichen-light but they’d thought it was shallow water – a bit too late to course-correct now, their centre of gravity has already shifted past where they can reach. There’s not so much as a splash; they are submerged and sinking and rising all at once, and then –

And then Pax is catching themself stumbling over dry, spongy soil, and the cavern walls are jagged bare, and they are not alone.

They look up to meet each other’s eyes.

(Across the now-empty floor, not a pool of water in sight, is something wearing Pax’s shape; ahead, the tree is gone.)

“Who the fuck are you?” the other one demands – which is some fucking nerve, and not a question they have any right to ask, but it does give him pause. Pax is no stranger to seeing his own face on someone else; it was one of Sheogorath’s favourite party tricks, even after he acquiesced to its incessant badgering and came close enough for it to talk to him in person instead of just through grubby mirrors and wobbling reflections in the surface of the Niben, and from the beginning to the end it could never mimic him properly. The lines of his face it could do, sure – the fall of his hair, the stains on his clothes – but it always gave itself away in the posture, in the expressions, in the quality of the voice. There was always something off or strange, his face incongruous with his motions. It wore him like a second-hand coat it hadn’t gotten around to altering. This, though – this is different, unsettling, in a way that scratches against his spine. This is familiar.

She said exactly what they would’ve.

“You’re not Sheogorath,” they say, slow, and Pax pauses.

(It was the Grove of Reflection. Pompous bloody name. More literal, maybe, than the library man had made it sound.)

They look back at the place where the tree was meant to be – where it isn’t, now, the whole world veering in towards its absence – and they grit out, “Oh, bloody hell, seriously?”

“What,” says Pax, with no small edge of resentment, “it’s not like you thought it could be easy.” The pair of shoes are heavy in her hand; she leans over to shove them back onto her feet. Her stockings are dry, now. Dusty. Whatever. Gift horses and mouths and all, even if it’s a pretty shitty fucking gift.

“What do we do now?” Face the truth, according to the asshole back in the echo of the library, if Pax has remembered his words correctly, but that’s just about less helpful than nothing. The tree will give them a stick after it shows them who they really are, or whatever other bullshit. Like they don’t already know who they are. They live as themselves every day.

More inane trials, then. Fucking whoopee. One would think, when the Lord of the realm is dead and soon to return in a less-than-friendly state of mind, the fire and the ritual and the trap and the Gatekeeper and every-fucking-thing else would suffice as enough.

(All hell, they hate the Shivering Isles. This place eats you alive.)

(Still better than Cyrodiil. At least the Isles relishes your taste. But it’s a fine bloody line, sometimes.)

Pax follows suit and steps back into their shoes, scattering dust over the leather toe.

And then they’re both just standing there, on empty dirt where the pond once was, and the tree is fully gone. And all of this is completely mad, obviously, but if that was going to worry them then they would have turned back months ago.

“You look like shit,” Pax says, because he does.

He looks back, flat-eyed, and says, “You don’t say.”

(He really, really does – hollows under his eyes purple as bruise, fringe uneven, face thin-sharp and distant. His clothes and leathers are stained with dirt and sweat and probably some blood, somewhere, and all of them hang strangely on him – the showy tailored garments foisted on him with the duchy were too much trouble to bring, so they’ve stuck with basics. Stockings with tears in them. Scabbed hands, the spiked bone of their knucks rubbing calluses into their skin. Their hair is halfway undone. Sheogorath in their skin always looked eccentric, ephemeral, not quite there; but Pax looks at this flesh-and-bone doppelganger tonguing the gap in her teeth and flexes their aching hands.)

(This is going to be bad, isn’t it.)

#hard to find a good place to cut off! but I managed ! I think !#honestly I have no idea if this one is good I have read the whole thing to edit it TOO MANY TIMES. hopefully it works #hopefully it does what I'm trying to make it do #it might be nonsense to everyone but me! who knows! who cares! I had fun with it regardless #everyone get excited for fucked up nonsense adventures in the pond anyway. please and thank you #tesfest24 #the elder scrolls #tesblr #tes #oblivion #oc tag #pax #(x2!!!)#my writing #fay writes

6 notes · View notes

what-is-it-to-be-pk-esque · 6 months

Text

Omggggg so I'm only like 5 mins into the BG3 epilogue and I already love everything about it so far ❤️ I had to write out my current initial thoughts about each romanced spawn!Astarion option.

So of course I couldn't resist and saved right when Astarion asks about what's next in the relationship/what you want so I could see everything & ughhhh my Tav & him are so cute with every option. I am still SO TORN between the 2nd/3rd options of underdark or sun cure.

On the one hand i'm like yeah! My Tav is an optimist so let's go find you a way to be in the sun again!! but also I kiiiinda feel like we have a responsibility to go help out a bit with the spawn in the underdark even though when it was discussed earlier in my game he said he wasn't going to volunteer for that (another positive imo though is underdark = less constantly worrying about the sun coming up, outside of nights where we decide to go topside). It's a lil messy, but so is he, and it's also a way for him to deal with the consequences of his choices - a theme brought up frequently in his story.

His reactions are v. cute about the "let's be heroes" and "quiet life" options too but that seems less... fulfilling or a good fit for them imo?? Being heroes is fine, but either way that doesn't really address the very real problems that would come up while living with him (and felt like a weird fairytale ending cop-out) so I didn't want to do that

I love love love that most options say the next 6 months with Tav are a happy contrast to the past 200 years, but I'm sad you don't get that line if you go with the underdark option (but I do love that you get to make a fortress a "home" which is great cause he def enjoyed like... all of the ruins in the game haha). So i'm still sitting here like a clown debating on what I'll "officially do" 😭 Probably doesn't matter and you can headcanon whatever but still haha. I want to do both, why can't we live in the underdark but take little adventures in Faerun to go find leads on items or spells or whatever that might be able to let him go enjoy the sun!?! Also my Tav is a half-elf so she'll need to figure out how to expand her lifespan to better match his if they're gonna "have forever" like he says. There's no way they're just spending all their time down there just being leaders (and let's be real he'll have relevant input of course, but it's your Tav probably making most of the better judgement calls lol)

Lastly, I haven't peeked at his reaction to the last option yet but can I also just say @ Larian WTF stop offering me opportunities to break up with him!! I mean I'm sure some people do it and want this, but after everything you're telling me your OC is gonna wake up all adorably next to your sweetie & break up with whoever you romanced right after you saved the world!?? Nah, couldn't be me lol, no matter who I picked that is not the goddamn time for a breakup you heartless person lmao

#astarion #baldur's gate 3 spoilers #baldur's gate 3 #bg3 #bg3 spoilers #can't wait to finish work and fully enjoy this epilogue today 😭#it was like 1am when I beat the game and I had to just stop and go to bed #if you see this & you romanced him & kept him a spawn please tell me what yall did i need to know!#i am here for the headcanons too #astarion x tav #i am here with my feels yall #first playthrough beating this game and I want it to be perfect lol #and you better believe i'm gonna be using the freecam later with all his reactions because i'm down bad for this fictional man #pk plays bg3

11 notes · View notes

shinysamurott9 · 6 months

Text

2024 Games: Pokemon Sword

So this was a bit of a weird time. This is a pretty long read as after playing this game after so many years that, along with the borderline nuclear fallout that was the fandom reaction to it, was a major contributor to me kind of falling out of active interest in pokemon, my ultimate takeaway was that the game was actually not that bad. It was pretty fun, a little underrated even.

My history with this game starts around 2018ish. USUM had come out and I really liked that game. Gen 7 was an all around good time overall which I still appreciate today. The release that year was Let's Go, which I'll be real, I wasn't a fan of it in premise, I'm still not tbh. I could go into that but, in short, it was a game I had little to no interest in and I ultimately decided to skip it to see whatever was next. I bring this up because I think this was the start of me falling out of interest in pokemon, at least for a while. But while Let's Go may have planted the seed, SwSh was what solidified it.

Enter the announcement of Sword and Shield, my friends and I were pretty excited for it, the game looked pretty interesting, a region based on England? That's pretty neat. The new pokemon looked really cool too, we were genuinely excited about it. But if you're familiar with this game's history, you know exactly what happened. In the middle of the game’s hype cycle, GameFreak announced the titanically controversial decision to not include roughly half the existing pokedex in the game meaning that many pokemon would simply not exist in Pokemon SwSh. This was probably one of the biggest Internet shitstorms I've ever been witness to, and the whole thing, both the actual decision and visceral reaction, only made worse by bad actors in the community fanning the flame, just really turned me off SwSh and Pokemon as a whole in a way. In some ways it was a good thing, in the time I wasn't playing Pokemon I was exploring other series I was less familiar with like Devil May Cry, Zelda or Xenoblade or further exploring series I hadn't fully played yet like Metroid or Mega Man, most of which are series I absolutely adore today.

I still kept up with Pokemon to some extent, mostly playing the games while keeping my distance from the wider community. I played BDSP when it released and was not as disappointed as everyone else while still feeling fairly apathetic to it. Played Legends Arceus when it came out and genuinely loved it for it's fresh take on pokemon while also offering a ton of history and lore on Sinnoh that I really appreciated and I played Scarlet and dropped it a couple days in after discovering Pokeball warps and absolutely breaking the game letting me do a lap around the whole region and getting a lvl 40 starter before ever entering the school. Yhe vast majority of my time with pokemon was playing older games in Gen 3 or shiny hunting. That was til about 6 months ago. I had been playing Emerald and I wanted to take on the Battle Frontier and get the Gold Symbols. While I was prepping to do this I was watching a couple videos on the Ribbon Master Challenge and since I was already doing the Frontier and with the looming closure of Pokemon Bank, I thought that I wanted to take that on. And it's been something I've been working on the past few months. Massive shoutouts to CannedWolfMeat and SirToastyToes for their excellent videos that inspired me to do this. And now I'm here basically at the end,prepping to play through Scarlet for the the last few Ribbons in that game.

Of course though, In order to get the ribbons in Sword, I had to actually play through it for the first time. The playthrough, while really easy Leon and early Klara not withstanding, was extremely strong in terms of options for team members, especially with Isle of Armor options thrown in. I love pokemon games that offer a large variety of team members to use, it's a big reason I enjoy XY more than most. I found myself using 10 whole team members by the end of the playthrough. Would have had more but I literally never found Applin and Cursola is Shield exclusive. Many of these were new Galarian Pokemon which are for the most part fantastic. Galar imo has one of the strongest lineups of new pokemon in the series, though I feel Alola did regional forms better. Seriously though, I was using all these guys by the end.

Something thatvalso surprised me was the locations. While the Wild Area is a little boring, I found myself enjoying many of the locations. The two big cities, Hammerlocke and Motostoke are cool and feel very large, Ballonlea and the Glimwood Tangle are actually really great areas visually and Wyndon is imo, one of the best cities we've seen in a Pokemon Game in terms of both scale and looks. While I do like these areas, I will say progressing through them is extremely linear, it feels like there's very little opportunity to go off the beaten path. It's a pretty big shame when even more linear games like XY or Gen 7 had at least a couple of optional areas to explore.

I will say the main story isn’t great. I enjoyed some of the characters. Bede had a neat story with him basically trying to get validation from a father figure who doesn't seem to care much about him. Marnie was an all around good character with some fun interactions who genuinely is just doing her best for her home town and much of the dlc cast like Mustard, Klara and Peony were genuinely entertaining. I did enjoy some of the main game side characters too like Bea and Piers.

Where the plot falls is, well, the plot, not a lot really happens. The game does build up Rose's plan with Eternatus, but you're kept out of the action for most of the events leading up to it. The game basically doesn't have an antagonist until right at the end, where it just kinda feels forced. Everything with Macro Cosmos at Rose Tower only happens because Leon was meeting Rose and we didn't like that for some reason? And of course there's the climax with Eternatus, where as everyone and their mother has pointed out, Rose basically unleashes the apocalypse because he couldn't wait one day to solve a problem 1000 years away. I do like how nonchalant he is about it though, that's kind of funny and Eternatus is actually a pretty cool legendary, though there really isn't much on it storywise beyond the fact it crashed to Earth 3000 years ago and it is the source of Dynamax.

The DLCs though do have more interesting stories. With Isle of Armor focusing on Klara and her being humbled through the dojo and then bonding with Kubfu to raise him to his ultimate form. And Crown Tundra was actually really interesting as you have Calyrex be an actual character. The king of the land who lost his power over time, seemingly losing faith in himself and subsequently losing the people's worship and his steeds. Heck the fact that Calyrex properly talks to you really helps make him and his story stand out from other legendaries and is really neat I think.

I will say, there may be something to be said about how many of the best parts of this game are locked behind DLC. I don't think that's inherently a bad thing, the DLC itself definitely justifies its purchase, but I do agree that the main game is a little lacking in some areas that the DLC does help make up for but that of course has the price tag attached. I also have to say the way the DLC is designed is a liitle strange. While Isle of armor does a decent job being something you can do at any point. Having access to the Crown Tundra as early as the Wild Area is extremely weird. The levels don't scale like the Wild Area or Isle of Armor so no matter when you go there you'll be fighting stuff in the high 50s or low 60s. While this does mean you can't catch anything in the wild, there is absolutely nothing stopping you from doing the Dynamax adventures and catching not just a massive variety of overleveled fully evolved mons but basically any legendary from the previous generations. And with that stuff, it's not unreasonable to be able to do literally everything in the Tundra after that except for catching Calyrex. While I would agree this is a fair decision, when you're already handing me literally anything I could want to steamroll the game, blocking off Calyrex and only Calyrex just seems weird.

For some other Miscellaneous stuff. The Battle Tower: It's pathetically easy, especially by previous Tower standards. The NPCs are limited to the Pokedex available at launch and you have no restrictions on useable mons. I'm not really complaining about this as it felt good to have a Facility that was basically just a victory lap after doing every other Tower in the past 6 months or so, and it is very worthwhile to do for rewards like Bottle Caps, Candies and the Nature Mints. 50 BP for one mint sounds like a lot but it's really not as bad as it sounds. But it is slso incredibly funny that shit like this is allowed.

Speaking of, the Nature Mints, those are a genuinely fantastic addition to the series. I'm very happy to see how accessible optimising pokemon has become since Gen 7. Between Hyper Training, Very easy levelling with jow many candies you can get through Raids, Nature Mints, easily accessible EV Training through the dojo and items like the Ability Capsule and Patch (Even with how expensive the patch is in SwSh), you can make pretty much any pokemon perfectly optimised for competitive use with, for the most part, not much time investment, it's genuinely great.

One thing I have to say as someone who enjoys a bit of Shiny Hunting, SwSh are kind of a slap in tge face with how many mons are shiny locked. Stuff like Type Null which was huntable in Gen 7, the starters which are a cardinal sin to shiny lock imo, and Cosmog who has literally no practical reason to be shiny locked when you can get Solgaleo or Lunala from the Max Lair with massively boosted shiny odds. It only really reinforces how little reason there actually is to shiny lock stuff imo and SwSh has among the most in the series. It's extremely annoying. Doesn't help that the game’s shiny hunting method is kinda eh, and wasn't properly figured out til ages after it's release.

So overall, I do think SwSh is a pretty flawed game, but I feel like it has a lot of strong aspects that get overlooked due to how initial reactions colored people's opinion on the game. Is it the best pokemon game? Not by a long shot imo. Is it still good though? I would say so yeah. I'd put it around B Tier I think. It has made me pretty interested to get to SV, which I'll have to do soon for the last few ribbons.

#My stuff #2024 games talk #Pokemon #pokemon sword and shield #pokemon swsh #pokemon ribbons #ribbon master

7 notes · View notes

oblivious-aro · 11 months

Text

Friends in strange Places Ch. 6 Pt 2

What if Vlad was good instead of evil? Link to chapter 1:

Friends in Strange Places Chapter 1, a danny phantom fanfic | FanFiction

FANFICTION.NET

Summary: With a little encouragement from Vlad, Danny works up the nerve to tell his parents. Sam and Tucker realize they have some things to discuss.

Word Count: 8600

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

By the time Danny managed to get the thespian ghost into The Thermos and fly back home, Vlad had already left. Danny was disappointed to have missed him, but he did get a play-by-play of the entire visit from his parents over dinner.

"...and it turns out Vladdie hasn't had any luck designing an ecto-based adhesive either! But thanks to his input, we should be able to increase the efficiency of The Spectre Speeder tenfold!"

"That's fascinating Dad." Jazz deadpanned "So you and Vlad have been breaking the ice okay then?"

"Yup!" Maddie smiled "Oh, I'm so glad Vlad decided to open up to us. It's been so nice working with him again."

"Wow," Jazz said "Vlad sharing his secret with you two really seems to have made a difference in your relationship. Even if he was scared to do it, it certainly seems to have been worth the risk."

Danny glared at Jazz.

"You said it Jazzy!" Jack beamed, oblivious to the secret conversation between his children "Now that we know what's been going on with Vladdie all this time, we're closer than ever before!"

"You don't say." Jazz stared directly at Danny as she spoke.

"I'm done eating, I'm going to my room now." Danny pushed his chair back and began to walk towards the stairs.

"Sorry Danny," Maddie grabbed his shoulder as he passed her "You and your father are on dishes tonight."

"What? But I did them last night!"

"Yeah?" Jazz put the stack of plates in the sink "And who did them the last two nights in before that?"

"That was only because-" he'd had to leave halfway through dinner to deal with Skulker's newest (not to mention very destructive) 'toy'.

"Because what, Danny?" Maddie cocked an eyebrow.

"Nothing." Danny grumbled.

"See you in the lab, Hun." Maddie gave Jack a peck on the cheek "I want to get started on archiving today's data."

With that, she disappeared down the basement stairs.

"Come on, Danno," Jack gave the pouting Danny a pat on the back "The sooner we get this done, the sooner it'll be over. You washing or drying tonight?"

"I'll dry." Danny said. His father had an unfortunate tendency to put dishes away in the wrong places, and Danny did not feel like dealing with Jazz's complaining tomorrow morning.

"So," Danny asked as his dad handed him a plate "How are things going with Vlad? It's really not awkward with his whole, you know...'ghostly' situation?"

"Nonsense Danny!" Jack waved his hand "We barely even talked about it."

Danny wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not.

"I mean," Jack continued "We did sit down and discuss the situation when he first got here, but it didn't take long for us to get back into the swing of researching together just like old times. In fact, the data we collected today has given me a great idea for a new weapon! I call it The Fenton Ghost Gooer!"

"You're not like, married to that name, are you?" Danny scrunched his nose.

"It's gonna be great!" See, your mother and I haven't had much success with ectoplasmic based adhesive in the past, but after studying its behaviour at high velocity under varying degrees of impact force..."

Danny rolled his eyes. It could be so difficult to get his father to stay on a topic that wasn't whatever his latest ghost invention was.

"Dad, would it bother you if you saw Vlad using his ghost powers?" Danny interrupted his rambling.

"What do you mean, Son?" Jack frowned.

"I know you and Mom don't hate Vlad or anything for being half-gho-"

"Of course we don't hate Vladdie!" Jack made an offended expression "He's our best friend!"

"Yeah I know, but I mean like, wouldn't it wig you out to see him flying around or sticking his arm through something? Like, how'd you feel when you first saw him transform?"

"Well I suppose it was a little startling." Jack said "But Vladdie had only really told us about his powers less than a minute ago, so you can't really blame me for being shocked. Your mother and you kids were pretty shaken too, if I recall correctly. Heck, you and your friends barely said a word the whole drive home!"

"Uh...yup! That's right! Totally shocked!" Danny laughed nervously.

"But once your mother and I talked things out, and I got a good night's sleep to think it over, I was able to...what's the word Jazz uses? 'Process' the situation. Sure, it's a little strange that Vlad's got ghostly abilities, but the fact is he does and he's our friend, so we're just going to have to get used to it. Simple as that. The lesson here Danny is that when your problems seem too strange and impossible to figure out, get a good night's sleep. That's something my father taught me. Your brain does amazing things while you're sleeping. Can't tell you how many times I've gone to bed thinking I'd have to scrap some glitchy invention, only to wake up knowing exactly how to fix it!"

Danny wasn't sure he believed his dad. How could Vlad turning out to be half-ghost be so simple for him? Seeing your best friend using the same abilities as the creatures you've hated and hunted obsessively for years had to be a weird, right? Like, at least a little?

"What's got you asking about Vladdie so much anyway, Son?"

"Oh uh, no reason. Just curious."

Jack smiled softly at Danny and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Danny, if Vlad's ghost powers freak you out, you should know you have nothing to worry about. I know he might have looked a little intimidating when he fought that lake monster, but looks are just looks, and despite how Vlad might have looked, he's isn't actually a ghost, so-"

"Ew Dad, you're soaking through my shirt!" Danny pushed Jack's soapy hand off of his shoulder "And I'm not scared of Vlad. I haven't even been scared of ghosts since I was seven."

"Well that's good to hear then." Jack gave Danny's back a strong pat before resuming his scrubbing. "Because there's absolutely no reason to be afraid of Vladdie. And there's gonna be absolutely no reason to be afraid of ghosts anymore once I finish The Fenton Ghost Gooer!"

Danny smiled as his dad started to explain his latest invention.

If nothing else, Jack Fenton was genuine. If he said he didn't have a problem with Vlad's ghost powers, then he meant it.

So why was some small part of Danny still so hesitate?

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

"Aim left! Left!" Tucker cried.

Their entire view was obscured by an explosion before a metallic skull appeared on the computer screen with the words Game Over overlaying it.

"Okay, that might have been a little too left."

"Y'know," Valerie said "I just don't think this game is for me."

"Aw come on, you were way better that time."

"Was I?"

"I mean, you almost made it past level one. That's an improvement!"

Valerie did not look impressed.

"You know, I really thought your ghost hunting skills would translate directly to DOOMED. It's basically the same mechanics."

"What're you talking about? Aiming a real blaster is waay smoother then trying to line up your sight with that thing." Valerie pointed at the computer mouse like it was something offensive.

"Aw well," Tucker shrugged "Can't say you didn't try."

"Indeed." Valerie checked her watch "I'd better get going. Sorry DOOMED didn't work out."

"S'all good." Tucker waved his hand "I still got Danny and Sam to play with. We've got loads of other stuff we can try doing together."

"Alright, but I'm choosing the next date activity." Valerie smiled.

"Sounds good." Tucker frowned "Wait, this was a date?"

"I'm pretty sure this counts?"

"Oh, if that's the case, I feel kind of bad making you spend a date playing a video game you didn't enjoy."

"I mean, I did enjoy watching you freak out every time one of those robot bat things showed up."

"They suck up your health! It's imperative to get rid of them as fast as possible before they become too beefy! Sure, they're pretty harmless if you kill them right away, but it's insane that the developers put an enemy that's capable of getting so powerful at level one!"

"See that," Valerie smiled as she swung her backpack over her shoulder "That's weirdly charming. Now I really got to go. See you tomorrow."

"See you!" Tucker called back. Valerie had officially been over enough times that he didn't need to show her out anymore.

And now that she was gone, it was time for DOOMED with Danny.

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

Pow! Pow!

"Oh my gosh it's satisfying watching an enemy actually get hit." Tucker said over the voice chat. His parents had gotten him a mic set for his birthday.

"I take it DOOMED with Valerie didn't go well?" Danny's asked.

"Dude, she is so bad! Uh, don't tell her I said that."

"Ha ha, I won't. It's weird, though. Considering her ghost hunting skills, I figured she'd be great at this game."

"I thought so too, but nope! It was like that time we watched my little cousin play Mario at my eleventh birthday party."

"Ugh, why'd you bring that up? That was a genuinely painful experience."

"So was watching Valerie play!"

They continued to play in near silence for a while, only talking to warn each other of an approaching enemy.

Just as Tucker was getting ready to call it, Danny spoke:

"Thanks for hanging out tonight, Tuck. I think I needed this."

"Hey, no problem man. Is something going on?" Tucker asked casually. He very much knew that there was a lot going on with Danny, but he figured between Sam and Jazz, Danny didn't need another person smothering him.

That being said, Tucker was still worried about his best friend. He could hardly help it.

"I'm just stressed about telling my parents." Danny paused to blast an approaching spider "I know they're gonna accept me, but the idea of actually telling them is still pretty terrifying. I know it's not a big thing, just two sentences or whatever, but it still feels like the most monumental thing I've ever done."

"Honestly, I think that's pretty reasonable. I know you know they'll be cool, but this is still the biggest secret you've ever kept. Makes sense you're wigged out about finally letting go."

"Yeah, ha ha. I'll figure it out eventually, though. Hopefully. Anyway, one more round?"

"Sure thing Dude."

They were interrupted by the notification sound effect of another player joining.

"Hey, poetry slam ended earlier than I thought it would. You two still playing?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, but we're just doing one last round." Danny replied.

"That's fine. Still gives me enough time for me to hand you both your own butts."

Tucker was pretty sure he could hear Sam's smug grin through his headset.

"Don't think your victory's so assured, Sam." Tucker said "I've been working on a new strategy that'll knock your socks clean off!"

"Ooh! I'm shaking in my rank three crusher boots with bonus spike damage."

Despite Tucker's trash talk, he'd gotten used to losing a while ago. It was just fun to pretend he might one day outrank Sam.

Mostly he was just happy that Danny was getting a break.

...and also the opportunity to test out his new poison upgrade.

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

Danny sighed with relief as he dropped the last of the rags into The Fenton Washing Machine. Not all of the ectoplasm from his parents catapult experiment had made it into the The Containment Tank, and Danny still wasn't having any luck convincing Jazz to swap chores with him.

Danny had just turned the washer on when his ghost sense went off. With a loud groan, Danny turned and glared at the portal. He felt every muscle in his body relax when Vlad floated out.

"Do you somehow just know when I've just finished cleaning the lab?" Danny was too exhausted to muster up a polite greeting "If you're looking for my parents, they're actually out right now. My dad realized we were out of fudge after dinner, and he almost died when he saw we weren't stocked up on baking ingredients."

"I can practically hear Jack's panicked voice." Vlad grinned "But it's actually you I'm after." Vlad said.

"Oh. Really?"

"Yes. Although Jack and Maddie seem relatively comfortable with my ghostly side, I don't think it'd be a good idea to just fly into their lab through the portal as a ghost. I don't think I'm ready for that yet."

"Fair. How'd it go with them yesterday anyway?"

"Rather well, all things considered. Being so open about my abilities with them has certainly been a...mental adjustment after decades of secrecy and hiding, but as I said they really do seem to have taken it rather well."

"That's good to hear." Danny smiled. Hearing Vlad say that made him feel lighter inside. "So what'd you want to talk to me about?"

"I wanted to inquire about your plans to tell your parents about your accident." Vlad said. The lightness in Danny vanished "I assume you haven't already?"

"Uh...no, I...have not done that yet." Danny hoped Vlad couldn't tell how dry his mouth was.

Vlad frowned.

"You seem rather perturbed Daniel. Do you...not want to tell them?"

"I do!" Danny said quickly "Really! It just...never seems like the right time, I guess."

"You guess?"

Danny sighed.

"You know, things aren't terrible right now." Danny rubbed the back of his neck "I guess it's just...I don't really know what will happen when I tell them. I mean, I know they won't banish me to The Ghost Zone or dissect me or whatever, but things are going to..be different, you know? And honestly, that kind of scares me. I guess I was too busy worrying about what could go wrong to think about what would happen if things went right, so I really don't know what to expect."

Vlad's eyes softened with sympathy.

"As they say, misery is comfortable."

"What? No, that's stupid. I hate being miserable, everyone does."

"Daniel you just told me that a part of you would rather live in a house with two people who are trying to hunt you, surrounded by hazardous devices, than tell your parents about your ghost part."

"No, that's- I mean...huh."

"I do understand how you're feeling." Vlad said. "Now that your parents know about my powers, I was more than a tad nervous to come down here yesterday, and there is a reason I stalled telling them until the end of the trip. But, as someone who's been where you are, I can confidently say things are better now that they know. Even with all the unknown elements."

"I know things'll be better," Danny said "It's just so weird to think how much one little conversation can change."

"Things are going to change. It might be a bit awkward with your parents at first, I won't lie. The idea of being in my ghost form around Jack and Maddie still makes me...apprehensive, and I'm not sure I'll feel comfortable with it any time soon. For all I know, I may never."

"Well that's comforting."

"But I'm not scared of my best friends shooting me anymore, so that's a plus." Vlad grinned "Kind of outweighs having to deal with the awkwardness, if you ask me."

"Yeah," Danny laughed half-heartedly "I suppose it would."

"You want my advice? Tell them tonight."

"Tonight!?" Danny almost had a heart attack

"Yes tonight. Not telling Jack and Maddie sooner has been my biggest regret. You know you want to do this. Save yourself the unnecessary worry and just get it done."

Danny thought about it. He supposed Vlad's logic was sound, and if there was anyone he should listen to for tips on telling his parents they were half-ghost it was him, but the thought of doing it so soon made him dizzy. He knew he'd been stalling, but he needed a little more time to prepare than that.

"I'll do it tomorrow night." he said, sounding much firmer than he felt.

"Well I say never put off till tomorrow what can be done today," Vlad shrugged "But the decision is yours. Good luck Little Badger!"

With that, Vlad flew backwards through the portal, leaving Danny alone with his thoughts.

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

Tucker had to stop himself from cheering as the lunch lady finished scooping the casserole of the day onto his tray. In his opinion, it was insanely cruel of the faculty to schedule his biweekly PE period right before lunch. As if gym class wasn't long enough!

He quickly found Sam in their usual spot and took a seat across from her.

"Where's Danny?" Tucker asked before shoving a large spoonful of casserole into his mouth. It was tomato and ground beef with macaroni noodle today.

"Give you three guesses and two of them don't count." Sam replied.

"Ah." Tucker swallowed "Was it The Box Ghost again?"

"Nah, I'm pretty sure it was Klemper. Danny said something about frozen toilets."

"Ooh, maybe Danny should let him keep going for a bit! I think they have to cancel school if the toilets don't work."

"Tucker, broken plumbing facilities in a building with over five hundred people could pose a serious problem. Do you know how many students here have bladder issues?"

"Okay jeez, I was only joking."

There was a brief silence as the two of them started to eat their lunches.

"I really could've used you with Danny the other day, you know." Sam said "It's like you don't even care that your best friend's about to tell his parents the biggest secret of his life."

"What? Sam, of course I care. I'm worried about Danny too, but there's no point in pushing him if he's not ready yet."

Sam was about to angrily retort, but she stopped herself, the conversation with Danny replaying in her head.

Why was she so angry at Tucker? Sure, it was kind of annoying he hadn't backed her up, but she had to admit his logic wasn't totally unreasonable.

"I guess." she relented. It felt weird admitting Tucker was right so easily.

Wait, why did that feel so weird? They were friends, best friends. It shouldn't take so much restraint just to agree with each other about something so minor.

Danny was right. Something was wrong.

Not that it was all Sam's doing, Tucker could be annoying and insensitive. A lot of the time, in fact.

But was Sam maybe...not always interpreting his intentions in the best light? Just maybe?

A lot of mixed thoughts were going through Sam's head, but one thing she knew for sure was that if they wanted to fix what was going on, someone had to start somewhere.

"Hey, um, I just wanted to say I'm...sorry I teased you about Valerie so much. You told me to stop and I didn't, even though I should have."

Tucker blinked, completely taken aback by her sudden apology. It probably didn't help that she'd been giving him the gears less than a minute ago.

Admittedly, that might have been a weird place to start, but it was the first thing Sam thought of, and Sam was the kind of person who liked to start fixing a problem as soon as possible.

She just hoped Tucker wouldn't make fun of her apology for revenge.

"Uh...no hard feelings." Tucker said, his shocked expression morphing into a grin "In fact, since you apologized, and I'm such a gracious friend, I promise I won't make as much fun of you when you get your embarrassing first crush." Tucker winked and did finger guns.

Sam felt a flash of annoyance. Of course, Tucker didn't know she was aromantic, chances were he didn't even know what 'aromantic' meant, so Sam knew it wasn't fair for her to be mad at him.

Well, she had just decided she wanted to fix the kink in their friendship, and an important part of friendship was being able to trust your friends with your secrets...

"Actually...I don't think I'll ever get a crush." Sam said.

"Aww, come on. I know being gloomy's your thing, but I'm sure someday you'll-"

"No Tucker, I'm aromantic."

"Oh. Um, what's that?"

"It means I don't get crushes, and I'm never going to fall in love. Ever." Sam crossed her arms "And before you try to give me another pitying platitude, I'm actually quite happy with this development."

"Okay, but how do you know you'll never fall in love?" Tucker asked.

Anger burned in Sam.

"Ugh!" she threw up her hands "This is exactly why I didn't want to tell you!"

She knew this would happen! She knew Tucker wouldn't take her seriously! She knew he'd-

"No no no no wait, I totally believe you!" Tucker threw up his hands defensively "I just meant, like, how'd you figure it out? I'm sorry, I didn't realize how that would sound! I didn't mean it like that, I promise!"

The fire in Sam instantly died.

"You...really believe me?"

"Of course. Why wouldn't I?"

"Because people are never taken seriously when they say they aren't interested in romance. I've lost count of the number of movies I've seen where someone says they're happy being single, but by the end they've started a relationship with someone and everyone's acting like they're 'fixed' now." Sam unconsciously clenched her fists. She'd never realized that that trope bothered her so much until right now. "Plus you specifically never take anything I say seriously."

"What? Yes I do! What are you talking about?"

"Well you weren't exactly the most supportive of my menu update at the start of the year."

"Sam, you literally forced everyone in the school to change to a very niche diet. You gotta admit that's a little extreme."

"Okay fine, maybe that wasn't my best idea. But it feels like ever since then, you've never tried to help me with my world-improving projects. You don't even really listen to my ideas. Like, the world's on fire, and all my friends, family, and fellow students ever seem to want to do about it is laugh at me for trying to fix things!"

The passion in Sam's voice sobered Tucker's normally humorous attitude.

"I didn't think you cared what other people said about you." he said.

"I don't." Sam looked defiantly into Tucker's eyes "I'm an activist to try and make the world a better place, I'm not interested in this for personal glory." Sam gaze shifted away from Tucker's face and she crossed her arms over her body "But y'know, I...might care a little bit what my best friends say about me."

"Oh." Tucker looked away too. "I...I guess that makes sense."

There was a long silence.

"So...how did you figure it out?" Tucker asked "I mean, if you like girls then you figure it out by liking a girl and vice versa, but there isn't really a sign if you don't like anybody, so how do you know you won't like anybody ever?"

Sam raised an eyebrow at Tucker.

"N-not saying you're wrong about saying you're aromantic! Or that anybody else is! I'm really just curious, I swear! Actually you know what, you don't have answer that. I probably shouldn't have even asked."

Tucker proceeded to shove an entire handful of tater tots in his mouth. Sam was pretty sure it was to stop himself from rambling any more. It was a very Tucker thing to do. She might've laughed if Tucker's question hadn't been making her think so hard.

Sam wasn't offended by the question, she knew Tucker was a curious person who meant it genuinely, it was just a difficult question to answer.

"I don't know." Sam admitted "It just...feels right. I don't know how to explain it any better. The idea of not falling in love feels like it fits better than the typical romantic ideas everyone's always pushing, and like, when I read about some of the experiences of other aromantic people I've found online, it just feels so right. Like someone finally gets it. I can't really explain it much better than that, but I just know it's true that I'm not going to fall in love."

"I guess it's like getting a crush." Tucker mused "You can't really explain it, you just kind of know."

Sam frowned. She didn't think it was exactly like that, but she could see that Tucker was trying to be understanding. Not to mention she had just told herself she was going to try and be more civil with him.

"Uh, maybe." she said "Honestly, the idea was kind of weird at first, but the more time goes on, the more I actually really like knowing I'm aro. It's great. Figuring that out feels like scratching an itch I didn't even know I had."

"I definitely get that."

"You do?"

Tucker felt his heart skip a beat.

"I...think I might be bi." Tucker said.

"Yeah? Good for you." Sam gave Tucker a small but genuine smile.

Tucker felt his whole body relax.

Wait, why was he so relieved? He hadn't felt this tense when he was telling Danny or Valerie.

Maybe Danny was on to something about him and Sam...

"You okay over there?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, just uh, thinking about some stuff. You don't seem surprised."

"Tucker, remember the drive in Danny's RV to Vlad's cottage?"

"Oh yeah. I kind of hoped everyone had forgotten about that nightmare."

"I mean, I had planned on never mentioning it again ever, but I don't think I could forget it if I tried. But hey, at least I figured out my romantic orientation. So that's pretty cool." Sam shrugged casually.

"I wish I felt as confident about being bi as you do about being...what was it?"

"Aromantic. Aro for short."

"Aro, got it. I mean, I'm warming up to the idea of being bi, but it's been quite the adjustment for my brain. At first it felt like I maybe wasn't even allowed to call myself that."

"Why not?"

"I mean, I for sure do get crushes on guys sometimes, but it really isn't a lot of the time. I'm really mostly into girls, so sometimes it kind of feels like I'm trying to claim something I'm not sure I have any right to."

"So what? You gotta like 'this many' boys to be bi? And who exactly is checking that?"

Tucker laughed a little before continuing.

"Yeah, I know it sounds kind of ridiculous. I have been feeling more comfortable calling myself as bi the longer I've thought about it, but I still can't quite shake this feeling that at some random moment someone's gonna jump out and call me out on it."

"Don't worry," Sam picked up her milk carton and drained the last of it "If anyone even tries to imply you're not 'bi enough' or whatever, I'll just have a nice little chat with them."

Sam finished her statement by crushing the empty milk carton in her hand, all five of her nails leaving gashes in cardboard.

Tucker was going to laugh at Sam's joke, but the carton-crushing demonstration ad actually been genuinely intimidating (Sam was pretty good at being intimidating), so the noise he ended up making was somewhere between a laugh and a yelp.

Sam nearly jumped out of her seat.

"How did you even make that sound?" she asked.

"I don't know, and I don't think I could make it again if I tried."

Sam laughed.

It was actually really nice hearing her laugh like that. Tucker couldn't recall the last time Sam had laughed at one of his jokes.

That might have had something to do with the fact that a lot of his jokes were made at her expense.

Like, a lot of them.

Tucker honestly couldn't remember the last time he'd really gone out of his way to be nice to Sam. Not since the meat incident.

This was not a comfortable realization.

"Hey Sam," Tucker wasn't exactly sure how to say what he wanted to say, but he knew he had to say something "I'm sorry I haven't been taking you seriously lately. I know I haven't exactly been the best listener. Don't get me wrong, some of you ideas are insane and I want no part in them, but I'm gonna at least start trying taking them seriously now. I'll start taking you seriously, I promise."

Sam was slightly taken aback. She hadn't expected an apology from Tucker, and she hadn't realized how much she'd wanted to hear that until he said it.

"Wow," she started to say "I really-"

"Hey, sorry I'm late." Danny suddenly appeared and sat down beside Sam. Tucker genuinely wasn't sure whether they just hadn't notice him approach, or if he'd snuck in ghost-style.

"It's all good du-" Tucker paused when he noticed the apprehensive look in Danny's eyes "You okay? You look like something's up."

Danny took a long breath.

"Are you two free to come over tonight?"

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

Walking down the basement stairs felt like walking through molasses. Not because it was slow, but because each step seemed to take a monumental amount of effort. The journey was actually over surprisingly quickly.

Danny wondered if there was any way he could have lengthened it.

His parents hadn't noticed his descent, both of them deeply absorbed in...whatever giant metal contraption they were working on. Danny didn't really care right now.

He walked up to his parents and loudly cleared his throat, causing them both to snap their heads up.

"H-hey Mom, Dad."

"Hey Danny!" his father set his wrench down to wave at him "How was school?"

"Uh, g-good. School was good."

"Did you need something, Sweetie?" Maddie frowned, sensing his nervousness.

Danny rubbed the back of his neck.

"Um yeah, I kind of...have something to tell you. It's...about the accident I had with the ghost portal."

Jack and Maddie's faces immediately turned serious.

"Danny," Maddie said gently "

"Yeah, I know, I know. That's not it though. It's..."

Danny took a deep breath.

And just jumped in.

"It made me...like Vlad."

"Like...Vlad?" Maddie raised an eyebrow.

"Half-ghost. The portal made me half-ghost. I have ghost powers like Vlad."

There was a beat of silence. Maddie and Jack looked at each other briefly and turned back to Danny.

"Now Son," Jack smiled "I know you two both had ghost portal accidents, but there's no way our portal affected you in the same extreme way. Sure, maybe you've been having minor side effects-"

"That you should have told us about earlier." Maddie cut in sternly.

"What your mother said. But there's no way you could have been affected as drastically as Vlad. You don't even-"

Jack was cut off by two blinding rings of light splitting around Danny's waist, turning him into the ghostly version of himself.

The sight made both of his parents go slack-jawed.

Maybe it had been a bit much to transform without warning, but after weeks of stalling and months of hesitation, Danny had run out of patience.

"I'm half-ghost like Vlad." he repeated, summoning the rings and transforming back.

It was shockingly easy to say. Although walking down the basement stairs had been torture, once he'd started talking, it had felt weirdly natural to just keep going, like he was just telling them what score he'd gotten on a math test. Danny had expected more resistance.

Telling Jazz had been harder.

"Y-you really are like Vlad..." Jack's voice was almost a whisper.

Oh right, their reaction. The beating of Danny's heart instantly washed away the peace he'd been feeling.

This was actually much worse than telling Jazz.

"Y-yeah?"

"Danny?" Maddie's voice was strained "How long have you...been like Vlad?"

"Since the first day." I...walked out of the portal looking like that. I just managed to transform back before you and Dad came back."

"Jack," Maddie put a hand on the work bench to steady herself "I thought you said you tested thoroughly for any mutations or contaminations!"

"Of course I did, Madds! I did a DNA test and everything and couldn't find any indication of..."

Jack suddenly stopped talking. He and Maddie snapped their heads to Danny as if they'd suddenly remembered he was there.

"All those months..." Maddie pulled down her hood, revealing eyes filled with horror "Listening to us going on and on about capturing and dissecting ghosts...oh! No wonder you didn't tell us! You must've been scared half to death."

Danny almost laughed at his mother's choice of words, but he was still too tense to move. He knew his parents weren't going to hurt him, but for some reason he felt like he was in trouble.

"Oh, baby." Maddie wrapped Danny in a hug. She kissed his forehead and rubbed his back.

"Y-you guys aren't mad?"

"Mad?" his father said. "Danno, I don't blame you one bit. I'd have been scared out of my britches too if I was in your position and I heard my parents talking about ghosts the way your mother and I do."

He came over and wrapped his arms around Danny and Maddie.

"We love you kiddo." he said "And we're both so proud of you for telling us."

Maddie squeezed Danny harder.

Danny felt his muscles relax and his heart slow back to normal.

He'd done it. He'd really done it.

Honestly, Danny didn't know how he felt right now. It was weirdly quiet in his head.

But one thing Danny knew for sure was that it felt good to finally have to stop hiding.

This was good.

Danny smiled and hugged his parents back.

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

Sam, Tucker, and Jazz all sat at the kitchen table, none of them daring to speak. They'd all been counting the seconds since Danny had gone down the stairs. It had only been two minutes, but it had been a very long two minutes.

The only sound being made was Tucker tapping his knuckles on the table. Sam very much wanted to ask him to stop, but she also didn't want to be the first one to speak.

"Do you think we should go down and check on him?" Tucker asked, his hand finally stilling.

"I'm sure he's fine, just be patient." Despite her grounded words, Sam's anxiety leaked into her voice.

"Sam's right." Jazz said firmly "We're all worried, but this is Danny's moment, so it's our job to be his support and remain fluid enough to react to what he needs depending on which way the situation goes. The best way to do that we have to remain calm and-"

The basement door began to open. Jazz was on her feet in an instant.

"Where's Danny?! Is he okay?!"

"Calm down Jazz, everything's good. Great actually."

Danny's voice was light and full of joy. He didn't even sound annoyed at Jazz's excessive worrying.

Jazz's shoulder's instantly relaxed and she went over to stand by her family. Sam and Tucker awkwardly followed.

"So they...all know?" Maddie said, gesturing to the room.

"Yeah." Danny smiled "No more secrets."

Despite how nice a moment this was, it was also kind of an awkward one. Everyone appreciated how hard it had been for Danny to get here, and they were all feeling the relief, but the question of 'now what do we do?' went unspoken amongst them all.

"I...brought a cake." Sam said.

"Really?" Danny asked, surprised.

"Well, if you don't want it..."

"No, I definitely do, I just...why did you get a cake?"

"Well I didn't really know what the proper protocol was for when your best friend tells his parents he's half-ghost, but a cake seemed like, maybe appropriate?" Sam shrugged.

Danny went over to the white box on the table and lifted the cover.

"Congratulations On The Thing With Your Parents?"

"Tucker's was in charge of the writing."

"I didn't see you pitching in any ideas for a tasteful message that would fit on a cake and not attract suspicion from the cake decorator."

"My contribution was paying for the cake."

"Aw, that was such a lovely gesture, you two." Maddie beamed "Jazz, could you get the plates out? Let's serve this bad boy up!"

"I call the first piece!" Jack said.

"Now Jack, considering the occasion, I think it's only appropriate that Danny gets the first piece."

"Oh, alright." Jack smiled at Danny and patted his shoulder "I suppose that's fair. But I get the second piece, since I called it!"

"Jack..." Maddie said disapprovingly.

"Dad can have the first piece. I don't mind, I know how he gets." Danny said. He was just glad that things were still normal. Sure, his parents probably still had some adjusting to do, but they still saw him as the same Danny he was before, and that was big enough of a relief. "But I'm getting a corner piece."

Honestly though, Danny could've had to give away the entire cake and it wouldn't have killed his mood.

It was finally over. He didn't have to hide or make his friends lie for him anymore. Not to the people who mattered, anyway.

Danny continued to stare at his mom after she handed him a piece of cake and began cutting one for his dad.

He was still nervous abut what the future held for his family's dynamic, but for the first time he also felt excited to find out.

But for now he was just going to enjoy his cake.

#danny phantom #dp #dp fanfic #danny phantom fanfic #fisp #my writing #my fanfic #friends in strange places

13 notes · View notes

sleepdeprivedsimp234 · 1 year

Note

Hello again, lovely!! 💙💙

I’m preparing to shove Gov and the States through the wringer (lots of self-sacrifice and tears, idk Gov just keeps jumping in front of anything presenting any form of danger to the States) so I need some dopamine to cope:

Last time Gov comforted the States, but do you think any of the States would protect Gov? (He’s a self-sacrificing idiot, could be missing two limbs, half his skull shattered and disemboweled and still trying to work smh) I just think the man deserves a break, even if he’s torn-to-pieces in the lead-up to said ‘break’ (most likely forced because he will still try to work tbh)

~💙💙💙

Hiiii!!! And yes I agree, Gov needs a break. A long one too. So why get the most assertive of the Main 6 to get him to take a break: Louisiana (haha I love him too much lmao-)

=====================

(This may or may not have some Gov/Loui 👀)

=====================

It was around 10pm when Gov snapped back awake due to hearing a teleportation chime. He turned around to see Louisiana standing behind him. He noticed that Loui wasn't in his normal attire (he had exchanged it for a black cropped hoodie, and Gov definitely wasn't blushing lmao), and he didn't have Florida with him. Which was oddly suspicious.

"What do you want, Mags?" Gov sighed.

"I came to check on ya. Also to tell you that I'm taking you on a walk in Baton Rouge. To y'know, have a break." Responded Loui with the smile that the Main 6 (and me 👀) adored so much.

"Listen, Honey, I would love to, but I'm very busy right now." Gov said, gently cupping the smaller's face in his hands.

"I know, but I think ya can take a break. You've been workin' all day for the past 4 days, and I'll bet you haven't slept either. Loui said, walking over to Gov's closet and pulling out a pair of jeans and a black turtleneck. 'Is this really all he has in terms of casual clothes- me and Yorkie really need to take im' clothes shopping at some point.' Loui thought to himself before tossing the clothes at Gov, who just barely caught them. He walked over to Gov and stood up on his tippy-toes to give him a peck on the lips before sitting down on Gov's bed. "Go change Cher. I'll be waiting here."

Gov just blushed brightly and just went to his bathroom to change with no questions asked (hehehe SIMP-).

A few minutes later, Gov walked out of the bathroom wearing the clothes that Loui had thrown at him. Loui looked up from his phone and smiled a bit before walking over and grabbing the taller's hand.

"Ya ready?" he asked. He waited until Gov nodded yes to teleport to the busy streets of Baton Rouge.

Gov looked around with nothing but pure amazement in his eyes. "Wow... It's beautiful...."

Louisiana chuckled a bit. "Yea... It ain't no Dallas, L.A, Miami, or NYC, but it sure is somethin'." He said with a bright, fond smile. "Now I'm gonna bet you haven't eaten anything all day, so I'm gonna take you to one of my favorite bars so we can getcha somethin'."

Gov didn't bother arguing, cuz he knew it was no use. He was absolutely WHIPPED for his boyfriend. He allowed himself to get dragged to a rather nice looking bar around ten minutes from where they had landed. As they entered, he noticed how Loui seemed to know every worker there. After a bit of looking around, he nearly ran into Loui, who had stopped at the counter where there was a bartender.

"Ah Loui, good to see ya again!! Who's yer little friend here?" she said with a friendly smile as she shook Loui's hand.

"Hey Chels! Nice to see ya too sha. This here is ma boyfriend, Gabriel." He said, returning the handshake and smile. He elbowed Gov, and gave him the look that said 'say hello'.

"Hello." Gov said with the friendliest smile he could muster.

"Hey Gabe, you can call me Chelsi. I'm assuming y'all are gonna want the regular, Lou?" She asked, turning to Louisiana.

"Yup. Thanks sha."

"No problem!! Go find yourselves a table and I'll be around in a lil bit."

"Aight." Loui said, shaking her hand once more before dragging Gov to a table somewhere in the back of the bar.

"So um... You seem to be a regular here." Gov said, trying to make small talk with the smaller state.

"Yup, I come ere' every other day, and trust me, aint nobody here gonna bite ya, they're all very nice." Answered the Pelican State.

"I wasn't really worried about that Mags." Gov said.

"Yea okay sha- you were literally shakin' with anxiety when we walked in here and you were lookin' at everybody like they were gonna bite ya."

"Well what if-"

"And don't bother sayin' that it was because ya were cold, cuz it's 80°F AND humid outside."

"I- fine. Whatever." Gov said, pouting ever so slightly.

"Good boy." Loui teased, smirking when Gov started blushing again. He looked up when he saw Chelsi standing there with their food. Now it was his turn to blush.

"Pfft- y'all are real cute together. Here's yer order, have a great night y'all." She said before walking back behind the bar where she worked.

The two personifications sat and ate for about fifteen minutes before about 4 or 5 tall guys walked up to their table.

"Can we help ya?" Loui said, keeping up his friendly smile and tone of voice.

"Well you most definitely can, cutie~" said one of the guys (he looked like he might be the leader of em all) as he seductively leaned on the wall next to Loui.

Loui looked like he was trying his hardest to not tell this guy to f*ck off. But still, he kept up his friendly attitude. "Ehhh- sorry not interested man."

"C'mon~ Why not?~"

Loui was starting to get a bit uncomfortable and his friendliness was starting to disappear slightly. "Like I said, I'm not interested. Now, please leave us alone."

"Y'know, funny thing is, I don't remember it being a question, pretty boy~" said the guy as he wrapped an arm around Loui's waist.

Okay- Gov's gonna intervene now. He stood up and said "H-hey... Guy, he said he wasn't interested. Now leave. And don't put your hands on him."

The guy that had his arm wrapped around Loui glared at Gov before walking up to him and grabbing him by the front of the shirt and pinning him against the wall. "What're ya gonna do bout' it huh?"

"I-I-I-" Gov started to say before he noticed that Loui's eyes were glowing a bright red. Well sh*t.

Suddenly, Loui jumped up from his seat and grabbed the guy that was pinning Gov against the wall and threw him head-first at an unoccupied table. He smirked when the other 4 decided to attack him. Good, more blood~

Gov watched as Loui proceeded to beat the living sh*t out of the other four guys. He flipped and broke one's arm, he knocked another out completely by smacking his head on his knee, and the other two also received a few kicks and punches before running away like absolute cowards.

Loui laughed a bit to himself, satisfied with his work. He turned back to Gov, who was staring at him with a wide-eyed amazed expression. He wrapped an arm around Gov's shoulders and pecked him on the cheek before teleporting them out of there while the people were distracted.

Gov wrapped his hands around Loui's waist and kissed him on the lips, Loui returning it. The two kissed for a solid five minutes before finally pulling apart, but still not taking their hands off each other.

"Where the hell did you learn to fight lie that??" Gov asked, still amazed.

Loui looked confused for a second before catching on. "O-oh hehehe uh... Well, ya don't live this long and learn nothin' sha. Especially when ya live in da hood. I guess that being friends with Texas, York and Mass helps ya learn a few things as well. Plus- I wasn't bouta let ya get beat up back there, sha."

"Mhm you are indeed my little knight in shining armour huh?" Gov teased slightly, bringing Loui in for a tight hug and nuzzling the top of his hair. Loui returned the hug, burying his face in the taller's chest.

"Yup I am sha."

#welcome to the table #welcome to the statehouse #ben brainard #wttt #wttt louisiana #wttt gov #wttt shipping #gov/loui is life #hope this was alright!!

10 notes · View notes

spottedenchants · 2 years

Text

Chanse's Mix-n-Match C2 Fic Recs - Part 1

Never done one of these before, so I figured I'd give it a go :D No particular theme to these, aside from them occupying a corner of my brain.

eyes like coin of gold; lips a reddest rose by vietbluecoeur (vietbluefic)

T, F/M & Gen, Archive Warnings: GDoV & MCD, Complete (1 Ch, 15.6k)

Greyro Ace Yussa/Marion (btwn romantic and platonic)

In which a lady lives in a castle. In which a dragon soon moves in. In which they build a life and a love, together.

If you have been following me for a while, you have likely seen me mention this fic. Both delicate and visceral, eyes like coin of gold is a veritable Beauty and the Beast-esque tale of trust and intimacy, with imagery, sentiment, and a happily ever after to match. Every aspect is lovingly described in vivid, storybook detail, and this is one I wish I could read for the first time over and over.

letters to a figure on the horizon by vietbluecoeur (vietbluefic)

G, Gen, NAWA, Complete (1 Ch, 7.3k)

Aro Ace Yussa /& Marion

In which a lady known for her laughter no longer can, and a new friend helps her gain her joy again.

A mix between prose and epistolary, the first half of this one has a little bit of a mystery to it while the entire thing keeps with an overarching fairy tale feeling. I found Yussa's aloofness very, very funny, and it's very sweet to see him sway towards wrapping his care with it. Also Yussa and Marion are same town pen pals and I hold them to my heart.

Refusing Fortune's Favor by @catgirlthecrazy

G, M/M, NAWA, Complete (1 Ch, 1.8k)

Essek/Caleb (Pre-Relationship)

In which the wizards consider the memory of souls, and what future paths past decisions may make.

A conversation fic set in Caleb's tower while the wizards are on their independent Aeor adventure, this one hurts! And it's sweet! Perfect for the wizards if you ask me. What did Matt mean when he said Essek refused consecution because of dunamantic theories? Well, here's a look at exactly that.

Breaking Inertia by @futureshieldmaiden

T, M/M, NAWA, Complete (10 Ch, 31k)

Essek/Caleb (Getting Together)

In which Caleb and Essek get stuck in a time loop, and have to work together to get out of it.

A time loop Scourger AU! I'll admit, I read this one so fast that I completely bypassed the potential for some intense dramatic irony, so. Take that as you will. It was interesting seeing how the puzzle pieces fell into place, and very satisfying when they finally made it out!

the weighted thread of foresight by @essektheylyss

T, Gen, NAWA, Complete (6 Ch, 11111)

Essek & Abrianna Mirimm, Essek & Deirta

In which a young Essek receives a well-rounded education, with divination supplementary to lessons on life.

Set decades and decades ago, this Essek is not the once-Shadowhand we now know, and he quite certainly can be. It was fascinating to see the beginnings of C2-era Essek within the boy of this fic, knowing exactly where he will misstep and exactly where he will have the chances to grow. Perhaps the real diviners are the readers we are along the way. Also Abrianna is an absolute delight 10/10 no notes and Deirta has such a distinct presence even before we see her.

Okay that's all for now :D

(fic recs part 2)

#yussa errenis #marion lavorre #caleb widogast #essek thelyss #deirta thelyss #abrianna mirimm #critical role #chanse rec list #chanse recs #long post #basically just plucking things out of my bookmarks since i really haven't been reading all that much lately #staring at my summary for eyes like coin of gold.... can you tell i have it plastered to my eyelids #idk how to write normally about that one just. i am here because of it xD #chanse chatters

22 notes · View notes

unpredictable-probabilities · 2 years

Text

Granting Favors 12 - What They Deserve

Summary:

After some careful consideration, Azul realizes that there is no reason for him to keep Jamil at a distance.

Meanwhile, Jamil has his own realizations about Azul after a conversation with Rook.

Word Count: 8,154

Author’s Note:

This chapter contains a spoiler from Book 6, so I put a warning when the spoiler is about to be revealed so those who want to avoid it can do so. That particular detail isn’t relevant to Azul and Jamil, so you won’t miss anything about them even if you choose to avoid that spoiler.

The warning looks like this: ***BOOK 6 SPOILER WARNING***

Don’t read anything past that warning if you want to avoid the spoiler.

When it’s safe again to continue reading without seeing the spoiler, you’ll see this: ***SPOILER OVER***

Happy reading!

—

Jamil checked the time on his phone as he pushed open the door to Ramshackle. Like he expected, he wasn't late. Hopefully Vil had already forgiven him for suddenly disappearing last night.

"Bonjour, Monsieur Talentueux !" Rook came down the stairs and greeted him in the hall. "You're just in time for breakfast! How is our dear Roi de l'Effort?"

"He's better now," Jamil replied, still relieved at that fact. "I don't think he has a fever anymore."

"Ah, très bien! And how gracious of him to lend you a hoodie to combat the cold of Octavinelle," Rook smiled.

Jamil looked down and saw that he was still wearing Azul's hoodie; he had forgotten all about it. No wonder it seemed warmer than usual here.

"There you two are," Vil appeared from the dining room. "Come along, we have a schedule to keep."

"Of course," Rook smiled at Vil and followed him out of the hall.

Jamil removed Azul's hoodie; it was too warm in Ramshackle for two layers of jackets. He'd have to see Azul later today to return it.

Something fluttered in his stomach at the thought of seeing Azul again so soon after spending the entire night with him, and his mind recalled how warm and comfortable it was to sleep next to him under a shared blanket.

"Great Seven," he muttered as he walked to the dining room, shaking his head at how far gone he was already.

***

Azul sat at his desk in his office and got the plans for the Cultural Festival from the top drawer. Jade and Floyd were hesitant of his presence at the Lounge, suggesting that he take a break from work, but he was feeling restless just staying in bed, and he did feel better already. Their compromise was he would only work half a shift that day.

He looked at the list of tasks that he had to do, and one of the things that he was supposed to have finished already was talking to Rielle about Floyd's suggestion of performing at Mostro Lounge, as a marketing strategy for the music lounge that Rielle wants to establish.

At least one or two songs should be enough, Azul playing the piano while Rielle sings. It shouldn't take too much work; they were both musically talented enough that they wouldn't have to rehearse much.

He was about to send Rielle a text asking if he would be interested in such a collaboration, but as he placed the papers on his desk, his eyes fell on the small macaron box at the corner.

"I'll uh… see you around?"

"You will."

Azul sighed in defeat, remembering the smile he had exchanged with Jamil just before he left.

Actually, that exchange was the least of it. What about the entire night he had spent with him? He let Jamil stay in his bedroom; they even fell asleep leaning against each other. And the most notable thing about that was he didn't mind at all.

He was supposed to ration his time spent with Jamil, learn to get used to less and less of it just like with macarons, but that plan had turned out to be as fragile as the sugary snack; it had crumbled as soon as Jamil asked if he wanted him to leave.

The phone in his hand lit up, and Jamil's name was on the screen.

Hey, I accidentally took your hoodie with me. Can I return it later at lunchbreak?

Goodness, that's right, he had lent Jamil a hoodie and forgot all about it. That was very unlike him, rarely did he ever let people borrow his things, and he had never forgotten to ask for them back. He always kept track of what people owed him, but apparently not this time.

Azul leaned back in his chair, staring at the text. If he wanted, he could tell Jamil to just return the hoodie to Jade, or return it to him on Monday when they inevitably see each other in class.

The problem was, he didn't want either of those options.

Azul pursed his lips. He had always been a greedy cecaelia; once he knew what he wanted, he would do all he could to get it. And right now, in the simplest of terms, he wanted to see Jamil again.

Of course. I'll be at Mostro Lounge.

***

Jamil frowned as he read Azul's text. What did he mean that he would be at Mostro Lounge? He was back to work already when he couldn't even walk last night?

"Jamil, I said back to your positions." Vil's sharp voice cut through his thoughts.

The Pomefiore Prefect was frowning at him, and Jamil hurriedly put his phone back in his bag and went to join the others. He always checked his phone during their water breaks, and he had thought that he might as well text Azul about his hoodie already. It was best that he returned it as soon as possible before he damaged it or spilled food on it somehow.

He stifled a yawn as Vil checked if all of them were in their proper places for the blocking in the chorus. The tall blonde stopped walking in front of him and narrowed his eyes.

"What time did you sleep last night?"

"I'm not sure..." Jamil did his best not to avert his eyes when he answered.

"I was clear about not staying up late, wasn't I?" Vil said in a raised voice, and Jamil prepared himself for a severe scolding.

"Mon étoile," Rook appeared behind Vil with a smile. "Time flies when it is spent with someone dear, oui? I myself caught a cold in my freshman year because I stayed out in the snow to spend time with someone very dear to my heart."

Recognition flickered in Vil's eyes, and he seemed to mellow a little before turning to Jamil again. "I expect you to follow the proper bedtime tonight."

"Yes, Vil," Jamil promptly said, relieved at Rook's interval but at the same time wishing that the whole thing didn't happen when everyone else was around.

He could feel their curious eyes on him, probably wondering what Vil and Rook meant by him staying up late, and who he could have been spending time with. Luckily, Vil snapped them to attention again by playing the music and officially continuing the practice.

Their dancing was more coordinated now, though Ace and Deuce still moved a little stiffly, and Vil scolded Epel about holding back on the steps. Other than that, it all went pretty well. Their harmonies were another matter, but Vil said that they would tackle those later in the afternoon.

After Vil announced their lunchbreak, Jamil got the bag with Azul's hoodie in it and headed to Mostro Lounge.

He saw how crowded it was as soon as he opened the doors. It wasn't surprising considering that it was lunch; he just hoped that Azul wasn't in the middle of managing all these customers. He knew from the three days he worked here how tiring the lunch hour could be, and Azul always helped around.

Jamil weaved through the waiters and customers, and he found Azul near the kitchen giving instructions to the cook, who nodded and went back inside.

"Hey," he said when he reached Azul. "Here's your hoodie."

"Jamil," Azul turned to him, his eyebrows slightly lifted. "You're here," he took the bag and glanced at the crowd of customers.

"Yeah, I told you I'd come here, right?" Jamil didn't understand why Azul seemed surprised.

"Yes, but..." Azul trailed off.

Jamil furrowed his eyebrows curiously. "But what?"

The corners of Azul's lips turned up in a smile. "Considering how many times you had loudly told me in public to get away from you, I'm surprised you approached me with so many people around."

Jamil fell silent, remembering those times with a pang in his chest. "Yeah, well, I don't do that anymore," he tried to say indifferently.

Azul chuckled, looking down and adjusting his glasses. "Yes, I see that."

The lighting seemed to soften Azul's features; he looked more relaxed now than Jamil had ever seen him at work, and his face also had more color compared to how pale it was last night. Jamil's eyes lingered on the way his lips curved. And had his eyelashes always been that long?

"Why are you at work?" Jamil said a little loudly, trying to drown out his thoughts and stop himself from blatantly staring at Azul. "You should be resting."

"I'll only be working half a shift," Azul said pointedly. "You can ask Jade if you don't believe me."

"Have you even had lunch yet?" Jamil asked, knowing that Azul tended to neglect eating during work hours.

"Ah, not yet. I'll just do so after my shift, there's less than an hour left, anyway."

Jamil hadn't eaten yet, either, and for a second he briefly considered asking Azul to have lunch with him. Why not? It's just lunch, right? Friends have lunches.

He felt his heart beating at the idea, then he realized that there was no way he could be normal around Azul if they were to share a table for an entire meal. He might end up actually asking him out—

"I gotta go," Jamil said, already taking a step back. "Can't risk being late for rehearsals. Thanks again for the hoodie." He turned and started walking away before he could notice any more stupid things like Azul's eyelashes again.

***

Jamil sat on a bench in the Pomefiore gardens and leaned back, taking a drink of cool water from his tumbler.

They had done almost three hours of rehearsals after lunch, and while their harmonies had significantly improved and their dancing became more coordinated, it did take a lot out of them. Vil had given them half an hour to take a break and replenish their energy, and after that, they would be back to practicing how to flawlessly do the dance moves without missing a beat in the singing.

"Ah, the garden is even more beautiful today."

Jamil turned to see Rook standing to his right, wearing his usual smile while looking around.

"Now that spring is almost upon us, the leaves are more vibrant and the flowers bask proudly in the sun." Rook turned to him. "Not a bad place for relaxation, monsieur. May I join you?"

"Yeah," Jamil nodded and moved over to make space for Rook.

"I couldn't help but notice your abrupt departure earlier after Vil declared a recess," Rook said as he sat down. "Normally you stay in the ballroom to practice a few lines or steps, or review the video recordings."

Jamil averted his eyes. He heard Rook's unspoken question, but he didn't exactly want to deal with it.

"Yeah, I just wanted to be alone for a while," he said vaguely.

Rook let a few moments pass in comfortable silence before he spoke again. "Pardon me, but unlike the garden, you seem to lack your usual vibrancy today. Is everything alright, monsieur? I doubt that staying up late is the sole cause of it."

"About that, thanks for calming Vil down earlier," Jamil scratched the back of his neck. "I didn't really mean to stay up late, it just... happened."

Rook chuckled. "Oui, it does happen. And Vil understands that as well, so there is no need to worry about him being upset over it."

No one at NRC knew Vil better than Rook did, so Jamil knew that it wasn't just an empty reassurance. For as long as Jamil had known them, they'd always had an easy dynamic. Vil could always rely on Rook, no matter how eccentric he was, and no one could calm Vil down as effectively as his Vice Prefect, no matter how upset he was.

The students here weren't exactly a friendly bunch, but Vil was intimidating on a different level. Jamil wondered how Rook managed to earn his trust, and how the two of them became so comfortable and familiar that they seemed to understand each other the most. How long had they been friends already?

Jamil remembered the recognition in Vil's eyes when Rook mentioned staying up late as a freshman.

He frowned curiously and asked, "Were you talking about you and Vil earlier? Was he the one you stayed up with out in the snow?"

"Indeed, it was a lovely time." Rook smiled fondly at the memory.

***BOOK 6 SPOILER WARNING***

"Why didn't you two just talk in Pomefiore's lounge so you didn't have to be out in the cold?"

"Ah, you see, we were not in the same dorm as freshmen. I was in Savanaclaw."

Jamil's jaw dropped. "What?!"

Transferring dorms was possible—that was why Azul often tried to convince him to switch to Octavinelle back then—but he had never known anyone else to do it. There was an entire ritual that needed to be done; the Dark Mirror placed them in their respective dorms according to the 'shape and color' of their souls after all, so the transferring process wasn't easy.

"You transferred because of Vil?" Jamil asked.

"I did," Rook nodded. "After spending countless hours with him, I realized that he was the best person who could help me in my pursuit of beauty."

***SPOILER OVER***

Jamil turned back to the garden, staring thoughtfully at all the trees and flowers and bushes that were intricately designed to be easy on the eyes and provide constant fresh air to the garden's visitors. Rook was so sure about his feelings for Vil that he even went to all that trouble to be able to spend more time with him and help with his career however he could.

Meanwhile, Jamil was so hesitant of his own feelings that he couldn't even ask Azul to lunch. He was hoping he could clear his head by coming here, and while his thoughts did seem clearer now, he was still at a loss about what to do next.

"I don't mean to pry into your problem, Monsieur Talentueux," Rook said. "It is perfectly alright if you don't want to talk about it with me, but I do suggest that you talk about it with someone. Perhaps a close friend that you can confide in?"

Jamil wasn't really close to anyone here, except maybe Azul, given the recent developments in their friendship. But he couldn't exactly go to Azul with this particular problem.

And despite all of Rook's weirdness and flair for the dramatic, he was reliable and good at keeping secrets, based on how little everyone at school knew about him. He was also good at something that Jamil had always been terrible at.

"How do you do it?" Jamil asked, still staring at the greenery. "How can you so easily express your feelings to Vil? I heard you even wrote him a hundred poems for his birthday."

"What can I say?" His smile was evident in his voice. "My love for Vil constantly wishes to be expressed. If I were to attempt to hold back any of my affections for him, it would be like attempting to hold my breath. My heart simply would not be able to take it."

Jamil turned to Rook, surprised at how blatantly he admitted that he loved Vil. "Oh, I guess you two really are dating." He had heard the rumors, but he didn't know for sure.

"Ah, non," Rook shook his head. "We are but good friends, and I simply admire him and endeavor to bear witness and give assistance whenever possible."

Jamil frowned in confusion. "But... you just said you love him. Did you mean like... as a friend?"

Rook smiled in amusement, but it wasn't mocking in any way, more like he wasn't expecting Jamil to ask but he was happy to answer.

"It is like this, mon ami; loving Vil is like loving the stars themselves. You do not expect a sunset to admire you back, oui? If I ever find myself confessing to him that I'm in love with him, I do not imagine that he would be sentimental enough—and certainly not in love enough—to say it back."

Jamil blinked. "And... you're okay with that? Not knowing for sure if he feels the same way about you?"

"I merely want him to be happy and achieve his dreams. If he allows me to help him with that, then that is enough."

Rook was smiling contentedly, but Jamil thought he heard a hint of resignation in his voice. He wondered if he should ask more about it, but it didn't seem like his business. Instead he just focused on his own problem.

"I was gonna ask him to lunch but... I didn't."

Judging by Rook's knowing look, he knew exactly who Jamil was talking about. That was preferable, at least Jamil wouldn't have to say it out loud.

"And what made you hesitate?" Rook tilted his head curiously.

"I don't know, I..." Jamil raised his hand and let it fall back to his lap helplessly. "He was surprised that I approached him even when Mostro Lounge was crowded. He said that back then I always told him to get away from me, so he wasn't expecting that I'd walk up to him with so many people around."

"Hmm..." Rook hummed thoughtfully, waiting for Jamil to continue.

"I did tell him that a lot back then, but not anymore," Jamil said defensively. "We've been getting along, but if he still sees me as someone who doesn't even like to spend time with him, then what if he thinks it's weird that I invite him out to lunch? Or what if he thinks I'm just returning the favor because he let me borrow his hoodie? You know how Azul is."

Rook smiled, and Jamil felt his face flush when he realized he had said the name.

"Whatever, it's stupid." Jamil shook his head and looked away.

"It is not stupid, mon ami," Rook said gently. "If you truly want Roi de l'Effort to know that you enjoy spending time with him, then it seems like the best way to show it would be, well, to spend more time with him, non? Though of course you can always tell him directly."

Walk up to Azul and say that he liked spending time with him? Mortifying. He could never do that. Besides, there was another thing that had been bugging him about all this.

"Do I even deserve to do that..." he muttered, hating how pitiful it sounded.

"Whatever do you mean?" Rook said in concern.

Jamil shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "He's right, I always pushed him away. And now suddenly I want him to go out of his way and hang out with me just because I changed my mind? I can't just keep deciding on whatever's more convenient for me."

Rook furrowed his eyebrows in thought and looked at Jamil. "You seem to be under the assumption that he doesn't enjoy spending time with you. That he would, as you said, 'go out of his way' to hang out with you. Why do you think so?"

Jamil thought back to how Azul flew on his broom to Scarabia in the middle of the night, how Azul didn't mind at all that they fell asleep leaning against each other.

And their dance when Azul didn't pull away...?

But he had no idea what Azul was thinking, it would be really bad if he were misreading things.

"I do not see it as you deciding on what is convenient for you," Rook continued. "I think it would be better if you give him the chance to make the decision for himself."

"To do what?" Jamil frowned.

"The decision to spend time with you," Rook clarified. "Do not decide for him by assuming that he would find it weird to do so; do not take away his choice."

"You're saying I should ask him?"

"I am saying that you should make a choice that you would not regret." Rook smiled and stood up. "I must get back now to the ballroom, mon étoile will be looking for me."

He tipped his hat at Jamil and left.

Jamil sighed. A choice that he wouldn't regret, huh? His friendship with Azul now could continue as it is and he would be fine with that, so he wouldn't regret it even if he didn't ask Azul to hang out.

But suddenly a certain red-haired prince appeared in his mind. He remembered how Azul hugged him at the end of their business meeting, and how they might have more meetings in the future since they were business partners now.

If he didn't take his chance with Azul, someone else might.

It didn't even have to be Prince Rielle; this school was filled with good-looking and talented mages who at any time could decide to pursue Azul. And Jamil couldn't see himself being happy at all with that.

"Damn it," he muttered and took his phone from his pocket, quickly typing out a text before he ran out of courage.

Prince Rielle obviously has feelings for Azul, but he lives on the other side of the island. Jamil is right here.

And Jamil Viper always makes the most out of his advantages.

***

Azul took a sip of his tea as he wrote in his Alchemy notebook. The Octavinelle lounge was quiet enough for him to catch up on the schoolwork he had missed on his two days of being absent from class.

Usually he would do homework in his office at Mostro Lounge, but Jade and Floyd kicked him out after his half-shift, insisting that he shouldn't be in his work environment. And he didn't want to go to his desk in his bedroom after being cooped up in there for two days, so he decided to stay in his dorm's lounge.

His phone lit up with a notification as he was finishing the Alchemy homework.

It was a text from Jamil.

Hey, do you wanna talk about when we could start on that project for Defensive Magic? We'll both be busy preparing for the festival soon so I thought we should schedule when we could work on it.

Azul stared thoughtfully at the text. Earlier he had already indulged himself in unnecessarily meeting with Jamil, however brief their interaction was. Being in the same class as Jamil was one thing, but working with him on a project would obviously have them meet more frequently. Should he minimize the time that they would work together as much as he could? How greedy could he afford to be when it came to Jamil?

Well, why should it even be a question? Why shouldn't he spend as much time with Jamil as he liked? Jamil hadn't given him any reason to keep his distance, and so far it didn't look like Jamil had any motives to harm him in any way.

Azul furrowed his eyebrows and tapped his pen lightly on his lips. Why did he want to keep his distance from Jamil in the first place?

"You weren't so bad when we danced at the masquerade."

Jamil's remark last night came back to him. Being reminded of that dance and what almost happened then had caught him off-guard, and he had to lean back on the headboard and close his eyes so Jamil wouldn't see how much it flustered him. Jamil had brought it up so casually, as if he hadn't leaned in and attempted to kiss him in the middle of the dance floor.

Did it mean nothing to Jamil now? Was that action merely influenced by the music and dim lights and didn't matter to him anymore?

Azul sighed and massaged his temple, careful to keep his face neutral because there were a handful of his residents sitting around in the lounge.

That was why he kept his distance. Jamil absolutely baffled him.

Growing up in the ocean had taught Azul to be wary of the unknown, and his instincts had made him take a step back and keep Jamil at arm's length. But now that he knew that Jamil posed no threat, he could try to figure him out up close.

He typed in a response and sent it, along with the file of his personal calendar.

This my schedule for this month, let me know when our free times synchronize.

Alright, so what if he enjoyed spending time with Jamil? The Scarabia Vice Prefect had always interested him because of how clever and talented he was, and now it turned out that he also made for excellent company. Azul had no complaints about meeting with him more often.

He put his phone face down on the small table and continued with his homework.

***

The next day, Azul was able to focus more on work because he had already caught up to all his missed schoolwork, and he didn't need to negotiate his shift hours with the twins because Mostro Lounge closed early today at 3 PM.

Most of their employees were members of cultural clubs and had to work on their booths for the festival, so the Lounge would be closing early from today until the festival is over.

"What're you guys gonna be up to now?" Floyd asked Jade and Azul as they exited the establishment.

"I shall be printing out stickers to sell at the booth of the Mountain Lovers Club," Jade answered, locking the doors behind them.

"We made a lot of progress for the Board Game Club booth yesterday, so we won't be having an assembly today," Azul said. "I plan to calculate the profits we earned from Mostro Lounge now that we closed early. We'll be closing at 3 PM for the next few weeks and I want to see how much we could expect to earn by the time of the festival."

Floyd stuck his tongue out and blew a raspberry. "Work again? Don't you have something else to do in your life?"

Azul frowned at him, but he was used to such remarks from Floyd.

"You're not working any more today, we're getting snacks in the cafeteria!" Floyd grabbed his wrist and began to pull him along.

"Wha—" Azul tried to resist but Floyd kept up his pace. "Jade!"

He looked over his shoulder but Jade merely smiled and waved merrily at them. "Enjoy your break, Azul!"

He sighed and went along. There was no changing Floyd's mind whenever he wanted him or Jade to take a break and hang out with him. Most of the time it would be to play video games or watch movies, but it seemed like today Floyd wanted it to be food.

Floyd didn't let go of him until they reached the cafeteria. "What do you think? I'm kinda craving some burgers but I dunno if they still have it since it's way past lunch."

Before Azul could answer, something to their left caught Floyd's eye and he grinned.

"Shrimpy!" Floyd walked over to the vending machine where Yuu was, and with lack of anything better to do, Azul followed. "Whatcha doin' with all those drinks?"

"Oh hey, you two." Yuu finished putting all the bottles of juice in their bag. "Just getting some refreshments for the VDC team. I'm bringing these back to Pomefiore."

"That little tanuki doesn't seem to be around," Azul said. They were all used to seeing the blue monster wherever Yuu was.

"Grim decided to stay in the ballroom, he didn't wanna walk all the way here and back," Yuu said amusedly.

"Mood," Floyd said. "Ooh! Can we go with you to see the rehearsals? Betta Fish wouldn't mind, right?"

"What?" Azul turned to him. "Why do you suddenly wanna go there now?"

"Because I'm bored!" Floyd complained. "And I wanna see some live dancing!"

"Hmm, I don't think Vil would mind." Yuu said. "As long as we keep quiet and don't disrupt anything."

"You really think Floyd could manage that?" Azul raised an eyebrow at the Prefect.

Yuu grinned. "I guess we'll see."

"Let's go!" Floyd said excitedly.

"Hey, I didn't agree to this!" Azul protested before Floyd could grab him again.

"Oh, why don't you wanna go?" Yuu asked. "Do you have stuff to do?"

"No!" Floyd answered for him. "He just wants to work again like he's been doing all day already. Tell 'im to take a break, Shrimpy!"

"You were sick just recently, right?" Yuu looked at him in concern. "Shouldn't you be taking it easy?"

"Exactly!" Floyd bought a bag of potato chips and a pack of apple slices from the vending machine, and tossed the latter to Azul. "Now eat this and let's go see Betta Fish boss around some dancers."

Azul caught it and hesitated. He couldn't very well tell them that he didn't want to go because Jamil would be there. Despite deciding that he wouldn't mind spending more time with him, this was not a scheduled meeting at all. He felt a tad unprepared, even though he didn't exactly know what he should be preparing for.

"Azul?" Yuu was awaiting his response.

Oh well, it was just a rehearsal, surely there would be no harm in spontaneously seeing Jamil now. He would most likely be too busy with their practice anyway, Azul didn't even have to converse with him.

"Alright," Azul relented, putting the pack of apple slices in his coat pocket.

***

The team was in the middle of practice when Azul arrived with Floyd and Yuu; they were harmonizing and dancing along to the accompaniment playing from the speakers while Vil watched their every move.

The Pomefiore Prefect's eyes briefly spared a glance to the visitors as the door closed behind them; his brows furrowed slightly but otherwise he expressed no objection to their presence, and he returned his attention to the dancers.

Yuu led them to the vacant chairs next to the table where some water bottles and orange slices were placed. Floyd sat down and opened his bag of potato chips.

"Hey, that looks fun!" he said through a mouthful of chips. "I shoulda auditioned for this thing."

Azul raised an eyebrow. With Floyd's erratic mood swings, even if he got accepted, he would quit the VDC team whenever he wanted to. It was probably for the best that he wasn't in the team in the first place; it wouldn't do to cause trouble with Vil Schoenheit.

The music changed in tempo, and the beginning of Jamil's rap caught Azul's attention. He had seen the practice videos on Jamil's phone, but it was still entirely different watching the performance in person.

Jamil was fully in his element, his features free of any worries or hesitation as he moved with the music without missing any of his lines. He had never seen Jamil happier or more relaxed than how he looked right now.

Azul didn't bother to suppress the smile that he felt forming on his face.

The confidence that emanated from Jamil was what Azul had been striving to see ever since their freshman year. He could see how talented Jamil was, even when he had gone to a lot of trouble to appear mediocre.

Azul remembered his first weeks of middle school, how he had slinked away to the dark and tight recesses of a pot to avoid getting noticed. Jamil had similarly tried to fade into the background, but now he had taken his rightful place in the spotlight and people were acknowledging him for it. As he deserved.

It had been Azul's goal to help Jamil showcase his skills, and for them to work together and show everyone what they were capable of. If their Alchemy classes were to be any basis, they make a rather good team and could easily best their classmates. However, Azul was admittedly happy to see that Jamil seemed comfortable in expressing his talents to their fullest now, even if Azul had nothing to do with it.

Though he had always aimed to work together with Jamil, a friendship between them was something he had never thought about. Much less... anything more than that.

As he stared at Jamil gracefully execute the movements, he wondered if he would ever get to dance with him again. He had never been much for dancing, but with Jamil he didn't mind so much.

Jamil had encouraged him to dance at the masquerade party, leading effortlessly even when Azul had been rigid with nervousness.

They had both been caught up in the moment, the slow music and dim lighting lowering their guards. And when Jamil leaned in to kiss him, he found himself anticipating it. He didn't know whether he should be relieved or annoyed that Rielle unknowingly interrupted them.

He had thought that those feelings were merely circumstantial, but as time went by and his affections for Jamil stayed, he had started to doubt that initial conclusion. He couldn't deny that he liked spending time with him, and Jamil had made his illness a lot more bearable when he had kept him company last night.

The trouble was, he didn't know whether Jamil still felt the way he did at the masquerade, and he wasn't sure he wanted to find out. It might sadden him if Jamil didn't feel that way anymore, but if he still did... Azul wouldn't know what to do with that information.

The song reached its end and the performers held their final pose, panting in varying degrees of breathlessness.

Azul clapped politely, beaming at their performance.

He felt everyone's eyes on him, and the realization dawned that he was the only one who clapped.

Never one to let a minor embarrassment deter him, he went along with it, brightening his smile and directing his words at Vil.

"As expected of the ever meticulous Pomefiore Prefect. Any project with you at the helm would always be wonderful to behold."

Vil raised a perfectly shaped eyebrow. "If you're so pleased to be here, tell your resident to stop being a troublesome distraction. If he so much as makes a scratch on that mirror, I'll kick the both of you out."

Azul turned to see that Floyd had gotten up from his chair and was now doing a rather decent imitation of the dance routine that they had just watched. Except Floyd was adding some improvisations, including some spins and a handstand that he kept attempting to do while dangerously close to the mirror along the wall.

"Look, Sea Snake!" Floyd grinned while upside-down. "I can do that move you taught me."

"Yeah that looks great," Jamil said quickly, casting a worried glance over at a frowning Vil. "Now get up before you break the mirror. Or a collarbone."

Floyd laughed and righted himself again, spreading his arms wide in greeting. "Betta Fish! That's a real dope choreography, did ya make that?"

"I did," Vil gave a singular nod before turning back to his performers. "Let's take a 30-minute break. Afterwards I'll be joining the practice."

They nodded and walked off in different directions, the First Years exchanging nervous glances as they made their way towards Yuu standing by the stereo. It seemed like Vil joining their practice was a more intimidating idea than when he was just watching them; they only visibly relaxed after he had gone out the door.

Meanwhile, Rook had stopped Jamil momentarily and was saying something. Azul was too far away to hear, but whatever it was, it made Jamil frown and shake his head slightly. Rook didn't seem to be discouraged, however, as he smiled and looked at Azul.

Jamil stepped closer to Rook and seemed to hiss a response, subtly pulling Rook's arm to turn his eyes on him again.

Azul furrowed his eyebrows, could they be talking about him? Or just the visitors in general?

His thoughts were interrupted by a cheerful "Azul!"

Kalim was walking over to him while wiping his forehead with a small towel. "What are you guys doing here?"

"Mostro Lounge closed early for festival preparations, and Floyd wanted to see your rehearsals," he stood up and explained.

"Heya, Sea Otter!" Floyd approached them. "You were really cool over there!"

"Thank you! It's super fun!" Kalim beamed.

Jamil appeared behind him and handed him a tumbler. "Here you go."

"Don't your legs hurt, Sea Otter?" Floyd tilted his head. "Those moves were pretty hard."

"Huh? Oh, don't worry, I'd been dancing a lot since I was a kid, my legs hadn't hurt in a long while!" Kalim reassured him and took a drink from the tumbler.

"Interesting," Floyd smirked in a way that Azul recognized meant he knew something that others didn't. "Sea Snake told me a few days ago that your legs were hurtin'."

"Floyd," Jamil began, but he couldn't seem to form the rest of the sentence, and he looked like he was staring to panic.

Azul looked at all three of them, and Kalim seemed just as confused as he was.

"Really?" Kalim turned to Jamil. "Why did you think my legs hurt?"

Before Jamil could answer, Floyd stood beside him and put his arm around his shoulders. "Yeah, he was at the gym talkin' to himself about how he shouldn't have asked someone to dance. And when I asked him he said he meant you, because your legs hurt from practice."

Jamil's face had turned a shade of red, and he seemed to be avoiding their eyes. "Th-That was when you said you got tired after practicing for the auditions."

"Oh! Yeah, I got tired, but my legs didn't hurt at all, so you shouldn't have worried!" Kalim suddenly lowered his eyes and shifted on his feet. "I mean, not that you even said you were worried, I wasn't assuming..." he chuckled awkwardly and looked at no one in particular. "I'm gonna go join Yuu and the others. It's nice seeing you guys!"

Azul watched him jog to where Yuu was laughing with the other First Years. He supposed it's not surprising to see that Kalim's friendship with Jamil hadn’t exactly fully mended yet.

"Bonjour, messieurs !" Rook appeared and greeted them. "Welcome to the Pomefiore ballroom! I hope that our humble dorm is quite comfortable for you."

"Ooh, can you show me around?" Floyd removed his arm from Jamil's shoulders and turned to face Rook. "This place is really big and I've barely seen any of it."

"It would be my pleasure," Rook said pleasantly. "If I tour you on the top floors where there is the best view of the grounds, we shall make it back in time for the continuation of rehearsals."

"Sounds good! Let's go!" Floyd said eagerly. It looked like he really was in the mood to explore today.

Rook turned to Jamil with a knowing smile. "Meanwhile, I wish you the best of luck on your... endeavors, mon ami."

Jamil sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose as Rook and Floyd walked away.

"Are you alright?" Azul asked. Whatever relaxation had been in Jamil's posture while dancing, it was all gone now, replaced by an uneasy stance and a slight frown.

"Yeah, it's just..." Jamil's eyes glanced over to where Rook and Floyd were just exiting the doorway.

"Is Rook Hunt giving you trouble?" Azul remembered how Rook had looked in his direction earlier while saying something to Jamil. "Does he want me to leave somehow?"

It didn't make much sense, but then again things rarely made sense with their mysterious upperclassman.

"What? No, it's not that...." Jamil took a deep breath and met his eyes for the first time since he arrived. "He was telling me earlier that I should just be honest with you. He said it would be easier."

Azul's eyebrows lifted in surprise. "About what...?" he asked cautiously. He couldn't fathom why Rook and Jamil would even talk about him.

"It's not a big deal," Jamil shook his head. "Rook's just being dramatic about it as usual. Did you know he shot arrows at us with notes attached to announce that we passed the auditions?"

Azul chuckled. "That does sound like something he would do. Though I suppose if I had archery skills like that, I'd show them off all the time, too."

Jamil smiled, and he finally seemed to relax somewhat. "Anyway, I just mentioned to him earlier that I was thinking of asking you to lunch. And he made a big deal of telling me to ask you already since you're here now."

"Oh,” Azul said, relieved that Rook wasn’t planning anything odd or dangerous. “That does sound much simpler than he made it seem. Are you sure everything's alright?” He asked again because Jamil still looked a little tense. “You seemed uneasy ever since Floyd made that remark about Kalim."

Jamil's eyes widened almost imperceptibly and he straightened his posture. "Um, no, you know how random Floyd is, he just says a bunch of stuff sometimes."

Azul furrowed his eyebrows curiously. He had a feeling that Jamil was not telling him something, but what? What was it that Floyd said?

Jamil claimed that Kalim's legs hurt from dancing, but Kalim said otherwise. Why would Jamil lie to Floyd about such a thing, though?

"...he was at the gym talkin' to himself about how he shouldn't have asked someone to dance." Floyd's voice came back to him.

Someone... But who else would...

Azul's mouth opened in surprise, and when he spoke his voice came out louder than he intended. "Did you mean me?"

"What?" Jamil looked startled.

"Do you..." Azul almost didn't want to ask, but he'd rather know. He subtly looked around to make sure that no one was within earshot. Nevertheless, he still lowered his voice. "Do you regret our dance?"

"No!" Jamil answered quickly. "No. I..."

He huffed in exasperation and looked around as well to check if anybody was listening.

He stepped closer to Azul before speaking again. "Look, earlier at the Lounge, you were surprised that I walked up to you in a crowded place, right? And you were right that I pushed you away a lot back then, so it's a little weird that I'm approaching you now. And when I said that about how I never should have asked you to dance... I just meant... I'm afraid that I offended you somehow."

"What?" Azul just had more questions now than before Jamil answered. "Why would you think that?"

"Because... Because of what I tried to do..." Jamil's voice was almost a mumble that Azul had to strain to hear it. His gaze was on the floor and a red flush had appeared on his face.

Wait, was Jamil blushing because he mentioned that they nearly kissed? That he almost kissed him?

Azul felt his own face heating up, and he couldn't seem to form words in his mind. "I..."

What was he supposed to say? No, he wasn't offended at all. But would that sound too eager?

"We don't have to talk about it," Jamil met his eyes again with a frown, a hint of red still on his cheeks. "That's just what that whole thing with Rook and Floyd was about. Right. See you around." He turned to leave.

"Does that mean you rescind that lunch invitation, then?" Azul blurted out.

Jamil stopped and turned to him in surprise, as if he wasn't expecting such a response from Azul. Granted, Azul didn't expect it of himself either. But if there was a chance that Jamil felt the same way about him, he'd be a fool not to take it.

Azul cleared his throat and regained his composure. "Perhaps over lunch we could talk about that project that Professor Trein paired us up for?"

"He didn't... actually pair us up," Jamil said slowly, gauging Azul's reaction as if he had just admitted to something unpleasant.

Azul frowned in confusion. What was this about now?

Jamil sighed. "The pairings were voluntary. I chose you."

Azul felt his heart thrum at Jamil's choice of phrasing, but he decided to focus on something else. "Why did you lie about it? I ask you to be my partner in Alchemy all the time, neither of us ever had a problem with it."

"I know, it's stupid," Jamil shook his head. "But I wanted an excuse to check up on you because you weren't in class again, and saying that Professor Trein assigned us as partners was the first thing I thought of."

Azul stared at him, momentarily at a loss for words. Jamil had been worried about him enough that he even thought of an excuse to check on him. But more importantly, Jamil had just told him the full truth of something—of many things now, really—seemingly without any benefit to Jamil himself.

"Why are you telling me all this?"

Jamil had always been an extremely private and secretive person, Azul never imagined that he would easily admit to such things unprovoked.

Jamil thought about it for a moment, and gave a half shrug. "I just don't feel like I need to lie to you. That's all."

Suddenly, Azul thought back to many nights ago, when he had flown on a broom in the middle of the night to Scarabia because Jamil had asked him for help.

"...you’re still the shadiest person I know,” Jamil had said then. “But I do trust you.”

Jamil Viper’s honesty. Did he really deserve that?

"You know, some students say to never put your trust in an Octavinelle resident," Azul said half-playfully. "Much less their Prefect."

He was aware of the whispers about his dorm, and his classmates had always given him a wide berth even before he became Prefect. Jamil was undoubtedly aware of it too, as they were in the same class. And it was difficult for Azul to wrap his mind around the idea that Jamil Viper of all people was giving him complete honesty despite two years of their classmates advising against it.

Jamil rolled his eyes. "And some students say to never trust Scarabia's Vice Prefect. What's your point?"

Azul let out a laugh that felt more like a sigh of relief; Jamil didn’t take the way out even when he had offered it to him.

"Fair enough,” he adjusted his glasses. “Perhaps we deserve each other."

He realized too late what he had said and tried to circle back to a more manageable subject.

"So, lunch?" Azul asked in a casual tone, hoping that Jamil hadn't changed his mind about it. "What day did you have in mind?"

"Uh," Jamil looked at his watch. "Actually, there's still about 20 minutes left in our break. We can talk about the project now. Though all the food we have here is just those healthy fruit snacks and energy bars that Vil provided us."

"Oh, then I fit right in," Azul reached into his coat pocket and pulled out the pack of apple slices. "Floyd provided me with some healthy fruit snack as well. Vil wouldn't have reason to kick me out."

Jamil chuckled. "Good. And you know, now that I think about it, we don't even have to force ourselves to talk about the project during this break." He sat down on one of the chairs.

Azul took the chair across from him. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, there are other things to talk about. Like are you really feeling better now or are you still sick and just stubbornly working at the Lounge?" Jamil asked pointedly.

It was Azul's turn to roll his eyes. "I'm fine, Jamil."

"That's what you said last night when you couldn't walk."

"As you can see, I walked myself all the way here and I could stand perfectly well," Azul reminded him.

"Alright, and at least you're not pale anymore." Jamil ran his gaze over Azul's face as if to make sure.

"Anything else in your arsenal of stellar conversation topics?" Azul said to distract himself from the way Jamil was looking at him.

"Yeah," Jamil nodded and lightly drummed his fingers on the table where the orange slices were. "Lunch. How about tomorrow, after Alchemy? We have an hour of breaktime before Defensive Magic. Are you free then? I didn't get a chance to check that file of your calendar yet."

Azul was, in fact, not free at that particular schedule. He was supposed to print out flyers for Mostro Lounge's booth during that hour and hand them to his employees to distribute. He preferred to do the printing himself to make sure that there wouldn’t be any mistakes.

But Jade and Floyd had been telling him to work less these days, right?

"Yes," Azul decided. "I'd be free for lunch tomorrow after Alchemy."

"Great." Jamil’s eyes twinkled when he smiled, and Azul felt certain that he made the right decision.

—

Author’s Note:

- Rook’s line of “loving Vil is like loving the stars themselves” is based on River Song’s line in Doctor Who.

- This is a shorter chapter than I intended, but I wanted to post the update already because I hadn’t updated this in months, so I posted what’s basically the first half of how long I originally intended this to be. I’m planning to post an update again before February ends!

- Thank you so much for still reading this story even when the updates take a long time <3

- To new readers, welcome! I hope you like the story so far!

—

(Masterlist)

<-- Chapter 11

Chapter 13 -->

(Ko-fi)

14 notes · View notes